BANKING CONSOLIDATION: From Standard to LaSalle
BY KIM NORRIS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
August 13, 2005
The Standard bank name, which first appeared in Detroit more than 110 years ago, is going the way of other longtime local banks such as Michigan National Bank, Manufacturers Bank and National Bank of Detroit.
| How a bank has evolved |
| Standard Federal Bank, Troy • 1893 -- Standard Savings & Loan is formed in the basement of the old McGraw Building at the corner of Griswold and Lafayette in downtown Detroit. • 1950 -- The Standard Federal name is adopted when the bank is issued a federal charter. • 1985 -- The savings-and-loan designation is dropped and it becomes Standard Federal Bank when a mutual savings bank charter is adopted. • 1987 -- Standard Federal converts to a publicly owned stock company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. • 1997 -- Standard Federal is acquired by ABN AMRO North America, a U.S. subsidiary of the world's 14th-largest bank, ABN AMRO N.V., based in the Netherlands. ABN AMRO already owns Chicago-based LaSalle Bank. • 2001 -- ABN AMRO North America acquires Michigan National Bank and merges it with Standard Federal, creating the second-largest banking organization headquartered in Michigan. The combined bank operates under the Standard Federal name. • 2005 -- The Standard Federal name is retired, replaced by LaSalle Bank name. By Kim Norris
|
It's the end product of ongoing banking industry consolidation, which has rolled several longtime Michigan banks together under a variety of larger banking monikers. Some of the name changes, in fact, have now reached multiple rounds. Bank One branches, some of which were once National Bank of Detroit branches, are to change their name to Chase next year.
Bank name changes typically have little direct impact on consumers but are part of banks' grander sales and marketing strategies in highly competitive lending markets.
Bank One and Standard Federal rank No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in Michigan, each with a little over 13.5% of the state's deposits. Comerica Inc. is No. 1 with 14.6% of deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Standard Federal's yellow-and-green shield logo and green background, both of which first appeared two years ago, will remain. Only the name changes.
Standard spokesman Robert Darmanin said products, personnel and services will remain the same.
The name change reflects Standard Federal's status as a subsidiary of Chicago-based LaSalle Bank Corp., the holding company for LaSalle Bank. Both LaSalle and Standard Federal are owned by Netherlands-based ABN AMRO, one of the largest banks in the world.
"What's most important is our people, and they aren't being impacted at all," Darmanin said. "Our bankers still have local lending authority and decision-making authority. And customers really don't have to do anything."
The new signs, which started being installed in July, are to be unveiled officially Sept. 12 when vinyl sheets bearing the old name are removed from the new signs.
"Again?" sighed an exasperated bank customer as she maneuvered her vehicle around the trucks bearing the new signs in the narrow parking lot of the Standard Federal bank on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak.
"We just changed these signs less than two years ago," said Eric Dahl, a journeyman with IBEW Local 58 in Detroit, who installs signs for Troy-based manufacturer Gardner Signs.
That was when the blue-and-white Standard Federal name and blue box logo were changed to conform to ABN AMRO's internationally recognized green background and green and yellow shield logo.
By and large, customers seemed unfazed by the changes.
Greg Lutz of Royal Oak said he first heard of the name change in a notice he received in the mail.
"The only concern is that all the banks are becoming one bank," he said. "There are fewer choices."
Darmanin said the consolidation under a common name and logo will make it easier for LaSalle to market its services and expand into more states because its name will carry more clout.
"LaSalle has a presence in 23 states so we thought it made sense to solidify our brand," he said. "Marketing under one brand instead of two makes more sense."
Darmanin declined to disclose how much the rebranding is costing. But Scott Gardner, president of Gardner Signs, said a sign change like the one at the Royal Oak location could cost between $20,000 to $25,000 to make and install.
And that doesn't include replacing the ATM facades, the drive-through logos and all the paperwork inside the branch, including brochures, forms and workers' business cards. Nor does it include other locations where the Standard Federal name appears, such as sports venues and sponsored events.
JP Morgan Chase is spending $200 million nationwide to convert 2,000 Bank One branches in 14 states to the Chase name. When all is said and done, 40,000 new signs will have been installed. The rebranding has been completed in five states and will be done in four more by year-end, said Nancy Norris, spokeswoman for Bank One.
The conversion of 240 Bank One locations in Michigan is scheduled for next year, Norris said. The name change reflects the acquisition of Chicago-based Bank One by JP Morgan Chase in 2004.
"You want to be all one company to share marketing and advertising resources and to build your brand and reputation, and it's easier if it's all one name," Norris said.
In both cases, the banks insist that customers will see no difference in services or personnel. Customers can continue to use their existing preprinted checks and deposit slips.
Chase is sending customers new credit and ATM/debit cards, while LaSalle is letting customers use Standard Federal cards until they would normally replace them.
Contact KIM NORRIS at 248-351-5186 or norris@freepress.com.
Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.
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