TODAY’S TOPIC – WHY THE FLEET DEAL WAS SMART FOR BANK OF AMERICA
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By Charles B. Wendel, President
At the end of our last newsletter, we said that this week we would continue our discussion of distribution systems. We will delay that focus until the next newsletter (prerogatives of ownership) and, instead, highlight a particularly timely topic: the Bank of America/Fleet transaction.
Competitors, both big and small, may be making a huge mistake in dismissing the market threat from BofA’s Fleet acquisition. The gloating that we see from some quarters should be replaced by in-depth strategic discussions and actions aimed at countering a potentially tough and innovative new player.
In recent weeks, a number of bankers have “piled on” Bank of America’s acquisition of Fleet. Some appear almost gleeful. The head of Citicorp said he thought BofA paid too much. The head of North Fork Bank commented that he looked forward to grabbing disaffected Fleet customers. Executives at one smaller bank player we know commented on using its size and community presence as a marketing benefit (while, at the same time, admitting they did not know how long they would be independent.)
Other analysts have joined in to comment on the high level of cost reduction and revenue generation required to make this deal work. Tom Brown’s comments on the deal are very negative and based, in part, on his view that past Bank of America acquisitions have eroded shareholder value. His bankstocks.com Website comments on the deal are worth reading and are very damning of the deal.
We will leave it to others to comment upon whether the pricing was too high. The benefit of this deal will play out over the next three-five years and beyond; that is when we will really know about the pricing’s correctness. What does merit comment now is the potential that this deal offers Bank of America and the key factors we think can result in this deal being a success.
There are at least three factors that can drive the long-term success of this acquisition:
1. Fleet’s personnel are on board. Some acquisitions flounder or fail because of bad morale on the part of the acquired bankers, many of whom feel threatened. We have had the opportunity to talk with a dozen or more Fleet bankers, across various levels of the organization. Fair to say that most of the sales and marketing front lines (the keys to this deal’s success) are enthusiastic about the new entity.
Our sense is that, in their hearts, Fleet bankers knew that an acquisition was inevitable. Certainly, Fleet was going to continue to be outgunned competitively by Citi and Chase, among others; no more. An out-of-market acquirer brings in dollars and energy without harmful layoffs in customer-oriented areas.
In recent years Fleet was operating with one hand behind its back due to various issues, most of them credit related; that hand has now been untied.
2. The Fleet customer will stay. Some competitors expect customers to flee from Fleet to their banks. This shift has sometimes occurred in the past and, they believe, should continue. In particular, community banks view acquisitions like BofA’s as a marketing gift, one that allows them to exploit their personal, retail-based focus. In the past, acquiring banks, Fleet included, have managed to alienate customers and serve them up to others.
This time it may be different. Our view is that most customers (if they have an opinion at all) see the BofA purchase as a positive. Again, Fleet employees play a critical role in developing their customers’ positive view of BofA.
Where is the Fleet customer going to go? It is highly unlikely that the Fleet customer will leave to go to another big New York bank; their reputation (in some cases justified) for mediocre customer service and high fees precludes a big move to them.
Some will shift to community banks or one of the new aggressive competitors in the Northeast. However, Fleet has been a major competitive target of these players for over a year. Some bankers have played on the uncertainty around Fleet’s future; that uncertainty is now removed. Gone with it may be some people’s major motivation for moving their banking relationship from Fleet.
Who will leave? In our view, most Fleet customers will see little to reason to move their accounts now. At a minimum, they will give BofA a chance to prove itself before walking away.
3. Bank of America is highly experienced and very customer-focused. BofA is a very strong retail player. Our West Coast clients know that BofA is a very smart competitor. We have also heard community bankers in some of the Western states admit somewhat ruefully that BofA has its retail act together. The bank has an established leadership position in retail and small business banking and has demonstrated innovative approaches in other areas such as middle market banking. While we will return to the topic of alternative distribution channels next time, it has also been a leader in pushing the adoption of online banking.
In short, it has shown that it is a very good bank, particularly on the retail side.
That expertise can translate into a revenue stream that takes the Fleet customer to another level of profit performance.
Execution will determine this acquisition’s success. Analysts and competitors have very bluntly highlighted the negatives and risks of this deal. Our point is that there are many positives for BofA as well. Certainly, no competitor, big or small, can afford to be complacent in the face of a $1Trillion entity entering the market, particularly a competitor like Bank of America.
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