| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2000 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/ATR |
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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES DIVESTITURES IN CENTURA BANKS AND TRIANGLE BANCORP MERGER Eighteen Branches in North Carolina Divested, Banking Services for Consumers, Small Businesses Remain Competitive
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice today announced that Centura Banks Inc. has agreed to sell about $315 million in deposits in 18 branches in North Carolina in order to resolve the Department's antitrust concerns about the pending merger of Centura and Triangle Bancorp Inc. The Department said that the deal, as originally proposed, would have reduced competition for commercial lending services. Centura will sell branches in Rocky Mount, Columbus County, Granville County, Roanoke Rapids, Warren County, and Washington County, North Carolina. Centura also will not preclude other financial institutions from leasing or purchasing any bank branches that it may close due to consolidation resulting from this merger. "These divestitures will assure that local customers, particularly small businesses, continue to have competitively priced banking services," said Joel I. Klein, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. The proposed merger of Centura and Triangle is subject to the final approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Department said that it will advise the Federal Reserve Board that, subject to divestiture of the branch offices and associated loans and deposits, the Antitrust Division will not challenge the merger. Centura Banks is headquartered in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It has $ 8.9 billion in assets and $6 billion in deposits. Its 227 banking offices are located in North Carolina , South Carolina, and Virginia. Triangle Bancorp is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has assets of approximately $2.3 billion and deposits totaling about $1.5 billion in 71 banking offices in North Carolina. A list of the branches to be divested is attached. 00-41
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