October 28, 200816 yr Natural Selection assumes that new members of the species are created from the selected genetic material, doesn't it? No analogous process is happening in the realm of business consolidation that I can see. There are no new banks coming into the marketplace and testing new methods of banking, finding new niches, succeeding or failing. Instead, we're getting an ever smaller range of banking options. Natural selection doesn't work if one wolf eats all the others, then dies off.
October 28, 200816 yr Natural Selection assumes that new members of the species are created from the selected genetic material, doesn't it? No analogous process is happening in the realm of business consolidation that I can see. There are no new banks coming into the marketplace and testing new methods of banking, finding new niches, succeeding or failing. Instead, we're getting an ever smaller range of banking options. Natural selection doesn't work if one wolf eats all the others, then dies off. Dude....Wow....Good stuff man. What da you think of that MTS. LAWD!!!!!
October 28, 200816 yr ^^Not exactly - you have credit unions (which are seeing increases in business), strictly online banks, and other business models. I don't think it'll get to the point of the domestic auto industry but I do see a polarization between the megabanks and the small-time operations. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
October 28, 200816 yr Natural Selection assumes that new members of the species are created from the selected genetic material, doesn't it? No analogous process is happening in the realm of business consolidation that I can see. There are no new banks coming into the marketplace and testing new methods of banking, finding new niches, succeeding or failing. Instead, we're getting an ever smaller range of banking options. Natural selection doesn't work if one wolf eats all the others, then dies off. Dude....Wow....Good stuff man. What da you think of that MTS. LAWD!!!!! I think X took my "jokie joke" a little to literal!
October 28, 200816 yr Actually I think this is wholly unnatural. "Too big to fail" has morphed into something else entirely, with a few powerful individuals pulling the strings and our government essentially nationalizing a large swath of the financial sector and not to get OT but it looks like auto manufacturing sector as well.
October 28, 200816 yr Gramm-Leach-Bliley went through because congress was convinced that our banks were too small and fractured to compete with overseas megabanks. It looks like the same thinking continues.
October 28, 200816 yr Capitalism wants to go toward monopoly. Mixed economies want to go toward corporatism. It ends up with a few big boys and not much else, until it cracks apart and something new gets built. This consolidation took place from the 30s through the 50s and then new folks showed up and things got competitive again. It is the cycle of capitalism. There is some million dollar sized bank right now that will be nationally known in a generation.
October 30, 200816 yr A new development...from wkyc.com http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=99849&catid=45 Law firms sue PNC, National City over PNC's NCB purchase Posted By: Kim Wendel 1 hr ago WILMINGTON, DE -- The law firms of Rigrodsky & Long, of Wilmington, Delaware and Dreier LLP, of New York City, have filed a class-action lawsuit against National City Corp., its board of directors and PNC Financial Services Group over PNC's purchase of National City.
October 30, 200816 yr Most of this stuff is over my head. However, the more I read about this, the more I feel something isn't right.
October 30, 200816 yr I'm convinced this deal must be stopped. I'm also convinced NCB's management must go. One thing clear at this point is that PNC was better run over the last few years. But it is remarkably shortsighted for that alone to justify shutting NCB down. Kucinich, Marcia Fudge, LaTourette, Sherrod Brown, Voinovich, Tim Ryan-- it's time for them to form Voltron and kick some butt. They can't let Cleveland get pushed around like this. Strickland needs to head for capitol hill and raise a stink. Ohio decides the presidency and this is what we get?
October 30, 200816 yr Ralph Nader is in town today...someone should mention it to the best champion of consumer-advocacy our country has ever seen.
October 30, 200816 yr It adds that the acquisition "represents an opportunistic attempt to take advantage of National City's flagging stock price and is financially unfair." It states that the $2.23 per share purchase price is an 18.9 percent discount from the closing price of $2.75 on Oct. 23, the day before the deal was announced, and is "far below" levels the share price had been at in recent weeks. This is driven by PNC having to buy out Corsair in the transaction, who had preferred shares of NCC. It's just with a majority stake, it drives the final purchase price well below market for normal shareholders. If you read any of the details about the transaction, you'll see mention of a bunch of warrants...those warrants are going to Corsair and drive the final share price down. Thornburgh abstained from voting on the buy out for this reason (conflict of interest).
October 30, 200816 yr I'm convinced this deal must be stopped. I'm also convinced NCB's management must go. One thing clear at this point is that PNC was better run over the last few years. But it is remarkably shortsighted for that alone to justify shutting NCB down. Kucinich, Marcia Fudge, LaTourette, Sherrod Brown, Voinovich, Tim Ryan-- it's time for them to form Voltron and kick some butt. They can't let Cleveland get pushed around like this. Strickland needs to head for capitol hill and raise a stink. Ohio decides the presidency and this is what we get? I think the marching orders have been given and state and federal leaders are not going to challenge 'the rescue of the US financial system'. They are bending and in my opinion, breaking a lot of rules along the way. But, its clear the powers that be are taking no prisoners as they remake the US financial system.
October 30, 200816 yr I'm convinced this deal must be stopped. I'm also convinced NCB's management must go. One thing clear at this point is that PNC was better run over the last few years. But it is remarkably shortsighted for that alone to justify shutting NCB down. Kucinich, Marcia Fudge, LaTourette, Sherrod Brown, Voinovich, Tim Ryan-- it's time for them to form Voltron and kick some butt. They can't let Cleveland get pushed around like this. Strickland needs to head for capitol hill and raise a stink. Ohio decides the presidency and this is what we get? I think many agree with the sentiment, but the reality is instead of "this deal must be stopped" it should have been the leaders we have elected should not have let it happen. The deal is going to go through, the only backlash being does anyone in the Treasury department pay for it and, most importantly and perhaps the only silver lining, the top executives and the 42 subordinates will not get any of their precious parachutes (thank God they at least got that part right).
October 30, 200816 yr I haven't read the entire TARP bill. But it seems that even those in congress who were most supportive of this thing didn't view it as an invitation to consolidate the industry. Many have come out and said so. I see Treasury as a rogue actor here. Shutdowns and mergers are not bailouts. This money was supposed to "trickle down" to businesses through the banks, not be used to buy up shares at bargain prices. If Treasury is not obeying the law congress just passed, Treasury gets prosecuted in January.
October 30, 200816 yr Is there anything we can really do? Are we going to just get screwed over? Is this above our heads and understanding and so we might be missing why this is so great for "our" economy? I mean at this point it seems like our elected officials are putting up a stink but can we gripe to anybody else? Does anybody have G.W's direct #? :?
October 31, 200816 yr Nat City ran itself into the ground. Just like Wamu and Wachovia, the bank made a large bet on the subprime market and got punished for it. Even though it tried to sell off the subprime unit, the deal had so many clawbacks that Nat City could not completely escape the liability from the bad loans. While 5/3 and Key had poor loans on the books from a bad economy, they did not have the subprime exposure. That is why Nat City was "punished" and the other banks get to survive. Based on their balance sheet, Nat City was just dead weight
October 31, 200816 yr Nat City ran itself into the ground. Just like Wamu and Wachovia, the bank made a large bet on the subprime market and got punished for it. Even though it tried to sell off the subprime unit, the deal had so many clawbacks that Nat City could not completely escape the liability from the bad loans. While 5/3 and Key had poor loans on the books from a bad economy, they did not have the subprime exposure. That is why Nat City was "punished" and the other banks get to survive. Based on their balance sheet, Nat City was just dead weight So... hold those responsible for that strategic blunder personally liable and let everybody else go on about their business. I realize that's the opposite of how corporate law actually works, but we see where that has gotten us. Corporate law is currently designed around the cult of the CEO. The "business judgment rule" means they can be horribly wrong, even reckless, and never be held accountable to the shareholders or public. It's believed that these are the only conditions under which they can work. It's believed that this is better for all of us, because they're so much smarter than all of us. These are matters of state law, so the new congress can't help. But they can insist that Treasury close no banks.
October 31, 200816 yr Nat City ran itself into the ground. Just like Wamu and Wachovia, the bank made a large bet on the subprime market and got punished for it. Even though it tried to sell off the subprime unit, the deal had so many clawbacks that Nat City could not completely escape the liability from the bad loans. While 5/3 and Key had poor loans on the books from a bad economy, they did not have the subprime exposure. That is why Nat City was "punished" and the other banks get to survive. Based on their balance sheet, Nat City was just dead weight Well, yes and no. Yes, National City only has itself to blame for getting itself in the position it was in. Its decision to get involved in the sub-prime mortgage business is easily one they regret...and they were certainly punished for it with diminishing stock and heavy losses. On the "no" side though, they had taken action to right those mistakes with the capital raise they did in April. This capital infusion ensured they had enough reserves to cover these losses. Now the problem is there are many other banks with comparable sub-prime crisis on their hands, but none with the capital ratio that National City has. Examinig all banks with liquidity issues, National City is (was) the best positioned bank to successfully emerge from a government bailout package. Of course, National City was on the "NO" list instead of the "YES" list. And the only reason why this was the case is political as opposed to financial or performance based. And that's a problem.
October 31, 200816 yr shs96 I agree with what you are saying. But can you expand on the "political" end, and why you think that is.
October 31, 200816 yr well... this could throw a wrench in things... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081031/bs_nm/us_financial_bailout_frank_1 Rep. Frank: bailout funds must be used for lending WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Companies receiving public money under a U.S. government financial rescue program must use it for lending or they will be violating the law, the powerful chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee said on Friday. "I am deeply disappointed that a number of financial institutions are distorting the legislation that Congress passed at the president's request to respond to the credit crisis by making funds available for increased lending," Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement. "Any use of the these funds for any purpose other than lending -- for bonuses, for severance pay, for dividends, for acquisitions of other institutions, etc. -- is a violation of the terms of the Act," he added. Frank said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson must make it absolutely clear to a participating entity that the federal government will insist on compliance. Treasury is heading up a $250 billion capital injection program into U.S. banks as part of the larger $700 billion market bailout legislation passed earlier this month. The first $125 billion went to nine large U.S. banks, and the Treasury is actively distributing the other $125 billion to community and regional banks around the nation. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Karey Wutkowski; Editing by James Dalgleish/Jeffrey Benkoe)
October 31, 200816 yr "Any use of the these funds for any purpose other than lending -- for bonuses, for severance pay, for dividends, for acquisitions of other institutions, etc. -- is a violation of the terms of the Act," he added. Awesome. Acuisition of NCB illegal, case closed.
October 31, 200816 yr Im so confused. There are alot of people saying alot of things. What about those that were saying it is intended for aquisitions? Is somebody finally stepping to say "these are the rules" since apparently there were none.?
October 31, 200816 yr My understanding is that shareholder actions are almost universally blocked by the aforesaid "business judgment rule." Management must be shown to be borderline psychotic or engaged in piracy for shareholders to get an injunction. Even then it's unlikely. I doubt these shareholders want $2 a share or whatever it is they're getting. Barney needs to drag Henry into some hearings.
October 31, 200816 yr shs96 I agree with what you are saying. But can you expand on the "political" end, and why you think that is. Well, this is all my own speculation based on a few facts so take that into consideration. But... The Monday after the bailout was approved, Raskind (maybe other execs, but at least Raskind) was in Washington making a pitch to the Treasury department to have National City be the "test case" for this bail out package. He did have a good case - well capitalized, many of the troubled assets had been sold off, growing retail bank, and generally a more diversified bank than many others with high risk exposure to troubled assets. Should the economy be in a position of stability, there would be no risk at all. If there is demand for subprime mortgage backed securities on the secondary market, National City is doing just fine. But since there is no demand what so ever and since Sarbanes Oxley is in place, companies have to write down assets at market value as opposed to book value. So what is the market value when there is no demand? $0 (well, it wasn't quite 0, but $0.20 on the $1). This creates a problem. A BIG problem. Because no bank can afford to mark down all these losses at an 80% loss rate. Which is where the TARP package comes in, or is supposed to come in. The government essentially creates a market for these assets ignoring the liquidity issues and buying them back for say $0.80 on the $1 (the actual rate was TBD). Now, considering National City had the highest capital ratio among all tier I banks, they were in the best position to absorb these losses. Let's "say" NCC had $20 billion in distressed assets on its books. At market rate of $0.20 on the $1, that's losses of $16 billion. With $10 billion in capital reserve, I think you see the problem. At the TARP gov't rate of $0.80 on the $1, that's losses of $4 billion...National City can easily absorb that and still remain above the required capital ratio set by the SEC. So why didn't they get the TARP benefit? Consolidation in the financial industry was inevitable at this point, but who and where was yet to be determined. Well, Paulson and the Treasury department decided this process needed to be expidited. They came to the conclusion that the regional banks needed to be consolidated. So they went though and simply picked winners and losers of who would be the recipient of the TARP plan. National City was a loser. Now here's where I think things start to stink. Simply because National City was picked as a loser was not the end all be all. They could have survived on their own, although this was a risk. Lines of credit to the bank were starting to be closed since fewer places were lending and consumer panic (read this thread a few pages back and you can see evidence on this) was a threat to make a run on deposits (this would reduce their capital ratio). But still, all was not lost. That is until Paulson basically told NCC to find a buyer or the government will take control. Gov't control would be a total loss for shareholders and, as required by law, the Board of Trustees at National City is required to maximize shareholder value. The government forced their hand. So PNC makes the best offer, coupled with the government kicking in the TARP package above their independent allowed ratio to match the consolidated PNC/NCC allowed amount. Why that happened is anyone's guess, but if you don't think its effected by politicians lobbying in DC for one cause or another, you would be wrong. From my view, having the Treasury Comptroller being a former PNC guy sure doesn't hurt. And if you look at PNC's primary footprint, you'll see its most heavily located on the East coast - Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and DC. It's actually quite odd the HQ is in Pittsburgh as they have a bigger precense in Philly even than in Pittsburgh. Start throwing out some names of prominant politicians in those regions - Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey and the CEO of Goldman Sachs prior to Paulson himself, Stephen Friedman, chairman of the National Economic Council, also a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, and Robert Rubin, former Treasury Secretary under Clinton, also a former CEO of...you get the idea...
October 31, 200816 yr So didnt PNC specifically say they were using the TARP money for the aquisition of NCB? So is that just to say that Paulson and company were interpreting things however they wanted to.... with the obvious benifits.... Can things still pan out for NCB, or will they somehow justify their actions in this case?
October 31, 200816 yr From a Cincinnati perspective... Getting in tune PNC, National City have their work cut out to trim fat, delete overlap in pending acquisition http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/11/03/story2.html The overlap and duplication are abundant. Consolidation and job cuts seem inevitable. So the question is, who is going to be left out in the cold in Cincinnati as the $5.6 billion merger between PNC Financial Services Group and National City Corp., announced on Oct. 24, takes shape? The potential cost savings are clear – Pittsburgh-based PNC already has said it will cut more than $1 billion of expenses across its system. But the answer isn’t as simple as it might appear in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky market, because although PNC is the acquirer, National City in many ways has the superior branch network, with more and newer branches, more deposits and more deposits per branch. It also has more local employees – 1,200 as of May, compared with about 550 for PNC. Second-largest local bank Prior to any consolidation and whatever fallout that precipitates, the combination will make PNC the second-largest local bank by one industry measure of retail deposits that excludes headquarters offices. It still would be a distant second to Fifth Third, but it would put it solidly ahead of U.S. Bank in terms of overall branch deposits (excluding headquarters deposits) and almost equal to it in its number of branches, based on pre-acquisition data.
October 31, 200816 yr LaTourette to push look into PNC Financial deal for National City By SCOTT SUTTELL 2:18 pm, October 31, 2008 U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette said the House Committee on Financial Services will hold hearings on Nov. 12 and Nov. 18 into what he characterized as “the potential misuse of bailout funds, including the purchase of National City Bank in Cleveland.” In a news release, Rep. LaTourette, a Republican from Bainbridge Township and a senior member of the committee, said he spoke with committee chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., and “urged an investigation after it was revealed that $7.7 billion in federal bailout money was used to help Pittsburgh-based PNC (Financial Services Group Inc.) buy National City at a fire sale price.” National City was denied bailout money. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20081031/FREE/810319961/1022
November 1, 200816 yr This is good news. I'm not so naive to think that things are going to magically be repaired with NCB, and I doubt that they won't combine with PNC, but I really think the fight that is being put up is good for the American people in general. They shouldn't be able to strike blows to anybody's local economy when they are trying to fix the national economy. I think they should be questioned and be forced to provide the needed backup to why this happened, how it happened, and that this will be a transparent process going forward. If it takes time it takes time, they should do what's right.
November 3, 200816 yr Breaking news from Crain's: Raskind to leave National City after its acquisition by PNC is final The man who has overseen National City Corp. during the worst chapter in its 163-year history won't become a vice chairman of its acquirer after all.
November 7, 200816 yr http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/11/03/daily45.html?surround=lfn&brthrs=1 National City loss for 3Q balloons Pittsburgh Business Times National City Corp.’s deal to be acquired by PNC Financial Services Group Inc. led it to take a $1.34 billion non-cash write-off of goodwill in the third quarter. The charge widened the troubled Cleveland bank’s third-quarter loss to $2.07 billion from a previously reported $729 million loss, the company said Thursday in a regulatory filing. The impairment, the company told investors in a Securities and Exchange Commission document, deepened its loss to $7.40 a share in the quarter from $5.86. Stockholders’ equity dropped to $15.8 billion from $17.2 billion, but the write-off did not impact regulatory capital. A year earlier, National City had lost $19 million, or 3 cents a share, before mounting troubles in the financial services and housing markets began to batter the bank, taking its stock price from more than $23 a share to as low as $1.25. Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Inc.(NYSE:PNC) last month struck a deal by acquire National City (NYSE:NCC) for about $5.58 billion, which was less than the Ohio bank’s book value at the time. That prompted National City to re-evaluate its goodwill, an accounting measure of the difference between what a company pays in an acquisition and the net tangible asset value of the acquired company. The goodwill write-off was tied to National City’s corporate banking operations, the company said. All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
November 7, 200816 yr Sounds as though this news will hurt local efforts to undermine the PNC deal based on unfair shareholder returns.
November 7, 200816 yr Whose interests are served by PNC-National City deal? Posted by Christopher Brandt, Akron November 07, 2008 05:15AM Categories: Letters While many Northeast Ohioans (politicians included) are distressed about the sale of National City Corp. to PNC Financial Services of Pittsburgh for $5.08 billion, let's attempt to separate fact from fiction: PNC talked with NCB about acquiring the bank earlier this spring, but NCB instead opted for a $6 billion infusion by private-equity firm Corsair Capital. More at http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2008/11/whose_interests_are_served_by.html
November 7, 200816 yr Pittsburgh perspective http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08312/926071-68.stm Changes expected as National City joins PNC Friday, November 07, 2008 By Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Although PNC Financial Services Group has said the process of gobbling up like-size rival National City Corp. could take up to two years, it likely won't be long before Pittsburgh-area customers begin to feel the reverberations of the blockbuster in-market merger. For now, PNC says it isn't ready to comment on any changes in store for customers, employees or the marketplace as it works toward the acquisition's projected Dec. 31 closing. Following the announcement of any bank merger, customers of the target bank are courted, both by the acquiring institution as well as by other banks hoping to add to their depositor base. Mr. Ely said PNC might minimize the looting of customers by offering some sweeteners to National City customers, such as a reduced rate on a credit card, a break on fees, an enticing rate on a certificate of deposit or other goodies, such as a free safe deposit box. Rivals, too, will probably run advertisements dangling their own offers. Patricia Sabatini can be reached at [email protected] or 412-263-3066. Staff writer Len Boselovic contributed to this story.
November 11, 200816 yr http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/11/fearing_shutdown_national_city.html Fearing shutdown, National City begged for a buyer: The inside story Posted by Teresa Dixon Murray/Plain Dealer Reporter November 10, 2008 19:09PM National City Corp. was desperate to sell because it feared federal regulators would shut it down as soon as Oct. 24, PNC Financial Services Group said in a regulatory filing Monday. In fact, in the weeks before National City's sale to PNC was announced last month, regulators were crawling all over the Cleveland bank's books, and executives often had to update regulators several times a day on the bank's financial condition. More at http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/11/fearing_shutdown_national_city.html
November 11, 200816 yr It all comes out in the wash. Based on this information NCC management purposely misled its staff and the media. You say one minute all is fine, then POOF, you're secretly asking for a buyer. To me, those executive are worse than Modell! They have successfully unseated Modell as Cleveland's most hated.
November 12, 200816 yr http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/11/10/daily19.html?surround=lfn&brthrs=1 PNC commits $28 million in charitable funding to National City communities Pittsburgh Business Times PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Pittsburgh, which expects to close its acquisition of Cleveland-based National City Corp. by year-end, has committed $28 million in charitable funding and sponsorships to National City communities in 2009. That’s $5 million more than National City’s 2008 foundation giving, PNC said. PNC (NYSE:PNC) and National City (NYSE:NCC)overlap in Western Pennsylvania and the Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lexington, Ky., areas but much of National City’s territory is new ground for PNC. The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from the financial institution does not disclose assets. But it is Pittsburgh’s 10th largest foundation as ranked by grant payout, which was $11.8 million for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. “We are pleased to build upon National City’s legacy of outstanding corporate citizenship,” PNC Chairman and CEO Jim Rohr said in a statement. “At PNC, we believe a business cannot succeed if its communities are not well positioned for future growth and success.” Post-closing integration is expected to take 23 months; until that is completed, PNC said it expects to operate with both the PNC and National City bank brands. The integration will include combining both banks’ charitable and sponsorship budgets to create one system to strategically align giving with PNC’s key theme and priorities. Among its priorities for 2009 are maintaining National City’s existing community development banking investments and contributions which include a number of projects in low- and moderate-income communities. It also intends to benefit eligible nonprofit organizations in National City markets with the introduction of PNC’s employee matching gift program which will increase the maximum match for a National City employee’s contribution from $1,000 to $2,500. PNC will also begin to identify potential community partners for the introduction of its early childhood education program, PNC Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million investment to prepare children from birth to age five for success in school and life. All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
November 12, 200816 yr this is the building i posted previously http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/11/10/daily23.html?surround=lfn&brthrs=1 Reed Smith leases office space in National City building Pittsburgh Business Times - by Patty Tascarella and Ben Semmes Reed Smith LLP, one of Pittsburgh’s largest law firms, is taking more than two-thirds of the 80,000-square-feet National City Corp. put on the market last month Downtown, roughly half of its Pittsburgh regional headquarters. Reed Smith signed a 10-year lease for 54,722 square feet, or the 12th, 14th and 16th floors. Just how long 20 Stanwix Street will be known as National City Center is anyone’s guess. Pittsburgh’s largest bank, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. expects to buy Cleveland-based National City in a $5.58 billion stock and cash transaction closing by year-end. Reed Smith plans to move 225 back office and support employees from their base in the Gulf Tower to 20 Stanwix the first week of May. At the end of the month, over Memorial Day weekend, Reed Smith lawyers will move to 23-story 3 PNC Plaza, still under construction, where the firm will occupy about half of the 780,000-square-foot green building. Reed Smith is currently based at the James H. Reed Building, which Los Angeles-based Mika Realty Group bought last month. It had been on the market for more than a year. “It so happened this opportunity came up in the past couple of months and it worked out — if you pay attention to what’s going on, good things happen,” said Patricia Hiltibidal, Reed Smith chief of office services. “We looked at a whole array of buildings — 11 Stanwix, Chatham Center, we considered staying in the Gulf Tower and even One Oliver was in the mix. We wanted to get as close as we could to 3 PNC. This building is efficient and they talk the talk about being progressive and environmentally friendly, so it had all the bits and pieces we needed.” One bit Reed Smith didn’t get was the 15th floor, “which is National City’s computer room,” Hiltibidal said. Jason Stewart, a broker with the Downtown office of Grubb & Ellis Co., said that National City was fortunate to secure a tenant to fill its sublease so soon after the company put the space on the market. “It’s a sign that the velocity of the market Downtown is maintaining its pace,” Stewart said. “National City was certainly fortunate to snag some of the activity we have seen of late. We are all very positive about what has happened in the last 18 months ... even though there is a bit of financial crisis.” Stewart added that Reed Smith likely secured a much more favorable lease deal that it would have if it had leased other space since sublease space is generally marketed at a discount to the full rate. PNC spokesman Fred Solomon declined comment. PNC has said it expects the integration process to take 23 months and that the bank brands will still be separate when the acquisition closes. National City worked with brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle to lease the space. The bank occupied 10 floors, or 162,889 square feet. Its lease ran to the end of 2017. The Business Times broke the story Oct. 10, two weeks before PNC announced that it was buying National City, which has been struggling since problems with its mortgage portfolio emerged in summer 2007. Hiltibidal said Reed Smith doesn’t anticipate major renovations for the space, which will house its business center, docketing, human resources, information technology and marketing departments. “Because of the nature of the work, there will be lots of work stations,” Hiltibidal said. Approximately 225 employees will make the move, but Reed Smith has also ensured that it has room to grow. Hiltibidal said it expects to add positions and will likely soon have 250 in the new space. Originally, Reed Smith sought 40,000 square feet. “It’s good to have this decided and to find out who’ll sit where and get things rolling the way we want it,” she said. [email protected] | (412) 208-3832 [email protected] | (412) 208-3829 All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
November 13, 200816 yr this is kind of an odd thought... but it is it possible city of pittsburgh loses more jobs out of this than city of cleveland? There is zero PNC presence here... so all branches basically switch names. They've already stated that they want to keep the west park call center, which really leaves the 2,500 downtown cleveland workers at risk. surely they won't all be shown the door. I think it's entirely possible they keep the current NCC building as a PNC regional headquarters and lease out the rest of the space. let's say 1,200 jobs go away (mainly admin, hr, etc). In Pittsburgh's case, I can't imagine they keep open the Nat City Regional Headquarters with PNC's headquarters in town. And there are Nat City branches all over Pittsburgh, I'm sure many with close proximity to PNC branches. Odd, I've spent so much time trying to figure out the ramifications to cleveland, that I never thought of the implications on Pittsburgh. Obviously they gain a larger, stronger, fortune 500 banking conglomerate. But I really think they are going to see a larger area wide job loss than cleveland will.
November 13, 200816 yr this is kind of an odd thought... but it is it possible city of pittsburgh loses more jobs out of this than city of cleveland? There is zero PNC presence here... so all branches basically switch names. They've already stated that they want to keep the west park call center, which really leaves the 2,500 downtown cleveland workers at risk. surely they won't all be shown the door. I think it's entirely possible they keep the current NCC building as a PNC regional headquarters and lease out the rest of the space. let's say 1,200 jobs go away (mainly admin, hr, etc). In Pittsburgh's case, I can't imagine they keep open the Nat City Regional Headquarters with PNC's headquarters in town. And there are Nat City branches all over Pittsburgh, I'm sure many with close proximity to PNC branches. Odd, I've spent so much time trying to figure out the ramifications to cleveland, that I never thought of the implications on Pittsburgh. Obviously they gain a larger, stronger, fortune 500 banking conglomerate. But I really think they are going to see a larger area wide job loss than cleveland will. That's a good point. Pittsburgh is NCC's 3rd largest market (Cleveland, Detroit) and of the 3, is the only one with any overlap. I think percentage wise, comparing NCC employees in Pittsburgh compared to Cleveland, Pittsburgh will be hit harder. I still think the volume willbe greater in Cleveland though. Hopefully people will have opportunity to apply for existing job postings with PNC and priority will be given to former NCC employees.
November 13, 200816 yr Anyone have any idea how many employees work in the NCC Pittsburgh regional headquarters? I'd imagine that those jobs would almost all get eliminated... with the PNC headquarters right there, there has to be a ridiculous amount of job overlapping, and they certainly aren't going to get rid of their own employees before those people. And i really think they'll be walking on eggshells when it comes to job elimination here. I mean they can't come into a market where they have zero presence and put a blowtorch to the downtown headquarters. I mean who is going to put their money in a bank that just decimated your downtowns workforce? Everyone would pull out and march over to key. I think it will be really interesting to see how all this shakes out. If NCC can have a regional headquarters in Pittsburgh, PNC can have one in Cleveland. I think all support jobs have to go (admin, HR, etc), but I bet due to the complicated nature of this merger and trying not to p*ss off their entire new market, job losses here may actually not be as bad as we initially thought. I mean we still lose a fortune 500 bank which really blows any way you look at it... I just have a feeling it may not be as cataclysmic as we all initially projected.
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