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Union Bankshares and Eastern Virginia Bankshares merge with Richmond banks Date published: 4/30/2009
BY CATHY JETT Union Bankshares and Eastern Virginia Bankshares have long eyed the lucrative Richmond market. Their recent mergers with Richmond-based banks--First Market in Union Bankshares's case and First Capital Bancorp in EVB's--will give them locations there and pay other dividends as well. "Richmond is regarded as a strong, stable, growing market that will rebound stronger than Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia," said Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist and managing director of Capitol Securities Management in Richmond. "Both EVB and Union Bankshares have to get a greater presence in Richmond." Caroline County-based Union Bankshares' largest member, Union Bank & Trust, currently has 43 locations, including some in Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties. But neither it nor Union Bankshares' other member banks have branches within Richmond's city limits. First Market, however, has three branches in downtown Richmond and 26 more in the greater Richmond area, as well as others in such places as Ashland, Chester and Fredericksburg. The bank also has another plus--its headquarters is in Richmond. Union Bankshares, to be renamed Union First Market Bankshares, will relocate its headquarters there from Caroline. G. William Beale, Union Bankshares president, said he will divide his time between his old and new offices. EVB, which has 25 branches throughout the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Central Virginia, will pick up seven First Capital Bank branches in Ashland, Glen Allen and Richmond when it merges with First Capital Bancorp later this year. It will shift its headquarters from Tappahannock to Glen Allen. "When you look at where our bank is, the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, you can see we've been around the Richmond area," said Joe A. Shearin, EVA's president and CEO. "The growth is more in the metro area because we've pretty much saturated the rural areas where we've been since 1919." Merging, of course, will also make both bank-holding companies much larger.
Troubled Asset Relief Program went to both banks before merging. Since First Market bank was private we still don't know how much money it was bleeding prior to this merger.
Union Bank loan default rate jumped in the 4th qtr up over 282% of the prior quarter. So in essence two weak players merged. No mater how you spin it ; has more lending been going on or just more mergers with tis TArp money...
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