CHARLOTTE, N.C. - There will be few readily noticeable effects following the Massachusetts Board of Bank Incorporation's March 31 approval of the merger between Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial, the last bureaucratic hurdle standing in the way of the historic deal.
"It's more of a legal event,' said Fleet spokesman James Mahoney in a Boston Herald report.
One exception: the newly combined ATM network.
Beginning April 1, customers of both banks can use nearly 16,500 ATMs across the country to make cash withdrawals without incurring ATM fees. For example, a Bank of America customer can now withdraw cash from a Fleet ATM in New York City without incurring fees and a Fleet customer can do the same in Dallas at a Bank of America machine.
Signage will begin to change to the Bank of America brand during the third quarter, and the changeover will be complete by 2005's first quarter.
There will be no immediate effects on telephone, online or branch banking. Fleet customers will continue to use their Fleet credit, debit and ATM cards.
The combined company's shares continued to be listed on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges as Bank of America Corporation under the ticker symbol BAC. Certain shares are also listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The merger creates the fourth most profitable company in the world, based on 2003 pro forma results, and the world's second-largest banking company with approximately $96.5 billion in equity and a $166 billion market cap.
