Crestar acquiring accounts from 10 Mellon branches Expansion of operations in D.C. suburbs

Crestar Financial Corp. said yesterday that it has reached an agreement to acquire the deposits, customer accounts and select loans of 10 Mellon Bank branches in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties.

The acquisition will initially bring to Crestar about $220 million in deposits and 17,400 customer households.

Crestar did not disclose the purchase price.

The move is the latest effort by Richmond, Va.-based Crestar to expand its Maryland operations. The $18.3 billion-asset banking company agreed Wednesday to acquire the Ryland Funding Group, the wholesale mortgage banking operation of Columbia-based Ryland Group Inc.'s mortgage subsidiary.

Last year, Crestar acquired Loyola Capital Corp., a Baltimore-based thrift with $2.5 billion in assets, and six branches of the Chase Manhattan Bank of Maryland.

The Mellon acquisition is expected to be completed during the second quarter of the year.

Mellon Bank is based in Rockville and operates as a unit of Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank Corp.

Crestar said it intends to offer jobs to the employees of the Mellon branches, either at their current locations or at nearby Crestar facilities.