Mnc

MNC Financial Inc. chairman Alfred Lerner is taking a decisive step to restore the state's largest banking empire by putting its crown jewel credit-card division on the block. In a world of dwindling options, Mr. Lerner describes the sale as inevitable, saying: "The job we have is to get this place fixed. . . The first way to do that is to recognize what has to be done. . . put the procedures in place. . . and go ahead and do it."He's right. Non-performing loans soared 40 percent in the third quarter and the bad-lending backlash is expected to continue.

To his closest friends, Allfirst Financial Inc. Chairman Frank P. Bramble often talked about leaving the fast-paced world of business at a relatively young age, possibly even to teach. Bramble, 53, is getting his wish, though perhaps not in the unclouded atmosphere he might have desired. Allfirst's Dublin-based parent, Allied Irish Banks PLC, disclosed yesterday that the Allfirst chairman will retire June 1. The announcement of Bramble's impending departure accompanied the findings of an internal AIB probe into $691 million in trading losses at Allfirst, but at the same time absolved him of blame.

MNC Financial Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with federal regulators that gives them a say in the hiring of senior executives and the setting of dividends.The agreement comes as MNC, the parent company of Maryland National Bank, reported a third-quarter loss of $173 million, or $2.05 a share, as the result of the bank holding company's putting $350 million into its reserves for possible credit losses.The company also said it is putting its $1 billion credit card operation on the block to shore up its sagging capital situation.

Alfred Lerner, the executive who rescued MNC Financial Inc. and brokered its sale, purchased an additional 1 million shares of MBNA Corp.'s common stock, bringing his total stake to 13 percent, the company said yesterday.The nation's second-largest credit card lender closed up 75 cents at $36.75, but its value has dropped 14 percent since its high two weeks ago."This appeared to be a unique buying opportunity," said Mr. Lerner, chairman and chief executive of the Wilmington, Del.-based company.

MNC Financial Inc., defying weeks of rumors and the expectations of many who follow the company, said yesterday that it would continue paying its regular quarterly dividend of 29 cents a share while moving forward with a plan to accept a large cash infusion from its biggest shareholder.The decision, reached after a daylong board meeting yesterday, meant not only that a quarter-century of increasing annual dividends remained on track but that the directors apparently felt confident enough in the banking company's financial health to retain the big quarterly payout, observers said.

MNC Financial Inc., enjoying lower interest rates and a slowly improving portfolio of troubled assets, reported yesterday a second-quarter profit of $2 million, based largely on sales of securities.The state's largest banking company, parent of Maryland National Bank and American Security Bank in Washington, D.C., managed to exceed the estimates of several analysts, who had predicted the company would lose money in the quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research.For the three months ended June 30, MNC said it earned $1.99 million, less than a penny a share, compared with a loss of $82.3 million, or 96 cents a share, in last year's second quarter.

In an effort to improve its cash position, MNC Financial Inc. has announced definitive agreements to sell its leasing operation and four industrial banks in Colorado for a total of $300 million.The announcement comes as MNC, the parent company of Maryland National Bank, is trying to recover from bad real estate loans that were the primary cause of a $241.9 million loss in the first nine months of the year.MNC faces a deadline today for a new agreement with a bank syndicate headed by Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. on the terms of a $750 million line of credit.

Thanks to a last-minute sale of assets, MNC Financial Inc. temporarily skirted its own sort of credit crunch yesterday as the giant banking company paid off investors holding $170 million in debt and extended its line of credit with a syndicate of lenders.The completion of the two deals averted defaults on both the notes and the credit facility, which could have forced MNC to immediately repay the entire $550 million owed to a group of banks led by Morgan Guaranty Trust Co.MNC, parent of Maryland National Bank and American Security Bank in Washington, said it paid some of its outstanding debt with the $275 million it received from the 11th-hour completion of the sale of its equipment-leasing division to General Electric Capital Corp.

MNC Financial Inc. said yesterday that it would cut back its international banking business as part of a broader restructuring to downsize the bank. It will lay off as many as 30 people and close offices in Hong Kong, Brazil and Luxembourg.The company, whose international division once had nearly 100 employees, has already closed a London office.Hugh A. Woltzen, MNC Executive vice president, said the company has been scaling back its international business for several months and plans to concentrate its future international RTC business on providing letters of credit and other fee-based services.

With the renegotiation of a crucial credit line and the sale of its leasing division, MNC Financial Inc. has cleared some important hurdles. But the Baltimore bank-holding company will face more challenges in the weeks ahead.MNC, the parent company of Maryland National Bank, yesterday announced that it has a new agreement with a syndicate of banks headed by Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. of New York. Under the new terms, MNC yesterday repaid $175 million of the outstanding balance on a line of credit and must repay the remaining $375 million on Jan. 14.Separately, MNC also paid $170 million in notes that came due yesterday.

Two years ago when NationsBank Corp. took over Baltimore-based MNC Financial Inc., one of the hottest properties that came with the deal was Susan C. Keating.She had risen quickly to become executive vice president of MNC, where she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the bank and thousands of employees. She was one of the highest-ranking women in banking in the state, and, more importantly, she was widely viewed as bright, savvy and so well-connected in the community that she could bring business to NationsBank.

Now the branch signs are changed. Now the ATMs sport the NationsBank logo, instead of Maryland National's. And now the operators have stopped greeting callers with, "Maryland National-soon-to-be-NationsBank, may I help you?"A year after its parent was purchased by the Charlotte, N.C., banking company, Maryland National Bank is now NationsBank.The company has become part of the nation's fourth-largest bank, an institution that has grown phenomenally in the past five years based on two driving forces: a strategy, borrowed from the fast-food industry, of efficiency through nationwide standardization; and the ego and vision of the company's chairman, Hugh L. McColl Jr.But despite a statewide advertising campaign launched this month, many Marylanders can be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.

NationsBank Corp. reported a sharp increase in first-quarter earnings yesterday, partly because of its acquisitions of financial companies such as Baltimore-based MNC Financial Inc.The Charlotte, N.C.-based company, the nation's third-largest bank holding company, said its earnings for the three months ended March 31 were $417 million, a 48 percent gain over earnings of the same period in 1993. Last year's first-quarter profit of $281 million does not include a $200 million gain stemming from a change in accounting for income taxes.

As the bard once said, this was the year that was. It was a year of soaring stock markets, mushrooming mutual funds and resurgent banks. Some of Maryland's biggest and smallest lenders fell victim to the merger frenzy that is consolidating the industry. Many got rich off this activity, and some of the state's most prominent executives disappeared from the scene.Here's a baker's dozen of trivia questions covering some of the year's events in finance, both high and low. The answers can be found on Page 16D. Consider yourself a Maryland finance aficionado if you can answer more than half the questions.

The check is in the mail . . . finally.Only 14 months after it was approved by a federal judge, a settlement between the former MNC Financial Inc. and some of its shareholders is bearing fruit.Shareholders who bought MNC stock between January 1989 and February 1991 began to receive checks yesterday as settlement to a class-action lawsuit filed in 1990 against the company, which since has been acquired by NationsBank Corp.The suit alleged that MNC failed to inform the public of the large problems facing the company starting in 1989, problems that culminated in large losses and drove the price of its stock from a peak of almost $30 a share in October 1989 to less than $3 a share by February 1991.

Sale of MNC unit takes another stepThe dismantling of MNC Financial Inc.'s empire proceeds apace.Yesterday, NationsBank Corp. announced it signed a letter of intent to proceed with the previously announced sale of MNC's stock transfer unit to Chemical Banking Corp. of New York. The unit handles stockholder relations duties for corporate clients, including issuing and registering stock certificates, paying dividends and keeping records. It employs about 60 people in Baltimore.The companies didn't disclose the purchase price or the fate of the unit's employees.

MNC Financial Inc.'s decision to suspend dividends on its preferred stock more than a year ago has led to defaulted payments of more than $9 million and has required the election of two new directors to the board, according to the company's proxy statement.The statement, released Friday, asks preferred shareholders to vote for two new directors that the 20-member board has nominated to represent preferred shareholders.One of those prospective directors doesn't even own preferred stock in MNC, Maryland's largest banking company.

War in the Middle East could hamper MNC Financial Inc.'s sale of stock in its credit-card operation this month to raisemoney to pay debts, according to analysts."

NationsBank Corp. reported yesterday that its third-quarter operations were among the strongest in the company's history.The Charlotte, N.C.-based company's net income dropped slightly during the third quarter, but mostly because of a one-time charge due to its acquisition of Baltimore-based MNC Financial Inc.Excluding that $30 million charge as well as other one-time items, the nation's fourth-largest banking company reported a 56 percent gain in income...

Frank P. Bramble Sr., who helped lead MNC Financial Inc. through its darkest days and delivered a far healthier company into the hands of NationsBank Corp. one week ago, unexpectedly announced yesterday that he would leave the company by the end of the year.Citing his desire to be the leader of a company again, MNC's former president and chief executive said he planned to spend his time looking for a new job, and helping coach his sons' basketball team. "I've missed too many games lately," he said yesterday.