SAN FRANCISCO - Banc One Corp. has adopted a four-part program to boost efficiency and rev up performance, according to chairman and chief executive John B. McCoy.
Speaking at an investors conference here sponsored by Montgomery Securities, Mr. McCoy said Monday that initiatives in internal consolidation, asset-liability management, acquisitions, and revenue production are "the key things that will shape the next couple of years" for the nation's eighth-largest bank company.
Columbus, Ohio-based Banc One has been an industry standout for a decade. But as its growth rate has slowed and its performance advantage over peers declined, the company's stock has dropped about 30% from its 1993 high.
One reason Banc One has lost momentum is that its cost-control record is only average. To remedy that, Mr. McCoy said, the company is junking its philosophy of decentralization.
Currently, the company operates 81 separately chartered banks in a 13-state network.
Over five years, "we will go to one charter in each state," Mr. McCoy said. Back-office consolidations already under way will save $125 million in 1994 and $200 million in 1995, he added.
Banc One is slightly more than 3% liability sensitive, meaning that imbalances in the repricing periods of assets and liabilities make it vulnerable to rising interest rates, a position that cost the company $120 million this year, Mr. McCoy noted.
The company is moving toward a more nearly neutral 1% liability sensitivity, he said. As a result, it will lose $9 million in the third quarter on the sale of securities.
Mr. McCoy said he will personally concentrate on building Banc One's revenue during the next five years. Internal reorganization will promote revenue production, he predicted, by freeing local executives from back-office responsibilities, allowing them to concentrate on customers.
Acquisitions remain central to Banc One's strategy, Mr. McCoy stressed, but the company's pace soon may slow. "Stock prices have been pushed together, and there is no ability to pay premiums," he said.
