BankAmerica Corp. and Mellon Bank Corp. on Thursday separately announced initiatives in public finance.
BankAmerica said it formed a government services division. Mellon purchased the public finance business of Scheetz, Smith & Co., a Pittsburg-based investment banking firm.
Charles L. Bell, group executive vice president of BankAmerican's commercial business group, said the goal is to boraden the bank's "outreach to the government and public agency sectors of the economy."
Larry F. Clyde, executive vice president of capital markets for Mellon Bank said its transaction would strengthen the bank's service to sate and local governments and boarden the geographic reach of Sheetz, which had $4 million of revenue last year.
Executive vice president Frank Abrahma was named to head the new BankAmerica unit, Mr. Abraham, 43, joined BankAmerica in 1992, when it merged with Secrity Pacific Corp. where he had been employed for 19 years. He will be based in Los Angeles. He had been senior credit officer for Bank of America Texas.
