Fed Schedules Hearings on Bids for First Interstate

The Federal Reserve Board will hold separate hearings on bids by First Bank System Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. to buy First Interstate Bancorp.

The hearings, announced Thursday, will focus on the community impact of each bid and the Community Reinvestment Act performance of each institution.

The hearing on Wells' hostile bid will take place Jan. 22 at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Los Angeles branch office, and the one on First Bank System's $10 billion agreement to buy First Interstate will occur Jan. 23 at the San Francisco Fed.

The Justice Department announced last month that it is looking into the competitive impact of Wells Fargo's bid for First Interstate. The two banks' operations overlap in 37 of 48 California markets.

The Fed announcement was not unexpected, since the central bank has held hearings on other recent large-bank deals, including Chemical Banking Corp.'s planned merger with Chase Manhattan Corp., and Fleet Financial Group's recently completed merger with Shawmut National Corp.

The move, analysts said, also appears to place Wells Fargo's bid on a similar timeline as First Bank's, making it possible for First Interstate's shareholders to vote on both offers at the same meeting.

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