Chase Manhattan Bank said it would add 500,000 cardholders and $350 million of receivables by acquiring the Bell Atlantic Visa credit card program.
The New York-based bank said Thursday it will purchase the portfolio from First Omni Bank, a subsidiary of First Maryland Bancorp of Baltimore, and merge it with the Chase Nynex card program in the first quarter of 1998.
The deal followed last week's completion of the Nynex-Bell Atlantic merger, creating a single Baby Bell company serving the region from Maine to Virginia.
Financial details of the card agreement were not released. The cards will carry the Bell Atlantic name with the blue Bell logo.
"It became obvious as the talks between Nynex and Bell Atlantic progressed that we would have to rethink our agreement," said Joan Gillespie, a spokeswoman for First Omni.
Because First Omni's marketing is concentrated in the Middle Atlantic states, she said, the bank was not well placed to serve the expanded Bell Atlantic market.
First Omni will continue to provide customer service and billing on the Bell Atlantic cards until March 1998.
Like Bell Atlantic customers, Nynex's 100,000 cardholders receive rebates on card purchases that can be applied to their phone bills.
Chase is evaluating its approach to enhancements for when both rewards structures are combined next year, said Charlotte Gilbert-Biro, a Chase spokeswoman. u
