Former Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. executives are seeking $1 billion to fund a new bank that would acquire failing lenders from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Milton Jones Jr., who retired from Bank of America in September as Georgia market president, would be chief executive of the proposed Blue Ridge Bank NA, the group said in its application to the FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Blue Ridge hired FBR Capital Markets Inc. to help raise money, the application said.
"Through indications of interest from investors, the company will have the capacity of up to $1 billion in funding through its initial capital base," the application said.
Blue Ridge's organizers include Edward Brown 3rd, former president of corporate and investment banking at Bank of America; Walter Davis, former executive vice president of retail credit and direct lending at Wachovia; and Charles Williams, former chief administrative officer of Bank of America's capital markets unit. Also listed as a proposed director is former Wachovia board member Robert Brown, a High Point, N.C., public relations consultant.
