First Union Promotes Exec To Fill Void Left by Larsen

Charles L. Coltman has been tapped to head global corporate banking at First Union Corp., succeeding former CoreStates Financial Corp. chairman Terrence A. Larsen, the company said Monday.

Mr. Coltman, a First Union executive vice president, will be based in Philadelphia and report to First Union chairman Edward E. Crutchfield.

Though he was a vice chairman at CoreStates, Mr. Coltman will not retain this title at First Union, the company said.

Mr. Coltman won his new responsibilities as a result of Friday's sudden announcement that Mr. Larsen would leave First Union ahead of schedule, on July 1. Mr. Larsen, 51, was named vice chairman of Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union after it bought Philadelphia-based CoreStates last month. He was expected to have an important role heading corporate banking for the $172 billion-asset company.

In an interview Monday, Mr. Larsen said he never intended to stay for any significant period at First Union. He said he told Mr. Crutchfield last month that he wanted to leave by yearend.

Mr. Larsen acknowledged that his departure severs some of the ties First Union claimed it would maintain with the Philadelphia community. "It cuts both ways," Mr. Larsen said. "I'm a symbolic link with CoreStates. On the other hand, my presence is an excuse for holding on to the past and not looking to the future."

Mr. Larsen said First Union has kept its commitment to add more than 3,000 jobs in the Philadelphia area even as it cuts other positions.

While acquiring CoreStates, First Union suffered considerable public relations problems in Philadelphia. Community groups, politicians, and customers expressed outrage at losing the last large financial institution headquartered in the city to an outside company.

Now that the deal has closed, some Philadelphians expressed concern and bewilderment that Mr. Larsen was leaving after what had seemed to be a strong commitment to stay.

One city councilman said the announcement further strains relations between the community and First Union. "Ultimately people thought, 'Fine, we can't stop the merger, but at least people we know and respect are still going to be over there,'" said Philadelphia City Councilman Michael A. Nutter.

Mr. Nutter said he was worried about First Union's commitment to Philadelphia. He has introduced legislation that would end the city's banking relations with First Union. CoreStates, First Union, and several other Philadelphia banks have been depositories for city funds.

Kenneth L. Tepper, president and CEO of $125 million-asset BankPhiladelphia, said losing Mr. Larsen would be bad for First Union.

"Philadelphians are unbelievably parochial people," Mr. Tepper said. "If you're going to do business in a city like Philadelphia, you do it with Philadelphians."

Another rival banker said he wasn't surprised to see Mr. Larsen resign, but he thought the timing, so soon after the closing of the deal, was peculiar. "I thought First Union was more practiced at these things," he said.

Mr. Larsen will be a First Union board member for one year from June.

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