In Brief: Triangle of N.C. Has Durham County Deal

Triangle Bancorp of Raleigh, N.C., has a $36 million deal that would move it to sixth place in the Durham County market, from dead last.

The stock deal-Triangle's seventh since 1993-is for $104 million-asset Guaranty State Bancorp. It would push Triangle's assets, just $300 million in 1993, to $1.7 billion.

Michael S. Patterson, Triangle chairman, president, and chief executive officer, said his company has been eyeing Guaranty for some time. And he said there would be other acquisitions.

Triangle will concentrate on western North Carolina, which it entered this year with the acquisition of Bank of Mecklenburg, Charlotte, Mr. Patterson said.

He would like eventually to enter Virginia and South Carolina, too, he said. "Those states have similar markets," he said, "and more opportunities"-because so few large community banks remain in North Carolina. Triangle operates 56 branches in south-central and eastern North Carolina as Triangle Bank, and three in Charlotte as Bank of Mecklenburg. Guaranty operates four branches in Durham; a fifth is under construction.