WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Board last week gave Keycorp of Cleveland, Ohio, permission to acquire the Burlington-based Bank of Vermont.
The acquisition will leave Keycorp in control of about $61.7 billion of consolidated assets and $42.9 billion of deposits. It is the country's 10th-largest commercial banking organization.
The Fed dismissed several Community Reinvestment Act complaints opposing the merger, noting that all of the company's 14 rated institutions had received either "outstanding" or "satisfactory" CRA grades.
The Fed also refused to hold a public hearing on the CRA complaints. The governors said in their Dec. 19 decision that the protesters had had ample opportunity to present their claims in writing. Keycorp has three months to complete the acquisition.
Also Dec. 19, the central bank gave China Trust Holdings of the Netherlands Antilles and several affiliates permission to acquire Trans Bankcorp and its Trans National Bank subsidiary, both of Monterey Park, Calif.
The acquisition gives China Trust's U.S. affiliates control of more than $430 million of deposits.
