Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcu
I just don't get it. When ABN, a Dutch bank, bought up Lasalle we were all complaining that those evil foreigners are coming in and buying up our assets, stealing our jobs, and killing our institutions. Now that an American bank wants to buy Lasalle from ABN, or make it "American" again if you will, we are again complaining. Is this just a matter of fearing what we don't know? Forgetfulness?
And to make things even more interesting, we are now begging a Scottish bank to come in and buy up Lasalle so that an American bank can't get it.
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No. And what you said has nothing at all to do with the real issue.
First, considering that was ABN bought LaSalle in 1979, I doubt many people in this forum even had an opinion or knowledge of it then, so it is irrelevant. If they did, it certainly wasn't because "foreigners" were buying it, but because Chicago was losing a local, independent bank.
What people want is whats good for Chicago. Which would be LaSalle, independent, with its hq in Chicago, (which is better for Chicago's economy) and the local connection that brings civic investment. Under ABN/AMRO, thats how it operated as an indirect subsidiary. It wasn't renamed or merged, it remained independent as the US operations.
Under BofA, LaSalle will be entirely merged, chicago will lose the corporate heaquarters, and will lose much of the LaSalle civic contributions. However, if LaSalle is taken by Royal Bank of Scotland instead, there remains a chance for it to stay an independent Chicago bank like it was under ABN-AMRO before. (and possibly become an even larger bank if RBS's US bank, Citizens, is merged into it)
That is it, simply enough. There is no American-foreign issue here or whatever else you may be trying to imply.