Wachovia
Wachovia Corporation began on June 16, 1879 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the Wachovia National Bank. The bank was co-founded by James Alexander Gray and William Lemly. In 1911, the bank merged with Wachovia Loan and Trust Company, "the largest trust company between Baltimore and New Orleans", which had been founded on June 15, 1893. Wachovia grew to become one of the largest banks in the Southeast partly on the strength of its accounts from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which was also headquartered in Winston-Salem. On December 12, 1986, Wachovia purchased First Atlanta. Founded as Atlanta National Bank on September 14, 1865, and later renamed to First National Bank of Atlanta, this institution was the oldest national bank in Atlanta. This purchase made Wachovia one of the few companies with dual headquarters: one in Winston-Salem and one in Atlanta. In 1991, Wachovia entered the South Carolina market by acquiring South Carolina National Corporation, founded as the Bank of Charleston in 1834. In 1998, Wachovia acquired two Virginia-based banks, Jefferson National Bank and Central Fidelity Bank. In 1997, Wachovia acquired both 1st United Bancorp and American Bankshares Inc, giving its first entry into Florida. In 2000, Wachovia made its final purchase, which was Republic Security Bank.
Bank One Corporation
Banc One's first acquisition in a state that did not share a common border with the state of Ohio occurred in 1987 with the acquisition of Marine Corporation, the third-largest bank holding company in Wisconsin, after First Wisconsin Corporation and Marshall & Ilsley Corporation. The result of this merger brought into organization 21 banks and 76 offices in Wisconsin with Marine Corp. being renamed Banc One Wisconsin Corp. and each of the subsidiary Marine Banks were renamed Bank One along their respective affiliated geographical based name. The lead bank, Marine Bank, N.A., became Bank One Milwaukee. The merger came about Marine was trying to resist an unwanted acquisition attempt by Marshall & Ilsley that was initiated in June 1987 which would have resulted in massive firings.