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By Peter Pae
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 27 1998

Record numbers of mergers transformed the national landscape for financial services in 1997 and the Washington area was no exception as myriad local acquisitions dramatically altered The Washington Post's list of the top 30 financial institutions.

Signet Banking Corp., ranked fifth last year, and Central Fidelity Banks Inc. (No. 6), both of Richmond, disappeared from the list this year after being acquired by major out-of-town banks. They weren't alone. Smaller institutions in the Washington region also were snapped up to create or expand out-of-towners' positions here.

Two other banks, Franklin Bancorporation of the District and George Mason Bankshares Inc. of Fairfax, are in the process of being acquired-Franklin by BB&T Corp. of Winston-Salem, N.C., and George Mason by United Bankshares Inc. of Charleston, W.Va.

Making its first foray into the area, Wachovia Corp. of Winston-Salem grabbed Central Fidelity Banks Inc. for $2.3 billion and Jefferson Bankshares Inc. of Charlottesville for $540 million.

Those acquisitions were followed by First Union Corp.'s snatching of Signet for $3.3 billion in July, propelling the Charlotte bank, the nation's sixth largest, to the top spot in Virginia and No. 3 in the Washington region in market share.

With the entry of the three North Carolina powerhouses to the area, analysts were left wondering which independent bank would be the next to go. The surviving banks, including Crestar Financial Corp. of Richmond and Riggs National Corp. of Washington, continue to be subjects of constant takeover speculation.

Other acquisitions in 1997 included Premier Bankshares Inc. of Bluefield, Va., by First Virginia Banks Inc. of Falls Church, and First Citizens Financial Corp. of Gaithersburg by Provident Bankshares Corp. of Baltimore.

That left a lot of room for smaller banks such as Century Bancshares and Abigail Adams National Bancorp, both of the District, to move into 1998's top 30 list.