At that time the bank had 610 free-standing branches, making it the second-largest bank in the country by branch network.

In the banking sector last month, the Government auctioned off the nation's second-largest bank to private investors for $500 million.

Mitsubishi Tokyo, Japan's second-largest bank, is also considered its strongest.

The nation's second-largest bank also took the humbling step of cutting its stock dividend by more than 50 percent.

The combined assets of the two banks are about $531 billion, which would make the new entity Japan's second-largest bank and the seventh largest worldwide.

Economists at Switzerland's second-largest bank predict a recession in 2009.

Dresdner is Germany's second-largest bank but has lacked a strong presence in international investment banking.

Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank with large consumer operations, also reported third-quarter profit yesterday.

That deal created what would be renamed Nationsbank and was, at the time, the second-largest bank in the country.

This would give the bank $600 million in assets, making it the second-largest bank based in Charlotte.