Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which is in a bidding war over LaSalle Bank, said it would be “unlikely” to completely dump the name of Chicago’s No. 2 bank if it were to end up its new owner.
RBS has a track record of using a portfolio of brand names, including Citizens and Charter One in the United States.
That is in contrast to a rival suitor, Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp., which has said it would drop the LaSalle name as it seeks to build a national brand.
The LaSalle name has a 67-year tradition in Chicago, and its fate seems to capture the fancy of casual observers of the bidding as much as how many branches would be closed or jobs eliminated by each respective new owner.
Asked this week whether RBS, too, would retire the LaSalle name, spokeswoman Carolyn McAdam said it would be “unlikely” because RBS, one of the world’s top 10 banks, tends “to adopt a multibrand strategy.”
“We’ve got two of the strongest brands in the UK retail market: Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest,” she said. RBS also uses two insurance brands, Direct Line and Churchill, in the United Kingdom.
“We use brands that are very strong either geographically or in a particular market segment,” McAdam said.
Some question the wisdom of two brands competing in the same market.
Could it switch Charter One to LaSalle in Chicago or Detroit, two current LaSalle strongholds? Or would it keep both names?
“I’m not sure. It’s premature,” she said, noting that all options would be on the table if RBS won LaSalle.
But, she said, “certainly the LaSalle brand is a strong brand in the mid-corporate and commercial market.”
BRANCHING OUT: It has taken 85 years, but Amalgamated Bank, headquartered at 1 W. Monroe St. in Chicago, is opening its first branch with a location in Warrenville at 28600 Bella Vista Parkway. The 2,200-square-foot office has a grand opening May 24.
The bank, founded in 1922, has $665 million in assets. Sherry Dvorak, a 23-year banking veteran most recently with Fifth Third Bank in the western suburbs, will oversee the new branch.
ONLINE GUMSHOE: Interested in sleuthing on your new neighbor, co-worker or friend, such as finding out whether they’ve ever filed for bankruptcy? Want to check on a real estate deal?
A new Web site called CheckIllinois at http://con sumer.public-record.com gives private individuals the chance to check public data.
CheckIllinois was started by Record Information Services Inc., a Kaneville Township-based company that offers public data to professionals and businesses.
Individual searches also can be conducted on foreclosures, state and federal tax liens, divorces, DUIs, suspended and revoked licenses, and probate proceedings.
The number of Illinois counties covered varies depending on the information. It tracks real estate deals in 15 counties, for example, going back as far as 1998 in Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties, and for Cook County since 1999.
Searching is free. When a list of possible records is found, they can be bought for $4.95 each.
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byerak@tribune.com
