_ J.P. Morgan to buy Citi unit Morgan to buy benefits payments provider for $380M cash to strengthen government services offerings. November 26, 2003: 11:15 AM EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said Wednesday it agreed to buy a Citigroup Inc. benefits payments provider for $380 million in cash to strengthen its government services offerings. The Citicorp Electronic Financial Services unit provides government-issue benefits payments, prepaid stored value cards used by state and federal government agencies, and stored value services for private institutions. Stored value cards hold a specific amount of cash or other units that can be spent and then refilled. "The addition of the Electronic Financial Services business enhances our ability to provide a wide range of services to public sector clients, which supports our strategy for growth in this important segment of our industry," Lori Hricik, head of J.P. Morgan Treasury Services, said in a release. The Citicorp unit administers the transfer of funds for projects like the federal Women, Infants, and Children program, better known as WIC, which provides assistance to low-income women, infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk. "Today's announcement underscores our commitment to evaluate our portfolio of businesses and focus on those that are core to the company," Citigroup said in a statement. J.P. Morgan (JPM: down $0.20 to $35.33, Research, Estimates) expects the purchase to close this quarter. Citigroup (C: Research, Estimates) and J.P. Morgan, both based in New York, are two of the largest banks in the United States. _ Copyright 2003 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Re: Re: JP Morgan buy Citiroup unit!!!!!!!! That would be terrible!! From one of the best to one of the worst (prime, anyway)! Like you, GEORGE, that's what I thought at first. My heart was lower than my stomach. I think it was in my feet!
Absolutely right!! Chase is one of the worst prime banks. It's frustrating because sometimes they treat you right and get your hopes up. That usually doesn't last too long...
Actually, I think it's mainly their credit cards that I only keep about two weeks after they buy them out. I had an unsecured line of credit with Chase for over 15 years and it was MOSTLY a good experience. Took them about 15 1/2 years to screw that one up!
