Word: lender
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...reach across borders for merger partners, the better to compete with America's megabanks. But a funny thing happened on the way to banking consolidation: nothing. Except for a few small deals, such as the 2000 takeovers of Bank Austria by Munich-based HVB, and Unidanmark by Swedish-Finnish lender MeritaNordbanken, banks have preferred to merge with homegrown rivals rather than competitors abroad. Until last week, that is, when the first big European cross-border deal was finally unveiled. Banco Santander Central Hispano, Spain's largest bank, agreed to buy British mortgage lender Abbey National for approximately €13.4 billion...
...remarkably little patience for having his head shrunk. Ever since Dimon was pushed out of Citigroup in 1998 by CEO Sandy Weill, his mentor and friend, and became CEO of Chicago-based Bank One, Wall Streeters have speculated that he had something to prove. By turning the beleaguered lender into a financial-services powerhouse, the thinking went, Dimon would demonstrate just how essential he had been in helping build Citigroup. Perhaps he would even eventually merge Bank One with Citigroup and succeed Weill in a final act of redemption. But as recently as last summer, Dimon was dismissing this theory...
...when Weill took over a third-rate consumer lender named Commercial Credit, Dimon was also demonstrating the painstaking attention to detail, ruthless cost cutting and savvy dealmaking that would become his trademark. Instead of just signing off on real estate leases, Dimon would pick some and read them line by line. The high-decibel debates that took place in the corridors between Dimon and Weill were legendary and "the most fun we had," says Robert Lipp, a former colleague and now a member of the Bank One board...
STACK YOUR HAND Although it's never a bad idea to check with your bank, you are likely to find the best rate from an online lender that specializes in auto financing. Market leader Capital One Auto Financing (capitalone. com) is currently offering a 36-month new-car loan at 3.85% and a 60-month loan at 4.29%. The other place to snag a good deal is from a credit union. The average rate credit unions charge on a 48-month new-car loan is 4.7% (the average bank rate is 6.5 %). You have to join a credit union...
...small matter at a company with an intense culture of ownership. That culture keeps executives fixated on creating value and has helped generate remarkable returns for shareholders. Those who have stood by Weill since he invested $6 million of his own money and gained control of consumer lender Commercial Credit in 1986 have earned about six times the market average, a stellar run that, until last year's string of scandals, produced the "Weill premium"--a higher share price relative to earnings for Weill's companies than for peer companies...