NCB wipes off the booger

Our friends over at CLEVELANDADA brought this to my attention:

CLEVELAND, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National City Corporation(NYSE: NCC) has announced the completion of the sale of the First Franklin origination franchise and related servicing platform to Merrill Lynch & Co.(NYSE: MER), effective Dec. 30, 2006. First Franklin is a leading originator of non-prime residential mortgage loans through a nationwide wholesale network.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030428/NATIONALCITYLOGO)
Under terms of the agreement, Merrill Lynch paid a $1.3 billion purchase price for the San Jose, Calif.-based First Franklin, and affiliated business units, Pittsburgh-based National City Home Loan Services and NationPoint, headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif.
About National City National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC), headquartered in Cleveland,Ohio, is one of the nation's largest financial holding companies. The company operates through an extensive banking network primarily in Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania,and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its core businesses include commercial and retail banking, mortgage financing and servicing, consumer finance and asset management. For more information about National City, visit the company's Web site at http://www.nationalcity.com.

SOURCE National City Corporation

National City Bank to reward customers

National City Bank to reward customers: This was a PLAIN DEALER front-page item last Friday:

"...National City last year went on a mission, saying it planned to boost profits by hundreds of millions of dollars a year by increasing revenue and cutting expenses. Profits last year dropped by 29 percent after the bank enjoyed blockbuster years during the refinance boom.
With its points program, National City wants mostly to expand the business it does with existing customers. But the points program is also aimed at attracting new customers, both consumers and small businesses.
National City, one of the 10 largest banks nationwide, declined to say how much the rewards program will cost but said it's expected to be profitable in the second year.... "

"...It used to be open a new account and get a toaster," said Woker, of Morningstar Inc. But rewards like Bose stereos, mountain bikes and restaurant gift cards - all of which National City is offering - are a big step up, he said.
The venture demonstrates the value in getting low-cost or no-cost deposits that the bank can lend to others, he said, and shows how much banks love having customers with multiple accounts. "They'll be locked into your bank potentially for decades," Woker said....