A new set of signs could crop up in the Cape Girardeau banking scene soon.

With the merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica, a new name may be selected for NationsBank operations, says Bob Stickler, a NationsBank spokesman.

The new holding company in the merger of the third and fourth largest banks in the nation will be BankAmerica Corp., added Stickler. "We haven't arrived at a new name for the banking operations yet."

The red, white and blue signs of NationsBank went up in Cape Girardeau and the Southeast Missouri area in June of 1997, replacing the old red and white signs of the former Boatman's Bank.

The merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica, proposed in April of this year, moved a step closer to completion late Thursday when NationsBank Corp. shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger. Almost 98 percent voted in favor of the merger at their meeting in San Francisco.

BankAmerica Corp. shareholders also approved the merger, which the company said would be completed after the close of business Wednesday.

The merger won final regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve in August, allowing creation of the largest bank in the United States and third largest in the world.

But the combined entity, which will operate under the BankAmerica name, may enjoy its position as king of the U.S. financial hill only temporarily.

The new BankAmerica Corp. holding company will issue 1.1316 new shares for each share currently held by BankAmerica stockholders. NationsBank stockholders automatically own shares in the new company.

"We are excited to create the premier U.S. bank with leadership positions in many of the nation's fastest growing markets," said Hugh L. McColl Jr., NationsBank chief executive. "The new company will have wider, more diversified sources of revenues, greater efficiency and an enhanced ability to serve our customers."

McColl will be chairman and chief executive officer of the new company, which will be based in Charlotte, N.C.

NationsBank, with 308 billion assets, is currently the third largest U.S. bank with full-service operations in 15 states and the District of Columbia, providing services to 18 million households and a million businesses as well as institutional investors and government agencies throughout the U.S. and in many major markets in the world.

The new BankAmerica Corp. will operate 4,800 branch offices in 27 states and 38 overseas nations, and more than 14,000 automated teller machines. It will control assets of $580 billion and 8 percent of the nation's federally insured deposits.

NationsBank has 919 million shares. BankAmerica has 717 million shares.

The mergers has been described variously as a $62.8 billion merger, a $57.2 billion merger and a $47.7 billion merger.

"All of these figures were correct at the time they were mentioned," said Stickler.

"Today, it could be described as a $44.5 billion deal... This is a stock option merger," he said. "The total amount depends on the value of the shares on a particular day."