BOATMEN'S ANNOUNCES PLANS TO ACQUIRE ALBUQUERQUE COMPANY

ST. LOUIS Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. and Sunwest Financial Services Inc. have announced that Boatmen's will acquire the Albuquerque-based bank holding company, which has assets of about $3.4 billion.

Under terms of the merger agreement, Boatmen's will issue 0.7722 shares of its common stock for each of Sunwest's 9.8 million shares outstanding.

The acquisition, which is expected to be completed in the fall, is subject to approvals by Sunwest shareholders and regulatory agencies.

"Sunwest Financial meets all our acquisition criteria," said Andrew B. Craig III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Boatmen's. "It marks our entry into New Mexico and provides further geographic diversity to our earnings base."

Craig said Sunwest holds the leading market share in New Mexico, with almost 30 percent of the state's bank assets and larger percentages in major markets such as Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

"Moreover, Sunwest furthers other strategy initiatives such as our emphasis on retail growth, with a strong deposit base, a wide-ranging ATM network and a solid credit-card portfolio," he said.

The executive said, "Attractive opportunities exist in trust and other fee-income areas. Last, and most important, the company has a strong management team that will remain in place and the bank will continue to operate under the `Sunwest' name.

The acquisition of the bank won't cost employees their jobs, at least initially, said Ike Kalangis, president and chief executive officer of Sunwest. "We are pleased to join Boatmen's, which is one of the best capitalized bank holding companies in the country," he said.

"Our affiliation will permit us to offer a wider range of products to better serve our customers' financial need," Kalangis said. "We especially look forward to growth opportunities in the trust area since Boatmen's is among the nation's 12 largest providers of trust services."

Sunwest employs 2,500 people. Boatmen's said it plans to keep Sunwest's management team, including the presidents of its 13 banks in New Mexico and Texas.

Boatmen's has assets of about $18 billion and is among the nation's 50 largest bank holding companies. It operates more than 220 facilities in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

Boatmen's has agreements to acquire First Interstate of Iowa and Superior Federal Bank based in Fort Smith, Ark., which represent a total of about $2 billion in assets.

Sunwest lost nearly $2 million in 1990 but rebounded to post earnings of $12.4 million in 1991. As the largest bank holding company in New Mexico, it has assets of $3.4 billion and deposits of $2.9 billion, and operates banks in 12 New Mexico communities and in El Paso, Texas.