Pittsburgh to get World's Largest Financial Co.?

[PghUSA]

http://www.mellon.com/pressreleases/2005/pr030805.html

Mellon Financial is currently the world's fifth largest financial company, still sitting on most of the 2 billion dollars it got from selling 500 retail locations to Citizens Bank a few years ago and now with close to 600 million more coming in from shedding its profitable but awkward fitting HR division and a steak in a Japanese joint venture, Mellon is posed to make a huge buy very soon, and is announcing as much. That buy might vault the 150 year old firm to become the largest financial company in the world. In the last few years Mellon--the company that founded everything from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC to Alcoa, GM, Viacom/CBS and Chevron/Texaco among others--has moved more and more into the business to business and financial advising/management side of banking but hasn't made a huge buy like some in the financial field have (take Wachovia, BankAmerica or Merrill as examples). Instead it has grown grass roots organically (alas slowly) into regions like Los Angeles, Miami and Boston where skyscrapers now display the Mellon Logo above Rodeo Drive, Biscayne Bay, and The Charles.

Mellon has promised analysts that they will announce their major plan in the next 30-45 days. For a company that already ranks #1 most admired financial, and #1 customer satisfaction and peer rankings . . .

http://www.mellon.com/pressreleases/2005/pr030805.html

. . . deciding on how to deploy that #1 service ranking into the market with close to a $2.5 billion buying power, some are thinking they might be #1 in more then customer satisfaction by the summer.

Trivia for the day: The only man in history to be called to serve as Treasury Chief by THREE different Presidents had as his sole qualification for the post being the Mellon CEO!

[PghUSA]

UPDATE!

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stor...tml?jst=b_ln_hl

Mellon confirms it is going shopping, primarly in Asia, Australia and South America!