Two previous rounds of talks led nowhere, but this time Fleet Financial Group Inc. and BankBoston Corp. made a deal. Their merger will produce the country's eighth-largest bank and will ensure, at least for awhile, that proud Boston continues to have a big hometown bank. The two chief executive officers, Terrence Murray of Fleet and Charles K. Gifford of BankBoston, have gotten to know each other a lot better over the past year, they said in a conference call after the announcement, and that helped smooth the way. So did running models of other possible combinations. Neither liked anything they came up with better than this deal.
People make deals.
Deals are done by people who get together and trust each other. A new name has been staked out, Fleet Boston Corp., but names for different business lines, including the retail bank, will be settled later with the help of consultants. That will give them time to get past the millennium date change. Murray will be CEO until the end of 2001, when Gifford will take over. Until then, he will be president and chief operating officer.