ASB branches are located throughout the state, with a strong presence in both the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Having a larger number of competitors, including credit unions, stock brokerages and other nonbanks, ASB's profit margins have not been as strong as Washington Mutual's. Even so, that is not a bad foundation for WaMu to build on. It also expects to keep most of ASB's management team and branch employees, although there will be some layoffs in administration. U.S. Bank, for example, has successfully ventured into Northern California, but plans to go no further south than the San Francisco Bay Area.
Some observers raise doubts.
Because it's the biggest state in the country, and the seventh-largest economy in the world, it is attractive. But it is a challenging environment for a new player with big ambitions. Pressed for comment, representatives of Bank of America and Wells Fargo both say American Savings already is a respected institution, with a tradition of providing loans to low-income neighborhoods and communities. They say they are not concerned about its new owners. Our research shows huge numbers of people want an alternative to those huge organizations.