Financial sector mergers affect local operations

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Mergers in the financial sector continue to affect business in Springfield. A local customer service call center, First Card, has doubled its size as a result of one merger, and a mortgage office, Source One, is joining Citibank as as result of acquisition by Citibank.

First Card will soon be First USA. The Springfield customer service call center is implementing changes as a result of a merger between its parent company, First Chicago NBD, and Bank One. First Card is the credit card component of First Chicago's business, and First USA is the credit card division of Bank One.

As of March 31, the call center had begun the conversion to First USA, and it will be training its work force, now 800 strong, to use the First USA equipment and receive calls concerning the First USA portfolio.

"For some time, we will be servicing only the First USA portfolio after the staff is trained on First USA's program. Eventually we will begin servicing the First Card products again, probably in the fall," said Patricia Vitello, manager of the Springfield center.

Within the next few months, the sign on the building's outside will change to read First USA, as will the signs and materials inside the center. For now, the workers at the center are servicing both First Card and First USA accounts.

The call center is one of 10 in the consolidated Bank One group; First Card had three other centers, in Indianapolis, Ind., Long Island, N.Y., and Elgin, Ill. The other six centers were part of the First USA group and they are in Wilmington, Del., Frederick, Md., Austin, Texas, Orlando, Fla., Tempe, Ariz., and Columbus, Ohio.

In addition to the changes in function as a result of the merger, the Springfield call center has also had some changes to its staff and its physical structure. The staff of the center is nearly double what it would have been if the merger had not occurred, Vitello said.

The center is now up to 800 employees, with plans to expand to 1,500 eventually. By this time, the center had expected to have 250 employees. It had an accelerated hiring phase during the fall and winter to staff up for the merger.

"The company has identified this site for growth," Vitello said.

The call center is adding two three-story wings that will provide space for additional staff and room to spread the existing staff out somewhat. Vitello said the staff is now using "every nook and cranny" in the building. The lower floor of one of the wings will also be used as a commons area, with a multipurpose auditorium and "fun zone," or recreation room, Vitello said.

The additions, now under construction by Walton Construction, will be complete in October.

Though Bank One announced the week of March 29 that it would cut about 4,500 jobs from its work force as a result of the merger with First Chicago, Vitello said the Springfield call center would not likely be affected.

"We won't be affected. ... This site will continue to grow for the reasons First Card chose Springfield to locate in to begin with, the strong work force, good work ethic and good business community," Vitello said.

Originally, it was to have been five years before the second wing of the First Card building would go up. Now, with just over a year in Springfield, both wings are going up.

"The merger has been very positive for us all. We want everyone in the community to know that we're growing, but at the same time we're providing the same value to our customers and employees. We still have the same values and beliefs and commitment to our customers," Vitello said.

During the late fourth quarter, the call center will hire additional staff, possible 100 or so employees, Vitello said. Those jobs will be the customer service jobs the center has offered in the past. In coming months, however, the center plans to hire staff for a collections department.

Though the center was to remain only a customer service center for some time, the decision was made to add collections to the mix of services performed in Springfield.

"The current plan is to add a small collections department in the center. We don't know yet what age of accounts we will be collecting on, whether they'll be three- to six-months-old, or write-offs, which is seven months or older," Vitello said.

The call center now operates 6 a.m.-2 a.m., seven days a week, and those hours will probably remain, Vitello said.

"There's a relatively small demand for 24-hour centers; the volume of calls between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. is small," Vitello said.

The Springfield center had the lowest annualized turnover of any of the Bank One call center sites at 18 percent. Vitello said that was a reflection of the center's "commitment to attracting the right employees for these jobs."

Source One will participate in a merger of its own, following an announcement March 25 that Citibank Mortgage will acquire the Michigan-based consumer lending company. Source One has an office in Springfield that employs seven. The office has been in Springfield since 1992; Source One has been around since 1946.

Company spokeswoman Helen Steblecki said there would be no immediate changes to the Springfield office. The deal is set to close during the second quarter of 1999.

Source One also has offices in St. Louis and Kansas City. Steblecki said she did not yet know whether the Source One name would be retained following the close of the merger.

The acquisition will make Citibank Mortgage the ninth largest mortgage originator in the United States. Citibank Mortgage, a division of Citigroup, is based in St. Louis.

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