Newspaper Stung by Hoax: First Chicago Corp.,...

Newspaper Stung by Hoax: First Chicago Corp., the nation’s 13th-largest bank holding company, described as a hoax a Minneapolis Star Tribune story that allegedly disclosed a possible banking deal based on an interview with its president. The story said Richard Thomas, president of First Chicago, disclosed in an interview that his bank would like to buy First Bank System of Minneapolis for no more than $1.4 billion. First Chicago said Thomas “has not commented publicly on any specific potential acquisition opportunities.” A spokeswoman for the Star Tribune said: “We screwed up.”