NationsBank Plans Acquisition

NationsBank will acquire most of the assets of Chrysler First Inc., creating the nation’s second-largest consumer finance business owned by a bank, the bank announced Tuesday.

Pending regulatory approval, the new entity, called NationsCredit, will begin after a transition expected to end by mid-1993, the bank said.

“We have an ambitious growth goal that requires external in addition to internal expansion,” said Hugh McColl, president and chief executive of NationsBank Corp. “NationsCredit will result in a powerful market presence for NationsBank in the consumer and inventory finance businesses.”

Under the deal, NationsBank would acquire “substantially all” of Chrysler First’s assets and some of its liabilities.

Chrysler First, based in Allentown, Pa., is the non-automotive consumer finance subsidiary of Chrysler Financial Corp.

NationsBank, based in Charlotte, is the fourth-largest banking company in the United States with $118 billion in assets.

The sale must still be approved by the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Reserve System, Chrysler Financial officials said.