CALIFORNIA : BRIEFLY / FINANCIAL SERVICES : Fleet, BankBoston to Sell 306 Branches

Fleet Financial Group Inc., the ninth-largest U.S. bank holding company, received U.S. antitrust clearance to buy BankBoston Corp. after agreeing to the largest sale of branches in U.S. history. Fleet and BankBoston, both based in Boston, agreed to sell 306 branches in four states to allay concerns that the $15-billion acquisition would hurt competition, the Justice Department said. The transaction still requires approval from U.S. bank regulators. The divestitures will occur in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Fleet is expected to announce as early as Tuesday that it’s selling about 280 branches with about $12 billion in deposits to Sovereign Bancorp, the third-largest banking company in Pennsylvania, according to people familiar with the transaction.