THE BankAmerica Corporation has joined the ranks of commercial banks acquiring an investment bank in the United States, saying it would buy Robertson Stephens & Co. Group LLC in a deal valued at up to $540 million (£360 million). In a separate transaction, BankAmerica also agreed to sell its Security Pacific Financial Services unit to Commercial Credit Co. for $1.6 billion. Commercial Credit, a subsidiary of Travelers Group, is a consumer lending company based in Baltimore where AIB subsidiary First Maryland is also based. It has 859 offices in 44 states and more than $8.5 billion in loans.

Commercial Credit said the price represents a premium of about $300 million over the net tangible assets of the Security Pacific unit.