There is a throwaway line in the film American Psycho. The movie's demented central character, Wall Street executive-turned-serial killer Patrick Bateman, is describing what he does.

"I'm into murders and executions," he says without pause. His fellow characters seem to hear "mergers and acquisitions" and aren't privy to his Freudian slip.

Set in the rah-rah 1980s, American Psycho satirizes a time when mergers and acquisitions made daily business headlines and were perceived as somewhat mysterious and underhanded.

Today, M&A activity is hot again, with billion-dollar deals instantly altering the competitive landscape of multiple industries—think P&G and Gillette, AT&T and Cingular, Manulife and John Hancock.

Despite Hollywood's darker musings, today's mergers and acquisitions are neither mysterious nor about murder and executions. They are about creating shareholder value, competitive advantage and synergy, and they are closely followed by millions of investors, analysts, media and customers worldwide.

Brand often plays a central role in creating this value. As recent McKinsey & Company research observes, while "intangible assets make up most of the value of M&A deals...brands account for a considerable portion of these assets."

There may be no better example of this recent kinetic M&A activity than in the commercial banking arena. But should merging commercial banks care about brand?

Brand Matters to Merging Banks

Not since 1998 has the banking industry experienced the pace of consolidation taking place across the country today. From national mega-deals to local ones, it seems every bank is in the "great game" as a buyer, seller or interested flirt.

Despite the hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in this M&A activity, the word "commodity" continues to be readily associated with banking, as if by way of explaining why it is so difficult for banks to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Certainly, the products and services themselves may be so similar from one bank to another as to be considered commodities, but there is one thing that can never be commoditized—a bank's brand. Brand is what ultimately defends banking from the doom of commoditization.

When banks merge, their brands must reconcile. More often than not, one brand is going to be nurtured and one brand is going to be retired.

Yet, too often in bank mergers, brand is relegated to post-merger consideration amid the cacophony of pre-merger financial, operational, legal, personnel and technology activities.

Brand is not everything about a bank—it is only about what makes that bank different.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Benson (benson.consulting@rcn.com) is a brand strategist with over 25 years of experience designing and implementing brand and marketing strategies for financial services, healthcare, high-tech, entertainment and retail clients.

Jack Foley is a brand strategist who may be reached at jfoley@ovusater.com.