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Record Group Number: 900000
Series/Collection Number: N2001- 7
Creator: Barnett Banks
Title, Dates: Barnett Banks, Inc. corporate records, 1950-2001.
Amount: 8.50 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: Organized into six subseries:
    1. Annual Reports, 1954-1996, 3 cubic feet
    2. Strategic and Long-Range Plans, 1985-1997, 1 cubic foot
    3. Management Operating Committee (MOC) Meetings, 1995-1997, 1 cubic foot
    4. Golembe Management Reports, 1980-2001, 1 cubic foot
    5. Bank Analyses, 1994-1995, .5 cubic foot
    6. Legal Files, 1970s-1990s, 2 cubic feet
Arranged by record type.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:     Beginning in the 1970s, Barnett Banks in Jacksonville expanded throughout Florida to become the largest bank holding company in Florida through a series of acquisitions and mergers. Led by a succession of extremely capable presidents, CEOs, and COOs - including Guy Botts, Charlie Rice, Albert Ernest, Jr., and Allen Lastinger -- Barnett Banks established a statewide reputation for excellence and became known as "Florida's bank."

    In 1965, Botts announced a plan for Barnett National Securities Corporation, which had been a subsidiary of the Jacksonville bank, to become the parent company by purchasing the stock of the Barnett First National Bank of Jacksonville. This gave Botts greater flexibility in using the holding company to purchase additional banks. In 1969, Barnett National Securities Corporation became Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. At the beginning of the Botts era, Barnett Banks did not have a separate corporate staff. Senior officers of the Jacksonville bank had dual responsibilities with BNSC and it wasn't until 1967 that Tom Duer became the first full-time employee of the holding company.

    When Botts retired in 1976, Charles E. Rice became the next chief executive officer. As such, Rice was responsible for expanding Barnett from 120 Florida offices at the beginning of the 1980s to 563 Florida and Georgia offices by late 1989. Rice also oversaw Barnett's transition from a traditional commercial bank to a national financial services company. To better reflect Barnett's expansion, the holding company's name changed again to Barnett Banks, Inc. (BBI). Senior officers chaired the Management Operating Committee (MOC), which coordinated operational issues, and the Managemetn Executive Committee (MEC) that focused on strategic issues.

    In 1997 in a $15.5 billion-dollar deal, the largest in the history of banking industry at that time, NationsBank acquired Barnett Banks, Inc. Subsequently, in 1999, NationsBank and BankAmerica merged to form a national bank, Bank of America. With the acquisition of Barnett Banks by NationsBank, Rice moved from chairman and CEO of Barnett to chairman of NationsBank and then to vice chairman of corporate development for Bank of America.

Summary:     This collection consists of annual reports, strategic and long-range plans, management studies, Management Operating Committee (MOC) materials, Management Executive Committee (MEC) materials, legal files, and other miscellaneous corporate files maintained by Barnett Banks, Inc.

    Subseries 1 consists of annual reports, beginning with the early holding company, Barnett National Securities Corporation and continuing to through the 1990s with Barnett Banks, Inc. The reports generally contain a narrative description on the financial condition of the bank and the general condition of the economy, both in Florida and nationally throughout the United States. In addition, there are numerous financial reports, including quarterly reports; statements of financial condition, income, and cash flow; and six-year and quarterly averages on balances.

    Subseries 2 contains a collection of five-year plans, beginning with the 1985-1990 plan through the 1997-2003 plan. These plans give a comprehensive discussion on Barnett Banks economic condition for a given year as well as forecast for the future. Typically, the information discussed includes an executive summary that lists Barnett's strengths, weaknesses, and matters requiring special attention; the business environment that covers government regulation, economic changes, technological advances, and competitive pressures; corporate issues; goals; and strategies.

    Subseries 3 contains minutes and presentations of the MOC meetings. Topics discussed include disaster planning, risk management, credit policy, loan reserves, and the yearly update.

    Subseries 4 contains management studies, correspondence, and Golembe Reports by Carter Golembe regarding the management structure of Barnett Banks. Thee management studies were a series of confidential reports on the management structure of Barnett Banks, beginning in 1980. The Golembe Reports, one of the nation's leading reports on banking and public policy, cover banking consolidation, deposit insurance reform, banking regulation, and international banking among other topics.

    Subseries 5 contains various financial analyses from major financial analyst companies. A typical report usually includes a company profile or company history, an investment summary, economic forecast, and a recommendation. Most reports also contain statistical information in the form of financial tables, charts, and graphs. While most of the reports are on Barnett Bank, there are also reports on NationsBank, Wachovia, BancOne, SunTrust, First Union and Hibernia Corporation.

    Subseries 6 contains court briefs, court transcripts, correspondence, and newspaper clippings of many of the significant court cases involving Barnett Banks during the 1980s-1990s. This subseries includes the Barnett vs. Tom Gallagher insurance case, the Barnett vs. Bill Nelson insurance case, the Department of Justice loan discrimination case, and the S&H Oil case. In addition, this series also contains materials collected from safe deposit boxes that includes a variety of legal documents regarding Barnett Charities, Barnett Winston, stock agreements, notes, and debentures.

Finding Aids: Folder listing available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note: This collection was arranged and described from materials obtained from Barnett Banks, Inc. when the Barnett Bank records were transferred to the Florida State Archives between 1999 and 2002.
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields: Barnett family.
Barnett, Bion, 1857-1958
Barnett, William Boyd, d. 1903
Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Banks
Barnett Banks of Florida
Barnett First National Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Bank buildings Florida
Bank management Florida.
Banks and banking History Florida.
Financial records. aat
Jacksonville (Fla.)
Added Entries Barnett family.
Botts, Guy Warren, 1914-1993
Rice, Charles E. 1936- (Charles Edward),
Lastinger, Allen L., 1942-
Barnett Banks
Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett First National Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett National Bank of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Barnett Banks of Florida
NationsBank