
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 15, 1993                   TAG: 9310150114
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BANK BEARS SMOOTH WAY FOR CHANGE

Small teddy bears wearing the white and green colors of First Union Corp. hold signs today in what was formerly Dominion Bank's main downtown Roanoke office, asking customers to "Please bear with us."

The 14 bears were the tellers' idea as a way to warn customers there may be some delays and glitches as they learn to operate new computer systems, part of becoming First Union National Bank of Virginia.

Automated systems in bank branches and teller machines throughout Virginia were converted Thursday to First Union's computers. The action was handled from a command center in downtown Roanoke.

About 25 people sent to Roanoke by First Union supervised the conversion. Other people from throughout the First Union multistate system who are familiar with the computer were stationed at branches statewide. IBM, which created First Union's software, also had four technical support people in Roanoke for the transition.

Each branch signaled the command center when it was safely on the computer system. Each had a representative at the command center ready to answer questions.

The First Union people, from the Carolinas, Florida and Georgia, will be here all next week to deal with any problems.

Byron Yost, president of First Union's Roanoke region, said Virginia is the corporation's second-biggest conversion, after a bank in Florida.

The team that came here worked in Florida and, earlier this month, put Tennessee on line. Yost said some Dominion employees went to Tennessee to observe that transition.

First Union signs at branches throughout Virginia were unveiled overnight.

The Dominion Bank Building already is the First Union Building, with the First Union logo on the roof. Yost said the logos will go up on First Union Tower, formerly Dominion Tower, in about a week.

by CNB