Those who remember the Bank of Naples may find it hard to believe the trademark pastel yellow bank on the corner of Naples 5th Avenue and 7th Street is part of a $570 billion corporation. It's true -- the bank that has grown with Naples is now part of NationsBank, the largest financial institution in the United States.

But although the bank is bigger, NationsBank's Southwest Florida President Gerri Moll says it really hasn't changed that much at all. It's still very much a part of the local community that has fostered it. It's just better. "We've been on Fifth Avenue through boom, bust and boom again," she says from her office on the bank's second floor.

Naples investors founded the Bank of Naples in 1949, driving deposits to Fort Myers via a swamp buggy. In 1974, Florida giant Barnett Bank acquired the bank. And most recently the bank has been affected by the 1997-98 megamergers, which have completely changed the face of modern banking in the United States.

It's quite a legacy to live up to, but Moll is extremely confident she can lead the Southwest Florida district NationsBank to fulfill two roles -- to be a community bank while being a world-class bank.

Moll's Story

Gerri Moll barely seems to break a sweat in Florida humidity -- she's lived in the state since she was six months old and grew up in Lakeland. She attended the University of Florida and McMaster University in Toronto as a finance major. She was then selected into the prestigious Barnett Bank management training program and later received her master's degree from Louisiana State University's Graduate School of Banking.

After living in several different Florida cities - she spent a lot of time on the East Coast - Moll transferred last April to Naples, an area she says she had always admired. She describes the it as "the most beautiful" place she's lived in, with "the most welcoming people."

Moll had just settled down as president of Barnett Bank's Naples operations when she heard the big news -- the mergers had arrived.

Merger Mania

Last fall, NationsBank announced a merger with Barnett Bank to form the third largest bank in the United States. This spring, NationsBank went a step further and announced an even bigger merger with Bank of America.

A look at the post-merger statistics is almost dizzying. NationsBank is now the largest bank in America -- the fourth largest in the world -- with assets of $570 billion. There are 4800 branches in 22 American states and 38 countries. The pure size of the new hybrid is expected to make it a powerhouse. "The merger allowed us the opportunity to be the best of the best," Moll says.

The recent merger between NationsBank and Bank of America was essentially a merger of equals. Bank of America is contemplating keeping its name and San Francisco headquarters while NationsBank remains headquartered in Charlotte, NC, with Florida headquarters in Jacksonville.

The merger will not affect local jobs because Bank of America doesn't have an overlapping presence in Southwest Florida. The earlier Barnett merger, though, has meant major restructuring. Barnett is changing its name to NationsBank, and bank branches that overlap one another geographically are in the process of slimming down. Thirteen of 48 offices in Lee and Collier Counties are to be closed, with employees moving down the street or around the block to what was formerly a competitor.

Moll says she first found out about the Barnett-NationsBank merger in August of last year. After shareholder and regulatory approval in the coming months, she and other managers then went about the mammoth task of preparation.

One of the first duties was to give job assurances to employees. Of about 1100 jobs affected by the transition, Moll says, only about 14 positions were eliminated, and those who lost their jobs were offered assistance finding new ones. "We made all the people decisions locally," she says.

Moll's job was affected as well. NationsBank decided to combine both its Collier County and Lee County banks into one district, and she became market president for the entire region - Pine Island to Marco Island.

In the last seven months, the combined bank has managed to finish about 80 percent of the transition. All that remains is to finish converting computer systems and to replace Barnett signs. Customers of either bank can now cash checks or use the ATM at branches of either Barnett or NationsBank. By early October, they will be able to use any branch for all transactions.

The merger transition has not happened overnight -- Moll thanks her employees for a job well done during the changes. "I guess what I'm most proud of is our team," she says, "their resiliency and commitment."

The Biggest Small Town Bank

Despite NationsBank's national corporate girth, Moll says the decisions made for the $3.5 billion Southwest Florida district are made by a local board of directors. "They think very locally," she says. "We have complete autonomy for our business."

Moll has made it her business to stay on top of the local economic scene. She is a board member of the Collier County Economic Development Council and is preparing to graduate from Leadership Collier, a Naples Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored education program designed to immerse local leaders in the issues and business climate of Collier County.

It is a sense of community, Moll claims, that will continue to drive the bank's market as the number one small business lender in the country. NationsBank intends to continue investing thousands of hours and millions of dollars into dozens of local causes, including the local American Cancer Society, March of Dimes and Take Stock in Children, a mentoring and scholarship program begun by Barnett with $1 million and expanded by NationsBank with $3 million more. "We feel that banks are not successful unless our communities are successful," she says.

And Gerri Moll intends to continue working right along side the other volunteers. In recent months, she's shoveled along with 75 other volunteers for playground improvements in Naples' Cambier Park and paddled a canoe dressed as former Bank of Naples President Clarence Tooke in the notoriously humorous annual Great Dock Canoe Race.

Gerri Moll plans to stick around for a while in the community she's grown to love, the community so intertwined with her bank's business. The flagship pastel yellow 5th Avenue office will remain in operation as well - both as a landmark to the Bank of Naples legacy and as NationsBank's sign of the times.

Small Business Service

NationsBank recently hosted events for National Small Business Week, showing Southwest Florida why it claims the title of number one small business lender. The bank has a range of programs geared specifically towards businesses of less than $5 million in re