First Union Corp

The Federal Reserve Board, in a rare move, extended the public comment period on First Union Corp.'s proposal to purchase CoreStates Financial Corp. until the bank submits plans for lending to low- and middle-income areas. The Fed, in a brief statement, said First Union has yet to submit a plan to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act, a law intended to prevent discrimination in lending to low-income neighborhoods and minority groups.

First Union Corp. agreed Wednesday to buy The Money Store Inc. for $2.1 billion in a move that would enable the big banking company to establish a coast-to-coast presence in the consumer home-equity and small-business loan industries.

Bankers have not meant this much to an American city since legendary financier J.P. Morgan helped turn a place called New York into a world money center more than 100 years ago. Most Charlotteans--from rock music disc jockeys to artists and schoolteachers--revere the bankers here, and the feeling is mutual. Bankers have played an unusually important and aggressive role in transforming Charlotte from a sleepy Southern Bible Belt town into one of the most unlikely financial centers in America.

With Monday's plans for a blockbuster merger involving cross-town rival BankAmerica Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. is suddenly facing renewed pressure from Wall Street to put itself up for sale or to bulk up by buying another institution. The most likely scenario, industry analysts and executives agree, is that San Francisco-based Wells would be acquired, probably by a super-regional bank such as U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis.

First Union to Buy 2 Banking Firms: The nation's sixth-largest banking company said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hollywood, Fla.-based Home Financial Corp., with assets of $3.7 billion as of March 31, parent of Home Savings Bank FSB in Florida, for about $336 million. It also has a definitive agreement to acquire Waterbury, Conn.-based Center Financial Corp., with assets of $1.2 billion, the parent of Centerbank and operator of Centerbank Mortgage Co., for about $379 million.

In America's biggest-ever bank merger, Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union Corp. agreed to buy First Fidelity Bancorp. of Newark, N.J., in a $5.4-billion stock deal that would create an East Coast giant stretching from Florida to Connecticut. With 2,000 offices in 13 states and assets of $123.7 billion, the merged institution would replace Chase Manhattan Corp. as the nation's sixth-largest banking company.

CBS Inc. reported Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings fell 53% from a year ago because of weaker-than-expected ratings and a special charge related to staff reductions. Earnings totaled $51.9 million, or 80 cents per share, for the quarter, down from $109.3 million, or $1.36 a share, for the second quarter of 1994, the company said. Sales rose 1% to $889.6 million from $882.7 million. The second-quarter earnings included a pretax charge of $32.