North Fork, GreenPoint to shut 15 banks - 2004-02-18
Fifteen of the 340 bank branches currently owned by the combined GreenPoint-North Fork would be shut down as a result of the $6.3 billion deal.

Most of the facilities slated to be shuttered are in New York City, said North Fork CEO John Kanas Tuesday as he announced the acquisition, which combines North Fork, primarily a commercial bank, with a consumer bank that also has a national mortgage business.
Read the full story at Crains NY Business

Mortgage lending surge boosts Britannia - 2004-02-18
Britannia Building society today promised to maintain the rate of sales growth after lending hit record levels in 2003.

The UK's second-biggest building society said it offered mortgage loans totalling £5.8bn to customers - up 18% on the previous year.

More than 2m members of Britannia were rewarded for the strong performance in the year to December 31 with payouts averaging £19.
Read the full story at This Is Money