NU Online News Service, April 6, 2004, 10:40 a.m. EST – The Federal Reserve Board has approved Manulife Financial Corporation’s acquisition of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., Boston.[@@]
Manulife, in Toronto, needed the banking agency’s approval because of Hancock’s ownership of First Signature Bank and Trust Company, Portsmouth, N.H.
Manulife, with total assets of $115.3 billion, is the holding company for the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, which converted from mutual to stock organization in September 1999. John Hancock, in Boston, has total assets of $111.3 billion.