Bank One branches to take Chase name

The approximately 30 Bank One branches in Greater Cincinnati are getting a new name.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., headquartered in New York, bought Chicago-based Bank One for $60 billion in July 2004. Bank One branches and ATMs nationwide are undergoing rebranding, Chase said, and Cincinnati-area branches will make the switch in March. Local branches are in Butler, Clermont and Hamilton counties, and in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Northern Kentucky. The rebranding has been completed in Kentucky.

National Services Associates, a Knoxville, Tenn., firm, is surveying branch sites, and will order and supply new signage, fixtures, wallboards, window decals and marketing materials with the Chase name, according to a news release. The work is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2006.

Before the local rebranding is completed, Chase Bank will begin a marketing campaign to publicize the new name.

J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is a global financial services firm with assets of $1.1 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.