J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One Corporation announced in January that they have agreed to merge – a move which will form the second-largest banking franchise in the country.

“The merger will create combined assets within the new corporation, totaling over $1 trillion with 2,300 branches spread throughout 17 states, not including our international operations,” said Joseph Evangelisti, spokesman for J.P. Morgan Chase. The combined company will offer services in retail, commercial and private banking, lending, credit cards, asset management, private equity and treasury and securities.

The merger was unanimously agreed upon by both J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank One executives, with Bank One accepting J.P. Morgan Chase’s $58 billion offer.

The merger is particularly pertinent to residents of central Ohio, since Bank One was founded 135 years ago in Columbus and remains the largest bank in the area. The company maintains branches downtown, at Polaris and in Westerville.

The Westerville branch employs more than 2,500 people and stands as the largest employer in the city of Westerville. With over 73,000 Bank One employees internationally, nearly 9,000 are employed by Bank One in the greater Columbus area.

The newly-combined company will employ more than 160,000 people across the world.

Jeff Lyttle, a spokesman for Bank One in Columbus, said even though Bank One plans on opening new branches, the merger calls for an estimated 10,000 jobs to be eliminated by 2007. It is too early to know for certain what the immediate effects will be on the branches throughout Columbus.

“It’s just too early to know what the effects are going to be as far as the breakdown of what jobs are going to be eliminated,” Evangelisti said.

Ralph Walkling, professor of finance who specializes in mergers and takeovers, said the merger will not likely be received well in the immediate future for local residents. It’s likely that cuts will come in some of the smaller communities, but a lot of what happens will depend on how the new company will handle the integration.

“It is unlikely that any new jobs will be created in markets where both Bank One and J.P. Morgan Chase have any kind of presence,” Lyttle said.

Ohio State graduates that have been considering employment with Bank One or J.P. Morgan Chase will likely need to continue their search, especially if they hoped to stay in the Columbus area, since both Bank One and J.P. Morgan Chase have offices in Columbus.

Under the new agreement, the combined company will be headed by William B. Harrison as chairman and CEO. James Dimon, former CEO of Bank One, will serve as chief operating officer until 2006 when he will succeed Harrison.

The merged company will be known as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.