By James Langton

(March 15 – 12:00 ET) – The conference call for Assante Corp. offered little in the way of fireworks, although it did herald the possible introduction of consolidated “super branches” at the firm.

The firm, which reported a loss of 21¢ a share for fiscal 2000 earlier today, fielded just two questions in its call, both from Merrill Lynch Canada analyst Cameron Webster.

Asked about the possibility of Assante creating “super branches”, CEO Martin Weinberg said that it wants to complete the firm’s name changes, unify under a single management team, and then it will look at creating super branches. Weinberg noted that the firm already has a few of these, and noted that it expects to sit down with branch managers in 2002 to contemplate further branch consolidation.

In his prepared remarks, Weinberg noted that the firm remains focused on completing its integration, which will see name changes at Brightside Financial Services Inc., Fenlon Financial (1997) Inc., FPC Investments Inc., Investment and Tax Counsel Corp, Kenneth Brown Investment Service Inc., Kronish de Grosbois Inc. and Summit Aurum Financial Group Inc. in the second and third quarters of 2001.

He reiterated the company’s intent to unveil at least one partner to offer branded banking services in Canada. It will also roll out its estate planning and insurance products in the U.S., look to increase assets under management in the U.S., and integrate the operations of its businesses in the U.S. The firm also hopes to gain a better profile with analysts and investors.

Webster’s other question related to the current vogue for hedge funds, and whether Assante would be jumping on that bandwagon. Weinberg was fairly vague, saying it does intend to broaden its product lineup, but that hedge funds are not among its top three priorities. He said the firm can be expected to roll out alternative investment vehicles at some point in the future, but there is no immediate timeline.