Fleet to open 29 new branches in N.Y.

FLEET Bank will open 29 branches across upstate New York today that formerly belonged to Manufacturer Hanover Trust, a division of Chemical Bank. Fleet Financial Group, based in Providence, R.I., received regulatory approval for acquisition of the branches last December. Completion of the sale was announced Friday by Fleet officials but the purchase price was not disclosed. Fleet Financial Group, with $48 billion in assets, is a diversified financial services company.