Central Fidelity Banks Inc.

	'96 (in $ 000s)	'95 (in $ 000s)
Assets	10,500,000	10,800,000
Net Income	112,702	105,370
Rank Last Year: 6

Description:
Central Fidelity Banks Inc. is a holding company with a single bank, Central Fidelity Bank of Richmond, which has 50 branches in Northern Virginia and 245 offices in the state. Subsidiaries provide financial services, including mutual funds and annuities, mortgage banking, insurance and investment management.

Business Resume: Contact Info -- 1021 E. Cary St. Richmond, Va. 23219 804-782-4000 Main Business -- Banking Founded -- 1911 Chairperson -- Lewis N. Miller Jr. (CEO) Employees -- 3,700 D.C.-Area Employees -- 435

Developments:
Central Fidelity's profit continued to improve, with the bank-holding company reporting a 7 percent increase in earnings, to $112.7 million, from $105.4 million the previous year. Net interest income for the year rose 10 percent, to $382.4 million, from $347.3 million.

For the coming year the company's chairman, Lewis N. Miller Jr., said the bank will focus on increasing its noninterest income sources, such as fees associated with retail consumer investment services. For 1996 the company reported 7.8 percent growth in noninterest income, to $85.9 million, from $79.7 million for the previous year.

Like many banks, Central has been moving away from more standard branches to alternative sites, such as retail stores. By mid-March, Central had opened 28 branches in Farm Fresh stores and another seven in Wal-Mart stores. The branches are heavily concentrated in eastern Virginia, including the Tidewater and Hampton Roads area. The bank plans to continue opening in-store branches throughout the year.