Alex. Brown Inc.

	'96 (in $ 000s)	% Change From '95
Revenue	1,059,421	30.9
Net Income	154,145	61.3
Rank Last Year: 8

Description:
Alex. Brown Inc. has been in business 196 years. It provides investment, brokerage and real estate services to individuals and corporate, institutional and government clients.

Business Resume: Contact Info -- One South St. Baltimore, Md. 21202 410-727-1700 Main Business -- Investment banking Founded -- 1800 Chairperson -- A.B. Krongard (CEO) President -- Mayo A. Shattuck III Employees -- 2,681 D.C.-Area Employees -- 43

Developments:
Earlier this month, Bankers Trust New York Corp. announced its intention to buy the nation's oldest brokerage firm for $1.7 billion in a move that will bring together commercial and investment banking. Such a move had been rumored for months in light of the Federal Reserve's gradual relaxation of some of the restrictions—to the extent to which commercial banks could be involved in brokerage or investment activities. That prospect helped boost the price of its stock late last year, and in December, the firm announced a three-for-two stock split.

Booming stock and bond markets continued to raise Alex. Brown's revenue, net earnings and earnings per share last year. Revenue jumped 31 percent, to more than $1 billion. Earnings were up 61 percent, to $154.1 million.

Fueled by a strong market for new stock and bond issues—including the initial public offerings of high technology and health-care firms in which Alex. Brown specialize—investment banking revenue was up 41 percent. Fees from merger and advisory services rose 38 percent. But a slowdown in those fields dampened the company's results for the first quarter of 1997, during which profits slumped 23 percent.