EXHIBIT 4.1(a)
FORM 10-Q
QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
Harris Trust and 111 West Monroe Street Telephone (312) 461-2121
Savings Bank P.O. Box 755
Chicago, Illinois 60690-0755
___________________________________________________________________________
HARRIS
BANK
February 15, 2000
John Bosbous
Assistant Treasurer
Bucyrus-Erie
1100 Milwaukee Ave
South Milwaukee, WI 53172-2088
Dear Client:
I am writing to inform you that Harris Bank recently announced the sale of
its corporate trust businesses, including our indenture trust business. In
separate transactions, indenture trust is being acquired by The Bank of New
York Company, Inc., the largest and fastest growing provider of indenture
trust services, and our shareholder services business by Computershare
Limited, the world's largest shareholder services company. The sales,
which are described in the accompanying text of the press release, are
expected to close by mid-year.
The Bank of New York Company has been a recognized market leader in the
corporate trust industry for more than 75 years. The company's indenture
trust business serves more than 30,000 clients worldwide, representing more
than $730 billion in outstanding securities.
Corporate trust, and in particular, indenture trust, is a scale-intensive
and increasingly specialized business which is undergoing rapid industry
consolidation. We know this business and what it takes to serve our
customers well and that is why we recently undertook a study to examine our
ability to support the increasing demands of this business. We firmly
believe that our decision to work with The Bank of New York and
Computershare is the best way for us to ensure that our clients continue to
receive competitive and innovative services in the future. The Bank of New
York Company has consistently demonstrated its commitment to this business
and has achieved a global leadership position that we believe will serve
our clients exceptionally well. Indenture trust is a core business for The
Bank of New York Company, which means they are committed to making the
investments required to provide our clients with the highest quality
services.
In recent years, as the corporate trust industry has experienced an
unprecedented level of consolidation, The Bank of New York has been a
leader in assisting bond issuers across the country to ensure high levels
of service, quality and continuity. BNY has completed 28 similar
transactions and is well equipped to ensure that each of your service
requirements are met. A key component to BNY's strategy will be an
aggressive recruitment of key members of the Harris relationship management
team to ensure our ability to provide high levels of service.
If you are interested, you may want to visit The Bank of New York Company
web site at www.bankofny.com and you will be hearing more about the bank
from your Harris and Bank of New York team soon.
On behalf of all of us in indenture trust, I'd like to thank you for
entrusting us with your business and for the opportunity to serve you.
Your continued relationship is very important to both The Bank of New York
Company and Harris Bank. Together we are finalizing a detailed plan to
ensure a smooth transition and continued high levels of service quality.
Your relationship manager will contact you shortly to discuss the
transition more fully and if possible, we would appreciate the opportunity
to discuss this transition with you in greater detail.
Sincerely,
/s/Steve Rothbloom /s/Mark F. Ferraris
Steve Rothbloom Mark F. Ferraris
Executive Vice President Senior Vice President
Harris Trust and Savings Bank Bank of New York Company
Wholly owned subsidiary of Harris Bankcorp, Inc.
