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Saponaro, a senior vice president, will oversee all investment sales activities and training of First Union Brokerage's more than 3,000 registered investment representatives. In addition, Saponaro will continue to seek opportunities to expand the distribution of brokerage products and oversee on-going hiring of experienced, top-notch brokers. He will report to Dwight Moody, President of First Union Brokerage Services, an affiliate of Charlotte-based First Union Corp.

"This appointment further strengthens our distribution efforts and underlines our commitment to building the best broker-dealer in the country," Moody said. "Tony's depth of experience, exceptional talents and strategic vision made him the right choice to fill this critical role within our organization."

First Union Brokerage Services - the nation's largest bank-affiliated broker-dealer - has experienced tremendous growth over the last three years. Assets under management have tripled to more than $16 billion and total brokerage relationships also have tripled to more than 730,000 accounts.

As sales manager for the Northeast, Saponaro oversaw the introduction of First Union's brokerage program in the former First Fidelity franchise. First Union Corp. acquired First Fidelity Bancorporation in January 1996. More than 1,000 First Union employees in the Northeast have been trained and licensed to sell investment products since the merger.

Saponaro worked in the brokerage unit of First Fidelity for two years before being named Northeast regional sales manager. Prior to joining First Fidelity, Saponaro worked at Citibank from 1986 to 1994, most recently as regional sales manager for retail investments in Los Angeles and then Washington, D.C. Saponaro graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and geography from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a master's of science in management (MBA) from MIT.

First Union Brokerage Services offers both full and discount brokerage capabilities. It provides customers a broad array of brokerage products, including mutual funds, stocks, bonds and annuities as well as the First Union CAP Account, an asset management account which combines a customer's banking and brokerage activities.

Last year, First Union Brokerage Services ranked first among the 10 largest bank-affiliated brokerages in a National Council of Individual Investors survey that compared commissions, proprietary mutual fund performance and disclosure practices.

First Union Corp. provides a full array of products and services to more than 12 million customers nationwide. First Union is the nation's sixth-largest bank holding company with assets of more than $136 billion as of March 31, 1997. It operates financial centers in 12 Eastern states from Connecticut to Florida, as well as in Washington, D.C.

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