Already a retail powerhouse, B of A builds wholesale base. (BankAmerica Corp.)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two years ago, BankAmerica Corp. created the nation's premier retail banking network by buying California rival Security Pacific Corp.

Now, by agreeing to take over Continental Bank Corp., a topnotch corporate bank, San Francisco-based BankAmerica is moving with similar vigor to build the strongest wholesale franchise, not only in its home region but nationwide.

The deal, valued at $1.9 billion, highlights something not always understood about the nation's second-largest bank company: Even as BankAmerica has built a vast branch banking empire, serving households from Beaumont, Tex., to Bellingham, Wash., it has also assembled one of the industry's most profitable wholesale banking machines.

Balancing Act

Buying Chicago-based Continental shows that BankAmerica chairman and chief executive Richard M. Rosenberg, who earned his spurs selling checking accounts and car loans to consumers, is committed to expanding the reach of the company's corporate business and keeping a balance between retail and wholesale.

"The fact that retail banking is a good business doesn't mean …