BB&T Corporation and SunTrust Banks today announced that they will combine in a merger of equals that would make the resulting company one of the nation’s largest financial institutions and mark the biggest bank merger since the financial crisis. The combined bank — which will have a new brand yet to be announced — will have approximately $442 billion in assets, $301 billion in loans and $324 billion in deposits.
BB&T Chairman and CEO Kelly King will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company until 2021, when he will assume the role of executive chairman. SunTrust Chairman and CEO William Rogers Jr., will assume the role of president and COO until 2021, at which time he will assume the role of CEO, becoming chairman in 2022. The rest of the bank’s management team will be composed equally of SunTrust and BB&T executives.
The combined company will be headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.; it will maintain its retail banking operations in BB&T’s current headquarters of Winston-Salem, N.C., and its wholesale banking center in SunTrust’s Atlanta headquarters, the banks said. The merger — which is still subject to regulatory approval — is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
