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Truist Financial Corporation is an American
bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') is often used to refer to these companies as well. United States ...
headquartered in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. The company was formed in December 2019 as the result of the merger of
BB&T BB&T Corporation (previously known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company) was one of the largest banking and financial services firms in the United States, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, BB&T announced its intentions to merge ...
(Branch Banking and Trust Company) and
SunTrust Banks SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...
. Its bank operates 2,781
branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually r ...
in 15 states and
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and offers consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. It is on the
list of largest banks in the United States The following table lists the 100 largest bank holding companies in the United States ranked by total assets of June 30, 2022 per the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council; their market capitalization is also shown. This list does not ...
by assets; as of June 2021, it is the 10th largest bank with $509 billion in assets. As of January 2021, Truist Insurance Holdings is the seventh largest
insurance broker An insurance broker is an intermediary who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance on behalf of a client for compensation. An insurance broker is distinct from an insurance agent in that a broker typically acts on behalf of a client by negoti ...
in the world with $2.27 billion in annual revenue.


History


History of BB&T

In 1872, Alpheus Branch and Thomas Jefferson Hadley founded the Branch and Hadley merchant bank in their hometown of
Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. Located approximately east of the capital city of Raleigh, it is served by the interchange of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 264. Wilson had an estimated p ...
. After many transactions, mostly with local farmers, Branch bought out Hadley's shares in 1887 and renamed the company Branch and Company, Bankers. Also in 1887 the bank moved to its new headquarters on Nash Street in downtown Wilson, North Carolina. Two years later, Branch, his father-in-law Gen. Joshua Barnes, Hadley, and three other men secured a charter from the
North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...
to operate the Wilson Banking and Trust Company. After many more name changes, the company finally settled on the name Branch Banking and Trust Company. Branch remained an active member of the company until his death in 1893. The 1903 Branch Banking and Trust Company Building at Wilson was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1978. BB&T sold
Liberty Bonds A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financi ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and grew to have more than $4 million in
assets In financial accountancy, financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value ...
by 1923. BB&T Insurance Services was added in 1922 and a mortgage division was added in 1923. Even though banks across the United States failed as a result of the 1929 Stock Market Crash, BB&T survived; it was the only one to do so in the town of Wilson.


History of Southern National Bank

In 1897 the Bank of Lumberton was started by Angus Mclean in
Lumberton, North Carolina Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government. Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lum ...
, the predecessor of Southern National. The founding board members of the bank were Angus Mclean, Thomas McNeill, R.D. Caswell, C.B. Townsend, S.A. Edmund, R.L. Steele, W.L.F. Steel, T.C. Guthrie, H.B. Jennings. The board was composed of members from Lumberton,
Rockingham, North Carolina Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States, named after the Marquess of Rockingham. The population was 9,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County. The city is the home of Rockingham Speedway, f ...
, and
Bennettsville, South Carolina Bennettsville is a city located in the U.S. state of South Carolina on the Great Pee Dee River. As the county seat of Marlboro County, Bennettsville is noted for its historic homes and buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries—including ...
. Thomas McNeill was selected to be the bank's first president. He resigned a year later when he was appointed as a judge. After McNeill resigned Mclean became president. Mclean did not simply view himself as a banker, he wanted to build companies that had a good return on their investment, created jobs, and benefited the communities they operated within. In 1955 Hector MacLean, Angus Mclean's son, was named president. The Bank of Lumberton changed names to Southern National Bank in 1959. In 1979, Carolina State Bank of Gastonia, started in 1971, became part of Southern National. In 1982, Southern National took over Winston-Salem-based
Forsyth Forsyth may refer to: Places Oceania * Forsyth Island, Queensland, Australia, one of the West Wellesley Islands (aka Forsyth Islands) * Forsyth Island, Tasmania, Australia * Forsyth Island (New Zealand), in the outer Marlborough Sounds of South I ...
Bank & Trust, led by Glenn Orr. In 1985, Southern National had assets of $1.5 billion. With the purchase of a former Northwestern Bank branch in
Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
, which had to be sold after the
First Union First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, inv ...
-Northwestern merger, Southern National had 99 branches in 26 counties. In 1986, Southern National Corporation entered
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
with the $10 million purchase of
Horry County Horry County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 351,029. It is the fourth-most populous county in South Carolina. The county seat is Conway. Horry County is the central ...
National Bank of
Loris Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus conta ...
. Later that year, Southern National announced the $5.6 million purchase of First Palmetto Bancshares Corp. of Columbia and the $9.75 million purchase of Capital Bank and Trust Co. of Belton. At the time, Southern National was North Carolina's seventh-largest banking company. Also in 1986, Southern National sold its Southern National Mortgage Co. to NCNB for an estimated $7 million. Southern National had not intended to sell the business but NCNB made a good offer and the bank could use the money for its South Carolina purchases. NCNB had exited the
mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
business in 1981 to concentrate on interstate banking, though NCNB bought Bank of North Carolina in 1982 and sold that bank's mortgages to Southern National. In May 1989, Southern National announced its purchase of Allied Bankshares Inc. of
Thomson, Georgia Thomson (originally called Slashes) is a city in McDuffie County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,778 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of McDuffie County. Thomson's nickname is "The Camellia City of the South", in honor ...
. The $59 million deal fell apart but would have been the first acquisition of a
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
bank by a mid-sized N.C. bank. Another failed deal in 1990 would have given Southern National $1 billion in South Carolina assets and 53 offices in the state.
NBSC The Northern Beaches Secondary College (abbreviated as NBSC) is a multi-campus government-funded co-educational dual-modality partially selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South W ...
had $540 million in assets, while Southern National Corp. had $3.4 billion and was N.C.'s fifth largest bank holding company. NBSC shareholders objected to the $53 million deal.David Bourne, "Southern National Corp. Withdraws Buyout Bid," ''The Fayetteville Observer'', December 4, 1990. In 1990 Hector MacLean retired from the bank. During his presidency the bank changed its name, grew from $3 million in assets to $3.3 billion, and grew to 148 branches. MacLean's successor was Glenn Orr. Early in 1993, Southern National completed its purchase of First Federal Savings Bank in Winston-Salem,Michael Fabey, "Southern National Plans To Buy Goldsboro Bank," ''The Fayetteville Observer'', March 10, 1993. putting Southern National behind only
Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...
in Forsyth County deposits. Southern National had $4.5 billion in assets, $3.9 billion of those in North Carolina, and was the state's sixth largest banking company. The company's North Carolina banking operations began moving to Winston-Salem, though Orr and the corporate headquarters stayed in Lumberton. One reason for the move was the 20-story, One Triad Park, which had of space Southern National could move into immediately. One of the other contenders,
Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
, would not have a new building ready, and the bank would need a temporary home.C.E. Yandle, "Pulling up roots to go for broke: Southern National is banking on it," ''The News & Observer'', December 13, 1992. With Southern National taking on eight floors, the building's name changed to Southern National Financial Center on May 3. Also in 1993, Southern National announced the purchase of Goldsboro-based East Coast Federal Savings Bank, with $256 million in assets, which Orr called "one of the best savings banks in the state." The deal would make Southern National number one in deposits in Fayetteville, the state's fifth-largest banking market. In 1993, Southern National announced the acquisition of First Savings Bank, FSB, headquartered in
Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
. With just over $2 billion in assets, it was the third largest financial institution in South Carolina. Orr along with the BB&T Chairman John Allison helped facilitate the Southern Nation BB&T merger.


Merger with Southern National Bank

In 1995, the bank merged with
Southern National Bank Southern National Bank was a bank headquartered first in Lumberton, North Carolina and then in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It joined with BB&T in 1995. History In 1897, former North Carolina governor Angus MacLean and Judge Thomas A. McNeill ...
, another bank with roots in the eastern part of the state. This gave BB&T 437 branches in 220 cities in the Carolinas and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. The merged company became Southern National Corp., but all of its banking subsidiaries took the BB&T name. With $19 billion in assets, BB&T had the most North Carolina deposits and branches of any bank. Southern National head Glenn Orr and new BB&T chairman John Allison said the merger likely created a bank that would be too rich to be taken over by an out-of-state bank. Orr retired once the merger was complete. The headquarters became BB&T Financial Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1997, Southern National Corp. took over
United Carolina Bank United Carolina Bank (UCB) was a bank headquartered in Whiteville, North Carolina. It was formed in 1980 by the merger of four banks, including Waccamaw Bank of Whiteville. BB&T (now Truist Financial) acquired UCB in 1997. History In 1926, business ...
, another eastern North Carolina-based bank, in a $985 million deal announced in November 1996. UCB had $4.5 billion in assets. 400 employees worked in Whiteville but despite losing the headquarters, the town would eventually have 500 BB&T employees working at a 250-employee
call center A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
and other operations.Kristina Bartlett, "UCB deal could hit hard in Whiteville," ''Star-News'', November 5, 1996.Melissa Wahl, "Bank Center to Close," ''The Charlotte Observer'', March 15, 1997. Starting September 22, 1997, 91 UCB branches began the process of changing to BB&T, and 67 other branches of the two banks closed starting in October because they were close to other BB&T locations. On May 19, 1997, Southern National Corp. changed its name to BB&T Corp. and its stock symbol SN to BBT.


Acquisitions

The bank continued to expand nationwide through the 1990s, purchasing Fidelity Financial Bankshares, First Financial of Petersburg, Md., Maryland Federal Bancorp, and Franklin Bancorporation. In 1998, BB&T acquired MainStreet Financial of Martinsville, Va., and Mason-Dixon Bancshares of Westminster, Md., and further expanded into
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
after purchasing First Liberty of Macon, Ga., and Matewan Bancshares.- In 2000, BB&T purchased One Valley Bancorp, which was itself formed from a combination of community banks throughout West Virginia. This move gave BB&T the largest bank presence in West Virginia. In 2002, BB&T completed its acquisition of MidAmerica Bancorp of Louisville, Ky. (Bank of Louisville) and AREA Bancshares Corporation of Owensboro, Ky. In 2003, BB&T completed its acquisition of First Virginia Banks of Falls Church, Va. In 2005, the bank acquired
Main Street Bank Main Street Banks was a bank based in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2006, it was acquired by BB&T. The bank operated 24 branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or ...
s of metro Atlanta for $622 million. In 2006, the bank acquired Coastal Federal Bank, based in
Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...
. In late 2008, the bank accepted $3.1 billion in
bailout A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...
money through the sale of preferred shares to the U.S. Treasury's
Troubled Asset Relief Program The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
. In June 2009, the bank repurchased the shares. Also in June 2009, its chairman,
John A. Allison IV John A. Allison IV (born August 14, 1948) is an American businessman and the former CEO and president of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Allison held a number of leadership positions in BB&T Corp. from 1987 until 2010 when he retired. He ...
delivered a keynote address to a meeting of the
Competitive Enterprise Institute The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit libertarian think tank founded by the political writer Fred L. Smith Jr. on March 9, 1984, in Washington, D.C., to advance principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individu ...
, where he claimed to show how government regulation caused the
financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
. In July 2008, the company acquired Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan. In December 2008, the company acquired J. Rolfe Davis. On August 14, 2009, the bank acquired Colonial Bank after its seizure by the
FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures credi ...
. This acquisition added more than 340 branches in
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, Georgia,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, along with approximately $22 billion in assets. BB&T sold the Nevada branch to U.S. Bancorp in January 2010. The company acquired Atlantic Risk Management. In November 2011, the company acquired Precept, an employee benefits consulting firm. In July 2012, the bank acquired
BankAtlantic BankAtlantic was a US bank that operated in the state of Florida until it was acquired in 2012 by BB&T Corporation. It provided consumer and business banking services to communities throughout Florida. It was founded in 1952 and had 78 branch ...
, and its $2.1 billion in loans and $3.3 billion in deposits. The company also began selling flood insurance online. In December 2013, the bank acquired 21
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
branches in Texas for $36 million, adding $1.2 billion in deposits. In September 2014, the bank acquired 41 more Citigroup branches, adding $2.3 billion in deposits. In June 2015, the bank acquired Bank of Kentucky for $363 million, which added $1.9 billion in assets and gave BB&T a presence in the Northern Kentucky-Cincinnati market and its first branches in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. In August 2015, the bank acquired Susquehanna Bank for $2.5 billion, adding 240 branches and $18.7 billion in assets, and marking the bank's entry into
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. In April 2016, the company acquired Swett & Crawford, a wholesale insurance broker. In April 2016, the bank acquired National Penn for $1.8 billion, which added 124 branches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, $9.6 billion in assets, and $6.7 billion in deposits. On August 29, 2018, BB&T announced as many as 630 employees would move from its former corporate headquarters on West Nash Street in Wilson to a $35 million, 95,000-square-foot facility on Pine Street. On October 16, 2018, BB&T announced plan to move 500 employees into a 100,000-square-foot, $10 million building in Whiteville, N.C. In May 2022, Truist announced the organisation had acquired the 12-person San Francisco based, gamified Finical technology start-up company Long Game Savings inc. The monetary value paid for the company has been left undisclosed.


Insurance services

BB&T has been in the insurance business since 1922. In the late '80s and early '90s the division was losing money. In 1990 Henry William and Wade Reece, a BB&T branch manager, met to discuss how to make the business profitable again. In 1995 the insurance services division made 6 acquisitions of insurance companies based across
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. In July 1999 the insurance services division had acquired 24 insurance companies in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, 15 in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, 3 in
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
, and 1 in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. By 2010 BB&T's insurance division had grown to be the sixth largest broker in the US and the seventh largest in the world with $1 billion in annual revenue. The division has completed 60 mergers since 1999. In 2002 CRC was acquired, whose businesses include specialty and high risk clients. TAPCO and Southern Cross were also acquired and merged into CRC. In February 2008, the division acquired Burkey Risk Services. In April 2008 UnionBanc Insurance Services was acquired. In November 2009, the division acquired Oswald Trippe. In September 2011 Liberty Benefit Insurance Services, an agency operating in California, was acquired. In February 2012, the division acquired the life insurance, property, and casualty insurance divisions of Crump Group. In March 2014, the Insurance Services division acquired Woodbury & Co., an insurance broker operating in the Carolinas. In April 2014 Caledonian Insurance Group was, a company which specialized in insurance brokerage services for the aviation industry. In April 2015, BB&T subsidiary CRC Insurance Services acquired the assets of Napco LLC, a broker of catastrophic commercial insurance. In the June 2015 acquisition of Bank of Kentucky part of the deal was also American Coastal Insurance which increased BB&T's ownership in AMRisc. In April 2018 the insurance service division announced it was purchasing Regions Insurance Group which was owned by Regions Financial Corporation and the purchase was completed in July 2018. The business was based in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
and had offices in 10 states. This acquisition significantly added the insurance division's retail and whole lines of business. The acquisition provided BB&T Insurance Services with 60,000 new clients in multiple states. In June 2020 BB&T Insurance Holdings rebranded as Truist Insurance Holdings and moved its headquarters to
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
inside the
Truist Center The Truist Center is a 47-story, skyscraper in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The city's third tallest building, it is located along North Tryon Street. It was opened on November 14, 2002 it was the city's second tallest building, and was k ...
, Truist's corporate headquarters. Insurance Services has been an important area of growth for Truist, in 2020 it accounted for 10% of Truist's revenue. Kelly King CEO of Truist stated the company's goal is to have the insurance division eventually make up 14% to 15% of Truist's revenue.


History of SunTrust Banks

SunTrust Banks is the combination of three companies, two banks, one based in Georgia and one based in Florida, and an investment company. The three companies are Trust Company of Georgia, Sun Bank, and The Robinson-Humphrey Company. On September 21, 1891 what subsequently became the Trust Company of Georgia was started by John M. Green, Joel Hurt, H. L. Atwater, W. A. Hansell, T. J. Hightower, J. G. Oglesby, J. D. Turner, John B. Daniel, Joseph Hirsch, Leon Lieberman, Louis Wellhouse, A. J. McBride, D. O. Dougherty, W. A. Gregg, W. W. Draper, A. C. Hook, W. T. Ashford, George W. Brooke, C. I. Branan, and C. D. Montgomery. In November 1893, it restructured as a
trust company A trust company is a corporation that acts as a fiduciary, trustee or agent of trusts and agencies. A professional trust company may be independently owned or owned by, for example, a bank or a law firm, and which specializes in being a trust ...
and renamed itself Trust Company of Georgia. The earliest predecessor of Sun Bank was founded in 1911 as The People's National Bank in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
. In 1920, it became the First National Bank. In the early 1930s, during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, the First National Bank and Trust Company failed. It was reorganized on Valentine's Day 1934 as the First National Bank at Orlando. In 1973, the bank merged with other Orlando banks to become SunBanks. As of December 31, 1973, it had three bank-related subsidiaries and total assets of $1.713 billion. In 1985 the Trust Company of Georgia and Sun Banks Inc. merge to form SunTrust Banks Inc. The Robinson-Humphrey Company was founded as a municipal bond shop by Roby Robinson in 1894. Robinson and William G. Humphrey, a bond trader from Toledo, Ohio, eventually incorporated The Robinson-Humphrey Co. in 1902. It blossomed into the leading investment banking firm in the South under Chairman Justus Martin Jr., who helped broaden its ties to Atlanta corporations, European clients and the firm's wealthy families who were brokerage clients. Martin was at the helm when Robinson-Humphrey commissioned the building of the bold
Atlanta Financial Center The Atlanta Financial Center (AFC) is a 914,747-square-foot office building complex located in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia. The office complex is situated directly over the Georgia 400 highway and features a black aluminum/glass-frame design, comp ...
in city's tony Buckhead business district in the early 1980s. In 1982, Martin sold Robinson-Humphrey to
American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
, which was then run by another Atlanta deal maker and fellow
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
grad, James Robinson (no relation to Roby Robinson). Under AmEx, the firm operated as part of Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc. In 1993, deal maker
Sandy Weill Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) *(Sandy) A ...
orchestrated a deal for Shearson's retail division, and Robinson-Humphrey was included in the sale, using the Smith Barney unit of Primerica Corp. The company was acquired by SunTrust in 2001. In June 2020 SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and BB&T Capital Markets combined to form the new Truist Securities.


BB&T/SunTrust merger

On February 7, 2019, It was reported that
Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...
-based BB&T and
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
-based SunTrust Banks would come together in a
merger of equals Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
to create the eighth-largest US bank. It would be the biggest bank deal since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The bank also announced the move of its headquarters to
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, retaining significant operations in Winston-Salem. It was subsequently announced that Winston-Salem would be the bank's headquarters for community banking, while Atlanta would be the hub for wholesale / retail banking. On June 12, BB&T and SunTrust announced that the merged company would be called ''Truist Financial Corporation''. This name resulted from research that included hiring Interbrand, seeking opinions of employees of both banks, and
focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...
s. The new name drew criticism from analysts and customers of both banks on
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
. On June 17,
Truliant Federal Credit Union Truliant Federal Credit Union is a nonprofit financial institution based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Chartered in 1952, the credit union provides financial guidance and services to members in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. As o ...
of Winston-Salem filed suit claiming "
trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...
", complaining of potential confusion between the two companies’ respective names, including Truliant products with "Tru" in their names. The parties agreed to dismiss claims on August 5, 2020 and the lawsuit was closed the next day. The merger was completed at midnight December 6, 2019. BB&T CEO Kelly King retained the same position with the new company. Customers of both banks were given free access to all of Truist's ATMs free of charge. The merged bank will continue to operate under the BB&T and SunTrust names until the two banks' computer hardware, software and networking systems are streamlined, a process that could take as long as two years. Due to delays related to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Truist announced in April 2021 that core conversion to combine the branches will be performed in early 2022. However, on the day the merger closed, SunTrust Bank merged into Branch Banking & Trust Company, forming Truist Bank as the merged company's legal banking entity. On December 11, 2019, Truist officially exercised its option to purchase Hearst Tower in downtown Charlotte from Cousins Properties. Truist moved its corporate headquarters to Hearst Tower, which was renamed to
Truist Center The Truist Center is a 47-story, skyscraper in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The city's third tallest building, it is located along North Tryon Street. It was opened on November 14, 2002 it was the city's second tallest building, and was k ...
. Truist had taken over of total. The bank announced the deal was completed March 31, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, further actions will be delayed. Truist unveiled its logo in January 2020, with two Ts representing touch and technology, and a shade of purple combining the blue of SunTrust and the burgundy of BB&T. In November 2020, the bank used helicopters to lift up four signs to the top of the former Hearst Tower. The "Truist" wordmark appears on the North Tryon Street and North College Street sides of the building, while the other two sides displayed the Truist logo. This signage has caused a lot controversy, even leading the building's original architect to refer to the signage as vandalism. In February 2020, Truist announced it would be launching a nonprofit foundation called the Truist Foundation. In March 2020, Truist announced it would vacate its former headquarters building in Winston-Salem except for a branch office and would move employees in its community/retail hub to other locations in the city, including the Park Building on Cherry Street and two locations on Stratford Road. The merger was estimated to cost $4 billion. Part of these costs would be severance for workers laid off, conversion costs, marketing and professional fees. However, through the merger the bank estimates that $1.6 billion in net cost savings will be achieved by the end of 2022. Part of this savings would be fewer branches. Truist intended to close 800 branches by the first quarter of 2022, and office consolidation would reduce space by 4.8 million square feet. On September 5, 2021, former SunTrust Banks CEO Bill Rogers became chief executive officer of Truist Financial Corporation. Truist said it had completed changing signs on branches February 22, 2022. At that time former SunTrust customers had difficulty using debit cards.


Slavery

In 2020, Truist Financial acknowledged and apologized for the company's historical connections to slavery. Kelly King, chairman and chief executive of Truist, issued an employee memo addressing BB&T's slavery ties, but did not mention BB&T's founders Alpheus Branch and Thomas Hadley by name. Prior to the Civil War, Alpheus Branch's father Samuel owned 58 slaves. Thomas Hadley's father owned 37 slaves. The memo stated that "we must consider our own past and acknowledge the role our heritage companies played over 100 years ago to perpetuate the atrocity of slavery and the repression of enslaved people, leading to systemic disadvantages their descendants have endured for generations...We deeply regret and denounce these shameful aspects of our history, both known and unknown." According to the book "Genealogy of American Finance", the economic roots of BB&T can be traced back to 1805, even though BB&T was founded in 1872, nearly a decade after slavery was abolished. Both founders of the bank served in the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
.


Post-merger deals

On December 10, 2020 Truist Insurance Holdings announced it will acquire 5 companies in the fourth quarter. Those include: W. Brown & Associates Property & Casualty, Specialty Risk Associates, Program Insurance Management of Sarasota, Wellington Risk Holdings Inc. and Fidelis Group Holdings. These companies will add $100 million in revenue. In May 2021 Truist Insurance Holdings announced it will acquire Constellation Affiliated Partners in the third quarter. The insurance division plans to keep Constellation Affiliated Partners 475 employees and merge them into CRC. The acquisition will add $160 million in revenue to Truist Insurance Holdings current revenue of $2.3 billion. Truist Insurance has three main segments: retail, insurance premium finance and wholesale. John Howard, CEO of Truist Insurance, stated this about the division's approach "We are normally working on acquisition opportunities. We're in an industry that is consolidating, and we have a really good track record, I really think diversification is attractive, and we're already the most diversified insurance broker, so I want to continue to build on that. And for Truist overall, we provide diversification away from...credit businesses, so that we perform well throughout a variety of market cycles." On August 11, 2021 Truist announced it is acquiring Service Finance Co. for $2 billion. Service Finance provides point-of-sale financing 14,000 dealers and contractors for home improvement projects. Truist already has a point-of-sale financing business that includes Sheffield Financial, which provides financing for power equipment, power sports, and trailers. On March 3, 2022 Truist Insurance Holdings completed the acquisition of Kensington Vanguard National Land Services (KV). Kensington Vanguard National Land Services is one of the nation's largest independent national title companies. Truist's existing title business BridgeTrust Title Group will integrated into KV. The combined organized of BridgeTrust Title Group and KV along with Truist's premium business, AFCO, will all combine to become a new Truist Insurance Holdings division. On May 3, 2022 Truist announced it has acquired Long Game, a 12 person fintech startup that has a gamified finance mobile app. The startup is a private company based in San Francisco. It was founded in 2015 by co-founder and CEO Lindsay Holden. Ms. Holden will continue to lead the team after the integration into Truist. In October 2022 Truist announced that Truist Foundry has been formed out of the original Long Game team plus 30 engineers. The purpose of the innovation group will be to build new offerings in emerging product categories. Lindsay Holden, former CEO of Long Game, will be the head of the group. Truist Foundry will have their office in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
with engineers all over the US. On August 10, 2022 Truist Insurance Holdings announced the purchase of BenefitMall, the nation's largest benefits wholesale agency. The company will be integrated into the CRC Group within Truist Insurance Holdings. The cost of the acquisition was not announced. BenefitMall is expected to add $150 million of annual revenue. On August 22, 2022 Truist announced the bank is purchasing the Zaloni Arena platform which has been created by Durham based firm Zaloni. Truist believes this software will “accelerate its data governance, metadata management, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) programs while driving investments in data talent ...," according to a press release. The software is centered around data lakes that allowsfor the collect of data from multiple sources such as structured data, data from sensors, and data from social media. The company's 20 employees will be joining Truist's Enterprise Data Office and the team will be based in Raleigh, North Carolina. On September 6, 2022, Truist Insurance Holdings announced the $3.4 billion purchase of BankDirect Capital Finance from Texas Capital Bancshares Inc., the financial services company's first deal in the
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
improvement industry. This was the largest deal ever for the former BB&T other than the merger which created Truist. BankDirect Capital Finance is based in Illinois, it has 122 employees across 5 offices. The deal is expected to close in the 4th quarter. Mike Maguire, company CFO, stated this about the deal “Strategically, BankDirect effectively doubles our premium finance business, broadens our capabilities to include life insurance and expands our West Coast presence. … We estimate Truist Insurance Holdings will be the number two premium finance player in the market after this deal closes later this quarter”. In the last 7 years, 2016 to October 2022 Truist Insurance Holdings has made 11 insurance brokerage acquisitions, with its sale of WBAIS Inc. to Sompo International Holdings Ltd. in December 2020 it has 10 net acquisitions. According to S&P Market Intelligence this makes the company the second most active US banking acquirer of insurance brokerages during this period. The first place bank was
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
based Eastern Bankshares Inc..


Buildings and branches

File:BBTLexington.jpg, Typical branch office in
Lexington, North Carolina Lexington is the county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term ...
File:BBT HQ.JPG, BB&T Financial Center in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
File:Tampa architectural photos 231.jpg, Office building in downtown
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
File:Union Banking Company building, Douglas, GA, USA.JPG, A typical branch in
Douglas, Georgia Douglas is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,722. Douglas is the county seat of Coffee County and the core city of the Douglas, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...
File:BB&TBankBldg-2010-07-c.JPG, Office building in downtown
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
File:Truist Center Sign.jpg,
Truist Center The Truist Center is a 47-story, skyscraper in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The city's third tallest building, it is located along North Tryon Street. It was opened on November 14, 2002 it was the city's second tallest building, and was k ...
, Truist Financial Headquarters in Charlotte, NC


See also

*
BB&T Center 200 South College (formerly BB&T Center) is a high-rise in Charlotte, North Carolina. Completed in 1975, it consists of 22 floors, a 11-story parking garage, and on the second floor it is connected to neighboring buildings via skybridges, as ...
*
Truist Center The Truist Center is a 47-story, skyscraper in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The city's third tallest building, it is located along North Tryon Street. It was opened on November 14, 2002 it was the city's second tallest building, and was k ...
*
SunTrust Banks SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...
*
Uptown Charlotte Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The a ...
* BB&T Financial Center *
Southern National Bank Southern National Bank was a bank headquartered first in Lumberton, North Carolina and then in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It joined with BB&T in 1995. History In 1897, former North Carolina governor Angus MacLean and Judge Thomas A. McNeill ...
*
List of bank mergers in United States This is a partial list of major banking company mergers in the United States. Table Mergers chart This 2012 chart shows some of the mergers noted above. Solid arrows point from the acquiring bank to the acquired one. The lines are labeled ...
*
List of largest banks in the United States The following table lists the 100 largest bank holding companies in the United States ranked by total assets of June 30, 2022 per the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council; their market capitalization is also shown. This list does not ...
* The following sports venues sponsored by the company: **
Truist Arena Truist Arena, formerly The Bank of Kentucky Center and BB&T Arena, is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky, on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. The arena was topped off on June 21, 2007, and the first event ...
at Northern Kentucky University **
Truist Field Truist Field is a baseball stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Uptown-area stadium hosts the Charlotte Knights, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team in the International League. It is also the third sports building to be built in Uptow ...
, a baseball park in Charlotte **
Truist Field at Wake Forest Truist Field at Wake Forest is a football stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The stadium is just west of Gene Hooks Field at Wake Forest Baseball Park, home of the Wake Forest baseball team. It is primarily used for American football, an ...
University, a football stadium **
Truist Park Truist Park (originally SunTrust Park) is a baseball stadium in the Atlanta metropolitan area, approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta in the unincorporated community of Cumberland, Georgia, Cumberland, in Cobb County, ...
, a baseball park near Atlanta, home to the Atlanta Braves **
Truist Point Truist Point is a baseball stadium located in High Point, North Carolina and is home to the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The ballpark is bordered by Elm, English, Gatewood and Lindsay streets. Truist (form ...
, a baseball park in High Point, North Carolina **
Truist Stadium Truist Stadium is a ballpark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that replaced Ernie Shore Field. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball team and primary home field of the Carolina D ...
, a baseball park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina **
Truist Stadium Truist Stadium is a ballpark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that replaced Ernie Shore Field. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Winston-Salem Dash minor league baseball team and primary home field of the Carolina D ...
, a football stadium at North Carolina A&T State University


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2019 establishments in North Carolina American companies established in 2019 Banks based in North Carolina Banks established in 2019 Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Economy of the Southeastern United States Wilson, North Carolina