What Happened to BB&T Bank, and Is It Still in Business?
You may have noticed that BB&T signs are getting replaced. What happened to BB&T Bank, and is it still in business?
March 11 2022, Published 6:21 a.m. ET
BB&T Corporation was once the 11th largest bank in the U.S. However, you may have noticed that BB&T signs are getting replaced. What happened to BB&T Bank, and is it still in business?
In Feb. 2019, BB&T and SunTrust announced an all-stock merger, where BB&T said that it would buy SunTrust for $28.24 billion. BB&T CEO Kelly King called the transaction a “true merger of equals.” The combined entity became the sixth-largest bank in the U.S.
BB&T became Truist
In June 2019, it was announced that the new entity would be called Truist, and in Dec. 2019, the merger was completed. After the merger, several operational changes were made.
In summer 2020, BB&T and SunTrust introduced blended branches for their clients, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey & BB&T Capital Markets became Truist Securities. In Feb. 2021, Truist launched Truist Wealth, and a few months later, it rolled out a new mobile app and internet banking. In Oct. 2021, BB&T client products were transitioned to Truist.
What’s happening with BB&T in 2022?
In Feb. 2022, over 6,000 SunTrust and BB&T signs at branches, ATMs, and other offices were changed to Truist signs. Also, SunTrust client products were transitioned to Truist, and Truist commercial and consumer products were made available in SunTrust branches. SunTrust debit cards were also changed to Truist. In March, SunTrust and BB&T mortgages were renamed Truist mortgages.
Is BB&T shutting branches?
Every merger talks about “synergies.” More often than not, these result from cost reductions and economies of scale after a merger. For banks, this means footprint rationalization, which invariably leads to the closure of some of the branches and ATMs.
With BB&T and SunTrust now part of the same group, it wouldn't make sense to have several branches close together. Therefore, Truist has been closing some BB&T and SunTrust branches.
What's happening to BB&T accounts?
If you hold a BB&T account, according to Truist, “There will be little to no changes on how and where you bank.” Also, BB&T account holders can transact at any Truist branch.
Who owns BB&T now?
BB&T is now part of Truist Financial Group, which trades publicly under the ticker symbol “TFC”. It has a market cap above $75 billion and a dividend yield of 3.33 percent, which is higher than that of larger U.S. banks.
Vanguard and BlackRock, Truist's two largest stockholders, have 8.67 and 4.9 percent stakes in the company, respectively. State Street Global Advisors, Capital International Investors, and JPMorgan Asset Management are some of its other major stockholders.