BB&T, SunTrust finish merger to become Truist in ‘seamless’ change. Here’s what’s next

The largest bank merger since the financial crisis a decade ago was just finalized, giving Charlotte another bank headquarters in Truist Financial Corporation. But it could take up to two years for the transition to the new brand to be complete.

The $66-billion deal to combine BB&T and SunTrust banks to become Truist closed at the end of the day Friday. It’s a major step for the now sixth-largest bank in the U.S. by assets and deposits, which is moving its headquarters operation and 2,000 employees along with it into Hearst Tower in uptown.

And it solidifies Charlotte’s reputation as a banking hub, after losing bank headquarters in recent years. Prior to the BB&T and SunTrust deal, only Bank of America was still headquartered in the city.

Truist expects to roll out its logo and branding in the early part of next year, CEO Kelly King said in a recent interview with the Observer. He is the former BB&T CEO.

“This is not abrupt, major change,” he said. “This is a seamless coming together of two great companies.”

AN ‘INTENSE JOURNEY’

King said the conversion, expected to take place about 18 to 24 months after the branding is unveiled, will be an “intense journey.”

For example, the bank will have to change the computer systems, rename branches, roll out a new app and change signage.

King said the vast majority of the bank’s clients won’t need new account numbers, and won’t have to get new debit cards right away. As of Monday, customers of both banks are able to use the more than 4,000 BB&T and SunTrust ATMs free of charge, he said.

The bank will have to decide whether to convert everything state-by-state in its 17-state footprint, or to convert the systems piece by piece across all states, he said. He expects they’ll do the former, but said no decisions have been made about which states would be first in the transition.

BB&T and SunTrust both have sports facilities throughout the region that bear their names, including the 10,000-seat BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, home of the Knights minor-league baseball team. SunTrust holds the naming rights for the Braves baseball field in Atlanta.

In a statement, Truist said it is still working on a plan for changes to signage and other assets that display the old brands at the venues and properties it partners with.

CHARLOTTE OPERATIONS

All of those moves will be occurring as the bank beefs up its Charlotte presence.

Truist is leasing about half of the space in the 46-story Hearst building on North Tryon Street, and King said they are in the process of renovating several floors.

The tower will house company executives, as well as leadership teams for finance, human resources, legal, insurance, corporate communications and other groups. The total headcount will include new hires as well as existing employees, some of whom have already started relocating to the area, King said.

King purchased a condo across from Myers Park Country Club in May for $1.3 million, property records show.

The bank is also developing plans to open an innovation and technology center in Charlotte. King said they still haven’t decided on a location, but they’ll house at least some of the operation in the headquarters building.

The bank declined to provide its employment count for the Charlotte region. But it will have to compete for workers with major players like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, who employ around 16,000 and 26,000 in the area, respectively.

King said Truist is an attractive employer, and provides benefits such as a pension plan and a 401(k) match.

“What we’re doing with Truist is kind of taking the best of both companies,” he said.

ADDRESSING CONCERNS

Federal regulators signed off on the deal last month, despite lingering concerns from some Democratic lawmakers and consumer advocates. The approval was contingent on the combined company divesting 30 branches and more than $2.4 billion in deposits to mitigate the merger’s competitive impacts.

In order to comply with that requirement, the banks announced that First Horizon Bank would acquire 30 SunTrust branches in North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, and assume $2.4 billion in deposits.

Maxine Waters, a California Democrat and chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, said last month that the conditions regulators placed on the merger should have gone further. She said the committee will continue to monitor the new institution.

The bank has committed $60 billion in loans and investments in low- to moderate-income communities over three years as part of its Community Benefits Plan. King said Monday marks the start of that plan.

Waters said that regulators should have made those commitments binding on approving the merger.

“Nevertheless, the Committee will continue to conduct oversight on the new bank, and will follow up to ensure that it makes good on its promises,” she said in the statement.

King cited the Community Benefits Plan as an example of the greater impact that the two institutions can have now that they are combined. “For those that want to be critical about large institutions my answer is simply this: it’s not about size, it’s about attitude,” he said.

LAWSUIT QUESTIONS

Winston-Salem’s Truliant Federal Credit Union filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in June over the Truist name, arguing that it will create customer confusion.

In a statement, Truliant said it is continuing its effort to protect its brand.

“We see difficulty for consumers who can’t distinguish between our names, given the direct geographic overlap in our respective markets,” the bank said. “... The Truist name is a clear infringement.”

But King said the ongoing lawsuit is “not deterring” its rebranding efforts.

In a response filed this month, SunTrust and BB&T denied Truliant’s claims, and asked the court to dismiss the case.

King said the company conducted thorough research before selecting the Truist name. “We would never have just picked a name that could have had any remote possibility of infringing on anybody else,” he said.

LOCAL PHILANTHROPY

After the merger was announced, BB&T and SunTrust joined a slew of banks that have committed funding for affordable housing in Charlotte.

In April, SunTrust and BB&T agreed to donate $10 million to a fund the Foundation for the Carolinas is raising to subsidize affordable housing. They also pledged $20 million worth of below market-rate loans to developers to help finance the construction of affordable housing.

In addition to housing, King said the bank would also like to be involved with efforts to improve literacy.

“In areas like housing and reading, financial literacy and leadership in general, we believe we will be able to make a positive impact,” he said, “and we intend to do that.”