BB&T announced in February its pending merger with SunTrust Banks in a $66 billion deal that marked the largest big bank merger since the financial crisis.
Now, SunTrust is sharing some details on what the deal – which combines two massive regional entities to create the sixth-largest retail bank in the U.S. – will mean for its employees.
It appears that for some who work in management positions within SunTrust’s mortgage arm, that will mean relocating to North Carolina.
According to a recent article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, SunTrust will be moving some of its management positions out of Richmond, Virginia, to Greensboro, North Carolina. The bank said this may include two or three dozen employees, who will be relocated over the course of two years.
“As part of our planning for the proposed merger of equals, we’ve made the decision to locate the mortgage leadership team for the proposed combined company in Greensboro, N.C.,” SunTrust said in a statement obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
SunTrust did stress, however, that the combined mortgage business will continue to have a strong presence in both Richmond and Greenville.
The merger, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, gives BB&T a much larger stake in the mortgage industry.
In 2017, SunTrust ranked as top 25 lender with $10.6 billion in volume, according to data provided to HousingWire by iEmergent. By way of comparison, BB&T is ranked No. 34, with total mortgage lending volume of $6.7 billion.
Together, the two companies – which will emerge from the deal with a new name that has yet to be announced – will have about $442 billion in assets, according to a release from BB&T, combining BB&T’s $225.7 billion in assets as of the end of 2018 with SunTrust’s $216 billion.
SunTrust Chairman and CEO Bill Rogers addressed concerns at a joint public meeting of the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation last month that the transaction will create an institution that is too large to successfully serve consumers.
“Let me assure you, in the case of this merger, bigger doesn’t mean riskier,” Rogers said. “Each company has a conservative risk profile now, and will maintain such as a combined entity, with strong risk management, liquidity and capital management.”
“The combined BB&T/SunTrust entity will actually increase competition by creating a stronger regional bank that reduces the concentration of systemic risk at the top of the market,” he added. “And, the combined company will have an even more balanced profile due to greater diversification across clients, business lines and geographies.”
