BB&T and SunTrust Banks deal approved by Federal Reserve

The combined company will become a regional powerhouse

The Federal Reserve has given its blessing of the merger between BB&T and SunTrust Banks.

The combined bank will be named 'Truist' and will be the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets and deposits.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
STI NUBIA BRAND INTERNATIONAL CORP. 2.92 +0.03 +1.04%
BBT n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
FHN FIRST HORIZON CORP. (TENNESSEE) 15.32 +0.53 +3.58%

The approval is contingent upon select conditions. "The Board's approval is conditioned on several actions, including that BB&T must divest 30 branches and more than $2.4 billion in deposits to mitigate the competitive effects of the merger," said the Fed in a statement.

Earlier this month First Horizon National announced plans to buy 30 branches from Sun Trust Bank which will give the company $2.4 billion in deposits and $410 million in loans. The company said it "enhances the company’s presence in key growth markets such as Durham, Chapel Hill and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as well as extends its banking footprint into additional attractive markets in Virginia and Georgia."

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The deal, which was described as a merger of equals when announced, at the time had a value of $66 billion and is the largest bank merger since the financial crisis.

In addition, an order of consent was slapped on SunTrust for what was described as "unfair and deceptive practices." The statement also noted, "As detailed in the order, SunTrust made misleading or inaccurate statements between 2013 and 2017 to certain business customers about the operation and billing for certain add-on products."

SunTrust returned $8.8 million to customers impacted and ceased the practice.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year according to the company.

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