BB&T says 'equipment malfunction' led to service outage

BB&T continued its work on Friday to restore all of its online banking services after an outage blamed on an equipment malfunction left some customers unable to access their accounts.

The Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based bank posted a statement on its Twitter page saying the problem persisted Friday, initially taking out its online banking, mobile banking app and automated teller machine services. They provided no further details on the source of the problem or exactly when full service would be restored.

Bank officials have apologized and said they don't believe the issue is related to a cyberattack.

"We are listening to our clients and we are committed to making this right," said Brian Davis, BB&T director of corporate communications. "If clients have incurred fees directly related to this outage, we will waive or reimburse those fees."

The problem was first reported Thursday. An outage map showed the biggest impact targeted much of central North Carolina, Atlanta, the Washington area and Philadelphia.

By Friday, Davis said automated Phone24 service and automated teller machines were available. He said as systems come back online, the bank is telling clients that some information they're seeing in their accounts has not yet been fully updated from Thursday. He said the bank expected information on balances and transactions to become current later Friday.

Davis said BB&T would extend banking hours Friday to help with any questions, challenges or concerns. He said bank branches that are normally open on Saturdays will stay open two additional hours to assist clients.