BB&T Buys SunTrust: Meet the Newest U.S. Megabank

BB&T and SunTrust—two of the largest banks in the South and the eastern U.S.—are merging. The two banks, which have a combined $441 billion in assets, 10 million customers, and $324 billion in deposits, will join together to become the sixth-largest bank in the U.S.

Here’s what you need to know:

• BB&T is purchasing SunTrust for $28.2 billion in an all stock deal. The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2019.

• The deal is the largest bank merger since 2004 when JPMorgan bought Bank One Corp., according to the Wall Street Journal.

• SunTrust shareholders will receive 1.295 BB&T shares for each of their shares.

• The new bank will be valued at $66 billion and does not yet have a name.

Banking on the future

Most Americans use one of the “big four” banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank—which each have more than $1 trillion in assets. Since both BB&T and SunTrust have a combined 10 million customers, the effects for retail banking customers may be minimal.

The deal will, however, likely raise concerns about consolidation in the financial industry, and may come under scrutiny from regulators.

But while the new institution will be the sixth-largest in the U.S., it will only rank as the 65th largest worldwide, according to industry data. The new bank will be better equipped to compete with the “big four” banks, which are considerably larger than any others in the U.S.

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