Citizens & Southern National Bank

Citizens and Southern National Bank
Company type	Banking institution
Industry	Banking, financial services
Founded	1906
Fate	Merged with Sovran Bank in 1990 to form C&S/Sovran; merged with NCNB in 1991 to form NationsBank (now Bank of America)
Headquarters	Atlanta, United States
Area served	Southeastern United States (Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, District of Columbia)
Key people	Mills B. Lane (founding president), Mills Lane Jr. (president, vice chairman, chairman), Hugh C. Lane (chairman)
Products	Banking services

Citizens and Southern National Bank (C&S) was a banking institution based in Georgia that expanded its reach into South Carolina, Florida, and additional states through a series of mergers. With its headquarters situated in Atlanta, Georgia, it held the position of the largest bank in the Southeastern United States for a significant portion of the 20th century. In 1990, C&S combined with Sovran Bank to create C&S/Sovran as a strategic move to prevent a hostile acquisition attempt by NCNB Corporation. Just one year later, C&S/Sovran merged with NCNB, resulting in the formation of NationsBank, which ultimately evolved into the modern-day Bank of America.

One notable former branch, located in Charleston, South Carolina, known as Citizens and Southern National Bank of South Carolina, is recognized as one of the oldest American bank buildings still actively used. Originally constructed in 1798 as the Bank of South Carolina, this building subsequently served as the premises for the Charleston Library Society and the Charleston Chamber of Commerce before being acquired by C&S in 1966. Positioned at 50 Broad Street, it currently functions as a private office space.

History

The origins of C&S trace back to Georgia with the 1906 merger between Citizens Bank of Savannah (founded November 2, 1887) and Southern Bank of Georgia. Mills B. Lane joined Citizens Bank in 1891 as vice president and director, ascended to president by 1901, and was instrumental in orchestrating the merger with Southern Bank that established Citizens and Southern Bank of Georgia.

In 1922, Citizens and Southern expanded by acquiring Central Bank and Trust, which was established by Coca-Cola co-founder Asa Griggs Candler. To enter the South Carolina market, C&S secured a charter from the Comptroller of the Currency on May 2, 1927, designating Savannah as its operational headquarters. Prominent figures included Mills Lane Jr., who held leadership roles as president, vice chairman, and chairman between 1946 and 1973, during which time C&S became the most profitable and largest bank in the South among the top fifty U.S. banks. Hugh C. Lane assumed the chairmanship in 1960.

In South Carolina, C&S acquired two Charleston-based financial institutions: Atlantic Savings Bank and Atlantic National Bank. Founded in 1874 originally as Germania Savings Bank, Atlantic Savings was renamed in 1918. By May 1928, both Atlantic banks were rebranded under Citizens and Southern Bank of South Carolina but maintained operations solely within Charleston at two King Street branches under ownership by C&S of Georgia.

Division, expansion, and consolidation

Substantial growth occurred simultaneously in both South Carolina and Georgia. In anticipation of forthcoming federal regulations prohibiting interstate banking operations in 1940, C&S of South Carolina separated from C&S of Georgia to preserve a strong local banking presence within South Carolina. Later, in 1956, C&S of South Carolina merged with Growers Bank and Trust located in Inman, South Carolina. By 1960, this entity had adopted computerized systems that improved operational efficiency and introduced free checking accounts for customers maintaining a minimum monthly balance of $100—a pioneering initiative within the state.

In 1985, Citizens and Southern Georgia Corporation agreed to acquire Citizens and Southern National Bank of South Carolina for $400 million (equivalent to $55 per share), effectively reuniting banks that had been independent since their split in 1940. At the time of this reunification in 1986, C&S of South Carolina controlled assets totaling $2.5 billion while C&S of Georgia held $12.3 billion.

That same year marked another expansion when C&S of Georgia purchased Landmark Banks of Florida and subsequently rebranded it as The Citizens & Southern National Bank of Florida. These strategic acquisitions resulted in doubling the size of C&S of Georgia within an eighteen-month period.

C&S also operated various subsidiaries including C&S Corporation, C&S Realty Corporation, C&S Computer Services Corporation, and C&S Housing Corporation.

"Distressed" Conditions Triggered by Mergers

Between 1984 and 1986, the Southeastern Regional Banking Compact permitted Southern banks, primarily reliant on regional deposits, to merge or acquire one another while excluding major financial institutions from New York, Chicago, and the West Coast. This environment encouraged stronger Southern banks to absorb regional rivals to consolidate their market standing and prevent hostile takeovers.

Sovran Bank, which was eventually absorbed by C&S, grew by acquiring D.C. National Bancorp in 1986 and Commerce Union Bank in 1987.

Sovran Financial Corp.

In 1988, C&S approached First Federal Savings Bank of Brunswick, Georgia with merger proposals; however, First Federal deemed the offer inadequate and declined. Subsequently, First Federal unsuccessfully attempted legal action against C&S/Sovran to obstruct NCNB’s merger with them.

Soon after, NCNB, having evolved from a single-state bank into a significant regional entity, launched a hostile takeover campaign against C&S by acquiring substantial shares. In response, C&S merged with Sovran Financial Corporation located in Norfolk, Virginia. The combined organization was named C&S/Sovran, maintaining dual headquarters in Atlanta and Norfolk. This union resulted in a $47 billion institution with branches spanning Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia—forming a formidable Southern super-regional bank capable of fending off further acquisition attempts.

NationsBank

The expedited union of C&S and Sovran Financial sought to establish a leading regional bank but soon encountered challenges. Internal conflicts between the Atlanta-based C&S leadership and the Virginia-based Sovran team, coupled with Sovran’s problematic loan portfolio, undermined the merged company's stability.

Having expanded through acquisitions of troubled banks such as Texas' First Republic Bank Corporation, NCNB identified C&S/Sovran as another vulnerable institution. The purchase of First Republic nearly doubled NCNB's asset base, positioning it to acquire the weakened C&S/Sovran in 1991. At that time, C&S/Sovran held $49 billion in assets compared to NCNB’s $69 billion. The resulting entity was named NationsBank, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Prior to merging, NCNB ranked tenth and C&S/Sovran twelfth among U.S. banks by assets; following the merger, NationsBank ascended to third place. The deal was structured as a stock exchange valued at $4.259 billion, with NCNB issuing 0.84 shares for each share of C&S/Sovran—equating to $31.08 per share based on NCNB’s closing price before the announcement.

After the merger, certain C&S branches were divested: locations in Moncks Corner (SC) transferred to First National Bank; branches in Marion, Barnwell, Chester, St. George, Darlington, and Williston were sold to First Citizens Bank. Additionally, NCNB of South Carolina disposed of branches including its Hilton Head office to First Union of North Carolina.

NationsBank continued its growth trajectory by acquiring BankAmerica Corp., which had previously merged with Los Angeles-based Security Pacific National Bank. Although NationsBank remained the surviving institution, it adopted the widely recognized Bank of America name and replaced BankAmerica’s eagle emblem with a new stylized American flag logo.

Headquarters buildings

Following its growth from Savannah, C&S maintained two main office buildings in Atlanta. The initial headquarters, erected in 1901 and comprising 14 stories, currently serves as the Georgia State University J. Mack Robinson College of Business Administration Building. This structure was Atlanta's pioneering steel-frame construction and was historically identified as the Empire Building (1901–1920), then the Atlanta Trust Company Building (1920–1929), and later the Citizens and Southern National Bank Building (1929–1992). After C&S was acquired by NCNB in 1992, the building was gifted to GSU. It bears the name of J. Mack Robinson, a significant shareholder and board member of NCNB’s rival, Wachovia Bank.

In 1968, C&S shifted its headquarters to the newly completed C&S Bank Tower (constructed between 1964 and 1968), designed by architect Richard Aeck. This unique edifice was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Research Tower.

Once NationsBank Plaza opened in June 1992, the Aeck-designed C&S Bank Tower was carefully dismantled piece by piece.

Construction of a larger headquarters in Atlanta commenced in 1991, shortly before C&S merged with Sovran. During its development, NCNB took ownership of this building, which debuted as NationsBank Plaza in 1992. Following the merger and rebranding of NationsBank and BankAmerica, it was renamed Bank of America Plaza in 1998.

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