Sovran Bank

Sovran Bank
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Banking
Predecessor	First & Merchants Bank, Virginia National Bankshares
Founded	1983
Defunct	1990
Fate	Merged with Citizens & Southern National Bank to form C&S/Sovran Corp.
Headquarters	Norfolk, United States
Area served	Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington D.C.
Products	Banking services

Sovran Bank operated as a regional bank in Virginia from 1983 until 1990 and functioned as the primary subsidiary of Sovran Financial Corporation, a bank holding company. The institution emerged through the consolidation of First & Merchants Bank and Virginia National Bankshares, both with roots dating back to the 1860s. In 1990, Sovran combined with Citizens & Southern National Bank to establish C&S/Sovran Corp., which subsequently merged with North Carolina National Bank in 1991, forming NationsBank, the predecessor to Bank of America as of 1998.

The brand name Sovran was crafted by Glenn Monigle & Associates as a streamlined version of the word "sovereign".

First & Merchants Bank

Shortly after the Civil War concluded, Richmond’s financial community founded First National Bank, launching operations in the Customs House soon after General Lee’s surrender. It later merged with National Exchange Bank and, despite challenges during the Panic of 1893, maintained the largest asset base among Richmond banks by the turn of the century.

On September 1, 1912, National Bank of Virginia was incorporated into First National. The iconic First National Bank Building—Richmond’s inaugural skyscraper designed by Alfred Charles Bossom—was completed in 1913 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The merger between Merchants National Bank and First National on February 27, 1926, resulted in the formation of First & Merchants Bank. In 1981, The National Bank of Fairfax, originally established in 1902, was absorbed into First & Merchants.

Additional banks consolidated into First & Merchants over time include:

Savings Bank & Trust Co., January 30, 1959
First National Bank (Ashland), December 31, 1959
Petersburg Savings & American Trust Co., December 30, 1961
Augusta National Bank (Staunton), September 29, 1962
First National Bank (Newport News), November 1, 1962
Peoples National Bank & Trust Co. (Lynchburg), January 31, 1963
First National Bank (Waynesboro), July 31, 1964
Loudoun National Bank (Leesburg), September 1, 1965
Bank of Virginia Beach, January 1, 1966
Bank of Chesapeake, January 31, 1966
Suburban National Bank of Virginia (McLean), August 1, 1970
First National Bank (Danville), June 30, 1979
Services National Bank (Arlington), November 30, 1979
The Bank of Chatham, October 1980
The National Bank of Fairfax, June 30, 1981

Virginia National Bank

Founded in 1885, Norfolk National Bank rapidly established itself as a prominent financial entity in Virginia by increasing its capital to one million dollars along with a surplus of $500,000. It merged with Trust Company of Norfolk and National Bank of Commerce to create Norfolk National Bank of Commerce & Trusts. In turn, this institution combined with Virginia National Bank of Norfolk in 1933 to form the National Bank of Commerce of Norfolk.

People's National Bank began operations in Roanoke in 1903. In Norfolk during 1920, Church Street Bank was renamed American Exchange Bank; its deposits were acquired by Virginia National Bank four years later in 1924.

The merger in 1962 involving two Southampton County banks led to the creation of Tidewater Bank and Trust Co., which was subsequently incorporated into Virginia National Bank. The bank unveiled its new headquarters—a twenty-four-story building—in Norfolk in January 1968.

Richmond’s Virginia Trust Company was chartered under special legislation because trust companies were a novel concept in the South at that time. Its Neoclassical granite and marble headquarters opened in 1921. This institution merged with Virginia National Bank in 1973.

Significant banks that became part of Virginia National Bankshares include:

Merchants & Planters Bank, Norfolk (1957)
People's National Bank of Central Virginia, Charlottesville (1963)
National Bank of Suffolk (1963)
Farmers Exchange Bank, Abingdon (1963)
Farmers & Merchants Bank, Staunton and Tidewater Bank & Trust, Franklin (1963)
First National Bank of Buena Vista and Southern Bank of Commerce, Danville (1964)
Bank of Glade Spring (1965)
People's National Bank of Farmville and First National Bank of Gate City (1965)
Merchants National Bank and Bank of Phoebus, Hampton (1965)
Peoples National Bank, Victoria and Wythe County National Bank, Wytheville (1966)
Pulaski National Bank and Bank of Crewe (1966)
Farmers & Merchants Bank, Lawrenceville and National Bank of Woodstock (1968)
Northampton County Trust Bank, Cape Charles (1968)
Commonwealth National Bank, Arlington (1969)
First National Banks in Quantico (1969), Harrisonburg (1970), Troutville (1981)
Merchants & Farmers Bank, Smithfield (1970)
Carroll County Bank, Hillsville (1970)
Farmers Exchange Bank, Coeburn (1981)
Old Colony Bank & Trust, Williamsburg
South Boston Bank & Trust Co. (1982)
First State Bank of Wise (1982)
Northern Virginia Bank of Springfield (1982)
First City Bank, Newport News (1982)
Citizens National Bank, Fries (1982)
Farmers Bank, Mathews (1982)

Expansion of Sovran Bank

In 1985, Sovran expanded its footprint by acquiring Suburban Bancorp, the fourth-largest banking institution in Maryland with assets totaling $3.1 billion, for $405 million. Originally established as Silver Spring National Bank in 1910, it adopted the name Suburban National Bank in 1938 following its acquisition of Takoma Park Bank.

The following year, Sovran further extended its reach by purchasing D.C. National Bancorp, based in Bethesda, Maryland, for $64.5 million in stock. At that point, Sovran's assets amounted to $8.3 billion, while D.C. National Bancorp held $348.2 million.

By 1987, Sovran had entered the Kentucky and Tennessee markets through the acquisition of Commerce Union, recognized as Tennessee's fourth-largest bank.

In 1990, Sovran completed a significant merger with Citizens & Southern National Bank (C&S), which had previously declined a hostile takeover offer valued at $2.4 billion from North Carolina National Bank (NCNB). The merged organization controlled $47 billion in assets, $34 billion in deposits, and operated 976 branches across eight states. Although the new entity was initially planned to be named Advantor Financial Corporation, it ultimately adopted the name C&S/Sovran, maintaining dual headquarters located in Atlanta and Norfolk.

After experiencing financial setbacks during the early 1990s recession, C&S/Sovran was acquired by NCNB in 1991 through a stock transaction worth $4.3 billion.

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