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Truist

From Alfawiki
Truist Financial Corporation
Company typePublic company
IndustryBanking, financial services
FoundedDecember 2019; 6 years ago (2019-12)
Headquarters
Charlotte, North Carolina
,
United States
Area served
15 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
ProductsConsumer banking, commercial banking, investment banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, insurance
Websitetruist.com

Truist Financial Corporation () is a U.S.-based bank holding company with its headquarters located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The corporation was established in December 2019 following the merger of BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust Company) and SunTrust. Its banking operations include 1,928 branches spread across 15 states and Washington, D.C., offering a range of products and services such as consumer, commercial, and investment banking, as well as securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, and insurance. As of May 2025, it holds the position of the tenth-largest bank in the United States by assets, totaling $523 billion.

BB&T Origins

The origins of BB&T trace back to 1872 when Alpheus Branch and Thomas Jefferson Hadley founded the Branch and Hadley merchant bank in Wilson, North Carolina. In 1887, Branch acquired Hadley's interest and rebranded the institution as Branch and Company, Bankers. That same year, the bank relocated its headquarters to Nash Street in Wilson. Two years later, in 1889, Branch and his partners obtained a charter to establish the Wilson Banking and Trust Company, which eventually evolved into Branch Banking and Trust Company. Branch remained engaged with the bank until his passing in 1893. The 1903 Branch Banking and Trust Company Building is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

During World War I, BB&T participated in Liberty Bond sales and expanded its assets to over $4 million by 1923. The bank introduced insurance services in 1922 followed by a mortgage division in 1923. Despite the turmoil caused by the 1929 Stock Market Crash, BB&T was the sole bank in Wilson to endure.

Southern National Bank Background

Southern National traces its roots to the Bank of Lumberton, founded by Angus Mclean in Lumberton, North Carolina, in 1897. Its initial board consisted of representatives from both North Carolina and South Carolina. Following several leadership transitions, Mclean assumed the presidency with a vision centered on developing profitable enterprises that generated employment and supported local communities. In 1955, Hector MacLean succeeded him as president. The institution adopted the name Southern National Bank in 1959.

Southern National grew through strategic acquisitions, including Carolina State Bank of Gastonia in 1979 and Forsyth Bank & Trust in 1982. By 1985, it managed $1.5 billion in assets with 99 branches serving 26 counties. The bank expanded into South Carolina in 1986 via multiple acquisitions, positioning itself as North Carolina's seventh-largest banking entity. That same year, it divested its mortgage subsidiary to NCNB for $7 million to finance further growth within South Carolina.

Efforts to extend into Georgia and additional parts of South Carolina through acquisitions were unsuccessful during the late 1980s and early 1990s. By 1990, under Hector MacLean’s guidance, Southern National had increased from $3 million to $3.3 billion in assets with a network of 148 branches; Glenn Orr then took over leadership.

In early 1993, Southern National acquired First Federal Savings Bank of Winston-Salem, elevating it to second place for deposits within Forsyth County and reaching $4.5 billion in assets statewide. The company shifted some operations to One Triad Park in Winston-Salem, renaming the facility Southern National Financial Center after leasing substantial office space.

Also during 1993, Southern National purchased East Coast Federal Savings Bank based in Goldsboro (holding $256 million in assets), becoming the leading deposit holder in Fayetteville. Additionally, it acquired First Savings Bank of Greenville, South Carolina—with assets exceeding $2 billion—making it the third-largest financial institution within South Carolina. Glenn Orr worked alongside BB&T Chairman John Allison to pave the way for the eventual merger between Southern National and BB&T.

Merger with Southern National Bank

In 1995, BB&T combined forces with Southern National Bank, resulting in a network of 437 branches spanning 220 cities throughout the Carolinas and Virginia. The newly formed organization was named Southern National Corp., although all banking units continued operating under the BB&T brand. With assets totaling $19 billion, BB&T became the leader in North Carolina for both deposits and branch count. Following the merger, Southern National’s chief executive Glenn Orr retired. This union strengthened BB&T's position as a dominant regional bank, making it less vulnerable to acquisitions by out-of-state competitors. The corporate headquarters were established at the BB&T Financial Center located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In 1997, Southern National Corp. expanded further by acquiring United Carolina Bank for $985 million. This deal added $4.5 billion in assets and increased BB&T’s workforce in Whiteville through the addition of a call center and other operational facilities. On September 22, 1997, 91 UCB branches were converted to BB&T locations, while 67 redundant branches were closed to optimize the network.

On May 19, 1997, Southern National Corp. officially changed its name to BB&T Corp., simultaneously updating its stock ticker symbol from SN to BBT.

Acquisitions

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, BB&T pursued national growth by acquiring several financial institutions including Fidelity Financial Bankshares, First Financial of Petersburg (Maryland), Maryland Federal Bancorp, Franklin Bancorporation, MainStreet Financial based in Martinsville, Virginia, Mason-Dixon Bancshares (Maryland), First Liberty of Macon (Georgia), and Matewan Bancshares (West Virginia). The acquisition of One Valley Bancorp in 2000 established BB&T as the largest banking entity in West Virginia.

BB&T further expanded its footprint into Kentucky through purchases of MidAmerica Bancorp and AREA Bancshares Corporation in 2002; followed by First Virginia Banks in 2003; Main Street Banks in metro Atlanta for $622 million in 2005; and Coastal Federal Bank in Myrtle Beach in 2006.

In late 2008, BB&T participated in the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program by accepting $3.1 billion but repurchased these shares by mid-2009. The company also broadened its insurance capabilities by acquiring Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan and J. Rolfe Davis in 2008; Atlantic Risk Management and Precept (specializing in employee benefits consulting) in 2011; and wholesale broker Swett & Crawford in 2016.

On August 14, 2009, BB&T acquired Colonial Bank after it was seized by the FDIC, gaining over 340 branches across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas with approximately $22 billion in assets. The Nevada operations were subsequently sold to U.S. Bancorp in January 2010.

In July 2012, BB&T completed the acquisition of BankAtlantic, incorporating $2.1 billion in loans and $3.3 billion in deposits into its portfolio. That same year marked the introduction of online flood insurance services.

Between December 2013 and September 2014, BB&T secured ownership of a total of 62 Citigroup branches across Texas for $36 million along with $2.3 billion in deposits.

In June 2015, BB&T expanded into Northern Kentucky-Cincinnati and entered Ohio through its purchase of Bank of Kentucky for $363 million. Subsequently, in August 2015, it acquired Susquehanna Bank for $2.5 billion; this deal included 240 branches and $18.7 billion in assets and marked BB&T’s entry into Pennsylvania and New Jersey markets.

By April 2016, BB&T finalized its acquisition of National Penn for $1.8 billion, adding 124 branches throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland with assets totaling $9.6 billion and deposits amounting to $6.7 billion.

In August and October of 2018, BB&T streamlined operations by relocating several hundred employees to new office locations in Wilson and Whiteville, North Carolina.

In May 2022, Truist—formed through a merger involving BB&T—acquired San Francisco-based fintech company Long Game Savings Inc., aiming to attract younger customers; financial details of this transaction were not disclosed.

Insurance services

BB&T has been active in the insurance sector since 1922. Following financial setbacks during the late 1980s and early 1990s, company leadership shifted focus toward profitability, resulting in six acquisitions of insurance firms based in North Carolina in 1995. By July 1999, the insurance division had expanded its portfolio by acquiring 24 companies in North Carolina, 15 in Virginia, 3 in South Carolina, and 1 in Georgia. By 2010, it had grown to become the sixth-largest brokerage firm in the United States and ranked seventh globally, generating annual revenues of $1 billion and completing 60 mergers since 1999.

Significant acquisitions included CRC in 2002, which catered to specialty and high-risk clients; Burkey Risk Services and UnionBanc Insurance Services in 2008; Oswald Trippe in 2009; Liberty Benefit Insurance Services located in California (2011); and the life, property, and casualty divisions of Crump Group in 2012. Additional growth occurred with the acquisitions of Woodbury & Co. (2014), Caledonian Insurance Group—an aviation brokerage (2014), and Napco LLC’s assets specializing in catastrophic commercial insurance (2015). The purchase of Bank of Kentucky in 2015 also enhanced BB&T’s involvement with managing general underwriter AMRisc.

In April 2018, BB&T Insurance expanded its footprint by acquiring Regions Insurance Group from Regions Financial Corporation. This deal added a substantial retail and wholesale insurance portfolio and brought approximately 60,000 new clients across ten states, significantly broadening the division’s market reach.

By June 2020, BB&T Insurance Holdings underwent rebranding to become Truist Insurance Holdings, relocating its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina within the Truist Center. That year, insurance services represented roughly 10% of Truist’s total revenue, with CEO Kelly King aiming to increase this share to between 14% and 15%.

In February 2024, Truist Financial agreed to sell its insurance business to a consortium led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice alongside Stone Point Capital.

History of SunTrust

SunTrust Banks was formed through the consolidation of three entities: Trust Company of Georgia, Sun Bank, and The Robinson-Humphrey Company.

The Trust Company of Georgia was founded on September 21, 1891, by notable Atlanta entrepreneurs including John M. Green and Joel Hurt. It reorganized as a trust company in 1893 and adopted its current name at that time.

Sun Bank originated as The People's National Bank in Orlando, Florida, established in 1911. After experiencing failures during the Great Depression, it reorganized in 1934 as First National Bank at Orlando. In 1973, it merged with several local banks to create SunBanks, which reported assets totaling $1.713 billion by year-end. The merger between Trust Company of Georgia and Sun Banks Inc. in 1985 resulted in the creation of SunTrust Banks Inc.

The Robinson-Humphrey Company began operations in 1894 as a municipal bond firm and evolved into a prominent Southern investment bank under Justus Martin Jr., expanding its services to corporate and international clients. During the early 1980s, it developed the Atlanta Financial Center located in Buckhead. Acquired by American Express in 1982, Robinson-Humphrey operated within Shearson Lehman Brothers until it was sold to Primerica's Smith Barney unit in 1993. SunTrust purchased Robinson-Humphrey in 2001; this entity later merged with BB&T Capital Markets in June 2020 to establish Truist Securities.

SunTrust Merger

On February 7, 2019, BB&T from Winston-Salem and SunTrust Banks based in Atlanta declared a merger of equals, forming the eighth-largest bank in the United States in the most significant transaction since the 2008 financial crisis. BB&T was technically the surviving entity, maintaining its stock price record, while the combined institution established its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, with substantial operations continuing in Winston-Salem. The city of Winston-Salem was designated as the center for community banking, whereas Atlanta served as the hub for wholesale and retail banking activities. Notably, SunTrust had been the last major bank headquartered in Atlanta.

On June 12, 2019, following extensive research that incorporated employee feedback and focus group insights, the merged organization adopted the name Truist Financial Corporation. This new branding encountered criticism from analysts and customers across social media platforms.

The merger was finalized at midnight on December 6, 2019, with BB&T CEO Kelly King remaining at the helm. Customers were granted complimentary access to all Truist ATMs. During the system integration phase—which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and postponed full core conversion until early 2022—the bank operated under both legacy brand names. On the day of the merger, SunTrust Bank legally merged into Branch Banking & Trust Company to create Truist Bank as a single entity.

On December 11, 2019, Truist acquired Hearst Tower in Charlotte for $455 million, renaming it Truist Center and designating it as its corporate headquarters. The bank occupies approximately 550,000 square feet out of the building’s total 965,000 square feet. Although the acquisition closed on March 31, 2020, further developments were delayed due to pandemic-related disruptions.

In January 2020, Truist introduced its new logo featuring two interlocking Ts meant to represent connection and technology; its purple color combines SunTrust’s blue with BB&T’s burgundy. By November 2020, Truist installed large signage on its Charlotte headquarters building, which drew controversy including objections from the original architect of the structure.

In February 2020, Truist established the nonprofit Truist Foundation. The following month, it announced plans to vacate most of its former Winston-Salem headquarters except for a branch location and to relocate community and retail employees to other sites within the city.

The merger’s total estimated expense reached $4 billion—covering severance packages, system conversion costs, marketing efforts, and professional fees—but is expected to yield $1.6 billion in net cost reductions by the end of 2022. These savings involve closing roughly 800 branches by the first quarter of 2022 and consolidating office space by approximately 4.8 million square feet.

Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

On June 17, 2019, Truliant Federal Credit Union from Winston-Salem initiated a trademark infringement suit citing potential confusion between their brand and Truist’s name, particularly regarding Truliant’s products containing "Tru" in their titles. The parties reached an agreement to dismiss all claims on August 5, 2020, officially closing the lawsuit on August 6.

On September 5, 2021, Bill Rogers—former CEO of SunTrust Banks—was appointed chief executive officer of Truist Financial Corporation.

By February 22, 2022, Truist had completed replacing all branch signage. At that time, some customers formerly associated with SunTrust reported issues using their debit cards.

Slavery connections

Although BB&T was officially founded in 1872, its origins date back to 1805. Prior to the Civil War, both founders, Alpheus Branch and Thomas Hadley, worked on family farms; Branch’s father owned 58 enslaved individuals, while Hadley’s father held 37. Both men later served in the Confederate Army.

In July 2020, Truist released a statement condemning racial injustice and acknowledged BB&T’s historical links to enterprises that profited from slavery.

In 2022, Truist's chairman and CEO, Kelly King, addressed these slavery-related connections in an internal memo to employees. He expressed remorse and condemned this part of the bank’s legacy, highlighting its ongoing influence on systemic inequities affecting descendants.

Post-merger deals

On December 10, 2020, Truist Insurance Holdings announced the acquisition of five firms: W. Brown & Associates Property & Casualty, Specialty Risk Associates, Program Insurance Management of Sarasota, Wellington Risk Holdings Inc., and Fidelis Group Holdings. This transaction contributed an additional $100 million in revenue.

In May 2021, Truist Insurance Holdings expanded its portfolio by acquiring Constellation Affiliated Partners, which added $160 million in revenue to its existing $2.3 billion book. The company’s 475 employees were integrated into CRC. CEO John Howard emphasized the importance of continued acquisitions to sustain diversification amid industry consolidation.

On August 11, 2021, Truist declared a $2 billion purchase of Service Finance Co., broadening its point-of-sale financing operations that serve approximately 14,000 dealers and contractors involved in home improvement projects. This acquisition complements Truist’s existing Sheffield Financial unit.

Truist Insurance Holdings completed the acquisition of Kensington Vanguard National Land Services (KV), one of the nation’s largest independent title companies, on March 3, 2022. KV was merged with Truist’s BridgeTrust Title Group and premium business AFCO to establish a newly formed division.

On May 3, 2022, Truist acquired Long Game, a fintech startup based in San Francisco known for its gamified financial app targeting younger users. Founder and CEO Lindsay Holden remained at the helm following integration. By October 2022, Truist launched Truist Foundry by combining Long Game’s team with additional engineers to drive innovative product development.

On August 10, 2022, Truist Insurance Holdings purchased BenefitMall—the largest benefits wholesale agency nationwide—integrating it into the CRC Group. This deal is expected to generate $150 million in annual revenue.

Truist enhanced its data governance and AI/ML capabilities by acquiring Durham-based Zaloni Arena platform on August 22, 2022. The team of twenty joined Truist’s Enterprise Data Office located in Raleigh, North Carolina.

On September 6, 2022, Truist Insurance Holdings announced a $3.4 billion acquisition of BankDirect Capital Finance from Texas Capital Bancshares Inc., marking its most significant deal outside of the merger that created Truist. BankDirect operates through five offices with a workforce of 122 employees. CFO Mike Maguire noted that this acquisition doubles Truist’s premium finance business and strengthens its West Coast footprint, positioning it as the second-largest player in premium finance.

Between 2016 and October 2022, Truist Insurance Holdings completed eleven insurance brokerage acquisitions (netting ten after divesting WBAIS Inc.), ranking it as the second-most active U.S. banking acquirer in this sector behind Boston-based Eastern Bankshares Inc.

In February 2023, Truist sold a 20% interest in Truist Insurance Holdings to Stone Point Capital for $1.95 billion to accelerate growth through partnership. A governance structure was established featuring a five-member board with four representatives from Truist and one from Stone Point.

In February 2024, Truist agreed to divest its remaining stake in Truist Insurance Holdings to an investor consortium led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice along with Stone Point Capital, valuing the firm at $15.5 billion. The transaction closed on May 7, 2024, after which the company was rebranded as TIH Insurance Holdings.

Naming rights

Truist possesses naming rights for multiple sports facilities and events, primarily acquired from its predecessor institutions:

See also

External links

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