The U.S. Department of Justice [1]Announced Friday that BB&T Corporation and SunTrust have agreed to eliminate 28 branches across North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia with nearly $2.3 billion in deposits to resolve antitrust concerns stemming from BB&T’s proposed merger with SunTrust.
Information from the DOJ states this divestiture is the largest divestiture in a bank merger in over a decade.
The two companies agreed to eliminate SunTrust branches in Eastern Shore, Virginia; Patrick County, Virginia; Franklin County, Virginia; Henry County/City of Martinsville, Virginia; Lumpkin County, Georgia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The divested assets will include all deposits and loans associated with the divested branches.
“Banks and the financial sector are at the heart of our economy,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “[Friday’s] settlement ensures that banking customers across Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia will continue to have access to competitively priced banking products, including loans to small businesses, while preserving the investments in innovation and technology this merger is expected to generate.”
The merger between SunTrust and BB&T is subject to final approved of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Due to the divestiture, the Department of Justice states it will advise the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC that it will not challenge the merger if the parties divest the branch offices and entire customer relationships associated with the divestiture branches, the parties commit to the Federal Reserve Board that they will comply with the agreement with the Department, and the parties’ commitments to the Department are included as a condition to any order the Federal Reserve Board enters approving the transaction.
BB&T is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, while SunTrust is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Combined, the two banks operate in 25 states.