BB&T and SunTrust banks announce surprise $66B merger

BB&T and SunTrust, two of the biggest regional banks in the US, are merging in an all-stock, $66 billion deal — the first major bank tie-up since the financial crisis.

The combination of the two banks will create a behemoth with more than $441 billion in assets and deposits, which would make it the sixth-largest commercial bank in the country.

The merged bank, which doesn’t yet have a name, would easily be the largest bank in the southeast US, where both banks have most of their branches.

During the financial crisis, banks like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo were pressured by regulators to acquire failing banks in order to save the economy from a free-fall.

During the Obama era, regulators required banks to keep higher excess capital to prevent shocks to the financial system, and prevented major financial institutions from acquiring each other.

It’s gotten harder in recent years for smaller banks to compete with too-big-to-fail institutions like Chase, which has embraced consumer technology.

The new bank plans on beefing up its tech, and saving about $1.6 billion by cutting down on redundant branches and services, according to the press release.

The new bank will be led by BB&T CEO Kelly King until September 2021, when SunTrust CEO William Rogers will take over, according to the announcement.

Shares of BB&T closed up 4 percent, while SunTrust stock soared 10 percent, to $64.72, after the announcement.