Free Republic

Now the hard work begins for the architects of the new "Truist Financial" brand. Truist was far from an immediate hit on social media, with many initially ridiculing it as looking like a typo. But while BB&T and SunTrust Banks may have to take some flak in the short term, the initial tweetstorm ultimately may not matter, several branding experts told American Banker right after the name was unveiled Wednesday.

AN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Colonial BancGroup Inc. became the largest bank failure this year after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized the struggling Alabama-based lender Friday and sold it to BB&T Corp. Late Friday, the FDIC announced four other banks had been closed: Community Bank of Las Vegas and its Arizona subsidiary, Community Bank of Arizona; Union Bank, Gilbert, Ariz; and Dwelling House Savings and Loan, Pittsburgh. The Colonial BancGroup deal will knock roughly $2.8 billion off a pool of money, known as the Deposit Insurance Fund, which the FDIC maintains to guarantee bank customer deposits. BB&T /quotes/comstock/13*!bbt/quotes/nls/bbt (BBT 28.23,...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is taking Colonial BancGroup Inc (CNB.N) into receivership and will sell the struggling lender's branches and deposits to BB&T Corp (BBT.N), Dow Jones said, citing a person familiar with the situation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Shares of BB&T Corp. rallied Friday on reports it will buy deposits and branches of Colonial BancGroup Inc. in a deal backed by federal regulators to take the struggling lender into receivership. The deal was approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday night and is expected to be announced later on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported. "The market is treating it as it was a foregone conclusion here," said Sandler O'Neill & Partners analyst Kevin Fitzsimmons. Shares of BB&T rose $2.26, or 8.8 percent, to $28.06 in afternoon trading Friday, while shares of Colonial...

OVER much of the last four decades, John A. Allison IV built BB&T from a local bank in North Carolina into a regional powerhouse that has weathered the economic crisis far better than many of its troubled rivals — largely by avoiding financial gimmickry. And in his spare time, Mr. Allison travels the country making speeches about his bank’s distinctive philosophy.

NEW YORK, June 17 Reuters) - Ten of the largest U.S. banks said on Wednesday they repaid more than $66 billion of taxpayer bailout funds, as they race to extract themselves from government restrictions on pay for top executives. Banks are returning money taken from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was once intended to spur lending but is now viewed as a sign that recipients are too weak to survive on their own. In most cases, the banks issued preferred shares that carried 5 percent dividends in exchange for the money. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM -...

With the wiring of nearly $10 billion to the United States Treasury, U.S. Bancorp and BB&T on Wednesday became the first large financial institutions to announce that they have repaid the government in full for the preferred shares it bought last fall under the federal bailout program. U.S. Bancorp, based in Minneapolis, said Wednesday morning it redeemed $6.6 billion in preferred stock from the Treasury. BB&T, based in Winston Salem, N.C., said that it had bought back the preferred shares for $3.1 billion plus a final dividend payment of about $13.9 million. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were also expected...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT - News), which earned $1.5 billion in net income in 2008, said today that members of its executive team will not receive annual bonuses under its short-term incentive plan. "We have traditionally set very difficult goals, and although we are among the top performers in the financial industry in 2008, we did not earn a bonus based on our targets," said Chief Executive Officer Kelly S. King. "This has been an extremely difficult economic environment, even for well-capitalized and profitable financial institutions."

BB&T Corp. Chief Executive John Allison is calling for short-term fixes and long-term reforms to address the financial crisis. Addressing a gathering of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce Friday morning, Allison said the initial efforts of the federal government to rescue the economy were misguided and served to increase public anxiety. However, he said he supported the latest move to inject taxpayer funds directly into banks. “It is necessary, given the unnecessary government-caused panic,” Allison said. His views are influential because he leads a bank that has weathered the financial crisis better than many, in the eyes of industry...

This one came across the desk this morning. It’s a portion of letter going out today(9/24/2008)from John Allison, President & CEO of BB&T, to every member of the US Congress. Key Points on “Rescue” Plan From A Healthy Bank’s Perspective

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- BB&T Corp. (BBT) Chairman and Chief Executive John A. Allison voiced strong reservations about the government's plan to help the mortgage market. In a letter to Congress dated Tuesday, Allison didn't oppose government action outright. But he suggested changes to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.'s proposal to inject $700 billion in fusion to liquefy mortgage assets.

<p>Chairman and Chief Executive John A. Allison voiced strong reservations about the government's plan to help the mortgage market.</p> <p>In a letter to Congress dated Tuesday, Allison didn't oppose government action outright. But he suggested changes to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.'s proposal to inject $700 billion in fusion to liquefy mortgage assets.</p>

As a college student in Chapel Hill, John Allison stumbled across a collection of essays by Ayn Rand and was hooked by her philosophy of self-interest and limited government. As he rose over the decades to chief executive of BB&T, one of the country's leading regional banks, Rand remained his muse. He's trying to replicate that encounter through the charitable arm of his Winston-Salem-based company, which since 1999 has awarded more than $28 million to 27 colleges to support the study of capitalism from a moral perspective. But on at least 17 of those campuses, including UNC Charlotte, N.C. State...

The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority likely will pull $2.3 million from BB&T because of the bank's stance on eminent domain. Urban renewal board members voted Wednesday to seek bids from other banks for the agency's checking and investment accounts. "I would be surprised if we did not move it," authority director Pat Brown said after the meeting. He said he doesn't plan to ask for bids from BB&T unless the company answers questions he posed in two letters earlier this year. BB&T Chairman and CEO John Allison announced in January the bank would not lend money to commercial developers that...

This kind of government tyranny should be disavowed by every decent American. Stepping up to the plate is Branch Banking and Trust Company, headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C. BB&T is a full-service bank with 1,100 offices throughout the Southeast. On Jan. 25, BB&T announced that it will not lend to commercial developers that plan to build condominiums, shopping malls and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by government entities using eminent domain.

Reason Foundation    free minds and free markets The New York Times terms it "odd." Other accounts deem it "unusual." The Volkoh Conspiracy blog wonders if Atlas is, in fact, shrugging. However, the announcement that BB&T, the nation's ninth largest bank holding company, will not participate in private economic development projects that involve eminent domain action should not shock. The decision is consistent with the corporation's values, harnesses widespread public unease with the Kelo eminent domain ruling, and is another manifestation of symbol-laden stakeholder capitalism. The reporting and commentary on the bank's policy has been so confused that the Atlas Shrugged...

Arlington, Va. — BB&T, the nation’s ninth largest financial holdings company with $109.2 billion in assets, announced today that it “will not lend to commercial developers that plan to build condominiums, shopping malls and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by government entities using eminent domain.” In a press release issued today by the bank, BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Allison, said, “The idea that a citizen’s property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it’s just plain wrong. One of the most basic rights of every...

BB&T Corp., the second-biggest bank in the Washington area, said yesterday that it will not lend money to developers who plan to build commercial projects on land taken from private citizens through the power of eminent domain. "The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided; in fact, it's just plain wrong," said John Allison, the bank's chairman and chief executive officer. BB&T Chief Credit Officer Ken Chalk said the North Carolina bank expects to lose only a tiny amount of business, but thinks it is obligated to take a...

Regional bank BB&T Corp., one of the nation's largest financial institutions, will make no loans to developers who plan to build commercial projects on land taken from private citizens by the government through the power of eminent domain, the company said Wednesday. "The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided; in fact it's just plain wrong," said John Allison, the bank's chairman and CEO, in a statement.

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Regional bank BB&T Corp. will make no loans to developers who plan to build commercial projects on land taken from private citizens by the government through the power of eminent domain, the company said Wednesday. "The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided, in fact it's just plain wrong," John Allison, chairman and chief executive of the Winston-Salem-based bank, said in a statement.