SunTrust and BB & T choose the name of their new bank

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The largest bank in Atlanta is awarded a new partner – and a new name.

SunTrust and BB & T combined funds will be known as Truist (TRUE-ist Bank), officials said Wednesday. Expect to see that name splash across the region over the next few years, from Cobb County's Braves Stadium to one of the city's tallest skyscrapers.

Truist Financial Corp. will be the future name of the parent company of the combined banks, which should complete their merger in the fall or winter.

Brand strategy is the most visible part of the work that needs to take place before the two long established southern banks become one. At the close of the merger, the merged parent company will take the name Truist, but the SunTrust and BB & T brands will remain as long as two years.

The Braves Stadium will still be known as SunTrust Park until the end of this season and perhaps the next season before the stadium near I-285 and I-75 is renamed Truist.

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Kelly King, chief executive officer of BB & T, said it would take about a year to combine the two banks' systems after the merger closed. For now, agencies will keep their current brand, as well as checks, credit cards and debit cards. Leaders want a seamless transition to the new name over the next 18 to 24 months.

SunTrust Plaza, the tower designed and developed by John Portman at 303 Peachtree Street and home to SunTrust for more than two decades, will also be renamed.

In Atlanta, the BB & T Atlanta Open professional tennis tournament is likely to be called Truist, as are the BB & T minor league pitches in Charlotte and Winston-Salem.

The companies retained Interbrand's trademark consulting group to offer the new name, with the help of SunTrust and BB & T employees and bank customers, through focus groups and other work. of research.

The partners and customers of the bank focused on four attributes of the combined company: trustworthy, authentic, innovative and empowering.

"We wanted a name that would express what we represent," said King, who will serve as President and CEO of Truist.

Atlanta-based Sun & Trust and BB & T, based in Winston-Salem, announced their wedding in February and announced that a new name would grace the bank. The new bank, which will set up a new headquarters in Charlotte, is expected to be the sixth largest in the country in terms of deposits.

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SunTrust is the largest bank in Georgia and No. 1 in the Atlanta metropolitan area in terms of deposits. It is the second largest agency with 154 offices in June.

BB & T, which has a regional hub at Atlantic Station, ranks fourth in terms of deposits and retail outlets in the metropolitan area.

Companies expect cost savings of about $ 1.6 billion a year by 2022, thanks to job cuts and the combination of operations. redundant. It is unclear how many jobs in Atlanta could be affected.

Last week, SunTrust announced that the new bank would double its annual community investment in the Atlanta area over the next three years.

Atlanta will host Truist's commercial banking operations. SunTrust President and CEO Bill Rogers, who will be Truist's president and chief operating officer, announced Wednesday that the bank will deliberate to unveil the name. A logo, colors and typography for Truist are pending.

"It's the platform to tell our story and we have to tell it many times," he said.

Chris Marinac, a banking consultant at Janney Montgomery Scott in Atlanta, said the branding strategy was important and the little details in which customers were interacting with their bank were more.

"I think playing slowly makes a lot of sense," he said. "Going too fast is where mistakes happen."

But some of the first online reactions to the new nickname were less enthusiastic.

Rogers announced last week that the new bank would continue to sponsor long-term organizations in the metropolitan area, including the Atlanta Falcons and the Georgia Aquarium. He added that the bank was in constant contact with the Braves about the new name.

SunTrust caused a sensation in 2014 by signing a 25-year contract for the brand of the new Atlanta Braves stadium. Bringing Truist's name back to a major league stage will remain a crucial marketing investment for the new bank as it creates a national brand to compete with larger rivals such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

In addition, SunTrust and BB & T announced Wednesday the establishment of their combined head office in Charlotte. Truist will occupy more than 560,000 square feet at 214 N. Tryon Street, also known as Hearst Tower. The 46-storey building, one of Charlotte's tallest, is owned by Cousins Properties, located in Atlanta's Uptown Charlotte neighborhood.

The tower will eventually house 2,000 Truist employees, including business executives, communications managers, human resources, legal and technical services. It will also host a future Truist technological innovation center. The current tenants of the tower, including Bank of America, will step down as Truist takes his place.

Cousins said the combined bank has an option to buy the tower later this year for $ 455.5 million in a transaction that could be finalized early next year if exercised.