Today is another historic day in the banking/finance world. SunTrust and BB&T are merging in a $66 billion deal, which will form the 6th largest bank in the US. For the average reader, it may be time to ask 'where do I bank, and which bank is the biggest in America?' Or, maybe you don't have checking or savings account. Just joking! The top five banks in this country are: 1. JP Morgan-Chase; 2. Bank of America; 3. Wells Fargo; 4. Citi; 5. U.S. Bank. The new combination of SunTrust and BB&T will operate under a new name. BB&T stands for Branch Bank and Trust. The nouveau corporate headquarters will be in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition, the southeastern financial institution will have significant operations in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Atlanta. Together, BB&T and SunTrust will see the deal closing in late 2019. Of course, this beautiful financial marriage is pending regulatory approval. The merger marks the first major banking sector deal, since the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Bank of America is where Rahulio G. and G. Ripley want to spend their money. BofA knows how to handle the money of big ballers, you dig. BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said at the World Economic Forum (WEF)in Davos, Switzerland last month that it would take a round of US bank mergers to produce a new rival in financial banking. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) brought in more than $120 billion combined in profit last year. Banks contend with rising technology costs, which is a problematic trend for financial tech. firms and huge financial institutions. JP Morgan has 50,000 employees working in IT, and this number is quite high for a well known global bank.
Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan CEO; believes that there are too many banks already. His point is very valid, as banks were merging in the 2000s and other previous decades. The amount of mergers in the 2000s, 1990s; and previous ones is more than double this current decade. In closing, this SunTrust and BB&T deal should have a new name of BBSuntrust. That is a name which will not be picked, unless G. Ripley is CEO of the new banking firm. Enjoy the picture of SunTrust above. Keep spending that money, USA!!
