BB&T and SunTrust Pick a New Name for Combined Bank: Truist

(Bloomberg) -- Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo ... Truist.

That’s the name that will join the ranks of the biggest U.S. banks. BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc. chose Truist as their name after the two companies complete their planned $28 billion merger, according to a statement Wednesday. If the combination is approved by regulators, Truist would become the sixth-largest U.S. commercial bank, serving more than 10 million households.

Since the merger was announced in February, BB&T Chief Executive Officer Kelly King and his SunTrust counterpart, Bill Rogers, have been asked repeatedly what the combined firm will be called. They say they’re relieved to finally have an answer. The name was developed with the help of brand-consulting firm Interbrand.

“It’s the biggest day of my career,” BB&T Chief Executive Officer Kelly King, who will have the same role at Truist, said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Now I can tell my wife, so she can get it embroidered onto my pajamas.”

The two companies have filed documents with regulators and are in the process of answering questions about the merger, King and Rogers said. They also participated in eight community meetings about the proposed tie-up, including two that were run jointly by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Federal Reserve Board.

“The fact that everyone wants to know -- that’s the exciting part,” Rogers, who will be chief operating officer of the combined company, said in the interview.

The combined company has chosen Hearst Tower at 214 N. Tryon St. in Charlotte, North Carolina, for its headquarters, a block away from Bank of America Corp.’s base. Truist will move staff over several years into 550,000 square feet of the 965,000-square-foot tower, it said in a separate statement. The 47-story skyscraper is Charlotte’s third-tallest building, according to owner Cousins Properties Inc.

The merger is scheduled to close in the second half of the year, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lananh Nguyen in New York at lnguyen35@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Daniel Taub, Dan Reichl

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