SouthTrust (1887–2005)

Last updated
SouthTrust (1887–2005)
Company typeDefunct, merged into Wachovia
Industry Finance and Insurance
Founded1887;137 years ago (1887) as Birmingham Trust and Savings Company
Defunct2004;20 years ago (2004)
FateAcquired by Wachovia
Successor
Headquarters Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Key people
Wallace D. Malone Jr., Chief Executive Officer
Julian Banton, President
Products Financial services
RevenueIncrease2.svg$3.32 billion USD (2003)
Total assets $53 billion (2004)
Number of employees
12,400 (2003)

SouthTrust Corporation was a banking company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2004, SouthTrust reached an agreement to merge with Wachovia in a stock-for-stock deal. At the time of the merger with Wachovia was completed, SouthTrust had $53 Billion in assets. SouthTrust was listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol SOTR. The company was headquartered in the SouthTrust Tower, now known as the Shipt Tower. SouthTrust had branches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. By the end of 2005, all former SouthTrust branches that remained open carried the Wachovia name.

Contents

History

1887 to 1980

SouthTrust Corporation began as Birmingham Trust and Savings Company in 1887. In 1946 the bank sought a charter to become a national bank. After receiving the charter, the name of the bank changed to Birmingham Trust National Bank, which was commonly known as BTNB. In 1972 BTNB combined with three other Alabama banks to become the Alabama Financial Group, Inc. which was a holding company for the four banks. In 1974 the holding company changed its name to Southern Bancorporation of Alabama. Through the rest of the 1970s, Southern Bank continued buying other community banks located throughout Alabama. By this time Southern Bank held assets of over $1 billion.

1981 to 1987

In 1981 the holding company again changed its name, this time to SouthTrust Corporation. In 1986, SouthTrust decided to build a new building for its headquarters in downtown Birmingham. Work began right away on what would become the 34/story SouthTrust Tower. SouthTrust had $5.3 billion in assets by the end of 1986 and had expanded as much as it could in its home state of Alabama. After a change in an Alabama law allowed banks to buy other banks in the 12 southeastern states, SouthTrust made its first purchase outside of Alabama. In 1987 SouthTrust purchased the Central Bank of South Daytona Beach located in Daytona Beach, Florida. SouthTrust quickly focused on Florida for its new acquisitions and acquired many banks, mostly located in northern and Central Florida. Towards the end of 1987 SouthTrust made its first entry into the Georgia market when it moved the SouthTrust National Bank of Russell County headquarters across the state line to Columbus, Georgia.

1988 to 1997

When the bank decided it was time to enter the Tennessee market, it did so by opening up a branch instead of buying a bank already established there. The first Tennessee branch was located in Nashville. By the end of 1989, SouthTrust opened its first South Carolina branch, located in Charleston. As 1990 came around, SouthTrust had grown to over $7.5 billion in assets and had become the largest bank in Alabama. By 1991 SouthTrust had entered the North Carolina market when it bought Barclays' small American operation based in Charlotte. By 1992 SouthTrust had $12 billion in assets and 336 banking branches in six states, but announced that instead of looking to grow geographical wise that it would instead focus on growing in its existing markets. By the end of 1993, SouthTrust's assets had grown to $15.1 billion. In 1994 SouthTrust made its first entry into Mississippi when it purchased First Jefferson Corporation. This purchase helped added to an increase in SouthTrust branch number which had grown to over 400. In 1995, SouthTrust acquired Bankers First Corporation (Nasdaq: BNKF), [1] which was the parent of Bankers First Federal Savings and Loan. [2] Two big changes came in 1996. The first was that all SouthTrust banks would merge under one national bank charter. The second was SouthTrusts entry into life insurance through SouthTrust Insurance, Inc. By end of 1997, SouthTrust entered the state of Texas through when it bought SecurityBank Texas.

1998 to 2005

The late 1990s proved to be one of the most important times in SouthTrust's 118-year history. The bank had become one of the largest banks in the south. Birmingham had grown into the largest banking city in the south based on the number of top 50 US banks headquartered there, although not the largest by assets. In Birmingham, AmSouth Bancorporation, Compass Bancshares, Regions Financial Corporation and SouthTrust all became known as the Big Four. All four banks were top 50 US banks and all headquartered in downtown Birmingham. Only New York City had more banks and no other city equaled with Birmingham. [3] In 2000 the bank made a change from being a nationally chartered bank to a state chartered bank. In 2001, SouthTrust made its first entry into the Virginia banking market when it purchased CENIT Bank. Later that same year, SouthTrust expanded in Virginia when it bought the Bank of Tidewater. From the end of 2001 to 2003, SouthTrust continued making acquisitions by buying small banks in markets in which they already operated so that it could grow its customer base. By the end of 2004, SouthTrust had $53 billion in assets and 712 branches in nine states. [4]

Merger with Wachovia

On Monday June 21, 2004 Wachovia Corporation announced it would buy SouthTrust in an all-stock transaction valued at $14.3 billion. [5] The merger closed on November 1, 2004. [6] The Birmingham market was the last market for the conversion to the Wachovia brand which occurred in October 2005.

Criticism

About a year before the merger was announced, Wallace Malone, the company's CEO, quietly moved SouthTrust's commercial banking division headquarters from Birmingham to Atlanta. When the public found out, Malone quickly assured the city and employees that SouthTrust's corporate headquarters would remain in Birmingham. Soon after, when Malone was asked in a local newspaper whether he would ever consider selling the bank in the future, he responded by saying he believed SouthTrust was better on its own than combined with any other bank. Even within the company, he strongly preached to employees that the bank would stay independent. [7] This caused residents of Birmingham to be blindsided when the news that SouthTrust had reached a deal to sell itself to Wachovia was announced. The biggest loss to Birmingham came from SouthTrust moving its commercial banking division to Atlanta a year before the merger was announced, and that Atlanta, not Birmingham, would end up with Wachovia's Southern Banking Group headquarters. [8] Around 1,700 of the 4,000 local SouthTrust jobs were lost in Birmingham due to the merger. Many former SouthTrust Customers have defected to banks like Regions and BBVA Compass.

Malone's golden parachute

When the merger was completed, Malone's $100 million golden parachute went into effect. [9] The New York Times put this figure closer to $135 million. [10] Malone has stated that somewhere around 40% of that total will go into a trust for the families affected by the SouthTrust-Wachovia merger, although nothing further has been mentioned yet regarding this matter.

Trademark acquisition

In 2013, First National Bank of George West, based in south Texas and founded in 1934, acquired the rights to the name SouthTrust Bank. The new SouthTrust Bank is not affiliated with the original SouthTrust Bank of Alabama, acquiring only the trademark rights to the name as an effort to distinguish their brand amongst other national banks. The new SouthTrust Bank, N. A. offers financial services in various Texas markets including Floresville, TX, Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX, Three Rivers, TX, Pleasanton, TX, Channelview, TX. and George West, TX.

Related Research Articles

Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United States. Prior to the 1996 merger, Chemical was the third-largest bank in the U.S., with $182.9 billion in assets and more than 39,000 employees. In addition to operations in the U.S., it had a major presence in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was active in both corporate banking as well as retail banking as well as investment banking and underwriting corporate bonds and equity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank One Corporation</span> Former bank of the United States

Bank One Corporation was an American bank founded in 1968 and at its peak the sixth-largest bank in the United States. It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONE. The company merged with JPMorgan Chase & Co. on July 1, 2004, with its CEO Jamie Dimon taking the lead at the combined company. The company had its headquarters in the Bank One Plaza in the Chicago Loop in Chicago, Illinois, now the headquarters of Chase's retail banking division.

NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company named NationsBank was formed through the merger of several other banks in 1991, and prior to that had been through multiple iterations. Its oldest predecessor companies had been Commercial National Bank (CNB), formed in 1874, and American Trust Company founded in 1909. In 1998, NationsBank acquired BankAmerica, and modified that better-known name to become Bank of America Corporation. The CEO of NationsBank throughout its entire existence was Hugh McColl, who led the merger with BankAmerica and became the first CEO of the present-day Bank of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SunTrust Banks</span> Former American bank

SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was headquartered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truist Financial</span> Banking company in the U.S.

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was formed in December 2019 as the result of the merger of BB&T and SunTrust Banks. Its bank operates 2,781 branches in 15 states and Washington, D.C., offering consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States by assets; as of August 2023, it is the 9th largest bank with $514 billion in assets.

CoreStates Financial Corporation, previously known as Philadelphia National Bank (PNB), was an American bank holding company in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Midland Bank</span> Defunct bank based in Buffalo, NY, USA

Marine Midland Bank was an American bank formerly headquartered in Buffalo, New York, with several hundred branches throughout the state of New York. In 1998, branches extended to Pennsylvania. It was acquired by HSBC in 1980 and changed its name to HSBC Bank USA in 1999. As a result of several transactions since the turn of the millennium, much of what was once Marine Midland is now part of KeyBank with the exception of Downstate New York and Pennsylvania, that is now part of Citizens Bank. Branches in Seattle are part of Cathay Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First American National Bank</span> American bank headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee

First American National Bank was a subsidiary of First American Corporation, a financial institution based in Nashville, Tennessee, that served the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia. It was headquartered in the First American Center in downtown Nashville.

AmSouth Bancorporation was a banking company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and operated for its final year in existence as a bank holding company (subsidiary) of Regions Financial Corporation after a merger between the two banks. AmSouth was previously known as First National Bank of Birmingham, which was first organized by Charles Linn in 1872. AmSouth was in the financial services industry and at its peak employed over twelve thousand people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBVA USA</span> Former American bank holding company

BBVA USA was a bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from 2007 until 2021, when it was acquired by PNC Financial Services. It operated mainly in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. The bank was earlier named Central Bank and Trust Company, Central Bank, Central Bancshares of the South, and Compass Bancshares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Union</span> Defunct banking company

First Union Corporation was a bank holding company that provided commercial and retail banking services in eleven states in the eastern U.S. First Union also provided various other financial services, including mortgage banking, credit card, investment banking, investment advisory, home equity lending, asset-based lending, leasing, insurance, international and securities brokerage services and private equity through First Union Capital Partners, and through other subsidiaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regions Financial Corporation</span> Financial services company based in Birmingham, Alabama

Regions Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail and commercial banking, trust, stock brokerage, and mortgage services. Its banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates about 2,000 automated teller machines and 1,300 branches in 15 states in the Southern and Midwestern United States. Regions is ranked 483rd on the Fortune 500 and 140th on Fortune's list of "America's Most Innovative Companies. Component headquartered in Alabama, Regions is also on the list of largest banks in the United States.

Citizens and Southern National Bank (C&S) was an American bank which started as a Georgia institution that expanded into South Carolina, Florida and into other states via mergers. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia; it was the largest bank in the Southeast for much of the 20th century. C&S merged with Sovran Bank in 1990 to form C&S/Sovran in hopes of fending off a hostile takeover attempt by NCNB Corporation. Only a year later, however, C&S/Sovran merged with NCNB to form NationsBank, which forms the core of today's Bank of America.

This article outlines the history of Wells Fargo & Company from its merger with Norwest Corporation and beyond. The new company chose to retain the name of "Wells Fargo" and so this article is about the history after the merger.

First Chicago Bank was a Chicago-based retail and commercial bank tracing its roots to 1863, when it received one of the first charters under the then new National Bank Act. Over the years, the bank operated under several names including The First National Bank of Chicago and First Chicago NBD. In 1998, First Chicago NBD merged with Banc One Corporation to form Bank One Corporation, today a part of Chase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wachovia</span> Defunct banking company

Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total assets. Wachovia provided a broad range of banking, asset management, wealth management, and corporate and investment banking products and services. At its height, it was one of the largest providers of financial services in the United States, operating financial centers in 21 states and Washington, D.C., with locations from Connecticut to Florida and west to California. Wachovia provided global services through more than 40 offices around the world.

Central Carolina Bank and Trust (CCB) was a bank headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. It began in 1961 with the merger of Durham Bank & Trust and University National Bank of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Central Carolina Bank and Trust merged with SunTrust Banks of Atlanta, Georgia in 2005, which in turn merged with BB&T to form Truist Financial. Its headquarters was the historic 17-story Hill Building in North Carolina.

National Bank of Commerce was an American bank headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee until it was taken over by SunTrust Banks in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hancock Whitney</span> Bank holding company

Hancock Whitney Corp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. It operates 237 branches in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. The bank is the official bank of the New Orleans Saints and issues the official debit card. The bank is also the official bank of LSU Athletics and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, being the exclusive provider of credit cards for the LSU Tigers, as well as debit cards for both athletic brands.

References

  1. ↑ "BANKERS FIRST CORPORATION ANNOUNCES MERGER WITH SOUTHTRUST CORPORATION". PRNewswire. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Bankers First buys Southeast Federal". Rome News Tribune. December 4, 1986. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "IndustryWeek - Leadership In Manufacturing". Expansion Management. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  4. ↑ Lerner, Jill (21 June 2004). "Wachovia to buy SouthTrust, deal will create No. 1 Southeast bank". bizjournals . Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Mollenkamp, Carrick (22 June 2004). "Wachovia to Acquire SouthTrust for $13.7 Billion". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Wachovia completes SouthTrust integration". atm marketplace. 7 December 2005. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "al.com's Printer-Friendly Page". Al.com. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  8. ↑ Archived February 21, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Birmingham Business Journal (2006-01-30). "Malone to leave Wachovia; payout could exceed $100 million - Birmingham Business Journal". Birmingham.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2012-01-26.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ Dash, Eric (2006-01-31). "$135 Million Parachute For Banker - NYTimes.com". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.