BB&T Aims to Steal Deposits From Wells Fargo
Banks unaffected by the financial bailout may be lining up to pick up deposits of the fallen, if BB&T Corp. is any example.
BB&T, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is poised to pick up deposits that might have going to Wells Fargo, which is buying troubled Wachovia. Chairman and CEO John Allison told analysts this week that his bank has already lapped up at least $1.2 billion in deposits that had been Wachovia’s and will likely gain more.
One advantage for BB&T, Allison continued, is that Wells Fargo is not a well-known brand name in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic areas where Wachovia and BB&T are strong. BB&T is active from Maryland to Indiana and southward. Special targets for BB&T are mid-sized and small businesses. Many had been served by Wachovia.
Wells Fargo expects to gain a nationwide reach with its acquisiton of Wachovia. BB&T is the nation’s 14th largest bank with assets of $136.5 billion.
Peter Galuszka is a Virginia-based journalist with more than three decades of experience, including 15 years at BusinessWeek, during which he was twice Moscow Bureau Chief and International News Editor in New York.
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