SunTrust Banks Incorporated

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SunTrust Banks

SunTrust Banks, Inc. is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had $171.5 billion in assets as of June 30, 2008. SunTrust Bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, Georgia, where its headquarters remain. SunTrust Bank operates approximately 1,700 bank branches across Southern states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Products

The bank's offerings include retail and commercial banking, as well as trust services, mortgage banking, credit cards, mutual funds, insurance, equipment leasing, asset management, and securities underwriting and dealing.

Credit cards

On December 12, 2006, it was announced that SunTrust signed an agreement with InfiCorp Holdings of Atlanta to manage SunTrust's consumer credit card portfolio. The portfolio had been managed under an agreement with MBNA Corporation since 1999, but MBNA was acquired by SunTrust's competitor Bank of America on June 30, 2005. SunTrust will retain the option to purchase card assets from InfiCorp if it desires to add to its own loan portfolio. InfiCorp Holdings is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska.

On February 5, 2007, SunTrust rolled out its very own credit card that was offered to current and potential clients. By May 2007, there were already 75,000 new SunTrust credit cards.

History

The earliest predecessor institution, Farmers Bank of Alexandria, Virginia, was founded in 1811. The most direct corporate ancestor, the Trust Company of Georgia, was founded in 1891 as the Commercial Travelers' Savings Bank. Two years later, it restructured as a trust company and renamed itself Trust Company of Georgia. The current SunTrust Banks, Inc. was the result of a merger between the Trust Company of Georgia and SunBanks, Inc. of Florida in 1985. Branches of the bank adopted the name of the parent entity in 1995.

Acquisitions

In 1986, shortly after the Trust Company-SunBanks merger, SunTrust purchased Third National Corporation of Tennessee. It purchased Crestar Financial of Virginia in 1998. In 2001, SunTrust launched a hostile takeover bid for Wachovia, after Wachovia announced its intention to merge with First Union. This attempt was unsuccessful.

The company bought Memphis based National Commerce Financial Corporation (NCF) for $7 billion in 2004. This acquisition gave SunTrust branches and assets in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia.

On November 2, 2007, SunTrust Bank announced that it will acquire GB&T Bancshares for $154 million. Under the agreement, GB&T shareholders would receive 0.1562 shares of SunTrust stock for each share of GB&T stock held. SunTrust doesn't anticipate the transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2008, to affect 2008 earnings. If completed, the merger would integrate the GB&T franchise primarily into SunTrust's Atlanta banking region, where it operates 212 branches.

SunTrust is frequently the target of rumors that it will be acquired by a larger bank.

Executives

Chairman, President and CEO James M. Wells III was elected on September 3, 2008 to replace his predecessor on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Relationship with Coca-Cola

SunTrust has a long-standing relationship with the Coca-Cola Company. The Trust Company of Georgia helped underwrite the initial public offering of The Coca-Cola Company in 1919. As a result, the bank received some of Coke's publicly traded stock, and SunTrust retains 48.3 million shares (3.58%) of Coke as of 2006. This stake, which has a GAAP cost of $110,000, is today worth approximately $2 billion and pays $59 million a year in dividends. In addition, the original copy of the formula for Coca-Cola is stored in a safe deposit box of a SunTrust location in Atlanta. Ernest Woodruff, president of the Trust Company from 1904 to 1922, was the father of Robert W. Woodruff, Coca-Cola's president from 1923 to 1954 and board member until 1984. As of 2007, two Coca-Cola executives sit on SunTrust's board of directors and a former SunTrust CEO sits on Coca-Cola's board.

On May 15, 2007 SunTrust announced that it had sold 4.5 million shares, or 9%, of its 48.2 million shares of Coca-Cola. The company plans by year end to decide what to do with the remaining shares it owns.

SunTrust Center

Located at 200 South Orange Avenue, The SunTrust Center is the tallest building in downtown Orlando, FL. The 35 story, building was built in 1988 at a price of approximately $100,000,000. It is constructed of reinforced concrete and granite with marble finishes and features 17 elevators. The building features panoramic views of the city of Orlando.

Sponsorships

SunTrust Racing

In 2006 - 11/18 SunTrust renews role as the official bank of the Grand American Road Racing Association.
2006 - SunTrust Racing #10 takes 3rd in the Daytona Prototype Championship.
2005 - SunTrust Racing #10 clinches Daytona Prototype Championship in only second year for SunTrust Racing.
2005 - SunTrust Racing #10 wins 43rd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race.
2004 - SunTrust Racing #10 finishes 2nd in Rolex Series Championship, in the first year for SunTrust Racing
2004 - SunTrust is the Official Bank of NASCAR (Note: in 2006, the official bank becomes Bank of America)
SunTrust has been the title sponsor of the SunTrust Indy Challenge, an IndyCar Series race at Richmond International Raceway since its inception in 2001.
Between 1984 and 1990, under its former name, Sunbank became the title sponsor of 24 Hours of Daytona, therefore it became known as Sunbank 24 Hours of Daytona SunTrust Racing