Atlanta’s SunTrust to merge with BB&T, shift HQ to Charlotte (Dallas: movies, quality of life)

[Mutiny77]

It's not really a well-known fact, but Winston-Salem was essentially tied with Charlotte as NC's premiere business city in the late 1800's and the first half of the 20th century. Along with its more strategic location, the business and civic ethos in Charlotte eventually caused it to outpace Winston-Salem, whose leaders were more conservative and less ambitious in comparison, in population and economic growth and as a result, several notable businesses and institutions relocated from Winston-Salem to Charlotte over the past several decades (including acquisitions by Charlotte-based companies). Up to this point, the most notable example was Charlotte-based First Union Bank's acquisition of Winston-Salem-based Wachovia Bank in the 90's (with the Wachovia named being retained over First Union). With this most recent merger, it's basically the second part of the one-two punch that has resulted in Charlotte eating Winston-Salem's lunch again. This move also shows how Charlotte basically took pages from Atlanta's playbook earlier in its history when it came to growth strategies: use what you've got to ambitiously build your city into what you want it to be and promote the heck out of it. When you think about it, that was basically the MO behind New South ideology after the Civil War and although Atlanta is recognized for its historical role there, Charlotte isn't although it wholeheartedly embraced the philosophy. It's somewhat perplexing that Winston-Salem didn't seem to follow suit given all that it had to work with.

[citidata18]

Never mind, I found the answer (I think)...

SunTrust Banks, Inc. - SunTrust Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Results

Adding up the numbers in total, being generous and assuming "Wholesale Banking" includes commercial real estate, investment-banking, retail investment and trust investment, it only makes up 15% of their total revenue.

I know SunTrust is trying to spin this into a positive thing for Atlanta for PR purposes, and while that is still a significant part of their business, I can't see how it translates into that massive of a presence or that many jobs.

[Sualpine]

Another nail in the coffin for downtown Atlanta.

[NC2ATL60]

Originally Posted by Sualpine

Another nail in the coffin for downtown Atlanta.

Huh??

[MattCW]

Wow, reading this thread might make you think the sky is literally falling. It's one company, Atlanta will survive.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by NC2ATL60

Huh??

Consider OP's posting history.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Wow, reading this thread might make you think the sky is literally falling. It's one company, Atlanta will survive.

No one said the sky is falling and Atlanta won't "survive," but for one to pretend as though:

1. Atlanta being one of the only major cities in the country without a large bank HQ.

2. Losing the HQ of a $200 billion company that's one of the largest employers in the region.

3. The city will be losing the largest downtown employer.

Is not a significant blow to the city's prestige and a big deal is also not being reasonable.

[NC2ATL60]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Consider OP's posting history.

Ah ok, had me scratching my head. The momentum Downtown Atlanta is seeing right now suggests otherwise from his/her statement.

[NC2ATL60]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Wow, reading this thread might make you think the sky is literally falling. It's one company, Atlanta will survive.

True. I just saw an article stating Midtown Atlanta's 1 square mile core alone has added something like 20,000 jobs in the last 5 years or something. That is just midtown alone, forget about all the other job concentrations throughout the metro. Yes SunTrust is a major bank HQ, but Charlotte is a huge financial center now, so it seems to make sense on why they would move. I have yet to see any job loss announcements from this development yesterday. Of course there will be layoffs, but some posters are making it seem like the entire operation is going to close up and move, not happening.

[fzx]

Originally Posted by windycityfan

It was a cold bucket of bad news, not only for the uncertainty it brings to all of us employees, but for metro Atlanta in general.

I relocated here from the Midwest, looking for my place in the sunbelt I could call home. I loved Suntrust. After a couple turns working for a smaller financial institutions in the area (though headquartered elsewhere), being employed by SunTrust immediately filled the void I left working for a larger midwestern bank I used to call the best place I’d ever worked for. Despite knowing full well the risk of relocating here instead of Charlotte back then (my career has always been tied around the corporate headquarters, and Charlotte does offer far more than Atlanta in finance), I had finally gotten where I wanted.

Fast forward 8 yrs, oldest son about to become a high school freshman in 2019, friendships all around, good life in the burbs, a home we love, here I am up since 2:30am with a brain that won’t shut off. Spouse’s income would be lost with a move too.

Spoke to my family last night about bracing for impact. Best case scenario we hang on for another 5 years if we’re lucky. Of course, that’d be just postponing the inevitable.

Good luck to all of you “teammates” out there.

I am so sorry for the development. The whole area will be impacted as we all have friends working for the bank.

I know that GA's laws are not as friendly as NC to banking, do you think we can ask our state congressmen to do something to change? At least, we are close to NC geographically and we are at the tipping point that no more banks really need these outdated protections.