By: Felipe Rivas
2 min read January 2020 — In December, the banking industry welcomed the nation’s sixth-largest commercial bank as the merger between BB&T and SunTrust was completed to create Truist Financial Corporation. The organization chose Charlotte as its headquarters to begin the new enterprise. The region’s banking legacy, strong financial service workforce and diversifying economy helped solidify Charlotte as Truist’s official headquarters. In an interview with Invest: Charlotte, Truist Metrolina Region President Heath Campbell talks about the factors that brought Truist to the region, the meshing of the BB&T and SunTrust cultures moving forward, and how Truist plans to tap into Charlotte’s financial services workforce.
What factors led to the selection of Charlotte as the location for Truist’s headquarters?
BB&T has a great heritage in Winston-Salem in the same way that SunTrust does in Atlanta, however our leaders, in the true spirit of a merger of equals, selected a new city in which to base Truist.
Charlotte was a natural choice. Both BB&T and SunTrust had operations here, and it is one of the world’s top financial centers and an emerging fintech hub, with access to incubator and accelerator programs, data science and education programs. The area has the second-largest population of financial services professionals behind New York City. Charlotte also sees more than 33,000 newcomers each year, attracted by career opportunities, diverse living options and a favorable cost of living.
How will the cultures of BB&T and SunTrust mesh as Truist establishes itself in the market?
There are not a lot of mergers of equals because they are hard to pull off. The cultures of the organizations need to be compatible – and they were with BB&T and SunTrust. While we have different practices, we shared a very similar vision, mission and values. We took different strategic paths in how we went to market, but what we stood for was very similar. As Truist, we are doubling down on our community bank philosophy. We are building a client-centric business model. BB&T and SunTrust had complementary strengths. For instance, SunTrust built an investment banking platform that was unparalleled and BB&T had a strong legacy in community banking and insurance. We are combining those strengths to benefit the clients and communities we serve.
How will Truist tap into Charlotte’s financial services workforce?
I’m particularly proud that when we announced this merger, we not only committed to being best in class for our clients, but recognized that our teammates are at the heart of great client experiences. Truist is a dynamic place to work, offering industry-leading benefits and opportunities for all sorts of professional positions, including insurance, investments, and core banking.
We’re making our mark on the industry by offering a strong benefits programs and great opportunities to build careers, a total rewards program to attract and retain the best talent: the unusual combination of offering both industry-leading 401(k) matches and a pension plan to most teammates; industry-leading time off programs to ensure maximum flexibility in planning life events; and financial wellness programs.
There is also a place for those interested in computer science and engineering. We are creating an Innovation and Technology Center in Charlotte that will be dedicated to the ongoing enrichment of client experiences. The Innovation and Technology Center will focus on optimizing technology to serve our clients at every interaction, whether it takes place in a branch, over the phone or through a digital channel. The Technology and Innovation Center will also focus on equipping teammates with solutions to deliver personal touch and care to clients. We see this combination of technology and personalization as vital to ensuring clients’ trust and confidence in the security, simplicity and convenience of our services.
To learn more about our interviewee, visit :https://www.truist.com/
