Central Carolina Bank and Trust
Encyclopedia
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
. CCB merged with SunTrust Banks
of Atlanta, Georgia
in 2005. Its headquarters was the historic 17-story Hill Building
.
married Annie Louise Watts, daughter of George Washington Watts
, co-founder of the American Tobacco Company
. Watts and Hill started Durham Loan & Trust Company and Home Savings Bank. Hill served as president and chairman of both banks. In 1931, Durham Loan & Trust became Durham Bank & Trust. Home Savings Bank and Durham Bank & Trust merged in 1950. In 1961, Durham Bank & Trust became Central Carolina Bank and Trust Company.
In 1964, architect
Frank DePasquale wanted to put a tobacco
leaf on the new CCB sign to go atop the Hill Building. Bank chairman George Watts Hill, the founder's son, did not like the idea because he felt the focus should be on the bank's services, not the city's tobacco heritage. The four-sided sign instead had just "Roman-style letters, classic and unadorned". Harlan Laws Corp. "fabricated the letters in sections from steel and had them coated with white porcelain to protect against rust. The louvered aluminum screen on which they were mounted was anodized against corrosion. Fasteners were of brass or stainless steel for the same reason." The parts for the sign went up after regular business hours in elevator
s that only reached the 14th floor, and workers used rope
s and pulley
s to lift them the rest of the way, 270 feet above the street. Workers used a ladder
or were lowered by ropes using a soft drink box as a seat. Inside the 12-foot letters went white neon lighting
.
In 1997, CCB announced a merger with 76-year-old American Federal Bank of Greenville, South Carolina
, with 40 offices and $1.3 billion in assets. The deal, valued at $325.1 million, would give CCB $6.9 billion in assets. The American federal name would remain.
CCB had 208 branches and $8.2 billion in assets in March 2000 when National Commerce Bancorporation (NCBC) of Memphis, Tennessee
announced a $1.94 billion purchase of CCB which was described as "a merger of equals", though NCBC would be the surviving corporation. Corporate headquarters would stay in Memphis but Durham would be the operational headquarters. NCBC chairman and chief executive officer Thomas M. Garrott would become chairman, while CCB chairman and CEO Ernest L. Roessler would become CEO of the new company. The combination would give NCBC "market capitalization of about $4.2 billion, combined assets of $15 billion, deposits of $11.3 billion and 370 branches in eight states".
NCBC had $7.3 billion in assets and 162 National Bank of Commerce (NBC) branches in Tennessee
, Georgia
, Mississippi
, Virginia
, West Virginia
, Arkansas
and North Carolina
. The company was also buying Hillsborough
Savings Bank, with 3 branches and $150 million in assets.Many of the NBC branches were in Kroger
stores; CCB had nine Harris Teeter
locations.
The CCB name remained on banks in the Carolinas.
As a result of the First Union-Wachovia merger, 25 branches of the former First Union
and Wachovia
banks became CCB locations on February 15, 2002. CCB would remain number three behind BB&T
and Wachovia. National Commerce Financial (NCF), the newly named parent company, bought twelve other branches in Georgia and Virginia which would become NBC branches. First Bank
bought the other branch, in Salisbury.
In May 2004, NCF announced it would merge with SunTrust, making SunTrust the seventh-largest bank in the United States. CCB had 3189 employees at the time, with about 1300 of those in back office
jobs which could be dropped after the merger. On July 19, 2004, the merging banks announced SunTrust would have 254 branches and 1900 employees in its Carolinas group, to be based in Durham and covering the same territory as CCB before the NCF merger. The Carolinas group would be the fourth SunTrust territory; the others were Atlanta, Richmond
and Washington, D.C.
Also announced at that time were the fates of NCF's major executives. NCF chief operating officer
Richard Furr would head the Carolinas group. Scott Edwards, chief administrative officer, would become head of credit for the Carolinas and be based in Durham. Robert Jones would succeed the retiring Richard Glover as Triangle-area president. John Stallings, NCF head of retail banking, would oversee SunTrust's Carolinas group retail business. NCF Atlanta region president would take over the Carolinas group commercial and commercial real estate
areas.
In October, CCB announced the loss of 107 mortgage
and loan servicing
jobs. On December 16, CCB announced 293 of approximately 600 jobs would be cut at the Durham operations center once accounts were merged in April 2005, at which time SunTrust signs would replace CCB. The jobs would be moved to SunTrust facilities in Orlando
, Knoxville
and other locations. At the same time, 40 jobs were being added in Durham. Also, 55 jobs were being cut in Memphis, while seven were being added. In all, layoffs and additions meant a net loss of 127 NCF jobs.
SunTrust intended to continue using the Hill Building, almost entirely used by CCB, for its Carolinas headquarters. The CCB sign on top of the building would come down. SunTrust CEO Phillip Humann said SunTrust would keep CCB's community focus.
After making a deal to move in November 2006 to the Diamond View office development elsewhere in downtown Durham, SunTrust sold the Hill Building to Greenfire Development for $4.1 million in July 2006. SunTrust planned to keep a branch in the building.
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
headquartered in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
. It began in 1961 with the merger of Durham Bank & Trust and University National Bank of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
. CCB merged with SunTrust Banks
SunTrust Banks
SunTrust Banks, Inc., is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had US$172.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2009...
of Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
in 2005. Its headquarters was the historic 17-story Hill Building
Hill Building
The Hill Building is a 17-story modernistic skyscaper located in Durham, North Carolina. Built in 1935-1937, the Hill Building was designed by New York City Architecture firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, best known for the design of the Empire State Building....
.
History
In 1899, attorney John Sprunt HillJohn Sprunt Hill
John Sprunt Hill was a North Carolina lawyer, banker and philanthropist who played a fundamental role in the civic and social development of Durham, North Carolina, the expansion of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the development of rural credit unions in North Carolina during...
married Annie Louise Watts, daughter of George Washington Watts
George Washington Watts
George Washington Watts was an American manufacturer, financier and philanthropist. Alongside James B. Duke, he co-founded the American Tobacco Company, as well as Watts Hospital, the first hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which prompted the establishment of Duke University.-Biography:Born in...
, co-founder of the American Tobacco Company
American Tobacco Company
The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company...
. Watts and Hill started Durham Loan & Trust Company and Home Savings Bank. Hill served as president and chairman of both banks. In 1931, Durham Loan & Trust became Durham Bank & Trust. Home Savings Bank and Durham Bank & Trust merged in 1950. In 1961, Durham Bank & Trust became Central Carolina Bank and Trust Company.
In 1964, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Frank DePasquale wanted to put a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
leaf on the new CCB sign to go atop the Hill Building. Bank chairman George Watts Hill, the founder's son, did not like the idea because he felt the focus should be on the bank's services, not the city's tobacco heritage. The four-sided sign instead had just "Roman-style letters, classic and unadorned". Harlan Laws Corp. "fabricated the letters in sections from steel and had them coated with white porcelain to protect against rust. The louvered aluminum screen on which they were mounted was anodized against corrosion. Fasteners were of brass or stainless steel for the same reason." The parts for the sign went up after regular business hours in elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s that only reached the 14th floor, and workers used rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
s and pulley
Pulley
A pulley, also called a sheave or a drum, is a mechanism composed of a wheel on an axle or shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope, cable, belt, or chain usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove, if present...
s to lift them the rest of the way, 270 feet above the street. Workers used a ladder
Ladder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles . Rigid ladders are usually...
or were lowered by ropes using a soft drink box as a seat. Inside the 12-foot letters went white neon lighting
Neon lamp
A neon lamp is a miniature gas discharge lamp that typically contains neon gas at a low pressure in a glass capsule. Only a thin region adjacent to the electrodes glows in these lamps, which distinguishes them from the much longer and brighter neon tubes used for signage...
.
In 1997, CCB announced a merger with 76-year-old American Federal Bank of Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
, with 40 offices and $1.3 billion in assets. The deal, valued at $325.1 million, would give CCB $6.9 billion in assets. The American federal name would remain.
CCB had 208 branches and $8.2 billion in assets in March 2000 when National Commerce Bancorporation (NCBC) of Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
announced a $1.94 billion purchase of CCB which was described as "a merger of equals", though NCBC would be the surviving corporation. Corporate headquarters would stay in Memphis but Durham would be the operational headquarters. NCBC chairman and chief executive officer Thomas M. Garrott would become chairman, while CCB chairman and CEO Ernest L. Roessler would become CEO of the new company. The combination would give NCBC "market capitalization of about $4.2 billion, combined assets of $15 billion, deposits of $11.3 billion and 370 branches in eight states".
NCBC had $7.3 billion in assets and 162 National Bank of Commerce (NBC) branches in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The company was also buying Hillsborough
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....
Savings Bank, with 3 branches and $150 million in assets.Many of the NBC branches were in Kroger
Kroger
The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...
stores; CCB had nine Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter is a chain of supermarkets based in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte. , the chain operates 207 stores in eight Southern states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.Harris Teeter is a...
locations.
The CCB name remained on banks in the Carolinas.
As a result of the First Union-Wachovia merger, 25 branches of the former First Union
First Union Corporation
First Union Corporation was a banking company providing 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,...
and Wachovia
Wachovia
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
banks became CCB locations on February 15, 2002. CCB would remain number three behind BB&T
BB&T
BB&T Corporation is an American bank with assets of $157 billion , offering full-service commercial and retail banking services along with other financial services like insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international...
and Wachovia. National Commerce Financial (NCF), the newly named parent company, bought twelve other branches in Georgia and Virginia which would become NBC branches. First Bank
First Bancorp
First Bancorp is a bank holding company in Troy, North Carolina. It operates as First Bank in North and South Carolina and First Bank of Virginia in Virginia. The company has total assets of $3.3 billion.-Description:...
bought the other branch, in Salisbury.
In May 2004, NCF announced it would merge with SunTrust, making SunTrust the seventh-largest bank in the United States. CCB had 3189 employees at the time, with about 1300 of those in back office
Back office
A back office is a part of most corporations where tasks dedicated to running the company itself takes place. The term "Back office" comes from the building layout of early companies where the front office would contain the sales and other customer-facing staff and the back office would be those...
jobs which could be dropped after the merger. On July 19, 2004, the merging banks announced SunTrust would have 254 branches and 1900 employees in its Carolinas group, to be based in Durham and covering the same territory as CCB before the NCF merger. The Carolinas group would be the fourth SunTrust territory; the others were Atlanta, Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Also announced at that time were the fates of NCF's major executives. NCF chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
Richard Furr would head the Carolinas group. Scott Edwards, chief administrative officer, would become head of credit for the Carolinas and be based in Durham. Robert Jones would succeed the retiring Richard Glover as Triangle-area president. John Stallings, NCF head of retail banking, would oversee SunTrust's Carolinas group retail business. NCF Atlanta region president would take over the Carolinas group commercial and commercial real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
areas.
In October, CCB announced the loss of 107 mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
and loan servicing
Loan servicing
Loan servicing is the process by which a mortgage bank or subservicing firm collects the timely payment of interest and principal from borrowers...
jobs. On December 16, CCB announced 293 of approximately 600 jobs would be cut at the Durham operations center once accounts were merged in April 2005, at which time SunTrust signs would replace CCB. The jobs would be moved to SunTrust facilities in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
and other locations. At the same time, 40 jobs were being added in Durham. Also, 55 jobs were being cut in Memphis, while seven were being added. In all, layoffs and additions meant a net loss of 127 NCF jobs.
SunTrust intended to continue using the Hill Building, almost entirely used by CCB, for its Carolinas headquarters. The CCB sign on top of the building would come down. SunTrust CEO Phillip Humann said SunTrust would keep CCB's community focus.
After making a deal to move in November 2006 to the Diamond View office development elsewhere in downtown Durham, SunTrust sold the Hill Building to Greenfire Development for $4.1 million in July 2006. SunTrust planned to keep a branch in the building.