SouthTrust
Encyclopedia
SouthTrust Corporation was a banking company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama
. In 2004, SouthTrust reached an agreement to merge
with Wachovia
in a stock-for-stock deal. At the time of the merger with Wachovia was completed, SouthTrust had $53 Billion in assets. SouthTrust was listed on the NASDAQ
exchange under the ticker symbol SOTR. The Company was headquartered in the SouthTrust Tower, now known as the Wachovia Tower
. SouthTrust had branches in Alabama
, Florida
, Georgia
, Mississippi
, North Carolina
, South Carolina
, Tennessee
, Texas
and Virginia
. By the end of 2005, all former SouthTrust branches that remained open carried the Wachovia name.
. SouthTrust quickly focused on Florida for its new acquisitions and acquired many banks, mostly located in northern and Central Florida. Towards the end of 1987 SouthTrust made its first entry into the Georgia market when it moved the SouthTrust National Bank of Russell County headquarters across the state line to Columbus, Georgia
.
. By 1992 SouthTrust had $12 billion in assets and 336 banking branches in six states, but announced that instead of looking to grow geographical wise that it would instead focus on growing in its existing markets. By the end of 1993, SouthTrust's assets had grown to $15.1 billion. In 1994 SouthTrust made its first entry into Mississippi when it purchased First Jefferson Corporation. This purchase helped added to an increase in SouthTrust branch number which had grown to over 400. Two big changes came in 1996. The first was that all SouthTrust banks would merge under one national bank charter. The second was SouthTrusts entry into life insurance through SouthTrust Insurance, Inc. By end of 1997, SouthTrust entered the state of Texas through when it bought SecurityBank Texas.
, Compass Bancshares
, Regions Financial Corporation and SouthTrust all became known as the Big Four. All four banks were top 50 US banks and all headquarterd in downtown Birmingham. Only New York City had more banks and no other city equaled with Birmingham. http://www.expansionmanagement.com/cmd/articledetail/articleid/16383/default.asp In 2000 the bank made a change from being a nationally chartered bank to a state chartered bank. In 2001, SouthTrust made its first entry into the Virginia banking market when it purchased CENIT Bank. Later that same year, SouthTrust expanded in Virginia when it bought the Bank of Tidewater. From the end of 2001 to 2003, SouthTrust continued making acquisitions by buying small banks in markets they already operated so that it could grow its customer base. By the end of 2004, SouthTrust had $53 billion in assets and 712 branches in nine states.
went into effect.http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2006/01/30/daily4.html The New York Times put this figure closer to $135 million. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50813F6355B0C728FDDA80894DE404482 Malone has stated that somewhere around 40% of that total will go into a trust for the families affected by the SouthTrust-Wachovia merger, although, as of yet, nothing further has been mentioned regarding this matter.
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. In 2004, SouthTrust reached an agreement to merge
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
with 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...
in a stock-for-stock deal. At the time of the merger with Wachovia was completed, SouthTrust had $53 Billion in assets. SouthTrust was listed on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
exchange under the ticker symbol SOTR. The Company was headquartered in the SouthTrust Tower, now known as the Wachovia Tower
Wachovia Tower (Birmingham)
The Wells Fargo Tower is a 34 story, 454 foot tall office building located in Birmingham, Alabama. Built in 1986 as the corporate headquarters for SouthTrust Corporation, the building was originally known as the SouthTrust Tower until 2005 when SouthTrust completed its merger with Wachovia and was...
. SouthTrust had branches in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, 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...
, 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...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, 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...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and 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...
. By the end of 2005, all former SouthTrust branches that remained open carried the Wachovia name.
1887 to 1980
SouthTrust Corporation began as Birmingham Trust and Savings Company in 1887. In 1946 the bank sought a charter to become a national bank. After receiving the charter, the name of the bank changed to Birmingham Trust National Bank, which was commonly known as BTNB. In 1972 BTNB combined with three other Alabama banks to become the Alabama Financial Group, Inc. which was a holding company for the four banks. In 1974 the holding company changed its name to Southern Bancorporation of Alabama. Through the rest of the 1970s, Southern Bank continued buying other community banks located throughout Alabama. By this time Southern Bank held assets of over $1 billion.1981 to 1987
In 1981 the holding company again changed its name, this time to SouthTrust Corporation. In 1986, SouthTrust decided to build a new building for its headquarters in downtown Birmingham. Work began right away on what would become the 34 story SouthTrust Tower. SouthTrust had $5.3 billion in assets by the end of 1986 and had expanded as much as it could in its home state of Alabama. After a change in an Alabama law allowed banks to buy other banks in the 12 southeastern states, SouthTrust made its first purchase outside of Alabama. In 1987 SouthTrust purchased the Central Bank of South Daytona Beach located in Daytona Beach, FloridaDaytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
. SouthTrust quickly focused on Florida for its new acquisitions and acquired many banks, mostly located in northern and Central Florida. Towards the end of 1987 SouthTrust made its first entry into the Georgia market when it moved the SouthTrust National Bank of Russell County headquarters across the state line to Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
.
1988 to 1997
When the bank decided it was time to enter the Tennessee market, it did so by opening up a branch instead of buying a bank already established there. The first Tennessee branch was located in Nashville. By the end of 1989, SouthTrust opened its first South Carolina branch, located in Charleston. As 1990 came around, SouthTrust had grown to over $7.5 billion in assets and had become the largest bank in Alabama. By 1991 SouthTrust had entered the North Carolina market when it bought Barclays' small American operation based in CharlotteCHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
. By 1992 SouthTrust had $12 billion in assets and 336 banking branches in six states, but announced that instead of looking to grow geographical wise that it would instead focus on growing in its existing markets. By the end of 1993, SouthTrust's assets had grown to $15.1 billion. In 1994 SouthTrust made its first entry into Mississippi when it purchased First Jefferson Corporation. This purchase helped added to an increase in SouthTrust branch number which had grown to over 400. Two big changes came in 1996. The first was that all SouthTrust banks would merge under one national bank charter. The second was SouthTrusts entry into life insurance through SouthTrust Insurance, Inc. By end of 1997, SouthTrust entered the state of Texas through when it bought SecurityBank Texas.
1998 to 2005
The late 1990s proved to be one of the most important times in SouthTrust's 118 year history. The bank had become one of the largest banks in the south. Birmingham had grown into the largest banking city in the south based on the number of top 50 US banks headquartered there, although not the largest by assets. In Birmingham, AmSouth BancorporationAmSouth Bancorporation
AmSouth Bancorporation was a banking company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and operated for its final year in existence as a bank holding company of Regions Financial Corporation after a merger between the two banks. AmSouth was previously known as First National Bank of Birmingham, which...
, Compass Bancshares
Compass Bancshares
BBVA Compass is a United States financial holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with US$65 billion in assets and primarily located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Compass Bancshares is one of the U.S.’s 25 largest banks, and was previously...
, Regions Financial Corporation and SouthTrust all became known as the Big Four. All four banks were top 50 US banks and all headquarterd in downtown Birmingham. Only New York City had more banks and no other city equaled with Birmingham. http://www.expansionmanagement.com/cmd/articledetail/articleid/16383/default.asp In 2000 the bank made a change from being a nationally chartered bank to a state chartered bank. In 2001, SouthTrust made its first entry into the Virginia banking market when it purchased CENIT Bank. Later that same year, SouthTrust expanded in Virginia when it bought the Bank of Tidewater. From the end of 2001 to 2003, SouthTrust continued making acquisitions by buying small banks in markets they already operated so that it could grow its customer base. By the end of 2004, SouthTrust had $53 billion in assets and 712 branches in nine states.
Merger with Wachovia
On Monday June 21, 2004 Wachovia Corporation announced it would buy SouthTrust in an all stock transaction valued at $14.3 billion. The merger closed on November 1, 2004. The Birmingham market was the last market for the conversion to the Wachovia brand which occurred in October 2005.Criticism
About a year before the merger was announced, Wallace Malone, the company's CEO, quietly moved SouthTrust's commercial banking division headquarters from Birmingham to Atlanta. When the public found out, Malone quickly assured the city and employees that SouthTrust's corporate headquarters would remain in Birmingham. Soon after, when Malone was asked in a local newspaper whether he would ever consider selling the bank in the future, he responded by saying he believed SouthTrust was better on its own than combined with any other bank. Even within the company, he strongly preached to employees that the bank would stay independent. http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/business/1163327391231241.xml&coll=2 This caused residents of Birmingham to be blindsided when the news that SouthTrust had reached a deal to sell itself to Wachovia was announced. The biggest loss to Birmingham came from SouthTrust moving its commercial banking division to Atlanta a year before the merger was announced, and that Atlanta, not Birmingham, would end up with Wachovia's Southern Banking Group headquarters. http://www.wachovia.com/inside/page/0,,134_307_348_1270_5159^1049,00.html Around 1,700 of the 4,000 local SouthTrust jobs were lost in Birmingham due to the merger. Many former SouthTrust Customers have defected to banks like Regions and BBVA Compass.Malone's golden parachute
When the merger was completed, Malone's $100 million dollar Golden ParachuteGolden parachute
A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Sometimes, certain conditions, typically a change in company ownership, must be met, but often the cause of termination is...
went into effect.http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2006/01/30/daily4.html The New York Times put this figure closer to $135 million. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50813F6355B0C728FDDA80894DE404482 Malone has stated that somewhere around 40% of that total will go into a trust for the families affected by the SouthTrust-Wachovia merger, although, as of yet, nothing further has been mentioned regarding this matter.