Winston Salem loses BB&T?

[monsoon]

[bobliocatt]

Interesting! I know BB&T has been looking for office space in downtown Jax for a regional headquarters. I wonder how this will affect those plans? As far as Winston-Salem goes, the city will bounce back if this happens. About 10 years ago, Jacksonville lost its big corporate company, Barnett Bank, when it was taken over by Nation's Bank. But the city has rebounded pretty easily. How many people does BB&T employee in its Winston-Salem offices?

[cityboi]

I hope it doesnt happen. Its Winston-Salem's last major financial institution. The presence of big banks in Winston-Salem is the reason why Winston-Salem has a decent skyline. lets hope BB&T stays.

[Danny 4 Peace]

I don't think the nation's 9th largest bank is going anywhere. They are working to improve shareholder confidence and increase value. Allison has said he wants his bank to be a survivor and one of the nation's largest. Wells Fargo had a bad experience absorbing a bank similar to BB&T a few years ago. BB&T is a large decentralized community bank. Most of the nation's major banks are centralized mega banks. I think Wells Fargo will take a centralized bank in Birmimgham that fits their model. The Birmingham banks have better market share in Florida and Atlanta too. That is what they really want. BB&T doesn't have a good presence in Florida or Atlanta. Also this story followed your story the next day.

BB&T stock drops 2.4% amid takeover speculation

Shares of BB&T Corp.'s stock dropped 2.4 percent yesterday as analysts said that investors continued to evaluate industry speculation of a potential takeover bid for the Winston-Salem bank.

The stock finished at $36.85 a share, down 92 cents, on volume of 3.3 million shares, which is three times the average daily trading volume.

The stock increased almost 5 percent to $37.77 a share Wednesday as investors initially reacted to the takeover rumors. Analysts said that the rumors focus on a potential purchase by Wells Fargo & Co., the fifth-largest U.S. bank, or a merger of equals with a Midwest bank.

BB&T officials said Wednesday that the bank intends to remain an independent player in the industry.

"The market's having second thoughts today about the veracity of the takeover rumor," said Tony Plath, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

[monsoon]

[twincity]

Time will tell with BB&T. A takeover would be very difficult..a merger of equals with that "mid-west bank" seems more likely. its weird how the rumors were sturring for two days then all of a sudden a drop in stock pretty much cooled down the speculation.

[Myles Away]

The First Virginia merger was to build the bank's size for a merger of equals with a midwestern bank. Could you imagine a Winston-Salem bank with almost 200 million in assets? BB&T has talked about merging with a midwestern bank for the past three years. John Allison wants to expand the franchise to the Ohio River Valley. He says there are a number of under performing banks in Ohio that present BB&T an opportunity to expand it's brand to other parts of the country. Allison's thinking is if something goes wrong on the southeast's economy the midwest market will keep the bank from taking a big hit. It's smart thinking but I think BB&T will wait until changes are made and stockholders are ready before they make their next move. They will be a survivor. I work in wealth management for Wachovia and I can tell you as an insider that BB&T will be a survivor. Allison's goal is to build a superbank in Winston-Salem. He also likes model railroading and is a member of the local model railroad club.

[yadkinv]

Then what are the prospects for the proposed for years now 55 story tower?