BB&T and SunTrust announced Thursday they will combine in a $66 billion transaction to create a regional banking giant in the industry’s largest merger since the 2008 financial crisis. The two midsize banks operating in the fast-growing Southeastern United States described the move as a merger of equals that would enable them to compete against heavyweights like Bank of America and Wells Fargo and save some $1.6 billion in administrative costs. Shares of both companies soared on the announcement, which establishes the sixth-largest bank in the country by assets and deposits, and follows President Donald Trump’s moves to cut corporate taxes and ease banking regulations imposed after the 2008 crisis.
