Hi, I'm Bill Rogers, Chairman and CEO of SunTrust.
I'm Kelly King, Chairman and CEO of BB&T. We are really excited to share with you some outstanding information about our two companies. BB&T and SunTrust are coming together in a merger of equals, creating the sixth largest U.S. bank and what we believe will be the premier financial institution in the country.
Kelly, we're thrilled to bring together our SunTrust and BB&T teammates and associates to create something really special. Two iconic franchises with a combined 275 years of history and a values-driven culture that's dedicated to passionately serving our clients and communities. Kelly, I'm going to speak for you. We just absolutely believe this merger of equals creates value for everyone involved and of course, is a big win for our stakeholders.
Yeah, absolutely right. This is a really extraordinarily attractive and compelling combination. The new company will have about $442 billion in assets, $301 billion in loans, and $324 billion in deposits. Importantly, we will serve more than 10 million households in some of the very best markets in the country. By bringing together the best of both companies together, we are creating a company that will generate high returns and industry-leading financial performance.
Our focus is going to be really simple. It's going to be about our clients. We'll be able to leverage our community bank model to provide the personal touch our clients have come to expect. We'll also have the capacity we need to invest in better technology for our clients in this fast-moving world. In addition, our teammates and associates will benefit from a collective set of training, leadership, and development programs that are really going to provide them so many more career opportunities.
It's going to be fantastic. Bill and I have known each other for a long time.
Yep.
We have a tremendous amount of respect for one another and for what our respective institutions have achieved. Between our two companies, we have a proven track record of successfully integrating more than 100 bank acquisitions in the last 35 years.
We know that individually, SunTrust and BB&T, they're just incredibly strong institutions. Together, we're going to be even better.
We really will be fantastic. A few more details about the new combined company. This is a true merger of equals. Our respective leadership teams are already making decisions together, and we feel really good about how we'll transition to the new company. From a leadership perspective, I will serve as Chairman and CEO of the combined company for the first two years.
At which point I'm going to take over for Kelly as CEO of the combined company. Until then, I'll serve as President and Chief Operating Officer. Both the board of directors and the management team will be evenly split. What we're really going to be is one team. We're really excited to choose a new name and a new brand for a new company. We'll work together on that throughout this year. Our corporate headquarters is going to be in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it's going to include a new innovation and technology center, which I'm really excited about, to drive ongoing digital transformation.
As you can see, we'll really all be working together. Bill and I, the management teams, the boards. It really is an even combination.
Absolutely.
The great thing about it, though, is that two plus two becomes five, it's really exciting. Even though we are establishing a new headquarters, we are still very committed to our home markets in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We plan to maintain a strong presence in both towns, and that includes increasing our financial commitment. Bill and I feel very strongly that we will remain committed to those communities. Building a strong company isn't just about us. It's about the opportunity to give back even more to all those communities that have supported us for more than 100 years.
Absolutely. It really just comes back to our cultures and how similar they are. We're driven by a mission to make the world a better place and our purpose of lighting the way to financial well-being. With our community bank model and client-first mentality, we just can't lose, Kelly. We're just going to make such a difference.
It's going to be awesome. Thank you so much for watching, and as you can tell, we're both extremely excited about what this means for the future of BB&T and SunTrust. We look forward to working with each and every one of you and all of you to ensure the merger is a success for all of our associates, our teammates, for our clients, and for our communities. We really hope you have a great day.
Let's do it.
Let's do it.