Crestar Bank was a bank headquartered in Richmond, Virginia with branches in Virginia and Maryland. It was the leading subsidiary of Crestar Financial Corporation. In 1998, it was acquired by SunTrust Banks. At that time, it was the largest independent bank in Virginia.
| Industry | Banking |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 8, 1865 |
| Defunct | December 31, 1998 |
| Fate | Acquired by SunTrust Banks |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia |
Key people | Richard G. Tilghman, Chairman & CEO James M. Wells III, President James D. Barr, CFO |
| Total assets |  $24.928 billion (1997) |
| Total equity | $2.059 billion (1997) |
Number of employees | 8,215 (1997) |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
History
editThe bank was originally chartered as State Planters Bank of Commerce and Trusts on December 8, 1865 in Richmond.[2]
In 1926, State Planters Bank of Commerce and Trusts merged with State & City Bank and Trust Co. and was renamed State Planters Bank and Trust Co.[3]
In 1969, it was renamed United Virginia Bank/State Planters. It reorganized as a holding company, United Virginia Bankshares, in 1971, which changed its name to Crestar Financial Corporation in 1987.[2]
In 1991, the bank acquired $527 million in deposits of Heritage Savings Bank for $2.35 million after it was seized by the Resolution Trust Corporation during the savings and loan crisis.[4][5]
In 1992, the bank acquired Perpetual Savings Bank for $7.8 million after it was shut down by regulators.[6]
In 1995, the bank acquired Loyola Federal Savings and Loan of Maryland for $251 million in stock.[7][8] The bank also acquired 6 branches in Maryland from Chase Bank.[9]
Jan 20 1995 Jefferson Savings & Loan, Corporate offices Warrenton, VA acquired by Crestar Financial Corp,[10]
In 1996, the bank acquired Citizens Bank of Maryland.[11][12] As a result of this merger Crestal laid off as many as 600 middle managers and secretaries and close as many as 26 of Citizens' 103 Washington area branches.[13]
In 1997, the bank sold its merchant transaction processing business to Nova Corp.[14] The bank also purchased a portfolio of student loans from Great Western Bank (1919–97).[15] With First Union's takeover later that year of Signet Banking Corporation, Crestar's longtime rival in Richmond, Crestar became the largest independent bank in Virginia.[16]
However, analysts believed that Crestar was a likely takeover target.[16] That came to pass on December 31, 1998, when Crestar was acquired by SunTrust Banks for $9.5 billion in stock; a merger that created the nation's 10th-largest bank holding company.[17]
In December 2019, SunTrust merged with BB&T, forming Truist Financial.
References
edit- ^ "Crestar Financial Corp. 1997 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- ^ a b "Institution History for TENTH & MAIN BRANCH (47920)". Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
- ^ "The latest banking merger has a convoluted family". [Style Weekly]. January 1, 1980.
- ^ "Previous bank crisis claimed four Richmond-based thrifts". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 2, 2009.
- ^ "Crestar acquires thrift deposits". American Banker. July 11, 1991.(subscription required)
- ^ Brenner, Joel Glenn (January 11, 1992). "PERPETUAL SAVINGS IS SOLD TO CRESTAR". The Washington Post.
- ^ "CRESTAR SET TO BUY LOYOLA CAPITAL FOR $251 MILLION". The New York Times. May 19, 1995.
- ^ Conn, David (April 29, 1995). "Loyola to be acquired by Crestar". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ Mullaney, Timothy J. (June 27, 1995). "Chase sells 6 branches to Crestar". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ "DAILY DIGEST". scholar.lib.vt.edu. 1995-01-21. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ^ "Crestar/Citizens Bank merger deal complete". American City Business Journals. December 30, 1996.
- ^ "Institution History for SWEITZER LANE BRANCH (251624)". Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
- ^ "Crestar announces layoffs as result of merger". Washington Business Journal. February 4, 1997. Archived from the original on April 6, 2008. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Nova Corp. acquires Crestar transaction unit". American City Business Journals. June 4, 1997.
- ^ "CRESTAR IS PURCHASING STUDENT LOAN BUSINESS". The New York Times. Bloomberg News. November 28, 1996.
- ^ a b "Virginia gets new top bank". CNN. July 21, 1997.
- ^ "In Brief: SunTrust, Crestar Complete $9.5B Merger". American Banker. January 5, 1999.(subscription required)