BB&T 2012 Annual Report Download - page 16

2012 Annual Report
14
OUR EXPANSION IN TEXAS
BB&T was barely known in Texas three years ago. No longer.
By mid-2013, BB&T commercial bankers will be meeting the
needs of small and midsize Texas companies from 30 newly
opened commercial-focused, full-service branches in four of
the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas. In all, more than 400
BB&T bankers in 60 branches will be delivering our Perfect
Client Experience, up from 80 associates and 22 branches
when we entered the Lone Star State’s banking market with
the Colonial acquisition in 2009. In addition, 1,200 associates
from other BB&T businesses already located in Texas – ranging
from insurance and commercial real estate finance to auto loans
and capital markets – are spreading BB&T’s good name.
BB&T’s brand resonates well with can-do Texans. Our
community bank model and long-held values are attracting new
clients and associates alike. Clients who need decisions made
quickly by local bankers, but want the range of products and
services offered by one of the nation’s largest financial services
companies, are attracted to our commitment to “be as big or
small as you want us to be.” Businesses like the responsive client
service, which includes, among other things, BB&T bankers
sharing their cell numbers and returning the day’s calls by
sundown. New hires immediately feel at home with the BB&T
mission of giving back to our communities.
Texas’ economy, the nation’s strongest, also is a perfect match
for BB&T’s focus on fast-growing industries in healthcare,
energy, manufacturing, commercial real estate, multi-family
housing and more. Texas’ potential is as big as the state itself:
Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio – the four markets
where BB&T is concentrating its new branches – are among the
fastest-growing 20 metro areas in the country, each projected
to at least double in size over the next two decades. We are
opening 11 new branches in the Dallas and in the Houston
markets, and four each in Austin and San Antonio.
Of Texas’ 26 million people, 18 million live in those four
markets. “We’re banking the core of Texas,” says Kay St.
John, president of BB&T’s North Texas region based in the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Consider the potential of just one
of BB&T’s new markets in Addison, north of Dallas: Within two
miles of our newly opened branch, there are more than 8,000
businesses ranging in size from less than $1 million to more
than $50 million in annual sales.
In Houston, which is expected to surpass Chicago as the nation’s
third-largest city, BB&T’s energy group already has booked
$1.3 billion in new commitments. Bill Toomey is based there as
president of the South Texas region, which also encompasses
Austin and San Antonio. Austin, home of the state capital and the
University of Texas main campus, is a magnet for high-tech firms,
nonprofits and international trade, among others. San Antonio
is a center for tourism, healthcare and multicultural firms.
Texas also is an ideal market for offering products from BB&T’s
non-banking businesses to our bank clients. Our wholesale
and specialty insurance group serves clients with eight Texas
offices and more than 450 associates, while new associates from
the Crump Group already are offering life insurance products.
We offer extensive risk management capabilities in Houston
through insurance subsidiary McGriff, Seibels & Williams.
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has offices in Dallas and
Houston. Our auto loan subsidiary, Regional Acceptance
Corporation, has a major call center in Arlington and offices in
Plano, Houston and San Antonio with more than 200 associates.
BB&T Wealth, Capital Markets and Corporate Banking
and Investments also offer their expertise from offices in Texas.
Our Texas expansion, while aggressive, also is fiscally
conservative. All of our new branches are in existing buildings,
allowing us to both open quickly and much more economically
than building new branches. New branch construction typically
takes a year or two at the cost of up to $5 million each. We are
opening 30 branches, typically within three to four months,
at a total cost of less than $40 million.
Our focus on commercial clients also is rooted in economics
as well as market potential. Texas is one of the nation’s most
competitive retail markets, home to more than 500 other banks.
While BB&T’s retail market share has grown since our Colonial
Top 12 Metro Areas in BB&T Footprint for Small to Medium Commercial Revenue
Growth Opportunities in Texas
Based on data from Oxxford Information Technology BB&T is adding a total of 30 branches in these markets.