SunTrust Bank

SunTrust Bank Inc. is an American holding company. Its activities include commercial and retail banking, mortgage and wholesale banking, and investment management. In May 2008, the company acquired GB&T Bancshares Inc. and sold the retirement services subsidiary First Mercantile Trust Company. The major subsidiary of the holding is the SunTrust Bank, created in 1811, with $172.7 billion worth of assets as of September, 2009. The bank is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia in the second tallest skyscraper of the state, originally named One Peachtree Center and later renamed to SunTrust Plaza. SunTrust has 1,690 branches, with such in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, currently operating 2,807 ATMs. SunTrust Bank is listed eighth largest bank, individually, in 2008. The bank offers retail and commercial banking services, including deposits, loans, trust and investment management to retail, business, and institutional clients. Its credit card portfolio is handled by InfiCorp Holdings as of December 2006, after the MBNA Corporation was acquired by Bank of America in 2005.

Available also are different distance-banking options like on-line banking and Automated Telephone Banking. Other subsidiaries of the holding provide asset management, equipment leasing, security brokerage, mortgage, capital market services and insurance. SunTrust Bank has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since July 1st, 1985.

SunTrust has cooperated with the Coca Cola Company since 1919. The then called Trust Company of Georgia assisted the endorsement of the initial public offering (IPO) of the company and obtained some of the publicly traded stock of Coca Cola. The Coca-Cola’s 1923 - 1954 president Robert Woodruff was, in fact, the son of the then president of the Trust, Ernest Woodruff. The famous original formula of the drink is kept in a safe deposit box in the main vault at the SunTrust Plaza in Atlanta. Since 2007, Coca-Cola executives have been on SunTrust’s board of directors, whereas a former SunTrust CEO has had a seat on Coca-Cola’s board. As of 2006, SunTrust owns 3.58% of the Coca Cola Company (48.3 million shares), which makes the holding an attractive stock. The holding’s investment in the Coca Cola Company preserves the holding from the slumps in the banking industry, which recurrently disturb the market. However, the body sold 9% of its Coca-Cola shares in 2007, still considering what to do with the rest.


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