BB&T CEO On National Penn Acquisition: 'We Want To Be A Community Bank'

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BB&T Corporation BBT announced Tuesday that it will be acquiring Pennsylvania-based National Penn Bancshares NPBC for a $1.8 billion deal, or $13 per share.

BB&T chairman and CEO, Kelly King, was on CNBC with Jim Cramer post the announcement to explain the reasoning behind acquiring a local bank.

Why Local And Not Digital

"What we found through our experience and through all the research that we have studied is that, while digital banking is clearly a transformative process that's going on, it's really about [...] a long-term, 50-year paradigm shift in our industry," King said. "So, if you think about over the last 50 years or so there have been lots of changes from drive-in banking to ATMs to online banking to debit cards, and now to digital banking."

Related Link: Banking Is Big...A Little Too Big. Here's Why

He continued, "But all of that is about transactional banking. The other aspect of banking is relationships, trust, and so, that has not changed in my 43-year career. And so, while we and everybody else are and will continue to invest heavily in digital banking, the real assets of the relationship is trust. And when you talk to clients, young and old, they will still tell you the number one or number two priority in picking a bank is a local branch."

It's About Community

On why BB&T is interested in acquiring local bank and the reason it bought National Penn bank, King said, "We want to be a community bank. And we are a large bank, and we have a large back room so that we can provide efficient, well priced services to our clients. But the real essence of a relationship banking is to be close to the client, make good decisions very responsibly."

"And that's about knowing your community, being involved in your community. We don't try to acquire a company like National Penn, which is a great company with great client service quality – we don't try to come in and take it over and run it from North Carolina," King said.

Image Credit: Public Domain
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Posted In: CNBCJim CramerMediaKelly King
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