SunTrust, BB&T expect merger to form Truist Bank be complete in December

The largest bank merger since the Great Recession is closer to being complete.

BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks announced jointly Tuesday that they received regulatory approvals from the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The deal, announced in February and valued at $66 billion, creates Truist Financial Corp., which will be the sixth-largest bank in the U.S. serving more than 10 million U.S. households and will have more than $425 billion in assets, according to a news release.

BB&T and SunTrust expect to complete the merger on Dec. 6, pending closing conditions. The release notes no further regulatory approvals are required.

But it could take some time before consumers notice a difference.

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"Clients will continue to be served through their respective BB&T or SunTrust branches, websites, mobile apps, financial advisers and relationship managers as systems are integrated," the release states. "The conversion to the Truist brand will occur over the next two years."

"We are pleased to have received regulatory approval to merge two strong companies with complementary business models and a high level of cultural alignment," BB&T CEO Kelly King, who will become CEO and chairman of Truist through September 2021, said in the release.

Truist will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, but it will continue to have operations out of BB&T's current headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and SunTrust's Atlanta headquarters.

SunTrust CEO Bill Rogers will be president and chief operating officer until King steps down in September 2021. Rogers will then take on the CEO role.

The Federal Reserve required BB&T and SunTrust to sell 30 branches and divest $2.4 billion in assets as a condition of the merger.

The new bank will trade under the stock ticker “TFC” on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contributing: Associated Press

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko