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Feb 10, 2019

Half of the 10 biggest bank mergers have resulted in name changes

Felix Salmon

How unpopular are America's biggest banks? Here's a good indication: Fully half of the 10 biggest bank mergers in American history ended up with the acquirer giving up its name.

Data: Dealogic; Note: As of Feb. 7, 2019; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios
Data: Dealogic; Note: As of Feb. 7, 2019; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Driving the news: BB&T is changing its name, probably to something cheerful, "consumer-facing" and focus-grouped to within an inch of its life by a New York branding consultancy. I'm guessing there will be a rounded typeface.

  • NationsBank changed its name to Bank of America, Travelers changed its name to Citigroup, Norwest changed its name to Wells Fargo, and Firstar changed its name to US Bancorp.
  • Other banks, including GMAC Bank, changed their name just because they felt they really needed a rebrand. (It's now known as Ally Bank.)

Go deeper: BB&T and SunTrust's mega merger

Go deeper