ATLANTA’S CHANGING BANK SCENE

In the 1990s, Charlotte replaced Atlanta as the Southeast’s banking center. Now, the turmoil in the financial world has some industry experts wondering whether SunTrust, the last major Atlanta-based bank, will eventually be acquired.

> 1985: July —- Trust Company of Atlanta merges with Sun Banks of Florida to become SunTrust, with headquarters in Atlanta.

December —- Wachovia of Winston-Salem, N.C., merges with First Atlanta.

December —- NCNB (later becoming NationsBank) of Charlotte enters Atlanta market by acquiring Southern National Bankshares.

> 1986: First Union of Charlotte enters Atlanta, buying Georgia State Bankshares.

> 1990: Atlanta-based Citizens and Southern merges with Norfolk, Va.-based Sovran to become C&S/Sovran.

> 1991: SouthTrust buys Fulton Federal Savings Bank.

> 1992: January —- C&S/Sovran merges with NCNB to become NationsBank, based in Charlotte.

March —- SouthTrust buys First American Bank of Georgia.

> 1993: January —- First Union buys Decatur Federal.

June —- First Union buys Georgia Federal.

> 1994: July —- SouthTrust buys Homebanc.

> 1995: NationsBank buys Bank South.

> 1998: NationsBank and BankAmerica merge, the new operating name is Bank of America.

> 2001: Wachovia, with “dual headquarters” in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, merges with First Union, beating a rival bid by SunTrust. The merged bank takes the Wachovia name but keeps First Union’s Charlotte headquarters, leaving SunTrust as the only major Atlanta-based bank.

> 2004: Wachovia acquires Birmingham-based SouthTrust, retaining its regional headquarters in an office tower at Atlantic Station.

Source: Staff research by Richard Hall.