Citizens & Southern National Bank
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Citizens and Southern National Bank (C&S) began as a Georgia institution that expanded into SC, FL and into other states via mergers. C&S became part of NationsBank (formerly North Carolina National Bank) in 1991 when NationsBank bought newly merged C&S/Sovran. Both are now part of the modern day Bank of America.
A former Charleston, SC, C&S location is the second oldest bank building in the U.S. Constructed in 1798 as the Bank of South Carolina,[1] it later became the home for the Charleston Library Society (1835), then belonged to the Charleston Chamber of Commerce (1914), and finally became a bank again when C&S purchased the two-story building in 1966. Located at 50 Broad Street, it is now a private office building.[2]
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[edit] History
The bank began in Georgia with the merger of the Citizens Bank of Savannah and the Southern Bank of Georgia in 1928 This is likely incorrect. [3]. The newly merged banks were named the Citizens and Southern National Bank of Georgia. However, successor company Bank of America disputes the banks inception stating that C&S was founded at 22 Bull Street in Savannah, Georgia, in 1906.[4] To create further doubt of these dates, Bank of America web page also informs readers that C&S financed the inception of Delta Air Lines when Delta Air Lines' history can be traced back to Huff Daland Dusters, 1924. Delta founder C. E. Woolman served on C&S's board of directors before his death in 1966[5]. Therefore, the exact date of the founding of C&S is in uncertain.
In South Carolina, parties associated with C&S of Georgia purchased all the stock of Charleston-based Atlantic Savings & Atlantic National Bank. The Atlantic banks had originally opened in 1874 as the Germania Savings Bank. In May 1928, the names of the two Atlantic banks were changed to Citizens and Southern National Bank of South Carolina, although the bank was operating only in Charleston with two locations on King Street[6] and was owned by C&S of Georgia.
[edit] Split, growth, and reunification
Quick growth ensued in both South Carolina and Georgia. In 1940, C&S of South Carolina became a separate corporate entity from C&S of Georgia, allowing South Carolina to have a large "local" bank with offices in Charleston, Columbia, Spartanburg and other major cities in South Carolina. In 1956, C&S of South Carolina merged with Growers Bank and Trust in Inman, South Carolina. In 1960, C&S of South Carolina installed computers which improved efficiency allowing accountholders with $100 minimum balance per month to have free checking, a first in South Carolina. [7]
In 1985, the Citizens and Southern Georgia Corporation agreed to acquire Citizens and Southern National Bank of South Carolina for $400m or $55/share, reuniting the two banks which had been separated in 1940. At the time the two C&S banks reunited, C&S of South Carolina had assets of $2.5 billion while C&S of Georgia's assets were $12.3 billion. [8]
C&S had several affiliated companies including the C&S Corporation, the C&S Realty Corporation, the C&S Computer Services Corporation, and the C&S Housing Corporation.
[edit] "Distressed" due to mergers
From 1984-1986, the Southeastern Regional Banking Compact allowed Southern banks with primarily Southern deposits to acquire or be acquired by each other while keeping the feared New York, Chicago, and West Coast banks out. [9] This led numerous Southern banks to begin buying regional competitors.
Sovran Bank, soon to be purchased by C&S, acquired Suburban Bank in 1986, then Commerce Union Bank in 1987.[10]
In 1990, C&S acquired Sovran Financial Corp (Norfolk, VA) and its newly purchased acquisitions and became C&S/Sovran. [11] With Sovran branches in Virginia and Tennessee and C&S branches in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, C&S/Sovran appeared to be an enormous regional bank resistant to takeover attempts by other banks.
[edit] Mergers
[edit] Sovran Financial Corp.
In 1988, C&S (before the Sovran merger) initiated merger talks with First Federal Savings Bank in Brunswick Ga. However, First Federal rejected the deal claiming C&S's offer was insufficient and C&S ended the talks. Later, First Federal unsuccessfully sued C&S/Sovran to block the NCNB/C&S/Sovran merger.[12]
[edit] NationsBank
The hasty merger of C&S and Sovran Financial was intended to create a strong, dominant regional bank. However, two problems soon emerged that made C&S/Sovran a takeover target. First was infighting between executives of the two newly combined banks. Second was former Sovran problem loans which weakened the newly merged banks. [13]
North Carolina National Bank (NCNB) which had been busy expanding by taking over distressed banks like Texas' First RepublicBank Corporation, [14] quickly recognized that C&S/Sovran was also "distressed". The NCNB purchase of the troubled First Republic doubled NCNB's assets [15] which helped it to acquire the weakened C&S/Sovran in 1991. NCNB then created the NationsBank brand bringing C&S, Sovran, and NCNB under a single banner which could used anywhere.[16]
As part of the merger, some C&S branches were sold to other banks. Monks Corner (SC) C&S was sold to First National Bank, C&S in Marion, Barnwell, Chester, St. George, Darlington, and Williston, SC, were sold to First Citizens Bank. NCNB of South Carolina also sold some branches to other South Carolina banks. NCNB's Hilton Head, SC, branch went to First Union of NC.[17]
NationsBank continued to expand, eventually buying BankAmerica Corp. which had previously merged with Security Pacific National Bank of Los Angeles, another large California bank. [18] NationsBank chose to adopt the Bank of America marque and became Bank of America Corp, replacing the old BankAmerica eagle logo with a new stylized logo based on the U.S. flag. Many former C&S branches continue to operate under the "new" Bank of America brand. [19]
[edit] Headquarters buildings
Previously, C&S had its headquarters in the C&S Bank Tower (built 1964-1968) which was designed by Richard Aeck (1912-1996). A unique building for that time in Atlanta, it echoed Frank Lloyd Wright's design used in the Johnson Wax Research Tower (1944). [20]
The Aeck C&S building was later razed in the late 1980s to make way for the building of the planned new C&S/Sovran headquarters building. Before the planned C&S/Sovran headquarters tower was completed, C&S had its headquarters at what is now Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business. This building was given as a gift to GSU after the Atlanta bank tower was completed. J. Mack Robinson started a predecessor to Bank of America's rival Wachovia Bank. [21]
Construction of the a new, much larger headquarters building in Atlanta was not completed until after NCNB had acquired C&S/Sovran and adopted the NationsBank brand.. The new building would never be a headquarters for C&S/Sovran. It was renamed NationsBank Plaza in 1992, and then renamed to Bank of America Plaza in 1998 after the NationsBank/BankAmerica Corp merger and NationsBank adopted the Bank of America brand to operate its banking operations under.
