Sovran Bank
Encyclopedia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
began in 1983 with the merger of First & Merchants Bank and Virginia National Bankshares, the largest banking merger in the history of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
up to that time. The largest bank in Virginia, it lasted until a 1990 merger with Citizens & Southern National Bank
Citizens & Southern National Bank
Citizens and Southern National Bank began as a Georgia institution that expanded into South Carolina, Florida and into other states via mergers. C&S became part of NationsBank in 1991 when NationsBank bought newly merged C&S/Sovran...
to form C&S/Sovran Corp., which in turn merged with NCNB to form NationsBank
NationsBank
NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1998, it acquired BankAmerica to become Bank of America.-Corporate history:...
, now Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
.
First & Merchants Bank
In the 1860s Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
was among the customers of the Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
bank that would eventually become Sovran. Richmond had no bank after the federal government had revoked charters of banks whose loyalty was questioned. So eight days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and one of the last battles of the American...
, the city's financial leaders started a new federally chartered bank after meeting with Hamilton G. Fant. First National Bank used in the Customs House. Later it merged with National Exchange Bank and moved to 10th and Main Streets. Despite the financial crises of the 1890s
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
First National Bank had the most assets of any Richmond bank at the turn of the century (1900).
National Bank of Virginia merged with First National Sept. 1, 1912.
Alfred Charles Bossom of Clinton & Russell in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
designed Richmond's first skyscraper at 9th and Main Streets, completed in downtown Richmond in 1913. BB&T
BB&T
BB&T Corporation is an American bank with assets of $157 billion , offering full-service commercial and retail banking services along with other financial services like insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international...
later occupied the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Merchants National Bank merged with First National February 27, 1926, at which time the bank became First & Merchants Bank.
In 1981, The National Bank of Fairfax merged with First & Merchants Bank. The first bank in Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
, it was organized in 1902. In 1931, the bank completed construction of a new building on the site of the former Willcoxon Tavern. The Moore and McCandlish law firm, which had offices on the second floor of the former bank building built in 1905, occupied the building until 1972. Community Bank of Northern Virginia, organized in 1992 in Sterling
Sterling, Virginia
Sterling, Virginia is a census-designated place in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 27,822.It is located northwest of Herndon, east of Ashburn, and west of Great Falls, and includes part of Dulles International Airport and the former AOL corporate headquarters...
, moved into the building that same year.
Banks which merged with First & Merchants Bank:
- Savings Bank & Trust Co., January 30, 1959
- First National Bank, Ashland, VirginiaAshland, VirginiaOriginally known as Slash Cottage, Ashland is located on the Old Washington Highway U.S. Route One and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, a busy north-south route now owned by CSX Transportation...
, December 31, 1959 - PetersburgPetersburg, VirginiaPetersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
Savings & American Trust Co., December 30, 1961 - Augusta National Bank, StauntonStaunton, VirginiaStaunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, September 29, 1962 - First National Bank, Newport NewsNewport News, VirginiaNewport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, November 1, 1962 - Peoples National Bank & Trust Co., LynchburgLynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
, January 31, 1963 - First National Bank, WaynesboroWaynesboro, VirginiaWaynesboro, deriving its name from General Anthony Wayne, is an independent city surrounded by Augusta County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 21,006 in 2010.....
, July 31, 1964 - Loudoun National Bank, LeesburgLeesburg, VirginiaLeesburg is a historic town in, and county seat of, Loudoun County, Virginia, United States of America. Leesburg is located west-northwest of Washington, D.C. along the base of the Catoctin Mountain and adjacent to the Potomac River. Its population according the 2010 Census is 42,616...
, September 1, 1965 - Bank of Virginia BeachVirginia Beach, VirginiaVirginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
, January 1, 1966 - Bank of ChesapeakeChesapeake, VirginiaAs of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
, January 31, 1966 - Suburban National Bank of Virginia, McLeanMcLean, VirginiaMcLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
, August 1, 1970 - First National Bank, DanvilleDanville, VirginiaDanville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for...
, June 30, 1979 - Services National Bank, Arlington, November 30, 1979
- The Bank of ChathamChatham, VirginiaChatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. Chatham's population was 1,338 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chatham is home to Chatham High School and Hargrave Military Academy. It is also home to Chatham Hall , an...
, October 1980 - The National Bank of Fairfax, June 30, 1981
Virginia National Bank
Norfolk National Bank was organized in 1885 and became "not only the leading bank of Norfolk, but probably the leading bank of Virginia, having recently increased its capital to onemillion dollars, with a surplus of half a million." Norfolk National Bank, Trust Company of Norfolk (1895) and National Bank of Commerce (1867) joined to become Norfolk National Bank of Commerce & Trusts, which joined with Virginia National Bank of Norfolk to become National Bank of Commerce of Norfolk October 9, 1933.
People's National Bank was organized in 1903 in Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
.
In 1920, Church Street Bank at Church and Freemason Streets in Norfolk became American Exchange Bank, whose deposits were taken over in 1924 by Virginia National Bank.
Cliff Cutchins, who in 1980 became chairman and CEO of Virginia National Bankshares Inc. and held the same positions at Sovran until his 1989 retirement, started out as a teller in 1947 at Vaughan & Co. Bankers in Franklin, Virginia
Franklin, Virginia
Franklin is an independent city in Virginia. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Franklin with Southampton county for statistical purposes. The population was 8,582 in 2010.-History:...
. In 1960 he became president of the bank, which his grandfather had founded in 1886. In 1962, a merger with two Southampton County
Southampton County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 18,570 people, 6,279 households, and 4,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 7,058 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
banks formed Tidewater Bank and Trust Co., which in turn became part of Virginia National Bank.
Virginia National Bank's 24-story Norfolk headquarters opened in January 1968.
Richmond's Virginia Trust Company could only be chartered after special legislation, since trust companies
Trust company
A trust company is a corporation, especially a commercial bank, organized to perform the fiduciary of trusts and agencies. It is normally owned by one of three types of structures: an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specializes in being a trustee of various kinds of...
were new in the south and not all banks could have trust departments. The original board of directors included a number of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
company executives. James B. Pace, the first president, was a tobacco executive and the head of Planters National Bank (which became United Virginia Bank). The Virginia Trust Company building also designed by Bossom, opened May 31, 1921, was an example of Neo-Classical Revival
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
architecture, using granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
, with a "gilded, coffered ceiling" and "a facade patterned directly after a Roman triumphal arch." Virginia Trust Company merged with Virginia National Bank in 1973.
Banks which merged with what became Virginia National Bankshares, Inc.:
- Merchants & Planters Bank, Norfolk, November 4, 1957
- People's National Bank of Central Virginia, CharlottesvilleCharlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, April 26, 1963 - National Bank of SuffolkSuffolk, VirginiaSuffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
, August 23, 1963 - Farmers Exchange Bank of AbingdonAbingdon, VirginiaAbingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark...
, September 13, 1963 - Farmers & Merchants Bank, StauntonStaunton, VirginiaStaunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
and Tidewater Bank & Trust, FranklinFranklin, VirginiaFranklin is an independent city in Virginia. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Franklin with Southampton county for statistical purposes. The population was 8,582 in 2010.-History:...
, December 13, 1963 - First National Bank of Buena VistaBuena Vista, VirginiaBuena Vista is an independent city located within the confines of Rockbridge County, Virginia. The population was 6,650 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Buena Vista with Rockbridge county for statistical purposes.-Geography:Buena Vista is located at...
and Southern Bank of Commerce, DanvilleDanville, VirginiaDanville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for...
, April 3, 1964 - Bank of Glade SpringGlade Spring, VirginiaAs of the census of 2000, there were 1,374 people, 565 households, and 402 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,093.4 people per square mile . There were 626 housing units at an average density of 498.2 per square mile...
, January 29, 1965 - People's National Bank of FarmvilleFarmville, VirginiaFarmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,845 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County....
and First National Bank of Gate CityGate City, VirginiaGate City is a town in Scott County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Scott County....
, April 8, 1965 - Merchants National Bank and Bank of Phoebus, HamptonHampton, VirginiaHampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
, November 5, 1965 - Peoples National Bank, VictoriaVictoria, VirginiaVictoria is an incorporated town in Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2000 census.- History :Lunenburg County in the Southside region was established on May 1, 1746 in Great Britain's Virginia Colony from Brunswick County...
and Wythe CountyWythe County, VirginiaAs of the census of 2000, there were 27,599 people, 11,511 households, and 8,103 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile . There were 12,744 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
National Bank, WythevilleWytheville, VirginiaWytheville is a town in Wythe County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wythe County. The town is home to a Chautauqua Festival, held the third weekend in June every year since 1985...
, April 11, 1966 - PulaskiPulaski, VirginiaPulaski is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,086 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.Pulaski is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
National Bank and Bank of CreweCrewe, VirginiaCrewe is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,378 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1888 as a central location to house steam locomotive repair shops for the Norfolk and Western Railroad which has a rail yard there for east-west trains carrying Appalachian...
, August 26, 1966 - Farmers & Merchants Bank, LawrencevilleLawrenceville, VirginiaLawrenceville is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,275 at the 2000 census. Located by the Meherrin River, it is the county seat of Brunswick County and home to historically black Saint Paul's College, founded in 1888 and affiliated with the Episcopal Church...
, National Bank of WoodstockWoodstock, VirginiaWoodstock is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,097 according to the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Shenandoah County....
, June 29, 1968 - Northampton CountyNorthampton County, VirginiaAs of the census of 2010, there were 12,389 people, 5,321 households, and 3,543 families residing in the county. The population density was 63 people per square mile . There were 6,547 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
Trust Bank, Cape CharlesCape Charles, VirginiaCape Charles is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cape Charles is located at ....
, November 15, 1968 - Commonwealth National Bank, Arlington, August 15, 1969
- First National Bank, QuanticoQuantico, Virginia- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
, December 19, 1969 - First National Bank, HarrisonburgHarrisonburg, VirginiaHarrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
, March 15, 1970 - Merchants & Farmers Bank, SmithfieldSmithfield, VirginiaSmithfield is a town in Isle of Wight County, in the South Hampton Roads subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia in the United States. The population was 8,089 at the 2010 census....
, June 1, 1970 - Carroll CountyCarroll County, VirginiaAs of the census of 2000, there were 29,245 people, 12,186 households, and 8,786 families residing in the county. The population density was 61 people per square mile . There were 14,680 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile...
Bank, HillsvilleHillsville, VirginiaHillsville is a town in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,607 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.-Geography:Hillsville is located at ....
, November 23, 1970 - First National Bank, TroutvilleTroutville, VirginiaTroutville is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 432 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, 1981 - Farmers Exchange Bank, CoeburnCoeburn, VirginiaCoeburn is a town in Wise County, Virginia, along the Guest River. The population was 1,996 at the 2000 census with many small peaceful wooded communities in the outskirts. Camping is available nearby at Bark Camp Lake in the Jefferson National Forest with other activities including boating and...
, 1981 - Old Colony Bank & Trust, WilliamsburgWilliamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
- South BostonSouth Boston, VirginiaSouth Boston is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census.- History :On December 8, 1796, the General Assembly authorized eight commissioners to establish at Boyd's Ferry on the south side of the Dan River the town of South Boston, named for...
Bank & Trust Co., 1982 - First State Bank of WiseWise, VirginiaWise is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wise County. It was originally incorporated as the town of Gladeville in 1874. The town's name was changed to Wise in 1924. Wise is named after Virginia governor Henry A...
, 1982 - Northern Virginia Bank of SpringfieldSpringfield, VirginiaSpringfield is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs including North Springfield,...
, 1982 - First City Bank, Newport News, 1982
- Citizens National Bank, FriesFries, VirginiaFries is a town in Grayson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 484 as of the 200\10 census. Fries is part of the Blue Ridge area, and shares in that region's old-time musical traditions...
, 1982 - Farmers Bank, MathewsMathews, VirginiaMathews is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Mathews County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 555. Established around 1700, the small town of Westville was designated as the county seat in 1791. In modern times, it is variously known as Mathews...
, 1982
Growth of Sovran Bank
The name Sovran came from Glenn Monigle & Associates Inc. of Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
.
In 1985, Sovran announced a merger with Suburban Bancorp, the fourth-largest bank in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
at the time. Silver Spring National Bank, the first bank in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
in 1910, moved in 1925 when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
underpass was built. The name changed to Suburban National Bank in 1938 when the bank took over Takoma Park Bank.
In 1986, Sovran took over D.C. National Bancorp, based in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
. In 1987, Sovran added Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
by buying 71-year-old Commerce Union of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Sovran Bank was the largest bank in Virginia and in the District of Columbia, and it had offices in Tennessee and Maryland. In September 1989, Sovran and Citizens & Southern of Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
announced plans for a stock-swap merger. The combined bank had $47 billion in assets, $34 billion in deposits and 976 branches in eight states. It was originally to be named Advantor Financial Corporation. However, it was eventually called C&S/Sovran.
