BB&T Corp. is headed into auto leasing. The bank agreed this week to shell out $2.5 billion in cash and stock to buy Susquehanna, a bank with 240 locations in the Mid-Atlantic region.
BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Kelly King told investors last week that Susquehanna Bancshares Inc.’s consumer leasing unit Hann Financial “is a new business area for us, so we’ll have to take a look at that business to see how it fits into our business strategy going forward.”
A BB&T spokesman told Auto Finance News that the company couldn’t share any other information at this point. Susquehanna offers auto loan financing through 600 dealerships primarily in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The acquisition, slated to close in the second half of 2015, should add about $300 million of auto receivables to BB&T’s $12.3 billion portfolio.
