After talking to its employees, clients and partners as well as working with a branding firm, BB&T and SunTrust Bank chose a name for their proposed merged entity: Truist Financial Corp.
 
The rebranding will go into effect after the merger is finalized later this year. The transaction is awaiting regulatory approval.
 
The new name, announced June 12, reflects a common thread from both banks, as each has the word trust as part of its name. BB&T was established in Wilson in 1872 as Branch Banking & Trust. The bank is now headquartered in Winston-Salem. SunTrust is based in Atlanta.
 
On June 17, Truliant Federal Credit Union announced it had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina challenging the intended new name.
 
“The Truliant brand name has been in use since 1999 and is the subject of a federally registered trademark,” the credit union’s news release stated.
 
Truliant, based in Winston-Salem, has 15 locations in the Winston-Salem area and 13 in the Charlotte metro area. BB&T and SunTrust plan to base their combined new entity in Charlotte, with major operations centers in Atlanta and Winston-Salem.