Fed approves BB&T's merger with Georgia's Main Street Banks

<p>The Federal Reserve cleared the way for BB&T Corp., the nation's ninth-largest bank, to acquire Main Street Banks Inc. of Atlanta for nearly $623 million.</p><p>The Fed's board of governors, including Chairman Ben Bernanke, voted 6-0 on Monday to approve the merger, finding that it would not threaten competition or unduly concentrate banking resources.</p><p>BB&T, a regional bank based in Winston-Salem, N.C., with some $109 billion in assets, will gain a foothold in data processing in the deal through the acquisition of Main Street subsidiary MSB Payroll Solutions.</p><p>BB&T has more than 1,400 banking offices in nine states and the District of Columbia; Main Street, with about $2.4 billion in assets, has 24 branches and five insurance offices in Atlanta and Athens, Ga. It is the largest community bank in metropolitan Atlanta.</p><p>The merger has been opposed by a New York community group, Inner City Press/Fair Finance Watch, which says that BB&T charges minorities higher prices through its Lendmark Financial Services unit.</p><p>From 2000 to 2004, BB&T bought 17 banks and thrifts before imposing a freeze on bank acquisitions to refocus on internal growth and expense control. That ended in December when it said it planned to buy Main Street in a stock swap valued at $622.7 million.</p><p>The merger is expected to be completed in the second quarter.</p><p>BB&T said in January that it plans to buy Cleveland, Tenn.-based First Citizens Bancorp for nearly $143 million in a deal to strengthen its presence in eastern Tennessee.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cda09c)</p><p>HASH(0x1cda144)</p>