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This article was prepared by Business & Finance Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Business & Finance Week via VerticalNews.com.

BB & T Insurance Services, the nation's sixth largest insurance broker, said it plans to expand its coastal South Carolina operation with the acquisition of the Grand Strand's largest insurance agency.

Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan, a coastal property insurance specialist, provides a full range of risk management services for businesses and families from its Myrtle Beach headquarters and a branch office in nearby Pawleys Island.

The merger would give BB & T the largest insurance market share in greater Myrtle Beach, a little more than a year after gaining the No. 1 banking market share in the same area.

"South Carolina's Grand Strand is a thriving area. To have the No. 1 market share in both banking and now, insurance, is another great step forward for BB & T," said Wade Reece, chairman and chief executive officer of BB & T Insurance Services. "Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan is an outstanding agency with a thorough understanding of the unique challenges associated with coastal property insurance."

The transaction is expected to be completed in early August. Terms were not disclosed.

Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan President Mike Hogan founded the agency in 1989. It began as a coastal branch of the former Puckett, Scheetz & Hagler agency based in Greenville, S.C.

Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan now has 50 employees, all of whom will remain with "BB & T-Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan" following the acquisition.

"Having enjoyed both personal and professional relationships with BB & T Insurance for several years now, I am even more energized about the future of Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan," Hogan said.

"This business combination will be very beneficial to our clients, our employees and the Grand Strand community. Our goal is to continue providing the greatest value possible to our clients. We believe that joining forces with the insurance industry leader will keep us meeting that goal for the long run."

Hogan and his management team will remain as managers with BB & T-Puckett, Scheetz & Hogan.

BB & T Insurance Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Company. Founded in 1922, it operates 99 insurance agencies in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky and California.

Branch Banking and Trust Company is the principal subsidiary of Winston-Salem N.C.-based BB & T Corporation (NYSE:BBT). With $136.5 billion in assets, BB & T Corp. is the nation's 14th largest financial holding company. More information about the company is available at www.BBT.com.

Keywords: BB & T Corporation.

This article was prepared by Business & Finance Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Business & Finance Week via <http://www.verticalnews.com> VerticalNews.com.

BB&T Corp. Chief Executive Kelly King has a picture hanging in his office of a man scaling a mountain. The caption reads, "If it is to be, it is up to me."

Mr. Kelly's deal to purchase branches and deposits of rival regional bank Colonial BancGroup Inc., based in Montgomery, Ala., marked another aggressive step in the long ascent of BB&T. The Winston-Salem, N.C., bank was long overshadowed by much larger North Carolina rivals Bank of America Corp., First Union Corp. and Wachovia Corp.

The purchase of Colonial's deposits will make BB&T the eighth-largest U.S. bank as measured in deposits, according to SNL Financial, a research firm in Charlottesville, Va.

BB&T's roots date to the late 19th century as a bank for cotton and tobacco farmers in eastern North Carolina. Founded in 1872 by Alpheus Branch and Thomas Jefferson Hadley, chartered in 1889 as Wilson Banking and Trust Co. and renamed Branch Banking and Trust Co. in 1913, the bank mushroomed in size under former CEO John Allison, who took over in 1989 when BB&T had just $4.54 billion in assets.

Mr. Allison expanded BB&T's network with a string of small-town savings-and-loan purchases in the early 1990s, gaining the respect of sellers by promising no layoffs along the way.

Before Friday, BB&T had about $152 billion in assets, 29,000 employees and operations in more than 11 states. It will purchase an additional $22 billion in assets in the Colonial deal. Mr. Allison, an adherent of Objectivism as practiced by author Ayn Rand, shaped the bank's behavior around his philosophical outlook.

"BB&T Values," a 30-page guide to the company's 10 core principles, written by Mr. Allison, asks employees to practice "reason," justice," "productivity" and "independent thinking."

Employees are encouraged to adopt these principles at the nearby BB&T University training center.

The bank also has long opposed government intervention in the private sector, refusing to lend to any landowner who acquired property via eminent domain. BB&T did accept federal bailout money last year, but was among the first to pay it back. The day the company got approval to return the capital, executives, including Mr. King, cheered.

Mr. King, who joined BB&T in 1972, is Mr. Allison's handpicked successor. He took over in January, bringing a similar philosophical outlook to the task. One term he coined at BB&T was 'EPA,' short for "enthusiastic, positive attitude."

Analysts warn that Mr. King and BB&T still have problems to work through, including the same sort of bad loans that weighed down Colonial. But they say that the bank is in better shape than most to take advantage of other opportunities during this crisis.

In fact, the purchase of Colonial could be the beginning of a wave of acquisitions for BB&T over the next 24 months, said analyst Bob Patten. "They are well rested and ready to go," he said.

BB&T Chief Financial Officer Daryl Bible said the bank is focused for now on Colonial and well positioned to take on rivals. "We are just performing at very high levels as compared to others in our industry right now," he said.

Credit: By Dan Fitzpatrick