Sovran Bank was a
regional bank
A regional bank is a depository institution, such as a bank, savings and loan, or credit union, which is larger than a community bank and operates below the state level, but not so large that it would operate either nationally or internationall ...
that operated in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
between 1983 and 1990. It was the primary subsidiary of Sovran Financial Corporation, a
bank holding company
A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') or bancorporation is often used to refer to such companies as w ...
. It was formed from the 1983 merger of First & Merchants Bank of and Virginia National Bankshares, both of which could trace back their history to the 1860s. In 1990, Sovran merged with
Citizens & Southern National Bank to form C&S/Sovran Corp., which in 1991, merged with
North Carolina National Bank to form
NationsBank. That bank became
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
in 1998.
The name Sovran came from Glenn Monigle & Associates as a simple spelling of "sovereign".
History
First & Merchants Bank
Richmond had no bank after the federal government had revoked charters of banks whose loyalty was questioned. Eight days after the surrender of
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
after the
Battle of Appomattox Court House, the city's financial leaders started a new federally chartered bank. First National Bank opened for business in the
Customs House
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
. Lee was one of the new bank's early customers.
It merged with National Exchange Bank and moved to 10th and Main streets. Despite the
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States. It began in February 1893 and officially ended eight months later. The Panic of 1896 followed. It was the most serious economic depression in history until the Great Depression of ...
, First National Bank had the most assets of any Richmond bank by 1900.
National Bank of Virginia merged with First National on September 1, 1912.
[
Alfred Charles Bossom of Clinton & Russell in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
designed the First National Bank Building, the first skyscraper in Richmond, at 9th and Main streets, completed in 1913. BB&T later occupied the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.[
Merchants National Bank merged with First National on 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 ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146.
Fairfax is pa ...
, it was organized in 1902.
Banks which merged with First & Merchants Bank:
*Savings Bank & Trust Co., January 30, 1959
*First National Bank, Ashland, Virginia, December 31, 1959
* Petersburg Savings & American Trust Co., December 30, 1961
*Augusta National Bank, Staunton, September 29, 1962
*First National Bank, Newport News, November 1, 1962
*Peoples National Bank & Trust Co., Lynchburg, January 31, 1963
*First National Bank, Waynesboro, July 31, 1964
*Loudoun National Bank, Leesburg, September 1, 1965
*Bank of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...
, January 1, 1966
*Bank of Chesapeake, January 31, 1966
*Suburban National Bank of Virginia, McLean, August 1, 1970
*First National Bank, Danville, June 30, 1979
*Services National Bank, Arlington, November 30, 1979
*The Bank of Chatham, 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 one million 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.
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.
In 1962, a merger with two Southampton County banks formed Tidewater Bank and Trust Co., which was then acquired by Virginia National Bank.
Virginia National Bank's 24-story Norfolk headquarters opened in January 1968.
Richmond's Virginia Trust Company could be chartered only after special legislation, since trust companies were new in the south and not all banks could have trust departments.
The Virginia Trust Company building, also designed by Bossom, opened May 31, 1921, was an example of Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...
, using granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
, marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
, bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
and mahogany
Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...
, 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:
*Merchants & Planters Bank, Norfolk, November 4, 1957
*People's National Bank of Central Virginia, Charlottesville
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...
, April 26, 1963
*National Bank of Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, August 23, 1963
*Farmers Exchange Bank of Abingdon, September 13, 1963
*Farmers & Merchants Bank, Staunton and Tidewater Bank & Trust, Franklin, December 13, 1963
*First National Bank of Buena Vista and Southern Bank of Commerce, Danville, April 3, 1964
*Bank of Glade Spring, January 29, 1965
*People's National Bank of Farmville
''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plo ...
and First National Bank of Gate City, April 8, 1965
*Merchants National Bank and Bank of Phoebus, Hampton, November 5, 1965
*Peoples National Bank, Victoria and Wythe County National Bank, Wytheville, April 11, 1966
* Pulaski National Bank and Bank of Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...
, August 26, 1966
*Farmers & Merchants Bank, Lawrenceville, National Bank of Woodstock
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
, June 29, 1968
* Northampton County Trust Bank, Cape Charles, November 15, 1968
*Commonwealth National Bank, Arlington, August 15, 1969
*First National Bank, Quantico, December 19, 1969
*First National Bank, Harrisonburg, March 15, 1970
*Merchants & Farmers Bank, Smithfield, June 1, 1970
* Carroll County Bank, Hillsville, November 23, 1970
*First National Bank, Troutville, 1981
*Farmers Exchange Bank, Coeburn, 1981
*Old Colony Bank & Trust, Williamsburg
*South Boston
South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
Bank & Trust Co., 1982
*First State Bank of Wise, 1982
*Northern Virginia Bank of Springfield, 1982
*First City Bank, Newport News, 1982
*Citizens National Bank, Fries
French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are ''List of culinary knife cuts#Batonnet, batonnet'' or ''Julienning, julienne''-cut deep frying, deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepa ...
, 1982
*Farmers Bank, Mathews, 1982
Growth of Sovran Bank
In 1985, Sovran acquired Suburban Bancorp, the fourth-largest bank in Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
with $3.1 billion in assets, in a $405 million transaction. It was founded as Silver Spring National Bank, the first bank in Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...
, in 1910, and moved in 1925 when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...
underpass was built. The name changed to Suburban National Bank in 1938 when the bank took over Takoma Park Bank.
In 1986, Sovran acquired D.C. National Bancorp, based in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...
, for $64.5 million in stock. At that time, Sovran had assets of $8.3 billion and D.C. National had assets of $348.2 million.
In 1987, Sovran expanded to Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
and Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
by acquiring Commerce Union, the fourth-largest bank in Tennessee.
In 1990, Sovran acquired Citizens & Southern National Bank after C&S had rejected a $2.4 billion hostile bid from North Carolina National Bank. 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 named C&S/Sovran. The merged bank had dual headquarters in Atlanta and Norfolk.
In 1991, after suffering losses during the early 1990s recession
The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incum ...
, the bank was acquired by NCNB for $4.3 billion in stock.
References
External links
Photo of Virginia National Bank headquarters in Norfolk
Photo of Sovran Bank Building in Norfolk, Virginia (September, 1986)
{{Bank of America
1983 establishments in Virginia
1990 disestablishments in Virginia
Bank of America legacy banks
Banks based in Virginia
Banks disestablished in 1990
Banks established in 1983
Companies based in Norfolk, Virginia
Defunct banks of the United States
Defunct companies based in Virginia
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange