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Southern banks in nearly $7 billion merger

Monday, May 10, 2004 | 10:48 a.m.

ATLANTA -- SunTrust Banks Inc., the eighth-largest U.S. bank, said Sunday it agreed to buy National Commerce Financial Corp. of Memphis, Tenn., for $6.98 billion, expanding its consumer banking business and entering the fast-growing North Carolina market.

SunTrust, based in Atlanta, will pay $33.46 in cash or stock for each share of National Commerce, a 5 percent premium over Friday's closing price.

By buying National Commerce, SunTrust will gain greater access to consumers, whose willingness to borrow during the economic slump helped sustain bank earnings for three years. After unsuccessfully trying to buy Wachovia Corp. in 2001, Chief Executive Phillip Humann, 58, is adding branches in North Carolina for the first time.

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