BB&T CEO named American Banker’s ‘Banker of the Year’

BB&T Chief Executive Officer Kelly King has been named “Banker of the Year” by the industry trade publication American Banker.

King has served as CEO at Winston-Salem-based BB&T since 2009 and chairman since 2010. Since then, he has helped steer the lender through the post-financial crisis environment of low interest rates and tight regulation.

BB&T Corp. is the third-largest bank by deposits in Charlotte.

“Kelly is a visionary and a mission-driven leader who is very committed to the principles that made BB&T successful,” former BB&T CEO John Allison told American Banker. “He’s very assertive, but he’s also a solid decision-maker who works hard to create consensus.”

While CEO, King has also turned his attention to making traditional bank acquisitions to enter new markets and grow revenue, helping to position BB&T into the “regional powerhouse” it is today, American Banker reported this week.

Among BB&T’s largest acquisitions under King: the purchase of Pennsylvania-based Susquehanna Bancshares in a cash-and-stock deal worth approximately $2.5 billion that closed this past August.

King once lived in public housing when he was young, and later paid his way through college by selling vacuum cleaners, men’s clothing and hardware, the trade publication wrote. In 2014, his compensation as BB&T CEO totaled $7.3 million, including salary, bonus and stock awards.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 7:28 AM with the headline "BB&T CEO named American Banker’s ‘Banker of the Year’."