Branch Banking and Trust, also known as BB&T, is a large, U.S.-based financial service holding company. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates 2,196 financial centers in 15 states and Washington, D.C. As a company that offers a range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services, BB&T is also a prime landing spot for recently graduating MBAs.
BB&T’s History
Alpheus Branch and Thomas Jefferson Hadley founded the Branch and Hadley merchant bank in 1872. Branch bought out Hadley’s shares in 1887 and renamed the company to Branch and Company, Bankers. In 1889, Branch, his father-in-law, Hadley and three other me secured a charter to operate the Wilson Banking and Trust Company, and settled on the name Branch Banking and Trust Company.
During WWI, BB&T sold Liberty Bonds and grew to have more than $4 million in assets by 1923. When the stock market crashed in 1929, BB&T was one of the few financial institutions to survive the Great Depression. WWII and the war economy revived BB&T and led to a new age of property for the bank.
BB&T has continued to grow since: mergers and acquisitions grew the company to $343 million in assets in the 190s and 1970s. In the 1990s, BB&T merged with banks such as Southern National, Fidelity Financial Bankshares, First Financial of Petersburg, Maryland Federal Bancorp, Franklin Bancorporation, MainStreet Financial Corp, First Liberty of Macon, Georgia and Matewan Bancshares. The ’00s saw even more growth with the mergers BB&T acquiring a number of smaller banks including Coastal Federal Bank, Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. and National Penn Bancshares.
How to Get a Job at BB&T
According to Bloomberg, BB&T has noticed more MBA students and graduate students expressing interest in its leadership development program (LDP) and wanting to build careers within the company after they go through the program.
“We have had fewer declinations of our offers from this group and, at the same time, our recruiting efforts are the same as we’ve always had,” A.C. McGraw, a spokeswoman for the company, told Bloomberg.
Leadership development programs are part of the the BB&T Leadership Institute. According to BB&T, LDPs are designed for people with the talent, energy and motivation to excel in a long-term career with BB&T. Graduates of the program continue to hold responsible leadership positions today in various capacities across the organization, including in executive and senior management.
LDP participants take part in classroom sessions at the BB&T University in Winston-Salem and develop their skills in a classroom-style setting, through individual case studies and on-the-job training. The program includes instruction from internal facilitators, senior and executive management and outside professionals.
Two LDP sessions are offered each year in January and July. The training program is comprised of several successive phases, which includes learning about the company culture and values, the banking industry, leadership, core financial concepts and credit and underwriting standards. Participants then refine their skills with on-the-job training in a chosen career concentration: either Business Banking or Corporate functions. According to BB&T, success in the program is measured based on academic performance and observed behavior relative to leadership, engagement and interpersonal dynamics.
Examples of Leadership Development Programs
There are a number of available LDPs at BB&T. Mastering Leadership Dynamics, the bank’s flagship program, is a five-day open-enrollment program for mid-and senior-level leaders that focuses on leadership strategies for working effectively with differing viewpoints to improve engagement and raise accountability throughout an organization. Another LDP, The Mastering Leadership Dynamics for Education Leaders (MLD-EL) program, allows education leaders to benefit from a high impact leadership development program that focuses on application in the school setting. A complete explanation of all LDP’s can be found here.
LDP Eligibility
According to the company, LDP Associates must be enthusiastic and motivated and possess outstanding communication skills, problem-solving proficiency and leadership abilities. They also must meet the following prerequisites:
- Working knowledge of the financial services industry
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a business-related major with six credit hours of accounting
- GPA of 3.2+
- Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills
- Leadership ability
- Work eligible in the United States on a full-time basis without sponsorship
For more information on employment options at BB&T, visit the bank’s career’s page.