BB&T Completes AFCO, CAFO Acquisitions

BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) subsidiary Branch Banking and Trust Company completed its acquisition of insurance premium finance company AFCO Credit Corporation and its Canadian affiliate, CAFO Inc., from Mellon Financial Corporation.

The acquisition moves BB&T from the ninth- to second-largest provider of insurance premium financing in the United States and the largest in Canada. Terms were not disclosed.

Insurance premium financing is a loan which enables businesses and consumers to pay their insurance costs over time, improving cash flow and providing additional credit and working capital.

BB&T already operates insurance premium finance subsidiary Prime Rate Premium Finance Corporation Inc. AFCO and CAFO will operate separately from Prime Rate using their existing brand names as a unit of BB&T’s Specialized Lending Division.

Daryl Zupan, president of AFCO and CAFO, and his existing senior management team will continue to oversee the organization’s 16 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.

AFCO, which was founded in 1954 and acquired by Mellon in 1993, has clients that include large conglomerates, medium-size corporations, municipalities, professional practices, sole practitioners, groups and associations.

AFCO’s U.S. offices are in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. CAFO offices are in Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T Corporation and its subsidiaries offer full- service commercial and retail banking and additional financial services such as insurance, investments, retail brokerage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international banking, leasing and trust.

Source: BB&T Corporation

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions USA Canada