BB&T Receives Approval to Buy 41 Citi Branches in Texas

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., has received regulatory approval to buy Citigroup's remaining branches in Texas.

The $182.9 billion-asset BB&T will pay about $122 million for 41 branches around Dallas, Houston and Midland-Odessa. The deal, announced in September, is expected to close on March 20.

The approval is the latest step forward for BB&T's planned expansion in Texas. The company bought 21 Citi branches in Austin, San Antonio and the Bryan-College Station area in a separate transaction last June. BB&T will have 123 branches in the state after its pending transaction is completed.

"We are very pleased to receive this approval and are excited about moving forward with this important transaction," Kelly King, BB&T's chairman and chief executive, said in a press release Monday. "The BB&T brand has grown dramatically in just a few years."

BB&T's expansion comes as several other major banks have trimmed their branch networks.

The $1.4 trillion-asset Citi has scaled back its retail presence by 11% in the past year as part of a broader effort to cut costs.

Bank of America has also shed hundreds of branches in recent years, most recently agreeing to sell six locations to the $518 million-asset First National in Strasburg, Virginia.