ATLANTA, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI)
announced that the North Carolina Business Court ruled today that Wachovia
Corporation (NYSE: WB) is required to deliver its shareholder list to
SunTrust, allowing SunTrust to communicate directly with Wachovia
shareholders. As previously reported, Theodore J. Hoepner, Vice Chairman of
SunTrust and a Wachovia shareholder, had requested the Wachovia shareholder
list on May 16, 2001. Under the Court's ruling, Mr. Hoepner is free to share
the list with SunTrust.
"We are encouraged by this initial legal victory in North Carolina and
pleased that the court upheld our rights to communicate directly with Wachovia
shareholders," said L. Phillip Humann, Chairman, President and Chief Executive
Officer of SunTrust. "The fact that a court had to order Wachovia to provide
the shareholder list -- which is routinely made available in this type of
situation -- is another example of Wachovia's ongoing attempts to
disenfranchise its shareholders."
SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the nation's
ninth-largest commercial banking organization. As of March 31 2001, SunTrust
had total assets of $103.7 billion and total deposits of $65.5 billion. The
company operates through an extensive distribution network in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia and the District of Columbia
and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its primary
businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through
various subsidiaries the company provides credit cards, mortgage banking,
insurance, brokerage and capital markets services. SunTrust's Internet
address is http://www.suntrust.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
include, but are not limited to, (i) statements about the benefits of a merger
between SunTrust and Wachovia, including future financial and operating
results, cost savings and accretion to reported and cash earnings that may be
realized from such merger; (ii) statements with respect to SunTrust's plans,
objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not
historical facts; and (iii) other statements identified by words such as
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans,"
"targets," "projects" and similar expressions. These statements are based
upon the current beliefs and expectations of SunTrust's management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The following
factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from
the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking
statements: (1) the businesses of SunTrust and Wachovia may not be integrated
successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or
costly than expected; (2) expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the
merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame;
(3) revenues following the merger may be lower than expected; (4) deposit
attrition, operating costs, customer loss and business disruption, including,
without limitation, difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees,
customers, clients or suppliers, may be greater than expected following the
merger; (5) the regulatory approvals required for the merger may not be
obtained on the proposed terms or on the anticipated schedule; (6) the
failure of SunTrust's and Wachovia's stockholders to approve the merger;
(7) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions
may increase significantly and may have an effect on pricing, spending,
third-party relationships and revenues; (8) the strength of the United States
economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which the
combined company will conduct operations may be different than expected,
resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality or a
reduced demand for credit, including the resultant effect on the combined
company's loan portfolio and allowance for loan losses; (9) changes in the
U.S. and foreign legal and regulatory framework; and (10) adverse conditions
in the stock market, the public debt market and other capital markets
(including changes in interest rate conditions) and the impact of such
conditions on the combined company's capital markets and asset management
activities. Additional factors that could cause SunTrust's results to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found
in SunTrust's reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and available at the SEC's Internet site
(http://www.sec.gov). All subsequent written and oral forward-looking
statements concerning the proposed transaction or other matters attributable
to SunTrust or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in
their entirety by the cautionary statements above. SunTrust does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect
circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking
statements are made. On June 12, 2001 SunTrust filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") a revised preliminary proxy statement for
solicitation of proxies from Wachovia stockholders in connection with the
Wachovia 2001 annual meeting of stockholders. Subject to future developments,
SunTrust intends to file with the SEC a registration statement at a date or
dates subsequent hereto to register the SunTrust shares to be issued in the
proposed transaction. Investors and security holders are urged to read the
proxy statement and registration statement (when available) and any other
relevant documents filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or
supplements to those documents, because they contain (or will contain)
important information. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy
of the proxy statement and the registration statement (when available) and
other relevant documents at the SEC's Internet web site at http://www.sec.gov. The
proxy statement, the registration statement (when available) and such other
documents may also be obtained free of charge from SunTrust by directing such
request to: SunTrust, 303 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30308,
Attention: Gary Peacock (404-658-4753). SunTrust, its directors and executive
officers and certain other persons may be deemed to be "participants" in
SunTrust's solicitation of proxies from Wachovia stockholders. A detailed
list of the names, affiliations and interests of the participants in the
solicitation is contained in SunTrust's revised preliminary proxy statement on
Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on June 12, 2001.
SOURCE SunTrust Banks, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.suntrust.com
CONTACT:
Investors - Gary Peacock, 404-658-4879, or
Media - Barry Koling, 404-230-5268, both of SunTrust; or George
Sard, Debbie Miller or Denise DesChenes, all of Citigate Sard
Verbinnen, 212-687-8080, for SunTrust
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