Centura Banks, Inc.

A Merger of Equals

Centura Banks was formed on November 4, 1990, by the merger of longstanding rivals of equal size, Peoples Bancorporation and The Planters Corporation, two regional bankholding companies based in Rocky Mount, NC. The name Centura, a Latin-based term from the words "century" and "future," suggested the banks' historic stability and its strong position in the competitive North Carolina banking market.

Centura emphasized the importance of customer service, as it aggressively expanded its reach into North Carolina through other acquisitions and organic growth. By 1995, it provided its customers access to their accounts through a network of 250 full-service financial offices, telephone banking, an extensive ATM network, and online bill payment. It was the first bank in North Carolina – and one of the first banks in the nation – to introduce PC-based home banking. By February 2000, the year that it acquired Raleigh-based Triangle Bancorp Inc., Centura Banks Inc. was the sixth largest bank in deposit share in North Carolina with $7 million in deposits.

The merger of equals to form Centura did not diminish the bank's commitment to the community. Instead, Centura was more effective in its philanthropic efforts. It forged community partnerships to augment the impact of its dollars. Most notably, Centura honored two of its retired Chairman, J. Richard Futrell and Robert Mauldin by establishing the Futrell-Mauldin Foundation with a $500,000 matching grant. During the 1990s, their gifts included a planning grant for the expansion of the Braswell Memorial Public Library, capital funding for North Carolina Wesleyan College, and ongoing support of the Rocky Mount YMCA.

Centura Bank developed creative partnerships with local businesses, municipal leaders, and non-profits to provide the Twin Counties a firm economic and community base. Centura was the chief sponsor of the Carolinas Gateway Partnership, formed in 1995 as the only economic planning agency in the Twin Counties. Immediately after Hurricane Floyd, Centura and its employees played a leading role in relief efforts that ameliorated suffering and the economic planning that rebuilt the region.

In 2001, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) acquired Centura Bank, Inc.