Truliant Credit Union says the merged banks' new name – Truist – is too close to its own
A North Carolina-headquartered credit union is trying to stop the recently merged BB&T and SunTrust from changing their name to Truist.
The banks completed their $66 billion merger in December. At that time, they said that the transition to the Truist branding would occur over the next two years.
However, Truliant Credit Union, which has locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against the merged banks in US District Court. Truliant has also filed an infringement lawsuit against the banks. The injunction asks the court to prevent BB&T and SunTrust from using the “Truist” brand name for the duration of the lawsuit.
“Truliant believed the use of the Truist brand will cause confusion and irreparable harm, cause the loss of customers and erode the longstanding goodwill that Truliant has built over two decades,” the credit union said in a news release.
“Unfortunately, the merged entities have ignored our complaint, and we will not tolerate their infringement,” said Todd Hall, president and CEO of Truliant. “Our detailed motion and affidavits show not only that their use of Truist is likely to cause consumer confusion, but that it has actually caused confusion among both Truliant’s members and their customers. Our motion asks the court to put a stop to it.”
Truliant filed the infringement lawsuit last June, following the announcement of the merged banks’ new name. According to Truliant, the banks’ proximity to its main business region will confuse its customers.
