The elimination of behind-the-scenes jobs is turning out to be just the start of southeast Pennsylvania’s losses at the hand of Susquehanna Bancshares’ new North Carolina-based owner, BB&T Corp.
The bank franchise with 17 branches in Chester County said goodbye to renowned lending leader Lynn Ozer alongside 13 of the 21 members of her Small Business Administration lending team, according to a report in the Philadelphia Business Journal. BB&T runs much of its SBA lending out of Winston-Salem.
Her departure at BB&T’s request comes well ahead of her planned Oct. 2 layoff, though opportunities to further her banking career abound, the article stated. Ozer just served as the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders’ first female chairperson.
Others may not be as fortunate. While BB&T initially committed to keeping all customer-facing employees when it bought Susquehanna for $2.5 billion in November, the growing giant also just announced its acquisition of National Penn Bancshares for $1.8 billion. Amid moving the regional headquarters to Allentown and sorting out the overlap between Susquehanna and National Penn — which is greatest in Chester County and the surrounding area — BB&T could close as many as 25 branches and with job losses reaching low quadruple digits, the article noted.
Read more about the fate of local Susquehanna Bancshares employees in the Philadelphia Business Journal here, and check out VISTA Today’s initial coverage of the buyout here.
