BB&T will inherit SunTrust Bank’s expansive technology as a result of its $28.2 billion all-stock acquisition of the bank announced today.

But the real negotiation between the two banks is still to come. That negotiation will center on which bank’s tech stack will reign supreme at the combined financial institution.

“BB&T has a great digital offering, but SunTrust has the superior technology when it comes to the lending business,” one source told Bank Innovation.

SunTrust has a digital lending platform called LightStream. SunTrust is also one of the few banks with an end-to-end digital mortgage platform, which the bank launched less than a year ago.

In contrast to SunTrust, BB&T does not have a digital consumer lending platform, although its traditional lending business is sizable.

The deal creates a combined bank, still unnamed, valued at $66 billion. The transaction is expected to close in September, BB&T CEO Kelly King said in today’s statement. King will serve as CEO of the new entity.

Once the deal closes the integration process will begin and that effort will center on the banks’ tech stacks.

“Tech stacks [of both SunTrust and BB&T] appear to be pretty different. Eliminating the mountains of tech silos will be a massive feat alone,” one market analyst told Bank Innovation in a Twitter conversation.

Will be very interesting for sure. Tech stacks appear to be pretty different. Innovation needs to have buy in from entire organization to truly be successful. Eliminating the mountains of tech silos will be a massive feat alone!

— Eric Brandt (@EBrandt_Fintech) February 7, 2019

Another industry member tweeted that it could take two to three times the anticipated period of integration for the combined bank to deliver a unified digital front.

I love this tweet because it asks the right question. How long will it take BB&T and SunTrust to meld their technology into a seamless customer experience. History indicates it is 2-3X what they predict. Both banks are great institutions BTW. https://t.co/wzW2jqiHOU

— Yes, still working towards an exciting outcome… (@dionlisle) February 7, 2019

No timeline for the integration was provided by either bank. SunTrust and BB&T have not responded to Bank Innovation‘s requests for comment.

It appears that SunTrust will take the lead on the technology front, Jeremy Acevedo, manager of industry analysis, Edmunds, told Bank Innovation. And indeed, in today’s joint presentation today, BB&T and SunTrust announced that the new entity’s chief information officer will come from SunTrust: Scott Case, not BB&T’s Barbara Duck. However, the bank’s Chief Digital and Customer Experience Officer is a BB&T executive: Donta Wilson.

Also Read: SunTrust CIO Talks Zelle, Lending, and Innovation

The result of combining both the bank’s technology stacks gives the new, unnamed bank the ability to scale, which is “needed to compete and win in the rapidly evolving world of financial services,” BB&T CEO King said in today’s statement.

Combing tech stacks will also serve as an important cost-saver. The merger will cut at least 10% of the combined total expenses by eliminating duplicate branches and digital systems, according to today’s joint press release. The merger is expected to deliver approximately $1.6 billion in annual net cost synergies by 2022, according to the release. The primary sources of cost savings are expected to be in facilities, information technology/systems, shared services, retail banking, and third-party vendors.

“The need to constantly evolve and adapt to the new tech is something these banks are behind…So to share the cost of that and have that across one larger company is huge,” Edmunds’ Acevedo said.

But Joe Salesky CEO of CRMNEXT, a banking software company, told Bank Innovation that another key challenge “will be in managing customer relationships, as bigger does not always feel as personal – in many cases, this is why business and retail customers have chosen smaller, more-regional banks.“

The new bank will have an “Innovation and Technology Center” at a new corporate headquarters, which will be built in Charlotte, NC.

“The corporate HQ going to Charlotte along with the Innovation Hub is an interesting move,” 11:FS Managing Partner Sam Maule said. “It’s a crowded market in Charlotte with Bank of America, Wells, Ally, TIAA, etc., all already there with massive a presence.”

The combined bank will have $442 billion in assets, $324 billion in deposits and $301 billion in loans, according to the banks.

Join us at Bank Innovation Ignite 2019, March 11-12 at the Hyatt Olive 8 in Seattle. Register here.