Maryland?s seventh-largest bank is growing.
BB&T will open three new branches ? in Hunt Valley, Owings Mills and Quarry Lakes ? before the end of the year, according to a release.
It?s a move that some analysts believe may strengthen the bank?s position in the marketplace.
“They?re competing against the big boys in the industry, and they?re competing effectively,” said Jaime Peters, an equity analyst for Morningstar.
A bank?s position is measured by a market share, a ranking used by banks to show their financial strength in an area, said Alison Tavik, director of communications for the Maryland Banking Association. It is calculated by the amount of dollars each institution holds in comparison with the total amount held in deposits by all institutions in an area, Tavik said.
Peters said BB&T has 6.25 percent of all deposits in Maryland, making it the seventh-largest bank in the state. BB&T operates 127 branches.
Although the exact number of branches a bank operates does not have a direct effect on the market share, market growth can be affected by the share of expanding business, Peters said. “Adding to their number of branches will add to their market and will strengthen their market position,” she said.
“When a bank decides to add branches within its existing market, they have to have defined some strategic objective like growing market or relations,” Tavik said.
Richard Clinch, director of economic research at the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore, predicted a “negligible impact” from the branch openings. The introduction of a new bank typically doesn?t have the impact of a new customer, he said.
But Peters and Tavik disagreed.
“More likely than not, the new branches will draw new customers for an overall net positive,” Peters said.
“Businesses will always look for an opportunity to grow, and this is one for BB&T,” Tavik said.
BB&T was not available for comment.
