An aggressive push by a New York financial company has failed to persuade BB&T Corp. to sell its recently acquired 21 branches in Nevada.

Global Consumer Acquisition Corp. said in a regulatory filing that it had terminated its discussions regarding the branches that BB&T inherited as part of its takeover of Colonial BankGroup Inc. in August.

BB&T's 21 branches in Nevada include 11 in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas and three in Reno.

"The company believes that BB&T offered a far less compelling investment proposition for the former Colonial Bank Nevada business than what the company had originally evaluated," Global said in the filing.

"We believe there are more attractive acquisition opportunities available in our target market," said Jason Ader, the chairman of Global. "We continue to be excited about our future in Nevada."

In August, Daryl Bible, the chief financial officer of BB&T, said that the bank would take its time deciding what to do with branches it gained in Nevada and Texas - both of which are outside its traditional territory.

"Our plans have not changed," spokeswoman Cynthia Williams said yesterday.
Global entered the Nevada market this summer through the purchase of 1st Commerce Bank in North Las Vegas. On July 14, Global said it had reached an agreement with Colonial to buy the 21 branches, which have about $492 million in deposits and $440 million in loans.

However, BB&T said that Global's deal had been voided by the takeover of Colonial, which was brokered through an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Shortly after BB&T took over Colonial, Global announced that it was in talks about the branches.

Robert Patten, a senior bank analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co., said he doubts that BB&T will keep the Nevada branches long term.

Patten upgraded his rating of BB&T yesterday from "market perform" to "outperform" based on expectations of "above average core earnings power and market-share gains from weaker rivals."

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Kelly King (the CEO of BB&T) is a good poker player. He's keeping his cards hidden right now," Patten said. "In the end, it is all about price."

Tony Plath, a finance professor at UNC Charlotte, said that BB&T likely will wait "until the real-estate market in Nevada firms up a bit to get a better price."

"It's a small position relative to the overall size of the company, and they can use it as a way to learn more about the Southwest United States and manage risk in a business 2,000 miles from home."