Virginia community banks Atlantic Union and American National announce merger

Two major Virginia community banks, the Richmond-headquartered Atlantic Union and Danville-based American National, are merging, the institutions’ leaders announced Tuesday.

During a press call, John C. Asbury, president and CEO of Atlantic Union, called the merger “the culmination of a long friendship between the two companies” and “a very logical expansion,” while American National President and CEO Jeff Haley described it as being “like cousins going into business together.”

Atlantic Union, which began in Bowling Green in Caroline County in 1902, currently has 109 branches in Virginia and is the fourth-largest bank in the state, according to information provided by the institution. American National, founded in 1907, has 26 branches throughout Southside Virginia and North Carolina and is the 16th-largest bank in Virginia.