UPDATE 1-BB&T, SunTrust win U.S. antitrust approval to merge

By Diane Bartz

(Adds details on divestitures, comment from companies, byline)

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - BB&T Corp and SunTrust Banks Inc have won U.S. antitrust approval to merge on condition that they divest 28 branches in three states, the Justice Department said on Friday.

The merger of equals, announced in February, will create the sixth largest U.S. bank holding company, SunTrust has said.

It still needs approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the department said.

To win approval, the companies agreed to divest 28 branches in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia with about $2.3 billion in deposits.

SunTrust and BB&T have agreed to sell 30 SunTrust branches with about $2.4 billion in deposits to First Horizon, the companies said in a joint statement. First Horizon itself is in a deal to merge with Iberiabank Corp.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang)