BB&T declares dividend

The board of directors of BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) today declared the 2005 first quarter dividend of $0.35 per share, a 9.4 percent increase over the $0.32 paid in the first quarter of 2004. The dividend will be paid Feb. 1 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 14.   The five-year compound growth rate for BB&T’s quarterly dividend payment is 11.8 percent. BB&T has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1920. The corporation has increased its quarterly cash dividend payments for 33 consecutive years. Winston-Salem-based BB&T Corporation and its subsidiaries offer full-service commercial and retail banking and additional financial services such as insurance, investments, retail brokerage, corporate finance, treasury services, international banking, leasing and trust. BB&T operates more than 1,400 financial centers in the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Indiana and Washington, D.C. With more than $97 billion in assets, BB&T Corp. is the nation’s 11th largest financial holding company.