Summary: The main players in approving the $28 billion bank merger between SunTrust and BB&T, and the agency that will ultimately oversee it, can all be traced back to the same Senate office, led by Alabama Republican Richard Shelby. As the former chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Shelby wields significant sway over the direction of conservative policy on financial regulation; alumni of his office are sprinkled throughout regulatory agencies and K Street.
