Though BB&T Corp could circumvent the major credit problems that brought about the acquisition of its rival Wachovia Corp by Wells Fargo, it still posted a 26 percent profit drop in its fourth quarter, pertaining to its real estate loans losses. The bank proceeded with early trading and kept up its dividend, while developers and homebuilders stopped their debt payments.

In a statement, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based lender mentioned a $305 million - or 51 cents a share net income, which dropped from the previous year's figures of $411 million - or 75 cents per share. In addition, the amount set aside by the bank for potential loan losses went up to $528 million from $184 million a year earlier.

The 44 cents a share operating earnings fell short of the Bloomberg survey's 51-cent average estimate by 21 analysts.

In November, as a part of the bank-rescue program, BB&T sold $3.1 billion in preferred shares to the US government. In its accord with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, the bank paid $112,000 in December to take hold of nearly $500 million of deposits in Georgia's botched Haven Trust Bank of Duluth.

Earlier this month, BB&T had a new CEO after 19 years - the company COO since 2004, Kelly King, took over from John Allison. In a statement, King said that last year "was very challenging and credit deterioration remains a significant concern."