BB & T has low view of high court's ruling.

• Author: Martin, Edward
• Position: TAR HEEL TATTLER

Looking back, what made BB & T Corp.'s highly publicized stand against eminent domain unusual was that the Winston-Salem-based bank took a stand at all. Banks usually don't. A Wachovia spokesman says that bank doesn't comment on loan policy. A Bank of America flack says it doesn't have a policy on eminent domain.

That's why many were surprised when BB & T CEO John Allison announced out of the blue that the bank would not lend money to developers that used government's power of eminent domain to seize a homeplace to build a Taco Bell or replace a Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton. Maybe they shouldn't have been. Allison often seems as interested in philosophy and principle as in principal and interest. "The idea that a citizen's property can be taken by the government solely for private use is extremely misguided," he says.

BB & T's action stems from a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows local governments to seize property for private developments that serve a public purpose. That could be creating fast-food jobs or simply paying more property taxes. The case involved a Connecticut town that condemned a neighborhood to make way for a hotel, condos and offices.

"Surprised? Absolutely not, not with John Allison," says Paul Stock, executive vice president of the North Carolina Bankers Association in Raleigh. Stock...