A North Carolina corporation is acquiring National Penn Bancshares for $1.8 billion in cash and stocks.

Although BB&T, of Winston-Salem, expects to close some branches, it does not anticipate anything changing for local National Penn customers. The bank has branches in Palmerton, Lehighton, Weatherly, Schnecksville and Brodheadsville."For National Penn customers, it will be business as usual," said BB&T spokesman Brian Davis. "They'll continue to see the same faces and they can continue banking as they normally would. As we approach the transition to BB&T, they'll receive specific details about the conversion of their accounts and loans to BB&T. We expect that conversion to take place in the middle of 2016, pending all shareholder and regulatory approvals and a successful closing of the transaction."Davis said there won't be any job changes prior to the closing, which is anticipated to take place in the middle of 2016."BB&T expects to retain all high-performing direct client-facing employees and revenue producers. In the coming months, BB&T will work to provide associates with details about their future BB&T job assignments," he said.However, Davis said BB&T is considering closing some branches."We do anticipate there will be some branch closings and consolidations due to the proximity of nearby BB&T financial centers and Susquehanna branches that will soon be converted to BB&T," he said. "Those decisions will be communicated to employees as soon as possible. Regardless of these decisions, BB&T expects to retain all high-performing direct customer-facing employees and revenue producers in these areas."The companies announced the acquisition late Monday.National Penn spokeswoman Mary Heller did not return a request for comment Tuesday.The acquisition will significantly expand BB&T's footprint in the Mid-Atlantic region and improve its deposit market share to number four in Pennsylvania.National Penn, headquartered in Allentown, has $9.6 billion in assets, $6.7 billion in deposits and 124 banking offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland."The acquisition of National Penn provides a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our franchise in Pennsylvania and continue building the scale necessary to operate efficiently and with high quality service," said BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kelly S. King. "As the fourth largest bank in the state, we will have a significant presence in these markets. BB&T will have the breadth of market coverage combined with excellent client service levels that will allow us to grow our client base.""I am very proud of the strong and consistent financial performance delivered by the team members of National Penn," said National Penn President and Chief Executive Officer Scott V. Fainor. "We believe partnering with a high-quality company such as BB&T will continue to benefit our shareholders, employees, customers and communities."