EXHIBIT 99.1


Contact:
SunTrust Banks, Inc.                       National Commerce Financial Corp.
Mike McCoy                                 Eileen Sarro
(404) 588-7230                             (901) 523-3605


For Immediate Release
September 20, 2004


         SUNTRUST AND NATIONAL COMMERCE FINANCIAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCE
               PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF ELECTION REGARDING MERGER

ATLANTA -- SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) and National Commerce Financial
Corporation (NYSE: NCF) today announced the preliminary results of elections
made by NCF stockholders as to the form of merger consideration to be received
in the pending merger of NCF and SunTrust. Of the 206,366,802 shares of NCF
stock outstanding as of September 14, 2004:

 o   22,397,182 of the shares, or 10.85 percent, elected to receive cash,

 o   149,670,468 of the shares, or 72.53 percent, elected to receive
     SunTrust stock; and

 o   34,299,152 of the shares, or 16.62 percent, did not make a valid
     election.

         Based on preliminary election results and the average closing price of
SunTrust common stock of $67.90 for the five-day period ending on Friday,
September 17, 2004, and applying the proration provisions set forth in the
merger agreement, the merger consideration to be received would be as follows:

 o   stockholders making an election to receive cash would receive approximately
     $33.84 in cash (the "cash consideration") per NCF share;

 o   stockholders making an election to receive stock would receive 0.4983
     shares of SunTrust common stock (the "stock consideration") per NCF
     share; and

 o   non-electing stockholders would receive the cash consideration with
     respect to approximately 90% of the NCF shares they own and the stock
     consideration with respect to their remaining NCF shares.

         The actual merger consideration will be computed using the formula in
the merger agreement and will be based on, among other things, the actual
number of shares of National Commerce Financial Corporation common stock
outstanding immediately prior to the closing date, the results of the election
process, and the value of SunTrust common stock for the five trading days
immediately preceding the date of the effective time of the merger. A press
release announcing the final merger consideration will be issued after the
final merger consideration is determined.

         National Commerce Financial Corporation, headquartered in Memphis,
Tennessee, is a sales and marketing organization that delivers select financial
and consulting services through a national network of banking and non-banking
affiliates. With $23 billion in assets, NCF operates almost 500 branches in 14
of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas throughout the southeast.

         SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the
nation's largest commercial banking organizations. As of June 30, 2004,
SunTrust had total assets of $128.1 billion and total deposits of $85.5
billion. The company operates through an extensive distribution network
primarily in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia and the District
of Columbia and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its
primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services.
Through various subsidiaries the company provides credit cards, mortgage
banking, insurance, brokerage and capital markets services. SunTrust's Internet
address is www.suntrust.com.

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