SunTrust Banks Inc. and its merger partner BB&T Corp. on Tuesday announced a three-year, $60 billion plan to invest in their communities, focusing on affordable housing, small business and financial wellness.
The “Truist Bank Community Benefits Plan” is to include these components:
- $31 billion for home purchase mortgage loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers, low- and moderate-income areas, minority borrowers and/or majority-minority areas.
- $7.8 billion for lending to small businesses and to support the growth of businesses with revenues less than $1 million.
- $17.2 billion in Community Development Lending to support affordable housing development and small business growth lending to nonprofits that support the low- and moderate-income community.
- $3.6 billion in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) qualified investments and philanthropy, of which $120 million will be designated for CRA-qualified philanthropic giving.
The banks, which will be called Truist following the merger, said they aim to further SunTrust and BB&T’s “commitment to underserved neighborhoods” by seeking to open at least 15 new branches in low- and moderate-income and/or majority minority communities.