Truist Provides Relief To Customers, On Track With Integration Amid COVID-19

Truist reported better-than-expected earnings on Monday (April 20) as consumers and businesses take an economic hit from the coronavirus, noting that it has been providing payment relief assistance to customers amid the health crisis.

Truist Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kelly King said on an earnings call that the financial institution has already had more than 300,000 accommodations for consumers and 16,000 for its commercial customers.

King said the financial institution temporarily waived automated teller machine (ATM) service charges, and it is providing 5 percent cash back on “qualifying card purchases” for important basic needs. The executive also noted that the company has been very focused on the Paycheck Protection Program and that its average loan amount is approximately $323,000.

“We’ve been authorized for 32,000 companies,” King said, adding that the financial institution is expecting “funding to be a little more than $10 billion on the first round and it will likely be more on the second round if it is, in fact, approved.”

In terms of the merger of BB&T and SunTrust, which created Truist, Kelly said the company debuted and launched its Truist visual identity and logo. It also completed the purchase of its Truist Center corporate headquarters in Charlotte. Additionally, the company rolled out its Truist Foundation, and it has started to consolidate some redundant real estate portfolios.

For the next steps, Kelly said the first priority is the coronavirus, and the second priority is keeping the integration as well as the conversion on track. At this point, Kelly said the company feels positively about its planned conversion and integration activities.

In terms of the headline numbers, Truist reported first-quarter earnings that came in at $5.6 billion. That was slightly above the $5.55 billion that analysts had estimated. Truist reported diluted earnings per share of 73 cents vs. the 67 cents that analysts had expected.

The financial institution reported non-interest expenses of $3.4 billion.

Shares of Truist were up approximately 4.5 percent as of approximately 1 P.M. Eastern Time on Monday (April 20).