SunTrust Banks, Inc. reported net income available to common shareholders of $612 million, or $1.29 per average common diluted share. This compares to $1.48 for the prior quarter, which included $0.39 per share of net discrete benefits from Form 8-K items announced on December 4, 2017 and the impacts of tax reform-related items, and $0.91 for the first quarter of 2017.

When excluding the impact of the aforementioned net discrete benefits in the fourth quarter of 2017, earnings per diluted share increased 18% sequentially, driven largely by a lower effective tax rate.  When compared to the first quarter of 2017, earnings per share increased 42% due to continued efficiency improvements, improved asset quality, reduced share count, and a lower effective tax rate.

"This year is off to a good start, with earnings per share increasing 42% year-over-year," said William H. Rogers, Jr., chairman and CEO of SunTrust Banks, Inc. "While a favorable operating environment has benefited our bottom-line results, our consistent strategy and improved execution are also contributing to our improved profitability.  We remain optimistic about our performance trajectory and ability to deliver long-term value to our shareholders."

First Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights
(Commentary is on a fully taxable-equivalent basis unless otherwise noted. Consistent with SEC guidance in Industry Guide 3 that contemplates the calculation of tax-exempt income on a tax equivalent basis, net interest income, net interest margin, total revenue, and efficiency ratios are provided on a fully taxable-equivalent basis, which generally assumes a 21% marginal federal tax rate for all periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and 35% for all periods prior to January 1, 2018, as well as state income taxes, where applicable. We provide unadjusted amounts in the table on page 3 of this news release and detailed reconciliations and additional information in Appendix A on pages 12 and 13.)

Income Statement

• Net income available to common shareholders was $612 million, or $1.29 per average common diluted share, compared to $1.48 for the prior quarter and $0.91 for the first quarter of 2017.

• The prior quarter was favorably impacted by $0.39 per share of net discrete benefits associated with the items announced in the December 4, 2017 Form 8-K and tax reform-related items.

• Total revenue decreased 2% sequentially and was stable year-over-year.

• The sequential decrease was driven by lower net interest income resulting from fully taxable-equivalent ("FTE") basis adjustments and lower noninterest income.

• Net interest margin was 3.24% in the current quarter, up 7 basis points sequentially and up 15 basis points compared to the prior year. The sequential and year-over-year increases were driven primarily by higher earning asset yields arising from higher benchmark interest rates, higher securities AFS yields given lower premium amortization expense, and positive mix shift in the LHFI portfolio. The sequential increase was also driven by fewer days in the quarter.

• Provision for credit losses decreased $51 million sequentially and $91 million year-over-year due to lower net charge-offs and a lower allowance for loan and lease losses ("ALLL"), given continued strong credit quality results.

• Noninterest expense decreased 7% sequentially and 3% year-over-year.

• The sequential decrease was driven primarily by charitable contributions and net charges related to efficiency actions recognized in the prior quarter, both of which were associated with the December 4, 2017 Form 8-K and tax reform-related items. When adjusting for discrete items in the prior quarter, expenses were up 1% sequentially due to a seasonal increase in employee compensation and benefits costs.

• Compared to the first quarter of 2017, the decrease was driven largely by lower operating losses as well as lower branch closure and severance costs.

• The efficiency and tangible efficiency ratios for the current quarter were 62.8% and 62.1%, respectively, which represent strong improvements compared to the prior year, driven by ongoing expense management initiatives.

Balance Sheet

• Average performing LHFI were down 1% compared to the prior quarter and relatively stable year-over-year, driven by the prior quarter sale of Premium Assignment Corporation ("PAC") and declines in C&I loans, home equity products, and commercial construction, offset partially by growth in consumer lending.

• Average consumer and commercial deposits decreased modestly compared to the prior quarter due, in part, to seasonality, and increased slightly compared to the first quarter of 2017, as declines in money market accounts and noninterest-bearing deposit account balances were offset by growth in NOW, time deposit, and savings account balances.

Capital

• Estimated capital ratios continue to be well above regulatory requirements. The Common Equity Tier 1 ("CET1") ratio was estimated to be 9.8% as of March 31, 2018, slightly higher than the prior quarter.

• During the quarter, the Company repurchased $330 million of its outstanding common stock in accordance with its 2017 Capital Plan and redeemed all $450 million of its outstanding 5.875% noncumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series E.

• Book value per common share was $47.14 and tangible book value per common share was $33.97, both down 2% from December 31, 2017, driven primarily by a higher accumulated other comprehensive loss, offset partially by growth in retained earnings.

Asset Quality

• Nonperforming loans ("NPLs") increased $38 million from the prior quarter and represented 0.50% of period-end LHFI at March 31, 2018. The sequential increase was driven primarily by an increase in residential mortgage NPLs due to hurricane-related forbearance.

• Net charge-offs for the current quarter were $79 million, or 0.22% of total average LHFI on an annualized basis, down $28 million sequentially and $33 million year-over-year. The sequential decrease was driven primarily by lower net charge-offs associated with C&I loans, while the year-over-year reduction was driven by overall asset quality improvements and lower commercial net charge-offs.

• At March 31, 2018, the ALLL to period-end LHFI ratio was 1.19%, a 2 basis point decline compared to the prior quarter, driven by lower reserves for anticipated hurricane-related losses and continued improvements in asset quality.

• The provision for credit losses decreased $51 million sequentially and $91 million year-over-year due to lower net charge-offs and a lower ALLL.

Consolidated Financial Performance Details
(Commentary is on a fully taxable-equivalent basis unless otherwise noted)

Revenue

Total revenue was $2.3 billion for the current quarter, a decrease of $48 million compared to the prior quarter. Net interest income decreased $11 million sequentially due to two less days and a lower FTE adjustment as a result of tax reform, offset partially by a higher net interest margin. Noninterest income decreased $37 million sequentially due largely to lower commercial real estate related income, mortgage production income and client transaction-related fees, offset partially by higher capital markets-related income and higher mortgage servicing-related income. The fourth quarter included a $107 million gain from the sale of PAC (recorded in other noninterest income), which was offset by $109 million in securities losses. Compared to the first quarter of 2017, total revenue increased $10 million, driven by a $61 million increase in net interest income, offset partially by a $51 million decrease in total noninterest income, as a result of lower capital markets-related income. 

Net Interest Income

Net interest income was $1.5 billion for the current quarter, a decrease of $11 million compared to the prior quarter due to two less days and a lower FTE adjustment as a result of tax reform, offset partially by a higher net interest margin. The $61 million increase relative to the prior year was driven largely by the 15 basis point improvement in the net interest margin.

Net interest margin for the current quarter was 3.24%, compared to 3.17% in the prior quarter and 3.09% in the first quarter of 2017. The sequential and year-over-year increases were driven primarily by higher earning asset yields arising from higher benchmark interest rates, higher securities AFS yields given lower premium amortization expense, and positive mix shift in the loan portfolio. The sequential increase was also driven by fewer days in the quarter.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income was $796 million for the current quarter, compared to $833 million for the prior quarter and $847 million for the first quarter of 2017. The $37 million sequential decrease is due primarily to lower commercial real estate related income, mortgage production related income, and client transaction-related fees, offset partially by higher capital markets-related income and mortgage servicing income. Compared to the first quarter of 2017, noninterest income decreased $51 million driven largely by lower capital markets-related income, mortgage-related income, as well as client transaction-related fees.

Investment banking income was $131 million for the current quarter, compared to $119 million in the prior quarter and $167 million in the prior year.  The $12 million increase compared to the prior quarter was due to higher M&A advisory, equity offerings, and investment grade bond originations, offset partially by lower syndicated and leveraged finance activity. The $36 million year-over-year decrease is primarily attributable to declines in syndicated and leveraged finance.

Trading income was $42 million for the current quarter, compared to $41 million in the prior quarter and $51 million in the first quarter of 2017. The year-over-year decrease was largely due to lower fixed income sales and trading revenue.

Mortgage production income for the current quarter was $36 million, compared to $61 million for the prior quarter and $53 million for the first quarter of 2017. The $25 million sequential and $17 million year-over-year decreases were due to lower production volume and lower gain on sale margins during the current quarter. Mortgage application volume decreased 1% sequentially and 9% compared to the first quarter of 2017. Closed loan volume decreased 18% sequentially and 6% compared to the first quarter of 2017.

Mortgage servicing income was $54 million for the current quarter, compared to $43 million in the prior quarter and $58 million in the first quarter of 2017. The $11 million sequential increase was due to higher servicing fee income and lower servicing asset decay, offset partially by lower net hedge performance. The $4 million decrease compared to the first quarter of 2017 was due to lower net hedge performance and higher servicing asset decay in the current quarter, offset partially by higher servicing fee income. At March 31, 2018, the servicing portfolio totaled $164.7 billion, relatively stable compared to the prior quarter and prior year.

Trust and investment management income was $75 million for the current quarter, compared to $80 million for the prior quarter and $75 million for the first quarter of 2017. The $5 million sequential decrease was primarily attributable to trust termination fees recognized during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Commercial real estate-related income was $23 million for the current quarter, compared to $62 million for the prior quarter and $20 million for the first quarter of 2017. The $39 million sequential decrease was driven primarily by seasonal declines in activity.

Client transaction-related fees (namely service charges on deposits, other charges and fees, and card fees) decreased sequentially and year-over-year by $18 million and $11 million, respectively, due to lower client-related activity, and the impact of adopting the revenue recognition accounting standard during the current quarter, which resulted in the netting of certain expense items against card fees, other charges and fees, and service charges on deposit accounts. The sequential decrease was also driven by fewer days.

Net securities gains/(losses) totaled $1 million for the current quarter compared to ($109) million in the prior quarter. The sequential change was due to $109 million in securities losses arising from the securities AFS portfolio restructuring in response to tax reform recognized in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Other noninterest income was $48 million for the current quarter, compared to $134 million in the prior quarter and $30 million in the first quarter of 2017. The sequential decrease was due primarily to the recognition of the $107 million pre-tax gain from the sale of PAC during the fourth quarter of 2017. The $18 million year-over-year increase was due primarily to the application of the recognition and measurement of financial assets accounting standard adopted during the current quarter, which resulted in a $23 million remeasurement gain on an equity investment in a fintech company.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense was $1.4 billion in the current quarter, representing a decline of $103 million sequentially. The December 4, 2017 Form 8-K and tax reform-related items impacted the prior quarter noninterest expense by a net $111 million ($50 million charitable contribution to the SunTrust Foundation, $36 million net charges related to efficiency initiatives, and $25 million discretionary 401(k) contribution and other employee benefits). Excluding these discrete items, noninterest expense was relatively stable compared to the prior quarter and down $48 million relative to the first quarter of 2017. The decrease relative to the first quarter of 2017 was due largely to lower operating losses and lower other noninterest expense.

Employee compensation and benefits expense was $853 million in the current quarter, compared to $803 million in the prior quarter and $852 million in the first quarter of 2017. The $50 million sequential increase was due to the seasonal increase in employee benefit costs and FICA taxes.

Operating losses were $6 million in the current quarter, compared to $23 million in the prior quarter and $32 million in the first quarter of 2017. The decreases relative to both periods were driven primarily by a net $10 million benefit from the progression of certain legal developments.

Outside processing and software expense was $206 million in the current quarter, compared to $214 million in the prior quarter and $205 million in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease compared to the prior quarter was driven primarily by lower transaction volume as well as the impact of adopting the revenue recognition accounting standard during the current quarter, which resulted in the netting of certain credit card network expenses (previously classified in outside processing and software expense) against card fees and other charges and fees.

Marketing and customer development expense was $41 million in the current quarter, compared to $104 million in the prior quarter and $42 million in the first quarter of 2017. The sequential decrease was due primarily to the $50 million tax reform-related charitable contribution, which was recognized during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Amortization expense was $15 million in the current quarter, compared to $25 million in the prior quarter and $13 million in the first quarter of 2017. The sequential decrease was due to seasonally higher amortization expense in the prior quarter associated with increased tax credits generated from community development investments.

Other noninterest expense was $121 million in the current quarter, compared to $170 million in the prior quarter and $142 million in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease relative to the prior quarter was driven primarily by a net $36 million charge related to efficiency actions (including severance costs in connection with the voluntary early retirement program, branch and corporate real estate closure costs, and software write-downs) recognized during the prior quarter. The year-over-year decrease was driven primarily by higher legal and consulting fees and higher branch closure and severance costs incurred during the first quarter of 2017.

Income Taxes

For the current quarter, the Company recorded a provision for income taxes of $147 million compared to an income tax benefit of $74 million for the prior quarter and an income tax provision of $159 million for the first quarter of 2017.  The effective tax rate for the current quarter was 19%, compared to (11)% in the prior quarter and 25% in the first quarter of 2017. The increase in the effective tax rate relative to the prior quarter was due primarily to the prior quarter tax benefit for the remeasurement of the Company's estimated deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities to reflect the reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate to 21%. The decrease in the effective tax rate for the current quarter relative to the first quarter of 2017 was primarily due to the reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate. The first quarter of 2017 was also favorably impacted by $22 million of discrete tax benefits related to share-based compensation.

Balance Sheet

At March 31, 2018, the Company had total assets of $204.9 billion and total shareholders' equity of $24.3 billion, representing 12% of total assets. Book value per common share was $47.14 and tangible book value per common share was $33.97, both down 2% compared to December 31, 2017, driven primarily by a higher accumulated other comprehensive loss, offset partially by growth in retained earnings.

Loans

Average performing LHFI totaled $142.2 billion for the current quarter, down 1% compared to the prior quarter and relatively stable compared to the first quarter of 2017, driven by the prior quarter sale of PAC and declines in C&I loans, home equity products, and commercial construction, offset partially by growth in consumer lending.

Deposits

Average consumer and commercial deposits for the current quarter were $159.2 billion, a 1% decline over the prior quarter and a slight increase over the first quarter of 2017.  The sequential decline was due largely to seasonal decreases in demand deposits and lower money market account balances, offset largely by a 10% increase in time deposits. The year-over-year growth was driven primarily by an increase in time deposit account balances, offset largely by declines in demand deposits and money market account balances.

Capital and Liquidity

The Company's estimated capital ratios were well above current regulatory requirements with the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio estimated to be 9.8% at March 31, 2018. The ratios of average total equity to average total assets and tangible common equity to tangible assets were 12.1% and 8.0%, respectively, at March 31, 2018. The Company continues to have substantial available liquidity in the form of cash, high-quality government-backed or government-sponsored securities, and other available contingency funding sources.

The Company declared a common stock dividend of $0.40 per common share and repurchased $330 million of its outstanding common stock in the first quarter of 2018. The Company currently expects to repurchase approximately $330 million of additional common stock over the next quarter in accordance with its 2017 Capital Plan. Additionally, the Company redeemed all $450 million of its 5.875% noncumulative perpetual preferred stock, Series E, in March 2018.

Asset Quality

Total nonperforming assets ("NPAs") were $778 million at March 31, 2018, up $37 million from the prior quarter and down $80 million year-over-year. The increase in NPAs compared to the prior quarter was driven by an increase in mortgage NPLs due primarily to hurricane-related forbearance, as well as higher commercial real estate NPLs due primarily to the downgrade of one borrower. The decrease in NPAs compared to the first quarter of 2017 was driven primarily by continued improvements in the energy portfolio. The ratio of NPLs to period-end LHFI was 0.50%, 0.47%, and 0.55% at March 31, 2018, December 31, 2017, and March 31, 2017, respectively.

Net charge-offs were $79 million during the current quarter, a decrease of $28 million compared to the prior quarter and $33 million compared to the first quarter of 2017. The sequential reduction was driven primarily by lower net charge-offs associated with C&I loans, while the year-over-year decrease was driven by overall asset quality improvements as well as lower energy-related net charge-offs. The ratio of annualized net charge-offs to total average LHFI was 0.22% during the current quarter, compared to 0.29% during the prior quarter and 0.32% during the first quarter of 2017. The provision for credit losses was $28 million in the current quarter, a sequential decrease of $51 million and a year-over-year decrease of $91 million, driven by lower net charge-offs and a lower ALLL.

At March 31, 2018, the ALLL was $1.7 billion, which represented 1.19% of period-end loans, a 2 basis point decline relative to December 31, 2017, driven by continued improvements in asset quality and lower reserves for anticipated hurricane-related losses.

Early stage delinquencies decreased 12 basis points from the prior quarter to 0.68% at March 31, 2018. Excluding government-guaranteed loans which account for 0.46%, early stage delinquencies were 0.22%, down 10 basis points compared to the prior quarter and stable compared to a year ago.

Impacts of Newly Adopted Accounting Standards

The Company adopted a number of accounting standard updates during the first quarter of 2018. The application of ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, resulted in a $23 million increase in Other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and a corresponding $23 million increase in Noninterest income on the Consolidated Statements of Income during the quarter from the remeasurement gain on an equity investment in a fintech company.  The adoption of ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (and subsequent related ASUs), resulted in a $3 million net quantitative decrease in both revenue and expenses for the current quarter (prior periods were not restated). Upon adoption of ASU 2018-02, Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from AOCI, the Company elected to reclassify approximately $154 million of stranded tax effects from AOCI to retained earnings. This election had no impact on the current quarter Consolidated Statements of Income, but did positively impact regulatory capital ratios.