SunTrust Promotes Financial Well-Being Through $1 Million Commitment to Operation HOPE

SunTrust Banks, Inc. will add Operation HOPE financial counselors to select branches in Atlanta and Memphis, as part of its ongoing efforts to promote financial well-being. The company will make a $1 million cash and in-kind contribution to fund the HOPE Inside program, beginning this fall with a pilot branch in each city.

“Operation HOPE is a global leader for financial dignity, but more importantly, has proven to be effective in advancing financial literacy at the local level,” said SunTrust Chairman and CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. “By funding counselors within our branches, we have a significant opportunity to help people understand their options and make better-informed financial decisions when faced with a variety of life’s circumstances.”

SunTrust has demonstrated a multi-year commitment to a variety of programs promoting financial well-being, including support for Operation HOPE’s flagship Financial Dignity Center in Atlanta. The Atlanta Center provides services such as credit repair counseling, business entrepreneurship training, earned income tax credit eligibility, and financial literacy education. The HOPE Inside program will offer similar services.

“We value our partnership with SunTrust, and admire the company’s help in lighting the way to financial well-being,” said Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant. “The in-branch counselors allow us to put our “silver rights” mission – to empower the underserved – into practice at convenient locations with a trusted provider. There’s perhaps no better place to impart financial literacy than at a local bank with a heart for the community.”