SunTrust Approved to Sell Remaining Allotment of Preferred Stock Under Treasury Program

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) said today it has received preliminary approval to sell to the U.S. Treasury the remaining $1.4 billion of preferred securities available to it under Treasury's Capital Purchase Program. As previously announced, SunTrust has already received an initial $3.5 billion under the program. This additional amount brings the combined total to approximately $4.9 billion, or the full 3% of risk weighted assets for which SunTrust was eligible.

"As we now know from the most recent data, the economic situation is decidedly bleaker than was the case when we announced our initial, partial regulatory capital transaction under the Treasury program," said James M. Wells III, SunTrust Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Given the increasingly uncertain economic outlook, we have concluded that further augmenting our capital at this point is a prudent step, especially if the current recession proves to be longer and more severe than previously expected."

Mr. Wells added that "at SunTrust, we are acutely aware of the importance to economic stability of responsible lending by banks. This additional capital will enhance our capacity to continue to make good loans to qualified borrowers, work with homeowners, and pursue other opportunities that support economic stability, even as we manage through this difficult industry environment."

SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation's largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. As of September 30, 2008, SunTrust had total assets of $174.8 billion and total deposits of $115.9 billion. The Company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a full array of technology-based, 24-hour delivery channels. The Company also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through various subsidiaries the Company provides mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing and capital markets services. SunTrust's Internet address is suntrust.com.

Important Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this news release may contain forward-looking statements. Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about expected capital levels, charge-offs, credit results, and beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements often include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets," "initiatives," "potentially," "probably," "projects," "outlook" or similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would," and "could." Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management and on information currently available to management. Such statements speak as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the statements made herein or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements in light of new information or future events. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Exhibit 99.3 to our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on October 23, 2008 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at the Securities and Exchange Commission's internet site (http://www.sec.gov/). Those factors include: difficult market conditions have adversely affected our industry; current levels of market volatility are unprecedented; the soundness of other financial institutions could adversely affect us; there can be no assurance that recently enacted legislation will stabilize the U.S. financial system; the impact on us of recently enacted legislation, in particular the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and its implementing regulations, and actions by the FDIC, cannot be predicted at this time; credit risk; weakness in the economy and in the real estate market, including specific weakness within our geographic footprint, has adversely affected us and may continue to adversely affect us; weakness in the real estate market, including the secondary residential mortgage loan markets, has adversely affected us and may continue to adversely affect us; as a financial services company, adverse changes in general business or economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations; changes in market interest rates or capital markets could adversely affect our revenue and expense, the value of assets and obligations, and the availability and cost of capital or liquidity; the fiscal and monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies could have a material adverse effect on our earnings; we may be required to repurchase mortgage loans or indemnify mortgage loan purchasers as a result of breaches of representations and warranties, borrower fraud, or certain borrower defaults, which could harm our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition; clients could pursue alternatives to bank deposits, causing us to lose a relatively inexpensive source of funding; consumers may decide not to use banks to complete their financial transactions, which could affect net income; we have businesses other than banking which subject us to a variety of risks; hurricanes and other natural disasters may adversely affect loan portfolios and operations and increase the cost of doing business; negative public opinion could damage our reputation and adversely impact our business and revenues; we rely on other companies to provide key components of our business infrastructure; we rely on our systems, employees and certain counterparties, and certain failures could materially adversely affect our operations; we depend on the accuracy and completeness of information about clients and counterparties; regulation by federal and state agencies could adversely affect our business, revenue and profit margins; competition in the financial services industry is intense and could result in losing business or reducing margins; future legislation could harm our competitive position; maintaining or increasing market share depends on market acceptance and regulatory approval of new products and services; we may not pay dividends on our common stock; our ability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries accounts for most of our revenue and could affect our liquidity and ability to pay dividends; significant legal actions could subject us to substantial uninsured liabilities; recently declining values of residential real estate may increase our credit losses, which would negatively affect our financial results; deteriorating credit quality, particularly in real estate loans, has adversely impacted us and may continue to adversely impact us; disruptions in our ability to access global capital markets may negatively affect our capital resources and liquidity; any reduction in our credit rating could increase the cost of our funding from the capital markets; we have in the past and may in the future pursue acquisitions, which could affect costs and from which we may not be able to realize anticipated benefits; we depend on the expertise of key personnel; we may not be able to hire or retain additional qualified personnel and recruiting and compensation costs may increase as a result of turnover, both of which may increase costs and reduce profitability and may adversely impact our ability to implement our business strategy; our accounting policies and methods are key to how we report our financial condition and results of operations, and these require us to make estimates about matters that are uncertain; changes in our accounting policies or in accounting standards could materially affect how we report our financial results and condition; our stock price can be volatile; our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud; our financial instruments carried at fair value expose us to certain market risks; our revenues derived from our investment securities may be volatile and subject to a variety of risks; we may enter into transactions with off-balance sheet affiliates or our subsidiaries that could result in current or future gains or losses or the possible consolidation of those entities; and we are subject to market risk associated with our asset management and commercial paper conduit businesses.

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