CHARLOTTE – Truist agreed to sell $5.5 billion in auto loans and exit near-prime auto lending as part of a broader strategic review.
The Charlotte-based bank disclosed the signed transaction in a Form 8-K filed Sept. 15. The loans represent substantially all assets of Regional Acceptance Corporation, Truist’s national near-prime auto-finance business.
Truist expects the transaction to close late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. The buyer was not disclosed.
The bank’s transaction presentation estimates $5.2 billion in net proceeds and a $535 million loan-loss-reserve recapture. It also estimates the transaction will create $945 million, or 22 basis points, of common equity tier 1 capital. Truist described the financial figures as preliminary.
Truist said it plans to use the sale proceeds to repay wholesale borrowings. The bank also presented a potential repositioning of certain available-for-sale securities to offset capital created by the sale, while noting any such action would depend on market conditions.
The presentation estimates the sale will reduce nonperforming loans by more than 10 basis points, based on June 30 balances, and reduce annual net charge-offs by about 10 basis points. Regional Acceptance generated approximately breakeven pretax earnings during the first half of 2026, according to Truist.
Banking Dive reported that the exit follows Truist’s decision to stop originating marine and recreational-vehicle loans and reduce activity in other less strategic lending segments. Truist said its broader review of products and portfolios remains underway.
The filing does not announce North Carolina layoffs or a Charlotte facility change. The current milestone is a signed loan-portfolio transaction and strategic exit by a Charlotte-headquartered bank, not a completed sale.