Truist Financial Corp at RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Possibly, you can share with us how -- with all the, uncertainty and volatility we're seeing, how is the quarter going and what are you seeing so far in the quarter?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : And when you say expenses down maybe as much as 4%, that's sequential.

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yeah. And I remember in the fourth quarter earnings call, you guys were talking about maybe 3% to 3.5% total revenue growth for calendar 2025.

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : How does that break out between fees and net interest income? And what are some of the opportunities or challenges?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : It's interesting that some of the challenges are more macro related. Obviously, the investment banking that you touched on, others have done the same as well. Of the things that you can control, where is the most confidence for 2025 in that where you guys know you can have a better control over it?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : When you talk about loan growth, what areas within the portfolio do you see opportunities for that to drive the total number?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : And aside from the residential business that you mentioned on the consumer side, you've also got other differentiated consumer loan products. Do you think those also could be a driver of the growth this year?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Got it. Moving to the other side of the balance sheet. If we talk about deposits a little more, where are you seeing the growth or the mix of deposits and the pricing of the deposits?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : And then coming back to just interest rates and obviously, they're very volatile at times as we've seen with the 10-year. And can you characterize the risks and the opportunities in NII when it comes to the rate environment that's going forward?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yeah. And speaking of portfolios, obviously, you restructured the bond portfolio in the second half of '24, added securities. What are the expectations for the balances going forward on how you are managing that portfolio?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Got it. You talked a moment ago about capital markets and how things are starting off this quarter. And we all know, again, as you pointed out, it's gotten off to a slower start than we all thought maybe in December. But can you share with us how you positioned your capital markets business, and you've made some investments here. What should we expect going forward in this area?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : And is there a targeted level, I don't want to say end game, but is there another 20% that you need to add to really get it to the level you think is optimal or --?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yeah. And sticking with the fee revenue growth for Truist, when you think about the opportunities to grow wealth and treasury and payments, you touched on payments just a moment ago, can you give us more details or scope about the opportunities in these three areas?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yeah. Coming back to deposits. We've seen a number of banks decide to expand into the Southeast, Southwest, which is your core footprint. Can you share with us the competitive nature? Do you find it more competitive as you're seeing new entrants come into the market? Or how is that shaping up? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 05, 2025 / 3:00PM, TFC.N - Truist Financial Corp at RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Got it. You mentioned a moment ago about with the loan growth, commercial real estate, obviously, is not an area of growth for you and for others. Maybe talking -- shifting about credit quality. And what are you guys seeing currently in not just commercial real estate, but in all the different broad categories that you service?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yeah. No, we agree with you. The credit is strong across the board. Shifting over to regulatory. And when you think about with the election and the change coming with all the heads of the regulatory agencies essentially being changed, how are you guys viewing that landscape? And second, we're also seeing some potential changes with the stress test, maybe more transparency. Any color that you'd like to share on that as well?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Speaking of capital, can you just remind us what you're comfortable running the company at from a CET1 ratio standpoint? And then second, what will you do with any excess capital that accumulates due to the earnings that you're achieving?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : When you look at your guide or your targeted ROTCE you gave us in the middle of the fall of '24, can you share with us the initiatives you're using to reach that target? And just to remind people what the target is?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Got it. We saw this week that the FDIC has rolled back the M&A guidelines they put into place in 2024, which were somewhat onerous. How do you guys see the M&A -- I mean, the bank M&A environment? We all know for our careers, consolidation has been part of banks. How do you see it evolving and maybe impacting Truist as we go forward?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yeah. And we're running -- we're in the red zone but want to just follow up quickly. When you and Bill and obviously, you're talking to regulators, do you think the regulators are supportive of creating another close to trillionaire bank. There's some talk out there that to compete against the Bank of Americans and JP, do we need two or three or four $800 billion kind of sized banks? Do you guys have any thoughts on that?

Question: Gerard Cassidy - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Okay. Okay. Well, with that we are in the red zone, so we've run out of time. Saved by the bell. But please join me in a round of applause thanking Mike. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MARCH 05, 2025 / 3:00PM, TFC.N - Truist Financial Corp at RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference