Truist Bets on Digital Engagement to Deepen Banking Ties

Truist’s second quarter displayed a range of puts and takes shaping consumer banking.

Customers kept spending, mobile activity rose and credit losses eased, while the movement of cash into higher-yielding accounts continued to raise funding costs.

The quarter also marked Bill Rogers’ final earnings call as Truist’s CEO. Mike Lyons will become president and CEO on Sept. 1, after having served as Fiserv’s CEO. Rogers will serve as executive chair until his planned retirement in April 2027.

Commentary during an earnings conference call with analysts Friday (July 17) indicated that consumer liquidity, spending and credit trends remained within management’s expectations. Average consumer and small business loans rose 2% from a year earlier, even as Truist reduced production in lending categories it viewed as less central or less profitable. Consumer and small business deposits also rose 2%, supported by a 39% gain in deposits from new clients.

“Consumer behavior remained resilient during the quarter, with stable liquidity, spending and credit trends that remain within our expectations,” Rogers said during the call.

Credit quality also improved from the first quarter. Net charge-offs fell 11 basis points to 50 basis points, with lower losses across most portfolios. Nonperforming loans rose by one basis point, partly because Truist changed its nonaccrual rules for loans in its nonprime auto business. Management said the accounting change did not reflect weaker underlying credit trends.

The results came as Truist narrowed its lending focus. The bank is reducing exposure to marine, recreational vehicle and selected auto loans. It is directing more capital toward commercial borrowers, where an initial loan can lead to deposits, payments, liquidity services and capital markets work.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Maguire said the review also extends to wholesale banking.

“There are things that we’ve done and will continue to do in wholesale around client selection, around pricing, around product design, rebalancing, that are all intended to create more profitability and efficiency,” Maguire told analysts.

Digital Use Carries More Financial Weight

Digital engagement was one of the clearest measures of customer behavior in the quarter. Active mobile users rose 4% from a year earlier to 5.4 million, while digital transaction volume increased 7% to 93 million transactions. About 85% of client logins now take place through mobile devices.

Rogers linked digital activity directly to revenue, profit and operating costs.

“Digital active clients generate more revenue and higher profitability than non-digital clients, while greater self-service adoption continues to improve efficiency across the franchise,” Rogers said.

Clients used Truist Assist nearly 2 million times during the quarter, up 60% from a year earlier. The virtual assistant gives customers a way to handle routine service matters without visiting a branch or contacting an employee.

Rogers said the usage reflected “growing adoption of self-service capabilities and our continued investment in the digital client experience.”

The strategy reaches beyond routine consumer banking. Premier Banking, which serves clients with $100,000 to $1 million in combined deposits and investments, represents more than half of consumer and small business banking deposits. New Premier deposit production balances rose 20%, adviser productivity rose 23%, and financial planning activity rose 9%.

On the commercial side, average wholesale deposits rose 6% after adjusting for large merger-related balances in the prior-year quarter. Truist tied the gains to payments and liquidity services, which place the bank inside the daily movement of corporate funds.

Middle-market deposits rose 12%. Deposits grew 9% in established markets and 27% in expansion markets such as Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Deposit mix remains the pressure point. Maguire said Truist still expects annual deposit growth of about 3%, but the share of demand deposits could fall from roughly 27% at the start of the year to about 25% by year-end. Those balances usually carry lower funding costs.

“We still actually feel quite good about deposit balances both in wholesale and consumer,” Maguire said. “We’re seeing nice production. It’s really just mix.”

Rogers said the movement toward higher-yielding accounts reflected customer choices more than a new wave of rate competition.

“What we’ve seen in the deposit migration to higher yielding is more client behavior than competitive pressure,” he said. “The competitive environment still is highly competitive. We’re the most competitive we’ve ever been in terms of product and capability.”

Shares in Truist were up 1.5% in early trading Friday morning.