Truist Financial (TFC) Risk Analysis

Accounting policies and processes are fundamental to how the Company records and reports its financial condition and results of operations. Some of these policies require the use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the value of the Company's assets or liabilities and financial results. Several of the Company's accounting policies are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective, and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because it is likely that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. If assumptions or estimates underlying the Company's financial statements are incorrect or are adjusted periodically, the Company may experience material losses. Management has identified certain accounting policies as being critical because they require management's judgment to ascertain the valuations of assets, liabilities, commitments, and contingencies. A variety of factors could affect the realization of income and expense or the recognition of assets and liabilities in the Company's financial statements. Truist has established policies and procedures that are intended to provide for these critical accounting estimates and judgments to be well-controlled and applied consistently. In addition, the policies and procedures are intended to establish a process for changing methodologies in an appropriate manner. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the Company's judgments and the estimates pertaining to these matters, the Company cannot guarantee that adjustments to accounting policies or restatement of prior period financial statements will not be required. Further, from time to time, the FASB and SEC adopt new accounting standards or change existing financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of the Company's financial statements. In addition, accounting standard setters and those who interpret the accounting standards may change or even reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. Changes in financial accounting and reporting standards and changes in current interpretations may be beyond the Company's control, can be hard to predict, and could materially affect how the Company reports its financial results and condition. In some cases, the Company could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the restatement of prior period financial statements.

The Parent Company relies upon capital markets access and dividends from subsidiaries for funding and has less access to contingent funding sources than Truist Bank. If Truist Bank were subject to financial stress, its dividends to the Parent Company could be reduced or eliminated in order to support Truist Bank's capital position or its satisfaction of other regulatory requirements. This would increase the Parent Company's reliance on capital markets and other wholesale funding at a time when credit spreads and funding costs are likely to be elevated due to the stress impacting Truist Bank and would also impair the Parent Company's ability to serve as a source of strength to its subsidiaries.

Credit ratings are influenced by many factors, including the Company's profitability, asset quality, capital levels, liquidity, business mix, operations, and risk management practices. Credit ratings may also be influenced by other factors, some of which are outside the Company's control, such as recent and anticipated economic trends, geopolitical risk, legislative and regulatory developments, perceptions of the banking industry and U.S. financial stability, environmental, social, and governance considerations, litigation, and changes to the rating agency methodologies. There can be no assurance we will be able to maintain our current credit ratings and outlooks. Truist's failure to maintain credit ratings could adversely affect funding costs and increase the Company's cost of capital. A ratings downgrade could affect the Company's ability to attract or retain funding, including deposits from commercial and corporate clients. Additionally, a downgrade to Truist's credit ratings may adversely impact the Company's ability to conduct derivatives business with certain clients and counterparties and could trigger obligations to make cash or collateral payments to certain clients and counterparties.

Truist sells a portion of the mortgage loans that it originates to reduce the Company's retained credit risk and to provide funding capacity for originating additional loans. The GSEs could limit their purchases of conforming loans due to capital constraints or other changes in their eligibility criteria for conforming loans, such as maximum loan amounts or borrower eligibility. This potential reduction in purchases could limit the Company's ability to fund new loans and other financial products and services. Proposals are presented from time to time to reform the housing finance market in the U.S., including the role of the GSEs in the housing finance market. The extent and timing of any such regulatory reform of the housing finance market and the GSEs, as well as any effect on the Company's business and financial results, are uncertain.

Liquidity is the ability to fund increases in assets and meet obligations as they come due, all without incurring unacceptable costs. Banks are especially vulnerable to liquidity risk because of their reliance on demand or short-term deposits to fund longer-term loans or other extensions of credit. We, like other financial-services companies, rely to a significant extent on external sources of funding, such as deposits and borrowings, for the liquidity needed to conduct our business and operations. A number of factors beyond our control, however, could have a detrimental impact on the availability or cost of that funding and thus on our liquidity. When volatility or disruptions occur in the wholesale funding markets, the Company's ability to access short-term liquidity could be impaired. In addition, idiosyncratic factors affecting the Company, including realization of other risks described herein, as well as other factors outside of the Company's control, such as a general market disruption or an operational problem that affects service providers or intermediaries, could impair the Company's ability to access short-term or contingent funding sources or create an unforeseen outflow of cash due to, among other factors, draws on unfunded commitments or attrition of non-FDIC-insured and other deposits. Refer to the "Funding Activities" section in MD&A for additional discussion of deposits. The Company's inability to monetize liquid assets without unacceptable losses or to access short-term funding or capital markets could constrain the Company's ability to make new loans or meet existing lending commitments and could ultimately jeopardize the Company's overall liquidity and capitalization. While our policies and controls are designed to enable us to maintain adequate liquidity to conduct our business in the ordinary course even in a stressed environment, our liquidity position could still become compromised. Such an event could damage the performance and value of our business, prompt regulatory intervention and private litigation, harm our reputation, and cause a loss of client and investor confidence, and if the condition were to persist for any appreciable period of time, our viability as a going concern could be threatened.

Deposits are a relatively low cost and stable source of funding. Truist competes for deposit funding with banks and other financial institutions and with money market funds and other providers of deposit equivalents. If we are unable to compete effectively, deposits can be lost. In addition, our funding costs can increase if we are required to raise interest rates to avoid deposit attrition or to replace deposits with wholesale funding. Higher funding costs reduce Truist's net interest margin, net interest income, and net income. For example, in 2025, maintaining and growing client deposits continued to be challenging as the Federal Reserve System reduced the size of its balance sheet through quantitative tightening. The future direction of the Federal Reserve System balance sheet and the level of excess reserves in the banking system may have implications for deposit gathering and competition. Our ability to maintain, grow, or favorably price deposits also may be constrained by gaps in our product and service offerings, changes in client trends, our scale relative to other financial institutions, competition from financial technology companies and emerging financial-services providers, any failures or deterioration in our client service, or any loss of confidence in our brand or our business. For example, deposits and other traditional banking products could be significantly disrupted by an increase in the adoption and use of digital assets, stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, tokenization, and similar products, services, and technologies that enable financial services and transactions without or with less intermediation by commercial banks.

During periods of market stress or illiquidity, the Company's credit risk may be further increased if it fails to realize the expected value of the collateral it holds, collateral is liquidated at prices that are not sufficient to recover the full amount owed to Truist, or counterparties are unable to post collateral, whether for operational or other reasons. Furthermore, disputes with counterparties concerning the valuation of collateral or contractual agreements may increase in times of significant market stress, volatility, or illiquidity, and Truist could suffer losses during these periods if it is unable to effectively handle counterparty disputes, obtain additional collateral from counterparties, manage declines in the value of collateral, or realize the expected value of collateral.

Truist incurs credit risk, which is the risk to current or anticipated earnings or capital arising when a borrower, obligor, issuer, or counterparty has a decline in creditworthiness or does not meet its financial obligations to us. Credit risk is primarily incurred through lending activities in the Company's WB and CSBB operating segments. The Company may have higher credit risk, or experience higher credit losses, to the extent its loan exposures increase or are concentrated by loan type, industry segment, borrower type, or location of the borrower or collateral, including with respect to any increase in its nonbank financial institution lending activities. A number of products expose the Company to credit risk, including loans and leases, lending commitments, derivatives, trading assets, and investment securities. Changes in credit quality can have a significant impact on the Company's earnings and capital position. The Company estimates and establishes contractual lifetime reserves for credit risks and credit losses inherent in its determination of credit exposure. This process, which is critical to the Company's financial results and condition, requires complex calculations and extensive use of judgment, considering both external and borrower-specific factors that might impair the ability of borrowers to repay their loans. If the Company fails to identify all pertinent factors, or fails to accurately estimate the impacts of factors identified, the Company's allowance for credit losses may not be adequate to cover realized and future losses. Credit losses may exceed the amount of the Company's reserves due to changing economic conditions, falling collateral values, falling commodity prices, higher unemployment, losses on a client or sector where Truist has an outsized exposure, or other factors such as changes in borrower behavior or borrower composition. We have a significant consumer loan portfolio, including indirect auto and credit card loans, which may present higher credit risks during economic downturns and market fluctuations. There is no assurance that reserves will be sufficient to cover all credit losses. In the event of significant deterioration in current or projected future economic conditions, the Company could experience reduced demand for credit and increased delinquencies or defaults. In addition, the Company could be required to increase reserves in future periods, which would reduce the Company's earnings and potentially impact its capital.

The Company employs various hedging strategies to mitigate the interest rate, foreign exchange, and market risks inherent in many of our assets and liabilities. The Company's hedging strategies rely considerably on assumptions and projections regarding our assets and liabilities as well as general market factors. If any of these assumptions or projections prove to be incorrect or our hedges do not adequately mitigate the impact of changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and other market factors, the Company may experience volatility in our earnings that could adversely affect our profitability and financial condition. In addition, the Company may not be able to find market participants that are willing to act as its hedging counterparties on acceptable terms or at all, which could have an adverse effect on the success of our hedging strategies. The Company's hedging strategies are not designed to eliminate all interest rate, foreign exchange, and market risks.

We are highly dependent on net interest income, which is the difference between interest income on earning assets, such as loans and investments, and interest expense on deposits and borrowings. Net interest income is significantly affected by market interest rates, which in turn are influenced by monetary and fiscal policies, general economic and market conditions, including inflation levels, the political and regulatory environments, business and consumer sentiment, competitive pressures, and expectations about the future, including future changes in interest rates and the frequency and timing of such changes. Our net interest income and other financial results have been in the past and could be in the future adversely affected by policies, laws, and events that have the effect of flattening or inverting the yield curve (that is, the difference between long-term and short-term interest rates), depressing the interest rates associated with our earning assets to levels near the rates associated with our interest expense, increasing the volatility of market rates of interest, including the rate of change, or changing the spreads among different interest rate indices. Changes in interest rates could adversely affect us beyond our net interest income, including by increasing the cost or decreasing the availability of deposits or other variable-rate funding instruments, reducing the yield on or demand for loans or increasing the prepayment speed of loans, increasing client or counterparty delinquencies or defaults, and reducing the value of our loans, retained interests in securitizations, and fixed-income securities in our investment portfolio and the efficacy of our hedging strategies. Certain of our investment securities, notably MBS, are sensitive to changes in rates. Generally, when rates rise, market values will decline, prepayments of principal will decrease, and the duration of MBS will increase. Conversely, when rates fall, market values will rise, prepayments of principal will increase, and the duration of MBS will decrease. The levels of and changes in market interest rates, and the related risks and uncertainties, are beyond our control. The dynamics among these risks and uncertainties are also challenging to assess and manage. For example, while an accommodative monetary policy may benefit us to some degree by spurring economic activity among our clients, such a policy may ultimately have an adverse effect on us by inhibiting our ability to grow or sustain net interest income. A restrictive monetary policy can pose different challenges, such as potentially slowing the demand for credit, increasing delinquencies and defaults, and reducing the values of our loans and fixed income securities. Interest rate volatility, including the rate of change, can create particularly difficult conditions. Refer to the "Market Risk" section in MD&A and "Note 19. Derivative Financial Instruments."

Truist is a diversified financial services company. This diversity subjects the Company's earnings to a broader variety of risks and uncertainties. Other businesses in addition to banking that the Company operates include investment banking, securities underwriting and market making, loan syndications, investment management and advice, and retail and wholesale brokerage services offered through the Company's subsidiaries. These businesses entail significant market, operational, credit, compliance, technology, legal, and other risks that could adversely impact the Company's financial condition and results of operations.

The Company acts as servicer for a range of assets, primarily loans in securitizations and unsecuritized loans owned by investors. As servicer for loans, the Company has certain contractual obligations to the securitization trusts, investors, or other third parties, including foreclosing on collateral that secure defaulted loans or, to the extent consistent with the applicable securitization or other investor agreement, considering alternatives to foreclosure such as loan modifications or short sales. Generally, the Company's servicing obligations are set by contract, for which the Company receives a contractual fee. However, GSEs can amend their servicing guidelines unilaterally for certain government guaranteed mortgages, which can increase the scope or costs of the services required without any corresponding increase in the Company's servicing fee. Federal and state laws that impose additional servicing requirements could increase the scope and cost of the Company's servicing obligations. As a servicer, the Company also advances expenses on behalf of securitization trusts and investors, which it may be unable to collect. Any increase in servicing obligations without a corresponding increase in servicing fees or required advances of expenses that are not reimbursed could reduce liquidity and increase operational strain. A material breach of the Company's obligations as servicer may result in contract termination if the breach is not cured within a specified period of time following notice, causing the Company to lose servicing income. In addition, the Company may be required to indemnify the securitization trust or other holder of the loan against losses from any failure by the Company to perform its servicing obligations or any act or omission on the Company's part that involves willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence. For certain securitization trusts or investors and certain transactions, Truist may be contractually obligated to repurchase a loan or reimburse the securitization trust or the investor for credit losses incurred on the loan as a remedy for servicing errors with respect to the loan. Such indemnification or repurchase obligations could require significant cash outflows, reduce liquidity, and increase earnings volatility. The Company may be subject to increased repurchase or indemnity obligations as a result of claims made that the Company did not satisfy its obligations as a servicer. The Company may also experience increased loss severity on repurchases, which may require a significant increase to the Company's repurchase reserve and negatively affect results of operations. While the number of such indemnification claims has been small, these could increase in the future.

When loans are sold or securitized, including to GSEs, it is customary to make representations and warranties to the purchaser about the loans-including their quality, the manner in which they were originated and underwritten, and compliance with applicable law-and to agree to repurchase the loans or indemnify the purchaser in the event of a breach of the representations or warranties or other provisions of the sale agreement. An increase in the number of repurchase and indemnity demands from purchasers on sold loans could result in an increase in the amount of losses for loan repurchases, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Truist also bears a risk of loss from borrower defaults for multi-family commercial mortgage loans sold to FNMA. The ability to manage these risks is expected to affect whether Truist sells and securitizes loans and receivables in the future. Other factors influencing such a decision may include the overall credit quality of its loans and receivables, the costs of selling or securitizing its loans and receivables, the demand for bulk sales and asset-backed securities, and the legal, regulatory, accounting, or tax rules affecting these transactions. In addition, proposals regarding reform to the U.S. housing finance market could impact our decisions regarding which loans should be sold or securitized in the future.

There is no guarantee that our strategic initiatives, including initiatives to drive focused growth, deepen relationships with clients, increase client acquisition, and enhance digital engagement with clients, will be successful and improve profitability or allow us to return capital to shareholders. Our execution of strategic initiatives may be impacted by internal factors, such as maintaining a level of earnings appropriate to support growth objectives, the ability to maintain dividends in various economic cycles, or the successful delivery of innovation and technology strategies. In addition, the execution of our strategies may be impacted by our response to external factors, including geopolitical, macroeconomic, social, cultural, competitive, and regulatory factors. To the extent we are impeded or unable to execute effective strategic initiatives, our business, results of operations, financial condition, prospects, and reputation could be adversely affected.

We may from time to time seek to acquire other financial-services companies or businesses. Acquisitions involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including inaccurate financial and operational assumptions, incomplete or failed due diligence, lower than expected performance or synergies, higher than expected costs, difficulties related to integration, diversion of management's attention from other business activities, adverse market or other reactions, changes in relationships with clients or counterparties, the potential loss of key personnel, and the possibility of litigation and other disputes. An acquisition also could be dilutive to our existing shareholders if we were to issue common stock to fully or partially pay or fund the purchase price. We, moreover, may not be successful in identifying appropriate acquisition candidates, integrating acquired companies or businesses, or realizing expected value from acquisitions. There is significant competition for valuable acquisition targets, and we may not be able to acquire other companies or businesses on attractive terms. No assurance can be given that we will pursue future acquisitions, and our ability to grow and successfully compete may be impaired if we choose not to pursue or are unable to successfully make acquisitions. Under the BHCA, a BHC may not directly or indirectly acquire ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting shares or substantially all of the assets of any BHC or bank or merge or consolidate with another BHC without the prior approval of the FRB. The BHCA and other federal laws enumerate the factors the FRB must consider when reviewing the merger of BHCs, the acquisition of banks, or the acquisition of voting securities of a bank or BHC. These factors include the competitive effects of the transaction in the relevant geographic markets; the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the companies and banks involved in the transaction; the effect of the transaction on the financial stability of the U.S.; the organizations' compliance with anti-money laundering statutes and regulations; the convenience and needs of the communities to be served; and the records of performance under the CRA of the IDIs involved in the transaction. In addition, U.S. regulators must take systemic risk to the U.S. financial system into account when evaluating whether to approve a potential acquisition transaction involving a large financial institution like Truist. There is no certainty as to when or if or on what terms and conditions any required regulatory approvals will be granted for any potential acquisition. In specific cases, Truist may be required to divest certain operations, including branches, or take other actions as a condition to receiving regulatory approval. The standards by which bank and financial institution acquisitions are evaluated may be subject to change, and it may be unclear how revised guidelines and frameworks for reviewing such acquisitions will be applied. Refer to the "Regulatory and Supervisory Considerations" section in "Item 1. Business" for additional details related to other factors and limitations related to potential BHC acquisitions. An inability to satisfy other conditions necessary to consummate an acquisition transaction, such as third-party litigation, a judicial order blocking the transaction, or lack of shareholder approval, could also prevent the Company from completing an announced acquisition. In addition, we may decide to divest certain businesses or assets. Divestitures of businesses involve a number of risks, including significant costs and expenses, and any divestiture we undertake could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Divestitures may involve significant uncertainty and execution complexity, which may cause us not to achieve our strategic objectives, realize expected cost savings, or obtain other benefits from the divestiture. The significant risks and uncertainties involved in divestitures may include: - the inability to sell such businesses or assets at satisfactory prices and terms and in a timely manner, including potentially long and costly sales processes and unsuccessful attempts by a buyer to receive required regulatory approvals, satisfy other conditions to closing, or obtain equity or debt financing in order to satisfy its payment obligations related to the transaction,- disruption to other parts of our business and distraction of management,- loss of key teammates or clients,- exposure to contingencies, including, among other things, those arising from representations and warranties made to a buyer regarding the businesses being sold, or - ongoing obligations to support the businesses following such divestitures, including through transition services arrangements, and other adverse financial impacts. Whether such divestitures are completed or not, their pendency could have a number of negative effects on our current business, including potentially disrupting our regular operations and diverting the attention of our workforce and management team. Divestitures could also disrupt existing business relationships, make it harder to develop new business relationships, or otherwise negatively impact the way that we operate our business. If a divestiture transaction is terminated before it is consummated, the payment of a termination fee by the purchaser may not fully compensate us for our losses.