SunTrust 2003 Annual Report Download - page 54

52 SunTrust Banks, Inc. Annual Report 2003
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION continued
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-
looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by
or that include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“plans,” “estimates” or similar expressions or future conditional
verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would” and “could.” Forward-
looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and
the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of
them in light of new information or future events.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Management cautions the readers that a number
of important factors could cause actual results to differ materi-
ally from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
•competitive pressures among local, regional and interna-
tional banks, thrifts, credit unions and other nonbank
financial institutions may increase significantly;
•changes in the interest rate environment may reduce mar-
gins and impact funding sources;
•general economic or business conditions in the geographic
regions and industries in which SunTrust operates as well
as the risk of domestic or international military or terrorist
activities or conflicts, may lead to a deterioration in credit
quality or a reduced demand for credit;
•legislative or regulatory changes, including changes in
accounting standards, may adversely affect the business
in which SunTrust is engaged;
•various monetary and fiscal policies and regulations, includ-
ing those determined by the Federal Reserve Board, the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and state regulators;
•changes may occur in the securities markets; and
•competitors of SunTrust may have greater financial
resources and develop products that enable such competi-
tors to compete more successfully than SunTrust. Other
factors that may cause actual results to differ from the for-
ward-looking statements include the following:
•the timely development of competitive new products and
services by the Company and the acceptance of such prod-
ucts and services by customers;
•changes in consumer spending and saving habits;
•the effects of competitors’ pricing policies;
•the Company’s success in managing the costs associated
with the expansion of existing distribution channels and
developing new ones, and in realizing increased revenues
from such distribution channels, including cross-selling ini-
tiatives and electronic commerce-based efforts; and
•the effect of corporate restructurings, mergers, acquisitions
and/or dispositions and their integration into the Company,
the actual restructuring and other charges related thereto
and management’s ability to manage these and other risks,
including achieving the expected revenue growth and/or
expense savings from such corporate restructurings, mergers,
acquisitions and/or dispositions.
Management of SunTrust believes these forward-looking
statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not
be placed on such forward-looking statements, which are based
on current expectations. SunTrust cautions that the foregoing list
of important factors is not inclusive.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of perform-
ance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The
future results and shareholder values of SunTrust may differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking state-
ments contained in this annual report. Many of the factors that
will determine these results and values are beyond SunTrust’s
ability to control or predict.
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT
A hallmark of SunTrust’s traditional success and a key element
in its future strategy is the Company’s local market orientation.
Experience has shown that no one knows the unique needs of
each community better than the people who live and work there.
Local SunTrust leaders are charged with supporting the overall
Company reinvestment initiative by identifying opportunities and
achieving lending, investment and service goals to ensure that
the Company is doing the right things in the right places.
The effectiveness of our approach was underscored in 2003
with an “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating
from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in its latest examination of
SunTrust Bank. This is the highest CRA rating that can be achieved,
and it reflects the sustained effort the Company has made to con-
tinue growing and improving its community investment activities.
Overall policy direction and oversight for SunTrust’s com-
munity reinvestment efforts is provided by a senior level
committee, consisting of line of business heads and geographic
group level executives and led by a member of the Company’s
Policy Committee.
SunTrust’s financial support for building communities
through its extensive lending activities, investments and corpo-
rate contributions continued to grow in 2003. The opportunity for
achieving the American dream of home ownership across all eco-
nomic levels is necessary for a healthy and growing community.
In 2003, the Company made more than 36,000 loans totaling
approximately $4.2 billion to provide housing in low- to moder-
ate-income areas. In addition, almost 83,000 loans totaling
$8.4 billion were made to families with low- to moderate-income
to purchase or rehabilitate their homes. Once again these figures
represent continuing growth in the volume of SunTrust’s housing-
related lending to low- and moderate-income communities.
In addition to housing, businesses of every size play a vital
role in the lifeblood of a community. In 2003, SunTrust provided
nearly 48,000 small businesses loans for a total of $5.1 billion.
Businesses located in low- to moderate-income communities
received more than 10,000 of these loans totaling approxi-
mately $1.3 billion. More than 36,000 of SunTrust’s small
business loans (or 75% of the total) had an original principal