Truist Exits $5.5 Billion Auto-Loan Business, Cutting 205 Jobs

Truist has agreed to sell $5.5 billion in near-prime auto loans, effectively exiting a lending business Regional Acceptance has operated for more than four decades — and the decision will cost roughly 205 full-time employees their jobs.

Regional Acceptance Corporation, an auto-finance company affiliated with Truist Bank, plans to permanently close its facility at 1351 East Bardin Road in Arlington, Texas, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) reviewed by TheStreet. The first separations are expected around Nov. 30, with all employment losses completed by Feb. 28, 2027, when the facility ceases operations entirely.

Truist did not disclose the buyer of the loan portfolio.

The deal terms

The sale covers substantially all of Regional Acceptance's assets. Truist expects the transaction to produce approximately $5.2 billion in net proceeds and a $535 million recapture of loan-loss reserves. The bank will use part of the proceeds to repay wholesale borrowings.

The business being sold was not earning its keep. Regional Acceptance produced approximately break-even pretax earnings during the first six months of 2026. Truist said exiting would improve its credit profile and free up capital, creating approximately $945 million of common equity tier 1 capital while reducing both nonperforming loans and annualized net charge-offs.

The Arlington WARN notice confirms the facility closure is tied directly to the asset sale.

A broader retreat

The Regional Acceptance shutdown follows other moves by Truist to shrink lending operations it views as less profitable or less connected to its core customers. During the second quarter, the bank stopped originating marine and recreational-vehicle loans and significantly reduced originations elsewhere in consumer lending, including prime and nonprime auto.

Those changes are expected to reduce 2026 loan production across the affected portfolios by roughly 40% compared with 2025.

"We discontinued the origination of certain marine and recreational vehicle loans, and we further reduced originations in less strategic and less profitable consumer lending units such as prime and non-prime auto," the company said in a statement.

While such loans generate interest income, Truist said the businesses offer lower long-term returns and fewer opportunities to build broader customer relationships.

Timing signals Lyons' priorities

The decisions form part of a wider strategic review that has gained momentum under new Chief Executive Mike Lyons. Lyons took over as CEO on Sept. 1, succeeding Bill Rogers, after previously leading payments and financial-technology company Fiserv. He unveiled the Regional Acceptance transaction just two weeks into his tenure.

For banks, cutting costs increasingly means deciding which businesses are worth keeping. Truist is the latest major lender to make that choice.

Peers are cutting too

Truist's layoffs come as several major financial institutions reduce staffing, though the reasons vary.

Citigroup began another year of workforce reductions in January, cutting roughly 1,000 jobs as part of a previously announced plan to eliminate 20,000 positions by the end of 2026. Additional layoffs were expected after employee bonuses were paid. The reductions are part of CEO Jane Fraser's multiyear restructuring aimed at simplifying operations and cutting expenses.

Citi CFO Gonzalo Luchetti told the bank's second-quarter earnings call that "productivity efforts had helped reduce headcount to 219,000, while Citi had incurred more than $800 million in severance costs through the first half of 2026."

Wells Fargo has also steadily reduced its workforce. CEO Charlie Scharf said in the company's Q2 earnings call that the bank's "efficiency initiatives" are visible in its headcount.

"It has declined for 24 consecutive quarters. In the second quarter, our headcount was down 197,000, down 79,000 from six years ago, 15,000 from last year, and 3,500 from last quarter," Scharf said. He added that the reductions help offset broader investments in new bankers, advisors, managers and traders to drive growth.

Technology is increasingly part of that equation. Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo said this week that the company is using artificial intelligence to automate tasks, including coding and call-center work, and expects the technology to contribute to further headcount reductions.

With Lyons two weeks into the job and already executing a major divestiture, expect the pace of Truist's portfolio pruning — and the staffing consequences that come with it — to remain a defining feature of his tenure.