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Tuesday, December 09, 2008

SunTrust: Economy has turned "decidedly bleaker" over last month

by Calculated Risk on 12/09/2008 11:06:00 AM

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle: Treasury OKs another $1.4B for SunTrust

"[T]he economic situation is decidedly bleaker than was the case when we announced our initial, partial regulatory capital transaction under the Treasury program," said James M. Wells III, SunTrust chairman and CEO, in a news release. "Given the increasingly uncertain economic outlook, we have concluded that further augmenting our capital at this point is a prudent step, especially if the current recession proves to be longer and more severe than previously expected."
SunTrust applied for the previous $3.5 billion on Oct 27th, and received the funds on Nov 17th - less than a month ago!

Here was the CEO comment then:
"Our participation in the Capital Purchase Program enhances SunTrust's already solid capital position and will permit us to further expand our business and take advantage of growth opportunities. In addition, we are pleased to support the Treasury in its ongoing effort to address dislocations in financial markets and spur the market stabilization that is in the public interest."
At the end of October, SunTrust was "supporting the Treasury" and "expanding" their business.

Now the situation is "decidedly bleaker".