Truist's COO, who oversaw strategy revamp, to retire – American Banker

Trust Financial said Monday that its chief operating officer is stepping down and the bank will not be looking for a replacement. This is the latest step in a long-standing strategy review to simplify operations.

Hugh S. “Bo” Cummins III, a longtime Trust executive who assumed the newly created role of chief operating officer in 2023, has overseen efforts to reposition Trust. After years of performance lags.

Cummins, who is also Trust's vice chairman, will step down following the “completion of several strategic initiatives” that he helped advance, the company said in an SEC filing. For that, Sale of Trust’s insurance brokerage division and a renewal of the bank's strategy.

start trust cost reduction campaign Announced about 16 months ago in September New revenue target Return on tangible common capital in the mid-teens. This target is lower than the low-20s target the Trust previously sought to achieve following the merger of BB&T Bank and SunTrust Bank in December 2019, a planned combination of two of the Southeast's leading banks. It reflects that things are not going as planned.

A Trust spokesperson confirmed Monday that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company has no plans to fill the COO position. Bank was founded in 2023 As part of management reform. Responsibility for Cummins is being shifted to other executives.

“We regularly assess opportunities to streamline our organization and make adjustments to drive business growth,” a trust spokesperson said.

Mr. Cummins is Appointed Vice Chairman of Truist in 2021was CEO of SunTrust Bank prior to the merger. was co-COO. His compensation package totaled $6.5 million in 2023, according to the company's most recent proxy statement.

The trust said it will appoint him chief operating officer (COO) in November 2023 and will be responsible for the bank's strategy and transformation efforts.

In an SEC filing, the $519 billion-asset company said its board and management team “has a deep appreciation for…” [Cummins’] Leadership driven by knowledge, expertise and purpose. ”

Since the 2019 merger, Trust has struggled to consistently meet its targeted performance goals. But executives say the company is making progress. In October, they announced Truist's 2025. Revenues are expected to exceed expensesThis will be the company's first year with positive operating leverage since 2022. Since the merger, achieving this milestone has been a focus.

The company failed to achieve positive operating leverage in 2023 and was expected to achieve it in 2024 as well. The trust is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Friday.

Trust Inc. said in an SEC filing on Monday that oversight of Cummins' payments operations will transition to Christine Rescher. Former Wells Fargo executive joins Trust Last year, he was appointed chief executive of wholesale banking. Mr. Rescher also oversees Trust's corporate and investment banking division, commercial real estate group, and wealth division. These are the three areas Cummins oversaw before being named COO.

Cummins' other responsibilities will transfer to Michael Maguire, Trust's chief financial officer. Those duties include leading enterprise-wide operational services, governance and management groups, and Truist's strategy, transformation and performance departments, according to the filing.

The company said Mr. Cummins played a key role in leading the sale of the bank's insurance brokerage, Trust Insurance Holdings, to a group of private equity investors.

The deal generated an after-tax gain of $4.7 billion and provided Trust with a capital cushion to offset the impact of a capital-impairing balance sheet restructuring. The bank posted an after-tax loss of $5.1 billion under the restructuring, which involved selling about $34.4 billion in bonds that had lost value due to rising interest rates.

The bank said the move allows it to reinvest cash into higher-yield options.

“The sale of TIH significantly strengthens the Trust's financial position and enables us to invest in and grow our core banking business,” Trust Chairman and CEO Bill Rogers said in May. said.

Cummins' departure is the latest executive-level move at Trust. In November, the company promoted Brad Bender to chief risk officer, effective immediately, pending the retirement of Clark Stearns III, who is leaving Trust later this year.

Mr. Stearns originally worked at BB&T, where he and Mr. Cummins served as vice chairman of Trust.