Products February 3, 2004

SunTrust To Exit Traditional Recordkeeping

March 26, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - SunTrust will exit the traditional recordkeeping business later this year, the company told PLANSPONSOR.com.

Reported by

Nicole Halsey

“As we increase our focus on daily recordkeeping services and other retirement products which address market demands, we will discontinue offering traditional (balance forward) recordkeeping services later this year,” the company said in a statement prepared for PLANSPONSOR.com.

SunTrust said a strategic study of its retirement services business will result in “adjustments to our operating environment which we feel will insure we continue to enhance the level of service provided to our core institutional clients and their employees.”

SunTrust said it will invest heavily in this business segment, including in its IRA Rollover Solutions Center and “several new strategic products.”

South East Affected

Earlier, a source close to the situation told PLANSPONSOR.com that the company plans to wind down its traditional recordkeeping business in the Orlando, Atlanta and Richmond regions by the end of the 4th quarter with September 30th targeted as the last period for producing allocations. A spokesperson for the company confirmed this to PLANSPONSOR.com, but declined to provide details, saying affected plan sponsor clients have not yet been informed.

Compliance testing for plans is to be taken over by Denver-based FASCorp, relieving SunTrust’s Atlanta and Orlando operations of this duty, according to the source, who added that FASCorp already does the firm’s daily recordkeeping though it has been referred to as the SunTrust Service Center. At the same time, the conversion function for new business is to be consolidated to the Atlanta office.

SunTrust has entered into an agreement with Nationwide Insurance to provide a platform for its plans with less than $1.5 million in assets. This includes the firm’s daily valued plans in this category.

The source said an estimated 60 positions would be eliminated.

In its statement, the company said: “We will be working closely with the relatively small number of clients we currently have using that service today to find solutions that will meet their future needs.”