Truist CEO Mike Lyons Buys $1 Million of Bank Shares Two Days After Its $5.5 Billion Auto-Loan Exit

Truist Financial CEO Mike Lyons purchased $1 million worth of company shares just two days after the company agreed to sell $5.5 billion of auto loans to Apollo Global Management for net proceeds of $5.2 billion.

In a 15th September regulatory filing, Truist stated it will sell substantially all the assets of Regional Acceptance, which is its near-prime auto-lending unit, expected to release $535 million from loan-loss reserves. The loan sale is expected to close in late Q3 or early Q4, and proceeds will be used to repay outstanding wholesale borrowings, among other corporate actions.

The filing did not mention the buyer of the auto loans, but Bloomberg reported it was Apollo, citing people familiar with the development.

Two days later, on 17th September, Lyons purchased 21,000 shares of Truist at an average price of $48.36 per share, worth $1.01 million.

The company expects this strategic overhaul to improve its credit profile, bolster its balance sheet with enhanced liquidity and capital strength, as well as create modest earnings and Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE) accretion.

The sale is part of a broader strategic review under Lyons, who became CEO in September, to exit what the company described as a non-core and less profitable near-prime auto-lending business.

The bank had already stopped originations in marine and recreational-vehicle lending, as well as reduced its emphasis on parts of its national prime auto business to narrow its focus on core areas such as its deposit franchise and corporate businesses.

Why Truist Wanted Out Despite Customers Paying Bills on Time

Truist's loan exit does not necessarily indicate that the entire near-prime consumer-credit market is deteriorating. TransUnion's 2026 research has found relatively stable overall credit conditions despite elevated inflation.

According to a TransUnion report, less than 0.59% of consumers with a near-prime credit score were 60 days past due on their bills as of July, compared with 8.9% for subprime consumers.

Elsewhere, in Truist's auto-loan portfolio, customers have also been keeping up with their bills. The net charge-off rate for indirect auto loans at the end of June was 1.73%, down from 2.14% at the end of March, according to an earnings report.

However, note that Regional Acceptance's pre-tax earnings were approximately breakeven during the first six months of 2026, which could mean that the exit was less about disposing of a rapidly growing profit engine and more about reallocating capital from a business Truist considers strategically unattractive.

Truist expects the Apollo deal to increase its common equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital by about $945 million, or 22 basis points, further strengthening its regulatory capital position.

The loan sale will also reduce the bank's non-performing loan ratio by more than 10 basis points and lower annual net charge-offs by about 10 basis points, markedly bringing down its associated credit risks.

The company was able to reiterate its Q3 and 2026 outlook before accounting for the strategic actions, as well as maintained its $5 billion stock repurchase target for the current fiscal year.

Against this backdrop, Lyons' purchase stands out for its timing. The filing also separately recorded 351,941 restricted stock-unit grants he received on 1st September.

In all, the stock buy following a structural change at the company could signify Lyons' commitment to his overhaul strategy focused on improving capital efficiency, reducing credit risk, and redeploying the proceeds towards core business divisions.

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