STI 2018 Annual Report

10 branch presence within the high-growth Southeast and Mid- Atlantic U.S., complemented by a national focus across most of its lines of business, thereby enhancing our competitive position. While we believe the Company is well positioned within the highly competitive financial services industry, the industry could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory, economic, and technological changes, as well as continued consolidation. The ability of non-banking entities to provide services previously limited to commercial banks has intensified competition. Because non-banking entities are not subject to many of the same regulatory supervision and restrictions as banks and bank holding companies, they can often operate with greater flexibility and with lower cost and capital structures. However, non-banking entitiesmay not have the same access to deposit funds or government programs and, as a result, those non-banking entities may elect, as some have done, to become financial holding companies to gain such access. Securities firms and insurance companies that elect to become financial holding companies may acquire banks and other financial institutions, which could further alter the competitive environment in which we conduct business. In addition, the ability to access and use technology is an increasingly significant competitive factor in the financial services industry. Having the right technology is a critically important component to client satisfaction as it affects our ability to deliver the products and services that clients desire, in a manner that they find convenient and attractive. Banks generally are facing increased competition from products and services offered by non-bank financial technology companies, particularly related to payment services and lending. Employees At December 31, 2018, the Company had 22,899 full-time equivalent employees. None of the employees within the Company are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. Management considers its employee relations to be in good standing. Additional Information See also the following additional information, which is incorporated herein by reference: Business Segments (under the captions “Business Segments” and “Business Segment Results” in Item 7, MD&A, in this Form 10-K, and Note 22, “Business Segment Reporting,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Form 10-K); Net Interest Income (under the captions “Net Interest Income/Margin (FTE)” in the MD&A and “Selected Financial Data” in Item 6); Securities (under the caption “Investment Securities” in the MD&A and Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements); Loans and Leases (under the captions “Loans,” “Allowance for Credit Losses,” and “Nonperforming Assets” in the MD&A and “Loans” and “Allowance for Credit Losses” in Notes 7 and 8, respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements); Deposits (under the caption “Deposits” in the MD&A); Short-Term Borrowings (under the caption “Short-Term Borrowings” in the MD&A and Note 13, “Borrowings and Contractual Commitments,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements); Trading Activities and TradingAssets andLiabilities (under the caption “TradingAssets and Liabilities and Derivative Instruments” in the MD&A and “TradingAssets and Liabilities and Derivative Instruments” and “Fair Value Election and Measurement” in Notes 5 and 20, respectively, to the Consolidated Financial Statements); Market Risk Management (under the caption “Market Risk Management” in the MD&A); Liquidity Risk Management (under the caption “LiquidityRiskManagement” in theMD&A); Credit Risk Management (under the caption “Credit Risk Management” in the MD&A); and Operational Risk Management (under the caption “Operational Risk Management” in the MD&A). The Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge on the Company's investor relations website at http:// investors.suntrust.com , as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. Furthermore, on the Company's investor relations website, the Company makes available, under the heading "Governance" its (i) codes of ethics for the Board, senior financial officers, and employees, (ii) its Corporate Governance Guidelines, and (iii) the charters of SunTrust Board committees. If the Company makes changes in, or provides waivers from, the provisions of any of its codes of ethics that the SEC requires it to disclose, the Company intends to disclose these events in the “Governance” section of its investor relations website. Reports filed or furnished to the SEC are also available through the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov .