STI 2018 Annual Report

38 PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES The provision for income taxes includes federal and state income taxes and interest. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the provision for income taxes was $548 million, representing an effective tax rate of 16%. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the provision for income taxes was $532 million, representing an effective tax rate of 19%. The decrease in the effective tax rate was due primarily to the reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018, as a result of the enactment of the 2017 Tax Act. We recorded an income tax benefit for the remeasurement of our December 31, 2017DTAs andDTLs and other tax reform- related items of $55 million and $303 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. This $55 million adjustment completed our accounting for the income tax effects of the 2017 Tax Act. See Note 16, “Income Taxes,” to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for further information related to the provision for income taxes. LOANS Our disclosures about the credit quality of our loan portfolio and the related credit reserves (i) describe the nature of credit risk inherent in the loan portfolio, (ii) provide information on how we analyze and assess credit risk in arriving at an adequate and appropriateALLL, and (iii) explain changes in theALLL as well as reasons for those changes. Our loan portfolio consists of two loan segments: Commercial loans and Consumer loans. Loans are assigned to these segments based on the type of borrower, purpose, and/or our underlying credit management processes. Additionally, we further disaggregate each loan segment into loan types based on common characteristics within each loan segment. Commercial Loans C&I loans include loans to fund business operations or activities, loans secured by owner-occupied properties, corporate credit cards, and other wholesale lending activities. Commercial loans secured by owner-occupiedproperties are classified asC&I loans because the primary source of loan repayment for these properties is business income and not real estate operations. CRE and Commercial construction loans include investor loans where repayment is largely dependent upon the operation, refinance, or sale of the underlying real estate. Consumer Loans Residential mortgages, both guaranteed (by a federal agency or GSE) and nonguaranteed, consist of loans secured by 1-4 family homes; mostly prime, first-lien loans. Residential home equity products consist of equity lines of credit and closed-end equity loans secured by residential real estate that may be in either a first lien or junior lien position. Residential construction loans include residential real estate secured owner-occupied construction-to-perm loans and lot loans. Consumer loans also include Guaranteed student loans, Indirect loans (consisting of loans secured by automobiles, boats, and recreational vehicles), Other direct loans (consisting primarily of unsecured loans, direct auto loans, loans secured by negotiable collateral, and private student loans), and Credit cards.