SunTrust Banks, Inc. has been selected by the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to receive $80 million in tax credit allocation authority in the 2015-2016 round of the New Markets Tax Credit Program. The company's subsidiary, SunTrust Community Development Enterprises, was one of 120 recipients receiving awards totaling $7 billion.  This is the eighth time SunTrust has been selected as a recipient, with awards totaling $508 million in allocation authority.

The NMTC Program is designed to attract private-sector capital investment into the nation's urban and rural low-income areas to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. This award will allow SunTrust to continue to make loans and investments with reduced interest rates and/or non-traditional terms and conditions.

"SunTrust has enjoyed many successes through our partnerships in the New Markets Tax Credit industry. This latest allocation allows us to further invest in projects that fill needs in low-income communities across the country. Our purpose as a company is Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being for our clients, communities, and teammates, that's why we launched onUp, a movement to inspire Americans to take action to achieve financial confidence. This program is a further shining example of how we deliver on our purpose," said Kathy Farrell, SunTrust Commercial Real Estate executive. 

The NMTC program, established by Congress in December of 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in investment vehicles known as Community Development Entities.  The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. Substantially all of the taxpayer's investment must in turn be used by the CDE to make qualified investments in low-income communities.