SunTrust Banks, Inc., a pioneer in offering Operation HOPE Inside financial well-being coaches in its branches, announced plans to expand the HOPE Inside program from seven existing branch locations to 200 by 2020. HOPE Inside is a unique financial empowerment model that brings Operation HOPE counseling to communities free of charge, including credit and money management, homeownership preparedness and small business entrepreneurship.

Currently, the seven HOPE Inside SunTrust locations help approximately 6,000 individuals every year with financial counseling. The goal of this expansion is to increase that number to nearly 150,000 individuals annually.

"Having HOPE Inside coaches and program-trained SunTrust teammates in our branches allows us to help more people move from financial stress to financial confidence," said Brad Dinsmore, head of Consumer Banking. "The alignment of our company's purpose with the vision of Operation HOPE has proven to be a successful combination. We look forward to replicating that success across our markets in an effort to reach thousands of people who will benefit from these services."

The initial HOPE Inside expansion plans include adding 14 locations in 2016 and 40 in 2017 in SunTrust branches across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C. The additional HOPE Inside capability to reach 200 locations by 2020 will be phased in over the next few years.

"Operation HOPE is pleased to join with our valued strategic partner SunTrust to escalate community empowerment and uplift through HOPE Inside," said John Hope Bryant, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE. "This significant expansion of HOPE Inside SunTrust will extend the breadth of the model's programming reach — teaching people the language of money, transforming financial mindsets, and empowering people with the tools they need to move their lives forward by raising their credit scores, starting and growing businesses, or simply making better decisions with the money they have."