Truist was reminded of the importance of investing in both digital and in-branch offerings following the past month’s hurricanes, Helene and Milton.  

The need for both in-person and digital capabilities becomes clear after storms like these. “Those economies go to cash” when communities don’t have access to digital channels due to power and internet outages, Chief Executive Bill Rogers said during today’s third–quarter earnings call.  

That’s why the bank invests in the channels that are most important to clients, whether that’s mobile and online services or branches and ATMs, he said.  

After the storms, in-person banking and ATMs took precedence as digital offerings were not accessible, Rogers said. The bank deployed mobile services, including a disaster recovery mobile branch in East Asheville, N.C. 

During the quarter, the bank reported the following branch and ATM figures: 

• Branch count decreased to 1,930 from 2,001 in Q3 2023; 

• ATM count fell to 2,928 from 3,037 in Q3 2023. 

Digital usership

While the storms made the bank prioritize its branch and ATM network, it has not left its digital investment behind. 

During the quarter, the bank posted the following usership figures: 

• Digital transactions increased 15% year over year to 83 million; and 

• Mobile usership increased 6% YoY to 5 million.  

While some clients demand in-person services and others look to digital channels, Truist recognizes that in some cases a hybrid approach to banking is most helpful, Rogers said. So the bank offers the ability to move from digital channels to human interaction seamlessly.  

“When a client is interacting with us digitally and shows up in our branch, we want to be able to follow up on that transaction and continue that process,” Rogers said. 

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