SunTrust Bank adds two financial literacy branches

SunTrust Bank is expanding its free HOPE Inside financial education program to more than 200 locations by 2020, and two of those locations will be open in Memphis by the first quarter of next year.

At Crosstown Concourse, a new HOPE Inside location with a certified banker will be open in the first quarter of 2017, and a secondary location with a counselor should open in January at Parkway Village.
 
The program is the result of a strategic partnership with nonprofit Operation HOPE.
 
“Bringing Operation HOPE financial well-being coaches inside branches and training some of our own teammates to become coaches with HOPE Inside Plus allows us to put our purpose into action by helping more people start on a path toward financial well-being,” said Debbie Crowder, head of SunTrust branch banking and In-Stores.
 
Currently, 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.

SunTrust's existing HOPE Inside location is at the Brinkley Plaza building at 80 Monroe Ave.
 
Participants learn to better understand banking products, budget wisely, minimize debt, save, and invest in their futures. Programs include credit and money management, homeownership preparedness and small business entrepreneurship. They can learn the basics of making a budget, how to read a credit report and what they can do to correct errors that may negatively affect their credit rating. The counseling also covers the participant’s rights as a consumer and helps them understand how they can make the most of them.
 
“Through the program, Operation HOPE and SunTrust are uplifting communities and improving the lives of individuals by helping them become financially self-sufficient,” said Crowder. “When communities have higher levels of individuals with the right financial education, the local economies benefit. These individuals invest in their futures, are more likely to participate in financial markets and invest in stocks, and have precautionary savings.”
 
The initial HOPE Inside expansion plans include adding more than 50 locations by the end of 2017 in SunTrust branches across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington D.C.