SunTrust Banks said it will take a $145 million charge against its fourth-quarter earnings for legal expenses related to a federal inquiry into its handling of problem mortgages and foreclosures.
In a filing Monday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Atlanta bank said the cost will reduce its fourth-quarter earnings, which it expects to report on Jan. 16, by 17 cents per share. SunTrust said the expense is related to resolving one issue in its “previously disclosed legacy mortgage matters.”
In August SunTrust disclosed that it was cooperating with a federal probe into lawyers’ expenses for its mortgage foreclosures. The inquiry was prompted by a whistle-blower lawsuit.
At the time, SunTrust said that issue hadn’t been resolved as part of a nearly $1 billion settlement earlier in the summer with the U.S. Justice Department, which had alleged that the bank made improper home loans and used abusive foreclosure practices during the financial crisis.
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