ATLANTA, GA-  SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) announced today it has been awarded the top U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award at the Gold level for providing more than 15,000 volunteer hours to Junior Achievement (JA) during the 2015-2016 school year.

This marks the third time SunTrust has been awarded a U.S. President's Volunteer Award with JA.  JA's programs provide kindergarten through high school students innovative, hands-on work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy education. The SunTrust Foundation has previously made a $1 million grant to JA's capital campaign, and SunTrust provided $400,000 in sponsorship of JA Finance Park in Atlanta. In addition, SunTrust has committed $1.7 million to Junior Achievement Tampa Bay to build a similar Finance Park in Florida. Further, SunTrust is leading the onUp Movement to advance financial confidence across America.

"Supporting Junior Achievement is one of many ways SunTrust teammates work with students and put our purpose of Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being into action," said Allison Dukes, president and chief executive officer of the Atlanta Division of SunTrust. "Receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award underscores our commitment to building financial confidence, and we look forward to ongoing volunteer opportunities with Junior Achievement to promote financial literacy."

In 2003, President George W. Bush established the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation (the Council) to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers make in communities and encourage more people to serve. The Council created the President's Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor individuals who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. In 2006, Junior Achievement became an official certifying organization for this award, which recognizes corporations with a U.S. presence that provide volunteers to teach JA programs anywhere in the world.

"SunTrust is a transformational partner of JA, and ultimately our entire community," said Jack Harris, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement of Georgia. "Fifteen thousand hours of mentoring and empowering children is an astonishing feat, and a testament to their unyielding commitment to advance financial well-being for all. We are proud to be a partner of SunTrust and together will continue to build more pipelines to economic opportunity for all."

About SunTrust Banks, Inc.
SunTrust Banks, Inc. is a purpose-driven company dedicated to Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being for the people, businesses, and communities it serves. Headquartered in Atlanta, the Company has three business segments: Consumer Banking and Private Wealth Management, Wholesale Banking, and Mortgage Banking. Its flagship subsidiary, SunTrust Bank, operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, along with 24-hour digital access. Certain business lines serve consumer, commercial, corporate, and institutional clients nationally. As of September 30, 2016, SunTrust had total assets of $205 billion and total deposits of $159 billion. The Company provides deposit, credit, trust, investment, mortgage, asset management, securities brokerage, and capital market services. SunTrust leads onUp, a national movement inspiring Americans to build financial confidence. Join the movement at onUp.com.

About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.8 million students per year in more than 100 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.