Regional Acceptance Is Changing Hands
Truist Financial is making a major move out of the auto-finance business, announcing September 15 that it has agreed to sell approximately $5.5 billion in auto loans and exit near-prime auto lending altogether. The portfolio represents substantially all of the assets of Regional Acceptance Corp. (RAC), Truist’s national auto-finance subsidiary. The transaction is expected to generate approximately $5.2 billion in net proceeds, along with a $535 million recapture of loan-loss reserves.
For the repossession industry, the significance of this move goes beyond the dollar amount. Regional Acceptance has been a major player in auto finance, particularly in the near-prime market, meaning the decision removes an established lender and a substantial portfolio of financed vehicles from Truist’s future lending strategy. The buyer has been reported as Apollo Global Management, although Reuters’ initial reporting did not identify the purchaser.
Truist says the decision is part of a much broader strategic overhaul under new CEO Mike Lyons. The bank has already discontinued marine and recreational-vehicle lending and significantly reduced originations in several other consumer-lending categories, including prime and non-prime auto. Truist CFO Mike Maguire described the strategic review as having gained “urgency and intensity” since Lyons took over.
The numbers surrounding RAC are also revealing. Truist said the sale should reduce its non-performing loans by more than 10 basis points and annual net charge-offs by roughly 10 basis points. Regional Acceptance was essentially breaking even on a pretax basis during the first half of 2026, according to Truist, while the bank characterized the business as offering limited opportunity to build broader customer relationships beyond the individual auto loan.
That is an important distinction. This isn’t simply a bank selling a portfolio because it needs cash. Truist is deliberately deciding that the business model behind those loans no longer fits where it wants to take the company. The bank plans to use proceeds from the transaction in part to repay wholesale borrowings, while also repositioning portions of its securities portfolio to manage the capital created by the sale.
And Truist isn’t suggesting that the restructuring ends here. The bank’s broader strategic review remains underway, with management saying additional decisions around business lines and portfolios are possible. The stated objective is to concentrate on businesses that meet its profitability requirements and have stronger opportunities for deeper customer relationships.
For the recovery industry, the interesting question now becomes what happens to the $5.5 billion portfolio after the transaction closes. Ownership of the receivables can change the servicing structure, portfolio strategy, collection practices and ultimately the flow of recovery assignments. Exactly how that plays out will depend on how the buyer and servicing arrangements are structured.
One thing is already clear: another major financial institution has decided that near-prime auto lending no longer belongs in its long-term strategy. For an industry that makes its living at the end of the auto-finance chain, when lenders change their appetite for risk, the effects eventually reach the tow truck.
And with Truist saying its strategic review could produce further divestitures, the $5.5 billion Regional Acceptance transaction may be less of an isolated event and more of a sign that the auto-finance landscape is continuing to change.
