PROVIDENCE — In order to grow its practice of underwriting and managing loans over the phone, conglomerate Textron Inc. has acquired the bulk of the assets of a SunTrust Banks Inc. commercial finance unit.
According to reports, Textron unit Textron Financial Corp., acquired $400 million in outstanding small business loans from SunTrust, adding to its $8.2 billion in managed loans. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Textron Financial plans to keep the 110 people who work for the Little Rock, Ark.-based STI Credit Corp. The unit sells and manages loans for businesses nationwide, using the phone and specialized software.
SunTrust is based in Atlanta. According to reports, its sale of STI Credit Corp. was due to a desire to cut out small business borrowers outside of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states, where it has branches. SunTrust currently is involved in a hostile takeover bid of Wachovia Corp., which had previously announced intentions to merge with First Union Corp.
