Truist to end sales and trading of MBS, government-agency bonds

Truist Financial Corp. plans to stop sales and trading of mortgage-backed securities and government-agency and Small Business Administration bonds by January.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank cut about 80 people in its Atlanta and Memphis, Tennessee, offices on Thursday in connection with the changes, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing information that isn't public. 

"Truist Securities regularly assesses opportunities for our organization and makes adjustments to our business to invest in areas for growth," the bank said in an emailed statement. "We made the decision to exit certain aspects of our fixed-income sales, research and trading business by January 2024, and will work closely with our clients to support them during this transition."

Truist didn't comment on the job cuts. 

Banks have warned that trading revenue is likely to show a drop for the first three months from a year earlier, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine roiled markets and spurred client activity.

For the five biggest Wall Street banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley — total trading revenue is expected to slump 10% to $29.9 billion. Those firms have also said the recent market upheaval has contributed to extending the slowdown in dealmaking and capital-markets businesses.