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A major multi-property lease renewal deal between SunTrust Banks Inc. and American Finance Trust, a non-traded net lease REIT, offers insight on how the ongoing bank branch consolidation may affect owners of bank branch retail property in coming years.
Under the deal, 20% of American Finance Trust’s 213 individual SunTrust bank branches will lose a tenant. At the same time, the lease renewal agreement removes a lot of uncertainty for American Finance Trust by securing the bank’s commitment for most of the remaining properties.
For American Finance Trust, it has been a big concern. SunTrust branch properties account for about 9% of its property holdings and almost 18% of its annual revenue. The leases for all but four of the 213 properties were set to expire in December 2017.
