Truist Updates 2026 NII Guidance With 3-4% Loan Growth and Margin Headwinds

Updated full-year NII guidance: loan growth, exit margin, and deposit costs (Truist, Q2 2026)

1) Loan growth (full-year 2026)

Truist expects full-year loan growth of 3%–4%, and management indicated it is “on track for that, probably high side of that,” with most growth coming from C&I (bulk) and consumer closer to flat (+1%). ¹

Additionally, in the company’s comments around updated NII outlook components, Truist discussed headwinds tied to loan pricing/spreads and portfolio actions (see margin and deposit sections), including an expectation of loan spreads down ~5–10 bps year-over-year. ²

How this fits into NII guidance: loan growth is one of the drivers of earning assets (and therefore NII), but management explicitly highlighted that NII is also being pressured by spread dynamics (loan yields) and mix/repricing effects even while they still expect loan growth. ³²

2) Net interest income “exit margin” / NII margin assumptions

Truist’s updated outlook reflects pressure to NII margin linked to spread and balance-sheet/mix factors, including management’s recognition that net interest margin was under pressure linked-quarter and that spreads (if held constant) would be down 5–10 bps year-over-year. ³

In the quarter-to-quarter discussion, management quantified the linked-quarter NIM movement and what is now expected for NII growth:

• NIM decreased 4 bps linked-quarter to 2.98%, driven by slightly higher deposit costs, lower loan spreads, and a slightly larger balance sheet. ⁴
• For the updated outlook, Truist stated: “we now expect net interest income to increase approximately 1%–1.5%.” ⁴

Exit margin concept (management’s framing): While the excerpts do not provide a single explicit “exit margin” numeric target for year-end, they do describe the margin drivers that determine the exit level—chiefly loan spreads (down ~5–10 bps), deposit costs driven by deposit remix, and partial offsets from higher medium and long-term rates and benefits from fixed-rate asset repricing. ³²⁴

Key margin driver: loan spreads

Truist’s updated full-year assumption is that loan spreads are down ~5–10 basis points on a full-year basis. ²
Management also explained that this is influenced by (a) holding spreads constant would imply year-over-year spreads down 5–10 bps and that they incorporated that into the outlook, and (b) the company’s loan repricing activity (including floating-rate repricing). ³

Additionally, in describing the NII headwinds more broadly, Truist cited lower loan spreads linked to:

• capital reallocation from higher-yielding consumer into higher-quality but lower-yielding commercial for relationship returns, and
• broad-based market-driven compression of loan spreads. ⁴

Partial offset: higher belly of the curve / fixed-rate repricing benefits

Truist said the NII headwind from spreads is offset in part by a higher belly of the curve, which helps on the fixed-rate asset repricing side. ³
They also stated they expect NIM to improve in Q3, in part due to fixed rate asset repricing, but not as much as previously expected due to other factors. ⁵

3) Deposit costs (deposit beta / “rate paid” assumptions)

Truist emphasized deposit-cost headwinds in the updated NII framework, primarily through deposit mix deterioration and rate-seeking behavior.

Deposit costs and beta changes (latest quarter context)

In the Q2 discussion around NII and margin mechanics, Truist provided deposit beta movement:

• Cumulative interest-bearing deposit beta decreased from 46% to 45% linked-quarter. ⁴
• Total deposit beta decreased from 31% to 30% linked-quarter. ⁴

They also described deposit-cost levels:

• Average interest-bearing deposit costs increased 1 bp linked-quarter to 2.10% and
• Average total deposit costs increased 1 bp linked-quarter to 1.56%. ⁶

Updated full-year deposit-cost outlook (directional)

Truist’s updated NII outlook explicitly flags a less favorable deposit mix and therefore higher rate paid than previously expected as a key NII headwind. ⁴

In management’s explanation of the “three headwinds,” they identified the most impactful component as the unfavorable deposit mix, noting:

• they still expect to grow client deposits, but mix will be “not as favorable” as expected earlier (including an example: DDA remix down to ~25% by year-end from ~27-ish% at the beginning of the year). ²

They also reiterated that, as they learned about deposits in Q2 (seasonality considerations aside), they observed inertia around higher rate products, saw remix year-to-date, and expect that to continue, incorporating it into their outlook. ³

Summary of the updated full-year NII guidance components

• Loan growth: 3%–4% full-year, likely high end; C&I is the bulk, consumer near flat (+1%). ¹
• Exit margin / NII margin level (implied via assumptions): margin pressured by loan spreads down ~5–10 bps, and by deposit-cost/mix effects; NII growth guided to ~1%–1.5% and management cited NIM at 2.98% after a 4 bp linked-quarter decline as the near-term margin baseline. ²⁴
• Deposit costs: pressured by unfavorable deposit mix and higher rate paid than previously expected; mix examples include DDA remix toward ~25% by year-end, and NII mechanics were influenced by higher deposit costs (linked to the NIM decline drivers). ²⁴³

If you want the “exit margin” presented as a single target number, the excerpts provided do not state a specific year-end NIM target; they instead provide the quantified near-term NIM (2.98% in Q2) and the margin-driving assumptions (loan spread compression, deposit mix/rate paid, and offsets from curve/fixed-rate repricing). ⁴²³