Employee Benefit Plans Employee Benefits - Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]

Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company sponsors stock plans under which incentive and nonqualified stock options and restricted stock may be granted periodically to certain employees. The Company accounts for stock-based compensation under the fair value recognition provisions whereby the fair value of the award at grant date is expensed over the award’s vesting period. Additionally, the Company estimates the number of awards for which it is probable that service will be rendered and adjusts compensation cost accordingly. Estimated forfeitures are subsequently adjusted to reflect actual forfeitures. For additional information on the Company’s stock-based employee compensation plans, see Note 15, “Employee Benefit Plans.”

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company provides stock-based awards through the 2009 Stock Plan (as amended and restated effective January 1, 2011) under which the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has the authority to grant stock options, restricted stock, and RSUs to key employees of the Company. Some awards may have performance or other conditions, such as vesting tied to the Company's total shareholder return relative to a peer group or vesting tied to the achievement of an absolute financial performance target. Under the 2009 Stock Plan, approximately 21 million shares of common stock are authorized and reserved for issuance, of which no more than 17 million shares may be issued as restricted stock or stock units. At December 31, 2013, 17,274,016 shares were available for grant, including 8,971,619 shares available to be issued as restricted stock.

Shares or units of restricted stock may be granted to employees and directors and typically cliff vest after three years. Restricted stock grants may be subject to one or more criteria, including employment, performance, or other conditions as established by the Compensation Committee at the time of grant. Any shares of restricted stock that are forfeited will again become available for issuance under the Stock Plan. An employee or director has the right to vote the shares of restricted stock after grant unless and until they are forfeited. Compensation cost for restricted stock is equal to the fair market value of the shares on the grant date of the award and is amortized to compensation expense over the vesting period. Dividends are paid on awarded but unvested restricted stock. We do not pay dividends on unvested RSU awards but instead accrue and reinvest them in equivalent shares of SunTrust common stock and pay them only if the underlying RSU award vests. Generally, RSU awards are classified as equity. During 2012, however, there were 574,257 RSUs granted that were classified as a liability because the grant date had not been achieved as defined under U.S. GAAP. They were granted with a fair value of $21.67 per unit on the grant date. The balance of these RSUs classified as a liability at December 31, 2013 and 2012 was $17 million and $12 million, respectively.

The fair value of each stock option award is estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model. The expected volatility represents the implied volatility of SunTrust stock. The expected term represents the period of time that the stock options granted are expected to be outstanding and is derived from historical data that is used to evaluate patterns such as stock option exercise and employee termination. Through the repurchase of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury in the first quarter of 2011, the expected dividend yield was based on the current rate in effect at the grant date. Beginning in second quarter 2011, the Company began using the projected dividend to be paid as the dividend yield assumption. The risk-free interest rate is derived from the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant based on the expected life of the option. Stock options are granted at an exercise price that is no less than the fair market value of a share of SunTrust common stock on the grant date and may be either tax-qualified incentive stock options or non-qualified stock options. Stock options typically vest pro-rata over three years and generally have a maximum contractual life of ten years. Upon exercise, shares are generally issued from treasury stock. The weighted average fair value of options granted during 2013, 2012, and 2011 were $7.37, $7.83, and $10.51 per share, respectively. The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model based on the following assumptions:

	Year Ended December 31
	2013		2012		2011
Dividend yield	1.28	%	0.91	%	0.75	%
Expected stock price volatility	30.98		39.88		34.87
Risk-free interest rate (weighted average)	1.02		1.07		2.48
Expected life of options	6 years		6 years		6 years