ATLANTA — SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) has named Kathy Farrell as head of the bank’s commercial real estate line of business, effective Aug. 1. Farrell will succeed Walt Mercer, who is retiring after nearly 10 years with the bank and more than 40 years in real estate banking and advisory. Farrell will be responsible for delivering banking and capital markets solutions to commercial real estate developers and investors in the SunTrust Commercial Real Estate lines of business, including regional real estate, REITs, institutional real estate, affordable housing and residential builders. Farrell will report to Mark Chancy, an executive with SunTrust Wholesale Banking.
Kathy Farrell, SunTrust Bank
Farrell has more than 25 years of real estate finance and banking experience throughout the country, including origination, underwriting, capital markets, work out strategies and risk management. She has been with SunTrust since 2013, most recently serving as the executive risk officer for commercial real estate. Prior to joining SunTrust, Farrell was executive vice president and credit executive of commercial real estate for PNC Bank for four years. She also served as the managing director of debt capital markets at National City Bank for three years. Previously, she was vice president of real estate capital markets at GE Capital Corp and spent the early years of her career at Fleet Bank. Farrell graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.