Ebrahim Poonawala's questions to Northern Trust Corp (NTRS) leadership • Q4 2024
Question
Ebrahim Poonawala asked for an outlook on revenue growth in the Global Family Office (GFO) business, noting its strong yearly performance but recent quarterly plateau. He also questioned the balance sheet's gearing to interest rates, asking if NII would grow in a flat-rate environment and whether rate cuts are a net positive or negative.
Answer
Chief Financial Officer David Fox clarified that GFO had its strongest year ever for organic growth and that the business has not plateaued, citing a lag effect on revenue and a robust pipeline for 2025. Regarding NII, Fox noted the guide already assumes rate cuts and that other factors like loan activity are influential, but confirmed that fewer rate cuts would be better for NII.