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CEO Mike O'Grady clarified that Family Office Solutions targets hundreds of existing clients and a large external market, with Northern Trust acting as an outsourced CFO. He confirmed they are hiring and investing in technology for this initiative. On capital, O'Grady stated that while M&A is not a current priority, the strong capital position supports higher share repurchases, with a 100% payout ratio being a reasonable level.

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CEO Mike O'Grady stated the plan combines experienced internal leaders with new external talent to improve execution and drive higher-quality earnings. He noted the focus is on growing the scalable Wealth and Asset Management businesses. Jason Tyler, new President of Wealth Management, added his focus will be on deepening specialization at the high end of the market to accelerate growth.

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CEO William Rogers clarified that the reduced guidance was isolated to investment banking and the yield curve, not a reflection of weakening core business fundamentals. He noted the buyback was opportunistic. Rogers explained that clients learned valuable lessons during the pandemic, improving their working capital and supply chain management, making them more resilient now.

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CEO Bill Rogers asserted that every action is focused on shareholders and that the ROTCE target was reset appropriately following the TIH sale, which created a large capital base. He stated Truist is now best positioned to grow returns by deploying this capital. He defined "medium-term" as a roughly three-year horizon and identified ROTCE and growth in total book value per share plus dividends as the primary metrics correlated to shareholder returns.

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Chairman and CEO Christopher Gorman acknowledged the uncertainty but emphasized that Key's clients and business fundamentals remain strong, with many clients having already 'pulled in' their supply chains. CFO Clark Khayat added that much of the NII growth is 'hardwired' from 2024 actions. He also clarified that while the net reserve build was small, it included a significant qualitative adjustment for a potential severe downturn, which offset what would have been a material release.

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CFO Clark Khayat affirmed their client-first model, serving them via balance sheet or capital markets, and estimated 20-25% of middle-market clients access capital markets annually. CEO Christopher Gorman addressed compensation by referring to the 8-K and the board's focus on retaining the executive team to execute on the company's growth runway for 2025 and 2026.

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CEO Gunjan Kedia emphasized her priorities are different, focusing on restoring expense discipline, building an organic growth muscle to amplify performance in areas like payments, and driving a culture of execution urgency. She identified the five merchant verticals (retail, travel, entertainment, healthcare) and increasing product penetration within the Union Bank and Elan franchises as key growth drivers.

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CEO Andy Cecere responded that the 200+ bps guide is a conservative figure they are confident in achieving, with potential upside if the revenue environment, particularly the yield curve, proves more favorable. CFO John Stern and President Gunjan Kedia explained that the merchant yield contraction was due to a client mix shift. While the tech-led portion of the business performed well, overall growth was skewed toward high-volume, lower-margin clients, which diluted the aggregate yield.

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Chairman and CEO Andy Cecere stated definitively "No" to bank M&A in the current environment, focusing instead on organic growth. He and President Gunjan Kedia explained that operating leverage will come from both revenue growth and expense management, noting the go-to-market strategy is in its final year and showing results. On AI, Cecere said the company is leveraging its scale but is in the "early innings" with generative AI.

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CEO Jane Fraser and CFO Mark Mason emphasized the firm's strong balance sheet, high-quality investment-grade client base, and disciplined risk framework. To reach the ROTCE target, Mason outlined a path driven by continued revenue momentum, achieving the 2025 expense target of $53.4 billion, further expense reductions in 2026, and ongoing capital optimization. Fraser added that Citi is a 'very different bank' now in terms of business mix and risk profile.

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CFO Mark Mason confirmed the outlook for three years of rising revenue and falling expenses. CEO Jane Fraser emphasized that while expenses are a key focus, she will not sacrifice necessary long-term investments in growth and competitiveness for short-term expediency. She stated the organizational simplification has improved transparency and proximity to the businesses and that the 'best is still ahead.' Mark Mason added that while the firm's 2026 RoTCE target was lowered, the medium-term targets for the business segments remain the goal over time.

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CFO Mark Mason detailed the drivers for expense reduction, including restructuring and transformation efficiencies. CEO Jane Fraser affirmed the company is making meaningful progress on its transformation, stated unequivocally that 'we do not have an asset cap and there are no additional measures,' and confirmed they are not expecting any.

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CEO Brian Moynihan distinguished between the bank's strong current performance ("what is") and the market's concern about future possibilities ("what could be"), emphasizing the bank is well-positioned for any outcome. He added that deregulation could provide relief by reducing burdensome rules, such as the SLR's treatment of riskless assets, and lowering operational costs.

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CFO Alastair Borthwick clarified that short-term rates drive about 90% of NII sensitivity, with deposit and loan growth being the most critical factors for year-over-year improvement. CEO Brian Moynihan advocated for regulatory changes like indexing the G-SIB surcharge and reducing CCAR volatility, estimating such adjustments could improve the CET1 ratio by approximately 100 basis points.

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CFO Alastair Borthwick explained that the pressure on the efficiency ratio is largely from higher incentive compensation tied to strong fee growth in investment banking and sales and trading. He stated that as NII growth continues and credit costs normalize, the bank is well-positioned to deliver operating leverage again, anticipating this to be a focus in 2025.

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CEO David Solomon reiterated the firm's capital return philosophy of deploying capital for returns or consistently returning it to shareholders. Executive Denis Coleman specified that the Historical Principal Investments (HPI) portfolio has approximately $4 billion of attributed equity, with the card portfolio having a 'reasonably similar amount'.

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CEO David Solomon acknowledged the constructive environment and positive sentiment shift but cautioned against expecting a return to 2021 levels, highlighting risks from policy uncertainty and cyber threats. He declined to comment further on Platform Solutions. On financing, both Solomon and CFO Denis Coleman emphasized the significant growth opportunity, which will be captured by the new Capital Solutions group that originates for the firm's balance sheet, for distribution, and for AWM clients.

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CEO David Solomon reiterated that the firm is narrowing its consumer footprint and had nothing new to add regarding the Apple Card, stating the 'direction of travel is pretty clear.' On the M&A outlook, Solomon agreed that sponsor dry powder is a significant factor and anticipates their activity will accelerate over the next 6-24 months, boosting M&A volumes.

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Mark Keating, incoming Interim CFO, detailed the significant progress in servicing fee sales, which grew from ~$150M in 2020 to $380M in 2024, with a target of $350M-$400M for 2025. CEO Ron O'Hanley clarified the underlying fee growth guidance is 5-7%, which nets to 3-5% after a 1% client roll-off impact and FX headwinds. O'Hanley expressed confidence that this growth rate is sustainable due to improvements in the Alpha value proposition, service quality, and a revamped sales force.

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CEO Tim Spence gave a cautious response of "maybe," acknowledging a more favorable backdrop but emphasizing the unpredictability of the economy. He advised against modeling excessively high C&I growth rates, despite the positive signs.

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CFO Bryan Preston attributed the flat growth to elevated paydowns of approximately $900 million and a 1% decline in revolver utilization, both of which he expects to normalize. CEO Tim Spence added that client uncertainty and inventory destocking have suppressed borrowing. On investments, Spence highlighted the 18-20% IRR on Southeast branches and stated the bank is being 'appropriately aggressive' and not constraining investment. Preston noted that the pace of branch builds is accelerating due to their proven success.

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Chairman and CEO Harris Simmons pointed to continued opportunities to reprice deposits that were aggressively priced post-SVB and better-than-expected stabilization in noninterest-bearing deposits. CFO Ryan Richards acknowledged the high asset sensitivity but noted the bank is constantly balancing near-term earnings risk with longer-term exposure to tangible equity. Simmons added his personal view that inflation may be more stubborn than the Fed believes, suggesting the real long-term risk is still toward increasing rates.

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