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    Mike Mayo • Wells Fargo

    Mike Mayo's questions to Northern Trust Corp (NTRS) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to Northern Trust Corp (NTRS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo pressed on the topic of independence, asking under what circumstances Northern Trust would consider divesting its custody business to address scale concerns, or alternatively, acquiring another firm to gain scale.

    Answer

    Chairman and CEO Michael O'Grady argued that size does not equal scale, which is instead achieved through sector focus, technology leverage (AI, cloud), and process centralization. He stated the goal is to improve asset servicing margins from the low-20s to the high-20s to demonstrate this. EVP & CFO David Fox added that the high-margin asset owner segment already meets this profitability bar.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Truist Financial Corp (TFC) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to Truist Financial Corp (TFC) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo asked for the CFO's perspective on a normalized Net Interest Margin (NIM) and the CEO's view on how much management time has been freed from merger and regulatory matters to focus on offense.

    Answer

    CFO Mike Maguire suggested a normalized NIM could reach the 'three teens' area over time, but stressed the primary focus is on NII dollar growth. CEO William Rogers declared the merger integration is 'fully behind us,' allowing the company to accelerate on its performance 'J-curve.' He described the team as having a 'champion mindset' and being better competitively positioned than ever to win in its markets.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Truist Financial Corp (TFC) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Mike Mayo questioned the strategic focus on Pennsylvania and New Jersey given opportunities in the Southeast and asked about the actions being taken to improve deposit market share. He also inquired about the current competitive landscape.

    Answer

    CEO Bill Rogers explained that these northern states are existing markets offering disproportionate growth opportunities that complement the core Southeast strategy. He stated the company is past the main merger-related market share challenges and sees positive momentum. Rogers characterized the competitive environment as consistently intense but rational, asserting Truist's ability to compete is stronger than ever.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo asked for clarity on whether commercial loan growth is truly back, pointing to conflicting signals between upbeat commentary and pipelines versus soft recent results and conservative guidance.

    Answer

    CEO Tim Spence clarified that for their Main Street client base, loan growth is back, but it's tempered by significant uncertainty around supply chains and tariffs, which prevents a 'wild animal spirits' environment. He explained that the company's guidance is deliberately built to be achievable across a broad range of economic outcomes rather than relying on a best-case scenario, acknowledging the complexity clients are navigating.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to US Bancorp (USB) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to US Bancorp (USB) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo asked for clarification on the impact of deposit competition on NIM and the reason for a $9 billion increase in Risk-Weighted Assets (RWA). He also questioned the broader asset-liability management process and sought a timeframe for achieving the 3% NIM target.

    Answer

    Vice Chair & CFO John Stern attributed the RWA increase to the roll-off of a credit risk transfer and strong quarter-end commercial loan growth. On asset-liability management, he and President & CEO Gunjan Kedia emphasized that recent actions, like loan sales and securities repositioning, are strategically evolving the balance sheet for higher NII. John Stern reiterated that the 3% NIM is a medium-term target, with its achievement pace influenced by the path of interest rate cuts.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo questioned whether the long-forecasted M&A boom is finally materializing and asked what an ideal acquisition for Goldman Sachs would look like.

    Answer

    Chairman & CEO David Solomon confirmed a pickup in M&A, citing a 30% year-over-year increase in announced volumes and a fifth consecutive quarterly rise in the firm's advisory backlog. CFO Denis Coleman added that clients turn to Goldman Sachs in uncertain times. On acquisitions, David Solomon reiterated that the focus would be on opportunities to accelerate the growth and scale of the Asset & Wealth Management franchise.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Bank of America Corp (BAC) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to Bank of America Corp (BAC) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo Securities questioned why the net interest income (NII) guidance wasn't higher, given strong loan growth and fewer expected rate cuts, and asked for a preliminary outlook for the following year.

    Answer

    CFO Alastair Borthwick acknowledged the positive drivers but pointed to offsetting headwinds, such as international rate cuts, that keep the current guidance appropriate. For the next year, he indicated that the drivers of organic growth and the benefits from fixed-rate asset repricing are expected to continue, suggesting a path for sustained NII growth.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to State Street Corp (STT) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to State Street Corp (STT) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo from Wells Fargo questioned whether State Street was 'over-earning' from heightened market volatility and peak NII, and followed up by asking for evidence of improving core business momentum.

    Answer

    Interim CFO Mark Keating and CEO Ronald O'Hanley countered the 'over-earning' notion by explaining that while volatility helped, the strong Markets performance was also due to deeper client relationships. O'Hanley provided evidence of core momentum by highlighting the dramatic growth in quarterly servicing fee sales compared to 2020 and pointing to the upgraded full-year fee revenue guidance as a reflection of the franchise's increased power.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Citigroup Inc (C) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to Citigroup Inc (C) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo asked for the specific amount of transformation costs in the second quarter to gauge the run rate and for clarification on the remaining stranded costs. He also questioned what Citigroup needs to demonstrate to regulators to have the amended portion of the consent order lifted.

    Answer

    CFO Mark Mason did not break out Q2 transformation costs but reiterated they would increase meaningfully in 2025 before declining in 2026. He confirmed approximately $1.2 billion in stranded costs remain, or about $300 million per quarter. CEO Jane Fraser explained that to lift consent orders, the firm must demonstrate that its programs are at their target state, running sustainably, and delivering the desired risk reduction, after which they are handed to regulators for review.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to Citigroup Inc (C) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Mike Mayo from Wells Fargo requested the specific transformation cost for Q2, the amount of remaining stranded costs, and what Citigroup needs to demonstrate to regulators to have the amended portion of the consent order lifted.

    Answer

    CFO Mark Mason did not provide a specific Q2 transformation cost but noted a meaningful increase was playing through. He estimated remaining stranded costs at approximately $1.2 billion. CEO Jane Fraser explained that lifting the consent orders requires demonstrating that remediation programs are at their target state, operating sustainably, and delivering the intended risk reduction before they are handed to regulators for review.

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    Mike Mayo's questions to KeyCorp (KEY) leadership

    Mike Mayo's questions to KeyCorp (KEY) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Mike Mayo of Wells Fargo asked if KeyCorp is indifferent between generating NII from lending versus fees from capital markets, inquired about the impact of fewer rate cuts on the NII guide, and questioned the rationale behind the special executive performance awards.

    Answer

    CEO Christopher M. Gorman confirmed the bank's model is to serve clients where they are best served, whether via the balance sheet or capital markets. CFO Clark H. I. Khayat noted that one fewer rate cut would not significantly impact the full-year NII guide. Regarding compensation, Mr. Gorman cited retention as a key factor considered by the independent board committee and referred to the upcoming proxy for details.

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