International Rice Research Institute to organize 13th National Seed Congress from 28-30 November, 2024 at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh The 3-day event aims to bring together policymakers, farmers, and representatives from the private and public sectors to build a roadmap for a vibrant and equitable seed sector in India
“Fostering Regional Cooperation, Partnership, and Knowledge Exchange in the Seed Sector” will be the theme of NSC 2024
Posted On: 24 OCT 2024 11:52AM by PIB Delhi
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India will be hosting the 13th edition of the National Seed Congress (NSC), scheduled to take place in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, from November 28-30, 2024. The event is being organized in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) and the National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC). The National Seed Congress will bring together stakeholders from across the seed value chain, offering a platform to explore transformative solutions and tackle the pressing challenges faced by the sector today.
Underlining the role of NSC, Smt. Shubha Thakur, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare stated that, “To boost farmers’ income and ensure food and nutrition security for billions, access to high-quality, climate-resilient, and nutritious seeds, along with improved cultivars, is more crucial than ever. NSC 2024 will serve as a platform to collaborate on addressing these challenges, empowering farmers, and ensuring that India’s agriculture remains strong and sustainable. This event will catalyze innovative solutions and promote partnerships that drive seed sector growth.”
“This event comes at a crucial time, as agriculture is facing evolving market demands and a need for more inclusive and sustainable seed systems. The convergence of experts and stakeholders from across the seed value chain in diverse agro-ecologies will allow us to generate impactful solutions to these complex issues”, remarked Dr. Yvonne Pinto, Director General, IRRI.
Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, Director of IRRI’s South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) will be convening this year’s event. Since its inauguration by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2018, ISARC in Varanasi has been instrumental in advancing IRRI’s efforts to strengthen India’s seed systems, through innovative research, capacity building, and impactful partnerships over the years. Along with development of successful climate-resilient rice varieties such as Sahbhagi Dhan and Swarna-Sub 1, and nutritionally enhanced varieties and value-added products, the institution has also facilitated cross-border seed exchange, expediting varietal release and accelerated adoption through policies like ‘Seeds Without Borders’. Additionally, IRRI’s genomic tools, digital platforms, and robust seed systems ensure faster varietal development and structured dissemination.
Shri Manoj Kumar, Director of the National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) and co-convener of the event emphasized NSRTC’s critical role in improving seed quality and training across the country. He highlighted NSRTC’s involvement in the event, stating, “National Seed Congress is a crucial forum for knowledge exchange and capacity building. NSRTC is dedicated to improving seed quality control and facilitating the transfer of modern technologies to the industry. Through our participation in NSC 2024, we aim to strengthen the seed quality testing network and ensure that high-quality seeds are accessible to farmers across the country.”
NSC is an annual gathering of researchers, policymakers, farmers, and representatives from the private and public sectors to build a roadmap for a vibrant and equitable seed sector in India. With the theme, “Fostering Regional Cooperation, Partnership, and Knowledge Exchange in the Seed Sector,” NSC 2024 will provide a platform for presenting experiences and insights on the research advances, innovations, and principles related to seed, crop improvement, and seed delivery systems.
NSC 2024 aims to catalyze scientific progress by facilitating the exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary research. It will address pressing global challenges in the seed sector and offer insights and solutions that can influence policy changes, technological innovations, and sustainable development.
NSC 2024 will focus on building sustainable, equitable, and resilient seed systems by addressing a diverse range of topics, including-Breeding and Seed Systems for Climate Resilience, Advancements in Seed Quality and Technology, Digital Solutions for Breeding, Seed Systems, and Market Insights, Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships in Seed Sector, Inclusive Seed Systems for Livelihood Improvement, Innovative Approaches for Seed Delivery and Scaling, and Nutritional Security through Strategic Seed Initiatives.
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR ISOBEL COLEMAN: First, I want to thank the Italian Presidency for its strong focus on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment over the past year.
I want to commend our collective efforts to make PGI an initiative built to last. The standing Secretariat sets PGI up for longevity and success, and we expect that PGI will remain an on-going G7 priority across multiple presidencies. The United States has marshaled multiple agencies, including USAID, the Department of State, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the U.S. Export-Import Bank, from across the U.S. government to support our contributions.
Over the last four years, we’ve witnessed significant progress. Notably, the U.S. announced our support for three important economic corridors, Lobito in Southern Africa, Luzon in the Philippines, and the Trans-Caspian in Central Asia, which have received tremendous support from our G7 partners. The European Union and Italy have signed an MoU to cooperate on developing the Lobito Corridor; we are cooperating with the EU in Central Asia on the Trans-Caspian Corridor; and we are working closely with Japan on the Luzon Corridor.
But even as we celebrate this progress, we acknowledge that there is much left to be done. The gap for infrastructure financing continues to grow; our partners in Africa and the Indo-Pacific face unsustainable debt levels; and threats like climate change, global conflict, and market instability create additional challenges to navigate.
So, we are doubling down on our efforts. Just this year, the United States approved a loan of over $550 million from the Development Finance Corporation to support the rehabilitation of the Lobito Atlantic Railroad, building on our support earlier in 2022 to help put together the private sector consortium responsible for operating the railroad. USAID is also providing support to the Angolan Ministry of Transportation to create a full-time public-private partnership unit dedicated to helping the government partner more deeply with the private sector for infrastructure development.
This is the comparative advantage of the PGI approach: by creating sustainable sources of financing, ones that ideally do not add to a country’s debt burden, and prioritizing supporting investments in agriculture, digital services, health, and other critical sectors, PGI is creating the conditions for the long-term success of these infrastructure investments.
When I travel abroad – and I’m sure it’s the same when you all travel abroad – the number one request we receive from our partners is more support for trade, investment, and infrastructure. So, through PGI, we’re putting those local voices in the lead, and meeting a priority demand.
When President Biden travels to Angola in December, the first sitting U.S. president to visit that country, the Lobito Corridor will be a focus of his historic visit. PGI is the framework through which we can collectively coordinate our investments in such strategic initiatives as these economic corridors to harness maximal benefit: for developing clean energy; expanding access to digital finance; supporting female smallholder farmers as engines of local growth; and providing the communities in the region with a full range of opportunities to benefit from the investments. Through PGI, the U.S. and G7 are not just trying to get the job done, but we’re committed to getting the job done right, with openness and transparency, in partnership with local communities, and with an eye toward building sustainable progress.
The U.S. is pleased to be contributing to the development of critical infrastructure around the world, and we know we cannot do this work alone: we rely on the leadership and contributions of our G7 partners. We also know that to meet global needs, we must play the long game. We look forward to our continued collaboration on PGI in the years to come as we seek to advance this critical global priority.
What you need to know: State and federal partners today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost cooperation on multi-benefit water projects in the Sacramento River Basin.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today highlighted a new agreement between state and federal partners to enhance collaboration on floodplain projects in the Sacramento River Basin that bolster flood protection and habitat for fish and wildlife.
The MOU furthers state-federal coordination on the planning, design and implementation of multi-benefit floodplain projects in the Sacramento River Basin that increase flood protection, restore habitat and ecosystems, improve groundwater recharge and water supply reliability, and sustain farming and managed wetland operations. The agreement is backed by the Floodplain Forward Coalition comprised of landowners, irrigation districts, and higher education and conservation groups.
“As California grapples with more extreme cycles of wet and dry, it’s more important than ever that we leverage our common interests to meet the needs of our communities, wildlife and economy. This state-federal partnership with support from wide-ranging stakeholders demonstrates the kind of collaborative solutions that can safeguard our communities, wildlife, businesses and water supplies in the face of climate impacts.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
The MOU was signed today in Sacramento by representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, California Natural Resources Agency, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Water Resources, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Sacramento Valley bypasses are natural overflow areas that are critical to protecting farms, cities and communities from floodwaters. The lowlands also serve as essential habitat for many fish, birds and wildlife, including Chinook salmon, that have historically relied on the basin’s floodplains for food and habitat during their migrations.
More information on the MOU can be found here.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated October 22, 2024, imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.25 lakh (Rupees One Lakh Twenty Five Thousand only) on The Aurangabad District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd., Bihar (the bank) for contravention of the provisions of section 26A read with section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act) and non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Membership of Credit Information Companies (CICs) by Co-operative Banks’. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI, conferred under section 47A(1)(c) read with sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of BR Act and section 25 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of contravention of statutory provisions / non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions.
After considering the bank’s reply to the notice and oral submissions made by it during the personal hearing, RBI found, inter alia, that the following charges against the Bank were sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty:
The bank had failed to:
transfer eligible amounts to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund within the prescribed period; and
submit credit information of its borrowers to any of the four Credit Information Companies.
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The report of the Strategic Feasibility Study on the Development of the Wetland Conservation Parks (WCPs) System was released today (October 24).
The development of a WCPs System was promulgated in the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy in 2021, with a view to conserving the Deep Bay wetlands with ecological value, and creating environmental capacity for the Northern Metropolis to achieve co-existence of conservation and development. The Strategic Feasibility Study on the Development of the WCPs System, commissioned by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in August 2022, had reviewed the ecological conditions, land use and planning matters, aquaculture activities, eco-education and recreation facilities, etc, in the proposed areas of the proposed WCPs System. The Feasibility Study also formulated recommendations on the overall implementation strategy for the development of the WCPs System, including the proposed boundaries, positioning and functions, conceptual plans and management options of the proposed Parks under the System. The consultant also collected views from the public and stakeholders on the initiative through two stages of public engagement exercises, and suitably incorporated such views.
The Feasibility Study considered that the development of the WCPs System was feasible and worthwhile, which could effectively conserve the wetlands in the Deep Bay area and enhance their ecological value, promote the modernisation of the aquaculture industry, and provide eco-education and recreation facilities for public enjoyment. At the same time, the development of the WCPs System could also create environmental capacity for the development of the Northern Metropolis, and achieve co-existence of conservation and development.
The Feasibility Study recommended developing the WCPs System in phases by developing the Sam Po Shue WCP first. Subsequently, by making reference to the experience of planning and establishing the Sam Po Shue WCP, further studies on the remaining proposed Parks, i.e. Hong Kong Wetland Park Expansion Area, Nam Sang Wai WCP, and Hoo Hok Wai WCP (including Sha Ling/Nam Hang area), would be reviewed in due course.
Specific positioning and functions for each Park were recommended by the consultant based on their respective conditions, and broad zonings, including Biodiversity Zone, Eco-friendly Aquaculture Zone, Fisheries Enhancement Zone and Visitor Zone, were delineated under the conceptual plan of each Park. It was recommended that the Government oversee the overall management of the whole WCPs System, and manage the different zones within the Parks in co-operation with different parties, including non-governmental organisations, agriculture and fisheries associations, local communities, private landowners and private sector, depending on the relevant functions and operational needs.
A spokesman for the AFCD said that the department considered the recommendations of the report of the Feasibility Study generally acceptable, and these recommendations would be taken into consideration in the next stage when carrying out detailed studies on the investigation, design and construction of the Parks.
The report of the Feasibility Study is available on the AFCD website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/conservation/con_wet/wcps_system/wcps_system.html).
Net income available to common stockholders was $48.7 million and diluted earnings per common share totaled $0.84, compared to $55.9 million and $0.94 in the third quarter of 2023, and $39.5 million and $0.68 in the second quarter of 2024.Excluding the loss from repositioning of the available for sale securities portfolio, adjusted net income was $55.6 million or $0.95 per share for the third quarter of 2024.
Strong capital position with Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 11.25% and Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets Ratio of 8.76%.
Net interest margin was 3.23% compared to 3.16% on a linked quarter basis.
Total loans grew $15.5 million, or 0.5% annualized, on a linked quarter basis, and $385.1 million, or 3.1% during the last twelve months.
Total deposits grew by $83.7 million, or 2.3% annualized, on a linked quarter basis after normalizing for $287.7 million of deposits reclassified to held for sale.
Nonperforming assets to total assets were 35 basis points compared to 36 basis points on a linked quarter basis.
The efficiency ratio totaled 53.76% for the quarter.
Announced sale of five Illinois branches and certain loans and deposits to Old Second National Bank on August 27, 2024.
“We are pleased with our third quarter results and the focused momentum that we are building,” said Mark Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer. “The pending sale of five non-core Illinois branches, restructure of the securities portfolio, and successful completion of four major technology initiatives provides us with the opportunity to reprioritize our core markets and introduce innovative customer acquisition strategies.”
Third Quarter Financial Results:
First Merchants Corporation (the “Corporation”) has reported third quarter 2024 net income available to common stockholders of $48.7 million compared to $55.9 million during the same period in 2023. Diluted earnings per common share for the period totaled $0.84 compared to the third quarter of 2023 result of $0.94. Excluding the $9.1 million pre-tax loss from repositioning of the available for sale securities portfolio, adjusted net income was $55.6 million, or $0.95 diluted earnings per common share for the third quarter of 2024.
During the quarter, the Corporation signed a definitive agreement to sell five Illinois branches along with certain loans and deposits, representing an exit from suburban Chicago markets. Loans of $9.2 million, deposits of $287.7 million and fixed assets of $3.4 million have been moved to held for sale categories as of September 30, 2024. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
Total assets equaled $18.3 billion as of quarter-end and loans totaled $12.7 billion. During the past twelve months, total loans grew by $385.1 million, or 3.1%. On a linked quarter basis, loans grew $15.5 million, or 0.5%, with growth primarily in commercial & industrial loans.
Investments totaling $3.7 billion decreased $51.6 million, or 1.4%, during the last twelve months and decreased $90.9 million, or 9.7% annualized, on a linked quarter basis. The decline during the quarter was due to $158.9 million in sales of available for sale securities with a weighted average tax-equivalent yield of 2.85%, partially offset by an increase in the securities portfolio valuation.
Total deposits were $14.4 billion as of quarter-end and decreased by $281.5 million, or 1.9%, over the past twelve months. The decline was primarily due to $287.7 million of deposits being reclassified to held for sale. Excluding this impact, deposits increased by $6.2 million. On a linked quarter basis, deposits grew organically by $83.7 million or 2.3%. The loan to deposit ratio increased to 88.0% at period end from 86.8% in the prior quarter, primarily due to the reclassification of deposits to held for sale as previously described.
The Corporation’s Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans (ACL) totaled $187.8 million as of quarter-end, or 1.48% of total loans, a decrease of $1.7 million from prior quarter. Loan charge-offs, net of recoveries totaled $6.7 million and provision for loans of $5.0 million was recorded during the quarter. Reserves for unfunded commitments totaled $19.5 million and remained unchanged from the prior quarter. Non-performing assets to total assets were 35 basis points for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of one basis point compared to 36 basis points in the prior quarter.
Net interest income totaled $131.1 million for the quarter, an increase of $2.5 million, or 2.0%, compared to prior quarter and a decrease of $2.3 million, or 1.7%, compared to the third quarter of 2023. Fully-tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.23%, an increase of 7 basis points compared to the second quarter of 2024, and a decrease of 6 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2023. The increase in net interest margin compared to the second quarter was due to higher earning asset yields.
Non-interest income totaled $24.9 million for the quarter, a decrease of $6.5 million, or 20.6%, compared to the second quarter of 2024 and a decrease of $3.0 million, or 6.7% from the third quarter of 2023. The decrease from second quarter of 2024 was driven by realized losses on sales of available for sale securities associated with the repositioning of the bond portfolio, partially offset by increases in gains on sales of mortgage loans and earnings on cash surrender value of life insurance.
Non-interest expense totaled $94.6 million for the quarter, an increase of $3.2 million from the second quarter of 2024 and an increase of $0.8 million from the third quarter of 2023. The increase from the linked quarter was from higher salaries and employee benefits primarily driven by higher incentives.
The Corporation’s total risk-based capital ratio equaled 13.18%, common equity tier 1 capital ratio equaled 11.25%, and the tangible common equity ratio totaled 8.76%. These ratios continue to reflect the Corporation’s strong liquidity and capital positions.
CONFERENCE CALL
First Merchants Corporation will conduct a third quarter earnings conference call and web cast at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
To view the webcast and presentation slides, please go to (https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/6grv3upw) during the time of the call. A replay of the webcast will be available until October 24, 2025.
Detailed financial results are reported on the attached pages.
About First Merchants Corporation
First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank. The Bank also operates as First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (as a division of First Merchants Bank).
First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s Internet web page (http://www.firstmerchants.com).
FIRST MERCHANTS and the Shield Logo are federally registered trademarks of First Merchants Corporation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of words like “believe”, “continue”, “pattern”, “estimate”, “project”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “expect” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “can”, “may”, or similar expressions. These statements include statements about First Merchants’ goals, intentions and expectations; statements regarding the First Merchants’ business plan and growth strategies; statements regarding the asset quality of First Merchants’ loan and investment portfolios; and estimates of First Merchants’ risks and future costs and benefits. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements, including, among other things: possible changes in monetary and fiscal policies, and laws and regulations; the effects of easing restrictions on participants in the financial services industry; the cost and other effects of legal and administrative cases; possible changes in the credit worthiness of customers and the possible impairment of collectability of loans; fluctuations in market rates of interest; competitive factors in the banking industry; changes in the banking legislation or regulatory requirements of federal and state agencies applicable to bank holding companies and banks like First Merchants’ affiliate bank; continued availability of earnings and excess capital sufficient for the lawful and prudent declaration of dividends; changes in market, economic, operational, liquidity (including the ability to grow and maintain core deposits and retain large, uninsured deposits), credit and interest rate risks associated with the First Merchants’ business; and other risks and factors identified in each of First Merchants’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First Merchants does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, relating to the matters discussed in this press release. In addition, First Merchants’ past results of operations do not necessarily indicate its anticipated future results.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars In Thousands)
September 30,
2024
2023
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks
$
84,719
$
125,173
Interest-bearing deposits
359,126
348,639
Investment securities, net of allowance for credit losses of $245,000 and $245,000
3,662,145
3,713,724
Loans held for sale
40,652
30,972
Loans
12,646,808
12,271,422
Less: Allowance for credit losses – loans
(187,828
)
(205,782
)
Net loans
12,458,980
12,065,640
Premises and equipment
129,582
132,441
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
41,716
41,797
Interest receivable
92,055
90,011
Goodwill and other intangibles
733,601
741,283
Cash surrender value of life insurance
304,613
306,106
Other real estate owned
5,247
6,480
Tax asset, deferred and receivable
86,732
135,521
Other assets
348,384
340,476
TOTAL ASSETS
$
18,347,552
$
18,078,263
LIABILITIES
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing
$
2,334,197
$
2,554,984
Interest-bearing
12,030,903
12,091,592
Total Deposits
14,365,100
14,646,576
Borrowings:
Federal funds purchased
30,000
—
Securities sold under repurchase agreements
124,894
152,537
Federal Home Loan Bank advances
832,629
713,384
Subordinated debentures and other borrowings
93,562
158,665
Total Borrowings
1,081,085
1,024,586
Deposits and other liabilities held for sale
288,476
—
Interest payable
18,089
16,473
Other liabilities
292,429
297,984
Total Liabilities
16,045,179
15,985,619
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock, $1,000 par value, $1,000 liquidation value:
Authorized — 600 cumulative shares
Issued and outstanding – 125 cumulative shares
125
125
Preferred Stock, Series A, no par value, $2,500 liquidation preference:
Issued and outstanding – 10,000 non-cumulative perpetual shares
25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
Common Stock, $.125 stated value:
Authorized — 100,000,000 shares
Issued and outstanding
7,265
7,256
7,321
7,428
7,425
Additional paid-in capital
1,192,683
1,191,193
1,208,447
1,236,506
1,234,402
Retained earnings
1,229,125
1,200,930
1,181,939
1,154,624
1,132,962
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(151,825
)
(211,979
)
(198,029
)
(175,970
)
(307,270
)
Total Stockholders’ Equity
2,302,373
2,212,525
2,224,803
2,247,713
2,092,644
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$
18,347,552
$
18,303,423
$
18,317,803
$
18,405,887
$
18,078,263
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
INTEREST INCOME
Loans receivable:
Taxable
$
206,680
$
201,413
$
198,023
$
197,523
$
191,705
Tax-exempt
8,622
8,430
8,190
8,197
8,288
Investment securities:
Taxable
9,263
9,051
8,748
8,644
8,590
Tax-exempt
13,509
13,613
13,611
13,821
13,947
Deposits with financial institutions
2,154
2,995
6,493
8,034
5,884
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
855
879
835
771
719
Total Interest Income
241,083
236,381
235,900
236,990
229,133
INTEREST EXPENSE
Deposits
98,856
99,151
98,285
96,655
85,551
Federal funds purchased
329
126
—
1
—
Securities sold under repurchase agreements
700
645
1,032
827
797
Federal Home Loan Bank advances
8,544
6,398
6,773
6,431
6,896
Subordinated debentures and other borrowings
1,544
1,490
2,747
3,013
2,506
Total Interest Expense
109,973
107,810
108,837
106,927
95,750
NET INTEREST INCOME
131,110
128,571
127,063
130,063
133,383
Provision for credit losses
5,000
24,500
2,000
1,500
2,000
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES
126,110
104,071
125,063
128,563
131,383
NONINTEREST INCOME
Service charges on deposit accounts
8,361
8,214
7,907
7,690
7,975
Fiduciary and wealth management fees
8,525
8,825
8,200
8,187
7,394
Card payment fees
5,121
4,739
4,500
4,437
4,716
Net gains and fees on sales of loans
6,764
5,141
3,254
4,111
5,517
Derivative hedge fees
736
489
263
1,049
516
Other customer fees
344
460
427
237
384
Earnings on cash surrender value of life insurance
2,755
1,929
1,592
3,202
1,761
Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities
(9,114
)
(49
)
(2
)
(2,317
)
(1,650
)
Other income (loss)
1,374
1,586
497
(152
)
1,229
Total Noninterest Income
24,866
31,334
26,638
26,444
27,842
NONINTEREST EXPENSES
Salaries and employee benefits
55,223
52,214
58,293
60,967
55,566
Net occupancy
6,994
6,746
7,312
9,089
6,837
Equipment
6,949
6,599
6,226
6,108
5,698
Marketing
1,836
1,773
1,198
2,647
2,369
Outside data processing fees
7,150
7,072
6,889
5,875
6,573
Printing and office supplies
378
354
353
402
333
Intangible asset amortization
1,772
1,771
1,957
2,182
2,182
FDIC assessments
3,720
3,278
4,287
7,557
2,981
Other real estate owned and foreclosure expenses
942
373
534
1,743
677
Professional and other outside services
3,035
3,822
3,952
3,981
3,833
Other expenses
6,630
7,411
5,934
7,552
6,805
Total Noninterest Expenses
94,629
91,413
96,935
108,103
93,854
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX
56,347
43,992
54,766
46,904
65,371
Income tax expense
7,160
4,067
6,825
4,425
9,005
NET INCOME
49,187
39,925
47,941
42,479
56,366
Preferred stock dividends
468
469
469
469
468
NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS
$
48,719
$
39,456
$
47,472
$
42,010
$
55,898
Per Share Data:
Basic Net Income Available to Common Stockholders
$
0.84
$
0.68
$
0.80
$
0.71
$
0.95
Diluted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders
$
0.84
$
0.68
$
0.80
$
0.71
$
0.94
Cash Dividends Paid to Common Stockholders
$
0.35
$
0.35
$
0.34
$
0.34
$
0.34
Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)
58,289
58,328
59,273
59,556
59,503
FINANCIAL RATIOS:
Return on Average Assets
1.07
%
0.87
%
1.04
%
0.92
%
1.24
%
Return on Average Stockholders’ Equity
8.66
7.16
8.47
7.89
10.38
Return on Tangible Common Stockholders’ Equity
13.39
11.29
13.21
12.75
16.54
Average Earning Assets to Average Assets
92.54
92.81
92.91
93.62
93.36
Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans as % of Total Loans
1.48
1.50
1.64
1.64
1.67
Net Charge-offs as % of Average Loans (Annualized)
0.21
1.26
0.07
0.10
0.66
Average Stockholders’ Equity to Average Assets
12.26
12.02
12.17
11.58
11.87
Tax Equivalent Yield on Average Earning Assets
5.82
5.69
5.65
5.64
5.55
Interest Expense/Average Earning Assets
2.59
2.53
2.55
2.48
2.26
Net Interest Margin (FTE) on Average Earning Assets
3.23
3.16
3.10
3.16
3.29
Efficiency Ratio
53.76
53.84
59.21
63.26
53.91
Tangible Common Book Value Per Share
$
26.64
$
25.10
$
25.07
$
25.06
$
22.43
LOANS
(Dollars In Thousands)
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
Commercial and industrial loans
$
4,041,217
$
3,949,817
$
3,722,365
$
3,670,948
$
3,490,953
Agricultural land, production and other loans to farmers
238,743
239,926
234,431
263,414
233,838
Real estate loans:
Construction
814,704
823,267
941,726
957,545
1,022,261
Commercial real estate, non-owner occupied
2,251,351
2,323,533
2,368,360
2,400,839
2,360,596
Commercial real estate, owner occupied
1,152,751
1,174,195
1,137,894
1,162,083
1,153,707
Residential
2,366,943
2,370,905
2,316,490
2,288,921
2,257,385
Home equity
641,188
631,104
618,258
617,571
609,352
Individuals’ loans for household and other personal expenditures
158,480
162,089
161,459
168,388
176,523
Public finance and other commercial loans
981,431
964,814
964,599
956,318
966,807
Loans
12,646,808
12,639,650
12,465,582
12,486,027
12,271,422
Allowance for credit losses – loans
(187,828
)
(189,537
)
(204,681
)
(204,934
)
(205,782
)
NET LOANS
$
12,458,980
$
12,450,113
$
12,260,901
$
12,281,093
$
12,065,640
DEPOSITS
(Dollars In Thousands)
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
Demand deposits
$
7,678,510
$
7,757,679
$
7,771,976
$
7,965,862
$
7,952,040
Savings deposits
4,302,236
4,339,161
4,679,593
4,516,433
4,572,162
Certificates and other time deposits of $100,000 or more
1,277,833
1,415,131
1,451,443
1,408,985
1,280,607
Other certificates and time deposits
802,949
889,949
901,280
849,906
761,196
Brokered certificates of deposits1
303,572
167,150
80,292
80,267
80,571
TOTAL DEPOSITS2
$
14,365,100
$
14,569,070
$
14,884,584
$
14,821,453
$
14,646,576
1 – Total brokered deposits of $838.3 million, which includes brokered CD’s of $303.6 million at September 30, 2024. 2 – Total deposits at September 30, 2024 excludes $287.7 million of deposits reclassified to Deposits and other liabilities held for sale related to the pending Illinois branch sale.
CONSOLIDATED AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET AND NET INTEREST MARGIN ANALYSIS
(Dollars in Thousands)
For the Three Months Ended
September 30, 2024
September 30, 2023
Average Balance
Interest Income / Expense
Average Rate
Average Balance
Interest Income / Expense
Average Rate
ASSETS
Interest-bearing deposits
$
252,113
$
2,154
3.42
%
$
502,967
$
5,884
4.68
%
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
41,730
855
8.20
41,826
719
6.88
Investment Securities: (1)
Taxable
1,789,526
9,263
2.07
1,817,219
8,590
1.89
Tax-exempt (2)
2,226,823
17,100
3.07
2,298,025
17,655
3.07
Total Investment Securities
4,016,349
26,363
2.63
4,115,244
26,245
2.55
Loans held for sale
31,991
483
6.04
24,227
386
6.37
Loans: (3)
Commercial
8,699,733
164,922
7.58
8,456,527
153,993
7.28
Real estate mortgage
2,183,095
24,333
4.46
2,079,067
21,618
4.16
Installment
832,222
16,942
8.14
827,318
15,708
7.59
Tax-exempt (2)
933,125
10,914
4.68
900,493
10,491
4.66
Total Loans
12,680,166
217,594
6.86
12,287,632
202,196
6.58
Total Earning Assets
16,990,358
246,966
5.82
%
16,947,669
235,044
5.55
%
Total Non-Earning Assets
1,370,222
1,204,570
TOTAL ASSETS
$
18,360,580
$
18,152,239
LIABILITIES
Interest-Bearing Deposits:
Interest-bearing deposits
$
5,455,298
$
40,450
2.97
%
$
5,425,829
$
37,780
2.79
%
Money market deposits
2,974,188
25,950
3.49
2,923,798
23,607
3.23
Savings deposits
1,425,047
4,208
1.18
1,641,338
3,844
0.94
Certificates and other time deposits
2,499,655
28,248
4.52
2,106,910
20,320
3.86
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits
12,354,188
98,856
3.20
12,097,875
85,551
2.83
Borrowings
1,071,440
11,117
4.15
1,032,180
10,199
3.95
Total Interest-Bearing Liabilities
13,425,628
109,973
3.28
13,130,055
95,750
2.92
Noninterest-bearing deposits
2,348,266
2,637,717
Other liabilities
335,139
230,235
Total Liabilities
16,109,033
15,998,007
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
2,251,547
2,154,232
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$
18,360,580
109,973
$
18,152,239
95,750
Net Interest Income (FTE)
$
136,993
$
139,294
Net Interest Spread (FTE)(4)
2.54
%
2.63
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE):
Interest Income (FTE) / Average Earning Assets
5.82
%
5.55
%
Interest Expense / Average Earning Assets
2.59
%
2.26
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE)(5)
3.23
%
3.29
%
(1) Average balance of securities is computed based on the average of the historical amortized cost balances without the effects of the fair value adjustments. Annualized amounts are computed using a 30/360 day basis.
(2) Tax-exempt securities and loans are presented on a fully taxable equivalent basis, using a marginal tax rate of 21 percent for 2024 and 2023. These totals equal $5,883 and $5,911 for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(3) Non accruing loans have been included in the average balances.
(4) Net Interest Spread (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average interest-bearing liabilities.
(5) Net Interest Margin (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average earning assets.
CONSOLIDATED AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET AND NET INTEREST MARGIN ANALYSIS
(Dollars in Thousands)
For the Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2024
September 30, 2023
Average Balance
Interest Income / Expense
Average Rate
Average Balance
Interest Income / Expense
Average Rate
ASSETS
Interest-bearing deposits
$
383,007
$
11,642
4.05
%
$
340,887
$
9,685
3.79
%
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
41,748
2,569
8.20
41,160
2,281
7.39
Investment Securities: (1)
Taxable
1,787,119
27,062
2.02
1,872,267
26,563
1.89
Tax-exempt (2)
2,237,759
51,561
3.07
2,394,864
56,071
3.12
Total Investment Securities
4,024,878
78,623
2.60
4,267,131
82,634
2.58
Loans held for sale
27,735
1,242
5.97
22,398
1,046
6.23
Loans: (3)
Commercial
8,659,088
484,979
7.47
8,515,148
444,422
6.96
Real estate mortgage
2,159,738
70,489
4.35
2,008,852
60,354
4.01
Installment
825,060
49,406
7.98
833,133
44,492
7.12
Tax-exempt (2)
921,286
31,952
4.62
885,256
30,072
4.53
Total Loans
12,592,907
638,068
6.76
12,264,787
580,386
6.31
Total Earning Assets
17,042,540
730,902
5.72
%
16,913,965
674,986
5.32
%
Total Non-Earning Assets
1,331,830
1,201,539
TOTAL ASSETS
$
18,374,370
$
18,115,504
LIABILITIES
Interest-Bearing deposits:
Interest-bearing deposits
$
5,487,106
$
120,935
2.94
%
$
5,412,482
$
97,016
2.39
%
Money market deposits
3,018,526
80,563
3.56
2,812,891
55,868
2.65
Savings deposits
1,497,620
11,485
1.02
1,730,110
10,693
0.82
Certificates and other time deposits
2,447,684
83,309
4.54
1,821,408
45,860
3.36
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits
12,450,936
296,292
3.17
11,776,891
209,437
2.37
Borrowings
990,022
30,328
4.08
1,144,368
32,122
3.74
Total Interest-Bearing Liabilities
13,440,958
326,620
3.24
12,921,259
241,559
2.49
Noninterest-bearing deposits
2,375,120
2,850,557
Other liabilities
325,873
217,683
Total Liabilities
16,141,951
15,989,499
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
2,232,419
2,126,005
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$
18,374,370
326,620
$
18,115,504
241,559
Net Interest Income (FTE)
$
404,282
$
433,427
Net Interest Spread (FTE)(4)
2.48
%
2.83
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE):
Interest Income (FTE) / Average Earning Assets
5.72
%
5.32
%
Interest Expense / Average Earning Assets
2.56
%
1.90
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE)(5)
3.16
%
3.42
%
(1) Average balance of securities is computed based on the average of the historical amortized cost balances without the effects of the fair value adjustments. Annualized amounts are computed using a 30/360 day basis.
(2) Tax-exempt securities and loans are presented on a fully taxable equivalent basis, using a marginal tax rate of 21 percent for 2024 and 2023. These totals equal $17,538 and $18,090 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
(3) Non accruing loans have been included in the average balances.
(4) Net Interest Spread (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average interest-bearing liabilities.
(5) Net Interest Margin (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average earning assets.
ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE – NON-GAAP
(Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
Three Months Ended
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
2024
2023
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders – GAAP
$
48,719
$
39,456
$
47,472
$
42,010
$
55,898
$
135,647
$
179,901
Adjustments:
PPP loan income
—
—
—
(7
)
(8
)
—
(42
)
Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities
9,114
49
2
2,317
1,650
9,165
4,613
Non-core expenses1,2
—
—
3,481
12,682
—
3,481
—
Tax on adjustments
(2,220
)
(12
)
(848
)
(3,652
)
(403
)
(3,081
)
(1,121
)
Adjusted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders – Non-GAAP
$
55,613
$
39,493
$
50,107
$
53,350
$
57,137
$
145,212
$
183,351
Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)
58,289
58,328
59,273
59,556
59,503
58,629
59,465
Diluted Earnings Per Common Share – GAAP
$
0.84
$
0.68
$
0.80
$
0.71
$
0.94
$
2.31
$
3.03
Adjustments:
PPP loan income
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities
0.15
—
—
0.04
0.03
0.16
0.07
Non-core expenses1,2
—
—
0.06
0.21
—
0.06
—
Tax on adjustments
(0.04
)
—
(0.01
)
(0.06
)
(0.01
)
(0.05
)
(0.02
)
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Common Share – Non-GAAP
$
0.95
$
0.68
$
0.85
$
0.90
$
0.96
$
2.48
$
3.08
1 – Non-core expenses in 4Q23 included $6.3 million from early retirement and severance costs, $4.3 million from the FDIC special assessment, and $2.1 million from a lease termination. 2 – Non-core expenses in 1Q24 included $2.4 million from duplicative online banking conversion costs and $1.1 million from the FDIC special assessment.
NET INTEREST MARGIN (“NIM”), ADJUSTED
(Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
Three Months Ended
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
2024
2023
Net Interest Income (GAAP)
$
131,110
$
128,571
$
127,063
$
130,063
$
133,383
$
386,744
$
415,337
Fully Taxable Equivalent (“FTE”) Adjustment
5,883
5,859
5,795
5,853
5,911
17,538
18,090
Net Interest Income (FTE) (non-GAAP)
$
136,993
$
134,430
$
132,858
$
135,916
$
139,294
$
404,282
$
433,427
Average Earning Assets (GAAP)
$
16,990,358
$
17,013,984
$
17,123,851
$
17,222,714
$
16,947,669
$
17,042,540
$
16,913,965
Net Interest Margin (GAAP)
3.09
%
3.02
%
2.97
%
3.02
%
3.15
%
3.03
%
3.27
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE) (non-GAAP)
3.23
%
3.16
%
3.10
%
3.16
%
3.29
%
3.16
%
3.42
%
RETURN ON TANGIBLE COMMON EQUITY – NON-GAAP
(Dollars In Thousands)
Three Months Ended
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2024
2024
2023
2023
2024
2023
Total Average Stockholders’ Equity (GAAP)
$
2,251,547
$
2,203,361
$
2,242,139
$
2,130,993
$
2,154,232
$
2,232,419
$
2,126,005
Less: Average Preferred Stock
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
Less: Average Intangible Assets, Net of Tax
(729,581
)
(730,980
)
(732,432
)
(734,007
)
(735,787
)
(730,993
)
(737,476
)
Average Tangible Common Equity, Net of Tax (Non-GAAP)
$
1,496,841
$
1,447,256
$
1,484,582
$
1,371,861
$
1,393,320
$
1,476,301
$
1,363,404
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders (GAAP)
$
48,719
$
39,456
$
47,472
$
42,010
$
55,898
$
135,647
$
179,901
Plus: Intangible Asset Amortization, Net of Tax
1,399
1,399
1,546
1,724
1,724
4,345
5,182
Tangible Net Income (Non-GAAP)
$
50,118
$
40,855
$
49,018
$
43,734
$
57,622
$
139,992
$
185,083
Return on Tangible Common Equity (Non-GAAP)
13.39
%
11.29
%
13.21
%
12.75
%
16.54
%
12.64
%
18.10
%
For more information, contact: Nicole M. Weaver, Vice President and Director of Corporate Administration 765-521-7619 http://www.firstmerchants.com
SOURCE: First Merchants Corporation, Muncie, Indiana
PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media GroupNews Commentary – The commercial drone market is experiencing significant growth due to increasing demand from various industries such as construction, agriculture, security, military applications and so much more. Drones offer benefits like cost savings, improved efficiency, and enhanced safety for businesses. Market size is projected to reach USD12.3 billion by 2025, driven by technological advancements and regulatory approvals. AI is driving market transformation… The global commercial drones market size is estimated to grow by USD $126.87 billion from 2024-2028, according to a report from Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 57.74% during the forecast period. Rising applications of drones is driving market growth, with a trend towards new developments and launches of commercial drones. The report continued: “The commercial drones market is experiencing significant growth due to the continuous introduction of new drones, components, and software solutions by vendors. Companies across various industries are integrating drones into their operations for managing assets, monitoring sites, inspecting facilities, and capturing real-time data… featuring advanced autonomous flight technology and Artificial Intelligence, ensuring safe and stable flight in challenging environments. Such innovations increase the availability of advanced drone products and software solutions, fueling the adoption of commercial drones in the forecast period.” Active Tech Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), C3 AI (NYSE: AI), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOUN), AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV).
“The Commercial Drone Market is experiencing significant growth, particularly in sectors like… Agriculture. Drones equipped with high-quality Cameras are trending, with VAPOR Helicopter leading the way. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are revolutionizing Decision making in industries, from Inspection activities to Farm management. Hybrid drones, combining features of Quadcopters, Octocopters, and Hexacopters, are gaining popularity. In Agriculture, drones help reduce costs, increase Yield, and monitor crops using services like Raptor Maps. Filmmakers and Ecommerce sectors also benefit from aerial photography and warehouse management. The Commercial Drone Market is experiencing significant growth as Quadcopters, Octocopters, and Hexacopters find increasing applications in various sectors. Challenges in flight control, firmware, middleware, computer vision, and environmental awareness are being addressed through technological advances in electronics, computing, microcontrollers, and processors.”
ZenaTech Inc. (NASDAQ:ZENA) Issues Big Development News Today on Adding Patent Assets to the Company – Get the full details by visiting:https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/
Additional GroundbreakingZenaTech Inc. Developments this week include:
ZenaTech Announced a Software Company Acquisition Adding Significant Capabilities to Building AI Drones – ZenaTech also announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire ZooOffice Inc., the holding company for software companies Jadian and DeskFlex, from ZenaTech’s former parent company. The acquisition of these two software companies will provide important compliance and inspection software as well as scheduling and mapping software that will be incorporated into ZenaTech’s ZenaDrone AI drone solutions. This transaction further expands ZenaTech’s portfolio of SaaS software solutions and customer base and is expected to add to recurring revenue in the government sector among others. The acquisition is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals that may be required.
“Adding Jadian and DeskFlex software capabilities to the ZenaTech portfolio is part of our strategy to offer full stack, integrated AI drone solutions targeted to multiple sectors such as Agriculture. Jadian’s compliance software will be integrated with ZenaDrone drone hardware and sensors to help farmers track and manage regulatory and environmental requirements such as crop traceability, fertilizer and pesticide use, water conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions. Deskflex scheduling and mapping software will add value integrated into our property management sector solutions,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D. Read this full release at:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zenatech-announces-software-company-acquisition-113000656.html
Other recent developments in the technology industry include:
C3 AI (NYSE: AI) recently announced the newly re-branded C3 AI Asset Performance Suite, a collection of powerful, purpose-built AI applications that work together to help enterprises maximize value and improve sustainability performance. The C3 AI Asset Performance Suite includes C3 AI Reliability, C3 AI Process Optimization, and C3 AI Energy Management. These applications offer enterprises optimized asset performance through improvements in operational efficiency across business units.
“C3 AI is the leader in AI-powered predictive maintenance, and our customers are some of the most satisfied in the industry because our technology makes a positive impact on their bottom line and continually maximizes their investments,” said Thomas M. Siebel, CEO, C3 AI. “This re-brand of the C3 AI Asset Performance Suite is in recognition that customers realize the most value by deploying applications that work in concert together and address entire value chains; in this case, with predictive maintenance, process optimization, and energy management.”
SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOUN), a global leader in voice artificial intelligence, recently announced its SoundHound Chat AI voice assistant has launched new customization tools to help transform how automotive brands interact with their customers within the vehicle. The new features are currently being piloted with some of SoundHound’s OEM partners.
In addition to the core features offered from SoundHound Chat AI’s best-in-class voice assistant – which integrates generative AI capabilities with car controls and real-time domains like flight times, navigation, and weather – OEMs will be able to take control with customizations that work for their loyal consumers and align closely with their identity as an automaker. This new layer of customization will provide drivers with a more engaging and informative experience, allowing them to explore vehicle features and functionalities with greater ease and effectiveness.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) recently announced that the U.S. Army has awarded a $54.9 million delivery order for the production of Switchblade® loitering munition systems. The recently announced award includes an additional contract ceiling of $743 million with $54.9 million in new funding. This contract is issued as part of a broader, previously executed, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, and ensures continued support for both the U.S. Army and several allied partners, including Lithuania, Romania, and Sweden.
Work on this contract will be performed in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2026. The award, which leverages fiscal 2023 and 2024 Army funds along with Foreign Military Sales, highlights AV’s ongoing commitment to delivering proven, battlefield-ready technology that meets the evolving needs of modern armed forces.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) recently announced that it has contributed foundational elements of its NVIDIA Blackwell accelerated computing platform design to the Open Compute Project (OCP) and broadened NVIDIA Spectrum-X™ support for OCP standards.
At this year’s OCP Global Summit, NVIDIA will be sharing key portions of the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 system electro-mechanical design with the OCP community — including the rack architecture, compute and switch tray mechanicals, liquid-cooling and thermal environment specifications, and NVIDIA NVLink™ cable cartridge volumetrics — to support higher compute density and networking bandwidth.
NVIDIA has already made several official contributions to OCP across multiple hardware generations, including its NVIDIA HGX™ H100 baseboard design specification, to help provide the ecosystem with a wider choice of offerings from the world’s computer makers and expand the adoption of AI.
About FN Media Group:
At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases
DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated forty nine hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
Contact Information:
Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757
PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FN Media GroupNews Commentary – Artificial intelligence (AI) and drones are a formidable combo that has the potential to transform a variety of industries. When coupled, they build intelligent and autonomous airborne systems capable of completing complicated tasks in a variety of conditions. Because of this, the combination of artificial intelligence and drone technology offers new aerial technological developments for various industries, including agriculture, construction, energy, and security, as well as a solution to many aerial imagery demands. Factors such as technological advancements, growing need for automation and efficiency, and the increasing adoption of drones in the Logistics and Delivery, Agriculture and Precision Farming, Disaster Management and Search & Rescue, Environmental Monitoring and Industrial sectors are boosting the adoption of AI solutions in the UAV landscape. A report from Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence projected that the Artificial Intelligence in drone market size is projected to show steady growth during the forecast period (2024-2029). The report said: “Booming drone adoption in the sector boosts AI in drone market growth. Drones driven by AI are taking over major sectors such as agriculture, serving as industrious field workers. They minimize human effort while monitoring crop health, accurately locating pests, and applying irrigation to maximize production and optimize resource use. The movement known as “precision agriculture” is revolutionizing the way of raising food. According to the January 2022 Press Release Bureau, the government is extending financial support under the “Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization” to encourage the use of drones in agriculture. The Agriculture Ministry will give agricultural institutions grants of up to Rs. 10 lakhs so the farmers can buy drones. When it comes to drone demonstrations on farmer fields Farmer’s Producers Organizations (FPOs) can receive funds for up to 75% of the total cost of the drone. The initiatives and factors supporting agriculture enhance the drone market.” Active Tech Companies in the markets today include ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZENA), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS), Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO).
“The growing need for automation in logistics propels AI in drone market. Industries these days need effective and automated ways to handle logistics jobs. Drones and AI together present an attractive alternative for companies looking to increase productivity and accuracy as they save labor expenses and increase productivity by automating operations that were previously done by hand. By the end of 2024, Prime Air plans to expand internationally into Italy and the UK, in addition to starting drone deliveries in the United States. Similarly, in October 2023, Amazon Pharmacy launched drone delivery of pharmaceuticals. Eligible consumers in College Station, Texas, can now have their drugs delivered to their homes via drone within 60 minutes of placing their purchase with Amazon Pharmacy.”
ZenaTech Inc. (NASDAQ:ZENA) Issues Big Development News Today on Adding Patent Assets to the Company – Get the full details by visiting:https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-zena/
Additional GroundbreakingZenaTech Inc. Developments this week include:
ZenaTech Announced a Software Company Acquisition Adding Significant Capabilities to Building AI Drones – ZenaTech also announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire ZooOffice Inc., the holding company for software companies Jadian and DeskFlex, from ZenaTech’s former parent company. The acquisition of these two software companies will provide important compliance and inspection software as well as scheduling and mapping software that will be incorporated into ZenaTech’s ZenaDrone AI drone solutions. This transaction further expands ZenaTech’s portfolio of SaaS software solutions and customer base and is expected to add to recurring revenue in the government sector among others. The acquisition is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals that may be required.
“Adding Jadian and DeskFlex software capabilities to the ZenaTech portfolio is part of our strategy to offer full stack, integrated AI drone solutions targeted to multiple sectors such as Agriculture. Jadian’s compliance software will be integrated with ZenaDrone drone hardware and sensors to help farmers track and manage regulatory and environmental requirements such as crop traceability, fertilizer and pesticide use, water conservation, and greenhouse gas emissions. Deskflex scheduling and mapping software will add value integrated into our property management sector solutions,” said CEO Shaun Passley, Ph.D. Read this full release at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zenatech-announces-software-company-acquisition-113000656.html
Other recent developments in the technology industry include:
Edgescale AI Inc. and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) recently announced a strategic partnership to deliver Live Edge, a groundbreaking combination of Palantir Edge AI and Edgescale AI distributed infrastructure technology, designed to operationalize artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing, utilities, and other complex industrial environments.
AI is reshaping the world and transforming our relationship with technology, yet applying AI to operational technology in industries and critical infrastructure remains a challenge. So long as the complexity and operational burden of activating machines, equipment, vehicles, and sensors in physical systems remains high, we only achieve a fraction of AI’s true potential for automating our technology and improving our lives.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) recently announced that, through its subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Aramco, and Saudi Arabia’s Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) are planning to launch Design in Saudi Arabia (DISA). DISA is envisaged to be an incubator program for Saudi Arabia that aims to support startups that are adopting AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and wireless technologies for industrial use cases.
This initiative aims to support early-stage startups in the high-tech sector by guiding them from product design and development to commercialization. It aims to provide a comprehensive suite of support that includes technical assistance, business coaching, and intellectual property (IP) training, all aimed at enhancing the Kingdom’s technology ecosystem. Should this initiative materialize, startups would gain access to resources such as Qualcomm Technologies and Aramco’s industrial experience and RDIA’s strategic guidance.
AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE: UAVS) a leading provider of best-in-class unmanned aerial systems (UAS), sensors and software solutions for customers worldwide in the commercial and government verticals, recently issued a Letter to Stockholders from Company CEO Bill Irby.
Dear Stockholders: First, I want to extend my appreciation for the trust and confidence you have placed in AgEagle. Upon taking over as CEO from Grant Begley (former interim CEO and current Board Chairman), we have been evolving and advancing AgEagle toward the creation of maximum long-term shareholder value.
To fund our aggressive growth plans, we recently completed a $6.5M capital raise. The market’s reaction was a continued decline in our stock price. It became necessary to plan and execute a 50:1 reverse stock split. Our trading was halted October 4th but has since resumed, and I am truly optimistic regarding the path ahead as I believe that the company is currently under-valued… In conclusion, through a combination of our key initiatives, growing demand, and demonstrated progress in our newest market, I believe AgEagle is on the correct path to increase long-term shareholder value. We appreciate your continued support. Sincerely, Bill Irby, CEO
Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO), an award-winning, industry-leading developer of drone solutions and systems, recently announced its participation in the upcoming Wings of Saskatchewan event in Regina, from October 30 to October 31, 2024. Draganfly will showcase its latest drone technology advancements, contributing to discussions on industry trends, safety, and regulatory considerations alongside key stakeholders in the aviation sector.
The Wings of Saskatchewan Conference, hosted by the Saskatchewan Aerial Applicators Association and the Saskatchewan Aviation Council, serves as a vital gathering for the aviation community. This year’s event will bring together leaders from both civil and commercial aviation sectors to discuss technological advancements, regulatory updates, and future trends within the industry.
About FN Media Group: At FN Media Group, via our top-rated online news portal at www.financialnewsmedia.com, we are one of the very few select firms providing top tier one syndicated news distribution, targeted ticker tag press releases and stock market news coverage for today’s emerging companies. #tickertagpressreleases #pressreleases
DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM’s market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated forty nine hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by ZenaTech, Inc. by the Company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”, “expected”, “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually”, or “projected”. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
Contact Information: Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com – +1(561)325-8757
The report of the Strategic Feasibility Study on the Development of the Wetland Conservation Parks (WCPs) System was released today.
The development of a WCPs System was promulgated in the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy in 2021, with a view to conserving the Deep Bay wetlands with ecological value, and creating environmental capacity for the Northern Metropolis to achieve co-existence of conservation and development.
A strategic feasibility study was commissioned by the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD) in August 2022.
The feasibility study considered that the development of the WCPs System was feasible and worthwhile, which could effectively conserve the wetlands in the Deep Bay area and enhance their ecological value, promote the modernisation of the aquaculture industry, and provide eco-education and recreation facilities for public enjoyment.
At the same time, the development of the WCPs System could also create environmental capacity for the development of the Northern Metropolis, and achieve co-existence of conservation and development.
The feasibility study recommended developing the WCPs System in phases by developing the Sam Po Shue WCP first.
Subsequently, by making reference to the experience of planning and establishing the Sam Po Shue WCP, further studies on the remaining proposed parks would be reviewed in due course, such as the Hong Kong Wetland Park Expansion Area, Nam Sang Wai WCP, and Hoo Hok Wai WCP – including the Sha Ling/Nam Hang area.
Specific positioning and functions for each Park were recommended by the consultant based on their respective conditions, and broad zonings, including a Biodiversity Zone, Eco-friendly Aquaculture Zone, Fisheries Enhancement Zone and Visitor Zone, were delineated under the conceptual plan of each park.
It was also recommended that the Government oversee the overall management of the whole WCPs System, and manage the different zones within the parks in co-operation with different parties, depending on the relevant functions and operational needs.
Such parties include non-governmental organisations, agriculture and fisheries associations, local communities, private landowners and the private sector.
The AFCD said the recommendations of the report are generally acceptable and would be taken into consideration in the next stage when detailed studies are carried out on the investigation, design and construction of the parks.
Detectives from the VIPER and Lunar taskforces have this morning charged eight people with Commonwealth offences for their part in directing and assisting an organised crime syndicate.
It will be alleged the syndicate was leasing stores, employing staff as supervisors, store managers and couriers and commencing deliveries under the guise of operating the stores as legitimate gifts and confectionary stores, while selling only illicit tobacco and related products.
Investigators have obtained transactional records which reflect the syndicate earned over $30 million in a 12-month period through the sale of illicit tobacco in these stores.
Supported by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australian Border Force’s (ABF) Illicit Tobacco Taskforce and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), officers today executed more than 27 search warrants across Victoria as part of an ongoing investigation targeting serious organised crime in the illicit tobacco market.
With assistance from Taskforce Lunar, the Armed Crime Squad, the Illicit Firearms Squad, Financial Crime Squad, Criminal Proceeds Squad, Joint Organised Crime Taskforce, Echo Taskforce, Cybercrime Squad, Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team, Wyndham, Knox, Hobsons Bay, Echuca, Cobram, Ararat, Northern Grampians and Geelong Crime Investigation Units, Westgate Divisional Response Unit, Eastern Region Crime Squad and State Highway Patrol, search warrants were executed from 5am this morning at tobacco stores, warehouses and residential addresses statewide.
Three industrial properties in Truganina were searched, as well as residential addresses in Truganina, Hoppers Crossing (3), Glen Waverley, Lara, Grovedale, Footscray and Mount Cottrell, and tobacco stores in Herne Hill, Bell Park, Grovedale, Werribee (2), Dallas, Kensington, Boronia, Ararat (3), Kyabram, Echuca (2) and Yarrawonga.
A 25-year-old Hoppers Crossing man was arrested at Melbourne Airport just before 6:00 am.
He has since been charged with the Commonwealth offence of directing the activities of a criminal organisation, possess tobacco products with the intent of defrauding the revenue (Customs Act 1901), possess proceeds of crime and sell/distribute e-cigarettes.
He will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later today.
Directing the activities of a criminal organisation carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Four other people were arrested and have been charged with the same offences.
They include:
a 26-year-old Hoppers Crossing man, who will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later today
a 21-year-old Hoppers Crossing man, who will appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later today
a 50-year-old Grovedale woman, and
a 51-year-old Glen Waverley man, both of whom have been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday (28 October).
Five other people were arrested, including:
a 25-year-old Hoppers Crossing man, who was arrested in Ararat and charged with support a criminal organisation and illicit tobacco offences
a 46-year-old Ararat man, who was arrested in Ararat and charged with support a criminal Organisation and illicit tobacco offences
a 38-year-old Tarneit man who was arrested attempting to remove stock from a retail outlet in Werribee. He was charged with support a criminal organisation and illicit tobacco offences
a 50-year-old Mount Cotterill man was arrested in relation to illicit tobacco and possession of commercial cigarette manufacturing equipment located. He was released and is expected to be charged on summons, and
a 21-year-old Yarrawonga man was interviewed and released, he is also expected to be charged on summons.
During the warrants, police seized a Lamborghini Coupe and Range Rover from the Hoppers Crossing address, at least 600,000 illicit tobacco sticks, over 75 kgs of loose-leaf tobacco and a significant quantity of cash from the residential addresses as well as utilities and vans investigators will allege were used in the distribution of illicit tobacco.
Searches of the tobacco stores are still underway with total seizures to be confirmed.
The investigation commenced in December 2023 to specifically target and disrupt the trade of illicit tobacco and e-cigarettes linked to this organised crime syndicate.
Over 130 members were involved in today’s activities, including the entirety of the VIPER Taskforce office.
Victoria Police continues to support local councils and the Victorian Department of Health who have responsibility for tobacco and vape enforcement and compliance.
Detectives continue to work alongside external agencies such as the ABF, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, AFP, TGA, ATO and interstate counterparts.
Victoria Police has identified a number of state, national and global organised crime syndicates involved in the illicit tobacco conflict.
These syndicates are comprised of personnel from Middle Eastern organised crime groups and outlaw motorcycle gangs who are then engaging local networked youth and youth gangs to carry out the offending.
Investigators continue to appeal to anyone, especially store owners and staff, who have information about these incidents and who is responsible to come forward.
Anyone with information about these incidents or with further information about serious and organised crime linked to the illicit tobacco trade is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.auExternal Link
Victoria Police quotes
Crime Command Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien said:
“Organised crime syndicates and their serious offending linked to the infiltration of the tobacco industry remain a top priority for Victoria Police.
Those involved have the potential and the propensity to commit serious acts of violence and given their complete disregard for the safety of others, pose a serious risk to the community. Their criminality cannot be tolerated.
The disruption of this syndicate today will have a substantial impact on the illicit tobacco trade. These were significant players who we believe were directing the activity of a criminal organisation, turning a huge profit at the expense of others.
We have said a number of times that Victoria Police is focused on targeting syndicate leaders, directors, facilitators and organisers. That remains critical for us, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to bring this criminality to an end and to make involvement in illicit tobacco as hostile a proposition as possible for organised crime groups.”
ABF quotes
Assistant Commissioner Tony Smith said:
“ABF continues to work closely with our partners to disrupt and deter attempts by criminal syndicates seeking to profit from the illicit tobacco trade in Australia.
We remain committed to seizing illicit tobacco and dismantling these supply chains which we know criminals use to make immense profits as well as to fund a whole host of other nefarious criminal enterprises.”
ATO quotes
Acting Assistant Commissioner Justin Clarke said:
“Today’s whole of government response has been a successful step forward in addressing the Victorian tobacco dispute. These arrests and seizures show our commitment to stamping out illicit tobacco and removing it from our communities.
With the help of our partners, we continue to support coordinated efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle these organised crime syndicates who use profits from illicit tobacco to fund other serious illegal activities.
Organised crime costs Australians around $60 billion each yearExternal Link and the illicit tobacco trade not only takes away vital funding from essential community services, but it also disadvantages small businesses who do the right thing.”
These Australian Government entities are registered on the Peppol network. They appear on the Peppol Directory along with hundreds of state, territory and local government organisations, and thousands of other Australian businesses who can receive eInvoices.
If you supply to any of the entities listed below and can send eInvoices you may be paid faster. For more information visit Getting PaidExternal Link on the Department of Finance’s website or talk to your contract manager in the Government entity about any specific requirements.
Australian Government entities able to receive eInvoices
ABN
Entity name
73 147 176 148
Administrative Review Tribunal
80 246 994 451
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
50 802 255 175
Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency
92 661 124 436
Attorney-General’s Department
26 331 428 522
Australian Bureau of Statistics
34 864 955 427
Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research
54 488 464 865
Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
97 250 687 371
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality In Health Care
55 386 169 386
Australian Communications and Media Authority
94 410 483 623
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
11 259 448 410
Australian Crime Commission
84 425 496 912
Australian Digital Health Agency
21 133 285 851
Australian Electoral Commission
17 864 931 143
Australian Federal Police
19 892 732 021
Australian Film Television & Radio School
63 384 330 717
Australian Financial Security Authority
81 098 497 517
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
69 405 937 639
Australian Government Solicitor
47 996 232 602
Australian Human Rights Commission
31 162 998 046
Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme
63 257 175 248
Australian Institute of Criminology
64 001 053 079
Australian Institute of Family Studies
65 377 938 320
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
33 020 645 631
Australian National Audit Office
13 059 525 039
Australian Office of Financial Management
56 253 405 315
Australian Organ & Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority
79 635 582 658
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
99 470 863 260
Australian Public Service Commission
61 321 195 155
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)
35 931 927 899
Australian Renewable Energy Agency
35 201 451 156
Australian Research Council
86 768 265 615
Australian Securities & Investments Commission
37 467 566 201
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
22 323 254 583
Australian Signals Directorate
72 581 678 650
Australian Skills Quality Authority
67 374 695 240
Australian Sports Commission
67 250 046 148
Australian Submarine Agency
51 824 753 556
Australian Taxation Office
11 764 698 227
Australian Trade and Investment Commission
32 770 513 371
Australian Transaction Reports & Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)
65 061 156 887
Australian Transport Safety Bureau
64 909 221 257
Australian War Memorial
92 637 533 532
Bureau of Meteorology
21 075 951 918
Cancer Australia
44 808 014 470
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
43 669 904 352
Clean Energy Finance Corporation
72 321 984 210
Clean Energy Regulator
60 585 018 782
Climate Change Authority
41 640 788 304
Comcare Australia
64 703 642 210
Commonwealth Grants Commission
34 190 894 983
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
68 706 814 312
Department of Defence
69 289 134 420
Department of Defence Army & Air Force Canteen Service
12 862 898 150
Department of Education
96 584 957 427
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
61 970 632 495
Department of Finance
47 065 634 525
Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
83 605 426 759
Department of Health and Aged Care
33 380 054 835
Department of Home Affairs
74 599 608 295
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
86 267 354 017
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
52 997 141 147
Department of Parliamentary Services
36 342 015 855
Department of Social Services
18 526 287 740
Department of the House of Representatives
49 775 240 532
Department of the Parliamentary Budget Office
23 991 641 527
Department of the Senate
92 802 414 793
Department of the Treasury
23 964 290 824
Department of Veterans’ Affairs & the Repatriation Commission and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission
96 257 979 159
Digital Transformation Agency
13 051 694 963
Director of National Parks
99 696 833 561
Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission
12 212 931 598
eSafety Commissioner
93 614 579 199
Fair Work Commission
49 110 847 399
Federal Court of Australia
20 537 066 246
Food Standards Australia New Zealand
40 465 597 854
Future Fund Board of Guardians
53 156 699 293
Future Fund Management Agency
80 091 799 039
Geoscience Australia
12 949 356 885
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
27 598 959 960
Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority
26 424 781 530
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
59 912 679 254
Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation
51 248 702 319
Inspector-General of Taxation
38 113 072 755
IP Australia
13 679 821 382
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
47 446 409 542
National Anti-Corruption Commission
36 889 228 992
National Archives of Australia
87 361 602 478
National Blood Authority
75 149 374 427
National Capital Authority
56 552 760 098
National Competition Council
25 617 475 104
National Disability Insurance Agency
40 816 261 802
National Emergency Management Agency
27 855 975 449
National Gallery of Australia
88 601 010 284
National Health and Medical Research Council
15 337 761 242
National Health Funding Body
30 429 895 164
National Indigenous Australians Agency
22 385 178 289
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
67 890 861 578
National Transport Commission
72 581 678 650
National Vocational Education and Training Regulator
40 293 545 182
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
61 900 398 761
North Queensland Water Infrastructure Authority
87 904 367 991
Office of National Intelligence
41 425 630 817
Office of Parliamentary Counsel
80 959 780 601
Office of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
92 702 019 575
Office of the Australian Accounting Standards Board
85 249 230 937
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
53 003 678 148
Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman
41 036 606 436
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
43 884 188 232
Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman
15 862 053 538
Office of the Gene Technology Regulator
27 478 662 745
Office Of the Inspector-General of Aged Care
67 332 668 643
Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence & Security
67 582 329 284
Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
87 767 208 148
Office of the Special Investigator
30 620 774 963
Old Parliament House
78 094 372 050
Productivity Commission
45 307 308 260
Professional Services Review
99 528 049 038
Regional Investment Corporation
45 852 104 259
Royal Australian Mint
25 203 754 319
Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
81 840 374 163
Safe Work Australia
46 741 353 180
Screen Australia
32 745 854 352
Seafarers Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority
The violence wrought by the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 Movement is often narrowly framed as intended to control eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s resource-rich mining sites. The rebel group launched its most recent offensive in 2021 and currently controls vast territories in the south-east of North Kivu province, surrounding and cutting off the main city of Goma.
Eastern DR Congo mines produce crucial raw materials such as tin, tantalum and tungsten, as well as abundant quantities of gold. It therefore seems logical to reduce explanations of conflict to the ambition by M23, and Rwanda behind it, to control the mines directly.
We belong to a team of researchers who examine the various dimensions of conflict from different perspectives. Our findings, based on fieldwork and conducted in collaboration with in-country experts, show that this popular analysis does not paint the full picture.
Conflict analysis often ignores historical and local dimensions. Our investigation with the Goma-based civil society organisation Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Paysannes therefore explored the local stakes and impacts of the M23 crisis. We interviewed more than 55 people in North Kivu (DR Congo), including members of M23, as well as soldiers and armed groups fighting them, local chiefs, state agents, teachers, taximen, traders and farmers who live on the frontline of the conflict.
Our research reveals that M23 employs a more profound strategy to boost its position and military strength (through Rwandan support) in local struggles over land, authority and rents. M23’s disruptive strategy aims to replace Congolese authorities and overhaul local governance in areas it controls in eastern DR Congo. Key to this strategy is:
undermining and replacing local (customary) authorities
taking over strategic trade routes
the installation of an elaborate taxation regime.
These strategies also allow M23 – and Rwanda – to generate revenues from the local economy, including rents from DR Congo’s mineral wealth, without necessarily directly controlling mines.
Historical struggles over land
Interviewees attached great importance to the historical context of the M23 conflict, explaining how struggles over land date back to independence in 1960. Going back to the 1930s and 1940s, the Belgian colonial administrators already organised large movements of migrant workers from Rwanda to work on plantations in DR Congo. The Rwandophone migrants and their descendants settled in North Kivu, becoming part of the local population.
After independence, Hutu and Tutsi (Rwandophone) communities began to jostle for control over North Kivu’s fertile farmland with the Hunde and Nyanga communities there. As grievances over access to land and property rights increased, Rwandophone communities were stigmatised as “non-indigenous” and their land claims as illegitimate.
As the Congo Wars broke out in the 1990s, people began seeking recourse to armed groups to settle land conflicts. Before the rise of M23 in 2012, two other groups (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie and later Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple) rose to protect the Rwandophone population in eastern DRC. They also grabbed and sold vast concessions of land – held by the state or other communities – to allied farmers and business people. These were typically from the Tutsi community.
Given the country’s complex and under-enforced land laws, land claims became exceedingly difficult to verify or prove. This has strengthened the belief that the only way to secure access to land is by resorting to armed groups. Thus, M23 is perceived as the guardian of the Tutsi community’s access to land.
This perception is well illustrated by a testimony of a local leader in Masisi territory:
The wars of the last three decades have been motivated by a struggle for control over land … Indigenous people are driven out, dispossessed of their land in favour of others who are considered foreigners and refugees. … the M23 is made up of (Tutsi) pastoralists … and there are fields that their rivals had seized … it was one of their (M23) first concerns to start exploiting them.
Most Congolese Tutsi have not asked for this “protection” by M23. But the ensuing grievances and ethnic tensions will haunt the relations between communities for years to come.
Struggles over customary authority
In DR Congo, customary chiefs play an important role in local land governance. They also adjudicate conflicts, bind people together through rituals, and represent the symbolic claim by a specific community to a given place.
Many Congolese we spoke to perceive M23’s main aim to be control of power at the local level — undermining the existing authorities. The group has indeed sought to replace customary authorities with M23-appointed ones, at times assassinating Congolese chiefs. Local sources said M23 even burnt chiefdom archives, destroying evidence of claims to customary authority.
M23’s economic grip
Wherever M23 has a foothold, it installs an elaborate taxation regime. This involves checkpoint tolls, household taxes, dues on business, harvest taxes and forced labour. In doing so, the group generates the revenues to sustain the conflict. But this also strengthens its politico-administrative hold on the population, as taxation is a symbolic interface of public authority.
Local armed groups that joined with the Congolese army to combat M23 deepen the problem. Called wazalendo (“patriots”), they are often unpaid and therefore rely on payments from the population to sustain their counter-offensive. As a result, taxation in eastern Congo has become heavily “militiarised”. Taxed by government forces, wazalendo and M23, civilians pay a heavy toll.
The military nature of local governance could jeopardise future efforts to bring peace to eastern DRC.
What about minerals?
M23 has an impact on all aspects of local governance in eastern DR Congo. It has found ways to control and profit from the local economy in North Kivu, including mineral supply chains. It operates checkpoints along arteries and taxes minerals smuggled to Rwanda, alongside other trade flows.
Having M23 control strategic trade routes in DR Congo, including those crossing into Uganda, is a benefit for Rwanda. From Kigali’s perspective, the resurgence of M23 in 2021 came at a perfect time to block Uganda’s efforts to improve the road network in eastern DR Congo towards its own territory. Rwanda and Uganda are locked in intense competition for Congolese informal trade, re-exporting its timber and minerals as their own, gaining taxes and foreign earnings that ought to benefit the Congolese treasury and population.
What must be done?
DR Congo’s resources play a large role in the M23 conflict, but our study underscores the historical roots of the conflict and its profound local impacts. These findings should inform locally meaningful and sustainable conflict resolution strategies.
Since the M23 revival, land access, trade and security have become increasingly mediated by armed actors. Even after a possible M23 defeat, it will take years of local dialogue and mediation to undo this involvement of militia in local governance, resolve land issues, repair inter-community relations and remake customary authority. But that’s the only way to reach sustainable peace in North Kivu.
Ken Matthysen works for the International Peace Information Service (IPIS)
This publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD). The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of IPIS and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the Belgian Development Cooperation.
The violence wrought by the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 Movement is often narrowly framed as intended to control eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s resource-rich mining sites. The rebel group launched its most recent offensive in 2021 and currently controls vast territories in the south-east of North Kivu province, surrounding and cutting off the main city of Goma.
Eastern DR Congo mines produce crucial raw materials such as tin, tantalum and tungsten, as well as abundant quantities of gold. It therefore seems logical to reduce explanations of conflict to the ambition by M23, and Rwanda behind it, to control the mines directly.
We belong to a team of researchers who examine the various dimensions of conflict from different perspectives. Our findings, based on fieldwork and conducted in collaboration with in-country experts, show that this popular analysis does not paint the full picture.
Conflict analysis often ignores historical and local dimensions. Our investigation with the Goma-based civil society organisation Association pour le Développement des Initiatives Paysannes therefore explored the local stakes and impacts of the M23 crisis. We interviewed more than 55 people in North Kivu (DR Congo), including members of M23, as well as soldiers and armed groups fighting them, local chiefs, state agents, teachers, taximen, traders and farmers who live on the frontline of the conflict.
Our research reveals that M23 employs a more profound strategy to boost its position and military strength (through Rwandan support) in local struggles over land, authority and rents. M23’s disruptive strategy aims to replace Congolese authorities and overhaul local governance in areas it controls in eastern DR Congo. Key to this strategy is:
undermining and replacing local (customary) authorities
taking over strategic trade routes
the installation of an elaborate taxation regime.
These strategies also allow M23 – and Rwanda – to generate revenues from the local economy, including rents from DR Congo’s mineral wealth, without necessarily directly controlling mines.
Historical struggles over land
Interviewees attached great importance to the historical context of the M23 conflict, explaining how struggles over land date back to independence in 1960. Going back to the 1930s and 1940s, the Belgian colonial administrators already organised large movements of migrant workers from Rwanda to work on plantations in DR Congo. The Rwandophone migrants and their descendants settled in North Kivu, becoming part of the local population.
After independence, Hutu and Tutsi (Rwandophone) communities began to jostle for control over North Kivu’s fertile farmland with the Hunde and Nyanga communities there. As grievances over access to land and property rights increased, Rwandophone communities were stigmatised as “non-indigenous” and their land claims as illegitimate.
As the Congo Wars broke out in the 1990s, people began seeking recourse to armed groups to settle land conflicts. Before the rise of M23 in 2012, two other groups (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie and later Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple) rose to protect the Rwandophone population in eastern DRC. They also grabbed and sold vast concessions of land – held by the state or other communities – to allied farmers and business people. These were typically from the Tutsi community.
Given the country’s complex and under-enforced land laws, land claims became exceedingly difficult to verify or prove. This has strengthened the belief that the only way to secure access to land is by resorting to armed groups. Thus, M23 is perceived as the guardian of the Tutsi community’s access to land.
This perception is well illustrated by a testimony of a local leader in Masisi territory:
The wars of the last three decades have been motivated by a struggle for control over land … Indigenous people are driven out, dispossessed of their land in favour of others who are considered foreigners and refugees. … the M23 is made up of (Tutsi) pastoralists … and there are fields that their rivals had seized … it was one of their (M23) first concerns to start exploiting them.
Most Congolese Tutsi have not asked for this “protection” by M23. But the ensuing grievances and ethnic tensions will haunt the relations between communities for years to come.
Struggles over customary authority
In DR Congo, customary chiefs play an important role in local land governance. They also adjudicate conflicts, bind people together through rituals, and represent the symbolic claim by a specific community to a given place.
Many Congolese we spoke to perceive M23’s main aim to be control of power at the local level — undermining the existing authorities. The group has indeed sought to replace customary authorities with M23-appointed ones, at times assassinating Congolese chiefs. Local sources said M23 even burnt chiefdom archives, destroying evidence of claims to customary authority.
M23’s economic grip
Wherever M23 has a foothold, it installs an elaborate taxation regime. This involves checkpoint tolls, household taxes, dues on business, harvest taxes and forced labour. In doing so, the group generates the revenues to sustain the conflict. But this also strengthens its politico-administrative hold on the population, as taxation is a symbolic interface of public authority.
Local armed groups that joined with the Congolese army to combat M23 deepen the problem. Called wazalendo (“patriots”), they are often unpaid and therefore rely on payments from the population to sustain their counter-offensive. As a result, taxation in eastern Congo has become heavily “militiarised”. Taxed by government forces, wazalendo and M23, civilians pay a heavy toll.
The military nature of local governance could jeopardise future efforts to bring peace to eastern DRC.
What about minerals?
M23 has an impact on all aspects of local governance in eastern DR Congo. It has found ways to control and profit from the local economy in North Kivu, including mineral supply chains. It operates checkpoints along arteries and taxes minerals smuggled to Rwanda, alongside other trade flows.
Having M23 control strategic trade routes in DR Congo, including those crossing into Uganda, is a benefit for Rwanda. From Kigali’s perspective, the resurgence of M23 in 2021 came at a perfect time to block Uganda’s efforts to improve the road network in eastern DR Congo towards its own territory. Rwanda and Uganda are locked in intense competition for Congolese informal trade, re-exporting its timber and minerals as their own, gaining taxes and foreign earnings that ought to benefit the Congolese treasury and population.
What must be done?
DR Congo’s resources play a large role in the M23 conflict, but our study underscores the historical roots of the conflict and its profound local impacts. These findings should inform locally meaningful and sustainable conflict resolution strategies.
Since the M23 revival, land access, trade and security have become increasingly mediated by armed actors. Even after a possible M23 defeat, it will take years of local dialogue and mediation to undo this involvement of militia in local governance, resolve land issues, repair inter-community relations and remake customary authority. But that’s the only way to reach sustainable peace in North Kivu.
– Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group seeks local power in DRC, not just control over mining operations – https://theconversation.com/rwandan-backed-m23-rebel-group-seeks-local-power-in-drc-not-just-control-over-mining-operations-231318
Coffee is a drink that punctuates many of our lives. Millions of us depend on this dark liquid to start the morning, or to break up the day.
It has also become quite an expensive habit. But before we baulk at paying £5 for a flat white, it’s worth thinking about the price paid by the coffee farmers who provide its base ingredient.
For behind every latte and espresso lies the toil and stress of coffee farmers, who face serious challenges to bring their popular product to the rest of the world. Harvests can be devastated by extreme weather events or pests and plant diseases, while volatile market prices add another layer of worry, making future income uncertain.
This volatility exists in other crops, but especially so for coffee, the price of which is extremely unpredictable. It can rise and fall frequently because of the weather, market demand and the state of the global economy.
Coffee trees take up to four years to grow and produce beans, and cutting them down is expensive, so farmers can’t easily change how much coffee they produce based on price changes.
But price volatility means that farmers can’t be sure about their income at harvest time, which can be incredibly stressful. And our research shows just how much that unpredictability affects farmers’ mental health.
Our work focused on farmers in Vietnam, a country where coffee production has soared over the last three decades. From accounting for just 1.2% of world output in 1989, Vietnam is currently the second largest producer in the world (after Brazil) producing just under 30 million 60kg bags a year. Vietnam produces mainly “robusta” coffee beans, grown by small farmers in the central highlands region of the country.
Using data from a long-running observational survey to assess mental health, we looked at how Vietnamese coffee farmers experienced symptoms of depression including sadness, hopelessness, lack of concentration and poor sleep – and how these were linked to monthly international robusta coffee prices.
Using a range of techniques to interpret the data, we found clear evidence that being exposed to coffee price fluctuations increased depressive symptoms among farmers of the crop. They also had lower overall wellbeing because of greater mental stress and worry over their economic future – and drank more alcohol.
The impact of all of this uncertainty is significant. According to the World Health Organization, poor mental health is a major contributor to the global burden of disease, especially in low-income countries where mental illness and poverty are closely linked.
Estimates suggest that as much as 80% of the world’s depressive disorder burden is borne by low and middle income countries. But these issues are often overlooked, even though they are crucial to addressing poverty.
What can coffee drinkers do?
There are ways to tackle the mental health effects of coffee price volatility. Initiatives to promote price stability in the global coffee markets and financial literacy among farmers, would be worth pursuing. So too would work to improve mental health support within farming communities, providing resources for coping with stress and building resilience.
Coffee lovers around the world can also play their part by choosing the their drink carefully. Fairtrade certification for example, was set up to help reduce coffee price volatility and the resulting poverty it caused.
It guarantees a minimum price for certified coffee, covering the average cost of sustainable production and reducing the financial risks farmers face. Fairtrade-certified farmers also receive a premium to invest in projects that improve the quality of life for their communities.
And research suggests it is succeeding. A 2005 study of coffee farmers in Nicaragua revealed that Fairtrade farmers are less concerned about the possibility of losing their farm in the coming year compared to conventional farmers. And using data from Costa Rica, research from 2022 has found fair trade certification was effective in increasing farmers’ income.
So the next time you savour your morning cup of coffee, take a moment to consider the people who cultivated the beans which made the drink. Coffee farmers deserve our appreciation – but also our help in establishing fairer, more stable market conditions which safeguard their livelihoods and mental health.
Saurabh Singhal received funding from the University of Copenhagen.
Finn Tarp has over the years received funding from a variety of donors and research funding agencies for work in Vietnam on on development issues . This is relevant only in the sense that is has helped inform about living conditions in the country.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jesica Lopez, PhD Candidate, Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University
Colombia hosts 18% of the world’s bird species – more than any other country.Ariboen / shutterstock
The city of Cali, in Colombia, is hosting the UN’s 16th biodiversity summit, known as Cop16. The summit, which runs until Friday, November 1, is focused on how countries will fulfil previous pledges to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and water and restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
It’s a noble aim, yet Colombia itself shows just how far we have to go.
If you travel south east from Cali, over the Andes mountains, you drop into the Amazon basin. From there, rainforest stretches for hundreds of kilometres to the border with Brazil – and far beyond. This rainforest is the main reason Colombia ranks as the fourth most biodiverse country in the world. Nowhere else has as many species of birds. Only Brazil and China have more trees.
But the region is experiencing an environmental crisis. I recently completed a PhD on the northern Colombian Amazon, in which I tracked how the rainforest is fast being deforested and turned into pastures for cattle ranches. I particularly looked at how this affects hotspots of plant and animal life in rugged valleys on the Amazonian side of the Andes – spectacularly biodiverse places even by Colombian standards – and looked at what can be done to protect them.
This is not an easy part of the world in which to do such work – the NGO Global Witness ranks Colombia as the single most dangerous country for environmental defenders. While documenting legal and illegal cattle ranching, I was often reminded to be aware of exactly who I was contacting and to be wary of which questions I was asking.
Activists and researchers often face violence from those who profit from deforestation, and I had to work closely with organisations and authorities that secured own safety. Very harrowing experiences are not uncommon.
Despite these risks, many continue their efforts, driven by a deep commitment to protecting the Amazon and its biodiversity. Their bravery only underscores the urgent need for stronger protections and enforcement.
Peace led to more deforestation
For decades, the region was mostly controlled by the Farc guerrilla army. The Farc was largely funded by kidnappings and the drug trade, and wasn’t interested in large-scale farming.
All this changed after the government of Colombia signed a peace agreement with the Farc in 2016. Since then, deforestation has increased, as both legal and illegal land tenants have acquired land for farming through what they call “sustainable development” practices. This mostly involves turning forest into pasture for cattle, the main driver of deforestation across Latin America.
Cattle ranches are the main driver of deforestation. Jordi Romo / shutterstock
Things peaked in 2018, when 2,470 square kilometres of forest was lost in Colombia – equivalent to a circular area more than 50 kilometres across. Rates of deforestation have reduced slightly since then (though the data isn’t very reliable), but appear to be increasing once again in 2024.
The recent increase might be attributed to the demand to produce more coca or rear more cattle, along with pressure from extractive industries like mining. The spread of roads and other infrastructure further into the rainforest have also opened up new opportunities.
Billions more needed to stop deforestation
In its 2018 Living Forest Report, the WWF included Colombia’s Chocó-Darién and Amazon forests in its list of 11 “deforestation fronts” across the planet. These fronts are where it projected the largest concentrations of forest loss or severe degradation would occur in the period till 2030.
No wonder then that Colombia’s environmental crisis has drawn international attention. Countries like Germany, Norway and the UK have supported its efforts to reduce deforestation, pledging about €22 million under the UN’s reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation scheme (known as REDD+). This is a good start, but much more is needed.
The Amazon winds through dense forest on the border between Colombia and Peru. Jhampier Giron M / shutterstock
Indeed, the Global Biodiversity Framework, the international treaty that underlies the Cop16 negotiations in Cali, estimates we’ll need an extra US$700 billion each year to protect biodiversity.
An important issue at the summit is therefore how to mobilise sufficient financial resources, particularly for developing countries. The previous global biodiversity summit, held in Canada in 2022, established that wealthy countries should provide US$30 billion annually to low-income countries by 2030.
Ahead of this year’s summit, countries were expected to submit new national biodiversity plans detailing how they’ll meet the 30% protection goals. Most failed to do so – including Colombia. Despite this setback, delegates in Cali will hopefully develop robust mechanisms to monitor progress and ensure countries are held accountable for meeting their targets.
Other critical issues include reforms to benefit small-scale farmers in the Amazon. The region’s current economic model is centred on reshaping the land and extracting resources, but it has not generated prosperity for these more sustainable farmers. That same economic model has also failed to protect the forest itself.
The summit should also work towards recognising indigenous peoples’ rights and traditional knowledge, and including their voices in policy decisions, and must address violence against environmental defenders.
These are all huge issues in Colombia and indeed any country where cattle farmers are eyeing up pristine rainforest. The summit in Cali represents a great opportunity for the world to seriously tackle the dual biodiversity and climate crisis.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
The University of Connecticut celebrated its outstanding faculty, staff, students, and community partners at the annual Provost’s Awards Ceremony held this month. The event recognized exceptional contributions to UConn’s academic mission, innovative research, and community engagement, highlighting the remarkable impact these individuals and groups have made within the University and beyond.
Provost Anne D’Alleva, who hosted the ceremony, opened the event by reflecting on the significance of honoring those who have made a lasting difference at UConn. “This evening, we celebrate the achievements of individuals whose dedication and innovation inspire us all. Their work enhances UConn’s reputation as a top public research institution, while also enriching the lives of our students, their fields of study, and the communities we serve.”
Among the honorees were faculty who excelled in teaching, research, and service, as well as community partners whose collaborations with UConn have had a profound impact on local communities. The ceremony also highlighted students for their leadership and commitment to community engagement and staff members for their dedicated service in support of student success.
The evening featured special recognitions, including the Alumni Faculty Excellence Award, Provost’s Outstanding Service Award, and the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship, which acknowledges outstanding contributions to addressing critical community issues through collaborative efforts. The ceremony concluded with a celebration of the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor awardees, UConn’s highest faculty honor, including Dr. Nora Berrah, Dr. Ki H. Chon, and Dr. Crystal L. Park, whose pioneering work in their respective fields has brought distinction to UConn.
A full listing of the honorees is below.
Alumni Faculty Excellence Award
Kari Adamsons, Human Development and Family Sciences
Senjie Lin, Marine Sciences
Annamaria Csizmadia, Human Development and Family Sciences
Provost’s Outstanding Service Award
Caroline Dealy, UConn Health
Steve Zinn, Animal Science
Michael Finiguerra, Marine Sciences
Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship
Dan Burkey, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (Distinguished Faculty Instructor)
Tatiana Andreyeva, Agricultural and Resource Economics (Emerging Faculty Community Impact)
Angela Bermúdez-Millán, Public Health Sciences (Distinguished Faculty Community Impact)
Roman Shrestha, Allied Health Sciences (Emerging Faculty Research Scholar)
Richard Pomp, Law (Distinguished Faculty Research Scholar)
Erin Cova, UConn School of Medicine (Graduate Student)
Letian Sun, Undergraduate Student
Megan Delaney, School of Pharmacy
Community Partners
Erica Fearn, 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm
Herb Virgo, Keney Park Sustainability Project
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, accepted by Jeremy Whipple, Executive Director of Department of Agriculture
Institutional Impact
UConn Writing Center, accepted by Tom Deans, Director
Nadine Brennan, David Embrick, Cynthia Miranda-Donnelly, Janice Castle, and Kim Schwarz, Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, & Equity Initiative (RRCRE)
The State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, jointly administered by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality and the North Dakota Public Finance Authority, have awarded six loans for water and sanitary sewer projects since August.
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) awarded $350,000 to Drayton, $15 million to Fargo, and $3.3 million to Jamestown. These cities will replace aging water meters to ensure accurate accounting of water use and identify potential leaks.
Grand Forks received a $6.9 million CWSRF loan for Phases 2 through 5 of a sanitary sewer collection installation. This project will serve areas currently on septic systems, reducing potential groundwater impacts.
Southeast Water Users District received a $5.7 million Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) loan towards the construction of a new water treatment plant, a new ground storage reservoir, and the expansion of the existing wellfield. This project aims to improve water quality for users in Dickey, LaMoure and Logan counties.
Mandan received a $5.5 million DWSRF loan towards replacing the Collins Reservoir, ensuring adequate water storage for the community.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides part of the SRF programs’ funding, which offers below-market interest rate loans to political subdivisions for financing projects authorized under the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. SRF programs operate nationwide to provide funding to maintain and improve the infrastructure that protects our vital water resources.
Loans are awarded to projects listed on the project priority list based on project eligibility determined by the Department of Environmental Quality and the Public Finance Authority’s review of repayment ability. The Public Finance Authority is overseen by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, consisting of Governor Doug Burgum as chairman, Attorney General Drew H. Wrigley, and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. Please contact the Department of Environmental Quality at ndsrf@nd.gov regarding specific detail on any of the projects mentioned above.
Dr. K. Brad Stamm to Retirefrom Board of Directors
ARCHBOLD, Ohio, Oct. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — F&M Bank (“F&M”), an Archbold, Ohio-based bank owned by Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMAO), announced updates to its Board of Directors. On October 22, 2024, Kevin Frey was appointed to the Board of Directors of both the Company and the Bank. In addition to this new appointment, F&M announced the retirement of Dr. K. Brad Stamm from the Board of Directors.
“On behalf of F&M’s Board of Directors, I am thrilled to welcome Kevin to our team. With deep roots in our legacy market and a wealth of experience as Vice President of Frey & Sons, he brings invaluable insights that will strengthen our connection to the communities we serve,” said F&M’s Chairman Andrew Briggs. “We look forward to his contributions as we continue to grow while staying true to the values guiding F&M for generations.”
Frey is the Vice President of Frey & Sons, Inc., a family-owned real estate brokerage and auction company that was incorporated in 1963 and is headquartered in Archbold, Ohio. Frey is the Principal Broker and lead Auctioneer for Frey & Sons. The company specializes in real estate auctions and sales in Northwest Ohio and heavy equipment auctions across the Midwest. Frey also manages a portfolio of multifamily, commercial, and agricultural properties and is a member of the Board of Directors for Yoder & Frey, Inc., a farm and machinery auction yard. Frey received a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Goshen College and worked as a Certified Public Accountant from 1996-2003. He is a member of the National Association of Realtors, Ohio Association of Realtors, National Auctions Association, and Ohio Auctioneers Association.
Dr. Stamm joined the Board in November of 2016 and served with distinction throughout his tenure. He is the President and Educational Consultant of Stamm Management Group. A celebration in honor of Dr. Stamm’s contributions was held on October 22, 2024. His final day as a Board member will be October 25, 2024.
“Brad has been an instrumental part of our Board for nearly eight years, and his dedication and leadership will be greatly missed,” said President and CEO of F&M, Lars Eller. “We wish him all the best and express our deepest gratitude for his service to F&M.”
About F&M Bank: F&M Bank is a local independent community bank that has been serving its communities since 1897. F&M Bank provides commercial banking, retail banking and other financial services. Our locations are in Butler, Champaign, Fulton, Defiance, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Shelby, Williams, and Wood counties in Ohio. In Northeast Indiana, we have offices located in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Jay, Steuben and Wells counties. The Michigan footprint includes Oakland County, and we have Loan Production Offices in West Bloomfield, Michigan; Muncie, Indiana; and Perrysburg and Bryan, Ohio.
Safe harbor statement Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements by F&M, including management’s expectations and comments, may not be based on historical facts and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties inherent in general and local banking conditions, competitive factors specific to markets in which F&M and its subsidiaries operate, future interest rate levels, legislative and regulatory decisions, capital market conditions, or the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impacts on our credit quality and business operations, as well as its impact on general economic and financial market conditions. F&M assumes no responsibility to update this information. For more details, please refer to F&M’s SEC filing, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Such filings can be viewed at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov or through F&M’s website www.fm.bank.
Company Contact:
Investor and Media Contact:
Lars B. Eller President and Chief Executive Officer Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (419) 446-2501 leller@fm.bank
Andrew M. Berger Managing Director SM Berger & Company, Inc. (216) 464-6400 andrew@smberger.com
Good morning, and thank you for the warm welcome. A special thank you to Nodal for inviting me to join your annual Trader Conference again this year. It is truly an honor to address all of you this morning. I am more than two years into my role as a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and I still feel humbled by the opportunity to stand on a stage with a microphone to address accomplished professionals like all of you. My children, on the other hand, are surprised that anyone would want to hear me talk about anything, and they are even more shocked that I would need a microphone to be heard as they are convinced that the only volume I ever use when speaking is shouting.
The topic for my speech on today’s agenda is: New Perspectives on Energy Trading and Power Markets, and I plan to focus on the road ahead for these markets. But before discussing the road ahead, I will start with a story from my childhood about when I learned to drive. I say this is a story from my childhood because in South Dakota, children as young as fourteen years old are allowed to obtain a driver’s license. As much as I miss my home state, when I look at my fourteen-year-old son and think about him driving, I see the wisdom in Virginia’s approach.
At the ripe old age of twelve, my dad decided it was time for me to learn how to drive. As a tall child, I could reach the gas and brake pedals, which was apparently the minimum criteria for beginning driving lessons on the farm. To be honest, I was scared to death of driving. But my parents said I should learn because if there was ever an emergency, and I was the only one home, I may need to drive for help. That logic just made me scared of driving and being left alone on the farm.
My experience as a parent teaching two teenagers to drive involved multiple practice sessions in empty parking lots before slowly graduating to quiet side roads before paying another adult to do the really scary stuff, such as driving on highways and making left turns across oncoming traffic. I suspect that sounds familiar to many in this room as well.
But that suburban approach is not how I learned to drive. My lesson – notice I said lesson, not lessons—was a little more hands-off. On the day I learned to drive, my dad had me jump in the passenger seat of his 1977 blue Chevy pick-up truck to take a ride with him. Oddly, my older brother jumped in another farm truck and followed close behind.
After driving a few miles away from our house, my dad drove the truck into the middle of a freshly plowed field. Dad threw the truck into park, jumped out, and told me to slide over to the driver’s seat. He then shut the door, leaned into the window, and told me to drive around the field until I was comfortable enough to drive myself home. At that point, I realized why my brother had followed us in another vehicle—it was my dad’s getaway car.
Honestly, I panicked. I screamed, pleaded, and begged. But my dad was confident in his approach. And he left me with this advice: always keep your eyes on the road. But don’t just look at the road immediately in front of the vehicle; be sure to watch the road ahead so you know where you are going—and so that you do not smash into a deer.
I’m sharing this story with you today for two reasons. First, to offer some entertainment.
Second, I found the advice my dad gave me that day relevant to the topic for my speech today. Specifically, I want to share with you some thoughts and observations on energy markets, the road ahead for these markets, and potential down-the-road effects on the derivatives markets that are regulated by the CFTC.
Being a derivatives regulator can feel a little like being that driver who is looking down the road to see what is ahead. Our markets are forward looking, offering a view into points off in the distance so drivers are prepared for the path ahead. But, just like a careful driver needs to see what is right in front of the vehicle as much as what is on the road ahead, careful regulation requires us to also keep our eyes on current market conditions, in addition to ensuring the reliability and safety of the futures markets, which reflect the road ahead. The CFTC is always surveilling markets, spotting trends, and monitoring for risk that could impact the futures markets.
Now, here is where this speech will diverge from my story of learning to drive. While I was left to teach myself how to drive and had no one willing to share their expertise with me, our work at the CFTC in following markets occurs with the benefit of a variety of internal resources (such as the Market Intelligence Branch of the Division of Market Oversight and the Office of the Chief Economist) as well as external resources (such as our advisory committees).
At the CFTC, we have five advisory committees, each of which is sponsored by a commissioner. These committees are comprised of subject matter experts representing a variety of viewpoints, such as private sector stakeholders, non-profit groups, academia, and other governmental entities. As many of you know, especially those who are members, I sponsor the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee.
Growing up on a farm in South Dakota, I always understood that the price of energy had a major impact on whether it was a good year or a bad year for the farm. Even at a young age, I could tell you the exact cost-per-gallon of diesel because either my dad was grumbling about it as he left for the field, or it was the topic of discussion at the local café in town where the older farmers convened for their morning coffee.
The price of diesel determined the cost of running planters, tractors, combines, and trucks. The cost of fertilizers and pesticides are also directly linked to fossil fuel input prices, and spreading those fertilizers and pesticides required hiring a spray pilot whose services were priced based on the cost of the aviation fuel.
Even after our crops were harvested, energy costs were critical. Energy prices influenced the cost of storage at the grain elevators and transportation; barges and ships run on bunker fuel and trains need diesel. Everything in the farm economy depends on the price of energy. You might have perfect temperatures, exactly the right amount of rain at exactly the right time, and high yields but still see your net profit shrink due to high energy prices.
As the only Commissioner with a background in production agriculture, sponsoring the Commission’s Agriculture Advisory Committee may have seemed like the obvious choice. But I saw the EEMAC as an opportunity to focus on sectors critical to the agricultural economy and to study those energy markets to understand their impact on the markets we regulate. The goal is for the energy futures complex to serve end-users who need to hedge those costs and to mitigate the frequent price volatility experienced by the underlying cash markets.
As the EEMAC has held meetings and participated in discussions around energy markets, we have heard over and over that the United States has critical gaps in its energy and power infrastructure. As those gaps widen, so do risks to the stability of these markets that become more sensitive and less resilient to forces beyond US control. Instability and volatility in spot energy markets and prices have a direct impact on the derivative products we regulate.
Energy infrastructure’s impact on energy prices is something that cannot be ignored, and this reality has become even more apparent in the last decade. Of course, it makes sense that energy transmission and delivery directly impact the cost to the end consumer. However, truly understanding how energy infrastructure market fundamentals influence energy spot and derivatives prices requires hearing directly from hardworking domestic energy producers and seeing the infrastructure up close.
With that in mind, the EEMAC has held a series of meetings on the road, and members of the advisory committee have joined me in getting outside of Washington to see our energy production and infrastructure and to talk directly with the experts who manage these facilities.
In our first meeting, we visited Oklahoma and focused on more traditional energy markets such as crude oil and natural gas.[1] We visited Cushing, Oklahoma, where the WTI Crude Oil contract settles to see the pipelines and storage facilities as well as to talk with those in charge of storing, blending, and moving the oil to locations throughout the US. During the EEMAC meeting, a witness from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission described an anomaly in the price of natural gas in New England.[2] Despite having one of the largest concentrations of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale just over two hundred miles away, a lack of pipeline capacity makes it impossible to fully supply New England with gas from the Marcellus Shale.[3] This situation means that New England relies on liquified natural gas (“LNG”) supplies from tanker ships. As a result, the price New England end users pay is based on the Henry Hub price for exported LNG, rather than the domestic production price. This circumstance creates an unusual situation where the spot price that a natural gas-fired power plant in Massachusetts pays for its fuel is more dependent on Europe’s desire for natural gas and a global market thousands of miles away than on the price and availability of natural gas produced two states away in Pennsylvania.
To examine power markets and electrification, we held meetings in Roy, Utah; Nashville, Tennessee; and Golden, Colorado.[4] In the course of those meetings, we had the opportunity to tour a large Ford EV production facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee, the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine in Utah, and a startup company looking to reuse mine tailings to produce critical metals and minerals in Golden, Colorado.
Here in the United States, we have some of the largest deposits of the metals necessary for power generation, transmission, and use, but large gaps in our infrastructure and policies render these advantages almost meaningless. In Golden, Colorado, we learned that despite a startup company’s cutting-edge technology that can turn mine waste into critical metals and minerals, China’s dominance in rare earth markets means that they can manipulate prices at will and squeeze out competition and force any US production into bankruptcy.
Southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, we toured the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. The Bingham County Mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world.[5] It’s also the world’s deepest open pit mine, and it has produced more copper than any other mine in the world.[6] As you can probably guess, the US has abundant supplies of copper; however, because of a lack of domestic smelting capacity, much of the copper mined in the US must be shipped overseas, often to China, to be processed and refined. In fact, since 2000, China has been responsible for 75% of the global smelter capacity growth.[7]
Finally, in Spring Hill, Tennessee, we learned that car companies are increasingly concerned about logistical challenges reducing their ability to provide cost-competitive electric vehicles. This is not an idle concern. Just four weeks ago, Rivian disclosed that it will be forced to reduce production and decrease its sales target in 2024 by almost 20% because of difficulties sourcing a component used in its electric motor.[8] And last week, to secure a steady supply of lithium, GM announced an almost $1 billion investment in the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada.[9]
For years, the problem for domestic energy policy was how to mine, drill, and import enough raw materials to satisfy America’s growing energy demand.[10] Even after the oil glut of the 1980s and lower energy prices, we were still concerned with our reliance on foreign energy.[11] The continuous mantra of Presidents starting with Richard Nixon was the concept of “Energy Independence” as a policy goal.[12] Now, not because of government mandates, plans, or policies, but thanks to technological innovation, hard work, and the deployment of private capital, that goal has largely been achieved. We have the raw materials in the ground that we need to power American energy independence; however, we need our infrastructure to catch-up with our domestic supply.
Returning to my driving lesson, when I look at the road ahead, I see the United States coming to a crossroads. One road leads to more resilient infrastructure, lower prices, and energy abundance. The other road leads to energy scarcity, higher prices, and a loss of energy independence. The direction we take as a country will have a major impact on the energy markets and the futures markets we regulate at the CFTC. Unfortunately, gaps in energy infrastructure lead to instability and volatility in energy markets, which have a direct impact on the derivatives markets. If derivatives markets fail to offer adequate price discovery and risk mitigation, they will no longer serve producers and end users as appropriate tools to hedge their exposure. That is a road we cannot afford to go down.
As a regulator, the CFTC is not the driver of this car, but we definitely have an interest in taking the road that leads to liquid, stable, and vibrant derivatives markets that serve as a tool for hedging against risk. We can do that by ensuring that new derivative products come to market efficiently without the fear of litigation or unreasonable staff positions, and by cultivating new market structures that minimize conflicts and instill market confidence. Our enforcement efforts should be focused on ‘bad actors’ and not on trying to shortcut deliberative policymaking. The CFTC should prefer “responsible regulation” over “regulation by enforcement.” To arrive at our desired destination, we all need to keep our eyes on the road, to see what is right in front of us while simultaneously paying attention to the road ahead.
Thank you for taking this road trip with me today. I look forward to answering your questions.
[1] CFTC Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee meeting in Stillwater, Oklahoma, September 20, 2022.
[4] CFTC Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, February 28, 2023. CFTC Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee meeting in Roy, Utah, June 27, 2023. CFTC Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee meeting in Golden, Colorado, February 13, 2024.
[5] Kristine L. Pankow, Jeffrey R. Moore, J. Mark Hale, Keith D. Koper, Tex Kubacki, Katherine M. Whidden, and Michael K. McCarter. “Massive landslide at Utah copper mine generates wealth of geophysical data.” Geological Society of America, vol. 24, no. 1, January 2014.
[7] Securing Copper Supply: No China, No Energy Transition, WoodsMcKenzie, August 2024, Nick Pickens, Robin Griffin, Eleni Joanides, and Zhifei Liu.
[8] Ed Ludlow and Kiel Porter. “Rivian Misstep Triggered Parts Shortage Hobbling Its EV Output.” Bloomberg, October 7, 2024.
[9] Camilla Hodgson. “General Motors increases investment in lithium mine to nearly $1bn.” Financial Times, October 6, 2024.
[10] US Energy Information Administration, “U.S. energy facts explained, Imports & Exports.” Last updated July 15, 2024, with data from the Monthly Energy Review.
[12] Charles Homans, “Energy Independence: A Short History.” Foreign Policy, January 3, 2012.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Christopher Hill, Associate Professor (Research and Development), Faculty of Business and Creative Industries, University of South Wales
Nuclear detonations were the backdrop to Teeua and Teraabo’s childhood. By the time the sisters were eight and four, the Pacific island on which they grew up, Kiritimati, had hosted 30 atomic and thermonuclear explosions – six during Operation Grapple, a British series between 1957 and 1958, and 24 during Operation Dominic, led by the US in 1962.
The UK’s secretary of state for the colonies, Alan Lennox-Boyd, had claimed the Grapple series would put Britain “far ahead of the Americans, and probably the Russians too, in super-bomb development”. Grapple, the country’s largest tri-service operation since D-Day, also involved troops from Fiji and New Zealand. It sought to secure the awesome power of the hydrogen bomb: a thermonuclear device far more destructive than the atomic bomb.
Britain’s seat at the top table of “super-bomb development” was emphatically announced in April 1958 with Grapple Y: an “H-bomb” 200 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. This remains Britain’s largest nuclear detonation – one of more than 100 conducted by the UK, US and Soviet Union in 1958 alone.
More than six decades later, the health effects on former servicemen based on Kiritimati, as well as at test locations in South and Western Australia, remain unresolved. Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, has called the treatment of UK nuclear test veterans “the longest-standing and, arguably, the worst” of all the British public scandals in recent history.
Over the past year, the life stories of British nuclear test veterans have been collected by researchers, including myself, for an oral history project in partnership with the British Library. Whether from a vantage point of air, land or sea, the veterans all recall witnessing nuclear explosions with startling clarity, as if the moment was seared on to their memories. According to Doug Herne, a ship’s cook with the Royal Navy:
When the flash hit you, you could see the X-rays of your hands through your closed eyes. Then the heat hit you, and it was as if someone my size had caught fire and walked through me. To say it was frightening is an understatement. I think it shocked us into silence.
British servicemen describe their nuclear test experiences. Video: Wester van Gaal/Motherboard.
But what of the experiences of local people on Kiritimati? I have recently interviewed two sisters who are among the few surviving islanders who witnessed the nuclear tests. This is their story.
‘A mushroom cloud igniting the sky’
At the start of Operation Grapple in May 1957, around 250 islanders lived on Kiritimati – the world’s largest coral reef atoll, slap bang in the centre of the Pacific Ocean, around 1,250 miles (2,000km) due south of Hawaii. The island’s name is derived from the English word “Christmas”, the atoll having been “discovered” by the British explorer James Cook on Christmas Eve 1777.
In May 2023, I visited Kiritimati for a research project on “British nuclear imperialism”, which investigated how post-war Britain used its dwindling imperial assets and resources as a springboard for nuclear development. I sought to interview islanders who had remained on the atoll since the tests, including Teeua Tekonau, then aged 68. In 2024, I visited her younger sister, Teraabo Pollard, who lives more than 8,000 miles away in the contrasting surroundings of Burnley, north-west England.
Far from descriptions of fear and terror, both Teeua and Teraabo looked back on the tests with striking enthusiasm. Teraabo recalled witnessing them from the local maneaba (open-air meeting place) or tennis court as a “pleasurable” experience full of “excitement”.
She described having her ears plugged with cotton wool before being covered with a blanket. As if by magic, the blanket was then lifted to reveal a mushroom cloud igniting the night sky – a sight accompanied by sweetened bread handed out by American soldiers. So vivid was the light that Teraabo, then aged four, described “being excited about it being daytime again”.
An Operation Grapple thermonuclear test near Kiritimati, 1957-58. Video: Imperial War Museums.
In view of the violence of the tests, I was struck that Teeua and Teraabo volunteered these positive memories. Their enthusiasm seemed in marked contrast to growing concerns about the radioactive fallout – including those voiced by surviving test veterans and their descendants. As children, the tests seem to have offered the sisters a spectacle of fantasy and escapism – glazed with the saccharine of American treats and Disney films on British evacuation ships.
Yet they have also lived through the premature deaths of family members and, in Teraabo’s case, a malignant tumour dating from the time of the tests. And there have been similar stories from other families who lived in the shadow of these very risky, loosely controlled experiments. Teraabo told me about a friend who had peeked out from her blanket as a young girl – and who suffered from eye and health problems ever since.
‘Only a very slight health hazard’
Kiritimati forms part of the impossibly large Republic of Kiribati – a nation of 33 islands spread over 3.5 million square kilometres; the only one to have territory in all four hemispheres and, until 1995, on either side of the international date line. Before independence from Britain in 1979, Kiribati belonged to the Gilbert and Ellice Island Colony, which in effect made Kiritimati a “nuclear colony” for the purpose of British and American testing.
In 1955, Teeua and Teraabo’s parents, Taraem and Tekonau Tetoa, left their home island of Tabiteuea, a small atoll belonging to the Gilbert group of islands in the western Pacific. They boarded a British merchant vessel bound for Christmas Island nearly 2,000 miles away. Setting sail with new-born Teeua in their arms, the family looked forward to a future cutting copra on Kiritimati’s British coconut plantation.
The scale of this journey, with four young children, was immense. Just how the hundred or so Gilbertese passengers “managed to live [during the voyage] was better not asked”, according to one royal engineer who described a similar voyage a few years later. “There were piles of coconuts everywhere – perhaps they were for both food and drink.”
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Within two years of their arrival, the family faced more upheaval as mother Taraem and her children were packed aboard another ship ahead of the first three sets of British nuclear tests in the Pacific. Known as Grapple 1, 2 and 3, they were to be detonated over Malden Island, an atoll some 240 miles to the south of Kiritimati – but still too close for the comfort of local residents.
According to Teeua, the evacuation was prompted by disillusioned labourers brought to Kiritimati without their families, who went on strike after learning how much the British troops were being paid. But the islanders’ perspectives do not feature much in the colonial records, which give precedence to British disputes about logistical costs and safety calculations.
The Grapple task force resolved that the safe limit set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection should be reduced, to limit the cost of evacuations. A meeting in November 1956 noted that “only a very slight health hazard to people would arise from this reduction – and that only to primitive peoples”.
Shocking as this remark sounds, it is typical of the disregard that nuclear planners appear to have had, both for Indigenous communities and the mostly working-class soldiers. These lives did not seem to matter much in the context of Britain’s quest for nuclear supremacy. William Penney, Britain’s chief nuclear scientist, had bemoaned how critics during tests in Australia were “intent on thwarting the whole future of the British Empire for the sake of a few Aboriginals”.
Tekonau, Teeua’s father, was one of the 30 or so I-Kiribati people to stay behind on Kiritimati during the Malden tests in May and June 1957. As one of the only labourers to speak English, he had gained the trust of the district commissioner, Percy Roberts, who invited Tekonau to accompany him during inspections of villagers’ houses in Port London, then the island’s only village. On one occasion, Teeua said, the islanders did not recognise her father as he had been given a “flat top” haircut like the Fijian soldiers. “This means he had a nice relationship with the soldiers,” she told me. “Thank God for giving me such a good and clever dad.”
Since the initial tests did not produce a thermonuclear explosion, the task force embarked on further trials between November 1957 and September 1958, known as Grapple X, Y and Z. In view of expense and time, these were conducted on Kiritimati rather than Malden Island – and this time, the residents were not evacuated to other islands. Rather, families were brought aboard ships in the island’s harbour and shown films below deck.
After these tests, the islanders returned to find the large X and Y detonations had cracked the walls of their homes and smashed their doors and furniture. One islander found their pet frigate bird, like so many of the wild birds on Kiritimati, had been blinded by the flash of Grapple Y. No compensation was ever paid to the islanders, although the Ministry of Supply did reimburse the colony for deterioration of “plantation assets”, including £4 for every damaged coconut tree (equivalent to £120 today).
A month before Grapple Y, Teraabo was born. Her earliest and most vivid childhood memories are of the US-led Operation Dominic four years later, by which time evacuation procedures had been abandoned altogether.
This series of tests was sanctioned by Britain in exchange for a nuclear-powered submarine and access to the Nevada Proving Grounds in the US – regarded as pivotal to the future of British weapons technology ahead of the signing of the Test Ban Treaty in October 1963, which would prohibit atmospheric testing.
Dominic’s 24 detonations on Kiritimati – which usually took place after sunset around 6pm, between April and November 1962 – were “awesome”, according to Teraabo. Recalling the suspense as the “tannoy announced the countdown”, she described “coming out of cover [and] witnessing the bomb [as] an amazing experience … When the bomb set off, the brilliance of the light was tremendous.”
Each explosion’s slow expiration would re-illuminate the Pacific sky. One, Starfish Prime, became known as a “rainbow bomb” because of the multi-coloured aurora it produced over the Pacific, having been launched into space where it exploded.
So spectacular were these descriptions that I almost felt I had to suspend disbelief as I listened. At one point in my interview with Teraabo, she leaned in to reassure me that she had no interest in exaggerating these events: “I’m a very proud person,” she whispered, “I would never lie.”
‘In our blood’
More than six decades on from the Grapple tests, I was sitting in Teeua’s kitchen in the village of Tabwakea (meaning “turtle”), near the northern tip of Kiritimati. I had driven here in a Subaru Forester, clapped-out from the many potholes on the island’s main road, itself built by royal engineers over 60 years ago.
Teeua Tekonau in her kitchen during the author’s visit to Kiritimati in 2023. Christopher R. Hill., CC BY
Teeua’s home, nestled down a sand track, had a wooden veranda at the front where she would teach children to read and write under shelter from the hot equatorial sun. Handcrafted mats lined the sand and coral floor, fanning out from the veranda to the kitchen at the back.
The house felt full of the sounds of the local community, from the chatter of neighbours to the laughter of children outdoors. No one could feel lonely here, despite the vastness of the ocean that surrounds Kiritimati.
As Teeua cooked rice and prepared coffee, we discussed the main reason for my visit: to understand the impacts of the nuclear tests on the islanders, their descendents, and the sensitive ecosystem in which they live. Teeua is chair of Kiritimati’s Association of Atomic Cancer Patients, and one of only three survivors of the tests still living on Kiritimati. She pulled up a seat and looked at me:
Many, many died of cancer … And many women had babies that died within three months … I remember the coconut trees … when you drank [from the coconuts], you [were] poisoned.
Both Teeua’s parents and four of her eight siblings had died of cancer or unexplained conditions, she said. Her younger brother, Takieta, died of leukaemia at the age of two in November 1963 – less than a year after Operation Dominic ended. Her sister Teraabo, who discovered a tumour in her stomach shortly after the trials, was only able to have her stomach treated once she moved to the UK in 1981, by which time the tumour had turned malignant.
Teeua’s testimony pointed to the gendered impacts of the nuclear tests. She referred to the prevalence of menstrual problems and stillbirths, evidence of which can be inferred from the testimony of another nuclear survivor, Sui Kiritome, a fellow I-Kiribati who had arrived on Kiritimati in 1957 with her teacher husband. Sui has described how their second child, Rakieti, had “blood coming out of all the cavities of her body” at birth.
A rare military hospital record from 1958 – stored in the UK’s National Archives at Kew in London – also refers to the treatment of a civilian woman for ante-partum haemorrhage and stillbirth, though it is unclear whether this was a local woman or one of the soldier’s wives on the passenger ship HMT Dunera, which visited briefly to “boost morale” after Grapple X.
Members of the Kiritimati Association of Atomic Cancer Patients. Courtesy: Teeua Taukaro., CC BY-ND
Having re-established the Association of Atomic Cancer Patients in 2009, Teeua has continued much of the work that Ken McGinley, first chair of the British Nuclear Tests Veterans Association, did after its establishment in 1983. She has documented the names of all I-Kiribati people present during the tests, along with their spouses, children and other relatives. And she has listed the cancers and illnesses from which they have suffered.
In the absence of medical records at the island hospital, these handwritten notes are the closest thing on the atoll to epidemiological data about the tests. But according to Teeua, concerns about the health effects of the tests date back much longer, to 1965 when a labourer named Bwebwe spoke out about poisonous clouds. “Everyone thought he was crazy,” Teeua recalled.
But Bwebwe’s speculations were lent credibility by Sui Kiritome’s testimony, and by the facial scars she bore that were visible for all to see. In an interview with her daughter, Sui explained how she was only 24 when she started to lose her hair, and “burns developed on my face, scalp and parts of my shoulder”.
In a similar manner to claims made by British nuclear test veterans, Sui attributed her health problems to being rained on during Grapple Y – which may have been detonated closer to the atoll’s surface than the task force was prepared to admit.
When I asked Teeua why her campaigning association was only reformed in 2009, she explained it had been prompted by a visit from British nuclear test veterans who “told us that everyone [involved in the tests] has cancer – blood cancer”. They had been told this in the past but, she said, “we did not believe it. But after years … after our children [also] died of cancer, then we remembered what they told us.”
After some visiting researchers explained to Teeua and the community that the effects of the tests were “not good”, she concluded that “our kids died of cancer because of the tests … That’s why we start to combine together … the nuclear survivors, to talk about what they did to our kids”.
I found Teeua’s testimony deeply troubling: not only because of the suffering she and other families have been through, but in the way that veterans had returned to Kiritimati as civilians, raising concerns among locals that may have lain dormant or been forgotten. The suggestion that radiation was “in her blood” must have been deeply disturbing for Teeua and her community.
But I reminded myself that the veterans who came looking for answers in 2009 were also victims. They made the long journey seeking clues about their health problems, or a silver bullet to prove their government’s deception over the nuclear fallout.
As young men, they were unwittingly burdened with a lifetime of uncertainty – compounded by endless legal disputes with the Ministry of Defence or inconclusive health studies that jarred with their personal medical histories. And, like the islanders, some of these servicemen died young after experiencing agonising illnesses.
The scramble for the Pacific
My research on British nuclear imperialism also sheds light on how imperial and settler colonial perceptions of “nature” shaped how these nuclear tests were planned and operationalised.
British sites were selected on the basis of in-depth environmental research. When searching the site for Britain’s first atomic bomb (the Montebello Islands off the west coast of Australia), surveyors discovered 20 new species of insect, six new plants, and a species of legless lizard.
Monitoring of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests fed into the rise of ecosystem ecologies as an academic discipline. In the words of one environmental specialist on the US tests, it seemed that “destruction was the enabling condition for understanding life as interconnected”.
Since H-bombs would exceed the explosive yield deemed acceptable by Australia, Winston Churchill’s government in the mid-1950s had been forced to look for a new test site beyond Western and South Australia. British planners drew on a wealth of imperial knowledge and networks – but their proposal to use the Kermadec Islands, an archipelago 600 miles north-east of Auckland, was rejected by New Zealand on environmental grounds.
So, when Teeua and her family landed on Kiritimati in 1955, their journey was part of “the scramble for the Pacific”: a race between Britain and the US to lay claim to the sovereignty of Pacific atolls in light of their strategic significance for air and naval power.
The British government archives include some notable environmental “what ifs?” Had the US refused the UK’s selection of Kiritimati because of its own sovereignty claim, then it would have been probable, as Lennox-Boyd, Britain’s colonial secretary, admitted, that “the Antarctic region south of Australia might have to be used” for its rapidly expanding nuclear programme.
Instead, this extraordinary period in global history recently took me to a Victorian mansion in the Lancashire town of Burnley, where I interviewed Teeua’s younger sister, Teraabo, about her memories of the Kiritimati tests.
‘No longer angry’
Teraabo’s home felt like the antithesis of Teeua’s island abode 8,300 miles away: ordered instead of haphazard, private instead of communal, spacious instead of crowded. And our interview had a more detached, philosophical tone.
Teraabo Pollard with her father’s nuclear test veteran medal. Christopher R. Hill., CC BY-ND
Like her sister, Teraabo has worked to raise awareness about the legacy of the nuclear tests, including with the Christmas Island Appeal, an offshoot of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association that sought to publicise the extent of the waste left on Kiritimati from the nuclear test period.
The appeal succeeded in persuading Tony Blair’s UK government to tackle the remaining waste in Kiritimati – most of which was non-radiological, according to a 1998 environmental assessment. The island was “cleaned up” and remediated between 2004 and 2008, at a cost of around £5 million to the Ministry of Defence. Much of the waste was flown or shipped back to the UK, where 388 tonnes of low-grade radioactive material were deposited in a former salt mine at Port Clarence, near Middlesbrough.
Yet Teraabo’s views have evolved. She told me she is “no longer angry” about the tests, a stark contrast to her position 20 years ago, when she told British journalist Alan Rimmer how islanders had “led a simple life with disease virtually unknown. But after the tests, everything changed. I now realise the whole island was poisoned.”
Whereas the Teraabo of 2003 blamed “the British government for all this misery”, she has since become more reflective. In the context of the cold war and the nuclear arms race, she even told me she could understand the British rationale for selecting Kiritimati as a test site. This seemed a remarkable statement from a survivor who had lost so much.
Over the course of the interview, it became clear Teraabo had grown tired of being angry – and that she had felt “trapped” by the tragic figure she was meant to represent in the campaigns of veterans and disarmers. Each time Teraabo rehearsed the doom-laden script of radiation exposure, she admitted she was also suppressing the joy of her childhood memories.
A turning point for Teraabo seems to have come in 2007, when she last visited Kiritimati and met her sister Teeua. By this time, the atoll’s population was 4,000 – quite a leap from the 300 residents she grew up with. “It is no longer the island I remember,” she said.
The Kiritimati of Teraabo’s memory was neat and well-structured. The one she described encountering in 2007 was chaotic and unkempt. She had come to the realisation that the Kiritimati she had been campaigning for – the pristine, untouched atoll of her parents – had long since moved on, so she should move on with it. The sorrow caused by the test operations would not define her.
Radioactive colonialism
Not long after I left Kiritimati in June 2023, the global nuclear disarmament organisation Ican began researching the atoll ahead of a major global summit to discuss the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Descendants of Kiritimati’s nuclear test survivors were asked a series of questions, with those who provided the “right” answers being selected for a sponsored trip to UN headquarters in New York.
The chosen representatives included Teeua’s daughter, Taraem. I wondered if the survivors of Kiritimati are doomed to forever rehearse the stories of their nuclear past – a burden that Teeua and Teraabo have had to carry ever since they stood in awe of atomic and thermonuclear detonations more than 60 years ago.
They have had to deal with “radioactive colonialism” all their adult lives – the outside world demanding to see the imprint of radioactivity on their health and memories. But the sisters’ fondness for British order, despite all they have been through, prevails.
Their positive memories of Britain may in part reflect the elevated role of their father, Tekonau Tetoa – a posthumous recipient of the test veteran medal – within the British colonial system. During my visit, I happened upon an old photo of Tekonau, looking immaculate as he hangs off the side of a plantation truck in a crisp white shirt. Knowing Teeua did not possess a photo of her parents, I took a scan and raced to her house down the road.
“Do you recognise this man?” I asked, holding up my phone.
She flickered with recognition. “Is that my father?”
I nodded, and she shed a tear of joy.
Tekonau Tetoa, father of Teeua and Teraabo, hangs off the door of a coconut plantation truck in Kiritimati. Courtesy: John Bryden., CC BY-ND
Memories of Teeua and Teraabo’s father are preserved in the island landscape of their youth: pristine, regimented by the ostensible tidiness of colonial and military order.
But such order masked contamination: an unknown quantity that would only become evident years later in ill-health and environmental damage. It was not only the nuclear tests: from 1957 to 1964, the atoll was sprayed four times a week with DDT, a carcinogenic insecticide, as part of attempts to reduce insect-borne disease. In the words of one of the pilots: “I had many a wave from the rather fat Gilbo ladies sitting on their loos as I passed overhead, and gave them some spray for good measure!” British tidiness concealed a special brand of poison.
Today, the prospect of a meaningful response from the UK to the concerns raised by the islanders and servicemen alike seems slim. In October 2023, the UK and France followed North Korea and Russia in vetoing a Kiribati and Kazakhstan-proposed UN resolution on victim assistance and environmental remediation for people and places harmed by nuclear weapons use and testing.
Over in Kiritimati, meanwhile, Teeua still tends to a small plot where Prince Philip planted a commemorative tree in April 1959, shortly after the British-led nuclear tests had ended. It is rumoured he did not drink from the atoll’s water while he was there.
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Christopher Hill receives funding from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, UK Cabinet Office. The research for this article was also supported by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UKRI. The author wishes to thank the following for their support with this article: Fiona Bowler, Ian Brailsford, Joshua Bushen, John Bryden, Jon Hogg, Brian Jones, Rens van Munster, Wesley Perriman, Maere Tekanene, Michael Walsh, Rotee Walsh and Derek Woolf. Sincere thanks to Teeua Tekonau and Teraabo Pollard for sharing their family stories.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Lloyd Smucker (PA-16)
Fawn Grove, PA– Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11) has been named a recipient of the Friend of the Farm Bureau Award for the 118th Congress, given to Members of Congress who support legislation benefiting agriculture, farmers, and producers.
Rep. Smucker received the award during a visit to Maple Heights Farm in Fawn Grove, a third-generation grain farm operated by Julie Schrum, a member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) Board of Directors.
“The men and women of Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District, home to the Garden Spot of America and one of the largest agricultural districts in our Commonwealth, can count on me to advocate for policies in Congress that support farmers and producers. Our agricultural heritage is at the heart of our community. I will continue to fight for a Farm Bill that supports our community and farmers across the nation, as well as a pro-growth tax agenda that helps family-owned farms compete and be passed down from generation to generation,” said Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11).
“On behalf of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, we would like to thank these members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation for supporting legislation that benefits agriculture,” said PFB President Chris Hoffman.
“The support from our Friend of Farm Bureau recipients helps preserve the future of family farms in Pennsylvania, maintain our ability to produce safe and affordable food for consumers, and provide resources to assist farmers in implementing conservation practices on the farm. With record-high input costs and an increase in red tape, farm families have been greatly challenged in recent years. Continued support by lawmakers to implement sound agricultural policy is vital to ensure food and national security.”
Rep. Smucker is one of only seven of Pennsylvania’s elected officials who were selected to receive the award for the 118th Congress. Smucker has been named a recipient of the Friend of the Farm Bureau during each term of his congressional service.
WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: LOB) (“Live Oak” or “the Company”) today reported third quarter of 2024 net income of $13.0 million, or $0.28 per diluted share.
“Live Oak delivered historic production levels this quarter as our teams continue to put capital into the hands of business owners across the country,” said Live Oak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James S. (Chip) Mahan III. “We believe our business momentum is in an exciting place and our conservative approach to growth is driving positive operating leverage, revenue, and deeper customer relationships.”
Third Quarter 2024 Key Measures
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Increase (Decrease)
3Q 2024
2Q 2024
Dollars
Percent
3Q 2023
Total revenue(1)
$
129,932
$
125,479
$
4,453
3.5
%
$
127,301
Total noninterest expense
77,589
77,656
(67
)
(0.1
)
74,262
Income before taxes
17,841
36,058
(18,217
)
(50.5
)
42,760
Effective tax rate
27.0
%
25.2
%
n/a
n/a
6.9
%
Net income
$
13,025
$
26,963
$
(13,938
)
(51.7
)%
$
39,793
Diluted earnings per share
0.28
0.59
(0.31
)
(52.5
)
0.88
Loan and lease production:
Loans and leases originated
$
1,757,856
$
1,171,141
$
586,715
50.1
%
$
1,073,255
% Fully funded
42.4
%
38.2
%
n/a
n/a
52.2
%
Total loans and leases:
$
10,191,868
$
9,535,766
$
656,102
6.9
%
$
8,775,235
Total assets:
12,607,346
11,868,570
738,776
6.2
10,950,460
Total deposits:
11,400,547
10,707,031
693,516
6.5
10,003,642
(1) Total revenue consists of net interest income and total noninterest income.
Loans and Leases
As of September 30, 2024, the total loan and lease portfolio was $10.19 billion, 6.9% above its level at June 30, 2024, and 16.1% above its level a year ago. Excluding historical Paycheck Protection Program loans, the third quarter of 2024 was the Company’s highest loan production quarter of all time. Compared to the second quarter of 2024, loans and leases held for investment increased $659.8 million, or 7.2%, to $9.83 billion while loans held for sale decreased $3.7 million, or 1.0%, to $360.0 million. Average loans and leases were $9.76 billion during the third quarter of 2024 compared to $9.38 billion during the second quarter of 2024.
The total loan and lease portfolio at September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, was comprised of 34.5% and 36.4% of guaranteed loans, respectively.
Loan and lease originations totaled $1.76 billion during the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $586.7 million, or 50.1%, from the second quarter of 2024. Loan and lease originations increased $684.6 million, or 63.8%, from the third quarter of 2023.
Deposits
Total deposits increased to $11.40 billion at September 30, 2024, an increase of $693.5 million compared to June 30, 2024, and an increase of $1.40 billion compared to September 30, 2023. The increase in total deposits from prior periods was to support growth in the loan and lease portfolio as well as the Company’s targeted liquidity levels.
Average total interest-bearing deposits for the third quarter of 2024 increased $287.5 million, or 2.8%, to $10.56 billion, compared to $10.27 billion for the second quarter of 2024. The ratio of average total loans and leases to average interest-bearing deposits was 92.5% for the third quarter of 2024, compared to 91.4% for the second quarter of 2024.
Borrowings
Borrowings totaled $115.4 million at September 30, 2024 compared to $117.7 million and $25.8 million at June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023, respectively. During the first quarter of 2024, the Company increased long-term borrowings by $100.0 million through an unsecured 5.95% fixed rate 60-month term loan with a third party correspondent bank. This increase in borrowings was to strategically enhance capital levels in order to accommodate future growth expectations.
Net Interest Income
Net interest income for the third quarter of 2024 was $97.0 million compared to $91.3 million for the second quarter of 2024 and $89.4 million for the third quarter of 2023. The net interest margin for the third quarter of 2024 and second quarter of 2024 was 3.33% and 3.28%, respectively, an increase of five basis points quarter over quarter. During the third quarter of 2024, the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased by two basis points, while the average yield on interest-earning assets increased by six basis points.
The increase in net interest income for the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023 was largely driven by growth in average loans and leases held for investment. Partially mitigating this increase was a decrease in the net interest margin by four basis points arising from an increase in deposits and borrowings, combined with the increase in average cost of funds, outpacing the increase in average yield on interest-earning assets.
Noninterest Income
Noninterest income for the third quarter of 2024 was $32.9 million, a decrease of $1.2 million compared to the second quarter of 2024, and a decrease of $5.0 million compared to the third quarter of 2023. The primary drivers in noninterest income changes are outlined below.
The loan servicing asset revaluation resulted in a loss of $4.2 million for the third quarter of 2024 compared to a $11.3 million gain for the third quarter of 2023. This decrease between periods was principally due to the third quarter of 2023 change in valuation techniques used to estimate the fair value of servicing rights which resulted in a nonrecurring gain of $13.7 million during that period.
Net gains on sales of loans was $16.6 million, a $2.3 million increase compared to the second quarter of 2024 and a $4.0 million increase compared to the third quarter of 2023. The increase in net gains on sales of loans for both compared periods was the result of higher levels of market premiums combined with increased loan sale volumes. The average guaranteed loan sale premium was 107%, 106% and 105% for the third and second quarters of 2024 and third quarter of 2023, respectively. The volume of guaranteed loans sold was $266.3 million for the third quarter of 2024 compared to $250.5 million sold in the second quarter of 2024 and $225.6 million sold in the third quarter of 2023.
Loans accounted for under the fair value option had a net gain of $2.3 million for the third quarter of 2024, compared to a net gain of $172 thousand for the second quarter of 2024 and a net loss of $568 thousand for the third quarter of 2023. The increased levels of net gains arising from the valuation of loans accounted for under the fair value option compared to the second quarter of 2024 was largely associated with lower market interest rates. The increase in net gains when compared to the third quarter of 2023 was principally due to the third quarter of 2023 change in valuation techniques used to estimate the fair value of loans measured at fair value, which resulted in a nonrecurring gain of $1.3 million during that period.
Management fee income decreased by $2.2 million, as compared to both the second quarter of 2024 and third quarter of 2023. This decrease was the result of a restructuring of the Canapi Funds in the third quarter of 2024. In connection with that restructuring, the Company’s subsidiary Canapi Advisors voluntarily withdrew as an advisor to the funds. The Company remains an investor in the Canapi Funds and continues its focus on new and emerging financial technology companies.
Other noninterest income for the third quarter of 2024 totaled $7.1 million compared to $11.0 million for the second quarter of 2024 and $3.5 million for the third quarter of 2023. The quarter over quarter decrease of $3.9 million was largely related to a $6.7 million gain arising from the sale of one of the Company’s aircraft in the second quarter of 2024, partially offset by a $2.4 million gain from the sale of a building in the third quarter of 2024. The $3.6 million increase compared to the third quarter of 2023 was largely related to the above mentioned $2.4 million gain from the sale of an idle building and accompanying land that was determined earlier in 2024 not to be best suited to serve the Company’s future expansion plans.
Noninterest Expense
Noninterest expense for the third quarter of 2024 totaled $77.6 million compared to $77.7 million for the second quarter of 2024 and $74.3 million for the third quarter of 2023. Compared to the third quarter of 2023, the increase in noninterest expense was principally impacted by smaller balance increases in various expense categories, partially offset by $2.2 million in decreased levels of FDIC insurance expense. The decrease in FDIC insurance expense was the product of favorable changes in the Company’s FDIC assessment rates.
Asset Quality
During the third quarter of 2024, the Company recognized net charge-offs for loans carried at historical cost of $1.7 million, compared to $8.3 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $9.1 million in the third quarter of 2023. Net charge-offs as a percentage of average held for investment loans and leases carried at historical cost, annualized, for the quarters ended September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023, was 0.08%, 0.38% and 0.48%, respectively.
Unguaranteed nonperforming (nonaccrual) loans and leases, excluding $8.7 million and $9.6 million accounted for under the fair value option at September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, respectively, increased to $49.4 million, or 0.52% of loans and leases held for investment which are carried at historical cost, at September 30, 2024, compared to $37.3 million, or 0.42%, at June 30, 2024.
Provision for Credit Losses
The provision for credit losses for the third quarter of 2024 totaled $34.5 million compared to $11.8 million for the second quarter of 2024 and $10.3 million for the third quarter of 2023. The level of provision expense in the third quarter of 2024 was primarily the result of specific reserve increases on individually evaluated loans and continued growth of the loan and lease portfolio. Provision expense for three individually evaluated loan relationships amounted to $13.6 million, or 60.0% and 56.3% of the increase in the total provision for loan and lease losses when compared to the second quarter of 2024 and third quarter of 2023, respectively.
The allowance for credit losses on loans and leases totaled $168.7 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $137.9 million at June 30, 2024. The allowance for credit losses on loans and leases as a percentage of total loans and leases held for investment carried at historical cost was 1.78% and 1.57% at September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, respectively.
Income Tax
Income tax expense and related effective tax rate was $4.8 million and 27.0% for the third quarter of 2024, $9.1 million and 25.2% for the second quarter of 2024 and $3.0 million and 6.9% for the third quarter of 2023, respectively. The lower level of income tax expense for the third quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2024 was primarily the result of the decreased level of pretax income. The higher level of income tax expense for the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the third quarter of 2023 was primarily the result of lower levels of anticipated investment tax credits in 2024 as compared to the prior year.
Conference Call
Live Oak will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results and business outlook tomorrow, October 24, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. ET. The call will be accessible by telephone and webcast using Conference ID: 04478. A supplementary slide presentation will be posted to the website prior to the event, and a replay will be available for 12 months following the event. The conference call details are as follows:
Webcast Link: investor.liveoakbank.com Registration: Name and Email Required Multi-Factor Code: Provided After Registration
Important Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are based on other than historical data or that express the Company’s plans or expectations regarding future events or determinations are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements based on historical data are not intended and should not be understood to indicate the Company’s expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events or determinations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or determinations, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those presented, either expressed or implied, in this press release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include changes in Small Business Administration (“SBA”) rules, regulations or loan products, including the Section 7(a) program, changes in SBA standard operating procedures or changes in Live Oak Banking Company’s status as an SBA Preferred Lender; changes in rules, regulations or procedures for other government loan programs, including those of the United States Department of Agriculture; the impacts of global health crises and pandemics, such as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, on trade (including supply chains and export levels), travel, employee productivity and other economic activities that may have a destabilizing and negative effect on financial markets, economic activity and customer behavior; adverse developments in the banking industry highlighted by high-profile bank failures and the potential impact of such developments on customer confidence, liquidity, and regulatory responses to these developments; a reduction in or the termination of the Company’s ability to use the technology-based platform that is critical to the success of its business model, including a failure in or a breach of operational or security systems or those of its third-party service providers; technological risks and developments, including cyber threats, attacks, or events; competition from other lenders; the Company’s ability to attract and retain key personnel; market and economic conditions and the associated impact on the Company; operational, liquidity and credit risks associated with the Company’s business; changes in political and economic conditions, including any prolonged U.S. government shutdown; the impact of heightened regulatory scrutiny of financial products and services and the Company’s ability to comply with regulatory requirements and expectations; a deterioration of the credit rating for U.S. long-term sovereign debt, actions that the U.S. government may take to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling, and uncertainties surrounding the debt ceiling and the federal budget; adverse results, including related fees and expenses, from pending or future lawsuits, government investigations or private actions; and the other factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Except as required by law, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any factors or to publicly announce the result of revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.
About Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: LOB) is a financial holding company and the parent company of Live Oak Bank. Live Oak Bancshares and its subsidiaries partner with businesses that share a groundbreaking focus on service and technology to redefine banking. To learn more, visit www.liveoakbank.com.
Contacts:
Walter J. Phifer | CFO | Investor Relations | 910.202.6926 Claire Parker | Corporate Communications | Media Relations | 910.597.1592
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Quarterly Statements of Income (unaudited) (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
3Q 2024 Change vs.
3Q 2024
2Q 2024
1Q 2024
4Q 2023
3Q 2023
2Q 2024
3Q 2023
Interest income
%
%
Loans and fees on loans
$
192,170
$
181,840
$
176,010
$
169,531
$
162,722
5.7
18.1
Investment securities, taxable
9,750
9,219
8,954
8,746
8,701
5.8
12.1
Other interest earning assets
7,016
7,389
7,456
8,259
9,188
(5.0
)
(23.6
)
Total interest income
208,936
198,448
192,420
186,536
180,611
5.3
15.7
Interest expense
Deposits
110,174
105,358
101,998
96,695
90,914
4.6
21.2
Borrowings
1,762
1,770
311
265
287
(0.5
)
513.9
Total interest expense
111,936
107,128
102,309
96,960
91,201
4.5
22.7
Net interest income
97,000
91,320
90,111
89,576
89,410
6.2
8.5
Provision for credit losses
34,502
11,765
16,364
8,995
10,279
193.3
235.7
Net interest income after provision for credit losses
62,498
79,555
73,747
80,581
79,131
(21.4
)
(21.0
)
Noninterest income
Loan servicing revenue
8,040
7,347
7,624
7,342
6,990
9.4
15.0
Loan servicing asset revaluation
(4,207
)
(2,878
)
(2,744
)
(3,974
)
11,335
(46.2
)
(137.1
)
Net gains on sales of loans
16,646
14,395
11,502
12,891
12,675
15.6
31.3
Net gain (loss) on loans accounted for under the fair value option
2,255
172
(219
)
(170
)
(568
)
1211.0
497.0
Equity method investments (loss) income
(1,393
)
(1,767
)
(5,022
)
47
(1,034
)
21.2
(34.7
)
Equity security investments gains (losses), net
909
161
(529
)
(384
)
(783
)
464.6
216.1
Lease income
2,424
2,423
2,453
2,439
2,498
—
(3.0
)
Management fee income
1,116
3,271
3,271
3,309
3,277
(65.9
)
(65.9
)
Other noninterest income
7,142
11,035
9,761
8,607
3,501
(35.3
)
104.0
Total noninterest income
32,932
34,159
26,097
30,107
37,891
(3.6
)
(13.1
)
Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits
44,524
46,255
47,275
44,274
42,947
(3.7
)
3.7
Travel expense
2,344
2,328
2,438
1,544
2,197
0.7
6.7
Professional services expense
3,287
3,061
1,878
3,052
1,762
7.4
86.5
Advertising and marketing expense
2,473
3,004
3,692
2,501
3,446
(17.7
)
(28.2
)
Occupancy expense
2,807
2,388
2,247
2,231
2,129
17.5
31.8
Technology expense
9,081
7,996
7,723
8,402
7,722
13.6
17.6
Equipment expense
3,472
3,511
3,074
3,480
3,676
(1.1
)
(5.5
)
Other loan origination and maintenance expense
4,872
3,659
3,911
3,937
3,498
33.2
39.3
Renewable energy tax credit investment impairment (recovery)
115
170
(927
)
14,575
—
(32.4
)
100.0
FDIC insurance
1,933
2,649
3,200
4,091
4,115
(27.0
)
(53.0
)
Other expense
2,681
2,635
3,226
5,117
2,770
1.7
(3.2
)
Total noninterest expense
77,589
77,656
77,737
93,204
74,262
(0.1
)
4.5
Income before taxes
17,841
36,058
22,107
17,484
42,760
(50.5
)
(58.3
)
Income tax expense (benefit)
4,816
9,095
(5,479
)
1,321
2,967
(47.0
)
62.3
Net income
$
13,025
$
26,963
$
27,586
$
16,163
$
39,793
(51.7
)
(67.3
)
Earnings per share
Basic
$
0.28
$
0.60
$
0.62
$
0.36
$
0.89
(53.3
)
(68.5
)
Diluted
$
0.28
$
0.59
$
0.60
$
0.36
$
0.88
(52.5
)
(68.2
)
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic
45,073,482
44,974,942
44,762,308
44,516,646
44,408,997
Diluted
45,953,947
45,525,082
45,641,210
45,306,506
45,268,745
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Quarterly Balance Sheets (unaudited) (Dollars in thousands)
As of the quarter ended
3Q 2024 Change vs.
3Q 2024
2Q 2024
1Q 2024
4Q 2023
3Q 2023
2Q 2024
3Q 2023
Assets
%
%
Cash and due from banks
$
666,585
$
615,449
$
597,394
$
582,540
$
534,774
8.3
24.6
Certificates of deposit with other banks
250
250
250
250
3,750
—
(93.3
)
Investment securities available-for-sale
1,233,466
1,151,195
1,120,622
1,126,160
1,099,878
7.1
12.1
Loans held for sale
359,977
363,632
310,749
387,037
572,604
(1.0
)
(37.1
)
Loans and leases held for investment(1)
9,831,891
9,172,134
8,912,561
8,633,847
8,202,631
7.2
19.9
Allowance for credit losses on loans and leases
(168,737
)
(137,867
)
(139,041
)
(125,840
)
(121,273
)
(22.4
)
(39.1
)
Net loans and leases
9,663,154
9,034,267
8,773,520
8,508,007
8,081,358
7.0
19.6
Premises and equipment, net
267,032
267,864
258,071
257,881
258,041
(0.3
)
3.5
Foreclosed assets
8,015
8,015
8,561
6,481
6,701
—
19.6
Servicing assets
52,553
51,528
49,343
48,591
47,127
2.0
11.5
Other assets
356,314
376,370
387,059
354,476
346,227
(5.3
)
2.9
Total assets
$
12,607,346
$
11,868,570
$
11,505,569
$
11,271,423
$
10,950,460
6.2
15.1
Liabilities and shareholders’ equity
Liabilities
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing
$
258,844
$
264,013
$
226,668
$
259,270
$
239,536
(2.0
)
8.1
Interest-bearing
11,141,703
10,443,018
10,156,693
10,015,749
9,764,106
6.7
14.1
Total deposits
11,400,547
10,707,031
10,383,361
10,275,019
10,003,642
6.5
14.0
Borrowings
115,371
117,745
120,242
23,354
25,847
(2.0
)
346.4
Other liabilities
83,672
82,745
74,248
70,384
70,603
1.1
18.5
Total liabilities
11,599,590
10,907,521
10,577,851
10,368,757
10,100,092
6.3
14.8
Shareholders’ equity
Preferred stock, no par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued or outstanding
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Class A common stock (voting)
361,925
356,381
349,648
344,568
340,929
1.6
6.2
Class B common stock (non-voting)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Retained earnings
707,026
695,172
669,307
642,817
627,759
1.7
12.6
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(61,195
)
(90,504
)
(91,237
)
(84,719
)
(118,320
)
32.4
48.3
Total shareholders’ equity
1,007,756
961,049
927,718
902,666
850,368
4.9
18.5
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
12,607,346
$
11,868,570
$
11,505,569
$
11,271,423
$
10,950,460
6.2
15.1
(1) Includes $343.4 million, $363.0 million, $379.2 million, $388.0 million and $410.1 million measured at fair value for the quarters ended September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, March 31, 2024, December 31, 2023, and September 30, 2023, respectively.
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Statements of Income (unaudited) (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2024
September 30, 2023
Interest income
Loans and fees on loans
$
550,020
$
454,136
Investment securities, taxable
27,923
24,751
Other interest earning assets
21,861
22,852
Total interest income
599,804
501,739
Interest expense
Deposits
317,530
243,512
Borrowings
3,843
2,498
Total interest expense
321,373
246,010
Net interest income
278,431
255,729
Provision for credit losses
62,631
42,328
Net interest income after provision for credit losses
215,800
213,401
Noninterest income
Loan servicing revenue
23,011
20,057
Loan servicing asset revaluation
(9,829
)
8,860
Net gains on sales of loans
42,543
33,654
Net gain (loss) on loans accounted for under the fair value option
2,208
(3,369
)
Equity method investments (loss) income
(8,182
)
(6,041
)
Equity security investments gain (losses), net
541
(585
)
Lease income
7,300
7,568
Management fee income
7,658
10,015
Other noninterest income
27,938
11,467
Total noninterest income
93,188
81,626
Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits
138,054
130,778
Travel expense
7,110
7,378
Professional services expense
8,226
4,685
Advertising and marketing expense
9,169
10,058
Occupancy expense
7,442
6,259
Technology expense
24,800
23,456
Equipment expense
10,057
11,517
Other loan origination and maintenance expense
12,442
10,867
Renewable energy tax credit investment (recovery) impairment
(642
)
69
FDIC insurance
7,782
12,579
Other expense
8,542
12,035
Total noninterest expense
232,982
229,681
Income before taxes
76,006
65,346
Income tax expense
8,432
7,611
Net income
$
67,574
$
57,735
Earnings per share
Basic
$
1.50
$
1.30
Diluted
$
1.48
$
1.28
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic
44,937,409
44,298,798
Diluted
45,707,245
45,023,739
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Quarterly Selected Financial Data (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
As of and for the three months ended
3Q 2024
2Q 2024
1Q 2024
4Q 2023
3Q 2023
Income Statement Data
Net income
$
13,025
$
26,963
$
27,586
$
16,163
$
39,793
Per Common Share
Net income, diluted
$
0.28
$
0.59
$
0.60
$
0.36
$
0.88
Dividends declared
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.03
Book value
22.32
21.35
20.64
20.23
19.12
Tangible book value(1)
22.24
21.28
20.57
20.15
19.04
Performance Ratios
Return on average assets (annualized)
0.43
%
0.93
%
0.98
%
0.58
%
1.46
%
Return on average equity (annualized)
5.21
11.39
11.93
7.36
18.68
Net interest margin
3.33
3.28
3.33
3.32
3.37
Efficiency ratio(1)
59.72
61.89
66.89
77.88
58.34
Noninterest income to total revenue
25.35
27.22
22.46
25.16
29.76
Selected Loan Metrics
Loans and leases originated
$
1,757,856
$
1,171,141
$
805,129
$
981,703
$
1,073,255
Outstanding balance of sold loans serviced
4,452,750
4,292,857
4,329,097
4,238,328
4,028,575
Asset Quality Ratios
Allowance for credit losses to loans and leases held for investment(3)
1.78
%
1.57
%
1.63
%
1.53
%
1.56
%
Net charge-offs(3)
$
1,710
$
8,253
$
3,163
$
4,428
$
9,122
Net charge-offs to average loans and leases held for investment(2) (3)
0.08
%
0.38
%
0.15
%
0.22
%
0.48
%
Nonperforming loans and leases at historical cost(3)
Unguaranteed
$
49,398
$
37,340
$
43,117
$
39,285
$
33,255
Guaranteed
166,177
122,752
105,351
95,678
65,837
Total
215,575
160,092
148,468
134,963
99,092
Unguaranteed nonperforming historical cost loans and leases, to loans and leases held for investment(3)
0.52
%
0.42
%
0.51
%
0.48
%
0.43
%
Nonperforming loans at fair value(4)
Unguaranteed
$
8,672
$
9,590
$
7,942
$
7,230
$
6,518
Guaranteed
49,822
51,570
47,620
41,244
39,378
Total
58,494
61,160
55,562
48,474
45,896
Unguaranteed nonperforming fair value loans to fair value loans held for investment(4)
2.53
%
2.64
%
2.09
%
1.86
%
1.59
%
Capital Ratios
Common equity tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)
11.19
%
11.85
%
11.89
%
11.73
%
11.63
%
Tier 1 leverage capital (to average assets)
8.60
8.71
8.69
8.58
8.56
Notes to Quarterly Selected Financial Data (1) See accompanying GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation. (2) Quarterly net charge-offs as a percentage of quarterly average loans and leases held for investment, annualized. (3) Loans and leases at historical cost only (excludes loans measured at fair value). (4) Loans accounted for under the fair value option only (excludes loans and leases carried at historical cost).
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Quarterly Average Balances and Net Interest Margin (Dollars in thousands)
Three Months Ended September 30, 2024
Three Months Ended June 30, 2024
Average Balance
Interest
Average Yield/Rate
Average Balance
Interest
Average Yield/Rate
Interest-earning assets:
Interest-earning balances in other banks
$
519,340
$
7,016
5.37
%
$
555,570
$
7,389
5.35
%
Investment securities
1,287,410
9,750
3.01
1,263,675
9,219
2.93
Loans held for sale
409,902
9,859
9.57
387,824
9,329
9.67
Loans and leases held for investment(1)
9,354,522
182,311
7.75
8,997,164
172,511
7.71
Total interest-earning assets
11,571,174
208,936
7.18
11,204,233
198,448
7.12
Less: Allowance for credit losses on loans and leases
(137,285
)
(136,668
)
Noninterest-earning assets
567,098
562,488
Total assets
$
12,000,987
$
11,630,053
Interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing checking
$
350,239
$
4,892
5.56
%
$
304,505
$
4,267
5.64
%
Savings
5,043,930
51,516
4.06
4,804,037
48,617
4.07
Money market accounts
134,481
190
0.56
128,625
186
0.58
Certificates of deposit
5,028,830
53,576
4.24
5,032,856
52,288
4.18
Total deposits
10,557,480
110,174
4.15
10,270,023
105,358
4.13
Borrowings
116,925
1,762
6.00
119,321
1,770
5.97
Total interest-bearing liabilities
10,674,405
111,936
4.17
10,389,344
107,128
4.15
Noninterest-bearing deposits
237,387
223,026
Noninterest-bearing liabilities
90,079
70,667
Shareholders’ equity
999,116
947,016
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
12,000,987
$
11,630,053
Net interest income and interest rate spread
$
97,000
3.01
%
$
91,320
2.97
%
Net interest margin
3.33
3.28
Ratio of average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities
108.40
%
107.84
%
(1) Average loan and lease balances include non-accruing loans and leases.
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Dollars in thousands)
As of and for the three months ended
3Q 2024
2Q 2024
1Q 2024
4Q 2023
3Q 2023
Total shareholders’ equity
$
1,007,756
$
961,049
$
927,718
$
902,666
$
850,368
Less:
Goodwill
1,797
1,797
1,797
1,797
1,797
Other intangible assets
1,606
1,644
1,682
1,721
1,759
Tangible shareholders’ equity (a)
$
1,004,353
$
957,608
$
924,239
$
899,148
$
846,812
Shares outstanding (c)
45,151,691
45,003,856
44,938,673
44,617,673
44,480,215
Total assets
$
12,607,346
$
11,868,570
$
11,505,569
$
11,271,423
$
10,950,460
Less:
Goodwill
1,797
1,797
1,797
1,797
1,797
Other intangible assets
1,606
1,644
1,682
1,721
1,759
Tangible assets (b)
$
12,603,943
$
11,865,129
$
11,502,090
$
11,267,905
$
10,946,904
Tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets (a/b)
7.97
%
8.07
%
8.04
%
7.98
%
7.74
%
Tangible book value per share (a/c)
$
22.24
$
21.28
$
20.57
$
20.15
$
19.04
Efficiency ratio:
Noninterest expense (d)
$
77,589
$
77,656
$
77,737
$
93,204
$
74,262
Net interest income
97,000
91,320
90,111
89,576
89,410
Noninterest income
32,932
34,159
26,097
30,107
37,891
Total revenue (e)
$
129,932
$
125,479
$
116,208
$
119,683
$
127,301
Efficiency ratio (d/e)
59.72
%
61.89
%
66.89
%
77.88
%
58.34
%
Pre-provision net revenue (e-d)
$
52,343
$
47,823
$
38,471
$
26,479
$
53,039
This press release presents non-GAAP financial measures. The adjustments to reconcile from the non-GAAP financial measures to the applicable GAAP financial measure are included where applicable in financial results presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company considers these adjustments to be relevant to ongoing operating results. The Company believes that excluding the amounts associated with these adjustments to present the non-GAAP financial measures provides a meaningful base for period-to-period comparisons, which will assist regulators, investors, and analysts in analyzing the operating results or financial position of the Company. The non-GAAP financial measures are used by management to assess the performance of the Company’s business, for presentations of Company performance to investors, and for other reasons as may be requested by investors and analysts. The Company further believes that presenting the non-GAAP financial measures will permit investors and analysts to assess the performance of the Company on the same basis as that applied by management. Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied, and are not audited. Although non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by shareholders to evaluate a company, they have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results reported under GAAP.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26), Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-08) announced the introduction of the Expanding Clean Fuel Production Act, a bill that would extend the clean fuel production tax credit, also known as Section 45z, of the Inflation Reduction Act for 10 years. The Inflation Reduction Act created the clean fuel production credit (CFPC) for transportation fuel with zero or low greenhouse gas emissions, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This credit currently expires at the end of 2027.
“The 45z tax credit has been critical in helping to ramp up U.S. production of sustainable aviation fuel,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “However, we need to extend the credit long-term to provide market certainty and to ensure a safe and reliable supply of SAF to meet the needs of the aviation industry. I appreciate Congressman Schneider and Congressman Kildee’s partnership on this bill, and I look forward to working with stakeholders in the environmental, energy, and aviation community to extend the 45z credit and promote U.S. investment in this critical domestic fuel source.”
“I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Reps. Kildee and Brownley to extend the SAF credit, boost production of clean fuels and position the U.S. as a global leader in production and use of sustainable fuels,” said Congressman Schneider. “A ten-year extension would allow for sustained investment in production to accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels and to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation industry, in particular. We are already seeing the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act’s investments on U.S. production of sustainable fuels.”
“In my home state of Michigan, we have already seen the harmful effects of climate change on our Great Lakes,” said Congressman Kildee. “This legislation will help us continue producing clean energy and fuels here in the United States, to help create good paying jobs, provide new markets to Michigan farmers, and reduce carbon emissions from airplanes and other vehicles.”
“As the leading U.S. airline in SAF use and advocacy, we know that extending incentives for U.S. SAF producers by a full ten years is a necessary first step to grow the industry,” said Lauren Riley, Chief Sustainability Officer for United Airlines. “The continued leadership of Representatives Schneider, Kildee and Brownley is helping to assure U.S. competitiveness in SAF and clean fuels, while boosting U.S. agricultural producers and rural communities. We look forward to working with Representatives Schneider, Kildee and Brownley and their colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that this tax credit is both extended and enhanced in a way that will maximize investment in SAF and other clean, low-carbon fuels.”
“Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is the single most important method to decarbonize aviation in the coming decades, and LanzaJet applauds the leadership of Representatives Schneider, Kildee, and Brownley in advancing SAF tax incentives that will catalyze domestic investment in this critical sector,” said Jimmy Samartzis, LanzaJet CEO. “As the original sponsors of the IRA’s SAF Blender’s Tax Credit via the Sustainable Skies Act, Reps Schneider, Kildee, and Brownley continue to lay the foundation for a vibrant U.S. SAF industry by providing for ten years of policy certainty for domestic SAF producers via this important bill. We look forward to continuing to work with Representatives Schneider, Kildee, and Brownley to develop policy proposals that will both extend and enhance the IRA’s short term SAF tax credits and enable achievement of the goals of the SAF Grand Challenge.”
“We applaud Representative Schneider and his colleagues Representatives Kildee and Brownley for their efforts to extend incentives for SAF,” said Alison Graab, Executive Director of the SAF Coalition. “We look forward to working with them on both an extension as well as enhancing and strengthening the incentive. Advancing sustainable aviation fuel demonstrates a clear commitment to the environmental and economic promises SAF holds, and incentives that are durable and attract investment are essential to unlocking that potential and driving the progress needed to sustain and grow the SAF industry.”
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 enacted a tax credit for the production of SAF, aiming to halve carbon emissions in the aviation sector. The credit was inspired by a SAF credit included in the Sustainable Skies Act, which Congresswoman Brownley authored with Representatives Schneider and Kildee in 2021.
###
Issues: 118th Congress, Climate Crisis, Energy and Environment, Transportation and Infrastructure
Montgomery, Ala. – Today, Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced the sentencing of a Palm Bay, Florida man to 70 months in prison for using a fake identity to purchase a vehicle. On October 21, 2024, a federal judge sentenced 39-year-old Anthony Vila to 70 months in prison. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge also ordered that Vila serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to his plea agreement and other court records, in early August of 2022, Vila contacted a salesman at a Prattville, Alabama car dealership via electronic communications regarding the purchase of a vehicle valued at $45,000. After being denied financing, Vila sent the personal identifying information of someone he claimed to be his aunt to be used by the dealership as a co-signor on the loan. The information included a copy of the co-signor’s driver’s license and a pay stub. However, both documents were counterfeit. Vila also provided a date of birth and social security number for his alleged co-signor and had an unknown female claiming to be his aunt speak to the dealership over the phone. The $45,000 loan was eventually approved. The individual that Vila falsely claimed to be his aunt had no knowledge of the transaction and had not given permission for her personal information to be used.
On August 4, 2022, Vila picked up the vehicle from the dealership. Vila was apprehended with the vehicle a few days later in Montgomery. During a search of the vehicle, investigators found a laptop, printer, holograms, phone, firearm, and other items commonly used to commit identity theft. The phone contained over 100 stolen identities. The laptop contained evidence of the vehicle purchase described above. Vila pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on June 7, 2024.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Montgomery Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted the case.
The coalition Government’s Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has passed its third reading in Parliament, delivering on the Government’s commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to councils and consent applicants, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister for the Environment Andrew Hoggard say.
“Our RMA Reform programme is happening in three phases. We repealed the previous government’s excessively complicated reforms through Phase One before Christmas last year. Now in Phase Two we’re implementing a one-stop-shop fast-track consenting regime, legislating for a raft of ‘quick fixes’ to the interim RMA through two Amendment Bills and a suite of changes to national direction, and then in Phase Three we’ll fully replace the RMA with a new regime guided by private property rights,” Mr Bishop says.
“This first Amendment Bill is focused on targeted changes that can take effect quickly and give certainty to councils and consent applicants, while new legislation to replace the RMA is developed,” Ms Simmonds says.
“Farming, mining and other primary industries are critical to rebuilding the New Zealand economy. This Bill reduces the regulatory burden on resource consent applicants and supports development in these key sectors,” Mr McClay says.
The Bill makes several changes to the Resource Management Act and national direction.
The Bill:
clarifies that resource consent applicants no longer need to demonstrate their proposed activities follow the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations, as set out in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).
amends stock exclusion regulations in relation to sloped land.
repeals the permitted and restricted discretionary intensive winter grazing regulations and replaces these with new regulations relating to critical source areas and riparian setbacks
aligns the consenting pathway for coal mining with the pathway for other extractive activities across the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB), NPS-FM, and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F).
suspends the requirement for councils to identify new Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) in accordance with the NPS-IB for three years, to give enough time for a thorough review of how they operate.
streamlines the process for preparing national direction under the RMA
clarifies councils’ ability to consent discharges where consent conditions will reduce effects over time
pauses the roll out of Freshwater Farm Plans across the country
restricts councils’ ability to notify new freshwater plans from 22 October 2024 until the gazettal of the replacement National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says improving primary sector profitability is key to boosting our largest exporting sector. Regulations need to be fit-for-purpose and not place unnecessary compliance costs on farmers and growers.
“By removing the need for resource consent applicants to demonstrate that their activities follow the hierarchy of obligations, we’ve cut an unnecessary compliance burden and are reducing costs faced by farmers and growers,” Mr McClay says.
“The changes to stock exclusion and winter grazing regulations represent a move to a more risk-based, catchment-focussed approach.
“We’ve removed the low slope map and will let regional councils and individual farmers determine where stock need to be excluded, based on risk. The focus is on farm-level and regionally suitable solutions.
“Regional councils tell us there has been a significant improvement in winter grazing practices, with farmers changing where they plant fodder crops and how they manage winter grazing.
“Importantly, non-regulatory measures are already in place to support the continued improvement of winter grazing practices going forward.” Mr McClay says.
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard says freshwater farm plans are an essential for managing freshwater risks.
“The intention is that freshwater farm plans will provide an effective way to manage the impacts of farming activities on freshwater, including winter grazing and stock exclusion, in a risk-based and practical way.
“These changes will help bring efficiencies to a system that was too complex. The Government has worked at pace to simplify and improve the freshwater farm plan system. We have delivered for farmers and growers.”
The Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill will come into force the day after it receives Royal Assent.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sanford D Bishop Jr (GA-02)
LESLIE, Ga. –On Monday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) – the top Democrat on the U.S. House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee as well as a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee – visited Minor Brothers Farms in Sumter County to discuss the Farm Bill. He was joined by Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) and Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) who are the Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
“Congressman Austin Scott, Congresswoman Shontel Brown, and I are working hard in Congress on a new Farm Bill,” said Congressman Bishop. “Meeting in the field with peanut and cotton farmers allowed us to hear from them and see, first-hand, the challenges they face producing the food and fiber that feeds America and clothes the world. We were able to have a frank, bipartisan conversation about the immediate need for economic assistance and swift passage of the Farm Bill as well as disaster relief our producers require following the recent hurricane.”
“And of course, we were eager to join with them in discussing how Congress can provide urgent help,” added Congressman Bishop.
Congressman Bishop noted it is important for Members of Congress from other areas of the country to visit America’s farmers and producers in places like Middle and Southwest Georgia so that they are armed with sufficient information to support agriculture in the Farm Bill and get the nation’s farmers and producers the resources that they need.
“I appreciated the opportunity to visit Minor Brothers Farms in Sumter County with Congressman Bishop and Congressman Scott. My sincere thanks are extended to Congressman Bishop for welcoming me to his district to hear directly from peanut and cotton farmers. As a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, I will continue working with my colleagues to pass a Farm Bill that supports farmers and producers as well as people in need,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown.
Dick Minor, a Sumter County farmer, commented, “We were pleased to host Representatives Sanford Bishop, Austin Scott, and Shontel Brown this week at our farm. In addition to these Members of Congress, we had numerous agricultural organizations to participate in discussions involving the 2024 Farm Bill, agricultural economic assistance, H2A issues, and disaster relief for those that were impacted by Hurricane Helene. These Members hold senior positions for agricultural policy in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we appreciate their interest in bipartisan solutions to very important issues to the agricultural industry.”
The Farm Bill is the definitive law that governs food and agriculture policy by authorizing federal programs important to farmers, producers, nutrition programs, the agriculture industry, and rural development.
In May 2024, Congressman Bishop voted in support of the Farm Bill passed by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. In September, he sent a letter to House and Senate leaders and to the House Agriculture Committee leadership urging them toset aside differences and commit to pass a Farm Bill before the end of this Congress.
Among its many provisions, the bill increases reference prices for commodities and crop insurance payments to help stabilize income for farmers and protect them from market volatility. It also authorizesvoluntary and locally led incentive-based conservation programs and global promotion of U.S. agriculture.
House Republican leaders have not scheduled the Farm Bill for a vote. Some Republicans and Democrats have raised budgetary concerns about the bill and the U.S. Senate is working on its own version of the Farm Bill. Congressman Bishop remains committed to working towards a bipartisan bill this year that will get the full support of the U.S. Congress and that can be signed into law by President Biden.
###
PHOTO CAPTION: Congressman Bishop (center) flanked by Congresswoman Shontel Brown of Ohio and Congressman Austin Scott from the neighboring Georgia’s 8th Congressional District visit Minor Brothers Farms in Leslie, GA.
Sydney Airport is excited to welcome new food and beverage brands at the T1 International terminal – EARL, BARista, East x West, and Sydney Coffee Trader offering travellers an array of high-quality dining options.
Launching in December 2024, EARL – renowned as ‘the best in the sandwich-making business’ will bring its premium fast-casual dining experience to Sydney’s international stage.
With dozens of sandwiches in their repertoire, alongside exclusive new combinations crafted for a Sydney-centric experience, passengers can also enjoy speciality beverages from EARL’s signature brew taps, featuring seasonal drinks like yuzu-spiked cold brew and matcha oat lattes.
Founded 15 years ago in Melbourne by former Sydneysiders Simon O’Regan and Jackie Middleton, EARL marks a return to the city where their hospitality careers began. “Sydney has always been our ‘fun town’, a place we love to visit and enjoy with friends and family, said Simon and Jackie.
“Opening EARL at Sydney Airport feels like a significant milestone in our journey, blending our passion for premium dining with a truly global audience.”
The established and much-loved EARL is known for its focus on quality and sustainability, aligning perfectly with Sydney Airport’s commitment to providing exceptional and responsible dining options.
Mark Zaouk, Group Executive Commercial at Sydney Airport, said: “We are continually innovating our food and beverage options to meet changing consumer tastes, elevating our wellbeing offering while keeping true to the fast-paced environment of our dining precincts.
“The introduction of these new brands reflects our commitment to enhancing the passenger experience and offering a diverse and dynamic range of dining choices. We are excited to see how BARista, EARL, East x West and Sydney Coffee Trader will contribute to making Sydney Airport a destination in itself.”
BARista will open its doors later in the month, offering international travellers a premium coffee experience alongside a selection of standout gourmet dishes including the Benedict Croissant, a signature cheeseburger and flavourful Katsu Sando (crispy chicken sandwich).
For those after a quick bite before their flight, classic favourites like the BLT and bacon and egg roll will also be available, while the Hokkaido Tarts will delight anyone with a sweet tooth. Whether you’re after a caffeine fix or a hearty meal, BARista promises a fresh and satisfying dining experience.
East x West, which is also set to open later this year, will offer a vibrant fusion of East Asian and Western culinary influences, perfectly reflecting its name. The venue will hero Ramen dishes accompanied by a sumptuous selection of spring rolls, dumplings, and handmade bao.
Passengers looking for something lighter can enjoy crunchy lotus chips and edamame paired perfectly with Sapporo Premium Black on tap, a rare find in Australia and exclusive to the East x West brand. Adding to the unique experience, East x West will feature a dedicated mixologist crafting expertly made cocktails, along with a curated menu of Japanese whiskies and fine wines.
Sydney Coffee Trader located within the bustling T1 International arrivals hall will showcase exceptional coffee in partnership with Seven Miles Coffee Roasters – a welcome sight for weary travellers. The menu highlights gourmet bagels loaded with fillings and oversized sandwiches complemented by freshly made salads and chia puddings. Whether travellers need a coffee pick-me-up or a wholesome meal, Sydney Coffee Trader offers the perfect blend of quality and convenience.
“As a local roaster, we’re excited to be partnering with Sydney Coffee Trader in showcasing our city’s vibrant coffee culture. I think this venue perfectly combines a distinctive menu of locally sourced flavours with a unique coffee experience that travellers and guests are going to love,” says James Bailey, General Manager of Seven Miles Coffee Roasters.
The new food offerings have been developed in partnership with Emirates Leisure Retail, who recently unveiled Gusto in the T1 International dining precinct which offers passengers a contemporary take on traditional Italian fare.
Emirates Leisure Retail also expressed their enthusiasm about expanding their partnership with Sydney Airport.
Davina Connell, Regional Director and General Manager ANZ Emirates Leisure Retail stated, “We are thrilled to build on our strong partnership with Sydney Airport as these diverse dining options are set to elevate the airport experience to new levels.
“Whether you’re a coffee connoisseur in search of a smooth brew to rival your favourite local café, or ready to unwind with high-street-quality Asian-inspired dishes or a quick bite, there is something to satisfy every craving.
“These new food brands represent a significant step forward in enhancing the airport’s culinary landscape, and we look forward to unveiling them in the coming months.”
Images of new dining options at Sydney Airport can be found here.
Notes to editor
Menu highlights
EARL – located in the T1 food court before security
Handmade sandwiches and salads
The Pork Belly – free-range pork belly, apple, fennel and kale coleslaw
Harissa Lamb – slow cooked harissa rubbed lamb, quince, herb yoghurt, green beans and almonds
Mushroom and Ricotta – roast field mushrooms, ricotta, EARL salsa verde, chestnuts and rocket
Sydney-exclusive sandwich combinations
Signature brew taps with seasonal drinks such as yuzu-spiked cold brew, matcha oat lattes and Single Origin batch brews
East x West – located in the T1 food court before security
Ramen
Handmade Bao
Spring Rolls
Dumplings
Crunchy Lotus Chips and Edamame
Sapporo Premium Black on tap along with other favourites
Japanese whiskies, fine wines and expertly crafted cocktails prepared by an in-house mixologist
Sydney Coffee Trader – located in T1 Arrivals
Freshly brewed coffee
Loaded gourmet bagels
Oversized sandwiches
Fresh, healthy salads
Chia puddings
BARista – located beyond security
Gourmet dishes from breakfast to classic favourites
Greenpeace says Luxon must have been “rolling in the mud” with pro-pollution Federated Farmers lobbyists, as the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill passed into law last night.
Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe says, “With such grievous weakening of freshwater protection in this bill, it’s clear that Luxon has been rolling in the mud with Federated Farmers lobbyists who are terrified of the possibility that the dairy industry will face consequences for polluting rivers and contaminating drinking water.”
“Everyone, no matter where they live or who they voted for, deserves access to safe drinking water and should be able to go for a swim in their local lakes and rivers. But with the Resource Management Amendment Bill, this Government is taking away some of the only rules that protect fresh water.”
The Bill will eliminate rules around intensive winter grazing and stock exclusions. It will remove local governments’ ability to use Te Mana o Te Wai – a policy that puts the health of freshwater ecosystems first, the health of people second, and commercial use of water last. In June, aGreenpeace OIA revealed that even the Department of Conservation had advised against the Billon the grounds that it would make freshwater quality worse.
This news comes hot on the heels of the Government’s announcement that they would make an additional last-minute amendment to the bill – after public consultation had finished – to prevent local councils from implementing stronger freshwater protections.
“In his ongoing war on nature, Luxon is putting fresh water at risk and undermining local democracy because local governments are not adhering to his pro-pollution agenda,” says Appelbe.
“It’s no coincidence that this latest amendment came the day before the Otago Regional Council planned to vote to proceed with their Land and Water Regional Plan, which would have set in place stronger and more ambitious freshwater protections.”
“This move happened just a week after community members in the Central Hawke’s Bay gathered to voice their opposition to the Ruataniwha Dam – renamed the Tukituki water storage scheme – which will ruin an incredibly important braided river and flood 22 hectares of conservation land,” says Appelbe.
“New Zealanders are not new to this fight, and together, we will protect fresh water. We value the lakes, rivers, and drinking water that Luxon’s government seeks to pollute.
“Luxon is new to this job, and he may find he’s in for more than he’s bargained for. While he was CEO of Air New Zealand, Hawke’s Bay locals, Greenpeace and Forest & Bird campaigned relentlessly over many years to stop version one of the Ruataniwha Dam. That resolve remains even stronger now.”
25 years ago, a group of business leaders with bold ambitions got together and put a stake in the ground on sustainability.
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) was first conceived in 1999 as a coalition of leading businesses with a mandate that reflected the era and a shared commitment to sustainable development.
Current SBC Chair, Claire Walker, commented on the value of keeping an eye on the long game.
“Reaching 25 years is something to celebrate. Over that time SBC has provided a place for business to learn, to forge powerful partnerships and to be challenged and stretch – the role it has played has adapted to different environments,” said Walker.
Then known as the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD), the organisation was (and remains) the only NZ-based Global Network Partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, headquartered in Geneva.
The next significant era involved BusinessNZ, the peak body for New Zealand business, which in 2009 established a Sustainability Forum.
SBC Executive Director Mike Burrell noted, “The idea was to provide a platform for companies wanting to define and lead sustainable business matters rather than simply respond to government-led initiatives.”
Two years later, NZBCSD merged with the Sustainability Forum and became SBC.
“Many current SBC members have been part of the membership since very early days – and the fact that we have stood the test of time is a credit to them,” said Burrell. “This includes Deloitte, Fonterra, Meridian, The Warehouse Group, Toyota NZ, and more.
“Our focus now is on leadership, action on climate, nature, and thriving people. We support the fundamentals, advocate for change, and help broker large scale projects led by SBC member businesses who include some of the biggest organisations in New Zealand.”
Significant milestones include the establishment of the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) – a CEO-led community of around 80 organisations leading the response to climate change. The combined emissions reduction achieved by current CLC signatories between signing up to the Coalition and November 2023 is 3.6 million tCO2e, a cumulative reduction of 29%.
Another key achievement is the establishment of AgriZeroNZ, which began as an SBC-led collaboration and has gone on to become a world-first public-private partnership helping farmers reduce emissions, while maintaining profitability and productivity.
“SBC member businesses have made big strides over the years, in terms of how they operate,” said Burrell.
“The conversation has shifted a lot – from whether climate change is real, to the need to measure and report on an organisation’s operations, to levers for supporting sustainable decision making more broadly.”
Sir Stephen Tindall, founder of The Warehouse Group and founding member of SBC also noted the shift since its formation.
“When we set up the Sustainable Business Council we had no idea how much climate change would have advanced,” said Tindall.
“Business needs to play its part along with bipartisan government to attempt to slow down global warming. We can only do this by working collaboratively with everybody to create a real ‘nationwide ambition’.”
SBC will formally mark the milestone of 25 years with an Anniversary event at Parliament hosted by Minister of Climate Change, Simon Watts, on 22 October 2024.
“Not only can businesses lead – it’s in our interests, and will mean New Zealand continues to achieve its potential over the next 25 years and beyond,” said Burrell.
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today that Kansas is receiving $9 million from the federal Inflation Reduction Act for two projects aimed at mitigating the impact of drought in Kansas.
“Decades of over-appropriation and more frequent droughts have now put communities across Kansas in crisis,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These projects will be instrumental in our work to increase our state’s water quality and quantity.”
The Kansas Equus Beds Aquifer Recharge, Storage, and Recovery Project near Wichita will receive $7 million. This is a critical supply for more than 20% of municipal, industrial, and irrigation water users in Kansas.
The Kansas Voluntary Agreements Program was selected to receive $2 million for the state-implemented Kansas Water Transition Assistance Program in either the Prairie Dog Creek or Rattlesnake Creek Basins.
When fully implemented, the Equus project will recharge the Equus Beds Aquifer, providing water to Wichita at a rate of up to 100 million gallons per day through injection and infiltration of Little Arkansas River diversions into the aquifer in south-central Kansas. The Kansas Water Right Transition Assistance Program will conserve approximately 10,000 acre-feet by rotating temporary land fallowing or permanently retiring water rights.
Governor Kelly advocated for federal water funding to be extended into Kansas to help family farms and ranches, small towns, and wildlife avoid the severe and potentially irreversible impacts of drought.
Representative Sharice Davids voted for the Inflation Reduction Act and supported additional federal funding for these projects.
“I’m glad to see resources from the Inflation Reduction Act coming home to Kansas,” said Representative Sharice Davids (KS-O3). “The ongoing effects of drought are a persistent threat across our state. This investment is a critical step to protect Kansans’ livelihoods, support the work our farmers do to feed the world and protect the economic security of towns across Kansas.”
This announcement builds upon previous investments of almost $33 million from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for aging infrastructure, water recycling, and WaterSMART projects in Kansas.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes an overall $550 million for domestic water supply projects and $4 billion for water conservation and ecosystem projects in the Colorado River Basin and other areas experiencing similar levels of long-term drought. To date, U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation has announced 222 drought mitigation and 16 domestic water supply projects from Inflation Reduction Act funding for a total of more than $2.5 billion.
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