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Category: Banking

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Germany: INERATEC secures €70 million financing commitment for Europe’s largest e-Fuel-production plant in Frankfurt

    Source: European Investment Bank

    Ineratec

    • INERATEC agrees up to €40 million venture debt loan with the European Investment Bank and up to €30 million grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst to scale-up its e-Fuel production capabilities
    • Landmark investment follows EU-Catalyst Partnership initiated in 2021 and supported by the Innovation Fund through the InvestEU Programme.
    • Backing demonstrates European commitment to clean energy innovation and follows earlier Horizon 2020 support

    Sustainable e-Fuel production pioneer INERATEC today formally agreed a  €40 million venture debt loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and €30 million grant with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. The combined €70 million backing will finance construction of Europe`s largest sustainable e-Fuel production plant in Frankfurt and e-Fuel research and development of future, key steps in decarbonising aviation.

    The new e-Fuel financing was announced at the EIB-Group-Forum taking place this week in Luxembourg and underscores the strategic importance of e-Fuels in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation. The new investment will enable INERATEC to scale up production capacity and commercialize its innovative reactor technology, which converts green hydrogen and CO2 into synthetic aviation fuel. The committed project funding, confirmed earlier this year, represents a significant step in commercialisation of INERATEC’s Power-to-Liquid technology, accelerating the transition towards a net-zero future.

    Transforming the Energy Landscape with e-Fuels

    INERATEC’s production process uses hydrogen, which is then combined with CO2 from biogenic sources like biogas plants or industrial emissions, using INERATEC’s Power-to-Liquid technology. This approach enables the production of synthetic crude oil, which can be processed into a range of synthetic fuels, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), marine fuels and e-Diesel. The use of CO2, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, reduces the carbon-footprint of the fuel and will help to cut carbon emissions.

    At the production site outside Frankfurt, the main feedstock is supplied from the industrial park: the CO2 comes from a biogas plant that recycles waste, and the hydrogen is a by-product from an existing chlorine production facility. By utilizing compact and modular production units, INERATEC’s approach ensures efficient scalability and adaptability to different production sites.

    Beyond sustainable fuels for aviation, the synthetic oil that INERATEC produces can also be used as a base chemical for different sustainable products like plastics. This extends the contribution of INERATEC’s technology to sustainable supply for the chemical industry.

    Scaling Up to Meet Market Demand

    After building and operating plants at demonstration and industrial pilot scale, INERATEC now focuses on scaling up production and optimizing commercial deployment. The funding commitment backed by the EIB and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst will enable the company to deliver commercial-scale production, ensuring a steady supply of e-Fuels to meet increasing market demand and is critical in making synthetic fuels economically viable.  

    The plant will produce up to 2,500 tons of e-Fuel annually that will be delivered to the aviation sector, among others. One long haul flight between Frankfurt and New York uses 80 tons of kerosene. e-SAF from INERATEC could make flying on this route more sustainable by replacing fossil kerosene fully or partially on many flights. This clearly shows the importance of increasing the e-SAF production capacities beyond a pioneer plant. 

    The political requirement to shift to more sustainable forms of energy is supported by the European ReFuelEU Aviation-regulation which requires Airlines to use a minimum e-SAF blend of 1.2% by 2030, creating market opportunities.

    Bridging Innovation and Climate Goals

    The collaboration between INERATEC and the EU-Catalyst Partnership demonstrates how public and private sector partnerships can drive the commercialization of innovative and clean climate technologies. By building on past EU grant support and leveraging new investment mechanisms, this partnership provides a blueprint for scaling up other clean energy solutions.

    Accordingly, it shows the EU’s commitment to support innovative technologies that will help EU industry becoming cleaner and stay competitive. The lending by the EIB is made possible thanks to the support of the InvestEU programme, which is backed by an Innovation Fund top-up guarantee. The Innovation Fund is financed by the EU Emissions Trading System.

    The transformation of the European industry to clean technologies is being driven by a number of technological innovations, including the efficient production of hydrogen. EIB supports the latter by also funding an electrolysis-project by the Dresden-based start-up Sunfire. Sunfire and INERATEC were partners in a research project in 2019, when both enterprises for the first time demonstrated the production of sustainable e-Fuels from air-captured CO2 and solar power in a fully integrated plant.

    EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer said: “The EIB is committed to a competitive net-zero economy, especially in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation. Through partnerships such as the EU-Breakthrough Catalyst initiative, we’re enabling a green transition for transport and are ultimately contributing to making prices of e-Fuels more economical.”

    Mario Fernandez, Head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst: “INERATEC is on a promising path towards demonstrating that e-fuels can be economically produced at scale with the support of catalytic funding. Decarbonizing aviation requires real-world projects to drive down costs and crowd in investment. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is proud to partner with INERATEC to accelerate deployment and unlock the potential to make e-fuels a reality.”

    INERATEC CEO Dr. Tim Boeltken commented: “This funding marks a new era for INERATEC. With the funding commitment from the EIB and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, we are accelerating the industrialization of e-Fuel production. This will make a tangible impact in reducing CO2 emissions in sectors where direct electrification is not feasible. The focus now is on scaling up and deploying our technology where it is needed most.”

    Background information

    The EU-Catalyst partnership was launched in 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow by EU-President Ursula von der Leyen, EIB-President Werner Hoyer and Bill Gates, with the aim to develop large-scale green tech projects based in Europe and boost investments in critical climate technologies. The Partnership creates a blueprint for public-private support for clean tech innovative technologies.

    The European Investment Bank, as implementing partner of the Commission under InvestEU, has been tasked to deploy for the benefit of this partnership up to €420 million, made available from both Horizon Europe (EUR 200 million), and the Innovation Fund, which has committed EUR220 million. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst mobilizes equivalent private capital and philanthropic grants to fund the selected projects. The EU-Catalyst Partnership does not exclude potential additional contributions from EU Member States or other private partners that decide to further support the projects. Interested projects can apply for support through the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst website.

    The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of €88 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2023.

    All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Accord. The EIB Group does not fund investments in fossil fuels. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to support €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030 as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Over half of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

    High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

    Breakthrough Energy is committed to accelerating the world’s journey to a clean energy future. The organization funds breakthrough technologies, advocates for climate-smart policies, and mobilizes partners around the world to take effective action, accelerating progress at every stage.

    Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a novel platform that funds and invests in first-of-a-kind commercial projects for emerging climate technologies. By investing in these opportunities, Catalyst seeks to accelerate the adoption of these technologies worldwide and reduce their costs.

    Catalyst currently focuses on five technology areas: clean hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, direct air capture, long-duration energy storage, and manufacturing decarbonization. In addition to capital, Catalyst leverages the team’s energy-infrastructure-investing and project-development expertise to work with innovators on advancing their projects from the development stage to funding and ultimately, to construction. Learn more about Breakthrough Energy and Catalyst at breakthroughenergy.org.

    The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds to mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects leveraging the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. To this amount, further guarantees have been added from the EU’s Horizon programme and the Innovation Fund to support initiatives such as the EU-Catalyst partnership. 

    The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.  

    EIB venture debt is a quasi-equity investment product suitable for early and growth stage ventures, combining a long-term loan with an instrument linking the return to the performance of the company. Since 2015, the EIB has invested €6 billion in Venture Debt, backing over 200 companies and realising over 50 exits. With the backing of InvestEU, the EIB aims to support European ventures and scale-ups in the cleantech, deep-tech and life sciences sectors.

    The Innovation Fund: With an estimated revenue of €40 billion from the EU Emissions Trading System between 2020 and 2030, the Innovation Fund aims to support innovative net-zero technologies and support Europe’s transition to climate neutrality. The Innovation Fund contributes a €220 million top-up guarantee to the InvestEU Programme for the EU Catalyst Partnership, having enabled until now more than €100 million in lending from EIB.

    INERATEC is committed to defossilizing and decarbonizing the world. The company produces e-Fuels and e-chemicals: carbon-neutral fossil fuel substitutes for use in the aviation, shipping and chemical industries.

    Its modular, scalable plants use renewable hydrogen and biogenic CO2 to produce synthetic kerosene, gasoline, diesel, waxes, methanol or natural gas. It is building what will be the world’s largest e-fuels plant to date, in Frankfurt, which will produce up to 2,500 tonnes of ultra-low-carbon aviation fuel per year. The company is based in Karlsruhe, Germany and backed by diverse international investors.

    Ineratec Power-To-X (IEU GT2) – Catalyst
    INERATEC secures €70 million financing commitment for Europe’s largest e-Fuel-production plant in Frankfurt
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    Ineratec Power-To-X (IEU GT2) – Catalyst
    INERATEC secures €70 million financing commitment for Europe’s largest e-Fuel-production plant in Frankfurt
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    Ineratec Power-To-X (IEU GT2) – Catalyst
    INERATEC secures €70 million financing commitment for Europe’s largest e-Fuel-production plant in Frankfurt
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    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Absecon Bancorp Declares First-Quarter Cash Dividend of $0.90 Per Share

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ABSECON, N.J., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Absecon Bancorp (the “Company”) (OTC, trading as ASCN), the bank holding company of First National Bank of Absecon, an Atlantic County New Jersey based community bank, announced today that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.90 per share, payable on March 28, 2025 to shareholders of record as of March 14, 2025.

    The First National Bank of Absecon, a nationally chartered bank headquartered in Absecon, New Jersey, has a long history of serving the community since its establishment in 1916. The company is a community bank focused on providing deposit and loan products to retail customers and to small and mid-sized businesses from its primary market area in Atlantic County, New Jersey, and secondary markets consisting of portions of Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Ocean Counties. Deposits at The First National Bank of Absecon are insured up to the legal maximum amount by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

    Dividend distributions are processed by Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (“Agent”).

    Contact: C. Eric Gaupp, Vice Chairman President, and Chief Executive Officer
    106 New Jersey Avenue
    PO Box 324
    Absecon, NJ 08201
    Office: 609-641-6300
    email: egaupp@FNBAbsecon.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Economics: Transcript of Press Briefing on the Completion of the Third Review for the IMF Extended Fund Facility for Sri Lanka

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    March 5, 2025

    PARTICIPANTS:

    PETER BREUER

    Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka

    KATSIARYNA SVIRYDZENKA

    Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka

    MARTHA TESFAYE WOLDEMICHAEL

    Resident Representative in Sri Lanka

    MODERTOR:

    RANDA ELNAGAR

    Senior Media Officer

    TRANSCRIPT:


    Ms. Elnagar:  
    Good morning to our participants who are joining us from Asia and good evening to our participants in DC. Welcome to the press conference on of the Third review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. I am Randa Elnagar, with the IMF’s communications department.

    I am joined today by three speakers. Peter Breuer, IMF’s Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka; Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka; and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, IMF’s Resident Representative in Sri Lanka.

    By now you should have seen the press release, which we issued on Friday and the staff report is not on IMF.org. First, Peter will give some opening remarks, and then we will take your questions.

    We are kindly asking you to mute your microphones throughout the briefing, unless you are asking a question. Peter the floor is yours.

    started transcription


    Mr. Breuer:
    Thank you, Randa. Good morning, all, thank you very much for being here and for your interest in Sri Lanka’s IMF-supported economic reform program.

    I am pleased to announce that, on Friday February 28, the IMF Executive Board approved the third review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility Arrangement with Sri Lanka. This provides the country with immediate access to about US$334 million to support its economic policies and reforms.

    It brings the total IMF financial support dispersed so far to about $1.3 billion.
    The IMF continues to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to restore and maintain macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting the poor and vulnerable rebuilding external buffers. Safeguarding financial sector stability and enhancing growth oriented structural reforms, including by strengthening governance.

    The IMF Executive Board’s approval to complete the third review recognizes the strong program performance. All quantitative targets for end December 2024 were met, except for the indicative target on social spending.
    Most structural benchmarks do by end January 2025 were either met or implemented with delay.

    Turning to through the macroeconomic situation, it is encouraging to see that reforms in Sri Lanka are bearing fruit with the economic recovery gaining momentum, inflation remains slow.

    Revenue collection is improving and reserves continue to accumulate.
    Economic growth averaged 4.3% since growth resumed in the third quarter of 2023.
    The recovery is expected to continue in two thousand 2025 now. Despite these positive developments, the economy is still vulnerable.
    It is critical to sustain the reform momentum to ensure macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.

    And to promote long term inclusive growth, there is no room for policy errors.
    Let me emphasize that sustained revenue mobilization is crucial to restoring fiscal sustainability.

    And ensuring that the government can continue to provide essential services.
    Boosting tax compliance and refraining from tax exemptions are key to maintaining support for economic reforms.

    Let me also emphasize that to ease economic hardship and ensure the poor and vulnerable can participate in Sri Lanka’s recovery, it is important to meet social spending targets and continue with reforms of the social safety net going forward. Social support needs to be well targeted towards the.

    Most disadvantaged, so as to promote inclusive growth with limited fiscal space.
    Restoring cost recovery, electricity pricing without delay is needed to contain fiscal risks from state owned enterprises.
    A smoother execution of capital spending within the fiscal envelope would foster medium term growth.

    The recent successful completion of the bond exchange is a major milestone towards restoring debt sustainability, timely finalization of bilateral agreements with creditors in the official creditor committee, and with remaining creditors is a priority now. Regarding monetary policy, I would like to highlight that it should prioritize maintaining price. Stability supported by sustained commitment to prohibit monetary financing and.

    To safeguard central bank independence. Continued exchange rate, flexibility and gradually phasing out the balance of payments measures remain critical to rebuild external buffers and facilitate rebalancing.

    As for the financial sector, resolving non performing loans, strengthening governance and oversight of state owned banks and improving the insolvency and resolution frameworks are important priorities to revive credit growth and support the economic recovery.

    Finally, prolonged structural challenges need to be addressed to unlock Sri Lanka’s long term potential, including steadfast implementation of governance reforms.
    I would like to thank the authorities for their commitment and excellent collaboration.

    Let me also take this opportunity to announce that as part of a standard staff rotation process, I will soon be transitioning from the role of mischief for Sri Lanka.
    And I will be handing over to the next mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou, during the next mission. It has been an honor to accompany Sri Lanka on his journey out of this.

    Severe crisis for nearly three years. While there are more challenges ahead, the IMF team will remain a steadfast partner for Sri Lanka and its people on the road to a more sustainable and inclusive recovery.
    I will be moving to another assignment soon and wish the people of Sri Lanka continued success with the economic recovery.
    With this, let me hand it back to Rhonda. Thank you.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Thank you so much, Peter.
    Colleagues, please raise your hand and identify yourself if you want to ask your question and turn on your camera, if possible and the mic. Thank you. I see the first hand, please.


    QUESTIONER:
    Thank you, Randa. This is Shihar Anis from economy next.
    I hope you can hear you.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    We can hear you well, Shihar. Thank you.


    QUESTIONER:
    OK. So my question is now there is a delay in the SOE restructuring because we don’t see the same speed that the previous government was doing, the SOE restructuring this government has been. Basically, they are not into privatization, but they are looking into a different model. How concerned are you on that? You know, delay or the current restructuring model.
    Thank you.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Thank you. We’ll take another couple of questions and then answer them in groups.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    The audio. Zulfiq there is a lot of static on your mic.


    QUESTIONER:
    Hope you can hear me. I have two questions. That is, it has come to light that the Sri Lankan Government plans not to proceed with the imputed rental income tax as a revenue measure. So has this been discussed with the IMF and is there any other alternative that is being put forward and at the same time, what is IMF stake on the budget that was presented recently?


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Let’s take another question. Sampath, please.


    QUESTIONER:
    Hi I’m Sampath Dissanayake from BBC Sinhala service.
    The government is increasing the tax as per the IMF advice to increase government revenue. The number of people receiving Social Security benefit in benefits in Sri Lanka is increasing annually. So do you believe that the increase in tax burden is increase for reason for this?


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    Peter, we can take these three questions.


    Mr. Breuer:
    Yes, thank you very much. So let me answer some of the questions.
    On the budget and fiscal, and maybe Katie can answer the question on the.
    SOE reforms so the. Imputed rental income tax was a measure proposed by the previous administration as part of a possible revenue package for 2025, and the new authorities have proposed a slightly different package that is aligned with their mandate and priorities. And staff and the authorities have assessed that this package is sufficient to meet the revenue targets under the program. Now of course, should those measures prove insufficient, then additional revenue measures would be needed. And so that also. Ties in with the question on the budget and tax revenues. So yes, we have looked at the budget. And have, of course, disgusted with the authorities. There’s more detailed explanation in the staff report that should be online now, so there’s a table on page 12 that kind of lists some of the main measures needed to. reach the goal for tax revenue for next year. Yeah, reallybthe objective here is as you know tax revenue was a key driver of the crisis in 2022.
    Sri Lanka was the lowest that the country with the lowest tax take amongst.
    Middle income countries and low income countries in the world, and so it has made significant progress since then. Tax as a share of GDP, he has increased by 5 percentage points from somewhere. You know 7 to somewhere 12.4% or so last year. So that’s a significant increase, but by no means is excessive and. The essential services that the government provides need to be funded and for that reason.
    Working on ensuring that there is sufficient tax revenue remains a priority.
    And so social services, which was the 3rd question is just a portion of the overall essential services that that the government provides and is just a component on that actually. Maybe Marta can add on that point and cut you a can speak to the SOE reforms.


    Ms. Svirydzenka:
    So should I go first? OK. So on the on the SOE restructuring, the most crucial element is that the state owned enterprises are managed in a prudent manner so as to avoid the accumulation of losses or debts that then would eventually need to be repaid by the taxpayers. And in that sense, the SOEs can be managed prudently while remaining state owned or they can be divested partially or completely.

    We are reassured by the authorities commitment to ensure that this enterprises do not become a burden for the budget or for the government debt in terms of other key elements under the program has been the cost, reflective pricing of services provided by so especially in the area of electricity and fuel prices. Other commitments under the program include making SOEs more transparent, in particular by publishing audited financial statements of the largest, SOEs in a timely manner.

    And then finally, to allow the economy to grow, it is important that the consumers of services receive the best value for the price of being charged. So this involves running, SOEs in the most efficient manner and ensuring that they are following the best governance principles. So in that sense, we’re quite satisfied with the progress, yes.


    Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael:
    So let me maybe come in then to compliment a bit Peter’s response on the social spending, right. So there’s a question. Why social spending is increasing? I think this is a good opportunity to remind that protecting the poor and vulnerable is really an important component of the EFF program. So the EFF supports this objective through the different reforms through macro stabilization. But importantly, there is also a floor on social spending in the program that we assess on a quarterly basis. So this means the government has to spend a minimum amount to protect the poor and vulnerable.

    So in this context, the key commitment is really for the authorities to continue strengthening the coverage, the adequacy and the targeting of social spending. So recent announcement related to the expected decrease in the payments, for instance for the poor and extremely poor categories under a ASWASUMA or the.
    Announcement that the payments would also increase for the elderly, the disabled and chronic kidney patients are aligned with the authorities commitments to continue strengthening, strengthening social safety Nets and I think it is also very important to make sure that this coverage under the ASWASUMA program. Is above the poverty rates that are currently observed. I think I will stop here. Thank you very much. Back to you, Randa.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Thank you, Martha. We’re first going to take a question from Kelum.
    I think Shihar you had your hand raised, so it’s from the first question. So if you can, please put your hand down because it’s a bit confusing, but we’re going to go to Kellum 1st and then Asante. So Kelum, please go ahead.


    QUESTIONER:
    Thank you. Can you hear me?


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Yes.


    QUESTIONER:
    Yes, I’m Kelum Bandara, from Daily Mirror newspaper. So my question is wanting the overall assessment about the budget, actually that was answered was that next day and the next question is, how important is it for the government to proceed with this Economic Transformation Act to reach the economic targets? Actually in searching by MFN or for the broader infrastructure of the country.


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    Thank you Asante. If you can, please pose your question.


    QUESTIONER:
    Yeah, so, the government has started the import duty on vehicles, which just knocked out earlier. Yeah, I think all the taxes were kind of like excise taxes. And so have you made any assessment on whether this will lead to an increase in assembled vehicles, which earlier didn’t get this tax protection and how much leakage of revenue might happen to the assembled sector and whether any effect to publish a kind of a tax expenditure statement to say how much of the import duties lost due to any increase or the sales of the assembled vehicles which are like got CKD, I think tax free the parts and also have you had any discuss? With the central bank. On offloading their government securities now that the Treasury bills

    Ms. Elnagar: Thank you, Asantha. There is a question in the chat which we’re going to take and then move to the ones online. Amal, you didn’t verify your organization.


    QUESTIONER:
    Oh, and I have actually done that. I’m from AFP, the French news agency, Agence France Press.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Hi would you like to ask? Yeah, because you post in the in the chat.


    QUESTIONER:
    Oh yeah. I mean, if you want to save time, can just answer that.
    I mean basically I was trying to ask Peter how concerned you are about sort of emerging labor unrest, particularly now in the medical field. The doctors are threatening to go on strike from tomorrow, although there is a pay increase that the increase is less than the. Reduction of their allowances. So this is something that affects a lot of not just the medical sector. So how concerned are you that this kind of growing unrest, labor unrest, how it will affect the overall IMF backed program?


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    Peter, do you want to take another question?
    So they are three. So I think Indiqa is next.


    Mr. Breuer:
     Well, there’s actually an under. It feels like there’s a bunch of questions.
    Should we try and answer these?


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    OK. Sounds good.


    Mr. Breuer:
     And maybe Katya can speak to the Economic Transformation Act.
    And also to the central bank question so. On this important question with respect to the potential for unrest. Well, I suppose there is potential, but I think what really should be remembered is that this budget really sought to address some of the concerns that the government and ourselves have hurt that. You know, civil servants have been concerned about. The wages that they have been receiving and so.
    There is for the first time in a long time, an increase in civil service wages, while at the same time the personal income tax regime is were being changed and reducing personal income taxes considerably, at least for some. Income earners, including civil servants, you have to remember who are the ones who earn an income and pay taxes that really is the upper 20% of income earners in Sri Lanka. There has been a massive crisis in 2022 with huge costs to the population of Sri Lanka and in order for the government to keep on providing the essential services that the citizens of Sri Lanka expected, expect the government to provide and in order to bring along the poorer segments of society. Everyone who can needs to make a sacrifice.
    This is how the society can pull together and continue to function, and so.
    I think we all know how painful this crisis has been there’s no doubt about it.
    We have travelled around the country, we have met with many people.
    You know the plantation workers in Noro, alia have shown us their income statements and their bills. And it was very, very clear that this is a very severe crisis, but how else to address it. So, sticking with the reforms is really the best way out for Sri Lanka to assure its sustainability, and I think it’s important for everyone in Sri Lanka to recognize that.

    If you put it into the broader perspective the adjustment, this is the last budget.
    Where there is still a bit of an increase in in revenue is needed 1.5 percentage points of GDP, but all the hard adjustment has already taken place in the previous two years. You know revenue have increased 5 percentage points of GDP over the last two years. This is, you know, the last sort of big push. Not quite as big as in the previous years, and there after it’ll be much easier going forward.

    So on the cars I mean that’s a specific question. Does is there some import substitution? I can’t answer that. I would assume that after five years or so of a ban of imported cars that there will be some demand for finished cars from overseas.
    I do take your point that it’s possible that there may be some assembly of cars domestically.

    Katya, can you answer the other two questions please?


    Ms. Svirydzenka:
    Sure. So on the economic transformation, bill, we understand there was a recent announcement that the new government will propose amendments to the bill. And so we look forward to reviewing the amended economic transformation bill. We expect it to be consistent with program objectives, including for example with the authorities’ commitment to refrain from granting tax.
    Incentives until the STP act is revised to provide clear and transparent criteria on the granting of tax incentives on the. Central Bank Securities, I understand the question was that the Central Bank has sold T-bills but has a stock of on marketable bonds. And this is correct. And under the program at this point, because there’s no market for this restructured bonds, we do not envision they unwinding of this stock and over the next 12 months you can see it in the program targets in table one on page 95 of the published report under the category of net credit to the government.
    I hope that answers the question. If I understood it correctly.

     

    QUESTIONER: So, I am trying to find out what’s the alternative if you want to sterilize the inflows. I mean, kind of issuing central banks equity or something, but you have reserve target.


    Ms. Svirydzenka:
    Is this more than a question about the operation of monetary policy and how to sterilize reserve accumulation?


    QUESTIONER:
    Yeah. Yeah. Because you don’t you?


    Ms. Svirydzenka
    : Perhaps I misunderstood.


    QUESTIONER:
    You no longer have the tables to sell. What is the alternative securities they can sell to build?


    Ms. Svirydzenka
    : Yes, I understand. Thank you so much for clarifying. Yeah. So there are many alternatives that the Central bank can use. For example, they can engage in repo operations or also issue their own securities. But I guess what is important to highlight for your question is that the Central Bank so far has been able to meet the inflation target and if anything, they’re a little bit undershooting as you saw with the breach of the MPCC clause in June and in December. So in that sense, the central bank is quite effective in terms of reaching the inflation objectives and we think the tools they have in their, in their in their hands should be enough.


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    Thank you, Katya. We have more questions, Peter.
    We have Indika first please.


    QUESTIONER:
     Hi, Randa. Thank you, I think. I hope I’m audible.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Yes you are.


    QUESTIONER:
    My questions, question to Peter is in the budget, there is a budget proposal to recruit about 30,000 people to the public sector. So we already have a bloated public sector in the country. So what’s your what’s IMF’s opinion on that? And the other question is on their flight, electricity, the price, reflective electricity tariffs. So we were under the impression that that is already happening because the government is already. Adjusting prices periodically, but in the press release that was released on Friday. The sort of insinuated that Sri Lanka S deviated. What is what is the situation there? Thank you.


    Ms. Elnagar
    : Peter, we can take a couple more questions this round.


    QUESTIONER:
    Randa, I hope I’m audible.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Yes you are.


    QUESTIONER:
    Great. I just have one question. Peter, could you please outline what are the key goal posts that Sri Lanka has to hit as it moves forward to the 4th review now, right. And when will there be an IMF delegation coming to Colombo?
    Thank you.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    We can take more questions. There are two questions in the chat, Peter, One is asking, why was the proposed property tax under the IMF program withdrawn, and why wasn’t the existing under taxed Council tax system rebased instead? How much revenue was expected from the input rental tax and why could this be? Couldn’t this be raised adjusting Council taxes? There’s another one we can take, or that’s enough for now this round.


    Mr. Breuer:
    Yeah. Why don’t we get going with these ones? Thank you.


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    Yeah, because Shehar already had a chance at the beginning, so let’s take a different group now. Thank you.


    Mr. Breuer:
    So thanks so much for these questions. On the size of the public sector, that’s really not for us to judge the government needs to sort of identify the resources it needs to provide the services that it’s expected to provide.
    And do all of that within the envelope of the program. So there may be other institutions. The World Bank, for example, you know that can provide some more assistance, technical assistance to help with making the government as efficient as as possible. But. I don’t really have a comment there. The electricity tariff.
    So there was a reduction in the electricity tariffs in January, and this is when we feel that the cost reflective pricing was no longer met because on a forward-looking basis. That tariff cut meant that Ceb wouldn’t be able to avoid any losses.
    So these cuts. Essentially, at least on a forward-looking basis, implied that losses would be run now of course. These profits and losses by the electricity company depend on many factors, including the weather, the rain and so forth.
    So what turns out ex post may be different from what happens ex ante, but this is a concern that we have because it could mean that that starts building up again in the electricity company. That could ultimately become a contingent liability for the government. This is something that, of course, Sri Lanka has experienced before, and avoiding this and making sure that consumers on average pay for how much it costs to generate and distribute the electricity is an important part of the program.

    And this actually also goes towards answering the question of what are some of the main goal posts for the 4th review. So ensuring that cost reflective energy pricing is restored is of course a key. Part of what we would like to see for the next.
    Review I should say there are some mechanisms that give us hope that this will happen automatically. The SD bulk supply transaction account, which is sort of a mechanism that is supposed to kick in when losses at CB become too large when they are cash balances become. You know, negative beyond a certain value.
    Then there’s meant to be an automatic increase in the tariff. That would prevent these losses from accumulating, so so they are already mechanisms in place.
    It’s important that these mechanisms be allowed to function, and then, of course, at the next tariff setting, it’s important to ensure that tariffs will once again be set to  cover the costs. Another important Issue for the next review will of course be.
    The budget that the budget that is finally passed at the end of this month is in fact consistent with the program parameters. So this is something that we will be watching very carefully. So those are two issues that may matter.

    The next mission we expect to be visiting Colombo.in the coming weeks or months or so. So the exact dates will be announced closer to the time.
    With respect to the property tax. That is a property tax. Is very common in many countries it is a form of wealth tax whereby those who have more wealth, meaning more expensive homes, larger homes that are worth more, need to make larger contributions to the tax coffers and support the government. So, now it’s it had been discussed for quite some time previously, and in fact many preparations have been made under this program for property tax with respect to, you know sales price and rents register, and various databases to estimate the values of homes. So lots of preparations have been have been made. Then there were some concerns and this goes towards the question with respect to the local authorities how this tax could be raised and how it could be shared with at the at the central government level. So some of these issues still need to be resolved and so this is this is something I think that is as yet you know to be addressed. Let me stop there. Thank you.


    Ms. Elnagar: 
    Peter, we can take a couple more questions because we are out of time. So we can take from Sisira, who has been waiting patiently, and then we have a couple of questions in the chat. So Sisira, please go ahead. We can’t hear you.
    Sisira do you have a question? You have your hand raised?


    QUESTIONER:
    Yeah. Can you hear me?


    Elnagar, Randa Mohamed:
    Yes.


    QUESTIONER:
     My question is, what is the impact?


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Your mic is a bit muffled.


    QUESTIONER:
    Can you hear me?


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Peter, can you hear him?


    Mr. Breuer:
    It’s very, very soft. I don’t know whether you can bring the mic closer to him.


    QUESTIONER:
    Yeah, my question is what is the projected impact of Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves?


    Mr. Breuer:
    I think the question is what is the impact of the car imports on reserves? Yeah, OK.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    Vehicle import. Yeah. And then we have a couple of questions here.
    Amal already asked the question, a supplementary question regarding what Asantha raised about vehicle imports. So it’s the same topic and then we have. One from Ishara. Even though the IMF program has put Sri Lanka’s economy on the right track, a recent poverty study revealed that more than 50% of households are below the poverty line. Additionally, the Central bank mentioned that brain drain could severely impact efforts to accelerate growth. In this scenario, how can Sri Lanka reach its anticipated IMF recovery targets? And these are the last questions of the press conference.


    Mr. Breuer:
    :Yeah. Thank you very much. On the car imports. So yes, removing the import restrictions on car imports will allow cars to be imported which means they have to be paid for and so that could have an impact on the balance of payments. But as you know there’s a question to what extent you know the Central bank should intervene to make those reserves available versus allowing the exchange rate to fluctuate in response to market forces. So, that is something that remains to be seen, but maybe just to highlight the fact that reserves have increased. Significantly, so far under the program they have reached about half of the program objective already, which is very impressive.

    On the question with respect to the anticipated IMF recovery targets, so. I think it’s quite clear that things really have turned around significantly in Sri Lanka. I mean, you all live there, so you experience it much more than us. But when I first got to Sri Lanka in June 2022. Everybody was standing in a line somewhere in, you know, to get fuel, to get cooking gas to get food or medications and economic activity was was very subdued, I think in real terms. Sri Lanka lost, you know, 10% or so of its economic activity. As a result of this crisis and since then in the short amount of time.
    That the program has been there basically since 2023 it has already recovered 40% of the income it has lost. In the preceding five years, so in a very short amount of time, you have already a very significant recovery. You have the most recent growth number of 5.5%.

    So I think things are turning around significantly in Sri Lanka and that will have an impact on the indicators that we care about, such as poverty, so.
    As economic opportunities return to Sri Lanka. Incomes will increase and poverty will be reduced, and also it’ll be more attractive to remain in Sri Lanka and not leave and emigrate or those who have emigrated may find opportunities back in in Sri Lanka again so. You know, as you look at our projections, we have increased these quite a bit. For 2025 and beyond and so based on these, I would say I’m quite optimistic about the recovery in Sri Lanka.


    Ms. Elnagar:
    I think we’re out of time, Peter. If you guys have any further questions, please, please feel free to send them by e-mail. We are always very responsive or via WhatsApp. With that I would like to thank our speakers Peter, Katia, and Martha, and I would like to thank you all for participating in this press conference.
    We’re going to be posting the recording and the transcript by tomorrow.
    And we look forward in seeing to seeing you again in the future.
    Thank you very much.


    Mr. Breuer:
     Thank you.

     

    Ms. Woldemichael: Thank you.


    Ms. Svirydzenka:
    Thank you.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Wicker Makes Remarks on Zelenskyy Comments, Prospects for Peace in Ukraine

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, upon reviewing a statement made today by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, offered comments during a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing about the opportunity President Trump has to help craft a sustainable peace for Ukraine.

    Specifically, Chairman Wicker suggested that now is a moment for lawmakers to “take a deep breath” and allow the peace process to play out. Read his remarks in full below.

    Thank you Senator Banks for mentioning the really encouraging developments that have taken place since this hearing began. I’m going to take the liberty of reading into the record the exact statement of President Zelenskyy today.

    And I quote,

    “I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace.

    “None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.

    “We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky – ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.

    “We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.

    “Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.

    “Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”

    And I would then remind those within the sound of my voice and those reading the record that our president, President Trump, has said,

     

    “The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”

     

    So let me just say this. I probably will not have an opportunity to take to the floor today. But I hope this is a day when we can refrain from some of the rhetoric that it’s tempting to make. I hope this is a day when Senators and members of the House of Representatives can take a deep breath and hope that the excellent, hopeful signs that come from this statement by President Zelenskyy come to fruition and come to fruition quickly.

    I’ve had fights with my roommates over time. We got over it. I’m even told sometimes there are family fights. It’s regrettable when they spill out into the front yard. But friends get over it. Friends decide to move on. And I think we’re seeing that process today. I hope to heaven that that is the case.

    And since Senator Banks mentioned it, I took the liberty of bringing it to the attention and to the record.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Wicker Leads SASC Hearing on Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Nominee Elbridge Colby

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Mississippi Roger Wicker

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today chaired a hearing reviewing the nomination of Mr. Elbridge A. Colby to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Department of Defense.

    In his opening statement, Chairman Wicker raised the need for a program of rapid reform at the Pentagon to improve deterrence against the complex threat environment posted by China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Chairman Wicker noted that Mr. Colby shares a common understanding of the dangerous security situation in the Western Pacific. Wicker also commended Colby’s exhortations to improve the defense industrial base.

    In examining Colby’s previous writings, however, Chairman Wicker noted the importance of remaining active in multiple theaters where threats against American national security have manifested, and asked Colby to offer his grand strategic vision for the U.S. in years ahead. Chairman Wicker also asked Colby to comment on his major reports to rebuild the military and reform the Pentagon as well, which Colby offered strong concurrence with.

    “Senator…I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing [your Peace Through Strength plan], and I think we’re keying off exactly. And I am a big supporter of that kind of perspective: restoring American strength, industrial might, and getting our allies to do more, which seems to me is also the perspective of the president and the Secretary of Defense…part of that plan [for deterrence] is greater resources, like, Mr. Chairman, you have advocated for,” Colby said. “I commit to advocating for the higher defense levels that I think are consistent with what our security dictates.”

    Read Senator Wicker’s hearing opening statement as delivered below.

    The hearing will come to order.

    Thank you all for being here this morning. The committee meets to consider the nomination of Mr. Elbridge Colby to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

    I want to thank Mr. Colby for his willingness to serve again. I want to thank his wife, Susanna, and their children for being here today. It also says a lot that Mr. Colby will be introduced today by two distinguished friends: Vice President JD Vance and Senator Banks.

    We are informed that the vice president is in traffic, and so after consulting to my right and left, we will proceed again because there are time constraints. And when the vice president arrives – I think he’ll be arriving just in time, so proceeding on.

    If confirmed, Mr. Colby would oversee the developments of policy and strategy for the Department of Defense. He would assume these responsibilities during the most dangerous security environment since World War II. The deepening military cooperation between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea represents a complex and far-reaching set of threats. These threats demand a generational investment to revitalize America’s military strength. They demand rapid Pentagon reform. And they demand a fresh look at strategies needed to achieve our national security objectives.

    The American people need to understand what is at stake. We should help the country appreciate the risks imposed to our way of life. Beijing is leading an emerging alliance of countries with one clear objective: to use their economic and military power to tear down the United States and impose their will on global affairs. The new Axis of Aggressors is a greater menace than we have faced in decades.

    Under Xi Jinping’s leadership the Chinese Communist Party has undertaken one of the largest and most aggressive military buildups in history. Their speed has been astounding. In just a few short years, China has built more nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles than the U.S. has in decades. They have tested orbital bombardment weapons and unveiled what may be the world’s first sixth-generation fighter aircraft. China possesses a ship building capacity over 230 times that of the United States – over 230 times. That’s almost inconceivable.

    Over three years ago, Vladimir Putin launched the first invasion of a European country since World War II. He has barraged the Ukrainian people with constant missile and drone attacks. The Kremlin has developed a variety of new weapons capabilities, including nuclear-armed satellites. Meanwhile Russia actively provides enriched uranium to China to support Beijing’s nuclear buildup. Putin has also been suspected of aiding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

    Moving on to North Korea, nuclear arsenal there continues to advance unchecked. Kim Jong-Un has been aiding Russia’s war machine as it terrorizes Europe. Pyongyang’s missiles could soon be capable of overwhelming our defenses – North Korea’s – especially if reports of Russian assistance are accurate.

    In the Middle East, Israel has successfully crippled Iran’s proxies in the region, but these setbacks may spur Tehran to take the final step: to build a nuclear weapon, permanently altering the balance of power in that region.

    Few really understand how this axis of aggressors is working to make Americans less safe. If confirmed, I hope Mr. Colby can help Secretary Hegseth as he makes sure the public sees these threats for what they are.

    During Secretary Hegseth’s hearing, I spoke about the importance of building a motivated and highly competent team of professionals at the Pentagon. In this regard Mr. Colby is certainly qualified for the role to which President Trump has nominated him.

    For more than two decades, he has worked on defense policy. Mr. Colby previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary Defense for Strategy and Force Development. In that role, Mr. Colby played a pivotal role in the formulation of the 2018 National Defense Strategy – the first real strategy in years. His leadership was crucial in helping the United States articulate the need for a new defense posture, one focused on strategic competition with China and Russia, and the overdue modernization of our military.

    Mr. Colby and I have been ringing the same bell on military unpreparedness for years, particularly as it relates to China. This committee would echo exhortations on defense policy in the Western Pacific. We should make Taiwan a porcupine and Taipei is sprinting in that direction. We should build a larger US military footprint in East Asia, and we should accelerate the most important weapons programs to deter China.

    President Trump has made it clear that he intends to rebuild the military and reform the Pentagon. He campaigned on peace through strength. We all want to keep America safe and prosperous. To secure that peace, we will enable a Golden Age for America, but we do not now have the strength that can guarantee us the peace.

    Given the threat environment facing us, I strongly believe that we cannot simply pivot our attention and resources from one threat to another. That is an approach the Obama administration tried, and it did fail. We must be focused and strategic, but we need to be clear Beijing sees its fight against America as a global fight.

    Beijing is not pivoting between theaters or among theaters. Significant American withdrawal in Europe, Africa, South America, or the Middle East will allow the Chinese Communist Party to overcome us strategically, even if we are able to prevent military conflict in East Asia in the near term.

    In the past few weeks, President Trump has killed five top Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists. Good for him. He’s green lit more aggressive campaigning against the Houthis, and promised to support Israel to the hilt. All these policies are in line with the president’s desire for lasting peace and prosperity in the United States, and Mr. Colby, I’m sure that is your desire too.

    Now, Mr. Colby, your views on each theater have seemingly evolved since 2018, and I’m sure there’ll be discussions about that which are worth exploring. It goes without saying that the elephant in this hearing room today is the recent developments with regard to Ukraine and Russia and this administration.

    I was disappointed and dismayed as I watched the televised meeting involving the President of the United States and President Zelenskyy. And I was distressed that the White House meeting ended without the signing of the minerals agreement, which was there to be signed, as I understand it.

    This was followed by a television appearance by President Zelenskyy, and then a visit to some of our friends in Europe, where there’s much concern about the failure of that agreement to be signed.

    It was also followed that weekend by Mr. Putin’s continued barrage of attacking apartments, civilian targets, and other areas in Ukraine. Not a good weekend for peace in Ukraine or world peace.

    The president is trying to get a peace deal in Ukraine, and I certainly hope we’ll be able to get this back on the rails. I would like to hear your views on the potential there. Your views on President Trump’s crystal-clear Iran policy seem to have hardened considerably, yet your views on Taiwan’s importance to the United States seems to have softened considerably. I hope we can clarify those views today. And your views on the relevance of nuclear weapons in the next decade remain unclear to me. I would appreciate your comments on each of those issues.

    Mr. Colby, you’ve spoken frequently to audiences who are skeptical of the idea that U.S, peace and prosperity require us to wield U.S. power abroad. I’m grateful that you have led those discussions that U.S. foreign policy professionals do not like having. I expect your points on the limits of U.S. power remain nuanced, and complimentary to the president’s peace through strength agenda. And it will be crystal clear that you will speak for the president in this regard.

    If you’re focused on finding innovative ways to blend America’s comparative advantages in this global fight against Chinese Communists, then I strongly believe you will be a boon to the president and to the United States of America. I’d like to hear your strategic vision for the next four years. I’d like to hear your comments on the plans I have released for rebuilding and reforming the military. In confirming Secretary Hegseth, we charged him with focusing on four guiding principles as he assumed office: lethality, efficiency, speed, and accountability. I also appreciate the ease of access that he and I have had in conversations with each other since his confirmation.

    As Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, I’d like to know how you plan to execute in these four areas to support President Trump’s peace through strength agenda. So, thank you very much for being here, we look forward to your testimony, and I now recognize Ranking Member Reed for his opening remarks.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Role in International Money Laundering Conspiracy

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

    BOSTON – A Brooklyn, N.Y. man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston in connection with his role in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization.

    Rongjian Li, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for June 5, 2025.

    In May 2023, Li was among 12 individuals from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and California charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization led by Jin Hua Zhang. The investigation revealed that, for a fee, Zhang laundered bulk cash for drug dealers and laundered profits from other illegal businesses. In less than a year, Zhang and his organization laundered at least $25 million worth of drug proceeds and funds from other illegal businesses through undercover agents. Funds were eventually traced to, and seized from, accounts in Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, India, Cambodia and Brazil, among other locations.

    The investigation identified Li as a member of the money laundering conspiracy who, from 2021 through 2022, used his position as a Bank of America employee to knowingly open several accounts through which the organization laundered illicit funds. Li was also aware that some of the accounts were opened using fraudulent passports. As part of his involvement, when the bank’s financial auditing systems flagged or froze accounts for suspicious activity, Li helped Zhang circumvent the bank’s anti-money laundering protocols and move illicit funds elsewhere. In addition, Li was observed sitting next to Zhang at a dinner in New York, where Zhang discussed the different fee percentages he charged various criminal groups for drug trafficking and scams.

    Zhang pleaded guilty in September 2023 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15, 2025.

    The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount involved, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

    The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Attorney Durham Launches the Eastern District of New York’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force

    Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

    Strike Force Focuses on Dismantling Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations

    U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York John J. Durham announced today the creation and launch of the Eastern District of New York’s Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) Strike Force. Capitalizing on the Office’s preeminence in this area, the Strike Force will focus on investigating, prosecuting and dismantling cartels and TCOs, and their senior leadership by bringing charges that include terrorism, racketeering and operating a continuing criminal enterprise.

    “I am establishing this Strike Force with immense pride in what this Office has already accomplished, as well as the knowledge that there is much more work to be done in the fight against TCOs,” stated United States Attorney Durham.  “Because of my Office’s significant experience and expertise in this area, we have a responsibility to our community and our country to dismantle these ruthless organizations from the top down in order to stop the violence, flow of drugs, and dangers they unleash in our District and across the nation.”

    For more than two decades, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has been a nationwide leader in prosecuting many of the most significant TCOs in the country and the world, including innovative indictments of the highest-ranking international leaders of the La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Sinaloa Cartel, Guadalajara Cartel, Juarez Cartel, H-2 Drug Cartel, Clan de Golfo and others.  In addition, this Office has investigated and prosecuted numerous other TCOs that have a significant operating presence in our district, including the Trinitarios, 18th Street and, more recently, Tren de Aragua (TdA). Notably, United States Attorney Durham has been at the forefront of these prosecutions, leading and serving on the Attorney General’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force Subcommittee for MS-13 and directing Joint Task Force Vulcan, while other AUSAs in the Office have served on the subcommittees for Sinaloa, Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) Cartel, Hezbollah and Clan de Golfo.

    Consistent with the Attorney General’s memorandum titled “TOTAL ELIMINATION OF CARTELS AND TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS” issued on February 5, 2025, which provided further guidance regarding President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order regarding TCOs such as TdA and MS-13, the Strike Force’s mission is as follows:

    • Investigating, prosecuting and dismantling cartels and TCOs, with a particular focus on their senior leadership and management, including without limitation: Mexican drug cartels such as the Sinaloa, H-2, Juarez, CJNG and Clan de Golfo cartels, and TCOs that have a significant operating presence in the District, such as MS-13, the Trinitarios, the 18th Street gang and TdA.   

    • Disrupting the criminal activities of TCOs, particularly those operating in the United States and/or that impact United States victims at home or abroad, including TCOs engaged in criminal activity involving terrorism; racketeering; drug trafficking, particularly with respect to fentanyl and fentanyl precursors; violent crime; human trafficking and smuggling; corruption of foreign officials; money laundering; immigration crimes; and fraud and cybercrime schemes.

    • Identifying the sources and methods of illicit funds related to TCO financing and profits, and seizing and forfeiting bank accounts, digital assets, real property and other assets that are criminally derived, commingled with criminal proceeds, or otherwise involved in money laundering by or in support of TCOs.

    • Coordinating the investigative efforts of the Office’s federal law enforcement partners in the Eastern District and beyond, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service, as well as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (HIDTA), state and local police departments and district attorneys’ offices.

    • Strengthening the Office’s partnerships and coordination with other Department of Justice components, including the National Security Division, Criminal Division, Joint Task Force Vulcan, Joint Task Force 10-7, Joint Task Force Alpha, OCDETF, MLARS, NDDS, OIA and other United States Attorney’s Offices. 

    The Chief of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section Francisco J. Navarro has been selected to serve as Director of the EDNY TCO Strike Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan E. Farrell and Gabriel Park have been selected as Deputy Directors.  In addition, the Strike Force will have at least one representative from each section of the Office’s Criminal Division to capitalize on existing experience, coordinate strategic focus and maximize resources to make an even more significant impact combatting TCOs. The Strike Force will also include OCDETF-designated AUSAs, Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) coordinators, as well as a designated representative from the Civil Division to ensure the Strike Force leverages civil remedies as appropriate.  The Strike Force will also coordinate closely with the Office’s Immigration Enforcement Working Group.

    Francisco J. Navarro

    AUSA Navarro joined the Department in 2013 and the Office in 2018 after serving as an AUSA in the District of New Jersey.  He has been in charge of INML since April 2023.  He received his B.A. from Boston University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

    AUSA Navarro has prosecuted several significant narcotics, national security and material support cases.  He has also prosecuted significant white collar cases involving sanctions evasion, money laundering and the Bank Secrecy Act.  For example,  AUSA Navarro is part of the team prosecuting Rafael Caro Quintero for leading a continuing criminal enterprise, including his role in the kidnapping, torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.  He is also leading the team prosecuting Ismael Zambada Garcia (aka “El Mayo”) for his founding and two-decade leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel—a continuing criminal enterprise—and one of the most violent and powerful drug cartels in the world.  In United States v. Usuga David, et al., he led the team that obtained a 45-year prison sentence against Dairo Usuga David (aka “Otoniel”) who was the supreme leader of the Clan del Golfo and was considered the most dangerous narco-terrorist in Colombia since Pablo Escobar.  AUSA Navarro also led the team that obtained the first indictments in the nation against Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and employees for importing fentanyl precursors into the United States and working with Mexican cartels to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States.  In addition, AUSA Navarro is also leading the prosecution of Mohammad Bazzi, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and financier for Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization on sanctions evasion and money laundering charges.  AUSA Navarro has been involved in multiple prosecutions of individuals and institutions for failing to follow United States laws regarding maintaining effective anti-money laundering programs, the prohibition on the provision of material support to designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, or other financial regulations.

    Megan E. Farrell

    AUSA Farrell joined the Office in 2018, and currently serves in the Office’s Long Island Criminal Section.  She is one of the Office’s Human Trafficking Coordinators and previously served as an Acting Deputy Chief in the Office’s General Crimes Section.  She received her B.A. from Boston College and her J.D. from St. John’s University.

    AUSA Farrell has prosecuted significant organized crime, gang and sex trafficking cases during her time in the Office.  In United States v. Canales-Rivera et al. and United States v. Arevalo-Chavez et al., she is part of the team prosecuting the highest-ranking members of MS-13’s international command and control structure, including the body known as the Ranfla Nacional, with charges that include conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to finance terrorism and narco-terrorism conspiracy.  In United States v. Alexi Saenz et al., AUSA Farrell was part of a team that secured the convictions of two MS-13 defendants to racketeering and other charges in connection with eight murders.  In United States v. Blanco et al., she was a member of the team that secured the convictions of three high-ranking MS-13 gang members to racketeering charges in connection with nine murders.  In United States v. Escobar, AUSA Farrell was part of the team that secured a sentence of 50 years after the defendant was convicted on April 8, 2022, following a four-week trial, of racketeering, including predicate acts of murder, conspiracy to murder rival gang members, and obstruction of justice and murder in aid-of racketeering, in relation to the deaths of four young men who were hacked to death with machetes and other sharp objects by  more than a dozen MS-13 members and associates after Escobar lured them to a local park in 2017.  In United States v. Lampley-Reid, AUSA Farrell was part of the team leading to a Bloods gang member being sentenced to 23 years in prison for sex trafficking of minors.  Additionally, AUSA Farrell is part of the team charging former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch and two other individuals with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

    Gabriel Park

    AUSA Park joined the Office in 2022 after serving in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps.  He received his B.A. from Wake Forest University and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School and clerked for the Honorable Dora L. Irizarry.  He currently serves in the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.

    AUSA Park has prosecuted significant violent organized crime and gang cases.  In United States v. Yu, he was part of the prosecution team that convicted two defendants who were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder-for-hire scheme of a perceived business rival, and in the related case United States v. Abreu, AUSA Park was on the prosecution team that convicted a third defendant for his role in the murder-for-hire scheme.  In United States v. Thompson, AUSA Park was on the prosecution team that convicted a Long Island man who was later sentenced to 30 years in prison for drug trafficking, distribution of fentanyl that resulted in a death and illegal possession of firearms.    

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: Ocean Energy Is Almost Ready, But It Needs a Boost Over the Testing Barrier

    Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory


    It’s time to upgrade your browser. It does not support the video tag.

    How Robust Facilities, Like NREL’s, Could Shrink the Chasm From Data to Demonstration

    March 5, 2025 | By Caitlin McDermott-Murphy | Contact media relations


    This article is the first in a “Found at Flatirons” series that showcases the various technologies at NREL’s Arvada, Colorado, campus.

    In a large room with concrete-block walls, a crane lifts what looks like a miniature lunar lander out of a water tank. Water drips from the metal contraption as the crane slowly lowers it onto the floor. Then, the clock starts ticking.

    “My colleagues and I were like, ‘OK, as soon as it touches the ground, we’re going to do this and this and this,’” said Brittany Lydon, a mechanical engineering graduate student at the University of Washington.

    Lydon, who likens that moment to a race car pulling up to have its tires changed midrace, will not be sending her machine to the moon. But she is prepping it for a similarly harsh environment: the ocean.

    An artist’s impression of a wave energy farm illustrates how ocean energy technologies integrate with the larger power grid. Illustration by Alfred Hicks, NREL

    Lydon’s device is designed to harness wave energy, which is a type of marine energy, an early-stage, tricky-to-harness renewable that flows through the currents, tides, and other motions of our oceans and rivers. The United States has enough marine energy pulsing in its waters to meet about 60% of the country’s electricity needs. We cannot capture all that energy, but even a little could help energize offshore industries (like seafood farms), give coastal and island communities the power to weather outages or natural disasters, and help the country reach its energy goals.

    However, the marine energy industry needs custom facilities and instruments to vet their novel tech. Researchers studying solar panels can prop a new prototype in a sunny field to see if it works, but tossing an untested marine energy device into the ocean is a bit like hopping into an experimental space shuttle and hitting the ignition.

    You could argue that, in some ways, space exploration is actually easier.”

    —Ben McGilton, NREL electrical engineer

    “You could argue that, in some ways, space exploration is actually easier,” said Ben McGilton, an electrical engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) who studies marine energy technologies. “In space, conditions like gravity, radiation, and vacuum are relatively predictable, whereas the ocean’s ever-changing waves, currents, and corrosive saltwater can create unforeseen challenges that are nearly impossible to simulate perfectly.”

    Marine energy developers often start with a functional theoretical design. But even the best virtual designs cannot account for every invisible defect or ocean oddity. Developers need a lab-sized ocean to test those theories before they head to the big blue.

    That is why Lydon and her colleagues recently found themselves kneeling on wet concrete in NREL’s water power facilities in April 2024. A cable on their wave energy prototype was tugging on the device, potentially warping their experimental data. Out at sea, that kind of flaw would have been invisible—just a rogue cable hidden beneath the murky waves—and, even if the defect was spotted, it could take weeks to fix.

    From left, NREL Research Engineer Charles Cando, University of Washington graduate student Brittany Lydon, and NREL Research Technician Kyle Swartz finish their wave tank tests for the University of Washington’s oscillating surge wave energy converter device at NREL’s Flatirons Campus. Photo by Gregory Cooper, NREL

    At NREL, Lydon and her team needed just 10 minutes to reconfigure their prototype’s wiring before a technician lifted it back into a wave tank (located inside the Sea Wave Environmental Lab—or SWEL, for short) for further testing.

    “It went as smooth as we could have ever wanted,” Lydon said.

    Today, NREL’s desert facilities offer the comprehensive, computer-to-ocean testing that marine energy researchers and developers need to get their technologies closer to commercial use.

    But even NREL did not always have such a bounty.

    Between the Data and the Deep Blue Sea

    Scott Jenne, a marine energy researcher at NREL, refers to the jump from computer simulations to the open ocean as “the leap of faith. Basically, you go from numerical simulations to, ‘Hey, we’re going to build a thing and put it in the ocean and hope everything works.’”

    And even if every piece of the device functions just as expected, the ocean might not.

    “There’s a well-known saying in marine energy that the 1-in-100-year wave will happen the first week you deploy,” McGilton said.

    But a leap of faith is not the only way to get from the computer to the ocean. NREL has bridges.

    In 2021, the laboratory installed its first wave tank at SWEL, which can simulate scaled ocean waves representative of different sites around the world. In 2023, the facilities welcomed another ocean mimic, called the large-amplitude motion platform (or LAMP), which can replicate even larger ocean motions without even a drop of water.

    [embedded content]

    Text version

    The laboratory also has machines called dynamometers that can test a device’s electrical elements, 3D printers and other rapid manufacturing tools that can quickly churn out new parts if one breaks, and virtual systems that can hook up to actual hardware while simulating different device components, ocean conditions, and even electrical grids.

    With all that, researchers and developers could, for example, assess how their device might function in winter waves off the coast of Hawaii, examining how much strain waves might put on their tech or how much energy they could produce for the local grid. And they can do all that without the time, risk, and costs associated with an actual ocean deployment.

    It’s essential that we have lab facilities that can validate and test the performance before we go anywhere near the water.”

    —Ben McGilton

    “Any time you go to test in a river or the sea, it costs an absolute fortune, and there are so many risks and uncertainties,” McGilton said. “It’s essential that we have lab facilities that can validate and test the performance before we go anywhere near the water.”

    McGilton’s colleague, Jenne, would agree: He has experienced both options.

    The HERO on the LAMP

    In 2020, Jenne and a team of NREL researchers started building a hero—or rather, a HERO WEC, which stands for hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis (HERO) wave energy converter (WEC).

    The name fits: This kind of device could be a hero for some communities. The wave-powered machine is designed to produce clean drinking water from salty seawater, which could be critical for communities that lose power and access to potable water after a natural disaster.

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    Text version

    In 2022, Jenne and his team deployed their HERO WEC prototype in the waters off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. But the ocean did not cooperate.

    “In that two-week period, we really only saw roughly two-ish useful wave conditions. It was dead flat for the rest of the deployment,” Jenne said.

    Luckily, they could turn to an ocean imitator for help.

    In 2023, the team was the first to mount their device onto NREL’s new LAMP, a long-legged metal platform that resembles something out of “Star Wars.” There, they could subject their prototype to almost any kind of wave motion without worrying about storms or dead waters.

    NREL’s LAMP tests prototype devices to improve designs before deployment in ocean waters.Photos by Joshua Bauer, NREL

    “There’s still a reason to do those ocean deployments,” Jenne said. “You learn stuff there that you’ll never be able to learn on LAMP and vice versa. But having that controlled test facility where you can literally turn the waves on and off when you need them is so valuable.”

    During their LAMP test, the HERO WEC’s drivetrain “locked up and snapped the mooring line,” as Jenne described it. But, like Lydon and her team, the crew simply shut the LAMP down, came up with a solution to prevent it from happening again, and resumed testing within a couple days. For comparison: Just six hours into a recent Outer Banks deployment in 2024, a rogue storm knocked the HERO WEC around, causing a winch to cut a cable. But no one could reach the device for two weeks.

    “You spend a huge amount of money to understand maybe a few ocean conditions,” Jenne said. “Versus LAMP—we ran over 100 different cases in a month.”

    That is why Lydon and her team came to NREL. They too were searching for that data wealth. Only, they turned to a different instrument.

    Swell Data From the SWEL Wave Tank

    Lydon’s wave energy prototype looks nothing like the HERO WEC. Her group’s device is designed to generate electricity by swaying back and forth, like sea grass, in ocean waves. Although her institution, the University of Washington, has its own wave tank, it is about 2.5 times smaller than NREL’s. Their small-scale prototype could barely fit, and the team was concerned its proximity to the tank’s walls could create ricochet waves that might not exist in the real world, skewing their data.

    “That brought us to the point of having this system functional but not having a good place to test it,” said Brian Polagye, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Washington and Lydon’s advisor. “And that’s where SWEL came along.”

    SWEL’s tank is big enough to handle prototypes about 1/75th the size of a full-scale device. Through the tank’s one glass side, researchers can watch how their device handles waves both above and below the water (the ocean’s often murky water prevents this kind of up-close study). And if human eyes are not powerful enough to spot an issue, the tank’s motion-tracking cameras and various sensors likely are.

    With support from the Testing Expertise and Access for Marine Energy Research (TEAMER) program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office and administered by the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, Lydon spent several months at SWEL during the spring of 2024. There, Lydon and the team could test how their device performed in a larger range of potential wave conditions.

    “We were able to get a ton of data in a relatively short amount of time,” Lydon said. “That has been huge in trying to answer our questions but also forming new questions.” But if Lydon had to describe her experience in one word, she would say it was boring, “which is what you want.” Boring means nothing went awry; boring equals success.

    “We had what we needed, and we were given everything to do it,” she said.

    The Recipe for Advancing Marine Energy

    Over the past few years, NREL’s water power facilities have grown to offer what NREL Water Power Technology Validation Manager Rebecca Fao often calls a “soup-to-nuts” service. At the Flatirons Campus, people can model their novel designs with the laboratory’s award-winning software, manufacture a prototype, test a specific component or the entire device, manufacture an improved or larger prototype, and hook actual hardware up to virtual grids or oceans that can mimic real-world conditions.

    We can test whole systems and see how they would interact with a microgrid, small community, or even the grid—and not just simulated but with real voltage and currents.”

    —Ben McGilton

    “We can test whole systems and see how they would interact with a microgrid, small community, or even the grid—and not just simulated but with real voltage and currents,” McGilton said. All this support can, as McGilton puts it, “improve the overall chances of success.”

    But none of these machines or models function without people.

    “One of the reasons that these experiments, even the initial experiments, were so successful is the support and flexibility of the staff,” Lydon said.

    From modelers to technicians to electrical and mechanical engineers, NREL’s team of experts are perhaps one of the laboratory’s greatest assets. If a device malfunctions, they are there to troubleshoot, diagnose, repair, or even operate a crane.

    Of course, NREL might have a suite of swell equipment, but it does not have everything. The U.S. Navy has an indoor ocean (also known as the maneuvering and seakeeping basin, or MASK) that holds 12 million gallons of water (SWEL holds only 13,000). A new wave energy test site, called PacWave South, where researchers and developers can test full-scale devices in the open ocean, is under construction off the coast of Oregon.

    Because the United States has so few of these facilities, collectively, they are critical for the marine energy industry to advance quickly. “It’s all a big, interconnected ecosystem,” said Polagye, Lydon’s advisor.

    That ecosystem is growing thanks to renewed interest in this lesser-known renewable. And, in part because of facilities like NREL’s, the field has made significant leaps in the last 10 years.

    “It’s been a fascinating decade,” Polagye said. “And I think the next will be just as fascinating.”

    Want to learn more about NREL’s Flatirons Campus? Stay tuned for the next feature in our “Found at Flatirons” series. Remember to sign up for the water power newsletter, too!

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Economics: IMF Staff Completes Visit to Mozambique

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    March 5, 2025

    • IMF staff and the Mozambican authorities have discussed performance and policies underpinning the Fifth and Sixth Reviews of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. Discussions were fruitful and will continue virtually in the coming weeks.

    Maputo: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Mr. Pablo Lopez Murphy, conducted discussions from February 19 to March 4, 2025, with the Mozambican authorities on policies underpinning the Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)-supported arrangement.  

    At the end of the IMF team’s visit, Mr. Lopez Murphy issued the following statement:

    “The IMF team has held constructive discussions with the Mozambican authorities on the fiscal, financial, and structural policies needed to support the completion of the Fifth and Sixth Reviews of the ECF arrangement.

    “Economic activity contracted sharply in the last quarter of 2024, reflecting the impact of social unrest. Real GDP declined -4.9 percent (yoy) in 2024Q4 from growth of 3.7 percent (yoy) in 2024Q3. Overall growth in 2024 was 1.9 percent. For 2025, growth is projected to recover to 3.0 percent as social conditions normalize and economic activity picks up, especially in services.

    “Preliminary estimates suggest that there were significant fiscal slippages in 2024 that are in part explained by the slowdown in economic activity during the last quarter. Fiscal consolidation in 2025 is necessary to secure fiscal and debt sustainability and preserve macroeconomic stability. Wage bill spending overruns continue crowding out important spending priorities including social transfers and infrastructure. Rationalizing wage bill spending and reducing tax exemptions should underpin fiscal consolidation, social spending should be prioritized, and debt management could be further strengthened to avoid arrears.

    “Inflation pressures picked up but remain controlled. The Bank of Mozambique initiated a loosening cycle in January 2024, cutting the policy rate by 500bps so far (to 12.25 percent). The central bank also reduced reserve requirements on local currency deposits, from about 39 to 29 percent, in late January 2025. Despite supply-chain disruptions and higher food prices related to social unrest, inflation remained below the implicit target of 5 percent.

    “The IMF staff team met with President Daniel Chapo, Prime Minister Maria Levy, Minister of Finance Carla Loveira, Governor of the Bank of Mozambique Rogério Zandamela, and other senior officials. The mission also met with representatives of civil society, political parties, development partners, and the private sector.

    “The team wishes to thank the Mozambican authorities for their excellent cooperation and for the frank and constructive dialogue during the mission. Discussions related to the program reviews will continue in the coming weeks.”

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Wafa Amr

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Europe: Ministers Burke and Smyth welcome Government approval of roadmap for implementing the EU Artificial Intelligence Act

    Source: Government of Ireland – Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation

    5th March 2025

    On Tuesday, 4 March 2025, the Government approved a recommendation from Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, that Ireland adopt a distributed model of implementation of the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. This approach will build on the deep knowledge and expertise of the established sectoral regulators. The Government approved the designation of an initial list of eight public bodies as competent authorities, responsible for implementing and enforcing the Act within their respective sectors. These authorities are,

    • Central Bank of Ireland,
    • Commission for Communications Regulation,
    • Commission for Railway Regulation,
    • Competition and Consumer Protection Commission,
    • Data Protection Commission,
    • Health and Safety Authority,
    • Health Products Regulatory Authority,
    • Marine Survey Office of the Department of Transport.

    Additional authorities, and a lead regulator who will coordinate enforcement of the Act and provide a number of centralised functions, will be designated by a future Government decision to ensure comprehensive implementation of the Act.

    Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke said,

    “AI presents Ireland with a strategic opportunity; it holds the prospect of major benefits for our economy and for our society. For business it can boost productivity, spur innovation and deliver better customer services; for the public it can provide enhanced public services; and for society, accelerated advances in science and medicine. It is a priority for me to ensure that we capture these benefits.

    “However, to capture these benefits, we must build trust in AI systems. For this reason, the landmark EU AI Act, the first in the world comprehensive regulation establishing guardrails for the safe and ethical use of AI, is a strategically important regulation for Ireland, as well as the EU. I am committed to an efficient and well-resourced implementation of the Act in Ireland, in a manner that provides the necessary safeguards, while spurring innovation for the benefit of our economy and our society.”

    Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, Niamh Smyth said,

    “The decision by Government to use the existing national framework of well-established sectoral authorities for enforcement of the EU AI Act will make compliance with the AI Act easier for businesses. It is also an important step towards the commitment in the Programme for Government to make Ireland an EU centre of expertise for digital and data regulation for companies operating across the EU Digital Single Market. Providing an efficient, comprehensive, fair and transparent implementation of the Act in Ireland will enhance Ireland’s reputation for quality regulation and its competitiveness for attracting further investment in this burgeoning technology.”

    ENDS

    For Editors

    The EU AI Act establishes a harmonised regulatory framework for AI systems developed or deployed in the EU. It is designed to provide a high level of protection to people’s health, safety, and fundamental rights and to simultaneously promote the adoption of human-centric, trustworthy AI. The Act entered into force in August 2024 and its provisions apply, in a phased manner, over the period to August 2027.

    The Act is a horizontal instrument that applies to all sectors of the economy, both public and private. However, there are exemptions for applications of AI relating to national defence; national security; scientific R&D; R&D for AI systems, models; open-sourced models; and personal use.

    The Act is risk-based so that its provisions are targeted and proportionate – it is not a blanket instrument applying to all AI systems. Most AI systems are not subject to any regulatory requirements under the Act as they are low risk. In addition, the Act gives special consideration to the needs of SMEs and startups. This will ensure that the EU remains competitive for AI investment and innovation. The key elements of the Act are as follows:

    • Eight AI practices are prohibited from February 2025 due to the unacceptable risk they pose:
      • Subliminal techniques likely to cause that person, or another, significant harm,
      • Exploiting vulnerabilities due to age, disability or social or economic situation,
      • Social scoring leading to disproportionate detrimental or unfavourable treatment,
      • Profiling individuals for prediction of criminal activity,
      • Untargeted scraping of facial images,
      • Inferring emotions in workplaces or education institutions,
      • Biometric categorisation of race, religion, sexual orientation…,
      • Real-time remote biometric identification for law enforcement…
    • Stringent conditions must be satisfied by high-risk AI systems, by their providers, and by their deployers, in order for such systems to be placed on the market or put into use. The Act identifies two classes of high-risk systems: 
      1. AI systems that are part of the safety components of twelve specific product categories e.g. toys, machinery (applies from August 2027).
      2. AI systems in eight specific uses e.g. employment, education, in relation to essential public and private services such as financial, healthcare (applies from August 2026).
    • Transparency conditions are placed on providers and deployers of four categories of AI systems that give rise to lower-order risks, such as chatbots (applies from August 2026).
    • Providers of General Purpose AI (GPAI) models (foundation models) are subject to obligations to mitigate the substantial risks, including systemic risks, they pose due to their power and generality. These obligations will be enforced by the European Commission, but with the cooperation of Member States (applies from August 2025).
    • The penalties for infringements of the Act are substantial: fines of up to €35M or 7% global turnover

    Back to Department News

    Back to Top

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Europe: The EBA consults on fees to validate pro forma models under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation

    Source: European Banking Authority

    The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on fees to be paid by financial and non-financial counterparties requiring the validation of pro forma models under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The consultation runs until 7 April 2025.

    ​Under EMIR, the EBA is granted the new role as central validator of pro forma models for the whole European Union. Pro forma models, such as ISDA SIMM, are used by the industry to calculate initial margin. To perform this new role, the EBA will charge financial and non-financial counterparties an annual fee per each validated pro forma model. The fees are expected to cover the costs incurred by the EBA in performing this role as central validator.

    The discussion paper outlines the EBA budgeting approach and the main estimated costs for the performance of the tasks as central validator. In particular, it proposes calculation methods for the fees to be charged to counterparties and specifies practical aspects such as the fees modalities of payment.

    Consultation process

    Comments to this consultation can be sent to the EBA by clicking on the “Send your comments” button on the consultation page. Please note that the deadline for the submission of comments is 7 April 2025. All contributions received will be published following the close of the consultation, unless requested otherwise.

    Legal basis, background and next steps

    Article 11(12a) of EMIR mandates the EBA to set up a central validation function for the elements and general aspects of pro forma models, and changes thereto, used or to be used by financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties. The EBA shall charge an annual fee, per pro forma model, to financial counterparties and non-financial counterparties using the pro forma models validated by EBA.

    On 31 July 2024, the EBA received a Call for advice on a possible Delegated Act on fees with the request to submit its response by Q2 2025. The EBA is requested to ‘widely consult market participants’ as part of its response.

    The feedback received from this consultation will help the EBA finalise its response to the European Commission’s call for advice on a possible Delegated Act on fees.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Kvika banki hf.: Meeting announcement for Annual General Meeting on 26 March 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Annual General Meeting of Kvika banki hf., Reg. No. 540502-2930 (“Kvika”), will be held on Thursday, 26 March 2025, at 4:00 pm, at Nauthóll, Nauthólsvík, Reykjavík.

    The Agenda for the meeting is as follows:

    1. Report from the Company’s Board of Directors on its activities during the past operating year.
    2. The Company’s annual financial statements for 2024 along with a decision on the treatment of the Company’s profit during the financial year and the allocation of part of the sale price of TM.

                     The Board of Directors proposes that a dividend of ISK 5 per share will be paid to the Bank’s shareholders.

    1. Motion to renew the Company’s authorisation to purchase own shares.
    2. Motion for a reduction in share capital by cancelling own shares and a corresponding amendment to the Articles of Association of the Company.
    3. Motion to amend the Company’s Articles of Association.
    4. Election of the Company’s directors and alternates.
    5. Nomination Committee.
      1. Motion on that from now on shareholders will confirm the appointment/election of all three members of the Nomination Committee and a corresponding amendment to the Articles of Association.
      2. Motion to amend the Procedural Rules of the Nomination Committee.
      3. Motion on remuneration to members of the Nomination Committee.
      4. Motion on appointment of three committee members in the Nomination Committee.
        1. Motion on the Company’s remuneration policy.
        2. Election of the Company’s auditors.
        3. Motion on appointment of one committee member in the Audit Committee.
        4. Decision on remuneration to directors and members of the Board’s subcommittees.
        5. Other business.

        The meeting will be held in Icelandic. Meeting documents are available on the Company’s website in both Icelandic and English, with the exception of the Company’s annual financial statements, which are only available in English. The agenda, final motions, remuneration policy, the Company’s annual financial statements and other meeting documents will be available at the Company’s office at Katrínartún 2, Reykjavik, for shareholders to examine 21 days prior to the Annual General Meeting. The said documents, together with information on the candidates for election to the Board of Directors, will also be made available on the Company’s website, www.kvika.is/en/agm. Additionally, the report from the Nomination Committee is attached to this meeting notice and will also be available on the Company’s website.

        Please find attached Announcement of the Annual General Meeting.

        Attachments

      • Meeting Announcement for AGM of Kvika banki hf. 2025
      • Skýrsla tilnefningarnefndar Kviku banka hf. 2025

      The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: OBSI announces new board members

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Board of Directors for the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is pleased to announce three appointments to the board:

    • Maureen L. Buckley CPA, CA has joined the board as a Community Director. Ms. Buckley has held several leadership positions within the Ontario Public Service, most recently as the Provincial Controller where she led the preparation and release of the Ontario Public Accounts. Previously, she was the Chief Administrative Officer at multiple ministries within the Ontario Public Service. Before joining the Ontario Public Service, Ms. Buckley held several roles at Price Waterhouse where she earned her Chartered Accountant designation. She holds an undergraduate degree from York University.
    • Jason Enouy B.A., JD has joined the board as an Industry Director. He is the Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Raymond James Ltd., leading all compliance functions for the firm. Before joining the firm, he led compliance and risk management functions at two large Canadian wealth management and securities firms, as well as a schedule II chartered bank. Mr. Enouy is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University in Ottawa. He sits on the Board of the Raymond James Canada Foundation.
    • Professor Marina Pavlović LL.B, LL.M has joined the board as a Consumer Interest Director. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section. A leading Canadian expert on consumer rights and technology policy, she brings extensive experience in research, advocacy, and law reform focused on consumer rights and access to justice. Ms. Pavlović has strong ties with consumer and public interest organizations and has represented them as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada in landmark cases, including Douez v. Facebook, Uber v. Heller, and International Air Transport Association v. Canada. She has also appeared before the CRTC, the Canadian Transportation Agency, and parliamentary committees, influencing key policy and regulatory decisions affecting consumer rights. An award-winning educator, Ms. Pavlović is recognized for redefining legal education through her innovative and immersive teaching. She holds a law degree from the University of Belgrade, an LL.M. in Law & Technology from the University of Ottawa and is a member of the Law Society of Ontario.

    OBSI is overseen by an independent Board of Directors. OBSI’s bylaws require that a majority of directors, including the Board Chair, be independent, meaning they have not been affiliated with industry for at least two years. These independent directors are referred to as community directors. Three of the community directors are also designated as consumer interest directors, who have a particular interest in, access to, and competency with the interests and perspectives of the consumers that OBSI serves. The board also includes three designated industry directors who are directly affiliated with a participating firm.

    Industry directors and consumer interest directors are expected to bring their unique perspectives and expertise to board deliberations to ensure that OBSI governance is undertaken with an understanding and appreciation of the interests and concerns of all the stakeholders served by the organization. All directors have a fiduciary duty to OBSI and do not advocate for or represent any outside interest while engaged in OBSI governance.

    More information about the Board of Directors is available here.

    Canada’s Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a national, independent, not-for-profit organization that helps resolve and reduce disputes between consumers and financial services firms in both official languages. OBSI is responsive to consumer inquiries, conducts fair and accessible investigations of unresolved disputes, and shares its knowledge and expertise with all stakeholders and the public. If a consumer has a complaint against an OBSI participating bank or investment firm that they are not able to resolve with the bank or firm, OBSI will investigate at no cost to the consumer. Where a complaint has merit, OBSI may recommend compensation up to a maximum of $350,000.

    For more information, contact:

    Mark Wright, Director, Communications and Stakeholder Relations

    416-287-2877 ext.2225

    publicaffairs@obsi.ca

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Penomo & Hoovest Financial Group Partner For Tokenized AI & Infrastructure Institutional Finance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    BERLIN, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    Penomo has formed a strategic partnership with Hoovest Financial Group, which collectively administers and manages over $1 billion in assets. This collaboration aims to accelerate institutional capital inflows into tokenized real-world infrastructure, facilitating the connection between asset-heavy renewable energy & physical AI operators and private capital allocators.

    The global shift towards sustainable energy & physical AI is driving significant capital into projects building & operating physical infrastructure, such as solar, Data Centers & machines, and financing remains the key bottleneck. Traditional financing models for critical physical infrastructure—primarily debt financing and structured equity are often slow, bureaucratic, and capital-intensive. Institutions keen to allocate capital into sustainability-focused assets are met with high entry barriers, limited liquidity, and inefficient capital deployment instruments.

    Penomo, an end-to-end financing protocol solves this by transforming heavy infrastructure-backed assets into institution-grade digital assets using tokenization. This lowers entry barriers, allows risk-weighted sustainability investments, and streamlines multi-channel financing for energy and AI infrastructure. While private equity and real estate have embraced tokenization, infrastructure financing is still emerging, with growing institutional adoption from firms like Ant Group and GCL Energy in Asia and Enel Group in Europe. Sustainability infrastructure-as-an-asset class presents as the next financial innovation frontier.

    Recognizing this opportunity, Penomo and Hoovest Financial Group unveil a strategic partnership to bridge institutional capital with tokenized renewable energy and AI infrastructure assets. As the demand for AI Data Centers and energy storage surges, next-generation data centers and high-performance computing hubs require massive capital inflows to scale efficiently. Hoovest, a financial group administering over $1B in assets and $150M worth AUM through its regulated subsidiaries, will leverage Penomo’s digital infrastructure to deploy capital into sustainable energy and AI infrastructure projects, making these tokenized real-world assets more accessible to institutional allocators and financial institutions. Through this collaboration, renewable energy projects and AI-powered infrastructure at both the development and operational stages will gain access to fast, flexible, and cost-efficient capital, reducing the financing gap for global energy transition and sustainable AI expansion initiatives.

    Peter Fang, CEO of Hoovest Financial Group, added: “Sustainable investment mandates continue to evolve, and investors are seeking high-quality, tangible assets with data-backed sustainability impact. Together with Penomo we address that need, providing our capital markets network with streamlined access to tokenized, real infrastructure-backed investments, ensuring both long-term value creation and sustainability.”

    “Energy & AI transition projects need a rescue from stagnated, high-cost TradFi technology,” says Jasvir Dhillon, Co-Founder and CEO of Penomo. “We are opening new avenues for institutional investors to gain streamlined exposure to sustainable infrastructure assets in a liquid, scalable, and fully transparent manner. Hoovest with its exceptional institutional roots makes a perfect partner to move beyond traditional ESG bonds and equity investments and lead the new financial innovation frontier and make sustainable energy- & physical AI infrastructure as a major asset class.”

    About Hoovest Financial Group
    Hoovest Financial Group operates an impact-focused investment business specializing in sustainable and alternative assets. Through its various regulated entities, Hoovest provides capital allocation and structuring solutions for institutional investors, asset managers, and family offices seeking exposure to high-growth, sustainability-driven investment opportunities. Through its joint-venture subsidiary, Unitize Fund Solutions Inc., Hoovest Financial Group administers over $1B in assets and has $150M worth AUM, delivering best-in-class fund structuring, administration, and distribution solutions.

    About Penomo
    Penomo is an end-to-end financing protocol bridging private capital markets with tokenized AI & renewable physical infrastructure to address the $4tn+ energy financing deficit by 2030. It transforms physical infrastructure into an institution-grade digital asset class, delivering a sourcing & allocation solution to sustainability-oriented institutions and asset managers globally. Backed by top institutions, nominated by Standard Chartered for the Earthshot Prize, and with blended expertise from JPMorgan & Chase, Deutsche Bank, and BlackRock’s Recurrent Energy in institutional finance, digital assets, and infrastructure, its mission is to sustainably power humanity on Earth and beyond.
    For more information, users can visit: X | Website | LinkedIn

    Contact

    CEO & Co-founder
    Jasvir Dhillon
    Penomo
    marketing@penomo.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/77740c3b-b699-4cf2-85a7-518d68844aa6

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Treasury Bond Auction Announcement – RIKB 26 1015 – RIKB 38 0215 – Switch Auction or Cash payment

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Series RIKB 26 1015 RIKB 38 0215
    ISIN IS0000034874 IS0000037265
    Maturity Date 10/15/2026 02/15/2038
    Auction Date 03/07/2025 03/07/2025
    Settlement Date 03/12/2025 03/12/2025
    10% addition 03/11/2025 03/11/2025
     
    Buyback issue RIKB 25 0612  
    Buyback price (clean) 99.8800  

    On the Auction Date, between 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., the Government Debt Management will auction Treasury bonds in the Series, with the ISIN numbers and with the Maturity Dates according to the table above. Article 6 of the General Terms of Auction for Treasury bonds applies for the right to purchase an additional 10%. The Treasury bonds will be delivered in electronic form on the Settlement Date.

    Payment for the bonds can be made in cash or with the Buyback issue at the Buyback price.

    Payment in cash for the Treasury bonds must be received by the Central Bank before 14:00 on the Settlement Date. If payment is made with the Buyback issue, a notification of the amount must be received no later than by 14:00 on the Auction Date. In that case, the value of the Buyback bond is determined by the Buyback price plus accrued interest (i.e. dirty price).

    No fee is paid in relation to the purchase of RIKB 25 0612.

    Further reference is made to the description of the Treasury bond and the General Terms of Auction of Treasury Bonds.

    For additional information please contact Oddgeir Gunnarsson, Government Debt Management, at +354 569 9635.

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Landsbankinn hf.: Annual General Meeting 19 March 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The Annual General Meeting of Landsbankinn hf. will be held on Wednesday 19 March 2025 at 16:00, in Reykjastræti 6, Reykjavík.

    Enclosed is the agenda for the Annual General Meeting.

    Further information concerning the meeting is available on the Bank´s website, https://www.landsbankinn.is/en/the-bank/investor-relations/agms

    For further information please contact:

    Investor Relations, ir@landsbankinn.is

    Public Relations, pr@landsbankinn.is

    Attachment

    • Agenda AGM 2025

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Economics: Governor, Reserve Bank of India meets select non-bank Payment System Operators and FinTechs at Mumbai on March 05, 2025

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    Governor, Reserve Bank of India today held an interaction with non-bank Payment System Operators and FinTechs along with their associations/SROs. The interaction was a part of the Reserve Bank’s series of engagements with the Payments and Fintech ecosystem. The interaction was also attended by Deputy Governors Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao, Shri T. Rabi Sankar and Shri Swaminathan J., along with Executive Directors-in-Charge of Payments, Fintech and Regulation.

    The Governor, in his remarks, recognised the important role played by the FinTechs including the payment system players, account aggregators, digital lending service providers in the growth of India’s financial system and economy. The Governor underscored the need for responsible innovation and emphasised the need for ensuring compliance by the entities who are new to regulatory space. He also emphasized that RBI values such interactions with the ecosystem participants and would continue to adopt a consultative approach.

    During the interactive session, the participants shared their feedback on the evolving payment and fintech ecosystem, various industry level initiatives and their expectations from the Reserve Bank.

    (Puneet Pancholy)  
    Chief General Manager

    Press Release: 2024-2025/2306

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Africa: Nigeria reduces inflation rate, but the cost of living remains high – here’s why

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Taiwo Hassan Odugbemi, Lecturer in Economics, University of Abuja

    Nigeria recently rebased its consumer price index (CPI) from 2009 to 2024, leading to a significant drop in the reported inflation rate from 34.80% to 24.48%.

    This change has sparked discussions on the likely impact on economic planning, policy decisions, and public perception of inflation. Taiwo Odugbemi, an economist, unpacks what it means for a country to rebase its inflation rate and its implications for citizens.

    What is inflation rate rebasing and how is it done?

    Inflation rate rebasing follows a structured approach led by the National Bureau of Statistics to improve the accuracy of inflation measurements. Essentially what it means is that the National Bureau of Statistics expanded its data collection efforts to include a broader range of states, local government areas, and rural communities.

    The recent inflation revision involved:

    Updating the consumer price index basket

    The bureau reviewed and changed the composition of goods and services in the consumer price index basket. The index tracks the rate at which prices change over time, monthly or annually.

    These changes align the measurement of price changes with shifts in consumer spending habits.

    The changes to the basket are based on the household expenditure surveys which collect information on what households consume and spend.

    Categories such as telecommunications and technology were given greater weight. Less relevant items such as food and non-alcoholic beverages received reduced weighting to ensure the consumer price index accurately represents present-day household spending.

    Rebasing the inflation index

    The changes to the composition of the consumer price index basket require a change in the reference (base) year. The bureau has changed the consumer price index base year from 2009 to 2024.

    This adjustment aligns inflation measurements with current economic realities, reducing distortions caused by outdated reference periods. To achieve this, the National Bureau of Statistics has implemented high-frequency data collection methods, such as the National Longitudinal Phone Survey, which allows for more timely assessments of economic indicators.

    Adjusting weights of consumer price index components

    Each part of the consumer price index was given a new weight based on updated national consumption data. Spending categories with increased significance, such as transport and digital services, were given higher weights, while categories with declining relevance such as gas and other fuels were adjusted downward.

    Expanding data collection coverage

    The National Bureau of Statistics improved price data collection by:

    • increasing the sample size and geographical coverage

    • increasing the frequency of data collection

    • incorporating price variations from informal markets.

    The informal sector significantly contributes to Nigeria’s economy, accounting for approximately 58% of the gross domestic product (GDP).


    Read more: Nigeria’s 2025 budget has major flaws and won’t ease economic burden


    What does this rate rebase mean? Is it unusual?

    The rebase is a revision in the way inflation is measured. It reflects an effort to represent price movements and economic conditions more accurately.

    Inflation readjustment is not uncommon among economies striving for better data accuracy. Countries such as Ghana and Kenya have undertaken similar revisions in recent years.

    Ghana’s consumer price index rebasing in 2019 led to a lower reported inflation rate as it was calculated on newer spending habits.

    Similarly, in 2014, Nigeria rebased its gross domestic product. This resulted in a significant revision of economic indicators.

    Inflation in Nigeria reached 29.90% in January 2024. Revising how it is measured could be an attempt to capture structural economic changes more precisely.

    Concerns over outdated consumer price index weights might have driven the move. The rebase could also have been done because of shifts in consumer spending, or improvements in statistical methodologies to enhance policy-making and economic planning.

    The National Bureau of Statistics said the rebasing was necessary in order to reflect changes in consumption patterns.

    Given Nigeria’s persistent inflationary pressures, made worse by currency depreciation and food supply disruptions, this adjustment could have significant implications for economic forecasting and policy responses.


    Read more: Nigeria’s Brics partnership: economist outlines potential benefits


    What are the implications for Nigerians?

    If inflation is perceived as declining, consumer confidence may improve, leading to increased spending and investment.

    However, many Nigerians may still feel that the cost of living remains high, particularly as food inflation remains a major concern.

    For workers and businesses, the adjustment could influence wage negotiations and pricing strategies. If inflation is officially lower, employers may resist wage increases, arguing that the real cost of living has not risen as sharply as previously thought.

    Similarly, businesses may reassess pricing decisions based on the revised inflation outlook.

    A lower reported inflation rate might reduce pressure on policymakers to expand social safety nets, even if citizens still struggle with economic hardship.


    Read more: Nigeria’s economy in 2025 doesn’t look bright — analyst explains why


    What changes in policy can be expected?

    This adjustment can alter the way monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies are formulated.

    Monetary policy adjustments

    With a lower inflation rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may reconsider its aggressive tightening stance, which is reflected in the level it sets interest rates at.

    Previously, high inflation prompted the central bank to raise the monetary policy rate to 22.75% in a bid to curb inflation. Raising the rate makes it more expensive to borrow money, so demand for goods is lower and this reduces price increases.

    The revised inflation figure could justify a more measured approach to interest rate adjustments, potentially easing borrowing costs for businesses and households. This could support economic growth but must be carefully managed.

    In the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting after the inflation rebasing, the committee decided for the first time in three years to pause interest rate hikes.

    Fiscal policy considerations

    The government may use the revised inflation data to reassess budgetary projections, wage policies, and what it spends on subsidy programmes.

    A lower inflation rate could reduce the urgency for drastic public sector wage increases, though real income concerns remain.

    Additionally, it might influence subsidy policies, particularly in energy and agriculture. Lower inflation could be used to justify gradual subsidy phaseouts without significant backlash.

    Exchange rate management

    A lower inflation rate could improve investor confidence and reduce pressure on the naira. The central bank may use this as a basis to re-calibrate foreign exchange interventions, aiming for greater currency stability.

    If inflation is perceived as more controlled, capital inflows may increase, supporting the exchange rate and easing forex liquidity challenges.

    – Nigeria reduces inflation rate, but the cost of living remains high – here’s why
    – https://theconversation.com/nigeria-reduces-inflation-rate-but-the-cost-of-living-remains-high-heres-why-251073

    MIL OSI Africa –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: Nigeria reduces inflation rate, but the cost of living remains high – here’s why

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Taiwo Hassan Odugbemi, Lecturer in Economics, University of Abuja

    Nigeria recently rebased its consumer price index (CPI) from 2009 to 2024, leading to a significant drop in the reported inflation rate from 34.80% to 24.48%.

    This change has sparked discussions on the likely impact on economic planning, policy decisions, and public perception of inflation. Taiwo Odugbemi, an economist, unpacks what it means for a country to rebase its inflation rate and its implications for citizens.

    What is inflation rate rebasing and how is it done?

    Inflation rate rebasing follows a structured approach led by the National Bureau of Statistics to improve the accuracy of inflation measurements. Essentially what it means is that the National Bureau of Statistics expanded its data collection efforts to include a broader range of states, local government areas, and rural communities.

    The recent inflation revision involved:

    Updating the consumer price index basket

    The bureau reviewed and changed the composition of goods and services in the consumer price index basket. The index tracks the rate at which prices change over time, monthly or annually.

    These changes align the measurement of price changes with shifts in consumer spending habits.

    The changes to the basket are based on the household expenditure surveys which collect information on what households consume and spend.

    Categories such as telecommunications and technology were given greater weight. Less relevant items such as food and non-alcoholic beverages received reduced weighting to ensure the consumer price index accurately represents present-day household spending.

    Rebasing the inflation index

    The changes to the composition of the consumer price index basket require a change in the reference (base) year. The bureau has changed the consumer price index base year from 2009 to 2024.

    This adjustment aligns inflation measurements with current economic realities, reducing distortions caused by outdated reference periods. To achieve this, the National Bureau of Statistics has implemented high-frequency data collection methods, such as the National Longitudinal Phone Survey, which allows for more timely assessments of economic indicators.

    Adjusting weights of consumer price index components

    Each part of the consumer price index was given a new weight based on updated national consumption data. Spending categories with increased significance, such as transport and digital services, were given higher weights, while categories with declining relevance such as gas and other fuels were adjusted downward.

    Expanding data collection coverage

    The National Bureau of Statistics improved price data collection by:

    • increasing the sample size and geographical coverage

    • increasing the frequency of data collection

    • incorporating price variations from informal markets.

    The informal sector significantly contributes to Nigeria’s economy, accounting for approximately 58% of the gross domestic product (GDP).




    Read more:
    Nigeria’s 2025 budget has major flaws and won’t ease economic burden


    What does this rate rebase mean? Is it unusual?

    The rebase is a revision in the way inflation is measured. It reflects an effort to represent price movements and economic conditions more accurately.

    Inflation readjustment is not uncommon among economies striving for better data accuracy. Countries such as Ghana and Kenya have undertaken similar revisions in recent years.

    Ghana’s consumer price index rebasing in 2019 led to a lower reported inflation rate as it was calculated on newer spending habits.

    Similarly, in 2014, Nigeria rebased its gross domestic product. This resulted in a significant revision of economic indicators.

    Inflation in Nigeria reached 29.90% in January 2024. Revising how it is measured could be an attempt to capture structural economic changes more precisely.

    Concerns over outdated consumer price index weights might have driven the move. The rebase could also have been done because of shifts in consumer spending, or improvements in statistical methodologies to enhance policy-making and economic planning.

    The National Bureau of Statistics said the rebasing was necessary in order to reflect changes in consumption patterns.

    Given Nigeria’s persistent inflationary pressures, made worse by currency depreciation and food supply disruptions, this adjustment could have significant implications for economic forecasting and policy responses.




    Read more:
    Nigeria’s Brics partnership: economist outlines potential benefits


    What are the implications for Nigerians?

    If inflation is perceived as declining, consumer confidence may improve, leading to increased spending and investment.

    However, many Nigerians may still feel that the cost of living remains high, particularly as food inflation remains a major concern.

    For workers and businesses, the adjustment could influence wage negotiations and pricing strategies. If inflation is officially lower, employers may resist wage increases, arguing that the real cost of living has not risen as sharply as previously thought.

    Similarly, businesses may reassess pricing decisions based on the revised inflation outlook.

    A lower reported inflation rate might reduce pressure on policymakers to expand social safety nets, even if citizens still struggle with economic hardship.




    Read more:
    Nigeria’s economy in 2025 doesn’t look bright — analyst explains why


    What changes in policy can be expected?

    This adjustment can alter the way monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies are formulated.

    Monetary policy adjustments

    With a lower inflation rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may reconsider its aggressive tightening stance, which is reflected in the level it sets interest rates at.

    Previously, high inflation prompted the central bank to raise the monetary policy rate to 22.75% in a bid to curb inflation. Raising the rate makes it more expensive to borrow money, so demand for goods is lower and this reduces price increases.

    The revised inflation figure could justify a more measured approach to interest rate adjustments, potentially easing borrowing costs for businesses and households. This could support economic growth but must be carefully managed.

    In the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting after the inflation rebasing, the committee decided for the first time in three years to pause interest rate hikes.

    Fiscal policy considerations

    The government may use the revised inflation data to reassess budgetary projections, wage policies, and what it spends on subsidy programmes.

    A lower inflation rate could reduce the urgency for drastic public sector wage increases, though real income concerns remain.

    Additionally, it might influence subsidy policies, particularly in energy and agriculture. Lower inflation could be used to justify gradual subsidy phaseouts without significant backlash.

    Exchange rate management

    A lower inflation rate could improve investor confidence and reduce pressure on the naira. The central bank may use this as a basis to re-calibrate foreign exchange interventions, aiming for greater currency stability.

    If inflation is perceived as more controlled, capital inflows may increase, supporting the exchange rate and easing forex liquidity challenges.

    Taiwo Hassan Odugbemi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Nigeria reduces inflation rate, but the cost of living remains high – here’s why – https://theconversation.com/nigeria-reduces-inflation-rate-but-the-cost-of-living-remains-high-heres-why-251073

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Changes to sick pay will help people stay in work and grow economy

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Changes to sick pay will help people stay in work and grow economy

    More than one million working people across the UK will see a rise in living standards thanks to improvements to Statutory Sick Pay, ministers have announced today.

    • Landmark changes are all part of the government’s number one priority in the Plan for Change to grow the economy and put more money into working people’s pockets 
    • Announcement comes as the World Bank notes that ‘without improvements in productivity, there is no economic growth’ 
    • The government has pledged to deliver on its promise to Make Work Pay with lower income workers no longer having to choose between their health or their jobs

    This comes as the government delivers on the plan to boost workers’ rights and create a healthier, more productive workforce, which will be at the forefront of efforts to grow the economy – the priority of our Plan for Change. 

    The changes will mean up to 1.3 million people on low wages who find themselves ill will either receive 80% of their average weekly earnings or the rate of Statutory Sick Pay which will be £118.75 per week from April – whichever is lowest.  

    The move means some of the lowest earners will be up to £100 better off per week, compared to the current system. This safety net will enable people to have the time off they need to recover, so they can get better and remain in work rather than risk quitting altogether.

    Under the government’s Plan for Change, this new fairer rate strikes the right balance between providing financial security for employees who fall ill, and the cost to businesses – all while retaining the incentives for people to return to work. 

    The UK has seen a slow-down in productivity in recent years that has been more severe than other nations, which is not acceptable. The World Bank has been clear that “without improvements in productivity, there is no economic growth”.

    Today’s changes will boost productivity in the workforce to help drive growth and usher in a decade of national renewal. 

    The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP said: 

    What we put into our workforce, we get back and more.

    That’s why we’re making Statutory Sick Pay a right for every worker for the first time so people can stay in work rather than risk dropping out.

    This is a pro-worker, pro-business government in action – boosting productivity, while ensuring people don’t have to choose between health and wealth, helping deliver our Plan for Change.

    Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall MP said: 

    For too long, sick workers have had to decide between staying at home and losing a day’s pay or soldiering on at their own risk just to make ends meet. 

    No one should ever have to choose between their health and earning a living, which is why we are making this landmark change. 

    The new rate is good for workers and fair on businesses as part our plan to boost rights and Make Work Pay, while delivering our Plan for Change.

    The government’s response to its Statutory Sick Pay consultation has also been published today alongside other responses and amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, including on tackling fire and rehire and zero-hour contracts to tackle insecure work.  

    This latest move follows the commitment to ensure the right to sick pay from the first day of illness, and to make more people eligible by removing the need to earn Lower Earnings Limit. 

    Over 1,700 responses to a six-week consultation helped inform the decision on the new rate, taking in to account the views of businesses, charities, trade unions and workers.  

    TUC General Secretary, Paul Nowak, added:

    Nobody should be plunged into hardship when they become ill. 

    These reforms will stop millions from facing a financial cliff edge if they get sick.

    Making statutory sick pay available to all workers – and from day one – shows why the government’s Employment Rights Bill is so important.

    With sick pay rights from the first day of sickness, you will know that your family is protected. And you can take the time you need to recover.

    We hope this is the start of a programme of sick pay reform and will continue to make the case for higher future sick pay rates.

    Further information:

    • The Lower Earnings Limit (currently £123 per week) is the amount of earnings that allow an employee to qualify for Statutory Sick Pay.
    • The DWP published a consultation in October 2024 seeking views on what the new percentage rate that will be paid up to the flat rate of Statutory Sick Pay should be. The consultation ran until December 2024 and received 1,797 responses: Making Work Pay: Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay – GOV.UK  
    • The Government’s response to this consultation and the new percentage rate of Statutory Sick Pay was published this week: Government response: Making Work Pay: Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay – GOV.UK
    • While Statutory Sick Pay is devolved to Northern Ireland, a Legislative Consent Motion will be sought from the Northern Ireland Assembly to mirror these changes.  
    • The Government has also published consultation responses covering collective redundancy (fire and rehire), the creation of a modern framework for industrial relations, the application of zero-hour contracts and tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market: Government Response to the consultation on strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire
    • The Employment Rights Bill was introduced in the House of Commons in October 2024. It is currently awaiting Report Stage.   
    • The World Bank notes that ‘without improvements in productivity, there is no economic growth.’ 
    • The UK has seen a productivity slowdown that is more pronounced than other advanced economies over the past few years: an increasingly insecure and fragmented labour market can undermine conditions for growth and investment.

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    Updates to this page

    Published 5 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Venezuelan Gang Members Arrested, Charged with Bank Theft and Conspiracy

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    BUFFALO, N.Y. –U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that David Jose Gomez Cegarra, 24, and Jesus Segundo Hernandez-Gil, 19, both of Venezuela, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with bank theft and conspiracy to commit bank theft. The charges carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey E. Intravatola and Douglas A.C. Penrose, who are handling the case, stated that the defendants are members of the Tren de Aragua Gang, which has been designated by the White House as a Global Terrorist Organization. They are accused of participating in an ATM Jackpotting scheme. ATM Jackpotting involves removing an ATM’s cover and infecting the ATMs hard drive with malware or removing the hard drive and replacing it with an infected hard drive, which allows the operator to assume control of the ATM and cause it to dispense currency.

    According to the complaint, Gomez-Cegarra, Hernandez-Gil, and other co-conspirators successfully completed an ATM Jackpotting scheme at a Radius Federal Credit Union in Kenmore, NY, on October 5, 2024. Video surveillance shows that at approximately 4:05 p.m., a vehicle, driven by Gomez-Cegarra,  approached the drive-up ATM, a co-conspirator exited the vehicle and opened the ATM utilizing a key, appeared to install something in the ATM, pressed buttons, and closed the ATM. The vehicle then left the area. Over the next several hours, the vehicle re-appeared multiple times at the ATM and conducted illegal withdrawals. Radius Federal Credit Union reported that $110,440.00 was stolen from the ATM during this ATM Jackpotting event.

    Gomez-Cegarra, Hernandez-Gil, and other co-conspirators are also believed to be responsible for ATM Jackpotting events St. Maly’s Federal Credit Union in Framingham, Massachusetts, on October 6, 2024, at First National Bank of Dryden in Dryden, NY, on October 17, 2024, and at two Community First Bank locations in Mount Vernon, Illinois, on November 11, 2024. During these events, approximately $187,000 was reported stolen.

    On November 11, 2024, the Mahomet, Illinois Police Department stopped Gomez-Cegarra and Hernandez-Gil in a vehicle together for suspicious activity. Both men presented Venezuelan identifications. They were arrested by the Mahomet Police Department, and ultimately charged by the Mount Vernon Police Department in relation to the incidents that occurred at the Community First Bank locations in Mount Vernon, IL.

    The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the Kenmore Police Department, under the direction of Chief Thomas Phillips, the Homer, NY, Police Department, under the direction of Chief Robert Pitman, the Framingham, MA, Police Department, under the direction of Chief Lester Baker, and the Mahomet, Illinois, Police Department.

    The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

    # # # # 

     

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Industry Visionaries to Unveil What’s Next in AI at GTC 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NVIDIA today announced GTC 2025, the world’s premier AI conference, will return March 17-21 to San Jose, Calif. — bringing together the brightest minds in AI to showcase breakthroughs happening now in physical AI, agentic AI and scientific discovery. GTC will bring together 25,000 attendees in person — and 300,000 attendees virtually — for an in-depth look at the technologies shaping the future.

    NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the keynote from SAP Center on Tuesday, March 18, at 10 a.m. PT focused on AI and accelerated computing technologies changing the world. It will be livestreamed and available on demand at nvidia.com. Registration is not required to view the keynote online.

    Onsite attendees can arrive at SAP Center early to enjoy a live pregame show hosted by the “Acquired” podcast and other surprise festivities. Virtual attendees can catch the pregame show live online.

    “AI is pushing the limits of what’s possible — turning yesterday’s dreams into today’s reality,” Huang said. “GTC brings together the brightest scientists, engineers, developers and creators to imagine and build a better future. Come and be first to see the new advances in NVIDIA computing and breakthroughs in AI, robotics, science and the arts that will transform industries and society.”

    AI is here, and it’s mainstream — powering the everyday brands that shape people’s lives. At GTC, some of the world’s largest companies, groundbreaking startups and leading academic minds will convene to explore the transformative impact of AI across industries.

    With over 1,000 sessions, 2,000 speakers and nearly 400 exhibitors, GTC will showcase how NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing platforms tackle the world’s biggest and toughest challenges — spanning climate research to healthcare, cybersecurity, humanoid robotics, autonomous vehicles and more. From large language models and physical AI to cloud computing and scientific discovery, NVIDIA’s full-stack platform is driving the next industrial revolution.

    At the conference, attendees can also look forward to curated experiences, including dozens of demos spanning every industry, hands-on training, autonomous vehicle exhibits and rides, and a new GTC Night Market featuring street food and wares from 20 local vendors and artisans.

    Notable speakers include:

    • Pieter Abbeel, director of the UC Berkeley Robot Learning Lab and co-director of the UC Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Lab
    • Drago Anguelov, vice president and head of research, Waymo
    • Frances Arnold, Nobel Laureate in chemistry and Linus Pauling Professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry, California Institute of Technology
    • Gülen Bengi, chief marketing officer, Mars Snacking
    • Esi Eggleston Bracey, chief growth and marketing officer, Unilever
    • Noam Brown, research scientist, OpenAI
    • Nadia Carlsten, CEO, Danish Centre for AI Innovation, Novo Nordisk Foundation
    • Max Jaderberg, chief AI officer, and Sergei Yakneen, chief technology officer, Isomorphic Labs
    • Athina Kanioura, executive vice president and chief strategy and transformation officer, PepsiCo
    • Jeffrey Katzenberg, founding partner, WndrCo
    • The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, United Kingdom
    • Yann LeCun, vice president and chief AI scientist, Meta; professor, New York University
    • Arthur Mensch, CEO, Mistral AI
    • Joe Park, chief digital and technology officer, Yum! Brands; president, Byte by Yum!
    • Rajendra “RP” Prasad, chief information and asset engineering officer, Accenture
    • Raji Rajagopalan, vice president, Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft
    • Aaron Saunders, chief technology officer, Boston Dynamics
    • RJ Scaringe, founder and CEO, Rivian
    • Clara Shih, head of business AI, Meta
    • Alicia Tillman, chief marketing officer, Delta Air Lines
    • Pras Velagapudi, chief technology officer, Agility Robotics

    More than 900 organizations will participate, including Accenture, Adobe, Arm, Airbnb, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BMW Group, The Coca-Cola Company, CoreWeave, Dell Technologies, Disney Research, Field AI, Ford, Foxconn, Google Cloud, Kroger, Lowe’s, Mercedes-Benz, Meta, Microsoft, MLB, NFL, OpenAI, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Pfizer, Rockwell Automation, Salesforce, Samsung, ServiceNow, SoftBank, TSMC, Uber, Volvo, Volkswagen, Wayve and Zoox.

    Quantum Day Arrives
    NVIDIA will host its first Quantum Day at GTC on March 20. The event will bring together the global quantum computing community and key industry figures.

    Leaders from the quantum computing industry will join a panel with Huang from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. PT, shedding light on the current state and future of quantum computing. The panel will be livestreamed and available on demand, and feature pioneers in quantum computing, including:

    • Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave
    • Ben Bloom, CEO, Atom Computing
    • Peter Chapman, executive chair, IonQ
    • Rajeeb Hazra, CEO, Quantinuum
    • Loïc Henriet, co-CEO, Pasqal
    • Matthew Kinsella, CEO, Infleqtion
    • Subodh Kulkarni, CEO, Rigetti
    • John Levy, CEO, SEEQC
    • Andrew Ory, CEO, QuEra Computing
    • Théau Peronnin, CEO, Alice & Bob
    • Rob Schoelkopf, chief scientist, Quantum Circuits
    • Simone Severini, general manager, quantum technologies, AWS
    • Pete Shadbolt, chief scientific officer, PsiQuantum
    • Krysta Svore, technical fellow, Microsoft

    Quantum Day will also feature technical sessions with partners, NVIDIA researchers and more.

    AI Training and Certification for Developers
    NVIDIA is training the workforce of the future to equip them with critical skills for navigating and leading in an AI-driven future.

    GTC attendees can participate in more than 80 hands-on instructor-led workshops and training labs provided by NVIDIA Training.

    For the first time, onsite attendees can take certification exams for free — gaining a tremendous opportunity to validate their AI and accelerated computing skills and advance their careers.

    In addition, new professional certifications will be available in accelerated data science and AI networking, as well as workshops in generative AI, agentic AI and accelerated computing with CUDA® C++.

    Learn more about training offerings at GTC on the event webpage.

    Startup and Venture Capital Ecosystem
    For startups and VCs, GTC will feature an AI Day with expert panels, live demos from top startups, session tracks designed for investors, a VC reverse pitch session and exclusive networking opportunities with investors.

    The NVIDIA Inception Pavilion will spotlight cutting-edge innovation from the NVIDIA Inception program, home to more than 22,000 startups. Nearly 250 Inception members will showcase their breakthroughs with demos, exhibitions and sessions spanning areas such as healthcare, climate science and robotics.

    NVIDIA Financial Analyst Q&A
    NVIDIA will hold a Q&A session for investors on March 19 at 8:30 a.m. PT. The webcast will be available at investor.nvidia.com.

    About NVIDIA
    NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.

    For further information, contact:
    Clarissa Eyu
    Corporate Communications
    NVIDIA Corporation
    ceyu@nvidia.com

    Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the timing, size, themes, sessions, speakers, participants, availability and impact of GTC, including the GTC keynote and the Quantum Day; AI pushing the limits of what’s possible — turning yesterday’s dreams into today’s reality; from large language models and conversational AI to cloud computing and scientific breakthroughs, NVIDIA’s full-stack platform driving the next industrial revolution; AI powering the everyday brands that shape people’s lives; NVIDIA training the workforce of the future; the availability of professional certifications for onsite attendees; and the timing and availability of the financial analyst Q&A are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to our existing product and technologies; market acceptance of our products or our partners’ products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

    © 2025 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo and CUDA are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/922e27de-6626-4818-9a6d-d3108f818e25.

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Aleksi Lehtonen

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Aktia Bank Plc
    Stock Exchange Release
    5 March 2025 at 3.00 p.m.

    Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Aleksi Lehtonen

    Person subject to the notification requirement
    Name: Lehtonen, Aleksi
    Position: Chief Executive Officer
    Issuer: Aktia Bank Plc
    LEI: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16

    Notification type: INITIAL NOTIFICATION
    Reference number: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16_20250304114903_219

    ____________________________________________

    Transaction date: 2025-03-03
    Venue not applicable
    Instrument type: SHARE
    ISIN: FI4000058870
    Nature of the transaction: RECEIPT OF A SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE

    Transaction details
    (1): Volume: 6,623 Unit price: 0.00 EUR

    Aggregated transactions
    (1): Volume: 6,623 Volume weighted average price: 0.00 EUR

    Aktia Bank Plc

    Further information:
    Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315, ir (at) aktia.fi

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Mass media
    www.aktia.com

    Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 31 December 2024 amounted to EUR 14.0 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 11.9 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Anssi Huhta

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Aktia Bank Plc
    Stock Exchange Release
    5 March 2025 at 3.00 p.m.

    Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Anssi Huhta

    Person subject to the notification requirement
    Name: Huhta, Anssi
    Position: Other senior manager
    Issuer: Aktia Bank Plc
    LEI: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16

    Notification type: INITIAL NOTIFICATION
    Reference number: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16_20250304114926_220

    ____________________________________________

    Transaction date: 2025-03-03
    Venue not applicable
    Instrument type: SHARE
    ISIN: FI4000058870
    Nature of the transaction: RECEIPT OF A SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE

    Transaction details
    (1): Volume: 6,716 Unit price: 0.00 EUR

    Aggregated transactions
    (1): Volume: 6,716 Volume weighted average price: 0.00 EUR

    Aktia Bank Plc

    Further information:
    Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315, ir (at) aktia.fi

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Mass media
    www.aktia.com

    Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 31 December 2024 amounted to EUR 14.0 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 11.9 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Kati Eriksson

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Aktia Bank Plc
    Stock Exchange Release
    5 March 2025 at 3.00 p.m.

    Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Kati Eriksson

    Person subject to the notification requirement
    Name: Eriksson, Kati
    Position: Other senior manager
    Issuer: Aktia Bank plc
    LEI: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16

    Notification type: INITIAL NOTIFICATION
    Reference number: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16_20250304114903_218

    ____________________________________________

    Transaction date: 2025-03-03
    Venue not applicable
    Instrument type: SHARE
    ISIN: FI4000058870
    Nature of the transaction: RECEIPT OF A SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE

    Transaction details
    (1): Volume: 4,469 Unit price: 0.00 EUR

    Aggregated transactions
    (1): Volume: 4,469 Volume weighted average price: 0.00 EUR

    Aktia Bank Plc

    Further information:
    Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315, ir (at) aktia.fi

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Mass media
    www.aktia.com

    Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 31 December 2024 amounted to EUR 14.0 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 11.9 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Parex Resources Announces 2024 Full-Year Results & Reserves, Declaration of Q1 2025 Dividend, and Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Parex Resources Inc. (“Parex” or the “Company”) (TSX: PXT) is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2024, as well as the results of its independent reserves assessment as at December 31, 2024. Additionally, the Company declares its Q1 2025 regular dividend of C$0.385 per share and provides a corporate update. All amounts herein are in United States dollars (“USD”) unless otherwise stated.

    Key Highlights

    • Generated annual funds flow provided by operations of $622 million(1) and free funds flow of $275 million(2) in 2024.
    • Evaluated PDP after-tax net asset value per share of C$22.02(3).
    • Added 10 mmboe 1P reserves and 7 mmboe 2P reserves at LLA-34 and Cabrestero through positive technical revisions as well as extensions & improved recovery; 2024 reserves evaluation supported by technology, including waterflood and polymer injection results(8).
    • Tracking to deliver FY 2025 average production guidance of 43,000 to 47,000 boe/d (45,000 boe/d midpoint); YTD average production is 44,500 boe/d(4).
    • Declared a Q1 2025 regular dividend of C$0.385 per share(5) (C$1.54 per share annualized).
    • Commenced a normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) on January 22, 2025; in 2024, the Company repurchased roughly 5% of its outstanding shares through its prior NCIB.
    • Appointed Cameron Grainger as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately.
    • Retiring from the Board of Directors are Lisa Colnett and Robert Engbloom as part of standard Board renewal process; in preparation, the Company has approved Mona Jasinski and Jeff Lawson as director nominees for the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

    Imad Mohsen, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented: “In 2024, Parex generated strong financial results from its underlying asset base while achieving its best annual safety performance. Despite challenges, we accomplished multiple strategic milestones throughout the year that reinforce Parex’s long-term sustainability. Building on a strong foundation, as reflected in today’s reserve report, we remain focused on executing our 2025 plan, which is characterized by lower-risk activities and a high-graded set of opportunities. The team at Parex is dedicated to rebuilding market confidence, by delivering steady results, evolving our Colombian portfolio, and strengthening our track record of shareholder returns — while also progressing towards Llanos Foothills exploration in 2026.”

    2024 Full-Year Achievements & Results

    • Achieved multiple strategic milestones throughout the year, in addition to delivering returns to shareholders:
      • Signed definitive agreements in the Llanos Foothills to consolidate Parex’s position, advancing gas and exploration strategies;
      • Implemented waterflood at Cabrestero successfully and continued waterflood progression at LLA-34;
      • Completed polymer injection pilot at Cabrestero with positive results, advancing enhanced oil recovery initiatives;
      • Executed Putumayo business collaboration agreements to add a new core area for the Company; and
      • Returned $186 million to shareholders during the year, which cumulatively results in C$1.5 billion returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases over the past five years.
    • Average production of 49,924(6) boe/d, meeting revised FY 2024 guidance range of 49,000 to 50,000 boe/d.
    • Realized net income of $61 million or $0.60 per share basic(7).
    • Generated funds flow provided by operations (“FFO”) of $622 million(1) and FFO per share of $6.14(3)(7).
    • Produced an operating netback of $41.30/boe(3) and an FFO netback of $33.95/boe(3) from an average Brent price of $79.86/bbl.
    • Incurred $348 million(2) of capital expenditures, primarily from activities at LLA-34, Arauca, LLA-32, LLA-122, and Capachos.
    • Delivered the Company’s best safety performance on record, with strong results across all safety metrics, including lagging and leading indicators.

    2024 Fourth Quarter Results

    • Average production was 45,297 boe/d(6).
    • Realized net loss of $69 million or $0.70 per share basic(7), largely a result of non-cash impairments recorded in the period.
    • Generated FFO of $141 million(1) and FFO per share of $1.43(3)(7).
    • Produced an operating netback of $34.90/boe(3) and an FFO netback of $32.39/boe(3) from an average Brent price of $74.01/bbl.
    • Recovered current tax of $6 million in the quarter; for 2025 the Company expects its FFO netback to be supported by lower current tax expenses compared to prior periods due to the Company’s before tax cash flow profile, previous capital expenditures, and certain tax strategies that have been deployed over recent years.
    • Incurred $82 million(2) of capital expenditures, primarily from activities at LLA-34, LLA-32, and Capachos.
    • Generated $59 million of free funds flow(2); working capital surplus was $59 million(1) and cash was $98 million at quarter end.

    2024 Year-End Corporate Reserves Report: Highlights(8)

    For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company:

    • Increased both proved (“1P”) reserves per share and proved plus probable (“2P”) reserves per share by 6%, while proved developed producing (“PDP”) reserves per share was down 9%, compared to 2023.
      • LLA-34: realized positive technical revisions of 6 mmboe 1P related to waterflood implementation and increased recovery factor.
      • Cabrestero: added 3 mmboe 2P related to improved recovery through implementation of polymer injection.
      • LLA-32: more than doubled 1P and 2P through extensions to 2 mmboe and 4 mmboe, respectively, compared to 2023.
      • Putumayo: added inventory runway and acquired 10 mmboe and 18 mmboe of 1P and 2P, respectively, from Parex earning 50% working interest in four blocks through an enhanced strategic partnership with Ecopetrol S.A(9).
    • Increases in 1P and 2P reserves per share were partially offset by negative technical revisions associated with portfolio management at Arauca as well as a non-core block in the Magdalena basin.
      • Arauca negative technical revisions were 3 mmboe and 6 mmboe of 1P and 2P, respectively.
      • Aguas Blancas negative technical revisions were 2 mmboe and 2 mmboe of 1P and 2P, respectively.
    • Realized PDP reserves replacement ratio of 41%; three-year average PDP reserves replacement ratio was 85%.
      • Lower-than-expected Arauca and corporate exploration results were in-year PDP replacement factors.
    • Improved PDP, 1P and 2P reserve life index by 10%, 26% and 27%, respectively, compared to 2023.
      • Improved metrics supported by a lower absolute production profile that benefited PDP, 1P and 2P metrics, as well as achieving approximately 100% year-over-year reserve replacement in 1P and 2P.
    • Evaluated after-tax PDP, 1P and 2P net asset value per share(3) of C$22.02, C$26.60, and C$35.55, respectively.

    (1) Capital management measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory.”
    (2) Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory.”
    (3) Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory.”
    (4) Estimated average production for January 1, 2025 to February 28, 2025; light & medium crude oil: ~9,382 bbl/d, heavy crude oil: ~34,268 bbl/d, conventional natural gas: ~5,100 mcf/d; rounded for presentation purposes.
    (5) Supplementary financial measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory.”
    (6) See “Operational and Financial Highlights” for a breakdown of production by product type.
    (7) Based on weighted-average basic shares for the period.
    (8) See “2024 Year-End Corporate Reserves Report” sections and “Reserves Advisory” for additional information.
    (9) As previously announced December 11, 2024.

    Operational and Financial Highlights Three Months Ended Year Ended
      Dec. 31,   Dec. 31,   Sep. 30,   December 31,
      2024   2023   2024   2024   2023   2022  
    Operational            
    Average daily production            
    Light Crude Oil and Medium Crude Oil (bbl/d) 9,550   9,700   9,064   8,850   8,417   7,471  
    Heavy Crude Oil (bbl/d) 34,882   46,760   37,777   40,336   45,163   43,008  
    Crude oil (bbl/d) 44,432   56,460   46,841   49,186   53,580   50,479  
    Conventional Natural Gas (mcf/d) 5,190   5,214   4,368   4,428   4,656   9,420  
    Oil & Gas (boe/d)(1) 45,297   57,329   47,569   49,924   54,356   52,049  
                 
    Operating netback ($/boe)            
    Reference price – Brent ($/bbl) 74.01   82.90   78.71   79.86   82.18   99.04  
    Oil & gas sales(4) 63.73   70.55   68.75   69.80   70.71   86.55  
    Royalties(4) (9.43 ) (12.12 ) (10.59 ) (10.99 ) (12.31 ) (17.61 )
    Net revenue(4) 54.30   58.43   58.16   58.81   58.40   68.94  
    Production expense(4) (15.53 ) (13.67 ) (14.81 ) (13.93 ) (10.42 ) (6.88 )
    Transportation expense(4) (3.87 ) (3.54 ) (3.71 ) (3.58 ) (3.43 ) (3.22 )
    Operating netback ($/boe)(2) 34.90   41.22   39.64   41.30   44.55   58.84  
                 
    Funds flow provided by operations netback ($/boe)(2) 32.39   36.81   34.58   33.95   33.59   38.35  
                 
    Financial ($000s except per share amounts)            
                 
    Net income (loss) (69,051 ) 133,783   65,793   60,680   459,309   611,368  
    Per share – basic(6) (0.70 ) 1.28   0.65   0.60   4.32   5.38  
                 
    Funds flow provided by operations(5) 141,201   193,377   151,773   622,233   667,782   724,890  
    Per share – basic(2)(6) 1.43   1.85   1.50   6.14   6.29   6.38  
                 
    Capital expenditures(3) 82,110   91,419   82,367   347,695   483,343   512,252  
                 
    Free funds flow(3) 59,091   101,958   69,406   274,538   184,439   212,638  
                 
    EBITDA(3) (10,419 ) 110,860   167,763   545,362   650,829   953,210  
    Adjusted EBITDA(3) 137,312   201,552   164,002   720,089   817,280   1,066,040  
                 
    Long-term inventory expenditures (2,569 ) (866 ) (6,318 ) 4,773   39,430   140,266  
                 
    Dividends paid 26,658   29,505   28,467   112,184   118,676   75,491  
    Per share – Cdn$(4)(6) 0.385   0.375   0.385   1.53   1.50   0.89  
                 
    Shares repurchased 16,408   22,453   20,723   73,789   105,068   221,464  
    Number of shares repurchased (000s) 1,692   1,220   1,585   5,495   5,628   11,821  
                 
    Outstanding shares (end of period) (000s)            
    Basic 98,339   103,812   100,031   98,339   103,812   109,112  
    Weighted average basic 99,063   104,394   100,891   101,414   106,247   113,572  
    Diluted(8) 99,238   104,502   100,933   99,238   104,502   109,939  
                 
    Working capital surplus(5) 59,397   79,027   37,509   59,397   79,027   84,988  
    Bank debt(7) 60,000   90,000   30,000   60,000   90,000   —  
    Cash 98,022   140,352   147,454   98,022   140,352   419,002  

    (1)  Reference to crude oil or natural gas in the above table and elsewhere in this press release refer to the light and medium crude oil and heavy crude oil and conventional natural gas, respectively, product types as defined in National Instrument 51-101 – Standard of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities.
    (2)  Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (3)  Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (4)  Supplementary financial measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (5)  Capital management measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (6)  Per share amounts (with the exception of dividends) are based on weighted average common shares.
    (7)  Borrowing limit of $240.0 million as of December 31, 2024.
    (8)  Diluted shares as stated include the effects of common shares and stock options outstanding at the period-end. The December 31, 2024 closing stock price was C$14.58 per share.

    Operational Update

    For the period of January 1, 2025, to February 28, 2025, estimated average production was 44,500 boe/d(5).

    Parex currently has two drilling rigs operating (one operated and one non-operated), with expectations to ramp-up to four drilling rigs in Q2 2025 (three operated and one non-operated).

    The Company’s operations are supportive of a growing H2 2025 production profile, with the following activities:

    • Progressing waterflood and polymer injection programs at LLA-34 and Cabrestero.
      • Cabrestero is fully on waterflood, with plans for a full polymer injection scheme that is supported by pilot results to date.
      • LLA-34 continues to ramp-up waterflood activity and is planning to commence a polymer injection pilot in 2025.
    • Planning to begin LLA-32 drilling campaign in Q2 2025.
      • LLA-32 is located to the north and adjacent to LLA-34 and Cabrestero; Parex drilled three successful wells at LLA-32 in 2024.
    • Advancing near-field exploration program, with the expectation to drill 3-4 prospects in H1 2025.
      • Prospects are generally focused in the Southern Llanos where Parex has had previous basin success.
    • Gaining momentum to achieve initial access in the Putumayo in Q2 2025 as originally anticipated.
      • Per budgeted plans, activity is expected to begin with a workover rig, with a drilling rig added approximately mid-year.

    Operations so far this year are progressing within Management expectations and Parex’s 2025 corporate guidance remains as previously released January 14, 2025, and as set out below:

    Category 2025 Guidance
    Brent Crude Oil Average Price $70/bbl
    Average Production(1) 43,000-47,000 boe/d
    Funds Flow Provided by Operations Netback(1)(2) $26-28/boe
    Funds Flow Provided by Operations(1)(3) $425-465 million
    Capital Expenditures(4) $285-315 million
    Free Funds Flow(4) $145 million (midpoint)

    (1) 2025 assumptions: operational downtime: ~5%; Vasconia differential: ~$5/bbl; production expense: $15-16/bbl; transportation expense: ~$3.50/bbl; G&A expense: ~$4.50/bbl; effective tax rate: 3-6%; see “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (2) Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (3) Capital management measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (4) Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (5) Estimated average production for January 1, 2025 to February 28, 2025; light & medium crude oil: ~9,382 bbl/d, heavy crude oil: ~34,268 bbl/d, conventional natural gas: ~5,100 mcf/d; rounded for presentation purposes.

    Return of Capital

    Q1 2025 Dividend

    Parex’s Board of Directors has approved a Q1 2025 regular dividend of C$0.385 per share to shareholders of record on March 11, 2025, to be paid on March 18, 2025.

    This quarterly dividend payment to shareholders is designated as an “eligible dividend” for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

    Normal Course Issuer Bid Update

    As at February 28, 2025, Parex has repurchased approximately 0.3 million shares under its current NCIB at an average price of C$14.30 per share, for a total consideration of roughly C$4 million.

    In 2024, Parex repurchased 5.5 million shares under a prior NCIB, representing approximately 5% of the public float and a return of C$99 million to shareholders.

    2024 Year-End Corporate Reserves Report: Discussion

    The following tables summarize information contained in the independent reserves report prepared by GLJ Ltd. (“GLJ”) dated March 4, 2025 with an effective date of December 31, 2024 (the “GLJ 2024 Report”). All December 31, 2024 reserves presented are based on GLJ’s forecast pricing effective January 1, 2025; all December 31, 2023 reserves presented are based on GLJ’s forecast pricing effective January 1, 2024 and all December 31, 2022 reserves presented are based on GLJ’s forecast pricing effective January 1, 2023. GLJ pricing is available on their website at www.gljpc.com.

    All reserves are presented as Parex’s working interest before royalties and in certain tables set forth below, the columns may not add due to rounding. Additional reserve information as required under NI 51-101 will be included in the Company’s Annual Information Form for the 2024 fiscal year, which is available on SEDAR+.

    Gross Reserves Volumes

                Dec. 31   Change over Dec.
    31,
        2022   2023   2024  
    Reserve Category   Mboe   Mboe   Mboe(1)   2023
    Proved Developed Producing (PDP)   82,788   82,628   71,908   (13 %)
    Proved Developed Non-Producing   11,767   7,252   5,534   (24 %)
    Proved Undeveloped   36,100   22,647   34,678   53 %
    Proved (1P)   130,655   112,528   112,119   — %
    Proved + Probable (2P)   200,704   168,625   169,633   1 %
    Proved + Probable + Possible (3P)   281,595   231,299   245,383   6 %

    (1) 2024 net reserves after royalties are: PDP 62,128 Mboe, proved developed non-producing 4,939 Mboe, proved undeveloped 29,644 Mboe, 1P 96,711 Mboe, 2P 146,645 Mboe and 3P 211,882 Mboe.

    Gross Reserves Reconciliation

        Total 1P   Total 2P   Total 3P 
        Mboe   Mboe   Mboe 
    December 31, 2023   112,528   168,625   231,299  
    Technical Revisions(1)   2,777   (5,434 ) (10,870 )
    Extensions & Improved Recovery(2)   4,760   6,636   9,133  
    Discoveries(3)   160   200   240  
    Acquisitions(4)   10,166   17,877   33,853  
    Production   (18,272 ) (18,272 ) (18,272 )
    December 31, 2024(5)   112,119   169,633   245,383  

    (1) Reserves technical revisions are associated with positive evaluations of LLA-34 and Cabrestero, offset by negative revisions of Arauca, Aguas Blancas, and Capachos.
    (2) Extensions & improved recovery are associated with positive evaluations of Cabrestero, LLA-32, and LLA-34.
    (3) Discoveries are associated with the positive evaluation of LLA-30.
    (4) Acquisitions are associated with the positive evaluations of Occidente, Nororiente and Area Sur.
    (5) The estimates of reserves and future net revenue for individual properties may not reflect the same confidence level as estimates of reserves and future net revenue for all properties, due to the effects of aggregation.

    Reserves Net Present Value After Tax Summary – GLJ Brent Forecast(1)(2)

        NPV15     NPV15     NAV   CAD/sh Change
    over

        December 31,     December 31,     December 31,  
          2023     2024     2024   Dec. 31,
    Reserve Category   (000s)(2)     (000s)(2)     (CAD/sh)(3)   2023(4)
    PDP   $ 1,679,078   $ 1,505,386   $ 22.02   4 %
    Proved Developed Non-Producing     112,298     83,310   $ 1.21   (6 %)
    Proved Undeveloped     201,380     230,174   $ 3.36   38 %
    1P   $ 1,992,757   $ 1,818,870   $ 26.60   5 %
    2P   $ 2,556,169   $ 2,430,060   $ 35.55   10 %
    3P   $ 3,191,329   $ 3,102,864   $ 45.39   12 %

    (1) Net present values (“NPV”) are stated in USD and are discounted at 15 percent. The forecast prices used in the calculation of the present value of future net revenue are based on the GLJ January 1, 2024 and GLJ January 1, 2025 price forecasts, respectively. The GLJ January 1, 2025 price forecast is in the Company’s Annual Information Form for the 2024 fiscal year.
    (2) Includes future development capital (“FDC”) as at December 31, 2023 of $27 million for PDP, $346 million for 1P, $537 million for 2P and $707 million for 3P and FDC as at December 31, 2024 of $23 million for PDP, $440 million for 1P, $595 million for 2P and $740 million for 3P.
    (3) 2024 NAV calculated, as at December 31, 2024, as after tax NPV15 plus working capital of USD$59 million (converted at USDCAD=1.4389), less bank debt of USD$60 million, divided by 98 million basic shares outstanding as at December 31, 2024. Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.
    (4) 2023 NAV calculated, as at December 31, 2023, as after tax NPV15 plus working capital of USD$79 million (converted at USDCAD=1.3226), less bank debt of USD$90 million, divided by 104 million basic shares outstanding as at December 31, 2023. Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.

    Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

    Following a thorough executive search, Cameron Grainger has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), effective immediately.

    “We are very pleased to announce Cam as CFO. He is a trusted leader, who has developed an exceptional understanding of our portfolio while providing over 15 years of financial leadership at Parex. I look forward to continuing to work with Cam as he plays an integral role on our leadership team and am confident that he will continue to make significant contributions in support of our strategy,” said Imad Mohsen, President & Chief Executive Officer.

    Mr. Grainger has served as the Company’s interim CFO since September 21, 2024, and prior to, was the Vice President, Finance, as well as Controller. Mr. Grainger has held roles with increasing levels of responsibility at Parex since 2011, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

    Board of Directors Update

    The Company announces that Lisa Colnett as well as Robert Engbloom are retiring from the Board of Directors and will not stand for re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (“Meeting”).

    “We want to thank Lisa and Bob for their contributions that have supported Parex’s growth in Colombia and wish them all the best,” commented Wayne Foo, Chair of the Board of Parex.

    In preparation for the upcoming retirements, the Company has approved Mona Jasinski and Jeff Lawson as director nominees at the upcoming Meeting.

    “We are excited to recommend Mona and Jeff to Parex’s Board of Directors, both of whom have a wealth of experience across the energy sector and bring refreshed perspectives,” commented Mr. Foo.

    Ms. Jasinski has over 20 years of human resources, corporate strategy and leadership expertise with experience spanning the energy and chemicals sectors as well as philanthropic boards. She is currently the Senior Vice President, HR & Communications at NOVA Chemicals. Prior to NOVA Chemicals, she built a depth of energy-specific experience, serving as Executive Vice President, People and Culture, at Vermilion Energy for 12 years, and previously held leadership roles at Royal Dutch Shell and TransCanada Pipelines. Ms. Jasinski holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

    Mr. Lawson has extensive experience in corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions as well as investments and corporate restructurings across the energy and legal sectors. He is currently the Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cenovus Energy. Prior to Cenovus, he spent 15 years at Peters & Co. in a variety of senior finance roles and he was also a securities lawyer at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer for 14 years where he co-led the securities group and served on the firm’s executive committee. Mr. Lawson holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta.

    Q4 2024 and FY 2024 Results – Conference Call & Webcast

    Parex will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its Q4 2024 and FY 2024 results on Thursday, March 6, 2025, beginning at 9:30 am MT (11:30 am ET). To participate in the conference call or webcast, please see the access information below:

    Conference ID: 2908137
    Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 1-646-307-1963
    Participant International Dial-In Number: 1-647-932-3411
    Webcast: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/690785926


    Annual General Meeting

    Parex anticipates holding its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

    The Notice of Annual General Meeting & Management Proxy Circular is expected to be available on or about March 26, 2025, at www.parexresources.com and SEDAR+.

    About Parex Resources Inc.

    Parex is one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in Colombia, focusing on sustainable conventional production. The Company’s corporate headquarters are in Calgary, Canada, with an operating office in Bogotá, Colombia. Parex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PXT.

    For more information, please contact:

    Mike Kruchten
    Senior Vice President, Capital Markets & Corporate Planning
    Parex Resources Inc.
    403-517-1733
    investor.relations@parexresources.com

    Steven Eirich
    Investor Relations & Communications Advisor
    Parex Resources Inc.
    587-293-3286
    investor.relations@parexresources.com

    NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

    Reserves Advisory

    The recovery and reserve estimates of crude oil reserves provided in this news release are estimates only, and there is no guarantee that the estimated reserves will be recovered. Actual crude oil reserves may eventually prove to be greater than, or less than, the estimates provided herein. All December 31, 2024 reserves presented are based on GLJ’s forecast pricing effective January 1, 2025. All December 31, 2023 reserves presented are based on GLJ’s forecast pricing effective January 1, 2024. All December 31, 2022 reserves presented are based on GLJ’s forecast pricing effective January 1, 2023.

    Comparatives to the independent reserves report prepared by GLJ dated February 29, 2024 with an effective date of December 31, 2023 (the “GLJ 2023 Report”), and the independent reserves report prepared by GLJ dated February 2, 2023 with an effective date of December 31, 2022 (“GLJ 2022 Report”, and collectively with the GLJ 2024 Report and the GLJ 2023 Report, the “GLJ Reports”). Each GLJ Report was prepared in accordance with definitions, standards and procedures contained in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook (“COGE Handbook”) and National Instrument 51-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities (“NI 51-101”).

    It should not be assumed that the estimates of future net revenues presented herein represent the fair market value of the reserves. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of crude oil, reserves and the future cash flows attributed to such reserves.

    “Proved Developed Producing Reserves” are those reserves that are expected to be recovered from completion intervals open at the time of the estimate. These reserves may be currently producing or, if shut-in, they must have previously been on production, and the date of resumption of production must be known with reasonable certainty.

    “Proved Developed Non-Producing Reserves” are those reserves that either have not been on production or have previously been on production but are shut-in and the date of resumption of production is unknown.

    “Proved Undeveloped Reserves” are those reserves expected to be recovered from known accumulations where a significant expenditure (e.g. when compared to the cost of drilling a well) is required to render them capable of production. They must fully meet the requirements of the reserves category (proved, probable, possible) to which they are assigned.

    “Proved” reserves are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved reserves.

    “Probable” reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves.

    “Possible” reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than probable reserves. There is a 10 percent probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the sum of proved plus probable plus possible reserves. It is unlikely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the sum of the estimated proved plus probable plus possible reserves.

    The term “Boe” means a barrel of oil equivalent on the basis of 6 Mcf of natural gas to 1 barrel of oil (“bbl”). Boe’s may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversation ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Given the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion ratio at 6:1 may be misleading as an indication of value.

    Light crude oil is crude oil with a relative density greater than 31.1 degrees API gravity, medium crude oil is crude oil with a relative density greater than 22.3 degrees API gravity and less than or equal to 31.1 degrees API gravity, and heavy crude oil is crude oil with a relative density greater than 10 degrees API gravity and less than or equal to 22.3 degrees API gravity.

    With respect to F&D costs, the aggregate of the exploration and development costs incurred in the most recent financial year and the change during that year in estimated future development costs generally will not reflect total F&D costs related to reserve additions for that year. The estimates of reserves and future net revenue for individual properties may not reflect the same confidence level as estimates of reserves and future net revenue for all properties, due to the effects of aggregation.

    This press release contains several oil and gas metrics, including reserve replacement, reserve additions including acquisitions, and reserve life index. In addition, the following non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP ratios, as described below under “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures”, can be considered to be oil and gas metrics: F&D costs, FD&A costs, F&D recycle ratio, FD&A recycle ratio, operating netback, funds flow provided by operations, funds flow provided by operations netback, reserve replacement and NAV.   Such oil and gas metrics have been prepared by management and do not have standardized meanings or standard methods of calculation and therefore such measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies and should not be used to make comparisons. Such metrics have been included herein to provide readers with additional measures to evaluate the Company’s performance; however, such measures are not reliable indicators of the future performance of the Company and future performance may not compare to the performance in previous periods and therefore such metric should not be unduly relied upon. Management uses these oil and gas metrics for its own performance measurements and to provide security holders with measures to compare the Company’s operations over time. Readers are cautioned that the information provided by these metrics, or that can be derived from the metrics presented in this news release, should not be relied upon for investment or other purposes. A summary of the calculations of reserve replacement and RLI are as follows, with the other oil and gas metrics referred to above being described herein under “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures”:

    • Reserve additions including acquisitions is calculated by the change in reserves category and adding current year annual production.
    • Reserve replacement is calculated by dividing the annual reserve additions by the annual production.
    • Reserve life index is calculated by dividing the applicable reserves category by the annualized fourth quarter average production.

    2024 Year-End Corporate Reserves Report: Supplemental Reserves Tables

    All reserves are presented as Parex working interest before royalties and in certain tables set forth below, the columns may not add due to rounding.

    Gross Reserves by Area(1)

        1P 2P 3P
    Area   Mboe(1) Mboe(1) Mboe(1)
    LLA-34   63,320 88,823 120,283
    Southern Llanos   20,634 30,487 37,749
    Northern Llanos   12,246 18,007 24,113
    Magdalena   5,754 14,439 29,384
    Putumayo   10,166 17,877 33,853
    Total   112,119 169,633 245,383

    (1) The estimates of reserves and future net revenue for individual properties may not reflect the same confidence level as estimates of reserves and future net revenue for all properties, due to the effects of aggregation.

    Gross Reserves Volumes by Product Type

    Product Type   PDP 1P 2P 3P
    Light & Medium Crude Oil (Mbbl)   10,084 30,138 51,422 84,901
    Heavy Crude Oil (Mbbl)   58,654 76,788 107,161 140,348
    Natural Gas Liquids (Mbbl)   480 1,207 1,643 2,108
    Conventional Natural Gas (MMcf)   16,139 23,915 56,441 108,155
    Oil Equivalent (Mboe)   71,908 112,119 169,633 245,383


    Gross Reserves Volumes Per Share
    (1)

        Dec. 31 Change over
    Dec. 31, 2022
        2022 2023 2024(1)
    Year-End Basic Outstanding Shares (000s)   109.1 103.8 98.3 (5 %)
    PDP (boe/share)   0.76 0.80 0.73 (9 %)
    1P (boe/share)   1.20 1.08 1.14 6 %
    2P (boe/share)   1.84 1.62 1.72 6 %
    3P (boe/share)   2.58 2.23 2.50 12 %

    (1) 2024 net reserves after royalties are: PDP 62,128 Mboe, proved developed non-producing 4,939 Mboe, proved undeveloped 29,644 Mboe, 1P 96,711 Mboe, 2P 146,645 Mboe and 3P 211,882 Mboe.

    Reserve Replacement Ratio and Reserve Life Index

        Dec. 31, 2022(1) Dec. 31, 2023(2) Dec. 31, 2024(3) 3-Year
    PDP          
    Reserve Replacement Ratio   112 % 99 % 41 % 85 %
    Reserve Life Index   4.2 years 3.9 years 4.3 years 4.1 years
    1P          
    Reserve Replacement Ratio   128 % 9 % 98 % 77 %
    Reserve Life Index   6.6 years 5.4 years 6.8 years 6.2 years
    2P          
    Reserve Replacement Ratio   110 % (62 %) 106 % 49 %
    Reserve Life Index   10.1 years 8.1 years 10.3 years 9.4 years

    (1) Calculated by dividing the amount of the relevant reserves category by average Q4 2022 production of 54,257 boe/d annualized (consisting of 10,511 bbl/d of light crude oil and medium crude oil, 42,746 bbl/d of heavy crude oil and 6,000 mcf/d of conventional natural gas).
    (2) Calculated by dividing the amount of the relevant reserves category by average Q4 2023 production of 57,329 boe/d annualized (consisting of 9,700 bbl/d of light crude oil and medium crude oil, 46,760 bbl/d of heavy crude oil and 5,214 mcf/d of conventional natural gas).
    (3) Calculated by dividing the amount of the relevant reserves category by estimated average Q4 2024 production of 45,297 boe/d annualized (consisting of 9,550 bbl/d of light crude oil and medium crude oil, 34,882 bbl/d of heavy crude oil and 5,190 mcf/d of conventional natural gas).

    Future Development Capital (“FDC”) (000s)(1)

    Reserve Category 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029+ Total FDC Total
    FDC/boe
    PDP $ 23,467 $ — $ — $ — $ — $ 23,467 $ 0.33
    1P $ 239,609 $ 113,210 $ 73,861 $ 13,000 $ 622 $ 440,302 $ 3.93
    2P $ 241,934 $ 157,800 $ 157,181 $ 17,166 $ 21,317 $ 595,398 $ 3.51

    (1) FDC are stated in USD, undiscounted and based on GLJ January 1, 2025 price forecasts.

    Summary of Reserve Metrics – Company Gross

        2024 3-Year
      PDP 1P 2P PDP 1P 2P
    F&D Costs ($/boe)(1) 45.60 36.11 169.52 27.90 36.91 122.51
    FD&A Costs ($/boe)(1) 45.60 24.75 21.09 27.90 32.21 49.94
    Recycle Ratio – F&D(1) 0.9 x 1.1 x 0.2 x 1.7 x 1.3 x 0.4 x
    Recycle Ratio – FD&A(1) 0.9 x 1.7 x 2.0 x 1.7 x 1.5 x 1.0 x

    (1) Non-GAAP ratio. See “Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory”.

    Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Advisory

    This press release uses various “non-GAAP financial measures”, “non-GAAP ratios”, “supplementary financial measures” and “capital management measures” (as such terms are defined in NI 52-112), which are described in further detail below. Such measures are not standardized financial measures under IFRS and might not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. Investors are cautioned that non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as alternatives to or more meaningful than the most directly comparable GAAP measures as indicators of Parex’s performance.

    These measures facilitate management’s comparisons to the Company’s historical operating results in assessing its results and strategic and operational decision-making and may be used by financial analysts and others in the oil and natural gas industry to evaluate the Company’s performance. Further, management believes that such financial measures are useful supplemental information to analyze operating performance and provide an indication of the results generated by the Company’s principal business activities.

    Set forth below is a description of the non-GAAP financial measures, non-GAAP ratios, supplementary financial measures and capital management measures used in this press release.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    Capital expenditures, is a non-GAAP financial measure which the Company uses to describe its capital costs associated with oil and gas expenditures. The measure considers both property, plant and equipment expenditures and exploration and evaluation asset expenditures which are items in the Company’s statement of cash flows for the period and is calculated as follows:

      For the three months ended   For the year ended
      December 31,   September 30,   December 31,
    ($000s)   2024     2023     2024     2024     2023     2022
    Property, plant and equipment expenditures $ 62,799   $ 50,753   $ 68,406   $ 221,250   $ 310,933   $ 389,979
    Exploration and evaluation expenditures   19,311     40,666     13,961     126,445     172,410     122,273
    Capital expenditures $ 82,110   $ 91,419   $ 82,367   $ 347,695   $ 483,343   $ 512,252


    Free funds flow,
    is a non-GAAP financial measure that is determined by funds flow provided by operations less capital expenditures. The Company considers free funds flow to be a key measure as it demonstrates Parex’s ability to fund returns of capital, such as the normal course issuer bid and dividends, without accessing outside funds and is calculated as follows:

      For the three months ended     For the year ended
     
      December 31,   September 30,     December 31,
     
    ($000s)   2024     2023     2024       2024     2023     2022  
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 67,847   $ 194,242     $ 181,874     $ 569,915   $ 376,471   $ 983,602  
    Net change in non-cash assets and liabilities   73,354     (865 )     (30,101 )     52,318     291,311     (258,712 )
    Funds flow provided by operations   141,201     193,377       151,773       622,233     667,782     724,890  
    Capital expenditures   82,110     91,419       82,367       347,695     483,343     512,252  
    Free funds flow $ 59,091   $ 101,958     $ 69,406     $ 274,538   $ 184,439   $ 212,638  


    EBITDA,
    is a non-GAAP financial measure that is defined as net income (loss) adjusted for finance income and expense, other expenses, income tax expense (recovery) and depletion, depreciation and amortization.

    Adjusted EBITDA, is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as EBITDA adjusted for non-cash impairment charges, share-based compensation expense (recovery), unrealized foreign exchange gains (losses), and unrealized gains (losses) on risk management contracts.

    The Company considers EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to be key measures as they demonstrate Parex’s profitability before finance income and expenses, taxes, depletion, depreciation and amortization and other non-cash items. A reconciliation from net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is as follows:

      For the three months ended
        For the year ended
     
      December 31,   September 30,     December 31,
     
    ($000s)   2024       2023       2024       2024       2023       2022  
    Net income (loss) $ (69,051 )   $ 133,783     $ 65,793     $ 60,680     $ 459,309     $ 611,368  
    Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to EBITDA:                      
    Finance income   (998 )     (2,067 )     (963 )     (4,315 )     (14,055 )     (9,015 )
    Finance expenses   4,318       2,878       5,676       18,408       13,834       8,393  
    Other expense   2,208       362       1,818       6,227       2,582       1,315  
    Income tax expense (recovery)   (880 )     (81,929 )     42,767       248,592       (5,070 )     191,798  
    Depletion, depreciation and amortization   53,984       57,833       52,672       215,770       194,229       149,351  
    EBITDA $ (10,419 )   $ 110,860     $ 167,763     $ 545,362     $ 650,829     $ 953,210  
    Non-cash impairment charges   137,841       85,330       —       142,502       142,540       103,394  
    Share-based compensation expense (recovery)   6,149       7,674       (7,994 )     1,462       30,364       19,128  
    Unrealized foreign exchange loss (gain)   2,581       (2,312 )     4,233       29,603       (6,453 )     (9,692 )
    Unrealized loss on risk management contracts   1,160       —       —       1,160       —       —  
    Adjusted EBITDA $ 137,312     $ 201,552     $ 164,002     $ 720,089     $ 817,280     $ 1,066,040  


    Non-GAAP Ratios

    Operating netback per boe, is a non-GAAP ratio the Company considers operating netback per boe to be a key measure as it demonstrates Parex’s profitability relative to current commodity prices. Parex calculates operating netback per boe as operating netback divided by the total equivalent sales volume including purchased oil volumes for oil and natural gas sales price and transportation expense per boe and by the total equivalent sales volume and excludes purchased oil volumes for royalties and operating expense per boe.

    Funds flow provided by operations netback per boe, is a non-GAAP ratio that includes all cash generated from operating activities and is calculated before changes in non-cash working capital, divided by produced oil and natural gas sales volumes. The Company considers funds flow provided by operations netback per boe to be a key measure as it demonstrates Parex’s profitability after all cash costs relative to current commodity prices.

    Finding & Development Costs (F&D costs) per boe and Finding, Development and Acquisition Costs (FD&A costs) per boe, is a non-GAAP ratio that helps to explain the cost of finding and developing additional oil and gas reserves. F&D costs are determined by dividing capital expenditures plus the change in FDC in the period divided by BOE reserve additions in the period. FD&A costs per boe are determined by dividing capital expenditures in the period plus the change in FDC plus acquisition costs divided by BOE reserve additions in the period.

    F&D and FD&A Costs(1)   2024   3-Year
     
    ($000s) PDP   1P   2P   PDP 1P   2P  
                 
    Capital Expenditures(2) 347,695   347,695   347,695   1,343,290 1,343,290   1,343,290  
    Capital Expenditures – change in FDC (3,321 ) (69,775 ) (109,856 ) 8,730 (95,935 ) (113,170 )
    Total Capital 344,374   277,920   237,839   1,352,020 1,247,355   1,230,120  
                 
    Net Acquisitions —   —   —   — —   —  
    Net Acquisitions – change in FDC —   164,207   168,739   — 168,739   164,207  
    Total Net Acquisitions —   164,207   168,739   — 168,739   164,207  
                 
    Total Capital including Acquisitions 344,374   442,127   406,578   1,352,020 1,416,094   1,394,327  
                 
    Reserve Additions 7,552   7,697   1,403   48,459 33,797   10,041  
    Net Acquisitions Reserve Additions —   10,166   17,877   — 10,166   17,877  
    Reserve Additions including Acquisitions (Mboe) 7,552   17,863   19,280   48,459 43,963   27,918  
                 
    F&D Costs ($/boe) 45.60   36.11   169.52   27.90 36.91   122.51  
    FD&A Costs ($/boe) 45.60   24.75   21.09   27.90 32.21   49.94  

    (1) All reserves are presented as Parex working interest before royalties.
    (2) Calculated using capital expenditures for the period ended December 31, 2024.

    Recycle ratio, is a non-GAAP ratio that measures the profit per barrel of oil to the cost of finding and developing that barrel of oil. The recycle ratio is determined by dividing the annual operating netback per boe by the F&D costs and FD&A costs in the period.

        2024   3-Year
     
      PDP 1P 2P   PDP 1P 2P  
                     
    Operating netback ($/boe) 41.30 41.30 41.30   48.43 48.43 48.43  
                     
    F&D Costs(2) ($/boe) 45.60 36.11 169.52   27.90 36.91 122.51  
    FD&A Costs(2) ($/boe) 45.60 24.75 21.09   27.90 32.21 49.94  
                     
    Recycle Ratio – F&D(1) 0.9 x 1.1 x 0.2 x   1.7 x 1.3 x 0.4 x  
    Recycle Ratio – FD&A(1) 0.9 x 1.7 x 2.0 x   1.7 x 1.5 x 1.0 x  

    (1) Recycle ratio is calculated as operating netback per boe divided by F&D or FD&A as applicable. Three-year operating netback on a per boe basis is calculated using weighted average sales volumes.

    Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per share, is a non-GAAP ratio that combines the 51-101 NPV15 value after tax with the Company’s estimated working capital at the period end date, less bank debt at the period end date, divided by common shares outstanding at the period end date. The Company uses the NAV per share as a way to reflect the Company’s value considering existing working capital on hand, less bank debt, plus the NPV15 after tax value on Oil and Gas Reserves. NAV per share is stated in CAD dollars using an exchange rate of USDCAD=1.4389. NAV is defined as total assets less total liabilities.

    Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per boe, is a non-GAAP ratio that combines the 51-101 NPV15 value after tax with the Company’s estimated working capital at the period end date, less bank debt at the period end date, divided by reserve volumes at the period end date. The Company uses the NAV per boe as a way to reflect the Company’s value considering existing working capital on hand, less bank debt, plus the NPV15 after tax value on Oil and Gas Reserves. Net asset value is defined as total assets less total liabilities.

    Basic funds flow provided by operations per share is a non-GAAP ratio that is calculated by dividing funds flow provided by operations by the weighted average number of basic shares outstanding. Parex presents basic funds flow provided by operations per share whereby per share amounts are calculated using weighted-average shares outstanding, consistent with the calculation of earnings per share.

    Capital Management Measures

    Funds flow provided by operations, is a capital management measure that includes all cash generated from operating activities and is calculated before changes in non-cash assets and liabilities. The Company considers funds flow provided by operations to be a key measure as it demonstrates Parex’s profitability after all cash costs. A reconciliation from cash provided by operating activities to funds flow provided by operations is as follows:

      For the three months ended
        For the year ended
     
      December 31,   September 30,     December 31,
     
    ($000s)   2024     2023       2024       2024     2023     2022  
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 67,847   $ 194,242     $ 181,874     $ 569,915   $ 376,471   $ 983,602  
    Net change in non-cash assets and liabilities   73,354     (865 )     (30,101 )     52,318     291,311     (258,712 )
    Funds flow provided by operations $ 141,201   $ 193,377     $ 151,773     $ 622,233   $ 667,782   $ 724,890  


    Working capital surplus,
    is a capital management measure which the Company uses to describe its liquidity position and ability to meet its short-term liabilities. Working capital surplus is defined as current assets less current liabilities.

      For the three months ended   For the year ended
      December 31,   September 30,   December 31,
    ($000s)   2024     2023     2024     2024     2023     2022
    Current assets $ 245,943   $ 337,175   $ 248,208   $ 245,943   $ 337,175   $ 593,602
    Current liabilities   186,546     258,148     210,699     186,546     258,148     508,614
    Working capital surplus $ 59,397   $ 79,027   $ 37,509   $ 59,397   $ 79,027   $ 84,988

    Supplementary Financial Measures

    “Oil and natural gas sales per boe” is determined by sales revenue excluding risk management contracts, as determined in accordance with IFRS, divided by total equivalent sales volume including purchased oil volumes.

    “Royalties per boe” is comprised of royalties, as determined in accordance with IFRS, divided by the total equivalent sales volume and excludes purchased oil volumes.

    “Net revenue per boe” is comprised of net revenue, as determined in accordance with IFRS, divided by the total equivalent sales volume and includes purchased oil volumes.

    “Production expense per boe” is comprised of production expense, as determined in accordance with IFRS, divided by the total equivalent sales volume and excludes purchased oil volumes.

    “Transportation expense per boe” is comprised of transportation expense, as determined in accordance with IFRS, divided by the total equivalent sales volumes including purchased oil volumes.

    “Dividends paid per share” is comprised of dividends declared, as determined in accordance with IFRS, divided by the number of shares outstanding at the dividend record date.

    Dividend Advisory

    The Company’s future shareholder distributions, including but not limited to the payment of dividends and the acquisition by the Company of its shares pursuant to an NCIB, if any, and the level thereof is uncertain. Any decision to pay further dividends on the common shares (including the actual amount, the declaration date, the record date and the payment date in connection therewith and any special dividends) or acquire shares of the Company will be subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors of Parex and may depend on a variety of factors, including, without limitation the Company’s business performance, financial condition, financial requirements, growth plans, expected capital requirements and other conditions existing at such future time including, without limitation, contractual restrictions and satisfaction of the solvency tests imposed on the Company under applicable corporate law. Further, the actual amount, the declaration date, the record date and the payment date of any dividend are subject to the discretion of the Board. There can be no assurance that the Company will pay dividends or repurchase any shares of the Company in the future.

    Advisory on Forward-Looking Statements

    In particular, forward-looking statements contained in this document include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company’s operational and financial position; the Company’s plan, strategy and focus; the focus of the Company’s 2025 operational plan; Parex’s plan of rebuilding market confidence by delivering steady results, evolving its Colombian portfolio and strengthening its track record of shareholder returns, while also progressing towards Llanos Foothills exploration in 2026; Parex’s FY 2025 average production guidance; the anticipated Board nominees at Parex’s upcoming Meeting; the anticipated number of operating and non-operating drilling rigs that Parex will have in Q2 2025; expectations that the Company’s operations are supportive of a growing H2 2025 production profile and the Company’s anticipated activities at certain of its locations, including the anticipated timing thereof; the Company’s 2025 guidance, including anticipated Brent crude oil average price, average production, funds flow provided by operations netback, funds flow provided by operations, capital expenditures and free funds flow; the anticipated terms of the Company’s Q1 2025 regular quarterly dividend including its expectation that it will be designated as an “eligible dividend”; the anticipated date and time of Parex’s 2025 Meeting and the release of its 2024 Annual Information Form; and the anticipated date of Parex’s conference call. In addition, statements relating to “reserves” are by their nature forward-looking statements, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the reserves described can be profitably produced in the future. The recovery and reserve estimates of Parex’s reserves provided herein are estimates only and there is no guarantee that the estimated reserves will be recovered.

    These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada and Colombia; determinations by OPEC and other countries as to production levels; volatility in commodity prices; industry conditions including changes in laws and regulations including adoption of new environmental laws and regulations, and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced, in Canada and Colombia; competition; lack of availability of qualified personnel; the results and timelines of exploration and development drilling, test, monitoring and work programs and related activities; obtaining required approvals of regulatory authorities, in Canada and Colombia; risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities; volatility in market prices for oil; fluctuations in foreign exchange or interest rates; environmental risks; changes in income tax laws or changes in tax laws and incentive programs relating to the oil industry; changes to pipeline capacity; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; risk that Parex’s evaluation of its existing portfolio of development and exploration opportunities is not consistent with its expectations; that production test results may not necessarily be indicative of long term performance or of ultimate recovery; the risk that Parex may not commence exploration activities in the Llanos Foothills area when anticipated, or at all; the risk that Parex’s FY 2025 average production may be less than anticipated; the risk that Parex may have less operating and non-operating drilling rigs in Q2 2025 than anticipated; the risk that Parex’s financial and operating results may not be consistent with its expectations; the risk that the Company may not release its Annual Information Form or hold its 2025 Meeting when anticipated; the risk that Parex may not have sufficient financial resources in the future to provide distributions to its shareholders; the risk that the Board may not declare dividends in the future or that Parex’s dividend policy changes;and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Parex’s operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca).

    Although the forward-looking statements contained in this document are based upon assumptions which Management believes to be reasonable, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this document, Parex has made assumptions regarding, among other things: current and anticipated commodity prices and royalty regimes; availability of skilled labour; timing and amount of capital expenditures; future exchange rates; the price of oil, including the anticipated Brent oil prices; the impact of increasing competition; conditions in general economic and financial markets; availability of drilling and related equipment; effects of regulation by governmental agencies; receipt of partner, regulatory and community approvals; royalty rates; future operating costs; uninterrupted access to areas of Parex’s operations and infrastructure; recoverability of reserves and future production rates; the status of litigation; timing of drilling and completion of wells; on-stream timing of production from successful exploration wells; operational performance of non-operated producing fields; pipeline capacity; that Parex will have sufficient cash flow, debt or equity sources or other financial resources required to fund its capital and operating expenditures and requirements as needed; that Parex’s conduct and results of operations will be consistent with its expectations; that Parex will have the ability to develop its oil and gas properties in the manner currently contemplated; that Parex’s evaluation of its existing portfolio of development and exploration opportunities is consistent with its expectations; current or, where applicable, proposed industry conditions, laws and regulations will continue in effect or as anticipated as described herein; that the estimates of Parex’s production and reserves volumes and the assumptions related thereto (including commodity prices and development costs) are accurate in all material respects; that Parex will be able to obtain contract extensions or fulfill the contractual obligations required to retain its rights to explore, develop and exploit any of its undeveloped properties; that Parex will have sufficient financial resources in the future to pay a dividend and repurchase its shares in the future; that the Board will declare dividends in the future; and other matters.

    Management has included the above summary of assumptions and risks related to forward-looking information provided in this document in order to provide shareholders with a more complete perspective on Parex’s current and future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Parex’s actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits Parex will derive. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document and Parex disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

    This press release contains information that may be considered a financial outlook under applicable securities laws about the Company potential financial position, including, but not limited to: the Company’s 2025 guidance, including anticipated funds flow provided by operations netback, funds flow provided by operations, capital expenditures and free funds flow; and the anticipated terms of the Company’s Q1 2025 regular quarterly dividend including its expectation that it will be designated as an “eligible dividend”. Such financial outlook has been prepared by Parex’s management to provide an outlook of the Company’s activities and results. The financial outlook has been prepared based on a number of assumptions including the assumptions discussed above and assumptions with respect to the costs and expenditures to be incurred by the Company, including capital equipment and operating costs, foreign exchange rates, taxation rates for the Company, general and administrative expenses and the prices to be paid for the Company’s production.

    Management does not have firm commitments for all of the costs, expenditures, prices or other financial assumptions used to prepare the financial outlook or assurance that such operating results will be achieved and, accordingly, the complete financial effects of all of those costs, expenditures, prices and operating results are not objectively determinable. The actual results of operations of the Company and the resulting financial results will likely vary from the amounts set forth in the analysis presented in this press release, and such variations may be material. The Company and Management believe that the financial outlook has been prepared on a reasonable basis, reflecting the best estimates and judgments, and represent, to the best of Management’s knowledge, Parex’s expected expenditures and results of operations. However, because this information is highly subjective and subject to numerous risks including the risks discussed above, it should not be relied on as necessarily indicative of future results. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update such financial outlook. The financial outlook contained in this press release was made as of the date of this press release and was provided for the purpose of providing further information about the Company’s potential future business operations. Readers are cautioned that the financial outlook contained in this press release is not conclusive and is subject to change.

    The following abbreviations used in this press release have the meanings set forth below:

    PDP proved developed producing
    1P proved
    2P proved plus probable
    3P proved plus probable plus possible
    bbl one barrel
    bbls barrels
    bbl/d barrels per day
    boe barrels of oil equivalent; one barrel of oil or natural gas liquids for six thousand cubic feet of natural gas
    boe/d barrels of oil equivalent per day
    mbbl thousands of barrels
    mboe thousand barrels of oil equivalent
    mcf thousand cubic feet
    mcf/d thousand cubic feet per day
    mmboe one million barrels of oil equivalent
    mmcf one million cubic feet
    W.I. working interest

    PDF available: 

    http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/dc94d190-6b5f-48f2-9d09-33ac94624887

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: For UConn Students, the Future is Green

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Environmental consciousness, sustainability, and related subjects are crucial topics that touch on countless aspects of life – and, as UConn students recently learned, they can be fruitful and rewarding career paths as well.

    “Green Careers: Engage and Explore,” held on campus on Feb. 25, allowed students to meet potential employers, network with peers with similar interests, and hear from an alumni panel about careers based on sustainability.

    “Sustainability is here to stay, globally,” said Betsy Mortensen, communication, outreach, and education coordinator for the Office of Sustainability. “Looking at a future in a green career is a smart thing to do.”

    The event had a mix of off-campus employers and on-campus organizations. Student-run groups such as Ecohusky, Spring Valley Student Farm, Climate and Mind Network, the Beekeeping Club, and more set up tables and shared information about their clubs.

    Employers including Eversource, Bartlett Tree Experts, CT Green Bank, Sustainable CT, and Greenskies had representatives in attendance.

    “This panel is different in a sense that it’s a little bit untraditional,” said student intern Andy Zhang ’26 (CAHNR & CLAS). “We have different niches here. There is a thrift stand and social responsibility and businesspeople. We have a lot of different perspectives.”

    “Sustainability and energy are becoming such a big topic of discussion,” said Gabrielle Comella, assistant director of corporate partner relations for the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills. “You can have a green career in so many different industries that students don’t realize.”

    “Part of UConn’s strategic plan is preparing students for careers outside of UConn, and this clearly aligns by showing the diversity of sustainability career pathways,” said Mortensen. “Another tenet of the strategic plan is to power Connecticut in terms of a strong workforce, and pretty much all of the employers here have Connecticut roots.”

    ‘Every job is a climate job’ 

    The first speaking panel featured industry leaders. Representatives from Uber, Eversource, Bartlett Tree Experts, and Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs answered students’ questions about how their companies take sustainability initiatives and how the industry is changing.

    “From our perspective, every job is a climate job,” said Alison Pilcher, the policy director at the CT Roundtable. “Every industry should be thinking about how climate change is going to impact their industry.”

    April Regan, an attorney for Eversource, explained that the company is launching a clean energy innovation program with UConn. Students will have a chance to submit business ideas for “clean innovation.” Stakeholders from UConn and Eversource will review the proposed projects, and “The top five teams will get a little bit of money to explore their idea, and one winning team will get funding for a year,” said Regan. “We’re always trying to innovate, we’re always trying to push the envelope, to push energy policy and environmental policy over these projects.”

    Five alumni took the stage for the second speaking panel, offering advice on how to navigate a career in sustainability after graduation.

    Andy Zhang ’26, an intern in the Office of Sustainability, asks panelists a question (George Velky / UConn Photo)

    “There are so many different avenues you can take,” said Margaret Sanders ’22 (CAHNR), sustainability platform manager for Position Green. “Whether that be through further education or in the professional field, I think it’s really important to be open to trying new things.”

    Panelists discussed how to stay motivated in the field when federal administration is not overtly supportive of sustainability efforts. “Government is an interesting place. It’s a big battleship, it’s hard to turn,” said Brendan Schain, legal director for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Environmental Quality Branch and a graduate of the UConn School of Law. “The pace of change is the change. New people with new perspectives are doing interesting things and bringing an interesting new perspective, and it takes time to institutionalize that.”

    The alumni discussed how their time at UConn helped guide them into their careers as well. Megan Coleman ’17 (ENG), an engineer for JKMuir talked about how any involvement on campus was a good experience. “I was part of a lot of the different clubs here. Being engaged in those and exposing myself to different people, different perspectives, was something that what really important to me.”

    “I got the opportunity to do a study abroad program for the UConn Earth Sciences Department,” said Emily Bigl ’23 (CLAS), an environmental planner for the Southeastern CT Council of Governments. Bigl studied geoscience and geohazards in Taiwan thanks to the UConn program. “It’s a great experience. If you can find a program relating to sustainability in the environment, that’s awesome. But if you find one outside of your realm of study, that’s awesome too. Broaden your horizons.”

    Sanders worked at the National Resources Conservation Academy while at UConn. She mentored Connecticut students and helped them execute environmental programs in their own communities. “It was fun to both see how we could take action in Connecticut and also mentor younger students on the point of intergenerational relationships,” Sanders said.

    Office of Sustainability helps UConn chart a green course

    The Office of Sustainability partnered with the Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills for the event. Student interns at the Office of Sustainability contributed heavily to the preparation of the event.

    Zhang attributed a strong student network to building the mix of clubs, employers, and alumni coming to the event. Will Gabelman, senior manager for global strategies and operations at Uber, spoke on the first panel. Zhang was able to recruit him for the event because Gabelman was his mentor in a fellowship program.

    “We are the tenth most sustainable university in the world, and the second most sustainable university in the United States,” said Zhang, citing rankings from GreenMetric UI.

    UConn earned that title thanks to efforts from the Office of Sustainability and its interns, Zhang said, and added that there are 40 to 50 student interns this semester.

    The office puts together an Earth Day event annually, and is trying to pilot an environmental justice program, according to Kanika Chaturvedi ’26 (CLAS), an intern in the office.

    The give-and-go program is another initiative where the Office of Sustainability collects donations from students who are moving out. Things like clothing, furniture, and appliances are reused rather than discarded. Last year, the program diverted 8,000 pounds of waste from landfills, and “this year they are looking to double that,” said Chaturvedi. The group also collaborates with the town of Mansfield to organize litter cleanup events.

    A project Zhang has been working on is an E-collaboration sustainability network. “It’s kind of like a virtual platform that I think it helps break down a lot of the academic barriers that you see,” said Zhang. It has grown to 240 members and contains things like weekly internship postings and relevant studies posted by professors.

    “We’re able to see sustainability manifest in a lot of different facets,” said Zhang. “Even at the business school or the engineering school, regardless of what your major is, it’s becoming commonplace to have environmental opportunities.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Bread Financial Announces Private Offering of Subordinated Notes

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bread Financial® Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BFH) (“Bread Financial” or the “Company”) announced today that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $400 million aggregate principal amount of fixed-rate reset subordinated notes (the “Notes”) in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

    The Company intends to lend no less than $250 million of the net proceeds of the Notes offering as subordinated debt to one of its subsidiary banks, Comenity Capital Bank, with the remaining proceeds intended to be used for general corporate purposes, which may include share repurchases.

    Consummation of the offering of the Notes is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully complete this transaction on the terms described above, or at all.

    The Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act, or any state securities laws. The Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from registration requirements under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the Notes will be offered only (A) to persons reasonably believed to be “qualified institutional buyers” under Rule 144A of the Securities Act or (B) outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.

    This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

    About Bread Financial®
    Bread Financial® (NYSE: BFH) is a tech-forward financial services company that provides simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions to millions of U.S. consumers. The Company’s payment solutions, including Bread Financial general purpose credit cards and savings products, empower its customers and their passions for a better life. Additionally, the Company delivers growth for some of the most recognized brands in travel & entertainment, health & beauty, jewelry and specialty apparel through their private label and co-brand credit cards and pay-over-time products providing choice and value to their shared customers.

    Forward-looking Statements
    This news release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements related to the Notes offering described above. Forward-looking statements give the Company’s expectations or forecasts of future events and can generally be identified by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project,” “plan,” “likely,” “may,” “should” or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe the Company’s business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements made regarding, and the guidance given with respect to, the Company’s anticipated operating or financial results, future financial performance and outlook, future dividend declarations or stock repurchases and future economic conditions.

    The Company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking statements, however, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, in many cases, beyond its control. Accordingly, actual results could differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release, and no assurances can be given that the Company’s expectations will prove to have been correct. Factors that could cause the outcomes to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the following: macroeconomic conditions, including market conditions, inflation, interest rates, labor market conditions, recessionary pressures or concerns over a prolonged economic slowdown, and the related impact on consumer spending behavior, payments, debt levels, savings rates and other behaviors; global political, public health and social events or conditions, including ongoing wars and military conflicts, and natural disasters; future credit performance of the Company’s customers, including the level of future delinquency and write-off rates; loss of, or reduction in demand for services from, significant brand partners or customers in the highly competitive markets in which the Company competes; the concentration of the Company’s business in U.S. consumer credit; increases or volatility in the Allowance for credit losses that may result from the application of the current expected credit loss (CECL) model; inaccuracies in the models and estimates on which the Company rely, including the amount of the Company’s Allowance for credit losses and its credit risk management models; increases in fraudulent activity; failure to identify, complete or successfully integrate or disaggregate business acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic initiatives, including, with respect to divested businesses, any associated guarantees, indemnities or other liabilities; the extent to which the Company’s results are dependent upon brand partners, including brand partners’ financial performance and reputation, as well as the effective promotion and support of the Company’s products by brand partners; increases in the cost of doing business, including market interest rates; the Company’s level of indebtedness and inability to access financial or capital markets, including asset-backed securitization funding or deposits markets; restrictions that limit the ability of the Company’s subsidiary banks, Comenity Bank and Comenity Capital Bank (the “Banks”), to pay dividends to it; pending and future litigation; pending and future federal, state, local and foreign legislation, regulation, supervisory guidance and regulatory and legal actions including, but not limited to, those related to financial regulatory reform and consumer financial services practices, as well as any such actions with respect to late fees, interchange fees or other charges; increases in regulatory capital requirements or other support for the Banks; impacts arising from or relating to the transition of the Company’s credit card processing services to third party service providers that it completed in 2022; failures, or breaches in operational or security systems, including as a result of cyberattacks, unanticipated impacts from technology modernization projects, failure of information security controls or otherwise; loss of consumer information or other data due to compromised physical or cyber security, including disruptive attacks from financially motivated bad actors and third-party supply chain issues; any tax or other liability, or adverse impacts arising out of or related to the spinoff of the Company’s former LoyaltyOne segment or the bankruptcy filings of Loyalty Ventures Inc. (LVI) and certain of its subsidiaries, and subsequent litigation or other disputes. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from what we projected. In addition, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule in 2024 that, absent a successful legal challenge or other invalidation of the rule, will place significant limits on credit card late fees, which would have a significant impact on the Company’s business and results of operations for at least the short term and, depending on the effectiveness of the mitigating actions that the Company has taken or may in the future take in anticipation of, or in response to, the final rule, may potentially adversely impact it over the long term; the Company cannot provide any assurance as to the effective date, if any, of the rule, the result of any pending or future challenges or other litigation relating to the rule, or its ability to mitigate or offset the impact of the rule on its business and results of operations. The foregoing factors, along with other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements, are described in greater detail under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year, which may be updated in Item 1A of, or elsewhere in, the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed for periods subsequent to such Form 10-K. The Company’s forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and it undertakes no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events, anticipated or unanticipated circumstances or otherwise.

    Contacts

    Brian Vereb — Investor Relations
    Brian.Vereb@breadfinancial.com

    Susan Haugen — Investor Relations
    Susan.Haugen@breadfinancial.com

    Rachel Stultz — Media
    Rachel.Stultz@breadfinancial.com  

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Victor Ciardelli Appoints Shant Banosian as President of Rate Mortgage while Continuing as CEO and President of All Rate Companies

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Victor Ciardelli proudly announces the appointment of Shant Banosian as President of Rate Mortgage. With Rate Mortgage being the last Rate company without a dedicated president—Banosian will partner with Ciardelli to help take Rate Mortgage to the next level of innovation and excellence in the industry. Ciardelli will continue to work closely with the Presidents of all 15 Rate Companies, reinforcing Rate’s status as one of the nation’s top mortgage lenders and a pioneer in fintech and holistic financial wellness.

    Welcomed Partnership & Help

    As CEO and President of Rate Companies, Ciardelli is known for industry innovation and transformation, starting with the release of the first Digital Mortgage, most recently the Same Day Mortgage, and many other industry transformations. Ciardelli is a student of using technology and streamlining business operations to provide better products, service, and pricing to the consumer.

    The 15 Presidents, who oversee 10 mortgage companies, two AI technology companies, a title company, an insurance company, and the personal lending group, will continue to report to and work directly with Ciardelli as he partners with Banosian to elevate Rate Mortgage into the premier mortgage company in the industry.

    Ciardelli described Banosian’s appointment as a pivotal moment for the company, “There is no one in the industry that I would rather partner with than Shant. He is a transformative leader whose relentless drive, strategic mindset, and commitment to excellence have set a new standard in the mortgage industry. He embodies the best of Rate’s culture and values, and we are partnering to take Rate Mortgage to the next level. His expertise and vision will inspire the Rate team and the entire industry.”

    Ciardelli added, “At Rate, we never stand still and are never satisfied. Our mission is to push boundaries, relentlessly innovate, and empower our customers, loan officers, and referral partners with the best technology and platform in the industry. With Shant joining me in top leadership, we’re doubling down on our vision to make homeownership more cost-effective, faster, smarter, and more accessible than ever.”

    A Proven Leader in the Mortgage Industry

    Over the past two decades, Banosian has funded over $10 billion in total loan volume and secured his place as the top loan officer in the U.S. over the past six consecutive years. In 2024, Banosian funded over $1B in volume as the #1 loan officer in the country. Ciardelli describes Banosian as “the Best of the Best in the industry.” He continues, “There is not a better loan professional on the planet to lead Rate Mortgage to its next level of dominance. He is a leader and a teacher all in one and will build the best team of Loan Officers in the industry. Elevating Shant Banosian as President of Rate Mortgage is a natural progression of our shared ambition and complementary strengths, positioning Rate for accelerated growth and reinforcing its industry leadership.”

    Banosian, who has closed over 40,000 loans, firmly believes in education-based lending, customer-first service, and intelligent business scaling. As President of Rate Mortgage, his focus will be on driving innovation, enhancing operational efficiency, and fostering an environment he describes as a “Loan Officer’s Paradise”—a place where professionals have everything they need to thrive and best serve their customers in a rapidly evolving market; a place where a loan officer can easily double and triple their business while better serving their customers; a place that optimally serves our aspiring and existing homeowners, Realtors, and business partners.

    Banosian has built a record-breaking career focusing on strategic growth, operational efficiency, and exceptional customer service. His ability to adapt to market shifts, leverage technology, and lead high-performing teams has made him one of the most respected figures in the mortgage industry. “The mortgage industry is evolving fast, and I am excited to build on Victor Ciardelli’s amazing vision and lead Rate Mortgage into the future,” said Banosian. “We are committed to empowering customers, real estate professionals, and loan officers with the ultimate tools, education, and service available, ensuring that every interaction exceeds expectations.”

    A Passion for Giving Back
    Beyond his professional success, Banosian is deeply committed to philanthropy and community impact. He actively supports a range of charitable organizations, including:

     • The Rate Foundation: Providing financial assistance to individuals and families facing unexpected hardships—a cause Banosian has personally supported since the foundation’s inception.
    • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Supporting the fight against childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases, with over $500,000 raised through team efforts.
    • The Greater Boston Food Bank: Working to end hunger and provide healthy meals for families in need.
    • Soles4Souls: Turning unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunities for people in need worldwide.

    “Giving back is not just a responsibility, but an important core value of Victor and the company culture,” Banosian said. “It is a privilege to give back, and it is a core part of who we are at Rate.”

    About Rate

    Rate Companies is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, Rate has over 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than 2 million homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates, and delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include Best Mortgage Lender for First-Time Homebuyers by NerdWallet for 2023; HousingWire’s Tech100 award for the company’s industry-leading FlashClose℠ digital mortgage platform in 2020, MyAccount in 2022, and Language Access Program in 2023; the most Scotsman Guide Top Originators for 11 consecutive years; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years; and Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven straight years. Visit rate.com for more information.

    Media Contact

    press@rate.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Economics: Euro area bank interest rate statistics: January 2025

    Source: European Central Bank

    5 March 2025

    Bank interest rates for corporations

    Chart 1

    Bank interest rates on new loans to, and deposits from, euro area corporations

    (percentages per annum)

    Data for cost of borrowing and deposit interest rates for corporations (Chart 1)

    The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to corporations, decreased in January 2025. The interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months decreased by 13 basis points to 4.18%. The rate on new loans of the same size with an initial rate fixation period of over three months and up to one year fell by 18 basis points to 3.88%, driven by both the interest rate and the weight effects. The interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years increased by 9 basis points to 3.51%. In the case of new loans of up to €250,000 with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months, the average rate charged fell by 30 basis points to 4.33%.
    As regards new deposit agreements, the interest rate on deposits from corporations with an agreed maturity of up to one year fell by 13 basis points to 2.67% in January 2025. The interest rate on overnight deposits from corporations stayed almost constant at 0.76%.
    The interest rate on new loans to sole proprietors and unincorporated partnerships with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year decreased by 7 basis points to 4.56%.

    Table 1

    Bank interest rates for corporations

    i.r.f. = initial rate fixation
    * For this instrument category, the concept of new business is extended to the whole outstanding amounts and therefore the business volumes are not comparable with those of the other categories. Outstanding amounts data are derived from the ECB’s monetary financial institutions balance sheet statistics.

    Data for bank interest rates for corporations (Table 1)

    Bank interest rates for households

    Chart 2

    Bank interest rates on new loans to, and deposits from, euro area households

    Data for cost of borrowing and deposit interest rate for households (Chart 2)

    The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to households for house purchase, decreased in January 2025. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year decreased by 10 basis points to 4.06%. The rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over one and up to five years fell by 8 basis points to 3.49%. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with an initial rate fixation period of over five and up to ten years decreased by 48 basis points to 2.88%. The rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years fell by 12 basis points to 2.97%, driven by both the interest rate and the weight effects. In the same period the interest rate on new loans to households for consumption increased by 23 basis points to 7.64%.
    As regards new deposits from households, the interest rate on deposits with an agreed maturity of up to one year decreased by 12 basis points to 2.33%. The rate on deposits redeemable at three months’ notice stayed almost constant at 1.72%. The interest rate on overnight deposits from households remained broadly unchanged at 0.34%.

    Table 2

    Bank interest rates for households

    i.r.f. = initial rate fixation
    * For this instrument category, the concept of new business is extended to the whole outstanding amounts and therefore the business volumes are not comparable with those of the other categories; deposits placed by households and corporations are allocated to the household sector. Outstanding amounts data are derived from the ECB’s monetary financial institutions balance sheet statistics.
    ** For this instrument category, the concept of new business is extended to the whole outstanding amounts and therefore the business volumes are not comparable with those of the other categories. Outstanding amounts data are derived from the ECB’s monetary financial institutions balance sheet statistics.

    Data for bank interest rates for households (Table 2)

    Further information

    The data in Tables 1 and 2 can be visualised for individual euro area countries on the bank interest rate statistics dashboard. Additionally, tables containing further breakdowns of bank interest rate statistics, including the composite cost-of-borrowing indicators for all euro area countries, are available from the ECB Data Portal. The full set of bank interest rate statistics for both the euro area and individual countries can be downloaded from ECB Data Portal. More information, including the release calendar, is available under “Bank interest rates” in the statistics section of the ECB’s website.

    For media queries, please contact Nicos Keranis, tel.: +49 69 1344 7806

    Notes:

    • In this press release “corporations” refers to non-financial corporations (sector S.11 in the European System of Accounts 2010, or ESA 2010), “households” refers to households and non-profit institutions serving households (ESA 2010 sectors S.14 and S.15) and “banks” refers to monetary financial institutions except central banks and money market funds (ESA 2010 sector S.122).
    • The composite cost-of-borrowing indicators are described in the article entitled “Assessing the retail bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area at times of financial fragmentation” in the August 2013 issue of the ECB’s Monthly Bulletin (see Box 1). For these indicators, a weighting scheme based on the 24-month moving averages of new business volumes has been applied, in order to filter out excessive monthly volatility. For this reason the developments in the composite cost of borrowing indicators in both tables cannot be explained by the month-on-month changes in the displayed subcomponents. Furthermore, the table on bank interest rates for corporations presents a subset of the series used in the calculation of the cost of borrowing indicator.
    • Interest rates on new business are weighted by the size of the individual agreements. This is done both by the reporting agents and when the national and euro area averages are computed. Thus changes in average euro area interest rates for new business reflect, in addition to changes in interest rates, changes in the weights of individual countries’ new business for the instrument categories concerned. The “interest rate effect” and the “weight effect” presented in this press release are derived from the Bennet index, which allows month-on-month developments in euro area aggregate rates resulting from changes in individual country rates (the “interest rate effect”) to be disentangled from those caused by changes in the weights of individual countries’ contributions (the “weight effect”). Owing to rounding, the combined “interest rate effect” and the “weight effect” may not add up to the month-on-month developments in euro area aggregate rates.
    • In addition to monthly euro area bank interest rate statistics for January 2025, this press release incorporates revisions to data for previous periods. Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Unless otherwise indicated, these euro area statistics cover the EU Member States that had adopted the euro at the time to which the data relate.
    • As of reference period December 2014, the sector classification applied to bank interest rates statistics is based on the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). In accordance with the ESA 2010 classification and as opposed to ESA 95, the non-financial corporations sector (S.11) now excludes holding companies not engaged in management and similar captive financial institutions.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 6, 2025
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