Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
In the underwriting auction conducted on January 24, 2025, for Additional Competitive Underwriting (ACU) of the undernoted Government securities, the Reserve Bank of India has set the cut-off rates for underwriting commission payable to Primary Dealers as given below:
Ajit Prasad Press Release: 2024-2025/1991 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – In English
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns consumers about the company Cermak LLC and the services it is offering. BaFin has information that the company is offering banking business and/or financial services on its website skainetsystems.com without the required authorisation. The company is not supervised by BaFin.
Banking business and financial services may only be offered in Germany with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the required authorisation. Information on whether particular companies have been authorised by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.
The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).
BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Municipality Finance Plc
Stock exchange release
27 January 2025 at 10:00 am (EET)
Municipality Finance issues EUR 1.25 billion benchmark under its MTN programme
Municipality Finance Plc issues EUR 1.25 billion benchmark on 28 January 2025. The maturity date of the benchmark is 14 December 2029. The benchmark bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.625% per annum.
The benchmark is issued under MuniFin’s EUR 50 billion programme for the issuance of debt instruments. The offering circular, the supplemental offering circular and the final terms of the benchmark are available in English on the company’s website at https://www.kuntarahoitus.fi/en/for-investors.
MuniFin has applied for the benchmark to be admitted to trading on the Helsinki Stock Exchange maintained by Nasdaq Helsinki. The public trading is expected to commence on 28 January 2025.
Danske Bank A/S, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg acts as the Joint Lead Managers for the issue of the benchmark.
MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC
Further information:
Joakim Holmström
Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Sustainability
tel. +358 50 444 3638
MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finland’s largest credit institutions. The company is owned by Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the Republic of Finland.
The Group’s balance sheet totals over EUR 50 billion.
MuniFin builds a better and more sustainable future with its customers. MuniFin’s customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, corporate entities under their control, and non-profit organisations nominated by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA). Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.
MuniFin’s customers are domestic but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.
Read more: https://www.kuntarahoitus.fi/en/
Important Information
The information contained herein is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into any such country or jurisdiction or otherwise in such circumstances in which the release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, any securities or other financial instruments in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
This communication does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
Source: Asia Development Bank
Rising US tariffs and other policies of the new US presidential administration could create mixed outcomes for Asian economies, emphasizing the importance of building resilience through regional integration and open trade.
How will new US administration policies affect economies in Asia and the Pacific, and how should they respond?
To gain insight into these questions, ADB recently completed two studies based on different global models—one strong on macroeconomics and one strong on trade—to estimate the magnitude of likely effects.
The first study examines the impact of the US imposing aggressive policies including 60% tariffs on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and 10% tariffs on everyone else, reduced US immigration, and expansionary US fiscal policies.
The second study focuses only on the impact of tariffs. It assumes 60% tariffs on Chinese imports and examines different tariff scenarios for the rest of the world: 10% versus 20% tariffs, tariffs across the board versus exemptions for countries with free trade agreements with the US, and equal retaliatory tariffs versus no retaliation.
What do we learn from these exercises?
First, the negative effects on the Chinese economy will be relatively modest even with 60% tariffs. The first study, using a macro model, finds that growth slows by just 0.3% per year during the four years of the new administration, and the trade model predicts much smaller impacts thanks to opportunities to redirect trade to other countries and smaller impacts on global output than in the macro study. The impacts will be even less severe if the US only imposes additional tariffs of 10% as has been recently announced, even though further review of US trade imbalances could lead to more tariff increases later in the year.
One reason for the modest impacts of high US tariffs is that the importance to the Chinese economy of exports to the US (both direct and indirect) has fallen steadily, now accounting for just 3% of the country’s GDP.
Evidence from President Trump’s first term shows that the PRC was able to redirect exports to other countries and that the cost of US tariffs was largely borne by US consumers and firms.
Second, the effects on other Asian economies will be mixed, with some economies even expected to grow faster thanks to new export opportunities to the US to replace goods previously exported to the US from the PRC.
Opportunities from trade diversion also were evident during the first trade war between the US and the PRC, benefiting export-competitive economies such as Viet Nam.
The recent shift observed in foreign direct investment (FDI) in strategic sectors away from the PRC and toward other Asian economies, especially in Southeast Asia, is likely to be reinforced.
Despite these trends, it would be a mistake to assume that US tariffs on the PRC have zero-sum impacts that hurt the PRC and help other Asian economies. This is because in recent years the Chinese economy has become increasingly linked to other economies in the region through trade and investment despite geoeconomic fragmentation globally.
Thus, slower Chinese growth hurts other economies by reducing demand for imports, and reduced Chinese exports to the US hurts economies that supply capital equipment and inputs to Chinese exporters, most notably the high-tech economies in East Asia including the Republic of Korea and Japan.
Also, if higher US tariffs on imports from the PRC help other Asian economies to attract more FDI and increase exports to the US, Chinese firms can still share in those benefits by increasing their outbound FDI and increasing exports of intermediate inputs to those economies. Indeed, such patterns of investment and trade have already become evident, especially in Southeast Asia.
The trade study also finds that economies with trade agreements with the US will benefit if they are exempt from US tariff increases while tariffs are imposed on their competitors without such trade agreements. Most economies in the region lack trade agreements with the US and so would be negatively affected by such a differentiated policy.
Finally, economies in the region should be cautious in considering whether to respond to higher US tariffs with tariffs of their own. Higher import tariffs increase the price of imports which can contribute to inflation, make goods more expensive for domestic consumers, and increase the costs of production for producers that rely on imported intermediate inputs.
Perhaps of greater importance for Asian economies than tariffs is the impact of the new administration’s policies on US inflation and interest rates.
All the announced policies—to increase tariffs, reduce immigration, and extend and perhaps increase tax cuts—are likely to be inflationary, which is expected to lead to higher US interest rates for longer periods of time. These expectations are already evident in the shift in the structure of US bond yields since the US election. Despite much progress by many Asian economies to reduce reliance on US-denominated debt, financial conditions in Asia remain quite sensitive to US interest rates and to inflation news when Fed policy is data dependent as it is now.
Higher US rates reduce the scope for Asian central banks to lower interest rates and support growth in the region. They increase debt sustainability risks for economies with high debt levels denominated in US dollars.
Given higher US interest rates, our macro model predicts that currencies in the region will depreciate relative to the dollar.
However, we do not expect weaker currencies to lead to higher inflation overall because our macro model finds that the higher interest rates and trade costs associated with US policies will reduce global GDP and demand for commodities, which will lead to lower global energy and food prices.
In recent years, developing economies in Asia have demonstrated tremendous resilience to large shocks associated with the pandemic, commodity prices, and geoeconomic fragmentation.
This is due to sound macroeconomic management by most governments in the region. Moreover, despite global geoeconomic fragmentation, governments have maintained their commitment to open trade and investment, which has strengthened regional economic integration.
This impressive track record means the region is well placed to maximize opportunities for inclusive growth and remain resilient to future shocks, including unexpected policy directions of the new US administration.
Source: Asia Development Bank
Share on:
Published:
Develop certification frameworks, build sustainable capacity-building systems, and promote knowledge center collaboration.
The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
Source: European Central Bank
Budapest, 27 January 2025
In his later years, Alexandre Lamfalussy was once asked what his fundamental motivation in life was. He recalled the experience of his turbulent youth, surrounded by the destruction caused by the Second World War.[1] “In the aftermath of the war,” Lamfalussy said, “I decided to serve the community in the rebuilding of Europe.”[2]
He went on to do just that. A member of the Delors Committee and the first President of the European Monetary Institute, Lamfalussy helped pave the way for Europe’s monetary union and the establishment of the ECB.
His generation had also been scarred by the difficulties of the “Great Inflation” in the 1970s.[3] And so Lamfalussy – alongside other architects of the euro[4] – ensured that the ECB would have sufficient powers to prevent a scenario where inflationary expectations once again became embedded in the economy.
We can see proof of this today, as advanced economies emerge from the largest inflation shock in a generation.
As in the 1970s, a series of shocks contributed to high and persistent inflation. But unlike the 1970s, inflation has since fallen relatively fast across advanced economies – and expectations have remained firmly anchored throughout.
This hard-won progress has been in large part due to the independence of central banks, which has given them the ability to take difficult but necessary monetary policy decisions in pursuit of stable prices.
In the late twentieth century, central bank independence spread rapidly around the world.
A strong social consensus about its benefits – emerging from the negative experience of the 1970s – sparked what Lamfalussy would later call a “sea change” in monetary policymaking.[5]
By one account, over 80% of the world’s central banks became operationally independent by the turn of the millennium.[6] And price stability had been adopted as the primary objective of monetary policy frameworks across almost all advanced economies and many emerging market economies.[7]
Moreover, independent central banks both contributed to – and benefited from – a period of low macroeconomic volatility.
In their famous paper, Alesina and Summers found a positive relationship between the degree of independence of central banks and lower and less volatile inflation outcomes.[8] At the same time, substantial structural changes were afoot in the global economy, which also helped to reduce macroeconomic volatility – an era that soon came to be known as the Great Moderation.[9]
Globalisation led to an enormous increase in both global labour supply and production capacity, which meant that prices and wages were often little affected even in the face of strong demand. And the oil crises of the 1970s had sparked a wave of change in global energy markets, resulting in a more elastic energy supply.
The upshot of the Great Moderation was a virtuous circle.
An environment of low macroeconomic volatility made it easier for independent central banks to deliver on their price stability mandates. That, in turn, solidified the social consensus in support of central bank independence and helped ensure its growing adoption around the world – further contributing to lowering levels of volatility.
The end of the Great Moderation came suddenly and unexpectedly in 2008 with the arrival of the global financial crisis. And over the last years in particular, our world has changed dramatically.
Indeed, the two forces that fostered the spread of central bank independence – a strong social consensus and growing pools of global supply – are now coming under increasing pressure.
While recent research suggests that de jure central bank independence has never been more prevalent than it is today[10], there is no doubt that the de facto independence of central banks is being called into question in several parts of the world.
One study examining 118 central banks in the 2010s shows that around 10% of them faced political pressure in an average year – even those central banks with a high degree of de jure independence.[11] Another paper finds that between 2018 and 2020 alone, de facto central bank independence deteriorated for almost half of those central banks in jurisdictions accounting for 75% of global GDP.[12]
There is evidence to suggest that political influence on central bank decisions can also contribute substantially to macroeconomic volatility. For instance, persistent political pressure on a central bank has been found to affect the level and the volatility of exchange rates, bond yields and the risk premium.[13]
At the same time, geopolitical tensions threaten to amplify volatility by increasing the frequency of shocks hitting the global economy.
We have already seen the impact of geopolitical tensions play out in Europe. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, average output growth volatility in the euro area surged by 60% compared with before the global financial crisis, while average inflation volatility shot up by 280%.[14]
An environment of heightened volatility could make the task of maintaining price stability more difficult to achieve.[15] This could raise concerns that independent central banks are failing to deliver on their mandates, which could undermine the social consensus and further amplify volatility in the economy.
So, the question that comes to the fore is: will the current era of volatility turn the virtuous circle that facilitated the rise of central bank independence into a vicious circle that leads to it being undermined?
All things considered, I would argue that this is unlikely to happen.
A volatile macroeconomic environment actually makes the benefits of central bank independence all the greater. We saw this during the recent inflation shock.
In OECD countries, average annual inflation surged to 9.6% in 2022 as they faced a variety of shocks that compounded each other.[16] In response, independent central banks sharply increased policy rates.
These actions led to a rapid decline and convergence in the respective inflation paths of major economies – despite all these economies facing different shocks. Moreover, inflation expectations have remained firmly anchored, suggesting that the public continues to have faith in independent central banks’ commitment to price stability over the long run.[17]
In today’s world, central bank independence offers two key advantages.
First, it acts as a headwind to volatility in these unpredictable times.
As we emerge from a period of very high inflation, the issue of time inconsistency is more relevant than ever.[18] Compared with the pre-pandemic era of low inflation, central banks may need to contend with lower levels of rational inattention.[19]
In this environment, credible policy regimes become even more important for maintaining trust in central banks. Research finds that higher trust in the ECB lowers inflation expectations on average and significantly reduces uncertainty about future inflation.[20]
Second, central bank independence also contributes to regional strength in a world increasingly defined by geopolitical rivalries.
Price stability provides the foundation upon which other strategic goals can be achieved. Regions with stable prices tend to have more efficient resource allocation and higher levels of competitiveness, and they attract greater levels of investment. At heart, strong economic institutions are the fundamental cause of long-run economic growth and development differences between regions.[21]
Lamfalussy once described the task of launching the euro as “navigating in uncharted waters”.[22] In an era of volatility, independent central banks now also find themselves in unfamiliar waters.
While inflation has fallen sharply, central banks are still likely to face a more volatile macroeconomic environment compared with the Great Moderation.
It therefore remains imperative that central banks have the independence to fully deliver on their price stability mandates.
Thank you.
Source: European Central Bank
27 January 2025
The European Central Bank (ECB) is hosting a commemorative event on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2025, at its main building in Ostend, Frankfurt. This year’s ceremony holds particular significance as it marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. The event will feature addresses by ECB President Christine Lagarde; Mike Josef, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main; and Professor Mirjam Wenzel, the Director of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt.
“In today’s world, where rising populism and intolerance pose significant challenges, commemorating the Holocaust serves as an indispensable reminder of the need for vigilance and unity against hate and antisemitism,” said President Lagarde.
“Remembering the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis during the Second World War is both our duty and our obligation. It is our responsibility to remember and visualise the reality of Jewish communities in Germany and Europe today. Let us together protect Jewish life now and in the future, and take a firm stand against antisemitism and racism,” said Lord Mayor Mike Josef.
As part of the commemoration activities, the ECB is hosting a temporary photo exhibition by photographer Martin Schoeller in its main building, entitled “Survivors: Faces of Life after the Holocaust”. Maurice Gluck is one of the 56 Holocaust survivors featured in the exhibition. He will be present at the opening to share his personal story of how he survived the Holocaust after he was separated from his parents and hidden by a Catholic family in Brussels. The exhibition will be open to the public from 29 January until 26 February 2025, with a limited number of guided tours available.
For more information on the temporary exhibition and to book a tour, please visit the Kulturothek website.
Photos of the event can be found on the ECB’s Flickr account.
For media queries, please contact Lena-Sophie Demuth, tel.: + 49 1622952316.
Source: Czech National Bank
The Czech National Bank (CNB) will provide access to its CERTIS payment system to new applicants. Besides banks and other credit institutions, non-bank lenders will also be able to use the infrastructure, which enables reliable and secure money transfers between the payer and the payee and – in the case of instant payments – in just a few seconds.
Non-bank lenders will be able to join CERTIS on the date the amendment to Act No. 370/2017 Coll., on the Payment System, takes effect.[1] This is expected to happen on 9 April 2025.[2] In the meantime, however, the CNB will allow applicants to test the system’s functionalities, so that they can prepare for participation in CERTIS in advance. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions may start filing preliminary applications for connection to the system once the central bank publishes the revised CERTIS rules. The CNB will update the rules following the approval and publication of the amendment, which was approved by the Senate on 22 January 2025 and is yet to be signed by the President.
Non-bank institutions will operate within the CERTIS system under conditions similar to those applied to banks, but their accounts in CERTIS will serve exclusively for payments and cannot be used for other purposes, in particular for safeguarding clients’ funds. Otherwise, the participation of an institution in CERTIS will be terminated for serious breach of contract. Further, these institutions will not be able to obtain intraday or other credit, and will be assessed to determine whether they meet the conditions set out in the Payment System Act specifically for such institutions.
CERTIS (Czech Express Real Time Interbank Gross Settlement System) is used to process non-cash payments in Czech koruna. If both the payer and the payee have accounts at the same bank, the money transfer (account settlement) is processed directly within that bank’s system. If the payer and the payee have accounts with different banks, the payer’s bank must use the CERTIS interbank payment system for the transfer of funds.
CERTIS began operation on 8 March 1992 within the Clearing and Settlement Centre at the State Bank of Czechoslovakia in the former Czechoslovakia. It is currently operated by the Czech National Bank. In 2024, CERTIS processed more than 983 million items with a total value of CZK 386.5 trillion. The system thus processed on average 3.9 million transactions a day, totalling more than CZK 1.5 trillion. One in three payments was processed as an instant payment, based on the payer’s choice, in just a matter of seconds.
[1] The amendment to Act No. 370/2017 Coll., on the Payment System, will transpose the changes implemented by Regulation 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro (the IPR) into the directives on settlement finality and payment services. At the same time, it will enable payment institutions and electronic money institutions based in the Czech Republic or another EU or EEA country to participate in the CERTIS payment system.
[2] Senate Print No. 31 – a draft law amending certain laws in connection with the implementation of the European Union’s legislation in the area of the digitalisation of the financial market and sustainability financing (available in Czech only).
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
This announcement contains information on transactions of the acquisition of own shares of AB Šiaulių bankas (the Bank) carried during the period specified below under the Bank’s own share buy-back programme announced on 31 October 2024.
The period during which the acquisition of the Bank’s own shares under the programme was carried out – 04.11.2024 – 24.01.2025.
Period covered by this periodic report – 20.01.2025 – 24.01.2025.
Other information:
| Transaction overview | |||
| Date | Total number of shares purchased on the day ( units) | Weighted average price (EUR) | Total value of transactions (EUR) |
| 2025.01.20 | 125,000 | 0.914 | 114,229.88 |
| 2025.01.21 | 125,000 | 0.914 | 114,187.70 |
| 2025.01.22 | 125,000 | 0.915 | 114,329.92 |
| 2025.01.23 | 125,000 | 0.914 | 114,250.00 |
| 2025.01.24 | 125,000 | 0.913 | 114,080.01 |
| Total acquired during the current week | 625,000 | 0.914 | 571,077.51 |
| Total acquired during the programme period | 5,092,863 | 0.853 | 4,345,207.01 |
|
The Bank’s own bought-back shares: 11,717,863 units. Following the above transactions, the Bank will own a total of 12,342,863 units of own shares representing 1.86 % of the Bank’s issued shares. Further detailed information on the transactions is attached. This information is also available at: www.sb.lt |
|||
Additional information:
Tomas Varenbergas
Head of Investment Management Division
tomas.varenbergas@sb.lt
Attachment
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
24 January 2025 Šiaulių Bankas AB (the Bank) has completed its own share buy-back programme on the regulated market, which was carried out from 4 November 2024. During this period, the Bank acquired 5,092,863 treasury shares, i.e. 74 % of the maximum number of shares within the limit set at the time of the programme’s expiry, for a total amount of EUR 4,345,207.01 million, at an average price of EUR 0.853 per share.
“We are the first bank in the Baltic market to implement an open market buy-back programme for its own shares. The successful implementation of this programme has increased the Bank’s attractiveness to investors by increasing the liquidity of its shares on the stock exchange and the return to shareholders. In the long term, we plan to continue to optimise and efficiently manage the Bank’s capital in order to increase shareholder value. We will continue to use a variety of financial instruments, including buy-backs”, says Tomas Varenbergas, Board Member, Head of Investment Management Division of Šiaulių Bankas.
On 15 August 2024, the Bank received authorisation from the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy back up to 13,745,114 of its own shares. The Bank has already purchased 11,092,863 treasury shares on the basis of this authorisation. The remaining unused limit amounts to 2,652,251 shares. The Bank will make efforts to use the remaining share buy-back to the full limits before the expiry of the authorisation period, i.e. by 15 August this year, taking into account the Bank’s market value and other circumstances.
The Bank will inform about further buy-backs of its own shares in a separate announcement once the Management Board of the Bank will take a decision. This will be done no earlier than after the publication of the 2024 results and the drafting resolutions by the Management Board of the Bank for the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Šiaulių Bankas to be held on 31 March 2025.
Additional information:
Tomas Varenbergas
Head of Investment Management Division
tomas.varenbergas@sb.lt
Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Reserve Bank of India
Ajit Prasad Press Release: 2024-2025/2008 |
Source: Reserve Bank of India
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Asia Development Bank
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (27 January 2025) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a financing package of up to $100 million to support Ayala Corporation’s contributions to the development of an electric mobility ecosystem in the Philippines. This funding will be used to procure and install electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) and to purchase electric vehicles for commercial distribution.
The package includes a concessional loan from the Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CANPA). ADB’s financing, along with the concessional loan, will be used to develop a network of EVCS in the Philippines. This blended financing features an innovative pricing structure aimed at accelerating deployment of EVCS infrastructure. A portion of the ADB financing will be allocated to procure electric vehicles from leading manufacturers for distribution across the country.
“This project is a significant step towards a sustainable and low-carbon future for the Philippines,” said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran. “By fostering the development of a robust electric mobility ecosystem, we are not only addressing critical environmental challenges such as air pollution, but also driving economic growth through the creation of green jobs, enhancing energy security, and promoting inclusive and resilient urban development.”
Electric vehicle (EV) development is still nascent in the Philippines. High initial costs, limited charging infrastructure, and evolving technologies have posed significant barriers to adoption of EVs in the country. But the Philippine government’s Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act and various tax incentives are helping create a more favorable environment for the growth of the EV sector.
The creation of an EVCS network is crucial for electric vehicles to become more popular. The EVCS to be set up with the ADB financing package will address gaps in EV charging infrastructure, thereby facilitating faster adoption of electric vehicles.
“This innovative blended financing comes at an opportune time as Ayala, through ACMobility, continues to ramp up its electric mobility investments. As we help build a comprehensive EV ecosystem for the Philippines, we wish to thank like-minded institutional partners like ADB for helping us expand our electric mobility initiatives, accelerate our contribution to the Philippines’ climate goals, and reaffirm our purpose of building businesses that enable people to thrive,” said ACMobility’s President and CEO Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala.
Established in 2024, CANPA is a trust fund managed by ADB, supported by a commitment of Can$360 million from the Government of Canada. The fund builds on the success of the two previous funds, namely the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia II (CFPS II) and its predecessor CFPS. CANPA aims to support private-sector projects in Asia and the Pacific that focus on climate and nature-based solutions, while also promoting gender equality.
Ayala Corporation is one of the Philippines’ largest and most enduring conglomerates. With a diverse portfolio that includes real estate, banking, telecommunications, and renewable energy, the company is well-positioned to lead the development of the electric mobility ecosystem in the Philippines. Key to Ayala’s growing sustainable business portfolio is its access to innovative financing options such as blended finance, which is supported by public, private and philanthropic funds.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.
Source: Peoples Bank of China
Announcement on Open Market Operations No.20 [2025]
(Open Market Operations Office, January 27, 2025)
In order to keep liquidity adequate before the Spring Festival, the People’s Bank of China conducted reverse repo operations in the amount of RMB298 billion through quantity bidding at a fixed interest rate on January 27, 2025.
Details of the Reverse Repo Operations
|
Maturity |
Volume |
Rate |
|
14 days |
RMB298 billion |
1.65% |
Date of last update Nov. 29 2018
2025年01月27日
Source: African Development Bank Group
When Grace Akingurwaruh signed up to become a seller of coal-efficient, improved-cooking stoves, she had no idea that she’d be successful enough to purchase her first smartphone – a godsend which enables her to remain in regular contact with her customers and get new business.
Akingurwaruh is a farmer in Hoima, Uganda, a four-hour bus ride from the capital Kampala. The 40-year-old says she was looking for ways to increase her monthly income when a neighbor told her about an African Development Bank-financed training program promoting clean energy businesses like selling stoves that retain heat longer than traditional stoves or open fires.
“They taught us how to make business, so when we finished the training, I started advertising…At times I can have customers that want to buy five or more stoves to put in their shops. So, I [give them] a discount. That’s why I have managed to sell more than my colleagues,” Akingurwaruh said of how she applied the knowledge she learned in the Green Energy for Women and Youth Resilience project.
Financed by the Bank’s Africa Climate Change Fund, the programming was organized by civil society organizations AVSI Foundation and CIDR Pamiga in Uganda.
Akingurwaruh says her roughly 22 percent commission on sales of coal-efficient stoves enabled her to not only buy a smartphone but also a goat – another source of income and nutrition for her family. She is now working as a senior agent for the same company she was linked to through the project and oversees a team of 5 youth agents. She not only sells directly to customers but also earns commissions from the sales generated by the agents she supervises.
Akingurwaruh is one of more than 2,300 people considered sales agents and retailers and participants in the Green Energy for Women and Youth Resilience project. AVSI Foundation says 75% of these beneficiaries are women and young girls aged 18 or above and that the initiative through its sales training and outreach also provided clean cooking technologies and renewable energy solutions for lighting to more than 55,000 new customers.
“By connecting civil society organizations like AVSI Foundation to funding opportunities within the Bank, we have delivered sustainable energy solutions that have transformed lives in Uganda. This collaboration has led to the empowerment of communities, enabling businesses to thrive and households to access clean, reliable power,” said Dr. Martha Phiri, the Bank’s Acting Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department.
About 250 kilometers north of Hoima in the city of Aura, training graduate Gloria Dunia sources coal-efficient stoves from a massive container, then carries them to her roadside stand to sell to passersby.
“I have been trained on customer service and entrepreneurship, and this has greatly helped me,” Dunia said.
Overall, the project supported communities in 14 districts across Uganda and 16 counties in Kenya on how to transition to low-carbon development and to scale up climate finance across through the promotion of jobs from micro, medium and small enterprises in the sustainable energy sector.
The Africa Climate Change Fund also noted the project strengthens the financial service provider capacity to deliver sustainable energy finance as well as improve availability and accessibility of energy products for communities.
Maria Ossola, the project coordinator with the AVSI Foundation, said that the project permitted them to discover the key role that entrepreneurs and the private sector plays in promoting clean energy.
“Through the Green Energy for Women and Youth Resilience project, we gained invaluable knowledge about the critical importance of private sector partnerships in achieving universal access to clean energy. We invite like-minded companies and financial institutions to join us in advancing this mission,” said Ossola.
Clean cooking is one of the African Development Bank Group’s priority areas. In May 2024, the Bank pledged $2 billion over 10 years towards clean cooking solutions in Africa – a move towards saving the lives of 600,000 mainly women and children estimated who die each year from the effects of secondary smoke from partial combustion of biomass, fuel wood and charcoal.
The Bank is also a key organizer of The Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, scheduled for 27 and 28 January in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It will bring together cross-sector leaders, decision makers in the public and private sector sharing a passion for boosting access to electricity to more homes and businesses across Africa.
The Government of Tanzania is hosting the event in partnership with the African Union, the African Development Bank Group, and the World Bank Group. At this two-day summit, government officials, business leaders, funders, and community organizations will chart a path towards Mission 300’s ambitious goal of bringing power to 300 millions Africans by 2030.
Source: African Development Bank Group
Across Africa, nearly 600 million people live in energy poverty, deprived of reliable access to electricity—a fundamental prerequisite for modern life. This staggering statistic represents more than just a lack of power. Significantly, it translates to limited opportunities for education, healthcare, gender equality, and…
Source: African Development Bank Group
African heads of state, business leaders, and development partners will converge tomorrow in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit where they will commit to ambitious reforms and actions to expand access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity to 300 million people in Africa by…
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Andreotta, Lecturer, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University
Think about the last app you downloaded. Did you read every word of the associated privacy policy? If so, did you fully understand it?
If you said “no” to either of these questions, you are not alone. Only 6% of Australians claim to read all the privacy policies that apply to them.
Don’t blame yourself too much, though. Privacy policies are often long – sometimes up to 90,000 words – and hard to understand. And there may be hundreds that apply to the average internet user (one for each website, app, device, or even car you use).
Regular reviews are also required. In 2023, for example, Elon Musk’s X updated its privacy policy to include the possibility of collecting biometric data.
For these reasons, some privacy scholars have argued that it’s nearly impossible for us to properly manage how our personal data are collected and used online.
But even though it might be hard to imagine, we can regain control over our data. Here are three possible reforms to online privacy policies that could help.
One way to shorten privacy policies is by replacing some text with visuals.
Recently, the Australian bank Bankwest developed a visual-style terms and conditions policy to explain one of its products. A consulting engineering company also used visuals in its employment contract.
There is evidence that suggests this promotes transparency and helps users understand the contents of a policy.
Could visuals work with online privacy policies? I think companies should try. Visuals could not only shorten online privacy policies, but also make them more intelligible.
Adding visuals won’t solve all the problems with privacy policies, as there would still be too many to go through. Another idea is to automate consent. This essentially means getting software to consent for us.
One example of this software, currently being developed at Carnegie Melon
University in the United States, is personalised privacy assistants. The software promises to:
learn our preferences and help us more effectively manage our privacy settings across a wide range of devices and environments without the need for frequent interruption.
In the future, instead of reading through hundreds of polices, you might simply configure your privacy settings once and then leave the accepting or rejecting of polices up to software.
The software could raise any red flags and make sure that your personal data are being collected and used only in ways that align with your preferences.
The technology does, however, raise a series of ethical and legal issues that will need to be wrestled with before widespread adoption.
For example, who would be liable if the software made a mistake and shared your data in a way that harmed you? Furthermore, privacy assistants would need their own privacy policies. Could users easily review them, and also track or review decisions the assistants made, in a way that was not overwhelming?
These techniques may have limited success, however, if the privacy policies themselves fail to offer user choices or are deceptive.
A recent study found that some of the top fertility apps had deceptive privacy policies. And in 2022, the Federal Court of Australia fined Google for misleading people about how it used personal data.
To help address this, privacy policies could be subject to ethical review, in much the same way that researchers must have their work reviewed by ethics committees before they are permitted to conduct research.
If a policy was found to be misleading, lacked transparency, or simply failed to offer users meaningful options, then it would fail to get approval.
Would this really work? And who would be included in the ethics committee? Further, why would companies subject their policies to external review, if they were not required to do so by law?
These are difficult questions to answer. But companies who did subject their polices to review could build trust with users.
In 2024, Choice revealed that several prominent car brands, such as Tesla, Kia, and Hyundai, collect people’s driving data and sell it to third-party companies. Many people who drove these cars were not aware of this.
How might the above ideas help?
First, if privacy polices had visuals, data collection and use practices could be explained to users in easier-to-understand ways.
Second, if automated consent software was being used, and users had a choice, the sharing of such driving data could be blocked in advance, without users even having to read the policy, if that was what they preferred. Ideally, users could pre-configure their privacy preferences, and the software could do the rest. For example, automated consent software could indicate to companies that users do not give consent for their driving data to be sold for advertising purposes.
Third, an ethics review committee may suggest that users should be given a choice about whether to share driving data, and that the policy should be transparent and easy to understand.
Recent reforms to privacy laws in Australia are a good start. These reforms promise to give Australians a legal right to take action over serious privacy violations, and have a greater focus on protecting children online.
But many of the ways of empowering users will require companies to go beyond what is legally required.
One of the biggest challenges will be motivating companies to want to change.
It is important to keep in mind there are benefits of being transparent with users. It can help build trust and reputation. And in an era where consumers have become more privacy conscious, here lies an opportunity for companies to get ahead of the game.
Adam Andreotta 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. Online privacy policies can be 90,000 words long. Here are 3 ways to simplify them – https://theconversation.com/online-privacy-policies-can-be-90-000-words-long-here-are-3-ways-to-simplify-them-247095
Source: United Nations – English
his year, renewables are projected to become the world’s largest source of electricity generation for the first time. Meanwhile, their prices keep plummeting.
On the International Day of Clean Energy, we celebrate this revolution. But we also recognise the challenges ahead.
The end of the fossil fuel age is certain. But governments must ensure that it comes swiftly and fairly. This is crucial to save us from the worst of the climate crisis, and to connect every person to clean energy – lifting millions out of poverty.
This year offers an unparalleled opportunity for countries to align their climate ambitions with their national energy and development strategies. All countries have committed to produce new national climate action plans aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. They must deliver with plans that cover all greenhouse gases and sectors; map a just fossil fuel phase-out; and contribute to the global goal to triple renewables capacity by 2030.
The G20 have the largest capacities and responsibilities – they must lead. All this must be achieved in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. But all countries must do more.
We also need action to get finance flowing to the renewables revolution in emerging markets and developing economies. That includes increasing the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, tackling the high cost of capital, and taking effective action on debt.
On the International Day of Clean Energy, let’s commit to an international era of clean energy with speed, justice, and collaboration at its core.
***
Cette année, pour la première fois, les sources d’énergie renouvelables devraient devenir la plus grande source de production d’électricité au monde, et leur prix ne cesse de baisser.
En cette Journée internationale des énergies propres, nous célébrons cette révolution, tout en étant conscients des défis qui nous attendent.
Il est certain que l’ère des combustibles fossiles va prendre fin. Mais les gouvernements doivent veiller à ce que cette fin arrive rapidement et qu’elle soit juste. Ceci est essentiel pour nous protéger des pires conséquences de la crise climatique et donner à chacun et à chacune les moyens d’accéder à une énergie propre – sortant des millions de personnes de la pauvreté.
Cette année offre aux pays une occasion unique d’intégrer leurs ambitions climatiques dans leurs stratégies nationales en matière d’énergie et de développement. Tous les pays se sont engagés à élaborer de nouveaux plans d’action nationaux pour le climat qui soient compatibles avec l’objectif de limiter la hausse de la température mondiale à 1,5 degré Celsius. Ils doivent présenter des plans qui couvrent tous les gaz à effet de serre et tous les secteurs, organiser un abandon progressif et juste des combustibles fossiles et contribuer à l’objectif mondial de tripler la capacité en sources d’énergie renouvelables d’ici à 2030.
Le Groupe des 20 a les plus grandes capacités et les plus importantes responsabilités en la matière : il doit jouer le rôle de chef de file. Tout ceci doit être réalisé conformément au principe des responsabilités communes mais différenciées. Cependant, tous les pays doivent en faire davantage.
Il faut également faire le nécessaire pour assurer le financement de la révolution des sources d’énergie renouvelables dans les économies émergentes et les économies en développement. Il s’agit notamment d’accroître la capacité de prêt des banques multilatérales de développement, de s’attaquer au coût élevé du capital et de prendre des mesures efficaces pour agir sur la dette.
En cette Journée internationale des énergies propres, engageons-nous à favoriser l’avènement dans le monde entier d’une ère des énergies propres, avec en son cœur la rapidité, la justice et la collaboration.
Source: United Nations secretary general
This year, renewables are projected to become the world’s largest source of electricity generation for the first time. Meanwhile, their prices keep plummeting.
On the International Day of Clean Energy, we celebrate this revolution. But we also recognise the challenges ahead.
The end of the fossil fuel age is certain. But governments must ensure that it comes swiftly and fairly. This is crucial to save us from the worst of the climate crisis, and to connect every person to clean energy – lifting millions out of poverty.
This year offers an unparalleled opportunity for countries to align their climate ambitions with their national energy and development strategies. All countries have committed to produce new national climate action plans aligned with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. They must deliver with plans that cover all greenhouse gases and sectors; map a just fossil fuel phase-out; and contribute to the global goal to triple renewables capacity by 2030.
The G20 have the largest capacities and responsibilities – they must lead. All this must be achieved in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. But all countries must do more.
We also need action to get finance flowing to the renewables revolution in emerging markets and developing economies. That includes increasing the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks, tackling the high cost of capital, and taking effective action on debt.
On the International Day of Clean Energy, let’s commit to an international era of clean energy with speed, justice, and collaboration at its core.
***
Cette année, pour la première fois, les sources d’énergie renouvelables devraient devenir la plus grande source de production d’électricité au monde, et leur prix ne cesse de baisser.
En cette Journée internationale des énergies propres, nous célébrons cette révolution, tout en étant conscients des défis qui nous attendent.
Il est certain que l’ère des combustibles fossiles va prendre fin. Mais les gouvernements doivent veiller à ce que cette fin arrive rapidement et qu’elle soit juste. Ceci est essentiel pour nous protéger des pires conséquences de la crise climatique et donner à chacun et à chacune les moyens d’accéder à une énergie propre – sortant des millions de personnes de la pauvreté.
Cette année offre aux pays une occasion unique d’intégrer leurs ambitions climatiques dans leurs stratégies nationales en matière d’énergie et de développement. Tous les pays se sont engagés à élaborer de nouveaux plans d’action nationaux pour le climat qui soient compatibles avec l’objectif de limiter la hausse de la température mondiale à 1,5 degré Celsius. Ils doivent présenter des plans qui couvrent tous les gaz à effet de serre et tous les secteurs, organiser un abandon progressif et juste des combustibles fossiles et contribuer à l’objectif mondial de tripler la capacité en sources d’énergie renouvelables d’ici à 2030.
Le Groupe des 20 a les plus grandes capacités et les plus importantes responsabilités en la matière : il doit jouer le rôle de chef de file. Tout ceci doit être réalisé conformément au principe des responsabilités communes mais différenciées. Cependant, tous les pays doivent en faire davantage.
Il faut également faire le nécessaire pour assurer le financement de la révolution des sources d’énergie renouvelables dans les économies émergentes et les économies en développement. Il s’agit notamment d’accroître la capacité de prêt des banques multilatérales de développement, de s’attaquer au coût élevé du capital et de prendre des mesures efficaces pour agir sur la dette.
En cette Journée internationale des énergies propres, engageons-nous à favoriser l’avènement dans le monde entier d’une ère des énergies propres, avec en son cœur la rapidité, la justice et la collaboration.
Source: Peoples Bank of China
Announcement on Open Market Operations No.19 [2025]
(Open Market Operations Office, January 26, 2025)
In order to keep liquidity adequate before the Spring Festival, the People’s Bank of China conducted reverse repo operations in the amount of RMB151 billion through quantity bidding at a fixed interest rate on January 26, 2025.
Details of the Reverse Repo Operations
|
Maturity |
Volume |
Rate |
|
14 days |
RMB151 billion |
1.65% |
Date of last update Nov. 29 2018
2025年01月26日
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
ALEXANDRIA, La., Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Red River Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: RRBI) (the “Company”) announced today that, on November 5, 2024, the Company entered into a stock repurchase agreement with two shareholders for the repurchase by the Company of 50,000 shares of its common stock in a privately-negotiated transaction for a purchase price of $2.5 million. The purchase price reflects a discount to the 10-, 20-, and 30-day volume weighted average price on November 1, 2024. Blake Chatelain, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to complete this repurchase, which shows our continued commitment to increasing shareholder value.”
About Red River Bancshares, Inc.
The Company is the bank holding company for Red River Bank, a Louisiana state-chartered bank established in 1999 that provides a fully integrated suite of banking products and services tailored to the needs of our commercial and retail customers. Red River Bank operates from a network of 28 banking centers throughout Louisiana and one combined loan and deposit production office in New Orleans, Louisiana. Banking centers are located in the following Louisiana markets: Central, which includes the Alexandria metropolitan statistical area (“MSA”); Northwest, which includes the Shreveport-Bossier City MSA; Capital, which includes the Baton Rouge MSA; Southwest, which includes the Lake Charles MSA; the Northshore, which includes Covington; Acadiana, which includes the Lafayette MSA; and New Orleans.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on various facts and derived using numerous assumptions that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information about the expected benefits of the repurchase, information concerning the timing, manner, amount, and overall impact of future purchases under the repurchase program, as well as any other statement other than statements of historical fact. Words or phrases such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “continue,” “will,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “would,” and “outlook,” or the negative version of those words, or such other comparable words or phrases are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections about the Company’s industry, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond the Company’s control. Accordingly, you are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Unless required by law, the Company also disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Interested parties should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should carefully consider the risks and other factors that the Company faces. For a discussion of these risks and other factors, please see the sections titled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and in other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
Contact:
Julia Callis
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary
318-561-4042
julia.callis@redriverbank.net
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
OAKDALE, Calif., Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Oak Valley Community Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ: OVLY), announced they have received approval on two 2024 AHEAD grants which were submitted to the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) on behalf of Turlock Gospel Mission and Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County for $100,000 and $25,000, respectively.
The communities in Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties are one step closer to getting a needed boost in affordable housing and job training. This highly impactful grant will support Turlock Gospel Mission to create new jobs and purchase equipment for their workforce development and job training program, Volente Coffee Roasters. The grant will support Habitat for Humanity’s digital reach and community engagement in Sonora, CA, by upgrading their communication infrastructure.
As a sponsor of FHLBank San Francisco’s Community Investment Programs and advocate for the services Turlock Gospel Mission and Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County provide to our community, Oak Valley Community Bank authored and provided supplemental input for this grant. Jose Sabala, Oak Valley’s Community Reinvestment Officer, remarked, “We are deeply honored to facilitate these grants for Turlock Gospel Mission and Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County. As a community-driven bank, we are dedicated to forging partnerships that create meaningful, lasting change within our communities. The support from FHLBank San Francisco underscores a shared commitment to directing vital resources to the communities we proudly serve, and we are grateful for the chance to make a tangible impact together.”
“These grants delivered in partnership with our member Oak Valley Community Bank will help boost economic opportunity and create access to vital services and support that can be life-changing for people engaged with these programs serving Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties,” said Eric Cicourel, community investment officer for FHLBank San Francisco. “We’re proud that for 20 years and counting, the AHEAD Program continues to make a positive impact throughout the communities we serve.”
AHEAD economic development grants enable FHLBank San Francisco member financial institutions like Oak Valley Community Bank to fund economic development projects that target pressing community needs and bring greater opportunity to underserved populations. AHEAD grants support innovative, targeted initiatives that will create new economic opportunity by expanding proven development models or piloting new interventions. Grants are awarded annually to the Bank’s members partnering with local nonprofits to meet diverse local needs. The grant is part of a $7.3 million disbursement of AHEAD funds awarded to 84 innovative economic development projects in Arizona, California, and Nevada. A full list of 2024 AHEAD grants are available on the FHLBank San Francisco website.
About Turlock Gospel Mission:
Turlock Gospel Mission is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2007. Turlock Gospel Mission offers three meals per day, emergency overnight shelter for men, women, and their children, both Men’s and Women’s Restoration Program, and guest services including case management, transportation, clothes closet, shelter from inclement weather, on-site pet kennels, pastoral counseling, and culinary job training. For more information, call (209) 656-1033 or visit turlockgospelmission.org.
About Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County:
Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1999. They are dedicated to eliminating substandard housing through constructing homes, advocating for fair and just housing policies, and providing training and access to resources to help families become self-reliant and successful homeowners. For more information, call (209) 536-0970 or visit www.habitattuolumne.org.
About Oak Valley Community Bank:
Oak Valley Bancorp operates Oak Valley Community Bank & their Eastern Sierra Community Bank division, through which it offers a variety of loan and deposit products to individuals and small businesses. They currently operate through 18 conveniently located branches: Oakdale, Turlock, Stockton, Patterson, Ripon, Escalon, Manteca, Tracy, Sacramento, Roseville, two branches in Sonora, three branches in Modesto, and three branches in their Eastern Sierra division, which includes Bridgeport, Mammoth Lakes, and Bishop. For more information, call 1-866-844-7500 or visit www.ovcb.com.
| Contact: | Chris Courtney/Rick McCarty | |
| Phone: | (209) 848-BANK (2265) Toll Free (866) 844–7500 www.ovcb.com |
|
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dave Inc. (“Dave” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: DAVE), one of the nation’s leading neobanks, today announced certain preliminary financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Preliminary Financial Results for Third Quarter 2024
Management expects the Company to report the following preliminary, unaudited results in respect of its quarterly period ended September 30, 2024:
* Non-GAAP measure. See reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure at the end of the press release.
“In light of the recent FTC action, we wanted to share preliminary Q3 results and reiterate the positive outlook for our business,” said Jason Wilk, Founder and CEO of Dave. “We are pleased to report that we have delivered yet another record quarter of accelerating revenue growth and profitability, demonstrating the continued strength of our business. Given our strong year-to-date performance and continued positive outlook, we plan to raise our full-year 2024 Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance in our upcoming earnings release on November 12.
“It is worth emphasizing that the FTC’s action, for which we believe we have strong defenses, is related to consumer disclosures and consent, not our ability to charge subscription fees and optional tips and express fees moving forward. Accordingly, we have not contemplated any changes to our forecast as a result of the FTC’s action.
“With strong profitability, we believe we are well-positioned to sustain a vigorous defense and bring this matter to resolution. Our commitment to transparency, compliance, and customer trust remains our highest priority as we continue to serve the needs of our members.”
The financial information in this press release is preliminary, unaudited, based on currently available information, and subject to adjustment in the final financial statements to be filed with the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2024.
Statement Regarding FTC Matter
As we disclosed in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2024, we have been cooperating with the FTC in response to a Civil Investigative Demand seeking information about our ExtraCash and other banking products. Following months of good-faith negotiations, we are disappointed the FTC has chosen to file suit against Dave, a company on a mission to level the financial playing field for the millions of Americans poorly served by the legacy financial system. The FTC asserts many incorrect claims regarding Dave’s disclosures and how the Company acquires consent for the fees associated with our products. For the avoidance of doubt, Dave’s ability to charge subscription fees and optional tips and express fees is not in question. We believe this case is another example of regulatory overreach by the FTC, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves. We take compliance and customer transparency very seriously and believe that we have always acted within the law. We remain focused on serving our members who love and rely on our products.
Full Earnings Release and Conference Call
Dave management will host a conference call on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to discuss its full financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. The Company’s results will be reported in a press release prior to the call. The conference call details are as follows:
Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time
Dial-in registration link: Here
Live webcast registration link: Here
The conference call will also be available for replay in the Events section of the Company’s website, along with the transcript, at https://investors.dave.com.
If you have any difficulty registering for or connecting to the conference call, please contact Elevate IR at DAVE@elevate-ir.com.
About Dave
Dave (Nasdaq: DAVE) is a leading U.S. neobank and fintech pioneer serving millions of everyday Americans. Dave uses disruptive technologies to provide best-in-class banking services at a fraction of the price of incumbents. Dave partners with Evolve Bank & Trust, a FDIC member. For more information about the company, visit: www.dave.com. For investor information and updates, visit: investors.dave.com and follow @davebanking on X.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “feels,” “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “remains,” “should,” “is to be,” or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology and include, among other things, the quotation of our Chief Executive Officer relating to Dave’s future performance and growth, statements relating to fiscal year 2024 guidance, projected financial results for future periods, plans for marketing spend and the FTC’s lawsuit against us and other statements about future events. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein due to many factors, including, but not limited to: the ability of Dave to compete in its highly competitive industry; the ability of Dave to keep pace with the rapid technological developments in its industry and the larger financial services industry; the ability of Dave to manage risks associated with providing ExtraCash advances; the ability of Dave to retain its current Members, acquire new Members and sell additional functionality and services to its Members; the ability of Dave to protect intellectual property and trade secrets; the ability of Dave to maintain the integrity of its confidential information and information systems or comply with applicable privacy and data security requirements and regulations; the reliance by Dave on a single bank partner; the ability of Dave to maintain or secure current and future key banking relationships and other third-party service providers; changes in applicable laws or regulations and extensive and evolving government regulations that impact operations and business; the ability to attract or maintain a qualified workforce; level of product service failures that could lead Dave Members to use competitors’ services; investigations, claims, disputes, enforcement actions, litigation and/or other regulatory or legal proceedings, including the FTC’s lawsuit against Dave; the ability to maintain the listing of Dave Class A Common Stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market; the possibility that Dave may be adversely affected by other economic factors, including rising interest rates, and business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in Dave’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 5, 2024 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the heading “Risk Factors,” filed with the SEC and other reports and documents Dave files from time to time with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Dave undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.
Preliminary Financial and Operating Results
The preliminary financial results set forth above for the three months ended September 30, 2024, reflect preliminary, unaudited estimates with respect to such results based solely on currently available information, which is subject to change. Such preliminary results are subject to the finalization of quarter-end financial and accounting procedures. While carrying out such procedures, Dave may identify items that would require it to make adjustments to the preliminary estimates of financial results set forth herein. As a result, Dave’s actual financial results could differ than the information set forth herein and such differences could be material. Moreover, preliminary and estimated financial results should not be viewed as a substitute for Dave’s full quarterly financial statements for the three months ended September 30, 2024, which will be prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains references to Adjusted EBITDA (loss), which is a non-GAAP financial measure that is adjusted from results based on generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and excludes certain expenses, gains and losses. The Company defines and calculates Adjusted EBITDA (loss) as GAAP net income (loss) attributable to Dave before the impact of interest income or expense, provision/(benefit) for income taxes, and depreciation and amortization, and adjusted to exclude legal settlement and litigation expenses, other non-recurring strategic financing and transaction expenses, stock-based compensation expense, and certain other non-core items.
Adjusted EBITDA (loss) may be helpful to the user in assessing our operating performance and facilitates an alternative comparison among fiscal periods. The Company’s management team uses Adjusted EBITDA (loss), among other non-GAAP financial measures, in assessing performance, as well as in planning and forecasting future periods. The methods the Company uses to compute its non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the methods used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental, should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Refer to the section further below for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA (loss) to its most directly comparable GAAP measure for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023.
Investor Relations Contact
Sean Mansouri, CFA
Elevate IR
DAVE@elevate-ir.com
Media Contact
Dan Ury
press@dave.com
| DAVE INC. | ||||||||||||||
| RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME (LOSS) TO ADJUSTED EBITDA (LOSS) | ||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||
| For the Three Months Ended September 30, | For Nine Months Ended September 30, | |||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 0.5 | $ | (12.1 | ) | $ | 41.1 | $ | (48.7 | ) | ||||
| Interest expense, net | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 5.0 | ||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 0.4 | — | 1.8 | — | ||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 1.7 | 1.4 | 5.2 | 3.7 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 13.4 | 6.7 | 27.2 | 20.1 | ||||||||||
| Gain on extinguishment of convertible debt | — | — | (33.4 | ) | — | |||||||||
| Legal settlement and litigation expenses | 7.0 | — | 7.0 | — | ||||||||||
| Changes in fair value of earnout liabilities | — | — | 0.1 | — | ||||||||||
| Changes in fair value of public and private warrant liabilities | 0.2 | (0.2 | ) | 0.4 | (0.2 | ) | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA (loss) | $ | 24.7 | $ | (2.5 | ) | $ | 53.1 | $ | (20.1 | ) | ||||
Source: Government of Canada News (2)
Today, the Department of Finance is launching consultations to help inform the Minister of Finance’s decision regarding National Bank of Canada’s proposed acquisition of Canadian Western Bank, which was first announced on June 11, 2024.
November 5, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance Canada
Today, the Department of Finance is launching consultations to help inform the Minister of Finance’s decision regarding National Bank of Canada’s proposed acquisition of Canadian Western Bank, which was first announced on June 11, 2024.
As stipulated in the Bank Act, all acquisitions and amalgamations in Canada’s banking sector are subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance, who must take into account all matters she considers relevant. These may include:
The proposed acquisition would require an additional approval from the Minister of Finance to recategorize Canadian Western Bank and exempt it from the requirement that its shares be widely held. In addition to the regulatory review by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and by the Competition Bureau, which concluded in September 2024, comments received during this consultation process will help inform the Minister of Finance’s decision, and can be submitted to transactions@fin.gc.ca by November 19, 2024, with “NBC/CWB” in the subject line.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Business Highlights
WOOSTER, Ohio, Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Main Street Financial Services Corp. (OTCQX: MSWV), (the “Company”), the holding company parent of Main Street Bank Corp. reported a net income of $3.4 million, or $0.44 per common share, for the three months ended September 30, 2024. Excluding the merger-related expenses (non-GAAP) for the three months ended September 30, 2024, net income was $3.6 million, or $0.46 per share. Merger-related expenses totaled $0.2 million for the quarter, consisting of legal and professional services.
The Company announced a merger of equals transaction with Wayne Savings Bancshares, Inc. (“Legacy Wayne”) on February 23, 2023. On May 31, 2024 (the “Merger Date”), the Company completed the transaction, forming a financial holding company with assets of $1.4 billion. On the Merger Date, Legacy Wayne merged with and into Main Street, with Main Street surviving the merger (the “Merger”). Immediately following the Merger, Main Street’s wholly owned bank subsidiary, Main Street Bank Corp., merged with and into Wayne Savings Community Bank, with Wayne Savings Community Bank surviving the merger. Upon completion of the Merger, Wayne Savings Community Bank was renamed Main Street Bank Corp.
The Merger was accounted for as a reverse merger using the acquisition method of accounting, therefore, Legacy Wayne was deemed the acquirer for financial reporting purposes, even though Main Street was the legal acquirer. Accordingly, Legacy Wayne’s historical financial statements are the historical financial statements of the combined company for all periods before the Merger Date. Our consolidated statements of income for the quarters ended June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024, include the results from Main Street on and after May 31, 2024. Results for periods before May 31, 2024, reflect only those of Legacy Wayne and do not include the consolidated statements of income of Main Street. Accordingly, comparisons of our results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, with those of prior periods may not be meaningful. The number of shares issued and outstanding, earnings per share, dividends paid and all references to share quantities of Main Street have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect the equivalent number of shares issued in the Merger.
The return on average equity and return on average assets for the third quarter of 2024 was 12.58% and 1.00%, compared to 14.41% and 0.91%, for the third quarter of 2023. Excluding merger-related expenses (non-GAAP), return on average equity and return on average assets for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was 13.21% and 1.05%, respectively.
President and CEO James R. VanSickle commented “2024 has been the most transformational year in the 125-year history of our bank. The successful merger of Main Street and Wayne has provided long-term value for our shareholders and benefits for our customers, communities and employees. We are pleased with our growth in loans and deposits and our solid earnings during our first full quarter of operations ended on September 30, 2024. We remain optimistic about the increased capabilities, scale and profitability of our combined organization.”
Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results
Net interest income was $10.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of 97.6% from $5.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The net interest margin of 3.28% for the third quarter of 2024 increased 40 basis points from 2.88% for the third quarter of 2023. Loan yields were 6.17% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of 99 basis points when compared to 5.18% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Investment yields increased 111 basis points to 3.45% as of September 30, 2024 when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The cost of funds for the third quarter of 2024, was 2.64%, an increase of 102 basis points when compared to the third quarter of 2023. The cost of funds increase is largely due to utilizing higher-cost wholesale funding, such as FHLB advances, and shifting deposit composition to higher-yielding product offerings. The cost of total deposits was 2.29% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, a 90 basis point increase when compared to 1.39% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The cost of borrowings for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 totaled 5.45%, an increase of 25 basis points when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2023.
A provision for credit losses and unfunded commitments of $109,000 was recorded for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. During the quarter, the Company recognized 86,000 in charge-offs and $36,000 in recoveries, reflecting relatively stable asset quality.
Noninterest income totaled $1.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. The Company elected to sell approximately $15 million of the acquired securities portfolio during the quarter, recognizing a gain on sale of investments totaling $702,000.
Noninterest expense totaled $7.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, an increase of $4.1 million when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The increase reflects a full quarter of combined expenses after completion of the merger. Merger-related noninterest expenses (non-GAAP) totaled $0.2 million for the quarter, consisting of legal and professional services. Excluding merger-related expenses (non-GAAP), the Company’s efficiency ratio was 62.9% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to 58.2% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.
September 30, 2024 Financial Condition
At September 30, 2024, the Company had total assets of $1.39 billion with net loan balances totaling $1.11 billion. Net loans receivable increased by $12.6 million during the third quarter of 2024, or 4.6% annualized, primarily in the commercial loan portfolio. As part of the merger, the Company acquired $430.8 million in loans.
The allowance for credit losses was $11.8 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $7.3 million at December 31, 2023. The increase is a result of establishing an allowance for credit losses on the acquired non-PCD loan portfolio during the second quarter of 2024. The allowance for credit losses as a percent of total loans was 1.04%, compared to 1.09% as of December 31, 2023. The allowance for credit losses and the related provision for credit losses is based on management’s judgment and evaluation of the loan portfolio. Management believes the current allowance for credit losses is adequate, however, changing economic and other conditions may require future adjustments to the allowance for credit losses.
Total nonperforming loans (NPLs) was $5.4 million at September 30, 2024, an increase from $0.4 million at December 31, 2023. The NPL to net loan receivable ratio was 0.48% as of September 30, 2024. Past due loan balances of 30 days and more increased from $2.8 million at December 31, 2023, to $13.2 million, or 1.18% of net loans outstanding, at September 30, 2024. The increase in nonperforming and past due loans is due to the impact of the acquired loan portfolio.
Improvement in Asset Quality Since Merger Announcement: The combined level of classified loans and loans past due 30 or more days was $24.4 million and $19.1 as of December 31, 2022. Since the merger announcement on February 23, 2023, the management teams of both Main Street and Wayne invested a great deal of time ensuring our combined organization utilizes strong underwriting standards and proactively monitors credit quality. Main Street sold approximately $15.2 million of loans in August 2023 and April 2024, of which approximately $12.7 million were classified loans. As of September 30, 2024, the resultant Company has $14.6 of classified loans and $13.2 of loans past due 30 or more days.
Total liabilities increased to $1.28 billion at September 30, 2024 with deposits totaling $1.10 billion and FHLB advances totaling $140.0 million. Deposits grew by $21.2 million, or 7.8% annualized, during the third quarter of 2024. As part of the merger, the Company acquired $487.4 million in deposits. As of September 30, 2024, the Company held no brokered deposits compared to $116.7 million at December 31, 2024. The Company leverages FHLB advances for short-term funding needs due to their accessibility and alignment with prevailing market rates. As of September 30, 2024, the Company held $140.0 million in FHLB advances.
Total stockholders’ equity was $111.3 million at September 30, 2024, an increase of $58.4 million when compared to the December 31, 2023 balance. The increase was primarily driven by the merger between Main Street and Wayne. Total stockholders’ equity increased during the third quarter of 2024 by $5.3 million, primarily from net income of $3.4 million and an increase in accumulated other comprehensive income benefit of $2.8 million, partially offset by dividends of $1.1 million.
Main Street Financial Services Corp. is a holding company headquartered in Wooster, Ohio. Its primary subsidiary, Main Street Bank Corp. was founded in 1899 and provides full-service banking, commercial lending, and mortgage services across its branch infrastructure. Today, Main Street Bank Corp. operates 19 branch locations in Wooster, Ohio, Wheeling, West Virginia and other surrounding communities in Ohio and West Virginia. Additional information about Main Street Bank Corp. is available at www.mymainstreetbank.bank.
Non-GAAP Disclosure
This press release includes disclosures of the Company’s return on average equity, return on average assets, net income, and efficiency ratios which are excluding costs related to merger activities which are financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flow that excludes or includes amounts that are required to be disclosed by GAAP. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide both management and investors a more complete understanding of the underlying operational results and trends and the Company’s marketplace performance. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the numbers prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Forward-Looking–Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts and that are intended to be “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this release that are not historical facts and pertain to the Company’s future operating results. When used in this release, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements, because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company’s control. These include but are not limited to: the possibility of adverse economic developments that may, among other things, increase default and delinquency risks in the Company’s loan portfolios; shifts in interest rates; shifts in the rate of inflation; shifts in the demand for the Company’s loan and other products; unforeseen increases in costs and expenses; lower-than-expected revenue or cost savings in connection with acquisitions; changes in accounting policies; changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; and changes in laws, regulations and the competitive environment. Unless legally required, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information:
Matthew Hartzler
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
(330) 264-5767
| MAIN STREET FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP. | |||||||
| Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets | |||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except share data – unaudited) | |||||||
| September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||||
| ASSETS | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 40,654 | $ | 20,884 | |||
| Securities, net (1) | 152,915 | 86,405 | |||||
| Loans held for sale | – | – | |||||
| Loans receivable, net | 1,118,781 | 669,603 | |||||
| Federal Home Loan Bank stock | 7,420 | 3,959 | |||||
| Premises & equipment, net | 11,119 | 4,904 | |||||
| Bank-owned life insurance | 22,013 | 11,706 | |||||
| Other assets | 40,351 | 12,486 | |||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 1,393,252 | $ | 809,947 | |||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | |||||||
| Deposit accounts | $ | 1,101,999 | $ | 693,126 | |||
| Other short-term borrowings | 25,715 | 8,743 | |||||
| Federal Home Loan Bank advances | 140,000 | 47,000 | |||||
| Accrued interest payable and other liabilities | 14,218 | 8,111 | |||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | 1,281,932 | 756,980 | |||||
| Common stock (7,801,011 shares of $1.00 par value issued) | 7,801 | 398 | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 55,640 | 36,715 | |||||
| Retained earnings | 54,133 | 55,342 | |||||
| Treasury Stock, at cost – 0 shares and 1,777,824 shares at | |||||||
| September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. | – | (30,330 | ) | ||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (6,254 | ) | (9,158 | ) | |||
| TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | 111,320 | 52,967 | |||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | $ | 1,393,252 | $ | 809,947 | |||
| (1) Includes available-for-sale and held-to-maturity classifications. | |||||||
| Note: The December 31, 2023 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet has been derived from the audited Consolidated Balance Sheet as of that date. | |||||||
| MAIN STREET FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP. | |||||||||||
| Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income | |||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except share data – unaudited) | |||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | ||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 18,930 | $ | 9,078 | $ | 41,196 | $ | 25,550 | |||
| Interest expense | 8,308 | 3,673 | 19,134 | 8,590 | |||||||
| Net interest income | 10,622 | 5,405 | 22,062 | 16,960 | |||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 109 | 138 | 4,703 | 526 | |||||||
| Net interest income after provision for credit losses | 10,513 | 5,267 | 17,359 | 16,434 | |||||||
| Non-interest income | 1,600 | 691 | 2,994 | 2,000 | |||||||
| Non-interest expense | |||||||||||
| Salaries and employee benefits | 3,799 | 2,049 | 8,688 | 5,949 | |||||||
| Net occupancy and equipment expense | 1,465 | 629 | 2,970 | 1,806 | |||||||
| Federal deposit insurance premiums | 118 | 117 | 440 | 374 | |||||||
| Franchise taxes | 51 | 98 | 358 | 299 | |||||||
| Advertising and marketing | 190 | 49 | 408 | 179 | |||||||
| Legal | 195 | 11 | 508 | 362 | |||||||
| Professional fees | 371 | 54 | 1,664 | 270 | |||||||
| ATM network | 79 | 121 | 474 | 320 | |||||||
| Auditing and accounting | 193 | 60 | 386 | 180 | |||||||
| Other | 1,403 | 545 | 2,625 | 1,337 | |||||||
| Total non-interest expense | 7,863 | 3,733 | 18,520 | 11,076 | |||||||
| Income before federal income taxes | 4,251 | 2,225 | 1,833 | 7,358 | |||||||
| Provision for federal income taxes | 804 | 452 | 315 | 1,562 | |||||||
| Net income | $ | 3,446 | $ | 1,773 | $ | 1,517 | $ | 5,796 | |||
| Earnings per share | |||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 0.44 | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.27 | $ | 1.51 | |||
| Diluted | $ | 0.44 | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.27 | $ | 1.50 | |||
| MAIN STREET FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP. | ||||||||||||||||
| Selected Condensed Consolidated Financial Data | ||||||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except share data – unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
| September | June | March | December | |||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Interest and dividend income | $ | 18,930 | $ | 12,572 | $ | 9,694 | $ | 9,545 | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 8,308 | 6,185 | 4,641 | 4,330 | ||||||||||||
| Net interest income | 10,622 | 6,387 | 5,053 | 5,215 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 109 | 4,720 | (126 | ) | 4 | |||||||||||
| Net interest income after | ||||||||||||||||
| provision for credit losses | 10,513 | 1,666 | 5,179 | 5,211 | ||||||||||||
| Non-interest income | 1,600 | 716 | 678 | 1,017 | ||||||||||||
| Non-interest expense | 7,863 | 6,723 | 3,934 | 3,748 | ||||||||||||
| Income before federal income taxes | 4,251 | (4,341 | ) | 1,923 | 2,480 | |||||||||||
| Provision for federal income taxes | 804 | (873 | ) | 384 | 443 | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 3,446 | $ | (3,468 | ) | $ | 1,539 | $ | 2,037 | |||||||
| Earnings per share – basic | $ | 0.44 | $ | (0.68 | ) | $ | 0.40 | $ | 0.53 | |||||||
| Earnings per share – diluted | $ | 0.44 | $ | (0.67 | ) | $ | 0.40 | $ | 0.53 | |||||||
| Dividends per share | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 | ||||||||
| Return on average assets | 1.00 | % | -1.38 | % | 0.76 | % | 1.02 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average equity | 12.58 | % | -17.16 | % | 11.63 | % | 16.90 | % | ||||||||
| Shares outstanding at quarter end | 7,801,011 | 7,787,055 | 3,840,575 | 3,839,702 | ||||||||||||
| Book value per share | $ | 14.27 | $ | 13.60 | $ | 13.81 | $ | 13.80 | ||||||||
| Tangible equity per share | $ | 12.15 | $ | 11.49 | $ | 13.36 | $ | 13.35 | ||||||||
| September | June | March | December | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||
| Interest and dividend income | $ | 9,078 | $ | 8,571 | $ | 7,901 | $ | 7,518 | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 3,673 | 2,867 | 2,050 | 1,248 | ||||||||||||
| Net interest income | 5,405 | 5,704 | 5,851 | 6,270 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 138 | 170 | 218 | 381 | ||||||||||||
| Net interest income after | ||||||||||||||||
| provision for credit losses | 5,267 | 5,534 | 5,633 | 5,889 | ||||||||||||
| Non-interest income | 691 | 706 | 603 | 631 | ||||||||||||
| Non-interest expense | 3,733 | 3,949 | 3,394 | 3,508 | ||||||||||||
| Income before federal income taxes | 2,225 | 2,291 | 2,842 | 3,012 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for federal income taxes | 452 | 547 | 563 | 603 | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 1,773 | $ | 1,744 | $ | 2,279 | $ | 2,409 | ||||||||
| Earnings per share – basic | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.60 | $ | 0.62 | ||||||||
| Earnings per share – diluted | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.45 | $ | 0.59 | $ | 0.63 | ||||||||
| Dividends per share | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 | ||||||||
| Return on average assets | 0.91 | % | 0.92 | % | 1.23 | % | 1.36 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average equity | 14.41 | % | 14.36 | % | 19.58 | % | 22.87 | % | ||||||||
| Shares outstanding at quarter end | 3,837,609 | 3,837,085 | 3,831,939 | 3,825,451 | ||||||||||||
| Book value per share | $ | 12.40 | $ | 12.64 | $ | 12.51 | $ | 11.69 | ||||||||
| Tangible equity per share | $ | 11.95 | $ | 12.20 | $ | 12.06 | $ | 11.24 | ||||||||
| MAIN STREET FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP. | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-GAAP reconciliation | ||||||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands, except per share data – unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
| For three months ended | For the nine months ended | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Net Income as reported – GAAP | $ | 3,446 | $ | 1,773 | $ | 1,518 | $ | 5,796 | ||||||||
| Effect of merger related expenses (net of tax benefit) | 170 | 160 | 5,743 | 597 | ||||||||||||
| Net Income non-GAAP | $ | 3,616 | $ | 1,933 | $ | 7,261 | $ | 6,393 | ||||||||
| Earnings per share – GAAP | $ | 0.44 | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.27 | $ | 1.51 | ||||||||
| Effect of merger related expenses | 0.02 | 0.04 | 1.03 | 0.16 | ||||||||||||
| Earnings per share non-GAAP | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.50 | $ | 1.30 | $ | 1.67 | ||||||||
| Return on average assets – GAAP | 1.00 | % | 0.91 | % | 0.19 | % | 1.02 | % | ||||||||
| Effect of merger related expenses | 0.05 | % | 0.08 | % | 0.72 | % | 0.10 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average assets non-GAAP | 1.05 | % | 0.99 | % | 0.91 | % | 1.12 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average equity – GAAP | 12.58 | % | 14.41 | % | 2.66 | % | 16.06 | % | ||||||||
| Effect of merger related expenses | 0.62 | % | 1.29 | % | 10.06 | % | 1.65 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average equity non-GAAP | 13.20 | % | 15.70 | % | 12.72 | % | 17.71 | % | ||||||||
| Efficiency Ratio – GAAP | 64.34 | % | 61.24 | % | 73.92 | % | 58.42 | % | ||||||||
| Effect of merger related expenses | -1.39 | % | -3.07 | % | -9.90 | % | -3.29 | % | ||||||||
| Efficiency Ratio non-GAAP | 62.9 | % | 58.17 | % | 64.02 | % | 55.13 | % | ||||||||
Source: Green Party
Today, Statistics New Zealand’s latest labour market report revealed that unemployment has reached 4.8 per cent, the highest rate since late 2020, during the COVID pandemic.
“The Government’s economy for the rich is leaving thousands behind,” says the Green Party’s Spokesperson for Social Development and Employment, Ricardo Menéndez-March.
“We can build an economy that works for everyone and leaves nobody behind by investing in the public services and infrastructure which support our communities as well as programmes like jobs for nature that provide people with meaningful and stable work.
“The unemployment rate has hit the highest level since COVID, and this is down to the coalition government relying on making people unemployed to lower inflation while prioritising tax cuts, slashing public investment, and undermining the construction industry.
“Losing a job shouldn’t condemn families to poverty, yet successive Governments have set benefit levels below the poverty line and pushed ahead with sanctions that entrench hardship.
“Instead of punching down on those doing it the toughest and pushing more children into hardship, the Greens will lift all families out of poverty with a Guaranteed Minimum Income.
“This Government’s punitive approach to welfare and public investment is clearly not working. The Government has engineered an economy that punches down on our communities, one without jobs that simultaneously punishes people for not being able to find work.
“Poverty is a political choice, one that successive governments have chosen not to address. However, with unemployment rising and households experiencing wave after wave of financial strain, there is no better time than the present to end poverty and introduce an Income Guarantee.
“This is a policy we campaigned on and will continue to push as disparities in wealth widen and the incomes of people on the breadline stagnate.
“The Income Guarantee is a commitment to every New Zealander that no matter what, your income will never fall below $390 per week, after tax. For couples, our Income Guarantee will be at least $780, and a single parent will always have an income of at least $750.
“The Greens would support people into work with a supportive welfare system, more training opportunities, and restarting public investment in healthcare, schools, and houses that create good jobs,” says Ricardo Menéndez-March.
Source: US State of Connecticut
Any company that strives to be profitable and successful needs to include women and other diverse representatives in its leadership. Yet even in the most forward-focused organizations, women may still face obstacles to inclusion.
Sameer Somal, a tech entrepreneur and the co-founder of Girl Power Talk and Girl Power USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping you women become leaders in business and society, will share his experiences and perspective on empowering women during the next Equity Now presentation on Nov. 19. The event is sponsored by School of Business.
“If you look at society for the last 1,000 years, women have too often been sidelined from positions of leadership. Yet studies have repeatedly shown that when women are added to the C-Suite and to Boards of Directors, those companies outperform their peers,’’ Somal said.
“I want business students to be aware that investing in and supporting women is not a trend or a fad, but something that can help your company reach its full potential,’’ he said.
His presentation, “Empowering Girls and Women in Organizations: A Conversation with Sameer Somal,” begins at noon on Nov. 19. The program is available via livestream. To register, please visit the registration page.
Somal is the CEO and co-Founder of Blue Global Technology, focused on digital transformation, risk management, and technology development. Raised by a progressive father, and inspired by a friend, he began a journey to help girls and women advance in both business and society.
He will discuss how his organization inspires young women to be their best in their personal and professional lives, and how passionate engagement with girls today empowers them to build a career full of purpose.
Somal will also discuss the obstacles that women and other diverse employees face in the workplace, including how corporate structure has historically been designed to keep women out; hiring and promotion processes that favor men; and adverse institutional mindsets about who qualifies for certain roles, particularly in leadership.
Even today, women often walk a tightrope of expectations, he said. They are expected to exhibit assertiveness, independence, and dominance but still convey sensitivity and compassion.
“While both gender-specific roles and traits are dated concepts, female leaders often have to strike a hard balance to be seen as worthy, adding to the pressure that leadership brings with it,’’ he said.
Finally, women face ‘affinity bias’ in the workplace. Most corporate decisionmakers are still men, and affinity bias can lead them to consciously or unconsciously hire and promote people who are like them, he said.
Somal is a member of the Board of Directors of Future Business Leaders or America, the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and the American Bar association. A graduate of Georgetown University, he has held leadership roles at Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Scotiabank before creating his own company.
The 2024-25 Equity Now series began in October with a presentation by Lauren Cleary, an ethics and compliance professional at Patagonia, who spoke about the importance of privacy in organizations.
“Each speaker in the Equity Now speaker series brings their own unique perspective on how legal and ethical issues are deeply intertwined in both business and society,’’ said business law professor Robert Bird, who spearheads the programs.
“For an organization to be truly successful, it must meet, if not exceed, the expectations of stakeholders in the society in which it conducts business,’’ he said. “The Equity Now speaker series brings those expectations into clear focus through the expert academics and practitioners that are invited to share their ideas.’’
The Equity Now series features expert insight on how law and policy can create diversity, equity and fairness in both organizations and society. The UConn program is conducted in affiliation with the Academy of Legal Studies in Business, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Boston and Temple universities.
