Category: housing

MIL-OSI: Veritex Holdings, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2025 Operating Results and Declares Quarterly Dividend

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

DALLAS, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Veritex Holdings, Inc. (“Veritex”, the “Company”, “we” or “our”) (Nasdaq: VBTX), the holding company for Veritex Community Bank, today announced the results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.

The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share of common stock. The dividend will be payable on August 21, 2025 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 7, 2025.

	Quarter to Date
*Financial Highlights*	Q2 2025			Q1 2025			Q2 2024
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited)
GAAP
Net income	$	30,906		$	29,070		$	27,202
Diluted EPS		0.56			0.53			0.50
Book value per common share		30.39			30.08			28.49
Return on average assets¹		1.00	%		0.94	%		0.87	%
Return on average equity¹		7.56			7.27			7.10
Net interest margin		3.33			3.31			3.29
Efficiency ratio		61.15			60.91			59.11
Non-GAAP²
Operating earnings	$	30,906		$	29,707		$	28,310
Diluted operating EPS		0.56			0.54			0.52
Tangible book value per common share		22.68			22.33			20.62
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings		42,672			43,413			44,420
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average assets¹		1.38	%		1.41	%		1.42	%
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average loans¹		1.82			1.89			1.83
Operating return on average assets¹		1.00			0.96			0.91
Return on average tangible common equity¹		10.79			10.49			10.54
Operating return on average tangible common equity¹		10.79			10.70			10.94
Operating efficiency ratio		61.15			60.62			58.41

^{1 Annualized ratio.}
^{2 Refer to the section titled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of these non-generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.}

Other Second Quarter Credit, Capital and Company Highlights

Credit quality remained strong with a nonperforming assets (“NPAs”) to total assets ratio of 0.60% and annualized net charge-offs of 0.05% for the quarter and 0.11% year-to-date;
Allowance for Credit Losses (“ACL”) to total loans held-for-investment ratio (excluding mortgage warehouse (“MW”)) remained relatively unchanged at 1.28%;
Capital remains strong with common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.05% as of June 30, 2025;
Book value per share increased $0.31 to $30.39 and tangible book value per share increased $0.35 to $22.68;
We repurchased 286,291 and 663,637 shares of Company stock for $7.1 million and $16.6 million during the second quarter and year-to-date, respectively; and
On July 14, 2025, we announced entry into a definitive agreement to merge with Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (“Huntington”), which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2025

Net Interest Income

For the three months ended June 30, 2025, net interest income before provision for credit losses was $96.3 million and net interest margin (“NIM”) was 3.33% compared to $95.4 million and 3.31%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The $894 thousand increase, or 0.9%, in net interest income before provision for credit losses was primarily due to a $2.8 million increase in interest income on loans, a $1.7 million decrease in interest expense on certificates and other time deposits and a $768 thousand decrease in subordinated debentures and subordinated notes, partially offset by a $2.9 million increase in interest expense on transaction and savings deposits and a $1.2 million decrease in interest income on deposits in financial institutions and fed funds sold for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025. The NIM increased two basis points (bps) compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025, primarily due to the decreased funding costs on certificates and other time deposits and subordinated debt due to the redemption of $75.0 million in subordinated debt during the three months ended March 31, 2025 as well as a mix shift from lower yielding to higher yielding assets for the three months ended June 30, 2025. The increase was largely offset by higher deposits funding costs primarily driven by the expiration of favorable hedges on money market deposit accounts at the end of the first quarter 2025.

Compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, net interest income before provision for credit losses for the three months ended June 30, 2025 was relatively unchanged. Net interest income benefited from decreases in interest expense of $16.3 million on certificates and other time deposits, $1.4 million on advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) and $1.1 million on subordinated debentures and subordinated notes, as well as an increase of $1.5 million in interest income on debt securities. These changes were substantially offset by a decrease of $17.6 million in interest income on loans and a $2.5 million increase in interest expense on interest-bearing demand and savings deposits. The NIM increased four bps from 3.29% for the three months ended June 30, 2024 to 3.33% for the three months ended June 30, 2025. The increase was primarily due to decreased funding costs on deposits, advances and subordinated debt resulting from interest rate cuts for the year over year period, partially offset by the related declines in rates earned on interest-earnings assets, primarily loans.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the three months ended June 30, 2025 was $13.5 million, a decrease of $790 thousand, or 5.5%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025. The change was primarily due to a $1.6 million decrease in government guaranteed loan income, partially offset by an $850 thousand increase in customer swap income during the period.

Compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, noninterest income for the three months ended June 30, 2025 increased by $2.9 million, or 27.6%. The increase was primarily due to a $1.2 million increase in customer swap income, a $728 thousand increase in service charges and fees on deposit accounts, a $528 thousand increase in loan fees and a $368 thousand increase in government guaranteed loan income for the year over year period.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense was $67.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to $66.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, an increase of $328 thousand, or 0.5%. The increase was primarily due to a $920 thousand increase in other noninterest expense, a $627 thousand increase in professional and regulatory fees and a $580 thousand increase in marketing expenses compared to the three months ended March 31, 2025. The increase was largely offset by a $1.7 million decrease in salaries and employee benefits primarily due to $733 thousand in lower payroll taxes, which are historically higher in the first quarter, as well as decreases of $678 thousand in bonus expense, $370 thousand in employee insurance expense and $340 thousand in stock grant expenses, offset partially by a $1.0 million increase in salaries expense. In addition, deferred loan origination costs, which reduce salaries expense, were $399 thousand higher for the three months ended June 30, 2025.

Compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, noninterest expense for the three months ended June 30, 2025 increased by $4.0 million, or 6.4%. The increase was primarily due to a $2.2 million increase in salaries and employee benefits driven by a $4.7 million increase in salaries expense and incentives accruals and a $521 thousand increase in payroll taxes, offset by decreases of $1.1 million in stock grant expense and $661 thousand in severance expense, as well as $1.6 million higher deferred loan origination costs, which reduces salaries and employee benefit expense. Additionally, there was a $1.1 million increase in other noninterest expense, driven primarily by higher OREO expenses, and a $636 thousand increase in marketing expenses during the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to the same period in the prior year.

Income Tax

Income tax expense for the three months ended June 30, 2025 totaled $8.5 million, which is consistent with the amount recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The Company’s effective tax rate was approximately 21.6% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to 22.7% for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Compared to the three months ended June 30, 2024, income tax expense increased by $295 thousand, or 3.6%, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2025. The Company’s effective tax rate was approximately 23.2% for the three months ended June 30, 2024.

Financial Condition

Total loans held for investment (“LHI”), excluding MW was $8.78 billion at June 30, 2025, a decrease of $44.7 million compared to March 31, 2025.

Total deposits were $10.42 billion at June 30, 2025, a decrease of $247.2 million compared to March 31, 2025. The decrease was primarily the result of decreases of $185.4 million in noninterest bearing deposits and $171.4 million in interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits, partially offset by an increase of $113.5 million in certificates and other time deposits.

Credit Quality

NPAs totaled $75.2 million, or 0.60% of total assets, of which $66.0 million represented LHI and $9.2 million represented OREO at June 30, 2025, compared to $96.9 million, or 0.77% of total assets, at March 31, 2025. The Company had net charge-offs of $1.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025. Annualized net charge-offs to average loans outstanding were five bps for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to 17 bps and 28 bps for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively.

ACL as a percentage of LHI was 1.19% at both June 30, 2025 and March 31, 2025 and 1.16% at June 30, 2024. ACL as a percentage of LHI (excluding MW) was 1.28% at June 30, 2025, 1.27% at March 31, 2025 and 1.23% at June 30, 2024. The Company recorded a provision for credit losses on loans of $1.8 million, $4.0 million and $8.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2024, respectively. The provision for credit losses for the three months ended June 30, 2025 was primarily attributable to changes in economic factors for the period. The balance for unfunded commitments increased to $8.9 million as of June 30, 2025, compared to $7.4 million at March 31, 2025, and we recorded a $1.5 million provision for unfunded commitments for the three months ended June 30, 2025, compared to a $1.3 million provision for unfunded commitments for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and no provision recorded for unfunded commitments for the three months ended June 30, 2024. The increase in the allowance for unfunded commitments was attributable to increases in unfunded balances and changes in economic factors for the period.

Dividend Information

On July 18, 2025, Veritex’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share on its outstanding shares of common stock. The dividend will be paid on or after August 21, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 7, 2025.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Veritex’s management uses certain non-GAAP (U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) financial measures to evaluate its operating performance and provide information that is important to investors. However, non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, Veritex’s reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Specifically, Veritex reviews and reports tangible book value per common share of the Company; operating earnings; tangible common equity to tangible assets; return on average tangible common equity; pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings; pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average assets; pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average loans; diluted operating earnings per share; operating return on average assets; operating return on average tangible common equity; and operating efficiency ratio. Veritex has included in this earnings release information related to these non-GAAP financial measures for the applicable periods presented. Please refer to “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” after the financial highlights at the end of this earnings release for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures.

About Veritex Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Veritex is a bank holding company that conducts banking activities through its wholly owned subsidiary, Veritex Community Bank, with locations throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and in the Houston metropolitan area. Veritex Community Bank is a Texas state chartered bank regulated by the Texas Department of Banking and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. For more information, visit www.veritexbank.com.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of Veritex and Huntington, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties that are beyond the control of Veritex and Huntington. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, estimates, uncertainties and other important factors that change over time and could cause actual results to differ materially from any results, performance, or events expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including as a result of the factors referenced below. Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expect, anticipate, continue, believe, intend, estimate, plan, trend, objective, target, goal, or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, may, might, should, would, could, or similar variations. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Veritex and Huntington caution that the forward-looking statements in this communication are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to assess and are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond Veritex’s and Huntington’s control. While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking statements or historical performance: changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions; deterioration in business and economic conditions, including persistent inflation, supply chain issues or labor shortages, instability in global economic conditions and geopolitical matters, as well as volatility in financial markets; changes in U.S. trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs; the impact of pandemics and other catastrophic events or disasters on the global economy and financial market conditions and our business, results of operations, and financial condition; the impacts related to or resulting from bank failures and other volatility, including potential increased regulatory requirements and costs, such as FDIC special assessments, long-term debt requirements and heightened capital requirements, and potential impacts to macroeconomic conditions, which could affect the ability of depository institutions, including us, to attract and retain depositors and to borrow or raise capital; unexpected outflows of uninsured deposits which may require us to sell investment securities at a loss; changing interest rates which could negatively impact the value of our portfolio of investment securities; the loss of value of our investment portfolio which could negatively impact market perceptions of us and could lead to deposit withdrawals; the effects of social media on market perceptions of us and banks generally; cybersecurity risks; uncertainty in U.S. fiscal and monetary policy, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve; volatility and disruptions in global capital, foreign exchange and credit markets; movements in interest rates; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success, impact, and timing of our business strategies, including market acceptance of any new products or services including those implementing our “Fair Play” banking philosophy; changes in policies and standards for regulatory review of bank mergers; the nature, extent, timing, and results of governmental actions, examinations, reviews, reforms, regulations, and interpretations, including those related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Basel III regulatory capital reforms, as well as those involving the SEC, OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, CFPB and state-level regulators; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement between Veritex and Huntington; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Veritex and Huntington; delays in completing the transaction; the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction); the failure to obtain Veritex shareholder approval or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the transaction on a timely basis or at all; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where Veritex and Huntington do business; the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; potential adverse reactions or changes to business, customer or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; the ability to complete the transaction and integration of Veritex and Huntington successfully; the dilution caused by Huntington’s issuance of additional shares of its capital stock in connection with the transaction; and other factors that may affect the future results of Veritex and Huntington. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Veritex’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, each of which is on file with the SEC and available on Veritex’s investor relations website, ir.veritexbank.com, under the heading “Financials” and in other documents Veritex files with the SEC, and in Huntington’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, each of which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available in the “Investor Relations” section of Huntington’s website, http://www.huntington.com, under the heading “Investor Relations” and in other documents Huntington files with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements set forth above. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time. Neither Veritex nor Huntington assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or other factors affecting forward-looking statements that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. If Veritex or Huntington update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that Veritex or Huntington will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
	For the Quarter Ended															For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2025			Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share data)
Per Share Data (Common Stock):
Basic EPS	$	0.57		$	0.53		$	0.46		$	0.57		$	0.50		$	1.10		$	0.94
Diluted EPS		0.56			0.53			0.45			0.56			0.50			1.09			0.94
Book value per common share		30.39			30.08			29.37			29.53			28.49			30.39			28.49
Tangible book value per common share¹		22.68			22.33			21.61			21.72			20.62			22.68			20.62
Dividends paid per common share outstanding²		0.22			0.22			0.20			0.20			0.20			0.44			0.40

Common Stock Data:
Shares outstanding at period end		54,265			54,297			54,517			54,446			54,350			54,265			54,350
Weighted average basic shares outstanding for the period		54,251			54,486			54,489			54,409			54,457			54,368			54,451
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding for the period		54,766			55,123			55,237			54,932			54,823			54,944			54,832

Summary of Credit Ratios:
ACL to total LHI		1.19	%		1.19	%		1.18	%		1.21	%		1.16	%		1.19	%		1.16	%
NPAs to total assets		0.60			0.77			0.62			0.52			0.65			0.60			0.65
NPAs, excluding nonaccrual purchase credit deteriorated (“PCD”) loans, to total assets³		0.60			0.77			0.62			0.52			0.65			0.60			0.65
NPAs to total loans and OREO		0.79			1.03			0.83			0.70			0.85			0.79			0.85
Net charge-offs to average loans outstanding³		0.05			0.17			0.32			0.01			0.28			0.11			0.25

Summary Performance Ratios:
Return on average assets³		1.00	%		0.94	%		0.78	%		0.96	%		0.87	%		0.97	%		0.83	%
Return on average equity³		7.56			7.27			6.17			7.79			7.10			7.42			6.72
Return on average tangible common equity^{1, 3}		10.79			10.49			9.04			11.33			10.54			10.64			10.03
Efficiency ratio		61.15			60.91			67.04			61.94			59.11			61.03			60.72
Net interest margin		3.33			3.31			3.20			3.30			3.29			3.32			3.27

Selected Performance Metrics – Operating:
Diluted operating EPS¹	$	0.56		$	0.54		$	0.54		$	0.59		$	0.52		$	1.10		$	1.05
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average assets^{1, 3}		1.38	%		1.41	%		1.28	%		1.38	%		1.42	%		1.39	%		1.42	%
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average loans^{1, 3}		1.82			1.89			1.72			1.83			1.83			1.86			1.83
Operating return on average assets^1,3		1.00			0.96			0.93			1.00			0.91			0.98			0.93
Operating return on average tangible common equity^1,3		10.79			10.70			10.69			11.74			10.94			10.75			11.14
Operating efficiency ratio¹		61.15			60.62			62.98			60.63			58.41			60.88			58.57

Veritex Holdings, Inc. Capital Ratios:
Average stockholders’ equity to average total assets		13.19	%		12.96	%		12.58	%		12.31	%		12.26	%		13.07	%		12.34	%
Tangible common equity to tangible assets¹		10.16			9.95			9.54			9.37			9.14			10.16			9.14
Tier 1 capital to average assets (leverage)⁴		10.73			10.55			10.32			10.06			10.06			10.73			10.06
Common equity tier 1 capital⁴		11.05			11.04			11.09			10.86			10.49			11.05			10.49
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets⁴		11.32			11.31			11.36			11.13			10.75			11.32			10.75
Total capital to risk-weighted assets⁴		13.46			13.46			13.96			13.91			13.45			13.46			13.45
Risk-weighted assets⁴	$	11,435,978		$	11,318,220		$	11,247,813		$	11,290,800		$	11,450,997		$	11,435,978		$	11,450,997

^{1 Refer to the section titled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” after the financial highlights for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.}
^{2 Dividend amount represents dividend paid per common share subsequent to each respective quarter end.}
^{3 Annualized ratio for quarterly metrics.}
^{4 June 30, 2025 ratios and risk-weighted assets are estimated.}

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (In thousands)
	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024
	(unaudited)			(unaudited)						(unaudited)			(unaudited)
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	$	66,696		$	81,088		$	52,486		$	54,165		$	53,462
Interest bearing deposits in other banks		703,869			768,702			802,714			1,046,625			598,375
Cash and cash equivalents		770,565			849,790			855,200			1,100,790			651,837
Debt securities, net		1,418,804			1,463,157			1,478,538			1,423,610			1,349,354
Other investments		73,986			69,452			69,638			71,257			75,885
Loans held for sale (“LHFS”)		69,480			69,236			89,309			48,496			57,046
LHI, MW		669,052			571,775			605,411			630,650			568,047
LHI, excluding MW		8,783,988			8,828,672			8,899,133			9,028,575			9,209,094
Total loans		9,522,520			9,469,683			9,593,853			9,707,721			9,834,187
ACL		(112,262	)		(111,773	)		(111,745	)		(117,162	)		(113,431	)
Bank-owned life insurance		86,048			85,424			85,324			84,776			84,233
Bank premises, furniture and equipment, net		116,642			112,801			113,480			114,202			105,222
Other real estate owned (“OREO”)		9,218			24,268			24,737			9,034			24,256
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization		25,006			27,974			28,664			32,825			35,817
Goodwill		404,452			404,452			404,452			404,452			404,452
Other assets		212,889			210,863			226,200			211,471			232,518
Total assets	$	12,527,868		$	12,606,091		$	12,768,341		$	13,042,976		$	12,684,330
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing deposits	$	2,133,294		$	2,318,645		$	2,191,457		$	2,643,894		$	2,416,727
Interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits		5,009,137			5,180,495			5,061,157			4,204,708			3,979,454
Certificates and other time deposits		2,792,750			2,679,221			2,958,861			3,625,920			3,744,596
Correspondent money market deposits		482,739			486,762			541,117			561,489			584,067
Total deposits		10,417,920			10,665,123			10,752,592			11,036,011			10,724,844
Accounts payable and other liabilities		135,647			151,579			183,944			168,415			180,585
Advances from FHLB		169,000			—			—			—			—
Subordinated debentures and subordinated notes		156,082			155,909			230,736			230,536			230,285
Total liabilities		10,878,649			10,972,611			11,167,272			11,434,962			11,135,714
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock		617			615			613			613			612
Additional paid-in capital		1,329,803			1,329,626			1,328,748			1,324,929			1,321,995
Retained earnings		545,015			526,044			507,903			493,921			473,801
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(38,528	)		(42,170	)		(65,076	)		(40,330	)		(76,713	)
Treasury stock		(187,688	)		(180,635	)		(171,119	)		(171,119	)		(171,079	)
Total stockholders’ equity		1,649,219			1,633,480			1,601,069			1,608,014			1,548,616
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	12,527,868		$	12,606,091		$	12,768,341		$	13,042,976		$	12,684,330

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (In thousands, except per share data)
	For the Quarter Ended											For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025		Mar 31, 2025		Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2025		Jun 30, 2024
	(unaudited)		(unaudited)		(unaudited)			(unaudited)		(unaudited)		(unaudited)		(unaudited)
Interest income:
Loans, including fees	$	149,354	$	146,505	$	154,998		$	167,261	$	166,979	$	295,859	$	328,921
Debt securities		16,883		17,106		16,893			15,830		15,408		33,989		29,103
Deposits in financial institutions and Fed Funds sold		8,039		9,244		11,888			12,571		7,722		17,283		15,772
Equity securities and other investments		847		870		940			1,001		1,138		1,717		2,038
Total interest income		175,123		173,725		184,719			196,663		191,247		348,848		375,834
Interest expense:
Transaction and savings deposits		48,080		45,165		44,841			47,208		45,619		93,245		92,403
Certificates and other time deposits		28,539		30,268		40,279			46,230		44,811		58,807		85,303
Advances from FHLB		113		27		130			47		1,468		140		2,859
Subordinated debentures and subordinated notes		2,056		2,824		3,328			3,116		3,113		4,880		6,227
Total interest expense		78,788		78,284		88,578			96,601		95,011		157,072		186,792
Net interest income		96,335		95,441		96,141			100,062		96,236		191,776		189,042
Provision for credit losses		1,750		4,000		2,300			4,000		8,250		5,750		15,750
Provision (benefit) for unfunded commitments		1,500		1,300		(401	)		—		—		2,800		(1,541	)
Net interest income after provisions		93,085		90,141		94,242			96,062		87,986		183,226		174,833
Noninterest income:
Service charges and fees on deposit accounts		5,702		5,611		5,612			5,442		4,974		11,313		9,870
Loan fees		2,735		2,495		2,265			3,278		2,207		5,230		4,717
Loss on sales of debt securities		—		—		(4,397	)		—		—		—		(6,304	)
Government guaranteed loan income, net		1,688		3,301		5,368			780		1,320		4,989		3,934
Customer swap income		1,550		700		509			271		326		2,250		775
Other income		1,824		2,182		699			3,335		1,751		4,006		4,248
Total noninterest income		13,499		14,289		10,056			13,106		10,578		27,788		17,240
Noninterest expense:
Salaries and employee benefits		34,957		36,624		37,446			37,370		32,790		71,581		66,155
Occupancy and equipment		4,511		4,650		4,633			4,789		4,585		9,161		9,262
Professional and regulatory fees		5,558		4,931		5,564			4,903		5,617		10,489		11,670
Data processing and software expense		5,507		5,403		5,741			5,268		5,097		10,910		9,953
Marketing		2,612		2,032		2,896			2,781		1,976		4,644		3,522
Amortization of intangibles		2,438		2,438		2,437			2,438		2,438		4,876		4,876
Telephone and communications		233		330		323			335		365		563		626
Other		11,346		10,426		12,154			12,216		10,273		21,772		19,193
Total noninterest expense		67,162		66,834		71,194			70,100		63,141		133,996		125,257
Income before income tax expense		39,422		37,596		33,104			39,068		35,423		77,018		66,816
Income tax expense		8,516		8,526		8,222			8,067		8,221		17,042		15,458
Net income	$	30,906	$	29,070	$	24,882		$	31,001	$	27,202	$	59,976	$	51,358

Basic EPS	$	0.57	$	0.53	$	0.46		$	0.57	$	0.50	$	1.10	$	0.94
Diluted EPS	$	0.56	$	0.53	$	0.45		$	0.56	$	0.50	$	1.09	$	0.94
Weighted average basic shares outstanding		54,251		54,486		54,489			54,409		54,457		54,368		54,451
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding		54,766		55,123		55,237			54,932		54,823		54,944		54,832

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
	For the Quarter Ended
	June 30, 2025							March 31, 2025							June 30, 2024
	Average Outstanding Balance			Interest Earned/ Interest Paid		Average Yield/ Rate⁴		Average Outstanding Balance			Interest Earned/ Interest Paid		Average Yield/ Rate⁴		Average Outstanding Balance			Interest Earned/ Interest Paid		Average Yield/ Rate⁴
	(Dollars in thousands)
Assets
Interest-earning assets:
Loans¹	$	8,875,970		$	141,688	6.40	%	$	8,886,905		$	140,329	6.40	%	$	9,344,482		$	160,323	6.90	%
LHI, MW		523,203			7,666	5.88			426,724			6,176	5.87			420,946			6,656	6.36
Debt securities		1,440,369			16,883	4.70			1,467,220			17,106	4.73			1,352,293			15,408	4.58
Interest-bearing deposits in other banks		707,933			8,039	4.55			827,751			9,244	4.53			560,586			7,722	5.54
Equity securities and other investments		70,779			847	4.80			70,696			870	4.99			78,964			1,138	5.80
Total interest-earning assets		11,618,254			175,123	6.05			11,679,296			173,725	6.03			11,757,271			191,247	6.54
ACL		(112,369	)						(111,563	)						(115,978	)
Noninterest-earning assets		933,328							938,401							937,413
Total assets	$	12,439,213						$	12,506,134						$	12,578,706

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing demand and savings deposits	$	5,502,672		$	48,080	3.50	%	$	5,449,091		$	45,165	3.36	%	$	4,570,329		$	45,619	4.01	%
Certificates and other time deposits		2,742,655			28,539	4.17			2,726,309			30,268	4.50			3,591,035			44,811	5.02
Advances from FHLB and Other		9,813			113	4.62			2,333			27	4.69			106,648			1,468	5.54
Subordinated debentures and subordinated notes		155,985			2,056	5.29			191,638			2,824	5.98			230,141			3,113	5.44
Total interest-bearing liabilities		8,411,125			78,788	3.76			8,369,371			78,284	3.79			8,498,153			95,011	4.50

Noninterest-bearing liabilities:
Noninterest-bearing deposits		2,244,745							2,345,586							2,346,908
Other liabilities		142,925							170,389							192,036
Total liabilities		10,798,795							10,885,346							11,037,097
Stockholders’ equity		1,640,418							1,620,788							1,541,609
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	12,439,213						$	12,506,134						$	12,578,706

Net interest rate spread²						2.29	%						2.24	%						2.04	%
Net interest income and margin³				$	96,335	3.33	%				$	95,441	3.31	%				$	96,236	3.29	%

^{1 Includes average outstanding balances of LHFS of $62.2 million, $66.3 million and $58.5 million for the quarters ended June 30, 2025, March 31, 2025, and June 30, 2024, respectively, and average balances of LHI, excluding MW.}
^{2 Net interest rate spread is the average yield on interest-earning assets minus the average rate on interest-bearing liabilities.}
^{3 Net interest margin is equal to net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.}
^{4 Yields and rates for the quarter are annualized}

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (In thousands, except percentages)
	For the Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2025							June 30, 2024
	Average Outstanding Balance			Interest Earned/ Interest Paid		Average Yield/ Rate⁴		Average Outstanding Balance			Interest Earned/ Interest Paid		Average Yield/ Rate⁴
Assets
Interest-earning assets:
Loans¹	$	8,881,407		$	282,017	6.40	%	$	9,314,148		$	317,908	6.86	%
LHI, MW		475,230			13,842	5.87			350,252			11,013	6.32
Debt securities		1,453,721			33,989	4.71			1,323,644			29,103	4.42
Interest-bearing deposits in other banks		767,511			17,283	4.54			572,589			15,772	5.54
Equity securities and other investments		70,738			1,717	4.89			77,616			2,038	5.28
Total interest-earning assets		11,648,607			348,848	6.04			11,638,249			375,834	6.49
ACL		(111,969	)						(114,104	)
Noninterest-earning assets		935,850							933,229
Total assets	$	12,472,488						$	12,457,374

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing demand and savings deposits	$	5,476,030		$	93,245	3.43	%	$	4,604,887		$	92,403	4.04	%
Certificates and other time deposits		2,734,527			58,807	4.34			3,437,385			85,303	4.99
Advances from FHLB and Other		6,094			140	4.63			103,819			2,859	5.54
Subordinated debentures and subordinated notes		173,713			4,880	5.67			230,011			6,227	5.44
Total interest-bearing liabilities		8,390,364			157,072	3.78			8,376,102			186,792	4.48

Noninterest-bearing liabilities:
Noninterest-bearing deposits		2,294,887							2,351,112
Other liabilities		156,580							192,422
Total liabilities		10,841,831							10,919,636
Stockholders’ equity		1,630,657							1,537,738
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	12,472,488						$	12,457,374

Net interest rate spread²						2.26	%						2.01	%
Net interest income and margin³				$	191,776	3.32	%				$	189,042	3.27	%

¹^{Includes average outstanding balances of LHFS of $64.2 million and $56.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and average balances of LHI, excluding MW.}
^{2 Net interest rate spread is the average yield on interest-earning assets minus the average rate on interest-bearing liabilities.}
^{3 Net interest margin is equal to net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.}
^{4 Yields and rates for the six month periods are annualized}

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
Yield Trend
	For the Quarter Ended										For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025		Mar 31, 2025		Dec 31, 2024		Sep 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2025		Jun 30, 2024
Average yield on interest-earning assets:
Loans¹	6.40	%	6.40	%	6.56	%	6.89	%	6.90	%	6.40	%	6.86	%
LHI, MW	5.88		5.87		5.83		6.75		6.36		5.87		6.32
Total Loans	6.37		6.38		6.53		6.89		6.88		6.38		6.84
Debt securities	4.70		4.73		4.61		4.55		4.58		4.71		4.42
Interest-bearing deposits in other banks	4.55		4.53		4.87		5.41		5.54		4.54		5.54
Equity securities and other investments	4.80		4.99		5.18		5.25		5.80		4.89		5.28
Total interest-earning assets	6.05	%	6.03	%	6.15	%	6.49	%	6.54	%	6.04	%	6.49	%

Average rate on interest-bearing liabilities:
Interest-bearing demand and savings deposits	3.50	%	3.36	%	3.57	%	4.00	%	4.01	%	3.43	%	4.04	%
Certificates and other time deposits	4.17		4.50		4.83		5.00		5.02		4.34		4.99
Advances from FHLB and other	4.62		4.69		4.88		5.73		5.54		4.63		5.54
Subordinated debentures and subordinated notes	5.29		5.98		5.74		5.38		5.44		5.67		5.44
Total interest-bearing liabilities	3.76	%	3.79	%	4.12	%	4.46	%	4.50	%	3.78	%	4.48	%

Net interest rate spread²	2.29	%	2.24	%	2.03	%	2.03	%	2.04	%	2.26	%	2.01	%
Net interest margin³	3.33	%	3.31	%	3.20	%	3.30	%	3.29	%	3.32	%	3.27	%

^{1Includes average outstanding balances of LHFS of $62.2 million, $66.3 million, $46.4 million, $54.3 million and $58.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2025, March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, respectively and $64.2 million and $56.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2024 respectively, and average balances of LHI, excluding MW.
2 Net interest rate spread is the average yield on interest-earning assets minus the average rate on interest-bearing liabilities.}
^{3 Net interest margin is equal to net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.}

Supplemental Yield Trend
	For the Quarter Ended										For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025		Mar 31, 2025		Dec 31, 2024		Sep 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2025		Jun 30, 2024
Average cost of interest-bearing deposits	3.73	%	3.74	%	4.07	%	4.44	%	4.46	%	3.73	%	3.33	%
Average costs of total deposits, including noninterest-bearing	2.93		2.91		3.16		3.42		3.46		2.92		2.48

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
LHI and Deposit Portfolio Composition
	Jun 30, 2025					Mar 31, 2025					Dec 31, 2024					Sep 30, 2024					Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars in thousands)
LHI¹
Commercial and Industrial (“C&I”)	$	2,692,209		30.6	%	$	2,717,037		30.7	%	$	2,693,538		30.2	%	$	2,728,544		30.2	%	$	2,798,260		30.4	%
Real Estate:
Owner occupied commercial (“OOCRE”)		800,881		9.1			795,808		9.0			780,003		8.8			807,223		8.9			806,285		8.7
Non-owner occupied commercial (“NOOCRE”)		2,311,466		26.3			2,266,526		25.6			2,382,499		26.7			2,338,094		25.9			2,369,848		25.7
Construction and land		1,142,457		13.0			1,214,260		13.7			1,303,711		14.7			1,436,540		15.8			1,536,580		16.7
Farmland		31,589		0.4			31,339		0.4			31,690		0.4			32,254		0.4			30,512		0.3
1-4 family residential		1,086,342		12.3			1,021,293		11.6			957,341		10.7			944,755		10.5			917,402		10.0
Multi-family residential		718,946		8.2			782,412		8.9			750,218		8.4			738,090		8.2			748,740		8.1
Consumer		8,796		0.1			8,597		0.1			9,115		0.1			11,292		0.1			9,245		0.1
Total LHI¹	$	8,792,686		100	%	$	8,837,272		100	%	$	8,908,115		100	%	$	9,036,792		100	%	$	9,216,872		100	%

MW		669,052					571,775					605,411					630,650					568,047

Total LHI¹	$	9,461,738				$	9,409,047				$	9,513,526				$	9,667,442				$	9,784,919

Total LHFS		69,480					69,236					89,309					48,496					57,046

Total loans	$	9,531,218				$	9,478,283				$	9,602,835				$	9,715,938				$	9,841,965

Deposits
Noninterest-bearing	$	2,133,294		20.5	%	$	2,318,645		21.7	%	$	2,191,457		20.4	%	$	2,643,894		24.0	%	$	2,416,727		22.5	%
Interest-bearing transaction		603,861		5.8			863,462		8.1			839,005		7.8			421,059		3.8			523,272		4.9
Money market		3,856,812		37.0			3,730,446		35.0			3,772,964		35.1			3,462,709		31.4			3,268,286		30.5
Savings		548,464		5.3			586,587		5.5			449,188		4.2			320,940		2.9			187,896		1.8
Certificates and other time deposits		2,792,750		26.8			2,679,221		25.1			2,958,861		27.5			3,625,920		32.8			3,744,596		34.9
Correspondent money market accounts		482,739		4.6			486,762		4.6			541,117		5.0			561,489		5.1			584,067		5.4
Total deposits	$	10,417,920		100	%	$	10,665,123		100	%	$	10,752,592		100	%	$	11,036,011		100	%	$	10,724,844		100	%

Total loans to deposits ratio		91.5	%				88.9	%				89.3	%				88.0	%				91.8	%

Total loans to deposit ratio, excluding MW loans and LHFS		84.4	%				82.9	%				82.8	%				81.9	%				85.9	%

¹^{Total LHI does not include deferred fees of $8.7 million, $8.6 million, $9.0 million, $8.2 million and $7.8 million at June 30, 2025, March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024, respectively.}

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
Asset Quality
	For the Quarter Ended															For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2025			Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars in thousands)
NPAs:
Nonaccrual loans	$	61,142		$	69,188		$	52,521		$	55,335		$	58,537		$	61,142		$	58,537
Nonaccrual PCD loans¹		196			196			—			70			73			196			73
Accruing loans 90 or more days past due²		4,641			3,249			1,914			2,860			143			4,641			143
Total nonperforming loans held for investment (“NPLs”)		65,979			72,633			54,435			58,265			58,753			65,979			58,753
Other real estate owned (“OREO”)		9,218			24,268			24,737			9,034			24,256			9,218			24,256
Total NPAs	$	75,197		$	96,901		$	79,172		$	67,299		$	83,009		$	75,197		$	83,009

Charge-offs:
1-4 family residential	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	(31	)	$	—		$	(31	)
Multifamily		—			—			—			—			(198	)		—			(198	)
OOCRE		—			—			—			—			—			—			(120	)
NOOCRE		(215	)		(3,090	)		(5,113	)		—			(1,969	)		(3,305	)		(6,262	)
C&I		(1,571	)		(918	)		(4,586	)		(2,259	)		(5,601	)		(2,489	)		(6,547	)
Consumer		(55	)		(212	)		(420	)		(54	)		(30	)		(267	)		(101	)
Total charge-offs	$	(1,841	)	$	(4,220	)	$	(10,119	)	$	(2,313	)	$	(7,829	)	$	(6,061	)	$	(13,259	)

Recoveries:
1-4 family residential	$	1		$	21		$	2		$	3		$	—		$	22		$	1
OOCRE		186			—			—			—			120			186			120
NOOCRE		—			—			1,323			—			—			—			—
C&I		131			32			1,047			1,962			361			163			457
MW		—			—			—			46			—			—			—
Consumer		262			195			30			33			497			457			546
Total recoveries	$	580		$	248		$	2,402		$	2,044		$	978		$	828		$	1,124

Net charge-offs	$	(1,261	)	$	(3,972	)	$	(7,717	)	$	(269	)	$	(6,851	)	$	(5,233	)	$	(12,135	)

Provision for credit losses	$	1,750		$	4,000		$	2,300		$	4,000		$	8,250		$	5,750		$	15,750

ACL	$	112,262		$	111,773		$	111,745		$	117,162		$	113,431		$	112,262		$	113,431

Asset Quality Ratios:
NPAs to total assets		0.60	%		0.77	%		0.62	%		0.52	%		0.65	%		0.60	%		0.65	%
NPAs, excluding nonaccrual PCD loans, to total assets		0.60			0.77			0.62			0.52			0.65			0.60			0.65
NPAs to total LHI and OREO		0.79			1.03			0.83			0.70			0.85			0.79			0.85
NPLs to total LHI		0.70			0.77			0.57			0.60			0.60			0.70			0.60
NPLs, excluding nonaccrual PCD loans, to total LHI		0.70			0.77			0.57			0.60			0.60			0.70			0.60
ACL to total LHI		1.19			1.19			1.18			1.21			1.16			1.19			1.16
ACL to total LHI, excluding MW		1.28			1.27			1.25			1.30			1.23			1.28			1.23
Net charge-offs to average loans outstanding³		0.05			0.17			0.32			0.01			0.28			0.11			0.25

^{1 Nonaccrual PCD loans consist of PCD loans that transitioned upon adoption of ASC 326 Financial Instruments – Credit Losses and were accounted for on a pooled basis that have subsequently been placed on nonaccrual status.}
^{2 Accruing loans greater than 90 days past due exclude purchase credit deteriorated loans greater than 90 days past due that are accounted for on a pooled basis.}
^{3 Annualized ratio for quarterly metrics.}

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Unaudited)

We identify certain financial measures discussed in this earnings release as being “non-GAAP financial measures.” In accordance with SEC rules, we classify a financial measure as being a non-GAAP financial measure if that financial measure excludes or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding or including amounts, that are included or excluded, as the case may be, in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, in our statements of income, balance sheets or statements of cash flows. Non-GAAP financial measures do not include operating and other statistical measures or ratios calculated using exclusively either one or both of (i) financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP and (ii) operating measures or other measures that are not non-GAAP financial measures.

The non-GAAP financial measures that we present in this earnings release should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable or other financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the manner in which we calculate the non-GAAP financial measures that we present in this earnings release may differ from that of other companies reporting measures with similar names. You should understand how such other financial institutions calculate their financial measures that appear to be similar or have similar names to the non-GAAP financial measures we have discussed in this earnings release when comparing such non-GAAP financial measures.

Tangible Book Value Per Common Share. Tangible book value is a non-GAAP measure generally used by financial analysts and investment bankers to evaluate financial institutions. We calculate: (a) tangible common equity as total stockholders’ equity less goodwill and core deposit intangibles, net of accumulated amortization; and (b) tangible book value per common share as tangible common equity (as described in clause (a)) divided by number of common shares outstanding. For tangible book value per common share, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is book value per common share.

We believe that this measure is important to many investors in the marketplace who are interested in changes from period to period in book value per common share exclusive of changes in core deposit intangibles. Goodwill and other intangible assets have the effect of increasing total book value while not increasing our tangible book value.

The following table reconciles, as of the dates set forth below, total stockholders’ equity to tangible common equity and presents our tangible book value per common share compared with our book value per common share:

	As of
	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Tangible Common Equity
Total stockholders’ equity	$	1,649,219		$	1,633,480		$	1,601,069		$	1,608,014		$	1,548,616
Adjustments:
Goodwill		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)
Core deposit intangibles		(13,868	)		(16,306	)		(18,744	)		(21,182	)		(23,619	)
Tangible common equity	$	1,230,899		$	1,212,722		$	1,177,873		$	1,182,380		$	1,120,545
Common shares outstanding		54,265			54,297			54,517			54,446			54,350

Book value per common share	$	30.39		$	30.08		$	29.37		$	29.53		$	28.49
Tangible book value per common share	$	22.68		$	22.33		$	21.61		$	21.72		$	20.62

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Unaudited)

Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets. Tangible common equity to tangible assets is a non-GAAP measure generally used by financial analysts and investment bankers to evaluate financial institutions. We calculate: (a) tangible common equity as total stockholders’ equity, less goodwill and core deposit intangibles, net of accumulated amortization; (b) tangible assets as total assets less goodwill and core deposit intangibles, net of accumulated amortization; and (c) tangible common equity to tangible assets as tangible common equity (as described in clause (a)) divided by tangible assets (as described in clause (b)). For tangible common equity to tangible assets, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is total stockholders’ equity to total assets.

We believe that this measure is important to many investors in the marketplace who are interested in the relative changes from period to period in common equity and total assets, in each case, exclusive of changes in core deposit intangibles. Goodwill and other intangible assets have the effect of increasing both total stockholders’ equity and assets while not increasing our tangible common equity or tangible assets.

The following table reconciles, as of the dates set forth below, total stockholders’ equity to tangible common equity and total assets to tangible assets and presents our tangible common equity to tangible assets:

	As of
	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars in thousands)
Tangible Common Equity
Total stockholders’ equity	$	1,649,219		$	1,633,480		$	1,601,069		$	1,608,014		$	1,548,616
Adjustments:
Goodwill		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)
Core deposit intangibles		(13,868	)		(16,306	)		(18,744	)		(21,182	)		(23,619	)
Tangible common equity	$	1,230,899		$	1,212,722		$	1,177,873		$	1,182,380		$	1,120,545
Tangible Assets
Total assets	$	12,527,868		$	12,606,091		$	12,768,341		$	13,042,976		$	12,684,330
Adjustments:
Goodwill		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)
Core deposit intangibles		(13,868	)		(16,306	)		(18,744	)		(21,182	)		(23,619	)
Tangible Assets	$	12,109,548		$	12,185,333		$	12,345,145		$	12,617,342		$	12,256,259
Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets		10.16	%		9.95	%		9.54	%		9.37	%		9.14	%

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Unaudited)

Return on Average Tangible Common Equity. Return on average tangible common equity is a non-GAAP measure generally used by financial analysts and investment bankers to evaluate financial institutions. We calculate: (a) net income available for common stockholders adjusted for amortization of core deposit intangibles (which we refer to as “return”) as net income, plus amortization of core deposit intangibles, less tax benefit at the statutory rate; (b) average tangible common equity as total average stockholders’ equity less average goodwill and average core deposit intangibles, net of accumulated amortization; and (c) return (as described in clause (a)) divided by average tangible common equity (as described in clause (b)). For return on average tangible common equity, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is return on average equity.

We believe that this measure is important to many investors in the marketplace who are interested in the return on common equity, exclusive of the impact of core deposit intangibles. Goodwill and core deposit intangibles have the effect of increasing total stockholders’ equity while not increasing our tangible common equity. This measure is particularly relevant to acquisitive institutions that may have higher balances in goodwill and core deposit intangibles than non-acquisitive institutions.

The following table reconciles, as of the dates set forth below, average tangible common equity to average common equity and net income available for common stockholders adjusted for amortization of core deposit intangibles, net of taxes to net income and presents our return on average tangible common equity:

	For the Quarter Ended															For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2025			Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars in thousands)
Net income available for common stockholders adjusted for amortization of core deposit intangibles
Net income	$	30,906		$	29,070		$	24,882		$	31,001		$	27,202		$	59,976		$	51,358
Adjustments:
Plus: Amortization of core deposit intangibles		2,438			2,438			2,437			2,438			2,438			4,876			4,876
Less: Tax benefit at the statutory rate		512			512			512			512			512			1,024			1,024
Net income available for common stockholders adjusted for amortization of core deposit intangibles	$	32,832		$	30,996		$	26,807		$	32,927		$	29,128		$	63,828		$	55,210

Average Tangible Common Equity
Total average stockholders’ equity	$	1,640,418		$	1,620,788		$	1,604,335		$	1,583,401		$	1,541,609		$	1,630,657		$	1,537,738
Adjustments:
Average goodwill		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)
Average core deposit intangibles		(15,467	)		(17,904	)		(20,342	)		(22,789	)		(25,218	)		(16,679	)		(26,437	)
Average tangible common equity	$	1,220,499		$	1,198,432		$	1,179,541		$	1,156,160		$	1,111,939		$	1,209,526		$	1,106,849
Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (Annualized)		10.79	%		10.49	%		9.04	%		11.33	%		10.54	%		10.64	%		10.03	%

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Unaudited)

Operating Earnings, Pre-tax, Pre-provision Operating Earnings and performance metrics calculated using Operating Earnings and Pre-tax, Pre-provision Operating Earnings, including Diluted Operating Earnings per Share, Operating Return on Average Assets, Pre-tax, Pre-Provision Operating Return on Average Assets, Pre-tax, Pre-Provision Operating Return on Average Loans, Operating Return on Average Tangible Common Equity and Operating Efficiency Ratio. Operating earnings, pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings and the performance metrics calculated using these metrics, listed below, are non-GAAP measures used by management to evaluate the Company’s financial performance. We calculate (a) operating earnings as net income plus BOLI 1035 exchange charges, plus severance payments, plus loss on sales of debt securities available for sale (“AFS”), net, plus FDIC special assessment, less tax impact of adjustments, plus nonrecurring tax adjustments. We calculate (b) diluted operating earnings per share as operating earnings as described in clause (a) divided by weighted average diluted shares outstanding. We calculate (c) pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings as operating earnings as described in clause (a) plus provision for income taxes, plus provision (benefit) for credit losses and unfunded commitments. We calculate (d) pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average assets as pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings as described in clause (a) divided by total average assets. We calculate (e) operating return on average assets as operating earnings as described in clause (a) divided by total average assets. We calculate (f) operating return on average tangible common equity as operating earnings as described in clause (a), adjusted for the amortization of intangibles and tax benefit at the statutory rate, divided by total average tangible common equity (average stockholders’ equity less average goodwill and average core deposit intangibles, net of accumulated amortization). We calculate (g) operating efficiency ratio as noninterest expense plus adjustments to operating noninterest expense divided by noninterest income plus adjustments to operating noninterest income, plus net interest income.

We believe that these measures and the operating metrics calculated utilizing these measures are important to management and many investors in the marketplace who are interested in understanding the ongoing operating performance of the Company and provide meaningful comparisons to its peers.

The following tables reconcile, as of the dates set forth below, operating net income and pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings and related metrics:

	For the Quarter Ended										For the Six Months Ended
	Jun 30, 2025		Mar 31, 2025		Dec 31, 2024		Sep 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2024		Jun 30, 2025		Jun 30, 2024
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Operating Earnings
Net income	$	30,906	$	29,070	$	24,882	$	31,001	$	27,202	$	59,976	$	51,358
Plus: BOLI 1035 exchange charges¹		—		517		—		—		—		517		—
Plus: Severance payments²		—		—		1,545		1,487		613		—		613
Plus: Loss on sales of AFS securities, net		—		—		4,397		—		—		—		6,304
Plus: FDIC special assessment		—		—		—		—		134		—		134
Operating pre-tax income		30,906		29,587		30,824		32,488		27,949		60,493		58,409
Less: Tax impact of adjustments		—		109		1,248		307		166		109		1,489
Plus: Nonrecurring tax adjustments		—		229		193		—		527		229		527
Operating earnings	$	30,906	$	29,707	$	29,769	$	32,181	$	28,310	$	60,613	$	57,447

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding		54,766		55,123		55,237		54,932		54,823		54,944		54,832
Diluted EPS	$	0.56	$	0.53	$	0.45	$	0.56	$	0.50	$	1.09	$	0.94
Diluted operating EPS	$	0.56	$	0.54	$	0.54	$	0.59	$	0.52	$	1.10	$	1.05

^{1Represents non-recurring charges for the completion of a 1035 exchange of BOLI contracts.}
^{2Severance payments relate to certain restructurings made during the periods disclosed.}

	For the Quarter Ended															For the Six Months Ended
(Dollars in thousands)	Jun 30, 2025			Mar 31, 2025			Dec 31, 2024			Sep 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2024			Jun 30, 2025			Jun 30, 2024
Pre-Tax, Pre-Provision Operating Earnings
Net income	$	30,906		$	29,070		$	24,882		$	31,001		$	27,202		$	59,976		$	51,358
Plus: Provision for income taxes		8,516			8,526			8,222			8,067			8,221			17,042			15,458
Plus: Provision for credit losses and unfunded commitments		3,250			5,300			1,899			4,000			8,250			8,550			14,209
Plus: Severance payments³		—			—			1,545			1,487			613			—			613
Plus: Loss on sale of AFS securities, net		—			—			4,397			—			—			—			6,304
Plus: BOLI 1035 exchange charges²		—			517			—			—			—			517			—
Plus: FDIC special assessment		—			—			—			—			134			—			134
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings	$	42,672		$	43,413		$	40,945		$	44,555		$	44,420		$	86,085		$	88,076

Average total assets	$	12,439,213		$	12,506,134		$	12,750,972		$	12,861,918		$	12,578,706		$	12,472,488		$	12,457,374
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average assets¹		1.38	%		1.41	%		1.28	%		1.38	%		1.42	%		1.39	%		1.42	%

Average loans	$	9,399,173		$	9,313,629		$	9,449,565		$	9,661,774		$	9,765,428		$	9,356,637		$	9,664,400
Pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average loans¹		1.82	%		1.89	%		1.72	%		1.83	%		1.83	%		1.86	%		1.83	%

Average total assets	$	12,439,213		$	12,506,134		$	12,750,972		$	12,861,918		$	12,578,706		$	12,472,488		$	12,457,374
Return on average assets¹		1.00	%		0.94	%		0.78	%		0.96	%		0.87	%		0.97	%		0.83	%
Operating return on average assets¹		1.00			0.96			0.93			1.00			0.91			0.98			0.93

Operating earnings adjusted for amortization of core deposit intangibles
Operating earnings	$	30,906		$	29,707		$	29,769		$	32,181		$	28,310		$	60,613		$	57,447
Adjustments:
Plus: Amortization of core deposit intangibles		2,438			2,438			2,437			2,438			2,438			4,876			4,876
Less: Tax benefit at the statutory rate		512			512			512			512			512			1,024			1,024
Operating earnings adjusted for amortization of core deposit intangibles	$	32,832		$	31,633		$	31,694		$	34,107		$	30,236		$	64,465		$	61,299

Average Tangible Common Equity
Total average stockholders’ equity	$	1,640,418		$	1,620,788		$	1,604,335		$	1,583,401		$	1,541,609		$	1,630,657		$	1,537,738
Adjustments:
Less: Average goodwill		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)		(404,452	)
Less: Average core deposit intangibles		(15,467	)		(17,904	)		(20,342	)		(22,789	)		(25,218	)		(16,679	)		(26,437	)
Average tangible common equity	$	1,220,499		$	1,198,432		$	1,179,541		$	1,156,160		$	1,111,939		$	1,209,526		$	1,106,849
Operating return on average tangible common equity¹		10.79	%		10.70	%		10.69	%		11.74	%		10.94	%		10.75	%		11.14	%

Efficiency ratio		61.15	%		60.91	%		67.04	%		61.94	%		59.11	%		61.03	%		60.72	%
Operating efficiency ratio
Net interest income	$	96,335		$	95,441		$	96,141		$	100,062		$	96,236		$	191,776		$	189,042
Noninterest income		13,499			14,289			10,056			13,106			10,578			27,788			17,240
Plus: BOLI 1035 exchange charges²		—			517			—			—			—			517			—
Plus: Loss on sale of AFS securities, net		—			—			4,397			—			—			—			6,304
Operating noninterest income		13,499			14,806			14,453			13,106			10,578			28,305			23,544
Noninterest expense		67,162			66,834			71,194			70,100			63,141			133,996			125,257
Less: FDIC special assessment		—			—			—			—			134			—			134
Less: Severance payments³		—			—			1,545			1,487			613			—			613
Operating noninterest expense	$	67,162		$	66,834		$	69,649		$	68,613		$	62,394		$	133,996		$	124,510
Operating efficiency ratio		61.15	%		60.62	%		62.98	%		60.63	%		58.41	%		60.88	%		58.57	%

^{1 Annualized ratio for quarterly metrics.}
^{2 Represents non-recurring charges for the completion of a 1035 exchange of BOLI contracts.}
^{3 Severance payments relate to certain restructurings made during the periods disclosed.}

The MIL Network –

July 18, 2025

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Have your say on early designs for key city centre gateway

Source: City of Wolverhampton

Cleveland Road connects the city centre to the newly transformed Royal Quarter.

The consultation is urging people to have their say on how it can best be used as an active travel corridor with improved walking and cycling facilities, and connectivity across the Ring Road.

Public drop in sessions have been arranged where people can see the illustrative designs and find out more – attendees can even enjoy a virtual walkthrough using a VR headset.

The project team will be at the Urban Room in Queen Square (WV1 1TH) between 11am and 3pm on Monday (July 21) and the YMCA in Cleveland Road (WV2 1BJ) on Wednesday (July 23) between 12pm and 4pm.

If you are unable to attend either session, you can view the illustrative views at Cleveland Road Early Design Options and leave your feedback online.

City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Transport, Councillor Qaiser Azeem, said: “The Royal Quarter has undergone significant regeneration in recent years, with hundreds of homes delivered and the iconic Royal Hospital building being brought back into use to create a thriving new neighbourhood.

“It is now important we hear from the community about what they think Cleveland Road can best serve them as a key gateway to the city centre.

“I urge people to have their say on the early design options in person or online so we can build a clear picture of how we can best develop proposals.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Coming up next week at the London Assembly W/C 21 July
Source: Mayor of London

PUBLICATIONS

Wednesday 23 July

Blue light status of emergency response vehicles

Transport Committee

The Transport Committee will write to Transport for London and the British Transport Police about their decision to take away the blue light status of emergency response unit vehicles, which was one of the key recommendations of the London Assembly 7/7 Review Committee’s 2006 report on the response to the tube and bus bombings.

MEDIA CONTACT: Josh Hunt on 07763 252 310/ [email protected]

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Tuesday 22 July

Capital funding and delivery

Budget and Performance Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am

Transport for London (TfL) has proposed an extension of the Bakerloo line from Elephant and Castle, to Lewisham, including the potential for a further extension beyond Lewisham to Hayes and Beckenham Junction.

The project is estimated to cost between £5.2 billion to £8.7 billion (at 2021 prices), with an additional £800 million to £1.9 billion required to extend the line further to Hayes.

The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will hear from experts and TfL on the potential funding options for the Bakerloo line extension, and other new and future capital projects.

Guests are:
- Professor Tony Travers, Professor in Practice and Associate Dean, the London School of Economics
- John Kavanagh, Programme Director, Infrastructure, Business LDN
- Chris Whitehouse, Technical Director, WSP
- Maurice Lange, Analyst, Centre for Cities
- Manish Gupta, Corporate Finance Director, TfL
- Lucinda Turner, Director of Spatial Planning, TfL
MEDIA CONTACT: Tony Smyth on 07763 251 727 / [email protected]

Wednesday 23 July

Paying for and building transport projects at low cost

Budget and Performance Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am

According to reports, Madrid tripled the length of its metro system in just 12 years — faster and cheaper than almost any other city in the world. The 35-mile (56 kilometre) program of expansion between 1995 and 1999 cost around $2.8 billion (in 2024 prices). London’s Jubilee Line Extension, built at the same time as Madrid’s expansion, cost nearly ten times more per mile than Madrid’s program.

The London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee will hear from experts on why the cost for building transport infrastructure in the UK is much higher than neighbouring countries.

Guests are:
- Ben Hopkinson, Head of Housing & Infrastructure, Centre for Policy Studies
- Dr Alexander Budzier, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Global Projects
- Gareth Dennis, Railway Engineer and writer, Railnatter
MEDIA CONTACT: Tony Smyth on 07763 251 727 / [email protected]
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Export Awards – Trimax Mowing Systems wins Exporter of the Year at ExportNZ ASB Bay of Plenty Export Awards

Source: EMA

Trimax Mowing Systems, a manufacturer and exporter of premium mowing equipment, has won the ExportNZ ASB Bay of Plenty Exporter of the Year Award at a gala event this evening held at the Mercury Baypark arena in Mount Maunganui.

Kiwi-made lawn mowers used by groundskeepers at Windsor Castle

Trimax has sold more than 33,000 lawn mower decks worldwide from its base in Tauranga, with revenue having tripled in the last five years. The New Zealand-made lawn mowers are trusted by groundskeepers in locations as varied as Windsor Castle in the UK to multiple PGA golf courses in the United States.

High-precision control devices sold to alternative fuel markets globally

Oasis Engineering, a manufacturer of high-pressure control devices for gases, won the Excellence in Innovation Award. The company first rose to fame in the 1980s by developing a ball valve for CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) tanks, which became the industry standard.

Today, Oasis Engineering operates a specialist high-precision turning and machining factory in Tauranga, from where it exports control devices to more than 40 countries. The company is recognised as an exemplar in the use of automation and robotics, and for outstanding product development in the global alternative fuel market.

Providing cloud-based workspaces for US healthcare professionals

The Best Emerging Business Award was won by Carepatron, a provider of secure, cloud-based healthcare workspaces for clinicians to manage clients, appointments and payments.

The company uses technology, and AI in particular, in its customer support and product development. Founded in 2021, today Carepatron is hyperscaling exports into the US market, where it is growing rapidly.

Individuals making significant contributions to export success

There were two joint winners of the Export Achievement Award, which recognises an individual who has made a material contribution to the export success of a business. These were Sarah Webb of LawVu and Karl Stevenson of Bluelab.

Sarah Webb has been a founding force behind LawVu, which provides cloud-based legal workspaces for in-house legal teams. Currently, the Chief Operating Officer, Webb has been instrumental in transforming LawVu into a globally recognised legal tech platform.

Karl Stevenson is the Head of Product at Bluelab, a manufacturer of precision instruments for measuring pH, electrical conductivity and temperature in controlled agricultural environments.

Stevenson is recognised as a champion of design thinking in New Zealand’s export sector. He has also made a lasting impact on the Tauranga business community, having co-founded local Design Thinking Meetups, which foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, and are open to everyone from entrepreneurs to engineers.

Tauranga entrepreneur Steve Saunders recognised with Services to Export Award

Finally, the Services to Export Award was presented to Steve Saunders for his outstanding contribution to the exporting success of the Bay of Plenty region. The co-founder of Robotics Plus, and numerous other exporting businesses, Saunders has served for 12 years on Priority One, the economic development organisation for the Western Bay of Plenty.

He co-founded the Newnham Park Innovation Centre, as well as Mount Pack & Cool, one of the largest and most technologically advanced packhouses in the Bay of Plenty.

Saunders champions Māori investment in agriculture and innovation, and is a long-time supporter of the Young Innovators Awards for Year 7-13 students.

Celebrating the Bay of Plenty exporting community

The awards celebrate the exceptional achievements of Bay of Plenty businesses and individuals who export goods and services to markets around the world.

The event is proudly supported by principal sponsor ASB, as well as Sharp Tudhope, Air NZ Cargo, Page Macrae, Zespri, and Orbit Travel, and supporting partners NZTE, Comvita and Port of Tauranga.

The awards are organised by the EMA on behalf of ExportNZ. EMA Chief Executive John Fraser-Mackenzie says, “The EMA is an integral part of the Bay of Plenty business community, so we’re delighted these awards showcase the inspiring businesses and individuals from the region who are succeeding in offshore markets. Well done to all the winners!

“The awards are more than just recognition, they’re a platform for sharing insights, fostering collaboration, and strengthening the network of export-focused companies that drive the region’s economic success.”

Chair of the ExportNZ BoP Executive Committee Warwick Downing says, “This year’s winners exemplify the innovation, resilience, and global ambition that define the Bay of Plenty’s export community.

“Their success is a testament to the region’s ability to compete, and thrive, on the world stage.”

Head of Trade Finance at ASB Bank Mike Atkins says, “We congratulate all the winners; they are true export champions of the Bay of Plenty region.

“At ASB, we are passionate about enabling exporters to scale up, be it through working capital funding or other advisory initiatives across productivity, sustainability, clean tech, and food and fibre. Our partnership with ExportNZ in celebrating these awards underscores that commitment.”

Executive Director of ExportNZ Josh Tan says, “These awards showcase the significant contribution this region makes to New Zealand’s exporting success.

“Congratulations to all the winners on their outstanding achievements, which highlight the export sector’s strong start to the year and reinforce our nation’s well-earned reputation for quality in products and services.”

Complete list of winners and full judges’ citations – ExportNZ ASB Bay of Plenty Export Awards

1. Exporter of the Year – in partnership with Sharp Tudhope

Winner: Trimax Mowing Systems – a designer and manufacturer of tractor-powered rotary and flail mowers for commercial use.

Highly Commended: LawVu

This award recognises the outstanding success of a business that is established in its international growth journey, with more than five years of international operations and total annual revenue above $5 million.

Judges’ citation: The judges were impressed by Trimax’s continued commitment to innovate and grow in their niche but hugely valuable market. The company has built up extensive dealer networks in the United States, the UK and Australia, and Trimax mowers are trusted by groundmen in locations as varied as England’s Windsor Castle to PGA golf courses in the United States.

The company’s leadership has embedded innovation and product development throughout the enterprise, and their growth in recent times shows that this is paying divid

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Mexican Illegal Alien Charged for Orchestrating ‘Kidnapping’ Hoax

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Mexican Illegal Alien Charged for Orchestrating ‘Kidnapping’ Hoax

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after the Department of Justice, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, arrested and filed charges against Mexican illegal alien Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon for fabricating a false story to smear federal law enforcement

Earlier this month, legacy media ran with a false story that ICE agents and bounty hunters “kidnapped” Calderon at gunpoint and held her hostage in a warehouse

After her family held a press conference orchestrated by their attorney, ICE spent days investigating the kidnapping claims and searching for her — at times, literally detention cell to detention cell

“Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon was never arrested or kidnapped by ICE or bounty hunters—this criminal illegal alien scammed innocent Americans for money and diverted limited DHS resources from removing the worst of the worst from Los Angeles communities

Politicians and activist media peddled these smears that were designed to demonize law enforcement and evade accountability

Calderon will now face justice and the media and politicians who swallowed and pushed this garbage should be embarrassed

”

Calderon is charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers and if convicted, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each

MIL OSI USA News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: DHS Axes Wasteful, Misdirected Grants, Saves Taxpayers $18.5M

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: DHS Axes Wasteful, Misdirected Grants, Saves Taxpayers $18

5M

lass=”text-align-center”>The Department of Homeland Security is gutting dozens of partisan and wasteful grants that failed to counter terrorism threats, saving taxpayers $18

5 Million

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is slashing waste at the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3), cutting $18

5 million in misappropriated spending that do not meet the stated goal of CP3 to prevent terrorism or targeted violence

CP3, a minor DHS Policy sub-office, with no operational role in monitoring or preventing terrorist attacks, had become a cash cow for radical activists under the Biden Administration—funneling taxpayer dollars to push woke, partisan agendas and silencing dissent

After a strategic review, DHS is discontinuing the funding of grants that have no legitimate nexus to protecting the homeland from the threat of terrorism

Terminated Grants Include:

$209,406

70 to the “Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders” group, which promoted radical gender ideology in K–12 schools, targeting students as young as kindergartners and flagging parental concerns as risks

$288,760

66 to CenterLink, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ issues, not terrorism prevention

$851,836

13 to the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, a DEI organization focused on silencing ideological opposition

$206,260

00 to the United States Esports Association, which targeted gamers with “woke” content under the pretext of violence prevention

$479,816

00 to the One World Strong program, which labeled traditional male behaviors as extremist and stigmatizing young males

$651,311

81 to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and Strong Cities Network, which promoted biased anti-extremism initiatives, LGBTQ+ propaganda, and prioritized radical groups over broader community concerns

“These cancellations reflect DHS’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and national security,” said a Senior DHS official

“By eliminating wasteful and ideologically driven programs, we are redirecting resources to initiatives that uphold American values, respect the rule of law, and effectively combat terrorism and violence

”
# # #

MIL OSI USA News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Center Opens July 18 in Georgetown

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Disaster Recovery Center Opens July 18 in Georgetown

Disaster Recovery Center Opens July 18 in Georgetown

AUSTIN, Texas – A Disaster Recovery Center will open Friday, July 18, in Williamson County to offer face-to-face help to survivors who had damage or losses from the severe storms and flooding in Central Texas

Homeowners, renters and eligible non-residents may receive FEMA assistance for losses not covered by insurance

Survivors with homeowners’ or renters’ insurance should first file a claim with their insurance company as soon as possible

If your policy does not cover all your damage expenses, you may be eligible for federal assistance

The Disaster Recovery Center is located at:Williamson County EMS North Campus, Classroom A & B3189 SE Inner Loop, Suite AGeorgetown, TX 78626Hours: 8 a

m

to 7 p

m

dailyFEMA and the U

S

Small Business Administration are supporting the Texas Division of Emergency Management, which is leading efforts to help survivors apply for federal disaster assistance

Center specialists can also identify potential needs and connect survivors with local, state and federal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations and community groups

Disaster Recovery Centers are accessible to people with disabilities and those with access and functional needs

They are also equipped with assistive technology

If you need a reasonable accommodation or an American Sign Language interpreter, call 833-285-7448 (press 2 for Spanish)

Survivors may visit any Disaster Recovery Center

No appointment is needed

You have until Thursday, Sept

4, to apply for FEMA disaster assistance

Here’s how: Visit DisasterAssistance

govUse the FEMA mobile appCall the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362

Lines are open from 6 a

m

to 10 p

m

CT daily

If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, you can give FEMA your number for that service

Helpline specialists speak many languages

Press 2 for Spanish

Visit any Disaster Recovery Center to receive in-person assistance

Two recovery centers are open in Kerrville and San Angelo

To find one close to you, use your ZIP code to search FEMA

gov/DRC

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance, go to Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube

For the latest information about the Texas recovery, visit fema

gov/disaster/4879

Follow FEMA Region 6 on social media at x

com/FEMARegion6 and at facebook

com/FEMARegion6
toan

nguyen
Thu, 07/17/2025 – 21:07

MIL OSI USA News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Met appeals for public’s help to keep Carnival safe in 2025
Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

The Met is appealing for anyone with information about groups or individuals intending to engage in violence at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival to come forward.

Officers are working with the independent charity Crimestoppers as part of a plan to keep Carnival free from knife crime, serious violence and violence against women and girls.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, the police commander for this year’s event, said: “Notting Hill Carnival is an iconic event in London’s cultural calendar which is celebrated by many from across the capital, the UK and beyond. With less than six weeks to go before this year’s event, the Met continues to work closely with organisers and partners to ensure it’s a safe and spectacular experience for those visiting.

“Regrettably, amongst the millions of carnivalists who have attended over many years there has been a tiny minority of individuals intent on causing serious harm to others, including violent crime and sexual offences.

“Their actions stand in stark contrast to the traditions and values of Carnival and I welcome those voices in the community who have stood up to condemn violence and serious criminality at the event. I fully support the organisers’ recent announcement of a new, innovative partnership with the Elba Hope Foundation to divert young people away from crime and particularly knife crime.

“Carnival’s growing popularity and size creates unique challenges. Around 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed each day over the coming August Bank Holiday weekend. Their priority is to keep people safe, including preventing serious violence, such as knife crime and violence against women and girls.”

The Met’s activity has already started with a focus on deterring or preventing those who pose the greatest threat to public safety and the security of Carnival:
- We are sharing intelligence with forces across the country to identify those violent gangs who are planning to attend Carnival.
- We are working with others, including local authorities and the courts, to seek banning orders to exclude those attending who have a history of violence or sexual offending at Carnival.
- We are carrying out pre-emptive intelligence-led arrests and searches of those believed to be in possession of weapons or involved in the supply of drugs. Last year there were 160 such arrests prior to the event for offences including possession of firearms, drugs supply, rape and other serious sexual assaults.
- During the Bank Holiday weekend we will be using live facial recognition cameras on the approach to and from Carnival, outside the boundaries of the event itself, to help officers identify and intercept those who pose a public safety risk before they get to the crowded streets of Notting Hill, and to ensure those attending are able to get home safely.
- We will be deploying screening arches at some of the busiest entry points, using stop and search powers to prevent knives and other deadly weapons being carried at Carnival.
But to keep Carnival as safe as it is spectacular we also need the public’s help.

That is why we have, once again, partnered with Crimestoppers to make it easier for anyone with information to report it anonymously.

Crimestoppers is an independent charity, not part of the police and 100 per cent anonymous. Their commitment to protect people’s identity is iron-clad – they won’t ask for a name and can’t identify any telephone numbers or IP addresses if you are reporting online.

All you need to do is call 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org

DAC Ward added: “The best way to prevent serious crime at Carnival, including violence and sexual offending, is to intervene and target the small number of dangerous offenders before they get to the event.

“If you know anyone who may be planning to take a knife or weapon to Carnival, if you worry that they’re part of a group going with the intent to commit offences or confront rival groups, or that they are being put under pressure or being exploited, or if you have any other information that could help, then please speak up and stand up for Carnival. In doing so, you could be saving a life.”

Further information about the use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR):

So far in 2025 there have been 111 deployments of LFR, resulting in 512 arrests.

During the Bank Holiday weekend, LFR will be deployed on the approaches to Carnival, but not within the boundaries of the event.

Officers will be searching for people who are marked as being wanted on the Police National Computer, those who are shown as missing (including young people who may also be at risk of either criminal or sexual exploitation) and those subject to sexual harm prevention orders because of the risk they pose, particularly to women and girls.

LFR cameras capture live footage of people passing by and compare their faces against a bespoke watchlist of wanted offenders.

If a match is detected, the system generates an alert. An officer will then review the match and decide if they wish to speak with the individual.

Officers conduct further checks, such as reviewing court orders or other relevant information, to determine if the person is a suspect.

Importantly, an alert from the system does not automatically result in an arrest – officers make a decision about whether further action is necessary following engagement.

There are robust safeguards in place regarding LFR. if a member of the public walks past an LFR camera and is not wanted by the police, their biometrics are immediately and permanently deleted.

For more on the Met’s use of LFR, visit Live Facial Recognition | Metropolitan Police

MIL Security OSI –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Red White & Bloom Brands Reports Fiscal 2024 Financial Results
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB) (“RWB” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it has filed its consolidated audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Financial Statements”), together with the related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”), and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the “Annual Filings”).

As previously disclosed, the Company’s Annual Filings and its interim financial statements and MD&A for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 (the “2025-Q1 Filings”) were delayed beyond the prescribed deadlines under applicable Canadian securities laws. As a result, a failure-to-file cease trade order (“FFCTO”) was issued by the applicable securities regulator, effective July 3, 2025.

With the Annual Filings now completed, the Company is working diligently to finalize and file the 2025-Q1 Filings. The FFCTO will remain in effect until the 2025-Q1 Filings are completed and the applicable securities regulator revokes the order.

2024 Fourth Quarter (“2024-Q4”) Consolidated Results Compared to Restated 2023 Fourth Quarter (“2023-Q4”)
- Revenues were $18.7 million for 2024-Q4, representing a $2.8 million increase compared to restated 2023-Q4 revenues of $15.9 million.
- Gross profit, after fair value adjustments, was $5.4 million for 2024-Q4, a decrease of $5.1 million from restated 2023-Q4 gross profit after fair value adjustments of $10.6 million.
- Operating expenses totaled $9.1 million for 2024-Q4, a decrease of $3.7 million compared to restated 2023-Q4 operating expenses of $12.8 million.
- EBITDA was $6.3 million for 2024-Q4, an increase of $97.6 million compared to restated 2023-Q4 negative adjusted EBITDA of $91.3 million which included $94.6 million in non-cash impairments.¹
Fiscal Year 2024 (“2024-YTD”) Consolidated Results Compared to Restated Fiscal Year 2023 (“2023-YTD”)
- Revenues for 2024-YTD were $80.2 million, reflecting a $10.6 million increase compared to restated 2023-YTD revenues of $69.6 million.
- Gross profit, after fair value adjustments, for 2024-YTD totaled $28.4 million, an increase of $3.4 million from restated 2023-YTD gross profit after fair value adjustments of $25.0 million., marking an increase of $3.4 million.
- Operating expenses for 2024-YTD were $40.4 million, an increase of $9.4 million compared to restated 2023-YTD operating expenses of $31.0 million.
- EBITDA was $10.8 million for 2024-YTD, a net increase improvement of $99.76 million compared to 2023-YTD negative adjusted EBITDA of $89.0 million which included $94.6 million in non-cash impairments.
For additional details on the Company’s financial results, refer to the Company’s filings at SEDAR+: www.sedarplus.ca

About Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.

Red White & Bloom is a multi-state cannabis operator and house of premium brands operating in the United States, Canada and select international jurisdictions. RWB is predominantly focusing its investments on major U.S. markets, including California, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio in addition to Canadian and International markets.

Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.
Investor and Media Relations
Edoardo Mattei, CFO
IR@RedWhiteBloom.com
947-225-0503

__________________________
¹_{Refer to Note 33, Discontinued Operations, of the Company’s 2024-YE Financial Statements for details on impairments.}

Visit us on the web: https://www.redwhitebloom.com/

Follow us on social media:

X @rwbbrands
Facebook @redwhitebloombrands
Instagram @redwhitebloombrands

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company’s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or “should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. There is no assurance that the near-term priorities outlined in this press release will yield results in line with management expectations. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the implementation of the Company’s business plan and matters relating thereto, risks associated with the cannabis industry, competition, regulatory change, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, market size, and the volatility of the Company’s common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

There are several important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the Company’s proposed business, such as failure of the business strategy and government regulation; risks related to the Company’s operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key and qualified personnel, insurance, competition, intellectual property, and reliable supply chains; risks related to the Company and its business generally; risks related to regulatory approvals. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company’s forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also been assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

NON-IFRS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL OR OPERATING MEASURES
The Company references non-IFRS and supplementary financial or operating measures, including, but not limited to, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are most likely not comparable to similar measures presented by other public company issuers including those operating in the cannabis industry. Non-IFRS measures provide investors with additional insights into the Company’s financial and operating performance which may not be garnered from traditional IFRS measures. The management of the Company, including its key decision makers, use non-IFRS measures in assessing the Company’s financial and operating performance. The Company calculates EBITDA as net income or loss excluding current and deferred income tax expense, finance expense, interest expenses, interest income and amortization of discounts, and depreciation and amortization. The Company calculates Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss excluding current and deferred income tax expense, finance expense, interest income and amortization of discounts, depreciation and amortization, fair value changes in biological assets, realized fair value changes in inventory sold, share based compensation, termination costs, gains or losses on evaluation of financial instruments, impairments of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, impairment of property, plant and equipment, accreted interest on leases and applicable short term and long term liabilities, gains or losses on asset disposals, gains or losses on settlement of debt, gains or losses on debt modification, foreign exchange, expected credit losses and bad debt expense, acquisition costs, business transaction costs, gain on extinguishment of payables, and non-recurring expenses such as carrying costs associated with dormant assets and penalties and late fees.

The MIL Network –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Red White & Bloom Brands Reports Fiscal 2024 Financial Results
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB) (“RWB” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it has filed its consolidated audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Financial Statements”), together with the related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”), and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the “Annual Filings”).

As previously disclosed, the Company’s Annual Filings and its interim financial statements and MD&A for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 (the “2025-Q1 Filings”) were delayed beyond the prescribed deadlines under applicable Canadian securities laws. As a result, a failure-to-file cease trade order (“FFCTO”) was issued by the applicable securities regulator, effective July 3, 2025.

With the Annual Filings now completed, the Company is working diligently to finalize and file the 2025-Q1 Filings. The FFCTO will remain in effect until the 2025-Q1 Filings are completed and the applicable securities regulator revokes the order.

2024 Fourth Quarter (“2024-Q4”) Consolidated Results Compared to Restated 2023 Fourth Quarter (“2023-Q4”)
- Revenues were $18.7 million for 2024-Q4, representing a $2.8 million increase compared to restated 2023-Q4 revenues of $15.9 million.
- Gross profit, after fair value adjustments, was $5.4 million for 2024-Q4, a decrease of $5.1 million from restated 2023-Q4 gross profit after fair value adjustments of $10.6 million.
- Operating expenses totaled $9.1 million for 2024-Q4, a decrease of $3.7 million compared to restated 2023-Q4 operating expenses of $12.8 million.
- EBITDA was $6.3 million for 2024-Q4, an increase of $97.6 million compared to restated 2023-Q4 negative adjusted EBITDA of $91.3 million which included $94.6 million in non-cash impairments.¹
Fiscal Year 2024 (“2024-YTD”) Consolidated Results Compared to Restated Fiscal Year 2023 (“2023-YTD”)
- Revenues for 2024-YTD were $80.2 million, reflecting a $10.6 million increase compared to restated 2023-YTD revenues of $69.6 million.
- Gross profit, after fair value adjustments, for 2024-YTD totaled $28.4 million, an increase of $3.4 million from restated 2023-YTD gross profit after fair value adjustments of $25.0 million., marking an increase of $3.4 million.
- Operating expenses for 2024-YTD were $40.4 million, an increase of $9.4 million compared to restated 2023-YTD operating expenses of $31.0 million.
- EBITDA was $10.8 million for 2024-YTD, a net increase improvement of $99.76 million compared to 2023-YTD negative adjusted EBITDA of $89.0 million which included $94.6 million in non-cash impairments.
For additional details on the Company’s financial results, refer to the Company’s filings at SEDAR+: www.sedarplus.ca

About Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.

Red White & Bloom is a multi-state cannabis operator and house of premium brands operating in the United States, Canada and select international jurisdictions. RWB is predominantly focusing its investments on major U.S. markets, including California, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio in addition to Canadian and International markets.

Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.
Investor and Media Relations
Edoardo Mattei, CFO
IR@RedWhiteBloom.com
947-225-0503

__________________________
¹_{Refer to Note 33, Discontinued Operations, of the Company’s 2024-YE Financial Statements for details on impairments.}

Visit us on the web: https://www.redwhitebloom.com/

Follow us on social media:

X @rwbbrands
Facebook @redwhitebloombrands
Instagram @redwhitebloombrands

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company’s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or “should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. There is no assurance that the near-term priorities outlined in this press release will yield results in line with management expectations. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the implementation of the Company’s business plan and matters relating thereto, risks associated with the cannabis industry, competition, regulatory change, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, market size, and the volatility of the Company’s common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

There are several important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the Company’s proposed business, such as failure of the business strategy and government regulation; risks related to the Company’s operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key and qualified personnel, insurance, competition, intellectual property, and reliable supply chains; risks related to the Company and its business generally; risks related to regulatory approvals. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company’s forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also been assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

NON-IFRS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL OR OPERATING MEASURES
The Company references non-IFRS and supplementary financial or operating measures, including, but not limited to, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are most likely not comparable to similar measures presented by other public company issuers including those operating in the cannabis industry. Non-IFRS measures provide investors with additional insights into the Company’s financial and operating performance which may not be garnered from traditional IFRS measures. The management of the Company, including its key decision makers, use non-IFRS measures in assessing the Company’s financial and operating performance. The Company calculates EBITDA as net income or loss excluding current and deferred income tax expense, finance expense, interest expenses, interest income and amortization of discounts, and depreciation and amortization. The Company calculates Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss excluding current and deferred income tax expense, finance expense, interest income and amortization of discounts, depreciation and amortization, fair value changes in biological assets, realized fair value changes in inventory sold, share based compensation, termination costs, gains or losses on evaluation of financial instruments, impairments of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, impairment of property, plant and equipment, accreted interest on leases and applicable short term and long term liabilities, gains or losses on asset disposals, gains or losses on settlement of debt, gains or losses on debt modification, foreign exchange, expected credit losses and bad debt expense, acquisition costs, business transaction costs, gain on extinguishment of payables, and non-recurring expenses such as carrying costs associated with dormant assets and penalties and late fees.

The MIL Network –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Red White & Bloom Brands Reports Fiscal 2024 Financial Results
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB) (“RWB” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it has filed its consolidated audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Financial Statements”), together with the related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”), and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the “Annual Filings”).

As previously disclosed, the Company’s Annual Filings and its interim financial statements and MD&A for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 (the “2025-Q1 Filings”) were delayed beyond the prescribed deadlines under applicable Canadian securities laws. As a result, a failure-to-file cease trade order (“FFCTO”) was issued by the applicable securities regulator, effective July 3, 2025.

With the Annual Filings now completed, the Company is working diligently to finalize and file the 2025-Q1 Filings. The FFCTO will remain in effect until the 2025-Q1 Filings are completed and the applicable securities regulator revokes the order.

2024 Fourth Quarter (“2024-Q4”) Consolidated Results Compared to Restated 2023 Fourth Quarter (“2023-Q4”)
- Revenues were $18.7 million for 2024-Q4, representing a $2.8 million increase compared to restated 2023-Q4 revenues of $15.9 million.
- Gross profit, after fair value adjustments, was $5.4 million for 2024-Q4, a decrease of $5.1 million from restated 2023-Q4 gross profit after fair value adjustments of $10.6 million.
- Operating expenses totaled $9.1 million for 2024-Q4, a decrease of $3.7 million compared to restated 2023-Q4 operating expenses of $12.8 million.
- EBITDA was $6.3 million for 2024-Q4, an increase of $97.6 million compared to restated 2023-Q4 negative adjusted EBITDA of $91.3 million which included $94.6 million in non-cash impairments.¹
Fiscal Year 2024 (“2024-YTD”) Consolidated Results Compared to Restated Fiscal Year 2023 (“2023-YTD”)
- Revenues for 2024-YTD were $80.2 million, reflecting a $10.6 million increase compared to restated 2023-YTD revenues of $69.6 million.
- Gross profit, after fair value adjustments, for 2024-YTD totaled $28.4 million, an increase of $3.4 million from restated 2023-YTD gross profit after fair value adjustments of $25.0 million., marking an increase of $3.4 million.
- Operating expenses for 2024-YTD were $40.4 million, an increase of $9.4 million compared to restated 2023-YTD operating expenses of $31.0 million.
- EBITDA was $10.8 million for 2024-YTD, a net increase improvement of $99.76 million compared to 2023-YTD negative adjusted EBITDA of $89.0 million which included $94.6 million in non-cash impairments.
For additional details on the Company’s financial results, refer to the Company’s filings at SEDAR+: www.sedarplus.ca

About Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.

Red White & Bloom is a multi-state cannabis operator and house of premium brands operating in the United States, Canada and select international jurisdictions. RWB is predominantly focusing its investments on major U.S. markets, including California, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio in addition to Canadian and International markets.

Red White & Bloom Brands Inc.
Investor and Media Relations
Edoardo Mattei, CFO
IR@RedWhiteBloom.com
947-225-0503

__________________________
¹_{Refer to Note 33, Discontinued Operations, of the Company’s 2024-YE Financial Statements for details on impairments.}

Visit us on the web: https://www.redwhitebloom.com/

Follow us on social media:

X @rwbbrands
Facebook @redwhitebloombrands
Instagram @redwhitebloombrands

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company’s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or “should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. There is no assurance that the near-term priorities outlined in this press release will yield results in line with management expectations. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: risks associated with the implementation of the Company’s business plan and matters relating thereto, risks associated with the cannabis industry, competition, regulatory change, the need for additional financing, reliance on key personnel, market size, and the volatility of the Company’s common share price and volume. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

There are several important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the Company’s proposed business, such as failure of the business strategy and government regulation; risks related to the Company’s operations, such as additional financing requirements and access to capital, reliance on key and qualified personnel, insurance, competition, intellectual property, and reliable supply chains; risks related to the Company and its business generally; risks related to regulatory approvals. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company’s forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also been assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

NON-IFRS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL OR OPERATING MEASURES
The Company references non-IFRS and supplementary financial or operating measures, including, but not limited to, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are most likely not comparable to similar measures presented by other public company issuers including those operating in the cannabis industry. Non-IFRS measures provide investors with additional insights into the Company’s financial and operating performance which may not be garnered from traditional IFRS measures. The management of the Company, including its key decision makers, use non-IFRS measures in assessing the Company’s financial and operating performance. The Company calculates EBITDA as net income or loss excluding current and deferred income tax expense, finance expense, interest expenses, interest income and amortization of discounts, and depreciation and amortization. The Company calculates Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss excluding current and deferred income tax expense, finance expense, interest income and amortization of discounts, depreciation and amortization, fair value changes in biological assets, realized fair value changes in inventory sold, share based compensation, termination costs, gains or losses on evaluation of financial instruments, impairments of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, impairment of property, plant and equipment, accreted interest on leases and applicable short term and long term liabilities, gains or losses on asset disposals, gains or losses on settlement of debt, gains or losses on debt modification, foreign exchange, expected credit losses and bad debt expense, acquisition costs, business transaction costs, gain on extinguishment of payables, and non-recurring expenses such as carrying costs associated with dormant assets and penalties and late fees.

The MIL Network –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Installment Loans For Bad Credit Direct Lenders Only : RadCred Relieves U.S. Borrowers of Poor Credit Score By Same day Installment Loan
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Glendale, California, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Google searches for “installment loans for bad credit,” “no denial installment loans,” and “direct lenders only” reach record highs, RadCred today unveiled an expanded marketplace that connects U.S. borrowers including those previously declined by traditional banks to licensed direct lenders offering income‑based, multi‑payment solutions. The refreshed platform begins with a soft‑inquiry “no credit check” pre‑screen, routes each request to lenders authorized in the applicant’s ZIP code, and displays side‑by‑side offers ranging from emergency installment loans of a few hundred dollars to same day installment loans up to several thousand.

By pairing transparent APR disclosures with a strict no‑middle‑man policy, RadCred transforms the usual “loan denied” experience into a clearer, faster path to responsible credit relief through bad credit installment loans.

Rising Demand for Installment Loans for Bad Credit in the U.S.

Inflation‑driven expenses, gig‑economy income swings, and tighter bank underwriting have combined to push more Americans toward online installment loans for bad credit and other direct‑lender installment loans. Google Trends shows steady growth in borrower searches for faster “no denial” and same day installment loan paths signals that people want income‑based options vetted by direct lenders only rather than broker chains. Because traditional banks still require FICO scores in the mid‑600s, millions of sub‑prime borrowers now look for soft‑credit‑check installment offers that can handle urgent repairs or medical bills without the rollover trap of payday advances.

Unsecured installment credit repaid in predictable payments—spreads costs over months instead of demanding a single balloon payoff, making it an attractive alternative to high‑fee cash advances and bad‑credit personal loans with lump‑sum terms.

What Is an Installment Loan?

An installment loan often marketed online as an installment loan for bad credit or a direct‑lender installment loan is a fixed‑term agreement that lets a borrower repay principal plus interest in scheduled slices weekly, bi‑weekly, or monthly until the balance reaches zero. Typical U.S. products range from $500 to $5,000, run three to 24 months, and feature annual percentage rates (APRs) that vary by state. For borrowers, the chief benefit is budget visibility: each predictable installment payment shows exactly how much leaves the bank account on every due date, helping avoid surprises.

For lenders, the structured calendar lowers risk because payments align with wage or benefit deposits and can be verified through a soft‑credit‑check application. By contrast, a single‑pay payday loan or even a so‑called no denial cash advance demands one lump‑sum payoff, often forcing costly rollovers if cash runs short.

How RadCred Changes the Game for Installment Loans for Bad Credit in the U.S. Market

Most online lead‑gen sites blast a borrower’s data to dozens of “offers” without regard to licensure or fit. RadCred takes a different approach:
1. Direct Lender‑Only Network – Every participating lender is licensed (state or tribal) to originate in the applicant’s ZIP code.
2. Income‑First Scoring – RadCred’s intake form captures pay frequency, bank‑deposit history, and gig‑income signals so lenders can weigh real cash flow over static credit scores.
3. Soft‑Inquiry Pre‑Qualification – Borrowers see potential installment terms based on a soft credit check and alternative data; no hard pull occurs unless they choose to continue.
4. Transparent Disclosures Up Front – Before e‑signing, applicants view APR range, payment schedule, total repay amount, and late‑fee policies.
By integrating these safeguards, RadCred gives shoppers a clearer path to bad credit installment loans without the uncertainty of mass‑market “no credit score required” gimmicks.

How Installment Loans Work With “No Credit Check” and “Guaranteed Approval”

Online, “no credit check loan guaranteed approval” appears in thousands of ad headlines. In regulated lending, that promise doesn’t exist licensed lenders must verify identity and ability to repay. RadCred addresses the nuance this way:
- Soft Check First – Many lenders run only a soft inquiry to produce a preliminary offer; this does not affect FICO.
- Hard Inquiry Possible – If a borrower accepts an offer or requests a higher amount, the lender may perform a hard pull to comply with underwriting law.
- Income & Bank Data Matter – Verified wages or benefit deposits can offset a lower score, improving the odds of conditional approval.
- No One‑Size‑Fits‑All – While RadCred’s routing can raise approval likelihood, every loan is subject to final verification and state caps.
So, “no credit check” really means there’s no hard inquiry just to preview installment loan offers for bad credit only a soft pull that shields your score while you shop. Likewise, “guaranteed approval” should be read as a high preliminary match rate among RadCred’s direct‑lenders‑only network, not an unconditional yes. RadCred bridges the gap by running the soft inquiry, surfacing potential same‑day installment loan options, and letting borrowers compare side‑by‑side offers before committing, turning “no denial” searches into informed decisions.

Why Choose RadCred for Installment Loan Options in 2025?
- Direct Lenders Only – Skip middlemen; work with originators that hold or service the loan.
- Fast Funding Potential – Approved loans can deposit same day or next business day once bank verification clears.
- Flexible Repayment Windows – Choose shorter three‑month pay‑offs or longer plans, depending on state limits and budget needs.
- Security & Compliance – AES‑256 encryption, SOC‑2‑audited servers, and lender vetting protect borrower data.
- Fair‑Cost Transparency – APRs, payment amounts, and total repay figures appear before commitment no hidden activation fees.
All combine to make RadCred a practical gateway for consumers exploring emergency loans, personal loans for bad credit, or installment loans no broker needed.

How to Apply for an Installment Loan for Bad Credit – Step by Step
1. Start Online – Select desired amount (e.g., $1,000) and enter contact, income, and banking details.
2. Soft Credit & Income Review – RadCred’s system routes the request only to lenders open to your profile and state.
3. Compare Conditional Offers – View loan size, term length, estimated APR, and repayment schedule.
4. Upload Documents – If you choose an offer, provide a recent pay stub, ID, or bank‑deposit screenshot.
5. Sign Electronically – Review Truth‑in‑Lending disclosures, e‑sign, and set up ACH repayment dates.
6. Receive Funds – Depending on lender cut‑off times, funds may arrive the same day or the next banking day.
7. Repay on Schedule – Automatic withdrawals keep you on track; most lenders allow early payoff with no penalty.
Types of  Bad Credit  Installment Loans Offered by RadCred 
- Emergency Installment Loans (≈ $300 – $1,000)
  - Built for urgent expenses medical copays, utility shut‑off notices, last‑minute rent gaps.
  - Shorter terms (about 3‑6 months) keep interest exposure modest and payments predictable.
- Standard Bad‑Credit Installment Loans (≈ $1,000 – $3,000)
  - Popular for car repairs, home‑appliance replacement, or moving costs.
  - Multi‑payment schedules (6‑18 months) give room to budget without payday rollovers.
- Larger Personal Installment Loans (up to $5,000)
  - Aimed at consolidating high‑fee payday balances or funding major repairs.
  - Longer repayment windows often 12‑24 months help spread out bigger principals.
- Same‑Day Installment Loans (amount varies by state)
  - For time‑critical bills; lenders in RadCred’s network can deposit funds as fast as the same business day once verification clears.
  - Term length set by the individual lender; payments fixed from day one.
- Income‑Based Flex Loans
  - Tailored to gig‑workers or seasonal earners whose cash‑flow changes month‑to‑month.
  - Loan size and schedule adjust to verified deposits, offering custom repayment plans instead of one‑size terms.
FAQ OF No Denial installment loans direct lenders

Q 1: Can I get an installment loan with bad credit?
Yes, many RadCred lenders evaluate verified income and bank‑deposit stability alongside credit history, so scores below 600 do not automatically mean a decline.

Q 2: Will applying hurt my credit score?
The initial match process uses a soft credit inquiry. A hard pull may occur only if you choose an offer and complete the lender’s final application.

Q 3: Are these really “no credit check” loans?
Search phrases like “no credit check installment loans” refer to the soft‑pull stage. Responsible lenders still verify identity and may run a hard check before funding.

Q 4: How fast can funds arrive?
Submit early in the business day with documents ready; some loans fund same day, others next business day timing varies by lender and bank posting schedules.

Q 5: Which states are served?
RadCred supports most U.S. states; the application form automatically filters out lenders that don’t operate in your ZIP code.

Conclusion
For borrowers who keep seeing “no” from traditional banks, RadCred offers a new “yes‑possible” pathway to installment loans for bad credit. By partnering with direct lenders only, starting with a soft inquiry, and displaying clear payment schedules up front, the platform turns stressful searches for no denial financing into an informed, side‑by‑side comparison often in minutes and, where approved, with funding as fast as the same day.

About RadCred
RadCred is a U.S.‑based fintech marketplace connecting consumers to a vetted network of state‑licensed and tribal direct lenders that provide installment, personal, and emergency loan products. The platform emphasizes income‑first underwriting, transparent APR disclosures, and responsible borrowing education to expand credit access for underserved Americans.

The MIL Network –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Installment Loans For Bad Credit Direct Lenders Only : RadCred Relieves U.S. Borrowers of Poor Credit Score By Same day Installment Loan
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Glendale, California, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Google searches for “installment loans for bad credit,” “no denial installment loans,” and “direct lenders only” reach record highs, RadCred today unveiled an expanded marketplace that connects U.S. borrowers including those previously declined by traditional banks to licensed direct lenders offering income‑based, multi‑payment solutions. The refreshed platform begins with a soft‑inquiry “no credit check” pre‑screen, routes each request to lenders authorized in the applicant’s ZIP code, and displays side‑by‑side offers ranging from emergency installment loans of a few hundred dollars to same day installment loans up to several thousand.

By pairing transparent APR disclosures with a strict no‑middle‑man policy, RadCred transforms the usual “loan denied” experience into a clearer, faster path to responsible credit relief through bad credit installment loans.

Rising Demand for Installment Loans for Bad Credit in the U.S.

Inflation‑driven expenses, gig‑economy income swings, and tighter bank underwriting have combined to push more Americans toward online installment loans for bad credit and other direct‑lender installment loans. Google Trends shows steady growth in borrower searches for faster “no denial” and same day installment loan paths signals that people want income‑based options vetted by direct lenders only rather than broker chains. Because traditional banks still require FICO scores in the mid‑600s, millions of sub‑prime borrowers now look for soft‑credit‑check installment offers that can handle urgent repairs or medical bills without the rollover trap of payday advances.

Unsecured installment credit repaid in predictable payments—spreads costs over months instead of demanding a single balloon payoff, making it an attractive alternative to high‑fee cash advances and bad‑credit personal loans with lump‑sum terms.

What Is an Installment Loan?

An installment loan often marketed online as an installment loan for bad credit or a direct‑lender installment loan is a fixed‑term agreement that lets a borrower repay principal plus interest in scheduled slices weekly, bi‑weekly, or monthly until the balance reaches zero. Typical U.S. products range from $500 to $5,000, run three to 24 months, and feature annual percentage rates (APRs) that vary by state. For borrowers, the chief benefit is budget visibility: each predictable installment payment shows exactly how much leaves the bank account on every due date, helping avoid surprises.

For lenders, the structured calendar lowers risk because payments align with wage or benefit deposits and can be verified through a soft‑credit‑check application. By contrast, a single‑pay payday loan or even a so‑called no denial cash advance demands one lump‑sum payoff, often forcing costly rollovers if cash runs short.

How RadCred Changes the Game for Installment Loans for Bad Credit in the U.S. Market

Most online lead‑gen sites blast a borrower’s data to dozens of “offers” without regard to licensure or fit. RadCred takes a different approach:
1. Direct Lender‑Only Network – Every participating lender is licensed (state or tribal) to originate in the applicant’s ZIP code.
2. Income‑First Scoring – RadCred’s intake form captures pay frequency, bank‑deposit history, and gig‑income signals so lenders can weigh real cash flow over static credit scores.
3. Soft‑Inquiry Pre‑Qualification – Borrowers see potential installment terms based on a soft credit check and alternative data; no hard pull occurs unless they choose to continue.
4. Transparent Disclosures Up Front – Before e‑signing, applicants view APR range, payment schedule, total repay amount, and late‑fee policies.
By integrating these safeguards, RadCred gives shoppers a clearer path to bad credit installment loans without the uncertainty of mass‑market “no credit score required” gimmicks.

How Installment Loans Work With “No Credit Check” and “Guaranteed Approval”

Online, “no credit check loan guaranteed approval” appears in thousands of ad headlines. In regulated lending, that promise doesn’t exist licensed lenders must verify identity and ability to repay. RadCred addresses the nuance this way:
- Soft Check First – Many lenders run only a soft inquiry to produce a preliminary offer; this does not affect FICO.
- Hard Inquiry Possible – If a borrower accepts an offer or requests a higher amount, the lender may perform a hard pull to comply with underwriting law.
- Income & Bank Data Matter – Verified wages or benefit deposits can offset a lower score, improving the odds of conditional approval.
- No One‑Size‑Fits‑All – While RadCred’s routing can raise approval likelihood, every loan is subject to final verification and state caps.
So, “no credit check” really means there’s no hard inquiry just to preview installment loan offers for bad credit only a soft pull that shields your score while you shop. Likewise, “guaranteed approval” should be read as a high preliminary match rate among RadCred’s direct‑lenders‑only network, not an unconditional yes. RadCred bridges the gap by running the soft inquiry, surfacing potential same‑day installment loan options, and letting borrowers compare side‑by‑side offers before committing, turning “no denial” searches into informed decisions.

Why Choose RadCred for Installment Loan Options in 2025?
- Direct Lenders Only – Skip middlemen; work with originators that hold or service the loan.
- Fast Funding Potential – Approved loans can deposit same day or next business day once bank verification clears.
- Flexible Repayment Windows – Choose shorter three‑month pay‑offs or longer plans, depending on state limits and budget needs.
- Security & Compliance – AES‑256 encryption, SOC‑2‑audited servers, and lender vetting protect borrower data.
- Fair‑Cost Transparency – APRs, payment amounts, and total repay figures appear before commitment no hidden activation fees.
All combine to make RadCred a practical gateway for consumers exploring emergency loans, personal loans for bad credit, or installment loans no broker needed.

How to Apply for an Installment Loan for Bad Credit – Step by Step
1. Start Online – Select desired amount (e.g., $1,000) and enter contact, income, and banking details.
2. Soft Credit & Income Review – RadCred’s system routes the request only to lenders open to your profile and state.
3. Compare Conditional Offers – View loan size, term length, estimated APR, and repayment schedule.
4. Upload Documents – If you choose an offer, provide a recent pay stub, ID, or bank‑deposit screenshot.
5. Sign Electronically – Review Truth‑in‑Lending disclosures, e‑sign, and set up ACH repayment dates.
6. Receive Funds – Depending on lender cut‑off times, funds may arrive the same day or the next banking day.
7. Repay on Schedule – Automatic withdrawals keep you on track; most lenders allow early payoff with no penalty.
Types of  Bad Credit  Installment Loans Offered by RadCred 
- Emergency Installment Loans (≈ $300 – $1,000)
  - Built for urgent expenses medical copays, utility shut‑off notices, last‑minute rent gaps.
  - Shorter terms (about 3‑6 months) keep interest exposure modest and payments predictable.
- Standard Bad‑Credit Installment Loans (≈ $1,000 – $3,000)
  - Popular for car repairs, home‑appliance replacement, or moving costs.
  - Multi‑payment schedules (6‑18 months) give room to budget without payday rollovers.
- Larger Personal Installment Loans (up to $5,000)
  - Aimed at consolidating high‑fee payday balances or funding major repairs.
  - Longer repayment windows often 12‑24 months help spread out bigger principals.
- Same‑Day Installment Loans (amount varies by state)
  - For time‑critical bills; lenders in RadCred’s network can deposit funds as fast as the same business day once verification clears.
  - Term length set by the individual lender; payments fixed from day one.
- Income‑Based Flex Loans
  - Tailored to gig‑workers or seasonal earners whose cash‑flow changes month‑to‑month.
  - Loan size and schedule adjust to verified deposits, offering custom repayment plans instead of one‑size terms.
FAQ OF No Denial installment loans direct lenders

Q 1: Can I get an installment loan with bad credit?
Yes, many RadCred lenders evaluate verified income and bank‑deposit stability alongside credit history, so scores below 600 do not automatically mean a decline.

Q 2: Will applying hurt my credit score?
The initial match process uses a soft credit inquiry. A hard pull may occur only if you choose an offer and complete the lender’s final application.

Q 3: Are these really “no credit check” loans?
Search phrases like “no credit check installment loans” refer to the soft‑pull stage. Responsible lenders still verify identity and may run a hard check before funding.

Q 4: How fast can funds arrive?
Submit early in the business day with documents ready; some loans fund same day, others next business day timing varies by lender and bank posting schedules.

Q 5: Which states are served?
RadCred supports most U.S. states; the application form automatically filters out lenders that don’t operate in your ZIP code.

Conclusion
For borrowers who keep seeing “no” from traditional banks, RadCred offers a new “yes‑possible” pathway to installment loans for bad credit. By partnering with direct lenders only, starting with a soft inquiry, and displaying clear payment schedules up front, the platform turns stressful searches for no denial financing into an informed, side‑by‑side comparison often in minutes and, where approved, with funding as fast as the same day.

About RadCred
RadCred is a U.S.‑based fintech marketplace connecting consumers to a vetted network of state‑licensed and tribal direct lenders that provide installment, personal, and emergency loan products. The platform emphasizes income‑first underwriting, transparent APR disclosures, and responsible borrowing education to expand credit access for underserved Americans.

The MIL Network –
July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI: Installment Loans For Bad Credit Direct Lenders Only : RadCred Relieves U.S. Borrowers of Poor Credit Score By Same day Installment Loan
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Glendale, California, July 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Google searches for “installment loans for bad credit,” “no denial installment loans,” and “direct lenders only” reach record highs, RadCred today unveiled an expanded marketplace that connects U.S. borrowers including those previously declined by traditional banks to licensed direct lenders offering income‑based, multi‑payment solutions. The refreshed platform begins with a soft‑inquiry “no credit check” pre‑screen, routes each request to lenders authorized in the applicant’s ZIP code, and displays side‑by‑side offers ranging from emergency installment loans of a few hundred dollars to same day installment loans up to several thousand.

By pairing transparent APR disclosures with a strict no‑middle‑man policy, RadCred transforms the usual “loan denied” experience into a clearer, faster path to responsible credit relief through bad credit installment loans.

Rising Demand for Installment Loans for Bad Credit in the U.S.

Inflation‑driven expenses, gig‑economy income swings, and tighter bank underwriting have combined to push more Americans toward online installment loans for bad credit and other direct‑lender installment loans. Google Trends shows steady growth in borrower searches for faster “no denial” and same day installment loan paths signals that people want income‑based options vetted by direct lenders only rather than broker chains. Because traditional banks still require FICO scores in the mid‑600s, millions of sub‑prime borrowers now look for soft‑credit‑check installment offers that can handle urgent repairs or medical bills without the rollover trap of payday advances.

Unsecured installment credit repaid in predictable payments—spreads costs over months instead of demanding a single balloon payoff, making it an attractive alternative to high‑fee cash advances and bad‑credit personal loans with lump‑sum terms.

What Is an Installment Loan?

An installment loan often marketed online as an installment loan for bad credit or a direct‑lender installment loan is a fixed‑term agreement that lets a borrower repay principal plus interest in scheduled slices weekly, bi‑weekly, or monthly until the balance reaches zero. Typical U.S. products range from $500 to $5,000, run three to 24 months, and feature annual percentage rates (APRs) that vary by state. For borrowers, the chief benefit is budget visibility: each predictable installment payment shows exactly how much leaves the bank account on every due date, helping avoid surprises.

For lenders, the structured calendar lowers risk because payments align with wage or benefit deposits and can be verified through a soft‑credit‑check application. By contrast, a single‑pay payday loan or even a so‑called no denial cash advance demands one lump‑sum payoff, often forcing costly rollovers if cash runs short.

How RadCred Changes the Game for Installment Loans for Bad Credit in the U.S. Market

Most online lead‑gen sites blast a borrower’s data to dozens of “offers” without regard to licensure or fit. RadCred takes a different approach:
1. Direct Lender‑Only Network – Every participating lender is licensed (state or tribal) to originate in the applicant’s ZIP code.
2. Income‑First Scoring – RadCred’s intake form captures pay frequency, bank‑deposit history, and gig‑income signals so lenders can weigh real cash flow over static credit scores.
3. Soft‑Inquiry Pre‑Qualification – Borrowers see potential installment terms based on a soft credit check and alternative data; no hard pull occurs unless they choose to continue.
4. Transparent Disclosures Up Front – Before e‑signing, applicants view APR range, payment schedule, total repay amount, and late‑fee policies.
By integrating these safeguards, RadCred gives shoppers a clearer path to bad credit installment loans without the uncertainty of mass‑market “no credit score required” gimmicks.

How Installment Loans Work With “No Credit Check” and “Guaranteed Approval”

Online, “no credit check loan guaranteed approval” appears in thousands of ad headlines. In regulated lending, that promise doesn’t exist licensed lenders must verify identity and ability to repay. RadCred addresses the nuance this way:
- Soft Check First – Many lenders run only a soft inquiry to produce a preliminary offer; this does not affect FICO.
- Hard Inquiry Possible – If a borrower accepts an offer or requests a higher amount, the lender may perform a hard pull to comply with underwriting law.
- Income & Bank Data Matter – Verified wages or benefit deposits can offset a lower score, improving the odds of conditional approval.
- No One‑Size‑Fits‑All – While RadCred’s routing can raise approval likelihood, every loan is subject to final verification and state caps.
So, “no credit check” really means there’s no hard inquiry just to preview installment loan offers for bad credit only a soft pull that shields your score while you shop. Likewise, “guaranteed approval” should be read as a high preliminary match rate among RadCred’s direct‑lenders‑only network, not an unconditional yes. RadCred bridges the gap by running the soft inquiry, surfacing potential same‑day installment loan options, and letting borrowers compare side‑by‑side offers before committing, turning “no denial” searches into informed decisions.

Why Choose RadCred for Installment Loan Options in 2025?
- Direct Lenders Only – Skip middlemen; work with originators that hold or service the loan.
- Fast Funding Potential – Approved loans can deposit same day or next business day once bank verification clears.
- Flexible Repayment Windows – Choose shorter three‑month pay‑offs or longer plans, depending on state limits and budget needs.
- Security & Compliance – AES‑256 encryption, SOC‑2‑audited servers, and lender vetting protect borrower data.
- Fair‑Cost Transparency – APRs, payment amounts, and total repay figures appear before commitment no hidden activation fees.
All combine to make RadCred a practical gateway for consumers exploring emergency loans, personal loans for bad credit, or installment loans no broker needed.

How to Apply for an Installment Loan for Bad Credit – Step by Step
1. Start Online – Select desired amount (e.g., $1,000) and enter contact, income, and banking details.
2. Soft Credit & Income Review – RadCred’s system routes the request only to lenders open to your profile and state.
3. Compare Conditional Offers – View loan size, term length, estimated APR, and repayment schedule.
4. Upload Documents – If you choose an offer, provide a recent pay stub, ID, or bank‑deposit screenshot.
5. Sign Electronically – Review Truth‑in‑Lending disclosures, e‑sign, and set up ACH repayment dates.
6. Receive Funds – Depending on lender cut‑off times, funds may arrive the same day or the next banking day.
7. Repay on Schedule – Automatic withdrawals keep you on track; most lenders allow early payoff with no penalty.
Types of  Bad Credit  Installment Loans Offered by RadCred 
- Emergency Installment Loans (≈ $300 – $1,000)
  - Built for urgent expenses medical copays, utility shut‑off notices, last‑minute rent gaps.
  - Shorter terms (about 3‑6 months) keep interest exposure modest and payments predictable.
- Standard Bad‑Credit Installment Loans (≈ $1,000 – $3,000)
  - Popular for car repairs, home‑appliance replacement, or moving costs.
  - Multi‑payment schedules (6‑18 months) give room to budget without payday rollovers.
- Larger Personal Installment Loans (up to $5,000)
  - Aimed at consolidating high‑fee payday balances or funding major repairs.
  - Longer repayment windows often 12‑24 months help spread out bigger principals.
- Same‑Day Installment Loans (amount varies by state)
  - For time‑critical bills; lenders in RadCred’s network can deposit funds as fast as the same business day once verification clears.
  - Term length set by the individual lender; payments fixed from day one.
- Income‑Based Flex Loans
  - Tailored to gig‑workers or seasonal earners whose cash‑flow changes month‑to‑month.
  - Loan size and schedule adjust to verified deposits, offering custom repayment plans instead of one‑size terms.
FAQ OF No Denial installment loans direct lenders

Q 1: Can I get an installment loan with bad credit?
Yes, many RadCred lenders evaluate verified income and bank‑deposit stability alongside credit history, so scores below 600 do not automatically mean a decline.

Q 2: Will applying hurt my credit score?
The initial match process uses a soft credit inquiry. A hard pull may occur only if you choose an offer and complete the lender’s final application.

Q 3: Are these really “no credit check” loans?
Search phrases like “no credit check installment loans” refer to the soft‑pull stage. Responsible lenders still verify identity and may run a hard check before funding.

Q 4: How fast can funds arrive?
Submit early in the business day with documents ready; some loans fund same day, others next business day timing varies by lender and bank posting schedules.

Q 5: Which states are served?
RadCred supports most U.S. states; the application form automatically filters out lenders that don’t operate in your ZIP code.

Conclusion
For borrowers who keep seeing “no” from traditional banks, RadCred offers a new “yes‑possible” pathway to installment loans for bad credit. By partnering with direct lenders only, starting with a soft inquiry, and displaying clear payment schedules up front, the platform turns stressful searches for no denial financing into an informed, side‑by‑side comparison often in minutes and, where approved, with funding as fast as the same day.

About RadCred
RadCred is a U.S.‑based fintech marketplace connecting consumers to a vetted network of state‑licensed and tribal direct lenders that provide installment, personal, and emergency loan products. The platform emphasizes income‑first underwriting, transparent APR disclosures, and responsible borrowing education to expand credit access for underserved Americans.

The MIL Network –
July 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra

AUSPIC

John Owen Stone AO was a legendary leader of the Commonwealth Treasury. He was secretary (departmental head) from January 1979 to September 1984 but was an intellectual driving force before then as deputy secretary from 1971 to 1978.

Over those years he dealt with eight treasurers: Billy Snedden, Gough Whitlam, Frank Crean, Jim Cairns, Bill Hayden, Phillip Lynch, John Howard and Paul Keating.

It is a sign of his influence that those years were dubbed the “Stone Age” by South Australian Premier Don Dunstan and others.

Former Defence Department heads Arthur Tange and Tony Ayers were at various times called the “last of the mandarins” but Stone is probably truly the last.

In 1978 journalist Paul Kelly called Stone “one of the two men who ran the nation”, the other being then prime minister Malcolm Fraser.

It is hard to think of any later public servant about whom that could be said.

Stone’s entry in the Senate’s biographical dictionary captures him well:

he could be charming, witty and flattering, but he is often decried as being obstinate and arrogant.

A Reserve Bank official is said to have said “I wish I was as certain about one thing as John Stone is about everything.”

This obduracy cemented the Treasury’s reputation for arrogance and weakened its influence.

Early years – from physics to economics

John was born in 1929, the elder of two sons of a farmer and a primary school teacher. His childhood was spent in the Western Australian wheat belt. But after his parents divorced when he was 12, he moved with his mother to Perth.

He attended Perth Modern School where contemporaries included Bob Hawke, Rolf Harris and Maxwell Newton.

He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Western Australia in 1950, majoring in mathematical physics, and served as president of the students’ association.

While there he met Billy Snedden, who two decades later would be Prime Minister William McMahon’s treasurer and with whom Stone would work as treasury deputy secretary.

In 1951 he won a Rhodes scholarship. He initially enrolled for a physics degree at Oxford, but switched to economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

He joined Australia’s Treasury, initially in its London office, in 1954. The same year he married Nancy Hardwick, a biochemical researcher, and they would have five children.

The mandarin who put Treasury first

Stone was an admirer of fellow Rhodes scholar Sir Roland Wilson, the longest-serving Treasury secretary with doctorates from Oxford and Chicago.

Along with Wilson, Stone was a strong critic of the 1965 report of the Committee of Economic Inquiry known as the Vernon Report which called for greater planning and an independent economic advisory committee whose advice would have rivalled Treasury’s and succeeded in having Prime Minister Menzies reject it.

In the late 1960s as treasury’s representative he was an executive director at the International Monetary Fund and defied his treasurer William McMahon by voting against the introduction of Special Drawing Rights that gave members rights over other members’ reserves.

Stone believed that was why he was passed over for the secretary’s position when Frederick Wheeler was appointed in 1971.

At treasury in the 1970s, Stone publicly clashed with members of a global environmental group called the Club of Rome about whether there were environmental limits to economic growth.

During a public meeting in Canberra in 1973, he argued the world would not run out of the resources it needed because price rises would create incentives to use them more efficiently and develop substitutes.

These ideas permeated the treasury’s second economic research paper called Economic Growth – is it Worth Having? which he heavily influenced.

Stone claimed to have personally drafted the words in Treasurer Bill Hayden’s 1975 budget statement that said Australia was

no longer operating in that simple Keynesian world in which some reduction in unemployment could, apparently, always be purchased at the cost of some more inflation.

Stone was the driving force behind the subsequent Fraser government’s mantra of “fight inflation first”.

As a senior Treasury officer, Stone was often openly contemptuous of politicians. He would share these views with journalists at the bar of the Hotel Canberra and in later years at the bar of the National Press Club.

He was particularly critical when politicians had the temerity to take advice from what he termed “meretricious players” from outside the treasury.

This attitude led Stone to oppose even the sort of free-market measures he might be expected to like when they were advocated by someone else.

He unsuccessfully opposed the Whitlam government’s cuts to tariffs in 1973 and some of the recommendations of the Campbell Committee of Inquiry into Australia’s financial system in 1981.

Fraser is said to have said Stone “believes in the deregulation of everything he does not regulate”.

Stone also opposed the Hawke government’s decision to float the dollar in 1983.

He argued the timing was wrong and that the dollar would appreciate, weakening the economy. After rising for a short time, the dollar actually depreciated and the economy performed strongly.

Ludicrously, Stone denied having ever opposed it.

Many in the Labor Party had wanted Stone sacked when it came to power in 1983, but Keating kept him on, partly to reassure financial markets. As Keating’s confidence in his own judgement grew, Stone’s influence waned.

Stone announced his resignation just before the August 1984 budget and made a scathing attack on many of the government’s policies in his 1984 Shann Memorial Lecture at the University of Western Australia.

Read more:
Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

Politics post-treasury

Stone isn’t the only treasury official to have gone into politics. Leslie Bury even became treasurer. Jim Short and Arthur Sinodinos became assistant treasurers.

But Stone was the only former head of the treasury to enter politics. He served as a National Party Senator for Queensland from 1987 to 1990, having been part of the Joh for Canberra campaign which had as its organising principle the anointing of Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen as prime minister.

He was the Senate running mate to Sir Joh’s wife Flo Bjelke-Petersen.

Stone was twice the Coalition’s finance spokesman, but he was something of a loose cannon. John Howard dropped him from the front bench for a time after he said “Asian immigration has to be slowed”.

He apparently held ambitions to be treasurer. In 1990 he resigned from the Senate to contest a seat in the House of Representatives that would have made that easier given treasurers are traditionally members of the lower house.

Stone failed to win it. He then reneged on an earlier promise by nominating to return to his Senate seat. Faced with uproar in the party, he withdrew and his meteoric political career was over.

He co-founded the HR Nicholls Society, which pressed for the deregulation of industrial relations laws, and the Samuel Griffith Society which concerned itself with states’ rights.

Stone was active in the Institute of Public Affairs and wrote frequently in Quadrant. He opposed republicanism, centralism, trade unionism, multiculturalism and climate action.

He died aged 96 and is survived by five children.

John Hawkins was a senior economist at the Australian Treasury where he wrote a series of biographical essays on Australian treasurers.

Selwyn Cornish is the Reserve Bank of Australia historian and a former Australian Treasury official.

– ref. From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025 – https://theconversation.com/from-stone-age-treasury-boss-to-national-party-senator-john-stone-1929-2025-216360

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra

AUSPIC

John Owen Stone AO was a legendary leader of the Commonwealth Treasury. He was secretary (departmental head) from January 1979 to September 1984 but was an intellectual driving force before then as deputy secretary from 1971 to 1978.

Over those years he dealt with eight treasurers: Billy Snedden, Gough Whitlam, Frank Crean, Jim Cairns, Bill Hayden, Phillip Lynch, John Howard and Paul Keating.

It is a sign of his influence that those years were dubbed the “Stone Age” by South Australian Premier Don Dunstan and others.

Former Defence Department heads Arthur Tange and Tony Ayers were at various times called the “last of the mandarins” but Stone is probably truly the last.

In 1978 journalist Paul Kelly called Stone “one of the two men who ran the nation”, the other being then prime minister Malcolm Fraser.

It is hard to think of any later public servant about whom that could be said.

Stone’s entry in the Senate’s biographical dictionary captures him well:

he could be charming, witty and flattering, but he is often decried as being obstinate and arrogant.

A Reserve Bank official is said to have said “I wish I was as certain about one thing as John Stone is about everything.”

This obduracy cemented the Treasury’s reputation for arrogance and weakened its influence.

Early years – from physics to economics

John was born in 1929, the elder of two sons of a farmer and a primary school teacher. His childhood was spent in the Western Australian wheat belt. But after his parents divorced when he was 12, he moved with his mother to Perth.

He attended Perth Modern School where contemporaries included Bob Hawke, Rolf Harris and Maxwell Newton.

He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Western Australia in 1950, majoring in mathematical physics, and served as president of the students’ association.

While there he met Billy Snedden, who two decades later would be Prime Minister William McMahon’s treasurer and with whom Stone would work as treasury deputy secretary.

In 1951 he won a Rhodes scholarship. He initially enrolled for a physics degree at Oxford, but switched to economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

He joined Australia’s Treasury, initially in its London office, in 1954. The same year he married Nancy Hardwick, a biochemical researcher, and they would have five children.

The mandarin who put Treasury first

Stone was an admirer of fellow Rhodes scholar Sir Roland Wilson, the longest-serving Treasury secretary with doctorates from Oxford and Chicago.

Along with Wilson, Stone was a strong critic of the 1965 report of the Committee of Economic Inquiry known as the Vernon Report which called for greater planning and an independent economic advisory committee whose advice would have rivalled Treasury’s and succeeded in having Prime Minister Menzies reject it.

In the late 1960s as treasury’s representative he was an executive director at the International Monetary Fund and defied his treasurer William McMahon by voting against the introduction of Special Drawing Rights that gave members rights over other members’ reserves.

Stone believed that was why he was passed over for the secretary’s position when Frederick Wheeler was appointed in 1971.

At treasury in the 1970s, Stone publicly clashed with members of a global environmental group called the Club of Rome about whether there were environmental limits to economic growth.

During a public meeting in Canberra in 1973, he argued the world would not run out of the resources it needed because price rises would create incentives to use them more efficiently and develop substitutes.

These ideas permeated the treasury’s second economic research paper called Economic Growth – is it Worth Having? which he heavily influenced.

Stone claimed to have personally drafted the words in Treasurer Bill Hayden’s 1975 budget statement that said Australia was

no longer operating in that simple Keynesian world in which some reduction in unemployment could, apparently, always be purchased at the cost of some more inflation.

Stone was the driving force behind the subsequent Fraser government’s mantra of “fight inflation first”.

As a senior Treasury officer, Stone was often openly contemptuous of politicians. He would share these views with journalists at the bar of the Hotel Canberra and in later years at the bar of the National Press Club.

He was particularly critical when politicians had the temerity to take advice from what he termed “meretricious players” from outside the treasury.

This attitude led Stone to oppose even the sort of free-market measures he might be expected to like when they were advocated by someone else.

He unsuccessfully opposed the Whitlam government’s cuts to tariffs in 1973 and some of the recommendations of the Campbell Committee of Inquiry into Australia’s financial system in 1981.

Fraser is said to have said Stone “believes in the deregulation of everything he does not regulate”.

Stone also opposed the Hawke government’s decision to float the dollar in 1983.

He argued the timing was wrong and that the dollar would appreciate, weakening the economy. After rising for a short time, the dollar actually depreciated and the economy performed strongly.

Ludicrously, Stone denied having ever opposed it.

Many in the Labor Party had wanted Stone sacked when it came to power in 1983, but Keating kept him on, partly to reassure financial markets. As Keating’s confidence in his own judgement grew, Stone’s influence waned.

Stone announced his resignation just before the August 1984 budget and made a scathing attack on many of the government’s policies in his 1984 Shann Memorial Lecture at the University of Western Australia.

Read more:
Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

Politics post-treasury

Stone isn’t the only treasury official to have gone into politics. Leslie Bury even became treasurer. Jim Short and Arthur Sinodinos became assistant treasurers.

But Stone was the only former head of the treasury to enter politics. He served as a National Party Senator for Queensland from 1987 to 1990, having been part of the Joh for Canberra campaign which had as its organising principle the anointing of Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen as prime minister.

He was the Senate running mate to Sir Joh’s wife Flo Bjelke-Petersen.

Stone was twice the Coalition’s finance spokesman, but he was something of a loose cannon. John Howard dropped him from the front bench for a time after he said “Asian immigration has to be slowed”.

He apparently held ambitions to be treasurer. In 1990 he resigned from the Senate to contest a seat in the House of Representatives that would have made that easier given treasurers are traditionally members of the lower house.

Stone failed to win it. He then reneged on an earlier promise by nominating to return to his Senate seat. Faced with uproar in the party, he withdrew and his meteoric political career was over.

He co-founded the HR Nicholls Society, which pressed for the deregulation of industrial relations laws, and the Samuel Griffith Society which concerned itself with states’ rights.

Stone was active in the Institute of Public Affairs and wrote frequently in Quadrant. He opposed republicanism, centralism, trade unionism, multiculturalism and climate action.

He died aged 96 and is survived by five children.

John Hawkins was a senior economist at the Australian Treasury where he wrote a series of biographical essays on Australian treasurers.

Selwyn Cornish is the Reserve Bank of Australia historian and a former Australian Treasury official.

– ref. From ‘Stone Age’ treasury boss to National Party Senator: John Stone 1929-2025 – https://theconversation.com/from-stone-age-treasury-boss-to-national-party-senator-john-stone-1929-2025-216360

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: We invite you to the webinar “Who is a project manager: standards and reality”

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Official website of the State –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

On August 7, 2025 at 12:00, Deputy Head of the Department of Project Management of the State University of Management, Ekaterina Khalimon, will be a speaker in the webinar “Who is a project manager: standards and reality”.

The webinar speakers will include: – Natalia Ipatova, Director of the MBA Program Center at the Institute of Public Administration and Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Head of the MBA – Project Management Program, NASDOBR expert, Chairman of the Jury of the Projects Category of the GPM Awards Russia National Competition; – Svetlana Nurtazina, Director of the Project Management Office at KazBuildExpert, certified IPMA Level C PM, Academician of the International Academy of Sciences; – Ekaterina Khalimon, Deputy Head of the Project Management Department at the State University of Management, certified IPMA Level B PM, GPM-b, assessor of the Project Olympus competition; – Oksana Klimenko, President of the Project Managers Association “Project Alliance”, Vice President of IPMA (2021–2023), Executive Director of GPM Global in Russia and the CIS, author of international standards and certification systems in project management.

At the webinar, Ekaterina Khalimon will raise important topics: – What qualities does a project manager need in a high-tech environment? – How to assess competencies if the project goes beyond classical models? – What do those who are just building a career in project management need to understand?

Ekaterina Khalimon has the relevant professional and teaching experience: – in the academic environment: 10 years of experience as a teacher at the Project Management Department of the State University of Management; – in the field of entrepreneurship: an active entrepreneur, as well as the head of acceleration programs to support technological entrepreneurship, implemented at the State University of Management; – in the field of examination of project activities of state and commercial organizations: assessor of the Project Olympus competition (Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation), certified project manager (IPMA® Level B, GPM-b).

The webinar will focus on: – What kind of a project manager’s profile is defined by competency models (ICB, etc.); – What companies see when selecting specialists for the role of project manager; – Why specialists who are strong in theory are not always in demand in practice; – How the professional image of a project manager is developing in Russia and the CIS; – What skills are becoming key in 2025, and which are fading into the background.

Format: – Live professional dialogue; – Exchange of observations and practical experience; – Questions from participants are welcome.

Participation is free, upon prior registration. A link to join will be sent to all registered participants the day before the webinar.

Details and registration: https://pmalliance.timepad.ru/event/3462968/

Webinar organizer: Association of Project Managers “Project Alliance” – Russian association of sustainable project management, partner of the State University of Management since 2024.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

.

MIL OSI Russia News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Professor of the State University of Management took part in the meeting of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Official website of the State –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

On July 17, 2025, a meeting of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation Magomedsalam Magomedov.

Vladimir Volokh, professor of the Department of Public Administration and Political Technologies of the State University of Management, member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations and the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, took part in the work.

During the meeting, participants heard information about the state report on the implementation of the state national policy of the Russian Federation in 2024, prepared by the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs (FADN) of Russia.

The report was approved by the Council Presidium, but suggestions and clarifications were made regarding its content. In particular, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Tishkov suggested making the report more accessible and interesting for a wider audience, and also including a section on traditional spiritual and moral values.

Council members, including Professor Vladimir Volokh, supported the need to include recommendations in the report for civil society, the media and government bodies.

The meeting also discussed the progress of the preparation of the Strategy for the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2036, as well as the results of seminars and meetings on the practices and tasks of executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in implementing the Strategy for the State National Policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025 and improving the management of migration processes.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

.

MIL OSI Russia News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: “Immersive Hong Kong” roving exhibition opens in Qingdao (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The “Immersive Hong Kong” roving exhibition, organised by the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to showcase the diversity and latest developments of Hong Kong through interactive art technology, opened in Qingdao today (July 18).

Co-organised by the Shandong Liaison Unit of the HKSAR Government, the exhibition, themed “Hong Kong – Where the World Looks Ahead”, invites visitors from Qingdao and the entire Shandong Province to explore the unique opportunities and potential for tourism, education, business and investment in Hong Kong.

The exhibition enables visitors to delve into different virtual scenes representing the city, with a creative twist. The five thematic zones, namely “Financial Bridgehead”, “I&T Brain Bank”, “Blossoming Creativity”, “Diversity and Greenery” and “Buzzing Sports Action”, feature multiple interactive art projections, light box installations and naked-eye 3D displays, representing the distinctive appeal of Hong Kong.

Visitors may also enjoy Hong Kong’s vibrant and colourful skyline, illustrated by Hong Kong artist Messy Desk (Jane Lee), at a photo corner in the venue. Promotional videos on Hong Kong and digital panels presenting information about the city, as well as insights from Mainland companies about their experiences in Hong Kong, are also on display, highlighting why the city is one of the most desirable places to visit, study, live, work and invest.

Speaking at the opening ceremony today, the Director of Information Services, Mrs Apollonia Liu, said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Summit organised by the HKSAR, and that three node cities along the Belt and Road on the Mainland were specially selected to hold the exhibition. The first stop was successfully held in Shanghai last month, attracting more than 180 000 visitors, while Qingdao is the second stop, to be followed by Chengdu.

She said, “The eligible cities of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) expanded to Qingdao in March last year, enabling residents of Qingdao to explore Hong Kong in a more flexible and convenient manner. In addition to deepening exchanges and fostering cultural integration and people-to-people bonds between the two cities, IVS tourists also represent an important force in driving the business of tourism-related industries in Hong Kong.”

Mrs Liu added that, although Hong Kong and Qingdao are far apart geographically, the two cities are in fact within arm’s reach. They are linked by multiple direct flights operating daily, with a flight time of just over three hours. This offers an excellent foundation for the two cities to further deepen tourism co-operation, promote resource sharing, and facilitate the two-way flow of visitors.

Introducing the highlights of the exhibition, Mrs Liu said a “Buzzing Sports Action” thematic zone has been set up, serving as pre-event publicity for the 15th National Games to be cohosted by Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao in November this year. The cultural and tourism appeal, as well as the latest developments of Hong Kong, is also shown in a comprehensive manner through naked-eye 3D displays and interactive games.

Mrs Liu expressed hope that the exhibition would provide an opportunity for friends from Qingdao to experience Hong Kong’s charm from different aspects, sparking their interest to learn more about Hong Kong and visit the city.

To give Qingdao audiences a taste of Hong Kong’s cultural offerings, a wind instrument performance by two young Hong Kong music talents – the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Suona Principal Ma Wai-him and pianist Aaron Leung – will be staged at the exhibition venue on July 19 and 20.

During the exhibition, an interactive game, “Snap a cool shot @Immersive Hong Kong”, will offer attractive prizes sponsored by Cathay Pacific for two winners. The winner of the Grand Prize will receive a pair of round-trip business class air tickets from Qingdao to Hong Kong, while the runner-up will receive a pair of round-trip economy class air tickets on the same itinerary.

The exhibition is being held at Lion Mall, a major shopping centre in Qingdao, until July 27. Admission is free.

Qingdao is the seventh stop of the exhibition, following its successful staging in a total of six cities in Mainland China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Middle East between July 2023 and June 2025.

Supporting organisations of the exhibition include the Belt and Road Office of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong Talent Engage, Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and the Kai Tak Sports Park.

More information on the exhibition is available on the dedicated page on the Brand Hong Kong website and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai website.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: “Immersive Hong Kong” roving exhibition opens in Qingdao (with photos)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The “Immersive Hong Kong” roving exhibition, organised by the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to showcase the diversity and latest developments of Hong Kong through interactive art technology, opened in Qingdao today (July 18).

Co-organised by the Shandong Liaison Unit of the HKSAR Government, the exhibition, themed “Hong Kong – Where the World Looks Ahead”, invites visitors from Qingdao and the entire Shandong Province to explore the unique opportunities and potential for tourism, education, business and investment in Hong Kong.

The exhibition enables visitors to delve into different virtual scenes representing the city, with a creative twist. The five thematic zones, namely “Financial Bridgehead”, “I&T Brain Bank”, “Blossoming Creativity”, “Diversity and Greenery” and “Buzzing Sports Action”, feature multiple interactive art projections, light box installations and naked-eye 3D displays, representing the distinctive appeal of Hong Kong.

Visitors may also enjoy Hong Kong’s vibrant and colourful skyline, illustrated by Hong Kong artist Messy Desk (Jane Lee), at a photo corner in the venue. Promotional videos on Hong Kong and digital panels presenting information about the city, as well as insights from Mainland companies about their experiences in Hong Kong, are also on display, highlighting why the city is one of the most desirable places to visit, study, live, work and invest.

Speaking at the opening ceremony today, the Director of Information Services, Mrs Apollonia Liu, said that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Summit organised by the HKSAR, and that three node cities along the Belt and Road on the Mainland were specially selected to hold the exhibition. The first stop was successfully held in Shanghai last month, attracting more than 180 000 visitors, while Qingdao is the second stop, to be followed by Chengdu.

She said, “The eligible cities of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) expanded to Qingdao in March last year, enabling residents of Qingdao to explore Hong Kong in a more flexible and convenient manner. In addition to deepening exchanges and fostering cultural integration and people-to-people bonds between the two cities, IVS tourists also represent an important force in driving the business of tourism-related industries in Hong Kong.”

Mrs Liu added that, although Hong Kong and Qingdao are far apart geographically, the two cities are in fact within arm’s reach. They are linked by multiple direct flights operating daily, with a flight time of just over three hours. This offers an excellent foundation for the two cities to further deepen tourism co-operation, promote resource sharing, and facilitate the two-way flow of visitors.

Introducing the highlights of the exhibition, Mrs Liu said a “Buzzing Sports Action” thematic zone has been set up, serving as pre-event publicity for the 15th National Games to be cohosted by Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao in November this year. The cultural and tourism appeal, as well as the latest developments of Hong Kong, is also shown in a comprehensive manner through naked-eye 3D displays and interactive games.

Mrs Liu expressed hope that the exhibition would provide an opportunity for friends from Qingdao to experience Hong Kong’s charm from different aspects, sparking their interest to learn more about Hong Kong and visit the city.

To give Qingdao audiences a taste of Hong Kong’s cultural offerings, a wind instrument performance by two young Hong Kong music talents – the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Suona Principal Ma Wai-him and pianist Aaron Leung – will be staged at the exhibition venue on July 19 and 20.

During the exhibition, an interactive game, “Snap a cool shot @Immersive Hong Kong”, will offer attractive prizes sponsored by Cathay Pacific for two winners. The winner of the Grand Prize will receive a pair of round-trip business class air tickets from Qingdao to Hong Kong, while the runner-up will receive a pair of round-trip economy class air tickets on the same itinerary.

The exhibition is being held at Lion Mall, a major shopping centre in Qingdao, until July 27. Admission is free.

Qingdao is the seventh stop of the exhibition, following its successful staging in a total of six cities in Mainland China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Middle East between July 2023 and June 2025.

Supporting organisations of the exhibition include the Belt and Road Office of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong Talent Engage, Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and the Kai Tak Sports Park.

More information on the exhibition is available on the dedicated page on the Brand Hong Kong website and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai website.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 18, 2025
60 lakh PMAY houses in Bihar, over 3 lakh in Motihari alone: PM Modi

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted key Central welfare schemes benefiting the people of Bihar and reaffirmed the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government’s commitment to building a “New Bihar.”

During his visit to Motihari in Bihar’s East Champaran district, the Prime Minister launched a series of infrastructure projects worth over ₹7,200 crore. Addressing a large public gathering, he underlined the government’s consistent focus on public welfare, contrasting it with what he called the “discriminatory” approach of the previous UPA regime.

PM Modi said that Bihar accounts for 60 lakh of the total 4 crore pucca houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), emphasizing the state’s substantial share in the nationwide scheme.

He added that in Motihari alone, over 3 lakh families have received pucca houses under PMAY.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the recently approved Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana, which aims to benefit farmers in underperforming agricultural districts. “Under this scheme, 100 districts with untapped farming potential will be identified. Over 1.75 crore farmers across the country are expected to benefit, with a significant number from Bihar,” he said.

Referring to the growth trajectory of Eastern nations, PM Modi said Bihar should similarly become a growth hub for India. “Our vision is clear: when Bihar progresses, the country progresses. We are committed to building a prosperous Bihar and ensuring employment for every youth.”

He said rapid progress is underway across various sectors to boost job opportunities for the state’s youth. “The Nitish government has already provided employment to lakhs of young people and has set new goals to enhance youth employment further. The Central government is fully supporting these efforts,” he added.

—IANS

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by FS at Rhythm of Innovation (English only) (with photos/video)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Speech by FS at Rhythm of Innovation (English only) (with photos/video)
Sunny (Chairman of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) Corporation, Dr Sunny Chai), Albert (Chief Executive Officer of the HKSTP Corporation, Mr Albert Wong), young talents from Hong Kong and beyond,

Good afternoon.

     It’s a real pleasure to be at this gathering, joined by so many energetic and passionate young innovators.

     Just moments ago, I had the chance to speak with some of you, interns and graduates from various incubation programmes here at Science Park. I must say I am truly impressed by your passion, creativity and drive to make a difference in life.

     Innovation and technology – or I&T – is a space full of promise. For a long time, people in Hong Kong have favoured careers like doctors, lawyers, engineers and accountants. While these are respectable and rewarding professions, today, I&T has become one of the most exciting avenues for young people to succeed. It is a sector of the future where you can find a meaningful career with positive impact on the community and the world.

     Take DeepSeek for example. It is a remarkable venture launched by a group of young innovators. Their high-efficiency, low-cost model has captured global attention and admiration. And they are just one of many success stories. Across both the Mainland and Hong Kong, young people are driving change through groundbreaking products and creative solutions that are shaping industries and transforming lives.

     And if you’re thinking about a career in I&T, let me say: Hong Kong is the place to be.

     This Government puts I&T as a policy priority. We focus on sectors where we have competitive strengths, namely artificial intelligence, biomedicine, fintech as well as new energy and new materials. To expedite their development, we are actively attracting world-class enterprises and top talent to Hong Kong, especially those working on cutting-edge technologies. And we are nurturing a vibrant ecosystem of start-ups, with patient capital support. By setting up the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited, we seek to channel private sector funds to companies even at their nascent stage.

     As an international financial centre, we also provide comprehensive funding support for start-ups and companies at various stages of development, from angel investments, venture capital and private equity to IPO.

     Apart from finance, Hong Kong has a number of other unique advantages.

     For example, we are home to world-class universities and research institutions. We are the only city in the world with five universities ranked among the global top 100. Our research institutions are among the best in Asia and the world. Our two medical schools are among the world’s top 25.

    Besides, we have a thriving start-up ecosystem. As of last year, Hong Kong had around 4 700 start-ups, a 40 per cent increase compared to 2020. And our innovation flagships like Science Park and Cyberport provide the space, infrastructure, mentorship, resources, networks and programmes that support their growth and dreams.

     There’s more. The Northern Metropolis on the boundary with Shenzhen – an area about one-third the size of Hong Kong – is being developed into an I&T powerhouse.

     With special cross-boundary policies and facilitation, the Northern Metropolis in conjunction with sister cities in the Greater Bay Area, like Shenzhen and Guangzhou, is fast becoming a global hub for R&D, tech innovation and commercialisation, as well as advanced manufacturing.

     And just as important – we offer a safe, open, multicultural environment that welcomes talent from all over the world.

     To those of you who are coming from the Mainland or overseas, I wish you to know that Hong Kong welcomes you. If you are inspired by what you see here, come and join us. Since launching our talent admission schemes in December 2022, we’ve received nearly 500 000 applications – and over 220 000 talented individuals have arrived in Hong Kong, many with their young families. They chose Hong Kong for its opportunities, unparalleled connectivity, quality of life, excellent education system, and many more.

     Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest asset of Hong Kong has always been its people – and that includes you: our next generation of innovators, creators and leaders.

     I look forward to seeing many of you again in the future – not just as students or interns, but as key members of Hong Kong’s I&T community.

     Once again, I thank the HKSTP for organising this amazing and meaningful gathering.

     Let me end by wishing you all good health, successful careers, and a bright future. Keep dreaming, keep creating, and keep moving forward.

     Thank you very much.
Issued at HKT 18:06

NNNN

CategoriesMIL-OSI

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: President Lai meets President of Guatemalan Congress Nery Abilio Ramos y Ramos

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Details
2025-07-08
President Lai meets delegation led by Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste of Republic of Haiti
On the morning of July 8, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste of the Republic of Haiti and his wife. In remarks, President Lai noted that our two countries will soon mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations and that our exchanges have been fruitful in important areas such as public security, educational cooperation, and infrastructure. The president stated that Taiwan will continue to work together with Haiti to promote the development of medical and health care, food security, and construction that benefits people’s livelihoods. The president thanked Haiti for supporting Taiwan’s international participation and expressed hope that both countries will continue to support each other, deepen cooperation, and face various challenges together. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I am delighted to meet and exchange ideas with Minister Jean-Baptiste, his wife, and our distinguished guests. Minister Jean-Baptiste is the highest-ranking official from Haiti to visit Taiwan since former President Jovenel Moïse visited in 2018, demonstrating the importance that the Haitian government attaches to our bilateral diplomatic ties. On behalf of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I extend a sincere welcome. Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between our two countries. Our bilateral exchanges have been fruitful in important areas such as public security, educational cooperation, and infrastructure. Over the past few years, Haiti has faced challenges in such areas as food supply and healthcare. Taiwan will continue to work together with Haiti through various cooperative programs to promote the development of medical and health care, food security, and construction that benefits people’s livelihoods. I want to thank the government of Haiti and Minister Jean-Baptiste for speaking out in support of Taiwan on the international stage for many years. Minister Jean-Baptiste’s personal letter to the World Health Organization Secretariat in May this year and Minister of Public Health and Population Bertrand Sinal’s public statement during the World Health Assembly both affirmed Taiwan’s efforts and contributions to global public health and supported Taiwan’s international participation, for which we are very grateful. I hope that Taiwan and Haiti will continue to support each other and deepen cooperation. I believe that Minister Jean-Baptiste’s visit will open up more opportunities for cooperation for both countries, helping Taiwan and Haiti face various challenges together. In closing, I once again offer a sincere welcome to the delegation led by Minister Jean-Baptiste, and ask him to convey greetings from Taiwan to Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé and the members of the Transitional Presidential Council. Minister Jean-Baptiste then delivered remarks, saying that he is extremely honored to visit Taiwan and reaffirm the solid and friendly cooperative relationship based on mutual respect between the Republic of Haiti and the Republic of China (Taiwan), which will soon mark its 70th anniversary. He also brought greetings to President Lai from Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council and Prime Minister Fils-Aimé. Minister Jean-Baptiste emphasized that over the past few decades, despite the great geographical distance and developmental and cultural differences between our two countries, we have nevertheless established a firm friendship and demonstrated to the world the progress resulting from the mutual assistance and cooperation between our peoples. Minister Jean-Baptiste pointed out that our two countries cooperate closely in agriculture, health, education, and community development and have achieved concrete results. Taiwan’s voice, he said, is thus essential for the people of Haiti. He noted that Taiwan also plays an important role in peace and innovation and actively participates in global cooperative efforts. Pointing out that the world is currently facing significant challenges and that Haiti is experiencing its most difficult period in history, Minister Jean-Baptiste said that at this time, Taiwan and Haiti need to unite, help each other, and jointly think about how to move forward and deepen bilateral relations to benefit the peoples of both countries. Minister Jean-Baptiste said that he is pleased that throughout our solid and friendly diplomatic relationship, both countries have demonstrated mutual trust, mutual respect, and the values we jointly defend. He then stated his belief that Haiti and Taiwan will together create a cooperation model and future that are sincere, friendly, and sustainable. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Francilien Victorin of the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Taiwan.

Details
2025-07-01
President Lai meets delegation from 2025 Taiwan International Ocean Forum
On the afternoon of July 1, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from the 2025 Taiwan International Ocean Forum (TIOF). In remarks, President Lai noted that the people of Taiwan will continue to work with democratic partners throughout the world in a maritime spirit of freedom and openness to contribute to ocean governance and jointly ensure maritime security. He expressed hope that their visit will help forge stronger friendships between Taiwan and international maritime partners, so that all can work together to spur shared maritime prosperity and sustainable development for the next generation. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I want to thank our guests for coming here to the Presidential Office. The 2025 TIOF will take place tomorrow and the day after, and I thank you all for making the long trip to Taiwan to attend the event and share your valuable insights and experiences. This year’s forum will focus on strategies for strengthening maritime security and pathways to achieving a sustainable blue economy. By attending this forum, our guests are highlighting their commitment to safeguarding the oceans, and beyond that, taking concrete action to demonstrate support for Taiwan. I once again offer deepest gratitude on behalf of the people of Taiwan. Taiwan holds a key position on the first island chain, is one of the world’s top 10 shipping nations, and accounts for close to 10 percent of global container shipping by volume. As such, Taiwan occupies a unique and important position in maritime strategy. For Taiwan, the ocean is more than just a basis for survival and development; it is also an important driver of national prosperity. In my inaugural address last year, I spoke of a threefold approach to further Taiwan’s development. One of these involves further developing our strengths as a maritime nation. Our government must actively help deepen our connections with the ocean, and must continue to promote green shipping, a sustainable fishing industry, marine renewable energy, and other forms of industrial transformation. It must also make use of marine technology and digital innovation to create a new paradigm that balances environmental, economic, and social inclusion concerns. This will help enhance Taiwan’s responsibilities and competitiveness as a maritime nation. Taiwan is surrounded by ocean, and our territorial waters are a natural protective barrier. However, continued gray-zone aggression from China creates serious threats and challenges to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Our government continues to invest resources to deal with increasingly complex maritime security issues. In addition to building coast guard patrol vessels, we must also step up efforts to build underwater, surface, and airborne unmanned vehicles and smart reconnaissance equipment, so as to demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to defend democracy and freedom and commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Oceans are Taiwan’s roots, and provide the channels by which we engage with the world. The people of Taiwan will continue to work with democratic partners throughout the world in a maritime spirit of freedom and openness to contribute to ocean governance and jointly ensure maritime security. The TIOF was first launched in 2020, and has now become an important platform for enhancement of cooperation between Taiwan and other countries. I hope that our distinguished guests will reap great benefits at this year’s forum, and further hope that this visit will help forge stronger friendships between Taiwan and international maritime partners, so that all can work together to spur shared maritime prosperity and sustainable development for the next generation. Chairman of The Washington Times Thomas McDevitt, a member of the delegation, then delivered remarks, noting first that July 4th, this Friday, is Independence Day in America. Independence is a sacred, powerful word which has great meaning in this part of the world, he said. Chairman McDevitt indicated that Taiwan has truly become a global beacon of democracy and a key partner for many nations. He then quoted President Lai’s 2024 inaugural address: “We will work together to combat disinformation, strengthen democratic resilience, address challenges, and allow Taiwan to become the MVP of the democratic world.” Chairman McDevitt went on to say that he appreciated the president’s speech with regard to his philosophical depth, sensitivity, and both moral and political clarity. He said that he was deeply moved by the speech, but within a few days of it, China responded with military activities and many threats. The chairman then emphasized that we are in a civilization crisis. Chairman McDevitt mentioned that President Lai has begun a series of 10 lectures, and remarked that they would help the world to understand the identity and the nature of Taiwan, as well as the situation we are in in the world. On behalf of all the delegation, Chairman McDevitt thanked the president for his leadership in dealing with these issues thoughtfully. Chairman McDevitt concluded with a line from the Old Testament which states that if the people have no vision, they will perish. He said that he believes Taiwan’s president has led the people of Taiwan, and the world, with a vision of how to navigate this great civilization crisis together. The delegation also included Members of the Japanese House of Representatives Kikawada Hitoshi, Aoyama Yamato, and Genma Kentaro, and Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom Gavin Williamson.

Details
2025-06-30
President Lai meets Minister of State at UK Department for Business and Trade Douglas Alexander
On the morning of June 30, President Lai Ching-te met with Douglas Alexander, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom. In remarks, President Lai thanked the UK government for its longstanding support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating that Taiwan and the UK share similar goals. Noting that two years ago, Taiwan and the UK signed an enhanced trade partnership (ETP) arrangement, the president said that today Taiwan and the UK have signed three pillars under the ETP, which will help promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation. He expressed hope of the UK publicly supporting Taiwan’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) so that together we can create an economic and trade landscape in the Indo-Pacific characterized by shared prosperity and development. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: First, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I extend a warm welcome to Minister Alexander and wish a fruitful outcome for the 27th round of Taiwan-UK trade talks later today. Taiwan-UK relations have grown closer in recent years. We have not only continued to strengthen cooperation in such fields as offshore wind power, innovative technologies, and culture and education but also have established regular dialogue mechanisms in the critical areas of economics and trade, energy, and agriculture. The UK is currently Taiwan’s fourth-largest European trading partner, second-largest source of investment from Europe, and third-largest target for investment in Europe. Two years ago, Taiwan and the UK signed an ETP arrangement. This was particularly meaningful, as it was the first institutionalized economic and trade framework between Taiwan and a European country. Today, this arrangement is yielding further results. I am delighted that Taiwan and the UK have signed three pillars under the ETP covering investment, digital trade, and energy and net-zero. This will help promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation and advance industrial development on both sides. I also want to thank the UK government for its longstanding support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. This month, the UK published its Strategic Defence Review 2025 and National Security Strategy 2025, which oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. These not only demonstrate that Taiwan and the UK share similar goals but also show that security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region are inseparable from those of the transatlantic regions. In addition, last November, the House of Commons passed a motion which made clear that United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 neither established the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan nor determined Taiwan’s status in the United Nations. The UK government also responded to the motion by publicly expressing for the first time its position on UNGA Resolution 2758, opposing any attempt to broaden the interpretation of the resolution to rewrite history. For this, on behalf of the people of Taiwan, I once again want to extend my deepest gratitude. Taiwan and the UK have the advantage of being highly complementary in the technology sector. In facing the restructuring of global supply chains and other international economic and trade developments, I believe that Taiwan and the UK are indispensable key partners for one another. I look forward to the UK publicly supporting Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP so that together, we can create an economic and trade landscape in the Indo-Pacific characterized by shared prosperity and development. In closing, I wish Minister Alexander a pleasant and successful visit. And I hope he has the opportunity to visit Taiwan for personal travel in the future. Minister Alexander then delivered remarks, saying that it is a great personal honor to meet with everyone today to discuss further deepening the UK-Taiwan trade relationship and explore the many opportunities our two sides can pursue together. He mentioned that he traveled to Taiwan in 2022 when he was a private citizen, a visit he thoroughly enjoyed, so he is delighted to be back to see the strength of the UK-Taiwan relationship and the strengthening of that relationship. He said that relationship is built on mutual respect, democratic values, and a shared vision for open, resilient, and rules-based economic cooperation. As like-minded partners, he pointed out, our collaboration continues to grow across multiple sectors, and he is here today to further that momentum. Minister Alexander stated that on trade and investment, he is proud that this morning we signed the ETP Pillars on Investment, Digital Trade, Energy and Net Zero, which will provide a clear framework for our future cooperation and lay the foundation for expanded access and market-shaping engagement between our two economies. The minister said he believes that together with our annual trade talks, this partnership will help UK’s firms secure new commercial opportunities, improve regulatory alignment, and promote long-term investment in key growth areas, which in turn will also support Taiwan’s efforts to expand high-quality trade relationships with trusted partners. Minister Alexander said that President Lai’s promotion of the Five Trusted Industry Sectors and the UK’s recently published industrial and trade strategies are very well-aligned, as both cover clean energy and semiconductors as well as advanced manufacturing. He then provided an example, saying that both sides plan to invest in AI infrastructure and compute power-creating opportunities for great joint research in the future. By combining our strengths in these areas, he said, we can open the door to innovative collaboration and commercial success for both sides. He mentioned that yesterday he visited the Taiwan Space Agency, commenting that in sectors such as satellite technology, green energy, and cyber security, British expertise and trusted standards can provide meaningful solutions. Noting that President Lai spoke in his remarks of the broader challenge of peace and security in the region, Minister Alexander stated that the United Kingdom has, of course, also continued to affirm its commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, along with its G7 partners. The UK-Taiwan relationship is strategic, enduring, and growing, he stated, and they reaffirm and remain firm in their longstanding position and confident in their ability to work together to support both prosperity and resilience in both of our societies. Minister Alexander said that, as Taiwan looks to diversify capital and build global partnerships, they believe the UK represents a strong and ambitious investment destination, particularly for Taiwanese companies at the very forefront of robotics, clean tech, and advanced industry. He pointed out that the UK’s markets are stable, open, and aligned with Taiwan’s vision of a high-tech, sustainable future, adding that he looks forward to our discussion on how we can further deepen our cooperation across all of these areas and more. The delegation also included Martin Kent, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific at the UK Department for Business and Trade. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by British Office Taipei Representative Ruth Bradley-Jones.

Details
2025-06-27
President Lai confers decoration on former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Ohashi Mitsuo
On the morning of June 27, President Lai Ching-te conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon upon former Chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Ohashi Mitsuo in recognition of his firm convictions and tireless efforts in promoting Taiwan-Japan exchanges. In remarks, President Lai stated that Chairman Ohashi cares for Taiwan like a family member, and expressed hope that Taiwan and Japan continue to deepen their partnership, bring about the early signing of an economic partnership agreement (EPA), and jointly build secure and stable non-red supply chains as we boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and jointly safeguard the values of freedom and democracy. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: Every meeting I have with Chairman Ohashi, with whom I have worked side by side for many years, is warm and friendly. I recall that when we met last year, Chairman Ohashi said that he often thinks about what Japan can do for Taiwan and what Taiwan can do for Japan, and that it is that mutual concern that makes us so close. This was a truly moving statement illustrating the relationship between Taiwan and Japan. Chairman Ohashi has also said numerous times that our bilateral relations may very well be the best in the entire world, and that in fact they may serve as a model to other countries. Indeed, Chairman Ohashi is himself an exemplary model for friendly relations between Taiwan and Japan. His spirit of always working tirelessly to promote Taiwan-Japan exchanges is truly admirable. Assuming the position of chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in 2011, he served during the terms of former Presidents Ma Ying-jeou and Tsai Ing-wen, continuously making positive contributions to Taiwan-Japan relations. Over these past 14 years, Taiwan and Japan have signed over 50 major agreements, spanning the economy and trade, fisheries, and taxes, among other areas. In 2017, the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association underwent name changes, strengthening the essence and significance of Taiwan-Japan relations. These great achievements were all made possible thanks to the firm convictions and tireless efforts of Chairman Ohashi. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I am delighted to confer upon Chairman Ohashi the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon to express our deepest thanks for his outstanding contributions. Chairman Ohashi is not just a good friend of Taiwan, but someone who cares for Taiwan like a family member. When a major earthquake struck in 2016, he personally went to Tainan to assess the situation and meet with the city government. This outpouring of friendship and support across borders was deeply moving. As we look to the future, I hope that Taiwan and Japan can continue to deepen our partnership. In addition to bringing about the early signing of an EPA, I also hope that we can expand collaboration in key areas such as semiconductors, energy, and AI, continue building secure and stable non-red supply chains, and boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies as well as peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. As Chairman Ohashi has said, the close bilateral relationship between Taiwan and Japan is one the world can be proud of. I would like to thank him once again for his contributions to deepening Taiwan-Japan ties. Taiwan will continue to forge ahead side by side with Japan, jointly safeguarding the values of freedom and democracy and mutually advancing prosperous development. I wish Chairman Ohashi good health, happiness, peace, and success in his future endeavors, and invite him to return to Taiwan often to visit old friends. Chairman Ohashi then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for his kind words. He stated that the Taiwan-Japan relationship is not only worthy of praise; it can also serve as a superb model in the world for bilateral relations that is worthy of study by other countries. He added that this is the result of the collective efforts of President Lai as well as many other individuals. Chairman Ohashi said that the current international situation is rather severe, with wars and conflicts occurring between many neighboring countries. He said that there is a growing trend of nuclear weapon proliferation, emphasizing that use of such weapons would cause significant harm between nations. He also pointed out that some countries even use nuclear weapons as a threat, leading to instability and impacting the global situation. Chairman Ohashi said that neither Taiwan nor Japan possesses nuclear weapons, which is something to be proud of. That is why, he said, we can declare that a world without nuclear weapons is a peaceful world. He also mentioned that during his tenure as chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, he consistently upheld this principle in his work. Chairman Ohashi said that the mission of the World Federalist Movement (WFM) is to promote world peace. He said that the WFM has branches in countries worldwide, with the WFM of Japan being one of the most prominent, and that it also aspires to achieve the goal of world peace. Having served as chairman of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association for 14 years, he said, he is now stepping down from this role and will serve as the chairman of the WFM of Japan, aiming to promote peace in countries around the world. Chairman Ohashi said that both Taiwan and Japan can take pride in our friendly bilateral relationship, emphasizing that if the good relationship between Japan and Taiwan could be offered as an example to countries around the world, there would be no more wars. He expressed his sincere hope that under President Lai’s leadership, Taiwan and Japan can work together to jointly promote world peace. Also in attendance at the ceremony was Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Katayama Kazuyuki.

Details
2025-06-25
President Lai meets Japan’s former Economic Security Minister Kobayashi Takayuki
On the afternoon of June 25, President Lai Ching-te met with Kobayashi Takayuki, Japan’s former economic security minister and a current member of the House of Representatives. In remarks, President Lai expressed hope to combine the strengths of the democratic community to build resilient, reliable non-red supply chains, and ensure a resilient global economy and sustainable development. He also expressed hope that Taiwan and Japan can bring about the early signing of an economic partnership agreement (EPA), and that Japan will continue supporting Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), enhancing our own bilateral partnership, as doing so would create win-win situations and further contribute to regional economic security and stability. The following is a translation of President Lai’s remarks: I welcome Representative Kobayashi back to Taiwan for another visit after seven years. During his last visit, he was with a delegation from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Youth Division, and we met at the Executive Yuan. I am very happy to see him again today. Representative Kobayashi has long paid close attention to matters involving economic security, technological innovation, and aerospace policy. He also made a stunning debut in last year’s LDP presidential election, showing that he is truly a rising star and an influential figure in the political sphere. With this visit, Representative Kobayashi is demonstrating support for Taiwan with concrete action, which is very meaningful. Taiwan and Japan are both part of the first island chain’s key line of defense. We thank the many Japanese prime ministers, including former Prime Ministers Abe Shinzo, Suga Yoshihide, and Kishida Fumio, as well as current Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, for the many times they have highlighted the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait at important international venues, and for expressing opposition to the use of force or coercion to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. I hope that Taiwan and Japan can engage in more cooperation and exchanges to promote peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region in all aspects. In particular, China in recent years has been actively expanding its red supply chains, which threaten the global free trade system and advanced technology markets. Taiwan hopes to combine the strengths of the democratic community to build resilient, reliable non-red supply chains. In the semiconductor industry, for example, Taiwan has excellent advanced manufacturing capabilities, while Japan plays an important role in materials, equipment, and key technologies. I am confident that, given the experience that Taiwan and Japan have in cooperating, we can build an industrial supply chain composed of democratic nations to ensure a resilient global economy and sustainable development. I hope that Taiwan and Japan can bring about the early signing of an EPA in order to deepen our bilateral trade and investment exchanges and cooperation. I also hope that Japan will continue supporting Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP, enhancing our own bilateral partnership, as doing so would create win-win situations and further contribute to regional economic security and stability. Taiwan and Japan are democratic partners that share the values of freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights. I firmly believe that so long as we work together, we can certainly address the challenges posed by authoritarianism, and bring prosperity and development to the Indo-Pacific region. In closing, I welcome Representative Kobayashi once again. I am certain that this visit will help enhance Taiwan-Japan exchanges and deepen our friendship. Representative Kobayashi then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for taking the time to meet with him, and noting that this was his second visit to Taiwan following a trip seven years prior, when he came with his good friend from college and then-Director of the LDP Youth Division Suzuki Keisuke, now Japan’s minister of justice. Representative Kobayashi mentioned a Japanese kanji that he is very fond of – 絆 (kizuna) – which means “deep ties of friendship.” He emphasized that a key purpose of this visit to Taiwan was to reiterate the deep ties of friendship between Taiwan and Japan. In addition to deep historical ties, he said, Taiwan and Japan also enjoy a like-minded partnership in terms of economic, personnel, and friendship-oriented exchanges. He went on to say that at the strategic level, Taiwan and Japan also have deep ties of friendship, and that for Japan, it is strategically important that Taiwan not be isolated under any circumstances. Representative Kobayashi emphasized that cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, and even cooperation among Taiwan, Japan, and the United States, are more important now than ever, and that another important focus of this visit is the non-red supply chains referred to earlier by President Lai. He said that as Japan’s first economic security minister and the person currently in charge of the LDP’s policy on economic security, he is acutely aware of the important impact of economic security on national interests, and therefore looks forward to further exchanging views regarding Taiwan’s concrete steps to build non-red supply chains. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Deputy Representative Takaba Yo.

Details
2025-05-20
President Lai interviewed by Nippon Television and Yomiuri TV
In a recent interview on Nippon Television’s news zero program, President Lai Ching-te responded to questions from host Mr. Sakurai Sho and Yomiuri TV Shanghai Bureau Chief Watanabe Masayo on topics including reflections on his first year in office, cross-strait relations, China’s military threats, Taiwan-United States relations, and Taiwan-Japan relations. The interview was broadcast on the evening of May 19. During the interview, President Lai stated that China intends to change the world’s rules-based international order, and that if Taiwan were invaded, global supply chains would be disrupted. Therefore, he said, Taiwan will strengthen its national defense, prevent war by preparing for war, and achieve the goal of peace. The president also noted that Taiwan’s purpose for developing drones is based on national security and industrial needs, and that Taiwan hopes to collaborate with Japan. He then reiterated that China’s threats are an international problem, and expressed hope to work together with the US, Japan, and others in the global democratic community to prevent China from starting a war. Following is the text of the questions and the president’s responses: Q: How do you feel as you are about to round out your first year in office? President Lai: When I was young, I was determined to practice medicine and save lives. When I left medicine to go into politics, I was determined to transform Taiwan. And when I was sworn in as president on May 20 last year, I was determined to strengthen the nation. Time flies, and it has already been a year. Although the process has been very challenging, I am deeply honored to be a part of it. I am also profoundly grateful to our citizens for allowing me the opportunity to give back to our country. The future will certainly be full of more challenges, but I will do everything I can to unite the people and continue strengthening the nation. That is how I am feeling now. Q: We are now coming up on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and over this period, we have often heard that conflict between Taiwan and the mainland is imminent. Do you personally believe that a cross-strait conflict could happen? President Lai: The international community is very much aware that China intends to replace the US and change the world’s rules-based international order, and annexing Taiwan is just the first step. So, as China’s military power grows stronger, some members of the international community are naturally on edge about whether a cross-strait conflict will break out. The international community must certainly do everything in its power to avoid a conflict in the Taiwan Strait; there is too great a cost. Besides causing direct disasters to both Taiwan and China, the impact on the global economy would be even greater, with estimated losses of US$10 trillion from war alone – that is roughly 10 percent of the global GDP. Additionally, 20 percent of global shipping passes through the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters, so if a conflict breaks out in the strait, other countries including Japan and Korea would suffer a grave impact. For Japan and Korea, a quarter of external transit passes through the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters, and a third of the various energy resources and minerals shipped back from other countries pass through said areas. If Taiwan were invaded, global supply chains would be disrupted, and therefore conflict in the Taiwan Strait must be avoided. Such a conflict is indeed avoidable. I am very thankful to Prime Minister of Japan Ishiba Shigeru and former Prime Ministers Abe Shinzo, Suga Yoshihide, and Kishida Fumio, as well as US President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, and the other G7 leaders, for continuing to emphasize at international venues that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are essential components for global security and prosperity. When everyone in the global democratic community works together, stacking up enough strength to make China’s objectives unattainable or to make the cost of invading Taiwan too high for it to bear, a conflict in the strait can naturally be avoided. Q: As you said, President Lai, maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is also very important for other countries. How can war be avoided? What sort of countermeasures is Taiwan prepared to take to prevent war? President Lai: As Mr. Sakurai mentioned earlier, we are coming up on the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. There are many lessons we can take from that war. First is that peace is priceless, and war has no winners. From the tragedies of WWII, there are lessons that humanity should learn. We must pursue peace, and not start wars blindly, as that would be a major disaster for humanity. In other words, we must be determined to safeguard peace. The second lesson is that we cannot be complacent toward authoritarian powers. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile. They will keep growing, and eventually, not only will peace be unattainable, but war will be inevitable. The third lesson is why WWII ended: It ended because different groups joined together in solidarity. Taiwan, Japan, and the Indo-Pacific region are all directly subjected to China’s threats, so we hope to be able to join together in cooperation. This is why we proposed the Four Pillars of Peace action plan. First, we will strengthen our national defense. Second, we will strengthen economic resilience. Third is standing shoulder to shoulder with the democratic community to demonstrate the strength of deterrence. Fourth is that as long as China treats Taiwan with parity and dignity, Taiwan is willing to conduct exchanges and cooperate with China, and seek peace and mutual prosperity. These four pillars can help us avoid war and achieve peace. That is to say, Taiwan hopes to achieve peace through strength, prevent war by preparing for war, keeping war from happening and pursuing the goal of peace. Q: Regarding drones, everyone knows that recently, Taiwan has been actively researching, developing, and introducing drones. Why do you need to actively research, develop, and introduce new drones at this time? President Lai: This is for two purposes. The first is to meet national security needs. The second is to meet industrial development needs. Because Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines are all part of the first island chain, and we are all democratic nations, we cannot be like an authoritarian country like China, which has an unlimited national defense budget. In this kind of situation, island nations such as Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines should leverage their own technologies to develop national defense methods that are asymmetric and utilize unmanned vehicles. In particular, from the Russo-Ukrainian War, we see that Ukraine has successfully utilized unmanned vehicles to protect itself and prevent Russia from unlimited invasion. In other words, the Russo-Ukrainian War has already proven the importance of drones. Therefore, the first purpose of developing drones is based on national security needs. Second, the world has already entered the era of smart technology. Whether generative, agentic, or physical, AI will continue to develop. In the future, cars and ships will also evolve into unmanned vehicles and unmanned boats, and there will be unmanned factories. Drones will even be able to assist with postal deliveries, or services like Uber, Uber Eats, and foodpanda, or agricultural irrigation and pesticide spraying. Therefore, in the future era of comprehensive smart technology, developing unmanned vehicles is a necessity. Taiwan, based on industrial needs, is actively planning the development of drones and unmanned vehicles. I would like to take this opportunity to express Taiwan’s hope to collaborate with Japan in the unmanned vehicle industry. Just as we do in the semiconductor industry, where Japan has raw materials, equipment, and technology, and Taiwan has wafer manufacturing, our two countries can cooperate. Japan is a technological power, and Taiwan also has significant technological strengths. If Taiwan and Japan work together, we will not only be able to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and security in the Indo-Pacific region, but it will also be very helpful for the industrial development of both countries. Q: The drones you just described probably include examples from the Russo-Ukrainian War. Taiwan and China are separated by the Taiwan Strait. Do our drones need to have cross-sea flight capabilities? President Lai: Taiwan does not intend to counterattack the mainland, and does not intend to invade any country. Taiwan’s drones are meant to protect our own nation and territory. Q: Former President Biden previously stated that US forces would assist Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. President Trump, however, has yet to clearly state that the US would help defend Taiwan. Do you think that in such an event, the US would help defend Taiwan? Or is Taiwan now trying to persuade the US? President Lai: Former President Biden and President Trump have answered questions from reporters. Although their responses were different, strong cooperation with Taiwan under the Biden administration has continued under the Trump administration; there has been no change. During President Trump’s first term, cooperation with Taiwan was broader and deeper compared to former President Barack Obama’s terms. After former President Biden took office, cooperation with Taiwan increased compared to President Trump’s first term. Now, during President Trump’s second term, cooperation with Taiwan is even greater than under former President Biden. Taiwan-US cooperation continues to grow stronger, and has not changed just because President Trump and former President Biden gave different responses to reporters. Furthermore, the Trump administration publicly stated that in the future, the US will shift its strategic focus from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. The US secretary of defense even publicly stated that the primary mission of the US is to prevent China from invading Taiwan, maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific, and thus maintain world peace. There is a saying in Taiwan that goes, “Help comes most to those who help themselves.” Before asking friends and allies for assistance in facing threats from China, Taiwan must first be determined and prepared to defend itself. This is Taiwan’s principle, and we are working in this direction, making all the necessary preparations to safeguard the nation. Q: I would like to ask you a question about Taiwan-Japan relations. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, you made an appeal to give Japan a great deal of assistance and care. In particular, you visited Sendai to offer condolences. Later, you also expressed condolences and concern after the earthquakes in Aomori and Kumamoto. What are your expectations for future Taiwan-Japan exchanges and development? President Lai: I come from Tainan, and my constituency is in Tainan. Tainan has very deep ties with Japan, and of course, Taiwan also has deep ties with Japan. However, among Taiwan’s 22 counties and cities, Tainan has the deepest relationship with Japan. I sincerely hope that both of you and your teams will have an opportunity to visit Tainan. I will introduce Tainan’s scenery, including architecture from the era of Japanese rule, Tainan’s cuisine, and unique aspects of Tainan society, and you can also see lifestyles and culture from the Showa era. The Wushantou Reservoir in Tainan was completed by engineer Mr. Hatta Yoichi from Kanazawa, Japan and the team he led to Tainan after he graduated from then-Tokyo Imperial University. It has nearly a century of history and is still in use today. This reservoir, along with the 16,000-km-long Chianan Canal, transformed the 150,000-hectare Chianan Plain into Taiwan’s premier rice-growing area. It was that foundation in agriculture that enabled Taiwan to develop industry and the technology sector of today. The reservoir continues to supply water to Tainan Science Park. It is used by residents of Tainan, the agricultural sector, and industry, and even the technology sector in Xinshi Industrial Park, as well as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Because of this, the people of Tainan are deeply grateful for Mr. Hatta and very friendly toward the people of Japan. A major earthquake, the largest in 50 years, struck Tainan on February 6, 2016, resulting in significant casualties. As mayor of Tainan at the time, I was extremely grateful to then-Prime Minister Abe, who sent five Japanese officials to the disaster site in Tainan the day after the earthquake. They were very thoughtful and asked what kind of assistance we needed from the Japanese government. They offered to provide help based on what we needed. I was deeply moved, as former Prime Minister Abe showed such care, going beyond the formality of just sending supplies that we may or may not have actually needed. Instead, the officials asked what we needed and then provided assistance based on those needs, which really moved me. Similarly, when the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 or the later Kumamoto earthquakes struck, the people of Tainan, under my leadership, naturally and dutifully expressed their support. Even earlier, when central Taiwan was hit by a major earthquake in 1999, Japan was the first country to deploy a rescue team to the disaster area. On February 6, 2018, after a major earthquake in Hualien, former Prime Minister Abe appeared in a video holding up a message of encouragement he had written in calligraphy saying “Remain strong, Taiwan.” All of Taiwan was deeply moved. Over the years, Taiwan and Japan have supported each other when earthquakes struck, and have forged bonds that are family-like, not just neighborly. This is truly valuable. In the future, I hope Taiwan and Japan can be like brothers, and that the peoples of Taiwan and Japan can treat one another like family. If Taiwan has a problem, then Japan has a problem; if Japan has a problem, then Taiwan has a problem. By caring for and helping each other, we can face various challenges and difficulties, and pursue a brighter future. Q: President Lai, you just used the phrase “If Taiwan has a problem, then Japan has a problem.” In the event that China attempts to invade Taiwan by force, what kind of response measures would you hope the US military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take? President Lai: As I just mentioned, annexing Taiwan is only China’s first step. Its ultimate objective is to change the rules-based international order. That being the case, China’s threats are an international problem. So, I would very much hope to work together with the US, Japan, and others in the global democratic community to prevent China from starting a war – prevention, after all, is more important than cure.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: African Development Fund supports climate-resilient rice value chains across West Africa

Source: APO – Report:

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) (http://apo-opa.co/4nUpfmv), the concessional funding window of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org), on 17 July 2025 approved a $9.44 million grant for the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) to strengthen the climate resilience of rice value chains across West Africa.

Funded through ADF’s Climate Action Window (http://apo-opa.co/4nVdlsD), the project will support rice producers and processors in 13 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

The initiative, part of the Regional Resilient Rice Value Chains Development Project in West Africa (REWARD), and specifically its adaptation component (REWARD-Adaptation), aims to scale up the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies throughout the rice production and processing sectors.

“The strategy for this project is to reduce the vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of rice value chains, from production to processing and marketing, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions through the dissemination and adoption of climate-smart practices and technologies,” said Marwan Ladki, Senior Irrigation Engineer at the African Development Bank, who is responsible for the project.

Key project interventions include the distribution of climate-resilient rice seeds to 11,000 farmers, including 4,950 women and 6,600 young farmers. It will train 12,600 farmers and processors, support 65 small and medium-sized enterprises with equipment and improved access to business networks, and facilitate the provision of climate services and early warning systems through digital platforms and radio broadcasts, reaching up to 2 million beneficiaries. The project will also deploy four automatic weather stations per country to improve spatial coverage and climate monitoring. It is projected to create 47,000 employment opportunities, including 8,000 permanent and 39,000 seasonal jobs.

– on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media contact:
Alexis Adélé
Department of Communication and External Relations
media@afdb.org

About AfricaRice:
The Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), based in Côte d’Ivoire, is a pan-African centre of excellence for rice research, development and capacity building. It contributes to reducing poverty, ensuring food and nutrition security, and improving the livelihoods of farmers and other actors in the rice value chain in Africa by increasing the productivity and profitability of rice-based agri-food systems, while ensuring the sustainability of natural resources.

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s leading development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). Represented in 41 African countries, with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and social progress of its 54 regional member countries. For more information: www.AfDB.org

Media files

.

MIL OSI Africa –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: One Derbyshire, two councils: thousands have their say about future of local services

Source: City of Derby

Thousands of people across Derbyshire have been having their say about the future of the local councils that deliver their services.

Derbyshire’s boroughs and districts and Derby City Council have come together to develop proposals that would see all councils in the county replaced and all local services delivered instead by two new local authorities – one covering northern Derbyshire, the other serving southern Derbyshire.

The proposals for change have been developed in response to a government decision to reorganise local government across England. It wants to simplify the way councils are organised and improve their efficiency while delivering services that are better and more joined-up.

Councils have to submit detailed reorganisation proposals to government by the end of November, and the nine councils decided to ask people across the county for their views about the options before a final proposal is submitted.

This public consultation began at the end of June and lasts until 10 August, and councils are encouraging more people to come forward and have their say online via the consultation website.

In a joint statement, the leaders of Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derby City, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire and South Derbyshire councils said:

People and places across Derbyshire must come first when we think about the future of the councils that deliver their services.

The current structure of local government dates back to 1974 and the way we live our lives and the technologies we all use have changed drastically over half a century.

By working together, we have developed a proposal for two councils that are big enough to deliver across large areas, but close enough to meet the differing needs of a diverse county.

We’re delighted to see so many people using the consultation to respond to the ideas that we have put forward, which is a clear sign of how important this is. We would urge more people to have their say before it closes on Sunday 10 August.

There are currently eight borough and district councils in Derbyshire delivering services which include leisure, planning, waste collection and housing.

In Derby all services are provided by the City Council, which is known as a unitary authority.

Derbyshire County Council currently delivers a range of services across the whole county outside the city, such as education, social care, highways and transport, trading standards and public health.

Under the new proposals, the council for northern Derbyshire and the council for southern Derbyshire would deliver all services in their area, with the city becoming part of the council for southern Derbyshire.

The boundaries between the north and south councils have yet to be decided, with three options which could see the current Amber Valley area in the north or the south or divided between the two. The options are detailed in the online consultation.

While Derbyshire County Council was not involved in the initial development of the proposals by the boroughs, districts and the city, it decided at a meeting on 9 July that it would also look at options based on having two councils in the county.

The joint statement from the Leaders of the borough, district and city councils continued:

We acknowledge that Derbyshire County Council has now adopted a formal position in relation to its approach to government’s call for local government reorganisation, with a number of options based on a two-council approach.

We will await further information as the county council develops this approach, following the decision at its 9 July meeting.

Our priority is to achieve the best outcome for our communities, and the views of local people will help shape our final proposal to government. This must be submitted in November, so we must continue to work at pace.

As part of our ongoing work, we will continue to consider how Derbyshire’s 10 councils can work together to make sure people and places are at the heart of local government reorganisation in the county.

After final proposals are submitted, government will then review all the local government reorganisation proposals across England before making a final decision.

Under the Government’s current timeline, elections for the new shadow authorities will take place in 2027 and new councils will start to operate from April 2028.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected methamphetamine worth about $1.1 million (with photo)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected methamphetamine worth about $1.1 million (with photo)
Customs officers on July 16 inspected an express parcel, which was declared as baby bottle sanitiser, arriving in Hong Kong from Canada via the Mainland at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point. Upon examination, Customs officers found the batch of suspected methamphetamine concealed inside a baby bottle sanitiser.

Customs officers subsequently mounted a controlled delivery operation yesterday (July 17) and arrested a 56-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man in Mong Kok suspected to be connected with the case.

An investigation is ongoing.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people, nor to release their personal data or home address to others for receiving parcels or goods.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002Issued at HKT 16:42

NNNN

CategoriesMIL-OSI

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 18, 2025
I&B Secretary urges AI startups to embrace India’s linguistic diversity, develop tools to bridge language gaps

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Information & Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju on Thursday urged AI startups to create homegrown, scalable solutions that reflect India’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity.

Speaking at a meeting with incubators and startups at T-Hub in Hyderabad, Jaju encouraged them to take part in the ‘Kalaa Setu’ and ‘Bhasha Setu’ challenges. These are part of the WaveX Startup Accelerator Platform launched by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

These initiatives, Jaju said, are aimed at building a future-ready digital ecosystem. They align with the Ministry’s goal of using AI to bridge language gaps and support regional content.

WaveX is part of the Ministry’s larger WAVES initiative. It supports innovation in media, entertainment, and language technologies, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to grow the creator economy.

The ‘Bhasha Setu’ challenge focuses on AI tools for translation and voice-based communication to make it easier to interact in multiple languages. The ‘Kalaa Setu’ challenge supports tools that turn written content into audio, video, or graphics, helping reach more people in local languages.

According to the I&B Ministry, shortlisted teams will present their ideas to a national jury in New Delhi. Winners will sign an MoU for full development and receive pilot support from All India Radio, Doordarshan, and the Press Information Bureau. They will also get incubation support from the WaveX Innovation Platform.

Earlier in May 2025, at the WAVES Summit held in Mumbai, WaveX facilitated pitching opportunities for over 30 startups, enabling direct interaction with government agencies, investors, and industry leaders. The platform continues to support innovative ideas through hackathons, mentorship, and integration with national platforms.

July 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Connie Francis was the voice of a generation and the soundtrack of post-war America

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leigh Carriage, Senior Lecturer in Music, Southern Cross University

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Connie Francis dominated the music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s with hits like Stupid Cupid, Pretty Little Baby and Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You.

The pop star, author and actor has died at 87, and will be remembered for recording the soundtrack songs of post-World War II America.

Francis photographed around 1963.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

An early life of music

Francis was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey, to Italian immigrant parents. At a very early age, Francis was encouraged to take accordion and singing lessons, compete in talent shows, and later she would perform occasionally on the children’s production Star Time Kids on NBC, remaining there until she was 17.

Within these early recordings you can hear her style begin to develop: her tone, great pitching, her versatility in vocal range. Her vocal delivery is technically controlled and stylistically structured, often nuanced – and even at this early stage demonstrating such power coupled with an adaptability for a broad range of repertoire.

At 17, Francis signed a contract with MGM Records.

One of her early recordings was the song Who’s Sorry Now?, written by Ted Snyder with lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby in 1923. Her version was released in 1957 and struggled to get noticed.

The following year, Francis appeared with the ballad on American Bandstand. This performance exposed Francis’ talent for interpretation and her ability to bridge the teen and adult fanbase.

The song would become a hit.

It’s useful to listen to the original version to gain more insight into Francis’ vocal approach and styling. The original is an instrumental song of its time, with light whimsical call and response motives in a foxtrot feel.

But in Francis’ version, she demonstrates her ability to revitalise a late 1950s pop music aesthetic. In an emotional delivery she croons her own rendition, with the country styling elements of Patsy Cline.

Connie Francis performing in Milan in 1961.
Universal Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The voice of a generation

Following Who’s Sorry Now?, Stupid Cupid (1958), Where The Boys Are (1960, the titular song of a feature film starring Francis) and Lipstick on Your Collar (1959) became the soundtrack songs of post-war America.

Francis was supported with songs penned by the some of the best songwriters from the Brill Building, a creative collective in Manhattan that housed professional songwriters, working with staff writers Edna Lewis and George Goehring.

In 1960, Francis released her hit Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield. It was a teeny-bopper classic, and she became the first women to top the Billboard Hot 100.

Francis records in the studio with Freddy Quinn at MGM in 1963 in New York.
PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Styled after some of the other greats of the time – such as Frank Sinatra (1915–98), Dean Martin (1917–95) and Louis Prima (1910–70) – Francis’ performance on the Ed Sullivan show highlighted her connection to her Italian heritage and ability to draw from a broad repertoire.

On the show, she performed Mama and La Paloma. Each performance is very carefully styled, a thoughtful approach to dynamics, sung in both English and Italian.

Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You, a number one hit from 1962, features Francis’ gorgeous crooning harmonies. Then, the song breaks down into an earnest spoken part and finishes with a powerful belted vocal part of long notes.

The song is full of confidence and hope.

Away from the microphone

Francis had two key roles in films, starring in Where the Boys Are (1960) and the comedy Follow the Boys (1963).

She was an author of two books. The second, Who’s Sorry Now?, became a New York Times bestseller.

Francis was involved with humanitarian causes. She was particularly involved with Women Against Rape, following her own violent rape in 1974, and the Valour Victims Assistance Legal Organisation, dedicated to supporting the legal rights of crime victims. A lesser known song in her repertoire, fitting to include here, is her version of Born Free from 1968.

As a singer, Francis worked at her craft and transitioned effortlessly from one genre to another, performing for over five decades. She will be remembered as a trailblazing solo artist, leaving a strong legacy in popular music culture.

She was the voice of one generation when she was a star. And in her final year she became the voice of a new generation as Pretty Little Baby, released in 1962, went viral on TikTok, with more than 1.4 million videos using her voice to share stories of their lives.

Francis performs in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2009.
Bobby Bank/WireImage

Leigh Carriage 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. Connie Francis was the voice of a generation and the soundtrack of post-war America – https://theconversation.com/connie-francis-was-the-voice-of-a-generation-and-the-soundtrack-of-post-war-america-261467

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 18, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Mark Latham’s portrait may come off federal caucus wall

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The Labor caucus tolerates having the odd “rat” among the photos of ALP leaders on the party room wall, but Mark Latham may have now pushed it too far.

After the latest bizarre scandal surrounding the one-time federal Labor leader, who is an independent in the NSW upper house, there is a push to remove his image from the federal caucus gallery.

Discussions are underway within Labor. No comment could be obtained from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who was on his way back from China. But if the caucus women want to see the Latham photo go, that’s likely to be what happens.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Friday, “I’m sure that there are plenty of people scratching their heads about his portrait being up in the caucus room and giving consideration to whether it’s appropriate or not”.

Latham has a long record of scandal and offensive behaviour. In the most recent episode, his former partner, Nathalie Matthews, has accused him of a “sustained pattern” of domestic abuse, in a civil court application for an apprehended violence order. Among other things, she alleged he pressured her to take part in “degrading” sex acts.

Text messages between the two have also been published this week in which Latham sent Matthews photos of and disparaging comments about female members of the state parliament.

Latham has denied the Matthews’ allegations of domestic abuse and basically shrugged off a barrage of criticism of his photographing female politicians in the chamber without their consent (although he has apologised to at least one of them).

Plibersek said Latham’s behaviour would see him sacked from any other workplace.

Latham was federal Labor leader from December 2003 to January 2005. As the new leader he was considered to have a prospect of winning the 2004 election, although in the event the Coalition increased its majority. At the end of that campaign he attracted negative publicity for an aggressive handshake with then prime minister John Howard, when they crossed paths.

Latham was initially elected to the NSW parliament under the banner of One Nation but fell out with Pauline Hanson.

In 2024 he lost a defamation case brought by NSW crossbencher Alex Greenwich after Latham targeted him in a homophobic post on social media. Recently Latham revealed details, under parliamentary privilege, of a confidential psychologist report regarding Greenwich.

Plibersek said it was “extraordinary that he was elected to the New South Wales parliament in the first place with his sort of track record.

“The voters who put him there I’m sure would be really experiencing a bit of buyer’s remorse when they look at his behaviour; the way that he is spending his time in parliament certainly is not delivering value for taxpayers’ dollars.”

Plibersek said when Latham became opposition leader she had “a little cry after work”. Latham beat Kim Beazley for the post after the leadership of Simon Crean collapsed.

“I didn’t see evidence of this sort of behaviour back in the day, but I always had my doubts about him as a political figure, and I think those doubts have only increased in recent decades as his behaviour has become worse and more extreme.”

Latham was a protege of Gough Whitlam, for whom he worked as a researcher. He held Whitlam’s former seat of Werriwa.

Michelle Grattan 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. Mark Latham’s portrait may come off federal caucus wall – https://theconversation.com/mark-lathams-portrait-may-come-off-federal-caucus-wall-261093

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 18, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: The United Nations (UN) rights chief condemns recent killing of scores of civilians in Sudan

Source: APO

.

Since 10 July, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, has verified that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed at least 60 civilians in North Kordofan’s Bara locality, while civil society groups have reported that up to 300 were killed.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) also hit two villages in West Kordofan from 10 to 14 July, killing at least 23 civilians and causing more than 30 injuries.

Most recently, on Thursday, an SAF airstrike in Bara killed at least 11 civilians who were all members of a single family.

According to the High Commissioner’s statement, these deaths come amid worrying reports that the RSF is mobilising for an offensive on the capital of North Kordofan state, El Obeid.

Continued concern for El Fasher

At another major hotspot in the Sudan conflict, the besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur state, the RSF has conducted multiple attacks recently. They include a ground attack on 11 and 12 July, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.

The High Commissioner subsequently “expressed continued concern for the safety of civilians in El Fasher.”

“Callous disregard for civilians’ lives and safety”

The statement stressed that the High Commissioner “deplored the killing of dozens of civilians by both parties.”

“It is distressing that more than two years since the conflict began parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to demonstrate callous disregard for civilians’ lives and safety,” he said.

“An escalation of hostilities in North Darfur and Kordofan will only further aggravate the already severe risks to civilians and the dire humanitarian situation in a conflict that has already wrought untold suffering on the Sudanese people,”

Mr. Türk urged those with influence to prevent further escalation and ensure parties uphold their obligations under international law, including the protection of civilians.

The High Commissioner renewed his calls for the warring parties to ensure safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid and to prevent violations of international law.

“All alleged violations must be fully and independently investigated and those responsible brought to justice,” he concluded.

Heavy rains and attacks on civilians

At the daily briefing in New York on Thursday, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stephanie Tremblay, relayed reports from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the worsening humanitarian situation in North Darfur.

Heavy rains and flooding on 14 and 15 July displaced more than 400 people and destroyed dozens of homes in North Darfur’s Dar As Salam locality. Displaced families are now sheltering with host communities already struggling to cope.

Ms. Tremblay also reported on additional attacks on civilians in recent days, with shelling killing five children in El Fasher on 16 July and six people at the Naivasha market in the famine-stricken Abu Shouk camp 15 July.

The El Fasher Maternity Hospital, the only major hospital still operating in the area, is overwhelmed, critically short-staffed and severely under-resourced.

Additionally, the lean season from now until October is compounding the food insecurity crisis by disrupting markets, limiting incomes and raising food prices.

Noting the High Commissioner’s statement, Ms. Tremblay said that “we call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, unimpeded access across both borders and conflict lines, and increased international funding to respond to this escalating crisis.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

MIL OSI Africa –

July 18, 2025

Category: housing

Source: EMA

Early years – from physics to economics

The mandarin who put Treasury first

Politics post-treasury

Early years – from physics to economics

The mandarin who put Treasury first

Politics post-treasury

An early life of music

The voice of a generation

Away from the microphone