NewzIntel.com

Category: Internet

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – The development of the EU’s common foreign and security policy towards Iran – E-000836/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The EU policy vis-à-vis Iran is outlined in the Council conclusions of December 2022[1] and is complemented by the European Council conclusions of March 2024[2], April 2024[3] and October 2024[4].

    EU Foreign Ministers discussed Iran in the Council most recently in March 2025 under the chairmanship of the High Representative/Vice-President.

    The EU will use all tools at its disposal to react to issues of concern with Iran, including the adoption of new restrictive measures (‘sanctions’), which are decided by the Council of the European Union.

    The EU has listed more than 500 Iran-related individuals and entities under different sanctions regimes[5]. Those sanctioned are subject to a travel ban (individuals) and an asset freeze (both individuals and entities).

    Moreover, EU individuals and entities are prohibited from making funds or economic resources available to those listed. Finally, a number of sectoral restrictions apply, which prevent Iranian individuals and entities from procuring certain sensitive items[6].

    At the same time, the EU is committed to avoiding and mitigating any potential unintended impacts of EU sanctions on humanitarian action. Food, medicine and other emergency supplies do not fall under EU sanctions.

    • [1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/12/12/iran-council-approves-conclusions/
    • [2] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/70880/euco-conclusions-2122032024.pdf
    • [3] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/04/18/european-council-conclusions-on-ukraine-and-turkiye/
    • [4] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/2pebccz2/20241017-euco-conclusions-en.pdf
    • [5] E.g. Restrictive measures in view of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region; restrictive measures in relation to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; restrictive measures in relation to serious human rights violations in Iran; restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
    • [6] E.g. An embargo on equipment which may be used for internal repression and on equipment that may be used to monitor or intercept the Internet and telephone communications on mobile or fixed networks; the arms embargo, restrictive measures related to missile technology, restrictions on certain nuclear-related transfers and activities, and provisions concerning certain metals and software which are subject to an authorisation regime.
    Last updated: 24 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hardin man sentenced to 3 years in prison for using a phone to promote prostitution with a minor

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BILLINGS – A Hardin man who promoted prostitution with a minor was sentenced today to 36 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

    William Serges Joseph, 75, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to use of facility in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering.

    U.S. District Judge Susan Watters presided.

    The government alleged in court documents that in March 2023, Jane Doe, a juvenile female, disclosed to law enforcement that, commencing in approximately September 2022, she began showing her breasts to the Joseph. The two messaged each other on Facebook and Joseph was aware of she was a juvenile. Jane Doe said she allowed Joseph to touch her in exchange for alcohol and he also asked her for naked pictures.

    Jane Doe was interviewed again in June 2023. She added that Joseph continued to message her and offered her $50 for sexual contact. A review of her cell phone reflected, among other communications, a February 2023 message from Joseph with a picture of male genitalia. Joseph was interviewed in February 2024. He admitted providing alcohol to Jane Doe in exchange for pictures of her breasts. At the time of the offense, prostitution was illegal under the laws of Montana and Sex Trafficking was illegal under the laws of the United States.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, and the investigation was conducted by the FBI.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Texas Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Roles in Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery While Posing as DEA Agents

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

    FBI Releases Annual Internet Crime Report

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released its latest annual report. The 2024 Internet Crime Report combines information from 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and details reported losses exceeding $16 billion—a 33% increase in losses from 2023.

    News Blog

    The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued its latest annual report showing 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and losses exceeding $16 billion last year—a 33% increase in losses from 2023.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Honduran National Unlawfully Residing in Portland Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl

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

    FBI Releases Annual Internet Crime Report

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released its latest annual report. The 2024 Internet Crime Report combines information from 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and details reported losses exceeding $16 billion—a 33% increase in losses from 2023.

    News Blog

    The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued its latest annual report showing 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime and losses exceeding $16 billion last year—a 33% increase in losses from 2023.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Emmett Man Sentenced to Over 6 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOISE – Kevin Kirkland, 52, of Emmett, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced today.

    According to court records, the investigation began when the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received CyberTip reports from a cloud storage company. A CyberTip is a report submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). NCMEC gathers leads and tips regarding suspected online crimes against children and forwards them to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. ICAC determined that numerous egregious files of child sexual abuse material had been uploaded to a cloud storage account, later identified as belonging to Kirkland. ICAC seized Kirkland’s cellphone pursuant to a federal search warrant and located additional files of child sexual abuse material.

    U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also sentenced Kirkland to 15 years of supervised release following his prison sentence and ordered him to pay $24,000 in restitution to victims in the images he possessed. Kirkland will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.

    “I’m grateful for the continued dedication of our Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and the strong collaboration we have with our federal partners,” said Attorney General Raúl Labrador. “Their tireless work ensures that those who exploit children are brought to justice. Each successful prosecution reaffirms our commitment to protecting Idaho’s most vulnerable and holding offenders fully accountable under the law.”

    Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the cooperative efforts of the Idaho ICAC Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Emmett Police Department, which led to charge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady prosecuted the case.

    This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Lectra: Q1 2025 financial report available

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Q1 2025 financial report available

    Paris, April 24, 2025 – Lectra informs its shareholders, in compliance with Article 221-4-IV of the General Regulation of the Autorité des marchés financiers, that the Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the first quarter 2025 is available on the company’s website: www.lectra.com

    It is also available, upon request, by email: investor.relations@lectra.com

            .

    About Lectra :

    At the forefront of innovation since its founding in 1973, Lectra provides industrial intelligence technology solutions—combining software in SaaS mode, cutting equipment, data, and associated services—to players in the fashion, automotive and furniture industries. With boldness and passion, Lectra accelerates the transformation and success of its customers in a world in perpetual motion thanks to the key technologies of Industry 4.0: AI, big data, cloud and the Internet of Things. 

    The Group is present in more than one hundred countries. It operates three production sites for its cutting equipment, located in France, China and the United States. Lectra’s 3,000 employees are driven by three core values: being open-minded thinkers, trusted partners and passionate innovators. They all share the same concern for social responsibility, which is one of the pillars of Lectra’s strategy to ensure its sustainable growth and that of its customers.

    Lectra reported revenues of €527 million in 2024, including €77 million coming from its SaaS offerings. The company is listed on Euronext, and is included in the CAC All Shares, CAC Technology, EN Tech Leaders and ENT PEA-PME 150 indices.

    For more information, please visit lectra.com. 

    Lectra – World Headquarters et siège social : 16–18, rue Chalgrin • 75016 Paris • France
    Tél. +33 (0)1 53 64 42 00 – lectra.com
    Société anonyme au capital de 37 966 274 €. RCS Paris B 300 702 305

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Abilene preschool teacher sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    A former Abilene preschool teacher, Mark Penfield Eichorn, was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.  Eichorn admitted that he paid two young boys, ages 12 and 13, to record videos of themselves performing sexual acts on each other.

    Mark Penfield Eichorn, 28, was indicted in June 2024 and pleaded guilty in October 2024 to Production of Child Pornography.  He was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment, the statutory maximum, by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, who also ordered Eichorn to pay $66,087.50 in restitution.

    “Stopping horrendous acts against children, such as those in this case, is a core mission of this Office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham.  “We hope that the maximum punishment in this case serves as a message to other child predators, and that the victims and their families find some measure of comfort knowing that this abuser will be off the streets for a very long time.”

    “This defendant made the depraved decision to exploit children, not only failing to meet any standard of human decency but choosing to victimize them through the production of sexually explicit materials,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard Homeland Security Investigations Dallas.  “I’m grateful for the collaborative effort between our law enforcement partners who assisted in this investigation, ensuring Mr. Eichorn will spend the next 30 years behind bars, unable to harm an innocent child again.”

    According to court documents, Eichorn admitted to struggling with desires to sexually assault children since 2019.  During this time, he continued to work with children.  He also admitted to being involved in child pornography trading groups across various Internet platforms, such as Kik and Telegram.  Eichorn confessed to possessing and trading prepubescent child pornography online.  Among the disturbing material was a video involving a child between the ages of 10 and 12-years-old engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

    At the time of his arrest, Eichorn was employed as a teacher at a local private school. Eichorn initiated contact with one of the child victims in this case and offered to send him $100 per week to be his “Sugar Daddy.”  Eichorn admitted that he subsequently paid both victims hundreds of dollars to produce videos of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

    At sentencing, Judge Hendrix told Eichorn that the maximum sentence is warranted especially for “protection of the public.”  In imposing the maximum sentence, Judge Hendrix said, “I have to make a lot of difficult decisions.  This is not one of them.”

    Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham praised the joint efforts of the law enforcement agencies that conducted the investigation, including Homeland Security Investigations—Abilene Resident Agency, the Abilene Police Department, and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Ohlhausen prosecuted the case.

    The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
     

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Ageas successfully places EUR 500 million Tier 2 Notes

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Ageas successfully places EUR 500 million Tier 2 Notes

    Today ageas SA/NV successfully placed debt securities in the form of EUR 500 million Subordinated Fixed to Floating Rate Notes (the “Notes”) maturing in May 2056 and with a first call date in November 2035. The issuance generated substantial interest and was more than 3 times oversubscribed (orderbook in excess of EUR 1.6 billion).

    The Notes will be issued in denominations of EUR 100,000 at a re-offer price of 99.89 with a fixed coupon rate of 4.625% payable annually until the first reset date (2 May 2036). As of the first reset date, the coupon becomes payable quarterly at a 3-month Euribor floating rate over the initial credit spread (215bp) and a 100 basis points step-up.

    The Notes will qualify as Tier 2 capital for both the Group and Ageas SA/NV under the Solvency II prudential regime in the EU and are rated A- by Fitch. Ageas expects Standard and Poor’s will assign an A- rating. Application has been made for the Notes to be listed on the official list and admitted to trading on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s Euro MTF market. The Notes are expected to be settled on 2 May 2025.

    The net proceeds of the Notes are expected to be used for the financing of the acquisition of esure as well as for general corporate purposes and to optimise the capital structure of the Group.

    Ageas is a listed international insurance Group with a heritage spanning of 200 years. It offers Retail and Business customers Life and Non-Life insurance products designed to suit their specific needs, today and tomorrow, and is also engaged in reinsurance activities. As one of Europe’s larger insurance companies, Ageas concentrates its activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the major part of the global insurance market. It operates successful insurance businesses in Belgium, the UK, Portugal, Türkiye, China, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and the Philippines through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and long-term partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors. Ageas ranks among the market leaders in the countries in which it operates. It represents a staff force of about 50,000 people and reported annual inflows of EUR 18.5 billion in 2024.

    Disclaimer

    THIS COMMUNICATION IS NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH DISTRIBUTION IS PROHIBITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

    The issue, exercise or sale of securities in the offering mentioned in this press release are subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. The information contained herein shall not constitute or form part of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities referred to herein, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. ageas SA/NV assumes no responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.

    This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of offers to purchase or subscribe for, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered, exercised or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. There is no intention to register any portion of the offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

    This communication may only be communicated, or caused to be communicated, to persons in the United Kingdom in circumstances where the provisions of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (the “Financial Services and Markets Act”) do not apply to ageas SA/NV and is directed solely at persons in the United Kingdom who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments, such persons falling within the definition of “investment professionals” in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order or other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This communication is directed only to relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons.

    The securities referred to herein are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to, and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to, any retail investor in the European Economic Area. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU, as amended (“MiFID II”) or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, as amended (the “Insurance Distribution Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II.

    The securities referred to herein are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to, and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to, any retail investor in the United Kingdom. For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (8) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/565 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“EUWA”) or (ii) a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act and any rules or regulations made under the Financial Services and Markets Act to implement the Insurance Distribution Directive, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA.

    The securities referred to herein are also not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available, and will not be offered, sold or otherwise made available, in Belgium to “consumers” (consumenten/consommateurs) within the meaning of the Belgian Code of Economic Law (Wetboek van economisch recht/Code de droit économique), as amended.

    The securities referred to herein may be held only by, and transferred only to, eligible investors referred to in Article 4 of the Belgian Royal Decree of 26 May 1994, holding their securities in an exempt securities account that has been opened with a financial institution that is a direct or indirect participant in the securities settlement system operated by the National Bank of Belgium or any successor thereto.

    This press release is not a prospectus nor an advertisement for the purpose of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How racialized voters are reshaping Canadian politics through digital networks

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kashif Raza, Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia

    With Canada’s federal election approaching, political parties are focused on mobilizing voters. However, they may be overlooking how ethnic communities are already shaping the country’s political life.

    Immigrants and diaspora communities make up a growing segment of Canada’s population. In 2021, a record 23 per cent of the Canadian population, more than 8.3 million people, were current or former immigrants, the highest share since 1921. People from Asia constituted 51.4 per cent of this immigrant population.

    I am a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Education. My doctoral research focused on the integration practices of South Asian immigrants from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh living or working in northeast Calgary.

    Using the Canadian Index for Measuring Integration, I explored how they engaged with Canadian society across economic, social, health and political dimensions. Much of this engagement is driven by multilingualism and ethnic networks, increasingly mediated by platforms like WhatsApp, X and Facebook.

    Researching political integration in a multilingual digital world

    Since the federal election was called in late March, I’ve been conducting a digital ethnography of social media pages run by South Asian community influencers. Digital ethnography involves observing how people use internet technologies to communicate, engage and make meaning in online spaces.

    The influencers in my study are individuals who manage digital platforms, such as Facebook groups, WhatsApp chats and other community networks, and play a key role in shaping how community members access, discuss and act on political information. The pages I examined — mostly on WhatsApp, Facebook and X — continue to show how multilingualism and ethnic networks shape political awareness and influence voter behaviour.

    Too often, political engagement is narrowly defined by voter turnout. But my research with the South Asian diaspora in Calgary shows that political integration extends far beyond the ballot box. It happens on social media, at mosques, temples and gurdwaras, through multilingual volunteering and in community spaces where language, culture and civic life intersect.

    Crucially, it also extends to transnational issues. Many community members discuss global events — such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war or United States trade policies — as well as Canadian issues like immigration.

    For my research, I interviewed 19 first-generation South Asians from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, living in Calgary. Participants in my study described the wide range of civic and democratic activities they take part in: volunteering, joining online discussions and attending cultural or religious events where political issues were discussed — mostly in both English and their heritage languages.

    Participation spans both formal volunteering, often in English-dominant spaces, and informal volunteering at religious institutions, festivals or on social media. Many preferred to volunteer where they could speak Hindi, Punjabi, Bangla or Urdu or sometimes a mixture of multiple languages, referred to as translanguaging.

    One participant, a banker and social media influencer who runs a Pakistani Facebook group, said:

    “I often volunteer on Facebook. I also join politicians in their campaigns. My entire social media work is based on Urdu. It allows me to connect with people.”

    During digital ethnography, this participant was observed combining artificial intelligence (AI) generated images with multilingual postings to campaign for a political party.

    Beyond voter turnout

    South Asians are Canada’s largest visible minority group and their civic participation offers a vital lens into how democracy functions in a multicultural, multilingual society. There’s a widespread belief that if people aren’t engaging with politics in the dominant language, then they must not be engaging at all.

    However, my research shows otherwise. Societal multilingualism — the ability to use both English and heritage languages — is protected under Canada’s Multiculturalism Act and supports more inclusive participation. A participant who works for a settlement agency explained that multilingual political activities help “in communication, explaining policies, responding to people’s questions, understanding their concerns and addressing them.”

    There’s also a common misconception that nominating a candidate from a specific ethnic background guarantees community support. While that may influence local elections, federal voting decisions are often more complex. Participants in my research emphasized party platforms, past performance and national and international issues alongside identity. Ethnic concentration alone does not determine electoral success.

    Ethnic networks — made up of extended family, faith groups, digital communities and neighbourhood ties — act as civic incubators. They are not isolated enclaves but dynamic platforms where newcomers develop political literacy and trust.

    Rethinking political participation

    Canada’s official languages are English and French, but multilingualism plays a central role in immigrant communities. In my research, language is dynamic — a social and cultural resource that fosters identity and engagement.

    Participants translated political materials, explained policies to others and used multilingual platforms to discuss topics like housing, health care and immigration. These practices are visible in this election cycle too, as South Asian community members use language, digital tools, artificial intelligence and hot-button issues to engage voters. Language in these settings is cultural capital. It enables participation through familiarity, emotional connection and social belonging.

    Faith-based spaces like gurdwaras, mosques and mandirs are civic forums. Candidates visit during campaigns and community leaders help shape political dialogue and participation. These institutions offer cultural fluency and language access that mainstream systems often lack.

    As immigration reshapes Canada’s demographics, political integration is more than a trend — it’s essential to a functioning democracy. While some parties provide translations or host cultural events, they often miss how deep civic engagement already exists within these communities.

    Immigrants are not passive recipients anymore. They are active participants, shaping conversations in their own languages and networks. Ahead of the 2025 election, it’s time to move beyond ethnic voting myth and recognize the full civic ecosystem — from WhatsApp groups to mosque courtyards.

    Political parties must go beyond hiring translators or leaning on community leaders. Multilingual civic participation is not an afterthought — it’s foundational. It’s time to engage people in the languages they speak, in the spaces they trust.

    If we want a truly inclusive democracy, we must meet people where they are linguistically, culturally and locally. Ethnic networks are not detours from political life. They are on-ramps. And multilingualism is not a barrier to participation. It’s the language of democracy.

    Kashif Raza receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.

    – ref. How racialized voters are reshaping Canadian politics through digital networks – https://theconversation.com/how-racialized-voters-are-reshaping-canadian-politics-through-digital-networks-253895

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: BYDFi Launches DOLO/USDT and INIT/USDT with a $10,000 Prize Pool

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The global crypto exchange BYDFi announced the official listing of Dolomite and Initia tokens, now available for spot trading under the pairs DOLO/USDT and INIT/USDT. To celebrate the launch, BYDFi has introduced a $10,000 prize pool, giving all participants the opportunity to earn rewards by trading.

    $DOLO: A Core Asset in the Berachain Ecosystem

    $DOLO is the native token of the Dolomite protocol, serving key functions in governance, liquidity incentives, and risk hedging. Dolomite is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built on Berachain that integrates a DEX module, enabling users to stake, lend, vote, and earn yield — all while maintaining full control of their assets, even when borrowing.

    Since its inception in 2018, Dolomite has become one of Berachain’s leading lending protocols, known for its virtual liquidity model, multi-layered reward system, and cross-protocol compatibility. Its co-founder, Corey Caplan, now serves as the Head of Technical Strategy for the Trump-affiliated DeFi initiative World Liberty Financial (WLFI), helping evolve Dolomite’s technical framework. The project has raised over $3.4 million from prominent investors, including Coinbase Ventures, NGC Ventures, and Polygon.

    $INIT: A Modular Layer 1 Built for the Future

    Initia ($INIT) is a modular Layer 1 blockchain powered by the Omnitia Consensus mechanism and built using the Initia Interwoven Stack. It is designed to overcome scalability limitations in traditional blockchains and enable seamless cross-chain interoperability and resource sharing. With innovations like Gas Abstraction and a dual-deflationary token model, Initia enhances overall performance and security while significantly lowering the user barrier to cross-chain operations.

    With innovations like Gas Abstraction and a dual-layer deflationary mechanism, INIT enhances performance, security, and cross-chain interoperability. Backed by leading VCs like Delphi Digital, Hack VC, and Theory Ventures, Initia has attracted over 5,000 developers, with a project valuation of $250 million.

    Multiple Rewards Now Live on BYDFi

    Starting today, users who trade DOLO/USDT and INIT/USDT on the BYDFi platform will not only have a chance to share in the $10,000 prize pool, but can also participate in the following limited-time bonus campaigns:

    More details are available on BYDFi’s official platform.

    About BYDFi

    Founded in 2020, BYDFi has been recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Global Crypto Exchanges and is officially listed on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. Serving users in 190+ countries, the platform is trusted by over 1,000,000 users worldwide.

    As an official sponsor of Token2049 in Dubai, BYDFi welcomes users and partners from around the world to connect in person and discuss the future of Web3. BYDFi is committed to delivering a world-class crypto trading experience for every user. BUIDL Your Dream Finance.

    • Website: https://www.bydfi.com
    • Support Email: cs@bydfi.com
    • Business Partnerships: bd@bydfi.com
    • Media Inquiries: media@bydfi.com

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: First Merchants Corporation Announces First Quarter 2025 Earnings Per Share

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MUNCIE, Ind., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ – FRME)

    First Quarter 2025 Highlights:

    • Net income available to common stockholders was $54.9 million and diluted earnings per common share totaled $0.94 compared to adjusted net income and diluted earnings per common share1of $50.1 million and $0.85 in the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted net income and diluted earnings per common share1in the fourth quarter of 2024 were $58.1 million and $1.00, respectively.
    • Robust capital position with Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 11.50%.
    • Repurchased 246,751 shares totaling $10 million year-to-date; Redeemed $30 million of sub debt.
    • Total loans grew $154.9 million, or 4.8% annualized, on a linked quarter basis, and $547.2 million, or 4.4%, during the last twelve months.
    • Total deposits declined $59.6 million, or 1.6% annualized, on a linked quarter basis, and declined $422.6 million, or 2.8%, during the last twelve months primarily due to the sale of five Illinois branches with $267.4 million in deposits to Old Second National Bank on December 6, 2024.
    • Nonperforming assets to total assets were 47 basis points compared to 43 basis points on a linked quarter basis.
    • The efficiency ratio totaled 54.54% for the quarter.

    “The first quarter was a strong start to the year with healthy loan growth and increasing profitability,” said Mark Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer of First Merchants Bank. “Our 2025 priorities continue to focus on organic loan growth funded by low-cost core deposits, margin stabilization, fee income growth, expense management and credit quality. Given the market volatility and headlines, we are closely monitoring our clients and our markets but have yet to see any signs of stress.”

    First Quarter Financial Results:

    First Merchants Corporation (the “Corporation”) reported first quarter 2025 net income available to common stockholders of $54.9 million compared to adjusted net income available to common stockholders1 of $50.1 million during the same period in 2024. Diluted earnings per common share for the period totaled $0.94 compared to the first quarter of 2024 adjusted diluted earnings per common share1 of $0.85 per share.

    Total assets equaled $18.4 billion as of quarter-end and loans totaled $13.0 billion. During the past twelve months, total loans grew by $547.2 million, or 4.4%. On a linked quarter basis, loans grew $154.9 million, or 4.8% annualized.

    Investment securities, totaling $3.4 billion, decreased $356.5 million, or 9.4%, during the last twelve months and decreased $33.6 million, or 3.9% annualized on a linked quarter basis. The decline in the last twelve months reflected sales of available for sale securities in 2024 totaling $268.5 million.

    Total deposits equaled $14.5 billion as of quarter-end and decreased by $422.6 million, or 2.8%, over the past twelve months. The decline reflected the sale of the Illinois branches during the prior quarter which included $267.4 million in deposits. Total deposits decreased $59.6 million, or 1.6% annualized on a linked quarter basis. The loan to deposit ratio increased to 90.1% at period end from 88.6% in the prior quarter.

    The Corporation’s Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans (ACL) totaled $192.0 million as of quarter-end, or 1.47% of total loans, a decrease of $0.7 million from prior quarter. Net charge-offs totaled $4.9 million and provision for loans of $4.2 million was recorded during the quarter. Reserves for unfunded commitments totaling $18.0 million remain unchanged from the previous quarter. Non-performing assets to total assets were 0.47% for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of four basis points compared to 0.43% in the prior quarter.

    Net interest income totaled $130.3 million for the quarter, a decrease of $4.1 million, or 3.1%, compared to prior quarter and increased $3.2 million, or 2.5%, compared to the first quarter of 2024. Fully taxable equivalent net interest margin was 3.22%, a decrease of six basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and an increase of 12 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2024. The lower day count in the quarter caused a decline of five basis points in net interest margin from the prior quarter.

    Noninterest income totaled $30.0 million for the quarter, a decrease of $12.7 million, compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and an increase of $3.4 million compared to the first quarter of 2024. Customer-related fees declined by $2.3 million from the previous quarter due to lower derivative hedge fees, gains on sales of mortgage loans and card payment fees. Non-customer-related fees declined $10.4 million from the prior quarter primarily due to the gain on the Illinois branch sale, partially offset by realized losses on the sales of securities recorded in the prior quarter.

    Noninterest expense totaled $92.9 million for the quarter, a decrease of $3.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2024 and a decrease of $4.0 million from the first quarter of 2024. The decrease from the fourth quarter of 2024 was due primarily to a decline in marketing expenses, and lower professional fees and employee incentives.

    The Corporation’s total risk-based capital ratio totaled 13.22%, common equity tier 1 capital ratio totaled 11.50%, and the tangible common equity ratio totaled 8.90%. These ratios continue to demonstrate the Corporation’s strong capital position.

    1 See “Non-GAAP Financial Information” for reconciliation

    CONFERENCE CALL

    First Merchants Corporation will conduct a fourth quarter earnings conference call and web cast at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, April 24, 2025.

    To access via phone, participants will need to register using the following link where they will be provided a phone number and access code: (https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI4ae3a07cb07a47258d30e4f3dba2448b)

    To view the webcast and presentation slides, please go to (https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/uqvoojku) during the time of the call. A replay of the webcast will be available until April 24, 2026.

    Detailed financial results are reported on the attached pages.

    About First Merchants Corporation

    First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank. The Bank also operates as First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (as a division of First Merchants Bank).

    First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s Internet web page (http://www.firstmerchants.com).

    FIRST MERCHANTS and the Shield Logo are federally registered trademarks of First Merchants Corporation.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of words like “believe”, “continue”, “pattern”, “estimate”, “project”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “expect” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “can”, “may”, or similar expressions. These statements include statements about First Merchants’ goals, intentions and expectations; statements regarding the First Merchants’ business plan and growth strategies; statements regarding the asset quality of First Merchants’ loan and investment portfolios; and estimates of First Merchants’ risks and future costs and benefits. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements, including, among other things: possible changes in monetary and fiscal policies, and laws and regulations; the effects of easing restrictions on participants in the financial services industry; the cost and other effects of legal and administrative cases; possible changes in the credit worthiness of customers and the possible impairment of collectability of loans; fluctuations in market rates of interest; competitive factors in the banking industry; changes in the banking legislation or regulatory requirements of federal and state agencies applicable to bank holding companies and banks like First Merchants’ affiliate bank; continued availability of earnings and excess capital sufficient for the lawful and prudent declaration of dividends; changes in market, economic, operational, liquidity (including the ability to grow and maintain core deposits and retain large, uninsured deposits), credit and interest rate risks associated with the First Merchants’ business; and other risks and factors identified in each of First Merchants’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First Merchants does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, relating to the matters discussed in this press release. In addition, First Merchants’ past results of operations do not necessarily indicate its anticipated future results.

           
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS      
    (Dollars In Thousands) March 31,
      2025   2024
    ASSETS      
    Cash and due from banks $ 86,113     $ 100,514  
    Interest-bearing deposits   331,534       410,497  
    Investment securities available for sale   1,378,489       1,620,213  
    Investment securities held to maturity, net of allowance for credit losses   2,048,632       2,163,361  
    Loans held for sale   23,004       15,118  
    Loans   13,004,905       12,465,582  
    Less: Allowance for credit losses – loans   (192,031 )     (204,681 )
    Net loans   12,812,874       12,260,901  
    Premises and equipment   128,749       132,706  
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   45,006       41,758  
    Interest receivable   88,352       92,550  
    Goodwill   712,002       712,002  
    Other intangibles   18,302       25,142  
    Cash surrender value of life insurance   304,918       306,028  
    Other real estate owned   4,966       4,886  
    Tax asset, deferred and receivable   87,665       101,121  
    Other assets   369,181       331,006  
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 18,439,787     $ 18,317,803  
    LIABILITIES      
    Deposits:      
    Noninterest-bearing $ 2,185,057     $ 2,338,364  
    Interest-bearing   12,276,921       12,546,220  
    Total Deposits   14,461,978       14,884,584  
    Borrowings:      
    Federal funds purchased   185,000       —  
    Securities sold under repurchase agreements   122,947       130,264  
    Federal Home Loan Bank advances   972,478       612,778  
    Subordinated debentures and other borrowings   62,619       118,612  
    Total Borrowings   1,343,044       861,654  
    Interest payable   13,304       19,262  
    Other liabilities   289,247       327,500  
    Total Liabilities   16,107,573       16,093,000  
    STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
    Preferred Stock, $1,000 par value, $1,000 liquidation value:      
    Authorized — 600 cumulative shares      
    Issued and outstanding – 125 cumulative shares   125       125  
    Preferred Stock, Series A, no par value, $2,500 liquidation preference:      
    Authorized — 10,000 non-cumulative perpetual shares      
    Issued and outstanding – 10,000 non-cumulative perpetual shares   25,000       25,000  
    Common Stock, $.125 stated value:      
    Authorized — 100,000,000 shares      
    Issued and outstanding – 57,810,232 and 58,564,819 shares   7,226       7,321  
    Additional paid-in capital   1,183,263       1,208,447  
    Retained earnings   1,306,911       1,181,939  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (190,311 )     (198,029 )
    Total Stockholders’ Equity   2,332,214       2,224,803  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 18,439,787     $ 18,317,803  
       
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME Three Months Ended
    (Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts) March 31,
      2025   2024
    INTEREST INCOME      
    Loans:      
    Taxable $ 187,728     $ 198,023  
    Tax-exempt   10,532       8,190  
    Investment securities:      
    Taxable   8,372       8,748  
    Tax-exempt   12,517       13,611  
    Deposits with financial institutions   2,372       6,493  
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   997       835  
    Total Interest Income   222,518       235,900  
    INTEREST EXPENSE      
    Deposits   80,547       98,285  
    Federal funds purchased   812       —  
    Securities sold under repurchase agreements   742       1,032  
    Federal Home Loan Bank advances   9,364       6,773  
    Subordinated debentures and other borrowings   783       2,747  
    Total Interest Expense   92,248       108,837  
    NET INTEREST INCOME   130,270       127,063  
    Provision for credit losses   4,200       2,000  
    NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES   126,070       125,063  
    NONINTEREST INCOME      
    Service charges on deposit accounts   8,072       7,907  
    Fiduciary and wealth management fees   8,644       8,200  
    Card payment fees   4,526       4,500  
    Net gains and fees on sales of loans   5,022       3,254  
    Derivative hedge fees   404       263  
    Other customer fees   415       427  
    Earnings on cash surrender value of life insurance   2,179       1,592  
    Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities   (7 )     (2 )
    Other income   793       497  
    Total Noninterest Income   30,048       26,638  
    NONINTEREST EXPENSES      
    Salaries and employee benefits   54,982       58,293  
    Net occupancy   7,216       7,312  
    Equipment   7,008       6,226  
    Marketing   1,353       1,198  
    Outside data processing fees   5,929       6,889  
    Printing and office supplies   347       353  
    Intangible asset amortization   1,526       1,957  
    FDIC assessments   3,648       4,287  
    Other real estate owned and foreclosure expenses   600       534  
    Professional and other outside services   3,261       3,952  
    Other expenses   7,032       5,934  
    Total Noninterest Expenses   92,902       96,935  
    INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX   63,216       54,766  
    Income tax expense   7,877       6,825  
    NET INCOME   55,339       47,941  
    Preferred stock dividends   469       469  
    NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS $ 54,870     $ 47,472  
    Per Share Data:      
    Basic Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $ 0.95     $ 0.80  
    Diluted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $ 0.94     $ 0.80  
    Cash Dividends Paid to Common Stockholders $ 0.35     $ 0.34  
    Tangible Common Book Value Per Share $ 27.34     $ 25.07  
    Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)   58,242       59,273  
           
    FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS      
    (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended
      March 31,
      2025   2024
    NET CHARGE-OFFS $ 4,926     $ 2,253  
           
    AVERAGE BALANCES:      
    Total Assets $ 18,341,738     $ 18,430,521  
    Total Loans   12,941,353       12,477,066  
    Total Earning Assets   16,960,475       17,123,851  
    Total Deposits   14,419,338       14,881,205  
    Total Stockholders’ Equity   2,340,874       2,242,139  
           
    FINANCIAL RATIOS:      
    Return on Average Assets   1.21 %     1.04 %
    Return on Average Stockholders’ Equity   9.38       8.47  
    Return on Tangible Common Stockholders’ Equity   14.12       13.21  
    Average Earning Assets to Average Assets   92.47       92.91  
    Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans as % of Total Loans   1.47       1.64  
    Net Charge-offs as % of Average Loans (Annualized)   0.15       0.07  
    Average Stockholders’ Equity to Average Assets   12.76       12.17  
    Tax Equivalent Yield on Average Earning Assets   5.39       5.65  
    Interest Expense/Average Earning Assets   2.17       2.55  
    Net Interest Margin (FTE) on Average Earning Assets   3.22       3.10  
    Efficiency Ratio   54.54       59.21  
                       
    NONPERFORMING ASSETS                  
    (Dollars In Thousands) March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Nonaccrual Loans $ 81,922     $ 73,773     $ 59,088     $ 61,906     $ 62,478  
    Other Real Estate Owned and Repossessions   4,966       4,948       5,247       4,824       4,886  
    Nonperforming Assets (NPA)   86,888       78,721       64,335       66,730       67,364  
    90+ Days Delinquent   4,280       5,902       14,105       1,686       2,838  
    NPAs & 90 Day Delinquent $ 91,168     $ 84,623     $ 78,440     $ 68,416     $ 70,202  
                       
    Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans $ 192,031     $ 192,757     $ 187,828     $ 189,537     $ 204,681  
    Quarterly Net Charge-offs   4,926       771       6,709       39,644       2,253  
    NPAs / Actual Assets %   0.47 %     0.43 %     0.35 %     0.36 %     0.37 %
    NPAs & 90 Day / Actual Assets %   0.49 %     0.46 %     0.43 %     0.37 %     0.38 %
    NPAs / Actual Loans and OREO %   0.67 %     0.61 %     0.51 %     0.53 %     0.54 %
    Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans / Actual Loans (%)   1.47 %     1.50 %     1.48 %     1.50 %     1.64 %
    Net Charge-offs as % of Average Loans (Annualized)   0.15 %     0.02 %     0.21 %     1.26 %     0.07 %
                       
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS                  
    (Dollars In Thousands) March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    ASSETS                  
    Cash and due from banks $ 86,113     $ 87,616     $ 84,719     $ 105,372     $ 100,514  
    Interest-bearing deposits   331,534       298,891       359,126       168,528       410,497  
    Investment securities available for sale   1,378,489       1,386,475       1,553,496       1,618,893       1,620,213  
    Investment securities held to maturity, net of allowance for credit losses   2,048,632       2,074,220       2,108,649       2,134,195       2,163,361  
    Loans held for sale   23,004       18,663       40,652       32,292       15,118  
    Loans   13,004,905       12,854,359       12,646,808       12,639,650       12,465,582  
    Less: Allowance for credit losses – loans   (192,031 )     (192,757 )     (187,828 )     (189,537 )     (204,681 )
    Net loans   12,812,874       12,661,602       12,458,980       12,450,113       12,260,901  
    Premises and equipment   128,749       129,743       129,582       133,245       132,706  
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   45,006       41,690       41,716       41,738       41,758  
    Interest receivable   88,352       91,829       92,055       97,546       92,550  
    Goodwill   712,002       712,002       712,002       712,002       712,002  
    Other intangibles   18,302       19,828       21,599       23,371       25,142  
    Cash surrender value of life insurance   304,918       304,906       304,613       306,379       306,028  
    Other real estate owned   4,966       4,948       5,247       4,824       4,886  
    Tax asset, deferred and receivable   87,665       92,387       86,732       107,080       101,121  
    Other assets   369,181       387,169       348,384       367,845       331,006  
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 18,439,787     $ 18,311,969     $ 18,347,552     $ 18,303,423     $ 18,317,803  
    LIABILITIES                  
    Deposits:                  
    Noninterest-bearing $ 2,185,057     $ 2,325,579     $ 2,334,197     $ 2,303,313     $ 2,338,364  
    Interest-bearing   12,276,921       12,196,047       12,030,903       12,265,757       12,546,220  
    Total Deposits   14,461,978       14,521,626       14,365,100       14,569,070       14,884,584  
    Borrowings:                  
    Federal funds purchased   185,000       99,226       30,000       147,229       —  
    Securities sold under repurchase agreements   122,947       142,876       124,894       100,451       130,264  
    Federal Home Loan Bank advances   972,478       822,554       832,629       832,703       612,778  
    Subordinated debentures and other borrowings   62,619       93,529       93,562       93,589       118,612  
    Total Borrowings   1,343,044       1,158,185       1,081,085       1,173,972       861,654  
    Deposits and other liabilities held for sale   —       —       288,476       —       —  
    Interest payable   13,304       16,102       18,089       18,554       19,262  
    Other liabilities   289,247       311,073       292,429       329,302       327,500  
    Total Liabilities   16,107,573       16,006,986       16,045,179       16,090,898       16,093,000  
    STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY                  
    Preferred Stock, $1,000 par value, $1,000 liquidation value:                  
    Authorized — 600 cumulative shares                  
    Issued and outstanding – 125 cumulative shares   125       125       125       125       125  
    Preferred Stock, Series A, no par value, $2,500 liquidation preference:                  
    Authorized — 10,000 non-cumulative perpetual shares                  
    Issued and outstanding – 10,000 non-cumulative perpetual shares   25,000       25,000       25,000       25,000       25,000  
    Common Stock, $.125 stated value:                  
    Authorized — 100,000,000 shares                  
    Issued and outstanding   7,226       7,247       7,265       7,256       7,321  
    Additional paid-in capital   1,183,263       1,188,768       1,192,683       1,191,193       1,208,447  
    Retained earnings   1,306,911       1,272,528       1,229,125       1,200,930       1,181,939  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (190,311 )     (188,685 )     (151,825 )     (211,979 )     (198,029 )
    Total Stockholders’ Equity   2,332,214       2,304,983       2,302,373       2,212,525       2,224,803  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 18,439,787     $ 18,311,969     $ 18,347,552     $ 18,303,423     $ 18,317,803  
                       
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME                  
    (Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts) March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    INTEREST INCOME                  
    Loans:                  
    Taxable $ 187,728     $ 197,536     $ 206,680     $ 201,413     $ 198,023  
    Tax-exempt   10,532       9,020       8,622       8,430       8,190  
    Investment securities:                  
    Taxable   8,372       9,024       9,263       9,051       8,748  
    Tax-exempt   12,517       12,754       13,509       13,613       13,611  
    Deposits with financial institutions   2,372       5,350       2,154       2,995       6,493  
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   997       958       855       879       835  
    Total Interest Income   222,518       234,642       241,083       236,381       235,900  
    INTEREST EXPENSE                  
    Deposits   80,547       89,835       98,856       99,151       98,285  
    Federal funds purchased   812       26       329       126       —  
    Securities sold under repurchase agreements   742       680       700       645       1,032  
    Federal Home Loan Bank advances   9,364       8,171       8,544       6,398       6,773  
    Subordinated debentures and other borrowings   783       1,560       1,544       1,490       2,747  
    Total Interest Expense   92,248       100,272       109,973       107,810       108,837  
    NET INTEREST INCOME   130,270       134,370       131,110       128,571       127,063  
    Provision for credit losses   4,200       4,200       5,000       24,500       2,000  
    NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES   126,070       130,170       126,110       104,071       125,063  
    NONINTEREST INCOME                  
    Service charges on deposit accounts   8,072       8,124       8,361       8,214       7,907  
    Fiduciary and wealth management fees   8,644       8,665       8,525       8,825       8,200  
    Card payment fees   4,526       4,957       5,121       4,739       4,500  
    Net gains and fees on sales of loans   5,022       5,681       6,764       5,141       3,254  
    Derivative hedge fees   404       1,594       736       489       263  
    Other customer fees   415       316       344       460       427  
    Earnings on cash surrender value of life insurance   2,179       2,188       2,755       1,929       1,592  
    Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities   (7 )     (11,592 )     (9,114 )     (49 )     (2 )
    Gain on branch sale   —       19,983       —       —       —  
    Other income   793       2,826       1,374       1,586       497  
    Total Noninterest Income   30,048       42,742       24,866       31,334       26,638  
    NONINTEREST EXPENSES                  
    Salaries and employee benefits   54,982       55,437       55,223       52,214       58,293  
    Net occupancy   7,216       7,335       6,994       6,746       7,312  
    Equipment   7,008       7,028       6,949       6,599       6,226  
    Marketing   1,353       2,582       1,836       1,773       1,198  
    Outside data processing fees   5,929       6,029       7,150       7,072       6,889  
    Printing and office supplies   347       377       378       354       353  
    Intangible asset amortization   1,526       1,771       1,772       1,771       1,957  
    FDIC assessments   3,648       3,744       3,720       3,278       4,287  
    Other real estate owned and foreclosure expenses   600       227       942       373       534  
    Professional and other outside services   3,261       3,777       3,035       3,822       3,952  
    Other expenses   7,032       7,982       6,630       7,411       5,934  
    Total Noninterest Expenses   92,902       96,289       94,629       91,413       96,935  
    INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX   63,216       76,623       56,347       43,992       54,766  
    Income tax expense   7,877       12,274       7,160       4,067       6,825  
    NET INCOME   55,339       64,349       49,187       39,925       47,941  
    Preferred stock dividends   469       469       468       469       469  
    NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS $ 54,870     $ 63,880     $ 48,719     $ 39,456     $ 47,472  
    Per Share Data:                  
    Basic Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $ 0.95     $ 1.10     $ 0.84     $ 0.68     $ 0.80  
    Diluted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders $ 0.94     $ 1.10     $ 0.84     $ 0.68     $ 0.80  
    Cash Dividends Paid to Common Stockholders $ 0.35     $ 0.35     $ 0.35     $ 0.35     $ 0.34  
    Tangible Common Book Value Per Share $ 27.34     $ 26.78     $ 26.64     $ 25.10     $ 25.07  
    Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)   58,242       58,247       58,289       58,328       59,273  
    FINANCIAL RATIOS:                  
    Return on Average Assets   1.21 %     1.39 %     1.07 %     0.87 %     1.04 %
    Return on Average Stockholders’ Equity   9.38       11.05       8.66       7.16       8.47  
    Return on Tangible Common Stockholders’ Equity   14.12       16.75       13.39       11.29       13.21  
    Average Earning Assets to Average Assets   92.47       92.48       92.54       92.81       92.91  
    Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans as % of Total Loans   1.47       1.50       1.48       1.50       1.64  
    Net Charge-offs as % of Average Loans (Annualized)   0.15       0.02       0.21       1.26       0.07  
    Average Stockholders’ Equity to Average Assets   12.76       12.51       12.26       12.02       12.17  
    Tax Equivalent Yield on Average Earning Assets   5.39       5.63       5.82       5.69       5.65  
    Interest Expense/Average Earning Assets   2.17       2.35       2.59       2.53       2.55  
    Net Interest Margin (FTE) on Average Earning Assets   3.22       3.28       3.23       3.16       3.10  
    Efficiency Ratio   54.54       48.48       53.76       53.84       59.21  
                       
    LOANS                  
    (Dollars In Thousands) March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Commercial and industrial loans $ 4,306,597     $ 4,114,292     $ 4,041,217     $ 3,949,817     $ 3,722,365  
    Agricultural land, production and other loans to farmers   243,864       256,312       238,743       239,926       234,431  
    Real estate loans:                  
    Construction   793,175       792,144       814,704       823,267       941,726  
    Commercial real estate, non-owner occupied   2,177,869       2,274,016       2,251,351       2,323,533       2,368,360  
    Commercial real estate, owner occupied   1,214,739       1,157,944       1,152,751       1,174,195       1,137,894  
    Residential   2,389,852       2,374,729       2,366,943       2,370,905       2,316,490  
    Home equity   650,499       659,811       641,188       631,104       618,258  
    Individuals’ loans for household and other personal expenditures   140,954       166,028       158,480       162,089       161,459  
    Public finance and other commercial loans   1,087,356       1,059,083       981,431       964,814       964,599  
    Loans   13,004,905       12,854,359       12,646,808       12,639,650       12,465,582  
    Allowance for credit losses – loans   (192,031 )     (192,757 )     (187,828 )     (189,537 )     (204,681 )
    NET LOANS $ 12,812,874     $ 12,661,602     $ 12,458,980     $ 12,450,113     $ 12,260,901  
    DEPOSITS                  
    (Dollars In Thousands) March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Demand deposits $ 7,786,554   $ 7,980,061   $ 7,678,510   $ 7,757,679   $ 7,771,976
    Savings deposits   4,791,874     4,522,758     4,302,236     4,339,161     4,679,593
    Certificates and other time deposits of $100,000 or more   896,143     1,043,068     1,277,833     1,415,131     1,451,443
    Certificates and other time deposits of $100,000 or less   625,203     692,068     802,949     889,949     901,280
    Brokered certificates of deposits1   362,204     283,671     303,572     167,150     80,292
    TOTAL DEPOSITS $ 14,461,978   $ 14,521,626   $ 14,365,100   $ 14,569,070   $ 14,884,584
     
    1 – Total brokered deposits of $1.1 billion, which includes brokered CD’s of $362.2 million at March 31, 2025.
                 
    CONSOLIDATED AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET AND NET INTEREST MARGIN ANALYSIS            
    (Dollars in Thousands)                      
      For the Three Months Ended
      March 31, 2025   March 31, 2024
      Average
    Balance    		   Interest
     Income /
    Expense    		   Average
    Rate    		   Average
    Balance    		   Interest
     Income /
    Expense    		   Average
    Rate
    ASSETS                      
    Interest-bearing deposits $ 294,016   $ 2,372   3.23 %   $ 575,699   $ 6,493   4.51 %
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   43,980     997   9.07       41,764     835   8.00  
    Investment Securities: (1)                      
    Taxable   1,634,452     8,372   2.05       1,783,057     8,748   1.96  
    Tax-exempt (2)   2,046,674     15,844   3.10       2,246,265     17,229   3.07  
    Total Investment Securities   3,681,126     24,216   2.63       4,029,322     25,977   2.58  
    Loans held for sale   20,965     319   6.09       21,782     328   6.02  
    Loans: (3)                      
    Commercial   8,770,282     147,772   6.74       8,598,110     159,209   7.41  
    Real estate mortgage   2,191,384     24,446   4.46       2,130,947     22,357   4.20  
    HELOC and installment   828,874     15,191   7.33       821,815     16,129   7.85  
    Tax-exempt (2)   1,129,848     13,332   4.72       904,412     10,367   4.59  
    Total Loans   12,941,353     201,060   6.21       12,477,066     208,390   6.68  
    Total Earning Assets   16,960,475     228,645   5.39 %     17,123,851     241,695   5.65 %
    Total Non-Earning Assets   1,381,263             1,306,670        
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 18,341,738           $ 18,430,521        
    LIABILITIES                      
    Interest-Bearing Deposits:                      
    Interest-bearing deposits $ 5,522,434   $ 34,606   2.51 %   $ 5,419,821   $ 39,491   2.91 %
    Money market deposits   3,437,998     25,952   3.02       3,045,478     27,383   3.60  
    Savings deposits   1,299,405     2,445   0.75       1,559,877     3,801   0.97  
    Certificates and other time deposits   1,947,854     17,544   3.60       2,427,859     27,610   4.55  
    Total Interest-Bearing Deposits   12,207,691     80,547   2.64       12,453,035     98,285   3.16  
    Borrowings   1,262,926     11,701   3.71       1,011,812     10,552   4.17  
    Total Interest-Bearing Liabilities   13,470,617     92,248   2.74       13,464,847     108,837   3.23  
    Noninterest-bearing deposits   2,211,647             2,428,170        
    Other liabilities   318,600             295,365        
    Total Liabilities   16,000,864             16,188,382        
    STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY   2,340,874             2,242,139        
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 18,341,738     92,248       $ 18,430,521     108,837    
    Net Interest Income (FTE)     $ 136,397           $ 132,858    
    Net Interest Spread (FTE) (4)         2.65 %           2.42 %
                           
    Net Interest Margin (FTE):                      
    Interest Income (FTE) / Average Earning Assets         5.39 %           5.65 %
    Interest Expense / Average Earning Assets         2.17 %           2.55 %
    Net Interest Margin (FTE) (5)         3.22 %           3.10 %
                           
    (1) Average balance of securities is computed based on the average of the historical amortized cost balances without the effects of the fair value adjustments. Annualized amounts are computed using a 30/360 day basis.
    (2) Tax-exempt securities and loans are presented on a fully taxable equivalent basis, using a marginal tax rate of 21 percent for 2024 and 2023. These totals equal $6,127 and $5,795 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
    (3) Non accruing loans have been included in the average balances.
    (4) Net Interest Spread (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average interest-bearing liabilities.
    (5) Net Interest Margin (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average earning assets.
     
    ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE – NON-GAAP
    (Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts) Three Months Ended
      March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Net Income Available to Common Stockholders – GAAP $ 54,870     $ 63,880     $ 48,719     $ 39,456     $ 47,472  
    Adjustments:                  
    Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities   7       11,592       9,114       49       2  
    Gain on branch sale   —       (19,983 )     —       —       —  
    Non-core expenses1,2   —       762       —       —       3,481  
    Tax on adjustments   (2 )     1,851       (2,220 )     (12 )     (848 )
    Adjusted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders – Non-GAAP $ 54,875     $ 58,102     $ 55,613     $ 39,493     $ 50,107  
                       
    Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)   58,242       58,247       58,289       58,328       59,273  
                       
    Diluted Earnings Per Common Share – GAAP $ 0.94     $ 1.10     $ 0.84     $ 0.68     $ 0.80  
    Adjustments:                  
    Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities   —       0.20       0.15       —       —  
    Gain on branch sale   —       (0.34 )     —       —       —  
    Non-core expenses1,2   —       0.01       —       —       0.06  
    Tax on adjustments   —       0.03       (0.04 )     —       (0.01 )
    Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Common Share – Non-GAAP $ 0.94     $ 1.00     $ 0.95     $ 0.68     $ 0.85  
     
    1 – Non-core expenses in 4Q24 included $0.8 million of costs directly related to the branch sale.
    2 – Non-core expenses in 1Q24 included $2.4 million from duplicative online banking conversion costs and $1.1 million from the FDIC special assessment.
             
    NET INTEREST MARGIN (“NIM”), ADJUSTED
    (Dollars in Thousands)
      Three Months Ended
      March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Net Interest Income (GAAP) $ 130,270     $ 134,370     $ 131,110     $ 128,571     $ 127,063  
    Fully Taxable Equivalent (“FTE”) Adjustment   6,127       5,788       5,883       5,859       5,795  
    Net Interest Income (FTE) (non-GAAP) $ 136,397     $ 140,158     $ 136,993     $ 134,430     $ 132,858  
                       
    Average Earning Assets (GAAP) $ 16,960,475     $ 17,089,198     $ 16,990,358     $ 17,013,984     $ 17,123,851  
    Net Interest Margin (GAAP)   3.07 %     3.15 %     3.09 %     3.02 %     2.97 %
    Net Interest Margin (FTE) (non-GAAP)   3.22 %     3.28 %     3.23 %     3.16 %     3.10 %
    RETURN ON TANGIBLE COMMON EQUITY – NON-GAAP
    (Dollars In Thousands) Three Months Ended
      March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Total Average Stockholders’ Equity (GAAP) $ 2,340,874     $ 2,312,270     $ 2,251,547     $ 2,203,361     $ 2,242,139  
    Less: Average Preferred Stock   (25,125 )     (25,125 )     (25,125 )     (25,125 )     (25,125 )
    Less: Average Intangible Assets, Net of Tax   (726,917 )     (728,218 )     (729,581 )     (730,980 )     (732,432 )
    Average Tangible Common Equity, Net of Tax (Non-GAAP) $ 1,588,832     $ 1,558,927     $ 1,496,841     $ 1,447,256     $ 1,484,582  
                       
    Net Income Available to Common Stockholders (GAAP) $ 54,870     $ 63,880     $ 48,719     $ 39,456     $ 47,472  
    Plus: Intangible Asset Amortization, Net of Tax   1,206       1,399       1,399       1,399       1,546  
    Tangible Net Income (Non-GAAP) $ 56,076     $ 65,279     $ 50,118     $ 40,855     $ 49,018  
                       
    Return on Tangible Common Equity (Non-GAAP)   14.12 %     16.75 %     13.39 %     11.29 %     13.21 %
    EFFICIENCY RATIO – NON-GAAP                  
    (Dollars In Thousands) Three Months Ended
      March 31,   December 31,   September 30,   June 30,   March 31,
      2025   2024   2024   2024   2024
    Non Interest Expense (GAAP) $ 92,902     $ 96,289     $ 94,629     $ 91,413     $ 96,935  
    Less: Intangible Asset Amortization   (1,526 )     (1,771 )     (1,772 )     (1,771 )     (1,957 )
    Less: OREO and Foreclosure Expenses   (600 )     (227 )     (942 )     (373 )     (534 )
    Adjusted Non Interest Expense (Non-GAAP) $ 90,776     $ 94,291     $ 91,915     $ 89,269     $ 94,444  
                       
    Net Interest Income (GAAP) $ 130,270     $ 134,370     $ 131,110     $ 128,571     $ 127,063  
    Plus: Fully Taxable Equivalent Adjustment   6,127       5,788       5,883       5,859       5,795  
    Net Interest Income on a Fully Taxable Equivalent Basis (Non-GAAP) $ 136,397     $ 140,158     $ 136,993     $ 134,430     $ 132,858  
                       
    Non Interest Income (GAAP) $ 30,048     $ 42,742     $ 24,866     $ 31,334     $ 26,638  
    Less: Investment Securities (Gains) Losses   7       11,592       9,114       49       2  
    Adjusted Non Interest Income (Non-GAAP) $ 30,055     $ 54,334     $ 33,980     $ 31,383     $ 26,640  
    Adjusted Revenue (Non-GAAP) $ 166,452     $ 194,492     $ 170,973     $ 165,813     $ 159,498  
    Efficiency Ratio (Non-GAAP)   54.54 %     48.48 %     53.76 %     53.84 %     59.21 %
                       
    Adjusted Non Interest Expense (Non-GAAP) $ 90,776     $ 94,291     $ 91,915     $ 89,269     $ 94,444  
    Less: Non-core Expenses1,2   —       (762 )     —       —       (3,481 )
    Adjusted Non Interest Expense Excluding Non-core Expenses (Non-GAAP) $ 90,776     $ 93,529     $ 91,915     $ 89,269     $ 90,963  
                       
    Adjusted Revenue (Non-GAAP) $ 166,452     $ 194,492     $ 170,973     $ 165,813     $ 159,498  
    Less: Gain on Branch Sale   —       (19,983 )     —       —       —  
    Adjusted Revenue Excluding Gain on Branch Sale (Non-GAAP) $ 166,452     $ 174,509     $ 170,973     $ 165,813     $ 159,498  
    Adjusted Efficiency Ratio (Non-GAAP)   54.54 %     53.60 %     53.76 %     53.84 %     57.03 %
    1 – Non-core expenses in 4Q24 included $0.8 million of costs directly related to the branch sale.
    2 – Non-core expenses in 1Q24 included $2.4 million from duplicative online banking conversion costs and $1.1 million from the FDIC special assessment.
     

    For more information, contact:
    Nicole M. Weaver, Vice President and Director of Corporate Administration
    765-521-7619
    http://www.firstmerchants.com

    SOURCE: First Merchants Corporation, Muncie, Indiana

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: The FBI Released Its Internet Crime Report 2024

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

    TLANTA—The FBI released its Internet Crime Report 2024. It shows Internet-related complaints and crimes continued to increase significantly in Georgia and across the country.

    In 2024, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 859,532 complaints with related losses topping $16.6 billion. That is a 33% increase in losses from 2023.

    Georgia ranked 11th in complaints filed by state in 2024 (13th in 2023) with reported potential losses at $420 million. That is a 40% increase year to year.

    Nationally, the top three cybercrimes, by the number of complaints reported in 2024, were: phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches. In terms of losses, cryptocurrency-related losses by far exceed any other category.

    “While the top threats facing Georgia and the nation from cyber criminals and fraudsters continue to evolve, their main goal remains stealing your hard-earned money,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “The cornerstone of the FBI’s mission remains to protect American citizens. The men and women of FBI Atlanta will not stop working to prevent losses and minimize the harm to Georgia residents.”

    Criminals continue to target the elderly (Age 60+) at a high rate. In Georgia, complaints by seniors increased 71% year over year (2114 to 3622). Reported losses in Georgia by seniors increased 89% ($92 million in 2023 to $174 million in 2024). Georgia’s rank in reported losses by state rose from 10th to 7th.

    Reports of cryptocurrency-related crimes jumped in Georgia by 122% (1590 in 2023 to 3533 in 2024). Estimated losses to cryptocurrency-related crimes in the state increased by 66 % ($118,750,468 in 2023 to $197,647,537 in 2024).

    The 2024 IC3 annual report can be found at IC3.gov.

    In the fight against increasingly savvy criminals, the FBI also relies on you. Without the information you report to us through IC3, we simply cannot piece together the puzzle of this ever-shifting threat landscape. If ever you suspect you’re a victim of cyber-enabled crime, do not hesitate to let us know. We want to be there for you, and what you report will help us help others.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Nasdaq and AWS Unlock New Era of Growth for Global Capital Markets with Next Generation Infrastructure Solutions

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Nasdaq and AWS announce modernization blueprint to drive the benefits of cloud into local market infrastructures through flexible deployment while maintaining data sovereignty and resilience

    As part of the modernization blueprint, Nasdaq is introducing a new brand for its complete suite of next generation marketplace technology solutions, Nasdaq Eqlipse, delivering cloud-ready capabilities and data intelligence across the full trade lifecycle

    Nasdaq’s Nordic markets first to adopt the blueprint alongside expanded modernization partnerships with Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Mexico’s Grupo BMV

    NEW YORK, SEATTLE, STOCKHOLM, JOHANNESBURG, and MEXICO CITY, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nasdaq and Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, today announced an advancement in their shared mission to modernize markets globally. Drawing on their deep experience and expertise in powering capital markets, the companies are introducing a new suite of solutions that empower market operators to enhance liquidity, facilitate capital flows, and drive growth, while upholding the highest level of performance, security and resilience.

    Today, market operators navigate unique complexities, including emerging technology acceleration, highly competitive environments, regulatory standards, and constantly evolving client needs. Yet, their ability to innovate and modernize at pace requires ever greater expertise and advanced technological capabilities. To address these challenges, Nasdaq and AWS are delivering infrastructure, software, data management and services to enable market operators to overcome modernization barriers cost effectively without compromising resiliency or control.

    The new blueprint, proven through Nasdaq’s successful market modernization with AWS, drives industry standards, dynamic and sustainable operations while promoting a more resilient financial ecosystem. In the long term, the blueprint can enhance investor confidence and connect capital, previously confined locally due to technological complexity, to global investment opportunities.

    “Local economies flourish when capital markets are robust, and global investors can confidently channel capital across borders. Conversely, a strong global economy is reliant on local markets that are highly dynamic, where innovators can scale, and capital can seamlessly connect. Powering both creates a virtuous cycle of value creation, driving economic growth and wealth generation,” said Adena Friedman, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Nasdaq. “The unique combination of Nasdaq’s technology expertise and AWS’s advanced infrastructure enables us to solve the industry’s most complex challenges that have hampered the growth and scalability of markets around the world. By reducing complicatedness, friction, and fragmentation we are fortifying the financial system with greater connectivity and resilience and enabling a new era of economic growth and prosperity.”

    “Building on our 15-year partnership, Nasdaq and AWS are furthering our shared vision to develop technology that simplifies and streamlines capital markets,” said Matt Garman, CEO at AWS. “Together, we are helping market operators provide seamless connectivity for markets and investors anywhere in the world, with a blueprint for modernization and innovation, and the ability to unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth in capital markets.”

    A blueprint for the next generation of markets with resilience and optionality

    The blueprint empowers market operators to execute their modernization strategies by optimizing their resource investments while focusing on operational excellence, enhancing competitive differentiation, satisfying their regulatory obligations, and driving innovation within their markets. The first three key components of the blueprint include:

    • Bringing together AWS, exchange, and trading participant infrastructure in close proximity to power global capital markets: Building on AWS’s high-performing, scalable infrastructure, as well as its deep expertise in operating cloud infrastructure, Nasdaq and AWS are offering a new solution for market operators that addresses resilience, security, proximity and latency demands by positioning AWS services, exchange and trading participant systems in a common location. For the first time, global market participants will have access to industry-leading compute services from AWS in close proximity to the core exchange complex and their own co-located trading systems. In addition, AWS will provide connectivity between this infrastructure and AWS’s Global Regions via the AWS Direct Connect service and the AWS global network, to provide low-latency, high bandwidth connectivity for global applications; all while enabling operators to retain overall control of their data.
    • Nasdaq Eqlipse, a next generation marketplace technology platform: Nasdaq Eqlipse seamlessly integrates client community feedback and Nasdaq’s development investments, including platform capabilities, application architecture, APIs and product integration. The solutions feature cloud-ready applications and globally standardized APIs with proven interoperability across the full trade lifecycle. Nasdaq’s marketplace technology solutions are already used by over 135 market infrastructure providers around the world for multi-asset trading, clearing, central securities depository and surveillance. Nasdaq Eqlipse will also include a new solution – Nasdaq Eqlipse Intelligence – designed to unlock the full potential of market operators’ data with modern, cloud-based data management, analytics and reporting capabilities that are specific to market operators’ workflows. These capabilities address the industry-wide opportunity to deploy AI at greater scale, recognizing its potential to transform how marketplaces operate.
    • A services deployment model: The modernization blueprint brings together the expertise and experience of Nasdaq and AWS through a new services deployment model. This provides market operators with access to both companies’ deep capital markets expertise to help reduce operational heavy lifting. Ultimately the services deployment model powered by AWS is designed to help market operators reduce transformation risks, allowing them to focus technology resources toward a growth-driven capital allocation strategy. Market operators will be able to augment and accelerate their path to modernization, while improving time-to-market for new releases and enhancing overall resilience.

    The blueprint delivers key benefits to market operators so that they can drive innovation; specifically:

    • Accelerate and de-risk modernization strategies for market operators by delivering an agile technology stack and globally standardized services and workflows that empower the market operators to focus on attracting liquidity from global investors.
    • Provide greater flexibility for both innovation and monetization for market operators by leveraging modern technology infrastructure to capitalize on the potential of AI, enhance their data and insight-based services, and develop new products and functionality to the benefit of all market participants.
    • Promote transparency, enhance liquidity and protect market integrity by strengthening trading, clearing, and settlement operations and reducing barriers for local, regional and global investors with secure access.

    The blueprint plans to use AWS’s global network and low-latency traffic routing to support frictionless, high-speed connections for markets and investors around the world. This connectivity will allow market participants to interact seamlessly and transparently across global exchanges with minimal latency, fostering globally inter-connected markets built on a common data lake architecture.

    Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Grupo BMV and Nasdaq’s Nordic markets modernize their ecosystems

    Nasdaq has expanded its modernization partnership with both Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Mexico’s Grupo BMV. Additionally, Nasdaq’s Nordic markets have today announced their intention to modernize their infrastructure in line with the blueprint.

    The JSE is collaborating with Nasdaq around the development of services for colocation, data intelligence and insights, and client interactions. The blueprint service deployment model will support the South African bourse’s technology enablement journey to modernize its technology, leverage edge computing infrastructure, explore AI to deliver innovative market solutions and drive operational efficiencies.

    Leila Fourie, Group CEO of the JSE, said: “This strategic collaboration is an extension of the long-standing relationship the JSE has with Nasdaq. The market infrastructure developed in partnership with Nasdaq and AWS will open the door to greater global market interconnectivity with minimal latency, which will support increased liquidity and capital flows between the US and South African capital markets. We will be setting new standards for the industry through innovation and technology that creates value for market participants.”

    Building on the market modernization efforts with Nasdaq, Grupo BMV is analyzing how it can build on its existing technology partnership across its clearing and central securities depository platforms by leveraging the services deployment model. They are also evaluating the long-term potential for cloud infrastructure in Mexico and its ability to create a robust, high-integrity ecosystem that reduces barriers to market participation, enhances operational efficiency, and accelerates the adoption of emerging technologies across the Mexican financial landscape.

    Jorge Alegría, Chief Executive Officer, Grupo BMV, said: “Our post-trade technology infrastructure is undergoing a transformative evolution, with Nasdaq playing a pivotal role as our enabling partner, as we look toward the next decade. We are committed to driving innovation, enhancing operational efficiency and proactively addressing the evolving needs of our local and international customers.”

    In line with the blueprint, Nasdaq plans to incorporate the managed infrastructure model within its Nordic markets. Starting with the Nordic derivatives market, Nasdaq will be able to provide additional services to clients, powered by AWS infrastructure which allows Nasdaq’s clients to rapidly scale their GPU usage within Nasdaq’s own data center in Väsby, Sweden and harness cloud services to innovate faster.

    Roland Chai, President of European Market Services, Nasdaq, said: “The success of Nasdaq’s Nordic markets has demonstrated the extraordinary power of modern market infrastructure to attract international sources of capital. Incorporating AWS’s advanced cloud infrastructure is expected to elevate our markets on the global stage and help to power the next generation of growth across Europe.”

    These advancements will be made in close consultation with the respective regulatory authorities and are subject to relevant approvals.

    About Nasdaq

    Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions, and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.

    About Amazon Web Services

    Since 2006, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any workload, and it now has more than 240 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, media, and application development, deployment, and management from 114 Availability Zones within 36 geographic regions, with announced plans for 12 more Availability Zones and four more AWS Regions in New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.

    About Amazon

    Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

    About the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

    The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has a well-established history of operating as a marketplace for trading financial products. It is a pioneering, globally connected exchange group that enables inclusive economic growth through trusted, world-class, socially responsible products, and services for the investor of the future. It offers secure and efficient primary and secondary capital markets across a diverse range of securities, spanning equities, derivatives, and debt markets. It prides itself on being the market of choice for local and international investors looking to gain exposure to leading capital markets on the African continent.

    The JSE is currently ranked in the Top 20 largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization, and is the largest stock exchange in Africa, having been in operation for 137 years. As a leading global exchange, the JSE co-creates unlocks value & makes real connections happen. www.jse.co.za

    About Grupo BMV

    The Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV: BOLSAA) is a fully integrated group with more than 130 years of experience, enabling Mexico’s securities and derivatives markets. It consists of a network of leading companies providing services in capital markets, derivatives, debt, post-trade solutions, data and analytics, as well as a range of value-added services. For more details, visit www.bmv.com.mx.

    Media Contacts

    Nasdaq: Emily Pan; Emily.Pan@nasdaq.com; +1 646 637 3964
    AWS: Naomi Little; njlittle@amazon.com; +1 771 233 2089
    JSE: Pheliswa Mayekiso; pheliswam@jse.co.za; +27 84 4860502
    Grupo BMV: Alberto Maya; amaya@grupobmv.com.mx; +52-55-5342-9000

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

    Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “will” and “can” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the benefits of products and services delivered in line with the modernization blueprint, application and availability of products and services in regulated environments, and Nasdaq’s partnership with AWS. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq’s control. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in Nasdaq’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq’s investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    – NDAQF-

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the Quarter October-December, 2024

    Source: Government of India

    Ministry of Communications

    “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the Quarter October-December, 2024

    Posted On: 24 APR 2025 3:46PM by PIB Delhi

    TRAI today has released the “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the Quarter ending 31st December, 2024. This Report provides a broad perspective of the Telecom Services in India and presents the key parameters and growth trends of the Telecom Services as well as Cable TV, DTH & Radio Broadcasting services in India for the period covering 1st October, 2024 to 31st December, 2024 compiled mainly on the basis of information furnished by the Service Providers.

    Executive Summary of the Report is enclosed. The complete Report is available on TRAI’s website (www.trai.gov.in and under the link http://www. trai.gov.in/release-publication/reports/performance-indicators-reports). Any suggestion or any clarification pertaining to this report, Shri Vijay Kumar, Advisor (F&EA), TRAI may be contacted on Tel. +91-20907773 and e-mail: advfea1@trai.gov.in.

    The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators

    October–December, 2024

    Executive Summary

     

    1. Total number of Internet subscribers decreased from 971.50 million at the end of Sep-24 to 970.16 million at the end of Dec-24, registering a quarterly rate of decline 0.14%. Out of 970.16 million internet subscribers, number of Wired Internet subscribers are 41.21 million and number of Wireless Internet subscribers are 928.96 million.

    Composition of internet subscription

     

     

    1. The Internet subscriber base is comprised of Broadband Internet subscriber base of 944.96 million and Narrowband Internet subscriber base of 25.20 million.
    2. The broadband Internet subscriber base increased by 0.06% from 944.39 million at the end of Sep-24 to 944.96 million at the end of Dec-24. The narrowband Internet subscriber base decreased from 27.11 million at the end of Sep-24 to 25.20 million at the end of Dec-24.
    1. Wireline subscribers increased from 36.93 million at the end of Sep-24 to 39.27 million at the end of Dec-24 with a quarterly rate of growth 6.32% and, on Y-O-Y basis, wireline subscriptions also increased by 23.32% at the end of QE Dec-24.
    2. Wireline Tele-density increased from 2.63% at the end of Sep-24 to 2.79% at the end of Dec-24 with quarterly rate of growth 6.09%.
    3. Monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for wireless service increased by 5.34%, from Rs.172.57 in QE Sep-24 to Rs.181.80 in QE Dec-24. On Y-O-Y basis, monthly ARPU for wireless service increased by 19.17% in this quarter.
    1. The ARPU per month for the pre-paid segment is Rs.180.91 and for the post-paid segment is Rs.191.51 in Q.E. Dec-2024.                               
    2. On an all-India average, the overall MOU per month Increased by 3.62% from 974 in Q.E. Sep 2024 to 1009 in Q.E. Dec 2024. 
    1. Prepaid MOU per subscriber is 1053 and Postpaid MOU per subscriber per month is 526 in QE Dec-24.
    1. Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of Telecom Service Sector for the Q.E. Dec-24 has been Rs.96,390 Crore, Rs.92,342 crore and Rs.77,934 Crore respectively.  GR increased by 5.43%, ApGR increased by 4.65% and AGR increased by 3.48% in Q.E. Dec-24, as compared to previous quarter. 
    1. The Y-O-Y rate of growth in GR, ApGR and AGR in Q.E. Dec-24 over the same quarter in last year has been 14.07%, 13.86% and 14.89% respectively.
    1. Pass Through Charges increased from Rs.12,926 Crore in QE Sep-24 to Rs.14,410 Crore in QE Dec-24 with quarterly rate of growth by 11.48%. The Y-O-Y rate of growth 7.12% has been recorded in pass-through charges for QE Dec-24.
    2. The License Fee increased from Rs.6,023 Crore for the QE Sep-24 to Rs.6,234 Crore for the QE Dec-24. The quarterly and the  Y-O-Y rates of growth in license fees are 3.50% and 14.75% respectively in this quarter.       

     

    Service-wise composition of Adjusted Gross Revenue

     

    1. Access services contributed 84.35% of the total Adjusted Gross Revenue of telecom services. In Access services, Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR), Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), License Fee, Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) and Pass Through Charges increased by 4.87%, 4.52%, 4.30%, 4.28%, 4.62% and 5.96% respectively in QE Dec-24.
    2. The number of telephone subscribers in India decreased from 1,190.66 million at the end of Sep-24 to 1,189.92 million at the end of Dec-24, registering a rate of decline 0.06% over the previous quarter. This reflects Year-On-Year (Y-O-Y) rate of decline 0.03% over the same quarter of the last year. The overall Tele-density in India decreased from 84.69% as in QE Sep-24 to 84.45% as in QE Dec-24.

     

    Trends in Telephone subscribers and Tele-density in India

     

    1. Telephone subscribers in Urban areas increased from 662.15 million at the end of Sep-24 to 662.72 million at the end of Dec-24 however Urban Tele-density decreased from 131.86% to 131.37% during the same period.
    2. Rural telephone subscribers decreased from 528.51 million at the end of Sep-24 to 527.20 million at the end of Dec-24 and Rural Tele-density also decreased from 58.48% to 58.29% during the same period.
    1. Out of the total subscription, the share of Rural subscription decreased from 44.39% at the end of Sep-24 to 44.31% at the end of Dec-24.

    Composition of Telephone Subscribers

       

    1. With a net loss of 3.07 million subscribers during the quarter, the total wireless subscriber base decreased from 1153.72 million at the end of Sep-24 to 1150.66 million at the end of Dec-24, registering a rate of decline 0.27% over the previous quarter. On Y-O-Y basis, wireless subscriptions decreased at the rate of 0.68% during the year.  
    2. Wireless Tele-density decreased from 82.07% at the end of Sep-24 to 81.67% at the end of Dec-24 with quarterly rate of decline of 0.49%.
    1. During this quarter, the following parameters in terms of QoS benchmarks have been fully complied by wireline service providers: –
      1. Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (90th percentile value) ≤ 0.5%
    2. During this quarter, list of QoS parameters which are fully complied by all the Access Service (Wireless) providers in all the LSAs: –

     

    S.No.

    Parameter

    Benchmark

    1

    Percentage of significant network outage (services not available in a district for more than 4 hours) reported to the Authority within 24 hrs of start of the outage

    100%

    2

    Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (90th percentile value)

    ≤ 0.5%

    3

    Latency (in 4G and 5G network)

    ≤ 75 msec

    4

    Packet Drop Rate (in 4G and 5G network)

    ≤ 3%

    5

    Billing and charging complaints

    ≤ 0.1%

    6

    Application of adjustment to customer’s account within one week from the date of resolution of billing and charging complaints or rectification of faults or rectification of significant network outage, as applicable

    100%

    7

     Accessibility of call centre/ customer care

    ≥ 95%

    8

    Termination/ closure of service within seven working days of receipt of customer’s request

    100%

    9

    Refund of deposits within 45 days of closure of service or non-provisioning of service

    100%
    1. A total of approximately 914 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for uplinking only/downlinking only/both uplinking & downlinking.  
    2. As per the reporting done by broadcasters in pursuance of the Tariff Order dated 3rd March 2017, as amended, out of 904 permitted satellite TV channels which are available for downlinking in India, there are 362 satellite pay TV channels as on 31st December, 2024. Out of 362 pay channels, 258 are SD satellite pay TV channels and 104 are HD satellite pay TV channels.  
    3. During the QE 31st December 2024, there were 4 pay DTH service providers in the country.
    1. Pay DTH has attained total active subscriber base of around 58.22 million. This is in addition to the subscribers of the DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan). The total active subscriber base has decreased from 59.91 million in September 2024 to 58.22 million in December 2024.
    2. Apart from the radio channels operated by All India Radio – the public broadcaster, as per the data reported by FM Radio operators to TRAI, as on 31st December 2024, there are 388 operational private FM Radio channels in 113 cities operated by 36 private FM Radio operators. As compared to the previous quarter, there is no change in the number of operational private FM Radio channels, cities and FM Radio operators.
    1. The advertisement revenue reported by FM Radio operators during the quarter ending 31st December 2024 in respect of 388 private FM Radio channels is Rs.500.11 crore as against Rs.423.52 crore in respect of 388 private FM Radio channels for the previous quarter. 
    1. As on 31st December, 2024, 529 Community Radio stations are operational.

    SNAPSHOT

    (Data as on Q.E. 31st December, 2024)

    Telecom Subscribers (Wireless+Wireline)

    Total Subscribers

    1189.92 Million

    % change over the previous quarter

    -0.06%

    Urban Subscribers

    662.72 Million

    Rural Subscribers

    527.20 Million

    Market share of Private Operators

    91.45%

    Market share of PSU Operators

    8.55%

    Tele-density

    84.45%

    Urban Tele-density

    131.37%

    Rural Tele-density

    58.29%

    Wireless Subscribers

    Total Wireless Subscribers

    1,150.66 Million

    % change over the previous quarter

    -0.27%

    Urban Subscribers

    626.43 Million

    Rural Subscribers

    524.23 Million

    Market share of Private Operators

    91.92%

    Market share of PSU Operators

    8.08%

    Tele-density

    81.67%

    Urban Tele-density

    124.18%

    Rural Tele-density

    57.96%

    Total Wireless Data Usage during the quarter

    56,975 PB

    Number of Public Mobile Radio Trunk Services (PMRTS)

    65,996

    Number of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT)

    2,52,612

    Wireline Subscribers

    Total Wireline Subscribers

    39.27 Million

    % change over the previous quarter

    6.32%

    Urban Subscribers

    36.29 Million

    Rural Subscribers

    2.98 Million

    Market share of PSU Operators

    22.23%

    Market share of Private Operators

    77.77%

    Tele-density

    2.79%

    Rural Tele-density

    0.33%

    Urban Tele-density

    7.19%

    No. of Village Public Telephones (VPT)

                68,606

     

    No. of Public Call Office (PCO)

             13,442

     

    Telecom Financial Data

    Gross Revenue (GR) during the quarter

    Rs. 96,390/- crore

    % change in GR over the previous quarter

    5.43%

    Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) during quarter

    Rs. 92,342/- crore

    % change in ApGR over the previous quarter

    4.65%

    Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) during the quarter

    Rs.77,934/- crore

    % change in AGR over the previous quarter

    3.48%

    Share of Public sector undertakings in Access AGR

    3.72%
     

    Internet/Broadband Subscribers

    Total Internet Subscribers

    970.16 Million

    % change over previous quarter

    -0.14%

    Narrowband subscribers

    25.20 Million

    Broadband subscribers

    944.96 Million

    Wired Internet Subscribers

    41.21 Million

    Wireless Internet Subscribers

    928.96 Million

    Urban Internet Subscribers

    563.19 Million

    Rural Internet Subscribers

    406.97 Million

     

    M

    Total Internet Subscribers per 100 population

    68.86

    Urban Internet Subscribers per 100 population

    111.64

    Rural Internet Subscribers per 100 population

    44.99

    Total Outgoing Minutes of Usage for Internet Telephony

    87.53 Million

    No. of Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

    46,878

    Aggregate Data Consumed (TB) for Wi-Fi Hotspots

    15,714

    Broadcasting & Cable Services

    Number of private satellite TV channels permitted by the Ministry of I&B for uplinking only/downlinking only/both uplinking and downlinking

    914

    Number of Pay TV Channels as reported by broadcasters

    362

    Number of private FM Radio Stations (excluding All India Radio)

    388

    Number of total active subscribers with pay DTH operators

    58.22 Million

    Number of Operational Community Radio Stations

    529

    Number of pay DTH Operators

    4

    Revenue & Usage Parameters

    Monthly ARPU of Wireless Service

    Rs.181.80

    Minutes of Usage (MOU) per subscriber per month – Wireless Service

    1009

    Wireless Data Usage

    Average Wireless Data Usage per wireless data subscriber per month

    21.52 GB

    Average revenue realization per GB for wireless data usage during the quarter

    Rs.9.34

    ****************

    Samrat

    (Release ID: 2124056)

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI: MEXC Leads Q1 Market Share Gains with Highest Growth in Both Spot and Derivatives

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — While the global crypto market experienced a sharp downturn in Q1 2025, MEXC, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, bucked the trend with significant gains in both spot and derivatives market share, according to the latest reports from TokenInsight and CoinGecko.

    Market Share Growth Despite Industry Decline
    According to TokenInsight’s Q1 2025 Exchange Report, MEXC was one of the few major centralized exchanges (CEXs) to grow its presence while the total market saw a 12.53% decline in trading volume, dropping to $23 trillion.

    MEXC increased its market share from 12.47% to 13.06% quarter-over-quarter. On the spot market, the exchange saw the largest increase in market share among all major CEXs, growing by 1.7% — a standout performance in a quarter marked by declining investor activity.

    Leading the Charge in Derivatives
    MEXC’s most notable performance was in the derivatives segment, where it posted a 4.3% increase, jumping from 8.2% to 12.5% market share, according to TokenInsight. This marks the largest gain among all top 10 derivatives exchanges, as other major players struggled with declining volumes and heightened market uncertainty.

    Outperforming in a Shrinking Spot Market
    While CoinGecko’s report showed spot trading volumes across centralized exchanges fell by 16.3% to $5.4 trillion in Q1 2025, MEXC gained ground, outperforming most peers and reinforcing its position as one of the fastest-growing CEXs globally.

    This performance came at a time when high-risk assets lost investor favor and speculative trading declined sharply. MEXC’s consistent growth highlights its reputation for reliability, market responsiveness, and user-focused innovation.

    Exchange Stability Amid Market Turmoil
    Following major security incidents in Q1 — traders increasingly migrated toward secure, stable platforms. MEXC capitalized on this trend, with both trading volume and user adoption increasing as confidence in competitor platforms waned.

    Looking Ahead: Innovation & Resilience
    With geopolitical tensions and regulatory changes continuing to influence global markets, MEXC remains committed to expanding its DeFi product suite, embracing regulatory clarity, and delivering early access to emerging trends and tokens. Its unique approach to agile listings and risk-managed derivatives makes it a standout performer in a maturing exchange landscape.

    About MEXC
    Founded in 2018, MEXC is dedicated to being “Your Easiest Way to Crypto.” Known for its extensive selection of trending tokens, airdrop opportunities, and low fees, MEXC serves over 36 million users across 170+ countries. With a focus on accessibility and efficiency, our advanced trading platform appeals to both new traders and seasoned investors alike. MEXC provides a seamless, secure, and rewarding gateway to the world of digital assets.

    For more information, visit: MEXC Website | X | Telegram | How to Sign Up on MEXC
    For media inquiries, please contact MEXC PR Manager Lucia Hu: lucia.hu@mexc.com

    Source

    Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by MEXC. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/16be0302-fe0c-49f4-b0e6-de9579836f35

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b9a38aee-5e35-4f9a-b0bf-a8520271a30b

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/268cd93e-4332-488d-a759-d3c85faa0b38

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e248ad9f-2cf5-474c-b891-ac3e1a1927ce

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Apr 24, 2025 Day 4-8 Severe Weather Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Day 4-8 Severe Weather Outlook Issued on Apr 24, 2025

    Updated: Thu Apr 24 08:49:02 UTC 2025

     .

    D4
    Sun, Apr 27, 2025 – Mon, Apr 28, 2025
    D7
    Wed, Apr 30, 2025 – Thu, May 01, 2025

    D5
    Mon, Apr 28, 2025 – Tue, Apr 29, 2025
    D8
    Thu, May 01, 2025 – Fri, May 02, 2025

    D6
    Tue, Apr 29, 2025 – Wed, Apr 30, 2025
    (All days are valid from 12 UTC – 12 UTC the following day)

    Note: A severe weather area depicted in the Day 4-8 period indicates 15%, 30% or higher probability for severe thunderstorms within 25 miles of any point.

    PREDICTABILITY TOO LOW is used to indicate severe storms may be possible based on some model scenarios. However, the location or occurrence of severe storms are in doubt due to: 1) large differences in the deterministic model solutions, 2) large spread in the ensemble guidance, and/or 3) minimal run-to-run continuity.

    POTENTIAL TOO LOW means the threat for a regional area of organized severe storms appears unlikely (i.e., less than 15%) for the forecast day.

     Forecast Discussion

    ZCZC SPCSWOD48 ALL
    ACUS48 KWNS 240847
    SPC AC 240847

    Day 4-8 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    0347 AM CDT Thu Apr 24 2025

    Valid 271200Z – 021200Z

    …DISCUSSION…
    …Day 4/Sun – Great Plains…

    An upper trough over the southwestern U.S. early Sunday will develop
    east, becoming oriented from the central Rockies to the Lower CO
    Valley by Monday morning. As the trough develops east, a band of
    enhanced southwesterly mid/upper flow will overspread NM northeast
    to the Dakotas. A lee surface cyclone will deepen over western
    SD/NE, eventually shifting east into eastern SD by early Monday.
    Southerly low-level flow will transport Gulf moisture northward
    across the Plains as a dryline sharpens over western portions of the
    Plains. An EML should limit diurnal thunderstorm activity, though an
    isolated supercell can not be ruled out somewhere along the dryline
    from western SD southward into west TX. As a 50-60 kt low-level jet
    develops overnight, elevated convection may develop near the surface
    low over parts of SD/ND. This activity could pose a risk for hail,
    but uncertainty precludes 15 percent probabilities at this time.

    …Day 5/Mon – Southern Plains to Upper Midwest…

    A shortwave trough embedded within the larger-scale western U.S.
    upper trough will eject from the central Rockies to the Upper
    Midwest on Monday. The southern branch of the western upper trough
    will stall over the Four Corners vicinity, but a broad swath of
    50-80 kt 500 mb southwesterly flow will extend from the southern
    Plains to the upper Great Lakes. A surface low will shift east
    across the Upper MS Valley, with a trailing cold front moving across
    the northern/central Plains into WI/IA during the afternoon and
    overnight hours. A dryline also will extend southwest from
    northeast/central KS into western OK/northwest TX.

    Rich Gulf moisture will be transported northward on increasing
    southerly low-level flow ahead of the aforementioned surface
    features. Moderate to strong destabilization is forecast from OK
    northeast into IA and adjacent parts of southern MN/southwest WI.
    Supercell wind profiles amid this very moist/unstable airmass will
    support an all-hazards severe risk. The greatest risk should be
    centered on IA and adjacent areas from extreme northeast KS into
    southeast MN/southwest WI, where an intense low-level jet is
    expected to develop by late afternoon/early evening.

    With southwest extent across eastern KS into OK, and northwest TX,
    convective coverage is less certain as capping my limit severe
    thunderstorm development. Current model trends hanging back the
    southern branch of the upper trough also suggests large-scale ascent
    will be weaker across the region, resulting in a more difficult time
    overcoming capping. Higher probabilities may be needed in subsequent
    outlooks if trends suggest capping will be less of a hindrance.

    …Day 6/Tue – North TX into southern Lower MI and OH…

    Severe potential will continue into Tuesday, especially from the
    Mid-MS Valley into Lower MI/OH where the surface cold front is
    expected to continue pushing east/southeast through the period.
    While the upper shortwave trough over the Great Lakes will deamplify
    through the day, enhanced southwesterly flow atop the frontal
    boundary and a moist/unstable airmass should continue to support
    severe thunderstorm organization in the form of clusters and line
    segments.

    With southwest extent into AR/eastern OK/north TX, large-scale
    ascent will become weaker. However, persistent warm advection in the
    vicinity of a stalled boundary, and potential secondary surface low
    development should foster strong/severe thunderstorm activity.

    …Days 7-8/Wed-Thu… OK/TX into the Lower MS Valley…

    Forecast guidance shows the southwestern U.S. upper trough ejecting
    across the southern Plains and Lower MS Valley by the end of the
    forecast period. This could bring severe thunderstorm potential to
    these regions (OK/TX on Wed, ArkLaTex/Lower MS Valley on Thu).
    However, several periods of thunderstorm activity leading into
    Wednesday and large surface pattern differences among medium range
    guidance precludes introduction of severe probabilities at this
    time.

    ..Leitman.. 04/24/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS48 PTSD48 PRODUCT

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: WTW Reports First Quarter 2025 Earnings

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Revenue1decreased 5% over prior year to $2.2 billion for the quarter due to the sale of TRANZACT
    • Organic Revenue growth of 5% for the quarter
    • Diluted Earnings per Share was $2.33 for the quarter, up 27% over prior year
    • Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share was $3.13 for the quarter, comparable to prior year2
    • Operating Margin was 19.4% for the quarter, up 740 basis points over prior year
    • Adjusted Operating Margin was 21.6% for the quarter, up 100 basis points from prior year2

    LONDON, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) (the “Company”), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    “We had a solid start to the year, delivering results in line with our expectations and making strong progress on our strategy to accelerate our performance, enhance our efficiency and optimize our portfolio,” said Carl Hess, WTW’s chief executive officer. “We are well-positioned to help our clients navigate economic uncertainty and highly focused on driving continued growth and margin expansion, and we are confident in our outlook. I’m proud of our team’s dedication and look forward to achieving our strategic and financial goals together.”

    Consolidated Results

    As reported, USD millions, except %

    Key Metrics Q1-25 Q1-242 Y/Y Change
    Revenue1 $2,223 $2,341 Reported (5)% | CC (4)% | Organic 5%
    Income from Operations $432 $280 54%
    Operating Margin % 19.4% 12.0% 740 bps
    Adjusted Operating Income $480 $483 (1)%
    Adjusted Operating Margin % 21.6% 20.6% 100 bps
    Net Income $239 $194 23%
    Adjusted Net Income $316 $325 (3)%
    Diluted EPS $2.33 $1.83 27%
    Adjusted Diluted EPS $3.13 $3.13 0%
    1 The revenue amounts included in this release are presented on a U.S. GAAP basis except where stated otherwise. The segment discussion is on an organic basis.
    2 Refer to “WTW Non-GAAP Measures” below and the Q1-25 Supplemental Slides for recast of historical Non-GAAP measures.
       

    Revenue was $2.22 billion for the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 5% as compared to $2.34 billion for the same period in the prior year. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, revenue decreased 4%. On an organic basis, revenue increased 5%. See Supplemental Segment Information for additional detail on book-of-business settlements and interest income included in revenue.

    Net Income for the first quarter of 2025 was $239 million compared to Net Income of $194 million in the prior-year first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $532 million, or 23.9% of revenue, a decrease of 3%, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $546 million, or 23.3% of revenue, in the prior-year first quarter. The U.S. GAAP tax rate for the first quarter was 21.5%, and the adjusted income tax rate for the first quarter used in calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share was 22.7%.

    Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

    Cash flows used in operating activities were $35 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to cash flows from operating activities of $24 million for the prior year. Free cash flow for the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $(86) million and $(36) million, respectively, a decrease of $50 million, primarily driven by the absence of cash collections related to TRANZACT, which the Company sold on December 31, 2024, and increased compensation payments in the current-year quarter as compared to the prior-year quarter. During the quarter ended March 31, 2025, the Company repurchased 607,221 of its outstanding shares for $200 million.

    First Quarter 2025 Segment Highlights

    Health, Wealth & Career (“HWC”)

    As reported, USD millions, except %

    Health, Wealth & Career Q1-25 Q1-24 Y/Y Change
    Total Revenue $1,165 $1,336 Reported (13)% | CC (12)% | Organic 3%
    Operating Income $311 $336 (7)%
    Operating Margin % 26.7% 25.1% 160 bps
           

    The HWC segment had revenue of $1.17 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 13% (12% decrease constant currency and organic growth of 3%) from $1.34 billion in the prior year. Health delivered organic revenue growth in all regions driven by solid client retention, new business and geographic expansion. Wealth generated organic revenue growth from higher levels of Retirement work in Europe and International, alongside growth in our Investments business due to the success of our LifeSight solution and capital market improvements. Career had modest revenue growth as increased advisory work was tempered by some postponements amid economic uncertainty. Benefits Delivery & Outsourcing revenue grew primarily from increased project and core administration work.

    Operating margins in the HWC segment increased 160 basis points from the prior-year first quarter to 26.7%, primarily due to the sale of TRANZACT and savings from the Transformation program. Please refer to the Supplemental Slides for TRANZACT’s standalone historical financial results.

    Risk & Broking (“R&B”)

    As reported, USD millions, except %

    Risk & Broking Q1-25 Q1-24 Y/Y Change
    Total Revenue $1,027 $978 Reported 5% | CC 7% | Organic 7%
    Operating Income $226 $203 11%
    Operating Margin % 22.0% 20.8% 120 bps
           

    The R&B segment had revenue of $1.03 billion in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 5% (7% increase constant currency and organic) from $978 million in the prior year. Corporate Risk & Broking (CRB) had organic revenue growth driven by higher levels of new business activity and strong client retention globally. Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT) had organic revenue growth for the quarter driven by the Consulting and Technology practices.

    Operating margins in the R&B segment increased 120 basis points from the prior-year first quarter to 22.0%, due primarily to operating leverage driven by strong organic revenue growth and savings from the Transformation program which were partially offset by headwinds from decreased interest income and foreign currency fluctuations.

    Select 2025 Financial Considerations

    Changes to Non-GAAP financial measures:

    • All reported non-GAAP metrics will exclude non-cash net periodic pension and postretirement benefits
    • Free cash flow and free cash flow margin will capture cash outflows for capitalized software costs
    • Refer to Supplemental Slides for recast of historical Non-GAAP measures

    Business mix:

    • TRANZACT business, which contributed $1.14 to adjusted diluted earnings per share in 2024, is no longer part of the business portfolio following the completion of the TRANZACT sale in the fourth quarter of 2024
    • Reinsurance joint venture with Bain Capital expected to be a headwind on adjusted diluted earnings per share of approximately $0.25 to $0.35

    Free cash flow:

    • Expect cash outflows in 2025 from the payment of accrued costs related to the Transformation program which concluded in 2024
    • Cash taxes related to receipt of earnout from reinsurance divestiture will be classified as Cash Flows from Operating Activities on Statement of Cash Flows

    Capital allocation:

    • Expect share repurchases of ~$1.5 billion, subject to market conditions and potential capital allocation to organic and inorganic investment opportunities

    Foreign exchange:

    • Expect a foreign currency impact on adjusted diluted earnings per share to be neutral in 2025 at today’s rates

    Adjusted operating margin outlook:

    • ~100 basis points of average annual margin expansion over next 3 years in R&B
    • Incremental annual margin expansion at HWC and enterprise levels

    The 2025 Financial Considerations above include Non-GAAP financial measures. We do not reconcile forward-looking Non-GAAP measures for reasons explained under “WTW Non-GAAP Measures” below.

    Conference Call

    The Company will host a live webcast and conference call to discuss the financial results for the first quarter 2025. It will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available on WTW’s website here. The conference call will include a question-and-answer session. To participate in the question-and-answer session, please register here. An online replay will be available at www.wtwco.com shortly after the call concludes.

    About WTW

    At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance. Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you. Learn more at www.wtwco.com.

    WTW Non-GAAP Measures

    In order to assist readers of our consolidated financial statements in understanding the core operating results that WTW’s management uses to evaluate the business and for financial planning, we present the following non-GAAP measures: (1) Constant Currency Change, (2) Organic Change, (3) Adjusted Operating Income/Margin, (4) Adjusted EBITDA/Margin, (5) Adjusted Net Income, (6) Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, (7) Adjusted Income Before Taxes, (8) Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate, (9) Free Cash Flow and (10) Free Cash Flow Margin.

    We believe that those measures are relevant and provide pertinent information widely used by analysts, investors and other interested parties in our industry to provide a baseline for evaluating and comparing our operating performance, and in the case of free cash flow, our liquidity results.

    Within the measures referred to as ‘adjusted’, we adjust for significant items which will not be settled in cash, or which we believe to be items that are not core to our current or future operations. Some of these items may not be applicable for the current quarter, however they may be part of our full-year results. Additionally, we have historically adjusted for certain items which are not described below, but for which we may adjust in a future period when applicable. Items applicable to the quarter or full year results, or the comparable periods, include the following:

    • Restructuring costs and transaction and transformation – Management believes it is appropriate to adjust for restructuring costs and transaction and transformation when they relate to a specific significant program with a defined set of activities and costs that are not expected to continue beyond a defined period of time, or significant acquisition-related transaction expenses. We believe the adjustment is necessary to present how the Company is performing, both now and in the future when the incurrence of these costs will have concluded.
    • Gains and losses on disposals of operations – Adjustment to remove the gains or losses resulting from disposed operations that have not been classified as discontinued operations.
    • Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits – Adjustment to remove the recognition of net periodic pension and postretirement benefits (including pension settlements), other than service costs. We have included this adjustment as applicable in our prior-period disclosures in order to conform to the current-period presentation.

    We evaluate our revenue on an as reported (U.S. GAAP), constant currency and organic basis. We believe presenting constant currency and organic information provides valuable supplemental information regarding our comparable results, consistent with how we evaluate our performance internally.

    We consider Constant Currency Change, Organic Change, Adjusted Operating Income/Margin, Adjusted EBITDA/Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, Adjusted Income Before Taxes, Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate and Free Cash Flow to be important financial measures, which are used to internally evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating and liquidity results against our competitors. These non-GAAP measures are important in illustrating what our comparable operating and liquidity results would have been had we not incurred transaction-related and non-recurring items. Reconciliations of these measures are included in the accompanying tables with the following exception: The Company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures, due to variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and/or certain information not being ascertainable or accessible; and because not all of the information, such as foreign currency impacts necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is available to the Company without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. The Company provides non-GAAP financial measures that it believes will be achieved, however it cannot accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted calculations and the U.S. GAAP measures may be materially different than the non-GAAP measures.

    Our non-GAAP measures and their accompanying definitions are presented as follows:

    Constant Currency Change – Represents the year-over-year change in revenue excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. To calculate this impact, the prior year local currency results are first translated using the current year monthly average exchange rates. The change is calculated by comparing the prior year revenue, translated at the current year monthly average exchange rates, to the current year as reported revenue, for the same period. We believe constant currency measures provide useful information to investors because they provide transparency to performance by excluding the effects that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations have on period-over-period comparability given volatility in foreign currency exchange markets.

    Organic Change – Excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, as described above and the period-over-period impact of acquisitions and divestitures on current-year revenue. We believe that excluding transaction-related items from our U.S. GAAP financial measures provides useful supplemental information to our investors, and it is important in illustrating what our core operating results would have been had we not included these transaction-related items, since the nature, size and number of these transaction-related items can vary from period to period.

    Adjusted Operating Income/Margin – Income from operations adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted operating income margin is calculated by dividing adjusted operating income by revenue. We consider adjusted operating income/margin to be important financial measures, which are used internally to evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating results against our competitors.

    Adjusted EBITDA/Margin – Net Income adjusted for provision for income taxes, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by revenue. We consider adjusted EBITDA/margin to be important financial measures, which are used internally to evaluate and assess our core operations, to benchmark our operating results against our competitors and to evaluate and measure our performance-based compensation plans.

    Adjusted Net Income – Net Income Attributable to WTW adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results and the related tax effect of those adjustments and the tax effects of internal reorganizations. This measure is used solely for the purpose of calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share.

    Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share – Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares, diluted. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is used to internally evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating results against our competitors.

    Adjusted Income Before Taxes – Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted income before taxes is used solely for the purpose of calculating the adjusted income tax rate.

    Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate – Provision for income taxes adjusted for taxes on certain items of amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, the tax effects of significant adjustments and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results, divided by adjusted income before taxes. Adjusted income taxes is used solely for the purpose of calculating the adjusted income tax rate. Management believes that the adjusted income tax rate presents a rate that is more closely aligned to the rate that we would incur if not for the reduction of pre-tax income for the adjusted items and the tax effects of internal reorganizations, which are not core to our current and future operations.

    Free Cash Flow – Cash flows from operating activities less cash used to purchase fixed assets and software. Free Cash Flow is a liquidity measure and is not meant to represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. Management believes that free cash flow presents the core operating performance and cash-generating capabilities of our business operations. As a result of our change in presentation, free cash flow for the prior period has been adjusted to conform to the current period, which includes the deduction of our capitalized software costs.

    Free Cash Flow Margin – Free Cash Flow as a percentage of revenue, which represents how much of revenue would be realized on a cash basis. We consider this measure to be a meaningful metric for tracking cash conversion on a year-over-year basis due to the non-cash nature of our pension income, which is included in our GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings metrics presented herein.

    These non-GAAP measures are not defined in the same manner by all companies and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the information contained within our condensed consolidated financial statements.

    WTW Forward-Looking Statements

    This document contains ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including such things as: our outlook; the potential impact of natural or man-made disasters like health pandemics and other world health crises; future capital expenditures; ongoing working capital efforts; future share repurchases; financial results (including our revenue, costs or margins) and the impact of changes to tax laws on our financial results; existing and evolving business strategies including those related to acquisition and disposition; demand for our services and competitive strengths; strategic goals; the benefits of new initiatives; growth of our business and operations; the sustained health of our product, service, transaction, client, and talent assessment and management pipelines; our ability to successfully manage ongoing leadership, organizational and technology changes, including investments in improving systems and processes; our ability to implement and realize anticipated benefits of any cost-savings initiatives generated from our now-completed multi-year operational transformation program or other expense savings initiatives; our recognition of future impairment charges; and plans and references to future successes, including our future financial and operating results, short-term and long-term financial goals, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, including with respect to free cash flow generation, adjusted net revenue, adjusted operating margin and adjusted earnings per share, are forward-looking statements. Also, when we use words such as ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘continues’, ‘seek’, ‘target’, ‘goal’, ‘focus’, ‘probably’, or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking disclosure is speculative by its nature.

    There are important risks, uncertainties, events and factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, including the following: our ability to successfully establish, execute and achieve our global business strategy as it evolves; our ability to fully realize the anticipated benefits of our growth strategy, including inorganic growth through acquisitions; our ability to achieve our short-term and long-term financial goals, such as with respect to our cash flow generation, and the timing with respect to such achievement; the risks related to changes in general economic conditions, business and political conditions, changes in the financial markets, inflation, credit availability, increased interest rates, changes in trade policies, increased tariffs and retaliatory actions; the risks to our short-term and long-term financial goals from any of the risks or uncertainties set forth herein; the risks relating to the adverse impacts of macroeconomic trends, including those relating to changes in trade policies and tariffs, as well as political events, war, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, and other international disputes, terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues and other business interruptions on the global economy and capital markets, such as uncertainty in the global markets, inflation, changes in interest rates and recessionary trends, changes in spending by government agencies and contractors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and long-term goals; our ability to successfully hedge against fluctuations in foreign currency rates; the risks relating to the adverse impacts of natural or man-made disasters such as health pandemics and other world health crises on the demand for our products and services, our cash flows and our business operations; material interruptions to or loss of our information processing capabilities, or failure to effectively maintain and upgrade our information technology resources and systems and related risks of cybersecurity breaches or incidents; our ability to comply with complex and evolving regulations related to data privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence; the risks relating to the transitional arrangements in effect subsequent to our now-completed sale of TRANZACT; significant competition that we face and the potential for loss of market share and/or profitability; the impact of seasonality and differences in timing of renewals and non-recurring revenue increases from disposals and book-of-business sales; the insufficiency of client data protection, potential breaches of information systems or insufficient safeguards against cybersecurity breaches or incidents; the risk of increased liability or new legal claims arising from our new and existing products and services, and expectations, intentions and outcomes relating to outstanding litigation; the risk of substantial negative outcomes on existing or potential future litigation or investigation matters; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including, among other risks, the impacts of pending competition law and regulatory investigations; various claims, government inquiries or investigations or the potential for regulatory action; our ability to make divestitures or acquisitions, including our ability to integrate or manage acquired businesses or carve-out businesses to be disposed, as well as our ability to identify and successfully execute on opportunities for strategic collaboration; our ability to integrate direct-to-consumer sales and marketing solutions with our existing offerings and solutions; our ability to successfully manage ongoing organizational changes, including as a result of our recently-completed multi-year operational transformation program, investments in improving systems and processes, and in connection with our acquisition and divestiture activities; disasters or business continuity problems; our ability to successfully enhance our billing, collection and other working capital efforts, and thereby increase our free cash flow; our ability to properly identify and manage conflicts of interest; reputational damage, including from association with third parties; reliance on third-party service providers and suppliers; risks relating to changes in our management structures and in senior leadership; the loss of key employees or a large number of employees and rehiring rates; our ability to maintain our corporate culture; doing business internationally, including the impact of global trade policies and retaliatory considerations as well as foreign currency exchange rates; compliance with extensive government regulation; the risk of sanctions imposed by governments, or changes to associated sanction regulations (such as sanctions imposed on Russia) and related counter-sanctions; our ability to effectively apply technology, data and analytics changes for internal operations, maintaining industry standards and meeting client preferences; changes and developments in the insurance industry or the U.S. healthcare system, including those related to Medicare, and any other changes and developments in legal, regulatory, economic, business or operational conditions that could impact our businesses; the inability to protect our intellectual property rights, or the potential infringement upon the intellectual property rights of others; fluctuations in our pension assets and liabilities and related changes in pension income, including as a result of, related to, or derived from movements in the interest rate environment, investment returns, inflation, or changes in other assumptions that are used to estimate our benefit obligations and their effect on adjusted earnings per share; our capital structure, including indebtedness amounts, the limitations imposed by the covenants in the documents governing such indebtedness and the maintenance of the financial and disclosure controls and procedures of each; our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all; adverse changes in our credit ratings; the impact of recent or potential changes to U.S. or foreign laws, and the enactment of additional, or the revision of existing, state, federal, and/or foreign laws and regulations, recent judicial decisions and development of case law, other regulations and any policy changes and legislative actions, including those that may impose additional excise taxes or impact our effective tax rate; U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. persons owning at least 10% of our shares; changes in accounting principles, estimates or assumptions; our recognition of future impairment charges; risks relating to or arising from environmental, social and governance (‘ESG’) practices; fluctuation in revenue against our relatively fixed or higher-than-expected expenses; the risk that investment levels increase; the laws of Ireland being different from the laws of the U.S. and potentially affording less protections to the holders of our securities; and our holding company structure potentially preventing us from being able to receive dividends or other distributions in needed amounts from our subsidiaries.

    The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and new factors may emerge from time to time that could also affect actual performance and results. For more information, please see Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. Copies are available online at http://www.sec.gov or www.wtwco.com.

    Although we believe that the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions, and therefore also the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions, could themselves prove to be inaccurate. Given the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this document, our inclusion of this information is not a representation or guarantee by us that our objectives and plans will be achieved.

    Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we will not update these forward-looking statements unless the securities laws require us to do so. With regard to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur, and we caution you against unduly relying on these forward-looking statements.

    Contact

    INVESTORS
    Claudia De La Hoz | Claudia.Delahoz@wtwco.com

       
      WTW
    Supplemental Segment Information
    (In millions of U.S. dollars)
    (Unaudited)
       
    REVENUE  
                Components of Revenue Change(i)
                      Less:       Less:    
      Three Months Ended
    March 31,    		   As Reported   Currency   Constant
    Currency    		   Acquisitions/   Organic
      2025   2024   % Change   Impact   Change   Divestitures   Change
                                   
    Health, Wealth & Career                              
    Revenue excluding interest income $ 1,158     $ 1,327       (13)%       (1)%       (12)%       (14)%       3%  
    Interest income   7       9                      
    Total   1,165       1,336       (13)%       (1)%       (12)%       (14)%       3%  
                                   
    Risk & Broking                              
    Revenue excluding interest income $ 1,005     $ 950       6%       (2)%       8%       0%       8%  
    Interest income   22       28                      
    Total   1,027       978       5%       (2)%       7%       0%       7%  
                                   
    Segment Revenue $ 2,192     $ 2,314       (5)%       (2)%       (4)%       (8)%       5%  
    Corporate, reimbursable expenses and other   21       21                      
    Interest income   10       6                      
    Revenue $ 2,223     $ 2,341       (5)%       (1)%       (4)%       (8)%     5%(ii)
    (i) Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.
    (ii) Interest income did not contribute to organic change for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
       

    BOOK-OF-BUSINESS SETTLEMENTS AND INTEREST INCOME

      Three Months Ended March 31,
      HWC   R&B   Corporate   Total
      2025   2024   2025   2024   2025   2024   2025   2024
    Book-of-business settlements $ 2     $ —     $ —     $ 2     $ —     $ —     $ 2     $ 2  
    Interest income   7       9       22       28       10       6       39       43  
    Total $ 9     $ 9     $ 22     $ 30     $ 10     $ 6     $ 41     $ 45  
                                                                   

    SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME (i)

      Three Months Ended
    March 31,
      2025   2024
               
    Health, Wealth & Career $ 311     $ 336  
    Risk & Broking   226       203  
    Segment Operating Income $ 537     $ 539  
    (i) Segment operating income excludes certain costs, including amortization of intangibles, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation expenses, certain litigation provisions, and to the extent that the actual expense based upon which allocations are made differs from the forecast/budget amount, a reconciling item will be created between internally-allocated expenses and the actual expenses reported for U.S. GAAP purposes.
       

    SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS

      Three Months Ended March 31,
      2025   2024
    Health, Wealth & Career   26.7%       25.1%  
    Risk & Broking   22.0%       20.8%  
                   

    RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME TO INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES

      Three Months Ended March 31,
      2025   2024
               
    Segment Operating Income $ 537     $ 539  
    Amortization   (48 )     (60 )
    Restructuring costs   —       (18 )
    Transaction and transformation(i)   —       (125 )
    Unallocated, net(ii)   (57 )     (56 )
    Income from Operations   432       280  
    Interest expense   (65 )     (64 )
    Other (loss)/income, net   (64 )     26  
    Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates $ 303     $ 242  
    (i) In addition to legal fees and other transaction costs, includes primarily consulting fees and compensation costs related to the Transformation program.
    (ii) Includes certain costs, primarily related to corporate functions which are not directly related to the segments, and certain differences between budgeted expenses determined at the beginning of the year and actual expenses that we report for U.S. GAAP purposes.
       
    WTW
    Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures
    (In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
    (Unaudited)
         
    RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WTW TO ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
         
      Three Months Ended March 31,
      2025   2024
               
    Net income attributable to WTW $ 235     $ 190  
    Adjusted for certain items:          
    Amortization   48       60  
    Restructuring costs   —       18  
    Transaction and transformation   —       125  
    Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits   75       (22 )
    Gain on disposal of operations   (14 )     —  
    Tax effect on certain items listed above(i)   (28 )     (46 )
    Adjusted Net Income $ 316     $ 325  
               
    Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted   101       104  
               
    Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 2.33     $ 1.83  
    Adjusted for certain items:(ii)          
    Amortization   0.48       0.58  
    Restructuring costs   —       0.17  
    Transaction and transformation   —       1.21  
    Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits   0.74       (0.21 )
    Gain on disposal of operations   (0.14 )     —  
    Tax effect on certain items listed above(i)   (0.28 )     (0.44 )
    Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share(ii) $ 3.13     $ 3.13  
    (i) The tax effect was calculated using an effective tax rate for each item.
    (ii) Per share values and totals may differ due to rounding.
       

    RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO ADJUSTED EBITDA

      Three Months Ended March 31,        
      2025       2024    
                               
    Net Income $ 239       10.8%     $ 194       8.3%  
    Provision for income taxes   65               48          
    Interest expense   65               64          
    Depreciation   54               59          
    Amortization   48               60          
    Restructuring costs   —               18          
    Transaction and transformation   —               125          
    Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits   75               (22 )        
    Gain on disposal of operations   (14 )             —          
    Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin $ 532       23.9%     $ 546       23.3%  
                                   

    RECONCILIATION OF INCOME FROM OPERATIONS TO ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME

      Three Months Ended March 31,    
      2025           2024    
                       
    Income from operations and Operating margin $ 432       19.4%     $ 280       12.0%  
    Adjusted for certain items:                  
    Amortization   48               60      
    Restructuring costs   —               18      
    Transaction and transformation   —               125      
    Adjusted operating income and Adjusted operating income margin $ 480       21.6%     $ 483       20.6%  
                                   

    RECONCILIATION OF GAAP INCOME TAXES/TAX RATE TO ADJUSTED INCOME TAXES/TAX RATE

      Three Months Ended March 31,
      2025   2024
               
    Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates $ 303     $ 242  
               
    Adjusted for certain items:          
    Amortization   48       60  
    Restructuring costs   —       18  
    Transaction and transformation   —       125  
    Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits   75       (22 )
    Gain on disposal of operations   (14 )     —  
    Adjusted income before taxes $ 412     $ 423  
               
    Provision for income taxes $ 65     $ 48  
    Tax effect on certain items listed above(i)   28       46  
    Adjusted income taxes $ 93     $ 94  
               
    U.S. GAAP tax rate   21.5 %     19.9 %
    Adjusted income tax rate   22.7 %     22.3 %
    (i) The tax effect was calculated using an effective tax rate for each item.
       

    RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES TO FREE CASH FLOW

      Years Ended December 31,
      2025   2024
               
    Cash flows (used in)/from operating activities $ (35 )   $ 24  
    Less: Additions to fixed assets and software   (51 )     (60 )
    Free Cash Flow $ (86 )   $ (36 )
                   
    WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
    (In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
    (Unaudited)
         
      Three Months Ended
    March 31,
      2025   2024
    Revenue $ 2,223     $ 2,341  
               
    Costs of providing services          
    Salaries and benefits   1,324       1,342  
    Other operating expenses   365       457  
    Depreciation   54       59  
    Amortization   48       60  
    Restructuring costs   —       18  
    Transaction and transformation   —       125  
    Total costs of providing services   1,791       2,061  
               
    Income from operations   432       280  
               
    Interest expense   (65 )     (64 )
    Other (loss)/income, net   (64 )     26  
               
    INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES   303       242  
               
    Provision for income taxes   (65 )     (48 )
               
    INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES   238       194  
               
    Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax   1       —  
               
    NET INCOME   239       194  
               
    Income attributable to non-controlling interests   (4 )     (4 )
               
    NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WTW $ 235     $ 190  
               
    EARNINGS PER SHARE          
    Basic earnings per share $ 2.34     $ 1.84  
    Diluted earnings per share $ 2.33     $ 1.83  
               
    Weighted-average ordinary shares, basic   100       103  
    Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted   101       104  
                   
    WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
    Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (In millions of U.S. dollars, except share data)
    (Unaudited)
               
      March 31,   December 31,
      2025   2024
    ASSETS          
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,507     $ 1,890  
    Fiduciary assets   10,293       9,504  
    Accounts receivable, net   2,366       2,494  
    Prepaid and other current assets   1,295       1,217  
    Total current assets   15,461       15,105  
    Fixed assets, net   667       661  
    Goodwill   8,841       8,799  
    Other intangible assets, net   1,255       1,295  
    Right-of-use assets   487       485  
    Pension benefits assets   550       530  
    Other non-current assets   803       806  
    Total non-current assets   12,603       12,576  
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 28,064     $ 27,681  
    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY          
    Fiduciary liabilities $ 10,293     $ 9,504  
    Deferred revenue and accrued expenses   1,499       2,211  
    Current debt   549       —  
    Current lease liabilities   120       118  
    Other current liabilities   923       765  
    Total current liabilities   13,384       12,598  
    Long-term debt   4,761       5,309  
    Liability for pension benefits   552       615  
    Provision for liabilities   359       341  
    Long-term lease liabilities   498       502  
    Other non-current liabilities   296       299  
    Total non-current liabilities   6,466       7,066  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES   19,850       19,664  
    COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES          
    EQUITY(i)          
    Additional paid-in capital   11,017       10,989  
    Retained earnings   51       109  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax   (2,935 )     (3,158 )
    Total WTW shareholders’ equity   8,133       7,940  
    Non-controlling interests   81       77  
    Total Equity   8,214       8,017  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 28,064     $ 27,681  
         
    (i) Equity includes (a) Ordinary shares $0.000304635 nominal value; Authorized 1,510,003,775; Issued 99,210,847 (2025) and 99,805,780 (2024); Outstanding 99,210,847 (2025) and 99,805,780 (2024) and (b) Preference shares, $0.000115 nominal value; Authorized 1,000,000,000 and Issued none in 2025 and 2024.
         
    WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (In millions of U.S. dollars)
    (Unaudited)
         
      Years Ended March 31,
      2025   2024
    CASH FLOWS (USED IN)/FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES          
    NET INCOME $ 239     $ 194  
    Adjustments to reconcile net income to total net cash from operating activities:          
    Depreciation   54       59  
    Amortization   48       60  
    Non-cash restructuring charges   —       11  
    Non-cash lease expense   25       27  
    Net periodic cost/(benefit) of defined benefit pension plans   88       (4 )
    Provision for doubtful receivables from clients   5       8  
    Benefit from deferred income taxes   (23 )     (9 )
    Share-based compensation   37       24  
    Net gain on disposal of operations   (14 )     —  
    Non-cash foreign exchange loss/(gain)   9       (1 )
    Other, net   9       8  
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from purchase of subsidiaries:          
    Accounts receivable   162       113  
    Other assets   1       (53 )
    Other liabilities   (691 )     (426 )
    Provisions   16       13  
    Net cash (used in)/from operating activities   (35 )     24  
               
    CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES          
    Additions to fixed assets and software   (51 )     (60 )
    Acquisitions of operations, net of cash acquired   (1 )     (15 )
    (Purchase)/sale of investments   (32 )     1  
    Net cash used in investing activities   (84 )     (74 )
               
    CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES          
    Senior notes issued   —       746  
    Debt issuance costs   —       (7 )
    Repayments of debt   (1 )     (1 )
    Repurchase of shares   (200 )     (101 )
    Net proceeds from fiduciary funds held for clients   315       1,011  
    Cash paid for employee taxes on withholding shares   (2 )     (5 )
    Dividends paid   (88 )     (86 )
    Acquisitions of and dividends paid to non-controlling interests   —       (1 )
    Net cash from financing activities   24       1,556  
               
    (DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH   (95 )     1,506  
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   80       (47 )
    CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD (i)   4,998       3,792  
    CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, END OF PERIOD (i) $ 4,983     $ 5,251  
    (i) The amounts of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, their respective classification on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, as well as their respective portions of the increase or decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash for each of the periods presented have been included in the Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information section.
       

    SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION

      Years Ended March 31,
      2025   2024
               
    Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:          
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,507     $ 1,893  
    Fiduciary funds (included in fiduciary assets)   3,476       3,358  
    Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 4,983     $ 5,251  
               
    (Decrease)/increase in cash, cash equivalents and other restricted cash $ (411 )   $ 487  
    Increase in fiduciary funds   316       1,019  
    Total (i) $ (95 )   $ 1,506  
    (i) Does not include the effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash.
       

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Fake cures and vaccine passports for sale: the conspiracy communities in Brazil monetising the anti-vax movement – podcast

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

    A protest in Brazil against mandatory COVID vaccinations and vaccine passports. Isaac Fontana / Shutterstock.com

    Few places on earth are immune to the explosion of anti-vaccination conspiracy theories and health disinformation fuelled by the COVID pandemic. But in countries like Brazil, where the disinformation flowed from the very top of government, the problem is even more acute and some people are exploiting the fear of others to make money.

    In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we hear about new research out of Brazil into how peddlers of disinformation on social media also sell fake cures and vaccine detoxes. And we ask why some people are looking for solutions to their health problems in these dangerous chemicals and unproven protocols.

    Brazil used to be a country with a strong culture of vaccination. “It was like a ritual”, remembers Igor Sacramento, a researcher in public health at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil. As a child, he would go to public squares where people would be dressed in costumes, parading, alongside the vaccination drives.

    Now, anti-vax disinformation has surged in the country. Sacramento believes the big change was the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018, a president who publicly questioned vaccinations. “It was terrible for public health”, he says. Research showed that during the pandemic there was a persistent “Bolsonaro effect” with higher death rates from COVID in pro-Bolsonaro municipalities.

    Vaccination rates for a number of different diseases have fallen in Brazil in recent years, although they are beginning to climb again since the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a third term as president in 2023.

    Promoting fake cures

    New research led by Ergon Cugler, a researcher at  the Brazilian Institute of Information on Science and Technology who is mapping the spread of disinformation on social media in Latin America and the Caribbean, is showing that the same people sowing fear with health disinformation are also selling fake cures.

    Cugler scraped data from more than 1,000 Telegram groups linked to disinformation and conspiracy theories topics over the last decade. Of the 5 million users in these groups, half are in Brazil. His dataset of 61 million pieces of content showed a 290% increase in anti-vaccination conspiracy narratives during the pandemic in Brazil, as well as a 15,000% increase in autism-related disinformation in Latin America and the Caribbean since the pandemic.

    Admins on these conspiracy theory communities on Telegram often post adverts, testimonials and videos promoting fake cures, vaccine detoxes and falsified vaccination passports. Cugler says:

     They spread the feeling of fear suggesting that parasites, for example, could cause diseases like diabetes. And then they offer so-called miracle cures, like deworming protocols or chlorine dioxide, and other substances, and they monetise all of those products.

    Cugler is also tracking how conspiracy theory groups discussing seemingly quite unconnected topics can be used as a way to funnel people into anti-vax groups and sell them fake cures.

    Listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast to hear interviews with Ergon Cugler and Igor Sacramento, plus a conversation with Daniel Stycer, editor of The Conversation Brazil.

    This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Gemma Ware with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Mixing and sound design by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl.

    Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.

    Ergon Cugler has previously received a research grant from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT) and is currently part of a research project funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development through the Observatory of Informational Disorder and Public Policy (DesinfoPop) at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Igor Sacramento is a researcher in residence between December 2024 and July 2025 at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in France.

    – ref. Fake cures and vaccine passports for sale: the conspiracy communities in Brazil monetising the anti-vax movement – podcast – https://theconversation.com/fake-cures-and-vaccine-passports-for-sale-the-conspiracy-communities-in-brazil-monetising-the-anti-vax-movement-podcast-255142

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Using the Incoterms® 2020 rules to manage tariff risk in international trade

    Source: International Chamber of Commerce

    Headline: Using the Incoterms® 2020 rules to manage tariff risk in international trade

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    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Applications are now open for the National Prize in Financial and Economic Journalism

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    In Russia, the best journalistic works in the field of economics and finance will be selected as part of the annual national award “Finkor”. Applications for participation in the competition can be submitted until August 10 on the website fincor.rf.

    “Finance and economics are the basis for the stable development of society and the state. It is necessary for not only specialists in the field to be aware of what is happening, but also for all citizens of our country. Journalism serves as a bridge between the world of finance and the general public. The ability to talk about complex topics in an accessible language requires great skill and knowledge. It has already become a tradition to award the authors of the best journalistic works in the field of economics and finance at the Moscow Financial Forum. I am sure that this year we will also discover new names and recognize professionals, the best in their field,” said Irina Okladnikova, First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation.

    This year, the competition for the award is being held for the fourth time. Representatives of Russian mass media, including radio and television broadcast editors, teams and individual publicists — professional journalists, representatives of online publications, authors of Telegram channels and bloggers covering economics and finance, as well as students of specialized faculties of Russian universities are invited to participate.

    “Economic and financial information is one of the most in-demand in the modern world. The constantly changing situation in the Russian and international economy requires journalists to painstakingly work with figures and facts, the ability to clearly present complex information and quickly convey it to readers. The Fincor Prize helps to identify the best practices in covering financial and economic processes and increase interest in these topics on the part of journalists. During the award, the number of submitted works has increased almost fourfold – from more than 200 applications in 2022 to almost 800 last year,” said

    Maria Bagreeva, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, Head of the Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development.

    To participate, you must submit articles, interviews, reports, recordings of television broadcasts, podcasts, radio programs and other journalistic materials, as well as journalistic projects published in print or online publications, posted on the Internet, in Telegram channels, on radio or television in the period from August 1, 2024 to August 1, 2025.

    The award ceremony will take place within the framework of the IX Moscow Financial Forum, which will be held in the Manezh in the fall. Detailed information about the nominations and the award regulations are posted on the website fincor.rfYou can also apply for participation there.

    The Fincor National Award was established in 2022 by the Moscow City Economic Policy Complex jointly with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.

    Its goal is to identify best practices for covering financial and economic processes in the country.

    The partners of the award this year are the Research Financial Institute of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Vmeste Media platform, the Free Economic Society of Russia, the Union of Journalists of Russia, the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, the A.S. Griboyedov Moscow University, the Moscow University of Finance and Law, the St. Petersburg State University of Economics, the Institute of Media of the Research University Higher School of Economics, the Higher School of Journalism of Tomsk State University and the youth center of the Union of Journalists of Russia.

    Get the latest news quickly official telegram channelthe city of Moscow.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/153088073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Exor Press Release – Tender Offer Result

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO, OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

    Amsterdam, 24 April 2025

    EXOR ANNOUNCES OVERSUBSCRIBED TENDER OFFER,
    AS PART OF €1 BILLION SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAM

    Exor N.V. (“Exor” or the “Company”) announces the results of the Tender Offer set out in the Offer Memorandum published by the Company on 26 March 2025 (the “Offer Memorandum”). The Tender Offer closed at 17:40 CET on 23 April 2025.

    22,965,749 Ordinary Shares were validly tendered by Qualifying Shareholders in the Tender Offer and, following application of the scaling-down mechanism set out in the Offer Memorandum, 12,254,495 Ordinary Shares will be purchased at a price per Ordinary Share of EUR 81.6027 (the Strike Price), for a total consideration of EUR 1 billion. This represents 5.5% of the Ordinary Shares issued in the share capital of Exor. The Strike Price of the Tender Offer, determined in the manner described in the Offer Memorandum is equal to the Reference VWAP +2%.

    The aggregate value (at the Strike Price) of the Ordinary Shares validly tendered by Qualifying Shareholders at a price at or below the Strike Price (or as Strike Price Tenders) exceeded EUR 1 billion, and hence the Tender Offer is oversubscribed. Because the Tender Offer is oversubscribed, tenders will be accepted as follows, in line with the Offer Memorandum:

    • all Strike Price Tenders will be purchased in full;
    • all tenders at a price below the Strike Price (excluding Strike Price Tenders) will be purchased in full;
    • tenders at the Strike Price will be scaled down by 38.15% so that the total consideration for the Ordinary Shares purchased in the Tender Offer does not exceed EUR 1 billion; and
    • all tenders at a price higher than the Strike Price will be rejected and will not be purchased in the Tender Offer.

    The settlement of the Tender Offer is expected to take place on or around 28 April 2025.

    In accordance with the Irrevocable Undertaking by Giovanni Agnelli B.V., 6,985,062 Ordinary Shares will be purchased from Giovanni Agnelli B.V. as part of the Tender Offer. After settlement, Giovanni Agnelli B.V. will hold 114,714,169 Ordinary Shares, representing 51.9% of the Ordinary Shares issued in the share capital of the Company before the share cancellation.

    Following settlement, Exor will start the process of cancelling the 12,254,495 Ordinary Shares acquired as part of the Tender Offer and 950,000 Ordinary Shares currently held in treasury, representing 6.0% of the Ordinary Shares issued in the share capital of Exor. In addition, Exor will cancel the 6,985,062 Special Voting Shares to be retransferred to Exor in connection with the Tender Offer and 1,462,186 Special Voting Shares currently held in treasury.

    Terms used but not defined in this announcement have the meaning assigned to them in the Offer Memorandum.

    Qualifying Shareholders whose Ordinary Shares were validly tendered and accepted by the Company are still entitled to participate at the forthcoming AGM, which will be held on 22 May 2025, and cast their vote on such Ordinary Shares (and any corresponding Special Voting Shares) in the usual manner, provided that these Ordinary Shares were held in an intermediary account participating in the Euronext Securities Milan system (formerly known as Monte Titoli), or on the Company’s Loyalty Register, as applicable, on the record date.

    About Exor

    Exor N.V. (AEX: EXO) has been building great companies since its foundation by the Agnelli Family. For more than a century, Exor has made successful investments worldwide, applying a culture that combines entrepreneurial spirit and financial discipline. Its portfolio is principally made up of companies in which Exor is the largest shareholder including Ferrari, Stellantis, Philips and CNH.

    Regulated Information

    This press release contains information that qualifies as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014).

    Restrictions

    This announcement does not constitute or form part of an offer or invitation, or a solicitation of any offer or invitation, to purchase any Ordinary Shares or other securities.

    Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE (“Goldman Sachs”), which is authorised and regulated by the European Central Bank and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) and Deutsche Bundesbank in Germany, is acting exclusively as Dealer Manager to Exor and to no-one else in connection with the Tender Offer. Neither Goldman Sachs nor its affiliates, nor their respective partners, directors, officers, employees or agents are responsible to any other person than Exor for providing the protections afforded to clients of Goldman Sachs or for providing advice in connection with the Tender Offer.

    ING Bank N.V. (“ING“) is directly supervised by the European Central Bank as part of the Single Supervisory Mechanism and regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank and the Dutch Autoriteit Financiële Markten, and is acting as Dealer Manager and Tender Agent exclusively for Exor and for no-one else in connection with the Tender Offer and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of ING or for providing assistance in connection with the Tender Offer.

    Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on the Dealer Managers under their respective legal or regulatory regime: (i) none of the Dealer Managers or any persons associated or affiliated with either of them accepts any responsibility whatsoever or makes any warranty or representation, express or implied, in relation to the contents of the Offer Memorandum, including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other statement made or purported to be made by, or on behalf of it, Exor or the members of the Board, in connection with Exor and/or the Tender Offer; and (ii) each of the Dealer Managers accordingly disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by law, all and any liability whatsoever, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which they might otherwise be found to have in respect of the Offer Memorandum or any such statement.

    Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

    This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms anticipates, believes, could, estimates, expects, intends, may, plans, projects, should or will, or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances.

    Forward-looking statements may, and often do, differ materially from actual results. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement reflect Exor’s current view with respect to future events and are subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Group and its operations, results of operations, and growth strategy. Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including the Market Abuse Regulation and applicable stock exchange rules), Exor is not under any obligation and Exor expressly disclaims any intention or obligation (to the maximum extent permitted by law) to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Dealer Managers and Tender Agent

    Goldman Sachs and ING each act as a Dealer Manager, and together as the Dealer Managers for the Tender Offer. ING acts as Tender Agent for the Tender Offer.

    Further information

    Public announcements in connection are available on the dedicated tender offer website of the Company at https://www.exor.com/pages/investors-media/shareholders-corner/share-buyback.

    For any questions related to this announcement, please contact Exor’s Investor Relations at
    ir@exor.com or +31 (0)20 240 2 222.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Operation SyncHole: Lazarus APT goes back to the well

    Source: Securelist – Kaspersky

    Headline: Operation SyncHole: Lazarus APT goes back to the well

    We have been tracking the latest attack campaign by the Lazarus group since last November, as it targeted organizations in South Korea with a sophisticated combination of a watering hole strategy and vulnerability exploitation within South Korean software. The campaign, dubbed “Operation SyncHole”, has impacted at least six organizations in South Korea’s software, IT, financial, semiconductor manufacturing, and telecommunications industries, and we are confident that many more companies have actually been compromised. We immediately took action by communicating meaningful information to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KrCERT/CC) for rapid action upon detection, and we have now confirmed that the software exploited in this campaign has all been updated to patched versions.

    Timeline of the operation

    Our findings in a nutshell:

    • At least six South Korean organizations were compromised by a watering hole attack combined with exploitation of vulnerabilities by the Lazarus group.
    • A one-day vulnerability in Innorix Agent was also used for lateral movement.
    • Variants of Lazarus’ malicious tools, such as ThreatNeedle, Agamemnon downloader, wAgent, SIGNBT, and COPPERHEDGE, were discovered with new features.

    Background

    The initial infection was discovered in November of last year when we detected a variant of the ThreatNeedle backdoor, one of the Lazarus group’s flagship malicious tools, used against a South Korean software company. We found that the malware was running in the memory of a legitimate SyncHost.exe process, and was created as a subprocess of Cross EX, legitimate software developed in South Korea. This potentially was the starting point for the compromise of further five organizations in South Korea. Additionally, according to a recent security advisory posted on the KrCERT website, there appear to be recently patched vulnerabilities in Cross EX, which were addressed during the timeframe of our research.

    In the South Korean internet environment, the online banking and government websites require the installation of particular security software to support functions such as anti-keylogging and certificate-based digital signatures. However, due to the nature of these software packages, they constantly run in the background to interact with the browser. The Lazarus group shows a strong grasp of these specifics and is using a South Korea-targeted strategy that combines vulnerabilities in such software with watering hole attacks. The South Korean National Cyber Security Center published its own security advisory in 2023 against such incidents, and also published additional joint security advisories in cooperation with the UK government.

    Cross EX is designed to enable the use of such security software in various browser environments, and is executed with user-level privileges except immediately after installation. Although the exact method by which Cross EX was exploited to deliver malware remains unclear, we believe that the attackers escalated their privileges during the exploitation process as we confirmed the process was executed with high integrity level in most cases. The facts below led us to conclude that a vulnerability in the Cross EX software was most likely leveraged in this operation.

    • The most recent version of Cross EX at the time of the incidents was installed on the infected PCs.
    • Execution chains originating from the Cross EX process that we observed across the targeted organizations were all identical.
    • The incidents that saw the Synchost process abused to inject malware were concentrated within a short period of time: between November 2024 and February 2025.

    In the earliest attack of this operation, the Lazarus group also exploited another South Korean software product, Innorix Agent, leveraging a vulnerability to facilitate lateral movement, enabling the installation of additional malware on a targeted host of their choice. They even developed malware to exploit this, avoiding repetitive tasks and streamlining processes. The exploited software, Innorix Agent (version 9.2.18.450 and earlier), was previously abused by the Andariel group, while the malware we obtained targeted the more recent version 9.2.18.496.

    While analyzing the malware’s behavior, we discovered an additional arbitrary file download zero-day vulnerability in Innorix Agent, which we managed to detect before any threat actors used it in their attacks. We reported the issues to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KrCERT) and the vendor. The software has since been updated with patched versions.

    Installing malware through vulnerabilities in software exclusively developed in South Korea is a key part of the Lazarus group’s strategy to target South Korean entities, and we previously disclosed a similar case in 2023, as did ESET and KrCERT.

    Initial vector

    The infection began when the user of a targeted system accessed several South Korean online media sites. Shortly after visiting one particular site, the machine was compromised by the ThreatNeedle malware, suggesting that the site played a key role in the initial delivery of the backdoor. During the analysis, it was discovered that the infected system was communicating with a suspicious IP address. Further examination revealed that this IP hosted two domains (T1583.001), both of which appeared to be hastily created car rental websites using publicly available HTML templates.

    Appearance of www.smartmanagerex[.]com

    The first domain, www.smartmanagerex[.]com, seemed to be masquerading as software provided by the same vendor that distributes Cross EX. Based on these findings, we reconstructed the following attack scenario.

    Attack flow during initial compromise

    Given that online media sites are typically visited quite frequently by a wealth of users, the Lazarus group filters visitors with a server-side script and redirects desired targets to an attacker-controlled website (T1608.004). We assess with medium confidence that the redirected site may have executed a malicious script (T1189), targeting a potential flaw in Cross EX (T1190) installed on the target PC, and launching malware. The script then ultimately executed the legitimate SyncHost.exe and injected a shellcode that loaded a variant of ThreatNeedle into that process. This chain, which ends with the malware being injected into SyncHost.exe, was common to all of the affected organizations we identified, meaning that the Lazarus group has conducted extensive operations against South Korea over the past few months with the same vulnerability and the same exploit.

    Execution flow

    We have divided this operation into two phases based on the malware used. The first phase focused primarily on the execution chain involving ThreatNeedle and wAgent. It was then followed by the second phase which involved the use of SIGNBT and COPPERHEDGE.

    We derived a total of four different malware execution chains based on these phases from at least six affected organizations. In the first infection case, we found a variant of the ThreatNeedle malware, but in subsequent attacks, the SIGNBT malware took its place, thus launching the second phase. We believe this is due to the quick and aggressive action we took with the first victim. In subsequent attacks, the Lazarus group introduced three updated infection chains including SIGNBT, and we observed a wider range of targets and more frequent attacks. This suggests that the group may have realized that their carefully prepared attacks had been exposed, and extensively leveraged the vulnerability from then on.

    Chains of infection across the operation

    First-phase malware

    In the first infection chain, many updated versions of the malware previously used by the Lazarus group were used.

    Variant of ThreatNeedle

    The ThreatNeedle sample used in this campaign was also referred to as “ThreatNeedleTea” in a research paper published by ESET; we believe this is an updated version of the early ThreatNeedle. However, the ThreatNeedle seen in this attack had been modified with additional features.

    This version of ThreatNeedle is divided into a Loader and Core samples. The Core version retrieves five configuration files from C_27098.NLS to C_27102.NLS, and contains a total of 37 commands. The Loader version, meanwhile, references only two configuration files and implements only four commands.

    The Core component receives a specific command from the C2, resulting in an additional loader file being created for the purpose of persistence. This file can be disguised as the ServiceDLL value of a legitimate service in the netsvcs group (T1543.003), the IKEEXT service (T1574.001), or registered as a Security Service Provider (SSP) (T1547.005). It ultimately loads the ThreatNeedle Loader component.

    Behavior flow to load ThreatNeedle Loader by target service

    The updated ThreatNeedle generates a random key pair based on the Curve25519 algorithm (T1573.002), sends the public key to the C2 server, and then receives the attacker’s public key. Finally, the generated private key and the attacker’s public key are scalar-operated to create a shared key, which is then used as the key for the ChaCha20 algorithm to encrypt the data (T1573.001). The data is sent and received in JSON format.

    LPEClient

    LPEClient is a tool known for victim profiling and payload delivery (T1105) that has previously been observed in attacks on defense contractors and the cryptocurrency industry. We disclosed that this tool had been loaded by SIGNBT when we first documented SIGNBT malware. However, we did not observe LPEClient being loaded by SIGNBT in this campaign. It was only loaded by the variant of ThreatNeedle.

    Variant of wAgent

    In addition to the variant of ThreatNeedle, a variant of the wAgent malware was also discovered in the first affected organization. wAgent is a malicious tool that we documented in 2020, and a similar version was mentioned in Operation GoldGoblin by KrCERT. The origin of its creation is still shrouded in mystery, but we discovered that the wAgent loader was disguised as liblzma.dll and executed via the command line rundll32.exe c:Programdataintelutil.dat, afunix 1W2–UUE–ZNO–B99Z (T1218.011). The export function retrieves the given filename 1W2–UUE–ZNO–B99Z in C:ProgramData, which also serves as the decryption key. After converting this filename into wide bytes, it uses the highest 16 bytes of the resulting value as the key for the AES-128-CBC algorithm and decrypts (T1140) the contents of the file located in C:ProgramData (T1027.013). The upper four bytes of the decrypted data subsequently represent the size of the payload (T1027.009), which we identified as an updated version of the wAgent malware.

    The variant of wAgent has the ability to receive data in both form-data and JSON formats, depending on the C2 server it succeeds in reaching. Notably, it includes the __Host–next–auth–token key within the Cookie field in the request header during the communication (T1071.001), carrying the sequence of communication appended by random digits. In this version, the new observed change is that an open-source GNU Multiple-Precision (GMP) library is employed to carry out RSA encryption computations, which is a previously unseen library in malware used by the Lazarus group. According to the wAgent configuration file, it is identified as the x64_2.1 version. This version manages payloads using a C++ STL map, with emphasis on receiving additional payloads from the C2 and loading them directly into memory, along with creating a shared object. With this object, the main module is able to exchange command parameters and execution results with the delivered plugins.

    Operational structure of the wAgent variant

    Variant of the Agamemnon downloader

    The Agamemnon downloader is also responsible for downloading and executing additional payloads received from the C2 server. Although we did not obtain the configuration file of Agamemnon, it receives commands from the C2 and executes the payload by parsing the commands and parameters based on ;; characters, which serve as command and parameter delimiters. The value of the mode in response passed with a 2 command determines how to execute the additional payload, which is delivered along with a 3 command. There are two methods of execution: the first one is to load the payload reflectively (T1620), which is commonly used in malware, whereas the second one is to utilize the open-source Tartarus-TpAllocInject technique, which we have not previously seen in malware from the Lazarus group.

    Structure of the commands where additional data is passed

    The open-source loader is built on top of another open-source loader named Tartarus’ Gate. Tartarus’ Gate is based on Halo’s Gate, which is in turn based on Hell’s Gate. All of these techniques are designed to bypass security products such as antivirus and EDR solutions, but they load the payload in different ways.

    Innorix Agent exploit for lateral movement

    Unlike the previously mentioned tools, the Innorix abuser is used for lateral movement. It is downloaded by the Agamemnon downloader (T1105) and exploits a specific version of a file transfer software tool developed in South Korea, Innorix Agent, to fetch additional malware on internal hosts (T1570). Innorix Agent is another software product that is mandatory for some financial and administrative tasks in the South Korean internet environment, meaning that it is likely to be installed on many PCs of both corporations and individuals in South Korea, and any user with a vulnerable version is potentially a target. The malware embeds a license key allegedly bound to version 9.2.18.496, which allows it to perform lateral movement by generating malicious traffic disguised as legitimate traffic against targeted network PCs.

    The Innorix abuser is given parameters from the Agamemnon downloader: the target IP, URL to download a file, and file size. It then delivers a request to that target IP to check if Innorix Agent is installed and running. If a successful response is returned, the malware assumes that the software is running properly on the targeted host and transmits traffic that allows the target to download the additional files from the given URL due to a lack of traffic validation.

    Steps to deploy additional malware via the Innorix abuser

    The actor created a legitimate AppVShNotify.exe and a malicious USERENV.dll file in the same path via the Innorix abuser, and then executed the former using a legitimate feature of the software. The USERENV.dll was sideloaded (T1574.002) as a result, which ultimately led to the execution of ThreatNeedle and LPEClient on the targeted hosts, thus launching the infection chain on previously unaffected machines.

    We reported this vulnerability to KrCERT due to the potentially dangerous impact of the Innorix abuser, but were informed that the vulnerability has been exploited and reported in the past. We have confirmed that this malware does not work effectively in environments with Innorix Agent versions other than 9.2.18.496.

    In addition, while digging into the malware’s behavior, we identified another additional arbitrary file download vulnerability that applies to versions up to 9.2.18.538. It is tracked as KVE-2025-0014 and we have not yet found any evidence of its use in the wild. KVE is a vulnerability identification number issued exclusively by KrCERT. We successfully contacted Innorix to share our findings containing the vulnerabilities via KrCERT, and they managed to release a patched version in March with both vulnerabilities fixed.

    Second phase malware

    The second phase of the operation also introduces newer versions of malicious tools previously seen in Lazarus attacks.

    SIGNBT

    The SIGNBT we documented in 2023 was version 1.0, but in this attack, version 0.0.1 was used at the forefront. In addition, we identified a more recent version, SIGNBT 1.2. Unlike versions 1.0 and 0.0.1, the 1.2 version had minimal remote control capabilities and was focused on executing additional payloads. The malware developers named this version “Hijacking”.

    In the second phase of this operation, SIGNBT 0.0.1 was the initial implant executed in memory in SyncHost.exe to fetch additional malware. In this version, the C2 server was hardcoded without reference to any configuration files. During this investigation, we found a credential dumping tool that was fetched by SIGNBT 0.0.1, identical to what we have seen in previous attacks.

    As for version 1.2, it fetches the path to the configuration file from its resources and retrieves the file to obtain C2 server addresses. We were able to extract two configuration file paths from each identified SIGNBT 1.2 sample, which are shown below. Another change in SIGNBT 1.2 is that the number of prefixes starting with SIGN are reduced to only three: SIGNBTLG, SIGNBTRC, and SIGNBTSR. The malware receives an RSA public key from the C2 and encrypts a randomly generated AES key using the public key. All traffic is encrypted with the generated AES key.

    • Configuration file path 1: C:ProgramDataSamsungSamsungSettingssettings.dat
    • Configuration file path 2: C:ProgramDataMicrosoftDRMServerdrm.ver

    COPPERHEDGE

    COPPERHEDGE is a malicious tool that was named by US-CERT in 2020. It is a Manuscrypt variant and was primarily used in the DeathNote cluster attacks. Unlike the other malware used in this operation, COPPERHEDGE has not changed dramatically, with only several commands being slightly changed compared to the older versions. This version, however, retrieves configuration information such as the C2 server address from the ADS %appdata%MicrosoftInternet Explorerbrndlog.txt:loginfo (T1564.004). The malware then sends HTTP traffic to C2 with three or four parameters for each request, where the parameter name is chosen randomly out of three names in any order.

    • First HTTP parameter name: bih, aqs, org
    • Second HTTP parameter name: wib, rlz, uid
    • Third HTTP parameter name: tib, hash, lang
    • Fourth HTTP parameter name: ei, ie, oq

    The actor primarily used the COPPERHEDGE malware to conduct internal reconnaissance in this operation. There are a total of 30 commands from 0x2003 to 0x2032, and 11 response codes from 0x2040 to 0x2050 inside the COPPERHEDGE backdoor.

    The evolution of Lazarus malware

    In recent years, the malware used by the Lazarus group has been rapidly evolving to include lightweighting and modularization. This applies not only to newly added tools, but also to malware that has been used in the past. We have observed such changes for a few years, and we believe there are more on the way.

    Use of asymmetric encryption Load plugins Divided into core and loader version
    MISTPEN – O –
    CookiePlus O (RSA) O –
    ThreatNeedle O (Curve25519) O O
    wAgent (downloader) O (RSA) O –
    Agamemnon downloader – – –
    SIGNBT O (RSA) O O
    COPPERHEDGE O (RSA) – O

    Discoveries

    During our investigation into this campaign, we gained extensive insight into the Lazarus group’s post-exploitation strategy. After installing the COPPERHEDGE malware, the actor executed numerous Windows commands to gather basic system information (T1082, T1083, T1057, T1049, T1016, T1087.001), create a malicious service (T1569.002, T1007) and attempt to find valuable hosts to perform lateral movement (T1087.002, T1135).

    While analyzing the commands executed by the actor, we were able to identify the actor’s mistake when using the taskkill command: the /im parameter when using taskkill means imagename, which should specify the image name of the process, not the process id. This shows that the actor is still performing internal reconnaissance by manually entering commands.

    Infrastructure

    Throughout this operation, most of the C2 servers were legitimate but compromised websites in South Korea (T1584.001), further indicating that this operation was highly focused on South Korea. In the first phase, other media sites were utilized as C2 servers to avoid detection of media-initiated watering hole attacks. However, as the infection chain turned to the second phase, legitimate sites in various other industries were additionally exploited.

    Unlike other cases, LPEClient’s C2 server was hosted by the same hosting company as www.smartmanagerex[.]com, which was deliberately created for initial compromise. Given that LPEClient is heavily relied upon by the Lazarus group for delivering additional payloads, it is likely that the attackers deliberately rented and configured the server (T1583.003), assigning a domain under their control to maintain full operational flexibility. In addition to this, we also found that two domains that were exploited as C2 servers for SIGNBT 0.0.1 resolved to the same hosting company’s IP range.

    We confirmed that the domain thek–portal[.]com belonged to a South Korean ISP until 2020 and was the legitimate domain of an insurance company that was acquired by another company. Since then, the domain had been parked and its status was changed in February 2025, indicating that the Lazarus group re-registered the domain to leverage it in this operation.

    Attribution

    Throughout this campaign, several malware samples were used that we managed to attribute to the Lazarus group through our ongoing and dedicated research conducted for a long time. Our attribution is supported by the historical use of the malware strains, as well as their TTPs, all of which have been well documented by numerous security solutions vendors and governments. Furthermore, we have analyzed the execution time of the Windows commands delivered by the COPPERHEDGE malware, the build timestamps of all malicious samples we described above, and the time of initial compromise per host, demonstrating that the timeframes were mostly concentrated between GMT 00:00 and 09:00. Based on our knowledge of normal working hours in various time zones, we can infer that the actor is located in the GMT+09 time zone.

    Timeline of malicious activity

    Victims

    We identified at least six software, IT, financial, semiconductor manufacturing and telecommunication organizations in South Korea that fell victim to “Operation SyncHole”. However, we are confident that there are many more affected organizations across a broader range of industries, given the popularity of the software exploited by Lazarus in this campaign.

    Conclusion

    This is not the first time that the Lazarus group exploited supply chains with a full understanding of the software ecosystem in South Korea. We have already described similar attacks in our analysis reports on the Bookcode cluster in 2020, the DeathNote cluster in 2022, and the SIGNBT malware in 2023. All of these cases targeted software developed by South Korean vendors that required installation for online banking and government services. Both of the software products exploited in this case are in line with past cases, meaning that the Lazarus group is endlessly adopting an effective strategy based on cascading supply chain attacks.

    The Lazarus group’s specialized attacks targeting supply chains in South Korea are expected to continue in the future. Our research over the past few years provided evidence that many software development vendors in Korea have already been attacked, and if the source code of a product has been compromised, other zero-day vulnerabilities may continue to be discovered. The attackers are also making efforts to minimize detection by developing new malware or enhancing existing malware. In particular, they introduce enhancements to the communication with the C2, command structure, and the way they send and receive data.

    We have proven that accurate detection and quick response can effectively deter their tactics, and in the meantime, we were able to remediate vulnerabilities and mitigate attacks to minimize damage. We will continue to monitor the activity of this group and remain agile in responding to their changes. We also recommend using reliable security solutions to stay alert and mitigate potential risks. Our product line for businesses helps identify and prevent attacks of any complexity at an early stage.

    Kaspersky products detect the exploits and malware used in this attack with the following verdicts: Trojan.Win64.Lazarus.*, Trojan.Win32.Lazarus.*, MEM:Trojan.Win32.Cometer.gen, MEM:Trojan.Win32.SEPEH.gen, Trojan.Win32.Manuscrypt.*, Trojan.Win64.Manuscrypt.*, Trojan.Win32.Zenpak.*.

    Indicators of Compromise

    More IoCs are available to customers of the Kaspersky Intelligence Reporting Service. Contact: intelreports@kaspersky.com.

    Variant of the ThreatNeedle loader
    f1bcb4c5aa35220757d09fc5feea193b C:System32PCAuditex.dll

    Variant of the wAgent loader
    dc0e17879d66ea9409cdf679bfea388c C:ProgramDataintelutil.dat

    COPPERHEDGE dropper
    2d47ef0089010d9b699cd1bbbc66f10a %AppData%hnc_net.tmp

    C2 servers
    www[.]smartmanagerex[.]com
    hxxps://thek-portal[.]com/eng/career/index.asp
    hxxps://builsf[.]com/inc/left.php
    hxxps://www[.]rsdf[.]kr/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/index.php
    hxxp://www[.]shcpump[.]com/admin/form/skin/formBasic/style.php
    hxxps://htns[.]com/eng/skin/member/basic/skin.php
    hxxps://kadsm[.]org/skin/board/basic/write_comment_skin.php
    hxxp://bluekostec[.]com/eng/community/write.asp
    hxxp://dream.bluit.gethompy[.]com/mobile/skin/board/gallery/index.skin.php

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Operation SyncHole: Lazarus APT goes back to the well

    Source: Securelist – Kaspersky

    Headline: Operation SyncHole: Lazarus APT goes back to the well

    We have been tracking the latest attack campaign by the Lazarus group since last November, as it targeted organizations in South Korea with a sophisticated combination of a watering hole strategy and vulnerability exploitation within South Korean software. The campaign, dubbed “Operation SyncHole”, has impacted at least six organizations in South Korea’s software, IT, financial, semiconductor manufacturing, and telecommunications industries, and we are confident that many more companies have actually been compromised. We immediately took action by communicating meaningful information to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KrCERT/CC) for rapid action upon detection, and we have now confirmed that the software exploited in this campaign has all been updated to patched versions.

    Timeline of the operation

    Our findings in a nutshell:

    • At least six South Korean organizations were compromised by a watering hole attack combined with exploitation of vulnerabilities by the Lazarus group.
    • A one-day vulnerability in Innorix Agent was also used for lateral movement.
    • Variants of Lazarus’ malicious tools, such as ThreatNeedle, Agamemnon downloader, wAgent, SIGNBT, and COPPERHEDGE, were discovered with new features.

    Background

    The initial infection was discovered in November of last year when we detected a variant of the ThreatNeedle backdoor, one of the Lazarus group’s flagship malicious tools, used against a South Korean software company. We found that the malware was running in the memory of a legitimate SyncHost.exe process, and was created as a subprocess of Cross EX, legitimate software developed in South Korea. This potentially was the starting point for the compromise of further five organizations in South Korea. Additionally, according to a recent security advisory posted on the KrCERT website, there appear to be recently patched vulnerabilities in Cross EX, which were addressed during the timeframe of our research.

    In the South Korean internet environment, the online banking and government websites require the installation of particular security software to support functions such as anti-keylogging and certificate-based digital signatures. However, due to the nature of these software packages, they constantly run in the background to interact with the browser. The Lazarus group shows a strong grasp of these specifics and is using a South Korea-targeted strategy that combines vulnerabilities in such software with watering hole attacks. The South Korean National Cyber Security Center published its own security advisory in 2023 against such incidents, and also published additional joint security advisories in cooperation with the UK government.

    Cross EX is designed to enable the use of such security software in various browser environments, and is executed with user-level privileges except immediately after installation. Although the exact method by which Cross EX was exploited to deliver malware remains unclear, we believe that the attackers escalated their privileges during the exploitation process as we confirmed the process was executed with high integrity level in most cases. The facts below led us to conclude that a vulnerability in the Cross EX software was most likely leveraged in this operation.

    • The most recent version of Cross EX at the time of the incidents was installed on the infected PCs.
    • Execution chains originating from the Cross EX process that we observed across the targeted organizations were all identical.
    • The incidents that saw the Synchost process abused to inject malware were concentrated within a short period of time: between November 2024 and February 2025.

    In the earliest attack of this operation, the Lazarus group also exploited another South Korean software product, Innorix Agent, leveraging a vulnerability to facilitate lateral movement, enabling the installation of additional malware on a targeted host of their choice. They even developed malware to exploit this, avoiding repetitive tasks and streamlining processes. The exploited software, Innorix Agent (version 9.2.18.450 and earlier), was previously abused by the Andariel group, while the malware we obtained targeted the more recent version 9.2.18.496.

    While analyzing the malware’s behavior, we discovered an additional arbitrary file download zero-day vulnerability in Innorix Agent, which we managed to detect before any threat actors used it in their attacks. We reported the issues to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KrCERT) and the vendor. The software has since been updated with patched versions.

    Installing malware through vulnerabilities in software exclusively developed in South Korea is a key part of the Lazarus group’s strategy to target South Korean entities, and we previously disclosed a similar case in 2023, as did ESET and KrCERT.

    Initial vector

    The infection began when the user of a targeted system accessed several South Korean online media sites. Shortly after visiting one particular site, the machine was compromised by the ThreatNeedle malware, suggesting that the site played a key role in the initial delivery of the backdoor. During the analysis, it was discovered that the infected system was communicating with a suspicious IP address. Further examination revealed that this IP hosted two domains (T1583.001), both of which appeared to be hastily created car rental websites using publicly available HTML templates.

    Appearance of www.smartmanagerex[.]com

    The first domain, www.smartmanagerex[.]com, seemed to be masquerading as software provided by the same vendor that distributes Cross EX. Based on these findings, we reconstructed the following attack scenario.

    Attack flow during initial compromise

    Given that online media sites are typically visited quite frequently by a wealth of users, the Lazarus group filters visitors with a server-side script and redirects desired targets to an attacker-controlled website (T1608.004). We assess with medium confidence that the redirected site may have executed a malicious script (T1189), targeting a potential flaw in Cross EX (T1190) installed on the target PC, and launching malware. The script then ultimately executed the legitimate SyncHost.exe and injected a shellcode that loaded a variant of ThreatNeedle into that process. This chain, which ends with the malware being injected into SyncHost.exe, was common to all of the affected organizations we identified, meaning that the Lazarus group has conducted extensive operations against South Korea over the past few months with the same vulnerability and the same exploit.

    Execution flow

    We have divided this operation into two phases based on the malware used. The first phase focused primarily on the execution chain involving ThreatNeedle and wAgent. It was then followed by the second phase which involved the use of SIGNBT and COPPERHEDGE.

    We derived a total of four different malware execution chains based on these phases from at least six affected organizations. In the first infection case, we found a variant of the ThreatNeedle malware, but in subsequent attacks, the SIGNBT malware took its place, thus launching the second phase. We believe this is due to the quick and aggressive action we took with the first victim. In subsequent attacks, the Lazarus group introduced three updated infection chains including SIGNBT, and we observed a wider range of targets and more frequent attacks. This suggests that the group may have realized that their carefully prepared attacks had been exposed, and extensively leveraged the vulnerability from then on.

    Chains of infection across the operation

    First-phase malware

    In the first infection chain, many updated versions of the malware previously used by the Lazarus group were used.

    Variant of ThreatNeedle

    The ThreatNeedle sample used in this campaign was also referred to as “ThreatNeedleTea” in a research paper published by ESET; we believe this is an updated version of the early ThreatNeedle. However, the ThreatNeedle seen in this attack had been modified with additional features.

    This version of ThreatNeedle is divided into a Loader and Core samples. The Core version retrieves five configuration files from C_27098.NLS to C_27102.NLS, and contains a total of 37 commands. The Loader version, meanwhile, references only two configuration files and implements only four commands.

    The Core component receives a specific command from the C2, resulting in an additional loader file being created for the purpose of persistence. This file can be disguised as the ServiceDLL value of a legitimate service in the netsvcs group (T1543.003), the IKEEXT service (T1574.001), or registered as a Security Service Provider (SSP) (T1547.005). It ultimately loads the ThreatNeedle Loader component.

    Behavior flow to load ThreatNeedle Loader by target service

    The updated ThreatNeedle generates a random key pair based on the Curve25519 algorithm (T1573.002), sends the public key to the C2 server, and then receives the attacker’s public key. Finally, the generated private key and the attacker’s public key are scalar-operated to create a shared key, which is then used as the key for the ChaCha20 algorithm to encrypt the data (T1573.001). The data is sent and received in JSON format.

    LPEClient

    LPEClient is a tool known for victim profiling and payload delivery (T1105) that has previously been observed in attacks on defense contractors and the cryptocurrency industry. We disclosed that this tool had been loaded by SIGNBT when we first documented SIGNBT malware. However, we did not observe LPEClient being loaded by SIGNBT in this campaign. It was only loaded by the variant of ThreatNeedle.

    Variant of wAgent

    In addition to the variant of ThreatNeedle, a variant of the wAgent malware was also discovered in the first affected organization. wAgent is a malicious tool that we documented in 2020, and a similar version was mentioned in Operation GoldGoblin by KrCERT. The origin of its creation is still shrouded in mystery, but we discovered that the wAgent loader was disguised as liblzma.dll and executed via the command line rundll32.exe c:Programdataintelutil.dat, afunix 1W2–UUE–ZNO–B99Z (T1218.011). The export function retrieves the given filename 1W2–UUE–ZNO–B99Z in C:ProgramData, which also serves as the decryption key. After converting this filename into wide bytes, it uses the highest 16 bytes of the resulting value as the key for the AES-128-CBC algorithm and decrypts (T1140) the contents of the file located in C:ProgramData (T1027.013). The upper four bytes of the decrypted data subsequently represent the size of the payload (T1027.009), which we identified as an updated version of the wAgent malware.

    The variant of wAgent has the ability to receive data in both form-data and JSON formats, depending on the C2 server it succeeds in reaching. Notably, it includes the __Host–next–auth–token key within the Cookie field in the request header during the communication (T1071.001), carrying the sequence of communication appended by random digits. In this version, the new observed change is that an open-source GNU Multiple-Precision (GMP) library is employed to carry out RSA encryption computations, which is a previously unseen library in malware used by the Lazarus group. According to the wAgent configuration file, it is identified as the x64_2.1 version. This version manages payloads using a C++ STL map, with emphasis on receiving additional payloads from the C2 and loading them directly into memory, along with creating a shared object. With this object, the main module is able to exchange command parameters and execution results with the delivered plugins.

    Operational structure of the wAgent variant

    Variant of the Agamemnon downloader

    The Agamemnon downloader is also responsible for downloading and executing additional payloads received from the C2 server. Although we did not obtain the configuration file of Agamemnon, it receives commands from the C2 and executes the payload by parsing the commands and parameters based on ;; characters, which serve as command and parameter delimiters. The value of the mode in response passed with a 2 command determines how to execute the additional payload, which is delivered along with a 3 command. There are two methods of execution: the first one is to load the payload reflectively (T1620), which is commonly used in malware, whereas the second one is to utilize the open-source Tartarus-TpAllocInject technique, which we have not previously seen in malware from the Lazarus group.

    Structure of the commands where additional data is passed

    The open-source loader is built on top of another open-source loader named Tartarus’ Gate. Tartarus’ Gate is based on Halo’s Gate, which is in turn based on Hell’s Gate. All of these techniques are designed to bypass security products such as antivirus and EDR solutions, but they load the payload in different ways.

    Innorix Agent exploit for lateral movement

    Unlike the previously mentioned tools, the Innorix abuser is used for lateral movement. It is downloaded by the Agamemnon downloader (T1105) and exploits a specific version of a file transfer software tool developed in South Korea, Innorix Agent, to fetch additional malware on internal hosts (T1570). Innorix Agent is another software product that is mandatory for some financial and administrative tasks in the South Korean internet environment, meaning that it is likely to be installed on many PCs of both corporations and individuals in South Korea, and any user with a vulnerable version is potentially a target. The malware embeds a license key allegedly bound to version 9.2.18.496, which allows it to perform lateral movement by generating malicious traffic disguised as legitimate traffic against targeted network PCs.

    The Innorix abuser is given parameters from the Agamemnon downloader: the target IP, URL to download a file, and file size. It then delivers a request to that target IP to check if Innorix Agent is installed and running. If a successful response is returned, the malware assumes that the software is running properly on the targeted host and transmits traffic that allows the target to download the additional files from the given URL due to a lack of traffic validation.

    Steps to deploy additional malware via the Innorix abuser

    The actor created a legitimate AppVShNotify.exe and a malicious USERENV.dll file in the same path via the Innorix abuser, and then executed the former using a legitimate feature of the software. The USERENV.dll was sideloaded (T1574.002) as a result, which ultimately led to the execution of ThreatNeedle and LPEClient on the targeted hosts, thus launching the infection chain on previously unaffected machines.

    We reported this vulnerability to KrCERT due to the potentially dangerous impact of the Innorix abuser, but were informed that the vulnerability has been exploited and reported in the past. We have confirmed that this malware does not work effectively in environments with Innorix Agent versions other than 9.2.18.496.

    In addition, while digging into the malware’s behavior, we identified another additional arbitrary file download vulnerability that applies to versions up to 9.2.18.538. It is tracked as KVE-2025-0014 and we have not yet found any evidence of its use in the wild. KVE is a vulnerability identification number issued exclusively by KrCERT. We successfully contacted Innorix to share our findings containing the vulnerabilities via KrCERT, and they managed to release a patched version in March with both vulnerabilities fixed.

    Second phase malware

    The second phase of the operation also introduces newer versions of malicious tools previously seen in Lazarus attacks.

    SIGNBT

    The SIGNBT we documented in 2023 was version 1.0, but in this attack, version 0.0.1 was used at the forefront. In addition, we identified a more recent version, SIGNBT 1.2. Unlike versions 1.0 and 0.0.1, the 1.2 version had minimal remote control capabilities and was focused on executing additional payloads. The malware developers named this version “Hijacking”.

    In the second phase of this operation, SIGNBT 0.0.1 was the initial implant executed in memory in SyncHost.exe to fetch additional malware. In this version, the C2 server was hardcoded without reference to any configuration files. During this investigation, we found a credential dumping tool that was fetched by SIGNBT 0.0.1, identical to what we have seen in previous attacks.

    As for version 1.2, it fetches the path to the configuration file from its resources and retrieves the file to obtain C2 server addresses. We were able to extract two configuration file paths from each identified SIGNBT 1.2 sample, which are shown below. Another change in SIGNBT 1.2 is that the number of prefixes starting with SIGN are reduced to only three: SIGNBTLG, SIGNBTRC, and SIGNBTSR. The malware receives an RSA public key from the C2 and encrypts a randomly generated AES key using the public key. All traffic is encrypted with the generated AES key.

    • Configuration file path 1: C:ProgramDataSamsungSamsungSettingssettings.dat
    • Configuration file path 2: C:ProgramDataMicrosoftDRMServerdrm.ver

    COPPERHEDGE

    COPPERHEDGE is a malicious tool that was named by US-CERT in 2020. It is a Manuscrypt variant and was primarily used in the DeathNote cluster attacks. Unlike the other malware used in this operation, COPPERHEDGE has not changed dramatically, with only several commands being slightly changed compared to the older versions. This version, however, retrieves configuration information such as the C2 server address from the ADS %appdata%MicrosoftInternet Explorerbrndlog.txt:loginfo (T1564.004). The malware then sends HTTP traffic to C2 with three or four parameters for each request, where the parameter name is chosen randomly out of three names in any order.

    • First HTTP parameter name: bih, aqs, org
    • Second HTTP parameter name: wib, rlz, uid
    • Third HTTP parameter name: tib, hash, lang
    • Fourth HTTP parameter name: ei, ie, oq

    The actor primarily used the COPPERHEDGE malware to conduct internal reconnaissance in this operation. There are a total of 30 commands from 0x2003 to 0x2032, and 11 response codes from 0x2040 to 0x2050 inside the COPPERHEDGE backdoor.

    The evolution of Lazarus malware

    In recent years, the malware used by the Lazarus group has been rapidly evolving to include lightweighting and modularization. This applies not only to newly added tools, but also to malware that has been used in the past. We have observed such changes for a few years, and we believe there are more on the way.

    Use of asymmetric encryption Load plugins Divided into core and loader version
    MISTPEN – O –
    CookiePlus O (RSA) O –
    ThreatNeedle O (Curve25519) O O
    wAgent (downloader) O (RSA) O –
    Agamemnon downloader – – –
    SIGNBT O (RSA) O O
    COPPERHEDGE O (RSA) – O

    Discoveries

    During our investigation into this campaign, we gained extensive insight into the Lazarus group’s post-exploitation strategy. After installing the COPPERHEDGE malware, the actor executed numerous Windows commands to gather basic system information (T1082, T1083, T1057, T1049, T1016, T1087.001), create a malicious service (T1569.002, T1007) and attempt to find valuable hosts to perform lateral movement (T1087.002, T1135).

    While analyzing the commands executed by the actor, we were able to identify the actor’s mistake when using the taskkill command: the /im parameter when using taskkill means imagename, which should specify the image name of the process, not the process id. This shows that the actor is still performing internal reconnaissance by manually entering commands.

    Infrastructure

    Throughout this operation, most of the C2 servers were legitimate but compromised websites in South Korea (T1584.001), further indicating that this operation was highly focused on South Korea. In the first phase, other media sites were utilized as C2 servers to avoid detection of media-initiated watering hole attacks. However, as the infection chain turned to the second phase, legitimate sites in various other industries were additionally exploited.

    Unlike other cases, LPEClient’s C2 server was hosted by the same hosting company as www.smartmanagerex[.]com, which was deliberately created for initial compromise. Given that LPEClient is heavily relied upon by the Lazarus group for delivering additional payloads, it is likely that the attackers deliberately rented and configured the server (T1583.003), assigning a domain under their control to maintain full operational flexibility. In addition to this, we also found that two domains that were exploited as C2 servers for SIGNBT 0.0.1 resolved to the same hosting company’s IP range.

    We confirmed that the domain thek–portal[.]com belonged to a South Korean ISP until 2020 and was the legitimate domain of an insurance company that was acquired by another company. Since then, the domain had been parked and its status was changed in February 2025, indicating that the Lazarus group re-registered the domain to leverage it in this operation.

    Attribution

    Throughout this campaign, several malware samples were used that we managed to attribute to the Lazarus group through our ongoing and dedicated research conducted for a long time. Our attribution is supported by the historical use of the malware strains, as well as their TTPs, all of which have been well documented by numerous security solutions vendors and governments. Furthermore, we have analyzed the execution time of the Windows commands delivered by the COPPERHEDGE malware, the build timestamps of all malicious samples we described above, and the time of initial compromise per host, demonstrating that the timeframes were mostly concentrated between GMT 00:00 and 09:00. Based on our knowledge of normal working hours in various time zones, we can infer that the actor is located in the GMT+09 time zone.

    Timeline of malicious activity

    Victims

    We identified at least six software, IT, financial, semiconductor manufacturing and telecommunication organizations in South Korea that fell victim to “Operation SyncHole”. However, we are confident that there are many more affected organizations across a broader range of industries, given the popularity of the software exploited by Lazarus in this campaign.

    Conclusion

    This is not the first time that the Lazarus group exploited supply chains with a full understanding of the software ecosystem in South Korea. We have already described similar attacks in our analysis reports on the Bookcode cluster in 2020, the DeathNote cluster in 2022, and the SIGNBT malware in 2023. All of these cases targeted software developed by South Korean vendors that required installation for online banking and government services. Both of the software products exploited in this case are in line with past cases, meaning that the Lazarus group is endlessly adopting an effective strategy based on cascading supply chain attacks.

    The Lazarus group’s specialized attacks targeting supply chains in South Korea are expected to continue in the future. Our research over the past few years provided evidence that many software development vendors in Korea have already been attacked, and if the source code of a product has been compromised, other zero-day vulnerabilities may continue to be discovered. The attackers are also making efforts to minimize detection by developing new malware or enhancing existing malware. In particular, they introduce enhancements to the communication with the C2, command structure, and the way they send and receive data.

    We have proven that accurate detection and quick response can effectively deter their tactics, and in the meantime, we were able to remediate vulnerabilities and mitigate attacks to minimize damage. We will continue to monitor the activity of this group and remain agile in responding to their changes. We also recommend using reliable security solutions to stay alert and mitigate potential risks. Our product line for businesses helps identify and prevent attacks of any complexity at an early stage.

    Kaspersky products detect the exploits and malware used in this attack with the following verdicts: Trojan.Win64.Lazarus.*, Trojan.Win32.Lazarus.*, MEM:Trojan.Win32.Cometer.gen, MEM:Trojan.Win32.SEPEH.gen, Trojan.Win32.Manuscrypt.*, Trojan.Win64.Manuscrypt.*, Trojan.Win32.Zenpak.*.

    Indicators of Compromise

    More IoCs are available to customers of the Kaspersky Intelligence Reporting Service. Contact: intelreports@kaspersky.com.

    Variant of the ThreatNeedle loader
    f1bcb4c5aa35220757d09fc5feea193b C:System32PCAuditex.dll

    Variant of the wAgent loader
    dc0e17879d66ea9409cdf679bfea388c C:ProgramDataintelutil.dat

    COPPERHEDGE dropper
    2d47ef0089010d9b699cd1bbbc66f10a %AppData%hnc_net.tmp

    C2 servers
    www[.]smartmanagerex[.]com
    hxxps://thek-portal[.]com/eng/career/index.asp
    hxxps://builsf[.]com/inc/left.php
    hxxps://www[.]rsdf[.]kr/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/index.php
    hxxp://www[.]shcpump[.]com/admin/form/skin/formBasic/style.php
    hxxps://htns[.]com/eng/skin/member/basic/skin.php
    hxxps://kadsm[.]org/skin/board/basic/write_comment_skin.php
    hxxp://bluekostec[.]com/eng/community/write.asp
    hxxp://dream.bluit.gethompy[.]com/mobile/skin/board/gallery/index.skin.php

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI China: Modernization in motion as China’s ‘city of the future’ takes shape rapidly

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    XIONG’AN, Hebei Province, April 24 — At the end of March, a new sports center with a seating capacity of over 40,000 opened in Xiong’an New Area in northern China’s Hebei Province, filling a key gap in the region’s capacity to host large-scale sports and cultural events.

    The Xiong’an New Area, located about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, was established on April 1, 2017. It aims to relieve Beijing of non-essential functions related to its status as the nation’s capital, while also advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The process explores a new model of development in densely populated areas.

    According to Chinese authorities, Xiong’an has entered a pivotal stage, where large-scale infrastructure projects are advancing in tandem with accelerated relocation efforts. The focus has now shifted toward promoting high-quality development, high-standard management, and coordinated, efficient resettlement. As the much-anticipated “city of the future,” Xiong’an is taking shape at remarkable speed.

    MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS

    At the end of 2021, Jia Mengshuang relocated from Beijing to Xiong’an for work. Her company is based in an internet industry park in the new area, which now accommodates more than 600 on-site employees.

    From the terrace of Jia’s office building, the view offers a striking glimpse of Xiong’an’s remarkable transformation. Just next door, the headquarters of China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. (CSCN) — the first centrally-administered state-owned enterprise (SOE) to establish a presence in the new area — officially began operations late last year. Meanwhile, the gleaming facades of two other centrally-administered SOEs’ nearly completed headquarters now rise prominently on the emerging skyline.

    As more SOEs establish a presence in Xiong’an, a series of emerging industrial clusters are driving the development of this futuristic city. Having lived and worked in Xiong’an for over half a year, Li Maofan, an employee at CSCN, is increasingly convinced that “dreams can be realized here.”

    Leveraging the presence of the satellite company and an innovation alliance for aerospace information and satellite internet, Xiong’an is developing an industrial ecosystem that spans satellite internet, spatiotemporal information, aerospace vehicles, and the intelligent manufacturing of commercial satellites. So far, it has attracted around 60 enterprises in the aerospace information sector.

    Driven by its commitment to becoming an innovation hub, the new area is also rapidly consolidating scientific and technological resources across industries such as next-generation information technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and new materials.

    Since its establishment, Xiong’an has seen the successful implementation of a series of landmark relocation projects. Four headquarters of centrally-administered SOEs, including CSCN, have already settled in the new area. Four others, including China Datang Corporation Ltd., are set to begin construction this year.

    Currently, over 4,000 Beijing-based enterprises have established operations in Xiong’an, and centrally-administered SOEs have opened over 300 branches and subsidiaries in the area.

    Supportive projects in education and healthcare are also progressing rapidly in the new area. Construction is accelerating on campus buildings for four Beijing-based universities, as well as the site for Peking University People’s Hospital, one of Beijing’s leading hospitals. Meanwhile, the Xiong’an branch of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, one of China’s most prestigious medical institutions, is set to begin construction soon.

    According to the reform and development bureau of Xiong’an, total completed investments in the new area had surpassed 860 billion yuan (about 119.25 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of February. Liu Jia, deputy director of the bureau, said that the implementation of the second batch of relocation projects is being expedited.

    SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

    Xiong’an is focusing not only on rapid development but also on prioritizing people in its approach to modernization, ensuring that ecological sustainability is integrated throughout the entire process.

    Huang Yuqiang, general manager of a tech firm, relocated his company from Beijing to Xiong’an four years ago. Huang’s company — now a national high-tech enterprise — has secured several invention patents. Its autonomous UAV inspection platform has been applied to various scenarios, including road defect inspections and park security.

    Benefiting from the local government’s robust talent attraction initiatives, Huang now enjoys a refreshingly carefree life after work. Not only did he move into a subsidized rental apartment at a 30-percent discount, but he also received a “Xiong’an talent card,” which grants him benefits related to business ventures, household registration, transportation, healthcare and children’s education.

    Content with the present and optimistic about the future, Huang transferred his family’s household registration to Xiong’an, where they now live. “We feel extremely comfortable, and our sense of happiness has greatly improved,” he said.

    Huang’s story reflects Xiong’an’s remarkable population growth. Since 2017, the new area has seen a consistent influx of residents, with its permanent population reaching 1.36 million by 2024, highlighting its increasing appeal as a hub for talent and opportunities.

    Much like Huang, Jia has gradually relocated her family to Xiong’an over two years. “Every morning, it’s just a five-minute walk to drop my child off at the kindergarten near home, followed by another 10-minute walk to the office,” said Jia, noting that it’s a simple pleasure she could never have imagined during her years in Beijing.

    Spanning an area of 1,770 square kilometers, the new area aims to create favorable living conditions for residents, with parks, recreational facilities, schools and convenience stores all within a 15-minute walk. The plan is to dedicate only 30 percent of the city’s space to urban development, leaving the rest for water and greenery, an exceptionally rare approach in China’s urban development history.

    Since 2017, Xiong’an has added a total of 481,000 mu (about 32,067 hectares) of trees, raising its forest coverage rate from 11 to 35 percent. Notably, the local country park, with a total area of approximately 18 square kilometers, is about five times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

    Baiyangdian Lake, one of northern China’s major wetlands, has undergone its largest systematic ecological restoration in history, with water quality reaching the highest level since monitoring began in 1988 after water replenishment. The lake is now home to 295 wild bird species, an increase of 89 species compared to the period before the new area was established.

    Designed to be smart, sustainable and free from “urban ills,” Xiong’an is China’s first city to achieve the synchronized development of both its digital and physical urban spaces on a citywide scale.

    One feature that consistently impresses nearly all visitors to Xiong’an is its cutting-edge smart mobility solutions. It has developed 153 kilometers of digital roads equipped with smart lampposts that integrate traffic lights and various sensors. By analyzing real-time traffic flow data, the intelligent system automatically adjusts signal timing to minimize red-light stops, significantly enhancing traffic efficiency, explained Song Laiqiang, product manager at China Telecom Digital City Technology Co., Ltd.

    Smart technology is also being used to tackle common urban challenges. According to Wang Kun, deputy director of the Rongdong administrative committee’s urban operations center, over 1,000 AI-equipped cameras across roads and neighborhoods in Rongdong district of Xiong’an can automatically detect 19 types of municipal issues, from overflowing trash bins to illegal parking. The center’s management platform then reports these issues to community workers, who resolve them promptly.

    At the heart of these smart systems is the Xiong’an urban computing center, often referred to as the city’s “brain,” which drives the construction and management of this smart city. “It integrates technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, AI and cloud computing to enable real-time, refined and intelligent urban management,” said Li Nan, a supervisor at Xiong’an Cloud Network Technology Co., Ltd.

    “All these innovations have enabled residents to enjoy a higher quality of life in a smarter city,” Li added.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Election meme hits and duds – we’ve graded some of the best (and worst) of the campaign so far

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University

    As Australia begins voting in the federal election, we’re awash with political messages.

    While this of course includes the typical paid ads in newspapers and on TV (those ones with the infamously fast-paced “authorised by” postscripts), political parties and lobby groups now compete especially hard for our attention online.

    And, if there’s one thing internet users love, it’s a good meme.

    Indeed, as far back as two elections ago, in the 2019 campaign, the Liberal Party discovered the power of so-called “boomer memes”, and harnessed them effectively to help secure a third term in government.

    The other parties have since caught on though, and are battling hard to win the messaging war in a way that will resonate with voters, especially those who are inclined to ignore a typical political advertisement.

    What makes a good meme?

    The best political communication often contains a few key elements.

    First, it should be developed with a clear understanding of context, purpose and audience. If the target audience can’t get the message pretty much straight away, then it’s not much good.

    It should also spark some sort of emotional reaction. It should make voters feel something and motivate them to act, or change their voting intention.

    When it comes to political memes in particular, they need to make some clear reference to widely known cultural material. This might be a trending event in popular culture, or fit into an established meme format.

    And, of course, the best memes are fun. As the quote, often attributed to American funnyman Andy Kaufman, goes: “if you can make someone laugh, you can make them think”.

    Below, we have collected some of the major Australian political parties’ recent efforts on the meme front during the 2025 election campaign, and assessed their effectiveness. We graded them from “A” for best down to “D” for worst.

    Grading political messages

    We’ll start with the “diss track” the Liberals released earlier this month.

    We’d give this one a “D” grade. It focuses heavily on cost of living and might spark an emotional reaction from voters who feel pain when going to the shops. But, it’s highly unlikely to hit the mark, given it was released on a minor platform, and rap music (with its Black American roots) doesn’t exactly gel with the Liberal Party’s overall image and ethos.

    One SoundCloud user probably best summed up the vibe here, by referencing another famous internet meme: “how do you do, fellow kids?”



    Read more:
    Why the Coalition’s tone-deaf diss track was bound to hit all the wrong notes

    The Liberals did much better, however, with their version of the popular AI action figure trend that’s sweeping the Internet.

    We’d give this one a solid “B+.” It features some clever one-liners, makes use of a current trend, and makes its point easily and quickly. We knock a few points off for the redundant focus on “cheaper power” This would have been better as two separate issues rather than repeating one twice.

    Instead, we give Labor’s version a “C-”.

    It looks only barely like the prime minister. He is shown as neutral rather than smiling. And the accessories chosen feel forced.

    Although both memes tap into a trend, their shelf life will likely be short. This is in contrast to political ads like the below.

    Rather than jump on the latest, short-lived trend, this ad draws on cultural material that’s more than three decades old but considered classic. The juxtaposition of a widely seen children’s cartoon with a political ad provides a surprising contrast. And the strategic editing drew more than a few giggles out of us.

    We’d give this one an “A-.” It still relies on audio, which is often disabled by default, to get its point across but is solid, overall.

    This ad by the Greens, however, misses the mark.

    We like Lady Gaga as much as the next person, but the cultural connection here seems dated and forced. Rather than focus on one key message, the ad instead mentions five separate policy positions. It also doesn’t work without audio. We’d give it a “C-.”

    The Labor Party had more of a hit with this meme, though:

    It appropriates the Venn diagram, a well-established meme format, which requires a degree of creativity and intelligence to pull off successfully. It makes a clear point, but also doesn’t bash its audience around the head with it. So, we’d give this a “B+”.

    One of the best memes we’ve seen recently, however, comes from a Facebook page connected to The Greens:

    The Simpsons has become a kind of lingua franca of the internet over the last decade or more, and has been the genesis of many, many popular memes, including during the last federal election.

    This meme not only taps into that existing internet culture, and gestures towards one of the show’s sweetest-ever moments in recounting the circumstances of Maggie’s birth, but also cleverly draws on and repurposes one of the attack lines being used against the Greens (“Can’t vote Greens. Not this time”) by the lobby group Advance Australia. It’s a clever piece of communication and one of the few “A”-grade memes we’ve encountered in the campaign so far.

    Your turn

    Keep an eye on the memes you encounter in the next few weeks in the lead-up to the election on May 3. Which ones do you find effective and why?

    But memes are only part of the story. Also consider the positions of the candidates and parties and their substantive policies. Memes, good or bad, can only go so far.

    T.J. Thomson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is an affiliated researcher with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making & Society.

    Stephen Harrington receives funding from the Australian Research Council, for the Discovery Project ‘Understanding and Combatting “Dark Political Communication”‘. He has made occasional donations to candidates for The Australian Greens.

    – ref. Election meme hits and duds – we’ve graded some of the best (and worst) of the campaign so far – https://theconversation.com/election-meme-hits-and-duds-weve-graded-some-of-the-best-and-worst-of-the-campaign-so-far-254709

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: President Lai delivers remarks at International Holocaust Remembrance Day event

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan

    Details
    2025-04-23
    President Lai pays respects to Pope Francis  
    On the morning of April 23, President Lai Ching-te visited the Taipei Archdiocesan Curia to pay respects in a memorial ceremony for His Holiness Pope Francis. As officiant of the ceremony, President Lai burned incense and presented flowers, fruits, and wine to pay his respects to Pope Francis. At the direction of the master of ceremonies, the president then bowed three times in front of Pope Francis’s memorial portrait, conveying his grief and deep respect for the late pope. After hearing of Pope Francis’s passing on April 21, President Lai promptly requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express sincere condolences from the people and government of Taiwan to the Vatican. The president also instructed Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) to convey condolences to the Holy See’s Apostolic Nunciature in Taiwan.  

    Details
    2025-04-23
    President Lai meets US CNAS NextGen fellows
    On the morning of April 23, President Lai Ching-te met with fellows from the Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Leaders Program (NextGen) run by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). In remarks, President Lai thanked the government of the United States for continuing its arms sales to Taiwan over the years, supporting Taiwan’s efforts to enhance its national defense capabilities and jointly maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The president pointed out that we will promote our “Taiwan plus one” policy, that is, new arrangements for Taiwan plus the US, and form a “Taiwan investment in the US team” to expand investment and bring about even closer Taiwan-US trade cooperation, allowing us to reduce the trade deficit and generate development that benefits both sides. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: Ms. Michèle Flournoy, chair of the CNAS Board of Directors, is a good friend of Taiwan, and she has made major contributions to Taiwan-US relations through her long-time efforts on various aspects of our cooperation. I am happy to welcome Chair Flournoy, who is once again leading a NextGen Fellowship delegation to Taiwan. CNAS is a prominent think tank focusing on US national security and defense policy based in Washington, DC. Its NextGen Fellowship has fostered talented individuals in the fields of national security and foreign affairs. This year’s delegation is significantly larger than those of the past, demonstrating the increased importance that the next generation of US leaders attach to Taiwan. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I extend my sincerest welcome to you all. The Taiwan Strait, an issue of importance for our guests, has become a global issue. There is a high degree of international consensus that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are indispensable elements in global security and prosperity. Facing military threats from China, Taiwan proposed the Four Pillars of Peace action plan. First, we are actively implementing military reforms, enhancing whole-of-society defense resilience, and working to increase our defense budget to more than 3 percent of GDP. Second, we are strengthening our economic resilience. As Taiwan’s economy must keep advancing, we can no longer put all our eggs in one basket. We are taking action to remain firmly rooted in Taiwan while expanding our global presence and marketing worldwide. In these efforts, we are already seeing results. Third, we are standing side-by-side with other democratic countries to demonstrate the strength of deterrence and achieve our goal of peace through strength. And fourth, Taiwan is willing, under the principles of parity and dignity, to conduct exchanges and cooperate with China towards achieving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This April 10 marked the 46th anniversary of the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act. We thank the US government for continuing its arms sales to Taiwan over the years, supporting Taiwan’s efforts to enhance its national defense capabilities and jointly maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. We look forward to Taiwan and the US continuing to strengthen collaboration on the development of both our defense industries as well as the building of non-red supply chains. This will yield even more results and further deepen our economic and trade partnership. The US is now the main destination for outbound investment from Taiwan. Moving forward, we will promote our “Taiwan plus one” policy, that is, new arrangements for Taiwan plus the US. And our government will form a “Taiwan investment in the US team” to expand investment. We hope this will bring Taiwan-US economic and trade cooperation even closer and, through mutually beneficial assistance, allow us to generate development that benefits both our sides while reducing our trade deficit. In closing, thank you once again for visiting Taiwan. We hope your trip is fruitful and leaves you with a deep impression of Taiwan. We also hope that going forward you continue supporting Taiwan and advancing even greater development for Taiwan-US ties.  Chair Flournoy then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for making time to receive their delegation. Referring to President Lai’s earlier remarks, she said that it is quite an impressive group, as past members of this program have gone on to become members of the US Congress, leading government experts, and leaders in the think-tank world and in the private sector. She remarked that investing in this group is a wonderful privilege for her and that they appreciate President Lai’s agreeing to take the time to engage in exchange with them. Chair Flournoy emphasized that they are visiting Taiwan at a critical moment, when there is so much change and volatility in the geostrategic environment, a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of unpredictability. She stated that given our shared values, our shared passion for democracy and human rights, and our shared interests in peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, this is an important time for dialogue, collaboration, and looking for additional opportunities where we can work together towards regional peace and stability.

    Details
    2025-04-18
    President Lai meets US delegation from Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific
    On the afternoon of April 18, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by Senator Pete Ricketts, chairman of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy. In remarks, President Lai said we hope to promote our Taiwan plus one policy, that is, new industrial arrangements for Taiwan plus the US, to leverage the strengths of both sides and reinforce our links in such areas as the economy, trade, and technological innovation. The president said that by deepening cooperation, Taiwan and the US will be better positioned to work together on building non-red supply chains. He said a more secure and sustainable economic and trade partnership will allow us to address the challenges posed by geopolitics, climate change, and the restructuring of global supply chains. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I warmly welcome you all to Taiwan. I want to take this opportunity to especially thank Chairman Pete Ricketts and Ranking Member Chris Coons for their high regard and support for Taiwan. Chairman Ricketts has elected to visit Taiwan on his first overseas trip since taking up his new position in January. Ranking Member Coons made a dedicated trip to Taiwan in 2021 to announce a donation of COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the US government. He also visited last May, soon after my inauguration, continuing to deepen Taiwan-US exchanges. Thanks to support from Chairman Ricketts and Ranking Member Coons, the US Congress has continued to introduce many concrete initiatives and resources to assist Taiwan through the National Defense Authorization Act and Consolidated Appropriations Act, bringing the Taiwan-US partnership even closer. For this, I want to again express my gratitude. There has long been bipartisan support in the US Congress for maintaining security in the Taiwan Strait. Faced with China’s persistent political and military intimidation, Taiwan will endeavor to reform national defense and enhance whole-of-society defense resilience. We will also make special budget allocations to ensure that our defense budget exceeds 3 percent of GDP, up from the current 2.5 percent, so as to enhance Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities. We look forward to Taiwan and the US continuing to work together to maintain peace and stability in the region. We will also promote our Taiwan plus one policy, that is, new industrial arrangements for Taiwan plus the US. We hope to leverage the strengths of both sides and reinforce our links in such areas as the economy, trade, and technological innovation, jointly promoting prosperity and development. We believe that by deepening cooperation through the Taiwan plus one policy, Taiwan and the US will be better positioned to work together on building non-red supply chains. A more secure and sustainable economic and trade partnership will allow us to address the challenges posed by geopolitics, climate change, and the restructuring of global supply chains. In closing, I wish Chairman Ricketts and Ranking Member Coons a smooth and successful visit. Chairman Ricketts then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for his hospitality. He said that he and his delegation have had a wonderful time meeting with government officials, industry representatives, and the team at the American Institute in Taiwan. Highlighting that Taiwan has long been a friend and partner of the US, he said their bipartisan delegation to Taiwan emphasizes long-time bipartisan support in the US Congress for Taiwan, and though administrations change, that bipartisan support remains. Chairman Ricketts stated that the US is committed to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and that they want to see peace across the Taiwan Strait. He also stated that the US opposes any unilateral change in the status of Taiwan and that they expect any differences between Taiwan and China to be resolved peacefully without coercion or the threat of force. To that end, he said, the US will continue to assist Taiwan in its self-defense and will also step up by bolstering its own defense capabilities, noting that there is broad consensus on this in the US Congress. Chairman Ricketts stated that they want to see Taiwan participate in international organizations and memberships where appropriate, and encourage Taiwan to reach out to current and past diplomatic allies to strengthen those bilateral relationships. He pointed out that the long economic relationship between the US and Taiwan is important for our as well as the entire world’s security and prosperity. He also noted that there are many opportunities for us to continue to grow the economic relationship that will help create more prosperity for our respective peoples and ensure that we are more secure in the world. Chairman Ricketts emphasized that they made this trip early on in the new US administration to work with Taiwan to develop three points: security, diplomatic relations, and the economy. He stated that in the face of rising aggression from communist China, the US will provide commensurate help to Taiwan in self-defense and that they will continue to provide the services and tools needed. In closing, Chairman Ricketts once again thanked President Lai for the hospitality and said he looks forward to dialogue on how we can continue these relationships. Ranking Member Coons then delivered remarks. Mentioning that their delegation also visited the Philippines on this trip, he said that there and in Taiwan, they have been focused on peace, stability, and security, and the ways for deepening and strengthening economic and security relations. He noted that 46 years ago, the US Senate passed the Taiwan Relations Act, adding that it was strongly bipartisan when enacted and that support for it is still strongly bipartisan today. Its core commitment, he said, is that the US will be engaged and will be a partner in ensuring that any dispute or challenge across the strait will be resolved peacefully, and that Taiwan will have the resources it needs for its self-defense. Ranking Member Coons said that between people, friendships are deepest and most enduring when they are based not just on interests but on values, and that the same is true between the US and Taiwan. Free press, free enterprise, free societies, democracy – these core shared values, he said, anchor our friendship and partnership, making them deeper. He remarked that they are grateful for the significant investment in the US being made by companies from Taiwan, but what anchors our partnership, in addition to these important investments and investments being made by Taiwan in its own security, are the values that mobilize our free-enterprise spirit and our commitment to free societies. In Europe in recent years, Ranking Member Coons said, an aggressive nation has tried to change boundaries and change history by force. He said that the US and dozens of countries committed to freedom have come to the aid of Ukraine to defend it, help it stabilize, and secure its future. So too in this region of the world, he added, the US and a bipartisan group in the US Senate are committed to stable, secure, peaceful relations and to deterring any unilateral effort to change the status quo by force. In closing, he said he is grateful for a chance to return to Taiwan after the pandemic and that he looks forward to our conversation, our partnership, and the important work we have in front of us. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office Director Raymond Greene.

    Details
    2025-04-17
    President Lai meets New Zealand delegation from All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan  
    On the morning of April 17, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation from New Zealand’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan. In remarks, President Lai thanked the government of New Zealand for reiterating the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait on multiple occasions since last year. He also stated that this year, the Taiwan-New Zealand economic cooperation agreement (ANZTEC) is being implemented in its complete form. The president expressed hope that deeper collaboration in such fields as smart agriculture, food manufacturing, biomedicine, the digital economy, and clean energy, as well as exchanges among our indigenous peoples, will allow our economies and industries to continue evolving as they adapt to the challenges arising from global changes. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I extend a warm welcome to all of our guests. New Zealand’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan was established in 2023, marking a significant milestone in the deepening of Taiwan-New Zealand relations. I would like to thank Members of Parliament Stuart Smith and Tangi Utikere for leading this delegation, and thank all our guests for demonstrating support for Taiwan through action. We currently face a rapidly changing international landscape. Authoritarian regimes continue to converge and expand. Democracies must actively cooperate and jointly safeguard peace, stability, and the prosperous development of the Indo-Pacific region. Since last year, the government of New Zealand has on multiple occasions reiterated the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I would like to express our sincere gratitude for these statements and demonstrations of support. This year, ANZTEC is being implemented in its complete form. We look forward to exploring even more diverse markets with New Zealand. Deeper collaboration in such fields as smart agriculture, food manufacturing, biomedicine, the digital economy, and clean energy, as well as exchanges among indigenous peoples, will allow our economies and industries to continue evolving as they adapt to the challenges arising from global changes. Taiwan and New Zealand share the universal values of democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights, and parliamentary diplomacy is a tradition practiced by democracies around the world. Looking ahead, our parliamentary exchanges and mutual visits are bound to become more frequent. This will enable us to explore even more opportunities for cooperation and further deepen and solidify the democratic partnership between Taiwan and New Zealand. Thank you once again for making the long journey to visit us. I wish you a fruitful and successful trip. I also hope that everyone can take time to see more of Taiwan, try our local cuisine, and learn more about our culture. I hope our guests will fall in love with Taiwan. MP Smith then delivered remarks, saying that it is a great pleasure and an honor to be received by President Lai. The MP, noting that President Lai already covered many of the points he planned to make, went on to say that New Zealand and Taiwan share many values. He indicated that both are trading nations that rely on easy access for imports and exports, and that is why freedom of navigation is so important. That is why New Zealand had a naval vessel sail through the Taiwan Strait, he said, to underline the importance of freedom of navigation and our mutual security. MP Smith said that they look forward to building stronger relationships and enhancing the trade between our two nations. He added that New Zealand has much to offer in the field of geothermal energy to assist Taiwan, and mentioned that New Zealand is third largest in terms of the number of rocket launchers for satellites, which could assist Taiwan with communications in the future. New Zealand has other products as well, he said, but looks for assistance from Taiwan’s technology and technological sector. Lastly, MP Smith stated that he looks forward to a long and prosperous relationship between Taiwan and New Zealand. MP Utikere then delivered remarks, indicating that like Taiwan, New Zealand is a nation that is surrounded by ocean, which means that they rely on strong partnerships with communities of interest all around the globe. He said that the all-party parliamentary friendship group that was established and that they are a part of goes a long way in ensuring that a secure relationship between our two parliaments can continue to prosper. The MP also thanked Taiwan’s Representative to New Zealand Joanne Ou (歐江安) and her team for their work, which has ensured the success of the delegation’s visit. He said that the delegation experienced meetings with ministers in Taiwan’s government, members of the legislature, and those from the non-government organization sector as well. He also said that they enjoyed the opportunity to visit Wulai, and that the strength of the connections between the indigenous peoples of Taiwan and the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand is something that certainly landed with members of the delegation. MP Utikere noted that he will take up President Lai’s offer on experiencing more of Taiwan, and will spend a few extra days in Tainan, which he understands has a very special place in the president’s heart, adding that he looks forward to his time and experiences there. The MP concluded his remarks by saying that this will be a relationship that continues to go from strength to strength. After their remarks, the New Zealand delegation sang the Māori song “Tutira Mai Nga Iwi” to extend best wishes to Taiwan. Also in attendance at the meeting were New Zealand Members of Parliament Jamie Arbuckle, Greg Fleming, Hamish Campbell, Cameron Luxton, and Helen White.  

    Details
    2025-04-15
    President Lai meets delegation led by Tuvalu Deputy Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone 
    On the afternoon of April 15, President Lai Ching-te met with a delegation led by Tuvalu Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development Panapasi Nelesone and his wife. In remarks, President Lai thanked Tuvalu for its staunch and long-term backing of Taiwan’s international participation. The president said he looks forward to our nations deepening bilateral ties in such areas as agriculture, medicine, education, and information and communications technology and working together toward greater peace, prosperity, and development in the Pacific region. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: I extend a very warm welcome to Deputy Prime Minister Nelesone and Madame Corinna Ituaso Laafai as they lead this delegation to Taiwan. Our distinguished guests are the first delegation from Tuvalu that I have received at the Presidential Office this year. During my visit to Tuvalu last year, I met and exchanged views with Deputy Prime Minister Nelesone and the ministers present. I am delighted to meet you again today and thank you once again for the hospitality you accorded my delegation. The culture of Tuvalu and the warmth of its people are not easily forgotten. Tuvalu’s support for Taiwan has also touched us deeply. I want to take this opportunity to thank Tuvalu for staunchly backing Taiwan’s international participation over the past several decades. Our two countries have supported each other like family and have together made contributions in the international arena. Last Tuesday, I received the credentials of Ambassador Lily Tangisia Faavae and expressed my hope for Taiwan and Tuvalu continuing to deepen bilateral relations. This visit by Deputy Prime Minister Nelesone is an important step in that regard. Our two countries will be signing a labor cooperation agreement and an agreement concerning the recognition of training and certification of seafarers. This will expand bilateral cooperation at multiple levels and bring our relations even closer. Taiwan and Tuvalu are maritime nations and share the values of democracy and freedom. Our two countries have stood shoulder to shoulder to protect marine resources and address the challenges posed by climate change and authoritarianism, and we aspire to work toward greater peace, prosperity, and development in the Pacific region. Our nations have produced fruitful results in such areas as agriculture, medicine, education, and information and communications technology. I anticipate that, with the support of Deputy Prime Minister Nelesone and our distinguished guests, we can continue to employ a more diverse range of strategies to begin a new chapter in our diplomatic partnership. Together, we can make even greater and more concrete contributions to regional development. Deputy Prime Minister Nelesone then delivered remarks, first thanking President Lai for his kind words of welcome and the warm hospitality extended to his delegation. On behalf of the government and people of Tuvalu, he conveyed their gratitude to the president and the people of Taiwan for the generous support, as well as for the enduring friendship we share. He said that Taiwan’s steadfast commitment to our bilateral relationship has been instrumental in advancing our shared values of democracy, resilience, and sustainable development. From vital development assistance to cooperation in health, education, and climate change resilience, he added, Taiwan’s contributions have made a significant impact on the lives of the people of Tuvalu.  For Taiwan’s recent generous donation of shoes for Tuvaluan primary school students, Deputy Prime Minister Nelesone expressed thanks to President Lai. He commented that these gifts, which underscore a deep commitment to the welfare of their youth, transcend mere material support; they are symbols of care, friendship, and hope for the future generations. Noting that our bilateral relationship is built on mutual respect, shared values, and a common vision for sustainable development in the Pacific, he expressed confidence that this partnership will continue to flourish and will serve as a beacon of cooperation and solidarity within our region.  The delegation also included Tuvalu Minister of Foreign Affairs, Labour, and Trade Paulson Panapa; Minister of Public Works, Infrastructure Development and Water Ampelosa Tehulu, and was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Tuvalu Ambassador Faavae.

    Details
    2025-04-06
    President Lai delivers remarks on US tariff policy response
    On April 6, President Lai Ching-te delivered recorded remarks regarding the impact of the 32 percent tariff that the United States government recently imposed on imports from Taiwan in the name of reciprocity. In his remarks, President Lai explained that the government will adopt five response strategies, including making every effort to improve reciprocal tariff rates through negotiations, adopting a support plan for affected domestic industries, adopting medium- and long-term economic development plans, forming new “Taiwan plus the US” arrangements, and launching industry listening tours. The president emphasized that as we face this latest challenge, the government and civil society will work hand in hand, and expressed hope that all parties, both ruling and opposition, will support the measures that the Executive Yuan will take to open up a broader path for Taiwan’s economy. A translation of President Lai’s remarks follows: My fellow citizens, good evening. The US government recently announced higher tariffs on countries around the world in the name of reciprocity, including imposing a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan. This is bound to have a major impact on our nation. Various countries have already responded, and some have even adopted retaliatory measures. Tremendous changes in the global economy are expected. Taiwan is an export-led economy, and in facing future challenges there will inevitably be difficulties, so we must proceed carefully to turn danger into safety. During this time, I want to express gratitude to all sectors of society for providing valuable opinions, which the government regards highly, and will use as a reference to make policy decisions.  However, if we calmly and carefully analyze Taiwan’s trade with the US, we find that last year Taiwan’s exports to the US were valued at US$111.4 billion, accounting for 23.4 percent of total export value, with the other 75-plus percent of products sold worldwide to countries other than the US. Of products sold to the US, competitive ICT products and electronic components accounted for 65.4 percent. This shows that Taiwan’s economy does still have considerable resilience. As long as our response strategies are appropriate, and the public and private sectors join forces, we can reduce impacts. Please do not panic. To address the reciprocal tariffs by the US, Taiwan has no plans to adopt retaliatory tariffs. There will be no change in corporate investment commitments to the US, as long as they are consistent with national interests. But we must ensure the US clearly understands Taiwan’s contributions to US economic development. More importantly, we must actively seek to understand changes in the global economic situation, strengthen Taiwan-US industry cooperation, elevate the status of Taiwan industries in global supply chains, and with safeguarding the continued development of Taiwan’s economy as our goal, adopt the following five strategies to respond. Strategy one: Make every effort to improve reciprocal tariff rates through negotiations using the following five methods:  1. Taiwan has already formed a negotiation team led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君). The team includes members from the National Security Council, the Office of Trade Negotiations, and relevant Executive Yuan ministries and agencies, as well as academia and industry. Like the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, negotiations on tariffs can start from Taiwan-US bilateral zero-tariff treatment. 2. To expand purchases from the US and thereby reduce the trade deficit, the Executive Yuan has already completed an inventory regarding large-scale procurement plans for agricultural, industrial, petroleum, and natural gas products, and the Ministry of National Defense has also proposed a military procurement list. All procurement plans will be actively pursued. 3. Expand investments in the US. Taiwan’s cumulative investment in the US already exceeds US$100 billion, creating approximately 400,000 jobs. In the future, in addition to increased investment in the US by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, other industries such as electronics, ICT, petrochemicals, and natural gas can all increase their US investments, deepening Taiwan-US industry cooperation. Taiwan’s government has helped form a “Taiwan investment in the US” team, and hopes that the US will reciprocate by forming a “US investment in Taiwan” team to bring about closer Taiwan-US trade cooperation, jointly creating a future economic golden age.  4. We must eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade. Non-tariff barriers are an indicator by which the US assesses whether a trading partner is trading fairly with the US. Therefore, we will proactively resolve longstanding non-tariff barriers so that negotiations can proceed more smoothly. 5. We must resolve two issues that have been matters of longstanding concern to the US. One regards high-tech export controls, and the other regards illegal transshipment of dumped goods, otherwise referred to as “origin washing.” Strategy two: We must adopt a plan for supporting our industries. For industries that will be affected by the tariffs, and especially traditional industries as well as micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, we will provide timely and needed support and assistance. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and his administrative team recently announced a package of 20 specific measures designed to address nine areas. Moving forward, the support we provide to different industries will depend on how they are affected by the tariffs, will take into account the particular features of each industry, and will help each industry innovate, upgrade, and transform. Strategy three: We must adopt medium- and long-term economic development plans. At this point in time, our government must simultaneously adopt new strategies for economic and industrial development. This is also the fundamental path to solutions for future economic challenges. The government will proactively cooperate with friends and allies, develop a diverse range of markets, and achieve closer integration of entities in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of industrial supply chains. This course of action will make Taiwan’s industrial ecosystem more complete, and will help Taiwanese industries upgrade and transform. We must also make good use of the competitive advantages we possess in such areas as semiconductor manufacturing, integrated chip design, ICT, and smart manufacturing to build Taiwan into an AI island, and promote relevant applications for food, clothing, housing, and transportation, as well as military, security and surveillance, next-generation communications, and the medical and health and wellness industries as we advance toward a smarter, more sustainable, and more prosperous new Taiwan. Strategy four: “Taiwan plus one,” i.e., new “Taiwan plus the US” arrangements: While staying firmly rooted in Taiwan, our enterprises are expanding their global presence and marketing worldwide. This has been our national economic development strategy, and the most important aspect is maintaining a solid base here in Taiwan. We absolutely must maintain a solid footing, and cannot allow the present strife to cause us to waver. Therefore, our government will incentivize investments, carry out deregulation, and continue to improve Taiwan’s investment climate by actively resolving problems involving access to water, electricity, land, human resources, and professional talent. This will enable corporations to stay in Taiwan and continue investing here. In addition, we must also help the overseas manufacturing facilities of offshore Taiwanese businesses to make necessary adjustments to support our “Taiwan plus one” policy, in that our national economic development strategy will be adjusted as follows: to stay firmly rooted in Taiwan while expanding our global presence, strengthening US ties, and marketing worldwide. We intend to make use of the new state of supply chains to strengthen cooperation between Taiwanese and US industries, and gain further access to US markets. Strategy five: Launch industry listening tours: All industrial firms, regardless of sector or size, will be affected to some degree once the US reciprocal tariffs go into effect. The administrative teams led by myself and Premier Cho will hear out industry concerns so that we can quickly resolve problems and make sure policies meet actual needs. My fellow citizens, over the past half-century and more, Taiwan has been through two energy crises, the Asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis, and pandemics. We have been able to not only withstand one test after another, but even turn crises into opportunities. The Taiwanese economy has emerged from these crises stronger and more resilient than ever. As we face this latest challenge, the government and civil society will work hand in hand, and I hope that all parties in the legislature, both ruling and opposition, will support the measures that the Executive Yuan will take to open up a broader path for Taiwan’s economy. Let us join together and give it our all. Thank you.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 164

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL4

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 164
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    530 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Far Western Oklahoma
    Texas Panhandle and South Plains

    * Effective this Wednesday afternoon from 530 PM until Midnight
    CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
    Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Relatively isolated severe storms should develop through
    early/mid-evening, particularly across the Texas and Oklahoma
    Panhandles, but potentially also across the Texas South Plains.
    These storms may reach other parts of western Oklahoma later this
    evening.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
    statute miles east and west of a line from 45 miles east northeast
    of Guymon OK to 55 miles south southeast of Lubbock TX. For a
    complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
    update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 162…WW 163…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    24020.

    …Guyer

    SEL4

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 164
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    530 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Far Western Oklahoma
    Texas Panhandle and South Plains

    * Effective this Wednesday afternoon from 530 PM until Midnight
    CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
    Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Relatively isolated severe storms should develop through
    early/mid-evening, particularly across the Texas and Oklahoma
    Panhandles, but potentially also across the Texas South Plains.
    These storms may reach other parts of western Oklahoma later this
    evening.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
    statute miles east and west of a line from 45 miles east northeast
    of Guymon OK to 55 miles south southeast of Lubbock TX. For a
    complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
    update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 162…WW 163…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    24020.

    …Guyer

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW4
    WW 164 SEVERE TSTM OK TX 232230Z – 240500Z
    AXIS..70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    45ENE GUY/GUYMON OK/ – 55SSE LBB/LUBBOCK TX/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 60NM E/W /13ESE LBL – 52SSE LBB/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24020.

    LAT…LON 36919948 32930025 32930266 36910201

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU4.

    Watch 164 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (5%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (30%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (10%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Mod (30%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (80%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 163

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL3

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 163
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    350 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Eastern Colorado
    Western Kansas

    * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 350 PM
    until 1100 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail likely with isolated very large hail events
    to 2.5 inches in diameter possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Thunderstorms will increase in coverage through the late
    afternoon and evening across the watch area, with a few supercells
    possible. Large hail is the primary concern, however a tornado or
    two could occur later this evening as well.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
    statute miles east and west of a line from 55 miles northeast of
    Goodland KS to 5 miles east of Elkhart KS. For a complete depiction
    of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
    WOU3).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 162…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    26030.

    …Hart

    SEL3

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 163
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    350 PM CDT Wed Apr 23 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Eastern Colorado
    Western Kansas

    * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 350 PM
    until 1100 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail likely with isolated very large hail events
    to 2.5 inches in diameter possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Thunderstorms will increase in coverage through the late
    afternoon and evening across the watch area, with a few supercells
    possible. Large hail is the primary concern, however a tornado or
    two could occur later this evening as well.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
    statute miles east and west of a line from 55 miles northeast of
    Goodland KS to 5 miles east of Elkhart KS. For a complete depiction
    of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
    WOU3).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 162…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    26030.

    …Hart

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW3
    WW 163 SEVERE TSTM CO KS 232050Z – 240400Z
    AXIS..70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    55NE GLD/GOODLAND KS/ – 5E EHA/ELKHART KS/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 60NM E/W /24SW MCK – 40W LBL/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26030.

    LAT…LON 39919965 36990054 36990308 39910229

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU3.

    Watch 163 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (5%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Mod (40%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (90%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: CVB Financial Corp. Reports Earnings for the First Quarter 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    First Quarter 2025

    • Net Earnings of $51.1 million, or $0.36 per share
    • Return on Average Assets of 1.37%
    • Return on Average Tangible Common Equity of 14.51%
    • Net Interest Margin of 3.31%

    ONTARIO, CA, April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) and its subsidiary, Citizens Business Bank (the “Company”), announced earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    CVB Financial Corp. reported net income of $51.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared with $50.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $48.6 million for the first quarter of 2024. Diluted earnings per share were $0.36 for the first quarter, compared to $0.36 for the prior quarter and $0.35 for the same period last year.

    For the first quarter of 2025, annualized return on average equity (“ROAE”) was 9.31%, annualized return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”) was 14.51%, and an annualized return on average assets (“ROAA”) was 1.37%.

    David Brager, President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Business Bank, commented, “Citizens Business Bank’s performance in the first quarter demonstrates our continued financial strength and focus on our vision of serving the comprehensive financial needs of small to medium sized businesses and their owners. Our consistent financial performance is highlighted by our 192 consecutive quarters, or 48 years, of profitability, and our 142 consecutive quarters of paying cash dividends. I would like to thank our customers and associates for their continuing commitment and loyalty.”

    Highlights for the First Quarter of 2025

    • Pretax income was $69.5 million, up $1.5 million or 2%, from the prior quarter
    • Efficiency ratio of 46.7%
    • Net gain of $2.2 million on sale of $19.3 million of OREO assets
    • Net interest margin of 3.31%, increased by 13 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2024
    • Cost of funds decreased to 1.04% from 1.13% in the fourth quarter of 2024
    • Noninterest bearing deposits grew by $147 million from the end of 2024
    • Dairy and Livestock loans decreased by $168 million or 44% from the end of 2024
    • Net Recoveries of $130,000 and $2 million recapture of credit losses
    • TCE Ratio of 10.0% & CET1 Ratio of 16.5%

    INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

      Three Months Ended  
      March 31, 2025
    		   December 31, 2024
    		   March 31, 2024
    		  
      (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)  
    Net interest income $ 110,444     $ 110,418     $ 112,461    
    Recapure of (provision for) credit losses   2,000       3,000       –    
    Noninterest income   16,229       13,103       14,113    
    Noninterest expense   (59,144 )     (58,480 )     (59,771 )  
    Income taxes   (18,425 )     (17,183 )     (18,204 )  
    Net earnings $ 51,104     $ 50,858     $ 48,599    
    Earnings per common share:            
    Basic $ 0.37     $ 0.36     $ 0.35    
    Diluted $ 0.36     $ 0.36     $ 0.35    
                 
    NIM   3.31 %     3.18 %     3.10 %  
    ROAA   1.37 %     1.30 %     1.21 %  
    ROAE   9.31 %     9.14 %     9.31 %  
    ROATCE   14.51 %     14.31 %     15.13 %  
    Efficiency ratio   46.69 %     47.34 %     47.22 %  
                 

    Net Interest Income
    Net interest income was $110.4 million for the first quarter of 2025, essentially equal to the fourth quarter of 2024, and a $2.02 million, or 1.79%, decrease from the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the prior quarter, net interest income in the first quarter of 2025 was impacted by a 13-basis point increase in net interest margin that was offset by a $405.6 million decline in earning assets.

    The decline in net interest income of $2 million compared to the first quarter of 2024 was the net result of a $1.09 billion decline in earning assets partially offset by a 21-basis point increase in net interest margin. The decrease in earning assets was primarily due to the deleveraging strategy deployed in the second half of 2024, which resulted in the Company’s borrowings declining by $1.48 billion.

    Net Interest Margin
    Our tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.31% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 3.18% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 3.10% for the first quarter of 2024. The 13 basis points increase in our net interest margin compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, was the combined result of a four-basis point increase in our interest-earning assets and a nine-basis point decrease in our cost of funds, including a seven-basis point decrease in cost of deposits. The four-basis point increase in our interest-earning asset yield was primarily due to a seven-basis point increase in loan yields and a five-basis points increase in investment securities yields. We experienced an increase in yields on investments in the first quarter of 2025, as a result of the sale of lower-yielding available-for-sale (“AFS”) securities and the purchase of higher-yielding AFS securities during the fourth quarter of 2024. However, this increase in investment yields was partially offset by a decrease during the first quarter of 2025 in the positive carry on our fair value hedging instruments that pay a fixed interest rate while receiving daily SOFR.

    Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2025 increased by 21-basis points compared to the first quarter of 2024, primarily as a result of 27-basis point decrease in cost of funds from 1.31% for the first quarter of 2024 to 1.04% for the first quarter of 2025. The decrease in cost of funds was primarily due to a $1.48 billion decline in borrowings, which had an average cost of 4.76% in the first quarter of 2024. For the first quarter of 2025, the Company had average borrowings of $513 million at a cost of 4.61% and average deposits and customer repos of $12.19 billion at a cost of .87%, which compares to the first quarter of 2024 in which borrowings averaged $2 billion at a cost of 4.76% and average deposits and customer repos of $11.95 billion at a cost of .73%. The decrease in cost of funds was offset by lower interest earning asset yields that declined by 6 basis points from 4.34% in the first quarter of 2024 to 4.28% in the first quarter of 2025. The lower earning asset yields included lower loan yields, which declined from 5.30% for the first quarter of 2024 to 5.22% for the first quarter of 2025.

    Earning Assets and Deposits
    On average, earning assets decreased by $405.6 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and declined by $1.09 billion when compared to the first quarter of 2024. The decline in earning assets from the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily a $323 million decrease in funds held at the Federal Reserve, as well as a $55 million average decline in outstanding loans. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, the average balance of outstanding loans was $357 million lower, investment securities decreased by $449.0 million and the average amount of funds held at the Federal Reserve decreased by $272.0 million. Noninterest-bearing deposits declined on average by $109.7 million, or 1.54%, from the fourth quarter of 2024 and interest-bearing deposits and customer repurchase agreements declined on average by $270.9 million. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, total deposits and customer repurchase agreements increased on average by $243.9 million, or 2.04%, including an increase of $420.2 million in interest-bearing deposits and customer repurchase agreements. On average, noninterest-bearing deposits were 59.01% of total deposits during the most recent quarter, compared to 58.74% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 61.72% for the first quarter of 2024.

        Three Months Ended  
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024  
        (Dollars in thousands)  
    Yield on average investment securities (TE)   2.63%       2.58%       2.64%    
    Yield on average loans   5.22%       5.15%       5.30%    
    Yield on average earning assets (TE)   4.28%       4.24%       4.34%    
    Cost of deposits   0.86%       0.93%       0.74%    
    Cost of funds   1.04%       1.13%       1.31%    
    Net interest margin (TE)   3.31%       3.18%       3.10%    
                               
    Average Earning Asset Mix Avg   % of Total   Avg   % of Total   Avg   % of Total
      Total investment securities $ 4,908,718   36.21 %   $ 4,936,514   35.36 %   $ 5,357,708   36.59 %  
      Interest-earning deposits with other institutions   162,389   1.20 %     485,103   3.47 %     444,101   3.03 %  
      Loans   8,467,465   62.46 %     8,522,587   61.04 %     8,824,579   60.26 %  
      Total interest-earning assets   13,556,584         13,962,216         14,644,400      
                               


    Provision for Credit Losses
    There was a $2.0 million recapture of provision for credit losses in the first quarter of 2025, compared to a $3.0 million recapture of provision for credit losses in the fourth quarter of 2024 and no provision in the first quarter of 2024. Net recoveries for the first quarter of 2025 were $130,000 compared to net recoveries of $180,000 in the prior quarter. Allowance for credit losses represented 0.94% of gross loans at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.

    Noninterest Income
    Noninterest income was $16.2 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared with $13.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $14.1 million for the first quarter of 2024. During the first quarter of 2025, the Bank sold four OREO properties resulting in a gain of $2.2 million. Income from Bank Owned Life Insurance (“BOLI”) increased in the first quarter of 2025 by $445,000 from the fourth quarter of 2024 and decreased by $762,000 compared to the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2024, income from various equity investments increased by $750,000 and $450,000, respectively.

    Noninterest Expense
    Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2025 was $59.1 million, compared to $58.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $59.8 million for the first quarter of 2024. The $664,000 quarter-over-quarter increase includes a $500,000 provision for unfunded loan commitments in the first quarter of 2025, compared to no provision or recapture of provision in the first and fourth quarter of 2024. Salaries and employee benefit costs increased $479,000, as the first quarter of each calendar year reflects higher payroll taxes than the fourth quarter of the prior year. Offsetting those quarter-over-quarter increases was a decline in legal expenses of $326,000.

    The year-over-year decrease in noninterest expense of $627,000 was impacted by the higher level of assessment expense in the first quarter of 2024, in which we had an additional accrual of $2.3 million associated with the 2023 FDIC special assessment. The decline in assessment expense was offset by increases in software expenses of $696,000 and occupancy expenses of $433,000, as well as the $500,000 recapture of provision for unfunded loan commitments in the first quarter of 2025. As a percentage of average assets, noninterest expense was 1.58% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 1.49% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 1.48% for the first quarter of 2024. The efficiency ratio for the first quarter of 2025 was 46.69%, compared to 47.34% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 47.22% for the first quarter of 2024.

    Income Taxes
    Our effective tax rate for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was 26.50%, compared with 25.25% for the fourth quarter of 2024, and 27.25% for the same period of 2024. Our estimated annual effective tax rate can vary depending upon the level of tax-advantaged income from municipal securities and BOLI, as well as available tax credits.

    BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS

    Assets
    The Company reported total assets of $15.26 billion at March 31, 2025. This represented an increase of $102.9 million, or 0.68%, from total assets of $15.15 billion at December 31, 2024. The increase in assets included a $290.3 million increase in interest-earning balances due from the Federal Reserve, offset by a $27.6 million decrease in investment securities, and a $170.9 million decrease in net loans.

    Total assets at March 31, 2025 decreased by $1.2 billion, or 7.36%, from total assets of $16.47 billion at March 31, 2024. The decrease in assets was primarily due to a decrease of $476.5 million in interest-earning balances due from the Federal Reserve, a decrease of $397.5 million in investment securities and a $402.5 million decrease in net loans.

    Investment Securities
    Total investment securities were $4.89 billion at March 31, 2025, a decrease of $27.6 million, or 0.56% from December 31, 2024, and a decrease of $397.5 million, or 7.51%, from $5.29 billion at March 31, 2024.  

    At March 31, 2025, investment securities held-to-maturity (“HTM”) totaled $2.36 billion, a decrease of $20.5 million, or 0.86% from December 31, 2024, and a decrease of $95.4 million, or 3.89%, from March 31, 2024.

    At March 31, 2025, investment securities available-for-sale (“AFS”) totaled $2.54 billion, inclusive of a pre-tax net unrealized loss of $338.4 million. AFS securities decreased by $7.0 million, or 0.28% from December 31, 2024 and decreased by $302.0 million, or 10.65%, from $2.84 billion at March 31, 2024. The pre-tax unrealized loss decreased by $58.9 million from December 31, 2024 and decreased by $97.2 million from March 31, 2024.

    Loans
    Total loans and leases, at amortized cost, of $8.36 billion at March 31, 2025 decreased by $172.8 million, or 2.02%, from December 31, 2024. The quarter-over quarter decrease in loans included decreases of $16.8 million in commercial real estate loans and $167.8 million in dairy & livestock loans, partially offset by an increase of $17.1 million in commercial and industrial loans.

    Total loans and leases, at amortized cost, decreased by $407.1 million, or 4.64%, from March 31, 2024. The $407.1 million decrease included decreases of $229.9 million in commercial real estate loans, $43.1 million in construction loans, $20.8 million in commercial and industrial loans, $99.1 million in dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans, $6.8 million in municipal lease financings, and $7.0 million in SFR mortgage loans.

    Asset Quality
    During the first quarter of 2025, we experienced credit charge-offs of $40,000 and total recoveries of $170,000, resulting in net recoveries of $130,000. The allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) totaled $78.3 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $80.1 million at December 31, 2024 and $82.8 million at March 31, 2024. At March 31, 2025, ACL as a percentage of total loans and leases outstanding was 0.94%. This compares to 0.94% and 0.94% at December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

    Nonperforming loans, defined as nonaccrual loans, including modified loans on nonaccrual, plus loans 90 days past due and accruing interest, and nonperforming assets, defined as nonperforming plus OREO, are highlighted below.

    Nonperforming Assets and Delinquency Trends March 31, 2025
    		   December 31, 2024
    		   March 31, 2024
    Nonperforming loans   (Dollars in thousands)
    Commercial real estate   $ 24,379     $ 25,866     $ 10,661  
    SBA     1,024       1,529       54  
    Commercial and industrial     173       340       2,727  
    Dairy & livestock and agribusiness     60       60       60  
    SFR mortgage     –       –       308  
    Consumer and other loans     –       –       –  
    Total   $ 25,636     $ 27,795     $ 13,810  
    % of Total loans     0.31 %     0.33 %     0.16 %
    OREO            
    Commercial real estate   $ 495     $ 18,656     $ –  
    Commercial and industrial     –       –       647  
    SFR mortgage     –       647       –  
    Total   $ 495     $ 19,303     $ 647  
                 
    Total nonperforming assets   $ 26,131     $ 47,098     $ 14,457  
    % of Nonperforming assets to total assets     0.17 %     0.31 %     0.09 %
                 
    Past due 30-89 days (accruing)            
    Commercial real estate   $ –     $ –     $ 19,781  
    SBA     718       88       408  
    Commercial and industrial     –       399       6  
    Dairy & livestock and agribusiness     –       –       –  
    SFR mortgage     –       –       –  
    Consumer and other loans     –       –       –  
    Total   $ 718     $ 487     $ 20,195  
    % of Total loans     0.01 %     0.01 %     0.23 %
    Total nonperforming, OREO, and past due   $ 26,849     $ 47,585     $ 34,652  
                 
    Classified Loans   $ 94,169     $ 89,549     $ 103,080  
     

    The $21.0 million decrease in nonperforming assets from December 31, 2024 was primarily due to the sale of $19.3 million of OREO at a net gain of $2.2 million during the first quarter of 2025. Classified loans are loans that are graded “substandard” or worse. Classified loans increased $4.6 million quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to increases of $6.5 million in classified dairy and livestock loans.

    Deposits & Customer Repurchase Agreements
    Deposits of $12.0 billion and customer repurchase agreements of $276.2 million totaled $12.27 billion at March 31, 2025. This represented a net increase of $55.8 million compared to December 31, 2024. Total deposits and customer repurchase agreements increased $95.4 million, or .78% when compared to $12.17 billion at March 31, 2024.

    Noninterest-bearing deposits were $7.18 billion at March 31, 2025, an increase of $147.2 million, or 2.09%, when compared to $7.04 billion at December 31, 2024. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased by $71.5 million, or 1.00% when compared to $7.11 billion at March 31, 2024. At March 31, 2025, noninterest-bearing deposits were 59.92% of total deposits, compared to 58.90% at December 31, 2024 and 59.80% at
    March 31, 2024.

    Borrowings
    As of March 31, 2025, total borrowings consisted of $500 million of FHLB advances. The FHLB advances include maturities of $300 million, at an average cost of approximately 4.73%, maturing in May of 2026, and $200 million, at a cost of 4.27% maturing in May of 2027. Total borrowings decreased by $1.5 billion from March 31, 2024. The $2.0 billion of borrowings at March 31, 2024 consisted of one-year advances from the Federal Reserve’s Bank Term Funding Program, at an average cost of approximately 4.75%, all of which were redeemed before the end of 2024.

    Capital
    The Company’s total equity was $2.23 billion at March 31, 2025. This represented an overall increase of $42.1 million from total equity of $2.19 billion at December 31, 2024. Increases to equity included $51.1 million in net earnings and a $34.8 million increase in other comprehensive income that were partially offset by $27.9 million in cash dividends. During the first quarter of 2025, we repurchased, under our stock repurchase plan, 782,063 shares of common stock, at an average repurchase price of $19.55, totaling $15.3 million.   Our tangible book value per share at March 31, 2025 was $10.45.

    Our capital ratios under the revised capital framework referred to as Basel III remain well-above regulatory standards.

            CVB Financial Corp. Consolidated  
    Capital Ratios   Minimum Required Plus Capital Conservation Buffer   March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024  
                       
    Tier 1 leverage capital ratio   4.0%   11.8%   11.5%   10.5%  
    Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio   7.0%   16.5%   16.2%   14.9%  
    Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio   8.5%   16.5%   16.2%   14.9%  
    Total risk-based capital ratio   10.5%   17.3%   17.1%   15.8%  
                       
    Tangible common equity ratio       10.0%   9.8%   8.3%  
                       

    CitizensTrust
    As of March 31, 2025 CitizensTrust had approximately $4.7 billion in assets under management and administration, including $3.38 billion in assets under management. Revenues were $3.4 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $3.2 million for the first quarter of 2024. CitizensTrust provides trust, investment and brokerage related services, as well as financial, estate and business succession planning.

    Corporate Overview
    CVB Financial Corp. (“CVBF”) is the holding company for Citizens Business Bank. CVBF is one of the 10 largest bank holding companies headquartered in California with more than $15 billion in total assets. Citizens Business Bank is consistently recognized as one of the top performing banks in the nation and offers a wide array of banking, lending and investing services with more than 60 banking centers and three trust office locations serving California.

    Shares of CVB Financial Corp. common stock are listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “CVBF”. For investor information on CVB Financial Corp., visit our Citizens Business Bank website at www.cbbank.com and click on the “Investors” tab.

    Conference Call

    Management will hold a conference call at 7:30 a.m. PDT/10:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, April 24, 2025, to discuss the Company’s first quarter 2025 financial results. The conference call can be accessed live by registering at: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI643a97d119af4b899539fee84f093408

    The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast over the Internet; please visit our Citizens Business Bank website at www.cbbank.com and click on the “Investors” tab to access the call from the site. Please access the website 15 minutes prior to the call to download any necessary audio software. This webcast will be recorded and available for replay on the Company’s website approximately two hours after the conclusion of the conference call and will be available on the website for approximately 12 months.

    Safe Harbor
    Certain statements set forth herein constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “will likely result”, “aims”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “could”, “estimates”, “expects”, “hopes”, “intends”, “may”, “plans”, “projects”, “seeks”, “should”, “will,” “strategy”, “possibility”, and variations of these words and similar expressions help to identify these forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those projected. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company including, without limitation, plans, strategies, goals and statements about the Company’s outlook regarding revenue and asset growth, financial performance and profitability, capital and liquidity levels, loan and deposit levels, growth and retention, yields and returns, loan diversification and credit management, stockholder value creation, tax rates, the impact of economic developments, the impact of monetary, fiscal and trade policies, and the impact of acquisitions we have made or may make. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the control of the Company, and there can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be the same as those anticipated by management. The Company cautions readers that a number of important factors, in addition to those set forth below, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, such forward-looking statements.

    General risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct business; the effects of, and changes in, immigration, trade, tariff, monetary, and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; inflation/deflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; the effect of acquisitions we have made or may make, including, without limitation, the failure to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, the failure to achieve the expected revenue growth and/or expense savings from such acquisitions, and/or the failure to effectively integrate an acquisition target and key personnel into our operations; the timely development of competitive products and services and the acceptance of these products and services by new and existing customers; the impact of changes in financial services policies, laws, and regulations, including those concerning banking, taxes, securities, and insurance, and the application thereof by regulatory agencies; the effectiveness of our risk management framework and quantitative models; changes in the level of our nonperforming assets and charge-offs; the transition away from USD LIBOR and uncertainties regarding potential alternative reference rates, including SOFR; the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices or accounting standards, as may be adopted from time-to-time by bank regulatory agencies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other accounting standards setters; possible credit related impairments or declines in the fair value of loans and securities held by us; possible impairment charges to goodwill on our balance sheet; changes in customer spending, borrowing, and savings habits; the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of geographic and industry concentrations; periodic fluctuations in commercial or residential real estate prices or values; our ability to attract or retain deposits or to access government or private lending facilities and other sources of liquidity; the possibility that we may reduce or discontinue the payment of dividends on our common stock; changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers; changes in the competitive environment among financial and bank holding companies and other financial service providers; technological changes in banking and financial services; geopolitical conditions, including acts or threats of terrorism, actions taken by the United States or other governments in response to acts or threats of terrorism, and/or military conflicts, which could impact business and economic conditions in the United States and abroad; catastrophic events or natural disasters, including earthquakes, drought, climate change or extreme weather events that may affect our assets, communications or computer services, customers, employees or third party vendors; public health crises and pandemics, and their effects on the economic and business environments in which we operate, including on our asset credit quality, business operations, and employees, as well as the impact on general economic and financial market conditions; cybersecurity threats and fraud and the costs of defending against them, including the costs of compliance with legislation or regulations to combat fraud and cybersecurity threats; our ability to recruit and retain key executives, board members and other employees, and our ability to comply with federal and state in employment laws and regulations; ongoing or unanticipated regulatory or legal proceedings or outcomes; and our ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing.

    Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in the Company’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).

    The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as required by law. Any statements about future operating results, such as those concerning accretion and dilution to the Company’s earnings or shareholders, are for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts, and actual results may differ.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures — Certain financial information provided in this earnings release has not been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and is presented on a non-GAAP basis. Investors and analysts should refer to the reconciliations included in this earnings release and should consider the Company’s non-GAAP measures in addition to, not as a substitute for or as superior to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. These measures may or may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

    Contact:
    David A. Brager
    President and Chief Executive Officer
    (909) 980-4030

    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands)
                 
                 
        March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
    Assets            
    Cash and due from banks   $ 187,981     $ 153,875     $ 131,955  
    Interest-earning balances due from Federal Reserve     341,108       50,823       817,634  
    Total cash and cash equivalents     529,089       204,698       949,589  
    Interest-earning balances due from depository institutions     3,451       480       12,632  
    Investment securities available-for-sale     2,535,066       2,542,115       2,837,100  
    Investment securities held-to-maturity     2,359,141       2,379,668       2,454,586  
    Total investment securities     4,894,207       4,921,783       5,291,686  
    Investment in stock of Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)     18,012       18,012       18,012  
    Loans and lease finance receivables     8,363,632       8,536,432       8,770,713  
    Allowance for credit losses     (78,252 )     (80,122 )     (82,817 )
    Net loans and lease finance receivables     8,285,380       8,456,310       8,687,896  
    Premises and equipment, net     26,772       27,543       43,448  
    Bank owned life insurance (BOLI)     318,301       316,248       310,744  
    Intangibles     8,812       9,967       13,853  
    Goodwill     765,822       765,822       765,822  
    Other assets     406,745       432,792       374,464  
    Total assets   $ 15,256,591     $ 15,153,655     $ 16,468,146  
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity            
    Liabilities:            
    Deposits:            
    Noninterest-bearing   $ 7,184,267     $ 7,037,096     $ 7,112,789  
    Investment checking     533,220       551,305       545,066  
    Savings and money market     3,710,612       3,786,387       3,561,512  
    Time deposits     561,822       573,593       675,554  
    Total deposits     11,989,921       11,948,381       11,894,921  
    Customer repurchase agreements     276,163       261,887       275,720  
    Other borrowings     500,000       500,000       1,995,000  
    Other liabilities     262,088       257,071       215,680  
    Total liabilities     13,028,172       12,967,339       14,381,321  
    Stockholders’ Equity            
    Stockholders’ equity     2,505,719       2,498,380       2,422,110  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax     (277,300 )     (312,064 )     (335,285 )
    Total stockholders’ equity     2,228,419       2,186,316       2,086,825  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 15,256,591     $ 15,153,655     $ 16,468,146  
                 
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED AVERAGE BALANCE SHEETS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands)
                 
                 
        Three Months Ended
        March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
    Assets            
    Cash and due from banks   $ 154,328     $ 152,966     $ 162,049  
    Interest-earning balances due from Federal Reserve     161,432       484,038       433,421  
    Total cash and cash equivalents     315,760       637,004       595,470  
    Interest-earning balances due from depository institutions     957       1,065       10,680  
    Investment securities available-for-sale     2,539,211       2,542,649       2,900,097  
    Investment securities held-to-maturity     2,369,507       2,393,865       2,457,611  
    Total investment securities     4,908,718       4,936,514       5,357,708  
    Investment in stock of FHLB     18,012       18,012       18,012  
    Loans and lease finance receivables     8,467,465       8,522,587       8,824,579  
    Allowance for credit losses     (80,113 )     (82,960 )     (85,751 )
    Net loans and lease finance receivables     8,387,352       8,439,627       8,738,828  
    Premises and equipment, net     27,408       29,959       44,380  
    Bank owned life insurance (BOLI)     316,643       316,938       309,609  
    Intangibles     9,518       10,650       14,585  
    Goodwill     765,822       765,822       765,822  
    Other assets     419,116       406,898       350,319  
    Total assets   $ 15,169,306     $ 15,562,489     $ 16,205,413  
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity            
    Liabilities:            
    Deposits:            
    Noninterest-bearing   $ 7,006,357     $ 7,116,050     $ 7,182,718  
    Interest-bearing     4,866,318       4,998,424       4,454,135  
    Total deposits     11,872,675       12,114,474       11,636,853  
    Customer repurchase agreements     317,322       456,145       309,272  
    Other borrowings     513,078       500,000       1,991,978  
    Other liabilities     239,283       278,314       168,442  
    Total liabilities     12,942,358       13,348,933       14,106,545  
    Stockholders’ Equity            
    Stockholders’ equity     2,523,923       2,507,060       2,432,075  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax     (296,975 )     (293,504 )     (333,207 )
    Total stockholders’ equity     2,226,948       2,213,556       2,098,868  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 15,169,306     $ 15,562,489     $ 16,205,413  
                 
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
                 
                 
        Three Months Ended
        March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
    Interest income:            
    Loans and leases, including fees   $ 109,071     $ 110,277     $ 116,349  
    Investment securities:            
    Investment securities available-for-sale     18,734       18,041       21,446  
    Investment securities held-to-maturity     13,021       13,020       13,402  
    Total investment income     31,755       31,061       34,848  
    Dividends from FHLB stock     379       380       419  
    Interest-earning deposits with other institutions     1,797       5,881       6,073  
    Total interest income     143,002       147,599       157,689  
    Interest expense:            
    Deposits     25,322       28,317       21,366  
    Borrowings and customer repurchase agreements     6,800       8,291       23,862  
    Other     436       573       –  
    Total interest expense     32,558       37,181       45,228  
    Net interest income before (recapture of) provision for credit losses     110,444       110,418       112,461  
    (Recapture of) provision for credit losses     (2,000 )     (3,000 )     –  
    Net interest income after (recapture of) provision for credit losses     112,444       113,418       112,461  
    Noninterest income:            
    Service charges on deposit accounts     4,908       5,097       5,036  
    Trust and investment services     3,411       3,512       3,224  
    Loss on sale of AFS investment securities     –       (16,735 )     –  
    Gain on OREO, net     2,183       –       –  
    Gain on sale leaseback transactions     –       16,794       –  
    Other     5,727       4,435       5,853  
    Total noninterest income     16,229       13,103       14,113  
    Noninterest expense:           .
    Salaries and employee benefits     36,477       35,998       36,401  
    Occupancy and equipment     5,998       5,866       5,565  
    Professional services     2,081       2,646       2,255  
    Computer software expense     4,221       3,921       3,525  
    Marketing and promotion     1,988       1,757       1,630  
    Amortization of intangible assets     1,155       1,163       1,438  
    Provision for unfunded loan commitments     500       –       –  
    Other     6,724       7,129       8,957  
    Total noninterest expense     59,144       58,480       59,771  
    Earnings before income taxes     69,529       68,041       66,803  
    Income taxes     18,425       17,183       18,204  
    Net earnings   $ 51,104     $ 50,858     $ 48,599  
                 
    Basic earnings per common share   $ 0.37     $ 0.36     $ 0.35  
    Diluted earnings per common share   $ 0.36     $ 0.36     $ 0.35  
    Cash dividends declared per common share   $ 0.20     $ 0.20     $ 0.20  
                 
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
                 
        Three Months Ended
        March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
    Interest income – tax equivalent (TE)   $ 143,525     $ 148,128     $ 158,228  
    Interest expense     32,558       37,181       45,228  
    Net interest income – (TE)   $ 110,967     $ 110,947     $ 113,000  
                 
    Return on average assets, annualized     1.37 %     1.30 %     1.21 %
    Return on average equity, annualized     9.31 %     9.14 %     9.31 %
    Efficiency ratio [1]     46.69 %     47.34 %     47.22 %
    Noninterest expense to average assets, annualized     1.58 %     1.49 %     1.48 %
    Yield on average loans     5.22 %     5.15 %     5.30 %
    Yield on average earning assets (TE)     4.28 %     4.24 %     4.34 %
    Cost of deposits     0.86 %     0.93 %     0.74 %
    Cost of deposits and customer repurchase agreements     0.87 %     0.97 %     0.73 %
    Cost of funds     1.04 %     1.13 %     1.31 %
    Net interest margin (TE)     3.31 %     3.18 %     3.10 %
    [1] Noninterest expense divided by net interest income before provision for credit losses plus noninterest income.
                 
    Tangible Common Equity Ratio (TCE) [2]            
    CVB Financial Corp. Consolidated     10.04 %     9.81 %     8.33 %
    Citizens Business Bank     9.92 %     9.64 %     8.23 %
    [2] (Capital – [GW+Intangibles])/(Total Assets – [GW+Intangibles])
                 
    Weighted average shares outstanding            
    Basic     138,973,996       138,661,665       138,428,596  
    Diluted     139,294,401       139,102,524       138,603,324  
    Dividends declared   $ 27,853     $ 27,978     $ 27,886  
    Dividend payout ratio [3]     54.50 %     55.01 %     57.38 %
    [3] Dividends declared on common stock divided by net earnings.
                 
    Number of shares outstanding – (end of period)     139,089,612       139,689,686       139,641,884  
    Book value per share   $ 16.02     $ 15.65     $ 14.94  
    Tangible book value per share   $ 10.45     $ 10.10     $ 9.36  
                 
        March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
           
    Nonperforming assets:            
    Nonaccrual loans   $ 25,636     $ 27,795     $ 13,810  
    Other real estate owned (OREO), net     495       19,303       647  
    Total nonperforming assets   $ 26,131     $ 47,098     $ 14,457  
    Modified loans/performing troubled debt restructured loans (TDR) [4]   $ 11,949     $ 6,467     $ 10,765  
                 
    [4] Effective January 1, 2023, performing and nonperforming TDRs are reflected as Loan Modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.
                 
    Percentage of nonperforming assets to total loans outstanding and OREO     0.31 %     0.55 %     0.16 %
    Percentage of nonperforming assets to total assets     0.17 %     0.31 %     0.09 %
    Allowance for credit losses to nonperforming assets     299.46 %     170.12 %     572.85 %
                 
        Three Months Ended
        March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
    Allowance for credit losses:            
    Beginning balance   $ 80,122     $ 82,942     $ 86,842  
    Total charge-offs     (40 )     (64 )     (4,267 )
    Total recoveries on loans previously charged-off     170       244       242  
    Net recoveries (charge-offs)     130       180       (4,025 )
    (Recapture of) provision for credit losses     (2,000 )     (3,000 )     –  
    Allowance for credit losses at end of period   $ 78,252     $ 80,122     $ 82,817  
                 
    Net recoveries (charge-offs) to average loans     0.002 %     0.002 %     -0.046 %
                             
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in millions)
                                   
    Allowance for Credit Losses by Loan Type                          
                                   
        March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
        Allowance
    For Credit
    Losses    		   Allowance
    as a % of
    Total Loans
    by Respective
    Loan Type    		   Allowance
    For Credit
    Losses    		   Allowance
    as a % of
    Total Loans
    by Respective
    Loan Type    		   Allowance
    For Credit
    Losses    		   Allowance
    as a % of
    Total Loans
    by Respective
    Loan Type
                                   
    Commercial real estate   $ 65.3       1.01 %   $ 66.2       1.02 %   $ 69.4       1.03 %
    Construction     0.2       1.52 %     0.3       1.94 %     1.3       2.20 %
    SBA     2.6       0.96 %     2.6       0.96 %     2.5       0.94 %
    Commercial and industrial     6.1       0.65 %     6.1       0.66 %     5.1       0.53 %
    Dairy & livestock and agribusiness     2.8       1.12 %     3.6       0.86 %     3.3       0.92 %
    Municipal lease finance receivables     0.2       0.32 %     0.2       0.31 %     0.2       0.27 %
    SFR mortgage     0.5       0.16 %     0.5       0.16 %     0.5       0.17 %
    Consumer and other loans     0.6       0.94 %     0.6       1.04 %     0.5       0.97 %
                                   
    Total   $ 78.3       0.94 %   $ 80.1       0.94 %   $ 82.8       0.94 %
                                   
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
                             
    Quarterly Common Stock Price
                             
          2025       2024       2023  
    Quarter End   High   Low   High   Low   High   Low
    March 31,   $ 21.71     $ 18.22     $ 20.45     $ 15.95     $ 25.98     $ 16.34  
    June 30,   $ –     $ –     $ 17.91     $ 15.71     $ 16.89     $ 10.66  
    September 30,   $ –     $ –     $ 20.29     $ 16.08     $ 19.66     $ 12.89  
    December 31,   $ –     $ –     $ 24.58     $ 17.20     $ 21.77     $ 14.62  
                             
    Quarterly Consolidated Statements of Earnings
                             
            Q1   Q4   Q3   Q2   Q1
              2025       2024       2024       2024       2024  
    Interest income                        
    Loans and leases, including fees       $ 109,071     $ 110,277     $ 114,929     $ 114,200     $ 116,349  
    Investment securities and other         33,931       37,322       50,823       44,872       41,340  
    Total interest income         143,002       147,599       165,752       159,072       157,689  
    Interest expense                        
    Deposits         25,322       28,317       29,821       25,979       21,366  
    Borrowings and customer repurchase agreements     6,800       8,291       22,312       22,244       23,862  
    Other         436       573       –       –       –  
    Total interest expense         32,558       37,181       52,133       48,223       45,228  
    Net interest income before (recapture of)                    
    provision for credit losses         110,444       110,418       113,619       110,849       112,461  
    (Recapture of) provision for credit losses     (2,000 )     (3,000 )     –       –       –  
    Net interest income after (recapture of)                    
    provision for credit losses         112,444       113,418       113,619       110,849       112,461  
                             
    Noninterest income         16,229       13,103       12,834       14,424       14,113  
    Noninterest expense         59,144       58,480       58,835       56,497       59,771  
    Earnings before income taxes         69,529       68,041       67,618       68,776       66,803  
    Income taxes         18,425       17,183       16,394       18,741       18,204  
    Net earnings       $ 51,104     $ 50,858     $ 51,224     $ 50,035     $ 48,599  
                             
    Effective tax rate         26.50 %     25.25 %     24.25 %     27.25 %     27.25 %
                             
    Basic earnings per common share       $ 0.37     $ 0.36     $ 0.37     $ 0.36     $ 0.35  
    Diluted earnings per common share     $ 0.36     $ 0.36     $ 0.37     $ 0.36     $ 0.35  
                             
    Cash dividends declared per common share   $ 0.20     $ 0.20     $ 0.20     $ 0.20     $ 0.20  
                             
    Cash dividends declared       $ 27,853     $ 27,978     $ 27,977     $ 28,018     $ 27,886  
                             
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands)
                         
    Loan Portfolio by Type
        March 31,   December 31,   September 30,
    		   June 30,   March 31,
          2025       2024       2024       2024       2024  
                         
    Commercial real estate   $ 6,490,604     $ 6,507,452     $ 6,618,637     $ 6,664,925     $ 6,720,538  
    Construction     15,706       16,082       14,755       52,227       58,806  
    SBA     271,844       273,013       272,001       267,938       268,320  
    SBA – PPP     179       774       1,255       1,757       2,249  
    Commercial and industrial     942,301       925,178       936,489       956,184       963,120  
    Dairy & livestock and agribusiness     252,532       419,904       342,445       350,562       351,624  
    Municipal lease finance receivables     65,203       66,114       67,585       70,889       72,032  
    SFR mortgage     269,493       269,172       267,181       267,593       276,475  
    Consumer and other loans     55,770       58,743       52,217       49,771       57,549  
    Gross loans, at amortized cost     8,363,632       8,536,432       8,572,565       8,681,846       8,770,713  
    Allowance for credit losses     (78,252 )     (80,122 )     (82,942 )     (82,786 )     (82,817 )
    Net loans   $ 8,285,380     $ 8,456,310     $ 8,489,623     $ 8,599,060     $ 8,687,896  
                         
                         
                         
    Deposit Composition by Type and Customer Repurchase Agreements
                         
        March 31,   December 31,   September 30,
    		   June 30,   March 31,
          2025       2024       2024       2024       2024  
                         
    Noninterest-bearing   $ 7,184,267     $ 7,037,096     $ 7,136,824     $ 7,090,095     $ 7,112,789  
    Investment checking     533,220       551,305       504,028       515,930       545,066  
    Savings and money market     3,710,612       3,786,387       3,745,707       3,409,320       3,561,512  
    Time deposits     561,822       573,593       685,930       774,980       675,554  
    Total deposits     11,989,921       11,948,381       12,072,489       11,790,325       11,894,921  
                         
    Customer repurchase agreements     276,163       261,887       394,515       268,826       275,720  
    Total deposits and customer repurchase agreements   $ 12,266,084     $ 12,210,268     $ 12,467,004     $ 12,059,151     $ 12,170,641  
                         
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
    (Unaudited)
    (Dollars in thousands)
                         
    Nonperforming Assets and Delinquency Trends
        March 31,   December 31,   September 30,
    		   June 30,   March 31,
          2025       2024       2024       2024       2024  
    Nonperforming loans:                    
    Commercial real estate   $ 24,379     $ 25,866     $ 18,794     $ 21,908     $ 10,661  
    Construction     –       –       –       –       –  
    SBA     1,024       1,529       151       337       54  
    Commercial and industrial     173       340       2,825       2,712       2,727  
    Dairy & livestock and agribusiness     60       60       143       –       60  
    SFR mortgage     –       –       –       –       308  
    Consumer and other loans     –       –       –       –       –  
    Total   $ 25,636     $ 27,795     $ 21,913     $ 24,957     $ 13,810  
    % of Total loans     0.31 %     0.33 %     0.26 %     0.29 %     0.16 %
                         
    Past due 30-89 days (accruing):                    
    Commercial real estate   $ –     $ –     $ 30,701     $ 43     $ 19,781  
    Construction     –       –       –       –       –  
    SBA     718       88       –       –       408  
    Commercial and industrial     –       399       64       103       6  
    Dairy & livestock and agribusiness     –       –       –       –       –  
    SFR mortgage     –       –       –       –       –  
    Consumer and other loans     –       –       –       –       –  
    Total   $ 718     $ 487     $ 30,765     $ 146     $ 20,195  
    % of Total loans     0.01 %     0.01 %     0.36 %     0.00 %     0.23 %
                         
    OREO:                    
    Commercial real estate   $ 495     $ 18,656     $ –     $ –     $ –  
    SBA     –       –       –       –       –  
    Commercial and industrial     –       –       –       –       –  
    SFR mortgage     –       647       647       647       647  
    Total   $ 495     $ 19,303     $ 647     $ 647     $ 647  
    Total nonperforming, past due, and OREO   $ 26,849     $ 47,585     $ 53,325     $ 25,750     $ 34,652  
    % of Total loans     0.32 %     0.56 %     0.62 %     0.30 %     0.40 %
     
    CVB FINANCIAL CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
    (Unaudited)
                     
    Regulatory Capital Ratios
                     
                     
                     
            CVB Financial Corp. Consolidated
    Capital Ratios   Minimum Required Plus
    Capital Conservation Buffer    		   March 31,
    2025    		   December 31,
    2024    		   March 31,
    2024
                     
    Tier 1 leverage capital ratio     4.0 %     11.8 %     11.5 %     10.5 %
    Common equity Tier 1 capital ratio     7.0 %     16.5 %     16.2 %     14.9 %
    Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio     8.5 %     16.5 %     16.2 %     14.9 %
    Total risk-based capital ratio     10.5 %     17.3 %     17.1 %     15.8 %
                     
    Tangible common equity ratio         10.0 %     9.8 %     8.3 %
                     
    Tangible Book Value Reconciliations (Non-GAAP)
                           
    The tangible book value per share is a Non-GAAP disclosure. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to provide supplemental information regarding the Company’s performance. The following is a reconciliation of tangible book value to the Company stockholders’ equity computed in accordance with GAAP, as well as a calculation of tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024.
     
     
        March 31,
    2025    		       December 31,
    2024    		       March 31,
    2024    		  
        (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
                           
    Stockholders’ equity $ 2,228,419     $ 2,186,316     $ 2,086,825  
    Less: Goodwill   (765,822 )     (765,822 )     (765,822 )
    Less: Intangible assets   (8,812 )     (9,967 )     (13,853 )
    Tangible book value $ 1,453,785     $ 1,410,527     $ 1,307,150  
    Common shares issued and outstanding   139,089,612       139,689,686       139,641,884  
    Tangible book value per share $ 10.45     $ 10.10     $ 9.36  
     
    Return on Average Tangible Common Equity Reconciliations (Non-GAAP)
     
    The return on average tangible common equity is a non-GAAP disclosure. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to provide supplemental information regarding the Company’s performance. The following is a reconciliation of net income, adjusted for tax-effected amortization of intangibles, to net income computed in accordance with GAAP; a reconciliation of average tangible common equity to the Company’s average stockholders’ equity computed in accordance with GAAP; as well as a calculation of return on average tangible common equity.
                             
                             
        Three Months Ended
          March 31,       December 31,       March 31,    
          2025       2024       2024    
        (Dollars in thousands)    
                               
    Net Income   $ 51,104     $ 50,858     $ 48,599    
    Add: Amortization of intangible assets     1,155       1,163       1,438    
    Less: Tax effect of amortization of intangible assets (1)     (341 )     (344 )     (425 )  
    Tangible net income   $ 51,918     $ 51,677     $ 49,612    
                               
    Average stockholders’ equity   $ 2,226,948     $ 2,213,556     $ 2,098,868    
    Less: Average goodwill     (765,822 )     (765,822 )     (765,822 )  
    Less: Average intangible assets     (9,518 )     (10,650 )     (14,585 )  
    Average tangible common equity   $ 1,451,608     $ 1,437,084     $ 1,318,461    
                               
    Return on average equity, annualized (2)     9.31 %     9.14 %     9.31 %  
    Return on average tangible common equity, annualized (2)     14.51 %     14.31 %     15.13 %  
                               
                               
    (1) Tax effected at respective statutory rates.                          
    (2) Annualized where applicable.                          

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: How AI can support sustainable energy

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: How AI can support sustainable energy

    The global energy landscape is constantly evolving with one thing remaining constant: the demand for energy, regardless of the type, continues to increase. There are 8.2 billion people in the world today who all need access to affordable, sustainable, and secure energy. Global energy demand is projected to grow between 11% and 18% by 2050,1 and meeting this growing demand will require innovation from every part of the energy sector value chain.  

    As we witnessed in many leadership dialogues at CERAWeek 2025, AI adoption is taking place at an accelerated speed in the energy sector. The role of AI in meeting rising energy demand is multifaceted and transformative. AI can optimize operations, reduce  energy consumption, enhance grid capacity and reliability, and support renewable energy integration. It can also address energy security and sustainability efforts, such as carbon capture and storage, and methane management and mitigation. AI’s potential in the energy sector is robust. Critically, all these innovations are underpinned by the industry’s collective goal to mitigate environmental impact and continue to move towards a more sustainable future, while meeting the growing demand for energy.   

    Microsoft is committed to helping to drive progress in the energy industry through technological innovation—working to empower the energy workforce, optimize operational efficiency and safety, advance net zero commitments, and grow sustainable, AI-powered businesses.  

    Microsoft for energy and resources

    CERAWeek 2025 takeaways 

    In March 2025, we attended CERAWeek 2025, one of the most influential energy gatherings of the year, which provides a platform for over 8,000 attendees to connect, share and discuss insights, and explore where the industry is headed.  

    This year, a few key takeaways from the event were: 

    • AI is changing the game across industries, and energy is no exception.
      Jason Zander, Executive Vice President for Strategic Missions and Technologies at Microsoft, spoke in the session “Will AI Revolutionize the Energy Sector?” and discussed the ways in which AI is transforming the energy sector with innovative solutions that boost energy efficiency, optimize production, and integrate renewable resources. One of the recent breakthroughs that Jason highlighted is Microsoft’s Majorana 1, the world’s first Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) powered by a Topological Core, designed to scale to a million qubits on a single chip. This advancement has practical applications to help solve some of the most difficult global challenges. It brings the potential to revolutionize the energy industry with possibilities such as developing self-healing materials, enhancing safety, creating catalysts to break down plastics, and significantly advancing sustainability through more recyclable and reusable materials. 
    • Powerful collaboration with industry-leading, strategic partners is key to growth and innovation.
      Several of our partners; Accenture, Cognite, Honeywell, Kongsberg Digital, Schneider Electric, and SLB showcased their industry-leading, real-world solutions in the Microsoft booth. These innovative AI-powered solutions illustrate the immense opportunity to transform the energy industry and empower the energy workforce with modern technology.

      One standout demo was Schneider Electric’s new One Digital Grid Platform, an AI-powered system that helps improve the reliability and efficiency of power grids. Using Microsoft Azure, this platform allows different software solutions to work together, helping utilities modernize their grids and provide cleaner, more affordable energy at a lower overall cost. Schneider Electric is leveraging Microsoft solutions to improve grid reliability, and is collaborating with Itron to do so. Solutions like these, built with strategic partners, address the need for a modern, digital grid to provide energy to all who need it.   

    Transform and optimize resilient energy systems with AI 

    AI’s potential in the energy industry is transformative, with the capability to optimize operations, strengthen security, and advance decarbonization. To provide the energy that the world will require, the energy industry needs intelligent solutions that address these needs with faster insights and increased productivity.  

    The impact of AI solutions is directly correlated to the amount of data companies have at their disposal. For energy companies that may have a fractured data estate spanning diverse environments and proprietary data formats, establishing a unified data foundation is a difficult task. This is why Microsoft is committed to equipping industry leaders with powerful, enterprise platforms like the Microsoft Cloud to accelerate this transformation. And with Microsoft Fabric, data, AI, security, and applications are integrated to enable real-time data processing and AI-powered insights so that companies can make informed decisions more quickly. Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy is also an important piece of this energy data journey, and critical to carbon storage and planning. Most powerfully, it can create a repository for all of an organization’s data in a single location. Furthermore, by adopting our adaptive cloud approach and unifying siloed teams, distributed sites, and sprawling systems into a single operation, organizations can increase security, improve data modeling, and leverage cloud-native and AI technologies across hybrid, multicloud, edge, and Internet of Things (IoT) environments. 

    From there, custom reports and insights can be generated with Microsoft 365 Copilot. These cutting-edge solutions are designed to help energy companies harness the full potential of their data with AI—enabling seamless integration, real-time insights, and predictive analytics to help drive efficiency and innovation across the sector.  

    One vast opportunity for the energy sector when it comes to using AI is its power to help decarbonize the energy value chain. It’s clear that decarbonization is a critical step towards achieving a sustainable and net-zero future—involving reducing carbon emissions across all stages of energy production, distribution, and consumption. By integrating renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency through adopting innovative technologies like AI, the energy sector has the potential to significantly lower its carbon footprint more quickly than was possible without the efficiency gains from AI. The recent International Energy Agency report, “Energy and AI” shares several potential examples of cost and energy savings in power plant operations and end-use sectors, such as manufacturing and transportation. For example, AI in transportation can enhance vehicle operation and management, potentially cutting energy consumption—and therefore emissions—up to 20%.2 

    AI’s potential in enhancing security is immense, offering both vast implications and opportunities. Using AI to enhance security is already making a difference for companies, with a recent study of Copilot users showing that using Microsoft Security Copilot reduced mean time to resolution by 30%.3 Harnessing the power of AI to bolster security in the energy industry, we recently introduced six new Microsoft Security Copilot agents. These agents represent the power of AI to respond to an increasingly high volume of security threats that energy organizations face today. They are designed to autonomously manage high-volume security tasks, helping to provide robust protection for critical energy infrastructure. By leveraging advanced threat intelligence and machine learning, these agents can swiftly detect, investigate, and respond to security incidents, helping to mitigate risks associated with cyberattacks.  

    Demonstrating the power of collaboration in AI innovation, new partner-developed agents will also be available in Security Copilot. These solutions offer industry-specific solutions, such as the ability to understand sector-specific compliance needs. This approach enhances operational efficiency and will help to strengthen the overall security posture for energy companies that adopt agents, allowing IT and operations teams to focus on their core operations while maintaining a resilient defense against ever-evolving threats.  

    Our customers like Chevron are also already seeing the impact of AI in their operations, integrating real-time data from IoT devices, optimizing equipment and bandwidth costs, and accelerating decision-making with AI at the edge. 

    Collaborating with Chevron on facilities of the future with Azure IoT Operations  

    With its Facilities and Operations of the Future initiative, Chevron is reimagining the monitoring of its physical operations to support remote and autonomous operations through enhanced capabilities and real-time access to data. This includes ongoing efforts to use technology to unlock access to connected data across a vast network of IoT devices—ultimately for greater speed to decisions. Chevron worked closely with Microsoft to deploy Azure IoT Operations, enabled by Azure Arc. This edge-to-cloud data plane facilitates data capture from various devices like Wi-Fi cameras, thermal cameras, sensors, robots, and drones at the edge before sending it to the cloud.  Chevron chose Azure for its flexible infrastructure to control data and scale globally, unifying sites and systems into one AI-assisted control pane. Using AI at the edge, where sensors are located at the equipment, helps optimize equipment and bandwidth costs and accelerates speed to insights.  

    Learn more about energy and resources solutions with Microsoft  

    As we look to the future, AI is becoming an increasingly important force in the energy industry—enabling companies to achieve greater safety and efficiency, help secure their operations, and increase sustainability. Key to this growth and innovation is powerful collaboration with our strategic partners and secure, resilient solutions that meet the industry’s robust needs. Microsoft remains dedicated to supporting this journey, providing the tools and technologies needed to thrive in an ever-evolving energy landscape. 

    Microsoft for energy and resources

    Drive innovation to achieve net zero

    1Global Energy Perspective 2024, McKinsey, September 2024. 

    2Energy and AI, AI for energy optimization and innovation.  

    3Agentic AI and Microsoft Security Copilot: Revolutionizing cybersecurity, March 2025.

    MIL OSI Economics –