FINANCE : View Posts

INDUSTRY PROFILE:
Financial markets in the United States are the largest and most liquid in the world. In 2018, finance and insurance represented 7.4 percent (or $1.5 trillion) of U.S. gross domestic product. Leadership in this large, high-growth sector translates into substantial economic activity and direct and indirect job creation in the United States.

Let’s start with the well-known sector of banking. Even if you don’t have a savings or checking account, you’ve probably passed by a bank or two. This sector is where you get your bank accounts, credit cards, loans and increasingly much more. Credit unions also offer many of the same accounts as banks, often with even more favorable interest rates. The main difference between credit unions and banks is the community and ownership that comes with being a credit union member versus being a bank customer.

Financial advisors, discount brokerages and investment banks are also part of the banking financial sector. Financial advisors can specialize in accounting, tax preparation, debt repayment and a range of other financial needs. A financial planner is a type of financial advisor who specializes in creating long-term financial plans like saving for retirement. Investment banks are tailored for more wealthy consumers. Here, you can find wealth management, tax advice and company guidance.

The next financial services industry sector involves asset management. This is where pensions, insurance assets, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc. are handled. It’s important to note that nowadays, a certain financial product isn’t limited to just one financial sector. For example, both an asset management firm and an insurance company will have to manage insurance assets at some point, even though they are two different sectors.

The insurance sector provides, you guessed it, insurance policies. Of course, this also encompasses a wide range of insurance needs from auto insurance to life insurance to health insurance. The insurance sector provides the underwriting and funding you need for all your insurance needs.

Then there is the private equity sector, which you may not be quite as familiar with. Private equity and venture capital funds provide companies with capital. In exchange, the private equity investors gain ownership stakes or a cut of the company’s profits. This is largely an entrepreneurial investment sector.

To be sure, these sectors don’t quite encompass the vastness of the financial services industry. There are tax filing services and companies, currency exchange services, electronic transfer companies and credit cards. These offerings are just as much a part of the financial services industry as investment banks or asset management firms.
Companies in this industry engage in financial transactions and create, liquidate, purchase, and sell financial assets such as securities, bonds, and insurance. Major finance and insurance companies include AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife, and Wells Fargo (all based in the US), as well as Allianz (Germany) AXA and BNP Paribas (both based in France), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (China).

Major global financial hubs include New York, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Singapore, according to the 2022 Global Financial Centers Index by Z/Yen. Top financial centers in Asia Pacific include Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Beijing, and Tokyo.

The US finance and insurance sector consists of about 475,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $4.5 trillion.

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FINANCE

All are invited to participate:
Finance Industry Entity Features Live Video Blog Schedule: February 11th, 2025 @ 11am
Venue: https://www.cibunet.com/

Discussion Questions:
1. What are some of the obvious ethics/practices of the industry or entity in the industry that violate scriptures?
2. What are the notable complaints of those who patronize this industry or entity in this industry?
3. What services or products of this industry or entity of this industry ultimately hurt people?
4. Does the industry or entity in the industry violate Environmental Social and Governance ESG sustainability goals in any way?
5. How does this industry or entity in this industry compete that is flawed in your opinion?
6. What are some of the tactics of this industry or entity in this industry that does not augur well for other industries and the overall economy?

Research Sources: Websites, News, Search Engines, Social Media Pages etc.
https://www.goldmansachs.com/
https://www.bankofamerica.com
https://www.chase.com/
https://www.wellsfargo.com/
https://www.citi.com
https://www.aig.com/home
https://www.metlife.com/
https://www.fidelity.com/

This report focuses on the equity investments and advisory services of Goldman Sachs in medium and large-scale enterprises. While the firm has a record of outstanding performance in its business overall; from the vantage points of global trends to the variables of potential disruptions, this report evaluates how the firm may already be facing light headwinds that will tend to increase significantly in the long-term.

Global challenges that are just brewing up include cybersecurity and artificial intelligence while localized issues range from mission dynamics, human and corporate resource, productivity, market and finance disruptions. As artificial intelligence technology matures, we are headed to the point where everyone has similarly equal access to information and methodologies that were previously confidential. How do we compete if we are all privy to the same strategies? With artificial intelligence increasing the capacity of computing prowess significantly, what will be the exponential degree of cybercrime escalation? As many professionals become redundant what could be the potential and consequences for mass human dissension.

While it is not yet clear how such global challenges may impact the economics of tomorrow, more than is rational has already been invested in anticipation of high dividends. With such magnitude of underlining unknowns, the current methodologies for risk assessment and mitigation will certainly be inefficient hence the essence of new calculus for computing the path through these emerging realities.

Goldman Sachs furnishes investments through the prudent processes of the Investment Committee for Investments, Criteria, Structure and Allocation of Opportunities and while the firm has incorporated awareness of the recent pandemic related work-from-home challenges, cybersecurity threats and extreme weather to factor in their corporate diligence, it would soon be apparent and catch many by surprise that the overall dynamics of enterprise success is forever changed…

Full report by Kenneth Walley is available only to Goldman Sachs and may be requested by email to kwalley@cibunet.com

SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo today shared the latest community impact of the company’s Open for Business Fund, a roughly $420 million national small business recovery effort to help those hardest hit during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Launched in 2020, grantees report the Open for Business Fund has now benefited more than 336,000 small businesses, empowering them to keep or create more than 461,000 jobs in communities across the nation.

“We took the gross processing fees the government paid us for administering the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020 and committed all of it to a roughly $420 million fund whose singular purpose was to assist small business owners having a hard time during Covid,” said Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo. “Our funds went toward providing capital and expertise at scale, ultimately creating local jobs, bolstering the ecosystem of support, and creating a ripple effect that continues to strengthen communities across the country.”

“At the time, we were stressed about keeping the lights on and retaining employees who are like family to me,” said Julius “Eddie” Lofton of JC Lofton Tailors in Washington, D.C., a family business since the 1930s. “When I got a $10,000 grant, it lifted a burden off me, and I knew I’d maintain my family’s legacy.” Lofton was an early recipient of a grant through Local Initiatives Support Corporation and has since renovated his shop as business improved.

Reaching small business owners who often struggle to access capital and expertise was a priority for the program in order to preserve livelihoods and jobs. The newest data reported by Open for Business Fund grantees indicates 79% of small business owners who benefited are racially or ethnically diverse, 53% are women, and 72% identify as low-to-moderate income individuals.

Strengthening the small business ecosystem

Community organizations say the lessons learned from the Open for Business Fund are a roadmap for future investment in the small business community.

Understand the value of flexible capital for nonprofits and CDFIs. By design, Wells Fargo grants were given as flexible capital so that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and nonprofits were empowered to be responsive to the unique needs of their communities. This strategy enabled nonprofits to secure new staff and acquire new technology to streamline, customize, and decrease the cost of their lending and technical assistance.
Increased efficiency positioned organizations to serve more small business owners, deepening community impact.

Listen to the demand for personalized technical expertise. The program provided more than 1.1 million hours of technical assistance to small businesses with more than 50% provided in a one-to-one format so small business owners could receive tailored expertise for their businesses. More importantly, the delivery of culturally relevant in-language expertise enabled organizations to increase small business owner engagement and expand reach.

Expand innovations to meet the changing capital needs of small business owners. Grant funding allowed organizations to pilot new products and expand their credit box, enabling them to serve more individuals outside of the financial mainstream. Grantees report providing more than $1.4 billion in equity grants, low-cost loan products, loan deferrals, modifications, and forgiveness which provided a lifeline to businesses.

Close the small business digital divide. As the economy has become increasingly digital, there is a critical need for small businesses to build their technology skills and confidence so they can access available capital resources and acquire new customers. Online training and support services proved to be effective in helping entrepreneurs save time and money and in learning how to pivot to online customer service models.

Leverage grant capital to strengthen nonprofit balance sheets. Grantees report leveraging their Open for Business Fund grants to secure additional private and public sector dollars in support of their capital deployment and technical assistance programs, resulting in a 7:1 leverage of Wells Fargo funding.

“The Wells Fargo grant acted as a catalyst that allowed the Veteran Loan Fund to successfully attract investors and CDFIs, and thus, deploy $15 million in loan capital while also helping member CDFIs like PeopleFund grow their lending to veterans and provide expertise in areas like marketing, accounting, inventory management, and more across the country,” said Gustavo Lasala, president and CEO at PeopleFund, a proud member of Veteran Loan Fund.

Shifting focus to asset ownership and future growth

The final phase of the Open for Business Fund is still underway into 2025. In five markets — Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami — small business owners are building generational wealth by acquiring valuable tangible assets such as commercial property, equipment, and technology.

“The Open for Business Fund support allowed me to buy new equipment that changes the way my team works to better serve customers,” said Sara Agudelo, employer of 50 people and owner of Purple Orchid, a healthy food and beverage company that worked with The Miami Foundation, a grantee. “Now we are dreaming of acquiring commercial real estate property for the business, something that I never thought I would be able to do.”

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 34 on Fortune’s 2024 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

CHARLOTTE, NC – Today, 46% of Gen Zers (ages 18-27) rely on financial assistance from parents and family, according to new research from Bank of America’s Better Money Habits® financial education team. In addition, 52% of those surveyed said they don’t make enough money to live the life they want and cite the cost of living as a top barrier to financial success. Many said they are delaying milestones and are not on track to buy a home (50%), save for retirement (46%), or start investing (40%) within the next five years – even though they are working toward those goals.
To offset growing expenses, the study found that two-thirds (67%) are implementing lifestyle changes such as cutting back on dining out (43%), passing on events with friends (27%), and shopping at more affordable grocery stores (24%). A recent Bank of America Institute analysis further demonstrated these findings, noting Gen Z and Millennials are “trading down” to combat rising costs – this despite a strong labor market over the last few years.

A video message from Holly O’Neill A message from Holly O’Neill
“Though faced with obstacles driven by the cost of living, younger Americans are showing discipline and foresight in their saving and spending patterns,” said Holly O’Neill, President of Retail Banking at Bank of America. “It is critical that we continue to empower Gen Z to work toward achieving financial health and meeting their long-term goals.”

Getting Support and Saying No
Despite their greater discipline, amidst today’s high cost of living, Gen Z remains financially dependent on others. Over half (54%) don’t pay for their own housing. Of those who do (46%), nearly two-thirds (64%) report spending over 30% of their monthly paycheck on housing, and two-in-10 report contributing over 51% of their monthly paycheck to housing.

The new Better Money Habits research found that “loud budgeting” – being vocal with friends about what social outings they can and cannot afford – has helped Gen Z live within their means. More than one-third (38%) feel comfortable declining social opportunities and admitting it is because they can’t afford the expense. Similarly, 63% do not feel pressured by friends to overspend, indicating that Gen Z may be drawing firmer financial boundaries compared to other generations at the same age.

Saving Struggles
Gen Z continue to struggle with building savings and contributing to their retirement.

Over half (57%) of respondents do not have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses.
Nearly one-third (30%) feel they don’t make enough money to save.
Only 15% of Gen Z put a set percentage of their paycheck into a savings account each month. Just 1 in 5 contribute to a 401(k) plan or retirement account.
Additional Insights from the Survey:
Most Gen Z respondents shared that they feel equipped to handle financial basics, such as managing their day-to-day expenses (70%), sticking to a budget (70%) and building/managing credit (66%).
The vast majority (82%) of Gen Z have financial goals, and over half (51%) are prioritizing them.
Gen Z continues to use their leftover income on experiential spending like dining out (36%), shopping (30%) and entertainment (24%) – higher than other generations.
61% of Gen Z women said the high cost of living is a barrier to financial success, vs. 44% of men.
For more details, please see the full report (PDF).

Methodology
This survey was conducted April 17 – May 3, 2024, by Ipsos in both English and Spanish and is based on nationally representative probability samples of 1,097 general population adults (age 18 or older) and a partially overlapping sample of 1,091 Gen Z adults (age 18-27), including 37 Gen Z adults from a non-probability sample. This survey was conducted primarily using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel®, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. The margin of sampling error for the general population sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Better Money Habits
At Bank of America, we’re committed to helping people lead better financial lives by equipping them with the skills, knowledge and confidence to succeed. That’s why we created Better Money Habits, a financial education platform of tools and information that helps people make sense of their money and take action to improve. As a cornerstone of Better Money Habits, we offer free financial education content and tools that break down financial topics in a way that’s approachable and easy to understand. We continually look for ways to expand the reach of Better Money Habits and also offer Spanish language resources on the site.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,800 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 57 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) announced today that it has executed a new Credit Insurance Risk Transfer™ (CIRT™) transaction. CIRT 2024-L3 transferred $337.2 million of mortgage credit risk to private insurers and reinsurers.

“We appreciate the support of the 27 insurers and reinsurers that committed to write coverage on this deal,” said Rob Schaefer, Fannie Mae Vice President, Capital Markets.

The covered loan pool for CIRT 2024-L3 consists of approximately 24,000 single-family mortgage loans with an outstanding unpaid principal balance (UPB) of approximately $8.2 billion. Additionally, the covered pool collateral has loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 60.01 percent to 80.00 percent and was acquired between July 2023 and September 2023. The loans included in this transaction are fixed-rate, generally 30-year term, fully amortizing mortgages and were underwritten using rigorous credit standards and enhanced risk controls.

With CIRT 2024-L3, which became effective May 1, 2024, Fannie Mae will retain risk for the first 170 basis points of loss on the $8.2 billion covered loan pool. If the $139.8 million retention layer is exhausted, 27 insurers and reinsurers will cover the next 410 basis points of loss on the pool, up to a maximum coverage of $337.2 million.

Coverage for this deal is provided based upon actual losses for a term of 18 years. Depending on the paydown of the insured pool and the principal amounts of insured loans that become seriously delinquent, the coverage amount may be reduced at the one-year anniversary and each month thereafter. The coverage on this deal may be canceled by Fannie Mae at any time on or after the five-year anniversary of the effective date by paying a cancellation fee.

Since inception to date, Fannie Mae has acquired approximately $27.6 billion of insurance coverage on $921.6 billion of single-family loans through the CIRT program, measured at the time of issuance for both post-acquisition (bulk) and front-end transactions. As of March 30, 2024, approximately $1.33 trillion in outstanding UPB of loans in our single-family conventional guaranty book of business were included in a reference pool for a credit risk transfer transaction.

To promote transparency and to help insurers and reinsurers evaluate the CIRT program, Fannie Mae provides ongoing, robust disclosure data, as well as access to news, resources, and analytics through its credit risk transfer webpages. This includes Fannie Mae’s innovative Data Dynamics® tool that enables market participants to interact with and analyze both CIRT deals that are currently outstanding in the market and Fannie Mae’s historical loan dataset. For more information on specific CIRT transactions, including pricing, please visit our Credit Insurance Risk Transfer webpage.

About Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit:
fanniemae.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog

(Baltimore) – JPMorgan Chase announced an $8.45 million philanthropic commitment to nonprofit organizations and programs across the city of Baltimore to support economic and community development. Specifically, the firm’s funding will address residential vacancies to stabilize housing supply and promote access to affordable homeownership; support commercial corridor revitalization; and promote small business growth. This announcement is the latest round of funding as part of the firm’s $20 million five-year commitment to benefit underserved communities across the city.

The philanthropic investments include:

$6 million to stabilize housing supply and increase access to affordable homeownership: The firm will commit new philanthropic capital to nonprofit organizations addressing housing vacancy in Baltimore, with a specific focus on those investing in neighborhood stabilization efforts, building wealth in underserved communities and increasing the affordable housing supply. Several local organizations working across the city have been invited to apply for this funding and the firm will select recipients working at varying levels of program implementation and capacity in late 2024.
This approach reflects the firm’s strategy to increase housing supply and support access to affordable homeownership, which has been informed by over half a decade of partnership with local organizations and leaders across the city. This new commitment advances three primary objectives: building local capacity, supporting evidence-based policies that enable acquisition and development, and catalyzing capital to drive scale. Earlier this year, the firm articulated its rationale for these objectives in a report on “What Works: Tackling Persistent Residential Vacancy, Abandonment and Disrepair,” which provided an in-depth analysis of its past work leveraging the public and private sectors, philanthropy and community partners to advance place-based neighborhood strategies.

$2.45 million to support small business growth and expansion and commercial corridors revitalization: The firm announced philanthropic capital to support small business growth and expansion, including five separate grants totaling $1.45 million provided to community-based organizations working with small businesses to support technical assistance and access to capital. Grant recipients working directly with entrepreneurs are Innovation Works and Ignite Capital, Revolve Fund, and The Harbor Bank of Maryland. The firm also provided a planning grant to Maryland Procurement Economy Playbook, an initiative to strategically assess Maryland’s procurement landscape and promote growth for small and diverse firms with a focus on Baltimore City.
The firm is also committing an additional $1 million to the Baltimore Civic Fund to support its new “Vacancy to Vibrancy” initiative, with matched funding from the City of Baltimore, to support local business owners and drive inclusive economic growth by empowering social entrepreneurs to successfully secure and transition to commercial spaces in Downtown Baltimore and West Baltimore. The program will support a fourth cohort of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore BOOST program to move small businesses to Downtown storefronts and the development of a new project led by Innovation Works and Ignite Capital and focused on the West North Avenue corridor and the Pennsylvania Avenue Main Street revitalization.

“We are thrilled to grow our commitment in the great city of Baltimore with new funding to help strengthen the community through homeownership, commercial corridor revitalization, and small business growth,” said Tim Berry, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region and member of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “We’re proud of our 130-year history in the region and the partnerships we’ve built along the way to help us best serve the needs of the community. Today’s announcement is another step forward in growing and deepening this relationship as we continue to support building healthy communities and driving economic growth across the city, which is also critical to the economic health of the greater Mid-Atlantic region.”

“Betting on Baltimore’s future is always a safe bet,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “Ensuring our city achieves its full potential is going to take all parts of our city – and partnerships like this one are critically important to that effort. Today’s announcement about philanthropic investments to increase accessible and affordable housing and supporting small business will continue to fuel Baltimore’s renaissance and help our city become the best version of itself. I look forward to the equitable change this investment will make and am thankful for the leaders who made it possible.”

“It is inspiring to see leaders come together to invest in our commercial corridors and ultimately the vibrancy of Baltimore’s neighborhoods and small business economy,” said Jay Nwachu , president and CEO, Innovation Works and Ignite Capital. “This investment is the continuation of an impactful partnership that has – and will continue to – power economic growth and advance the entrepreneurial spirit in Baltimore.”

“Addressing vacancy and affordable housing supply represents the greatest challenge, but also the greatest opportunity for Baltimore” said Bree Jones, founder, Parity Homes. “Catalytic capital by JPMorgan Chase supported Parity Homes so we could grow, scale and create wealth building opportunities for Baltimoreans, and we are just getting started. I am excited to see how this new investment empowers others in the work of equitable housing.”

JPMorgan Chase in Baltimore and Greater Washington

JPMorgan Chase has a 130-year long history serving Greater Baltimore. Across the Greater Washington region, the firm employs 1,500 people across all lines of business, serves 1.2 million consumer customers and 74,000 business clients. JPMorgan Chase currently has 110 branches in the Greater Washington region and the firm is expected to bring 30 branches to the Greater Baltimore region over the next three years.

Since 2019, the firm has committed more than $13.4 million in philanthropic capital across the city. The firm has also provided $114 million in financing since 2019 to create and preserve 776 affordable housing units and invested in $20 million of New Markets Tax Credit allocation to support economic and community development projects.

JPMorgan Chase has hosted 150 free financial health events supporting customers, community members and employees since 2021. And in October 2023 the firm furthered its commitment to create new jobs and promote career growth opportunities in the city by opening a new virtual call center team. Working with the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), the firm hired 40 Baltimore based customer service specialists and leaders and provides regular training and face-to-face meetings at the Parks & People Foundation and the Chase Mondawmin Community Branch.

About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $4.1 trillion in assets and $337 billion in stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2024. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Mastercard announced the new Attune℠ World Elite Mastercard®, designed to reward cardholders on their purchases that impact their wellbeing, their pets, and the world around them. Cardholders earn unlimited 4% cash rewards on fitness and wellness purchases as well as select sports and entertainment purchases.

“We are thrilled to unveil the new Attune World Elite Mastercard, a product that is sure to stand out in the marketplace,” said Krista Phillips, EVP, Head of Consumer Credit Cards and Consumer Lending Marketing. “Attune was designed with the intention of rewarding cardholders for making purchases they are most passionate about. Whether it’s enjoying a live concert, taking public transit, exploring thrift shops, hitting the gym, or relaxing at a spa, the Attune card aligns with customers’ many interests.”

Cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of $100 cash rewards after spending $500 in qualifying purchases in the first three months. For a limited time, Wells Fargo will also make a donation of $50 to national non-profit organization Capital Link for each cardholder who qualifies for the welcome bonus. Capital Link creates clean energy solutions for health centers supporting local communities during power outages.

Card benefits include:

Earn 4% cash rewards on fitness and wellness, like gym memberships, exercise classes, salons and spas

Earn 4% cash rewards on select sports, recreation, and entertainment including live shows and sporting events, gardening and floral stores, as well as pet supplies, boarding and grooming

Earn 4% cash rewards on purchases like public transit, EV charging stations, and select thrift stores

Earn 1% on other purchases
No Annual Fee

Security benefits including Mastercard Global Service, Mastercard ID Theft Protection and Zero Liability Protection, as well as additional Mastercard travel benefits such as Concierge Service and Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services

“We’re excited to partner with Wells Fargo to bring Mastercard’s best-in-class World Elite benefits to the new Attune Card program,” said John Levitsky, President of U.S. Financial Institutions at Mastercard. “Consumers can check out seamlessly, with the confidence of safety and security with every transaction, while earning rewards for activities that fuel their well-being.”

For more information or to apply for the Attune Card, visit wellsfargo.com/attune

Refer to www.wellsfargo.com/attunebonus for more details on eligible purchases and merchant categories that qualify for the 4% cash rewards.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 47 on Fortune’s 2023 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wellsfargo

About Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

Source: Wells Fargo & Company

New York, NY, May 30, 2024 – J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing continues to roll out enhancements to help clients make informed decisions, build a diversified portfolio and keep a pulse on their performance. With the latest capability, investors can buy a fraction of a stock or exchange-traded fund for as little as $5.

Clients can access J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing on the Chase Mobile app or on chase.com and now trade over 800 stocks and ETFs, based on a dollar amount, with no commissions. The online platform offers a seamless banking and investing experience. Clients can trade, access research, and manage investments, bank accounts, credit cards, auto loans and mortgages conveniently from one place. They can also transfer money between their bank accounts and J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing accounts.

J.D. Power named J.P. Morgan Wealth Management the #1 Digital Experience for Wealth Management Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction.

“We’ve made significant improvements to the client experience in a short amount of time,” said Paul Vienick, Head of J.P. Morgan Online Investing. “This is not about making investing easy. It’s about making investing more accessible, and providing the tools to help investors feel confident and stick to a plan, regardless of the many ups and downs in the market. Fractional shares, for example, helps clients invest the way they typically think – in dollar amounts.”

Here are some of J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing’s recent enhancements:

Account Performance. Clients can now better track gains, losses, contributions and withdrawals over time, and compare how their investments are doing versus the market.

Explore Investments. Want to see the most active stocks? Which are outperforming? Which companies pay the highest dividends? Customers can also learn about different investment strategies, how they might align with their goals and access J.P. Morgan’s analyst insights and award-winning research, according to Institutional Investor for the past four years.

Enhanced Screeners. Clients can sort and compare investments to help them decide what’s right for them. They can choose a preset screen for common trading strategies or create their own with filtering options, such as analyst ratings.

Market Alerts. Clients can set personalized alerts for updates like price or volume changes, helping them stay on top of their current portfolio and potential investments.

Simplified Trade Ticket. The enhanced trade ticket provides a guided approach that allows clients to invest in fewer steps, easily see available cash and view order status.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing customers can open an account in a few quick steps, and invest on-the-go. New customers can earn up to $700 when they open and fund an eligible account with qualifying new money, and all customers have access to thousands of investments.

All Chase clients have free access to Wealth Plan, a digital money coach that gives a full view of finances to help plan, save and invest.

About J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is the U.S. wealth management business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a leading global financial services firm with assets of $4.1 trillion and operations worldwide. J.P. Morgan Wealth Management has ~5,500 advisors and $900+ billion of assets under supervision. Clients can choose how and where they want to invest. They can do it digitally, remotely, or in person by meeting with an advisor in one of our more than 4,800 Chase branches throughout the U.S., or in one of our offices. For more information, go to www.jpmorgan.com/wealth and follow J.P. Morgan Wealth Management on LinkedIn.

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management received the highest score in the J.D. Power 2022 and 2023 (among self-directed investors) U.S. Wealth Management Digital Experience Studies, which measures customers’ overall satisfaction with wealth management websites and mobile apps. Visit jdpower.com/awards for more details.

SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced that on June 15, 2024 (which, due to the occurrence of a non-business day, will shift to June 17, 2024), it will redeem all 80,000 outstanding shares (the “Redeemed Series S Preferred Shares”) of its 5.90% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Class A Preferred Stock, Series S (the “Series S Preferred Stock”). The redemption of the Redeemed Series S Preferred Shares will trigger the redemption of the 2,000,000 outstanding shares of the related depositary shares (the “Redeemed Series S Depositary Shares”), each representing a 1/25 interest in a share of Series S Preferred Stock (the “Series S Depositary Shares”). The redemption price will be equal to $25,000.00 per Redeemed Series S Preferred Share and $1,000.00 per Redeemed Series S Depositary Share. After giving effect to the redemption, no shares of the Series S Preferred Stock or the Series S Depositary Shares will remain outstanding.

Because the redemption date is also a dividend payment date for the Series S Preferred Stock and the Series S Depositary Shares, the redemption prices noted herein do not include declared and unpaid dividends. Regular quarterly dividends will be paid separately in the customary manner on June 15, 2024 (which, due to the occurrence of a non-business day, will shift to June 17, 2024), to holders of record at the close of business on May 31, 2024.

All regulatory requirements relating to the redemption of the Redeemed Series S Preferred Shares and Redeemed Series S Depositary Shares have been satisfied by Wells Fargo & Company. The redemption agent is Equiniti Trust Company, LLC, 1110 Centre Pointe Curve, Suite 101, Mendota Heights, Minnesota 55120. Payment of the redemption price for the Redeemed Series S Depositary Shares will be sent to holders by the redemption agent on the redemption date.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 47 on Fortune’s 2023 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com

Mastercard introduces new capabilities and benefits for Engage and Fintech Express, making it easier for fintech partners to bring new solutions to market

Mastercard is enhancing the Engage program and Fintech Express platform, making it even easier for fintechs and enablers to partner with Mastercard1 to quickly build and deploy solutions globally. Engage now includes new benefits for partners and a self-service portal that enables fintechs to access exclusive resources, increase brand visibility and secure localized support. As for Fintech Express, Mastercard is introducing an end-to-end experience for card issuance and will be adding applications for Tap on Phone, Mastercard Gateway, QR acceptance and more, helping fintechs accelerate from application to launch in a simple, fast and transparent way.

Enabling new solutions through a one-to-many approach
Mastercard Engage connects a network of qualified enablers to any customer – banks, merchants, payment service providers (PSPs), fintechs – to help them expedite their migration to digital (e.g., embedding tokenization, Click to Pay or push provisioning capabilities) and can help deploy technologies related to open banking, installments and more. Engage also features a new search tool that gives customers more detailed information about partners, including contact details, case studies and service descriptions so they can more efficiently locate the right partners to help them build and deploy new solutions. In turn, partners can boost their own growth through access to exclusive resources such as dedicated educational sessions, localized support, promotional opportunities and lead generation tools.

More than 170 qualified partners are part of the Engage program today. Entrust, FOO, Giesecke+Devrient, HST, IDEMIA, Thales, Verestro and many others support deployment of more than 30 products and services from tokenization and digital wallets to Click to Pay and digital assets. Over the last six years, more than 500 million cards have been equipped with a Mastercard product through the Engage program.

Offering a simple, fast and transparent way to deploy payment solutions

In the fast-paced, dynamic fintech industry, speed to market is crucial. Fintech Express helps fintechs get their payment products up and running quickly – and with transparency at every step.

In the case of card issuance, Fintech Express enables fintechs to launch a card in as fast as 15 days. Fintech Express uses a single platform to digitize the onboarding experience for all partners involved in deploying a payment solution and eliminates the need to provide the same information multiple times. Fintechs can easily select the payment solution that best meets their needs and tap into Mastercard’s ecosystem of qualified partners from the Engage program such as Banco Dondé, Dock, Evertec, Galileo, Pomelo and Swap. Fintech Express is live today for card issuance in Brazil and Mexico; additional use cases and markets including the U.S. will follow with partners including Community Federal Savings Bank, i2c and Perfect Plastic Printing.

Beyond card issuance, Fintech Express will soon provide simple onboarding for additional solutions globally such as Mastercard Merchant Presented QR (MCQR) and Tap on Phone as well as enterprise payment solutions via Mastercard Gateway which offers a single connection to help customers accept payments globally and expand into new markets more easily.

Mastercard’s fintech-focused programs and solutions, including Engage and Fintech Express, empower partners to grow and scale quickly, address customer needs and push the boundaries of what’s next in digital payments.

Investment scams accounted for a third (33 per cent) of all money customers lost to scammers in 2023, up 23 per cent year-on-year, according to Barclays data¹. Of all scam types, investment scams made up the greatest share of total claim values, with the volume of investment scams increasing by almost a third (29 per cent).

This spike is being fuelled by scammers taking advantage of their ability to promote unverified financial adverts on social media sites; more than 6 in 10 (61 per cent) investment scams now take place on these platforms.

Believing that they are investing in their future, investment scam victims are claiming an average of £14,313 – over five times more than the overall average scam claim. Barclays data shows millennials and men are particularly susceptible – men’s average investment scam claim increases to £16,306, while claims by young people aged 21-40 account for 48 per cent of all investment scams.

Whilst scammers target potential victims in a number of ways, adverts purporting to offer high-return investment opportunities are a common tactic – with a quarter (23 per cent) of young people saying that they’ve spotted what they believe to be an investment scam advertised on social media². Almost one in five young people (17 per cent) have been contacted on social media by an individual offering an investment opportunity and one in every 10 people in the UK (11 per cent) know someone who has fallen victim to an investment scam.

A common trick that scammers will play is to get their victims to invest a small amount at the start – this then seemingly returns high rewards, which the scammers pay out from other victims’ money. This often convinces the victim that the investment is legitimate and in-turn leads to larger amounts being lost to the scammers, often over a long period of time.

As testament to the importance of due diligence, analysis of data from the FCA’s consumer helpline³ shows that there has been a sharp spike in investment scam-related calls, up 193 per cent in the last five years. The data also reveals investors have saved £2 million by identifying when purported investment opportunities were too good to be true – either by spotting spelling, grammatical or formatting mistakes, or by realising that requests for personal information were suspicious.

Stephanie Mac Sweeney, Head of Fraud Strategy at Barclays said: “It’s worrying to see such a rise in investment scams – with victims often heartlessly scammed out of large sums of money that they have been saving for their future. The banking industry works hard to educate, identify and intercept scams, but the only way to drive real change is to target these scams at their source. With the majority of investment scams now taking place on their platforms, social media firms must take responsibility, act on their promises and deliver a robust verification system to protect innocent people from falling prey to fraudulent investment adverts.”

Stephanie Mac Sweeney offers her top tips to help identify an investment scam:

1. Stop: Social media thrives on human impulse and scammers often create a false sense of urgency. It’s important to pause and reflect before committing to any investments.
2. Think: If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is – particularly in the case of investments advertised on social media. Speak to a qualified financial advisor or family member to get a second opinion. Be wary of taking investment recommendations from a friend without doing your own research – whilst they may mean well, it’s important to make sure both you and your friend aren’t at risk of falling victim to a scam.
3. Investigate: To test if an investment opportunity is genuine, check to see if the person or organisation contacting you is FCA authorised via the Financial Services Register or the FCA’s ScamSmart Investment Checker. Do your own research and look for unbiased reviews of the potential opportunity you’re considering.

More information on how to spot an investment scam and tips on how to protect yourself can be found on the Barclays website.

ENDS

Notes to editors

¹Barclays business and personal current account customer scam data for January – December 2023.

²Consumer research conducted by an Opinium study of 2,000 participants, February 2024. Unless stated, all data cited is for young people, aged 18-34 years.

³FCA ScamSmart research and data: Armchair detective investors take inspiration from Sherlock Holmes to foil investment scams

For more information, please contact please contact Dee Fallon at deirdre.fallon@barclays.com or India McMillan at india.smyth@barclays.com

About Barclays

Our vision is to be the UK-centred leader in global finance.  We are a diversified bank with comprehensive UK consumer, corporate and wealth and private banking franchises, a leading investment bank and a strong, specialist US consumer bank.  Through these five divisions, we are working together for a better financial future for our customers, clients and communities.

NEW YORK – “Today we shared with our colleagues that we have concluded the major actions that we announced in September 2023 that align Citi’s structure with our simplified operating model: https://www.citigroup.com/global/news/press-release/2023/citi-aligns-organizational-structure-strategy-simplifies-operating-model

While these decisions were not made easily, they have allowed us to strengthen how we run the bank and serve clients through enhanced connectivity and accountability.

After having reset Citi’s strategy and undergone these consequential changes, we will continue to execute on our vision to be the preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth and a valued personal bank in our home market and focus on our commitment to transform the company for the long term.”

About Citi
Citi is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in nearly 160 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services.

LOS ANGELES – March 5, 2024 – JPMorgan Chase has announced a significant partnership with the Academy Museum. Building on a storied legacy working with the film and entertainment industry, dating back nearly a century to the silent film era of the 1920s, the partnership makes JPMorgan Chase an Official Partner of the Academy Museum and the “Preferred Card of the Academy Museum.”

Throughout the partnership JPMorgan Chase will sponsor select temporary exhibitions and the museum’s regular feature, “Oscar® Sundays,” a weekly film screening series of Oscar® nominated and winning films held in the museum every Sunday afternoon. JPMorgan Chase will also sponsor a select number of community related events at the museum.

“JPMorgan Chase has walked side by side with the film industry since its inception, collaborating on and supporting many of its chapters throughout its history,” said David Shaheen, Head of the West Region and Entertainment Industries for J.P. Morgan Corporate Client Banking. “Our support of the industry has been central to its achievements from the beginning, and so we’re thrilled to play yet another part in showcasing its stories to the world.”

JPMorgan Chase is the leading financier to Hollywood production companies globally, covering a 90% plus market share of arranging corporate debt for the industry. For nearly a century, JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor institutions have cultivated a relationship with the entertainment and media industry. Since 1927, the Firm has provided direct loans, capital market executions and other products and services to almost every aspect of the industry, including large production and distribution companies, talent agencies, exhibitors and animation studios. The Firm, through J.P. Morgan Private Bank, also offers direct wealth management services to entertainment executives, directors, creatives and talent offering bespoke investment services, estate planning and other products designed for industry stakeholders to ensure their long-term generational wealth.

Olivier de Givenchy, West Region Head of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, who has been a member of the museum’s Board of Trustees since its inception, will continue to help support the partnership and the museum’s mission of educating and connecting with the public on the artistic, cultural and global importance of the film industry. The partnership will also promote the industry’s economic significance and influence locally across greater Los Angeles.

“For generations JPMorgan Chase has worked alongside the film industry helping to define it as an important cultural influencer throughout the world,” said Givenchy. “In this next chapter, we are honored to partner with the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures as visitors from across the country and around the world walk through its doors to learn and be inspired through film.”

Los Angeles is home to nearly 6,000 JPMorgan Chase employees, serves over four million consumers and more than 460,000 business customers. With over 350 retail branches in greater Los Angeles, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank by deposits in the region according to FDIC data.

“It’s part of the Academy Museum’s mission to provide our local community broader access to cultural resources, educational experiences, and opportunities to engage with film history and the arts and sciences of filmmaking. We are thrilled the Academy Museum partnership with JPMorgan Chase will continue to amplify the important work we do in the cultural space of Los Angeles,” said Amy Homma, Chief Audience Officer, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

– ### –

About the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
The Academy Museum is the largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. The museum advances the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the museum’s campus contains the restored and revitalized historic Saban Building—formerly known as the May Company building (1939)—and a soaring spherical addition. Together, these buildings contain 50,000 square feet of exhibition spaces, two state-of-the-art theaters, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, and beautiful public spaces that are free and open to the public. These include: The Walt Disney Company Piazza and the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, which houses the Spielberg Family Gallery, Academy Museum Store, and Fanny’s restaurant and café. The Academy Museum exhibition galleries and store are open six days a week from 10am to 6pm and are closed on Tuesdays and Christmas Day.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.9 trillion in assets and $328 billion in stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2023. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

New York, NY, January 24, 2024—J.P. Morgan Wealth Management’s Wealth Plan was named the #1 New Tool in StockBrokers.com’s 2024 Annual Awards, which recognize the best online brokerage and trading platforms. Wealth Plan is a free digital money coach that helps Chase customers, including those who invest on their own with J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, plan, save and invest for their goals, all in one place.

J.P. Morgan was also named Best-in-Class in Bank Brokerages by StockBrokers.com for the third consecutive year. This category recognizes online brokerages that also offer excellent banking services.

Self-Directed Investing customers can use Wealth Plan on the Chase Mobile app or Chase.com to get a full view of their finances, including accounts outside of Chase, and set goals and get personalized step-by-step guidance to help reach them. They can also see how changes to spending or saving today could impact their financial future.

J.D. Power recently named J.P. Morgan Wealth Management the #1 Digital Experience for Wealth Management Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction.

“Planning is crucial for everyone, and even more for those who invest on their own as they need to keep their emotions in check,” said Sam Palmer, Head of Product and Experience at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. “Having a digital money coach like Wealth Plan empowers our self-directed customers to feel more confident in the financial decisions they make.”

J.P. Morgan earned its highest marks from StockBrokers.com for Commissions & Fees, Ease of Use and Education. The Know, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management’s content hub, offers clients nearly 1,500 articles and videos online and on the Chase Mobile app. J.P. Morgan specialists share insights on investing, retirement, planning and markets to help readers navigate their financial lives, whether they’re considering starting to invest or are seasoned investors with complex planning needs. Clients can also access J.P. Morgan’s industry-leading research, according to Institutional Investor for the past four years, from the app.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing customers get unlimited $0 commission online trades and access to thousands of investments on the Chase Mobile app. New J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing clients can earn up to $700 when they open and fund an account with qualifying money.

“We’re investing in strengthening Self-Directed Investing, and Wealth Plan is a key feature for our customers,” said Paul Vienick, Head of Online Investing at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. “Wealth Plan brings planning capabilities to self-directed customers who otherwise might not have a plan. It also highlights the seamless experience that our customers who also bank or borrow with Chase have on the Chase Mobile app.”

Wealth Plan launched in December 2022 and has received five awards since March 2023. Most recently, it won a Real Simple 2023 Smart Money Award in the Financial Literacy Category. Wealth Plan was also named Best Personal Finance Product in the 2023 FinTech Breakthrough Awards, and Best Digital Initiative and Best Use of Technology in Wealth Management in the 2023 Banking Tech USA Awards.

About J.P. Morgan Wealth Management

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is the U.S. wealth management business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a leading global financial services firm with assets of $3.9 trillion and operations worldwide. J.P. Morgan Wealth Management has ~5,400 advisors and $900+ billion of assets under supervision. Clients can choose how and where they want to invest. They can do it digitally, remotely, or in person by meeting with an advisor in one of our more than 4,700 Chase branches throughout the U.S., or in one of our offices. For more information, go to www.jpmorgan.com/wealth and follow J.P. Morgan Wealth Management on LinkedIn.

About StockBrokers.com

StockBrokers.com, an industry-leading source for online brokers, is wholly owned by Reink Media Group. A Michigan-based company founded in 2009, Reink Media Group owns and operates multiple finance-based websites. The organization strives to provide pertinent resources, tools, and education for successful self-directed investing. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.reinkmedia.com.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR FIRM AND INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS AT FINRA BROKERCHECK.

INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE:
• NOT FDIC INSURED • NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY • NOT A DEPOSIT OR OTHER OBLIGATION OF, OR GUARANTEED BY, JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES • SUBJECT TO INVESTMENT RISKS, INCLUDING POSSIBLE LOSS OF THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT INVESTED

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by Wealth Plan regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

StockBrokers.com Annual Awards winners (Published 23 January 2024) are selected by StockBrokers.com’s editorial team, who evaluated the nominations based on measurable, data-driven criteria. Companies do not pay a fee to be considered for the awards. Study conducted between [September 2023 – November 2023]. For more information, visit: https://www.stockbrokers.com/how-we-test

Real Simple’s Smart Money Awards winners (Published 14 August 2023) are selected by an independent panel of judges who evaluated the nominations based on innovation and relevance to Real Simple readers. Fee paid to publisher for licensing use of materials after awards announced. Study conducted between March 2023-June 2023. For more information, visit: https://www.realsimple.com/smart-money-awards-2023-7560855

Banking Tech USA Awards winners (Published 1 June 2023) are selected by a panel of judges who evaluated the nominations based on criteria including their results and impact. Nomination fee paid to organizer at time of submission. Study conducted between March 23, 2023–April 24, 2023. For more information, visit: https://informaconnect.com/banking-tech-awards-usa/nomination-guidelines/

FinTech Breakthrough Award winners (Published 23 March 2023). are selected based on an in-depth research methodology and proprietary scoring system that includes six objective criteria, including product functionality, ease-of-use, technological innovation and impact. Companies do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the list of FinTech Breakthrough Award winners. Less than 10% of candidates reviewed receive an award. The FinTech Breakthrough Awards do not evaluate the quality of services provided to their clients or customers and is not indicative of the Company’s future performance. Fee paid to publisher for licensing use of materials after ranking announced. Study conducted between October 1, 2022–January 11, 2023 . For more information, visit https://fintechbreakthrough.com/judging-process/

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management received the highest score in the J.D. Power 2022 and 2023 (among self-directed investors) U.S. Wealth Management Digital Experience Studies, which measures customers’ overall satisfaction with wealth management websites and mobile apps. Visit jdpower.com/awards for more details.

J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is a business of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which offers investment products and services through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS), a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC. Certain advisory products may be offered through J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC (JPMPWA), a registered investment adviser. Trust and Fiduciary services including custody are offered through JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A (JPMCB) and affiliated trust companies. Insurance products are made available through Chase Insurance Agency, Inc. (CIA), a licensed insurance agency, doing business as Chase Insurance Agency Services, Inc. in Florida. JPMS, CIA, JPMPWA and JPMCB are affiliated companies under the common control of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

© 2024 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Washington, DC –Thursday, JPMorgan Chase, Greater Washington Partnership (“The Partnership”) and Education Strategy Group (ESG) announced an initiative to expand access to economic opportunity for students across Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia to help meet the region’s growing demand for talent.rnrnWith the support of ​a $​5.3​ million philanthropic commitment from JPMorgan Chase, the Partnership and ESG will expand the “TalentReady initiative” over the next three years, with a focus on ensuring students get work-based learning experience such as capstone projects and internships. To date, TalentReady has supported more than 25,000 high school students—from Baltimore City, Md.; Fairfax County, Va.; Montgomery County, Md.; Prince George’s County, Md.; and Washington, D.C.— in career pathways that include opportunities to earn college credit and industry-recognized credentials. In the next phase, additional effort will be made to help ensure students get work-based learning experience such as capstone projects and internships.rnrnThis philanthropic commitment from JPMorgan Chase expands on the firm’s $75 million global career readiness initiative and broader efforts to help more young people, particularly those from underserved backgrounds, enter the workforce and compete for quality careers in IT, healthcare and other high-demand industries.rnrnA recent evidence-based policy analysis from the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter highlighted a more modernized workforce development system connecting higher education to labor market needs is important for a seamless and integrated approach to workforce development, and to strengthen the broader regional economy.rnrn“The path to powering our communities and unlocking economic opportunity for everyone starts at the local level,” said Tim Berry, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region, JPMorgan Chase. “Through our investment in the TalentReady initiative, we are expanding our efforts to better prepare students for in-demand, skills-based jobs in the Greater Washington region. Working alongside local partners in the non-profit, education and business communities, and with engagement from regional leaders like Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, we can create a system that helps students advance their career pathways and support a thriving economy.”rnrnA Local Community-Based Partnership Model for SuccessrnrnThrough TalentReady, the Partnership and ESG provide support to participating K-12 and higher education partners, using information and insights from local employers to build career pathways that are more closely aligned with regional labor market demands and real-world work experiences. The Partnership brings employers in DC, Maryland and Virginia to support TalentReady – and champion the region’s economic growth and vibrancy. ESG has a decade of experience working across the country to build partnerships between K-12, higher education and workforce systems to expand quality pathways and drive economic mobility for learners, especially those most traditionally marginalized.rnrn“Thanks to the private sector leadership of JPMorgan Chase and their investment in Talent Ready, we are expanding workforce opportunities for students in Virginia,” said Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. “My administration is committed to fostering pathways to the most in demand careers, providing technical training, and investing in results-oriented programs that boost our workforce readiness. By fostering partnerships between our top ranked education institutions and Virginia’s most critical employers, we are preparing our young people to graduate workforce and college ready.”rnrnA key resource the Partnership uses to address these gaps is the Employer Signaling System (ESS), a differentiating tool informed by employers and labor market data that helps educators prepare students to fill some of the most in-demand tech jobs.rnrn“Through our TalentReady work, we’re continuing to strengthen the Employer Signaling System, our innovative process and tool that combines labor market data with feedback from employers and educators to paint a comprehensive picture of the region’s workforce landscape,” said Kathy Hollinger, CEO at Greater Washington Partnership. “We know conversations about talent pipelines can occur in silos, with various stakeholder groups in discussions amongst themselves, but not always to one another. The ESS serves as the connector between these groups—educators, employers and more—allowing them all to speak in common language about talent needs and skills gaps.”rnrnESG is also establishing a regional collaboration network, helping to empower initiative education, workforce development, and employer communities to build cross-cutting regional strategies to expand and align pathways.rnrn“Building an economically vibrant region will take the combined efforts of the K-12 and higher education systems across Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia. Education Strategy Group is proud to be a partner in this effort to expand pathways into the region’s fastest-growing careers,” said ESG President and CEO Matt Gandal.rnrnThe expanded initiative builds on a foundation of success established in the first phase of TalentReady which launched in 2018. During this period, the K-12 school systems and colleges in the five participating communities launched or expanded a collective 19 technology-related career pathways to expose an even greater number of students to the skills needed in the workplace, including expanding internships and other work-based learning experiences. rnrnThe new phase of the TalentReady work will also deepen the focus on engaging employers and education leaders across D.C., Maryland and Virginia to strengthen regional collaboration.rnrn###rnrnAbout JPMorgan Chase & Co.rnJPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.9 trillion in assets and $317 billion in stockholders’ equity as of September 30, 2023. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com. rnrnAbout Greater Washington Partnership  rnGreater Washington Partnership is the first-of-its-kind nonprofit alliance of the region’s most influential and leading employers across industry sectors in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC – all committed to championing the region’s economic growth and vibrancy. Together, we leverage our collective experiences, resources and assets to offer real solutions and identify shared challenges to the region’s most critical issues including skills and talent, regional mobility, infrastructure and inclusive economic growth. Our goal is to ensure the entire region, from Baltimore to Richmond, remains vibrant, economically competitive, prosperous and is the best place to live, work and build a business. Learn more about the Partnership at greaterwashingtonpartnership.com.rnrnAbout Education Strategy GrouprnIn today’s economy, success largely depends on attainment of a credential beyond high school. Education Strategy Group (ESG) supports the preparation, entry, and success of individuals from K-12 through postsecondary education to build a more equitable system, open economic doors for all, and strengthen our democracy. We work with America’s education and workforce leaders and employers to design, scale, and implement strategies that improve attainment of credentials that lead to high-value career opportunities. ESG specializes in strengthening the transition points that have the highest stakes for youth and adults and the highest benefit for states, communities, and economies. We are driven by the conviction that a robust education system aligned with workforce demands leads to a stronger, more equitable society.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) decreased by 2.4 points in September to 64.5, as elevated mortgage rates further dampened already-pessimistic consumer housing sentiment. Five of the HPSI’s six components decreased month over month, including the components measuring perceived homebuying and home-selling conditions. In September, 16% of consumers reported that it’s a good time to buy a home, matching the all-time survey low set last year. Additionally, 63% said it was a good time to sell a home, down 3 percentage points compared to the prior month. Only 17% of consumers indicated that they expect mortgage rates to go down over the next 12 months. Overall, the full index is up 3.7 points year over year.

“Mortgage rates persistently over 7 percent appear to be deepening the malaise consumers feel about the home purchase market,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “In fact, high mortgage rates surpassed high home prices as the top reason why consumers think it’s a bad time to buy a home, a survey first. Notably, the share of consumers expressing pessimism about homebuying conditions hit a new survey high in September, with 84% now indicating that it’s a bad time to buy a home. On the sell side, respondents also listed unfavorable mortgage rates as the top reason why they believe it’s a bad time to sell a home. This indicates to us that many homeowners are probably not eager to give up their ‘locked-in’ lower mortgage rates anytime soon, but it also may reflect the worry of some homeowners that sale values might be suppressed slightly if the pool of qualified homebuyers is constrained by elevated mortgage rates.”

Duncan continued: “Consumers are also not seeing much affordability relief in sight, as they continue to expect home prices to increase in the next 12 months. They also indicated that their personal economic situations are showing signs of strain, including lower year-over-year household incomes and a reduced sense of job security. In our view, all of this points to home purchase affordability remaining a problem for the foreseeable future, which we forecast will keep home sales sluggish into next year.”

Home Purchase Sentiment Index – Component Highlights
Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) decreased in September by 2.4 points to 64.5. The HPSI is up 3.7 points compared to the same time last year. Read the full research report for additional information.

Good/Bad Time to Buy: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy a home decreased from 18% to 16%, while the percentage who say it is a bad time to buy increased from 82% to 84%. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to buy decreased 4 percentage points month over month.
Good/Bad Time to Sell: The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell a home decreased from 66% to 63%, while the percentage who say it’s a bad time to sell increased from 34% to 37%. As a result, the net share of those who say it is a good time to sell decreased 7 percentage points month over month.
Home Price Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months remained increased from 41% to 42%, while the percentage who say home prices will go down decreased from 26% to 23%. The share who think home prices will stay the same increased from 33% to 35%. As a result, the net share of those who say home prices will go up in the next 12 months increased 4 percentage points month over month.
Mortgage Rate Expectations: The percentage of respondents who say mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months decreased from 18% to 17%, while the percentage who expect mortgage rates to go up remained unchanged at 46%. The share who think mortgage rates will stay the same increased from 34% to 37%. As a result, the net share of those who say mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months decreased 1 percentage point month over month.
Job Loss Concern: The percentage of respondents who say they are not concerned about losing their job in the next 12 months decreased from 78% to 75%, while the percentage who say they are concerned increased from 22% to 23%. As a result, the net share of those who say they are not concerned about losing their job decreased 3 percentage points month over month.
Household Income: The percentage of respondents who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago decreased from 22% to 18%, while the percentage who say their household income is significantly lower increased from 12% to 13%. The percentage who say their household income is about the same increased from 65% to 68%. As a result, the net share of those who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago decreased 5 percentage points month over month.
About Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index
The Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) distills information about consumers’ home purchase sentiment from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey® (NHS) into a single number. The HPSI reflects consumers’ current views and forward-looking expectations of housing market conditions and complements existing data sources to inform housing-related analysis and decision making. The HPSI is constructed from answers to six NHS questions that solicit consumers’ evaluations of housing market conditions and address topics that are related to their home purchase decisions. The questions ask consumers whether they think that it is a good or bad time to buy or to sell a house, what direction they expect home prices and mortgage interest rates to move, how concerned they are about losing their jobs, and whether their incomes are higher than they were a year earlier.

About Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey
The National Housing Survey (NHS) is a monthly attitudinal survey, launched in 2010, which polls the adult general population of the United States to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, purchase and rental prices, household finances, and overall confidence in the economy. Each respondent is asked more than 100 questions, making the NHS one of the most detailed attitudinal longitudinal surveys of its kind, to track attitudinal shifts, six of which are used to construct the HPSI (findings are compared with the same survey conducted monthly beginning June 2010). For more information, please see the Technical Notes.

Fannie Mae conducts this survey and shares monthly and quarterly results so that we may help industry partners and market participants target our collective efforts to support the housing market. The September 2023 National Housing Survey was conducted between September 1, 2023 and September 18, 2023. Most of the data collection occurred during the first two weeks of this period. The latest NHS was conducted exclusively through AmeriSpeak®, NORC at the University of Chicago’s probability-based panel, on behalf of PSB Insights and in coordination with Fannie Mae. Calculations are made using unrounded and weighted respondent level data to help ensure precision in NHS results from wave to wave. As a result, minor differences in calculated data (summarized results, net calculations, etc.) of up to 1 percentage point may occur due to rounding.

Detailed HPSI & NHS Findings
For detailed findings from the Home Purchase Sentiment Index and National Housing Survey, as well as a brief HPSI overview and detailed white paper, technical notes on the NHS methodology, and questions asked of respondents associated with each monthly indicator, please visit the Surveys page on fanniemae.com. Also available on the site are in-depth special topic studies, which provide a detailed assessment of combined data results from three monthly studies of NHS results.

To receive e-mail updates with other housing market research from Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group, please click here.

About the ESR Group
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group, led by Chief Economist Doug Duncan, studies current data, analyzes historical and emerging trends, and conducts surveys of consumer and mortgage lender groups to provide forecasts and analyses on the economy, housing, and mortgage markets. The ESR Group was awarded the prestigious 2022 Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy based on the accuracy of its macroeconomic forecasts published over the 4-year period from 2018 to 2021.

About Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit:
fanniemae.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you. It’s great to be here in Las Vegas with all of you. I want to especially thank Lamar for your introduction and for your team’s hospitality. And I’m grateful to everyone from the IBEW and building trades unions for your very warm welcome.

Many of you may not know that I began my career as a labor economist. I studied the labor market: how workers and companies interact, and when it works well and when it doesn’t. Since then, much of my life has been dedicated to creating an economy that lifts workers and families up, rather than weighing them down. If I’ve learned one lesson from my time in economics, it’s this: American workers are central to our nation’s economic progress. What you are doing here in Vegas – and across the country – demonstrates every day how skilled workers are literally building our new economic future. I couldn’t be more pleased to join you.

Just shy of a year ago, I delivered a major economic speech in Michigan that laid out the case for our Administration’s economic plan. At the time, we had just witnessed a historic economic recovery from the depths of the pandemic downturn. An unprecedented pace of job creation had brought the U.S. labor market back in record time. Yet, we were still in the early stages of executing President Biden’s long-term economic agenda. We had just completed the enactment of our trifecta of historic investments: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act.

During my speech last year, I also explained the principles that guided our economic agenda. I outlined a framework called “modern supply-side economics” – an economic philosophy that animates much of Bidenomics. It focuses on how government can help spur long-term growth through investments on the supply side – such as in our workforce and its productivity. Unlike traditional supply-side economics, this approach cares not only about growth – but also creating a fairer and more sustainable economy. President Biden has advanced a significant core of the modern supply-side agenda through the passage of these three generational laws.

Today, I want to discuss what we have accomplished since last summer. I’ll first speak about the state of our economy. Then, I’ll turn to the clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s a historic law that Treasury plays the chief role in implementing. This week, we mark one year since the President signed the IRA into law. I want to speak about the progress we’ve made not only in driving the climate benefits of the law – during a summer when Americans are feeling the harsh realities of climate change. I’d also like to discuss the economic benefits that we are already beginning to see across the country for American workers and families. Powered by the IRA, the President’s agenda has helped drive a massive boom that is touching every corner of the country. Since January 2021, companies have committed over $500 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments. The explosion in U.S. factory construction is a uniquely American story: one that we do not see replicated in other peer countries.

Let me start by speaking about the state of the economy.

STATE OF THE U.S. ECONOMY
Over the past year, our task has been to transition the economy from rapid recovery to stable growth. Our path so far shows that we are on the right track, even as we remain vigilant about potential challenges and uncertainties.

Take our labor market: Americans are back to work. Our historically rapid jobs recovery has been a source of strength as we made our way back from the pandemic recession. This recovery was driven in large part by the decisive economic measures that President Biden took to provide assistance to households, businesses, and state and local governments. Since President Biden entered office, over 13 million jobs have been created. Last month, our unemployment rate was at a near record low of 3.5 percent. That’s less than a quarter of the unemployment rate recorded in April 2020.

Importantly, we’ve also seen a significant recovery in the share of Americans participating in our workforce. This rebound in labor supply has brought the jobs market into better balance. The overall labor force participation rate is now back in line with pre-pandemic trends. The share of prime-age Americans currently employed – those between the ages of 25 and 54 – has reached its highest level in over 20 years. In fact, the share of prime-age female workers currently employed is the highest it has ever been. Notably, the labor market recovery has been strong for workers across a broad set of communities. The rates of unemployment for Black and Hispanic Americans are at among their lowest on record.

These are not abstract statistics. These are real Americans back at work – able to put food on the table, support their families, and save for retirement. As President Biden says, a job is “about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about your place in your community.” The people in this room know that very well.

The continued strength of our labor market is particularly impressive given our fight against inflation. Last July, I gave a speech about the remarkable resilience of the American economy and workers in the face of global challenges. There were many who questioned whether that could last. But that’s precisely what we’ve seen over the past year, even as we remain attuned to the significant risks ahead. Annual headline inflation is now nearly 6 percentage points below its June 2022 peak. Today, overall inflation and the unemployment rate both sit below 4 percent. And our economy continues to expand. Workers are better off than they were last year. Real average hourly earnings have grown over the past year – meaning that wage gains are outpacing inflation. In fact – in 9 out of 14 major sectors – real wages are growing faster than they were in the decade before the pandemic. This has had a sizable impact on reducing inequality: one working paper estimates that wage gains for lower-income workers in recent years have reversed a quarter of the wage inequality that had accumulated over the past 40 years.[1]

The Administration remains committed to taking actions to lower prices for Americans where we can. And we continue to monitor developments, particularly those abroad, that may affect prices and growth. We know that progress rarely moves in a straight line. But I still believe that there is a path to continue reducing inflation while maintaining a healthy labor market. While there are risks, the evidence we’ve seen so far suggests that we are on such a path. Americans are reflecting this optimism: consumer sentiment is at its highest level in almost two years. I expect the important gains that we’ve made over the past two and a half years to serve as a source of resilience in the weeks and months to come, even if we see further cooling in our economy.

OUR ECONOMIC PLAN
As we continue to navigate through short-term challenges, the President has been clear that we cannot just make quick fixes. Over the past few decades, we have seen growing pressures on our economy. Many workers and families have felt them personally. They include slowing productivity growth, rising economic inequality, concerns about our energy and national security, and a worsening climate crisis that, if unmitigated, presents an existential threat to us all.

Our Administration is taking decisive action against these persistent challenges by investing in America. We have mobilized public and private investments in three strategic sectors as part of our “modern supply-side” agenda. We passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a generational investment in our physical and digital infrastructure. This law is already delivering tens of thousands of new projects across the country that are increasing our productivity and growth potential. They are also strengthening our competitiveness and supply chain resilience. We also enacted the CHIPS and Science Act – a major investment that is boosting semiconductor manufacturing and incentivizing investments in cutting-edge R&D. A strong semiconductor industrial base at home will help bolster our nation’s resilience to global shocks. Finally, we are implementing the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s our nation’s boldest-ever climate action. And it is beginning to spark an economic renaissance in communities that had been left behind.

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IMPLEMENTATION
I’d like to focus specifically on the Inflation Reduction Act as we mark its one-year anniversary. Last year, I identified three goals for this law: tackling climate change, expanding economic opportunity, and strengthening our economic resilience and energy security.

Let me speak about how we’ve made progress against each of these goals.

First, tackling climate change.

Over the past month, we have again seen incontrovertible evidence that climate change is here. We have also seen how it has compounded the effects of unusual weather patterns like El Niño. Extreme heat has scorched communities across the United States. There have been record-breaking temperatures from Phoenix to Miami. Here in Las Vegas, you’ve similarly not been spared by the waves of crippling extreme heat. In fact, scientists estimate that July was the hottest month in the Earth’s modern history. Beyond the heat, a large part of the East Coast and Midwest have been repeatedly shrouded in smoke from wildfires in Canada. Floods have devastated Vermont and other parts of the East Coast, while the Midwest and other regions continue to battle a severe drought.

These climate events have real economic impacts on Americans – even if they are spared from the physical impacts. As an example, home insurers are hiking rates or pulling back entirely from highly vulnerable areas in states like California and Florida. These developments are having a significant economic impact on homeownership – which has long been the cornerstone of the American Dream and a primary driver of household wealth.

President Biden has identified this decade as the “decisive decade” to combat climate change. The United States has committed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by at least half from 2005 levels by 2030. And we have committed to a net-zero economy by 2050. Tackling climate change requires global action. But the United States must do our part, and a clear signal from the world’s largest economy can mobilize action by other nations. While more is needed, scientific studies conclude that the IRA – and other Administration actions – are moving us well toward achieving our commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Our climate strategy is based on a simple premise: targeted public investments can help mobilize private capital toward compelling public policy objectives. This is an old strategy that we’ve successfully utilized in the past – like in the development of new technologies like the Internet.

The IRA invests in both demand- and supply-side incentives to build the clean energy economy. On the supply side, the IRA expands and extends the existing foundation of tax incentives. These incentives provide long-term certainty for investors in pursuing clean energy projects. With the IRA, investors have greater confidence to scale-up deployment of established technologies like solar energy. The IRA also helps develop nascent technologies like clean hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel. These are essential to reducing emissions from harder-to-abate sectors. Expansions on the supply side are also matched by IRA tax credits and rebates to drive up demand for consumer goods like electric vehicles, heat pumps, and energy-efficient appliances.

Together, these incentives spur greater innovation and competition in the clean energy industry. And they drive down the cost curves of these technologies. Lower costs mean greater adoption. This will not only help the United States mitigate our greenhouse gas emissions. It will help the rest of the world as well. Thanks to the IRA, one study estimates that for every ton of carbon dioxide reduced within our country, 2-3 tons of reductions will be achieved outside the United States.[2]

Second, as we reap the IRA’s climate benefits, we are also expanding economic opportunity to communities across America.

The climate transition is one of the biggest economic transitions of our lifetimes. Today, over $1 trillion in new capital each year is being invested in clean energy around the globe. But for far too long, economic opportunity in the United States has been concentrated on the coasts. That must change. We must not only create clean energy jobs in the aggregate – but the employment and other benefits of this transition must accrue broadly across all communities. A core goal of the IRA is to revitalize communities that have suffered industrial decline or been left behind. We are putting American workers and American jobs at the center of our clean energy transition, making sure Americans in every part of our country benefit from the rising global demand for low-carbon products.

The early results are in. Through my travels, I’ve seen how the clean energy industry is expanding across the country. I’ve visited solar companies in North Carolina and Louisiana. I’ve toured an EV battery plant in Tennessee. And I see the difference that the IRA is making in Nevada as well. In the Midwest and the South, there are now so many shovels in the ground for new EV battery factories that many are dubbing these regions the new “Battery Belt.” Treasury’s analysis indicates that investments in clean energy, EVs, and batteries since the President took office have been concentrated in counties that need them the most – that is, those that had lagged the country in earnings, college graduation rates, and child poverty rates.

This progress has not occurred by happenstance. The Inflation Reduction Act provides place-based incentives that bolster the business case to invest in certain communities. There is a bonus incentive for companies to invest in solar and wind projects in low-income communities, complementing Treasury’s other work to bolster capital access in these places. It’s also important that cities and towns that have served as the backbone of our nation’s traditional energy production are not left behind. The IRA provides a bonus for companies that invest in areas with closed coal mines or coal-fired power plants, and other communities that have relied on jobs in fossil fuel industries. This is a major pillar in our Administration’s broader effort to renew the economic potential of our nation’s energy communities.

Importantly, the workers that are driving the clean energy transition – like those in this room – must benefit from it. So, the law requires companies to adhere to strong wage standards and apprenticeship requirements to claim the full value of many incentives.

Earlier this summer, Treasury also released proposed guidance that would make it easier for these tax credits to reach a broad range of institutions. We are implementing innovative tools that will enable states, cities, towns, and tax-exempt organizations – like schools and hospitals – to directly access these credits. These measures serve as a force multiplier for the IRA. And they allow clean energy projects to be built more quickly, affordably, and by more entities. As a result of this provision, we expect the massive benefits of the IRA to be felt more rapidly and more broadly.

Investing in underserved communities is not just an important moral imperative. It’s also smart economics. One study indicates that boosting employment in “distressed” regions results in at least 60 percent greater economic benefits than those in “booming” ones.[3] Put simply, it gives us a bigger bang for our buck. All of us benefit when we bring people back into the workforce and provide them and others with access to good-paying, high-quality jobs in the industries of the future.

The third goal we laid out for the IRA is bolstering resilience and energy security.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides significant investment to adapt to climate change. That includes protecting our infrastructure against droughts, floods, and extreme heat. But beyond climate adaptation, we must also mitigate our vulnerabilities to shocks emanating from our reliance on fossil fuels. Over the past couple of years, we have seen how huge swings in the price of oil can put tremendous pressure on the pocketbooks of American families. We have also witnessed Russia weaponize its energy exports against our European allies and partners.

Energy is the lifeblood of our economy. A clean energy transition will enable us to depend more on the wind and the sun – and less on fossil fuels and the whims of those who control those resources. It will make a difference to ordinary Americans, who will have greater stability and predictability in their energy costs. This means greater certainty in their budgets – and less time looking at the price boards outside of gas stations.

But we must do more. As we move away from fossil fuels, we remain concerned about the risks of over-concentration in clean energy supply chains. Today, the production of critical clean energy inputs – from batteries to solar panels to critical minerals – is concentrated in a handful of countries. It’s important that we build resilient and diversified critical global supply chains that can reduce chokepoints, mitigate disruptions, and protect our economic security.

That starts by investing here at home. The IRA is helping re-shore some of the production that is critical to our clean energy economy. Looking beyond our shores, we are also working hard to accelerate the clean energy transition in other countries. Accelerating these transitions can mean greater demand for U.S. clean energy technologies produced by American workers. It can also bolster global clean energy supply chains.

As we look forward to the fall and beyond: it’s remarkable to consider how far we’ve come. Our Administration is laser-focused on continuing to provide clarity on the law so that its benefits can continue to be felt as soon as possible by American workers and families. We are also providing important guardrails so taxpayer resources are effectively spent. The IRS plays a major role in administering the IRA’s clean energy incentives. We believe that the IRS modernization initiative is essential to the law’s successful implementation. We will continue our efforts to build a tax administration system that is fit for the 21st century.

CLOSING
Twenty-five years ago, I gave my first major speech warning about the economic dangers of climate change. Since that time, we have seen climate impacts intensify. But while the world had long recognized the need for decisive action, the federal government had been missing in action.

No longer. Over the past year, we have seen the early results of bold federal action through the IRA and the Administration’s broader climate agenda. Importantly, we have seen how climate action advances our nation’s economic priorities. The IRA is driving economic growth, expanding economic opportunity, and bolstering our resilience. This is good for the American workers in this room – and so many others across the United States.

I am excited about the future we are building together. And I hope you are too. Thank you for having me today.

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) priced Connecticut Avenue Securities® (CAS) Series 2023-R06, an approximately $766 million note offering that represents Fannie Mae’s sixth CAS REMIC® transaction of the year. CAS is Fannie Mae’s benchmark issuance program designed to share credit risk on its single-family conventional guaranty book of business.

“We are pleased with the sustained demand for our CAS transactions from a deep and diverse investor base,” said Kathleen Pagliaro, Vice President of Credit Risk Transfer, Fannie Mae. “We look forward to returning to the market with two additional deals later this year, subject to market conditions.”

The reference pool for CAS Series 2023-R06 consists of approximately 64,000 single-family mortgage loans with an outstanding unpaid principal balance of approximately $20.3 billion. The reference pool includes collateral with loan-to-value ratios of 60.01 percent to 80.00 percent, which were acquired between July 2022 and October 2022. The loans included in this transaction are fixed-rate, generally 30-year term, fully amortizing mortgages and were underwritten using rigorous credit standards and enhanced risk controls.

Fannie Mae will retain a portion of the 1M-1, 1M-2, 1B-1, and 1B-2 tranches, and initially will retain the full 1B-3H first-loss tranche.

Class Offered Amount ($MM) Pricing Level Expected Ratings (S&P/KBRA)
1M-1 $279.538 30-day average SOFR plus 170 bps BBB+ (sf) / A- (sf)
1M-2 $231.342 30-day average SOFR plus 270 bps BBB- (sf) / BBB+ (sf)
1B-1 $149.154 30-day average SOFR plus 390 bps BB- (sf) / BBB- (sf)
1B-2 $105.524 30-day average SOFR plus 590 bps B- (sf) / B+ (sf)

BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofA”) is the lead structuring manager and joint bookrunner. StoneX Financial Inc. (“StoneX”) is the co-lead manager and joint bookrunner. Co-managers are Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”), Morgan Stanley & Co, LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), Nomura Securities International Inc. (“Nomura”), and Santander US Capital Markets LLC (“Santander”). Selling group members are Minority and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Academy Securities, Inc. and African-American-owned Loop Capital Markets LLC.

With the completion of this transaction, Fannie Mae will have brought 59 CAS deals to market, issued over $63 billion in notes, and transferred a portion of the credit risk to private investors on over $2.1 trillion in single-family mortgage loans, measured at the time of the transaction.

To promote transparency and to help credit investors evaluate our securities and the CAS program, Fannie Mae provides ongoing, robust disclosure data, as well as access to news, resources, and analytics through its credit risk transfer webpages. This includes our innovative Data Dynamics® tool that enables market participants to interact with and analyze CAS deals that are currently outstanding in the market and Fannie Mae’s historical loan dataset. In addition, Fannie Mae provides monthly loan-level and deal-level data in European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Annex 2 and Annex 12 template formats directly in Data Dynamics. This data is provided on a go-forward basis for all benchmark CAS deals beginning with CAS 2019-R01. Our EU Resources and UK Resources webpages are designed to help European Union and UK institutional investors, as well as those managing funds subject to EU/UK regulations.

In addition to our flagship CAS program, Fannie Mae continues to transfer mortgage credit risk through its Credit Insurance Risk Transfer™ (CIRT™) reinsurance program.

About Connecticut Avenue Securities
CAS REMIC notes are issued by a bankruptcy-remote trust. The amount of periodic principal and ultimate principal paid by Fannie Mae is determined by the performance of a large and diverse reference pool. For more information on individual CAS transactions, visit our credit risk transfer webpage.

About Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit:
fanniemae.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog

CHARLOTTE, NC – Bank of America released its 2023 Financial Life Benefits® Impact Report (PDF), revealing that the average 401(k) account balance among men is 50% greater than women’s overall ($89,000 vs. $59,000). However, this gender imbalance is closing among younger generations. Baby Boomer (ages 58-76) and Gen X (ages 43-57) men have significantly greater account balances than women in their generations (87% vs. 53%, respectively). However, the gap between Millennial (ages 28-42) men and women is only 23%. Gen X continue to have the highest 401(k) participation rate (65%) across generations, followed by 57% of Baby Boomers and 55% of Millennials.

“The gender savings gap is an issue we can and must address. It carries personal implications for many, as well as macroeconomic implications for us all,” said Lorna Sabbia, Head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions at Bank of America. “We are encouraged by the strides young, female employees are making, and want to encourage everyone to invest in their futures and leverage the workplace benefits available to them.”

Based on data across Bank of America’s proprietary employee benefits programs, which serve more than 25,000 companies and more than 6 million employees, the Financial Life Benefits Impact Report examines trends within 401(k) plans (PDF),Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) (PDF), equity compensation (PDF) and employee banking programs (PDF).

When looking at 401(k) savings plans as of the end of last year:

Participation rates dropped only slightly to 56% from 58% in 2021.
Average contribution rate declined to 6.4% from 6.6% in 2021.
26% of participants increased their contribution rate as compared to 8% of participants who decreased their savings rate.
The number of participants contributing small amounts (less than $5,000) increased to 66% (from 61% in 2021), while only 9% took full advantage of their 401(k) plan by contributing the maximum amount allowed.
Overall account balances declined by 17% related to stock and bond market declines.
When 401(k) plans include an auto-enroll feature, most employees (85%) participate, compared to just 36% participation without this feature.
Plans with auto-enroll that also have auto-increase rose (57% vs. 55% in 2021).
Employees are leveraging other benefits and resources to support their financial futures
In addition to 401(k) savings plans, employees are leveraging other benefits such as HSAs, equity awards and other financial resources to pursue their goals. Top findings related to these benefits include:

More employees received equity awards in 2022, though values were lower. 23% more participants received awards in 2022 than in 2021. However, there was a 16% decline in average shares outstanding per plan and a 30% decline in the value of outstanding shares at year-end.
HSA account holders are evolving from “spenders” to “savers.” More account holders contributed more than they withdrew (38% vs. 26% in 2021). The average HSA account declined by 6% in 2022, and more assets were held in cash deposits (58%) compared to longer-term investments (42%).
Financial education resources are top of mind. Employees are eager for education, with top interests including retirement (70%) and budgeting (23%). Participants would prefer to learn by attending a webinar (69%), followed by a short video (36%) and visiting a website for information (31%).
Participants want to engage digitally. 63% of participant visits were online, followed by 22% engaging via mobile apps and 15% through call centers.
“Employers serve an important role in ensuring that their employees are equipped with the best possible tools, resources and solutions for financial success and retirement planning,” said Kevin Crain, Head of Retirement Research & Insights at Bank of America. “We’re committed to working with employers to meet the needs of their employees, wherever they are in their financial journey.”

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMsE and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bank of America is a marketing name for the Retirement Services business of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). Banking activities may be performed by wholly owned banking affiliates of BofA Corp., including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Brokerage and Investment advisory services are provided by wholly owned non-bank affiliates of BofA Corp., including MLPF&S, a dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser and Member SIPC.

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the approval of $119.9 million in federal funds for broadband infrastructure projects in Montana and $68.3 million for multi-purpose community facility projects in North Dakota under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. A key priority of the CPF program is expanding economic opportunities and providing internet connectivity in communities with unmet needs. Already, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has delivered affordable, high-speed internet to 18 million American households, through the CPF funded by the American Rescue Plan, and through the Affordable Connectivity Program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Digital connectivity is central to expanding economic opportunity in communities across the country,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “This funding is a key piece of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments to increase access to high-speed internet for millions of Americans and provide more opportunities to fully participate in the 21st century economy.”

“As a third-generation farmer living in a rural area, I’m no stranger to the challenges Montanans face when their community lacks reliable, high-speed internet access,” said U.S. Senator Jon Tester. “Since I came to the U.S. Senate, I’ve been working to increase high-speed internet connectivity across our state so that folks in rural Montana don’t fall through the cracks. That’s why I fought for this funding in the American Rescue Plan, and I’m proud to see these federal dollars finally going to projects that will serve every corner of the Treasure State.”

The CPF provides a total of $10 billion to states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring. In addition to the $10 billion provided by the CPF, many governments are putting a portion of their State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) toward meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of connecting every American household to affordable, reliable high-speed internet. Together, these American Rescue Plan programs and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are working in tandem with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to close the digital divide – deploying high-speed internet to those without access and lowering costs for those who cannot afford it.

In accordance with the Treasury Department’s guidance, each state’s plan requires service providers to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Affordable Connectivity Program, funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, helps ensure that households can afford high-speed internet by providing a discount of up to $30 per month (or up to $75 per eligible household on Tribal lands). Experts estimate that nearly 40% of U.S. households are eligible for the program.

To further lower costs, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced last year that the Administration had secured commitments from 20 leading internet service providers—covering more than 80% of the U.S. population—to offer all ACP-eligible households high-speed, reliable internet plans for no more than $30 per month. As a result of this agreement and the ACP, eligible households can receive internet access at no cost and can check their eligibility and sign up at GetInternet.gov.

The Treasury Department began announcing state awards in June 2022. To date, CPF has awarded nearly $7 billion for broadband, digital technology, and multi-purpose community center projects in 42 states. States estimate that the broadband investments will reach more than 1.94 million locations, in addition to the thousands of individuals who will be served annually by connected multi-purpose community facilities. The Treasury Department will continue approving state and Tribal plans on a rolling basis.

The following descriptions summarize the Montana and North Dakota plans that Treasury approved today:

Montana is approved to receive $119.9 million for broadband infrastructure through the ConnectMT program, which the state estimates will serve 61,100 locations. The ConnectMT program is a competitive broadband grant program designed to fund broadband infrastructure projects in areas that currently lack access to reliable internet. ConnectMT prioritizes last mile fiber-to-the-home projects that will provide residents with affordable, high-speed internet. The plan approved by the Treasury Department today represents 100% of the state’s total allocation under the CPF program.

North Dakota is approved to receive $68.3 million for North Dakota’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Multi-Purpose Community Facility Grant Program, a competitive grant program that will provide funding to establish CTE centers. CTE centers will expand educational and career offerings to post-secondary school students and adult learners as well as provide expanded access to telehealth in areas of North Dakota where these services are limited. North Dakota estimates this program will use today’s award to fund at least 12 CTE centers, serving more than 20,000 individuals annually. In addition to the broadband infrastructure plan approved last month, North Dakota has now received 100% of its total CPF allocation.