COMERICA INC — Call Transcript 2025

Last night, in that slide deck, we did have a safe harbor statement with a forward-looking statement and non-GAAP financial measures. So be aware that applies to the entirety of this webcast. So with all that said, I just want to spend a couple of minutes talking about some of the underlying strengths of Comerica, some tailwinds that we see for 2025, and then Peter's going to talk about some of the revenue strategies that we're putting in place. We do think it continues to be a very compelling story for Comerica. It always starts with those core strengths, and I always like to lead off with credit. In the fourth quarter, we were once again in the top quartile of peers in terms of net charge-offs. And that's been a pretty consistent story for several years now. So continue to be very proud of the credit heritage. Capital, with almost 12% in CET1, provides a great runway for providing for growth. And we think it will allow us to continue the share repurchase and probably increase that share repurchase as time goes on. And then finally, liquidity. You know, we were reminded of how important liquidity is during the spring of 2023. We felt like we had very strong liquidity then, and it's only gotten stronger since then. Now, with all that said, building on those core foundational strengths, we do see some great tailwinds for 2025. It starts with our maturing swaps and securities, which will benefit net interest income. And that's a gift that we'll keep on giving each year, even beyond 2025. Great core customer deposit base. We've had some great recent success over the last several quarters. We expect that to continue through the rest of this year. I think we all know deposits, core customer deposits, are the best way to efficiently fund loan growth. We do expect some good point-to-point loan growth, which will be a tailwind to net interest income also. Then we do believe the most powerful lever we have for improving financial results is to grow revenue at an annual compounded rate. With that, we're going to start talking about some of our revenue strategies as we move through the year. Peter's going to kick that off this morning. I'll turn it over to Peter for those comments. Yeah, thanks, Jim. So good morning, everyone. Thanks, Jon, for having us. So we thought on a go-forward basis, we would try to start double-clicking down in a few of our businesses for you all. So the slide here that we're showing just gives you an idea of kind of what we think that looks like. We've historically talked about the commercial bank, wealth management, and retail as kind of three major divisions. But really underneath that, we have other ways that we break that out. And so today, I'm going to talk a little bit more about middle market and business banking, as well as our small business operations. And then on conferences going forward, we'll probably look further at some of these other businesses and try to give you guys a little more insight into what we're doing in each one of these throughout the year. So specifically on middle market and business banking, you know, this is at the core of what Comerica has done for 175 years, really. So we are a fantastic general lender, if you will. So across the country, businesses that make things, manufacture things, this is our middle market and business banking business. And it really is a people game. It's people, places, and investment in product. And we are very, very fortunate. We have a fantastic training program that the last couple of years we have really started to lean into as a growth engine for increasing our RM population across the country. We have found over the years that growing our own is the best way to increase our sales force. We've had good luck hiring from the outside, but we don't think it's the best way to necessarily do it. So on a go-forward basis, we envision hopefully being able to add 70 bankers at least out of our training program over the next five years. And in addition to the extent that we can capture opportunities from other banks, we will do that. But we think that bringing in our own talent, training them, teaching them credit, which, as Jim mentioned, is one of our real strong strengths, teaching themselves. And someone like myself, Melinda Chausse, we are people who came up through that program, and we want to really invest in that on a go-forward basis. And then putting them in the right places. So hopefully you all have a good sense of our geographic footprint. But when we talk about middle market and business banking, these states you see are where we have loan offices, loan production offices, or we have all of our business lines. So you've heard us talk about Michigan, Texas, California. We now have middle market and business banking lending in the Southeast. We have it in Denver. We have it in Phoenix and in those markets. And so when you look geographically, Michigan has always been a fantastic base for us, but we're in the right markets on a long-term basis where the growth is going to be. We've proven our ability to do that in the Southeast. So just in the last few years, we've added a number of folks in our Southeast market and are really, really seeing fantastic results down there. I would tell you that's kind of the first time Comerica had really engaged in attempting to go to a brand new market or take on the number of RMs and leaders that we did really since I've been at the bank. And now that we've kind of seen the success and what that looks like, we actually intend to take that even stronger into markets where we already are. So Houston, San Diego, LA, even Dallas is an opportunity for us where we're about half the size in DFW as we are in the entire Metro Detroit area. So that gives you a sense of the number of folks that we could add to those markets and be really successful. And then finally, just investment in our products and our offerings. I mean, in today's day and age, it's about onboarding, how quickly you can set up customers with their treasury management, how quickly you can get their packages approved, take care of them digitally, and so forth. And so we're going to continue to invest in that side of the business, which is kind of just something you have to do in today's world to be successful in middle market and business banking. But I think you put all those three things together, we feel really good about the growth outlook over the next five years. The other business we don't talk very much about is our small business offering. So for a long, long time since I've been at the bank, we were kind of good at small business just because we had banking centers. Over the last two or three years, we have now hired 100 people in our small business relationship management pool to go out and attract business. So when you look at our retail deposit base, call it $25 billion, $5 billion of that is small business, non-interest-bearing deposits, super granular. We've been able to grow to that number without, like I said, really going out and marketing. We had great success last year. We did better than the industry average on deposit retention and growth, and we feel like this is a business that we can grow 10% on a deposit basis year in, year out, and again, we're in the right markets to do that. We're starting to get third-party opinions that we're doing a good job with this. We feel like we're providing some creative product. We have a co-working offering in our Dallas market where our small business customers can use our space for their businesses, and we're going to continue to lean into this. Small businesses become big businesses. And so to the extent that we can have a much better inventory of small businesses as we grow into business banking, grow into middle market, that's not something that we've really had in the past before. And we feel like that's something that's going to take us forward for a lot of years to come. So you'll continue to see us invest in this. We probably aren't going to add as many people in small business. We feel like we've got the right headcount now, but we are going to invest in product and offering and certainly do what we can to increase that experience for our customers. So that's just a little bit of double-click into it. I know we'll see many of you all throughout the day and can answer any other questions. But Jon, be glad to take any questions you have here on the stage. Thank you. Appreciate that. Peter, maybe for you, just the macro environment, we'll start out since it's very topical. Any early customer response to the tariffs? And you guys have obviously a pretty good read in middle market banking. And curious if you think it's going to have any impact on your outlook. I don't think it's going to have any impact on the outlook. I certainly think it has a lot of impact on day-to-day conversations and decisions, so at a high level, I would say we're not seeing that it's necessarily going to impact our outlook on a 2025 basis. I do continue to think, though, that we ended last year, we had our fourth quarter call. I felt like things had gotten a little better with customer sentiment, customer optimism. In the last 60 days, it's probably dialed back a little bit from that, and I would just say it's confusion. What exactly are the rules going to be, and most business owners can adjust to regulatory changes, to tariff changes. We've seen that over the years. They just need to get clarity about what the rules are going to be. I suspect that we will start to get that here, hopefully in the next 30-60 days. Once businesses, I think, get that clarity, they tend to move forward. But it's hard to imagine that there isn't some impact overall GDP-wise for the country that we're going to experience. I do believe on a customer-by-customer basis, what we tend to hear from our customers is they will navigate this. I'm not worried about it from a credit standpoint. I continue to think, you know, we went through a period there where margins got really, really good for middle market customers, and they've kind of shrunk a little bit with interest rates. They're probably going to shrink some with tariffs, but they're going to continue to perform, and they're going to continue to run their businesses they have in the past. So we may see some sectors that get more impacted than others, but we've been through this drill a couple of times, and that's usually what ends up happening on the other side of it. So a lot to be determined, but I suspect when we get our sentiment feedback from our leaders here for Q1, it's going to be a notch below where it was at the end of Q4. Okay. And then just on loan growth in general, this is kind of the near-term stuff, the near-term noise. What kind of expectations do you have? I know that you've put up some pretty strong CAGR objectives for middle markets and small business, but you also have some CRE paydowns. Just talk about kind of the balancing act and what expectations. Yeah, it is a balancing act, and probably one of the things that I would say is that, you know, what we are trying to solve for is sort of giving more consistent loan growth year in, year out, but navigating these businesses that have these big swings. So that's why I don't necessarily miss the mortgage banking finance business. That was a very big swing business quarter by quarter for us. Dealer and CRE, dealer tends to be a swing business, and CRE tends to be sort of an annual year in, year out, something you have to navigate against. So I don't think, again, we're making any comments or changes about our outlook. CRE, it was picking up a little bit. All of a sudden, it's kind of slowed down again. So, you know, we'll see what happens as we go throughout the year. But those are the two businesses that would be headwinds for us from just a high-level standpoint. The rest of our businesses, we would expect to see growth, and we would expect to see it on an annualized basis, be able to offset what we think we're going to see from headwinds from CRE. Good. Seasonality in Q1 looks normal. Your guide looks consistent. So, Jim, for you, just talk a little bit about deposit trends and what kind of expectations you have there. It seems the guidance seems consistent, but any nuances you want to share? Yeah, we continue to be really pleased with what we see on the deposit side. You know, a lot of successes I mentioned earlier in terms of gathering core customer deposits. The outlook is still strong on a point-to-point basis. I think that really speaks well to the confidence our customers have in us, the product set, really the overall relationship banking model that we have. So we continue to expect those to grow during 2025. We did indicate on the January call that we expected our typical seasonal outflows in January, February, March. I would say that what we're seeing is very much in line with what we expected, so tracking very well. Non-interest-bearing is part of that, probably at or slightly better than what we expected. We did talk about non-interest-bearing deposits on the January earnings call, thinking that they had bottomed out in terms of this mix shift between non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing. It looks like that's holding up okay. We haven't seen any material shifting occur during the quarter. Now, it's only been two months, and we've had other two-month periods where it slowed up, and then the yield curve shifted up, and we saw a little bit more. But at this point, we're still holding to our earlier guidance that we think overall the mix shift has bottomed out, and we think non-interest-bearing will kind of hold at this floor and then continue to grow modestly as we go through 2025. On the pricing side, good news there also. Things continue to track very much as expected. You might recall that on the up part of the cycle of the last couple of years, we had just over a 60% deposit beta, and we do expect overall symmetry with our current customer base as we come down the rate curve on this side of the cycle, and you might recall on the fourth quarter earnings call, we showed that we probably had just a little bit over a 60% beta on the downside since the Fed started cutting rates on third quarter average versus fourth quarter average, so, you know, really exceeding that overall up beta that we had received, and what I'm seeing through the first two months of the year is we've actually probably improved upon that a little bit. Now, we do expect that symmetry to exist over the course of the down cycle. So we may have to give a little bit of that rate back to the customers as we move through 2025. Just not totally clear at this point. But at this point, you know, we're really probably slightly outpacing what we might have thought just a few months ago. So pricing really moving very well and really as designed. Okay, good. And I want to ask about Direct Express, Peter, but Jim, just maybe one question for you. You've taken a more asset, call it neutral position versus your historical asset sensitivity. How do you expect that to progress over time? Do you expect to become more asset sensitive over time, or is this the future of the company to be more neutral from a rate perspective? You know, we are. I do consider us mostly neutral at this point. And I think typically going forward in the future, I think over the course of the cycle, we'll be roughly neutral. You know, that would be our goal. Having said that, I'd probably put a couple of little caveats on that. The first is just, you know, based on what I see going on in the outside world, not just recently, but really over the last year or a couple of years, I do think that we're probably in for a wider range of interest rates than we might have thought, you know, just a couple of years ago. You know, the world is no longer flat, you know, as Thomas Friedman might have said a few years ago. So we need to be prepared for that wider range of interest rates. We got to be cognizant of the balance sheet too, with Basel III Endgame probably coming our way and AOCI being part of the CET1. So we have to manage not only interest rate risk on the earnings side, but on the balance sheet side too. And those two are not always congruent with each other, you know, depending on the time horizon that you have. So all that to say, we'll probably have to be a little more comfortable with having some asset sensitivity earlier in the cycle at the lower end of the rate curve and then kind of cover that position as we start to see rates move up. But over the course of the cycle, I would say much closer to interest neutral. Okay, good. Peter, for you, just Direct Express. Can you give us an update on Direct Express, maybe lessons learned on that and any impact to other areas of your business? Lessons learned, that's one I haven't been asked for yet, Jon. Yeah, there's probably a few lessons learned. I don't know that I'll go into that from here, but there is no real update as far as the deposits or the outlook. What we've told you guys on a go-forward basis is kind of where we sit at the moment. As you all are probably fully aware, there have been a number of changes at Fiscal Service in the last 60, 90 days, which quite candidly has sort of pushed out any clarity about what any transition plan does or doesn't look like. So we're still working with them on those plans. But what that means for us, therefore, is that the deposit outlook is consistent with what we've said in the past, that we don't see any changes to 2025 in those balances. And really at this point, not into 2026 and 2027. And I think, as you all know, they've extended us for three years. And so we think those balances are going to hang in there for quite a while. I would say, though, that there's a tremendous amount of things that we learned about that program that we are deploying as far as technology and solutions. And a lot of what we do with Direct Express is actually applicable to some of the things that we could do for some of our commercial customers. And so we're switching gears, if you will, and taking those learnings and making sure that we figure out how to go out and gather deposits in different ways. Granularity matters tremendously, obviously. And so we're very focused on making sure that we have solutions to offset the deposit loss that we expect to see in three years. And I'm very confident we will get that done. But I don't have any updates about the transition for right now. Okay. Okay, thank you. Jim, for you, you have some net interest income momentum, I would say. You have the BSBY tailwinds, but it seems like you also have it at your core. Can you talk a little bit about some of the core expectations and what kind of a rate environment you have embedded in that? Yeah, we did use the rate curve from 12/31, and you know, the curve may have shifted up just slightly since then, but not materially different. Yeah, we're really pleased with the outlook we were able to give on net interest income being up, you know, 6%-7% on a full year to full year basis, about half of that being the BSBY income. And we've been very transparent that we don't consider that to be core income as we want to be very upfront with that. But you still have, you know, about 3.5% of core net interest income growth on a year-to-year basis. I think that's really impressive when you consider that it's really the averages on the balance sheet that drive income. And while we have some really nice point-to-point growth plan this year for both deposits and loans, you know, because we're coming off from such a low point at the end of 2024, the averages aren't moving a lot, as you saw in the guidance, you know, 0.5%-1% on both loans and deposits. So even with that somewhat modest average growth, and I do expect the averages to match the point-to-point as we move into 2026 and have some nice healthy growth. But even with that modest average growth, to grow the balance sheet, you know, 3.5% or net interest income 3.5% or so exclusive of BSBY, pretty impressive. And you know, how do we do that? Of course, one of the drivers is the maturing swaps and securities. I would also say, though, that we've done a really good job with managing deposit pay rates, and that's providing somewhat of a tailwind also, and then finally, the overall balance sheet, the funding side on the right side of the balance sheet, just much more efficient in 2025. You know, we've paid down the brokered CDs, some wholesale funding has been allowed to mature. You know, funding our loans has really become more of a strategy of using core customer deposits to fund that loan growth, so those three factors combined really are giving us a nice boost on net interest income. I would expect some of those factors, like the core customer deposits and the maturing swaps and securities, to continue even in 2026 and beyond. And then, of course, as the averages for loans and deposits catch up to the nice point-to-point growth, I think we're going to see some really positive tailwinds as we go through time for net interest income. So really optimistic about that. Okay, good. Peter, how about fee income? You highlighted it a little bit. It's a focus, your mid-single digit four-ish % projection for the year. What are some of the drivers of that? And what kind of longer-term expectations do you have? Yeah, and as I mentioned at the beginning, we're going to try to give you guys a little more look into each of those businesses as we go throughout the year. But the three buckets that we tend to talk about would be our capital markets business, our wealth management business, and payments. So wealth management, I feel like we have a fantastic offering there. We've got a full suite of products available to wealth management customers. And probably the thing I'm the most excited about in that business is what we're doing with Comerica Financial Advisors, which is sort of our retail brokerage offering, if you will. We did a major change over the last couple of years with how we deliver that offering and have substantially improved the customer experience with our partnership with Ameriprise. And for a lot of years, that business was not really moving and not really growing, but we have a huge opportunity to grow that business on a go-forward basis. So we'll talk more about that in coming conferences throughout the year. But adding FAs in our wealth management business is something that we're giving a lot of thought to. And throughout the country, to the extent we continue to grow middle market and business banking, that's going to create wealth management opportunities for us. So on the capital market side, I mean, we've got everything that a regional bank needs. Frankly, we kind of play above our weight in this business when it comes to syndicating loans, when it comes to providing interest rate commodity hedging for our customers. We now have an M&A offering that we did not have. That's only about two years old and is starting to get some traction. So we think that is a real addition to what we do in capital markets that'll help us grow forward. And then on the payment side, the things that we're doing there, we think are terribly exciting for us. We've hired new leadership. We're bringing in new product leaders. We are investing in the technology, in the onboarding. There's a few headwinds in there when it comes to some of the things going on with card and things like that. But I think on a high top-level basis, we feel like over the next five years, our payments business is a huge opportunity for us. I continue to believe that's going to become what a lot of middle market CFOs make decisions about when it comes to loans is how good is your treasury management payments offering, and then we'll talk to you about a loan. I think it's important that we continue to invest in. Those are our three big buckets when it comes to non-interest income. Okay, good. Jim, for you, this is kind of an expense, strategic, regulatory question all rolled into one. But how do you think about your asset size, where you are right now? You have $100 billion in assets, you know, kind of above you. You have to make some investments there. At your asset size, do you feel like you're competitive enough? And what kind of investments do you have to make to get over $100 billion? Yeah, we've always felt we're in a nice sweet spot here. So we actually welcome the size that we're at. You know, being a relationship-based bank, we think it actually plays to our strengths. And I'm sure Peter could go on and on about the stories we hear from customers where there were bigger banks and the relationship managers are switching over or they don't know where to go to get something done. You know, that is not the case with Comerica. So we think it actually plays very well into our overall relationship model that we have and quite comfortable in our size. And if there's any bank that can get by with not achieving scale, I would say it's Comerica. We feel quite comfortable with it, and we think it's actually a strategic advantage. Now, we do recognize that there are some, you know, regulatory requirements as we get closer to $100 billion, and we're taking steps to address that. And, you know, we're one of two banks today that were in the regime back when it was a 50 to, you know, above $50 billion requirement. So we actually kept some of those practices. We sunset others, and we're rebuilding what we have to rebuild, but we know how to do it. We've been there before. And, you know, where the regulatory regime goes over the next couple of years, we'll wait and see. But we're not going to change course from the path that we're on. We know that some of the things you have to do to get ready take some time, and we don't want to start and stop there. So we feel really good about the progress that we're making and feel like, you know, the size rating works well for us, works for our customers, but also very confident we can meet any requirements that are required for category four. Okay. On capital, you referenced your 12% CET1 ratio, and that's a healthy amount of capital given your risk profile. What do you want the message to be on buybacks? And then I also think, you know, we should talk about M&A as well. Do you have any interest in M&A as a use for some of that capital? You know, the first use of capital is always for us as being there for our customers and loan growth. And it is interesting. I've gotten surprisingly some pickup and questions lately about, you know, if the 10-year were to keep going up, and of course, it's come down recently, but at some point, will that restrict the ability to, you know, provide capital for loan growth? And our very firm answer to that is no, that we think we have plenty of capital for loan growth, even if Basel III Endgame were to kick in and the 10-year were to go up, you know, another step up from where it had been. So certainly there for loan growth. But in terms of returning capital to shareholders, you know, we obviously have a very strong dividend. You know, we were proud of restarting the buyback program at $100 million in the fourth quarter. We did take it down in the first quarter just because as we moved through the end of fourth quarter of 2024, early 2025, the 10-year just went on a tear, as you know. And so I think it was very prudent to maybe slow up that share buyback a little bit just to make sure that we had that capital there in case loan growth were to really take off in a very strong way over the next two or three years. You know, we do think that the 10-year looks like it's a little more behaved. I think under any conditions, we are prepared to probably keep some degree of share buyback going in 2025. But I actually do think we also have the capability to increase that return of capital as we move through 2025. So I think we can get the best of all worlds there and feel like we're in pretty good shape from a capital standpoint. You know, as far as M&A, that's a low priority for us. You know, we really believe in our business model, as I was mentioning, and we'd rather reinvest that capital into our business model, which we actually think is pretty unique and the best in the industry as opposed to buying someone else's business. So, you know, and we also have that distraction factor also when you go through M&A. You know, having said that, you never say never. You know, we have acquired in the past, and if you ever come across that very perfect storm of the right price, the right culture, the right markets, the right strategic fit, it's something you'd have to consider. But I will say it's low on the priority list right now. We are very focused on organic growth. It's been kind of interesting on M&A because everybody's excited about it. But I think the theme has been there are a lot of potential buyers, but not a lot of potential sellers is what it feels like to me. Feels that way. And it was just the opposite two years ago. So you never know where the sentiment's going to go. But yeah, I think there are a lot of banks. You never know what they're thinking inside their head. But I think for Comerica, we've been pretty consistent that we like our business model and we like the concept of organic growth. Okay. Just a minute and a half left if anybody has anything. Okay, Peter, anything on credit? Any credit pressures, anything you're concerned about or thinking about at this point? Yeah, I'm concerned about credit all the time. You know, I've described that as something that sort of a gray rhino out there on the horizon that we know is coming. I don't know when. I don't think any bank can tell you when. We continue to see the math perform pretty well. You know, Melinda answered that question on the fourth quarter call, and the word that we keep trying to use with everyone is normalization, and in our slide deck, you know, we show you the businesses that we watch closely when it comes to auto leveraged some of those businesses, but, you know, so far, so good. It continues to be performing very well. But in the back of my head, I always have this sort of belief that there will be a time, right? What I tell people is Comerica usually comes through those really, really well because we have such good relationships with our customers. We have been through a lot of things with our customers. You don't bank companies for three or four generations without them having been through some really, really difficult times. We've helped them get through those. So, you know, I don't see anything right now that concerns me, but it's also something that we constantly have our eye on as a company because I think it is, as Jim mentioned, one of our major strengths over a long period of time that's helped us be very, very successful. Okay. That's it. We're out of time, but thanks, guys, for being here. All right. Thanks.

Speaker 3: Last night, in that slide deck, we did have a safe harbor statement with a forward-looking statement and non-GAAP financial measures. So be aware that applies to the entirety of this webcast. So with all that said, I just want to spend a couple of minutes talking about some of the underlying strengths of Comerica, some tailwinds that we see for 2025, and then Peter's going to talk about some of the revenue strategies that we're putting in place. We do think it continues to be a very compelling story for Comerica. It always starts with those core strengths, and I always like to lead off with credit. In the fourth quarter, we were once again in the top quartile of peers in terms of net charge-offs. And that's been a pretty consistent story for several years now. So continue to be very proud of the credit heritage. Last night, in that slide deck, we did have a safe harbor statement with a forward-looking statement and non-GAAP financial measures. last night in that slide deck we did have a safe harbor statement with a forward-looking statement and non-gaap financial measures So be aware that applies to the entirety of this webcast. so be aware that applies to the entirety of this webcast So with all that said, I just want to spend a couple of minutes talking about some of the underlying strengths of Comerica, some tailwinds that we see for 2025, and then Peter's going to talk about some of the revenue strategies that we're putting in place. so with all that said i just want to spend a couple of minutes talking about some of the underlying strengths of comerica some tailwinds that we see for 2025 and then peter's going to talk about some of the revenue strategies that we're putting in place We do think it continues to be a very compelling story for Comerica. we do think it continues to be a very compelling story for comerica It always starts with those core strengths, and I always like to lead off with credit. it always starts with those core strengths and i always like to lead off with credit In the fourth quarter, we were once again in the top quartile of peers in terms of net charge-offs. in the fourth quarter we were once again in the top quartile of peers in terms of net charge-offs And that's been a pretty consistent story for several years now. and that's been a pretty consistent story for several years now So continue to be very proud of the credit heritage. so continue to be very proud of the credit heritage Capital, with almost 12% in CET1, provides a great runway for providing for growth. And we think it will allow us to continue the share repurchase and probably increase that share repurchase as time goes on. And then finally, liquidity. You know, we were reminded of how important liquidity is during the spring of 2023. We felt like we had very strong liquidity then, and it's only gotten stronger since then. Now, with all that said, building on those core foundational strengths, we do see some great tailwinds for 2025. It starts with our maturing swaps and securities, which will benefit net interest income. Capital, with almost 12% in CET1, provides a great runway for providing for growth. capital with almost 12% in cet1 provides a great runway for providing for growth And we think it will allow us to continue the share repurchase and probably increase that share repurchase as time goes on. and we think it will allow us to continue the share repurchase and probably increase that share repurchase as time goes on And then finally, liquidity. and then finally liquidity You know, we were reminded of how important liquidity is during the spring of 2023. you know we were reminded of how important liquidity is during the spring of 2023 We felt like we had very strong liquidity then, and it's only gotten stronger since then. we felt like we had very strong liquidity then and it's only gotten stronger since then Now, with all that said, building on those core foundational strengths, we do see some great tailwinds for 2025. now with all that said building on those core foundational strengths we do see some great tailwinds for 2025 It starts with our maturing swaps and securities, which will benefit net interest income. it starts with our maturing swaps and securities which will benefit net interest income And that's a gift that we'll keep on giving each year, even beyond 2025. Great core customer deposit base. We've had some great recent success over the last several quarters. We expect that to continue through the rest of this year. I think we all know deposits, core customer deposits, are the best way to efficiently fund loan growth. We do expect some good point-to-point loan growth, which will be a tailwind to net interest income also. Then we do believe the most powerful lever we have for improving financial results is to grow revenue at an annual compounded rate. With that, we're going to start talking about some of our revenue strategies as we move through the year. Peter's going to kick that off this morning. I'll turn it over to Peter for those comments. And that's a gift that we'll keep on giving each year, even beyond 2025. and that's a gift that we'll keep on giving each year even beyond 2025 Great core customer deposit base. great core customer deposit base We've had some great recent success over the last several quarters. we've had some great recent success over the last several quarters We expect that to continue through the rest of this year. we expect that to continue through the rest of this year I think we all know deposits, core customer deposits, are the best way to efficiently fund loan growth. i think we all know deposits core customer deposits are the best way to efficiently fund loan growth We do expect some good point-to-point loan growth, which will be a tailwind to net interest income also. we do expect some good point-to-point loan growth which will be a tailwind to net interest income also Then we do believe the most powerful lever we have for improving financial results is to grow revenue at an annual compounded rate. then we do believe the most powerful lever we have for improving financial results is to grow revenue at an annual compounded rate With that, we're going to start talking about some of our revenue strategies as we move through the year. with that we're going to start talking about some of our revenue strategies as we move through the year Peter's going to kick that off this morning. peter's going to kick that off this morning I'll turn it over to Peter for those comments. i'll turn it over to peter for those comments

Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks, Jim. So good morning, everyone. Thanks, Jon, for having us. So we thought on a go-forward basis, we would try to start double-clicking down in a few of our businesses for you all. So the slide here that we're showing just gives you an idea of kind of what we think that looks like. We've historically talked about the commercial bank, wealth management, and retail as kind of three major divisions. But really underneath that, we have other ways that we break that out. And so today, I'm going to talk a little bit more about middle market and business banking, as well as our small business operations. And then on conferences going forward, we'll probably look further at some of these other businesses and try to give you guys a little more insight into what we're doing in each one of these throughout the year. Yeah, thanks, Jim. yeah thanks jim So good morning, everyone. so good morning everyone Thanks, Jon, for having us. thanks jon for having us So we thought on a go-forward basis, we would try to start double-clicking down in a few of our businesses for you all. so we thought on a go-forward basis we would try to start double-clicking down in a few of our businesses for you all So the slide here that we're showing just gives you an idea of kind of what we think that looks like. so the slide here that we're showing just gives you an idea of kind of what we think that looks like We've historically talked about the commercial bank, wealth management, and retail as kind of three major divisions. we've historically talked about the commercial bank wealth management and retail as kind of three major divisions But really underneath that, we have other ways that we break that out. but really underneath that we have other ways that we break that out And so today, I'm going to talk a little bit more about middle market and business banking, as well as our small business operations. and so today i'm going to talk a little bit more about middle market and business banking as well as our small business operations And then on conferences going forward, we'll probably look further at some of these other businesses and try to give you guys a little more insight into what we're doing in each one of these throughout the year. and then on conferences going forward we'll probably look further at some of these other businesses and try to give you guys a little more insight into what we're doing in each one of these throughout the year So specifically on middle market and business banking, you know, this is at the core of what Comerica has done for 175 years, really. So we are a fantastic general lender, if you will. So across the country, businesses that make things, manufacture things, this is our middle market and business banking business. And it really is a people game. It's people, places, and investment in product. And we are very, very fortunate. We have a fantastic training program that the last couple of years we have really started to lean into as a growth engine for increasing our RM population across the country. We have found over the years that growing our own is the best way to increase our sales force. We've had good luck hiring from the outside, but we don't think it's the best way to necessarily do it. So specifically on middle market and business banking, you know, this is at the core of what Comerica has done for 175 years, really. so specifically on middle market and business banking you know this is at the core of what comerica has done for 175 years really So we are a fantastic general lender, if you will. so we are a fantastic general lender if you will So across the country, businesses that make things, manufacture things, this is our middle market and business banking business. so across the country businesses that make things manufacture things this is our middle market and business banking business And it really is a people game. and it really is a people game It's people, places, and investment in product. it's people places and investment in product And we are very, very fortunate. and we are very very fortunate We have a fantastic training program that the last couple of years we have really started to lean into as a growth engine for increasing our RM population across the country. we have a fantastic training program that the last couple of years we have really started to lean into as a growth engine for increasing our rm population across the country We have found over the years that growing our own is the best way to increase our sales force. we have found over the years that growing our own is the best way to increase our sales force We've had good luck hiring from the outside, but we don't think it's the best way to necessarily do it. we've had good luck hiring from the outside but we don't think it's the best way to necessarily do it So on a go-forward basis, we envision hopefully being able to add 70 bankers at least out of our training program over the next five years. And in addition to the extent that we can capture opportunities from other banks, we will do that. But we think that bringing in our own talent, training them, teaching them credit, which, as Jim mentioned, is one of our real strong strengths, teaching themselves. And someone like myself, Melinda Chausse, we are people who came up through that program, and we want to really invest in that on a go-forward basis. And then putting them in the right places. So hopefully you all have a good sense of our geographic footprint. But when we talk about middle market and business banking, these states you see are where we have loan offices, loan production offices, or we have all of our business lines. So on a go-forward basis, we envision hopefully being able to add 70 bankers at least out of our training program over the next five years. so on a go-forward basis we envision hopefully being able to add 70 bankers at least out of our training program over the next five years And in addition to the extent that we can capture opportunities from other banks, we will do that. and in addition to the extent that we can capture opportunities from other banks we will do that But we think that bringing in our own talent, training them, teaching them credit, which, as Jim mentioned, is one of our real strong strengths, teaching themselves. but we think that bringing in our own talent training them teaching them credit which as jim mentioned is one of our real strong strengths teaching themselves And someone like myself, Melinda Chausse, we are people who came up through that program, and we want to really invest in that on a go-forward basis. and someone like myself melinda chausse we are people who came up through that program and we want to really invest in that on a go-forward basis And then putting them in the right places. and then putting them in the right places So hopefully you all have a good sense of our geographic footprint. so hopefully you all have a good sense of our geographic footprint But when we talk about middle market and business banking, these states you see are where we have loan offices, loan production offices, or we have all of our business lines. but when we talk about middle market and business banking these states you see are where we have loan offices loan production offices or we have all of our business lines So you've heard us talk about Michigan, Texas, California. We now have middle market and business banking lending in the Southeast. We have it in Denver. We have it in Phoenix and in those markets. And so when you look geographically, Michigan has always been a fantastic base for us, but we're in the right markets on a long-term basis where the growth is going to be. We've proven our ability to do that in the Southeast. So just in the last few years, we've added a number of folks in our Southeast market and are really, really seeing fantastic results down there. I would tell you that's kind of the first time Comerica had really engaged in attempting to go to a brand new market or take on the number of RMs and leaders that we did really since I've been at the bank. So you've heard us talk about Michigan, Texas, California. so you've heard us talk about michigan texas california We now have middle market and business banking lending in the Southeast. we now have middle market and business banking lending in the southeast We have it in Denver. we have it in denver We have it in Phoenix and in those markets. we have it in phoenix and in those markets And so when you look geographically, Michigan has always been a fantastic base for us, but we're in the right markets on a long-term basis where the growth is going to be. and so when you look geographically michigan has always been a fantastic base for us but we're in the right markets on a long-term basis where the growth is going to be We've proven our ability to do that in the Southeast. we've proven our ability to do that in the southeast So just in the last few years, we've added a number of folks in our Southeast market and are really, really seeing fantastic results down there. so just in the last few years we've added a number of folks in our southeast market and are really really seeing fantastic results down there I would tell you that's kind of the first time Comerica had really engaged in attempting to go to a brand new market or take on the number of RMs and leaders that we did really since I've been at the bank. i would tell you that's kind of the first time comerica had really engaged in attempting to go to a brand new market or take on the number of rms and leaders that we did really since i've been at the bank And now that we've kind of seen the success and what that looks like, we actually intend to take that even stronger into markets where we already are. So Houston, San Diego, LA, even Dallas is an opportunity for us where we're about half the size in DFW as we are in the entire Metro Detroit area. So that gives you a sense of the number of folks that we could add to those markets and be really successful. And then finally, just investment in our products and our offerings. I mean, in today's day and age, it's about onboarding, how quickly you can set up customers with their treasury management, how quickly you can get their packages approved, take care of them digitally, and so forth. And now that we've kind of seen the success and what that looks like, we actually intend to take that even stronger into markets where we already are. and now that we've kind of seen the success and what that looks like we actually intend to take that even stronger into markets where we already are So Houston, San Diego, LA, even Dallas is an opportunity for us where we're about half the size in DFW as we are in the entire Metro Detroit area. so houston san diego la even dallas is an opportunity for us where we're about half the size in dfw as we are in the entire metro detroit area So that gives you a sense of the number of folks that we could add to those markets and be really successful. so that gives you a sense of the number of folks that we could add to those markets and be really successful And then finally, just investment in our products and our offerings. and then finally just investment in our products and our offerings I mean, in today's day and age, it's about onboarding, how quickly you can set up customers with their treasury management, how quickly you can get their packages approved, take care of them digitally, and so forth. i mean in today's day and age it's about onboarding how quickly you can set up customers with their treasury management how quickly you can get their packages approved take care of them digitally and so forth And so we're going to continue to invest in that side of the business, which is kind of just something you have to do in today's world to be successful in middle market and business banking. But I think you put all those three things together, we feel really good about the growth outlook over the next five years. The other business we don't talk very much about is our small business offering. So for a long, long time since I've been at the bank, we were kind of good at small business just because we had banking centers. Over the last two or three years, we have now hired 100 people in our small business relationship management pool to go out and attract business. So when you look at our retail deposit base, call it $25 billion, $5 billion of that is small business, non-interest-bearing deposits, super granular. And so we're going to continue to invest in that side of the business, which is kind of just something you have to do in today's world to be successful in middle market and business banking. and so we're going to continue to invest in that side of the business which is kind of just something you have to do in today's world to be successful in middle market and business banking But I think you put all those three things together, we feel really good about the growth outlook over the next five years. but i think you put all those three things together we feel really good about the growth outlook over the next five years The other business we don't talk very much about is our small business offering. the other business we don't talk very much about is our small business offering So for a long, long time since I've been at the bank, we were kind of good at small business just because we had banking centers. so for a long long time since i've been at the bank we were kind of good at small business just because we had banking centers Over the last two or three years, we have now hired 100 people in our small business relationship management pool to go out and attract business. over the last two or three years we have now hired 100 people in our small business relationship management pool to go out and attract business So when you look at our retail deposit base, call it $25 billion, $5 billion of that is small business, non-interest-bearing deposits, super granular. so when you look at our retail deposit base call it $25 billion $5 billion of that is small business non-interest-bearing deposits super granular We've been able to grow to that number without, like I said, really going out and marketing. We had great success last year. We did better than the industry average on deposit retention and growth, and we feel like this is a business that we can grow 10% on a deposit basis year in, year out, and again, we're in the right markets to do that. We're starting to get third-party opinions that we're doing a good job with this. We feel like we're providing some creative product. We have a co-working offering in our Dallas market where our small business customers can use our space for their businesses, and we're going to continue to lean into this. Small businesses become big businesses. We've been able to grow to that number without, like I said, really going out and marketing. we've been able to grow to that number without like i said really going out and marketing We had great success last year. we had great success last year We did better than the industry average on deposit retention and growth, and we feel like this is a business that we can grow 10% on a deposit basis year in, year out, and again, we're in the right markets to do that. we did better than the industry average on deposit retention and growth and we feel like this is a business that we can grow 10% on a deposit basis year in year out and again we're in the right markets to do that We're starting to get third-party opinions that we're doing a good job with this. we're starting to get third-party opinions that we're doing a good job with this We feel like we're providing some creative product. we feel like we're providing some creative product We have a co-working offering in our Dallas market where our small business customers can use our space for their businesses, and we're going to continue to lean into this. we have a co-working offering in our dallas market where our small business customers can use our space for their businesses and we're going to continue to lean into this Small businesses become big businesses. small businesses become big businesses And so to the extent that we can have a much better inventory of small businesses as we grow into business banking, grow into middle market, that's not something that we've really had in the past before. And we feel like that's something that's going to take us forward for a lot of years to come. So you'll continue to see us invest in this. We probably aren't going to add as many people in small business. We feel like we've got the right headcount now, but we are going to invest in product and offering and certainly do what we can to increase that experience for our customers. So that's just a little bit of double-click into it. I know we'll see many of you all throughout the day and can answer any other questions. But Jon, be glad to take any questions you have here on the stage. And so to the extent that we can have a much better inventory of small businesses as we grow into business banking, grow into middle market, that's not something that we've really had in the past before. and so to the extent that we can have a much better inventory of small businesses as we grow into business banking grow into middle market that's not something that we've really had in the past before And we feel like that's something that's going to take us forward for a lot of years to come. and we feel like that's something that's going to take us forward for a lot of years to come So you'll continue to see us invest in this. so you'll continue to see us invest in this We probably aren't going to add as many people in small business. we probably aren't going to add as many people in small business We feel like we've got the right headcount now, but we are going to invest in product and offering and certainly do what we can to increase that experience for our customers. we feel like we've got the right headcount now but we are going to invest in product and offering and certainly do what we can to increase that experience for our customers So that's just a little bit of double-click into it. so that's just a little bit of double-click into it I know we'll see many of you all throughout the day and can answer any other questions. i know we'll see many of you all throughout the day and can answer any other questions But Jon, be glad to take any questions you have here on the stage. but jon be glad to take any questions you have here on the stage

Speaker 1: Thank you. Appreciate that. Peter, maybe for you, just the macro environment, we'll start out since it's very topical. Any early customer response to the tariffs? And you guys have obviously a pretty good read in middle market banking. And curious if you think it's going to have any impact on your outlook. Thank you. thank you Appreciate that. you appreciate that Peter, maybe for you, just the macro environment, we'll start out since it's very topical. peter maybe for you just the macro environment we'll start out since it's very topical Any early customer response to the tariffs? any early customer response to the tariffs And you guys have obviously a pretty good read in middle market banking. and you guys have obviously a pretty good read in middle market banking And curious if you think it's going to have any impact on your outlook. and curious if you think it's going to have any impact on your outlook

Speaker 2: I don't think it's going to have any impact on the outlook. I certainly think it has a lot of impact on day-to-day conversations and decisions, so at a high level, I would say we're not seeing that it's necessarily going to impact our outlook on a 2025 basis. I do continue to think, though, that we ended last year, we had our fourth quarter call. I felt like things had gotten a little better with customer sentiment, customer optimism. In the last 60 days, it's probably dialed back a little bit from that, and I would just say it's confusion. What exactly are the rules going to be, and most business owners can adjust to regulatory changes, to tariff changes. We've seen that over the years. They just need to get clarity about what the rules are going to be. I don't think it's going to have any impact on the outlook. i don't think it's going to have any impact on the outlook I certainly think it has a lot of impact on day-to-day conversations and decisions, so at a high level, I would say we're not seeing that it's necessarily going to impact our outlook on a 2025 basis. i certainly think it has a lot of impact on day-to-day conversations and decisions so at a high level i would say we're not seeing that it's necessarily going to impact our outlook on a 2025 basis I do continue to think, though, that we ended last year, we had our fourth quarter call. i do continue to think though that we ended last year we had our fourth quarter call I felt like things had gotten a little better with customer sentiment, customer optimism. i felt like things had gotten a little better with customer sentiment customer optimism In the last 60 days, it's probably dialed back a little bit from that, and I would just say it's confusion. in the last 60 days it's probably dialed back a little bit from that and i would just say it's confusion What exactly are the rules going to be, and most business owners can adjust to regulatory changes, to tariff changes. what exactly are the rules going to be and most business owners can adjust to regulatory changes to tariff changes We've seen that over the years. we've seen that over the years They just need to get clarity about what the rules are going to be. they just need to get clarity about what the rules are going to be I suspect that we will start to get that here, hopefully in the next 30-60 days. Once businesses, I think, get that clarity, they tend to move forward. But it's hard to imagine that there isn't some impact overall GDP-wise for the country that we're going to experience. I do believe on a customer-by-customer basis, what we tend to hear from our customers is they will navigate this. I'm not worried about it from a credit standpoint. I continue to think, you know, we went through a period there where margins got really, really good for middle market customers, and they've kind of shrunk a little bit with interest rates. I suspect that we will start to get that here, hopefully in the next 30-60 days. i suspect that we will start to get that here hopefully in the next 30-60 days Once businesses, I think, get that clarity, they tend to move forward. once businesses i think get that clarity they tend to move forward But it's hard to imagine that there isn't some impact overall GDP-wise for the country that we're going to experience. but it's hard to imagine that there isn't some impact overall gdp-wise for the country that we're going to experience I do believe on a customer-by-customer basis, what we tend to hear from our customers is they will navigate this. i do believe on a customer-by-customer basis what we tend to hear from our customers is they will navigate this I'm not worried about it from a credit standpoint. i'm not worried about it from a credit standpoint I continue to think, you know, we went through a period there where margins got really, really good for middle market customers, and they've kind of shrunk a little bit with interest rates. i continue to think you know we went through a period there where margins got really really good for middle market customers and they've kind of shrunk a little bit with interest rates They're probably going to shrink some with tariffs, but they're going to continue to perform, and they're going to continue to run their businesses they have in the past. So we may see some sectors that get more impacted than others, but we've been through this drill a couple of times, and that's usually what ends up happening on the other side of it. So a lot to be determined, but I suspect when we get our sentiment feedback from our leaders here for Q1, it's going to be a notch below where it was at the end of Q4. They're probably going to shrink some with tariffs, but they're going to continue to perform, and they're going to continue to run their businesses they have in the past. they're probably going to shrink some with tariffs but they're going to continue to perform and they're going to continue to run their businesses they have in the past So we may see some sectors that get more impacted than others, but we've been through this drill a couple of times, and that's usually what ends up happening on the other side of it. so we may see some sectors that get more impacted than others but we've been through this drill a couple of times and that's usually what ends up happening on the other side of it So a lot to be determined, but I suspect when we get our sentiment feedback from our leaders here for Q1, it's going to be a notch below where it was at the end of Q4. so a lot to be determined but i suspect when we get our sentiment feedback from our leaders here for q1 it's going to be a notch below where it was at the end of q4

Speaker 1: Okay. And then just on loan growth in general, this is kind of the near-term stuff, the near-term noise. What kind of expectations do you have? I know that you've put up some pretty strong CAGR objectives for middle markets and small business, but you also have some CRE paydowns. Just talk about kind of the balancing act and what expectations. Okay. okay And then just on loan growth in general, this is kind of the near-term stuff, the near-term noise. and then just on loan growth in general this is kind of the near-term stuff the near-term noise What kind of expectations do you have? what kind of expectations do you have I know that you've put up some pretty strong CAGR objectives for middle markets and small business, but you also have some CRE paydowns. i know that you've put up some pretty strong cagr objectives for middle markets and small business but you also have some cre paydowns Just talk about kind of the balancing act and what expectations. just talk about kind of the balancing act and what expectations

Speaker 2: Yeah, it is a balancing act, and probably one of the things that I would say is that, you know, what we are trying to solve for is sort of giving more consistent loan growth year in, year out, but navigating these businesses that have these big swings. So that's why I don't necessarily miss the mortgage banking finance business. Yeah, it is a balancing act, and probably one of the things that I would say is that, you know, what we are trying to solve for is sort of giving more consistent loan growth year in, year out, but navigating these businesses that have these big swings. yeah it is a balancing act and probably one of the things that i would say is that you know what we are trying to solve for is sort of giving more consistent loan growth year in year out but navigating these businesses that have these big swings So that's why I don't necessarily miss the mortgage banking finance business. so that's why i don't necessarily miss the mortgage banking finance business That was a very big swing business quarter by quarter for us. Dealer and CRE, dealer tends to be a swing business, and CRE tends to be sort of an annual year in, year out, something you have to navigate against. So I don't think, again, we're making any comments or changes about our outlook. That was a very big swing business quarter by quarter for us. that was a very big swing business quarter by quarter for us Dealer and CRE, dealer tends to be a swing business, and CRE tends to be sort of an annual year in, year out, something you have to navigate against. dealer and cre dealer tends to be a swing business and cre tends to be sort of an annual year in year out something you have to navigate against So I don't think, again, we're making any comments or changes about our outlook. so i don't think again we're making any comments or changes about our outlook CRE, it was picking up a little bit. All of a sudden, it's kind of slowed down again. So, you know, we'll see what happens as we go throughout the year. But those are the two businesses that would be headwinds for us from just a high-level standpoint. The rest of our businesses, we would expect to see growth, and we would expect to see it on an annualized basis, be able to offset what we think we're going to see from headwinds from CRE. CRE, it was picking up a little bit. cre it was picking up a little bit All of a sudden, it's kind of slowed down again. all of a sudden it's kind of slowed down again So, you know, we'll see what happens as we go throughout the year. so you know we'll see what happens as we go throughout the year But those are the two businesses that would be headwinds for us from just a high-level standpoint. but those are the two businesses that would be headwinds for us from just a high-level standpoint The rest of our businesses, we would expect to see growth, and we would expect to see it on an annualized basis, be able to offset what we think we're going to see from headwinds from CRE. the rest of our businesses we would expect to see growth and we would expect to see it on an annualized basis be able to offset what we think we're going to see from headwinds from cre

Speaker 1: Good. Seasonality in Q1 looks normal. Your guide looks consistent. So, Jim, for you, just talk a little bit about deposit trends and what kind of expectations you have there. It seems the guidance seems consistent, but any nuances you want to share? Good. good Seasonality in Q1 looks normal. seasonality in q1 looks normal Your guide looks consistent. your guide looks consistent So, Jim, for you, just talk a little bit about deposit trends and what kind of expectations you have there. so jim for you just talk a little bit about deposit trends and what kind of expectations you have there It seems the guidance seems consistent, but any nuances you want to share? it seems the guidance seems consistent but any nuances you want to share

Speaker 3: Yeah, we continue to be really pleased with what we see on the deposit side. You know, a lot of successes I mentioned earlier in terms of gathering core customer deposits. The outlook is still strong on a point-to-point basis. Yeah, we continue to be really pleased with what we see on the deposit side. yeah we continue to be really pleased with what we see on the deposit side You know, a lot of successes I mentioned earlier in terms of gathering core customer deposits. you know a lot of successes i mentioned earlier in terms of gathering core customer deposits The outlook is still strong on a point-to-point basis. the outlook is still strong on a point-to-point basis I think that really speaks well to the confidence our customers have in us, the product set, really the overall relationship banking model that we have. So we continue to expect those to grow during 2025. I think that really speaks well to the confidence our customers have in us, the product set, really the overall relationship banking model that we have. i think that really speaks well to the confidence our customers have in us the product set really the overall relationship banking model that we have So we continue to expect those to grow during 2025. so we continue to expect those to grow during 2025 We did indicate on the January call that we expected our typical seasonal outflows in January, February, March. I would say that what we're seeing is very much in line with what we expected, so tracking very well. Non-interest-bearing is part of that, probably at or slightly better than what we expected. We did indicate on the January call that we expected our typical seasonal outflows in January, February, March. we did indicate on the january call that we expected our typical seasonal outflows in january february march I would say that what we're seeing is very much in line with what we expected, so tracking very well. i would say that what we're seeing is very much in line with what we expected so tracking very well Non-interest-bearing is part of that, probably at or slightly better than what we expected. non-interest-bearing is part of that probably at or slightly better than what we expected We did talk about non-interest-bearing deposits on the January earnings call, thinking that they had bottomed out in terms of this mix shift between non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing. It looks like that's holding up okay. We haven't seen any material shifting occur during the quarter. We did talk about non-interest-bearing deposits on the January earnings call, thinking that they had bottomed out in terms of this mix shift between non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing. we did talk about non-interest-bearing deposits on the january earnings call thinking that they had bottomed out in terms of this mix shift between non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing It looks like that's holding up okay. it looks like that's holding up okay We haven't seen any material shifting occur during the quarter. we haven't seen any material shifting occur during the quarter Now, it's only been two months, and we've had other two-month periods where it slowed up, and then the yield curve shifted up, and we saw a little bit more. But at this point, we're still holding to our earlier guidance that we think overall the mix shift has bottomed out, and we think non-interest-bearing will kind of hold at this floor and then continue to grow modestly as we go through 2025. On the pricing side, good news there also. Things continue to track very much as expected. Now, it's only been two months, and we've had other two-month periods where it slowed up, and then the yield curve shifted up, and we saw a little bit more. now it's only been two months and we've had other two-month periods where it slowed up and then the yield curve shifted up and we saw a little bit more But at this point, we're still holding to our earlier guidance that we think overall the mix shift has bottomed out, and we think non-interest-bearing will kind of hold at this floor and then continue to grow modestly as we go through 2025. but at this point we're still holding to our earlier guidance that we think overall the mix shift has bottomed out and we think non-interest-bearing will kind of hold at this floor and then continue to grow modestly as we go through 2025 On the pricing side, good news there also. on the pricing side good news there also Things continue to track very much as expected. things continue to track very much as expected You might recall that on the up part of the cycle of the last couple of years, we had just over a 60% deposit beta, and we do expect overall symmetry with our current customer base as we come down the rate curve on this side of the cycle, and you might recall on the fourth quarter earnings call, we showed that we probably had just a little bit over a 60% beta on the downside since the Fed started cutting rates on third quarter average versus fourth quarter average, so, you know, really exceeding that overall up beta that we had received, and what I'm seeing through the first two months of the year is we've actually probably improved upon that a little bit. You might recall that on the up part of the cycle of the last couple of years, we had just over a 60% deposit beta, and we do expect overall symmetry with our current customer base as we come down the rate curve on this side of the cycle, and you might recall on the fourth quarter earnings call, we showed that we probably had just a little bit over a 60% beta on the downside since the Fed started cutting rates on third quarter average versus fourth quarter average, so, you know, really exceeding that overall up beta that we had received, and what I'm seeing through the first two months of the year is we've actually probably improved upon that a little bit. you might recall that on the up part of the cycle of the last couple of years we had just over a 60% deposit beta and we do expect overall symmetry with our current customer base as we come down the rate curve on this side of the cycle and you might recall on the fourth quarter earnings call we showed that we probably had just a little bit over a 60% beta on the downside since the fed started cutting rates on third quarter average versus fourth quarter average so you know really exceeding that overall up beta that we had received and what i'm seeing through the first two months of the year is we've actually probably improved upon that a little bit Now, we do expect that symmetry to exist over the course of the down cycle. So we may have to give a little bit of that rate back to the customers as we move through 2025. Just not totally clear at this point. But at this point, you know, we're really probably slightly outpacing what we might have thought just a few months ago. So pricing really moving very well and really as designed. Now, we do expect that symmetry to exist over the course of the down cycle. now we do expect that symmetry to exist over the course of the down cycle So we may have to give a little bit of that rate back to the customers as we move through 2025. so we may have to give a little bit of that rate back to the customers as we move through 2025 Just not totally clear at this point. just not totally clear at this point But at this point, you know, we're really probably slightly outpacing what we might have thought just a few months ago. but at this point you know we're really probably slightly outpacing what we might have thought just a few months ago So pricing really moving very well and really as designed. so pricing really moving very well and really as designed

Speaker 1: Okay, good. And I want to ask about Direct Express, Peter, but Jim, just maybe one question for you. You've taken a more asset, call it neutral position versus your historical asset sensitivity. How do you expect that to progress over time? Do you expect to become more asset sensitive over time, or is this the future of the company to be more neutral from a rate perspective? Okay, good. okay good And I want to ask about Direct Express, Peter, but Jim, just maybe one question for you. and i want to ask about direct express peter but jim just maybe one question for you You've taken a more asset, call it neutral position versus your historical asset sensitivity. you've taken a more asset call it neutral position versus your historical asset sensitivity How do you expect that to progress over time? how do you expect that to progress over time Do you expect to become more asset sensitive over time, or is this the future of the company to be more neutral from a rate perspective? do you expect to become more asset sensitive over time or is this the future of the company to be more neutral from a rate perspective

Speaker 3: You know, we are. I do consider us mostly neutral at this point. And I think typically going forward in the future, I think over the course of the cycle, we'll be roughly neutral. You know, that would be our goal. Having said that, I'd probably put a couple of little caveats on that. You know, we are. you know we are I do consider us mostly neutral at this point. i do consider us mostly neutral at this point And I think typically going forward in the future, I think over the course of the cycle, we'll be roughly neutral. and i think typically going forward in the future i think over the course of the cycle we'll be roughly neutral You know, that would be our goal. you know that would be our goal Having said that, I'd probably put a couple of little caveats on that. having said that i'd probably put a couple of little caveats on that The first is just, you know, based on what I see going on in the outside world, not just recently, but really over the last year or a couple of years, I do think that we're probably in for a wider range of interest rates than we might have thought, you know, just a couple of years ago. You know, the world is no longer flat, you know, as Thomas Friedman might have said a few years ago. So we need to be prepared for that wider range of interest rates. The first is just, you know, based on what I see going on in the outside world, not just recently, but really over the last year or a couple of years, I do think that we're probably in for a wider range of interest rates than we might have thought, you know, just a couple of years ago. the first is just you know based on what i see going on in the outside world not just recently but really over the last year or a couple of years i do think that we're probably in for a wider range of interest rates than we might have thought you know just a couple of years ago You know, the world is no longer flat, you know, as Thomas Friedman might have said a few years ago. you know the world is no longer flat you know as thomas friedman might have said a few years ago So we need to be prepared for that wider range of interest rates. so we need to be prepared for that wider range of interest rates We got to be cognizant of the balance sheet too, with Basel III Endgame probably coming our way and AOCI being part of the CET1. So we have to manage not only interest rate risk on the earnings side, but on the balance sheet side too. And those two are not always congruent with each other, you know, depending on the time horizon that you have. We got to be cognizant of the balance sheet too, with Basel III Endgame probably coming our way and AOCI being part of the CET1. we got to be cognizant of the balance sheet too with basel iii endgame probably coming our way and aoci being part of the cet1 So we have to manage not only interest rate risk on the earnings side, but on the balance sheet side too. so we have to manage not only interest rate risk on the earnings side but on the balance sheet side too And those two are not always congruent with each other, you know, depending on the time horizon that you have. and those two are not always congruent with each other you know depending on the time horizon that you have So all that to say, we'll probably have to be a little more comfortable with having some asset sensitivity earlier in the cycle at the lower end of the rate curve and then kind of cover that position as we start to see rates move up. But over the course of the cycle, I would say much closer to interest neutral. So all that to say, we'll probably have to be a little more comfortable with having some asset sensitivity earlier in the cycle at the lower end of the rate curve and then kind of cover that position as we start to see rates move up. so all that to say we'll probably have to be a little more comfortable with having some asset sensitivity earlier in the cycle at the lower end of the rate curve and then kind of cover that position as we start to see rates move up But over the course of the cycle, I would say much closer to interest neutral. but over the course of the cycle i would say much closer to interest neutral

Speaker 1: Okay, good. Peter, for you, just Direct Express. Can you give us an update on Direct Express, maybe lessons learned on that and any impact to other areas of your business? Okay, good. okay good Peter, for you, just Direct Express. peter for you just direct express Can you give us an update on Direct Express, maybe lessons learned on that and any impact to other areas of your business? can you give us an update on direct express maybe lessons learned on that and any impact to other areas of your business

Speaker 2: Lessons learned, that's one I haven't been asked for yet, Jon. Yeah, there's probably a few lessons learned. I don't know that I'll go into that from here, but there is no real update as far as the deposits or the outlook. What we've told you guys on a go-forward basis is kind of where we sit at the moment. Lessons learned, that's one I haven't been asked for yet, Jon. lessons learned that's one i haven't been asked for yet jon Yeah, there's probably a few lessons learned. yeah there's probably a few lessons learned I don't know that I'll go into that from here, but there is no real update as far as the deposits or the outlook. i don't know that i'll go into that from here but there is no real update as far as the deposits or the outlook What we've told you guys on a go-forward basis is kind of where we sit at the moment. what we've told you guys on a go-forward basis is kind of where we sit at the moment As you all are probably fully aware, there have been a number of changes at Fiscal Service in the last 60, 90 days, which quite candidly has sort of pushed out any clarity about what any transition plan does or doesn't look like. So we're still working with them on those plans. But what that means for us, therefore, is that the deposit outlook is consistent with what we've said in the past, that we don't see any changes to 2025 in those balances. As you all are probably fully aware, there have been a number of changes at Fiscal Service in the last 60, 90 days, which quite candidly has sort of pushed out any clarity about what any transition plan does or doesn't look like. as you all are probably fully aware there have been a number of changes at fiscal service in the last 60 90 days which quite candidly has sort of pushed out any clarity about what any transition plan does or doesn't look like So we're still working with them on those plans. so we're still working with them on those plans But what that means for us, therefore, is that the deposit outlook is consistent with what we've said in the past, that we don't see any changes to 2025 in those balances. but what that means for us therefore is that the deposit outlook is consistent with what we've said in the past that we don't see any changes to 2025 in those balances And really at this point, not into 2026 and 2027. And I think, as you all know, they've extended us for three years. And so we think those balances are going to hang in there for quite a while. I would say, though, that there's a tremendous amount of things that we learned about that program that we are deploying as far as technology and solutions. And really at this point, not into 2026 and 2027. and really at this point not into 2026 and 2027 And I think, as you all know, they've extended us for three years. and i think as you all know they've extended us for three years And so we think those balances are going to hang in there for quite a while. and so we think those balances are going to hang in there for quite a while I would say, though, that there's a tremendous amount of things that we learned about that program that we are deploying as far as technology and solutions. i would say though that there's a tremendous amount of things that we learned about that program that we are deploying as far as technology and solutions And a lot of what we do with Direct Express is actually applicable to some of the things that we could do for some of our commercial customers. And so we're switching gears, if you will, and taking those learnings and making sure that we figure out how to go out and gather deposits in different ways. Granularity matters tremendously, obviously. And a lot of what we do with Direct Express is actually applicable to some of the things that we could do for some of our commercial customers. and a lot of what we do with direct express is actually applicable to some of the things that we could do for some of our commercial customers And so we're switching gears, if you will, and taking those learnings and making sure that we figure out how to go out and gather deposits in different ways. and so we're switching gears if you will and taking those learnings and making sure that we figure out how to go out and gather deposits in different ways Granularity matters tremendously, obviously. granularity matters tremendously obviously And so we're very focused on making sure that we have solutions to offset the deposit loss that we expect to see in three years. And I'm very confident we will get that done. But I don't have any updates about the transition for right now. And so we're very focused on making sure that we have solutions to offset the deposit loss that we expect to see in three years. and so we're very focused on making sure that we have solutions to offset the deposit loss that we expect to see in three years And I'm very confident we will get that done. and i'm very confident we will get that done But I don't have any updates about the transition for right now. but i don't have any updates about the transition for right now

Speaker 1: Okay. Okay, thank you. Jim, for you, you have some net interest income momentum, I would say. You have the BSBY tailwinds, but it seems like you also have it at your core. Can you talk a little bit about some of the core expectations and what kind of a rate environment you have embedded in that? Okay. okay Okay, thank you. okay thank you Jim, for you, you have some net interest income momentum, I would say. jim for you you have some net interest income momentum i would say You have the BSBY tailwinds, but it seems like you also have it at your core. you have the bsby tailwinds but it seems like you also have it at your core Can you talk a little bit about some of the core expectations and what kind of a rate environment you have embedded in that? can you talk a little bit about some of the core expectations and what kind of a rate environment you have embedded in that

Speaker 3: Yeah, we did use the rate curve from 12/31, and you know, the curve may have shifted up just slightly since then, but not materially different. Yeah, we're really pleased with the outlook we were able to give on net interest income being up, you know, 6%-7% on a full year to full year basis, about half of that being the BSBY income. Yeah, we did use the rate curve from 12/31, and you know, the curve may have shifted up just slightly since then, but not materially different. yeah we did use the rate curve from 12/31 and you know the curve may have shifted up just slightly since then but not materially different Yeah, we're really pleased with the outlook we were able to give on net interest income being up, you know, 6%-7% on a full year to full year basis, about half of that being the BSBY income. yeah we're really pleased with the outlook we were able to give on net interest income being up you know 6%-7% on a full year to full year basis about half of that being the bsby income And we've been very transparent that we don't consider that to be core income as we want to be very upfront with that. But you still have, you know, about 3.5% of core net interest income growth on a year-to-year basis. I think that's really impressive when you consider that it's really the averages on the balance sheet that drive income. And we've been very transparent that we don't consider that to be core income as we want to be very upfront with that. and we've been very transparent that we don't consider that to be core income as we want to be very upfront with that But you still have, you know, about 3.5% of core net interest income growth on a year-to-year basis. but you still have you know about 3.5% of core net interest income growth on a year-to-year basis I think that's really impressive when you consider that it's really the averages on the balance sheet that drive income. i think that's really impressive when you consider that it's really the averages on the balance sheet that drive income And while we have some really nice point-to-point growth plan this year for both deposits and loans, you know, because we're coming off from such a low point at the end of 2024, the averages aren't moving a lot, as you saw in the guidance, you know, 0.5%-1% on both loans and deposits. And while we have some really nice point-to-point growth plan this year for both deposits and loans, you know, because we're coming off from such a low point at the end of 2024, the averages aren't moving a lot, as you saw in the guidance, you know, 0.5%-1% on both loans and deposits. and while we have some really nice point-to-point growth plan this year for both deposits and loans you know because we're coming off from such a low point at the end of 2024 the averages aren't moving a lot as you saw in the guidance you know 0.5%-1% on both loans and deposits So even with that somewhat modest average growth, and I do expect the averages to match the point-to-point as we move into 2026 and have some nice healthy growth. But even with that modest average growth, to grow the balance sheet, you know, 3.5% or net interest income 3.5% or so exclusive of BSBY, pretty impressive. And you know, how do we do that? Of course, one of the drivers is the maturing swaps and securities. So even with that somewhat modest average growth, and I do expect the averages to match the point-to-point as we move into 2026 and have some nice healthy growth. so even with that somewhat modest average growth and i do expect the averages to match the point-to-point as we move into 2026 and have some nice healthy growth But even with that modest average growth, to grow the balance sheet, you know, 3.5% or net interest income 3.5% or so exclusive of BSBY, pretty impressive. but even with that modest average growth to grow the balance sheet you know 3.5% or net interest income 3.5% or so exclusive of bsby pretty impressive And you know, how do we do that? and you know how do we do that Of course, one of the drivers is the maturing swaps and securities. of course one of the drivers is the maturing swaps and securities I would also say, though, that we've done a really good job with managing deposit pay rates, and that's providing somewhat of a tailwind also, and then finally, the overall balance sheet, the funding side on the right side of the balance sheet, just much more efficient in 2025. You know, we've paid down the brokered CDs, some wholesale funding has been allowed to mature. I would also say, though, that we've done a really good job with managing deposit pay rates, and that's providing somewhat of a tailwind also, and then finally, the overall balance sheet, the funding side on the right side of the balance sheet, just much more efficient in 2025. i would also say though that we've done a really good job with managing deposit pay rates and that's providing somewhat of a tailwind also and then finally the overall balance sheet the funding side on the right side of the balance sheet just much more efficient in 2025 You know, we've paid down the brokered CDs, some wholesale funding has been allowed to mature. you know we've paid down the brokered cds some wholesale funding has been allowed to mature You know, funding our loans has really become more of a strategy of using core customer deposits to fund that loan growth, so those three factors combined really are giving us a nice boost on net interest income. I would expect some of those factors, like the core customer deposits and the maturing swaps and securities, to continue even in 2026 and beyond. You know, funding our loans has really become more of a strategy of using core customer deposits to fund that loan growth, so those three factors combined really are giving us a nice boost on net interest income. you know funding our loans has really become more of a strategy of using core customer deposits to fund that loan growth so those three factors combined really are giving us a nice boost on net interest income I would expect some of those factors, like the core customer deposits and the maturing swaps and securities, to continue even in 2026 and beyond. i would expect some of those factors like the core customer deposits and the maturing swaps and securities to continue even in 2026 and beyond And then, of course, as the averages for loans and deposits catch up to the nice point-to-point growth, I think we're going to see some really positive tailwinds as we go through time for net interest income. So really optimistic about that. And then, of course, as the averages for loans and deposits catch up to the nice point-to-point growth, I think we're going to see some really positive tailwinds as we go through time for net interest income. and then of course as the averages for loans and deposits catch up to the nice point-to-point growth i think we're going to see some really positive tailwinds as we go through time for net interest income So really optimistic about that. so really optimistic about that

Speaker 1: Okay, good. Peter, how about fee income? You highlighted it a little bit. It's a focus, your mid-single digit four-ish % projection for the year. What are some of the drivers of that? And what kind of longer-term expectations do you have? Okay, good. okay good Peter, how about fee income? peter how about fee income You highlighted it a little bit. you highlighted it a little bit It's a focus, your mid-single digit four-ish % projection for the year. it's a focus your mid-single digit four-ish % projection for the year What are some of the drivers of that? what are some of the drivers of that And what kind of longer-term expectations do you have? and what kind of longer-term expectations do you have

Speaker 2: Yeah, and as I mentioned at the beginning, we're going to try to give you guys a little more look into each of those businesses as we go throughout the year. But the three buckets that we tend to talk about would be our capital markets business, our wealth management business, and payments. Yeah, and as I mentioned at the beginning, we're going to try to give you guys a little more look into each of those businesses as we go throughout the year. yeah and as i mentioned at the beginning we're going to try to give you guys a little more look into each of those businesses as we go throughout the year But the three buckets that we tend to talk about would be our capital markets business, our wealth management business, and payments. but the three buckets that we tend to talk about would be our capital markets business our wealth management business and payments So wealth management, I feel like we have a fantastic offering there. We've got a full suite of products available to wealth management customers. And probably the thing I'm the most excited about in that business is what we're doing with Comerica Financial Advisors, which is sort of our retail brokerage offering, if you will. We did a major change over the last couple of years with how we deliver that offering and have substantially improved the customer experience with our partnership with Ameriprise. So wealth management, I feel like we have a fantastic offering there. so wealth management i feel like we have a fantastic offering there We've got a full suite of products available to wealth management customers. we've got a full suite of products available to wealth management customers And probably the thing I'm the most excited about in that business is what we're doing with Comerica Financial Advisors, which is sort of our retail brokerage offering, if you will. and probably the thing i'm the most excited about in that business is what we're doing with comerica financial advisors which is sort of our retail brokerage offering if you will We did a major change over the last couple of years with how we deliver that offering and have substantially improved the customer experience with our partnership with Ameriprise. we did a major change over the last couple of years with how we deliver that offering and have substantially improved the customer experience with our partnership with ameriprise And for a lot of years, that business was not really moving and not really growing, but we have a huge opportunity to grow that business on a go-forward basis. So we'll talk more about that in coming conferences throughout the year. But adding FAs in our wealth management business is something that we're giving a lot of thought to. And for a lot of years, that business was not really moving and not really growing, but we have a huge opportunity to grow that business on a go-forward basis. and for a lot of years that business was not really moving and not really growing but we have a huge opportunity to grow that business on a go-forward basis So we'll talk more about that in coming conferences throughout the year. so we'll talk more about that in coming conferences throughout the year But adding FAs in our wealth management business is something that we're giving a lot of thought to. but adding fas in our wealth management business is something that we're giving a lot of thought to And throughout the country, to the extent we continue to grow middle market and business banking, that's going to create wealth management opportunities for us. So on the capital market side, I mean, we've got everything that a regional bank needs. Frankly, we kind of play above our weight in this business when it comes to syndicating loans, when it comes to providing interest rate commodity hedging for our customers. We now have an M&A offering that we did not have. And throughout the country, to the extent we continue to grow middle market and business banking, that's going to create wealth management opportunities for us. and throughout the country to the extent we continue to grow middle market and business banking that's going to create wealth management opportunities for us So on the capital market side, I mean, we've got everything that a regional bank needs. so on the capital market side i mean we've got everything that a regional bank needs Frankly, we kind of play above our weight in this business when it comes to syndicating loans, when it comes to providing interest rate commodity hedging for our customers. frankly we kind of play above our weight in this business when it comes to syndicating loans when it comes to providing interest rate commodity hedging for our customers We now have an M&A offering that we did not have. we now have an m&a offering that we did not have That's only about two years old and is starting to get some traction. So we think that is a real addition to what we do in capital markets that'll help us grow forward. And then on the payment side, the things that we're doing there, we think are terribly exciting for us. We've hired new leadership. We're bringing in new product leaders. That's only about two years old and is starting to get some traction. that's only about two years old and is starting to get some traction So we think that is a real addition to what we do in capital markets that'll help us grow forward. so we think that is a real addition to what we do in capital markets that'll help us grow forward And then on the payment side, the things that we're doing there, we think are terribly exciting for us. and then on the payment side the things that we're doing there we think are terribly exciting for us We've hired new leadership. we've hired new leadership We're bringing in new product leaders. we're bringing in new product leaders We are investing in the technology, in the onboarding. There's a few headwinds in there when it comes to some of the things going on with card and things like that. But I think on a high top-level basis, we feel like over the next five years, our payments business is a huge opportunity for us. We are investing in the technology, in the onboarding. we are investing in the technology in the onboarding There's a few headwinds in there when it comes to some of the things going on with card and things like that. there's a few headwinds in there when it comes to some of the things going on with card and things like that But I think on a high top-level basis, we feel like over the next five years, our payments business is a huge opportunity for us. but i think on a high top-level basis we feel like over the next five years our payments business is a huge opportunity for us I continue to believe that's going to become what a lot of middle market CFOs make decisions about when it comes to loans is how good is your treasury management payments offering, and then we'll talk to you about a loan. I think it's important that we continue to invest in. Those are our three big buckets when it comes to non-interest income. I continue to believe that's going to become what a lot of middle market CFOs make decisions about when it comes to loans is how good is your treasury management payments offering, and then we'll talk to you about a loan. i continue to believe that's going to become what a lot of middle market cfos make decisions about when it comes to loans is how good is your treasury management payments offering and then we'll talk to you about a loan I think it's important that we continue to invest in. i think it's important that we continue to invest in Those are our three big buckets when it comes to non-interest income. those are our three big buckets when it comes to non-interest income

Speaker 1: Okay, good. Jim, for you, this is kind of an expense, strategic, regulatory question all rolled into one. But how do you think about your asset size, where you are right now? You have $100 billion in assets, you know, kind of above you. You have to make some investments there. At your asset size, do you feel like you're competitive enough? And what kind of investments do you have to make to get over $100 billion? Okay, good. okay good Jim, for you, this is kind of an expense, strategic, regulatory question all rolled into one. jim for you this is kind of an expense strategic regulatory question all rolled into one But how do you think about your asset size, where you are right now? but how do you think about your asset size where you are right now You have $100 billion in assets, you know, kind of above you. you have $100 billion in assets you know kind of above you You have to make some investments there. you have to make some investments there At your asset size, do you feel like you're competitive enough? at your asset size do you feel like you're competitive enough And what kind of investments do you have to make to get over $100 billion? and what kind of investments do you have to make to get over $100 billion

Speaker 3: Yeah, we've always felt we're in a nice sweet spot here. So we actually welcome the size that we're at. You know, being a relationship-based bank, we think it actually plays to our strengths. And I'm sure Peter could go on and on about the stories we hear from customers where there were bigger banks and the relationship managers are switching over or they don't know where to go to get something done. You know, that is not the case with Comerica. Yeah, we've always felt we're in a nice sweet spot here. yeah we've always felt we're in a nice sweet spot here So we actually welcome the size that we're at. so we actually welcome the size that we're at You know, being a relationship-based bank, we think it actually plays to our strengths. you know being a relationship-based bank we think it actually plays to our strengths And I'm sure Peter could go on and on about the stories we hear from customers where there were bigger banks and the relationship managers are switching over or they don't know where to go to get something done. and i'm sure peter could go on and on about the stories we hear from customers where there were bigger banks and the relationship managers are switching over or they don't know where to go to get something done You know, that is not the case with Comerica. you know that is not the case with comerica So we think it actually plays very well into our overall relationship model that we have and quite comfortable in our size. And if there's any bank that can get by with not achieving scale, I would say it's Comerica. We feel quite comfortable with it, and we think it's actually a strategic advantage. So we think it actually plays very well into our overall relationship model that we have and quite comfortable in our size. so we think it actually plays very well into our overall relationship model that we have and quite comfortable in our size And if there's any bank that can get by with not achieving scale, I would say it's Comerica. and if there's any bank that can get by with not achieving scale i would say it's comerica We feel quite comfortable with it, and we think it's actually a strategic advantage. we feel quite comfortable with it and we think it's actually a strategic advantage Now, we do recognize that there are some, you know, regulatory requirements as we get closer to $100 billion, and we're taking steps to address that. And, you know, we're one of two banks today that were in the regime back when it was a 50 to, you know, above $50 billion requirement. So we actually kept some of those practices. Now, we do recognize that there are some, you know, regulatory requirements as we get closer to $100 billion, and we're taking steps to address that. now we do recognize that there are some you know regulatory requirements as we get closer to $100 billion and we're taking steps to address that And, you know, we're one of two banks today that were in the regime back when it was a 50 to, you know, above $50 billion requirement. and you know we're one of two banks today that were in the regime back when it was a 50 to you know above $50 billion requirement So we actually kept some of those practices. so we actually kept some of those practices We sunset others, and we're rebuilding what we have to rebuild, but we know how to do it. We've been there before. And, you know, where the regulatory regime goes over the next couple of years, we'll wait and see. But we're not going to change course from the path that we're on. We know that some of the things you have to do to get ready take some time, and we don't want to start and stop there. We sunset others, and we're rebuilding what we have to rebuild, but we know how to do it. we sunset others and we're rebuilding what we have to rebuild but we know how to do it We've been there before. we've been there before And, you know, where the regulatory regime goes over the next couple of years, we'll wait and see. and you know where the regulatory regime goes over the next couple of years we'll wait and see But we're not going to change course from the path that we're on. but we're not going to change course from the path that we're on We know that some of the things you have to do to get ready take some time, and we don't want to start and stop there. we know that some of the things you have to do to get ready take some time and we don't want to start and stop there So we feel really good about the progress that we're making and feel like, you know, the size rating works well for us, works for our customers, but also very confident we can meet any requirements that are required for category four. So we feel really good about the progress that we're making and feel like, you know, the size rating works well for us, works for our customers, but also very confident we can meet any requirements that are required for category four. so we feel really good about the progress that we're making and feel like you know the size rating works well for us works for our customers but also very confident we can meet any requirements that are required for category four

Speaker 1: Okay. On capital, you referenced your 12% CET1 ratio, and that's a healthy amount of capital given your risk profile. What do you want the message to be on buybacks? And then I also think, you know, we should talk about M&A as well. Do you have any interest in M&A as a use for some of that capital? Okay. okay On capital, you referenced your 12% CET1 ratio, and that's a healthy amount of capital given your risk profile. on capital you referenced your 12% cet1 ratio and that's a healthy amount of capital given your risk profile What do you want the message to be on buybacks? what do you want the message to be on buybacks And then I also think, you know, we should talk about M&A as well. and then i also think you know we should talk about m&a as well Do you have any interest in M&A as a use for some of that capital? do you have any interest in m&a as a use for some of that capital

Speaker 3: You know, the first use of capital is always for us as being there for our customers and loan growth. And it is interesting. I've gotten surprisingly some pickup and questions lately about, you know, if the 10-year were to keep going up, and of course, it's come down recently, but at some point, will that restrict the ability to, you know, provide capital for loan growth? You know, the first use of capital is always for us as being there for our customers and loan growth. you know the first use of capital is always for us as being there for our customers and loan growth And it is interesting. and it is interesting I've gotten surprisingly some pickup and questions lately about, you know, if the 10-year were to keep going up, and of course, it's come down recently, but at some point, will that restrict the ability to, you know, provide capital for loan growth? i've gotten surprisingly some pickup and questions lately about you know if the 10-year were to keep going up and of course it's come down recently but at some point will that restrict the ability to you know provide capital for loan growth And our very firm answer to that is no, that we think we have plenty of capital for loan growth, even if Basel III Endgame were to kick in and the 10-year were to go up, you know, another step up from where it had been. So certainly there for loan growth. But in terms of returning capital to shareholders, you know, we obviously have a very strong dividend. And our very firm answer to that is no, that we think we have plenty of capital for loan growth, even if Basel III Endgame were to kick in and the 10-year were to go up, you know, another step up from where it had been. and our very firm answer to that is no that we think we have plenty of capital for loan growth even if basel iii endgame were to kick in and the 10-year were to go up you know another step up from where it had been So certainly there for loan growth. so certainly there for loan growth But in terms of returning capital to shareholders, you know, we obviously have a very strong dividend. but in terms of returning capital to shareholders you know we obviously have a very strong dividend You know, we were proud of restarting the buyback program at $100 million in the fourth quarter. We did take it down in the first quarter just because as we moved through the end of fourth quarter of 2024, early 2025, the 10-year just went on a tear, as you know. You know, we were proud of restarting the buyback program at $100 million in the fourth quarter. you know we were proud of restarting the buyback program at $100 million in the fourth quarter We did take it down in the first quarter just because as we moved through the end of fourth quarter of 2024, early 2025, the 10-year just went on a tear, as you know. we did take it down in the first quarter just because as we moved through the end of fourth quarter of 2024 early 2025 the 10-year just went on a tear as you know And so I think it was very prudent to maybe slow up that share buyback a little bit just to make sure that we had that capital there in case loan growth were to really take off in a very strong way over the next two or three years. You know, we do think that the 10-year looks like it's a little more behaved. I think under any conditions, we are prepared to probably keep some degree of share buyback going in 2025. And so I think it was very prudent to maybe slow up that share buyback a little bit just to make sure that we had that capital there in case loan growth were to really take off in a very strong way over the next two or three years. and so i think it was very prudent to maybe slow up that share buyback a little bit just to make sure that we had that capital there in case loan growth were to really take off in a very strong way over the next two or three years You know, we do think that the 10-year looks like it's a little more behaved. you know we do think that the 10-year looks like it's a little more behaved I think under any conditions, we are prepared to probably keep some degree of share buyback going in 2025. i think under any conditions we are prepared to probably keep some degree of share buyback going in 2025 But I actually do think we also have the capability to increase that return of capital as we move through 2025. So I think we can get the best of all worlds there and feel like we're in pretty good shape from a capital standpoint. You know, as far as M&A, that's a low priority for us. But I actually do think we also have the capability to increase that return of capital as we move through 2025. but i actually do think we also have the capability to increase that return of capital as we move through 2025 So I think we can get the best of all worlds there and feel like we're in pretty good shape from a capital standpoint. so i think we can get the best of all worlds there and feel like we're in pretty good shape from a capital standpoint You know, as far as M&A, that's a low priority for us. you know as far as m&a that's a low priority for us You know, we really believe in our business model, as I was mentioning, and we'd rather reinvest that capital into our business model, which we actually think is pretty unique and the best in the industry as opposed to buying someone else's business. So, you know, and we also have that distraction factor also when you go through M&A. You know, having said that, you never say never. You know, we really believe in our business model, as I was mentioning, and we'd rather reinvest that capital into our business model, which we actually think is pretty unique and the best in the industry as opposed to buying someone else's business. you know we really believe in our business model as i was mentioning and we'd rather reinvest that capital into our business model which we actually think is pretty unique and the best in the industry as opposed to buying someone else's business So, you know, and we also have that distraction factor also when you go through M&A. so you know and we also have that distraction factor also when you go through m&a You know, having said that, you never say never. you know having said that you never say never You know, we have acquired in the past, and if you ever come across that very perfect storm of the right price, the right culture, the right markets, the right strategic fit, it's something you'd have to consider. But I will say it's low on the priority list right now. We are very focused on organic growth. You know, we have acquired in the past, and if you ever come across that very perfect storm of the right price, the right culture, the right markets, the right strategic fit, it's something you'd have to consider. you know we have acquired in the past and if you ever come across that very perfect storm of the right price the right culture the right markets the right strategic fit it's something you'd have to consider But I will say it's low on the priority list right now. but i will say it's low on the priority list right now We are very focused on organic growth. we are very focused on organic growth

Speaker 1: It's been kind of interesting on M&A because everybody's excited about it. But I think the theme has been there are a lot of potential buyers, but not a lot of potential sellers is what it feels like to me. It's been kind of interesting on M&A because everybody's excited about it. it's been kind of interesting on m&a because everybody's excited about it But I think the theme has been there are a lot of potential buyers, but not a lot of potential sellers is what it feels like to me. but i think the theme has been there are a lot of potential buyers but not a lot of potential sellers is what it feels like to me

Speaker 3: Feels that way. And it was just the opposite two years ago. So you never know where the sentiment's going to go. But yeah, I think there are a lot of banks. You never know what they're thinking inside their head. But I think for Comerica, we've been pretty consistent that we like our business model and we like the concept of organic growth. Feels that way. feels that way And it was just the opposite two years ago. and it was just the opposite two years ago So you never know where the sentiment's going to go. so you never know where the sentiment's going to go But yeah, I think there are a lot of banks. but yeah i think there are a lot of banks You never know what they're thinking inside their head. you never know what they're thinking inside their head But I think for Comerica, we've been pretty consistent that we like our business model and we like the concept of organic growth. but i think for comerica we've been pretty consistent that we like our business model and we like the concept of organic growth

Speaker 1: Okay. Just a minute and a half left if anybody has anything. Okay, Peter, anything on credit? Any credit pressures, anything you're concerned about or thinking about at this point? Okay. okay Just a minute and a half left if anybody has anything. just a minute and a half left if anybody has anything Okay, Peter, anything on credit? okay peter anything on credit Any credit pressures, anything you're concerned about or thinking about at this point? any credit pressures anything you're concerned about or thinking about at this point

Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm concerned about credit all the time. You know, I've described that as something that sort of a gray rhino out there on the horizon that we know is coming. I don't know when. I don't think any bank can tell you when. Yeah, I'm concerned about credit all the time. yeah i'm concerned about credit all the time You know, I've described that as something that sort of a gray rhino out there on the horizon that we know is coming. you know i've described that as something that sort of a gray rhino out there on the horizon that we know is coming I don't know when. i don't know when I don't think any bank can tell you when. i don't think any bank can tell you when We continue to see the math perform pretty well. You know, Melinda answered that question on the fourth quarter call, and the word that we keep trying to use with everyone is normalization, and in our slide deck, you know, we show you the businesses that we watch closely when it comes to auto leveraged some of those businesses, but, you know, so far, so good. It continues to be performing very well. But in the back of my head, I always have this sort of belief that there will be a time, right? We continue to see the math perform pretty well. we continue to see the math perform pretty well You know, Melinda answered that question on the fourth quarter call, and the word that we keep trying to use with everyone is normalization, and in our slide deck, you know, we show you the businesses that we watch closely when it comes to auto leveraged some of those businesses, but, you know, so far, so good. you know melinda answered that question on the fourth quarter call and the word that we keep trying to use with everyone is normalization and in our slide deck you know we show you the businesses that we watch closely when it comes to auto leveraged some of those businesses but you know so far so good It continues to be performing very well. it continues to be performing very well But in the back of my head, I always have this sort of belief that there will be a time, right? but in the back of my head i always have this sort of belief that there will be a time right What I tell people is Comerica usually comes through those really, really well because we have such good relationships with our customers. We have been through a lot of things with our customers. You don't bank companies for three or four generations without them having been through some really, really difficult times. What I tell people is Comerica usually comes through those really, really well because we have such good relationships with our customers. what i tell people is comerica usually comes through those really really well because we have such good relationships with our customers We have been through a lot of things with our customers. we have been through a lot of things with our customers You don't bank companies for three or four generations without them having been through some really, really difficult times. you don't bank companies for three or four generations without them having been through some really really difficult times We've helped them get through those. So, you know, I don't see anything right now that concerns me, but it's also something that we constantly have our eye on as a company because I think it is, as Jim mentioned, one of our major strengths over a long period of time that's helped us be very, very successful. We've helped them get through those. we've helped them get through those So, you know, I don't see anything right now that concerns me, but it's also something that we constantly have our eye on as a company because I think it is, as Jim mentioned, one of our major strengths over a long period of time that's helped us be very, very successful. so you know i don't see anything right now that concerns me but it's also something that we constantly have our eye on as a company because i think it is as jim mentioned one of our major strengths over a long period of time that's helped us be very very successful

Speaker 1: Okay. That's it. We're out of time, but thanks, guys, for being here. Okay. okay That's it. that's it We're out of time, but thanks, guys, for being here. we're out of time but thanks guys for being here

Speaker 3: All right. Thanks. All right. all right thanks Thanks. right thanks