Regions Financial (RF) Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference summary

Operating environment and competitive landscape

• Markets in Southeast, Texas, and Midwest show strong consumer optimism and spending, with credit and debit card spending up 8% and 7% respectively.

• Increased competition from new and larger banks is being met with investments in technology, branch expansion (130-150 branches in 3-4 years), and banker recruitment.

• Strong brand presence and loyal customer base support effective competition and growth.

• Data analytics and a robust non-interest-bearing deposit base help manage deposit costs amid competition.

Financial performance and guidance

• Loan growth moderated in the second half of the year, with C&I and CRE sectors showing continued strength, especially in investment-grade credits.

• Non-interest revenue and expenses are tracking as expected, with no updates to guidance.

• Net interest income (NII) is guided to increase 2% quarter-over-quarter, with full-year guidance at 2.5%-4%.

• Margin expected to exit the year in the 3.70s, with drivers including loan growth, fixed asset repricing, and swap benefits.

Deposit trends and cost management

• Third quarter deposits expected to be flat seasonally, with strong growth in non-interest-bearing deposits outpacing peers.

• Interest-bearing deposit costs expected to remain flattish in Q3, with a mid-30s beta on repricing for the rest of the year.