Market Newsdesk

April 15, 2021 6:03 am

West to Host First-Quarter 2021 Conference Call

PR Newswire

EXTON, Pa., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST), a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, today announced that it will release first-quarter 2021 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, April 29, 2021, and will follow with a conference call to discuss the results and business expectations at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate on the call, please dial 877-930-8295 (U.S.) or 253-336-8738 (International). The conference ID is 4285757.

A live broadcast of the conference call will be available at the Company’s website, www.westpharma.com, in the “Investors” section. Management will refer to a slide presentation during the call, which will be made available on the day of the call. To view the presentation, select “Presentations” in the “Investors” section of the Company’s website.

An online archive of the broadcast will be available at the site three hours after the live call and will be available through Thursday, May 6, 2021, by dialing 855-859-2056 (U.S.) or 404-537-3406 (International). The conference ID is 4285757.

About West

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. is a leading provider of innovative, high-quality injectable solutions and services. As a trusted partner to established and emerging drug developers, West helps ensure the safe, effective containment and delivery of life-saving and life-enhancing medicines for patients. With almost 10,000 team members across 50 sites worldwide, West helps support our customers by delivering over 40 billion components and devices each year.

Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, and in business for nearly a century, West in its fiscal year 2020 generated over $2.15 billion in sales. West is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: WST) and is included on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. For more information, visit https://www.westpharma.com/.

All trademarks and registered trademarks used in this release are the property of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. or its subsidiaries, in the United States and other jurisdictions, unless otherwise noted.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/west-to-host-first-quarter-2021-conference-call-301268361.html

SOURCE West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

April 15, 2021 6:03 am

Bank of America Announces $25 Billion Common Stock Repurchase Plan

Bank of America Announces $25 Billion Common Stock Repurchase Plan

CHARLOTTE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Bank of America Corporation today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $25 billion of common stock over time. This authorization reflects the company’s commitment to return to shareholders excess capital that is not needed to support economic growth, deliver for customers and communities, invest in the future and sustain strength and stability through the cycle. The Board also authorized repurchases to offset shares awarded under equity-based compensation plans.

For the second quarter 2021, the company’s repurchase plans will be consistent with Federal Reserve System’s (FRB) restrictions that common stock repurchases and common stock dividends be correlated to the average quarterly net income for the previous four quarters.

Following the expiration of the restrictions, Bank of America expects to distribute additional capital to shareholders. Bank of America’s ability to make capital distributions depends, in part, on its ability to maintain regulatory capital levels above the 9.5% CET1 requirement: the sum of the FRB regulatory minimum of 4.5% and applicable regulatory buffers; including the Stress Capital Buffer (SCB) of 2.5%; and the Global Systemically Important Bank Holding Company surcharge of 2.5%. As of March 31, 2021, Bank of America’s CET1 ratio was 11.8%, which equated to approximately $35 billion excess CET1 capital above the 9.5% CET1 requirement.

The timing and amount of common stock repurchases made pursuant to the Bank of America common stock repurchase program are subject to various factors, including the company’s capital position, liquidity, financial performance and alternative uses of capital, stock trading price, regulatory requirements and general market conditions. Also, it may be suspended at any time. The common stock repurchases may be effected through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including repurchase plans that satisfy the conditions of Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent the current expectations, plans or forecasts of Bank of America based on available information. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements often use words like “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “intends,” “plans,” “predict,” “goal” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “would” and “could.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Bank of America undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.

Forward-looking statements represent Bank of America’s current expectations, plans or forecasts of its future results, revenues, expenses, efficiency ratio, capital measures, and future business and economic conditions more generally, and other future matters. These statements are not guarantees of its future results or performance and involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are often beyond Bank of America’s control. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider all of the uncertainties and risks discussed under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of Bank of America’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in any of Bank of America’s other subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial centers, including approximately 2,700 lending centers, 2,600 financial centers with a Consumer Investment Financial Solutions Advisor and approximately 2,400 business centers; approximately 17,000 ATMs; and award-winning digital banking with approximately 40 million active users, including approximately 31 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for email news alerts.

www.bankofamerica.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005473/en/

Investors May Contact:

Lee McEntire, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.388.6780

[email protected]

Jonathan Blum, Bank of America (Fixed Income)

Phone: 1.212.449.3112

[email protected]

Reporters May Contact:

Jerry Dubrowski, Bank of America

Phone: 1.646.855.1195 (office) or 1.508.843.5626 (mobile)

[email protected]

Christopher P. Feeney, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.386.6794

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: North Carolina United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Professional Services Finance

MEDIA:

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April 15, 2021 6:03 am

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. Reports First Quarter Earnings Per Share of $1.11

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. Reports First Quarter Earnings Per Share of $1.11

KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Commerce Bancshares, Inc. announced earnings of $1.11 per share for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to $.42 per common share in the same quarter last year and $1.11 per common share in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income attributable to Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (net income) for the first quarter of 2021 amounted to $131.0 million, compared to $51.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 and $129.9 million in the prior quarter. For the quarter, the return on average assets was 1.63%, the return on average equity was 15.69% and the efficiency ratio was 56.4%.

In announcing these results, John Kemper, Chief Executive Officer, said, “This quarter we continued to see strong performance from our fee-based businesses, which are healthy and accounted for 40% of total revenue. Growth in non-interest income resulted from higher trust, mortgage banking and capital markets fees. Non-interest expense declined compared to the same quarter last year, as salaries and benefits expense was flat, while most other expense categories declined. Net income was also aided by the release of reserves for credit losses on loans. Continued economic recovery coupled with a more optimistic outlook resulted in a lower estimate of the allowance for credit losses and reduced our provision for credit losses this quarter. Net securities gains of $9.9 million were driven by an increase in the value of our portfolio of private equity investments. Compared to the previous quarter, average deposits grew $898.6 million, or 3.5%, while loan demand was mixed. Average loan balances in construction and personal real estate increased, but lower business, consumer, and consumer credit card balances kept total average loan balances relatively flat. While average business loan balances decreased $47.4 million this quarter, this includes a net decline of $102.3 million of PPP loan balances.”

Mr. Kemper continued, “This quarter, net loan charge-offs totaled $10.0 million, compared to $8.0 million in the prior quarter and $10.9 million in the first quarter of 2020. The ratio of annualized net loan charge-offs to average loans was .25% in the current quarter, .19% in the prior quarter and .30% in the first quarter of last year. Net loan charge-offs on commercial loans totaled $17 thousand this quarter compared to $572 thousand in the prior quarter. Non-performing assets decreased this quarter from $26.6 million to $23.7 million. At March 31, 2021, the allowance for credit losses on loans decreased to $200.5 million.”

Total assets at March 31, 2021 were $33.3 billion, total loans were $16.4 billion, and total deposits were $27.4 billion. During the quarter, the Company paid a cash dividend of $.263 per share, representing a 2.1% increase over the rate paid in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Company purchased 354,181 shares of its common stock this quarter.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. is a regional bank holding company offering a full line of banking services, including payment solutions, investment management and securities brokerage. Commerce Bank, a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., leverages more than 150 years of proven strength and experience to help individuals and businesses solve financial challenges. In addition to offering payment solutions across the U.S., Commerce Bank currently operates full-service banking facilities across the Midwest including the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas, Springfield, Central Missouri, Central Illinois, Wichita, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Denver. It also maintains commercial offices in Dallas, Houston, Cincinnati, Nashville, Des Moines, Indianapolis, and Grand Rapids. Commerce delivers high-touch service and sophisticated financial solutions at regional branches, commercial offices, ATMs, online, mobile and through a 24/7 customer service line.

This financial news release, including management’s discussion of first quarter results, is posted to the Company’s web site at www.commercebank.com.

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

	For the Three Months Ended
(Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	March 31, 2021			December 31, 2020			March 31, 2020
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Net interest income	$205,748			$209,763			$201,065
Non-interest income	136,045			135,117			123,663
Total revenue	341,793			344,880			324,728
Investment securities gains (losses), net	9,853			12,307			(13,301)
Provision for credit losses	(6,232)			(4,403)			57,953
Non-interest expense	192,573			196,310			193,698
Income before taxes	165,305			165,280			59,776
Income taxes	32,076			33,084			10,173
Non-controlling interest (income) expense	2,257			2,307			(2,254)
Net income attributable to Commerce Bancshares, Inc.	130,972			129,889			51,857
Preferred stock dividends	—			—			2,250
Net income available to common shareholders	$130,972			$129,889			$49,607
Earnings per common share:
Net income — basic	$1.12			$1.11			$.42
Net income — diluted	$1.11			$1.11			$.42
Effective tax rate	19.67		%	20.30		%	16.40		%
Tax equivalent net interest income	$208,774			$213,017			$204,402
Average total interest earning assets ⁽¹⁾	$	31,278,721		$	30,297,922		$	24,691,014
Diluted wtd. average shares outstanding	116,573,405			116,507,841			116,944,735

RATIOS
Average loans to deposits ⁽²⁾	61.79		%	64.05		%	72.57		%
Return on total average assets	1.63			1.63			0.80
Return on average common equity⁽³⁾	15.69			15.49			6.48
Non-interest income to total revenue	39.80			39.18			38.08
Efficiency ratio ⁽⁴⁾	56.37			56.68			59.17
Net yield on interest earning assets	2.71			2.80			3.33

EQUITY SUMMARY
Cash dividends per common share	$.263			$.257			$.257
Cash dividends on common stock	$30,799			$30,178			$30,292
Cash dividends on preferred stock	$—			$—			$2,250
Book value per common share ⁽⁵⁾	$28.34			$29.03			$26.54
Market value per common share ⁽⁵⁾	$76.61			$65.70			$47.95
High market value per common share	$83.06			$68.09			$68.50
Low market value per common share	$64.76			$52.10			$43.34
Common shares outstanding ⁽⁵⁾	117,077,276			117,138,431			117,112,060
Tangible common equity to tangible assets ⁽⁶⁾	9.57		%	9.92		%	11.13		%
Tier I leverage ratio	9.38		%	9.45		%	11.13		%

OTHER QTD INFORMATION
Number of bank/ATM locations	298			306			317
Full-time equivalent employees	4,619			4,766			4,854

(1)		Excludes allowance for credit losses on loans and unrealized gains/(losses) on available for sale debt securities.
(2)		Includes loans held for sale.
(3)		Annualized net income available to common shareholders divided by average total equity less preferred stock.
(4)		The efficiency ratio is calculated as non-interest expense (excluding intangibles amortization) as a percent of revenue.
(5)		As of period end.
(6)		The tangible common equity ratio is calculated as stockholders’ equity reduced by preferred stock, goodwill and other intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights) divided by total assets reduced by goodwill and other intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights).

All share and per share amounts have been restated to reflect the 5% stock dividend distributed in December 2020.

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

	For the Three Months Ended
(Unaudited) (In thousands, except per share data)	March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020		September 30, 2020		June 30, 2020		March 31, 2020
Interest income	$209,697		$214,726		$223,114		$213,323		$221,485
Interest expense	3,949		4,963		7,152		10,266		20,420
Net interest income	205,748		209,763		215,962		203,057		201,065
Provision for credit losses	(6,232)		(4,403)		3,101		80,539		57,953
Net interest income after credit losses	211,980		214,166		212,861		122,518		143,112
NON-INTEREST INCOME
Bank card transaction fees	37,695		39,979		37,873		33,745		40,200
Trust fees	44,127		41,961		40,769		37,942		39,965
Deposit account charges and other fees	22,575		24,164		23,107		22,279		23,677
Capital market fees	4,981		3,826		3,194		3,772		3,790
Consumer brokerage services	4,081		3,996		4,011		3,011		4,077
Loan fees and sales	10,184		9,031		9,769		4,649		3,235
Other	12,402		12,160		10,849		12,117		8,719
Total non-interest income	136,045		135,117		129,572		117,515		123,663
INVESTMENT SECURITIES GAINS (LOSSES), NET	9,853		12,307		16,155		(4,129)		(13,301)
NON-INTEREST EXPENSE
Salaries and employee benefits	129,033		129,983		127,308		126,759		128,937
Net occupancy	12,021		11,570		12,058		11,269		11,748
Equipment	4,353		4,526		4,737		4,755		4,821
Supplies and communication	4,125		4,193		4,141		4,427		4,658
Data processing and software	25,463		24,323		23,610		23,837		23,555
Marketing	5,158		5,028		4,926		3,801		5,979
Other	12,420		16,687		14,078		12,664		14,000
Total non-interest expense	192,573		196,310		190,858		187,512		193,698
Income before income taxes	165,305		165,280		167,730		48,392		59,776
Less income taxes	32,076		33,084		34,375		9,661		10,173
Net income	133,229		132,196		133,355		38,731		49,603
Less non-controlling interest expense (income)	2,257		2,307		907		(1,132)		(2,254)
Net income attributable to Commerce Bancshares, Inc.	130,972		129,889		132,448		39,863		51,857
Less preferred stock dividends	—		—		7,466		2,250		2,250
Net income available to common shareholders	$130,972		$129,889		$124,982		$37,613		$49,607
Net income per common share — basic	$1.12		$1.11		$1.06		$.32		$.42
Net income per common share — diluted	$1.11		$1.11		$1.06		$.32		$.42

OTHER INFORMATION
Return on total average assets	1.63	%	1.63	%	1.71	%	.54	%	.80	%
Return on average common equity ⁽¹⁾	15.69		15.49		15.21		4.77		6.48
Efficiency ratio ⁽²⁾	56.37		56.68		55.00		58.10		59.17
Effective tax rate	19.67		20.30		20.61		19.51		16.40
Net yield on interest earning assets	2.71		2.80		2.97		2.94		3.33
Tax equivalent net interest income	$208,774		$213,017		$219,118		$206,253		$204,402

(1)		Annualized net income available to common shareholders divided by average total equity less preferred stock.
(2)		The efficiency ratio is calculated as non-interest expense (excluding intangibles amortization) as a percent of revenue.

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS – PERIOD END

(Unaudited) (In thousands)	March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020		March 31, 2020
ASSETS
Loans
Business	$	6,624,209	$	6,546,087	$	5,773,865
Real estate — construction and land	1,073,036		1,021,595		873,402
Real estate — business	3,017,242		3,026,117		2,960,308
Real estate — personal	2,828,418		2,820,030		2,464,819
Consumer	1,966,833		1,950,502		1,941,787
Revolving home equity	285,261		307,083		349,735
Consumer credit card	593,833		655,078		706,753
Overdrafts	3,239		3,149		3,143
Total loans	16,392,071		16,329,641		15,073,812
Allowance for credit losses on loans	(200,527)		(220,834)		(171,653)
Net loans	16,191,544		16,108,807		14,902,159
Loans held for sale	38,076		45,089		6,214
Investment securities:
Available for sale debt securities	12,528,203		12,449,264		8,678,586
Trading debt securities	26,925		35,321		24,291
Equity securities	4,337		4,363		4,038
Other securities	155,913		156,745		155,074
Total investment securities	12,715,378		12,645,693		8,861,989
Federal funds sold and short-term securities purchased under agreements to resell	500		—		400
Long-term securities purchased under agreements to resell	850,000		850,000		850,000
Interest earning deposits with banks	2,017,128		1,747,363		474,156
Cash and due from banks	338,666		437,563		401,185
Premises and equipment — net	371,737		371,083		369,745
Goodwill	138,921		138,921		138,921
Other intangible assets — net	13,098		11,207		8,433
Other assets	594,738		567,248		779,815
Total assets	$	33,269,786	$	32,922,974	$	26,793,017
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Deposits:
Non-interest bearing	$	11,076,556	$	10,497,598	$	6,952,236
Savings, interest checking and money market	14,572,378		14,604,456		12,049,279
Certificates of deposit of less than $100,000	504,472		529,802		619,758
Certificates of deposit of $100,000 and over	1,267,219		1,314,889		1,154,590
Total deposits	27,420,625		26,946,745		20,775,863
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	1,938,110		2,098,383		1,428,013
Other borrowings	3,791		802		756,461
Other liabilities	589,875		477,072		580,216
Total liabilities	29,952,401		29,523,002		23,540,553
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock	—		—		144,784
Common stock	589,352		589,352		563,978
Capital surplus	2,420,393		2,436,288		2,133,623
Retained earnings	173,173		73,000		224,643
Treasury stock	(39,080)		(32,970)		(69,149)
Accumulated other comprehensive income	168,752		331,377		253,136
Total stockholders’ equity	3,312,590		3,397,047		3,251,015
Non-controlling interest	4,795		2,925		1,449
Total equity	3,317,385		3,399,972		3,252,464
Total liabilities and equity	$	33,269,786	$	32,922,974	$	26,793,017

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES AVERAGE BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited) (In thousands)	For the Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020		September 30, 2020		June 30, 2020		March 31, 2020
ASSETS:
Loans:
Business	$	6,532,921	$	6,580,300	$	6,709,200	$	6,760,827	$	5,493,657
Real estate — construction and land	1,091,969		1,032,891		974,346		895,648		924,086
Real estate — business	3,022,979		3,029,799		2,989,652		2,962,076		2,853,632
Real estate — personal	2,826,112		2,778,462		2,722,300		2,582,484		2,390,716
Consumer	1,947,322		1,981,033		1,992,314		1,944,265		1,950,491
Revolving home equity	299,371		316,895		329,361		343,210		350,256
Consumer credit card	608,747		638,161		646,185		663,911		727,569
Overdrafts	3,546		3,762		2,689		2,912		4,044
Total loans	16,332,967		16,361,303		16,366,047		16,155,333		14,694,451
Allowance for credit losses on loans	(220,512)		(235,484)		(240,286)		(171,616)		(139,482)
Net loans	16,112,455		16,125,819		16,125,761		15,983,717		14,554,969
Loans held for sale	35,814		30,577		24,728		6,363		12,875
Investment securities:
U.S. government and federal agency obligations	725,367		774,640		770,361		776,240		802,556
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations	50,801		69,133		102,749		114,518		134,296
State and municipal obligations	1,958,637		1,967,408		1,767,526		1,285,427		1,222,595
Mortgage-backed securities	6,998,521		6,646,345		6,259,926		5,325,720		4,685,782
Asset-backed securities	2,085,491		1,819,467		1,520,988		1,342,518		1,182,556
Other debt securities	570,115		533,646		514,166		406,665		321,733
Unrealized gain on debt securities	283,511		329,477		368,154		281,457		191,275
Total available for sale debt securities	12,672,443		12,140,116		11,303,870		9,532,545		8,540,793
Trading debt securities	32,320		28,040		27,267		31,981		34,055
Equity securities	4,321		4,221		4,193		4,137		4,273
Other securities	154,030		130,145		120,253		139,250		144,096
Total investment securities	12,863,114		12,302,522		11,455,583		9,707,913		8,723,217
Federal funds sold and short-term securities purchased under agreements to resell	7		355		337		92		326
Long-term securities purchased under agreements to resell	849,999		849,998		849,994		850,000		850,000
Interest earning deposits with banks	1,480,331		1,082,644		1,024,435		1,755,068		601,420
Other assets	1,308,105		1,291,907		1,389,683		1,461,528		1,368,464
Total assets	$	32,649,825	$	31,683,822	$	30,870,521	$	29,764,681	$	26,111,271

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY:
Non-interest bearing deposits	$	10,438,637	$	10,275,735	$	9,801,562	$	8,843,408	$	6,615,108
Savings	1,333,177		1,234,481		1,193,079		1,111,397		952,709
Interest checking and money market	12,970,629		12,198,928		11,731,494		11,441,694		10,777,400
Certificates of deposit of less than $100,000	516,728		542,212		573,207		605,136		622,840
Certificates of deposit of $100,000 and over	1,230,075		1,339,301		1,447,968		1,346,069		1,299,443
Total deposits	26,489,246		25,590,657		24,747,310		23,347,704		20,267,500
Borrowings:
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	2,166,072		2,028,457		1,855,971		1,991,971		1,990,051
Other borrowings	831		1,013		1,225		345,162		161,698
Total borrowings	2,166,903		2,029,470		1,857,196		2,337,133		2,151,749
Other liabilities	608,212		727,569		899,890		763,524		466,980
Total liabilities	29,264,361		28,347,696		27,504,396		26,448,361		22,886,229
Equity	3,385,464		3,336,126		3,366,125		3,316,320		3,225,042
Total liabilities and equity	$	32,649,825	$	31,683,822	$	30,870,521	$	29,764,681	$	26,111,271

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES AVERAGE RATES

(Unaudited)	For the Three Months Ended
(Unaudited)	March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020		September 30, 2020		June 30, 2020		March 31, 2020
ASSETS:
Loans:
Business⁽¹⁾	3.09	%	3.01	%	2.95	%	2.91	%	3.50	%
Real estate — construction and land	3.54		3.72		3.74		3.95		4.78
Real estate — business	3.52		3.51		3.53		3.71		4.16
Real estate — personal	3.40		3.44		3.56		3.69		3.83
Consumer	4.02		4.07		4.19		4.48		4.78
Revolving home equity	3.38		3.37		3.29		3.50		4.61
Consumer credit card	10.97		11.60		11.40		11.76		12.26
Overdrafts	—		—		—		—		—
Total loans	3.66		3.69		3.69		3.80		4.39
Loans held for sale	3.44		3.54		4.25		8.03		6.15
Investment securities:
U.S. government and federal agency obligations	2.54		2.63		3.71		.46		2.09
Government-sponsored enterprise obligations	2.36		2.23		2.17		3.51		4.19
State and municipal obligations⁽¹⁾	2.46		2.44		2.53		2.97		3.11
Mortgage-backed securities	1.39		1.37		1.95		2.17		2.37
Asset-backed securities	1.39		1.59		1.90		2.25		2.63
Other debt securities	2.15		2.19		2.35		2.49		2.94
Total available for sale debt securities	1.67		1.70		2.18		2.18		2.54
Trading debt securities⁽¹⁾	1.08		1.40		1.66		2.93		2.52
Equity securities ⁽¹⁾	49.56		50.71		47.15		48.42		46.78
Other securities ⁽¹⁾	5.26		10.03		6.74		4.36		5.31
Total investment securities	1.72		1.81		2.24		2.24		2.61
Federal funds sold and short-term securities purchased under agreements to resell	—		1.12		—		—		2.47
Long-term securities purchased under agreements to resell	5.31		5.24		5.26		5.08		3.53
Interest earning deposits with banks	.10		.10		.10		.10		.86
Total interest earning assets	2.76		2.86		3.07		3.09		3.66

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY:
Interest bearing deposits:
Savings	.08		.09		.09		.09		.11
Interest checking and money market	.06		.07		.10		.13		.30
Certificates of deposit of less than $100,000	.37		.51		.71		.93		1.15
Certificates of deposit of $100,000 and over	.35		.47		.69		1.08		1.62
Total interest bearing deposits	.09		.12		.18		.25		.45
Borrowings:
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	.06		.06		.09		.12		.96
Other borrowings	.98		—		—		.82		.82
Total borrowings	.06		.06		.09		.22		.95
Total interest bearing liabilities	.09	%	.11	%	.17	%	.25	%	.52	%

Net yield on interest earning assets	2.71	%	2.80	%	2.97	%	2.94	%	3.33	%

(1)

Stated on a tax equivalent basis using a federal income tax rate of 21%.

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES CREDIT QUALITY

	For the Three Months Ended
(Unaudited) (In thousands, except per share data)	March 31, 2021			December 31, 2020			September 30, 2020			June 30, 2020			March 31, 2020
ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES ON LOANS
Balance at beginning of period	$	220,834		$	236,360		$	240,744		$	171,653		$	160,682
Adoption of ASU 2016-13	—			—			—			—			(21,039)
Provision for credit losses on loans	(10,355)			(7,510)			3,200			77,491			42,868
Net charge-offs (recoveries):
Commercial portfolio:
Business	(4)			581			208			3,249			(373)
Real estate — construction and land	1			(2)			(1)			—			—
Real estate — business	20			(7)			(13)			(6)			(21)
	17			572			194			3,243			(394)
Personal banking portfolio:
Consumer credit card	8,981			5,975			7,263			3,584			9,157
Consumer	763			1,160			211			1,362			1,711
Overdraft	153			335			200			316			426
Real estate — personal	15			(18)			(198)			(71)			(4)
Revolving home equity	23			(8)			(86)			(34)			(38)
	9,935			7,444			7,390			5,157			11,252
Total net loan charge-offs	9,952			8,016			7,584			8,400			10,858
Balance at end of period	$	200,527		$	220,834		$	236,360		$	240,744		$	171,653
LIABILITY FOR UNFUNDED LENDING COMMITMENTS	$	42,430		$	38,307		$	35,200		$	35,299		$	32,250

NET CHARGE-OFF RATIOS ⁽¹⁾
Commercial portfolio:
Business	—		%	.04		%	.01		%	.19		%	(.03		%)
Real estate — construction and land	—			—			—			—			—
Real estate — business	—			—			—			—			—
	—			.02			.01			.12			(.02)
Personal banking portfolio:
Consumer credit card	5.98			3.72			4.47			2.17			5.06
Consumer	.16			.23			.04			.28			.35
Overdraft	17.50			35.43			29.59			43.65			42.37
Real estate — personal	—			—			(.03)			(.01)			—
Revolving home equity	.03			(.01)			(.10)			(.04)			(.04)
	.71			.52			.52			.37			.83
Total	.25		%	.19		%	.18		%	.21		%	.30		%

CREDIT QUALITY RATIOS
Non-performing assets to total loans	.14		%	.16		%	.25		%	.14		%	.07		%
Non-performing assets to total assets	.07			.08			.13			.08			.04
Allowance for credit losses on loans to total loans⁽²⁾	1.22			1.35			1.44			1.47			1.14

NON-PERFORMING ASSETS
Non-accrual loans:
Business	$	20,215		$	22,524		$	37,295		$	19,034		$	7,356
Real estate — construction and land	—			—			1			1			2
Real estate — business	1,572			2,230			1,063			1,921			1,532
Real estate — personal	1,719			1,786			1,911			1,679			1,743
Total	23,506			26,540			40,270			22,635			10,633
Foreclosed real estate	208			93			57			422			422
Total non-performing assets	$	23,714		$	26,633		$	40,327		$	23,057		$	11,055
Loans past due 90 days and still accruing interest	$	21,512		$	22,190		$	14,436		$	24,583		$	16,520

(1)		As a percentage of average loans (excluding loans held for sale).
(2)		Excluding PPP loans, the allowance for credit losses on loans to total loans was 1.34% and 1.48% as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

COMMERCE BANCSHARES, INC.

Management Discussion of First Quarter Results

March 31, 2021

For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, net income attributable to Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (net income) amounted to $131.0 million, compared to $129.9 million in the previous quarter and $51.9 million in the same quarter last year. The increase in net income over the previous quarter was primarily the result of higher non-interest income, lower non-interest expense, and a decrease in the provision for credit losses, partly offset by lower net interest income and net securities gains. The provision for credit losses declined this quarter, compared to the prior quarter, due to a decrease in the estimate of the allowance for credit losses on loans. Net interest income decreased this quarter mostly due to lower interest earned on loans. The net yield on interest earning assets declined nine basis points. Average loans were slightly lower compared to the previous quarter, while average available for sale debt securities grew $532.3 million, and average deposits increased $898.6 million. For the quarter, the return on average assets was 1.63%, the return on average common equity was 15.69%, and the efficiency ratio was 56.4%.

Balance Sheet Review

During the 1^stquarter of 2021, average loans totaled $16.3 billion, decreased $28.3 million from the prior quarter, and increased $1.6 billion, or 11.2%, over the same quarter last year. Period end loans increased $62.4 million compared to the prior quarter. Compared to the previous quarter, average balances of construction and land and personal real estate loans grew $59.1 million and $47.7 million, respectively. This growth was mostly offset by declines in business, consumer, consumer credit card, and revolving home equity loans of $47.4 million, $33.7 million, $29.4 million, and $17.5 million, respectively. The period end balance of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans (included in business loans) increased $66.7 million during the 1^st quarter and totaled $1.4 billion at March 31, 2021. This growth reflected $331.4 million of loan balances originated this quarter (round 2), partly offset by a decline of $264.7 million in loan balances from year end (round 1). Average PPP loan balances declined $102.3 million compared to the prior quarter. Growth in personal real estate loan balances was due to continued strong demand for residential mortgage loans this quarter. During the current quarter, the Company sold certain fixed rate personal real estate loans totaling $177.8 million, compared to $136.0 million in the prior quarter.

Total average available for sale debt securities increased $532.3 million over the previous quarter to $12.7 billion, at fair value. The increase in investment securities was mainly the result of growth in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. During the current quarter, purchases of securities totaled $1.3 billion with a weighted average yield of approximately .93%. Maturities and pay downs were $939.6 million. At March 31, 2021, the duration of the investment portfolio was 3.9 years, and maturities and pay downs of approximately $2.3 billion are expected to occur during the next 12 months.

Total average deposits increased $898.6 million this quarter compared to the previous quarter. The increase in deposits resulted from growth in interest checking and money market ($771.7 million), and savings deposits ($98.7 million), partly offset by a decline in certificates of deposit ($134.7 million). Average demand deposits also increased $162.9 million over the previous quarter. Compared to the previous quarter, total average consumer and wealth deposits (including private banking) grew $570.2 million and $305.2 million, respectively, while average commercial deposits declined $49.2 million. The average loans to deposits ratio was 61.8% in the current quarter and 64.1% in the prior quarter. The Company’s average borrowings, which includes customer repurchase agreements, were $2.2 billion in the 1^st quarter of 2021 and $2.0 billion in the prior quarter.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income in the 1^st quarter of 2021 amounted to $205.7 million, a decrease of $4.0 million compared to the previous quarter. On a tax equivalent basis, net interest income for the current quarter decreased $4.2 million from the previous quarter to $208.8 million. The decrease in net interest income was mainly due to lower income earned on loans. The net yield on earning assets (tax equivalent) decreased to 2.71%, compared to 2.80% in the prior quarter.

Compared to the previous quarter, interest income on loans (tax equivalent) decreased $4.3 million, mostly as a result of lower yields on loans, mainly consumer credit card, personal real estate, construction and land, and consumer loans, coupled with a decline in consumer credit card average loan balances. Partially offsetting these decreases was growth in interest income due to higher average construction and land and personal real estate loan balances and higher yields on business loans. The decline in the consumer credit card yield was partially due to the reversal of interest on delinquent loans that exited the Company’s skip pay program last summer and were charged off this quarter. The average tax-equivalent yield on the loan portfolio declined three basis points to 3.66% this quarter.

Interest income on investment securities (tax equivalent) decreased $1.0 million from the previous quarter, due to lower rates earned, partly offset by higher average balances. At March 31, 2021, the Company recorded a $4.1 million adjustment to premium amortization, which increased interest income this quarter to reflect a slowdown in forward prepayment speed estimates on mortgage-backed securities due to rising interest rates during the quarter. This adjustment mostly offset higher premium amortization recorded on these securities during the quarter due to the recent surge in mortgage refinancing. Interest income earned on U.S. government and federal agency securities decreased, as Treasury inflation-protected securities inflation income declined $426 thousand this quarter to $1.5 million. The yield on total investment securities was 1.72% in the current quarter, compared to 1.81% in the previous quarter.

The average rate paid on deposits totaled nine basis points in the 1^st quarter of 2021, compared to 12 basis points in the prior quarter. Interest expense on deposits decreased $1.0 million this quarter compared to the previous quarter mainly due to lower rates paid on money market and certificate of deposit accounts. The overall rate paid on interest bearing liabilities was .09% in the current quarter, compared to .11% in the prior quarter.

Non-Interest Income

In the 1^st quarter of 2021, total non-interest income amounted to $136.0 million, an increase of $12.4 million, or 10.0%, compared to the same period last year and increased $928 thousand compared to the prior quarter. The increase in non-interest income over the same period last year was mainly due to growth in loan fees and sales, capital market fees, and trust fees.

Total net bank card fees in the current quarter decreased $2.5 million, or 6.2%, from the same period last year, and decreased $2.3 million, or 5.7%, compared to the prior quarter. Net corporate card fees decreased $2.7 million, or 11.8%, from the same quarter of last year mainly due to lower fee income, partly offset by lower rewards expense. Net debit card fees increased $45 thousand, or 0.5%. Net merchant income increased $226 thousand, or 5.1%, while net credit card fees decreased $66 thousand, or 1.9%. Total net bank card fees this quarter were comprised of fees on corporate card ($20.3 million), debit card ($9.4 million), merchant ($4.6 million) and credit card ($3.4 million) transactions.

In the current quarter, trust fees increased $4.2 million, or 10.4%, over the same period last year, resulting mostly from higher private client fee income. Compared to the same period last year, deposit account fees decreased $1.1 million, or 4.7%, mainly due to lower overdraft and return item fees, partly offset by an increase in corporate cash management fees. Additionally, capital market fees grew $1.2 million, or 31.4%, while loan fees and sales, mostly mortgage banking revenue, grew $6.9 million, or 214.8%, over amounts recorded in the same quarter last year.

Other non-interest income increased over the same period last year due to gains of $2.4 million recorded this quarter on the sale of a branch location and a $1.2 million increase in swap fees. Fair value adjustments on the Company’s deferred compensation plan assets, which are held in a trust and recorded as both an asset and liability, increased $3.4 million over the same quarter last year, affecting both other income and other expense. These increases were partially offset by a $2.8 million decline in cash sweep commissions. For the 1^st quarter of 2021, non-interest income comprised 39.8% of the Company’s total revenue.

Investment Securities Gains and Losses

The Company recorded net securities gains of $9.9 million in the current quarter, compared to net gains of $12.3 million in the prior quarter and net losses of $13.3 million in the 1^st quarter of 2020. Net securities gains in the current quarter primarily resulted from $8.4 million of unrealized gains in fair value and $1.5 million from the sale of an investment in the Company’s private equity investment portfolio.

Non-Interest Expense

Non-interest expense for the current quarter amounted to $192.6 million, compared to $193.7 million in the same period last year and $196.3 million in the prior quarter. The decrease in non-interest expense compared to the same period last year was mainly due to lower other non-interest and marketing expense, partly offset by higher data processing and software expense.

Compared to the 1^st quarter of last year, salaries and employee benefits expense was mostly flat, as a $3.6 million increase in incentive compensation was offset by decreases of $1.5 million and $1.8 million in full-time salaries and medical expense, respectively. Full-time equivalent employees totaled 4,619 and 4,854 at March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Marketing, equipment, and supplies and communication expense decreased $821 thousand, $468 thousand, and $533 thousand, respectively. These decreases were partly offset by a $1.9 million increase in data processing and software expense, which reflects continuing investment in technology.

Other non-interest expense decreased mainly due to a $2.0 million decrease in travel and entertainment expense, a $2.1 million reduction in impairment expense on mortgage servicing rights, and a $1.1 million increase in deferred loan origination costs. These decreases were partially offset by the $3.4 million deferred compensation adjustment mentioned above.

Income Taxes

The effective tax rate for the Company was 19.7% in the current quarter, 20.3% in the previous quarter, and 16.4% in the 1^st quarter of 2020.

Credit Quality

Net loan charge-offs in the 1^st quarter of 2021 amounted to $10.0 million, compared to $8.0 million in the prior quarter and $10.9 million in the same period last year. The ratio of annualized net loan charge-offs to total average loans was .25% in the current quarter, .19% in the previous quarter, and .30% in the 1^st quarter of last year. Compared to the prior quarter, net loan charge-offs on commercial loans decreased $555 thousand to $17 thousand, while net loan charge-offs on personal banking loans increased $2.5 million to $9.9 million.

In the 1^st quarter of 2021, annualized net loan charge-offs on average consumer credit card loans were 5.98%, compared to 3.72% in the previous quarter, and 5.06% in the same quarter last year. Consumer loan net charge-offs were .16% of average consumer loans in the current quarter, .23% in the prior quarter and .35% in the same quarter last year. The elevated consumer credit card charge-off rate was mostly due to the migration of delinquent accounts that exited the Company’s skip pay program initiated last summer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Actual economic data for the first quarter and the economic forecast used to estimate the allowance for credit losses in March 2021 showed improving economic conditions compared to the forecast utilized in December 2020. This improvement resulted in a decrease in the allowance for credit losses as of March 31, 2021, and also reduced the provision for credit losses this quarter compared to the prior quarter. At March 31, 2021, the allowance for credit losses on loans totaled $200.5 million, or 1.22% of total loans and 1.34% of total loans excluding PPP loans. Additionally, the liability for unfunded lending commitments at March 31, 2021 was $42.4 million, an increase of $4.1 million over the liability at December 31, 2020.

At March 31, 2021, total non-performing assets amounted to $23.7 million, a decrease of $2.9 million from the previous quarter. Non-performing assets are comprised of non-accrual loans and foreclosed real estate ($23.5 million and $208 thousand, respectively). At March 31, 2021, the balance of non-accrual loans, which represented .14% of loans outstanding, included business loans of $20.5 million, business real estate loans of $1.6 million, and personal real estate loans of $1.7 million. Loans more than 90 days past due and still accruing interest totaled $21.5 million at March 31, 2021.

Other

During the 1^st quarter of 2021, the Company paid a cash dividend of $.263 per common share, representing a 2.1% increase over the same period last year. The Company purchased 354,181 shares of treasury stock during the current quarter at an average price of $73.19.

Forward-Looking Information

This information contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include future financial and operating results, expectations, intentions and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005192/en/

Matthew Burkemper, Investor Relations

at 8000 Forsyth, Mailstop: CBIR-1

Clayton, MO 63105

or by telephone at (314) 746-7485

Web Site: http://www.commercebank.com

Email: [email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Missouri

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Professional Services Finance

MEDIA:

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April 15, 2021 6:03 am

Lenovo Accelerates Artificial Intelligence with Ready-to-Deploy AI Solutions

Lenovo Accelerates Artificial Intelligence with Ready-to-Deploy AI Solutions

Lenovo announces 5 new ready-to-deploy AI solutions across multiple industries to accelerate customer value from AI adoption
Lenovo and Addfor help governments and local authorities keep citizens as safe as possible during COVID-19 pandemic
Lenovo expands AI partner ecosystem with select, industry-leading independent software vendors
Lenovo announces AI University Research commitment to accelerate AI innovation from discovery to implementation

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Today, Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) announces the expansion of its partner ecosystem and launches five new ready-to-deploy artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions. This growing global ecosystem of industry-leading independent software vendors (ISVs) enables Lenovo to bring to market AI solutions for a wide range of applications and industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and financial services. Lenovo also deepens engagements with industry leaders Intel and NVIDIA to help support its extensive portfolio of AI-ready servers and storage, enabling ISVs to optimize their AI applications across the entire hardware and software stack, ensuring customers receive the stellar performance for their AI investments. Lenovo’s continued mission to make AI solutions easy to consume by global customers is enabled through its ability to partner with leading developers and data scientists. Leveraging Lenovo’s AI innovation centers, AI architecture and hardware expertise, Lenovo is helping move AI from concept to reality.

Lenovo Collaborates with Addfor – Develops AI Solution to Track COVID-19 Safety Protocols

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, normal life in Italy was severely disrupted. Addfor, headquartered in Turin, Italy, set out to use its AI expertise to help governments and local authorities keep citizens as safe as possible. For the City of Turin, Addfor developed and deployed an AI solution crowdHEDGE, based on Lenovo ThinkSystem SE350 edge servers to interface with networked video systems, using AI drone footage to extract data insights in outdoor spaces like city parks. crowdHEDGE focuses on tracking foot traffic and crowd sizes to closely monitor compliance with COVID-19 public policies. Lenovo’s ThinkSystem edge server solution, powered by NVIDIA® T4 Tensor Core GPUs, powers the image recognition captured by the drone footage.

“Thanks to this pilot project in the field of safety and security of public spaces, the City of Turin addresses the combined use of drones, AI, and edge computing to focus on urban and aerospace mobility as an opportunity for the use of AI within the Public Administration,” said Deputy Mayor Innovation and Smart City, City of Turin.

Addfor is one of several ISV partners Lenovo is working with as part of an AI Accelerator program to enable, build and optimize AI solutions designed to solve real-world problems.

“We are already exploring ways that the solution can be adapted to help prevent overcrowding in business and public settings, to help better protect citizens,” said Enrico Busto, Founding Partner & CTO at Addfor. “We’re excited to continue developing cutting-edge AI and edge computing solutions supported by Lenovo and NVIDIA. We’re confident that our partnership will play an important role in pushing the frontiers of data science innovation.”

Lenovo Accelerates Ready-to-Deploy AI Solutions for AI Developers

As part its newest AI Solutions Accelerator Program, Lenovo elevates partnerships with ISVs to create ready-to-deploy AI solutions to help enterprise and SMB customers improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. These solutions build on Lenovo’s commitment to accelerate AI adoption for enterprise and SMB customers by diminishing barriers to deployment through practical offerings:

Retail Visual AI Solutions with Everseen
- Computer Vision + AI for Loss Prevention and beyond.
- Identifies scan errors in real-time using computer vision technology.
- Improves profitability with AI capabilities, enabling cost savings and store transformation.
- Improves the customer experience and customer throughput.
Scalable MLOps solution with cnvrg.io
- The cnvrg.io platform, running on Lenovo AI-Ready Servers fueled by Intel Xeon Scalable Processors with built-in AI acceleration, provides data scientists with a unified environment optimized for Intel Deep Learning Boost to build, deploy and manage machine learning workloads on top of the Lenovo AI purpose-built solutions and products. This simplifies and streamlines all phases of end-to-end machine learning pipeline development.
- Data scientists can easily manage, experiment, track, version and deploy models in a single unified platform with one click.
- Designed to be agnostic and portable, it solves key MLOps challenges to help data scientists deliver more models to production quickly.
Edge Analytics Solution with SAS
- With SAS® Event Stream Processing running on Lenovo Edge AI platforms, customers can analyze streaming data, uncover hidden insights with AI and make real-time, intelligent decisions.
- Customers can choose from a broad line-up of Lenovo AI-Ready infrastructure including the ThinkSystem SE350 powered by the latest generation Intel® Xeon® D processor, the ThinkEdge SE30 or SE50 running the latest Intel Core™ processors or the ThinkSystem SR650 V2 powered by the 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon Scalable processors, for flexible deployment options that best meets the customers edge environment.
- Customers can overcome data decay and lost value by deriving real-time insight from streaming IoT sensor data or video data streams.
- Deploy models to the edge with ease, using a low-code visual dashboard or popular open-source programming languages and frameworks.
- Setup streaming event phases at the far edge, fog, cloud, or data center for a hybrid architecture suited to fit specific requirements.
Edge-to-Core Data Management with NetApp^® AI
- Enables AI workloads at the edge or core with intuitive data management tools built in.
- Storage reference architectures including compute, storage, and networking for quick start deployment.
- Provides affordable AI training or inferencing solutions suited for organizations of all sizes, allowing customers to start with a small cluster and add infrastructure as their workload demands increase.
- Deploy and manage AI training workloads by adding Lenovo LiCO AI Platform software.

“We have had the opportunity to work with organizations and independent software vendors around the world to implement AI solutions to help address the world’s most challenging problems,” said Scott Tease, Vice President and General Manager of HPC and AI, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group. “We are committed to continuing this momentum to accelerate AI adoption and streamline deployment across multiple industries and applications.”

Lenovo and Intel Support AI University Research

Through Lenovo’s global AI Innovation Centers, Lenovo and Intel are working with universities around the world to help students in their research efforts, unlocking their potential through access to Intel’s innovative and flexible x86 hardware ecosystem. The research and learnings discovered in these public labs around the world continue to help build optimized AI solutions that can be easily adopted and deployed by a variety of businesses.

Lenovo and Intel recently worked with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Reese Innovation Lab’s, student fellows and staff at their lab to design and engineer a new Health Greeter Kiosk solution to encourage the use of masks and social distancing through AI technology detection (without the use of facial recognition). The kiosks provide real-time feedback to patrons to support proper mask and social distancing guidelines. Three of these AI health kiosks are currently deployed at UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus as they work to bring both students and employees back together in person. Lenovo will be bringing the Health Greeter Kiosk software to market for other industries beginning this May.

Visit Lenovo’s ready-to-deploy AI solutions for more information.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$50 billion Fortune Global 500 company, with 63,000 employees and operating in 180 markets around the world. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, we are developing world-changing technologies that create a more inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable digital society. By designing, engineering and building the world’s most complete portfolio of smart devices and infrastructure, we are also leading an Intelligent Transformation – to create better experiences and opportunities for millions of customers around the world. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Weibo and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.

LENOVO and THINKSYSTEM are trademarks of Lenovo. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. NVIDIA is a trademark of NVIDIA Corporation. NetApp is a trademark of NetApp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2021, Lenovo Group Limited.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005285/en/

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Zeno Group, [email protected]

Ashley Kusowski, [email protected], +1 919-339-2819

EMEA

Caroline De Souza, [email protected], +44 (0)7768 080028

APAC

Shonali Chakravarty, [email protected], +91 9833059832

LATAM

Valkiria Suzuki, [email protected], +5511996563108

PRC

Na Na Luo, [email protected], +18519553701

KEYWORDS: United States North America North Carolina

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Science Software Networks Research Internet Hardware Data Management Technology

MEDIA:

April 15, 2021 6:03 am

Hercules Capital Announces Date for Release of First Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Conference Call

Hercules Capital Announces Date for Release of First Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Conference Call

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) (“Hercules” or the “Company”), the largest and leading specialty financing provider to innovative venture, growth and established stage companies backed by some of the leading and top-tier venture capital and select private equity firms, today announced that it has scheduled its first quarter 2021 financial results conference call for Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET). Hercules will release its financial results after market close that same day.

To listen to the call, please dial (877) 304-8957 (or (408) 427-3709 internationally) and reference Conference ID: 9664357 if asked, approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. A taped replay will be made available approximately three hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for seven days. To access the replay, please dial (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 and enter the passcode 9664357.

A live webcast of the first quarter 2021 financial results conference call will also be available on the investor relations section of the Company’s website at www.htgc.com. An archived webcast replay will be available on the Company’s website for 90 days following the conference call.

About Hercules Capital, Inc.

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) is the leading and largest specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured venture growth loans to high-growth, innovative venture capital-backed companies in a broad variety of technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology industries. Since inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed more than $11.1 billion to over 520 companies and is the lender of choice for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms seeking growth capital financing. Companies interested in learning more about financing opportunities should contact [email protected], or call 650.289.3060.

Hercules’ common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under ticker symbol HTGC. In addition, Hercules has two retail bond issuances of5.25% Notes due 2025 (NYSE: HCXZ) and 6.25% Notes due 2033 (NYSE: HCXY).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005061/en/

Michael Hara

Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Hercules Capital, Inc.

650-433-5578

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: California United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Professional Services Finance

MEDIA:

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Posted on April 15, 2021 6:03 am
Iron Mountain Schedules First Quarter 2021 Earnings Release and Conference Call

Iron Mountain Schedules First Quarter 2021 Earnings Release and Conference Call

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the storage and information management services company, will report its first quarter 2021 financial results before market hours on Thursday, May 6, 2021. The Company will also host a conference call to discuss results on the same day.

The earnings press release, conference call slides, and supplemental financial information will be available at: http://investors.ironmountain.com, under “Quarterly Earnings,” at approximately 6:00 A.M. ET that day. The webcast link can be accessed under “Investor Events” and you may register directly for the webcast at the following link: Webcast Registration.

Investors who would like to join the conference call are encouraged to pre-register using the following link: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10153519/e557f758fb. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

Call and replay information are as follows:

Call Date: Thursday, May 6, 2021

Call Time: 8:30 A.M. (Eastern Time)

Domestic Call Dial In: 844.890.1796

International Call Dial In: 412.717.9590

Telephonic replay available two hours after the conclusion of the call for one week

Replay Domestic Dial In: 877.344.7529

Replay International Dial In: 412.317.0088

Access Code: 10153519

About Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of nearly 93 million square feet across approximately 1,450 facilities in 56 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include secure records storage, information management, digital transformation, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005048/en/

Investor Relations Contacts:

Greer Aviv

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

[email protected]

(617) 535-2887

Nathan McCurren

Director, Investor Relations

[email protected]

(617) 535-2997

KEYWORDS: United States North America Massachusetts

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Networks Security Hardware Technology Software

MEDIA:

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Posted on April 15, 2021 6:03 am
Promises Brazos Valley Introduces Brazos Valley Local as Chief Executive Officer

Newly established substance abuse treatment center announces Cameron House, a Brazos Valley native, as its facility leader and CEO.

College Station, Texas, April 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Promises Brazos Valley, a growing provider of addiction treatment services and the newest member of the Promises Behavioral Health family, introduced its new CEO, Cameron House, M.Ed., LPC-S. Cameron, a Brazos Valley native and community supporter, steps into this role as a knowledgeable local resource and a licensed professional counselor with an extensive career background. She aims to assist with comprehensive yet considerate programming to help boost the client experience through thoughtful staff involvement.

Cameron House was born and raised in College Station, Texas as a child of two Texas A&M University professors. She earned her undergraduate degree in French from the University of Texas Austin in 1996. This knowledge offered Cameron the opportunity to travel abroad, an experience that helped widen her cultural and global view of the world. Afterward, she spent many years focusing on her children as a stay-at-home mom. In 2005, Cameron decided to return to school and earn her master’s degree in counseling and human development from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. During her studies, she developed a strong admiration for clinicians working as substance use professionals and individuals in recovery. She has been back in Aggieland since 2009 as a licensed professional counselor in victim services, acute psychiatric care, private practice and now, proudly, with Promises Behavioral Health.

To Cameron, her role as CEO of Promises Brazos Valley serves as a milestone in her career and an accumulation of years of dedication to the Brazos Valley community. As CEO, Cameron will oversee each aspect of the treatment center, including creating a well-coordinated working atmosphere that promotes growth and comprehensive addiction programs to ensure that the Promises Brazos Valley staff can focus on clients. And, in turn, clients can concentrate on finding long-term healing. In her role, she will also help maintain and deepen the community connections of Brazos Valley by remaining active in local addiction recovery efforts.

“As a native, I have very deep roots in this community, and by taking on the role of CEO, I can effectively give back to Brazos Valley by creating a safe space for substance use treatment where there hasn’t always been one,” remarked Cameron House. “Every single person who walks through our door can expect compassion and kindness because we’ve all experienced some form of hardship in our lives. That’s what makes the staff here at Promises Brazos Valley so caring—there is this element of having walked in our clients’ shoes.”

Cameron House will provide effective direction by being an authentic leader who provides clarity and builds valuable relationships with her staff and clients. As Promises Brazos Valley reaches its first month in operation, clients, staff and the Brazos Valley community can look forward to continued efforts to make thoughtful, positive impacts on those seeking hope and healing from substance use and co-occurring disorders.

About Promises Behavioral Health

Promises Behavioral Health is a family of behavioral health programs with regional brands such as The Right Step, The Ranch and Promises. The company currently operates residential and outpatient facilities across Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Promises offers comprehensive, innovative treatment for substance abuse, sexual addiction, trauma, eating disorders and other mental health disorders. Through its programs, the company is committed to delivering clinically sophisticated treatment that promotes permanent lifestyle change, not only for the patient but for the entire family network. For more information, please visit www.PromisesBehavioralHealth.com.

Attachment

CameronHouse-copy

Chrissy Petrone Promises Behavioral Health (562) 362-3105 [email protected]

Posted on April 15, 2021 6:03 am
Axonics® to Report First Quarter 2021 Financial Results on May 6, 2021

Axonics^® to Report First Quarter 2021 Financial Results on May 6, 2021

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Axonics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXNX), a global medical technology company that has developed and is commercializing novel products for the treatment of bladder and bowel dysfunction, will report first quarter 2021 financial results after the market closes on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

In conjunction with the release, Axonics will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties may access the live conference call by dialing 866-687-5771 (U.S.) or 409-217-8725 (International) and using passcode 3749952.

A live webcast of the conference call may be accessed by visiting the Events & Presentations section of the Axonics investor relations website. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conclusion of the conference call and will be archived on the Axonics website.

About Axonics

Based in Irvine, Calif., Axonics is a global medical technology company that has developed and is commercializing novel products for patients with bladder and bowel dysfunction. The company’s rechargeable sacral neuromodulation (SNM) system provides patients suffering from overactive bladder and/or fecal incontinence with long-lived, easy to use, safe, clinically effective therapy. In addition, Axonics’ best-in-class urethral bulking agent, Bulkamid^®, provides women suffering from stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with safe and durable symptom relief.

Overactive bladder affects an estimated 87 million adults in the U.S. and Europe, with an additional 40 million adults estimated to suffer from fecal incontinence. SUI affects an estimated 20 million women in the U.S. alone. Axonics’ clinically proven products are offered at hundreds of medical centers across the U.S. and abroad. Reimbursement coverage is well established in the U.S. and is a covered service in most European countries. For more information, visit www.axonics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210415005010/en/

Axonics contact:

Neil Bhalodkar

949-336-5293

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: California United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Medical Devices Public Relations/Investor Relations Communications Software Hardware Health General Health Data Management

MEDIA:

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Posted on April 15, 2021 6:03 am
Aurora Mobile Partners with Wanda Film to Boost Smart Movie Experience

SHENZHEN, China, April 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aurora Mobile Limited (NASDAQ: JG) (“Aurora Mobile” or the “Company”), a leading mobile developer service provider in China, today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Wanda Film Holding Co Ltd. (002739.SZ) (“Wanda Film”). Leveraging its artificial intelligence-based processing platform, Aurora Mobile aims to help Wanda Film get more accurate insights on consumers’ needs and bring a smarter movie experience to everyone.

Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile is a leading mobile developer service provider in China. For almost a decade, Aurora Mobile has focused on meeting the needs of developers and has launched a series of products to help them to improve operational efficacy, drive business growth and monetize on services. As a one-stop platform of diversified big data service solutions, Aurora Mobile is committed to helping customers in various verticals improve operational efficiency and conduct data-led decision making. As of December 2020, Aurora Mobile has provided software development kits to over 1.69 million APPs.

Driven by the upgrading of intelligent services, technologies such as analytical capabilities and intelligent marketing specifically for the film industry have huge prospects in China due to its potential for broad applications. As a leader in the film industry, Wanda Film has always been focused on consumers’ needs and to improve their viewing experience by continuously introducing and promoting advanced technologies for the film industry. The film company has maintained its leading position in China for 11 consecutive years, in terms of market share, number of audiences, single screen output, and average attendance. Through the partnership, Aurora Mobile will leverage its AI-based analytical processing capabilities to help Wanda Film engineer a better viewing experience for movie-goers and further enhance services for greater customer value.

About Aurora Mobile Limited

Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile is a leading mobile developer service provider in China. Aurora Mobile is committed to providing efficient and stable push notification, one-click verification, and APP traffic monetization services to help developers improve operational efficiency, grow and monetize. Meanwhile, Aurora Mobile’s vertical applications have expanded to market intelligence, financial risk management, and location-based intelligence, empowering various industries to improve productivity and optimize decision-making.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SaaS-model; its ability maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For general inquiry, please contact:

Aurora Mobile Limited

E-mail: [email protected]

Christensen

In China

Mr. Eric Yuan
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: [email protected]

In US

Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: [email protected]

Posted on April 15, 2021 6:03 am
Microsoft Continues to be Most Imitated Brand for Phishing Attempts in Q1 2021

Check Point Research issues Q1 Brand Phishing Report, highlighting the leading brands that hackers imitated in attempts to lure people into giving up personal data

SAN CARLOS, Calif., April 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Check Point Research (CPR), the Threat Intelligence arm of Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions globally, has published its new Brand Phishing Report for Q1 2021. The report highlights the brands which were most frequently imitated by criminals in their attempts to steal individuals’ personal information or payment credentials during January, February and March.

In Q1, Microsoft was again the brand most frequently targeted by cybercriminals, as it was in Q4 2020. Thirty-nine percent of all brand phishing attempts were related to the technology giant (down slightly from 43% in Q4), as threat actors continued to try to capitalize on people working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. DHL maintained its position as the second most impersonated brand, with 18% of all phishing attempts related to it, as criminals persisted in taking advantage of the growing reliance on online shopping.

The report reveals that technology is still the most likely industry to be targeted by brand phishing, followed by shipping. However, banking has replaced retail in the top three industries this quarter, as two banking brands – Wells Fargo and Chase – are now in the top ten list, showing how threat actors are exploiting the surge in digital payments due to the pandemic, and the increased dependency on online banking, shopping and home deliveries, to try and trick users and commit financial fraud.

“Criminals increased their attempts in Q1 2021 to steal peoples’ personal data by impersonating leading brands, and our data clearly shows how they change their phishing tactics to increase their chances of success,” said Omer Dembinsky, Data Research Manager at Check Point. “While security measures are often built into websites and apps, particularly with banking, it’s the human element that often fails to pick up on scams, and as such, cyber criminals are continuing to trick people using convincing emails purporting to be from trusted brands. As always, we encourage users to be cautious when divulging personal data and credentials, and to think twice before opening email attachments or links, especially emails that claim to be from companies, such as banking institutions, Microsoft or DHL, that are the most likely to be impersonated.”

In a brand phishing attack, criminals try to imitate the official website of a well-known brand by using a similar domain name or URL and web page design to the genuine site. The link to the fake website can be sent to target individuals by email or text message, a user can be redirected during web browsing, or it may be triggered from a fraudulent mobile application. The fake website often contains a form intended to steal users’ credentials, payment details or other personal information.

Top phishing brands in Q

1

202

1

Below are the top brands ranked by their overall appearance in brand phishing attempts:

Microsoft (related to 39% of all brand phishing attempts globally)

DHL (18%)

Google
(9%)

Roblox
(6%)

Amazon
(5%)

Wells Fargo
(4%)

Chase
(2%)

LinkedIn
(2%)

Apple
(2%)

Dropbox
(2%)

DHL phishing email –

malware example

During the first quarter of 2021, we observed a malicious phishing email that used DHL’s branding and was trying to download the Agent Tesla RAT (Remote Access Trojan) to the user’s machine. The email which was sent from a webmail address and spoofed to appear as if it was sent from [email protected], contained the subject, “DHL Import Clearance – Consignment : <number>”. The content asked to download an archive file “DHL-IVN.87463.rar”, which contains a malicious executable file that would cause the system to be infected with Agent Tesla.

Wells Fargo

phishing email –

account

theft example

In this phishing email, we see an attempt to steal a user’s Wells Fargo account information. The email which was sent from the spoofed email address [email protected], contained the subject, “Your Online access has been disabled”. The attacker was trying to lure the victim to click on a malicious link, which redirects the user to a fraudulent malicious page that looks like the real Wells Fargo website . In the malicious link, the user was prompted to key in their username and their password.

Check Point’s Brand Phishing Report is powered by Check Point’s ThreatCloud intelligence, the largest collaborative network to fight cybercrime, which delivers threat data, and attack trends from a global network of threat sensors. The ThreatCloud database inspects over 3 billion websites and 600 million files daily, and identifies more than 250 million malware activities every day.

Follow Check Point Research via:

Blog: https://research.checkpoint.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_cpresearch_

About Check Point Research

Check Point Research provides leading cyber threat intelligence to Check Point Software customers and the greater intelligence community. The research team collects and analyzes global cyber-attack data stored on ThreatCloud to keep hackers at bay, while ensuring all Check Point products are updated with the latest protections. The research team consists of over 100 analysts and researchers cooperating with other security vendors, law enforcement and various CERTs.

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leading provider of cyber security solutions to governments and corporate enterprises globally. Its solutions protect customers from 5th generation cyber-attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware and other types of attacks. Check Point offers its multilevel security architecture, Infinity Total Protection with Gen V advanced threat prevention, which defends enterprises’ cloud, network and mobile device held information. Check Point provides the most comprehensive and intuitive one point of control security management system. Check Point protects over 100,000 organizations of all sizes.

MEDI
A CONTACT: INVESTOR CONTACT:

Emilie Beneitez Lefebvre Kip E. Meintzer

Check Point Software Technologies Check Point Software Technologies

[email protected] [email protected]

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