Bank of New York Mellon Corp at Bank of America Financial Services Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : It's good to hear. I'd like to come back and double-click on some of those things. But maybe taking a step back from a macro backdrop standpoint, just talk to us what the operating environment feels like. I mean, we got some inflation data this morning. The Fed probably on the sideline for the rest of the year. And then you have a Trump administration, which is viewed as business friendly, and that's the expectation, but we've seen a fair amount of tariff headlines over the last week or two. Frame for us how you see the operating outlook for BNY as you look forward into '25?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Got it. I guess the other aspect of this administration, there's this expectation for some improvement in the regulatory backdrop even for the banking industry, moving to something that's more balanced, more predictable. Just talk to us, as you are also the Vice Chair of the Financial Services Forum. As you think about how the changes may impact One BNY? And what are the two or three big priorities within the FSF as you're advocating for the industry?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : That's helpful. I guess maybe shifting to the strategic actions at BNY. You mentioned -- and you've talked about this many, many times, de-siloing. Explain to us, I mean, it sounds a very simplistic concept. Why has this not been done over the last 5 years, 10 years, 15 years? So one, just tell us what you're trying to achieve, where you are in the process? And what's the runway? Are we in the early innings, mid-innings, late innings of the improved efficiencies and productivity you expect out of it?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : So maybe if we can spend some time on the platform model. I think you expect to have about 85% of employees.

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : 87% by the end of the year. So one, deconstruct that a little bit for me. It sounds like a fancy word, platform. You hear that in the context of tech companies. Is that just a fancy way of saying they're cross-selling more? Or is there more to platforming beyond just trying to cross-selling products?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Got it. I guess from the outside looking in, just when I put the way you talked about de-siloing and then platforming together, I mean, I know you have strategic targets out there, it seems like this could be a much more profitable bank even relative to what you're targeting today. Is that unreasonable? Like what am I missing when we think about it that way?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Got it. I guess maybe talking a little bit about the businesses, starting with Securities Services. Just talk about when you think about the growth opportunity ahead for that business, how are you thinking about adding investment dollars versus trying to achieve efficiencies and making that business more profitable? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. FEBRUARY 12, 2025 / 2:40PM, BK.N - Bank of New York Mellon Corp at Bank of America Financial Services Conference

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : And just maybe talk about in terms of the Market and Wealth Services business. You made some investments, and we think about the acquisition of Archer last year or scaling the ETF business. Wove, as it pertains to Wealth Management, just tell us from a growth standpoint, what are the two or three things that are underway? And you mentioned the 9% fee growth last year. How sustainable is that based on the investments you made?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Got it. You brought up capital. So BNY is a very high profitability bank running a relatively asset-light model, I would say. Talk to us in terms of when you think about the amount of capital generation at the bank, remind us of the sort of stack ranking of priorities and how you think about deploying that capital? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. FEBRUARY 12, 2025 / 2:40PM, BK.N - Bank of New York Mellon Corp at Bank of America Financial Services Conference

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : And on that, if you can follow up, one, so you talked about Archer. Are there many more Archers out there? And are there product gaps that are identified at the bank where you're like, okay, we can do a lot of these over the next few years?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : That's helpful. On capital, just one more. When we think about capital return via buybacks, just give us your philosophy around how you think about returning capital versus operating with excess for a given period of time. And I'm not saying it is, but how sensitive is buybacks to where you think the stock is trading, stock valuation?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Got it. Two more in the few minutes we have. One, just talking to folks in D.C. in the policy circuit, crypto is a big priority for this administration and it feels like we might see some legislation. We might see the regulators come up with the framework around how the banking industry can deal REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. FEBRUARY 12, 2025 / 2:40PM, BK.N - Bank of New York Mellon Corp at Bank of America Financial Services Conference with crypto. Just give us a sense of what does that mean for BNY? What do you need to see from the regulatory standpoint? And is there a real business opportunity there?

Question: Unidentified Participant - BofA Securities, Inc. - Analyst : And I guess one last one. You mentioned AI. BNY, again, feels like a very process-heavy firm. Talk to us in terms of just -- you've seen the banking industry and technology has always played a role in driving productivity. One, is AI one of the many things we've seen? Or is it something much larger and more impactful? And how quickly can we see that impact when we think about just the bottom line impact for your ROE, earnings outlook, et cetera?