Securities & Asset Management: Credit losses (CECL, ASC 326)

These statements may relate to, among other things, (i) our future plans and results, including our target return on average common shareholders’ equity (ROE), return on average tangible common shareholders’ equity (ROTE), efficiency ratio, CET1 capital ratio, total credit alternative assets, total alternative assets under supervision (AUS), long-term wealth management inflows and percentage growth rate for Management and other fees from alternatives, and how they can be achieved, (ii) trends in or growth opportunities for our businesses, including the timing, costs, profitability, benefits and other aspects of business and strategic initiatives, such as OneGS 3.0, and their impact on our efficiency ratio, (iii) the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence (AI), (iv) our Investment banking fees backlog and future advisory and capital markets results, (v) expenses we may incur, including the level of future compensation expense, (vi) the projected growth of our deposits and other funding, (vii) our business and expense savings initiatives, including OneGS 3.0, (viii) our planned benchmark debt issuances, (ix) our credit exposures, (x) our expected provision for credit losses and the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses, (xi) the objectives and effectiveness of our business continuity planning (BCP), information security program, risk management and liquidity policies, (xii) our resolution plan and its implications for stakeholders, (xiii) the effect of changes to regulations, and our future status, activities or reporting under banking and financial regulation, (xiv) our expected tax rate, (xv) the future state of our liquidity and regulatory capital ratios, and our prospective capital distributions (including dividends and repurchases), (xvi) our expected SCB and G-SIB surcharge, (xvii) legal proceedings, governmental investigations or other contingencies, (xviii) the asset recovery guarantee and applications for exemptions and authorizations from regulatory authorities related to our 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) settlements, (xix) the effectiveness of our management of our human capital and changes in headcount, (xx) our sustainability goals, (xxi) future inflation, (xxii) our ability to sell, and the terms of any proposed or pending sales of, Asset & Wealth Management historical principal investments, and our ability to transition the Apple Card program to another issuer, (xxiii) the effectiveness of our cybersecurity risk management process and (xxiv) our completed and announced partnership and acquisitions.

We have exposure to credit risk associated with our investments, which are subject to price fluctuations. Loss of value of securities can negatively affect earnings if management determines that such loss of value has resulted from a credit loss. The evaluation of whether a credit loss exists is a matter of judgment, which includes the assessment of multiple factors. If management determines that a security’s decline in fair value is the result of a credit loss, an allowance for credit losses on the security will be recorded and a corresponding loss will be recognized in current earnings. Even if a decline in fair value of a security is not determined to have resulted from a credit loss, if we were ever forced to sell the security sooner than intended prior to maturity due to liquidity needs, we would have to recognize any unrealized losses at that time.

Our bank loans primarily consist of First Mortgages, PALs, and HELOCs. Increases in delinquency and default rates, housing and stock price declines, increases in the unemployment rate, and other economic factors, can result in increases in allowances for credit losses and related credit loss expense, as well as write-downs on such loans.

Heightened credit exposures to specific counterparties or instruments can increase our risk of loss. Examples include:

• Large positions in financial instruments collateralized by assets with similar economic characteristics or in securities of a single issuer or industry;

• Mortgage loans and HELOCs to banking clients which are secured by properties in the same geographic region; and

• Client margins, options or futures, pledged assets, and securities lending activities collateralized by or linked to securities of a single issuer, index, or industry.