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Q1 2019 BB&T Corp Earnings Call
WINSTON-SALEM Apr 24, 2019 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of BB&T Corp earnings conference call or presentation Thursday, April 18, 2019 at 12:00:00pm GMT
TEXT version of Transcript
Corporate Participants
* Christopher Lee Henson
BB&T Corporation - President & COO
* Clarke R. Starnes
BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & Chief Risk Officer
* Daryl N. Bible
BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO
* Kelly Stuart King
BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO
* Richard Baytosh
BB&T Corporation - SVP of IR
Conference Call Participants
* Betsy Lynn Graseck
Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD
* Erika Najarian
BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division - MD and Head of US Banks Equity Research
* John Eamon McDonald
Autonomous Research LLP - Senior Analyst Large-cap Banks
* John G. Pancari
Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division - Senior MD & Senior Equity Research Analyst
* Kenneth Michael Usdin
Jefferies LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Equity Research Analyst
* Matthew D. O'Connor
Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division - MD in Equity Research
* Michael Lawrence Mayo
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division - Senior Analyst
Operator [1]
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the BB&T Corporation First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this event is being recorded.
And it is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Rich Baytosh, Director of Investor Relations for BB&T Corporation.
Richard Baytosh, BB&T Corporation - SVP of IR [2]
Thank you, Lianne, and good morning, everyone. Thanks to all our listeners for joining us today. And on today's call, we have Kelly King, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Daryl Bible, our Chief Financial Officer; and Chris Henson, our President and Chief Operating Officer, who will review the results for the first quarter and provide some thoughts for the second quarter of 2019. We also have Clarke Starnes, our Chief Risk Officer, to participate in the Q&A session.
We will be referencing a slide presentation during the call. A copy of the presentation as well as our earnings release and supplemental financial information, are available on the BB&T website. Before we begin, let me remind you BB&T does not provide public earnings predictions or forecasts. However, there may be statements made during the course of this presentation that express management's intentions, beliefs or expectations.
BB&T's actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. In addition, in connection with the proposed merger with SunTrust, BB&T has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 to register the shares of BB&T's capital stock to be issued in connection with the merger, which contains the joint proxy statement and prospectus that will be sent to shareholders of BB&T and SunTrust seeking their approval of the proposed transaction.
Please refer to the cautionary statements on Page 2 regarding forward-looking information in our presentation, our SEC filings and the legends on Page 3 that relate to additional information and participants in the solicitation. Please also note that our presentation includes certain non-GAAP disclosures. Please refer to Page 2 and the appendix of our presentation for the appropriate reconciliations to GAAP.
And now I'll turn it over to Kelly.
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [3]
Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining our call. So we think the first quarter was a great start for the year. We had record adjusted EPS, strong returns, strategic loan growth, very good expense control and excellent asset quality and, very importantly, a great strategic move in terms of our MOE with SunTrust, which I'll talk about in a bit.
Our net income was $749 million, up 0.5% versus the first quarter of '18. Our net income, excluding merger-related and restructuring charges, was a record $813 million, up 6% versus the first quarter of '18. We did have diluted EPS, which was $0.97, up 3.2%. We did wrap up our disrupt-to-thrive initiatives, which you know we've been working on for better part of 1.5 years. We wrapped that up this quarter and we did announce the SunTrust MOE, so we have some substantial charges related to that. So as a result, our first quarter adjusted diluted EPS was a record $1.05, which is up 8.2% versus the first quarter of '18.
Our adjusted ROA, ROCE and ROTCE, respectively, were 1.55%, 12.01% and a very strong 19.86%. I'm on Slide 4. Following the highlights, our taxable equivalent revenue was 2.9% (sic - see slide 4, "$2.9 billion"), which was down 5.7% annualized versus the fourth quarter. Of course, remember there's some seasonality there, but I think a very good 3% increase versus the first quarter of '18.
Loans held for investment averaged $148 billion, up 1.4% annualized versus the fourth quarter. Our reported NIM increased 2 basis points to 3.51% and our core NIM increased 4 basis points. Insurance income was very strong, a record $510 million, up 19.2% annualized versus fourth quarter, and Chris will give you some specific information on that in just a bit.
Our adjusted efficiency was essentially flat at 56.6% versus 56.5%, which, as you know, is very strong from an industry point of view. And our adjusted noninterest expenses totaled $1.7 billion, which was down 4.7% annualized versus the fourth quarter. So we're doing exactly what we said in terms of maintaining extremely strong expense control. Our credit quality was great. Nonperforming asset ratio was 0.26%, flat versus fourth quarter and a decrease of 4 basis points versus the first quarter of '18. Charge-offs were 40 basis points versus 38 in the fourth quarter with some seasonality impact there, but lower than the 41 basis points in the first quarter of '18.
We did announce strategically our combination with SunTrust, which we're very excited about. We'll talk about that in just a little bit. And related to the merger, we did suspend share repurchases in anticipation of that combination.
On Slide 5, you will see the merger-related restructuring charges I referred to. It was $80 million on a pretax, $64 million after-tax, so an $0.08 negative impact on EPS from a GAAP point of view.
If you follow along on Slide 6, we'll look at loan growth. It's kind of interesting what's going on in loan growth. So our total loan growth was 1.4%, which is not super strong, but remember, we focus on the categories more than we do the aggregate and our C&I was a strong 5.5%. Now our CRE was down 7.5%, but that's really because of our focus on conservative underwriting, and so we actually feel good about that as we move through the quarter.
We had a strong performance in Corporate Banking, Community Banking, equipment finance and equipment capital finance. We did see a lot of competition in the market this year -- I mean this quarter, particularly in CRE. Underwriting is really, really very competitive. And as I indicated, we're simply not willing to go where some are with regard to CRE underwriting and so that's why we saw the softness there.
Retail was overall strategically where we wanted it to be. Residential mortgage saw a 3.5% annualized increase. Our direct was down 3.7%, but we are finally seeing the bottom that we have been projecting. We've been doing a lot of things in terms of restructuring our direct offerings and our processes. Volumes are increasing. So we see that bottoming kind of as we expected. And then indirect was soft this quarter, but, as you know, we always have that particularly driven by Sheffield. So overall, we were pleased with loan growth for the quarter.
If you look at Page 7, Slide 7, on deposits. Total deposits were up 5.7%. Now we are seeing a shift here that we just want to mention. Our noninterest-bearing deposits were down 10.9% versus the fourth annualized. Now on a year-over-year, it was 2.1%. So the 2.1% is a meaningful number to look at. And that's really not a function of losses to BB&T as much as it is movement between DDA to interest-bearing accounts. The market has finally gotten sensitive to interest rates.
And so as we expected, we would see some internal and external disintermediation and that's occurring, although we're pleased that most of ours is just internal shifting. We think that will continue to occur, but probably at a decelerating pace, that remains to be seen, but we're on a whole new world in terms of how people are responding to this still relatively low interest rate environment, so we'll see how that works out. The percentage of noninterest-bearing deposits to total funds was 32.7% versus 34%, so that reflects that softness in that.
Overall, I would just say that our cost was a little higher, our betas were a little higher this quarter. Daryl will give you some detail on that, but it was mostly because of a substantial marketing effort that we had in terms of some markets that we were concerned about some market share dilution, and so we ramped up our marketing efforts in the first quarter and we think that'll ramp back down as we head into the second and third quarter. So Daryl will give you a little more color on that, but I just want to explain it was -- the beta increase was not independent of marketing strategic actions that we chose to make.
So with that, let me turn it over to Daryl.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [4]
Thank you, Kelly, and good morning, everyone. Today, I'm going to talk about our excellent credit quality, margin and fee income dynamics, strong expense management and provide guidance for second quarter and full year 2019.
Turning to Slide 8. Credit quality remained strong. Net charge-offs of $147 million were up 2 basis points and improved 1 basis point from a year ago. This quarter's increase reflects an uptick in CRE and seasonal revolving credit, offset by a decline in lease financing and the mortgage portfolio. Our NPA ratio of 26 basis points was unchanged and remains historically low.
Continuing on Slide 9. Our allowance coverage ratios remained strong at 2.62x net charge-offs and 2.97x NPLs. The allowance to loan ratio was 1.05%, unchanged from last quarter. We recorded a provision for credit losses of $155 million, which exceeded net charge-offs of $147 million. This resulted in an allowance build of $8 million in the first quarter.
Turning to Slide 10. The reported net interest margin was 3.51%, up 2 basis points. The core margin rose 4 basis points to 3.44%. The improvement was driven by dividends received on assets for certain post-employment benefits, which occurs in the first quarter of every year. This added 4 basis points to the margin. This dividend income is partially offset by higher personnel expense. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities rose 13 basis points, a modest deacceleration from last quarter's 14 basis point increase.
Balance growth and time deposits and money market and savings drove the interest-bearing liability costs higher. We expect the rate of increase in interest-bearing liability costs to significantly moderate next quarter. Asset sensitivity declined due to an increase in fixed-rate assets and a decrease in DDA.
Continuing on Slide 11. Noninterest income of $1.2 billion grew 1.9% versus like quarter. However, our fee income ratio declined 50 basis points to 41.5% as record insurance income was offset by declines in other fee categories. Insurance income increased $23 million, reflecting seasonality and solid organic growth. Regions Insurance contributed $46 million to the insurance income. Excluding Regions, insurance income rose 6.4% from the like quarter reflecting continued strong organic growth. Investment banking and brokerage fees and commissions declined $28 million following a record fourth quarter of '18.
In addition, mortgage banking income decreased $23 million due to seasonally lower commercial and residential volumes. Service charges on deposits declined $14 million as there were fewer revenue days, but up 3.6% versus last year. Other income rose $18 million primarily due to income on assets for certain post-employment benefits, which is offset by higher personnel expense.
Turning to Slide 12. Our expense management continues to be strong. Adjusted noninterest expense, which excludes MRRCs was $1.7 billion, a decrease of $20 million. Compared to the first quarter of '18, adjusted noninterest expense increased $30 million. However, excluding Regions Insurance, this quarter's adjusted expense was about flat versus last year.
Personnel expense declined $9 million due to lower salary expense with 518 fewer FTEs. Professional services expense declined $12 million primarily due to lower consulting expense. Merger-related and restructuring charges increased $4 million largely due to investment banking fees related to the merger of equals. You will note that the current quarter's effective tax rate was down. This was primarily due to excess tax benefits from equity-based compensation plans, which also occurred in the first quarter last year.
Continuing on Slide 13. Our capital and liquidity remained strong. Common equity Tier 1 capital increased to 10.3%, reflecting the suspension of share repurchases associated with the merger of equals. Our dividend payout ratio was strong at 41.3%. On April 5, BB&T submitted a stand-alone capital plan to the Fed requesting a common dividend increase for the third quarter from $0.405 to $0.45 per quarter. We expect the Board to authorize this at the July board meeting. Our modified average LCR ratio was 130%.
Now let's turn to Slide 14 for -- to review our segments. Community Bank Retail and Consumer Finance generated net income of $379 million, down $8 million. Revenue decreased $46 million driven by lower loan spreads and fewer revenue days impacting deposit service charges and a seasonal decline in payment-related fees. Loan production decreased due to softer mortgage market conditions and seasonality at Sheffield. We rolled out a new branch direct auto product in late February reducing the time frame for loan approval from over a day to just minutes. In just the first month, we saw a 225% increase in loan production, which translates into an annual run rate increase of about $500 million. This is a great example of how being more responsive can improve client service and benefit the bottom line.
Continuing on Slide 15. Community Bank Commercial net income was $328 million, down $1 million. Revenue decreased $14 million driven by fewer days and a slight decrease in loan spreads, offset by an increase in deposit spreads. Loan production declined largely due to seasonality.
Continuing to Slide 16. Financial Services and Commercial Finance net income was $156 million, up $1 million. Revenue decreased $40 million coming off record fourth quarter '18 investment banking and brokerage fees and commissions plus seasonally lower commercial mortgage banking income. Average loan balances increased 11.9% annualized driven primarily by Corporate Banking and C&I loans. Average deposit balances increased due to growth in wealth and Corporate Banking. Invested assets increased due to recovery in the equity markets.
Turning to Slide 17. Insurance Holdings net income totaled $88 million, an increase of $11 million. Total revenue increased $20 million due to seasonality. The seasonal pickup and employee benefit commissions was partially offset by a seasonal decline in PNC commissions. Organic revenue grew 6.7% versus like quarter.
Now I'll turn it over to Chris to provide more perspective on Insurance Holdings performance this quarter.
Christopher Lee Henson, BB&T Corporation - President & COO [5]
Thanks, Daryl. Good morning. Primary purpose on these 2 slides really is to reinforce that the transformation plan that you heard John Howard, our Chairman and CEO of Insurance Holdings, share with you at Investor Day this past fall is really in stride and working. As a reminder, he brought BCG in about a year ago and really looked at the business sort of from top to bottom, developed the transformation plan and is now executing on 31 initiatives that fell out with the plan. We have out of that, new operating models for retail, for wholesale, we've got revenue growth and expense reduction initiatives. As a result, the business really currently has significant momentum.
And if you'll look at the upper right-hand chart, you can see that. We're receiving strong results across all business lines. You can see revenues up linked quarter or like quarter 17.2%. And you'll recall, we did acquire Regions July 2, '18. So there is $46 million in revenues, as Daryl pointed out, included in first quarter '18. But if you exclude that, we still are up $33 million organically.
Just as a reminder, 3 primary drivers to organic growth. First is pricing and we are in an environment where pricing is stabilizing in the plus 2% range. You'll recall, we have had 2 of the largest insurable loss years over the past 2 years with $150 billion hitting in 2017 because of the large 3 storms and another $80 billion in '18. So we've got good price support up for this year.
Second driver of organic growth and far and away the biggest impact is new business growth. And our new business growth across all entities is up 8%, which is exceptionally strong and driven by really the strong economic environment. And then the third is high client retention rates. Our retail business retention rate is just below 92%, which is industry leading and then wholesale, 76%. And so what that gives you is the chart at the lower left and you can see a nice improvement in organic growth from 3% a year ago, up to 6.7%.
We believe this is going to be best-in-class. I believe when all the numbers come in at the industry, we'll probably average Q1 somewhere in the 4% to 5% range. So as I said, the economic fundamentals are still favorable looking forward. As business expands, you know businesses are building equipment, buying -- I mean, buildings, buying equipment, hiring employees does create insurable opportunities as we go forward. And so with that stability, there are still pockets of tightening in certain commercial lines like energy, commercial auto, which is up in the neighborhood of 7% in pricing and then transportation industry would be examples.
If you turn with me to Page 19, you can see part of the reason for this plan was really continued focus on enhancing our margin across all the business lines. And you can see adjusted EBITDA in the upper left-handed chart there, up 38.6% year-over-year or $39 million. About 1/3 of that would be from Regions and the synergies from Regions. We're on target to achieve about 80% of those cost savings in 2019. In addition, there's revenue lift in the numbers as well.
And then with -- of course, organic growth and strong expense control are driving a margin expansion. I mentioned new business growth is the primary driver of organic growth, but expense control plays a big role. We mentioned the cost takeout in Regions, but we've also got personnel savings really across all entities within insurance business. About every entity has an automation program going in and some also include robotics implementations.
And so if you'll look at what that has driven in the lower left chart, you can see the EBITDA margin has moved over the last year from 22% up to 26.1%, which is really nice improvement. And so the focus in the business really is to optimize operations but with differentiation in data and analytics. And I would say, while that's true across the whole business, it's specifically true in wholesale, which is harder to place coverage and a riskier insurable opportunities where Daryl Bible and his team are really offering the ability to help better understand through analytics the true risk and educate the underwriter on behalf of the client.
So in summary, very proud of the progress that we've made in the year. We've got another couple of years of implementation, but really pleased with where we are at this point. I'll turn it back to Daryl.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [6]
Thank you, Chris. Continuing on Slide 20, you will see our outlook. Looking to the second quarter, we expect average total loans held for investment to be up 4% to 6% annualized versus first quarter '19.
Net charge-offs to be in the range of 35 to 45 basis points and the provision is expected to match charge-offs plus loan growth. We also expect both the GAAP and core net interest margins to be down 4 to 6 basis points from the first quarter. Fee income to be up 5% to 7% versus like quarter and expenses to be flat to up 2% versus like quarter. And finally, an effective tax rate of 20% to 21%.
Full year guidance has not changed, but we have updated the effective tax rate to 20% from a range of 20% to 21% previously. We will continue to grow revenue faster than expenses, driving positive operating leverage as we move towards the MOE close with SunTrust.
In summary, the quality of our earnings this quarter was excellent, resulting in record adjusted earnings, positive adjusted operating leverage versus last year, good loan growth, excellent credit quality and strong expense management.
Now let me turn it back to Kelly for an update on the merger equals with SunTrust and closing remarks and Q&A.
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [7]
Thanks, Daryl. So let me update you all on kind of where we are. As you know, we announced this combination on February 7 and I would say that it is going extraordinarily well. Remember, we said that fundamental foundations for this is that it is highly synergistic, it is financially compelling and it is transformative. And everything we've seen in the last couple of months just affirms that to be true.
Bill and I and our teams are working together extraordinarily well. We started immediately having weekly meetings. We've already had 8 weekly meetings, where we are reviewing and planning for the merger. Just this past week, we had our first team-building session at the BB&T leadership entity, which went extraordinarily well. So we're making really good progress in terms of the teams working together. We are working through the process of pulling the organization together in terms of how it will operate when we actually combine. So we've named integration leads across businesses and functions. We have outside consultants working with us on this, which is really, really helping.
We're spending a lot of time focusing on risk oversight to make sure that we have that process nailed down very, very tightly. The merger application and registration statement was filed in early March. We are working with Interbrand, a global-leading brand agency, to help us develop the new name and branding. Our cultures are very similar. However, we are still planning a process to be sure that we pull the cultures together in terms of terminology and how we talk about ourselves, but the fundamentals we knew in advance that we really affirm now, are really very, very similar.
We are in the process of holding listening sessions from the community, community groups, individuals because we really want to know what people have to say about this. We recognize this is a major combination. We recognize we have a major responsibility in terms of giving back to the community. Both organizations have done this as a matter of our moral commitment to the marketplace, but we believe we can do even more. So that's very exciting. We've already done 4. We've got a couple of more to go. The feedback has been very, very positive.
So in terms of next steps, the FRB and FDIC actually hold their public meetings to get feedback. Those are being held in Charlotte on April 25 and Atlanta on May 3. We will be submitting our joint capital plan and stress test in May. We'll be continuing to name additional business leaders as we move down through the organization. We expect to announce our new brand and new name in late second quarter. We will be finalizing the divestiture commitments and undertake the marketing process as we head into the second quarter and then the shareholder vote is expected in the early third quarter.
We remain very confident in our projected $1.6 billion net cost savings. Remember, that is net of technological investments and HR expenses. So that is going very, very well. So in terms of our quarter, it was overall, I think, a very good quarter. We're extremely pleased about our progress also in working towards creating a premier financial institution. So a great quarter, outstanding strategic combination announced with a combination with us and SunTrust, and it really positions us to drive in a really challenging environment, so we can continue to focus on making the world a better place to live and focusing on lighting the way to financial well-being.
So with that, I'll turn it back to Rich.
Richard Baytosh, BB&T Corporation - SVP of IR [8]
Thank you, Kelly. Before we start the Q&A session, we recognize there will be a lot of interest in getting an update on the merger planning and what's happened since the announcement on February 7 as well as our current expected timeline for things that unfold from here. So we'd like to have the Q&A be a balance of questions about our stand-alone BB&T results and trends from the first quarter and merger questions.
Lianne, at this time, if you'd come back on the line and explain how our listeners can participate in the Q&A session.
Questions and Answers
Operator [1]
(Operator Instructions) And we'll take our first question from John McDonald with Autonomous Research.
John Eamon McDonald, Autonomous Research LLP - Senior Analyst Large-cap Banks [2]
Wanted to ask about just on the stand-alone BB&T question. It feels like there's some cross currents on the net interest income outlook, Daryl, with loan growth picking up but the NIM seeing some pressure. So I guess the question is, what's the source of the 4 to 6 basis points of NIM pressure next quarter if the deposit betas are going to slow? And how do the NIM and loan growth dynamics feed into your NII growth outlook for 2Q and the full year?
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [3]
Yes. So this quarter, John, just like we have in other years, we have to record an entry in net interest income. It's basically our deferred comp plan and it's the earnings that are generated out of the funds that are invested, so the dividends that we receive. This quarter, it was $18 million. If you go back a year ago, it was $12 million. So last year, it was worth 3 basis points. This year, 4 basis points. That basically just comes out of net interest income.
With the loan growth that we're projecting across all major loan categories, even though margin will be down, we still expect net interest income to be up in linked-quarter basis between first and second. We do benefit by an additional day, so that helps. But if you look on a year-over-year basis, we still are expecting our net interest income year-over-year to be up in the 2% to 3% range. So still positive revenue even with this margin dragging.
John Eamon McDonald, Autonomous Research LLP - Senior Analyst Large-cap Banks [4]
Okay. Great. And then in terms of the MOE, as you've dug deeper into the financials, how does your view of the initial projection of earnings power changed, if at all? On announcement day, you showed an illustrative 2021 EPS of $5.59. Just kind of wondering what type of refinements, positive or negative, you might have made to that? I know the S-4 came out and showed, for example, higher amortization on the one hand, but also higher purchase accounting. I know it's early, but any refinements you make to that initial crack of combined earnings power?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [5]
John, I'll give you a broad answer and then Daryl will give you any detail if you'd like, but no, nothing in aggregate. As you say, in a large combination like this, there are puts and takes. You get more detail, more specificity in terms of some of the projections, which early on, as you know, are necessarily broad-based and assumption based. But we're 2 months into it and I would say, in terms of the aggregates, we feel as confident as before, if not a tad more confident. The combination of the businesses, now that we've learned more, leave us very encouraged in terms of the complementary nature of these businesses. Remember, the big levers on this are the expense control. We feel very good about that. But the long-term enduring benefits are around cross levering the benefit -- the specialty focuses of SunTrust over BB&T and BB&T over SunTrust. And the more we've learned, the better we feel about that, so I would say net positive.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [6]
Yes, I would just reiterate that, John. So we talked about 5 major categories where we would achieve the savings: facilities, retail, third-party vendors, technology and shared services. As we have met as a new co-management team and we talk about these, we feel extremely confident that we can achieve the $1.6 billion net number. We are in the process of getting more information and detail as our companies come together so we can plan to basically allocate by all the business lines, so that it will be held accountable for these savings and still believe that we are very confident in achieving the net savings of $1.6 billion.
As far as your accounting question goes, we really don't know what the rate environment is going to be when we close the transaction. We're looking at late third quarter or fourth quarter close. So interest rates will have some say on what that potential mark on our portfolio is. It's probably less now with rates down a little bit, but I'm not sure which way rates are going to go across the curve by the time we close. We will basically be reporting both GAAP and cash earnings for the foreseeable future because we're going to have a lot of noncash expenses. Recall, noncash expenses still fall to capital, so it is very accretive from a capital usage perspective, but we feel very confident in the projection that we gave a few months ago.
Operator [7]
And we'll take our next question from Betsy Graseck with Morgan Stanley.
Betsy Lynn Graseck, Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD [8]
Daryl, just on the capital comment that you just made, can you give us a sense as to how you're thinking through the combined capital position that you have? I mean what does it mean for capital return over the next couple of CCAR cycles? And I know part of that answer has to come with an assumption that the NPR that's out there is approved on advance to purchase banks, but maybe give us some color on if it is, if it isn't.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [9]
So as we put the 2 balance sheets together, we will have purchase accounting MRRCs. What we said 2 months ago is that the capital ratio should be between 9.75% and 10% and we would start capital actions in the amount of share repurchases once we achieve a 10% CET1 ratio. That's still the plan. Right now, we want to make sure that we get through all the conversions and conversions going to take probably 1 to 2 years.
We want to make sure our earnings get to the really high levels that we can achieve that we have out there projected. And at that point, then we'll revisit the leverage and capital of the company. But the combination of these 2 companies should be leading industry capital generation at the end of the day, which will help bolster our overall returns and returns back to the shareholders.
Betsy Lynn Graseck, Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD [10]
So are you suggesting that capital return will be on hold until the conversions are done? I just want to make sure I understand that.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [11]
So we will basically -- this is -- obviously the Board has to approve this. But when we approve the transaction, both boards said that we wanted to get our capital ratios, CET1 to 10 and then at that point we would do share repurchases.
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [12]
And Betsy, remember that it's a multifaceted set of variables that we have to consider and the Board has to consider. The progress with regard to the merger, the combinations in terms of systems, et cetera, but we also have to pay attention to what's going on in the economy and in global geopolitical issues and all of that. And so for all of those reasons, we are being admittedly conservative when we say 10%.
And there certainly is some upside opportunity with regard to capital utilization as we go forward. But as you know, we are conservative and we're going to be careful as we go through this because there's so much earnings power in this organization as we go forward. We will be able to provide extremely good returns, in my view, for our shareholders, but it's important not to rush it in terms of overleveraging the company in the beginning.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [13]
I mean even at a 10% CET1 ratio, we will have leading industry return on tangible equity.
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [14]
We're targeting 22%, Betsy. Will that be satisfactory?
Betsy Lynn Graseck, Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD [15]
22? 22.5 -- do I hear 22.5? No, that's helpful. Okay. And so it really doesn't matter if the NPR goes through or not, your 10% is your 10%?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [16]
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [17]
Betsy Lynn Graseck, Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD [18]
Okay. All right. And then just separate question on the net cost saves that you've talked about. I know that's on a net basis. Are you thinking about disclosing what your expectations are for the gross investment to get those net cost saves at some point? When do you think you'll be communicating that to the Street?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [19]
Betsy, we still are putting together the plans as you would expect and trying to figure out what the net savings will be, what will be the investments in terms of innovation and technology. So we gave you a good broad number. We will be refining that as we go forward, but it's a bit early, to be honest, to know exactly what the branch savings costs will be, exactly what the investments and innovation will be.
But make no mistake, we're confident with at least $1.6 billion and we're confident that that allows us to make the kind of investments we talked about in terms of leaning forward with regard to innovation and technology investments because that's really the juice in this thing, Betsy. I mean it's the cost-save play, we get that, but that's not what we're really focused on. We're focused on positioning ourselves to be a leader in terms of innovation and technology so that we can compete effectively with the largest institutions in the country. And we believe there's enough economics in this to allow us to make those kinds of investments from a long-term point of view and still generate robust returns to our shareholders.
Betsy Lynn Graseck, Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD [20]
Got it. Okay. So TBD and you'll let us know when you're there? So that -- I'd appreciate that.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [21]
Operator [22]
And we'll take our next question from Mike Mayo with Wells Fargo Securities.
Michael Lawrence Mayo, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division - Senior Analyst [23]
Since the merger, BB&T stock has performed only in line with the bank index and has underperformed the S&P 500. It seems that one issue is cultural risk. Kelly, you just said that the cultures are similar, but they certainly are not the same. So the question is what are the cultural differences? And how do you bridge the gap? And I'd highlight 3 areas. One would be the structure. It seems that BB&T runs relatively more by hierarchy than SunTrust. So how do you get team A plus team B to create a new team C?
Two would be engagement of employees. You've mentioned retention packages, but we all know that people can "quit without leaving." In other words, how do you get their hearts into the job? And three would be the CEO risk. Again, it's that you and Bill are all smiles, you love each other, everything is great. But how will you handle it during times when you don't agree? I mean my wife and I got married and it was all great and then we have disagreements like your socks are on the floor. So will you be able to confront that? I was not the only -- all is good with my wife and I. But you're going to have times that you disagree, and I think that seems to be important to how you're going to get along during those times than during this kind of engagement or honeymoon period.
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [24]
Well, thanks, Mike. I mean I think that is kind of at the heart and soul of the issue. I would say that I feel really good on all those, but let me be direct. With regard to your positioning that BB&T is more hierarchical, I would disagree with that. When you really look at these organizations and now we've lived very closely together for 8 weeks, and I know that's not like 25 years, but it's been a pretty involved 8 weeks.
And Bill and I have known each other for a long time. I really think when you get into it, Mike, there's not any substantial difference there. We're both very focused on empowering our associates and leading from principal, leading from purpose, leading from mission. And so when you really get into it, I have not been able to find any kind of difference in terms of hierarchy or any other words that you might choose to use with regard to that.
In terms of our associates, which is the most important, we feel really good about that. We've had very little -- very, very little loss of associates at this point. And yes, we are using retention programs, et cetera. But much more importantly, Bill and I agreed day 1 that we're not taking anything for granted and we're not expecting our associates to just line up and be good soldiers. We take the responsibility and all of our team does to re-recruit every day.
And so we are recruiting our associates to remain a part of this team for the purpose of being a part of something that's very exciting, very dynamic. It's an organization that has and can continue at an enhanced basis be a really good place to work. I mean it can be a place where you can find your why, for your purpose in life and align it with an organization that is deeply committed to purpose and why and making a difference in the world and lighting the way to financial well-being. I mean all of that in these 2 organizations is extremely consistent. And I think this could be kind of hard to find somewhere that's any better and not -- hard to find many places that are as good in terms of just pure opportunity.
I told some people, I wish I was 40 years old again. I mean this is just so exciting in terms of thinking about where this organization could go, but not just economically, I'm talking more importantly in terms of the contribution we can make to the world. I mean we can truly help our clients achieve economic success and financial security. We could really -- we have a fantastic associate benefit value program and we can enhance it. We're working really hard with our communities to even enhance an already outstanding community involvement program.
And so there is no meaningful difference in terms of how we do business. Our associates get that and I don't expect to see any substantial reasons to leave whether you're talking about technical or not or mostly about having their heart and soul into the game. When I'm talking to our associates, and when I'm getting feedback from the SunTrust associates and Bill tells me the same thing, they're genuinely excited about this. They recognize we're putting together 2 great companies that can forge an opportunity for all of us to have a lot of fun, make the world a better place to be and do some good stuff. Get up in the morning excited about coming to work. That's what we're trying to do.
The CEO risk. I know everybody talks, Mike, a lot about that, but Bill and I get along great. We've known each other a long time. We're both, as I say, North Carolina boys, although he's been, basically, all of his career in Atlanta. But look, I have spent a lot of time in Atlanta too and there's no material difference between Georgia and North Carolina. We're all from kind of the base root cultures and we get along great. We're both kind of really, really purpose-driven individuals. We're both achievement-driven individuals. We're both deeply committed to our communities and our associates. And while you might find slight differences in terms of our personalities, I really think we are an awful lot alike. I know we've got to work on our fist bumping. We've been practicing that. But other than that, there's no material difference between Bill and I and we're working together great.
Michael Lawrence Mayo, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division - Senior Analyst [25]
So just one follow-up. Where do you think the stock market has it wrong? You've gotten 0 credit in the stock market for your merger despite the synergies based on the MI performance with the bank index. Almost every investor that I speak with brings up the cultural risk, the differences in culture. Where do you think the stock market has it wrong when they're evaluating this aspect of the merger?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [26]
So Mike, as you know, I've been through 1 large MOE, although it was 20-plus years ago, but these 2 are very similar. And I'm seeing the same thing here that we saw then. The stock market doesn't have it wrong. The stock market just kind of says, prove it. And I don't blame them for that. I think the smarter ones will take a bit of a -- more of a leap of faith and trust the experience that Bill and I have had over all these years. I mean I've been at it 47 years. He has been at it like 39 years. We're not like just starting out.
So I think the smart investors will recognize it, but they'll find a high probability to a successful venture and they'll invest early. Those that are more conservative will lay back and wait for us to prove it. It kind of does not matter to me. I'm not interested in short-run results. I'm not interested in short-term pops into stock. My commitment, Bill's commitment to the long term for our shareholders is to produce a good, steady, less volatile, long-term growing TSR and that's exactly what we're going to do.
Michael Lawrence Mayo, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division - Senior Analyst [27]
And then last quick follow-up. Is -- are the SunTrust executives going to go through the BB&T Leadership Institute? Or -- we enjoyed that Investor Day that you had for us there, but how will that play a part in the new firm?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [28]
Yes. I was glad you were there, Mike. And we were actually there last week. You may appreciate, we spent 1.5 days over there last week with our new executive team. We have -- we'll have multiple leadership team-building sessions going forward. And all of the SunTrust executives have committed to go through -- excitedly committed to go through. They loved it and frankly -- and made me feel really good, but yes, they are definitely going to be going through that and we'll be doing things together. So the Leadership Institute is a powerful organization in terms of helping people grow individually and as teams. And so far, I would say, there's a 150% commitment to working together in those types of endeavors.
Operator [29]
And we'll take our next question from Erika Najarian with Bank of America.
Erika Najarian, BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division - MD and Head of US Banks Equity Research [30]
You've been pretty explicit about the purchase accounting adjustments on the loan side, but Daryl, I'm wondering if you could give us a better sense on the mark-to-market accounting that we could expect on the pro forma balance sheet on the securities and on wholesale funding? And also, is there any flexibility to optimize the yields and the cost?
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [31]
That's a great question, Erika. Being a former Treasurer, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When the 2 companies come together, we're basically going to have half the balance sheet mark-to-market. So as that gets closer, our Treasurer and executive management will decide if we need to adjust the interest rate risk profile or if we need to change some of the asset classes or mix of what we have.
Everything -- half the balance sheet will be available to basically buy or sell at that time or change positions. So I would view that as a huge opportunity for us and position us for the future. So I think as the time gets closer to when we know we're going to close, we'll be able to give you more color on that, but I think this is just an unbelievable opportunity for somebody to really position the company forward from that perspective.
Erika Najarian, BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division - MD and Head of US Banks Equity Research [32]
Got it. And in your S-4, you noted that the $3.5 billion fair value adjustment, $3 billion of it was for credit and the rest 500 -- about $500 million was for interest rates and other mark-to-market adjustments. I'm wondering, if you close the deal in 2019 if SunTrust's loan portfolio does better than it -- or runs better than a 2% loss rate, could you continue to reclassify that $3 billion or the PCI or nonaccretable yield to non-PCI or accretable yield? And does CECL change any of this even if you close in 2019?
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [33]
So when we came up with the credit mark on the SunTrust portfolio, it was 2%. And Clark and I still agree that that's the appropriate number as we get in and look more at it. We did hire a third party to help us with the valuation methods for the whole balance sheet and that is going on. And that -- it's not completed yet, that will probably be completed in the next couple of months. But from the closing of the transaction in '19, we'll have the typical PCI amount of loans and then with the rest, we'll have a fair value mark. When we adopt CECL in 2020, the PCI loans and some of the other loans will be reclassified into PCD. And then we will allocate a life of loss, the CECL reserve, to the remaining SunTrust and BB&T loans at that point in time.
So in essence, if you look at just the SunTrust loans from a good book perspective, you'll have a discount amount on there that will creep through income, plus you'll have a life of loss reserve with CECL. So from that perspective, I would say, the loan portfolio will be more than adequately covered. It's kind of really odd accounting. We have a comment letter into FASB. And I think some other banks that have done deals recently have comment letters into FASB, but that's the way we understand the accounting now, is how it's going to play out.
Operator [34]
And we'll take our next question from Matt O'Connor with Deutsche Bank.
Matthew D. O'Connor, Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division - MD in Equity Research [35]
Daryl, back at Investor Day, you talked about running down the securities book and using that to fund loans. You kept the securities relatively flat on an average basis versus last quarter. And I understand that you can kind of reposition this when the deal closes, but what's your thought process between now and then in terms of the securities book?
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [36]
Yes. I'd really like to get clarity on the NPR and tailoring, Matt. I mean assuming that we stay at 70% LCR or go to 85%, that's really going to dictate how much securities we need. We will have the advantage that both of us have capacity at the Federal Home Loan Bank, so we can do letters of credit there and we can also pledge to public funds to kind of optimize the balance sheet from that perspective. But I wouldn't anticipate us changing our investment portfolio right now until we get approval from the proposed NPR that's out there, right?
Matthew D. O'Connor, Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division - MD in Equity Research [37]
Okay. And then just circling back on some of the discussion about the cost saves and the investments, get us more information down the road. Do you guys have an estimate on when we might get more details on what's driving the cost saves beyond just a couple of the bullet points and the numbers behind it? You just have a sense of when you'll have that information for us?
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [38]
I would say, we will continue to work on that. As we put the 2 companies together and we have financials, we'll get more clarity. We are in the midst of selecting the layers of management from executive management on down. That will create some cost savings from that perspective just because you've got duplications in a lot of business managers from that perspective. So that will kind of start where some of the savings are, but it's going to really evolve over time. We really aren't looking at and can't really look at any vendor information until we close the transaction due to antitrust.
So that's just out there at a very high level. And as the branch systems come together and we'll have some branch closures, we'll have more color on what those savings relate to. Shared services, there's a lot of overlap on shared services as business models are selected and locations are selected, that's going to impact closures on those areas and facilities. So I think there is a wealth of areas that we'll be able to piece together to achieve a net $1.6 billion number that leave enough for technology and other investments in the company. So we think we can have industry-leading profitability returns as well as still increase and ramp-up of our technology investments in the company.
Operator [39]
And we'll take our next question from John Pancari with Evercore ISI.
John G. Pancari, Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division - Senior MD & Senior Equity Research Analyst [40]
On the stand-alone side, on the loan growth, wanted to see if you can give a little bit of -- more color around your outlook. What gives you the confidence in the 4% to 6% linked-quarter annualized trend that you can see in the second quarter? Where are you seeing the greatest strengths and acceleration in production?
Clarke R. Starnes, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & Chief Risk Officer [41]
John, this is Clarke Starnes. You have to remember we do have a defined seasonality in the first quarter. So you saw that particularly in our indirect businesses, such as our Sheffield portfolio, our premium finance, our mortgage warehouse lending. The projections right now is you'll see that bounce back nicely in the second quarter. We anticipate we're going to have good mortgage lending growth and then also very strong overall C&I. So those would really be the drivers. And based on those dynamics around seasonality and what we see in the pipeline and know we are going to book, we have a lot of confidence we'll hit the number.
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [42]
I think we're forecasting every category to be up linked-quarter but CRE. So it will be across-the-board contribution like.
John G. Pancari, Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division - Senior MD & Senior Equity Research Analyst [43]
Got it. Okay. And then separately on the combined basis, I know you had indicated that there are more broadly no big change in the earnings power expectation per John's question, but also want to see if -- can you talk specifically about your 51% combined efficiency ratio expectation as well as the 22% return on tangible common equity expectation? Any change to those given the backdrop, the rate environment, et cetera?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [44]
No, John, we don't see any changes. Based on everything we see now, those numbers were derived very mathematically based off of reasonably conservative assumptions and nothing we see today or looking forward change the fundamentals of those assumptions.
Operator [45]
And we'll take our final question from Ken Usdin with Jefferies.
Kenneth Michael Usdin, Jefferies LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Equity Research Analyst [46]
One more merger-related question. Daryl, as we think ahead to the closing quarter, one of the toughest things is always to kind of range the -- what the ending up NIM looks like. And granted that there will be some differences as you already mentioned about the -- where the purchase accounting ends up, do you have -- is it -- do you have a general understanding of how we should think about like what the pro forma NIM looks like, given that you guys are at 3.50-ish or so and SunTrust is in the upper 3.20s, plus any PAA or credits or stuff to help us to set that starting point?
Daryl N. Bible, BB&T Corporation - Senior EVP & CFO [47]
Yes. So we're going to be reporting both the core net interest margin and reported or GAAP net interest margin and there will probably be a wide variance between the 2 because you're marking to market basically half the balance sheet. We'll give you more specifics as we get closer. But our core margins overall should be pretty much simply just putting our 2 margins together today. So 3.30 plus or minus would probably be a good ballpark number. But as far as the reported GAAP margin, there is a lot of puts and takes in there. And we'll give you a lot of color and a lot of tables and basically disclose how all that's going to play out because it will be complex as we put the 2 together. And we'll just have to be very transparent with you and show you how it's going to work and just how it's going to run off over time from that perspective. As I said earlier though, on an earlier question, we will have the opportunity to basically reposition the balance sheet if we want to do that at some point. That could potentially help and drive core margin at that point, but it's too early to know that right now.
Kenneth Michael Usdin, Jefferies LLC, Research Division - MD and Senior Equity Research Analyst [48]
Okay. Understood. And then back to the -- a core question. Kelly had mentioned the ongoing migration out of noninterest-bearing to interest-bearing trend we're seeing at a lot of banks. Now that the rate cycle presumably has stopped, how do you -- I know you've said that you expect that mix to continue, but what are you seeing and hearing in terms of the ongoing pressures on interest-bearing deposit costs and the push and pull between growing deposits versus having to pay up for them?
Kelly Stuart King, BB&T Corporation - Chairman & CEO [49]
So I think, Ken, that having watched these things over a number of cycles, you get these spurts where everybody kind of -- are kind of price insensitive for a while and then they look at it and they become price sensitive and there's a spurt of time, 60, 90 days, where they are much more sensitive. And then they kind of go back to running their business again and they are not as sensitive, so you kind of go ebb and flow. What I see is that we just saw, over the last 90 days or so, a spurt up in sensitivity.
But with rates stable to back down kind of now, I think it's probably going to move into -- you won't go back down in terms of sensitivities, but you won't see a rise up in sensitivities, if that make sense. So I think you will see less focus on betas and moving money around over the next period of time than you've seen over the last 90 to 120 days. Now if there's a dramatic shift in rates one way or the other, that will change that, but nobody expects that. I certainly don't expect that. So I think you're getting ready to go into a period of less price-sensitivity focus in terms of moving money around.
Operator [50]
And that does conclude our Q&A session today. I would now like to hand things back over to Rich Baytosh for any additional or closing remarks.
Richard Baytosh, BB&T Corporation - SVP of IR [51]
Okay. Thank you, Lianne, and thanks, everybody, for joining us today. I hope you have a great day. Thank you.
Operator [52]
And that does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.


text:
Where Does This Film Live?
Ramblings of a Pop Culture Junkie...
The first season of Jean Claude van Johnson recently premiered on Amazon Prime this month . This show stars the one, the only, JCVD. So, with what I'm sure will be the most kick-ass television program to ever be forged, I thought it would be a good time to use Jean Claude's filmography to play a little game I like to call:
THE PENTHOUSE (Best of the Best):
– To be fair, Mr. Van Damme's filmography does not possess the highest of quality gems, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some really fun joints that would totally have a place in an actor's penthouse. And for me this 1993 take on "The Most Dangerous Game" might be as fun as it gets for JCVD films. This is the Hollywood directorial debut of John Woo, and in my opinion, it's his best American film. This film gives that poetic touch to the action scenes (a maximum use of slow motion along with some awkwardly awesome close-ups, especially the eyes) that his best Hong Kong flicks do, but none of his other Hollywood productions really seem to get. This film also has some of the best bad guy scenery chewing I've ever seen provided to us by Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo playing Emil Fouchon and Pik Van Cleef; big bad names don't get any more bad ass than this. One thing I haven't mentioned is Van Damme himself, and his performance is far and away the most troubling thing about the film. There's a clear ambition here to make Van Damme a Stallone or Schwarzenegger on a much bigger platform, and he has a hard time pulling it off. He's fine in the action scenes, but his over indulgence on one liners gets annoying quickly. Still, along with whatever is going on with his hair (not sure if you'd call it a mullet but there is a definite party going on in the back), he gives it his all, and you really will wish Woo and Van Damme had made more films together.
- I know a lot of people are going to see this pick as a nostalgic piece, and that's fair. I was sixteen when this was released in theaters, a primo age to enjoy what was essentially the "B" version of the Schwarzenegger/Stallone match-up we never got (at least not until the last decade). However, when I saw this on a late summer afternoon in 1992 with a couple of friends, I walked out irritated and annoyed. I had a strong dislike of this film. I never watched it again until about ten years ago, and I'm not sure what changed my mind, but I had a hell of a time on that viewing and I've enjoyed the many viewings I've had since. First off, Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren play SO well off each other. Dolph seems to be having the time of his life playing this sick, nutball character - he wears a necklace of human ears for one scene. Van Damme's slower line deliveries along with his typical awkwardness around the opposite sex work very well considering his character is essentially a cyborg. And let's talk about the opposite sex, because Ally Walker is downright amazing in this film as the female lead; I have a suspicion this character was nowhere near on paper what she got it to be in the film. She is seriously on a whole other level from everyone else in this movie, and I've always been a little sad we never got to see her really blossom as the movie star she could've been. Finally, the action scenes in this movie are bats*it insane, and the film is not afraid to be an R-rated action film, and we just don't get enough of those anymore (at least that don't have "Has Fallen" in the title). It's also easily Roland Emmerich's best film, but not sure if that's saying much.
THE SUBURBS (Maybe a little bland, but there are some interesting things going on)
- I don't re-watch a lot of current movies unless they're kid-oriented because I have a six-year-old daughter. I want to get in as much in of the current year's film crop as I can for one thing, and secondly, I'm only getting older and there are a lot of films I want to watch. However, with that being said, I've seen "The Expendables 2" at least fifteen times, probably more. I have a hard time even calling it a good movie. It's all over the damn place, especially that weird scene where Chuck Norris shows up for a few minutes and tells essentially Chuck Norris jokes even though he's not playing himself. However, it's an extremely watchable movie and JCVD has a lot to do with that. He's the movie's villain and his name is Vilain, which is both ridiculous and kind of awesome at the same time. But he's fairly menacing, and they don't hold back on the carnage in this one. Scott Adkins is also quite a bit of fun as his henchman, but not as fun of a name – it's simply Hector. The final battle with Stallone and Van Damme along with a bunch of chains is a lot of fun and very well done; you will forget how old both of them are. For me it's a good time; a great Saturday afternoon time waster.
2. Sudden Death (1995)
- Of course, Van Damme did a Die Hard rip-off, and it's one of the more fun ones. I have problems galore with this movie. It's too long, the bad guy's scheme is over the top and convoluted, and JCVD, whose character is a fireman, has to step in at one point to play goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They do have a throwaway line earlier in the movie about him playing hockey of some sort, but it's ridiculous. However, this movie is a ton of fun. The film's director, Peter Hyams, gets a lot of mileage out of the fight scenes, and the movie does a great job at using its location of a hockey arena to its advantage. A lot of the film was actually shot at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena and they even used the Penguin's announcer, Mike Lange, which makes the movie feel more authentic despite how insane it all is. Powers Boothe is wonderful as the villain; he chews up the scenery with the best of them. He's also ridiculously cruel in the film, especially to the girl playing Van Damme's daughter, which gives the film a darker edge than you might think it would have.
UNDERRATED AVENUE (These deserve a little more love)
1. Death Warrant (1990)
- Leading up to 1990, Van Damme had a string of movies where he was in some sort of tournament (No Retreat, No Surrender, Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Lionheart, which came out the same year as this one). I guess he decided he wanted to try to do something a little more than kick, so we get Death Warrant, which is more of a straight mystery-thriller with Van Damme playing a cop having to go undercover in a prison to solve a string of murders and unmask the killer. There is zero originality to this film, but it kind of works on a very basic level mind you It still works a lot better than the 35% audience rating it currently holds on Rotten Tomatoes, and that's kind of the definition of an underrated film. This is one of JCVD's better performances early on in his career, and the mystery aspect actually kind of works. I don't think you'll be shocked by the reveal, but this movie gets from A to B to C in fine fashion from a very early script by David Goyer. The director, Deran Sarafian, is one of those guys that has a list of films that aren't that great but are way better than they have any right to be. I also got a chance to meet a film critic from the L.A. Times in the late nineties who told me that this film had some of the best lighting he had ever seen in a film, so... if you're a fan of lighting, check out Death Warrant ASAP!
2. Replicant (2001)
- One thing I love about Van Damme, and I don't think he gets enough credit for this, is that he got some of the most interesting Eastern Action Filmmakers to come over to the States and try their hand at Hollywood. We already talked about John Woo, but Ringo Lam was one of the most interesting team-ups he had. Lam actually directed him in multiple films. However, Replicant might be the only one you could remotely call good. This movie has an insanely bonkers plot where Van Damme plays a serial killer who gets cloned (or a replicant is made of him) because the cops think somehow this will help them catch the real killer or possibly they will just create a second one that's just as evil. Van Damme also quite enjoyed playing dual roles in his films – this would be the fifth time he had done it, and one of those was his earlier team-up with Lam, 1996's Maximum Risk. This is really fun sci-fi action that puts an earlier Van Damme movie that many people seem to love, and I for the most part don't, Timecop, to shame. This was the beginning of a string of DTV films Van Damme would do, many of which are not nearly as bad as you would think, but many are. However, this is easily the best of those and one of the better of his career. Could've easily put this in one of the Penthouse slots, but since it's so underseen, I really felt like it fit here better.
MOM'S BASEMENT (These are just sad)
- As far as video-game-to-film adaptations go, one would think Street Fighter would have been an easy one to get right. It's essentially Mortal Kombat but I guess a tad more realistic. I don't know, but it's a bunch of people with cool names fighting each other – you've got a budget and you've got people who kick really good plus the talents of Raul Julia in sadly his last role before his death, and yeah, I guess this was f*cked from the start. But if you've not yet seen it – as bad as you think it is, it's worse. There is not a single thing in this movie that works, and it's one of those films where the off-screen issues are so much more interesting than the actual film. This was the directorial debut of action movie scribe Steven E. De Souza, a famous writer who never once during production had a completed script. Also, he got a lead actor whose ego was at its height and tried to take over the movie, not to mention get himself quite the nasty divorce after some rumors of a rendezvous with the very lovely Kylie Minogue, who's also in the film, surfaced.
- Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the pitch meeting where someone suggested Van Damme and Dennis Rodman be in a movie together and someone else decided it was a good enough idea to work. This movie is insulting to every sense; it's flat-out terrible. However, it's hard to imagine a world where this insanity doesn't exist. And as bad as Rodman is, I'm pretty sure Van Damme has never been worse either. Part of that could be having to play off Rodman, but there's really no excuse for any of this except possibly lots and lots of drugs. The final bad guy fight has to be seen to be believed. It's a Van Damme vs. Mickey Rourke in a coliseum with a bunch of land mines, coke machines, and a tiger because why the f*ck not? This movie really does have to be seen to be believed, but at the same time shouldn't be seen. So... your call.
What are some of your favorite and not so favorite Van Damme movies? Let me know!
You can follow me on Letterboxd (https://boxd.it/8aB9 )

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
Important FIMUN information
Hi FIMUNners! We are a few days out from the conference, and I (Alex) want to make sure we touch base on a few things before Wednesday's conference logistics meeting.
1. If you have not attended an overnight MUN conference before: I will be running a training of everything you need to know in Ms Condiotte's room this Tuesday (2/20) starting at 1:15. If you feel like you have gaps in your knowledge (which if you only attended PythonMUN or if you've never been to a conference at ALL, you do) then I really encourage you to go. If you can't make it and still want to chat and get some answers to questions, myself or any of our officers would be glad to help. The onus is on you to get out there and ask for help!
2. Position papers are due tomorrow (2/19) by 5pm. It's not an internal deadline; it's the deadline FIMUN established for awards eligibility. Position papers must be submitted directly to email@example.com and CCd to firstname.lastname@example.com with the subject line "COUNTRY NAME – COMMITTEE NAME POSITION PAPER" with size 12 font and 1.5 spacing. If you don't adhere to that font and spacing I won't be particularly bothered, but that's the criteria FIMUN established. If you're still looking for edits on your paper today, reach out to Shelly by the end of the day -- don't do that tomorrow because that's just bad. Reminder that crisis delegates do not need to write papers, but should still read BGs and prep accordingly. Reach out to Park if you have any questions on crisis.
3. Prepare well. That means a good research binder that was not compiled just the night before!
More on Wednesday. See you then and keep working on your papers!


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Physical Address
506 Dolorosa
San Antonio, TX 78204
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283
Media Inquiries
Published on Thursday, September 13, 2018
CONTACT: Zack Lyke
SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 13, 2018) — "The City of San Antonio is legally obligated to balance our budget. At the end of the day, that legal mandate only addresses the numbers, figures, dollars, and cents of San Antonio. The City is not obligated to balance the concerns or needs of our residents, but each year City staff and my office work tirelessly to form a framework based on wholly improving the quality of life for all San Antonians.
We are tasked with being honest stewards of the public's investment in itself, which is why I have always believed that a budget is in fact a moral document.
As it pertains to District 9, the FY2019 budget includes additional funding for our voter-approved senior center, support for our community-driven participatory budgeting initiative, necessary funds to address resident-requested drainage issues, enhanced fire and police protection, and an overall increase in infrastructure spending from last year. I hope my neighbors in District 9 and all San Antonians feel empowered by this process. This budget works for us."
Author: Melanie Morales (GPA)
Categories: City News, Mayor & Council, District 9 News


text:
Minor Birds - 'Luna'
Minor Birds shares spellbinding new single, 'Luna' taken from the boundary-pushing new album, 'Bestiary'.
'Luna' opens with the invigorating sounds of a classical piano arrangement that grows more exhilarating with the introduction of dark electronic beats. Taking the song at face value, we are first led to believe 'Luna' is a gorgeous instrumental piece, but this is one of those tracks which really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Minor Birds is the project of singer-songwriter/pianist Chelsea Wilde whose vocal is immediately entrancing. Slightly washed out yet fully engaging, Wilde's vocal breathes new, dark, poetic life into the piece of music at around the 1:40 mark. This surprising, yet completely welcome introduction adds a deeper layer of emotion and mystery to the song. Wilde's vivid storytelling combines fantasy and realism to create an emotive folklore narrative that puts the human condition and our intrinsic emotions under the microscope.
'Luna' is a strikingly beautiful cut, rich in imagery and emotion and is taken from Minor Birds new album, 'Bestiary'. 'Bestiary' is made up of 11 dramatic, genre-defying tracks which draws on indie, folk, electronica, piano-rock and some darker, doomier influences. Each track is connected through Minor Birds incredible bones as a singer-songwriter whose vocal range cries out from melancholic and moody to ethereal, wild wails, seeing 'Bestiary' constantly shifting sonic directions to keep its listener on their toes; guaranteeing each story is truly heard.
Words of Karla Harris


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Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
It's Winning Wednesday. The Eagles are back to that championship feel after pummelling the Giants. We relive the madness from Thursday night and look ahead to the Panthers. We break down the matchup and keys to victory. We talk about our most hated Carolina Panther and dig up some old wounds with Ricky Manning Jr., Mushin Muhammad, DeShaun Foster, and Jake Delhomme. The Sixers got bodied in Boston and we discuss what that means. Our 3PAX went off the rails as the crew tries to change the tide and get some W's!! Make sure you check this hilarious episode! Download, subscribe, and share. Only on Wildfire Radio!


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Metro-East News
Racial Harmony recognizes extraordinary work with ELITE Award dinner, auction
Racial Harmony Elite awards
Racial Harmony of Belleville honored its ELITE winners during a dinner and auction Sunday evening at Fischer's restaurant.
ELITE stands for Extraordinary Leaders Impacting Today's Environment. The winners were recognized for extraordinary work in schools, churches, families and communities. The names of 22 award winners — 17 individuals and five organizations, including the Belleville News-Democrat — were announced and recognized by an audience of nearly 200.
The evening's featured speaker was Stefan Bradley, a professor of history and director of African-American studies at St. Louis University.
In his speech, entitled "Embracing Dissonance on the Path to Racial Harmony," Bradley urged his audience to listen to the voices of youth, such as the protestors who who chanted "Black lives matter" during last year's unrest in Ferguson, Mo.
"I charge that we'll never reach racial harmony if we don't hear those young people," Bradley said.
Bradley noted how people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds had joined together as allies to protest racial inequality.
"But that strategy of standing with your friends has to be taken strategically and with care," said Bradley, who added that whites shouldn't have to surrender their "white privilege" or apologize for it.
"I need my white ally to use that privilege to help those who are not privileged," he said. "That's what I need."
And he urged white allies to keep alive the issues propelling the "Black lives matter" movement by those issues to the workplace, family gatherings and sporting events.
"Your black friends need you to take the struggle to those places," he said.
Mike Fitzgerald: 618-239-2533, @MikeFitz3000
Racial Harmony ELITE Award recipients announced Sunday were as follows:
Individual awards
David Braswell
Marcia Braswll
Kathy Clark-Eller
Steve Clement
Myra Gummersheimer
Cindy Heflin
Christina Hilstock
Joseph Hubbard
Jerril Jones
Stefan Jones
Jill Kraft
Ellen Krohne
Greg Turner
Timothy Tyler
Eugene Verdu
John Vitale
Kristian Wilson
Businesses and organizations receiving awards:
Belleville News-Democrat, Jay Tebbe, President
Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, or CASA of Southern Illinois, Mechiko White, Executive Director
McKendree University, Dr. James Dennis, President
Metro Area Professional Organization, Dr. Dorothy Owens, President
Regions Bank, Joe Rossi, Branch Sales


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What Outdoor Activity Are You Hoping to Try This Spring?
When the sunny days of Spring roll around, I start to daydream about swapping out my car for my bike, the treadmill for the sidewalk, and the couch for the tennis courts. This Spring, maybe I'll even get myself moving outside by trying something out of my usual routine. How 'bout you?


text:
Issue: How to Uninstall Screencast-O-Matic?
I don't know where the Screencast-O-Matic program came from. It might be that my younger brother has installed it, but I am not using it and is not very likely to start using it. Therefore, could you please tell me how should I remove Screencast-O-Matic? My computer is running Windows 8. Any help appreciated!
Solved Answer
To start with, we would like to encourage all computer and Mac users to initiate removal of each application that are not longer used. This way, the system will be maintained properly and will be able to operate at full capacity. Besides, removal or rather uninstalling of programs like Screencast-O-Matic must be initiated entirely. Here we want to stress the difference between 'removal,' which is a partial uninstalling when a program's icon is dragged to the Trash bin, and 'uninstalling'. The latter method, namely uninstalling, should always be performed for keeping Windows stable, fast, and error-free. It means that to uninstall Screencast-O-Matic on Windows, you will have to terminate its processes, check its folders, remove all registries, and other relevant data.
However, do not get us wrong because we do not want to convince you to remove Screencast-O-Matic or blame it for being irrelevant. In fact, it is a reliable application that can be used for "One-click screen capture recording on Windows or Mac." However, if you seek to uninstall it and encounter several issues (listed below), we will provide you with a guide that explains peculiarities of Screencast-O-Matic removal step-by-step.
- Screencast-O-Matic is not present on the list of Windows programs;
- Screencast-O-Matic does not have a built-in uninstaller;
- An error message shows up when you try to remove Screencast-O-Matic;
- Registries and other associated files are not removed along with Screencast-O-Matic'
How to Uninstall Screencast-O-Matic?
Usually, programs on Windows can easily be removed. Unfortunately, there are some exceptions and Screencast-O-Matic is one of them. We have already received lots of reports of unsatisfied users who cannot perform removal of this tool entirely. If you want to save your time and seek to successfully initiate Screencast-O-Matic removal from the first time, our recommendation would be to use Perfect Uninstaller. However, if you prefer manual removal, then follow these steps:
- Open 'Start Menu' → 'Control Panel' → 'Uninstall a Program' (Windows 7).
- Open 'Start' → 'Programs and Feature' (Windows 8.1)
- Open 'Start Menu' → 'Control Panel' → 'Add/Remove Programs' (Windows XP)
- Find Screencast-O-Matic, right-click on it and then select 'Change/Remove.'
- Click 'Yes' to perform the removal and then wait until the process is over.
The second task that you have to fulfill is to terminate its processes and remove all related files. So, first of all, open Task Manager, find Screencast-O-Matic.exe, and execute it. After that, check registries and folders that are related to this program. For that, you have to:
- Check C:\Program Files (x86)\Screencast-O-Matic\v2 directory and remove all files that are still present there;
- After that, open 'Start Menu', type "regedit" in the search bar and click 'Enter' to open Registry Editor.
- Here you should find and remove all registry entries that belong to Screencast-O-Matic.
- Look for the files located in folders: HKEY_CURRENT_USER> Software>Screencast-O-Matic> Software.
- Find and delete all program files in system folders C:\Program Files\, C:\Document and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ and C:\Documents and Settings\%USER%\Application Data\.
Don't rush this process because you have to check lots of registries, what means that it is very easy to skip the ones that you need to remove easily. However, if you are seeking to uninstall Screencast-O-Matic quickly and easily, we recommend you to use Perfect Uninstaller. This software is free to install. Besides, it can help you to remove all other registries and useless files belonging to the programs that are long gone from your computer.
Get rid of programs with only one click
You can uninstall this program with the help of the step-by-step guide presented to you by ugetfix.com experts. To save your time, we have also selected tools that will help you carry out this task automatically. If you are in a hurry or if you feel that you are not experienced enough to uninstall the program by your own, feel free to use these solutions:


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13605 Reese Blvd. West
Huntersville, North Carolina 28078
Google Map & Directions
Thank you for choosing Reimels Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. Our top priority is to treat each patient as an individual, to get to know them personally, and not merely treat them as a chart number. Request an appointment below or give us a call today 704-948-1111!


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Since August of last year,
Netherfriends and Blake
have released four albums.
Having been known
to write and produce
tracks in under ten minutes,
the two have a whole heap
of additional content together.
This includes a handful
of albums to be released
later this year
(like a kid's album
about dinosaurs
and sharing).
While we wait
for plenty more
between the Texas residents,
here's a quick rundown
on their quartet of albums,
from newest to oldest.
Blake Rules and Netherfriends Blow Up // March 2017
In their newest adventure, the duo released ten tracks complete with horns and live instrumentation (on every song), as well as a feature from Austin's The Teeta. The track "Lonewolf" is super moving.
Blake and Netherfriends Sample Bill Evans // February 2017
Judging by the title, you can probably guess what the two guys are working with on this go 'round. Netherfriends sampled the late great jazz pianist Bill Evans for ten sharp rap tracks. Don't sleep on this one.
Beatles Shit // January 2017
Three albums between Blake and Netherfriends in three months. How many more do they have planned this calendar year? On this thirteen song album, one that has been in talks for years, they go in on Beatles production. Fuck a sample clearance.
SWISH // August 2016
The duo's first official album together. SWISH is a whirlwind and a total blast to listen to. At 30 tracks in length, each with a different basketball player's name as the title, the project manages to still clock in at 30 minutes; each song averages under 60 seconds, making for a tornado of bars and thick production.
If you need more content
between Blake and Netherfriends,
visit the Netherfriends
They have like 30
music videos together.


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On March 20, 2018 the Africa Regional Director for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Arnold Tsunga, submitted a letter to eSwatini's Senate urging senators to immediately ratify the Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence (SODV) Bill. This came shortly after a workshop SWAGAA hosted in conjunction with Women in Law Southern Africa – Swaziland (WILSA). The workshop explored issues of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in eSwatini, how we can improve accountability mechanisms to ensure perpetrators are properly punished and how we can better address retribution for survivors of SGBV.
"[E]nactment of the Bill is required of the Kingdom of Swaziland under its regional and international human rights law obligations to criminalize and sanction the perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence."
From this workshop, participants gained a better understanding as to how we can leverage the work of international institutions, like the ICJ and United Nations, to push for legislative change. There are many different avenues for us as human rights defenders and civil society organizations to engage the international community and pressure our government to ratify the SODV Bill.
In the letter, Tsunga writes:
"[E]nactment of the Bill is required of the Kingdom of Swaziland under its regional and international human rights law obligations to criminalize and sanction the perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence. Compliance with those obligations is reinforced by His Majesty's Vision 2022, the aims and targets of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"
The letter goes on to reiterate that eSwatini is a signatory to multiple international and regional treaties that require the government to make legitimate and concerted efforts to reduce gender-based violence and sexual assault in our country.
In May, the ICJ published a report entitled Achieving Justice for Gross Human Rights Violations in Swaziland: Key Challenges, which outlines six areas of focus:
1. General human rights situation in eSwatini
2. Sexual and gender-based violence
3. Detention and treatment of persons denied of liberty
4. The weaponization of the laws as means of suppressing political opponents and human rights defenders
5. Violation of economic, social and cultural rights, focusing on land and property rights
6. Justice sector institutions and Human Rights Commission
Sexual and gender-based violence is prioritized within this report to highlight the urgency of the current situation and the failure of the state to address this issue. Enacting the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence bill is the first step needed to begin this process.
Over the years, SWAGAA has been definitive in our belief that the enactment of the SODV Bill is absolutely necessary for our country to end its culture of violence and impunity, which all too often leaves its worst marks on women and children. It is also long overdue.
Related Stories:
Did you know?
eSwatini is party to the following international, regional and sub-regional human rights instruments:
> The International Covenant on Civil Rights and Political Rights (ICCPR)
> The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
> Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
> The Convention against Torture and other forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
> The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
> The Optional Protocol to the Convention of the right so of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography
> The African Charter on Human and People's Rights
> The Protocol to the African Charter on the
Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol)


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If you think that's strange, "gay christians" have one goal in their bit part on the gay rights acting stage. That is to refute the veracity of scripture. With every hook and crook, every shadowy doubt they can cast, these people are intent on proving the Bible is wrong and they are right. For the more
cunning enlightened ones, their contention is that the Bible has been misinterpreted, therefore arriving at the same conclusion as their denial-prone comrades. Or some other spiritual tomfoolery.
For example look at this twisted dissertation. Timothy Kincaid who is forging a stellar career as a professional gay christian with the exgaywatch conglomorate, posits that 1 Corinthians 6:9 is basically a made up translation. Even though the book's author, the Apostle Paul was one of the most highly educated Jews of his time, Kincaid swishingly dismisses Paul's intellect as well as his spiritual insight.
"I don't know what the word selected in 1 Corinthians 6:9 means. Perhaps Paul was talking about same-sex activity, or alternately he meant those who bullied same-sex attracted persons. Perhaps he meant rapists, or maybe men who spent the day lounging in bed, or men with too many female slaves. Or maybe there was some cultural refernce that ironically had nothing more to do with men or beds than a lounge-lizard has to either lounging or lizards. I don't know. And neither does Joe Dallas, James Dobson, or Alan Chambers.Let's decipher this: Not sure about 1Cor 6:9 because translations are really hard. Gee, why did God put together the Bible, only for us to be perpetually confused about it. And what about the scripture that says STUDY to show yourself approved unto God...? But that was written by Paul too so I guess its not applicable based on faulty translation. But, Kincaid is 100% sure (how convenient) that "one slang word" in the Bible isnt enough to sway him on the lofty beliefs of the APA and simular professional antiBible clones. Yet, this is selfprofessed Christian. Apostle Paul and the Word of God?: doubt them completely. APA and secular psychiatrists?: Believes them completely.
But I do know that building a doctrine and claiming that "sexual orientation can be changed" based on nothing more than one slang word that is confusing at best seems to me to be grasping and tortured."
Mark at Chester Street highlights another religious crazie in his excellent post False Doctrine makes False Converts.
These acts or whatever you want to call them are treacherous. To say that you are a follower of Christ, but then to go behind His back and stab Him (or kiss him Judas style)by refuting His word is maddening. "gay christians" are a breed unto themselves circulating a false gospel, authorized by a false jesus and ultimately producing false converts.
I addressed that here, here and here.
As the apostle Jude wrote we have to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints. If we do not, we can expect these false christians --whether they are homosexual or heterosexual-- to enthone an antichist in the church.
Joe Dallas - A Strong Delusion
Amazon orders


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ESRC Wales DTP Collaborative PhD Studentships in Social Sciences
Key facts
|Application deadline
|15 July 2019
|Start date
|October 2019
|3-4 years full-time, or 5-7 years part-time
|Funding body
|Level of study
|Postgraduate research
|Award type
|PhD studentship
|Number of studentships
The School of Social Sciences supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnership for Wales (Wales DTP), invites applications for funded PhD study.
These particular studentships, known as collaborative studentships, involve liaison with a non-academic organisation, often at many key stages of the research programme. They will commence in October 2019.
Applications are invited from exceptional candidates with a first class or strong upper second class honours degree, or appropriate Master's degree. Both the University and the ESRC Wales DTP value diversity and equality at all levels and encourage applications from all sections of the community.
We welcome applications for both full and part-time study, and studentships are available as either '1+3' (ie one full time year of research training Masters followed by three years of full-time Doctoral study, or the part-time equivalent), or '+3' (ie three years of full-time doctoral study or its part-time equivalent), depending on the needs of the applicant.
DTP Pathway: Digital Economy and Society
Funding details
|Tuition fee support
|Full UK/EU tuition fees
|Maintenance stipend
|Doctoral stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum
|Additional funding offered
|Includes access to an additional Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) though an element of this latter fund may be 'pooled' and require separate applications from 2019 onwards. There are other opportunities and benefits available to studentship holders, including an overseas fieldwork allowance (if applicable), internship opportunities, overseas institutional visits and other small grants.
Eligibility criteria
|UK Research Council eligibility conditions apply
|Academic criteria
ESRC studentships are highly competitive, candidates should have an excellent academic background in the social sciences, holding a 1st or strong upper 2nd class degree. Applications from those also holding a relevant research training Masters degree (or an equivalent background in research training) will be considered for a +3 award. Full awards (fees plus maintenance stipend) are open to UK Nationals and EU students who can satisfy UK residency.
If English is not your first language, you will need to have achieved at least an overall score of 7.0 in IELTS (or approved equivalent) by the start of the programme.
All study undertaken as part of the ESRC award must be carried out within the UK, except as part of overseas fieldwork which is an integral part of the study, conferences, or training. Students must be resident close to Cardiff University and maintain direct contact with the supervisors.
These studentships are 'collaborative' awards. Applicants should take careful consideration of the working title and description of the project, and may wish to contact the named member of staff in the Project Proposal for a discussion prior to applying.
A completed application form for admission to Doctor of Philosophy in Social Sciences (October Start): submitted to the Academic Registry by the deadline of Monday 15 July 2019 by 12:00 noon.
Please note: A complete application, with supporting documentation must be submitted by no later than Monday 15 July 2019 and that there will be no opportunity to submit further documentation following this deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The application must contain the following documents:
- Covering letter: (to be uploaded to Personal Statement section) Please address to Dr Teresa de Villiers, Director of Postgraduate Studies. The covering letter must name the collaborative studentship being applied for. It must set out your reasons and motivation for applying to study at the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University; your understanding, and expectations of doctoral study; and your academic interests generally, and particularly how these relate to the description of the project supplied. The covering letter should be no more than two pages. Please also specify whether you wish to apply on a +3 or 1+3 basis.
- Academic/Professional Qualifications and English Language Competency (where appropriate - proof of 7.0 IELTS minimum).
- References: All applications require two academic references. Candidates must approach referees themselves and include references with their application.
- Curriculum Vitae: (to be uploaded to Professional Experience section) This should be no longer than two pages.
- Research Proposal: (Please note: in the text box please state "See attached" as this cannot be left blank). For collaborative studentships, the proposal should build directly on the outline description that has been supplied. The proposal should be up to a maximum of 1000 words, not including bibliographic references. We suggest that you use the following five headings in your research proposal:
- Your reflections on the title, aims and purpose of the research
- An overview of some key research literature relevant to the study
- Your proposals for developing the design and methods of the study
- A description of potential outcomes of the project for understanding, knowledge, policy and practice (as appropriate to the topic)
- Bibliographic references.
In the funding section, please select "I will be applying for a scholarship / grant" and specify that you are applying for advertised funding from ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership.
The closing deadline for applications is Monday 15 July 2019 at 12:00 noon. Short-listed applicants will be invited to interview, which is expected to take place Friday 26 July 2019. After interview, a final short-list of applicants will be put forward to a Panel convened by the ESRC Wales DTP Management Group at which final decisions with regard to studentship awards will be made.
We reserve the right to close applications early should sufficient applications be received.
Funding opportunity provided by:


text:
you know those waxy paper cups?
it's like water
station sadness.
there is something about
the lack of wood in them
that makes me put them on
the shelf of: I will never
touch them.
the shelf
does not speak
but speaks volumes,
holding all the books, like broccoli,
I only feel guilty when I don't read.
[image: caroline wright]