KeyCorp (KEY) Goldman Sachs 2024 U.S. Financial Services Conference summary

Strategic achievements and business highlights

• Achieved sequential revenue growth and maintained cost discipline, with a focus on positive operating leverage for 2025.

• Grew consumer relationships organically by 3.3% and maintained commercial relationships despite reducing $15B in RWAs.

• Non-interest income now represents 40% of revenue, with strong performance in wealth (mass affluent focus), investment banking, and payments.

• Customer deposits grew 4–5%, and the integrated corporate and investment bank is on track for its second-best year.

• Enhanced risk management and completed a significant equity raise, positioning for further growth.

Financial outlook and guidance

• Targeting 20% NII growth from 2024 to 2025, with multiple strategies to achieve this.

• Q4 expected to show high single-digit NII growth, sluggish loan growth, deposit growth, and fee income over $700M.

• Expenses projected at $1.2B for Q4, with credit metrics solid and improving.

• Deposit betas are outperforming models, aided by strong commercial relationships and proactive rate management.

• Investment spend to rise to $900M annually, focused on technology, AI, and customer experience improvements.

Strategic priorities and investment approach

• Emphasizing long-term growth, targeted client expansion, and disciplined investment in people and technology.

• Prioritizing positive operating leverage, especially in fee-based businesses, while maintaining investment discipline.

• Ongoing core system upgrades, cloud migration, and data center exit to enhance operational efficiency.

• Capital priorities remain serving customers, maintaining dividends, and pursuing organic/inorganic growth.

• No immediate plans for share repurchases; focus remains on business investment and readiness for future opportunities.