UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
February 26, 2015
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported)
THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC.
(exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Pennsylvania | Commission File Number | 25-1435979 | ||
| (state or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
001-09718 | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
One PNC Plaza
249 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2707
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(412) 762-2000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (the “Corporation”) filed the Corporation’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and posted that 2014 Form 10-K on its website at www.pnc.com/secfilings. The Corporation then posted its 2014 Annual Report in the Investor Relations section of its website at www.pnc.com/investorrelations on March 2, 2015. The 2014 Annual Report consists of the Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders, financial highlights and the Form 10-K (other than exhibits). A copy of the Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders and financial highlights is included in this Report as Exhibit 99.1 and is furnished herewith.
Item 5.02(e). Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
At a meeting held on February 26, 2015, our Board’s Personnel and Compensation Committee approved the eligibility of certain executive officers to receive annual incentive awards for fiscal 2015 under The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. 1996 Executive Incentive Award Plan, as amended and restated as of January 1, 2007 (the “1996 Plan”). The 1996 Plan was most recently approved by our shareholders at a meeting held on April 24, 2007. At the meeting on February 26th, the Committee designated our Chief Executive Officer and our three most highly compensated executive officers other than our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as the four eligible participants for 2015.
Under the 1996 Plan, the maximum amount that each of the participants will be eligible to receive is 0.2% of “Incentive Income” for fiscal 2015. The 1996 Plan defines “Incentive Income” as our consolidated net income, with certain adjustments. Among other items, the net income will be increased for income taxes and then adjusted for the impact of any item resulting from changes in the tax law, for the impact of any extraordinary items, discontinued operations, acquisition costs and merger integration costs; net income is also adjusted for the impact of our obligation to fund BlackRock long-term incentives.
Once the year ends, the Committee may make a downward adjustment from the maximum annual incentive award amount for each participant. In making any downward adjustment, the Committee may take into account, among other things, the same types of performance factors used in deciding annual incentive awards for the other executive officers who do not participate in the 1996 Plan.
Any annual incentive awards for 2015 will be payable in the first quarter of 2016. Annual incentive awards will be denominated in dollars and payable in cash, equity, or a combination of both, as determined by the Committee.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
| (d) | Exhibits. The exhibit listed on the Exhibit Index accompanying this Form 8-K is furnished herewith. |
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
We make statements in this Report, including in Exhibit 99.1 hereto, and we may from time to time make other statements, regarding our outlook for earnings, revenues, expenses, capital and liquidity levels and ratios, asset levels, asset quality, financial position, and other matters regarding or affecting PNC and its future business and operations that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “see,” “look,” “intend,” “outlook,” “project,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “goal,” “will,” “should” and other similar words and expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We do not assume any duty and do not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results or future events could differ, possibly materially, from those anticipated in forward-looking statements, as well as from historical performance.
Our forward-looking statements are subject to the following principal risks and uncertainties. We provide greater detail regarding these as well as other factors in our 2014 Form 10-K, including in the Risk Factors and Risk Management sections and the Legal Proceedings and Commitments and Guarantees Notes of the Notes To Consolidated Financial Statements in that report, and in our subsequent SEC filings. Our forward-looking statements may also be subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those that we may discuss in our 2014 Form 10-K or in our other filings with the SEC (accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our corporate website at www.pnc.com/secfilings). We have included web addresses here and elsewhere in this Report as inactive textual references only. Information on these websites is not part of this Report.
| • | Our businesses, financial results and balance sheet values are affected by business and economic conditions, including the following: |
| • | Changes in interest rates and valuations in debt, equity and other financial markets. |
| • | Disruptions in the liquidity and other functioning of U.S. and global financial markets. |
| • | The impact on financial markets and the economy of any changes in the credit ratings of U.S. Treasury obligations and other U.S. government-backed debt, as well as issues surrounding the levels of U.S. and European government debt and concerns regarding the creditworthiness of certain sovereign governments, supranationals and financial institutions in Europe. |
| • | Actions by the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury and other government agencies, including those that impact money supply and market interest rates. |
| • | Changes in customers’, suppliers’ and other counterparties’ performance and creditworthiness. |
| • | Slowing or reversal of the current U.S. economic expansion. |
| • | Continued residual effects of recessionary conditions and uneven spread of positive impacts of recovery on the economy and our counterparties, including adverse impacts on levels of unemployment, loan utilization rates, delinquencies, defaults and counterparty ability to meet credit and other obligations. |
| • | Changes in customer preferences and behavior, whether due to changing business and economic conditions, legislative and regulatory initiatives, or other factors. |
| • | Our forward-looking financial statements are subject to the risk that economic and financial market conditions will be substantially different than we are currently expecting. These statements are based on our current view that the U.S. economic expansion will speed up to an above trend growth rate near 3.5 percent in 2015, boosted by lower oil/energy prices, and that short-term interest rates and bond yields will rise only slowly in the latter half of 2015. These forward-looking statements also do not, unless otherwise indicated, take into account the impact of potential legal and regulatory contingencies. |
| • | PNC’s ability to take certain capital actions, including paying dividends and any plans to increase common stock dividends, repurchase common stock under current or future programs, or issue or redeem preferred stock or other regulatory capital instruments, is subject to the review of such proposed actions by the Federal Reserve as part of PNC’s comprehensive capital plan for the applicable period in connection with the regulators’ Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) process and to the acceptance of such capital plan and non-objection to such capital actions by the Federal Reserve. |
| • | PNC’s regulatory capital ratios in the future will depend on, among other things, the company’s financial performance, the scope and terms of final capital regulations then in effect (particularly those implementing the Basel Capital Accords), and management actions affecting the composition of PNC’s balance sheet. In addition, PNC’s ability to determine, evaluate and forecast regulatory capital ratios, and to take actions (such as capital distributions) based on actual or forecasted capital ratios, will be dependent at least in part on the development, validation and regulatory approval of related models. |
| • | Legal and regulatory developments could have an impact on our ability to operate our businesses, financial condition, results of operations, competitive position, reputation, or pursuit of attractive acquisition opportunities. Reputational impacts could affect matters such as business generation and retention, liquidity, funding, and ability to attract and retain management. These developments could include: |
| • | Changes resulting from legislative and regulatory reforms, including major reform of the regulatory oversight structure of the financial services industry and changes to laws and regulations involving tax, pension, bankruptcy, consumer protection, and other industry aspects, and changes in accounting policies and principles. We will be impacted by extensive reforms provided for in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and otherwise growing out of the most recent financial crisis, the precise nature, extent and timing of which, and their impact on us, remains uncertain. |
| • | Changes to regulations governing bank capital and liquidity standards, including due to the Dodd-Frank Act and to Basel-related initiatives. |
| • | Unfavorable resolution of legal proceedings or other claims and regulatory and other governmental investigations or other inquiries. In addition to matters relating to PNC’s current and historical business and activities, such matters may include proceedings, claims, investigations, or inquiries relating to pre-acquisition business and activities of acquired companies, such as National City. These matters may result in monetary judgments or settlements or other remedies, including fines, penalties, restitution or alterations in our business practices, and in additional expenses and collateral costs, and may cause reputational harm to PNC. |
| • | Results of the regulatory examination and supervision process, including our failure to satisfy requirements of agreements with governmental agencies. |
| • | Impact on business and operating results of any costs associated with obtaining rights in intellectual property claimed by others and of adequacy of our intellectual property protection in general. |
| • | Business and operating results are affected by our ability to identify and effectively manage risks inherent in our businesses, including, where appropriate, through effective use of third-party insurance, derivatives, and capital management techniques, and to meet evolving regulatory capital and liquidity standards. In particular, our results currently depend on our ability to manage elevated levels of impaired assets. |
| • | Business and operating results also include impacts relating to our equity interest in BlackRock, Inc. and rely to a significant extent on information provided to us by BlackRock. Risks and uncertainties that could affect BlackRock are discussed in more detail by BlackRock in its SEC filings. |
| • | We grow our business in part by acquiring from time to time other financial services companies, financial services assets and related deposits and other liabilities. Acquisition risks and uncertainties include those presented by the nature of the business acquired, including in some cases those associated with our entry into new businesses or new geographic or other markets and risks resulting from our inexperience in those new areas, as well as risks and uncertainties related to the acquisition transactions themselves, regulatory issues, and the integration of the acquired businesses into PNC after closing. |
| • | Competition can have an impact on customer acquisition, growth and retention and on credit spreads and product pricing, which can affect market share, deposits and revenues. Industry restructuring in the current environment could also impact our business and financial performance through changes in counterparty creditworthiness and performance and in the competitive and regulatory landscape. Our ability to anticipate and respond to technological changes can also impact our ability to respond to customer needs and meet competitive demands. |
| • | Business and operating results can also be affected by widespread natural and other disasters, pandemics, dislocations, terrorist activities, cyberattacks or international hostilities through impacts on the economy and financial markets generally or on us or our counterparties specifically. |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. | ||||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||
| Date: March 2, 2015 |
By: | /s/ Gregory H. Kozich | ||||
| Gregory H. Kozich | ||||||
| Senior Vice President and Controller | ||||||
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Number |
Description |
Method of Filing | ||
| 99.1 | Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders and financial highlights | Furnished herewith. | ||