“Specifically, we have made the decision to slow hiring velocity and reduce certain professional fees going forward, though these actions will take some time to be reflected in our results.”

In context

“xpenses on Page 12. Our total quarterly operating expenses were $7.7 billion, down 11% year-over-year. Our compensation ratio for the quarter net of provisions was 33%. Quarterly non-compensation expenses were $4 billion. Year-over-year increases were driven by integration and run-rate expenses related to the NNIP and GreenSky acquisitions as well as continued investments, particularly in technology, and higher levels of business activity. Together, NNIP and GreenSky contributed approximately $200 million to non-compensation expenses this quarter. Given the challenging operating environment, we are closely reexamining all of our forward spending and investment plans to ensure the best use of our resources. As a result, we are taking a number of actions to improve our operating efficiency. Specifically, we have made the decision to slow hiring velocity and reduce certain professional fees going forward, though these actions will take some time to be reflected in our results. We are keeping in mind, however, that while we are being disciplined about our expenses, we are not doing so to the detriment of our client franchise or our growth strategy. Turning to capital on Slide 13, our common equity Tier 1 ratio was 14.2% at the end of the second quarter under the standardized approach, down 20 basis points sequentially and representing an 80 basis point buffer to our current capital requirement as we enter the second half of the year. This past quarter, we returned $1.2 billion to shareholders, including common stock repurchases of $500 million and common stock dividends of over $700 million. As David noted earlier, in the third quarter, our Board of Directors increased our quarterly dividend by 25% to $2.50 per share. Looking ahead, we will remain nimble in resp”