“Ultimately, we have a really achievable path to 50 billion dollars, and if all works out, it could be better than that depending on how it all plays out through the rest of the year.”

In context

“ard—first quarter has some seasonality coming off the holidays—and we expect continued growth in auto. Overall, consumer loans continue to grow throughout the year. We expect growth in deposits, again largely interest-bearing. We are not relying on significant growth in noninterest-bearing this year. That will build over time as we are more successful growing checking accounts. We have not assumed a big deployment into securities; if we see we have a good amount of excess cash, we could do more in securities as well to pick up some extra NII. Then you have the path of rates. If rates stay higher for longer than people expected at the beginning of the year, that alone will be a net positive. We will see how that plays out across all the other variables, including any change in deposit mix. Ultimately, we have a really achievable path to 50 billion dollars, and if all works out, it could be better than that depending on how it all plays out through the rest of the year. Markets-related NII will swing around a bit depending on the path of rates, but largely offset on the fee side. Operator: The next question will come from John Pancari with Evercore. Your line is open. John Pancari: Morning. On the expense topic, I know you saw about a 3% year-over-year increase. You cited investments in technology and advertising and ongoing business investments. You are confident in the 55.7 billion dollars guidance. Can you talk to us about any pressures that you are seeing that may move you off that target, or give more detail on your confidence in attaining that target despite somewhat pressured levels in the near term? Michael Santomassimo: The only real pressure we see would be revenue-related expenses to the extent that in our asset and wealth business we generate”