Month: July 2023

Originally published on Nielsen Insights

On April 20, 2023, nearly 1,100 Nielsen employees across 24 countries gathered virtually and in person to mark Nielsen’s tenth annual Earth Day celebration.

Nielsen employees celebrated with volunteer activities and events to learn more about protecting our environment, reducing our footprints, and understanding the intersection of environmental and social issues. Our Green Business Resource Group (BRG) took the lead on the activities, which contributed more than 2,600 volunteer and engagement hours across 97 events and individual initiatives. This is nearly 45% more time spent on our Earth Day celebration compared to last year, reflecting Nielsen’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility and climate justice.

Nielsen employees around the world cleaned up beaches and public parks, planted trees and prepared garden beds, and joined virtual events to learn about composting and the impact of waste on chronically marginalized communities. In total, volunteers collected almost 3,250 kilograms of waste and donated or planted 143 trees and plants.

“There is great power in a group of committed, thoughtful, compassionate individuals coming together to create change. It was with this affirmation and hope that I started our environmental day of service 10 years ago!,” said Yamini Dixit, Senior Director, Corporate Citizenship, Nielsen. “Seeing this commitment strengthen over the years has been humbling and empowering. I look forward to our continued movement – together– towards climate justice and equity.”

Earth Day also provided an opportunity to consider how Nielsen data, solutions and talent can make a positive impact on our environment, through our Data for Good® program. Dozens of employees heard from Jocelyn Azada, Director, Business Diversity, ESG, and Risk, and Dana Siler, QA Engineer, Product Leadership, about their idea for a report and content metric on scientific content in extreme weather reporting. This proposed climate content rating project won the company’s 2022 Data for Good Idea Challenge. With the help of Nielsen volunteers, Azada and Siler are currently rolling out a pilot to take this initiative forward.

“This climate content rating project combines my intense desire to help mitigate climate change with my talents for working with data and code,” said Dana Siler, project co-lead. “I sincerely hope that we can help change the world by educating more people to connect extreme weather with climate change.”

Beyond our Earth Day celebration, Nielsen’s commitment to sustainability extends year-round. As part of our 2022 ESG report, we established three 2024 environmental goals:

Reduce our on-premises application server footprint to 10%.Reduce our business travel spend by 25% from our 2019 pre-COVID baseline, and implement a travel policy that will maintain the reduced travel emissions.Ensure that all of our e-waste managed through our field operations team is diverted from landfills and is recycled, refurbished or reused.

We look forward to sharing our progress in our 2023 ESG Report.

DES MOINES, Iowa, July 6, 2023 /3BL/ – Principal Financial Group® today announced it joined the Portability Services Network, LLC (PSN), a consortium of retirement plan service providers focused on helping America’s under-served and under-saved workers improve their retirement outcomes by making it easier to transfer their workplace retirement accounts when changing employers. Principal® is a board member and one of seven owning members of PSN, which utilizes the auto-portability solution created by Retirement Clearinghouse, LLC (RCH).

“As a retirement leader, it’s our responsibility and commitment to help create the best possible retirement outcomes for America’s workers, including making it easy for their retirement savings to move with them,” said Teresa Hassara, senior vice president for Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal. “Being a part of the Portability Services Network adds another tool to the toolbox we have at Principal to support individuals on their paths to achieving financial security.”

“We are excited to have Principal join the consortium of recordkeepers that are working together with Portability Services Network to improve workers’ retirement security. The company’s leadership, action, and progress to increase financial access and inclusion will help more people benefit from auto-portability – in particular people of color, lower-income workers, and women, who have higher than average cash-out rates,” said Robert L. Johnson, chairman of The RLJ Companies and chairman of Portability Services Network and Retirement Clearinghouse.

According to RCH, employees changing jobs more frequently and a limited ability to match participant accounts across plan provider systems have increased the need for auto-portability – defined as automatically transferring an employee’s retirement savings from their prior employer’s plan to their new employer’s plan. Approximately $92 billion in savings is prematurely cashed out of workplace retirement accounts every year1, leading to additional tax implications and early withdrawal penalties for workers. This disproportionately impacts those with lower retirement account balances – typically less than $5,000.

PSN will assist workers with lower balances who change employers by automatically matching and moving their workplace retirement savings to their new retirement plans. Its goal is to establish a nationwide, digital hub connecting workplace retirement plan recordkeepers and the employers they serve. The automation process will help workers avoid unnecessary complications as they move assets into 401(k), 401(a), 403(b), and 457 accounts, which could mitigate early plan cash-outs and enable financial security for more American workers.

The consortium currently represents approximately 82 million workers across more than 185,000 employer-sponsored retirement plans, based on data published by Pensions & Investments. As the latest owning member to join PSN, Principal adds approximately 11 million retirement plan participants and more than 46,000 plans to the coalition.2 The new service is expected to go live for participants in plans with administrative services provided by Principal in early 2025.

About Principal Financial Group®

Principal Financial Group® (Nasdaq: PFG) is a global financial company with 19,000 employees3 passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, we’re helping more than 62 million customers4 plan, protect, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities where we do business, and build a diverse, inclusive workforce. Principal® is proud to be recognized as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere5, a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and a “Best Place to Work in Money Management6.” Learn more about Principal and our commitment to building a better future at principal.com.

About Portability Services Network

Portability Services Network, LLC (PSN) is an independent, industry-led utility which utilizes the Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) auto portability solution to build a nationwide, digital hub connecting workplace retirement plan recordkeepers and the plan sponsors they serve that elect the auto portability service. For PSN member recordkeepers and the plans that have elected the auto portability solution, PSN acts as a clearinghouse for automatically locating a participant’s active 401(k), 401(a), 403(b) or 457 account in their current employer’s plan and transferring the same participant’s account (under $5,000) from their prior employer’s plan into their active account. For more information, please visit https://psn1.com/.

About Retirement Clearinghouse

Retirement Clearinghouse, LLC is the leading provider of portability and consolidation services for defined contribution plans, acting as a trusted, unbiased intermediary between plan sponsors, participants, recordkeepers and other parties. Retirement Clearinghouse’s integrated financial technology, data and information solutions facilitate automated consolidation of small, redundant accounts for sponsors to improve plan performance, and enable participants, regardless of account balance, to seamlessly transport their retirement savings through every phase of their careers. These solutions include a domestic call center providing specialized assistance designed to enable end-to-end portability and account consolidation; uncashed check services; and the capability to search for lost and missing participants.

Retirement Clearinghouse works with more than 35,000 retirement plans and has helped guide over 1.9 million plan participants with more than $29 billion in retirement savings. Retirement Clearinghouse is a portfolio company of The RLJ Companies, founded by Robert L. Johnson. For more information, please visit www.rch1.com.

Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Company®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/-dealers. Principal Global Investors leads global asset management. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, Iowa 50392.

© 2023 Principal Financial Services, Inc. Principal®, Principal Financial Group®, and Principal and the logomark design are registered trademarks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a Principal Financial Group company, in the United States and are trademarks and services marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., in various countries around the world.

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1According to Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) data cited by RCH

2As of December 31, 2022

3As of March 31, 2023

4As of March 31, 2023

5Ethisphere, 2023

6Pensions & Investments, 2022

CLEVELAND, July 06, 2023 /3BL/ — Today, KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) announced the launch of its third Special Purpose Credit Program1 – KeyBank Neighbors First CreditSM – which can help make the dream of home ownership a reality by providing up to $5,000 to homebuyers for the purchase of eligible properties.

A recent Fair Housing Month poll from KeyBank found that nearly 31% of respondents did not seek out any information or resources on home buyer assistance programs. This may be because many homebuyers, particularly those with lower incomes, could be unaware of the existence of these offerings and the important role banks can play in providing access to them. While the Fair Housing Act of 1968 set a precedent to make the sale, rental, and home financing process nondiscriminatory, borrowers in underserved communities are often at a disadvantage when it comes to awareness of tools, resources, and affordable offerings available to help them achieve home ownership.

The KeyBank Neighbors First Credit is designed to help homebuyers in underserved communities by providing credits up to $5,000 to be used for closing costs and to prepay costs that may come with a new home. This includes mortgage, flood and hazard insurance, escrow deposit, real estate taxes and per diem interest.

To qualify, a client must:

The home must be located in an eligible community located in KeyBank’s retail footprint and Florida. Contact a local KeyBank branch or Mortgage Loan Officer for details.

“The Neighbors First Credit is the latest in a series of steps we are taking to help the communities, in which we live and work, thrive,” said Dale Baker, President of KeyBank Home Lending. “At KeyBank helping all residents have equal access to homeownership is a priority. To do our part, KeyBank is reducing the barriers of homeownership through responsible lending products and services, educational support, and direct investment into the diverse communities we serve.”

The Neighbors First Credit is available in over 2,820 census tracts across Key’s 15 state footprint plus Florida potentially serving more than 10.5 million people who live there on their path to home ownership. Learn more about the Neighbors First Credit here. 

The launch of the Neighbors First Credit follows Key’s recent Fair Housing month announcement introducing the Key Opportunities Home Equity Loan and the expansion of the KeyBank Home Buyer Credit® to up to $5,000 in value the for qualifying properties in eligible communities. With both the Neighbors First Credit and KeyBank Home Buyer Credit in place, Key will have purchase credits available in over 9,500 census tracts, covering areas where 10 percent of the U.S population lives.

Since the KeyBank Home Buyer Credit program began on Sept. 1, 2022. Through June 30, 2023, KeyBank has funded approximately $823,000 in Home Buyer credits, helping 205 clients achieve their dream of homeownership in the qualifying areas where the program is available. Also, as of June 30, 2023, KeyBank has $224 million in mortgage loan applications for approximately $1.4 million in Home Buyer Credits, to assist 361 clients (inclusive of the funded credits shared above) on their path to homeownership in these locations. 
 Since the Key Opportunities Home Equity Loan began on March 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023, KeyBank funded $3.7 million in loans, helping 69 clients secure loans for their primary home in designated communities.

As shared previously, Key has also committed to investing more than $25 million in grants, fee waivers, and marketing over five years to increase mortgage lending in majority-minority neighborhoods, as well as more than $1 million to homebuyer education and other community support.

1Special Purpose Credit Programs are, generally, programs that are established to meet special social needs or the needs of economically disadvantaged persons by extending credit to persons who would probably be denied credit or would receive it on less favorable terms, under certain conditions. See 15 U.S.C. § 1691(c)(1)-(3); 12 C.F.R. § 1002.8(a).

NOTICE: This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit. Conditions and restrictions may apply. Information and offers are subject to change without notice. All loans are subject to credit and collateral approval. Not all loans or products are available in all states. Mortgage and Home Lending products offered by KeyBank are not FDIC insured or guaranteed.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $198 billion at March 31, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC. Mortgage and Home Equity Lending products offered by KeyBank are not FDIC insured or guaranteed. NMLS #399797

Copyright © 2023 KeyCorp®. All Rights Reserved CFMA #230630-2148678