Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Fulton Financial Transaction Announcement Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Matt Jozwiak, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Good morning, and thanks for joining today's call to discuss Fulton's assumption of deposits and purchase of assets of Republic First Bank from the FDIC. Your host for today's conference call is Curt Myers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Joining Curt is Betsy Chivinski, Interim Chief Financial Officer. Our comments today will refer to the announcements we released Friday night, as well as this morning in a related slide presentation, which we released before the market opened this morning. These documents can be found on our website at fult.com by clicking on Investor Relations and then on News. The slides can also be found on the Presentations tab of our Investor Relations website. On this call, representatives of Fulton may make forward-looking statements with respect to Fulton's financial condition, results of operations, and business. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, and actual results could differ materially. Please refer to the safe harbor statements on forward-looking statements in our press release and on slides two and three of today's presentation for additional information regarding these risks, uncertainties and other factors. Fulton undertakes no obligation, other than as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Now, I would like to turn the call over to your host, Curt Myers. Well, thanks, Matt, and thanks, everyone, for joining us on the call today. This transaction is a great opportunity for us and is squarely in line with our growth strategy to build market share in our existing footprint. This opportunity nearly doubles our presence across the greater Philadelphia region. We now have a significantly more extensive network and provide products and services to about 60,000 more consumer customers and 11,000 more business customers across the region. I also want to take a moment to again welcome the Republic team members and customers to Fulton. I also want to thank the Fulton team members that have been there to support our expanded team through this transition. We had no interruption in hours or services for customers. I also want to thank our deal team members who have worked so hard over the past several days to bring us to this point. We appreciate your commitment and dedication to Fulton Bank. Before I step through this opportunity, let me just say we're proud to have been selected. This protects depositors, supports Republic's Bank—Republic Bank's team, and it supports our community. Turning to page four, we acquired substantially all the assets and deposits of Republic First Bank, which does business as Republic Bank, in an FDIC-assisted transaction. First and foremost, we approached this opportunity as a strategic acquisition, with the FDIC assistance providing additional support. As you will hear, it is an important step forward for Fulton, and it checks many strategic and financial box, boxes within our long-term plan. So let me share some highlights. This opportunity advances our growth in the strategically important Philadelphia market, adding just over $4 billion in deposits and just under $3 billion in loans. We're expecting that this transaction will result in estimated EPS accretion of approximately 20%, with manageable upfront dilution of tangible book value of just over 3% and an earn back period of 1.25 years. It improves our liquidity profile and, most notably, improves our loan-to-deposit ratio, creating even more operating flexibility going forward. Our capital ratios remain strong, and that has been further supplemented by a $250 million common equity raise announced this morning. Turning to page five, for Fulton, Philadelphia has been a long strategic opportunity and important market for us. This transaction advances our build-out and nearly doubles our presence in the market. We have a network that has been expanded, and we can further accelerate our growth in the market. As you can see, overall, we now have over $30 billion in assets, $24 billion in loans, and almost $26 billion in deposits. We reduced our loan-to-deposit ratio from 99%- 92%, providing even more flexibility to grow. We have reduced our reliance on wholesale funding, fortifying our already strong funding base and decreasing our overall cost of funds. As I mentioned, this opportunity also offers compelling financial returns. An estimated 20% earnings per share accretion is driven by three components: acquiring Republic Bank's assets at fair value, achieving cost savings over time, and paying down higher-cost wholesale funding assumed from Republic Bank and existing at Fulton Bank. Turning to page six, Republic Bank's lending products are very similar to our own, providing a diversified commercial and consumer loan book, serving a customer base that is predominantly in-market for Fulton. With this opportunity, we realize immediate growth in loans, but not a material shift in loan and business mix, and it will be additive to our overall existing loan yields on a combined basis. Republic Bank is a strong deposit franchise, and we look forward to continuing to serve as we combine our companies. Fulton's deposits grew by nearly 20% overnight, with a strong mix of transaction and demand deposit accounts. Upon closing, total deposits grew to close at $26 billion. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Betsy to step through the transaction in a little more detail. Thanks, Curt. Starting on page eight, and just a reminder to everyone that all numbers are approximate until final settlement and reconciliations have been completed. We'll receive approximately $1 billion in cash, $2 billion in securities at fair value, and $2.9 billion in loans, for a total of $5.9 billion in total assets. On the liability side, we will assume substantially all deposits of $4.2 billion, as well as $1.3 billion in borrowings, for a total of $5.5 billion in total liabilities. The FDIC will make a payment to us in cash equal to our $374 million discount, plus the difference between those transferred assets and liabilities, for a total of approximately $800 million. Adding in the approximately $200 million in cash on hand at Republic Bank gets us to the $1 billion in cash shown on this page. Turning to page nine, we lay out the key transaction assumptions. We believe these assumptions to be reasonable. However, final results are subject to various uncertainties, including our integration planning that will take place over the next 90-180 days. As part of the transaction, the securities portfolio is transitioned to us at fair value, and we've estimated a $290 million interest rate mark on the loan portfolio. We've also estimated a credit mark of 2.8% of assumed loans, where approximately a 1/3 of that is considered purchase credit deteriorated and 2/3 non-purchase credit deteriorated. The final marks will be determined as we complete our final review of the loan portfolio and complete our purchase accounting process. We estimate $30 million in transaction costs to support our integration efforts and execute on key transition and integration decisions. As this is an FDIC transaction, many of the traditional merger-related costs will not be incurred by Fulton. Also, we've assumed 40% expense synergies for modeling purposes and believe we will be able to achieve that level of synergies by the beginning of next year. Also, moving forward, we anticipate executing on some balance sheet restructuring opportunities, including selling the securities that we receive from Republic Bank and immediately adding that $2 billion of cash to our balance sheet. We'll use those proceeds to immediately repay $1.3 billion in higher-cost wholesale funding that we assumed from Republic Bank and paying down approximately $1 billion in Fulton's wholesale borrowings, primarily brokered CDs, over the near term. The effect of these transactions improves our capital ratios, enhances our net interest margin, and improves our overall liquidity profile. As Curt mentioned, we expect EPS accretion of approximately 20%, which includes the following: purchase accounting marks will contribute approximately 20% to the accretion, expense synergies represent approximately 25% of that accretion, and the balance sheet repositioning represents the remaining 55% of the accretion. Turning to page 10, we strengthen and reposition our balance sheet and enhance our liquidity by paying down higher-cost funding with the cash created in the transaction. Cash increases, wholesale funding declines, and the loan-to-deposit ratio drops from 99% to approximately 92%. As a reminder, Fulton maintains over $8 billion in committed liquidity and $13 billion in total available liquidity prior to the impact of this combination. Turning to capital on page 11, our capital position remains strong and in line with our risk appetite and our internal capital policies. Our equity raise was not a requirement of the transaction, but to supplement and strengthen our balance sheet. TCE to total assets remains at 7%, and our CET1 ratio just under 10%. Now I'll turn it back over to Curt for some high-level perspectives. Well, thanks, Betsy. And, integrating and executing is paramount. While on an accelerated timeline, we believe execution risk is manageable. Fulton is uniquely positioned to acquire, integrate, and serve this new customer base very effectively. As an in-market competitor, we have monitored the financial trends and performance of the bank for some time. The Republic Bank team has performed well in serving customers and maintaining great relationships, and we are adding our support and resources to continue to serve all of our customers. So let me summarize our thinking and the benefits of this transaction as we see them... We view this as an immediate and strategic opportunity to grow and serve the communities that we already know. We anticipate realizing meaningful financial impact and returns for our shareholders. We also anticipate improving the risk profile of our company with improved liquidity, internal capital generation, profitability, and earnings. We maintain a solid risk management culture and robust balance sheet, and we believe we have a manageable execution risk as we move forward. Now I'll turn the call back over to the operator for your questions. Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. One moment while we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question today comes from Daniel Tamayo of Raymond James. Your line is open. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Hey, Daniel. Well, maybe start just on the credit side. It appears that this was mostly rate-related issues that occurred first, but just curious, first, is there any kind of loss share agreement within the acquisition? And then, just would be curious on your overall thoughts on the credit of the portfolio that you're acquiring. Yeah, Daniel. So there is no loss share in the transaction. We did evaluate a loss share, and we really did not think that it added value for us in the transaction. Looking at the overall credit book, you know, we have some history with the company. We've been able to do prior due diligence before this FDIC process and know the company over a period of time. And you know, we've looked at the credit book, and we feel that credit mark and structuring this deal as an appropriate credit mark made sense for us. Okay. And then, I guess, just in terms of the book itself, can you kind of just break out... I think you said in there, there wasn't meaningful office, but just curious what that number would be, and then if there's any kind of rent-regulated multifamily within the New York City portfolio there or anyone else? Yeah. So a couple numbers that might be of interest to everyone. The New York book overall is $377 million in the whole state of New York, and that is predominantly in the New York metro area. The office in that portfolio is about $54 million, and that would be investor office, not owner-occupied, $54 million. The bulk of the overall loan book then is in the Philadelphia market, which is the core market for the company and for us. And the office real estate there is $137 million. So they're right about $200 million in total office. We did put an office overlay in the credit mark and looked at that as we built the credit mark. Okay. And any rent-regulated multifamily in New York City? Oh, there are a few small deals. There's a couple small deals, but no large properties, you know, no large loans that are rent-regulated. Okay. Terrific. All right. I'll, I'll step back for now. Thanks for answering my questions. Thanks, Daniel. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Chris McGratty of KBW. Your line is open. Well, good morning. Hey, Curt. Hey, Chris. Is about $29 billion of earning assets about the right number to look at once you restructure the balance sheet a bit? No, the balance sheet should be roughly $31 billion overall. Total? Total balance sheet. Okay. So earning assets will be a little bit underneath that, I guess? Yeah. Yeah, we add about $3 billion-$3.5 billion of earning assets after it's all said and done. Yeah. Okay. That's probably a better way to look at it. Yeah. Okay, great. And then, I guess two other ones. Does this deal at all impact your ability to do buybacks? It does not, but we would be prudent. You know, we just raised capital. You know, we're going to be focused on integration here. You know, we're really looking at first quarter of next year would kind of be the, you know, fully stabilized. Okay ... you know, run rate and things like that. So, you know, potentially, at the end of this year, but more first quarter, we potentially could reengage there. And again, just to remind everyone, our priorities are to support organic growth. Second would be to support any corporate initiatives, buy portfolios or doing things like that. And then, if those aren't available and we feel we have appropriate capital, we would potentially do buybacks. ... Okay, great. And then I guess one more, if I could. The, what's the-- is-- did Republic First have a meaningful fee income, or what's, I guess, what's assumed in the run rate for additional fees? Yeah. So their fee income is about 8%. It's predominantly transactional account fees. So, yeah, account fees and treasury fees really deposit-related fees was a bulk of their fee income. It's only 8%. We did not factor into pro forma any synergies on fee income. And we think that's a real opportunity for us. You know, they don't have a wealth business. You know, we're going to have wealth advisors in each of the financial centers, you know, as soon as we can get them there. So, you know, we have, you know, roughly 60,000 new consumer customers for our wealth business. You know, so we do think that's a big opportunity, but we do not have that in the model. Okay. So, just to make sure I'm clear, the 8%, like, you're not assuming any fee contribution from the bank or is, is... or no growth off the current run rate? No growth off of theirs. So yeah, we, we have theirs in the run rate, but not any growth. You know, kind of if you would look and normalize our, fee income as a percent of total revenue- I got you. Yeah, we think we have opportunity. Okay. And then just on that 8%, is that... Do you have that in dollars, like what the quarterly contribution is? I don't know if we have it handy. No. It's minimal. We can follow up on that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thanks, Chris. Thank you. One moment for our next question. And our next question comes from Feddie Strickland of Janney Montgomery Scott. Your line is open. Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Let's start off on deposits. It looks like Republic has a good bit of public deposits, and I assume those are mostly collateralized by securities. I was just curious how you're thinking about the public funds deposit portfolio in the longer term, particularly given this security sale. Yeah. So, you know, combining that with our public funds book, you know, we're going to have a bigger business there. A couple things that we think about is a lot of their business. We had separate business, so it is very synergistic. We had very few overlapping customers, so that's a positive. So we're adding a lot of customers to the organization. It does increase that, so we will make sure that we have the appropriate collateral, you know, on balance sheet or letters of credit availability. We manage that business now, and this just really adds some volume to how we manage the business. So, we're viewing that as a positive because we know that business and it's all in market. Got it. And then, just switching gears, appreciate the detail on the deck on the cost saves. Is there a preliminary timeframe for when you think you might have a systems conversion? And just wanted to think about as we run through the year, when we might see more of those cost saves come into play. Yeah. So we're shooting for the fourth quarter to do this full systems conversion. So, you know, between now and the end of the year, you know, those cost saves would be able to be obtained. We're looking at the first quarter of next year, would be the run rate with them, you know, fully in the run rate. Understood. That's helpful. Thanks for taking my questions. I'll step back. Thanks, Feddie. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Casey Haire of Jefferies. Your line is open. Thanks. Good morning, everyone. Top-down question on the, on the EPS accretion. So you guys are talking about, based off of, consensus estimates for Fulton this year, which I have as $1.50. At 20% of that would be $0.30, $0.30. But you're assuming the deal would close January 1, obviously, it didn't. So is the right way to think about it is the, the accretion impact this year is going to be $0.20 because we're only getting 8 months, out of that, out of the year, obviously? Well, we're looking at the earnings accretion really on the first full, you know, on 2025. So we're looking at this year, you know, we're just reaffirmed our outlook for this year. So using that as a base calculation of Fulton's expectations, you layer on Republic, and we're looking at 20% earnings accretion really starting full year next year. Because you know, some of that accretion is from cost synergies and a lot of it is implemented upfront, like the balance sheet restructuring and the accounting pickups are upfront. So we will get meaningful accretion this year, but the full run rate of that accretion won't hit until next year. Okay, got you. All right. And just so I understand the cost savings, you fully percent phased in by year-end 2024. Said another way, January 1, 2025, Republic's going to add $60 million to the expense base in 2025. Is that the right way to think about it? Well, I mean, we have their expense base right now. Yes. You know, so we own the company as of Friday night. So we will, you know, moderate those expenses throughout this year to get to that run rate, which we anticipate at being 40%, you know, standalone Republic, 40% less than the current run rate, right? And that delivers that, so that 40% gets you to the $60 million? Yeah, that's about right. Yep. The run rate right now is, depends on what quarter annualized it is, $100 million-$115 million on an annualized basis. Okay, great. And then just last one. So on slide eight, you say, option to purchase all bank branches and corporate locations. So you don't own those today? So, we're operating those. We own those. We have between either 60, if they're owned or leased, and 90 if they're owned, to decide what financial centers that we would retain. So it's not a scenario where we have all the financial centers and we would potentially close any. We have that period of time to really, you know, look at the overall network and, you know, make sure, you know, all the financial centers, you know, make sense in our network. So that's how that works in the FDIC transactions. It's more of a put, if you will, on taking the financial centers. And before- Got- We exercise any of those options, we will be paying the FDIC for the use of those premises. Correct. So they're operating and we're using them. And again, you know, building out the franchise is a big strategic value here. You know, so we've not made any decisions at this point, and we're going to diligently look at, you know, what's the best thing for the combined company from a facility and location standpoint. So we still need to work through all of that. Got it. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from David Bishop of Hovde Group. Your line is open. Yeah, thanks for taking my question. Hey, Curt, just to make sure I heard you right on that, so that 40% cost save does not assume any branch closures, correct, at this point? Well, we need to work through it. So, you know, the benefit of an assisted transaction is we get the financial centers where operating teams are operating, and then we get a period of time to analyze it, based just on the pace in which the deal happens, so to decide what financial centers. So we're going to have a little bit of everything. We're going to have some where we close our financial center, and maybe have some consolidation, because we do have a few financial centers that are right across the street or on the same block. You know, so it's we get some time to figure that out. Our expectation- And the- -of where that may land is in that 40%. It's not going to be on top of the 40% number we're talking about. Yeah, correct. That's great clarification, Betsy. So that, that's a piece of that. You know, then we have contract savings. So, you know, all contracts essentially get canceled, and we then decide what costs we need, you know, long term and things. So there's definitely some contract synergies, and there's a lot of opportunity to look at things from a cost standpoint, given the nature of the transaction. Got it. And then, maybe Betsy Chivinski, in terms of the assumption, in terms of the reduction in wholesale deposits and brokerages, any sort of weighted average cost those are currently carrying against them? Thanks. So they're fairly high. I believe the rate on the wholesale deposits is north of 5%. The rate on our brokered CDs, which again mature through the end of this year, is about 5.30%. Do you know their FHLB advance cost? Thanks. I think that's closer to $5.50. It's up there. Great. Thank you. Thank you. One moment for our next question. And our next question comes from Manuel Navas of D.A. Davidson and Company. Your line is open. Hey, good morning. So the securities came over at fair value. Does that mean that the FDIC is basically taking some of the loss there? Yes. Yeah, the FDIC takes that loss. They get transferred to us at fair value. That was part of the process for you to have more to kind of pay off the wholesale borrowings over having more of a discount and more of a bargain purchase gain here? Just kind of talk through that balancing act. Yeah, so it's really the way they structured the deal, that they, they would fair value the investment portfolio, and then we would look at the loan book from a rate mark, a credit mark, which we have, you know, both of those built in, and then what discount we would need on top of all of that, you know, to step in. And then, you know, that discount was $374 million. So there's the investment portfolio coming over as mark-to-market, then there's a loan mark, a loan credit mark, and an asset discount. ... I appreciate that color. Is that 20% run rate for 2024, just to clarify it, the 20% accretion run rate, that assumes all the cost saves? Like, I'm trying to put together 2025 thoughts, so if you can kind of help me with that, how to apply this 20% run rate in 2024 to 2025, that would be great. Well, I think- Yeah. Yeah, Yeah, just to be clear, so we're using the 2024 guidance for Fulton as the base, and we expect 20% accretion on top of that outlook for Fulton. That would be- Mm-hmm fully implemented starting 1/1/2025. It is how we have the pro forma built. Okay. That make sense? Thank you. Thank you for that. That's helpful. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes from Matthew Breese of Stephens. Your line is open. Hey, good morning. Hey, Matt. I was hoping you could help me out with the net interest margin a little bit and walk me through what you think, you know, purchase accounting accretion is going to be, at least in the near medium term, and then how long is it expected to last overall? Yeah, so we don't give guidance on the margin, and we really got to work through these balance sheet repositionings that we'll work through pretty much this week, and have a good plan for that. But we really don't forecast the margin, and look at NII. Betsy can kind of show you the purchase accounting, and kind of walk through some of those things. But on a NIM forecast, we don't typically give that. Yeah, and just to be clear, the rate marks on the loans, you know, we're marking all those loans to current market, and then we're amortizing that so that we are realizing that current market yield. And, you know, the plan over time, as those loans pay down or mature, is we'll be replacing those with current market rate loans. So yes, that purchase accounting mark rolls off, but in the meantime, we're growing loans at current rates. Got it. Okay. You'd mentioned the loan mark. I was curious, how much of the $374 million at a discount was tied to the residential loan portfolio? And, what's the duration on that book? So around, I'm just looking at my numbers real quick, trying to do math in my head. Probably 20% of our total loan mark was related to the consumer, the total consumer portfolio. And we're projecting the average life on that resi, on the resi piece, which is most of it, to be about 10 years. Okay. I hope you don't mind, I just had a few other questions. You know, you had mentioned the fee income from Republic First. I was curious, because of their size, what is the estimated Durbin impact as we bring them, you know, over $10 billion? So the Durbin impact on an after-tax basis, and I apologize, that's how our numbers, some of our numbers were run, is about a - $3.7 million. Okay. We do have that model, modeled in. Yeah, that's in our modeling. Okay. And because of some of the PCD, non-PCD marks, is there a CECL day two provision here? And if that's the case, could you just give us some idea of what that is? So, hopefully I have my numbers right. The CECL day two provision, and again, you know, we have to actually do the purchase accounting as opposed to just the estimates with the information we had. So say, roughly $50 million, and then that is, it's not the piece that gets amortized, but it's the same amount as the piece that then gets amortized to interest income over the life of those loans. Okay. Okay, and that's included in the tangible equity dilution? Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Okay. And then I was hoping just for an update on, as you wed these two institutions together, where does this set you up from an interest rate sensitivity profile? Is this... I mean, I'm assuming it's neutralizing, but how neutral does it make you? Yeah. So, we have to run all the modeling, you know, through our ALCO, and we're working on that right now. But, it definitely, we are asset sensitive. This moderates that, but we feel we will still be slightly asset sensitive, but, you know, certainly more moderate. Their loan portfolio is 92% fixed rate. And we get that portfolio mark to market. You know, so it has a pretty good synergy with our current balance sheet. Got it. Okay. And then I was curious on the cash portion of this. It sounds like you're going to have pro forma about $1 billion in cash, a conservative number, but I was curious how long you intend to hold that level of liquidity. Is that for the year, or you expect this, expect it to be, you know, any longer than 12-18 months? ... So, you know, Curt mentioned all the hard work everybody's doing now to pull everything together and see how everything looks like. I mean, so it really just depends on how those final positions shake out, and one, making sure we have the appropriate liquidity, the appropriate, you know, appropriate percentage of investments on our balance sheet. So I really wouldn't want to predict how long we're going to hold excess cash. Okay. The other one I was, you know, scratching my head a little bit at, was just the implications or the read-through from the capital raise itself. And I was curious in terms of the order of events, was the deal done with the FDIC, and then after the fact, the decision to raise capital was made, or, or was that part of the, the deal all along with the regulators there, is that there would be a pro forma equity raise in the $200 million-$250 million range? Yeah, the capital raise was not required. OCC approved our bid, based on bank-level capital as is, you know, not even holding company-level capital, bank-level capital as is. And then the bid was not contingent on capital. You know, we looked at this opportunity and saw the potential earnings accretion and upside, and we felt it was an opportune time to raise some capital, to make sure our balance sheet is always in the position to be able to take advantage of opportunities or to mitigate risk. Got it. Okay. Just last final one is, any ballpark kind of ROA targets for, for year-end 2024 or 2025 to make sure we're all on the same page here? That's all I have. Thank you. Yeah, so as we looked at it, you know, we think this has about a 15 basis point impact on ROA. You know, so it depends what you're looking at right now is the run rate. You know, but we think this moves our ROA up, potentially, you know, 15-17 basis points. Once, once cost saves are fully phased in. Yeah, exactly. All, all of that would be on the full pro forma first full year, really looking at 2025. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question is a follow-up from Feddie Strickland of Janney Montgomery Scott. Your line is open. Hey, just one quick follow-up. Was just curious if you could talk a little bit about how you're thinking about talent retention at Republic, top producers there. Just generally speaking, what you're thinking on the talent retention? Yeah. So, you know, we announced immediately that we're paying all employees for 90 days. You know, given the scenario, it creates a lot of stress on that team. And we really feel that the Republic team has done a great job, you know, holding on to customers, keeping customers, and there's a really good bank there that the team is running. So it gives us some time to then think about and get people in the right positions. You know, we think we can navigate this in a way that we don't have attrition risk, and it's more figuring out, okay, you know, which people do we need at which location or doing what type of job? But we're really looking at this as, you know, we're doubling the size in our core metro market. This is a growth opportunity for us. You know, we're not looking at, you know, being focused on short-term costs. We really want to grow the combined organization. Thanks, Curt. Appreciate it. Congrats again on the deal. Great. Thanks, Feddie. Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn it back to Curt Myers for closing remarks. Well, thank you again for joining us today. We hope you'll be able to join us when we discuss second quarter results in July. Thank you, everyone. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.