Latest news with #Huggins
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Preston County Clerk announces plans to formally resign
KINGWOOD, (WBOY) — During a Preston County Commission meeting on Wednesday morning, County Clerk Linda Huggins officially submitted her letter of resignation, citing family issues as the reason for doing so, according to officials. 'I do know that […] she has some stress, you know, lately in the job and everything, and there's been a lot of issues,' Preston County Commission President Don Smith said. 'I think she just had a lot of stuff going on in her family life, and she just needed a break.' Smith told 12 News that according to Huggins, there may be other resignations this coming fiscal year in different sections within her office. He stated that Huggins requested for the Preston County Commission to bring in someone temporarily to overlap with another person that's leaving, to train this new person up until they officially resign. Smith said the commission didn't have an issue with this, but there was a thorough discussion about it during Wednesday's meeting. Smith said that the purpose of this was to make sure that everyone understood what the timeline was, when it was going to happen and other necessary details revolving around it. Huggins will officially resign from her position on Jun. 30, which Smith said is the close of the current fiscal year. The Preston County Commission will have 30 days to make an appointment at that time, per West Virginia Code 3-10-7. Despite USDA cuts, Preston County Schools says school lunch program will continue Smith said that since Huggins provided the commission with advance notice, they're able to now begin looking for potential candidates to fill the vacancy. The commission plans to meet next week to discuss its plans moving forward so that it can name someone almost immediately. 'Hopefully, it goes to where we do not have any gap,' Smith added. He stated that the Preston County Commission faced a similar issue last year, when the previous sheriff suddenly died. 'There's certain people you have to have to function as a county: one's a sheriff, one's the county clerk, and then the commission obviously,' said Smith. 'So those are people that have to be there.' Smith stated that Huggins has done the Preston County Commission a service by providing it with so much notice, adding that while it will help a great deal, she will be missed. 'It's gonna leave a hole in the county,' Smith added. 'I mean, let's be realistic, she's been the clerk for quite some time now. She's done a lot with the election and everything, she helped when we were upgrading the election equipment and things like that, she brought that to us and we were able to get that.' Smith told 12 News that Huggins was able to show the need for upgraded election equipment, which the commission was able to get funded through multiple sources. He also mentioned that Huggins played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Preston County Election Center, which he said worked out well, adding that things like that were very helpful regarding local elections. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Business Insider
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
This new Palantir-alumni-founded startup wants to help governments and companies control their data
Managing sensitive data across borders can be tricky. Valarian cofounders Max Buchan and Josh McLaughlin experienced that firsthand after working at crypto company CoinShares and defense tech giant Palantir, respectively. Their company, which provides data protection and management, has emerged from stealth with $7 million in additional funding, bringing its seed round to $20 million raised. National security-focused firm Scout Ventures and Artis Ventures led the round. Gokul Rajaram, a board member of Pinterest and Coinbase, also participated in the fundraise. CEO Max Buchan said the idea for Valarian came from thinking about how easily sensitive data can end up in the wrong hands. The startup's solution is ACRA, Valerian's platform that keeps data separated and tightly controlled, even when it's stored in the cloud or used by other apps. A company can use ACRA to ingest internal communications across digital platforms and retain them securely in a given domain for compliance and record-keeping purposes, for example. Buchan founded the London-based startup in 2020, and cofounder and chief operating officer McLaughlin joined in 2023. McLaughlin previously served as a ranger in the US Army and worked in business development at Palantir in Qatar, where he led the opening of the defense tech giant's Doha office. Buchan met McLaughlin in Doha and was introduced to his now cofounder through another national security-focused venture capitalist. With the new funding, Valerian plans to expand into defense, a sector that has seen a frenzy of venture investment in the months since Trump's return to office. This follows interest from its first government customer in late 2024. The company declined to disclose the client. "The government angle within the US was, 'hey, can you expand this ACRA platform to have relevance to national sovereignty?'" Buchan said. As it does with enterprise clients, Valerian's ACRA can also ingest privileged governmental communication from Signal or WhatsApp, for example, and keep it secure in a specific territory. Defense-focused investor Cody Huggins, a partner at Scout Ventures and a former ranger instructor who co-led the firm's investment in Valarian, became interested in the startup's potential to sell to the US and its allies. For this reason, Huggins backed Valarian, marking Scout Ventures' first investment in a company headquartered outside the US or Canada. "From where Valarian sits, they're positioned very well where they can sell in Europe — and they can sell across the globe — because they're a European company," Huggins told BI. "But they also can absolutely sell in the US." Huggins was also compelled by the company's stickiness with both commercial and government clients, which he said could provide some cushion against being solely defense-focused, which is "a pretty challenging space to invest in," Huggins added. Dual use — a term used in defense tech to describe a company's business application in both enterprises and governments — is becoming increasingly common among national security-focused companies looking to hedge against budget cuts to the Department of Defense and the often finicky government contracting and procurement process. Palantir, one of the most prominent dual-use examples, has both a key government business and a growing healthcare vertical. Scale AI, a startup that provides training data to companies like OpenAI, inked a deal with the Defense Department in March. Valarian competes with security companies largely in the commercial sector. Veriti, which was backed by Insight Partners and founded by Israel intelligence veterans, has its own security posture management platform. Varonis Systems, a publicly traded company, makes a data management security platform. Buchan is hoping to court government customers in the US and beyond. "We have a big US presence, but we're also able to cater to this incredibly increasing European demand," he said, "which is massive defense spending increases across continental Europe and other NATO countries."
Scoop
07-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
BNZ HY25: Solid Result In Challenging Economic Environment
Press Release – BNZ BNZs statutory net profit increased 4.3% on the prior year to $795 million. BNZs total lending increased $4.3 billion or 4.1% with home lending up 5.6% and business lending up 2.0%. BNZ has reported a 4.8% decrease in underlying profit for the six months to 31 March 2025 to $1,075 million, reflecting a challenging economic environment and a highly competitive banking sector. BNZ's statutory net profit increased 4.3% on the prior year to $795 million. BNZ CEO Dan Huggins says, 'overall, this is a solid result in the current economic environment. It supports our view that despite the current uncertainty driven by global trade and tariff tensions, New Zealand's economic fundamentals have improved. 'Looking beyond the current global volatility, we have confidence in the New Zealand economy and have delivered an impairment write back to reflect this.' 'BNZ remains focused on supporting New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses,' says Mr Huggins. 'This focus has seen more than 50,000 New Zealanders switch to BNZ in the first half of the financial year, as we continue to invest in more frontline bankers to improve customer service levels, reduce wait times, and open all our branches five days a week. 'It is also reflected in customer satisfaction, with BNZ moving into #1 position for our Consumer Net Promoter Score* (NPS).' BNZ's total lending increased $4.3 billion or 4.1% – with home lending up 5.6% and business lending up 2.0%. BNZ also reported a significant increase in deposits up $5.4 billion or 6.8%. Term deposits continued to be the most popular choice, while BNZ's Rapid Save – a market leading everyday high-interest rate savings account**- grew by $1.7b or 13.7%. Supporting growth 'The economy appears to be at a turning point, and while uncertainty remains, BNZ is well positioned to support its customers,' says Mr Huggins. 'BNZ continues to make capital available for customers looking to invest in their business or buy their first or next home.' 'We've supported nearly 6,000 New Zealanders with their home ownership ambitions in the first six months of the financial year, with first home buyers accounting for almost one third of all new home loans. 'As New Zealand's largest business bank, we understand that businesses will be at the forefront of our economic recovery. That's why we are always looking for new and innovative ways to support our customers to invest and grow.' BNZ backed Payap, New Zealand's first digital wallet and point of sale app utilising open banking and compatible with all New Zealand banks, is one of those innovations. More than 10,000 business customers have already signed up for Payap, which will leverage the power of open banking to reduce merchant fees by up to 80% on transactions going through Payap. BNZ continues to lead the market in open banking, with over 300,000 customers and 26 fintechs using BNZ's APIs. Economic outlook Mr Huggins says, 'lower interest rates and strong conditions in the primary sector have helped support improvements in the New Zealand economy. 'However, trade tensions have created significant volatility and heightened uncertainty in global markets. 'We are watching these developments closely to gauge how this uncertainty impacts global growth and New Zealand's economic recovery. However, we remain optimistic about the country's long-term outlook and are committed to supporting New Zealand's growth aspirations.' Notes: *Consumer NPS – Net Promoter Score. This measures the likelihood of a customer's recommendation to others.
Scoop
07-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
BNZ HY25: Solid Result In Challenging Economic Environment
Press Release – BNZ BNZ remains focused on supporting New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses. BNZ continues to make capital available for customers looking to invest in their business or buy their first or next home. BNZ has reported a 4.8% decrease in underlying profit for the six months to 31 March 2025 to $1,075 million, reflecting a challenging economic environment and a highly competitive banking sector. BNZ's statutory net profit increased 4.3% on the prior year to $795 million. BNZ CEO Dan Huggins says, 'overall, this is a solid result in the current economic environment. It supports our view that despite the current uncertainty driven by global trade and tariff tensions, New Zealand's economic fundamentals have improved. 'Looking beyond the current global volatility, we have confidence in the New Zealand economy and have delivered an impairment write back to reflect this.' 'BNZ remains focused on supporting New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses,' says Mr Huggins. 'This focus has seen more than 50,000 New Zealanders switch to BNZ in the first half of the financial year, as we continue to invest in more frontline bankers to improve customer service levels, reduce wait times, and open all our branches five days a week. 'It is also reflected in customer satisfaction, with BNZ moving into #1 position for our Consumer Net Promoter Score* (NPS).' BNZ's total lending increased $4.3 billion or 4.1% – with home lending up 5.6% and business lending up 2.0%. BNZ also reported a significant increase in deposits up $5.4 billion or 6.8%. Term deposits continued to be the most popular choice, while BNZ's Rapid Save – a market leading everyday high-interest rate savings account**- grew by $1.7b or 13.7%. Supporting growth 'The economy appears to be at a turning point, and while uncertainty remains, BNZ is well positioned to support its customers,' says Mr Huggins. 'BNZ continues to make capital available for customers looking to invest in their business or buy their first or next home.' 'We've supported nearly 6,000 New Zealanders with their home ownership ambitions in the first six months of the financial year, with first home buyers accounting for almost one third of all new home loans. 'As New Zealand's largest business bank, we understand that businesses will be at the forefront of our economic recovery. That's why we are always looking for new and innovative ways to support our customers to invest and grow.' BNZ backed Payap, New Zealand's first digital wallet and point of sale app utilising open banking and compatible with all New Zealand banks, is one of those innovations. More than 10,000 business customers have already signed up for Payap, which will leverage the power of open banking to reduce merchant fees by up to 80% on transactions going through Payap. BNZ continues to lead the market in open banking, with over 300,000 customers and 26 fintechs using BNZ's APIs. Economic outlook Mr Huggins says, 'lower interest rates and strong conditions in the primary sector have helped support improvements in the New Zealand economy. 'However, trade tensions have created significant volatility and heightened uncertainty in global markets. 'We are watching these developments closely to gauge how this uncertainty impacts global growth and New Zealand's economic recovery. However, we remain optimistic about the country's long-term outlook and are committed to supporting New Zealand's growth aspirations.' An unaudited summary of financial information for the six months ended 31 March 2025 follows: Statutory net profit has been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in New Zealand ('NZ GAAP'). It complies with New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards ('NZ IFRS') and other applicable Financial Reporting Standards. Cash earnings is a non-IFRS key financial performance measure used by BNZ for its internal management reporting as it better reflects what BNZ considers to be underlying performance. Cash earnings is not a statutory financial measure, is not presented in accordance with NZ GAAP and is not audited or reviewed in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (NewZealand). NAB NZ Banking Reporting Segment consists of Partnership Banking, servicing retail, business and private customers; Corporate and Institutional Banking, servicing corporate and institutional customers, and the Markets operations in New Zealand. It also includes National Australia Bank's investment in FirstCape and the impact of distributions to non-controlling interests. Unrealised fair value gains or losses on economic hedges that do not qualify for hedge accounting and hedge ineffectiveness causes volatility in statutory profit, which is excluded from cash earnings as it is income neutral over the full term of transactions. This arises from fair value movements relating to trading derivatives for risk management purposes; fair value movements relating to assets; liabilities and derivatives designated in hedge relationships; and fair value movements relating to asset and liabilities designated at fair value. Spot volumes (unless otherwise stated).
NZ Herald
07-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
BNZ preserves margins on flat half-year
Bank of New Zealand's net interest margins were flat at 2.37% for the six months to March 31, with the New Zealand arm of the National Australia Bank showing significant home-lending growth compared to its peers. That compared with 1.7% net interest margins (NIMs) in the Australian operation, mirroring Westpac's half-year result earlier this week in which NIMs in New Zealand were significantly higher than the bank was achieving in Australia. The New Zealand unit reported a statutory net profit increase of 4.3% on the same period a year earlier, at $795 million. The result included a $27m writeback of previously impaired loans, reflecting what BNZ chief executive Dan Huggins described as improving signs for the New Zealand economy. 'The economy appears to be at a turning point,' Huggins said in a statement.
