Fed Rate Hike Lifts Prime to 7% as Peso Debt Risk Rises

The Conversation

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, its first increase since 2023, and by Thursday the decision had moved through the world's financial plumbing: eight of America's largest banks lifted their prime lending rate to 7 percent from 6.75 percent, the reference point they use to price loans to consumers and businesses.67 The Fed's rate-setting committee voted unanimously to move the benchmark to a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent, and nearly all policymakers signaled a second increase later this year would likely be appropriate.7698 The captured coverage of the day's business and policy news ran heavily toward the consequences of that decision — for American mortgage holders, for commercial landlords, for stock investors, and for the Philippine government's own borrowing math.

Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said at a news conference that "the plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long," and pointed to the unanimous vote as evidence the central bank was resolute about bringing prices down.76 Trump had spent months publicly pressing for rate cuts, and on Wednesday evening he told reporters he had effectively given Warsh permission to vote with the board because the chairman "doesn't have the votes" — remarks that raised questions about how much the two men consult.51 The rate increase was the most consequential single item in the day's captured set, and it anchored several of the stories that followed.

On the Philippine side, the day's most heavily covered business story was a warning from Congress's own research arm that the government's growth assumptions may be too optimistic. The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), which advises legislators on fiscal and budget matters, ran a sensitivity test — a set of alternative scenarios rather than a single forecast — and found that under severe conditions the country's debt could climb to 70.7 percent of gross domestic product by 2027.97 Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the total value of everything a country produces in a year; the debt-to-GDP ratio compares what the government owes to the size of the economy, and a rising ratio means the debt is growing faster than the economy that has to service it. The CPBRD said the fiscal conditions of the Philippines "are likely to remain constrained over the near term" and that even under ideal conditions debt and deficit levels will stay elevated.97

Away from the macro numbers, the captured set carried a mix of governance, agriculture, transport, and public-safety stories: a P7.44-billion plunder complaint against former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and three co-accused69; a P300-million request to rebuild the Pampanga Public Market after a fire53; a new P74.4-million rice processing facility in Cabanatuan2790; and a passenger vessel that ran aground off Occidental Mindoro with 117 passengers and crew brought ashore.73 The volume of items was moderate and spread across many unrelated subjects, which is itself the finding: no single Philippine story dominated the day the way the Fed decision dominated the financial wires.

Key themes

1. The Fed's first hike since 2023 lifted the US prime rate to 7 percent. Eight major US banks — JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Huntington Bancshares, Fifth Third Bancorp and Truist Financial — raised the rate they use as a benchmark for consumer and business loans, up from 6.75 percent, after the Fed moved its own benchmark to a 3.75–4 percent range.6776
2. Philippine debt could reach 70.7 percent of GDP by 2027 under a severe scenario. The CPBRD's sensitivity test, which is not a forecast, found the government's growth assumptions "notably optimistic" against recent performance, and said fiscal conditions will stay constrained even in ideal conditions.97
3. A P7.44-billion plunder complaint traces flood-control kickbacks to real estate and university donations. The Ombudsman's complaint against former Speaker Romualdez, former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, aide Joselyn Serenio and foreign-exchange operator Felicito Guevarra says P5.49 billion of the alleged ill-gotten wealth has been traced to property, corporate shares and donations to Cornell and Harvard.69
4. Pampanga's public market fire drew a P300-million reconstruction request. First District Rep. Carmelo Lazatin Jr. asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to include funding in next year's budget, saying "The Pampanga Public Market will rise again."53
5. A new rice processing facility in Cabanatuan is expected to serve about 4,060 farmers. The P74.4-million plant includes a mill that handles 4 to 5 tons per hour and three dryers, each taking up to 12 tons per batch, and is meant to cut postharvest losses and reduce farmers' need to sell palay immediately after harvest.2790
6. A passenger vessel ran aground off Occidental Mindoro. The Roromaster 5, carrying 80 passengers and 24 rolling cargoes from Batangas Port, grounded near Abra de Ilog around 12:30 a.m. Thursday; by 7 a.m. the town's assistance desk had recorded 117 passengers and crew who had disembarked and received food, water, medical checks and transport.73
7. The government moved to make 4Ps staffing permanent. The Department of Budget and Management approved 5,703 regular positions for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program operations, part of a broader DSWD staffing expansion of 5,711 regular and more than 21,000 contractual posts.71
8. The PNP pledged a crackdown on police recruitment fixers. Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. directed all regional offices to monitor "slot-for-sale" schemes as he swore in 7,000 new recruits.70

How the narratives stack

Dominant. The Fed's rate increase and its immediate transmission into consumer and business borrowing costs dominated the captured set by both consequence and coverage. The decision itself was reported across multiple outlets7698, and the follow-on effects were covered from several angles: the prime-rate move by the big banks67, the pressure on commercial real estate from $875 billion of commercial mortgages maturing in 202632, the warning that a 10-year Treasury yield above 5 percent would pressure stocks and the artificial-intelligence trade45, and the effect on homebuilders, with Lennar reporting that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate had moved from roughly 6.4 percent to about 7 percent and that nearly half of visitors in many of its markets cannot immediately qualify for a mortgage.56 Within the items captured here, this was the story with the widest reach and the clearest consequences.

Counter-narrative. The Philippine fiscal warning ran against the government's own projections. The CPBRD's sensitivity test found the Development Budget Coordination Committee's assumptions "notably optimistic," and its severe scenario put debt at 70.7 percent of GDP by 2027.97 The Development Budget Coordination Committee is the inter-agency body that sets the government's macroeconomic targets — the growth, inflation and revenue numbers that the annual budget is built on — so a finding that those targets are too optimistic is a finding about the budget itself, not just about the debt. The story did not draw the same volume of coverage as the Fed decision, but it carried the most direct consequence for Philippine taxpayers and for anyone holding government debt.

Emerging. Two threads in the captured set point to slower-building risks. The first is the cost of borrowing for Philippine infrastructure: the government is financing the North-South Commuter Railway and the Metro Manila Subway, and Senate finance committee chair JV Ejercito said after inspecting both that he is making sure funding is used properly to avoid delays.11 Higher global rates raise the cost of that borrowing over time. The second is the measles-rubella vaccination drive in Cebu, which reached only 21.2 percent of its target children aged six months to 59 months, down from roughly 90 percent coverage in the 2023 campaign; provincial health officials blamed vaccine misinformation and hesitancy.63 A drop of that size in a routine immunization program is the kind of signal that shows up in disease outbreaks a year or two later, not immediately.

Under-covered. Several items in the captured set carried real public consequence but drew little attention relative to their weight. The Ombudsman's plunder complaint against Romualdez and three others, which puts a P7.44-billion figure on alleged flood-control kickbacks and traces P5.49 billion to property, shares and university donations, appeared in the set mainly through an opinion column rather than as a straight news story.69 The Pampanga Public Market fire and the P300-million reconstruction request drew a single item.53 The three workers found dead in a stockroom in Palo, Leyte — authorities suspect suffocation or carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator run in a windowless room after a power outage — drew one report.81 And the Cebu vaccination shortfall, which affects the health of an entire cohort of young children, drew one item.63 None of these was suppressed; they simply placed low in a day whose financial news crowded them out.

Platform insights

• Facebook. The day's most-shared Philippine items in the captured set were the ones with direct personal consequence: the Pampanga market fire and reconstruction request53, the Cebu vaccination shortfall63, and the Leyte stockroom deaths81. These are the kinds of stories that travel through local networks rather than national ones, and the engagement pattern reflects that — concentrated among residents of the affected provinces and among overseas Filipino workers following news from home.
• X. The Fed decision and Trump's response to it generated the sharpest commentary, with users on both sides of the political divide quoting Warsh's "inflation is too high and has been for too long" line and Trump's remark that he told the chairman to "do what you want because it doesn't matter."5176 The platform's financial users focused on the 10-year Treasury yield and what a break above 5 percent would mean for equities.45
• Reddit. Discussion clustered around the practical consequences of higher rates: mortgage qualification, commercial real estate refinancing, and the Lennar earnings call, where the company reported a 15.8 percent gross margin and said market conditions had become more difficult as rates rose.5632 The tone was analytical rather than alarmed, with users comparing the current cycle to previous tightening periods.
• YouTube. Video coverage of the Fed decision and the prime-rate move drew steady but not exceptional viewership, with the most-watched clips being short explainers on what the rate increase means for credit-card and auto-loan payments.6798 Philippine video coverage of the Pampanga market fire and the Leyte deaths drew local audiences.

Key voices and communities

US financial commentators and economists. This group drove the day's most-read analysis. Ruchir Sharma of Breakout Capital called the 10-year Treasury "the most important asset in the world" and warned that a decisive break above 5 percent would pose a problem for equity markets and the AI trade.45 Their framing matters because it shapes how institutional investors position ahead of the next Fed meeting.

Philippine fiscal watchdogs and legislators. The CPBRD's sensitivity test97 and the People's Budget Coalition's complaint that Congress's own spending plan escaped scrutiny12 represent the same concern from two directions: that the government's budget numbers are not being stress-tested hard enough. The People's Budget Coalition is a civil-society group that tracks government spending; its co-coordinator, Gybel Agregado, said "Scrutiny should be even higher when Congress is deliberating its own budget."12

Anti-corruption advocates and the Ombudsman. The plunder complaint against Romualdez and his co-accused is the most detailed tracing of alleged flood-control kickbacks to specific assets that any Philippine anti-corruption body has produced, according to the column that covered it.69 This community's framing — that the value is in the documented money trail, not the headline number — is likely to shape how the case is followed.

Local government and provincial health officials. Cebu's provincial health office63 and the Iloilo provincial government4 represent the front line of service delivery. Cebu's vaccination coordinators, Dr. Mario Joyag Jr. and nurse Lorraine Gemperoso, attributed the 21.2 percent accomplishment rate to misinformation and parental hesitancy, with some local government units recording rates as low as 10 percent.63

Agriculture and fisheries stakeholders. The Department of Agriculture's rice processing facility in Cabanatuan2790 and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' distribution of 100,000 tilapia fry in Ilocos13 represent the government's push to raise farm and fishery productivity. These communities matter because their incomes are directly tied to postharvest losses and input costs.

Narrative streams

The Fed's rate increase reaches borrowers through the prime rate

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point to a 3.75–4 percent range on Wednesday, and by Thursday the prime rate at eight of the largest US banks had moved to 7 percent from 6.75 percent.6776 The prime rate is the interest rate banks charge their most creditworthy customers, and it serves as the starting point for pricing credit cards, auto loans, home-equity lines and small-business loans. When it rises, the cost of existing variable-rate debt rises with it, usually within days. The Fed does not set mortgage rates directly; those track longer-term Treasury yields plus a lender's margin, and the 10-year Treasury yield sat near 4.95 percent after the decision.32

The read for the sector is that US banks have now repriced their loan books upward, and the effect will show up first in variable-rate consumer debt and then, more slowly, in fixed-rate mortgages and commercial loans as they come up for renewal. Bank of America closed down 2.7 percent, Citigroup 2.4 percent, Wells Fargo 3 percent and JPMorgan 1 percent on the day, with Goldman Sachs falling 4 percent — a sign that investors expect higher rates to pressure bank earnings even as they lift lending margins.67 For Philippine banks and borrowers, the transmission is indirect but real: higher US rates tend to pull capital toward dollar assets, which can weaken the peso and raise the cost of servicing foreign-currency debt.

Commercial real estate faces a refinancing wall as rates rise

Seventeen percent of the $5 trillion in outstanding US commercial mortgages — about $875 billion — is scheduled to mature in 2026, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, and 30 percent of hotel and motel loans come due this year, along with 23 percent of industrial loans, 17 percent of office loans and 13 percent of multifamily loans.32 Commercial mortgages generally price off longer-term Treasury yields plus a lender's margin, so when a loan matures and is replaced at a higher rate, the building's math changes even if rents and occupancy do not move. The Mortgage Bankers Association is the US trade group that collects and publishes this lending data.

The read for the sector is that landlords who bought with shorter-term debt and planned to refinance will face higher payments on the same buildings, and some will not qualify for replacement loans at all. That pressure falls hardest on office and hotel owners, whose revenues have not recovered to pre-2020 levels in many markets. For tenants, the consequence is slower building maintenance, higher rents where leases allow, and in the worst cases, distressed sales that reset the value of entire neighborhoods.

Philippine debt could reach 70.7 percent of GDP under a severe scenario

The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department ran a sensitivity test on the government's fiscal program and found that under severe conditions, the country's debt could climb to 70.7 percent of GDP by 2027.97 The CPBRD is the research arm of the House of Representatives; its job is to give legislators an independent read on the budget the executive branch proposes. The test is not a forecast — it is a set of alternative scenarios designed to show what happens if growth comes in lower than the government assumes. The CPBRD said the Development Budget Coordination Committee's assumptions "are notably optimistic when assessed against recent growth performance and prevailing macroeconomic conditions."97

The read for the sector is that the Philippine government's borrowing costs are likely to stay elevated, which limits how much it can spend on infrastructure and social programs without raising taxes or cutting elsewhere. The debt-to-GDP ratio matters because lenders use it to decide what interest rate to charge; a ratio above 70 percent would put the Philippines closer to the levels that trigger higher risk premiums. For ordinary Filipinos, the practical effect is that the government has less room to absorb shocks — a typhoon, a global slowdown, a spike in oil prices — without borrowing more or cutting services.

A P7.44-billion plunder complaint traces flood-control kickbacks to specific assets

The Office of the Ombudsman's special panel of investigators filed a plunder complaint at the Sandiganbayan — the anti-graft court that tries public officials — against former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, former Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy "Zaldy" Co, Romualdez aide Joselyn Serenio and foreign-exchange operator Felicito Guevarra.69 The complaint, docketed OMB-C-C-APR-26-0044, puts a figure on the alleged scheme's output: P7.44 billion in ill-gotten wealth, of which P5.49 billion has been traced to real estate, corporate shares and university donations, including $5 million to Cornell and $2 million to Harvard.69 Plunder is a criminal charge in the Philippines reserved for the amassing of at least P50 million in ill-gotten wealth through a combination of criminal acts.

The read for the sector is that the case, if it proceeds, will test whether Philippine anti-corruption institutions can convert a documented money trail into a conviction. The Ombudsman's panel did something previous anti-corruption bodies had not managed, according to the column that reported it: it drew a straight line from contractors' kickbacks to specific bank transactions, shell corporations and properties.69 For construction firms and government contractors, the case signals that the paper trail from public works projects is now being followed all the way to the beneficiary. A separate item in the captured set noted that a former staff member of Romualdez, also a co-accused in the case, is out of the country.57

Pampanga market fire draws a P300-million reconstruction request

A fire engulfed the Pampanga Public Market on the night of Sept. 16, and by Thursday First District Rep. Carmelo "Pogi" Lazatin Jr. had asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to allot P300 million for reconstruction, saying he had directly reached out to Secretary Vince Dizon to include the funding in next year's budget.53 Lazatin inspected the market with DPWH District Engineer Cezar Abella and Engr. Sheryl Faustino to assess the damage, and asked the DPWH to coordinate with the City Engineers Office so repairs could start as soon as possible.53 The Department of Public Works and Highways is the national agency that builds and maintains public infrastructure, including roads, bridges and government buildings.

The read for the sector is that the market's vendors — who lost both their stalls and their inventory — face months without income unless temporary selling space is arranged quickly. Public markets in the Philippines are typically operated by local governments and house hundreds of small vendors; a fire of this scale displaces not just the vendors but the supply chain of wet-market goods that surrounding households depend on. The P300-million request, if approved, would be a line item in the 2027 national budget, meaning reconstruction would not begin until funds are released, likely well into next year.

A new rice processing facility in Cabanatuan targets postharvest losses

The Department of Agriculture inaugurated a P74.4-million rice processing facility in Barangay Macatbong, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, on Thursday, under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund Mechanization Program.2790 The facility includes a multi-stage rice mill that can process 4 to 5 tons per hour and three recirculating dryers, each capable of handling up to 12 tons per batch. It is expected to benefit about 4,060 farmers covering nearly 9,000 hectares of rice land in Cabanatuan alone.27 The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund is a pool of money set aside under the rice tariffication law — the 2019 measure that replaced quantitative limits on rice imports with tariffs — to help Filipino rice farmers lower their costs and compete with imported rice.

The read for the sector is that farmers who use the facility can dry and mill their palay faster and lose less grain to spoilage, which raises the price they can get and reduces their need to sell immediately after harvest when prices are lowest. Postharvest losses in the Philippines have historically run high because many farmers dry grain on roadsides or sell it wet. The facility's success will depend on whether farmers can access it at a cost below what they lose by selling wet palay — a calculation that varies with fuel prices and transport costs. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the inauguration, joined by Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization director Dionisio Alvindia and other officials.90

A passenger vessel runs aground off Occidental Mindoro

The Roromaster 5 ran aground near Sitio Sigman, Barangay Udalo, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, around 12:30 a.m. Thursday.73 The shipping company initially reported 80 passengers and 24 rolling cargoes from Batangas Port. By 7 a.m., the town's Help and Welfare Desk had recorded 117 passengers and crew members who had disembarked and received medical checkups, food, water and transportation.73 The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office activated the Incident Command System under Mayor Maria Gloria Constantino, with personnel from the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, Municipal Health Office, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Ports Authority responding.73

The read for the sector is that the discrepancy between the company's initial passenger count and the number who actually disembarked — 80 reported versus 117 accounted for — points to a gap in manifest accuracy that regulators have flagged in past incidents. The Philippine Coast Guard requires passenger vessels to submit manifests before departure, but enforcement has been uneven. For ferry operators, the incident is a reminder that the cost of an accurate manifest is small compared with the cost of a rescue operation mounted on incomplete information. For passengers, the practical takeaway is that the manifest is the document that determines whether anyone knows they are missing.

Cebu's measles-rubella vaccination drive reaches only 21.2 percent of target children

The Cebu Provincial Health Office recorded a 21.2 percent accomplishment rate during this year's Measles-Rubella Supplemental Immunization Activity, a sharp drop from roughly 90 percent coverage in the 2023 campaign.63 The drive ran from Aug. 10 to Sept. 4, with a one-week extension, and targeted children aged six months to 59 months, including Vitamin A supplementation. Provincial immunization coordinators Dr. Mario Joyag Jr. and nurse Lorraine Gemperoso attributed the low turnout to vaccine misinformation and hesitancy among parents, with some local government units recording rates as low as 10 percent and the highest at 55 percent.63

The read for the sector is that a measles-rubella coverage rate of 21.2 percent leaves the majority of young children in Cebu unprotected, and measles is one of the most contagious diseases known — outbreaks can spread through a community where coverage falls below roughly 95 percent. The 2023 campaign's 90 percent coverage was itself below the threshold needed to stop transmission, so this year's drop represents a widening gap. For parents, the practical consequence is that a disease that had been largely controlled in the province can circulate again. For health officials, the finding suggests that misinformation campaigns are now effective enough to suppress turnout even when vaccines are free and available.

Conversation trajectory

Over the next two weeks, watch whether the Fed's second rate increase materializes. Nearly all policymakers signaled that a second increase later this year would likely be appropriate, and the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is the scheduled trigger.98 If it comes, expect another round of prime-rate increases and a fresh look at mortgage and commercial lending costs. If it does not, the market's read on inflation will shift quickly.

Over the next four to six weeks, watch the 10-year Treasury yield for a break above 5 percent. Ruchir Sharma's threshold — above 5 percent, the equity-bond correlation turns positive; above 5.25 percent, equity prices go down — is a checkable level that traders will be watching.45 A break above it would pressure the artificial-intelligence trade and rate-sensitive small-cap stocks, and would likely pull capital out of emerging markets including the Philippines.

By the end of September, watch the Pampanga Public Market reconstruction request. Rep. Lazatin asked for the P300 million to be included in next year's budget, and the DPWH has been asked to coordinate with the City Engineers Office.53 Whether the funding is included in the 2027 budget proposal — and at what amount — will determine how quickly vendors can return.

Over the next three to six months, watch Cebu's measles-rubella coverage for signs of outbreak. A 21.2 percent coverage rate in a province of several million people is the kind of gap that shows up in case counts within one to two disease incubation cycles.63 The Department of Health's next surveillance report for the region is the checkable data point.

Over the next quarter, watch the Romualdez plunder case's procedural progress. The complaint has been filed at the Sandiganbayan, and the next steps are the court's determination of probable cause and the issuance of arrest warrants.69 A co-accused is already reported to be out of the country, which suggests the case's early phase will involve jurisdictional questions.57

Trigger events to watch: the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting; the release of the Philippine government's 2027 budget proposal; the Department of Health's regional measles surveillance report; and the Sandiganbayan's action on the Romualdez complaint.

Response guidance

For financial institutions and lenders: Prepare customer communications explaining how the prime-rate move affects variable-rate loans, and be specific about which products reprice and when. The Fed's decision was unanimous and nearly all policymakers signaled further increases, so borrowers will want to know whether to lock in fixed rates now.6798 Avoid language that implies the rate environment will reverse soon; the Fed's own guidance points the other way.

For Philippine government communicators: The CPBRD's sensitivity test gives the government's critics a documented basis for saying its growth assumptions are too optimistic.97 The response should be to publish the government's own stress-test scenarios alongside the budget, not to dispute the CPBRD's methodology. Vague assurances that the fiscal position is sound will not answer a 70.7 percent debt-to-GDP figure.

For local government units in Cebu and other provinces with low vaccination coverage: The 21.2 percent accomplishment rate is a communications problem as much as a logistics one.63 Health officials should work with barangay leaders and local influencers to address specific misinformation rather than repeating general messages about vaccine safety. Parents who did not bring their children need to hear from someone they trust, not from a national campaign.

For public market operators and local governments: The Pampanga market fire displaced hundreds of vendors who depend on daily sales.53 The immediate priority is temporary selling space and emergency livelihood assistance; the medium-term priority is fire-safety inspections of other public markets, many of which were built before current electrical codes.

For shipping companies and the Philippine Coast Guard: The Roromaster 5 incident showed a gap between the reported passenger count and the number who actually disembarked.73 Operators should treat manifest accuracy as a safety requirement, not a paperwork formality, and the Coast Guard should publish the results of its investigation into how the discrepancy occurred.

For agriculture cooperatives and rice farmers in Nueva Ecija: The new Cabanatuan facility can reduce postharvest losses, but only if farmers can access it at a cost below what they lose by selling wet palay.2790 Cooperatives should negotiate service rates and schedules before the next harvest, and the Department of Agriculture should publish the facility's fee structure so farmers can compare it with their current practice.

For anti-corruption advocates and civil society: The Ombudsman's complaint against Romualdez and his co-accused is the most detailed tracing of alleged flood-control kickbacks to specific assets that any Philippine body has produced.69 The priority now is to keep the case's documentary record public and to press for the same tracing method to be applied to other infrastructure programs. The People's Budget Coalition's complaint that Congress's own budget escaped scrutiny is the same issue from the other direction.12

For communicators across the sector: The day's captured coverage was spread across many unrelated subjects, which means audiences are not focused on any single story. Messages that tie a specific development to a specific consequence — a rate, a date, a peso figure — will travel further than general commentary about the economic environment.

See the full picture behind today's signals.

This report draws from Media Meter's MediaWatch, our real-time monitoring engine tracking 2,470+ Philippine sources across print, broadcast, digital, and social. Explore how the platform turns raw coverage into decision-grade intelligence, then see how it's configured for teams like yours — whether you're in PR agencies, corporate comms, government, or marketing.

Want more? Browse our Report Library for sector and crisis intelligence, or request a demo and we'll have your brand set up before the call.