Our website explains our business, but I want to share what drives us and what we are passionate about — the deeper DNA of our ideas, people and organization.

Capital is not our most important tool or what makes us unique. Our financial intellectual property and approach, combined with our people, make us unique in our industry. We think of ourselves as the “smart money” that most people are hoping to find.

We are catalysts and architects of a new dawn of sovereign economic empowerment driven by physical and financial infrastructure, strategically situated in geopolitical economic policy.

We believe that the banking and financial markets for debt have changed. Following the 2008 financial crisis, banks have been under increased regulation by their governments, central banks and BASEL regulations. Banks’ abilities to take risk and make large long-term loans have become more difficult under new regulations. Now substantial liquidity has moved outside of banks, and is being held at the non-bank institutional level as well as in funds. With the exception of consumer lending, banks are becoming service providers rather than credit providers. At National Standard, we have engineered sophisticated financial structures to align with available liquidity markets. Our proprietary process to deploy these funds uses a risk-management approach to lending and credit, without bank loans or public bonds.

We also believe that our primary clientele — governments and financial institutions — have changed. The estimated global financial requirement for infrastructure by 2030 is a staggering U.S. $92 trillion, more than global combined annual GDP. Most governments operate at a budget deficit with high debt levels, and are consistently seeking to raise new capital and reduce costs, while also attempting to be socially responsible to their citizens’ social requirements.

Our bank, insurance and financial institution clients face a complex, changing, global regulatory and credit environment. Banks are in need of new liquidity in addition to traditional bonds and credit. Central Banks and Ministers of Finance are seeking new tools, products and long-term capital to fulfill their own requirements, as well as the requirements of the capital markets and institutions they support. We believe that intelligent geopolitical insight, including climate change data, is critical to help our clients plan and protect against future obstacles and potential risks that may create a negative economic impact.

Presently, we see no global financial player servicing or filling this demand and critical need.

Over the past decade, we transformed and built our institution around solutions to problems that we saw and foresaw in the market. Today, we are sophisticated and highly experienced experts in navigating the world’s most complex and critical economic challenges.

As CEO, I firmly believe we are changing how governments, banks and infrastructure markets approach their financial needs. We pride ourselves on our long term, socially responsible view of investment.

On behalf of National Standard’s management, and all of our employees, I invite you to explore our capabilities and ideology.

All the best,

Russell Duke

Chief Executive Officer