CLEVELAND, May 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition by KeyBank of leading personal software platform HelloWallet® from Morningstar, Inc. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The combined platform of Key Community Bank and HelloWallet integrates two companies with a commitment to Financial Wellness and to helping clients make more confident financial decisions.

Approximately 36 HelloWallet employees will join KeyBank. The employee teams will continue to be based in Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

KeyBank in 2015 established an exclusive relationship with HelloWallet that made KeyBank the only banking institution providing access to HelloWallet's award-winning personal finance platform. Since that time, hundreds of thousands of KeyBank clients have improved their financial wellness, using HelloWallet's digital tools to determine their personal financial wellness scores. Those scores provide practical, user-friendly insights that KeyBank then combines with personalized guidance from bankers to help clients improve their financial wellness scores.

This high-tech, high-touch combination has made a significant difference for KeyBank clients. KeyBank proprietary research shows using HelloWallet's digital tools boosted clients' financial confidence. Clients who followed up with regular financial wellness reviews with their personal banker stated they found high value in the personal reviews.

Through this strategic acquisition, KeyBank will be even better positioned to support clients, with every interaction driven by a deep understanding of each client's individual circumstances and goals.

"KeyBank is transforming our clients' banking experience by embedding financial wellness into every interaction, whether digitally, at the branch, or via telephone. We are committed to keeping our clients' financial wellness at the core of our relationship with them," said Dennis Devine, co-president, KeyBank Community Bank and head of Key Consumer and Business Banking segment.

"We are thrilled to bring the HelloWallet team to KeyBank so they can join us on our clients' journey toward financial wellness, one step at a time," Devine said.

"The decision to sell HelloWallet aligns with both Morningstar's and KeyBank's long-term strategy," said Brock Johnson, who heads up Morningstar's global retirement and workplace business. Morningstar has significantly enhanced its overall capability set since the acquisition of HelloWallet more than three years ago and we will continue to incorporate many of the financial wellness best practices into our broad-based solutions. As HelloWallet's largest customer, KeyBank was HelloWallet's single greatest source of new users and this agreement allows them to advance their mission even further," he said.

"We haven't changed our view on financial wellness, and we believe financial wellness is core to setting investors up for success. KeyBank believes strongly in HelloWallet's potential and is able to give HelloWallet the level of focus and investment that it needs to maintain a leadership position in a rapidly changing industry," he said.

About KeyCorp:
KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 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 $134.5 billion at March 31, 2017. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, insurance, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of more than 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 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.

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $200 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March 31, 2017. The company has operations in 27 countries.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "outlook," "goal," "objective," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "project," "believe," "estimate" and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements represent management's current expectations and forecasts regarding future events. If underlying assumptions prove to be inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties arise, actual results could vary materially from these projections or expectations. Factors that could cause Key's actual results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in KeyCorp's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as well as in KeyCorp's subsequent SEC filings, all of which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on Key's website (www.key.com/ir) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website (www.sec.gov). Forward looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and Key does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events.

SOURCE KeyCorp

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