Robert M. Gorman
Analyst · KBW. Please go ahead
Thank you, Billy, and good morning everyone for joining us this morning. I would now like to take a few minutes to walk you through the details of our financial results for the quarter. Please note that all comparisons to five-year periods are to operating earnings or operating ratios, which exclude after-tax expenses associated with our StellarOne acquisition that we incurred in 2014. Earnings for the third quarter were $18.2 million or $0.40 per share, up approximately 18% from $14.3 million or $0.34 per share in the second quarter. The community bank segment earned $18.2 million in the third quarter while the mortgage segment reported net income of $59,000. Return on tangible common equity increased to 10.7%, up from 9.2% in the second quarter and also up from 9.8% from the same period last year. Return on assets came in at 96 basis points this quarter, up 13 basis points from the prior quarter and an increase of 9 basis points from the third quarter in 2014. Our efficiency ratio declined to 64.7%, which is down from 67.1% in the second quarter and down from 69.7% in the prior year's third quarter. Excluding the impact of branch closure cost incurred during this year's second quarter, our efficiency ratio declined approximately 9 basis points. Turning to the major components of our income statement, tax equivalent net interest income was $65.7 million. That's down $400,000 from the second quarter driven by lower earning assets yields. The current quarter reported net interest margin decreased by 11 basis points to 3.86% as compared to 3.9% in the previous quarter. Accretion of purchase accounting adjustment to loans, TDs and borrowings related to the StellarOne acquisition added 9 basis points to the net interest margin during the third quarter. And for your reference, actual and remaining estimated net accretion impacts are reflected in the table included in our earnings release this morning. The core net interest margin but not including impact of acquisition accounting accretion was 3.77% in the third quarter, a decline of 9 basis points on a linked quarter basis. The core margin decline was driven by lower earning asset yields of 10 basis points during the quarter and a 1 basis point decline in our cost [of funds] [ph]. The core loan portfolio yield decreased by 13 basis points to 4.41% in the quarter while the average investor portfolio yield actually increased [2] [ph] basis points to 3.19%. The decline in the loan portfolio yield during the quarter was primarily driven by lower loan fees, the negative impact of elevated higher-yielding loan paydown during this quarter and lower yields on new and renewed loans. The lower cost of funds from the prior quarter was driven by a more favorable deposit mix as we saw growth in low-cost deposits offset the net runoff in our higher cost CD balances. As noted in our earnings release, we continue to expect that the core net interest margin will decline over the next several quarters as decreases in earning asset yields are projected to outpace declines in interest-bearing liability rates as well as by the impact of the credit portfolio's sale on net interest income, which I'll talk about in a moment. Our provision for loan losses was $2 million for the quarter, that's 14 basis points, down $1.5 million or 12 basis points from the second quarter. For the quarter, net charge-offs were $1 million or 7 basis points, down approximately $1.2 million or 9 basis points from the prior quarter. The decrease in provision for loan losses in the current quarter compared to the prior quarter was driven by lower levels of net charge-offs, lower quarterly loan growth and continued improvement in asset quality. Noninterest income for the third quarter was $16.7 million, which is up a little over $500,000 or 3% from $16.2 million in the prior quarter, which was primarily driven by seasonally higher overdraft fee and other noninterest income which were driven by gains on the resolution of a long-held problem credit partially offset by lower gains on sales of securities and other-than-temporary impairment loss recognized in the third quarter on a municipal security. Third quarter noninterest expenses were $53.3 million, a $1.9 million decline from the second quarter. Excluding the $1.3 million branch closing costs incurred in the second quarter, the decrease in noninterest expenses was $600,000 or 1.2% from the prior quarter. OREO and credit related costs declined by $702,000 related to lower legal related fees, seasonal real estate taxes, valuation adjustments as well as net gains on sales of OREO in the current quarter as compared to net losses in the prior quarter. Marketing expenses decreased as expected by $590,000 related to the timing of advertising campaign. The overall decreases were partially offset by increased technology expenses of $333,000 primarily due to higher data processing fees and higher professional and consulting fees of $322,000. Just as a reminder, as Billy mentioned, we closed seven branches in the third quarter. We expect to realize annual expense savings of $1.9 million on a run rate basis beginning in the fourth quarter. Now let me take a minute to provide some comments on the financial impact of selling our credit card loan portfolio to Elan and the ongoing outsourced partnership we entered into with them. The transaction closed yesterday and resulted in approximately $26 million in credit card loans being sold to Elan. We will record a pre-tax net benefit from the sale of approximately $1.2 million during the fourth quarter. Also beginning in the fourth quarter we will share the ongoing revenue stream from the sold credit card [indiscernible] as well as on new accounts we generate going forward. We expect a material increase in our new account [indiscernible] as a result of the new Elan partnership. In addition, we will also be able to reduce compensation, provision expense, marketing and credit card reward expense as a result of the partnership again beginning in the fourth quarter. While we estimate that the impact of the loan sale will lower our net interest margin by approximately 3 to 5 basis points due to reduced levels of interest income, we expect that the combination of shared noninterest revenue, cost savings, the income from reinvested proceeds will be accretive to earnings beginning in the fourth quarter. Now turning to the balance sheet, total assets stood at $7.6 billion at September 30, an increase of $97 million from June 30 level. The core increase in assets was driven by net loan growth. Adjusted for the pending sale of the credit card portfolio, loans net of deferred fees were $5.5 billion at quarter end, up $60 million or 4.3 on an annualized basis, while average loans increased by $77 million or 5.7% annualized from the second quarter. The loan balances are now at 5.6% on a year to date basis, have increased 7.7% since September 30, 2014. As noted, we continue to project mid-single digit loan growth for the full year of 2015. Also on September 30, total deposits were $5.8 billion, an increase of $34 million or 2.4% annualized for the prior quarter, as growth in low-cost deposit balances outpaced net runoff in higher cost CDs. Our average deposits increased to $104 million or 7.3% on an annualized basis from the prior quarter. Asset quality continued to improve during the quarter. Nonperforming assets totaled $35.1 million at quarter-end that comprised of $13 million in nonaccrual loans and $22.1 million in OREO balances, which represents an increase of $3.3 million from the second quarter and a decline of $23 million or 40% from the prior year level. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total outstanding loans was 63 basis points at quarter end, a decline of 49 basis points from the prior year and a modest increase of 5 basis points from the prior quarter. Nonaccrual loan balances increased by $3.4 million in the quarter driven by the transfer of past due loans to nonaccruals past during the quarter. OREO balances declined slightly during the quarter, but as Billy mentioned, we currently have approximately $4 million in OREO operating under contract for sale, the bulk of which we expect will close by year-end. The allowance for loan losses increased by $925,000 from June 30, to $33.3 million as of September 30, primarily driven by loan growth during the quarter. Allowance as a percentage of the total loan portfolio, adjusted for purchase accounting, was 1.01% at September 30, down 1 basis point from June 30 level, while the nonaccrual loan coverage ratio was at 257% at quarter end, up materially from 158% in the third quarter of the prior year. Tangible common equity to tangible asset ratio at quarter end was 9.29%. That's down 1 basis point from June 30. Excess capital at quarter end amounts to approximately $94 million with excess being defined as balances above an 8% tangible common equity ratio. We repurchased approximately 665,000 shares during the quarter and to date we have purchased approximately $61 million and have $3.7 million remaining under the current Board repurchase authorization. Management and the board of directors continue to evaluate all capital management options including dividend payout levels, share repurchases and acquisitions as deployment of our capital for the enhancement of long-term shareholder value that remains one of our highest priorities. So in summary, in this third quarter results demonstrated steady progress for our strategic growth objectives. Of note, loans grew at 4.3% annualized for the quarter despite the higher than normal paydown and we are tracking the mid-single digit loan growth for the full year. Core deposit growth remained in sync with loan growth and the mortgage company remained profitable during the quarter. In addition, we closed 5% of our current branches during the quarter resulting in $1.9 million of run rate [in savings] [ph]. Also I want to let you know that we remain steadfastly focused on leveraging the Union franchise to generate sustainable and profitable growth and remain committed to delivering top-tier financial performance and building long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I'll turn it back over to Bill Cimino to open it up for questions from analysts.