David Rosato
Analyst · Hovde Group. Please go ahead
Thank you, Nitin. Slide 4 shows a summary of our branch sale transaction. We sold branches in the western part of the franchise, including Syracuse and locations north and south of Albany. The sale includes $485 million in deposits and $58 million of loans. The sale avoids real estate closure costs, ensures employment of Berkshire employees and reduces expenses going forward. We expect annualized revenue loss of $4.3 million an expense reduction of $6.4 million post the transaction. We expect the branch sales to close in the third quarter and the approximate pre-tax gain to be $19.3 million. We recorded restructuring expenses in Q1 related to the branch sale of $2.8 million after tax or $0.07 per share. Slide 5 shows details of the securities sale. We sold $362 million of market value of securities and incurred an after-tax loss of $38.3 million or $0.89 per share. We sold securities to offset the mismatch between the amount of deposits and loans that we sold and to reduce below-market assets on the balance sheet. Slide 6 shows an overview of the first quarter. As Nitin mentioned, operating earnings were $20.9 million or $0.49 per fully diluted share up $0.02 linked quarter. Net interest margin was 3.15% up four basis points linked quarter and net interest income of $88.1 million declined $281,000 or less than 1% linked quarter. Operating non-interest income was $17.3 million up 4% linked quarter. Operating expenses were $72.4 million down 4% linked quarter. Average loans increased $69 million and average deposits increased $42 million. Net charge-offs were $4 million or 18 basis points of average loans and were down 14 basis points year over year. Provision expense for the quarter was $6 million as credit trends remain positive. We increased our allowance for credit losses by $2 million in the quarter bringing our allowance for credit losses to 118 basis points of loans. Slide 7 shows more detail on our average loan balances, which were up $69 million linked quarter or 1% primarily driven by modest growth in CRE. The modest decline in consumer balances reflects the continued runoff of the upstart portfolio. Slide 8 shows average deposit balances. Average deposits increased $42 million linked quarter. The deposit mix shifted with the decline in non-interest-bearing deposits and an increase in money market and time deposits. Non-interest-bearing deposits as a percentage of total deposits were 24% in Q1 versus 25% in Q4. Deposit costs were 229 basis points, up 18 basis points linked quarter. Our cumulative total deposit beta is 41% through 525 basis points of Fed tightening. Turning to Slide 9, we show net interest income. Net interest income was flat linked quarter and down 10% year-over-year. The net interest margin was 3.15%, up 4 basis points linked quarter. Given the sale of lower yielding securities, we expect our NIM to increase by 5 basis points in the second quarter and to remain relatively flat for the rest of the year. Slide 10 shows operating fee income up $636,000, or 4% linked quarter. Loan-related fees were up $605,000, driven primarily by higher swap fees and commercial loan servicing fees. Wealth management income was up $490,000 on higher seasonal tax preparation fees and market appreciation. Gain on sale of SBA loans were down $683,000 due to lower premiums in the market and some of Q1 production sliding into Q2. Recall we had a fair value gain on securities in the fourth quarter, and we swung to a modest loss in the first quarter. Other fees reflect changes in PAM accounting, which lowered tax credit amortization expense and lowered fully income linked quarter. Slide 11 shows expenses. Operating expenses were down 4% linked quarter to $72.4 million. Recall there was a fourth quarter technology expense true up of $800,000, so normalized fourth quarter expenses were closer to $74.5 million. The expense decline this quarter is driven by lower technology and professional services expenses, partially offset by increased compensation and occupancy expenses. Compensation includes seasonally higher payroll taxes, which were about $1.2 million above normal quarterly run rates. Other expenses, which is a number of smaller items, decline, driven by lower loan work-out expense and lower stationary and postage. GAAP expenses of $76 million, include $3.6 million of pre-tax restructuring costs, or $0.07 per share, related to the branch sale. As I've said before, we are committed to managing expenses with discipline and transparency. The granular approach we are taking is starting to reduce our expense base. We remain committed to ensuring that every dollar we spend is thoughtful and necessary to run the bank efficiently or to grow revenue and earnings. Slide 12 is a summary of asset quality metrics. Non-performing loans were flat linked quarter and down 20% year-over-year. Net charge-offs of $4 million, or 18 basis points of loans were down $400,000 linked quarter and down $2.9 million year-over-year. I'd note that our 10-year average charge-offs to loans is 27 basis points. We've included a chart in the appendix with Berkshire's net charge-off rates versus the industry since the year 2000. Slide 13 shows that our CRE book is well diversified in terms of geography and collateral type. The credit quality of the CRE portfolio remains solid, with non-accrual loans at 11 basis points, but period end loans. Slide 14 has more details on our office portfolio. As noted last quarter, the weighted average loan-to-value ratios are about 60%, and a large majority of the portfolio is in suburban and Class A space. We believe our office portfolio is well underwritten, diversified, and the asset quality of this portfolio remains solid. Slide 15 shows details of our multifamily portfolio. The multifamily portfolio is $618 million, or 7% of loans. The book is well diversified across our footprint. We currently have no non-performing loans or net charge-offs, and criticized assets are 1% of the total book. While current credit quality metrics are positive, we recognize that economic uncertainties exist, and we are monitoring both new originations and existing portfolios very carefully. Slide 16 shows returns over the past five quarters on a GAAP and an operating basis. As you know, the current operating environment is presenting headwinds, but we remain focused on improving medium-term performance and look forward to a more normal operating environment. Slide 17 shows our available liquidity versus uninsured deposits. Coverage of uninsured deposits was 134% at the end of the first quarter. Slide 18 shows capital ratios. The common equity Tier 1 ratio was 11.6% and the TCE ratio improved 20 basis points to 820. Our top capital management priority is to deploy capital to support organic loan and deposit growth. Secondly, we remain biased to stock repurchases and given that our stock price is trading below tangible book value per share. In Q1, we repurchased $4.3 million of stock at an average cost of $22.14. In terms of the outlook, we expect the branch sale combined with this quarter's security sale to be effectively neutral to 2024 earnings outlook, which was provided in January. With that, I'd like to turn it back to Nitin for further comments.