Dean Shigemura
Analyst · KBW. Your line is now open
Thank you, Peter. Our solid loan growth continued in the fourth quarter. Total loans increased by $324 million or 2.4% linked quarter and by $1.4 billion or 11.3% year-on-year. In 2022, we realized double-digit growth across both commercial and consumer loan portfolios with year-over-year growth of 10% and 12.2%, respectively. As Mary will discuss, loans continued to be predominantly real estate secured with low LTVs. The double-digit annualized growth trend has led to significant market share gains in our primary lending market where we hold the largest market share. Our deposits remain a source of strength and value. Nearly 75% of our deposit customers have been with us for 10 years or more and nearly half for 20 years or more. 92% of our deposits are from core commercial and consumer customers and the remaining 8% consists of public deposits that are predominantly government-operating accounts. 92% of our deposits are in core checking and savings accounts with 33% in noninterest-bearing and only 8% in time deposits. As expected, during the quarter, our deposit mix shifted modestly to higher-yielding deposit products with increases in our TDA and savings balances. Despite this, our total deposit costs remained well managed with an average rate of 46 basis points in the quarter. Despite a modest decrease on a linked quarter basis, total deposits increased by $256 million or 1.3% in 2022, while our total deposit betas were well controlled at 11.5% cycle-to-date, which demonstrates our ability to maintain liquidity at a reasonable cost. From an earning asset perspective, net interest income and margin are being supported by strong cash flows and overall asset repricing at higher rates. In particular, the yields on maturities and paydowns of loans and investments in the fourth quarter were 3.8% and 2%, respectively. These cash flows were reinvested predominantly into new loans, which yielded approximately 5.2% in the quarter. With nearly $3 billion of annual cash flows from maturities and paydowns of loans and investments, we have ample opportunity to redeploy funds into higher-yielding assets, particularly with reinvestment into loans, which has been the recent experience. In addition to strong cash flow, another $3.4 billion in assets are repricing annually, which provides additional rate sensitivity. Together, our assets provide a balance between short-term and long-term repricing characteristics. Net interest income in the fourth quarter was $140.7 million, up $14.3 million or 11.4% from the fourth quarter of 2021. Excluding non-core PPP loan interest income, the year-over-year increase in NII was $19.1 million or 15.7%. Compared to the pre-pandemic fourth quarter of 2019, our NII has improved by $16.9 million or 13.6%. The NII improvement over the years is driven by continued strong core loan growth, rising interest rates and managed deposit rates. Linked quarter net interest income was lower by $900,000 or less than 1%. In addition to the impact of the inverted yield curve, we have entered the period where deposit rates and betas are accelerating and deposit balances are decreasing across the banking industry, both of which impacted our net interest income. During the quarter, we added wholesale funding at an attractive rate to supplement our current funding and to provide long-term fixed rate funding to mitigate the risk of higher for longer short-term rates. As we look forward, conditions that we experienced in the fourth quarter remain, continued loan growth and asset repricing will be accretive, while the persistence of the inverted yield curve and higher deposit costs will be dilutive. The outlook for deposit balances and deposit betas remain uncertain. However, as described earlier, the composition of our deposit base affords us greater flexibility to manage our funding costs through the uncertainty. During the quarter, as is our practice, we managed our expenses in a disciplined manner as economic conditions remain unclear. Noninterest expense in the fourth quarter totaled $102.7 million, down $3 million linked quarter. As a reminder, included in the third quarter expenses were severance expenses of $1.8 million. Adjusting for the severance in the third quarter, expenses decreased by $1.2 million linked quarter. This was a result of ongoing efficiencies in a number of areas, which enabled us to reduce the pace of hiring, while continuing to invest in the business. Notably, our investment -- our innovation spend in the quarter was reduced, but did not end, as we continue to position the company for the future. Our practice of disciplined expense management will continue in 2023. For the full year of 2023, expenses are expected to increase by approximately 3%, despite the expectation of continued elevated inflation. An industry-wide increase of FDIC assessment and annual merit increases each represent 1% of the 3% increase. Another 1% has been allocated to our continued investment in the company, albeit at a pace slower than in prior years. Although inflation expectations are still elevated, efficiencies gained from operations and prior investments are expected to offset inflationary increases. As part of this ongoing efficiency effort, we continue to rationalize operations and we'll be reducing staffing in several areas. These actions will result in a $2.9 million severance expense in the current quarter, which is in addition to the 3% core expense guide. It is important to note that these actions will result in annualized savings of $3.3 million. As a reminder, seasonal payroll taxes and benefits expense bump from incentive payouts will be included in the first quarter expenses. This year, the estimated seasonal impact is $4 million compared to the $3.7 million in the first quarter of 2022. This amount is included in the full year expense guidance for 2023. To summarize our financial performance, in the fourth quarter of 2022, net income was $61.3 million, an increase of $8.5 million linked quarter or 16%. Fourth quarter earnings per common share was $1.50, an increase of $0.22 or 17.2%. For the full year of 2022, net income was $225.8 million and earnings per common share was $5.48. As Mary will discuss, we recorded a provision for credit losses of $200,000 this quarter. Noninterest income totaled $41.2 million in the fourth quarter. As a reminder, the third quarter's income was negatively impacted by one-time $6.9 million charge related to the loss on sale of leased equipment and a $900,000 charge related to a change in the Visa Class B conversion ratio, which is reported as a contra revenue item in investments securities gains and losses. Adjusting for these third quarter items, noninterest income increased by $2.7 million linked quarter, primarily due to higher customer derivative and foreign exchange revenue. We expect noninterest income will average approximately $39 million per quarter in 2023, as market volatility and uncertainty continue to weigh on asset management income and higher mortgage rates will continue to suppress mortgage banking income. In the first quarter, there will also be a contra revenue item of $600,000 for an additional Class B -- Visa Class B conversion ratio adjustment, which will be reflected as part of investment securities gains and losses. Our return on assets in the fourth quarter was 1.05%. The return on common equity was 21.28%. And our efficiency ratio was 56.46%. Net interest margin was 2.60%, unchanged from the third quarter. The effective tax rate in the fourth quarter was 22.4%, and the tax rate in 2023 is expected to be approximately 23%. Our capital management -- our capital levels remain strong. Our CET1 and total capital ratios were 10.92% and 13.17%, respectively, with a healthy excess of our regulatory minimum well-capitalized requirements. Our risk weighted assets relative to total assets remain well below the levels of our peers, reflecting our lower risk profile and providing us with ample room to continue growing while maintaining strong capital levels. During the fourth quarter, we paid out $28 million or 46% of net income available to common shareholders in dividends and $2 million in preferred stock dividends. We repurchased 192,000 shares of common stock for a total of $15 million. In addition, our Board increased authorization under the share repurchase program by an additional $100 million, bringing the total remaining authorization to approximately $136 million. And finally, our Board declared a dividend of $0.70 per common share for the first quarter of 2023. Now, I'll turn the call over to Mary.