Richard C. Thomas
Analyst · Highlander Bank Holdings
Thanks, Chris. Good morning, everyone. Our effective tax rate was 33.5% for the 9 months ended September 30, 2013, compared with 33% for the 6 months ended June 30, 2013. Overall, our estimated annual effective tax rate may fluctuate based upon the ratio of taxable income to total income, considering tax-advantaged, municipal bond income and nondeductible expenses. Now to our investment portfolio. During the third quarter of 2013, we sold an average of approximately $90.2 million in overnight fed funds to the Federal Reserve and received a yield of approximately 25 basis points on collected balances. We also maintained $70 million in short-term CDs with other financial institutions, yielding approximately 69 basis points. At September 30, 2013, investment securities totaled $2.62 billion, up $185.7 million from the second quarter of 2013. Investment securities represented approximately 39.9% of our total assets at quarter end. At September 30, 2013, we had an unrealized gain of $7.3 million in our total investment portfolio, up modestly from $6.9 million for the prior quarter. Virtually all of our mortgage-backed securities are issued by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, which have the implied guarantee of the U.S. government. We also have 3 private label mortgage-backed securities totaling $679,000. During the third quarter, we purchased mortgage-backed and municipal securities in an aggregate amount of $314.7 million. These securities were purchased to offset the anticipated cash flows from our investment portfolio for the coming 3 months. We did this in anticipation of the current interest rate environment, which was foreshadowed by the Federal Reserve Bank signaling that they would taper the QE stimulus package. During the third quarter, we purchased $307.5 million in mortgage-backed securities with an average yield of 2.44% and an average duration of approximately 4 years. We also purchased $7.2 million in municipal securities during the third quarter with an average tax-equivalent yield of 4.01%. We elected to utilize short-term borrowings to facilitate a portion of these purchases. Prepayment speeds in our investment portfolio have decreased and, based upon current interest rates, we anticipate receiving approximately $27 million to $30 million in monthly cash flow from this portfolio, which is down from $40 million to $50 million in previous months. Now turning to our capital position. Our capital ratios are well above regulatory standards and we believe they still remain above our peer group average. Our September 30, 2013, capital ratios will be released soon, concurrently with our third quarter Form 10-Q. Shareholders equity increased by $16.1 million to $768.2 million for the third quarter compared with the second quarter. The quarter-over-quarter increase was due to an increase of $24.2 million in earnings, $2.2 million of various stock-based compensation items and $245,000 in unrealized gain on available-for-sale investment securities. This was offset by $10.5 million in cash dividends. I will now turn the call back to Chris for some closing remarks.