Jamie Anderson
Analyst · Piper Sandler. Please go ahead
Thank you, Archie and good morning everyone. Slides four and five provide a summary of our second quarter 2020 performance. Overall, we were pleased with second quarter results as the company's operating performance remains solid with elevated fee income and an efficiency ratio that surpassed our expectations. Although we were encouraged by our relative performance, the pandemic continued to produce meaningful headwinds. Despite stable credit metrics, we recorded $20.2 million of provision expense during the quarter and we believe our current reserve positions us to effectively manage credit deterioration in the back half of the year. Our capital remained strong and regulatory ratios remain in excess of both internal and regulatory targets. We believe that our balance sheet is well-positioned and our core fundamentals should allow us to maintain these levels for the foreseeable future. As expected our net interest margin declined 33 basis points on an FTE basis compared to the prior quarter as asset yields were negatively impacted by lower interest rates. However, we were able to partially offset the impact by prudently managing funding costs. Fee income was the highlight of the quarter and one of the main drivers of our financial results. Mortgage banking was particularly strong increasing $13.8 million compared to the first quarter, while foreign exchange, wealth management, and client derivative income were in line with our expectations. This elevated fee income along with a relatively flat expense base resulted in another quarter with a sub-60% efficiency ratio. We also believe we are well-positioned from a regulatory capital standpoint as both total and Tier 1 capital ratios improved on a linked-quarter basis. Total capital increased 159 basis points bolstered by the $150 million sub debt issuance at the beginning of the quarter. Additionally, our tangible common equity ratio declined 16 basis points in the second quarter. However, the increase in assets due to PPP loans accounted for 53 basis points of deterioration and absent this impact TCE expanded 37 basis points during the period to 8.62%. Slide six reconciles our GAAP earnings to adjusted earnings highlighting items that we believe are important to understanding our quarterly performance. Adjusted net income was $39 million or $0.40 per share for the quarter which excludes $700,000 of COVID-19 related costs and $1.5 million of other non-recurring items such as branch consolidation costs. As shown on slide seven, these adjusted earnings equate to a return on average assets of 1% and a return on average tangible common equity of 13.5%. Our 56.1% adjusted efficiency ratio remains strong and reflects our diligent approach to expense management. Turning to slides eight and nine, net interest margin on a fully tax equivalent basis was 3.44% for the second quarter. The 33 basis point decline was primarily related to lower asset yields, which were impacted by the full quarter of lower interest rates and the normalization of LIBOR. Asset yields and mix negatively impacted the net interest margin by 57 basis points during the quarter due to the lower rates. This was partially offset by lower funding costs, which positively impacted the margin by 26 basis points during the quarter. In addition, it's worth noting that our participation in the Paycheck Protection Program resulted in 3 basis points of margin dilution during the period. The impact of the recent Fed actions are further shown on slide 9, as declining interest rates caused the yield on loans to decline by 79 basis points, while the investment yield dropped seven basis points due to lower reinvestment rates. In response to these declining yields, we aggressively lowered our cost of deposits 24 basis points during the quarter. Slide 10 depicts our current loan mix and balance changes compared to the linked quarter. In the period, loan balances increased $874 million, which was primarily driven by PPP loans. The remainder of the portfolio is relatively unchanged from the first quarter. Archie will provide further commentary regarding particular areas of focus in the loan portfolio later in the presentation. Slide 11 shows the mix of our deposit base as well as the progression of average deposits from the linked quarter. In total, average deposit balances grew $1.5 billion during the second quarter driven by large increases in non-interest-bearing deposits and brokered CDs. All of the categories of deposits grew as well with the exception of higher cost retail CDs. We attribute the majority of our deposit growth to customers retaining stimulus checks and PPP funding as well as an increase in the consumer savings rate. As I previously mentioned, we were encouraged with our ability to successfully manage deposit costs resulting in a 24 basis point reduction to 40 basis points. We will continue to monitor deposit pricing over the coming months and make any necessary adjustments based on market conditions and our funding needs. Slide 12 highlights our non-interest income for the quarter. Second quarter fee income was our highest since 2011 and was driven by a significant increase in mortgage banking income, while foreign exchange income, wealth management fees and client derivative incomes all met or surpassed internal expectations. Non-interest expense for the quarter is shown on slide 13. Overall expenses were relatively flat compared to the first quarter and were in line with our expectations. Non-interest expenses included $700,000 of COVID-19 related costs and approximately $1.5 million of other costs not expected to recur such as branch consolidation costs. In addition, we incurred $800,000 of incremental expenses related to the Paycheck Protection Program during the quarter. Next I'll turn your attention to slide 14, which discusses our allowance for credit losses and related provision expense for the quarter. Our second quarter model resulted in total ACL, which includes both funded and unfunded reserves of $175 million and $20 million in total provision for credit losses. The model utilized the Moody's baseline economic forecast released at the end of June. Similar to the first quarter, it's worth noting that the majority of provision expense related to the expected economic impact from COVID-19. As shown on slide 15, credit metrics were once again fairly benign, as we had $3.1 million of net charge-off for the period and relatively flat non-performing and classified asset levels. Net charge-offs were 12 basis points as a percentage of loans, which is relatively in line with recent historic levels despite the slight increase compared to the first quarter when we had net recoveries. While our credit metrics don't reflect much stress at the current time, we do expect some deterioration in the back half of the year, as deferrals expire and we continue to manage the pandemic. As such, we believe our current reserve levels adequately position the balance sheet based on the current economic models. Finally as shown on slides 16 and 17, capital ratios remain strong and are in excess of regulatory minimums. Total and Tier 1 capital ratios each increased during the second quarter and all ratios continue to exceed internal targets. Our tangible common equity ratio declined by 16 basis points during the period. However, as I previously mentioned, this was driven by 53 basis points of dilution from PPP loans in the denominator. We do not foresee any near-term changes to the common dividend. However we will continue to evaluate various capital actions as the economic impact of the COVID pandemic develops. I'll now turn it back over to Archie for commentary related to particular areas of focus and our outlook in light of the current operating environment. Archie?