James Anderson
Analyst · Brandon Rud with Stephens
Thank you, Archie, and good morning, everyone. Slides 4, 5 and 6 provide a summary of our most recent financial performance. The first quarter results were excellent and included strong earnings, record revenues driven by a robust net interest margin and higher-than-expected fee income. Our net interest margin remains very strong at 3.99%, increasing 1 basis point during the quarter. Cost of funds declined 13 basis points, while asset yields declined 12 basis points. End-of-period loan balances increased $71 million, which included $228 million acquired in the BankFinancial transaction. This was partially offset by a $152 million decrease in ICRE balances, reflecting the payoff pressure that Archie mentioned earlier. Total average deposit balances increased $1.7 billion, including $1.2 billion acquired in the BankFinancial transaction and the full quarter impact from Westfield. We maintained 20% of our total deposit balances and noninterest-bearing accounts and remain focused on growing lower cost deposit balances. Turning to the income statement. First quarter fee income overcame seasonal headwinds with strong performance across all income types. Additionally, we had an $8.9 million gain on bargain purchase related to the BankFinancial acquisition. Noninterest expenses increased from the linked quarter due primarily to the impact of our most recent acquisitions. Our ACL coverage decreased slightly during the quarter to 1.36% of total loans and we recorded $8.5 million of provision expense during the period, which was driven primarily by net charge-offs. On asset quality, net charge-offs were 35 basis points on an annualized basis an increase of 8 basis points from the fourth quarter, while NPAs as a percentage of assets were 44 basis points, declining 4 basis points from the fourth quarter. Classified assets as a percentage of total assets also declined slightly during the period. From a capital standpoint, our ratios are in excess of both internal and regulatory targets. Tangible book value increased $0.41 to $16.15, while our tangible common equity ratio increased to 7.88%. Slide 8 reconciles our GAAP earnings to adjusted earnings highlighting items that we believe are important to understanding our quarterly performance. Adjusted net income was $80.5 million or $0.77 per share for the quarter. Noninterest income was adjusted for $1.3 million of losses on the sales of investment securities, the $8.9 million gain on bargain purchase related to the BankFinancial acquisition and a $1.4 million loss on the surrender of a bank-owned life insurance policy. Noninterest expense adjustments exclude the impact of acquisition costs, tax credit investment write-downs and other expenses not expected to recur. As depicted on Slide 9, these adjusted earnings equate to a return on average assets of 1.45% and a return on average tangible common equity of 19% and a pretax pre-provision ROA of 1.99%. Turning to Slides 10 and 11. Net interest margin increased 1 basis point from the linked quarter to 3.99%. Total deposit costs declined 13 basis points from the linked quarter, offsetting the impact of lower asset yields. Slide 13 illustrates our current loan mix and balance changes compared to the linked quarter. Loan balances increased $71 million during the period. As you can see on the right, we acquired $228 million of loans in the BankFinancial transaction. This was offset by a $152 million decrease in ICRE balances. [ Absent ] the acquisition, loan balances decreased 4.7% on an annualized basis, driven by elevated payoffs and ICRE. Slide 15 depicts our NDFI exposure. As you can see, our total NDFI balances are approximately 3% of our total loan book and all NDFI loans were pass rated at the end of the first quarter. The majority of our NDFI lending is concentrated in loans to REITs, which we believe further mitigates our risk. Slide 16 shows our deposit mix as well as the progression of average deposits from the linked quarter. In total, average deposit balances increased $1.7 billion, including a $1.2 billion impact from the BankFinancial transaction as well as a full quarter impact from Westfield. Slide 18 highlights our noninterest income. Total adjusted fee income was $76 million, with leasing and wealth management both posting record results. Foreign exchange delivered strong results and client derivative fees increased during the period as well. Noninterest expense for the quarter is outlined on Slide 19. Core expenses increased $12.9 million as expected during the period. This was driven primarily by our recent acquisitions. Turning now to Slides 20 and 21. Our ACL model resulted in a total allowance, which includes both funded and unfunded reserves of $207 million, which includes $3.1 million of initial allowance on the BankFinancial portfolio. This resulted in an ACL that was 1.36% of total loans, which was a 3 basis point decline from the fourth quarter. We recorded $8.5 million of provision expense during the period. Provision expense was primarily driven by net charge-offs, which were 35 basis points. Additionally, our NPAs to total assets decreased slightly to 44 basis points, while classified asset balances as a percentage of total assets decreased to 1.02%. Finally, as shown on Slides 22 and 23, capital ratios remain in excess of regulatory minimums and internal targets. During the first quarter, tangible book value increased to $16.15, while the TCE ratio increased to 7.88% at the end of the period. Our total shareholder return remains strong with 35% of our first quarter earnings returned to our shareholders during the period through the common dividend. The Board also approved a $5 million share repurchase program. We maintain our commitment to providing an attractive return to our shareholders and we'll evaluate capital actions that support that commitment. I'll now turn it back over to Archie for some comments on our outlook. Archie?