Neelesh Kalani
Analyst · KBW
Thanks, Adam. Good morning, everyone. We started 2026 off strong with net income of $21.8 million or $1.12 in earnings per diluted share. Return on average assets for the quarter was 1.59%, and return on average equity was 14.76%. As noted on Slide 4 of the earnings deck, the net interest margin was 3.90% in the first quarter, down from 4.00% in the fourth quarter of '25. This was driven by a combination of the impact of the December Fed rate cut on interest income, reduced purchase accounting accretion and temporarily elevated funding costs. We typically experience seasonal deposit outflows at the beginning of the year. This persisted for longer than in prior years, which drove borrowing balances higher for the first half of the quarter. In the second half of the quarter, deposit balances grew substantially, and we implemented some delayed deposit rate reductions. As a result of actions taken during the quarter, cost of funds was still down from the prior quarter but not by as much as previously projected. With a full quarter of impact, I expect funding costs will decline further in the second quarter of '26. The previous guidance for net interest margin in the range of 3.90% to 4.00% for '26 remains with an expectation of the margin increasing from here. Overall, in an extremely competitive environment, we feel good about the first quarter's deposit growth, reduced reliance on borrowings and where our funding costs are settling in. On Slide 5, fee income increased to $15.6 million in the first quarter from $14.4 million in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter, $2.4 million of life insurance proceeds were recognized. The quarter included wealth management income of $5.6 million, down only slightly from the prior quarter despite difficult stock market conditions. Swap fees were very strong at $1.3 million in the quarter. While there is expected volatility in some of the components, I expect normalized noninterest income to be in line with previously reported guidance. Now I'll cover noninterest expenses on Slide 6. Expenses declined by $700,000 this quarter to $36.7 million. Salaries and benefits declined with lower health care costs and some year-end incentive adjustments. Professional services came down substantially as we continue to reduce our reliance on third-party support. And I anticipate our expenses will fall into the lower end of the guidance range unless we choose to make some strategic investments in personnel to drive or support growth. Slide 7 discusses credit quality. Provision expense was $728,000 for the quarter, primarily due to loan growth. We had approximately $900,000 of net charge-offs, which was offset by the impact of favorable economic factors in the allowance calculation. Our allowance coverage ratio was 1.17% at March 31, '26, and we believe it remains adequately aligned with the risk profile of our loan portfolio. Classified loans declined again in the first quarter. Nonaccruals increased by $2 million from the prior quarter, primarily due to 2 relationships. While we experienced some movement into the nonperforming category, we also continue to see payoffs and upgrades out of that bucket, resulting from our focus on achieving the best solutions for the bank. Our earnings and performance metrics are on Slide 8. All metrics remain strong. TCE has increased to 9.2% despite an increase since December 31, '25, of $6.8 million in unrealized losses on investment securities due to changes in market rates. Slide 9 addresses our loan portfolio. Loans again grew by 4% in the quarter. Loan yields declined during the first quarter due to the impact of lower rates on the variable rate loan portfolio. We did have $211 million of loan production during the first quarter and still have a strong pipeline. As noted on Slide 10, deposits grew by $98.7 million or 9% annualized in the first quarter. The loan-to-deposit ratio declined slightly to 88%, leaving us plenty of room to support balance sheet growth. The cost of deposits declined to 1.96% for the first quarter with the timing of rate reductions in the middle of the first quarter and having 86% of the deposit growth being in demand deposits, we expect deposit costs to come down further. Another positive trend for the quarter was the increase in noninterest-bearing deposits of $14 million or 7% annualized. Our sales team remains focused on expanding existing relationships and creating new ones to continue building lower-cost deposit balances. The investment portfolio is covered on Slide 11. There is a little bit of purchase activity during the quarter in order to keep the portfolio flat. The overall portfolio yield declined during the quarter due to the impact of the December Fed rate cut on floating rate investments. We view the investment portfolio as a reliable source for income generation, and we'll continue to facilitate that by taking advantage of any market opportunities that correspond with our balance sheet strategy. As presented on Slide 12, our regulatory capital ratios continue to build at a rapid pace. Capital generation is expected to remain strong going forward based on projected earnings, and we continue to believe we're positioned to take advantage of various capital allocation options. So in summary, we believe the net interest margin has stabilized with the opportunity to grow from here with declining funding costs. Fee income remains a core strength and a differentiator, particularly with wealth management if the market can maintain or improve from current levels. And expense management remains a key focus for us in order to achieve our financial goals. Thank you for your time this morning, and I'll turn it back to Adam Metz for his closing remarks. Adam?