David Zalman
Analyst · SunTrust Robinson Humphrey
Thank you, Charlotte. I'd like to welcome and thank everyone joining us for our third quarter earnings announcement. I'm very excited to announce such positive results for the third quarter of 2014. I am pleased to announce that Prosperity Bancshares will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.2725 for the fourth quarter of 2014, which represents an increase of 13.5% from the $0.24 per share currently being paid per quarter. Prosperity strives to continue to share our success with our shareholders. After listing on the NASDAQ stock market in late 1998, we started paying a dividend of $0.10 per share in the following year. Based on the continued increase in the dividend, it is obvious that Prosperity has the shareholder's interest in mind. With regard to earnings, we posted earnings of $76.7 million for the 3 months ended September 30, 2014, and that's compared to $55.2 million for the same period in 2013, which is an increase of $21.2 million or 38.5%. Our earnings per share for the third quarter of 2014 came in at $1.10 compared to $0.91 for the same period last year, an increase of 20.9%. The net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis increased to 3.85% for the 3 months ended September 30, 2014, compared with 3.59% for the same period in 2013 and increased from 3.83% for the 3 months that ended June 30, 2014. Excluding purchase accounting adjustments, the net interest margin on a tax-equivalent basis decreased on a linked-quarter basis from 3.31% for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, to 3.26% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Our Tier 1 leverage capital ratio stood at 7.4% at September 30, 2014, compared to 6.98% at June 30, 2014. Our strong earnings continue to build capital rapidly. Loan and deposit growth was impacted by the acquisitions of First Victoria National Bank in November of 2013 and F&M Bank in April of 2014. Excluding the loans acquired in these acquisitions and new production at the acquired banking centers since the respective acquisition dates, loans at September 30, 2014, grew $405 million or 6.6% when compared with September 30, 2013, and increased $207 million or 3.2%, 13% annualized, on a linked-quarter basis. We continue to have record production in loans but still see a lot of paydowns. Tim will discuss this more in detail in his comments. Strong asset quality continues to be one of the core values of our banks. Nonperforming assets totaled $50,082,000 or 27 basis points of quarterly average earning assets at September 30, 2014, compared with $12.6 million or 9 basis points of quarterly average earning assets at September 30, 2013, and $28.5 million or 15 basis points of quarterly average earning assets at June 30, 2014. While the increase in nonperforming assets is significant, it was not unexpected as the loans added to nonperforming this quarter were identified during our due diligence of the F&M Bank. While the majority of these loans are nonperforming, several are related to renewals that have been delayed due to documentation or procedural issues. As of the date of this call, we expect that approximately $16.5 million of these loans will be paid off, moved or renewed, but there are no guarantees that such payoffs and renewals will occur as expected. We believe, for the next 12 to 18 months, we will have a nonperforming asset ratio similar to the one this quarter. Excluding deposits assumed in the First Victoria National Bank and F&M acquisitions and new deposits generated at the acquired banking centers since the respective acquisition dates, deposits at September 30, 2014, grew $550 million or 4.4% compared with September 30, 2013, and decreased $79 million or 6 basis points on a linked-quarter basis. A 4.4% organic deposit growth rate is in line with our historic growth rates. Historically, our deposits are seasonally low in the third quarter, and we experience strong deposit growth in the fourth and first quarters of the year. The Texas and Oklahoma economies continued to expand during the first 9 months of 2014. The employment growth and population growth continues to outpace the majority of the nation. Texas had the highest job creation in the country with approximately 375,000 jobs created in the past year. Over the past year, 1 of every 6 new jobs in the country has been located in the state of Texas. The unemployment rate for Texas is 5.1% and the unemployment rate for Oklahoma is 4.6% while the rate for the rest of the nation was 6.2%. More specifically, we continue to see strong home sales. The average apartment vacancy rates are down with rental rates increasing. The office vacancy rates are down with rates also increasing, and the general economic outlook for Texas and Oklahoma for the remainder of 2014 is positive. Thanks again for your support of our company. Let me turn over our discussion to David Hollaway, our Chief Financial Officer.