Robert Reilly
Analyst · Betsy Graseck with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead
Great. Thanks, Bill, and good morning, everyone. PNC’s third quarter net income was $1 billion, or $1.84 per diluted common share. These results reflected revenue growth, driven by higher net interest income and fee income. Expenses remained well-managed and our provision declined. Balance sheet information is on Slide 4, and is presented on an average basis. Commercial lending was up $597 million from the second quarter, reflecting growth in our large corporate client and our real estate businesses. Consumer lending was essentially flat linked quarter. We did see growth in auto, residential mortgage, and credit card, which totaled approximately $400 million during the second quarter. However, that was offset by declines in the non-strategic consumer portfolio and government guaranteed education loans. Looking at our securities portfolio, we saw growth on both in average and spot basis, which was commensurate with a higher level of deposit. On average – on an average basis, investment securities increased linked quarter by $1.5 billion, or 2%, and total deposits increased by $4.9 billion, which was also 2%. On a spot basis, investment securities increased by $6.7 billion or 9%, and total deposits increased by $10.1 billion or 4%. Securities purchases were primarily residential mortgage-backed and treasuries, a portion of which settled late in the third quarter resulting in the increase in spot balances relative to average. Importantly, our asset sensitivity was not significantly impacted during the quarter as a third of the purchases were converted to floating-rate. Average shareholders’ equity increased by approximately $200 million linked quarter, as we continue to return substantial capital to shareholders. During the third quarter, our capital return totaled $772 million, comprised of $499 million in share repurchases, and $273 million in common dividends. This resulted in a payout ratio of approximately 85%. Period-end common shares outstanding were $488 million, down $22 million or 4% compared to the same time a year ago. As of September 30, 2016, our pro forma Basel III common equity Tier 1 capital ratio fully phased-in and using the standardized approach was estimated to be 10.2%, which was unchanged from June 30, 2016. Our tangible book value reached $67.93 per common share as of September 30, a 7% increase compared to the same time a year ago. And our return on average assets for the third quarter was 1.1%. As I have already mentioned and as you can see on Slide 5, net income was $1 billion, and highlights include the following. Total revenue was up $35 million compared to the second quarter, driven by higher net interest income, which increased $27 million in part due to an additional day in the quarter. Noninterest income was up in the quarter, as business activity and improved equity markets drove fee income growth of $13 million. As expected, expenses continued to be well-managed. Noninterest expense increased by $34 million or 1% compared to the second quarter, reflecting increased business activity and the impact of the new FDIC surcharge. Provision for credit losses in the third quarter was $87 million, down $40 million compared with the second quarter related to the stabilization in our energy-related loan portfolio. The non-energy component of provision, which was essentially all of our provision in the third quarter, was up $6 million compared to the second quarter, reflecting the gradual normalization of credit costs. Finally, our effective tax rate in the third quarter was 25.4%. For the full-year 2016, we continue to expect the effective tax rate to be approximately 25%. Now, I will discuss the key drivers of this performance in more detail. Turning to Slide 6, net interest income increased by $27 million or 1% compared to the second quarter. Core net interest income increased by $29 million, which was driven by an additional day in the quarter and higher earning assets that were partially offset by lower securities yields. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, core net interest income increased $61 million, or 3% and included higher securities and loan balances and higher loan yields. Net interest margin of 2.68% declined by 2 basis points linked quarter, primarily reflecting the lower securities yields. Purchase accounting accretion was essentially flat linked quarter, as cash recoveries were higher than expected. For the fourth quarter, we expect purchase accounting accretion to be approximately $50 million. Turning to Slide 7, noninterest income and importantly fee income grew over the second quarter. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, total noninterest income grew despite a sizable decline in other income. Year-over-year, we saw strong fee income growth of $77 million, or 6%, reflecting the continued success of our efforts across our businesses. Asset management fees, which include our equity investment in BlackRock increased by 7%, both year-over-year and linked quarter, reflecting stronger equity markets and new business activity. Consumer services fees remained relatively stable linked quarter. Compared to the third quarter of last year, consumer services fees increased by $7 million, or 2%, primarily due to higher customer activity with growth in credit and debit cards. Corporate services fees declined by $14 million, or 3% compared to the second quarter, as higher treasury management fees were offset by lower capital markets related revenue and a lower benefit from commercial mortgage servicing rights valuation. Compared to the third quarter of last year, corporate services fees grew by $5 million, or 1%, due to increased customer activity, which included higher treasury management and merger and acquisition advisory fees. Residential mortgage noninterest income declined by $5 million, or 3% linked quarter as higher loan sales revenue driven by an increase in origination volume was offset by lower net hedging gains on mortgage servicing rights and lower servicing fees. Mortgage originations increased by 17% linked quarter. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, residential mortgage noninterest income increased by $35 million, or 28% as a result of higher loan sales revenue from increased origination volumes, higher servicing revenue, and higher net hedging gains. Service charges on deposits increased by $11 million, or 7% linked quarter, primarily due to seasonal customer activity. On a year-over-year basis, service charges on deposits remained relatively stable. Of note, with respect to other noninterest income, we had no sales of Visa shares in the third quarter. The year-over-year decline reflected the impact of the net Visa gains in the third quarter of 2015. Turning to Slide 8. As you know, our expenses have declined three years in a row. And through the first three quarters of this year, expenses have remained well-managed, as we continue to invest in technology and business infrastructure. Third quarter expenses increased by $34 million, or 1%, which included increased business activity, as well as higher FDIC expenses of approximately $25 million, driven by the impact of the new surcharge. As we previously stated, our continuous improvement program has a goal to reduce cost by $400 million in 2016. We’re now nine months into the year and we’ve completed actions related to capturing more than 75% of our annual goal. As a result, we remain confident we will achieve our full-year objectives. Through this program, we intend to partially fund the significant investments in our business. Looking ahead, our fourth quarter will be impacted by seasonally higher expenses, which is consistent with prior years. We will also continue to make investments in technology, in our retail banking, and home lending transformation. As a result, we expect fourth quarter expenses to be up low single digits on a percentage basis compared to the third quarter. We continue to expect that our full-year 2016 expenses will remain stable with 2015 levels. As you can see on Slide 9, overall credit quality was stable compared to the second quarter. While we experienced stabilization in our energy-related portfolio in the third quarter, our credit quality was impacted by these loans in recent quarters. And as a result, we are continuing to provide the breakout of this portfolio. Total nonperforming loans decreased by 118 million, or 5% linked quarter, with declines across nearly all commercial and consumer categories. Total delinquencies decreased by $5 million compared to the second quarter. Provision for credit losses of $87 million decreased by $40 million linked quarter. Our third quarter provision included $2 million for loans in our energy sector compared to $48 million in the second quarter. The remaining $85 million of our provision for our non-energy loans included the impact of increases on the consumer side, offset by a lower commercial provision, which was driven in part by changes in expected default rates. Because of the stabilization in our energy portfolio, we expect our fourth quarter provision to be in the $75 million to $125 million range. Net charge offs increased $20 million, or $154 million in the third quarter. Higher commercial loan net charge-offs across various industries were partially offset by lower charge-offs related to loans in the energy sector. Our third quarter annualized net charge-off ratio was 29 basis points, up 3 basis points from the second quarter. Turning to our energy book on Slide 10, not much has changed from the information provided last quarter. At the end of the third quarter, our oil, gas and coal portfolios continue to represent a small portion of our outstanding loans, approximately 1.4%, and we view this book as appropriately reserved. And as we stated previously, we continue to monitor market conditions, as well as impacts other businesses. Borrowing any dramatic changes in energy prices, we believe the majority of the energy-related credit pressures we’ve experienced in 2016 have largely subsided. In summary, PNC had a successful quarter, driven by growth in revenue and well-managed expenses. We grew loans and deposits and continued to deliver significant shareholder returns. We believe the U.S. economy will continue to grow at a steady pace, and our plans assume a 25 basis point increase in short-term interest rates by the Federal Reserve in December. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter and when compared to the third quarter reported results, we expect modest growth in loans, we expect stable net interest income, we expect stable fee income, we expect expenses to be up in the low single digits, and as I stated earlier, we expect provision to be between $75 million and $125 million. With that Bill and I are ready to take your questions.