Kevin Chapman
Analyst · Raymond James
Thank you, Mitch. Overall, the company had a solid quarter. Net interest income was $109.3 million, up $0.5 million on a linked quarter basis. The accretable yield recognized on purchased loans in interest income collected on problem loans was relatively flat compared to the prior quarter. Net interest margin was $390 million for the fourth quarter of ‘19 as compared to $398 million for the third quarter of ‘19 and a core margin decrease of 9 basis points over the same period. The decrease is primarily driven by decline in earning asset yields following the three rate decreases by the Federal Reserve since August. In order to mitigate the impact on our margin, we focused on reducing deposit cost and continue to execute on our strategy of growing non-interest bearing deposits and managing the mix and cost of our interest bearing liabilities. As a result, we were able to lower the cost of our deposits by 9 basis points and lower the total cost of our funding by 10 basis points from the previous quarter. Non-interest income continues to be a great source of income for us representing over 25% of our total revenues. Non-interest income was fairly consistent on a linked quarter basis. As discussed last quarter, our non-interest income in Q3 and Q4 reflects the limitations on our interchange fees imposed by the Durbin Amendment, which reduced fees and commissions on loans and deposits by approximately $3 million during each of the quarters. On the positive side, mortgage banking income had a strong quarter even when adjusting for the seasonal pullback we have typically experienced in Q4. During the quarter, our locked mortgage volume was $900 million, which was down from the previous quarter, but up $300 million when compared to the fourth quarter of ‘18. During 2019, we locked $3.7 billion in mortgage commitments compared to $2.7 billion in 2018. Refi volume accounted for 41% of our production during the fourth quarter and has remained consistent between quarters, which is anticipated in the current interest rate environment. Additionally and as Mitch mentioned during the quarter, we recaptured $1.3 million of mortgage servicing right valuation adjustment that we recognized in Q3. Non-interest expense remained consistent between quarters. Our adjusted efficiency ratio was 63.43% for the quarter and 60.4% for the year. The cost associated with the producers we hired during the year along with the previously discussed margin compression impact on Durbin Amendment have continued to put pressure on our efficiency ratio. But as we have mentioned previously, the success of our new producers is beginning to show in our results and their portfolios continue to mature. We will expect our investment to yield this return not only in net interest income, but also in the efficiency ratios. Shifting to our asset quality, at year end, our overall credit quality metrics continued to remain strong as a percentage of total assets. All credit quality metrics, including NPAs, loans 30 to 89 days past due in our internal watch list are at or near historic lows. Net loan charge-offs were $1.6 million or 7 basis points on an annualized basis for the fourth quarter of ‘19 and we provided roughly $2.9 million in provision during the quarter. As we move into a new year, we have renewed our commitment to remain – to maintain strong credit quality. We will continue to remain disciplined in our underwriting standards, including margin and structure and we will remain committed to our business model, which has proven successful over the years. We have emphasized the addition of the producers that we have hired to support our growth strategy, but would like to remind you that at the same time we have added talent to our credit team to reinforce our commitment to credit quality. For more information and details on our financials, I will refer you to our press release for specific numbers or ratios. Now, I will pass the call to Robin for any closing comments.