Peter B. Bartholow
Analyst · Jefferies
Thank you, George. George said we had a charge of $3 million, and I'll discuss that a bit more in a second. But before that nonoperating, nonrecurring charge, net income -- operating net income was $35.4 million. That represented an increase of 23% from Q2 2013 or in that number, again, the nonoperating charge of -- excuse me, the nonrecurring charge included a $7.7 million number. We also reported an increase of 8.7% compared to the year ago quarter. George mentioned the FDIC assessment occurred really at the end of Q3 on September 30 and was assessed due to the restatement of call reports. As he mentioned, it applied to Q4 of 2011 and Q4 of 2012. So there's no relationship to current operations in any way. Obviously, the company had means to avoid that condition had we had any notice that the held for sale risk, the risk weight could've changed or that the restatement could possibly have caused an increase in the assessment. Obviously, we think the risk profile of the assets, the performance of the company and the facts about the situation clearly support our view that the assessment was not warranted. We will dispute the charge, and if we're successful, any refund will be applied to reduce noninterest expense in the quarter in which the matter is resolved. We did report from operating EPS of $0.79 per share compared to $0.64, again, before the special charge in the second quarter. Strong quarter in terms of growth, operating leverage, core earnings power and net interest margin. George mentioned we had exceptional growth in loans held for investment, $580 million or 8% in a quarter that's been historically quite soft. This is a record quarter, as he mentioned, in terms of average balance growth, linked quarter, building off a remarkable growth experience in the last half of Q2. The growth in held for investment clearly, again, is displacing any softness that we see in held for sale balances. Contribution from regions and lines of business was widespread. Order and balance of $8 million -- $8 billion was, again, 4% above the Q3 average going into a seasonally strong Q4. Now, I'll mention that it's 11% above the year-to-date average for loans held for investment. So the loan held for sale balance is average down just 1.8% from Q2. Contributions to pretax pre-provision income actually increased slightly in dollar terms and represented 24% of pretax pre-provision contributions compared to approximately 23% of total loans. In contrast to reports of other warehouse lenders and mortgage originators, the performance clearly demonstrates we have increased market share, and our strategy is working. We have very strong results in net revenue and core earnings power with an increase in net revenue of 6% and 11% from the year ago quarter. We experienced on an apples-to-apples operating basis, a reduction of noninterest expense of 2.7% from the second quarter. Noninterest expense increased 10% from the year ago quarter. We've seen a meaningful improvement in operating leverage even after the additional expense associated with the major success we've enjoyed in recruiting over the last 6 months. We experienced a little increase in net interest margin during the quarter. In contrast to our normal trans, where held for investment growth can drive down the margin, we saw a slight pick up. Loans subject to floors have held up extremely well in terms of both balances and yields. But they now represent a much smaller portion of total held for investment loans because of the growth in the floating rate portfolio. Yield on held for sale loans increased 5 basis points as anticipated. The growth in held for investment loans relative to total loans really was the principal driver of the 2-basis-point increase in the net interest margin. We've seen a significant improvement in the funding profile, as George mentioned, with very strong growth in DDA and total deposits. The total deposit cost has stabilized now for several quarters at 17 basis points. From Q3 of 2012, DDA average balances grew just over 55% and represented more than half of the total -- half of the growth in total deposits. The growth in DDA of $1.1 billion represented 119% of the growth in total loans from the year ago quarter. And the balance end -- the balance at quarter end grew by 11% from Q2, again, going to a seasonally strong fourth quarter. Provision for loan losses this quarter directly related to our -- the quarterly growth in held for investment, provision of $5 million down from $7 million the prior quarter. Net charge-offs were less than $50,000 and improvements of other metrics in credit quality and an increase in the unallocated reserve were also noted. We, also, for the first time in many quarters experienced no ROE valuation charge in total credit cost. On Slide 6, the quarterly income statement comparison. We remain among a very small group of industry leaders in the growth of net interest income and net revenue. Credit metrics improved from already excellent levels in the provision related only to growth in held for investment. Noninterest expense clearly driven by the growth in our company and its contributing to our performance. We had strong operating returns and return on assets and equity, as George mentioned. ROA above 1.3% and ROE approaching 15%, among the best in our class. EPS improved sharply, again $0.79 versus 64% -- $0.64, excuse me, a 23% increase. We saw an improved efficiency ratio, again, below 50%, excluding the nonoperating charge and even after the very strong success we've had in recruiting. On Slide 8, the balance sheet and NIM shows that company has significantly increased its asset-sensitive position over the past 2 years, and the outlook for NIM has improved. It's driven by the growth in floating rate LHI, contribution of floors has remained high, but as I mentioned, it's a smaller percentage of the total portfolio. Held for sale yields have improved, and they are expected to increase modestly. The change in funding mix has been critical to our success and will contribute more as rates finally begin to rise. The growth in DDA of more than $1 billion improved the funding profile for our long-term benefit. The company remains focused on stressing growth and total deposits with growth of over $2 billion, even if the ratio of held for investments to total deposits and reduced use of borrowed funds is, at this point, slightly suboptimal for near-term results. As a result of our business model and balance sheet structure, the outlook for NIM protection in growth and net interest income are improving. With high ROE, internal capital generation rate is still expected to exceed the growth in total loans for 2013. Might I add with it, between what we've raised and earned since the equity offering in the summer of 2012, we've increased capital by a total of $500 million, representing almost 30% of total loan growth in that period. Slide 9 shows a quarterly average balance shift. As indicated in our earlier commentary, the growth increase -- the growth pace increased sharply in the seasonally weak Q2 -- Q3, adding to a trend from Q2 and contributing to the record growth linked quarter and average balances. DDA and total deposits growth were also especially strong. Again, the funding profile has improved dramatically. Quarter end balances based on LHI growth of 7% linked quarter and 23% in the year ago, we've obviously continued to gain market share. We've overcome seasonal weakness with growth across many regions and lines of business. The held for sale balances are high relative to industry trends. Expansion in the market share, as shown up there, even as the industry is producing dramatic reduction in refinancing activity. Growth in LHI, as I mentioned, is offsetting industry weakness in held for sale. In the quarter end, reduction in participations in the held for sale program is having the desired impact. We are benefiting from higher utilization by our largest customers, and we are adding new customer relationships. And we are beginning to see a consolidation in the industry that could have a significant benefit on our customer base. Might I mention, from the 930 balance, we saw 11%, as I mentioned, in held for investment loans compared to the full year average. We saw a situation where DDA balances represent a huge percentage of the growth in total loans. Keith?