Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Ameris Bancorp First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. My name is Bruno, and I'll be the operator of today. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，歡迎參加 Ameris Bancorp 第一季度收益電話會議。我叫布魯諾，我是今天的接線員。 （操作員說明）

I will now hand over to your host, Nicole Stokes, Chief Financial Officer. Nicole, please go ahead.

現在我將請主持人、首席財務官 Nicole Stokes 發言。妮可，請繼續。

Thank you, Bruno, and thank you to all, who have joined our call today. During the call, we will be referencing the press release and the financial highlights that are available on the Investor Relations section of our website at amerisbank.com. I'm joined today by Palmer Proctor, our CEO; Jon Edwards, our Chief Credit Officer; and Mike Spingler, our Treasurer.

謝謝布魯諾，也感謝今天加入我們電話會議的所有人。在電話會議期間，我們將參考我們網站 amerisbank.com 投資者關係部分提供的新聞稿和財務摘要。今天我們的首席執行官 Palmer Proctor 也加入了我的行列。喬恩·愛德華茲 (Jon Edwards)，我們的首席信貸官；和我們的財務主管邁克·斯賓格勒（Mike Spingler）。

Palmer will begin with some opening general comments, and then I will discuss the details of our financial results before we open up for Q&A.

帕爾默將首先發表一些一般性評論，然後我將在開始問答之前討論我們財務業績的細節。

Before we begin, I'll remind you that our comments may include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The actual results could vary materially. We list some of the factors that might cause results to differ in our press release and in our SEC filings, which are available on our website. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, early developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

在我們開始之前，我要提醒您，我們的評論可能包含前瞻性陳述。這些陳述存在風險和不確定性。實際結果可能會有很大差異。我們在新聞稿和 SEC 文件中列出了一些可能導致結果不同的因素，這些文件可在我們的網站上找到。我們不承擔因新信息、早期發展或其他原因而更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務，除非法律要求。

Also during the call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in reference to the company's performance. You can see our reconciliation of these measures and GAAP financial measures in the appendix to our presentation.

此外，在電話會議期間，我們還將參考公司業績討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們演示文稿的附錄中看到我們對這些指標和 GAAP 財務指標的調節。

And with that, I'll turn it over to Palmer for opening comments.

至此，我將把它交給帕爾默來徵求意見。

Thank you, Nicole. Good morning, everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to join our call today. On our last earnings call, I remind everyone, how our discipline has really positioned us well for 2023 also mention the importance of teamwork and our ability to stay focused on core fundamentals and that message couldn't have been more timely just 5 weeks later, we faced the banking disruption, where the value of balance sheet and stable deposit ages are really proven the importance of core banking relationships here at Ameris.

謝謝你，妮可。大家，早安。感謝您今天抽出時間參加我們的電話會議。在我們上次的財報電話會議上，我提醒大家，我們的紀律如何真正讓我們在 2023 年處於有利地位，還提到了團隊合作的重要性以及我們專注於核心基本面的能力，而僅 5 週後，這一信息就顯得再及時不過了。我們面臨著銀行業的顛覆，資產負債表的價值和穩定的存款期限確實證明了 Ameris 核心銀行關係的重要性。

We actually saw deposits grow from March 10 through the end of the quarter. For the first quarter, we reported net income of $60.4 million or $0.87 per diluted share.

實際上，從 3 月 10 日到本季度末，我們的存款有所增長。第一季度，我們報告淨利潤為 6040 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.87 美元。

Included in this is a $50 million provision for credit losses, which we were proud to have the ability to use strong underlying earnings to build the reserve, due to our economic forecast, which specifically reflects declines in the CRE and home price indices over the next few quarters, which are primary loss drivers for our CECL model.

其中包括 5,000 萬美元的信貸損失準備金，我們很自豪能夠利用強勁的基礎收益來建立準備金，因為我們的經濟預測具體反映了未來 CRE 和房價指數的下降幾個季度，這是我們的 CECL 模型的主要損失驅動因素。

But I think, it's important to note that this provision was driven by our forecast model and not related to any credit deterioration in our loan portfolio.

但我認為，值得注意的是，這項準備金是由我們的預測模型驅動的，與我們貸款組合中的任何信用惡化無關。

In fact, our credit metrics actually improved this quarter, which was evidenced by a stable NPA ratio and lower watch list loans. After the provision this quarter, our reserve for credit losses, excluding unfunded commitments represented a healthy 121% coverage ratio and 285% of net NPAs.

事實上，本季度我們的信貸指標實際上有所改善，不良資產比率穩定和觀察名單貸款減少就證明了這一點。本季度計提撥備後，我們的信貸損失準備金（不包括無資金準備的承諾）代表了 121% 的健康覆蓋率和淨不良資產的 285%。

Our pretax pre-provision ROA was 2.07% for the quarter, once again above our target of 2% and improvement from the 2.01% PPNR ROA in the first quarter of last year.

本季度我們的稅前撥備前 ROA 為 2.07%，再次高於我們 2% 的目標，並且較去年第一季度 2.01% 的 PPNR ROA 有所改善。

Nicole is going to talk to you in a minute, about the margin details, but I did want to mention that we are still remaining above up here at 3.76%, and our discipline around expenses allowed us to operate at a top peer adjusted efficiency ratio of less than 52%.

妮可稍後將與您討論利潤率細節，但我確實想提一下，我們的利率仍保持在 3.76% 的水平之上，而且我們對費用的嚴格控制使我們能夠以同行調整後的最高效率進行運營低於52%。

Our capital position remains strong. We grew tangible book value again this quarter by over 11% annualized to end of $30.79 per share.

我們的資本狀況依然強勁。本季度我們的有形賬面價值再次增長超過 11%，達到每股 30.79 美元。

We're constantly reminding ourselves of the importance of discipline and the ability to remain focused on things we can control.

我們不斷提醒自己紀律的重要性以及保持專注於我們可以控制的事情的能力。

And because of this, we feel prepared for the future, with some of the main drivers being, when you take a look at our franchise value, the diversification we have among business lines and geography with 70% of our net income coming from the core bank and also the solid core deposit base that we have with a low level of uninsured uncollateralized funding, which is at 29.5%.

正因為如此，我們為未來做好了準備，當你看看我們的特許經營價值時，一些主要驅動因素是我們在業務線和地域上的多元化，我們 70% 的淨利潤來自核心業務銀行以及我們擁有的堅實的核心存款基礎，無保險的無抵押融資水平較低，為 29.5%。

And then, we've clearly got a prudent culture of expense control and solid capital and liquidity positions.

然後，我們顯然擁有審慎的費用控製文化以及穩固的資本和流動性狀況。

And most importantly, when you look at where we're positioned with our [seasoned] bankers in the top southeastern markets, that, in and of itself, allows us to have a lot of confidence, as we move through the remainder of this year and into next year.

最重要的是，當你看看我們在東南頂級市場的[經驗豐富的]銀行家的定位時，這本身就讓我們在今年剩下的時間裡充滿信心並進入明年。

I'll stop there now, and turn it over to Nicole to discuss our financial results in more detail.

我現在就到此為止，並將其交給妮可，以更詳細地討論我們的財務業績。

Great. Thank you, Palmer. As you mentioned, for the first, we're reporting net income of $60.4 million or $0.87 per diluted share.

偉大的。謝謝你，帕爾默。正如您提到的，首先，我們報告的淨利潤為 6040 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.87 美元。

On an adjusted basis, when you exclude our gain on BOLI proceeds this quarter, we earned $59.9 million or $0.86 per diluted share. Our adjusted ROA in the first quarter was 97 basis points, and our adjusted return on tangible common equity was 11.41%. And remember, these are both after the $49.7 million provision expense. So as Palmer mentioned, on a PPNR basis, we were above 2% at 2.07% PPNR ROA.

在調整後的基礎上，如果排除本季度 BOLI 收益的收益，我們的盈利為 5,990 萬美元，即稀釋後每股盈利 0.86 美元。第一季度調整後的 ROA 為 97 個基點，調整後的有形普通股回報率為 11.41%。請記住，這些都是扣除 4,970 萬美元撥備費用後的結果。正如 Palmer 提到的，以 PPNR 為基礎，我們的 PPNR ROA 為 2.07%，高於 2%。

Our tangible common equity ratio was 8.55% at the end of the quarter. But we had about $900 million of excess cash in our balance sheet at the end of the quarter, and that negatively impacted our TCE by about 30 basis. So without that excess cash, it would have been $885 million. We've already used that excess cash to pay off about $950 million of FHLB advances during the first few weeks of April, and those were at an average rate of $485 million.

截至本季度末，我們的有形普通股比率為 8.55%。但截至本季度末，我們的資產負債表中有約 9 億美元的過剩現金，這對我們的 TCE 產生了約 30 個基點的負面影響。因此，如果沒有多餘的現金，該數字將達到 8.85 億美元。在 4 月份的前幾週，我們已經使用多餘的現金償還了約 9.5 億美元的 FHLB 預付款，平均金額為 4.85 億美元。

Our net interest income for the quarter increased $22 million over last quarter, at $112 million from the first quarter of last year. In comparison our interest expense increased $34.5 million this quarter compared to $73 million -- I'm sorry, compared to last quarter and then $73 million when you compare it to the first quarter of last year. So our net interest margin remained strong at 3.76%.

我們本季度的淨利息收入比上一季度增加了 2200 萬美元，比去年第一季度增加了 1.12 億美元。相比之下，本季度我們的利息支出增加了 3450 萬美元，而上季度為 7300 萬美元——抱歉，與上季度相比，再與去年第一季度相比，利息支出增加了 7300 萬美元。因此，我們的淨息差保持在 3.76% 的強勁水平。

Our yield on earning assets increased by 34 basis points, while our total funding cost increased 65 basis points. So our margin declined 27 basis points, and there was really 3 contributing factors there. First, we had about 18 basis points of the compression due to the negative deposit mix that was non interest-bearing in kind of transitioning to interest-bearing. We had 14 basis points of beta catch-up and that's typical when you near the end of the cycle. And then, those 2 negatives were offset by 5 basis points of expansion because of higher loan yields and average balances.

我們的生息資產收益率增加了 34 個基點，而我們的總融資成本增加了 65 個基點。因此，我們的利潤率下降了 27 個基點，這實際上有 3 個因素造成。首先，由於負存款組合從無息過渡到有息，我們受到了大約 18 個基點的壓縮。我們有 14 個基點的 Beta 追趕，這是接近週期結束時的典型情況。然後，由於貸款收益率和平均餘額較高，這兩個負面因素被擴張的 5 個基點所抵消。

Due to the competitive pressures and the banking turmoil event in March, we've been more aggressive with raising deposit rates this quarter. However, looking at our cumulative deposit beta, it has still been 23%, which is exactly in line with how we modeled it, and when we started the cycle at 23%.

由於競爭壓力和三月份的銀行業動盪事件，我們本季度更加積極地提高了存款利率。然而，看看我們的累積存款貝塔值，它仍然是 23%，這與我們的建模方式以及我們開始週期時的 23% 完全一致。

We continue to be slightly active sensitive with NII increasing less than 2% in a 100 environment, as we've been programmatically repositioning our balance sheet closer than neutral. And remember, we started this cycle with about 7% asset sensitivity. So we've definitely worked to get closer to neutral there. And we've updated the interest rate sensitivity information on Slide 10.

我們繼續對 NII 在 100 的環境中增長不到 2% 保持輕微的積極敏感，因為我們一直在有計劃地重新定位我們的資產負債表，使其接近中性。請記住，我們以大約 7% 的資產敏感性開始這個週期。因此，我們確實在努力接近中立。我們更新了幻燈片 10 上的利率敏感性信息。

Total noninterest expense increased $4.5 million in the first quarter, all of which was due to cyclical payroll taxes and 401(k) matching contribution. Our team did a great job watching expenses, resulting in an adjusted efficiency ratio of 51.99%.

第一季度非利息支出總額增加了 450 萬美元，所有這些都是由於週期性工資稅和 401(k) 配套繳款所致。我們的團隊在費用監控方面做得很好，調整後的效率達到 51.99%。

We continue to look for expense reduction opportunities, and we still believe we can maintain an efficiency ratio below 55% this year, and into 2024. On the balance sheet side, we ended the quarter with total assets of $26.1 billion compared to $25.1 billion, at the end of the year. That $1 billion of growth was really due to cash on liquidity of $900 million that we already spoke about. And then, loan growth of about $142.6 million. That represents an annualized loan growth ratio of 2.9% for the quarter.

我們繼續尋找削減費用的機會，我們仍然相信今年和 2024 年我們可以將效率比率維持在 55% 以下。在資產負債表方面，本季度末我們的總資產為 261 億美元，而上一季度為 251 億美元。年底。這 10 億美元的增長實際上是由於我們已經談到的 9 億美元的流動性現金。然後，貸款增長約1.426億美元。這意味著該季度的年化貸款增長率為 2.9%。

And we are slowing our loan growth expectations to low to mid-single-digit growth, and we plan to use deposit growth, as our governor on loan growth.

我們正在將貸款增長預期放緩至低至中個位數增長，並且我們計劃利用存款增長來作為貸款增長的調控者。

Our deposits grew $434.7 million or about 8.9% annualized, ending at $19.9 billion compared to $19.5 billion at the end of last year. Excluding the $1.1 billion growth in brokered CDs, deposits were reduced by about $675 million.

我們的存款增長了 4.347 億美元，年化增長率約為 8.9%，最終達到 199 億美元，而去年年底為 195 億美元。不計入經紀CD的11億美元增長，存款減少約6.75億美元。

And while there are a lot of ebbs and flows within that, really, we had about $400 million of that with expected and usual cyclical municipal and ag outflows that we always have in the first quarter.

雖然其中有很多潮起潮落，但實際上，我們有大約 4 億美元的資金，其中包括預期的和通常的周期性市政和農業流出，我們在第一季度總是有這種情況。

And then, the remaining was really about $200 million of deposits that were just normal business or the businesses were sold, something happened to the business.

然後，剩下的實際上是大約 2 億美元的存款，這只是正常業務，或者業務被出售，業務發生了一些事情。

So we've really only had about $70 million of declines of deposits going out, where they were going to higher rates, mostly investment type of brokerage accounts.

因此，我們實際上只減少了大約 7000 萬美元的存款，這些存款的利率更高，主要是投資類型的經紀賬戶。

The majority of the decline in noninterest-bearing this quarter was an internal movement from noninterest-bearing to interest-bearing and some of the deposit -- some of the banking turmoil really sparked customers look at their rate.

本季度無息存款的下降主要是從無息存款到有息存款的內部變動，以及一些存款——一些銀行業的動盪確實引發了客戶關注利率。

We saw very little movement noninterest-bearing deposits actually (inaudible) Bank.

我們實際上看到（聽不清）銀行的無息存款變動很小。

And our total noninterest-bearing deposits still represent about 36% of our total deposits. Our deposit base is well diversified, and no single depositor represents over 1% of deposits.

我們的無息存款總額仍佔存款總額的36%左右。我們的存款基礎十分多元化，沒有一個存款人佔存款的比例超過 1%。

And our uninsured uncollateralized accounts have remain stable and they actually improved this quarter to just under 30% at 29.5% of total deposits.

我們的無保險無抵押賬戶保持穩定，本季度實際上有所改善，達到略低於 30%，佔總存款的 29.5%。

So with that, I'll wrap it up and turn the call back over to Bruno for any questions from the group.

因此，我將結束它，並將電話轉回給布魯諾，以解答小組中的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) We have our first question from Casey Whitman from Piper Sandler.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Casey Whitman。

Maybe we could start out with just the margin. Can you walk us through sort of the margin maybe by month or at least, where the margins sort of ended the quarter either in March or at the very end, if you have it?

也許我們可以從利潤開始。您能否向我們介紹一下按月或至少按月計算的利潤率，如果您有的話，該季度的利潤率可能是在三月份或最後年底結束的？

And just, so we can sort of get a sense of where we're starting for second quarter?

只是，這樣我們就可以了解第二季度的起點？

Sure. So for kind of the month of March, we were in the mid-360s, about 3.63%. So if I'm guiding margin, and I want to make sure everybody realizes that the biggest contributor to margin at this point is the mix of deposits. And so, that's kind of the -- say the wild card in this.

當然。因此，就 3 月份而言，我們處於 360 左右，約為 3.63%。因此，如果我指導保證金，我想確保每個人都意識到，目前保證金的最大貢獻者是存款組合。所以，這就是——比如說這裡的通配符。

But assuming that we can maintain our mix, and it has slowed, and so the shift from noninterest-bearing to interest-bearing has slowed. So assuming that, we can keep that mix -- and assuming that the margin stays flat from March, we would be looking at about a 15 to -- 15 to 20 basis point compression in the second quarter, assuming deposits remain at the same mix, that we have today.

但假設我們可以維持我們的組合，並且它已經放緩，因此從無息到有息的轉變已經放緩。因此，假設我們可以保持這種組合，並假設利潤率自 3 月份起保持不變，我們將在第二季度看到大約 15 至 15 至 20 個基點的壓縮，假設存款保持相同的組合，我們今天就有了。

Okay. And is the assumption that you could sort of hold that the back half of the year?

好的。假設你可以在今年下半年堅持這一點嗎？

Or do you think, we should maybe even assume more compression from there?

或者你認為，我們甚至應該假設更多的壓縮？

So I think, it's a great point. And I think, we've been talking about that the longer that the Fed holds that the tighter the margin is going to get just because more customers are -- we're just going to continue to see that deposit pressure on the deposit pricing.

所以我認為，這是一個很好的觀點。我認為，我們一直在討論，美聯儲持有的時間越長，利潤率就會越緊，因為更多的客戶——我們將繼續看到存款對存款定價的壓力。

I mean everybody is fighting for the same deposits today. So, I do think that a lot of it depends on the Fed, but if the longer they hold, I think we could have some room kind of going into the third and fourth quarter for additional compression.

我的意思是，今天每個人都在爭奪同樣的存款。因此，我確實認為這在很大程度上取決於美聯儲，但如果他們堅持的時間越長，我認為我們可能會有一些空間進入第三和第四季度進行額外的壓縮。

Understood. Switching gears, can you just -- can you remind us sort of your threshold for how big you would let that equipment finance loan book get and sort of how that applies to the new updated loan growth guide you just gave? -- sort of how much growth would come out of that particular group?

明白了。換個方式，你能提醒我們一下你會讓設備融資貸款賬簿達到多大的門檻，以及它如何適用於你剛剛提供的新更新的貸款增長指南嗎？ ——該特定群體會帶來多少增長？

Yes. What we've said from the very beginning is we've never exceed more than 10% of our balance sheet.

是的。我們從一開始就說過，我們的資產負債表佔比從未超過 10%。

But the other thing, too, that Nicole touched on in her comments is that one of all the things across the board that we're looking at is we're not going to allow loan growth to outpace deposit growth.

但妮可在評論中提到的另一件事是，我們正在考慮的所有事情之一是，我們不會允許貸款增長超過存款增長。

So that will be our governor going forward. So even though there's additional capacity there to go up to 10% that doesn't necessarily mean, we would get to 10%, if we don't have the deposit strength to support it.

這將是我們未來的州長。因此，即使有額外的容量可以達到 10%，但這並不一定意味著，如果我們沒有足夠的存款實力來支持的話，我們就會達到 10%。

Our next question comes from Christopher Marinac from Janney Montgomery Scott. Please go ahead.

我們的下一個問題來自詹尼·蒙哥馬利·斯科特的克里斯托弗·馬里納克。請繼續。

Nicole and Palmer, I just want to add on to the (inaudible) question that Casey asked. If longer term and intermediate rates back off, which they have been lately. Does that help at all? Or is it much more tied back to the Fed funds rate given what you were just saying a second ago?

妮可和帕爾默，我只想補充凱西提出的（聽不清）問題。如果長期利率和中期利率回落，就像最近發生的那樣。這些幫助有用？或者考慮到您剛才所說的，它是否與聯邦基金利率更加相關？

No, it really is the Fed funds rate, is the latter of those two options.

不，它確實是聯邦基金利率，是這兩個選項中的後者。

Got it. Okay. And then back to the Equipment Finance area, what would be a good loss rate from that area? And I presume that, that's driving a little bit of the charge-off change we saw this quarter?

知道了。好的。然後回到設備財務領域，該領域的良好損失率是多少？我認為，這推動了我們本季度看到的沖銷變化？

It was predominant in the charge-offs this quarter. The loss rates, we looked at over the due diligence period we had -- I think their high period was in the 3s. The losses that we had this quarter are somewhat indicative of some of the collateral that we had, specifically some light-duty trucks that are just sort of getting a little bit hammered in the marketplace. But overall, we did forecast when we did due diligence, an increase in our loss rate for that purpose.

這在本季度的沖銷中占主導地位。我們在盡職調查期間觀察了損失率——我認為損失率的最高時期是在 3 秒內。我們本季度的損失在某種程度上表明了我們擁有的一些抵押品，特別是一些在市場上受到一點打擊的輕型卡車。但總的來說，我們在進行盡職調查時確實預測到，為此目的我們的損失率會增加。

And so, we expected some increase in charge-offs just because that was how we modeled it. Just remember that the division continues to perform at the higher end of the contribution pretax pre-provision. So kind of that net spread is still pretty positive for the bank overall.

因此，我們預計沖銷會有所增加，因為我們就是這樣建模的。請記住，該部門繼續在稅前撥備繳款的較高端表現。因此，這種淨利差對整個銀行來說仍然相當積極。

Great. Yes, that was going to be my other question, that -- so you're happy with the spreads there. And in general, is the new loan yield going on kind of rationing up with the overall portfolio? Or is it even going up faster than the overall Ameris loan portfolio?

偉大的。是的，這將是我的另一個問題，所以你對那裡的價差感到滿意。總的來說，新的貸款收益率是否會隨著整體投資組合的增加而增加？或者它的增長速度是否比整個 Ameris 貸款組合還要快？

It does ebb and flow depending on the kind of quality that we put in there, but it's been -- it's remained in double digits throughout the first quarter.

它確實會根據我們投入的質量類型而起伏不定，但它一直在——整個第一季度都保持在兩位數。

So it's not outpacing necessarily the rest of Ameris, but it's certainly keeping pace with the market.

因此，它不一定會超過 Ameris 的其他產品，但它肯定與市場保持同步。

Great. And then just last question. This has to do with the build in the allowance. From here, do you feel there's flexibility on provision just given that you've grown the reserves a lot, this past quarter?

偉大的。然後是最後一個問題。這與津貼的建立有關。從這裡開始，鑑於您在上個季度大幅增加了準備金，您是否認為準備金具有靈活性？

Sure. I'll take that one. So the thing is when you look at the -- when you look at the model, we used the CRE pricing index and the home pricing index within our model. And what really happened to do, we had a quarter that fell off this quarter of good CRE pricing forecast. And we added that rolling quarter added a quarter that was not good.

當然。我會接受那個。所以問題是，當你看模型時，我們在模型中使用了 CRE 定價指數和房屋定價指數。實際發生的情況是，我們有一個季度的商業房地產定價預測低於本季度的良好水平。我們補充說，滾動季度增加了一個不好的季度。

So, it really has to do with the next kind of -- it's the same anomaly. I think what you're asking is the same anomaly going to happen next quarter. And right now, we do not anticipate that being as severe.

所以，它確實與下一種異常有關——它是相同的異常。我認為你所問的是下個季度也會發生同樣的異常情況。目前，我們預計情況不會那麼嚴重。

Now obviously, Moody's forecast will update between now and then. But assuming that the CRE pricing index doesn't fall further, or the forecast for that doesn't fall further, I would expect that, that reserve build is fairly complete.

顯然，穆迪的預測將從現在到那時進行更新。但假設 CRE 定價指數不會進一步下跌，或者預測不會進一步下跌，我預計儲備建設相當完整。

Our next question comes from Brady Gailey from KBW.

我們的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Brady Gailey。

One more question on the reserve build. Was there anything in Ameris' results that drove the reserve growth?

還有一個關於儲備建設的問題。 Ameris 的業績中有什麼因素推動了準備金的增長嗎？

I mean, when I look at your asset quality, it looked fine in the quarter. So is there anything that you're seeing that makes you more cautious to build the reserve here?

我的意思是，當我查看你們的資產質量時，本季度看起來不錯。那麼，有什麼事情讓您對在這裡建立保護區更加謹慎嗎？

No, there's not. What we're seeing is pretty reflective of what you see in the results in our credit there. And this was, I think, a prudent move on our part, driven by model and nothing more than that.

不，沒有。我們所看到的非常反映了您在我們的信用結果中看到的情況。我認為，這對我們來說是一個謹慎的舉動，受到模型的驅動，僅此而已。

That answers your question.

這回答了你的問題。

Yes. And then, with deposits being the governor on loan growth, I mean, you guided to low to mid-single-digit loan growth. Should we expect that same level of growth on the deposit side as well going forward, low to mid-single digits?

是的。然後，由於存款是貸款增長的調控者，我的意思是，你們引導貸款增長達到低至中個位數。我們是否應該預期存款方面的增長水平也將保持在低至中個位數的水平？

Yes, kind of that 3% to 5% Obviously, we would love to grow deposits more than that, specifically noninterest-bearing, but I think at this point, our internal goals and projections are that 3% to 5%.

是的，大概是 3% 到 5% 顯然，我們希望存款增長得更多，特別是無息存款，但我認為目前我們的內部目標和預測是 3% 到 5%。

All right. And then last for me, just on mortgage. That revenue bounced back a little bit in the quarter. I know, the gain on sale margin recovered, although it's still pretty low.

好的。最後對我來說，只是抵押貸款。該收入在本季度略有反彈。我知道，銷售利潤率的增長已經恢復，儘管仍然很低。

Any thoughts on your forecast for mortgage for the rest of the year?

您對今年剩餘時間的抵押貸款預測有何想法？

Yes. I would tell you right now, we're pretty bullish on what we're seeing for this quarter, and this is spring season, which traditionally, there is seasonality to this business. We said last quarter is kind of reverting back to that outside of any economic issues that may come up. But right now, pipelines are pretty solid. The margins are improving. And that's the other thing that's really the highlight of this company, too, is when you look at compression on margin, our ability to generate noninterest income through areas like premium finance through areas like mortgage.

是的。我現在就告訴你，我們對本季度的情況非常看好，而且現在是春季，傳統上該業務具有季節性。我們說過，除了可能出現的任何經濟問題之外，上個季度有點回到了原來的狀態。但目前，管道非常穩固。利潤率正在改善。這也是該公司真正的亮點的另一件事，那就是當你考慮利潤率的壓縮時，我們通過抵押貸款等領域的高級金融等領域產生非利息收入的能力。

It just shows you the actual benefit of diversification. So, a lot of it is mortgage fees that we generated this quarter allowing us to offset a lot of that decline that we saw. So I think, mortgage will continue at least for the immediate future to be pretty consistent with what you saw this quarter.

它只是向您展示了多元化的實際好處。因此，其中很大一部分是我們本季度產生的抵押貸款費用，這使我們能夠抵消我們看到的大量下降。因此，我認為，至少在不久的將來，抵押貸款將繼續下去，與您本季度看到的情況相當一致。

Our next question comes from David Feaster from Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自雷蒙德·詹姆斯的大衛·費斯特。

Maybe just following up on the growth side again. First of all, I'm just -- I'm curious where new loan yields are, if we exclude Balboa. And then, maybe where do you expect growth to be driven by?

也許只是再次跟進增長方面。首先，我只是 - 如果我們排除巴爾博亞，我很好奇新的貸款收益率是多少。然後，也許您預計增長將由哪裡推動？

Where are you seeing good risk-adjusted returns at this point?

目前您在哪裡看到良好的風險調整回報？

Well, I would tell you, equipment finance is a different -- obviously a different (inaudible) as you touched on. But in terms of the growth opportunities, we're still seeing some meaningful opportunities in our commercial book and the C&I book.

好吧，我想告訴你，設備融資是不同的——正如你所提到的，顯然是不同的（聽不清）。但就增長機會而言，我們仍然在商業書籍和 C&I 書籍中看到了一些有意義的機會。

The upside to it for all banks from what we're hearing and seeing and now from the competition is that we're able to be a little more selective in terms of pricing and expectations with equity and deposits.

從我們所聽到和看到的情況以及現在的競爭來看，這對所有銀行來說的好處是，我們能夠在股權和存款的定價和預期方面更有選擇性。

And so most of the coming on rates that we're seeing in the commercial book are 7% plus, which is very encouraging to see, especially if there are deposits associated with that meaningful deposits.

因此，我們在商業賬簿中看到的大多數即將到來的利率都在 7% 以上，這是非常令人鼓舞的，特別是如果存在與有意義的存款相關的存款。

So that's really where we see additional opportunities. And one of the things that we are actually spoiled with, is being in the Southeastern growth markets because when you look at Florida and Georgia and the Carolinas, there's still activity out there. People are being more cautious, but that's really where we see more of the opportunity, as we go forward.

所以這確實是我們看到更多機會的地方。我們實際上被寵壞的一件事是進入東南增長市場，因為當你看看佛羅里達州、佐治亞州和卡羅來納州時，那裡仍然有活動。人們變得更加謹慎，但這確實是我們在前進過程中看到更多機會的地方。

And then David, those coming on rates kind of the -- those coming on rates in the first quarter on excluding the kind of Balboa in the lines of business, total production was at about 8.72%, and that was split, fixed rate was 9.40% and variable rate was 7.68%.

然後大衛，那些按利率計算的——那些在第一季度按利率計算的，不包括業務線中的巴爾博亞類型，總產量約為 8.72%，這是分開的，固定利率是 9.40 %，變動率為7.68%。

That's helpful. And that 8.72%, that's including Balboa or that's excluding Balboa?

這很有幫助。那 8.72% 是包括巴爾博亞還是不包括巴爾博亞？

That's excluding the Equipment Finance.

這不包括設備融資。

Okay. Wow. Okay. And then obviously, there's a hyper focus on CRE at this point, I'd just love to get kind of what are you seeing in that book? I appreciate all the color that you guys put in this slide deck. Obviously, you've got tied underwriting standards, low LTVs and all those kind of things.

好的。哇。好的。顯然，目前人們對 CRE 非常關注，我很想知道您在那本書中看到了什麼？我很欣賞你們在這個幻燈片中添加的所有顏色。顯然，承保標準受到限制、生命週期價值較低以及諸如此類的問題。

But I'm just curious, as you look out, is there anything that you're seeing, maybe segments you're avoiding or watching? Are you tightening standards there? And -- or on the other side, I mean, as a lot of other banks are totally back, does that create an opportunity for you all, and maybe give you some more pricing power and opportunities?

但我只是好奇，當你向外看時，你是否看到了任何東西，也許是你正在避免或觀看的片段？你們在那裡收緊標準嗎？或者另一方面，我的意思是，隨著許多其他銀行完全回歸，這是否為你們所有人創造了機會，並且可能給你們帶來更多的定價能力和機會？

Well, the -- from the perspective of opportunities, as Nicole mentioned, I mean, our opportunities will be governed by the ability for loan growth or deposit growth. So -- the short answer is yes, we are seeing opportunities. Some of that pullback or that tightening you mentioned it's not requiring us necessarily to change any underwriting parameters.

嗯，從機會的角度來看，正如妮可提到的，我的意思是，我們的機會將取決於貸款增長或存款增長的能力。所以——簡短的回答是肯定的，我們看到了機會。您提到的一些回調或收緊並不要求我們必須改變任何承保參數。

It's somewhat of a natural tightening just because in the rate environment we're in, things that may have been acceptable at a [5.5] or a [4.5] rate, you've got to rightsize that again at going in rate of [7] to [7.5]. So some of that is kind of self tightening just because of the underwriting that's being done in the rate environment.

這在某種程度上是一種自然的緊縮，因為在我們所處的利率環境中，在[5.5]或[4.5]的利率下可能可以接受的事情，你必須在[7]的利率下再次調整它的大小]至[7.5]。因此，其中一些是由於在利率環境下進行的承保而導致的自我收緊。

But, I don't think you see us necessarily shying away from anything that's not sort of already in the marketplace. We -- our office portfolio is, I think, in good shape, but it's not necessarily something we're out looking for new business on. And right now, we put out a call for our folks to do more owner-occupied, and they responded and you saw that in our slides also.

但是，我認為我們不一定會迴避市場上尚未出現的任何產品。我認為，我們的辦公室組合狀況良好，但這不一定是我們尋找新業務的目標。現在，我們呼籲我們的人們做更多自住的事情，他們做出了回應，你也在我們的幻燈片中看到了這一點。

So we've got several lines that help us to not have to rely on CRE projects in this kind of winter of CRE. So that will help us to continue with overall loan growth, but not having to see it necessarily come from CRE loans.

因此，我們有幾條線路可以幫助我們在這種 CRE 的冬天不必依賴 CRE 項目。因此，這將有助於我們繼續整體貸款增長，但不必看到它一定來自商業地產貸款。

Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe just touching on the noninterest-bearing deposit front. I appreciate the commentary on it really being a migration line here.

好的。這很有幫助。然後也許只是觸及無息存款方面。我很欣賞關於它確實是這裡的遷移線的評論。

We're not seeing any customer attrition or anything. But I'm just curious, have you seen NIB balances start to stabilize here, early in the second quarter? Obviously, it's a bit of a seasonally weak quarter with taxes and those kinds of things. But -- are you still seeing that migration or clients maybe utilizing cash to pay down higher-cost floating rate debt? And then, do you think that NIB composition can kind of hold here in that mid-30 realm, mid-30% realm?

我們沒有看到任何客戶流失或任何其他情況。但我只是好奇，您是否看到 NIB 餘額在第二季度初開始穩定下來？顯然，由於稅收和諸如此類的因素，這是一個季節性疲軟的季度。但是，您是否仍然看到移民或客戶可能利用現金來償還成本較高的浮動利率債務？然後，您認為 NIB 成分可以保持在 30 左右、30% 左右的水平嗎？

I think, the pressure is still there. And we're doing everything we can to retain those deposits. Has it slowed? Absolutely, but is the pressure still there, yes. And are we having the conversations with customers? Yes.

我想，壓力還是有的。我們正在盡一切努力保留這些存款。速度變慢了嗎？當然，但是壓力仍然存在嗎？是​​的。我們是否與客戶進行對話？是的。

David, I need to correct something that I said, when I gave you those rates, that did include the Equipment Finance. So I need to give you the bank only rate, I apologize for that. Fixed was 6.35%, variable with 7.68% and all in with 7.17%.

大衛，我需要糾正我在給你這些費率時所說的一些話，其中確實包括設備融資。因此，我需要向您提供銀行專用利率，對此我深表歉意。固定為 6.35%，可變為 7.68%，總為 7.17%。

I looked at the wrong chart, I apologize.

我看錯圖表了，抱歉。

(inaudible) which is a good one. There are a lot of people with excess cash balances that are utilizing their own cash rather than borrowing money at the 7-plus% rates, too. So I think a lot of the pressure that we're going to see going forward as an industry. I think, a lot of the movement has already taken place for people looking for higher yields on excess cash.

（聽不清）這是一件好事。許多擁有多餘現金餘額的人也使用自己的現金，而不是以 7% 以上的利率借錢。因此，我認為作為一個行業，我們將面臨很大的壓力。我認為，對於那些尋求多餘現金更高收益的人來說，很多運動已經發生。

But also, you're going to see a lot of that excess cash being put to use as opposed to paying higher rates on their borrowings. So that will be a new challenge out there that we'll have to face especially in the -- obviously on the commercial front.

而且，你會看到大量多餘的現金被投入使用，而不是支付更高的借款利率。因此，這將是我們必鬚麵對的新挑戰，尤其是在商業方面。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Russell Gunther from Stephens.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Stephens 的 Russell Gunther。

On non-interest expense side, really good results this quarter. You guys talked about pretty intense focus there. So could you share some thoughts around run rate expectations going forward?

在非利息支出方面，本季度的業績確實不錯。你們在那裡談到了非常集中的注意力。那麼您能否分享一些關於未來運行率預期的想法？

Sure. So we do expect some slight increases, mostly in the salaries and benefits section. But we really do have a very tight expense control discipline. And we are looking at every expense. There's the continuation of things to look at, including leases, including travel, just other categories that we continue to look at.

當然。因此，我們確實預計會有一些小幅增長，主要是在工資和福利部分。但我們確實有非常嚴格的費用控制紀律。我們正在考慮每一項費用。還有一些事情需要繼續關注，包括租賃、旅行，以及我們繼續關注的其他類別。

Looking at projects and deciding what is a need versus a want, and what needs to be done versus what can maybe wait 3 to 6 months. So we are certainly continuing to do that. So I would say slight -- when I say that, I'm prefacing taking out mortgage from that because, obviously, as mortgage production could potentially ramp up or expect to ramp up in the second and third quarter from the normal cyclicality.

查看項目並決定什麼是需要，什麼是想要，什麼是需要做，什麼是可能需要等待 3 到 6 個月的事情。所以我們肯定會繼續這樣做。所以我會說輕微 - 當我這麼說時，我正在準備從中提取抵押貸款，因為顯然，抵押貸款生產可能會增加或預計在第二和第三季度從正常週期性增加。

We'll have some increased commissions there. Some of their variable costs, but for everything else outside of mortgage, it's a low 3%-ish increase.

我們將在那裡增加一些佣金。他們的一些可變成本，但對於抵押貸款以外的其他所有成本來說，增幅只有 3% 左右。

Okay. That's really helpful in the core. And then, just last one for me. You guys have really solid capital levels on a TCE basis as well. Just thoughts on the buyback here. And getting more active.

好的。這對核心確實很有幫助。然後，對我來說只是最後一個。以 TCE 為基礎，你們也擁有非常堅實的資本水平。這裡只是關於回購的想法。並且變得更加活躍。

Yes, it's awfully tempting at this kind of currency price, where we are today. And that's certainly an arrow we have in our quiver, and it's certainly something that we'll give consideration to, in this next quarter.

是的，以我們今天所處的這種貨幣價格來說，這是非常誘人的。這肯定是我們箭袋裡的一支箭，而且我們肯定會在下個季度考慮這一點。

We currently have no further questions. So, I would like to hand back to Mr. Palmer for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

目前我們沒有進一步的問題。因此，我想請帕爾默先生致閉幕詞。請繼續。

Great. Thank you, Bruno. I'd like to thank you everybody again for listening to our first quarter 2023 earnings results call. Our discipline in creating diversification in both the loan and deposit franchise, as well as our revenue streams has positioned us well for the future.

偉大的。謝謝你，布魯諾。我想再次感謝大家收聽我們的 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。我們在貸款和存款業務以及收入來源方面創造多元化的紀律為我們的未來奠定了良好的基礎。

Our well-capitalized balance sheet remains strong with a healthy reserve for credit losses, stable core deposits and a well-designed liquidity plan. And all of this, really allows us to produce stable top-of-class financial results.

我們資本充足的資產負債表依然強勁，擁有健康的信貸損失準備金、穩定的核心存款和精心設計的流動性計劃。所有這一切，確實使我們能夠產生穩定的一流財務業績。

Thank you again for your time and interest in Ameris Bank.

再次感謝您對 Ameris Bank 的關注和關注。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。謝謝。