Axos Financial Inc (AX) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Axos Financial Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to our host, Johnny Lai, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

您好，歡迎來到 Axos Financial 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，正在錄製此會議。我現在將會議轉交給我們的主持人，企業發展和投資者關係高級副總裁 Johnny Lai。謝謝你。你可以開始了。

Thanks, Gino and good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for your interest in Axos. Joining us today for our second quarter 2023 financial results conference call are the company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Garrabrants; and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Derrick Walsh; and Executive Vice President of Finance, Andy Micheletti. Greg and Derrick will review and comment on the financial and operational results for the 3 and 6 months ended December 31, 2022, and we will be available to answer questions after the prepared remarks.

謝謝，吉諾，大家下午好。感謝您對 Axos 的關注。今天與我們一起參加 2023 年第二季度財務業績電話會議的有公司總裁兼首席執行官 Greg Garrabrants；執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Derrick Walsh；財務執行副總裁 Andy Micheletti。 Greg 和 Derrick 將審查和評論截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 3 個月和 6 個月的財務和運營結果，我們將在準備好的評論後回答問題。

Before I begin, I would like to remind listeners that prepared remarks made on this call may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and that management may make additional forward-looking statements are made on the basis of current views and assumptions of management regarding future events and performance.

在我開始之前，我想提醒聽眾，在本次電話會議上準備好的評論可能包含受風險和不確定因素影響的前瞻性陳述，並且管理層可能會根據當前的觀點和假設做出額外的前瞻性陳述關於未來事件和績效的管理。

Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties. Therefore, the company claims the safe harbor protection pertaining to forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This call is being webcast, and there will be an audio replay available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website located at axosfinancial.com for 30 days.

由於存在風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與此類前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異。因此，公司要求對 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中包含的前瞻性陳述進行安全港保護。此次電話會議正在進行網絡直播，公司網站的投資者關係部分將提供音頻重播，網址為在 axosfinancial.com 上 30 天。

Details for this call were provided on the conference call announcement and in today's earnings press release. Before handing the call over to Greg, I'd like to remind our listeners that in addition to the earnings press release and 10-Q, we also issued an earnings supplement for this call. All of these documents can be found on our axosfinancial.com website. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Greg.

此次電話會議的詳細信息已在電話會議公告和今天的收益新聞稿中提供。在將電話轉給格雷格之前，我想提醒我們的聽眾，除了收益新聞稿和 10-Q 之外，我們還為此電話發布了收益補充。所有這些文件都可以在我們的 axosfinancial.com 網站上找到。有了這個，我想把電話轉給格雷格。

Thank you, Johnny, and good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'd like to welcome everyone to Axos Financial's conference call for the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2022. I thank you for your interest in Axos Financial and Axos Bank. We delivered double-digit year-over-year growth in earnings per share, book value per share, ending loan and deposit balances.

謝謝你，約翰尼，大家下午好，感謝你加入我們。歡迎大家參加 Axos Financial 截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的第二財季電話會議。感謝您對 Axos Financial 和 Axos Bank 的關注。我們在每股收益、每股賬面價值、期末貸款和存款餘額方面實現了兩位數的同比增長。

Our strong results were broad-based with increasing net interest margins and double-digit net interest income growth. We grew deposits by approximately 28% year-over-year despite an expected normalization and cash sorted deposits from our custody business. The diversity and optionality of our deposit franchise is a valuable differentiator that will allow us to maintain a strong net interest margin in a highly competitive market for deposits.

我們的強勁業績基礎廣泛，淨息差增加，淨利息收入實現兩位數增長。儘管我們的託管業務預期正常化和現金分類存款，但我們的存款同比增長約 28%。我們存款業務的多樣性和選擇性是一個有價值的差異化因素，將使我們能夠在競爭激烈的存款市場中保持強勁的淨息差。

We reported net income of $82 million and earnings per share of $1.35 for the 3 months ended December 31, 2022, representing year-over-year growth of 34% and 35%, respectively. Our book value per share was $29.79 at December 31, 2022, up 16% from December 31, 2021. The highlights for this quarter include the following: deposits increased 3% linked quarter and 28% year-over-year to $15.7 billion. Checking and saving deposits increased 5% linked quarter and 33% year-over-year, representing 93% of total deposits at 12/31/2022.

我們報告截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的三個月淨收入為 8200 萬美元，每股收益為 1.35 美元，同比分別增長 34% 和 35%。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的每股賬面價值為 29.79 美元，比 2021 年 12 月 31 日增長 16%。本季度的亮點包括：存款環比增長 3%，同比增長 28%，達到 157 億美元。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，支票和儲蓄存款環比增長 5%，同比增長 33%，佔存款總額的 93%。

Ending net loans for investment balance were $15.5 billion, up 2% linked quarter or 7% annualized. Average loans were up 4.7% or 19% annualized. Solid loan originations were partially offset by higher-than-expected payoffs in certain C&I lending categories. Excluding single-family warehouse, ending net loans increased by approximately $300 million in the 3 months ended December 31, 2022. Net interest margin was 4.49% for the second quarter, up 23 basis points from 4.26% in the quarter ended September 30, 2022, and up 39 basis points from 4.1% in the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

期末投資餘額淨貸款為 155 億美元，環比增長 2% 或年化增長 7%。平均貸款增長 4.7% 或年化 19%。某些 C&I 貸款類別高於預期的回報部分抵消了穩健的貸款發放。不包括單戶倉庫，截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的三個月期末淨貸款增加約 3 億美元。第二季度淨息差為 4.49%，較截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日的季度的 4.26% 上升 23 個基點，比截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日的季度的 4.1% 高出 39 個基點。

Net interest margin for the banking business unit was 4.65% compared to 4.5% in the quarter ended September 30, 2022, and 4.3% in the quarter ended December 31, 2021. Higher loan yields more than offset the increase in funding cost. The gap between our consolidated bank-only net interest margin decreased this quarter to 16 basis points from 24 basis points in the prior quarter.

銀行業務部門的淨息差為 4.65%，而截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日的季度為 4.5%，截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日的季度為 4.3%。較高的貸款收益率抵消了融資成本的增加。本季度我們合併後的純銀行淨息差從上一季度的 24 個基點下降至 16 個基點。

The primary reason for this dynamic was that our loan portfolio increased and our securities lending and customer margin balances fell by 33% and 20%, respectively, linked quarter. Axos Security comprised primarily of custody and clearing businesses made positive contributions to our fee and net income. Total deposits from Axos Securities were approximately $2.3 billion at December 31, 2022, and compared to the elevated $3.3 billion at September 30, 2022.

這種動態的主要原因是我們的貸款組合增加，我們的證券借貸和客戶保證金餘額分別下降了 33% 和 20%，環比季度。 Axos Security 主要由託管和清算業務組成，對我們的費用和淨收入做出了積極貢獻。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，Axos 證券的存款總額約為 23 億美元，而 2022 年 9 月 30 日則為 33 億美元。

Quarterly pretax income for our securities business improved by $6.7 million linked quarter to $15.6 million due primarily to higher interest rates. Our efficiency ratio for the 3 months ended December 31, 2022, was 47.11% compared to 55.9% in the first quarter of 2023. The efficiency ratio for the banking business segment was 46.1% for the second quarter of 2023 versus 52.9% in the first quarter of 2023.

我們證券業務的季度稅前收入環比增加 670 萬美元，達到 1560 萬美元，這主要是由於較高的利率。我們截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日止三個月的效率比為 47.11%，而 2023 年第一季度為 55.9%。2023 年第二季度銀行業務部門的效率比為 46.1%，而第一季度為 52.9% 2023 年季度。

Capital levels remained strong with Tier 1 leverage of 10.1% of the bank and 9.1% at the holding company, both well above our regulatory requirements. Our credit quality remains strong with net annualized charge-offs to average loans of 5 basis points versus 1 basis point in the second quarter of fiscal 2022. The slight uptick in our net charge-offs from very low levels was principally due to losses in our personal unsecured and auto loan portfolios.

資本水平保持強勁，銀行的一級槓桿率為 10.1%，控股公司的一級槓桿率為 9.1%，均遠高於我們的監管要求。我們的信用質量依然強勁，2022 財年第二季度淨年化沖銷平均貸款為 5 個基點，而 1 個基點為 1 個基點。我們的淨沖銷從非常低的水平略有上升，主要是由於我們的損失個人無抵押和汽車貸款組合。

Of the 5 basis points of net charge-offs this quarter 3 basis points were from auto loans that are covered by insurance policies, which, on average, have paid 85% of the principal balance of these charged-off loans. We added $3.5 million to our loan loss provision this quarter to support loan growth. Total allowance for credit losses was $157 million on December 31, 2022, representing 22x our annualized net charge-offs and 1% of ending total loans.

在本季度淨沖銷的 5 個基點中，有 3 個基點來自保險單涵蓋的汽車貸款，這些貸款平均支付了這些沖銷貸款本金餘額的 85%。本季度我們在貸款損失準備金中增加了 350 萬美元，以支持貸款增長。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，信貸損失準備金總額為 1.57 億美元，是我們年化淨沖銷額的 22 倍，佔期末貸款總額的 1%。

With the vast majority of our loans having strong collateral protection from low leverage, we feel extremely confident about our ability to manage through an economic downturn. Loan originations for investment for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, were $2 billion, down approximately 22% from the $2.6 billion in the comparable quarter a year ago. Q2 2023 fiscal year originations were as follows: $175 million of single-family jumbo portfolio production; $110 million of multifamily production; $64 million of commercial real estate production; $59 million of auto and unsecured consumer loan production; and $1.6 billion of C&I loan production, resulting in a net increase in ending C&I loan balances of $204 million.

由於我們的絕大多數貸款都有強大的低杠桿抵押品保護，我們對我們應對經濟衰退的能力充滿信心。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日止的季度，用於投資的貸款發放額為 20 億美元，比去年同期的 26 億美元下降約 22%。 2023 財年第二季度的來源如下：單戶大型投資組合生產 1.75 億美元； 1.1 億美元的多戶生產； 6400萬美元的商業地產生產； 5900 萬美元的汽車和無擔保消費貸款產品；以及 16 億美元的 C&I 貸款生產，導致期末 C&I 貸款餘額淨增加 2.04 億美元。

Ending loan balances in our jumbo single-family mortgage business increased by $11 million to $3.8 billion. We generated $175 million of loan production in the second quarter of 2023, taking some market share in the significantly smaller market for purchase and refinance transactions. Prepayments in our jumbo single-family mortgage business was $164 million in the 3 months ended December 31, 2022, down from $184 million of prepayments in the prior quarter.

我們的大型單戶抵押貸款業務的期末貸款餘額增加了 1100 萬美元，達到 38 億美元。我們在 2023 年第二季度產生了 1.75 億美元的貸款，在規模小得多的購買和再融資交易市場中佔據了一些市場份額。在截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的三個月中，我們的大型單戶抵押貸款業務的預付款項為 1.64 億美元，低於上一季度的 1.84 億美元預付款項。

Although we are not seeing any stress in our jumbo single-family mortgage book, we continue to maintain conservative lending standards and low loan to values. Our jumbo single-family mortgage pipeline was approximately $292 million on January 23, 2023. C&I lending had another good quarter. The $203 million of net loan growth in our C&I lending moderated from record highs achieved in the prior 2 quarters.

儘管我們在龐大的單戶抵押貸款賬簿中沒有看到任何壓力，但我們繼續保持保守的貸款標準和低貸款價值。到 2023 年 1 月 23 日，我們的大型單戶抵押貸款渠道約為 2.92 億美元。C&I 貸款又是一個不錯的季度。我們 C&I 貸款的 2.03 億美元淨貸款增長較前兩個季度創下的歷史新高有所放緩。

Strong originations in our commercial specialty real estate business and our lender finance business were partially offset by higher payoffs in the back half of the quarter. We will be able to maintain strong yields across most of our C&I lending businesses. We slowed originations in our auto and unsecured lending to reflect our cautious view of the broader economy. Our entire auto and personal and secured lending portfolio is comprised of prime and super-prime borrowers, except for select auto loan customers where the bank purchases insurance that reimburses the bank for approximately 85% of its losses -- potential losses.

我們的商業專業房地產業務和我們的貸款融資業務的強勁起源部分被本季度後半段的更高回報所抵消。我們將能夠在我們的大部分 C&I 貸款業務中保持強勁的收益率。我們放慢了汽車和無抵押貸款的發放，以反映我們對整體經濟的謹慎看法。我們的整個汽車和個人及擔保貸款組合由優質和超級優質借款人組成，銀行購買保險的特定汽車貸款客戶除外，該保險可補償銀行約 85% 的損失——潛在損失。

The $632 million of ending balances in the auto and personal unsecured book combined represents less than 5% of our $15.5 billion loan portfolio. Our credit quality remains healthy, and we're not seeing any signs that our borrowers are struggling to finance their debt obligations with us. Net charge-offs to total loans remained low, and our asset-based low LTV lending makes us extremely comfortable about our credit outlook even in an adverse economic scenario.

汽車和個人無抵押賬簿中 6.32 億美元的期末餘額合計占我們 155 億美元貸款組合的不到 5%。我們的信用質量保持健康，我們沒有看到任何跡象表明我們的借款人正在努力為他們的債務融資。總貸款的淨沖銷額仍然很低，我們基於資產的低 LTV 貸款使我們即使在不利的經濟形勢下也對我們的信用前景感到非常放心。

Nonperforming assets to total assets ratio was 54 basis points for the quarter ended December 30, 2022, down from 68 basis points for the quarter ended September 30, 2022. Of our nonperforming loans, approximately 41% are single-family first mortgages, where we've had historically very low realized losses. Of nonperforming single-family mortgage loans at 12/31/2022, approximately 81% had an estimated current loan-to-value at or below 70% and approximately 82% or below 80% of our best estimate of current loan to values.

截至 2022 年 12 月 30 日止的季度，不良資產與總資產的比率為 54 個基點，低於截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日止的季度的 68 個基點。在我們的不良貸款中，約 41% 是單戶第一抵押貸款，我們從歷史上看，已實現的損失非常低。在 2022 年 12 月 31 日的不良單戶抵押貸款中，約 81% 的估計當前貸款價值比率等於或低於 70%，約 82% 或低於我們對當前貸款價值最佳估計的 80%。

Given the low loan to values of our asset-backed loans, we remain confident that we will incur credit losses that are manageable, if any, on any of the assets that are underperforming. Our loan pipeline remains solid with approximately $1.4 billion of consolidated loans in our pipeline at January 23, 2023, consisting approximately of $22 million of single-family agency gain on sale mortgages, $292 million of single-family jumbo mortgages, $185 million of multifamily and small balance commercial real estate term loans, $833 million of C&I and commercial specialty real estate loans and $65 million of auto and consumer unsecured loans.

鑑於我們資產支持貸款的貸款價值較低，我們仍然相信，我們將在任何表現不佳的資產上招致可控的信貸損失（如果有的話）。我們的貸款管道仍然穩固，截至 2023 年 1 月 23 日，我們的管道中有大約 14 億美元的綜合貸款，包括大約 2200 萬美元的單戶機構銷售抵押貸款收益、2.92 億美元的單戶巨型抵押貸款、1.85 億美元的多戶和小額餘額商業房地產定期貸款、8.33 億美元的 C&I 和商業專業房地產貸款以及 6500 萬美元的汽車和消費者無抵押貸款。

After 2 consecutive quarters of record net loan growth, we moderated the pace of growth in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Average loans increased by 6.7% and 7.7% linked quarter or 27% and 31% annualized in the June and September 2022 quarters compared to 4.7% linked quarter or 19% annualized in the December 2022 quarter. We remain confident that we will have achieved our mid-teens loan growth target in the second half of our fiscal 2023 as payoffs decreased from elevated levels and new originations stay strong. Deposits increased 3% linked quarter and 28% year-over-year. Growth in small business and consumer deposits were offset by declines in certain commercial banking channels and clearing and custody deposits from elevated levels at the end of the prior quarter.

在連續兩個季度創紀錄的淨貸款增長之後，我們在 2023 財年第二季度放慢了增長步伐。與 2022 年 6 月和 2022 年 9 月季度相比，平均貸款環比增長 6.7% 和 7.7%，年化增長 27% 和 31%到 2022 年 12 月季度的 4.7% 或 19% 的年化率。我們仍然有信心，我們將在 2023 財年下半年實現我們的中期貸款增長目標，因為收益從較高水平下降，並且新貸款保持強勁。存款環比增長 3%，同比增長 28%。小企業和消費者存款的增長被某些商業銀行渠道的下降以及清算和託管存款從上一季度末的高水平所抵消。

Competition for deposits has increased across most of our deposit verticals and our deposit betas vary from 0% in our Axos Fiduciary Service deposit business to 50% in our high-yield savings and 1031 exchange deposit business. We have been successful in retaining and growing consumer checking, savings and money market deposits through cross-sell and relationship pricing initiatives. In our commercial banking, our low-cost nationwide deposit gathering and specialized servicing approach has allowed us to be more competitive in retaining and growing deposits from existing clients through earnings credits and other price adjustments.

我們大多數垂直存款領域的存款競爭都在加劇，我們的存款貝塔值從我們的 Axos 信託服務存款業務的 0% 到我們的高收益儲蓄和 1031 外匯存款業務的 50% 不等。通過交叉銷售和關係定價計劃，我們成功地保留並增加了消費者支票、儲蓄和貨幣市場存款。在我們的商業銀行業務中，我們低成本的全國存款收集和專業服務方法使我們能夠通過收益信貸和其他價格調整在保留和增加現有客戶的存款方面更具競爭力。

Our investments in cash and treasury management capabilities and teams have also increased the pipeline of prospective new treasury management clients. In Axos Fiduciary Services, our bankruptcy trustee business total deposits were approximately $1.1 billion at the end of the second quarter. We expect a gradual pickup in Chapter 7 and non-Chapter 7 cases in deposits over the next 12 months as the economy decelerates in bankruptcy filings rebound from decades low.

我們對現金和資金管理能力和團隊的投資也增加了潛在的新資金管理客戶的渠道。在 Axos Fiduciary Services，我們的破產受託人業務總存款在第二季度末約為 11 億美元。我們預計未來 12 個月第 7 章和非第 7 章存款案件將逐漸回升，因為經濟減速，破產申請從幾十年的低位反彈。

Axos Clearing continues to generate a significant source of low-cost deposits. We had approximately $2.3 billion of clearing and custody deposits as of December 31, 2022, including $1.5 billion that was on our balance sheet and $800 million that was placed at partner banks. The average custody deposits were $1.5 billion in the quarter ended December 31, 2022, compared to $1.9 billion in the prior quarter.

Axos Clearing 繼續產生重要的低成本存款來源。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們擁有大約 23 億美元的清算和託管存款，其中包括我們資產負債表上的 15 億美元和存放在合作銀行的 8 億美元。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的季度，平均託管存款為 15 億美元，而上一季度為 19 億美元。

Cash sorting by RIAs has increased across the industry and ending cash balances held at Access Advisory Services fell from 11% of total assets under custody at September 30, 2022, to approximately 7% at December 31, 2022. Deposits in our Clearing business declined slightly to approximately $650 million. The weighted average cost of our Clearing and custody deposits remains low even with the rapid rise in the Fed funds rate. We have a healthy pipeline of new custody and Clearing clients that will partially offset the normalization and client cash balance at Axos Advisory Services.

全行業按 RIA 進行的現金分類有所增加，Access Advisory Services 持有的期末現金餘額從 2022 年 9 月 30 日占託管總資產的 11% 下降至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的約 7%。我們清算業務的存款略有下降增至約 6.5 億美元。即使聯邦基金利率迅速上升，我們的清算和託管存款的加權平均成本仍然很低。我們擁有健康的新託管和清算客戶渠道，這將部分抵消 Axos Advisory Services 的正常化和客戶現金餘額。

We remain slightly asset-sensitive with 43% of our loans comprised of 5-year hybrid single-family jumbo mortgages and multifamily term loans and 48% of our loans comprised primarily of floating rate C&I loans. An overwhelming majority of our C&I loans are adjustable rate with current rates above their floors. 45% of our variable rate C&I loans are just the LIBOR and the other 55% in just the SOFR and AMERIBOR and other indexes. Net interest margin was elevated this quarter with consolidated and bank-only net interest margin of 4.49% and 4.65%, respectively.

我們仍然對資產略微敏感，我們 43% 的貸款包括 5 年期混合單戶巨型抵押貸款和多戶定期貸款，48% 的貸款主要包括浮動利率 C&I 貸款。我們絕大多數的 C&I 貸款都是可調整利率，當前利率高於最低利率。我們 45% 的可變利率 C&I 貸款只是 LIBOR，另外 55% 只是 SOFR 和 AMERIBOR 以及其他指數。本季度淨息差有所上升，綜合淨息差和純銀行淨息差分別為 4.49% 和 4.65%。

Our consolidated and bank-only net interest margins were boosted by several factors this quarter, some of which are unlikely to have the same level of benefits in future quarters. First, loan growth for the June and September 2022 quarters were exceptionally strong, which allowed us to reprice a large portion of our loan portfolio with new loans at higher yields. Second, net interest income benefited from a prepayment of one of our equipment lease borrowers in the December 31, 2022 quarter.

本季度，我們的綜合淨息差和純銀行淨息差受到幾個因素的推動，其中一些因素在未來幾個季度不太可能具有相同水平的收益。首先，2022 年 6 月和 2022 年 9 月季度的貸款增長異常強勁，這使我們能夠用更高收益率的新貸款對大部分貸款組合進行重新定價。其次，淨利息收入受益於我們的一個設備租賃借款人在 2022 年 12 月 31 日季度的預付款項。

This provided a onetime boost to our previous -- this quarter's net interest income of approximately $2 million and increased the net interest margin by 5 basis points. Third, average deposits at Axos Advisory Services were elevated in the past 2 quarters before normalizing towards the end of the December 2022 quarter. Average deposits as a percentage of assets under custody over the last 12 months in our clearing and custody business were approximately 9.1%.

這一次性提振了我們之前 - 本季度約 200 萬美元的淨利息收入，並將淨息差提高了 5 個基點。第三，Axos Advisory Services 的平均存款在過去兩個季度有所上升，然後在 2022 年 12 月季度末恢復正常。在我們的清算和託管業務中，過去 12 個月的平均存款佔託管資產的百分比約為 9.1%。

This is elevated compared to the long-term average of 6% to 7% prior to our purchase of the custody business. In the first quarter of fiscal 2023 ended September 30, 2022, the average deposit balance in the Securities business was $3.1 billion. Currently, the total deposits in the Security business are approximately $2.3 billion, comprised of $1.7 billion of Axos Advisory Services and $600 million of Axos Clearing.

與我們購買託管業務之前的 6% 至 7% 的長期平均水平相比，這一數字有所上升。在截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日的 2023 財年第一季度，證券業務的平均存款餘額為 31 億美元。目前，證券業務的總存款約為 23 億美元，其中包括 17 億美元的 Axos 諮詢服務和 6 億美元的 Axos Clearing。

Being able to fund a portion of our loan growth with low-cost clearing and custody deposits had an outside benefit to our consolidated and bank-only net interest margin in the first half of fiscal 2023. Finally, our loan balances grew while our securities lending and margin lending balances declined. This dynamic boosted our consolidated net interest margin this quarter because fee and interest income from Securities and margin lending generally have lower yields than our loan yields.

能夠通過低成本清算和託管存款為我們的部分貸款增長提供資金，這對我們在 2023 財年上半年的綜合和純銀行淨息差產生了外部好處。最後，我們的貸款餘額增長，而我們的證券借貸融資融券餘額下降。這種動態提高了我們本季度的綜合淨息差，因為證券和保證金貸款的費用和利息收入通常低於我們的貸款收益率。

New loan yields during the quarter were as follows: jumbo single-family, 6.99%; multifamily mortgages, 6.91%; auto, 9.65%; and commercial and industrial, 9.32%. With new C&I loans coming in with a spread between 4.25% and 4.75% above the index rate, the continuation of cash sorting by custody clients and increasing deposit competition for many of our deposit businesses, we expect our consolidated net interest margin to normalize to between 4.25% and 4.35% in the next few quarters.

本季度新增貸款收益率如下：jumbo single-family，6.99%；多戶抵押貸款，6.91%；汽車，9.65%；工商業，9.32%。隨著新的 C&I 貸款以高於指數利率 4.25% 至 4.75% 的利差進入，託管客戶繼續進行現金分類以及我們許多存款業務的存款競爭加劇，我們預計我們的綜合淨息差將正常化至介於未來幾個季度分別為 4.25% 和 4.35%。

While we expect a rebound in loan growth to our mid-teens target, given the timing of loan growth coming out of the holiday season, we expect our Q3 2023 fiscal net interest income to be flat or slightly down on a dollar basis from this quarter levels before increasing in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. The level of cash deposits at Axos Advisory Service and the pace of loan growth are the biggest drivers of our net interest margin and net interest income.

雖然我們預計貸款增長將反彈至我們的十幾歲中期目標，但考慮到假期結束後貸款增長的時間，我們預計我們 2023 年第三季度的財政淨利息收入將與本季度相比持平或略有下降（按美元計算）在 2023 財年第四季度增加之前的水平。Axos Advisory Service 的現金存款水平和貸款增長速度是我們淨息差和淨利息收入的最大驅動力。

Axos Securities, which includes our securities clearing and custody, self-directed trading and managed portfolio business ended the quarter with approximately $22.5 billion of assets under custody and $9.8 billion of assets under administration. The Securities business generated $17 million of pretax income, excluding noncash amortization expenses in the second quarter of fiscal 2023, an improvement from adjusted pretax income of $10 million in the prior quarter.

Axos Securities，包括我們的證券清算和託管、自主交易和管理投資組合業務，截至本季度末託管資產約為 225 億美元，管理資產約為 98 億美元。證券業務產生了 1700 萬美元的稅前收入，不包括 2023 財年第二季度的非現金攤銷費用，比上一季度 1000 萬美元的調整後稅前收入有所改善。

Our Securities business continues to benefit from rising rates despite volatility in the average ending client cash balances. Our custody business also had asset and transaction-based fee income that countered some of the changes in the deposit balances. Axos Advisory Services is seeing good momentum, adding approximately $318 million of net new assets in the quarter ended December 31, 2022, and a pipeline of 8 new advisers with $625 million of new assets under custody that have committed to access over the next 12 months.

儘管平均期末客戶現金餘額存在波動，但我們的證券業務繼續受益於利率上升。我們的託管業務也有基於資產和交易的費用收入，抵消了存款餘額的一些變化。 Axos Advisory Services 勢頭良好，在截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的季度中增加了約 3.18 億美元的淨新資產，並且有 8 名新顧問在未來 12 個月內承諾使用 6.25 億美元的託管新資產.

The pipeline for Axos Advisory Services remains robust with active discussions with several multibillion-dollar firms who are looking to move portions of their assets from their existing custodian. We are making good progress with the various operational and infrastructure initiatives in our clearing and custody business. We have started to automate manual, front and back-end processes and accelerated the transition of low-value tasks to lower-cost nearshore and offshore teams.

Axos Advisory Services 的管道保持強勁，與幾家價值數十億美元的公司進行了積極討論，這些公司希望將其部分資產從現有託管人手中轉移。我們在清算和託管業務的各種運營和基礎設施計劃方面取得了良好進展。我們已經開始自動化手動、前端和後端流程，並加速將低價值任務轉移到成本更低的近岸和離岸團隊。

These efforts, combined with the full rollout of our proprietary securities core system and successful implementation of various internal straight-through processing and other operational efficient initiatives in the next 12 to 18 months will fundamentally improve the cost structure of our securities business and allow us to generate much better operating leverage. We continue to invest across our other businesses as well.

這些努力，加上我們專有證券核心系統的全面推出，以及在未來 12 至 18 個月內成功實施各種內部直通式處理和其他運營高效舉措，將從根本上改善我們證券業務的成本結構，並使我們能夠產生更好的經營槓桿。我們也繼續投資於我們的其他業務。

In consumer banking, we are working hard to launch the next version of our consumer app in the summer of 2023. This new version adds a planning tab to the consumer app that will offer a variety of services such as financial planning journeys, investment content, enhanced personal financial management features and better system and data integration with third-party service providers. The revised platform moves from a banking-centric focus to a more integrated set of financial products, including enhancements to the self-directed trading and automated model-based investment platform.

在消費者銀行業務方面，我們正在努力在 2023 年夏季推出我們消費者應用程序的下一個版本。這個新版本為消費者應用程序添加了一個計劃選項卡，它將提供多種服務，例如財務規劃旅程、投資內容、增強的個人財務管理功能以及與第三方服務提供商更好的系統和數據集成。修改後的平台從以銀行業為中心轉向更綜合的金融產品集，包括增強自主交易和基於模型的自動化投資平台。

The platform will also enhance our ability to bundle at account opening securities and bank accounts. We believe these enhancements will be an important upgrade that will reduce customer acquisition costs and increase user engagement and cross-sell to our large and expanding base of affluent and high net worth consumer deposits and lending clients. In commercial banking, we are adding new API integrations for clients in existing and new verticals by making our cash management and payments easier to use, we should be able to generate incremental fee income and deposits.

該平台還將增強我們在開戶時捆綁證券和銀行賬戶的能力。我們相信這些增強功能將是一次重要的升級，它將降低客戶獲取成本，增加用戶參與度，並向我們龐大且不斷擴大的富裕和高淨值消費者存款和貸款客戶群進行交叉銷售。在商業銀行業務中，我們通過使我們的現金管理和支付更易於使用，為現有和新垂直領域的客戶添加新的 API 集成，我們應該能夠產生增量費用收入和存款。

In our securities business, one of the key initiatives is a white label banking platform for independent advisers and broker dealers, which we expect to launch in the summer of 2023. This platform integrates our banking and lending products with the securities accounts we hold for advisers and brokers. Based on conversations with existing advisers, brokers and prospective clients, interest in having access to a robust set of banking and lending products for their end clients is extremely high.

在我們的證券業務中，其中一項關鍵舉措是面向獨立顧問和經紀商的白標銀行平台，我們預計將於 2023 年夏季推出。該平台將我們的銀行和借貸產品與我們為顧問持有的證券賬戶相結合和經紀人。根據與現有顧問、經紀人和潛在客戶的對話，他們非常有興趣為他們的最終客戶使用一套強大的銀行和貸款產品。

As Charles Schwab begins the first phase of their technological transition later this year as a result of the acquisition of TD Ameritrade, our white label banking platform in addition to our strong custody technology and high-test service offerings positions us as a compelling custody alternative. But before I hand the call over to Derrick, I'd like to highlight several reasons why we believe Axos is well positioned to maintain strong profitable growth.

由於 Charles Schwab 在今年晚些時候因收購 TD Ameritrade 而開始其技術轉型的第一階段，我們的白標銀行平台以及我們強大的託管技術和高測試服務產品使我們成為引人注目的託管替代方案。但在我將電話轉交給 Derrick 之前，我想強調幾個我們認為 Axos 能夠保持強勁盈利增長的原因。

First, we have a diverse set of businesses that provide balance and optionality. For example, while higher rates dampened mortgage banking gain on sale and Jumbo SFR lending growth, higher rates are extremely accretive to the profitability of our clearing and custody business. Our fee income deposit and lending businesses are much more diverse than they've been in the past. Second, we have a strong balance sheet and ample excess liquidity to weather a prolonged economic downturn.

首先，我們擁有多元化的業務組合，提供平衡性和選擇性。例如，雖然較高的利率抑制了抵押貸款銀行的銷售收益和 Jumbo SFR 貸款的增長，但較高的利率極大地增加了我們清算和託管業務的盈利能力。我們的收費收入存款和貸款業務比過去更加多樣化。其次，我們擁有穩健的資產負債表和充足的過剩流動性，可以抵禦長期的經濟低迷。

Our low loan-to-value strategies in single-family and multifamily has been battle tested through the great financial crisis. And our asset-backed commercial specialty real estate and lending finance books are well secured with senior positions well-capitalized partners and multiple exit strategies. Third, our securities book with an outstanding balance of only $250 million as of December 31, 2022, is of short duration and small and absolute and relative terms and has resulted in de minimis impaired value despite higher interest rates.

我們在單戶和多戶家庭中的低貸款價值策略已經通過金融危機的考驗。我們的資產支持商業專業房地產和借貸融資賬簿擁有高級職位、資本充足的合作夥伴和多種退出策略。第三，截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的證券賬簿的未償餘額僅為 2.5 億美元，存續期短，絕對條款和相對條款較小，儘管利率較高，但已造成微不足道的減值。

We have a clean capital structure and ample access to funding and liquidity and should we need it. Fourth, we don't have any exposure to crypto-related activity or deposits or any other highly cyclical source of funding. To the contrary, an extended economic downturn would likely generate significant growth in our low-cost bankruptcy and fiduciary deposit business. Finally, we have a proven track record of opportunistically strengthening and growing existing and new businesses during periods of market dislocation.

我們有一個乾淨的資本結構和充足的資金和流動性渠道，如果我們需要的話。第四，我們沒有任何與加密相關的活動或存款或任何其他高週期性資金來源的敞口。相反，持續的經濟低迷可能會導致我們的低成本破產和信託存款業務顯著增長。最後，我們在市場混亂時期機會主義地加強和發展現有和新業務方面擁有良好的記錄。

We are already been able to capitalize on opportunities that will enhance shareholder value. With that, I'll turn it over to Derrick, who will provide additional details on our financial results.

我們已經能夠利用將提高股東價值的機會。有了這個，我將把它交給 Derrick，他將提供有關我們財務結果的更多詳細信息。

Thanks, Greg. To begin, I'd like to highlight in addition to our press release, an 8-K with supplemental schedules was filed with the SEC today and is available online through EDGAR or through our website at axosfinancial.com. I will provide some brief comments on a few topics. Please refer to our press release, our SEC filings and our website for additional detail. Noninterest income for the 3 months ended December 31, 2022, was $28.3 million compared to $30.8 million in the corresponding 3 months a year ago.

謝謝，格雷格。首先，除了我們的新聞稿外，我想強調的是，今天向美國證券交易委員會提交了一份帶有補充時間表的 8-K，可通過 EDGAR 或我們的網站 axosfinancial.com 在線獲取。我將就幾個主題提供一些簡短的評論。請參閱我們的新聞稿、美國證券交易委員會備案文件和我們的網站了解更多詳情。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日止三個月的非利息收入為 2830 萬美元，而去年同期三個月為 3080 萬美元。

Broker-dealer fee income increased from $6.3 million in Q2 2022 to $9.8 million in Q2 2023, due primarily to higher interest rates, while mortgage banking was down by approximately $4 million year-over-year to $0.6 million as a result of the industry-wide downturn in single-family agency mortgage refinancing activity. Prepayment penalty fee income was also down by $2.5 million to $0.8 million as the increased interest rate environment led to decreased levels of prepayments on multifamily and commercial loans.

經紀交易商費用收入從 2022 年第二季度的 630 萬美元增加到 2023 年第二季度的 980 萬美元，這主要是由於利率上升，而抵押銀行業務同比下降約 400 萬美元至 60 萬美元，原因是該行業-單一家庭機構抵押貸款再融資活動普遍低迷。預付罰款收入也減少了 250 萬美元至 80 萬美元，原因是利率環境的上升導致多戶家庭和商業貸款的預付水平下降。

Our noninterest expense for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, was $107.5 million, down from $116 million in the prior quarter. Salaries and related expenses for the quarter were $49.7 million, up $2.7 million from the $47 million linked quarter and up approximately $10 million from the year ago quarter. The linked quarter and year-over-year increases are primarily attributable to our annual salary compensation increases that occurred at the end of the first fiscal quarter and increased headcount to support loan and deposit growth.

我們截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日止季度的非利息支出為 1.075 億美元，低於上一季度的 1.16 億美元。本季度的工資和相關費用為 4,970 萬美元，比同期的 4,700 萬美元增加 270 萬美元，比去年同期增加約 1,000 萬美元。相關的季度和同比增長主要歸因於我們在第一財季末發生的年度薪資補償增長以及為支持貸款和存款增長而增加的員工人數。

Advertising and promotional expenses increased to $10.9 million from $6.4 million in the prior quarter to support the growth in our deposit businesses. Given the competitive landscape for deposits, we expect to maintain a higher level of spending on marketing to grow our consumer and commercial deposits. Professional services for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, was $8.5 million, an increase of $0.4 million from the $8.1 million for the 3 months ended September 30, 2022, and a $2.6 million increase from the $5.9 million for the quarter ended December 2021.

廣告和促銷費用從上一季度的 640 萬美元增加到 1090 萬美元，以支持我們存款業務的增長。鑑於存款的競爭格局，我們預計將保持更高水平的營銷支出，以增加我們的消費者和商業存款。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日止季度的專業服務為 850 萬美元，比截至 2022 年 9 月 30 日止三個月的 810 萬美元增加 40 萬美元，比截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日止季度的 590 萬美元增加 260 萬美元。

The primary drivers of the increases were consulting expenses related to technology investments and legal expenses. Going forward, we expect our efficiency ratio for the banking business to be in the mid- to high 40% level for the second half of our fiscal 2023. We expect to moderate the pace of new hires and the level of growth-related investment spending to be roughly the same as the current run rate in the first half of fiscal 2023.

增長的主要驅動因素是與技術投資和法律費用相關的諮詢費用。展望未來，我們預計我們銀行業務的效率在 2023 財年下半年將處於 40% 的中高水平。我們預計將放慢新員工的步伐和與增長相關的投資支出水平與 2023 財年上半年的當前運行率大致相同。

Lastly, with our return on equity increasing to 18.7% in the fiscal second quarter from 13.9% in the prior quarter and loan growth decelerating to 7% annualized from the 32% annualized in the September quarter, we were able to increase our capital ratios this quarter. Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets for Axos Bank was 11.3% at the end of the December quarter, up from 10.9% in the prior quarter. Net capital at Axos Clearing increased 23% linked quarter due primarily to higher profitability in our securities business. We have excess capital at the holding company available to contribute to our subsidiaries if needed with asset growth projected to be in the mid-teens in the second half of fiscal 2023 and an ROE, while north of 15%, we expect to maintain strong capital levels throughout the enterprise. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Johnny.

最後，隨著我們第二財季的股本回報率從上一季度的 13.9% 增加到 18.7%，貸款增長從 9 月季度的年化 32% 減速到 7%，我們能夠在今年提高我們的資本比率四分之一。截至 12 月季度末，Axos 銀行的一級資本風險加權資產比率為 11.3%，高於上一季度的 10.9%。 Axos Clearing 的淨資本環比增長 23%，主要原因是我們證券業務的盈利能力提高。如果需要，我們控股公司有多餘的資本可用於我們的子公司，資產增長預計在 2023 財年下半年達到 15% 左右，股本回報率超過 15%，我們預計將保持強勁的資本整個企業的層次。有了這個，我會把電話轉回給約翰尼。

Thanks, Derrick. We are ready to take questions.

謝謝，德里克。我們準備好接受提問。

(Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from Andrew Liesch with Piper Sandler.

（操作員說明）。我們的第一個問題來自 Andrew Liesch 和 Piper Sandler。

I just want to look at the margin. So it sounds like it's going to normalize a little bit lower because there are some -- maybe some items affecting it here this last quarter. But if we're looking at the margin, say, a quarter from now, and we've had a couple more rate increases, is there room for it to go higher or the funding cost pressure just seems like it would be pretty meaningful? So do you think it can ever go back above this range that you highlighted for the third quarter for your -- for the third quarter?

我只想看看保證金。所以聽起來它會正常化一點點，因為在上個季度這裡有一些 - 可能是一些影響它的項目。但是，如果我們看看利潤率，比如說，從現在開始的一個季度，我們已經有幾次加息，它是否有上升的空間，或者融資成本壓力似乎非常有意義？那麼你認為它能回到你為第三季度強調的這個範圍之上嗎？

I think it's good to look at that range as appropriate guidance for the next several quarters. We think we're kind of at more the bottom of -- within a couple of hundred million dollars of the cash sorting element, but that makes a difference. And then it's -- I think it's prudent to stick within that range. There's always some potential for upside. But I think that's why we try to give it just based on what we're seeing now, just with respect to where we are in the quarter now and where we are on the deposit side with respect to the Clearing and custody deposits.

我認為將該範圍視為未來幾個季度的適當指導是件好事。我們認為我們在現金分類元素的幾億美元之內處於更底層的位置，但這有所作為。然後是——我認為堅持在這個範圍內是明智的。總有一些上漲的潛力。但我認為這就是為什麼我們試圖僅根據我們現在所看到的情況來提供它，就我們現在所在季度的情況以及我們在清算和託管存款方面的存款方面而言。

Got it. That was my next question on the cash sorting. And then, Derrick, just your commentary on the efficiency ratio, did I hear that correctly bank level 45%? The securities business, I think it's usually 6 to 7 percentage points on top of that. So do we see the efficiency ratio in the 50% range in aggregate? I'm just curious how that's going to flow through.

知道了。那是我關於現金分類的下一個問題。然後，Derrick，只是你對效率比的評論，我沒聽錯銀行水平 45% 嗎？證券業務，我認為通常比這高出 6 到 7 個百分點。那麼我們是否看到總體效率在 50% 範圍內？我只是好奇這將如何進行。

No, with the -- with what we're just highlighting with the cash sorting deposits, there's some intercompany there because there's a level that we keep at the bank, right? So as the -- as those deposits are paid to clearing that efficiency ratio increases on the bank side decreases on the income obviously helps decrease it on the clearing side. So it actually brings the efficiency ratios closer together. So I think what you saw this quarter in terms of the efficiency ratios will be more of what to expect kind of as a run rate going forward.

不，我們剛剛強調的是現金分類存款，那裡有一些內部公司，因為我們在銀行保持一定水平，對嗎？因此，隨著這些存款支付給清算，銀行方面的效率比率增加，收入減少，顯然有助於清算方面的收入減少。所以它實際上使效率比更接近。所以我認為你在本季度看到的效率比將更多地是預期的運行率。

Our next question comes from Gary Tenner with D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Gary Tenner。戴維森。

A couple of points of clarification. Greg, did you say that you thought you'd be in the mid-teens on loan growth for the back half of the fiscal year or for the full fiscal year, including the last couple of quarters?

澄清幾點。格雷格，你是說你認為你會在本財政年度後半段或整個財政年度（包括最後幾個季度）的貸款增長中處於十幾歲？

On annualized on the back half, yes. We -- if you look at how much loan growth we had, yes, assuming that we're having as we expect to normalize more in the 600, 700-ish range, roughly next quarter or something like that, certainly lower than we had in the prior quarters, but above where we are now. And it's hard to say things can move around, but that's kind of what we're seeing right now and a decent visibility into it. And I think that will be true but that are a little higher in the subsequent quarter as well.

在後半部分按年化計算，是的。我們——如果你看看我們有多少貸款增長，是的，假設我們的貸款增長如我們預期的那樣在 600、700 左右的範圍內正常化，大約在下個季度或類似的範圍內，肯定低於我們的水平在前幾個季度，但高於我們現在的水平。很難說事情會發生變化，但這就是我們現在所看到的，並且對它有很好的了解。而且我認為這將是真實的，但在隨後的季度中也會更高。

I think the key though here is that they -- the one thing is that the average balances when you come out of the holiday seasons -- this quarter gets started a little more slowly. So you often end up with a little more back-end loaded. So that's why we gave guidance on the net interest income for next quarter, just given the cash sorting and then also the timing of loan growth, we expect to be pushed out a little bit more.

我認為這裡的關鍵是他們——一件事是假期結束後的平均餘額——這個季度開始得有點慢。因此，您通常最終會加載更多的後端。這就是為什麼我們給出下一季度淨利息收入指引的原因，考慮到現金分類以及貸款增長的時間，我們預計會被推遲一點。

Okay. And then likely CRESL and kind of lender finance being the primary drivers in the back half or the second -- first half of the calendar year?

好的。然後 CRESL 和某種貸方融資可能成為下半年或下半年的主要驅動力 - 日曆年的上半年？

Yes. Yes, I think that's right. We are seeing some jumbo mortgage loan growth, but it's not so huge, just it'll be more than this quarter, but not -- probably not in the $100 million plus range.

是的。是的，我認為這是對的。我們看到一些巨額抵押貸款增長，但不是那麼大，只是會超過本季度，但不會 - 可能不在 1 億美元以上的範圍內。

Okay. And then just regarding the auto charge-offs and the insurance receipts, is there a lag to when that comes in? And where on the income statement is the recovery to be recorded?

好的。然後就汽車註銷和保險收據而言，是否存在延遲？損益表的哪個位置記錄回收？

Yes, it's about a 6- to 9-month process to go through. So we've actually had a decent chunk coming in, not big numbers, but it's growing over the last several quarters. And the -- it's coming in through banking service fees and other income. That's the line item that is coming in. But it's not huge, huge sellers, but there is a 6- to 9-month lag because of the processing, the application to the insurance company and working through that process.

是的，這大約需要 6 到 9 個月的過程。所以我們實際上有相當大的一部分進來，不是很大的數字，但它在過去幾個季度裡一直在增長。而且——它來自銀行服務費和其他收入。這就是即將到來的訂單項。但它不是巨大的、巨大的賣家，但由於處理、向保險公司的申請和整個過程的工作，有 6 到 9 個月的滯後。

And just the way the accounting works. In this period, the 5 basis points of charge-offs, 60% of them were from those loans, those auto loans that are insured. It's obviously a small number, but it just sort of comes in a little bit differently. So it isn't as if not the 5 basis points is much charge-off, but even that is enhanced by the nature of the accounting for that insurance.

以及會計工作的方式。在此期間，沖銷的 5 個基點，其中 60% 來自那些貸款，那些有保險的汽車貸款。這顯然是一個小數字，但只是有點不同。因此，這並不是說 5 個基點不是很多沖銷，但即便如此，保險會計的性質也增強了這種沖銷。

And our next question comes from Michael Perito with KBW. Okay. We'll move on to the next question. (Operator Instructions). Our next question comes from Edward Hemmelgarn with Shaker Investments.

我們的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Michael Perito。好的。我們將繼續下一個問題。 （操作員說明）。我們的下一個問題來自 Shaker Investments 的 Edward Hemmelgarn。

Great quarter on managing through a difficult rate environment. The question -- back in the financial crisis, I mean, in '07, '09 when you took over you. And later on, even after that, you seem to do a very good job of taking advantage of the reluctance on the part of some of your competitors perhaps to be making loans. Are you finding any additional -- that your banks are really pulling back as much, I mean, some of the surveys and stuff certainly indicate that they are. But I'm just curious what kind of an environment you're seeing.

通過困難的利率環境進行管理的好季度。問題——回到金融危機，我的意思是，在 07 年、09 年你接手的時候。後來，甚至在那之後，你似乎很好地利用了你的一些競爭對手可能不願意提供貸款的情況。你是否發現任何額外的——你的銀行真的在撤回同樣多的東西，我的意思是，一些調查和東西肯定表明它們是。但我很好奇你看到的是什麼樣的環境。

Yes. It's interesting. It depends on each area. I think on the jumbo mortgage side, a lot of the competition that had come up over the last couple of years were from these conduits that had securitization exits. And those have clearly been challenged, but the market is so slow both from a purchase and refinance side, that it's hard to see there. And we do see decent loan growth, but there are certain areas where banks have become a little less active for sure.

是的。這真有趣。這取決於每個地區。我認為在巨額抵押貸款方面，過去幾年出現的許多競爭都來自這些具有證券化退出的管道。這些顯然受到了挑戰，但市場在購買和再融資方面都非常緩慢，很難看到那裡。我們確實看到了可觀的貸款增長，但在某些領域，銀行肯定變得不那麼活躍了。

We're able to take a little more rate-tightened credit, things like that. It's not completely frozen though. It certainly doesn't have like single-family had that feel in 2010, when we started doing a lot more, for example, of it. Just everybody went to the same thing and thought that if you did a 40% LTV mortgage loan after housing prices fell 50%, that was a horrible thing. And so there was that massive, massive dislocation.

我們能夠獲得更多的利率收緊信貸，諸如此類。雖然它並沒有完全凍結。在 2010 年，當我們開始做更多的事情時，它肯定沒有像單戶家庭那樣的感覺。只是每個人都做了同樣的事情，認為如果你在房價下跌 50% 後提供 40% 的 LTV 抵押貸款，那將是一件可怕的事情。因此，出現了巨大的混亂。

It's not quite like that now. I think you see some of the securitization exits blown out a little bit. So it's more there is some -- there's a little more spread. There's, I think, a higher value on certainty of execution because I think that these type of environments are -- people like to work with people they've worked with before because they understand the nature of what kind of execution we provide, which I think has been valuable for our peak clients.

現在不完全是這樣了。我認為你看到一些證券化退出有點過時了。所以更多的是——有更多的傳播。我認為，執行的確定性具有更高的價值，因為我認為這些類型的環境是——人們喜歡與他們以前共事過的人一起工作，因為他們了解我們提供的執行的性質，我認為對我們的高峰客戶很有價值。

So -- yes, but it's a pretty -- I feel pretty good about this environment, actually. I like where we are here. I think we've done a good job preparing on the liquidity side. The loan portfolio is looking very strong. Even in areas that I think we made not that we're seeing much. I think we made good decisions around the auto side, ensuring a lower-tier product and things like that. So I think it's pretty good.

所以 - 是的，但它很漂亮 - 實際上我對這個環境感覺很好。我喜歡我們在這裡的地方。我認為我們在流動性方面做得很好。貸款組合看起來非常強勁。即使在我認為我們所做的領域，我們也沒有看到太多。我認為我們在汽車方面做出了正確的決定，確保了低端產品和類似的東西。所以我覺得挺好的。

Obviously, I know where you're going with this, you would always like to see the higher growth. I think we've got to be thoughtful about capital ratios. We've got to be thoughtful about the fact that the stock isn't where you'd want to issue it, right? And then any kind of sub debt or other capital is also quite a bit more expensive, that same benefit of the spreads on the side when you're the lender impact you and you're the borrower.

顯然，我知道你的目標是什麼，你總是希望看到更高的增長。我認為我們必須考慮資本比率。我們必須考慮到股票不是您想要發行的事實，對嗎？然後任何類型的次級債務或其他資本也相當昂貴，當你是貸方影響你和你是藉款人時，利差帶來的同樣好處。

So I think the good part for us is that with a high ROE and strong earnings that we are able to grow organically. And I think we just have to make sure we're staying in that range to ensure that we're building capital, keeping it relatively consistent and not relying on any capital markets right now until the stock market better reflects the value that we believe we should get for the company.

因此，我認為對我們來說好的部分是，憑藉高股本回報率和強勁的收益，我們能夠實現有機增長。而且我認為我們只需要確保我們保持在這個範圍內，以確保我們正在積累資本，保持資本相對穩定，並且現在不依賴任何資本市場，直到股市更好地反映我們相信的價值應該得到公司。

Great. I actually didn't mean that as a compliment. I thought you really managed this process well. So not as a shareholder, I wasn't hopeful for more. I thought that you did a very good job.

偉大的。我其實並不是說這是一種恭維。我認為你真的很好地管理了這個過程。所以不是作為股東，我不希望有更多。我認為你做得很好。

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

謝謝你。我真的很感激。

And our next question comes from Michael Perito with KBW.

我們的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Michael Perito。

Sorry about that. I got disconnected, so I missed a few of the questions. So I'll just wrap it up with just a big picture one for Greg. This isn't the first time you guys have hit this level of ROE, but it does feel a little different. I think structurally, the NIM is a lot stronger than it was maybe a handful of years ago. You have the AAS business, which is starting to contribute more meaningfully on the bottom line.

對於那個很抱歉。我掉線了，所以我錯過了一些問題。所以我只用一張給格雷格的大圖來結束它。這不是你們第一次達到這種 ROE 水平，但感覺確實有點不同。我認為從結構上講，NIM 比幾年前要強大得多。你有 AAS 業務，它開始在底線上做出更有意義的貢獻。

So I'm just curious, Greg, like how do you think about the ROE of this business evolving? You've been in this 18% plus or minus 18%, 19% range for quite a long time. But is there kind of the box in place for that to maybe structurally move higher here, understanding that there are some elements that might normalize, but just curious how you're thinking about it?

所以我很好奇，格雷格，你如何看待這項業務發展的股本回報率？你已經在這個 18% 正負 18%、19% 的範圍內呆了很長時間了。但是是否有某種盒子可以使它在結構上更高，理解有一些元素可能會正常化，但只是好奇你是如何考慮的？

Yes. I think in a much longer time frame, and I mean, let's say, 2 years plus, I think we have some really neat plans with respect to that. For example, I think the cost structure of the Securities business will be fundamentally evolved by what we're doing on the core development side. By way of example, that business does have the potential to scale at higher returns on equity. If we are able to scale it and make that business grow.

是的。我認為在更長的時間範圍內，我的意思是，比方說，2 年多，我認為我們有一些非常好的計劃。例如，我認為我們在核心開發方面所做的工作將從根本上改變證券業務的成本結構。舉例來說，該業務確實有可能以更高的股本回報率進行擴展。如果我們能夠擴展它並使該業務增長。

And I think we have that capacity over the longer term. I would be a little cautious as much as I'd like to be optimistic just given what we've said for margin guidance here that will be coming down a bit. We did have those onetime benefits associated with the significant elevation of the securities deposits, which -- that's $1 billion of 0 cost deposits is a nice boost. And if that's not there, then that obviously impacts things.

而且我認為我們有長期的能力。考慮到我們在這裡所說的保證金指導會有所下降，我會有點謹慎，就像我想保持樂觀一樣。我們確實獲得了與證券存款顯著增加相關的一次性收益，即 10 億美元的零成本存款是一個很好的推動力。如果那不存在，那顯然會影響事情。

And so I think we have to be a little cautious about that. But yes, look, it's kind of -- I think that you can see that happening. But a lot of -- but there's just a lot of unknowns with respect to where spreads go in the capital markets, all those different kind of things kind of impact that. But I feel good about where we are. And I think we've got a lot of -- I feel like the investments that we're making are all geared in the right way towards that continued improvement.

所以我認為我們必須對此保持謹慎。但是，是的，看，它有點——我認為你可以看到這種情況正在發生。但是很多 - 但是關於資本市場利差的變化只有很多未知數，所有這些不同類型的事情都會影響它。但我對我們所處的位置感覺很好。而且我認為我們有很多 - 我覺得我們正在進行的投資都是以正確的方式進行持續改進。

And some of them are pretty -- it's significant to build your own securities core, for example, right? But it's going really, really well. So I think those kind of things are the type of things that can come together to generate a continued enhanced return on equity.

其中一些很漂亮——例如，建立自己的證券核心很重要，對嗎？但它真的非常非常好。所以我認為這些事情可以結合在一起產生持續增加的股本回報率。

Great. And then just secondly, and if you guys addressed this while I got kicked off, feel free to just point me to the transcript. But just on the partnership with Tassat and some of the digital asset stuff that you guys were focusing on, can you maybe give us an update of where that strategically is at this point? I mean, obviously, it was a volatile handful of months in that business. And I'm just curious what your updated thoughts are there? And anything else you're willing to offer would be great.

偉大的。其次，如果你們在我開始的時候解決了這個問題，請隨時給我指出成績單。但是，就與 Tassat 的合作夥伴關係以及你們關注的一些數字資產而言，您能否向我們介紹一下目前的戰略位置？我的意思是，很明顯，那是該業務中不穩定的幾個月。我只是很好奇你最新的想法是什麼？你願意提供的任何其他東西都會很棒。

Yes. Yes. I think where we are with respect to that right now is we're kind of letting the situation evolve a little bit and watching what's happening in the market. It's moving a lot. We've obviously done some technological investments, but I think there's going to be regulatory scrutiny regulatory guidance, and we want to prepare ourselves to participate but not necessarily get ahead of it either. So I think, frankly, just obviously watching what's happened with the market participants there even with the deposit bases and things like that, I think it certainly has impacted our views on the level of strategic importance that we're going to be placing on those elements.

是的。是的。我認為我們現在就此而言，我們有點讓情況有所發展，並觀察市場上正在發生的事情。它動了很多。我們顯然已經進行了一些技術投資，但我認為將會有監管審查監管指導，我們希望自己做好參與的準備，但也不一定要領先於它。所以我認為，坦率地說，顯然只是觀察那裡的市場參與者發生了什麼，即使有存款基礎和類似的東西，我認為這肯定影響了我們對戰略重要性水平的看法，我們將把這些放在元素。

Now I think it will be interesting to see how the space evolves over time in the longer term. And I think what we need to do is be ready to participate. And we do have -- we've built technology. We signed with TassatPay, things like that. And we're going to continue to sort of watch where this goes right now. I think Frankly, there's a significantly enhanced regulatory scrutiny on these products right now and regulators are nervous.

現在，我認為從長遠來看，看看這個空間如何隨著時間的推移而演變會很有趣。我認為我們需要做的是準備好參與。我們確實有——我們已經建立了技術。我們與 TassatPay 簽約，諸如此類。我們將繼續關注目前的進展情況。我認為坦率地說，目前對這些產品的監管審查明顯加強，監管機構感到緊張。

And I can't say that I -- that, that is necessarily unjustified. And I also think that some regulatory clarity around certain other elements of the business would be helpful as well. So we're continuing to just look at that and then be thoughtful about it. For example, we don't think we had created a process where we would have -- we've built our own platform to be able to launch our own AX stable coin, for example.

我不能說我——那一定是不合理的。而且我還認為，圍繞業務的某些其他要素進行一些監管明確也會有所幫助。因此，我們將繼續關注這一點，然後對其進行深思熟慮。例如，我們不認為我們已經創建了一個流程——例如，我們已經構建了自己的平台來發布我們自己的 AX 穩定幣。

And as near as we can tell from a regulatory perspective, no bank has been granted the ability to do that nor do I foresee the regulatory environment being receptive to that for a while until there's a lot of clarity. So look, that's fine. It will be ready. If there is regulatory clarity, if there's not, I think even on the self-directed trading side where we thought we would be able to utilize some of the crypto asset trading as a way of generating customer business, I think that, that may be something over the longer term that we pursue.

從監管的角度來看，就我們所知，沒有一家銀行被授予這樣做的能力，我也沒有預見到監管環境會在一段時間內接受這一點，直到情況變得非常明朗。所以看，這很好。它將準備就緒。如果監管明確，如果沒有，我認為即使在自主交易方面，我們認為我們能夠利用一些加密資產交易作為產生客戶業務的一種方式，我認為，這可能是我們追求的長期目標。

But right now, I think the level of consumer interest has also diminished significantly as well. And so other kind of elements are driving that. So frankly, we're turning more to thinking about how we can talk to our clients about fixed income, for example, which has become a lot more interesting. We still obviously will take an open deposit accounts in the -- thoughtfully in the right way there, but we also have to be cautious about just what's going on in that space right now because there's just so many movements and changes. So yes. So I think that probably gives the flavor of where we're thinking.

但現在，我認為消費者的興趣水平也顯著下降。所以其他類型的元素正在推動它。所以坦率地說，我們正在更多地考慮如何與我們的客戶談論固定收益，例如，這變得更加有趣。顯然，我們仍然會以正確的方式深思熟慮地開設一個存款賬戶，但我們也必須對該領域目前正在發生的事情持謹慎態度，因為有太多的變動和變化。所以是的。所以我認為這可能給出了我們正在思考的地方的味道。

That all makes perfect sense. Thanks for the -- thoughts and taking my questions.

這一切都說得通。感謝您的想法和回答我的問題。

And there are no further questions at this time. I'll hand the floor back to management for any closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我會將發言權交還給管理層，聽取任何結束語。

Thank you, everyone. Really appreciate your time and attention, and we'll talk to you next quarter. Thank you.

謝謝大家。非常感謝您的時間和關注，我們將在下個季度與您交談。謝謝你。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference. All parties may disconnect. Have a great evening.

謝謝你。今天的會議到此結束。各方可能會斷開連接。祝你有個愉快的夜晚。