Bridgewater Bancshares Inc (BWB) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Bridgewater Bancshares' 2026 First Quarter Earnings Call. My name is Danielle, and I will be your conference operator today.

早安，歡迎參加 Bridgewater Bancshares 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。我叫 Danielle，今天將擔任各位的會議接線員。

(Operator Instructions) Please note that today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to introduce Justin Horstman, Vice President of Investor Relations, to begin the conference call. Please go ahead.

(接線員指示) 請注意，今天的電話會議將被錄音。此刻，我想介紹投資人關係副總裁 Justin Horstman 來開始本次電話會議。請開始。

Thank you, Danielle, and good morning, everyone. Joining me on today's call are Jerry Baack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Joe Chybowski, President and Chief Financial Officer; Nick Place, Chief Banking Officer; and Katie Morrell, Chief Credit Officer. In just a few moments, we will provide an overview of our 2026 first quarter financial results.

謝謝你，Danielle，各位早安。今天與我一同參與電話會議的有：董事長兼執行長 Jerry Baack；總裁兼財務長 Joe Chybowski；銀行業務長 Nick Place；以及信用長 Katie Morrell。再過幾分鐘，我們將提供 2026 年第一季財務結果的概覽。

We will be referencing a slide presentation that is available on the Investor Relations section of Bridgewater's website, investors.bridgewaterbankmn.com. Following our opening remarks, we will open the call for questions.

我們將參考一份投影片簡報，該簡報可於 Bridgewater 官網的投資人關係專區 investors.bridgewaterbankmn.com 取得。開場致詞後，我們將開放提問。

During today's presentation, we may make projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We caution that such statements are predictions and that actual results may differ materially.

在今天的簡報中，我們可能會就未來事件或公司未來財務表現提出預測或其他前瞻性陳述。我們提醒各位，此類陳述屬於預測，實際結果可能會有重大差異。

Please see the forward-looking statement disclosure in the slide presentation and our 2026 first quarter earnings release for more information about risks and uncertainties, which may affect us. The information we will provide today is as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, and we undertake no duty to update the information.

有關可能影響我們的風險與不確定性之更多資訊，請參閱投影片簡報中的前瞻性陳述揭露，以及我們 2026 年第一季財報新聞稿。我們今天提供的資訊截至並涵蓋 2026 年 3 月 31 日止之季度，我們不承擔更新該等資訊之義務。

We may also disclose non-GAAP financial measures during this call. We believe certain non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the related GAAP measures, provide meaningful information to investors to help them understand the company's operating performance and trends and to facilitate comparisons with the performance of our peers.

在本次電話會議中，我們也可能揭露非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。我們相信，某些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，連同相關 GAAP 指標，可為投資人提供有意義的資訊，協助其理解公司的營運表現與趨勢，並便於與同業表現進行比較。

We caution that these disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP. Please see our slide presentation and 2026 first quarter earnings release for reconciliations of non-GAAP disclosures to the comparable GAAP measures.

我們提醒各位，這些揭露不應被視為依 GAAP 決定之營運結果的替代品。有關非 GAAP 揭露與可比 GAAP 指標之調節，請參閱我們的投影片簡報及 2026 年第一季財報新聞稿。

I would now like to turn the call over to Bridgewater's Chairman and CEO, Jerry Baack.

現在我想把電話交給 Bridgewater 的董事長兼執行長 Jerry Baack。

Thank you, Justin, and thank you for joining us this morning. Bridgewater is off to a strong start in 2026 with several positive developments during the quarter, positioning us well for the rest of the year. First and foremost, I would like to point out our net interest margin expansion.

謝謝你，Justin，也感謝各位今天早上加入我們。Bridgewater 在 2026 年有個強勁的開局，本季出現多項正面進展，使我們為今年剩餘時間做好良好布局。首先也是最重要的，我想指出我們的淨利差擴張。

While we mentioned last quarter that we expected to reach a 3% margin by the end of 2026, we nearly got there in the first quarter as margin expanded to 2.99%. Deposit costs declined and loans repriced higher, helping us get there quicker than anticipated.

雖然我們在上季提到，預期到 2026 年底利差可達 3%，但我們在第一季幾乎就達成了，利差擴張至 2.99%。存款成本下降、貸款重新定價提高，讓我們比預期更快達到這個水準。

We expect to see slow additional margin expansion over the coming quarters. Because of the strong net interest margin, we were able to continue growing net interest income. This happened even while our balance sheet shrunk during the quarter due to some strategic sales of securities. These securities sales were part of several opportunistic actions taken in the first quarter to enhance our balance sheet efficiency, resulting in both a substantial gain and positioning us for improved profitability moving forward.

我們預期未來幾季利差將緩慢進一步擴張。由於淨利差強勁，我們得以持續成長淨利息收入。即便本季因策略性出售部分證券而使資產負債表縮小，仍然如此。這些證券出售是我們第一季為提升資產負債表效率所採取的數項機會性行動之一，帶來可觀的收益，並使我們在未來具備更佳的獲利能力。

I want to be clear that this was not the standard balance sheet repositioning many other banks have done recently that involved selling securities at a large loss to increase future margin, but rather a calculated tactic Joe and our treasury team recognized as interest rates moved in our favor. In response to this shift, they executed on an opportunity to improve forward profitability while taking an immediate gain.

我想澄清，這並非近期許多銀行所做的那種標準資產負債表重新配置——也就是以大幅虧損出售證券來提高未來利差；相反地，這是一項經過計算的策略，Joe 與我們的資金管理團隊在利率走勢對我們有利時所辨識出的機會。因應這項變化，他們把握機會，在取得即時收益的同時，也提升了未來的獲利能力。

Joe will provide more details on this in a minute. I'm pleased to report we continued to take market share in the first quarter as the loan portfolio grew 5.5% annualized, with much of the growth continuing to come from our commitment to our affordable housing vertical. Core deposit momentum also continued as balances increased 3.2% annualized, while the overall deposit mix continued to improve.

Joe 稍後會就此提供更多細節。我很高興報告，我們第一季持續擴大市占，貸款組合以年化 5.5% 成長，其中相當部分的成長仍來自我們對平價住宅垂直領域的承諾。核心存款動能也持續，餘額以年化 3.2% 增加，同時整體存款結構也持續改善。

Asset quality remained positive in the first quarter as net charge-offs and nonperforming assets both declined nicely. We continue to feel good about the overall asset quality of our loan portfolio resulting from the strong credit culture we pride ourselves on. In addition, we saw a nice uptick in our capital ratios as CET1 increased 36 basis points to 9.53%.

第一季資產品質仍維持正向，淨沖銷與不良資產皆明顯下降。我們對貸款組合的整體資產品質仍感到樂觀，這源自我們引以為傲的強健授信文化。此外，我們的資本比率也有不錯的提升，普通股權益第一類資本（CET1）增加 36 個基點至 9.53%。

Turning to Slide 4. Tangible book value growth continues to be a staple of the Bridgewater story. And that was no different in the first quarter as tangible book value increased 9.9% annualized to $15.93 per share. This is an important differentiator for Bridgewater. We are proud of our ability to create and sustain shareholder value through tangible book value growth and how consistent this trajectory has been over the past decade.

接著看投影片第 4 頁。有形帳面價值的成長一直是 Bridgewater 故事的核心。第一季亦不例外，有形帳面價值以年化 9.9% 成長至每股 15.93 美元。這是 Bridgewater 的重要差異化優勢。我們以能透過有形帳面價值成長創造並維持股東價值為榮，也以過去十年來這條成長軌跡的穩定一致為傲。

Before I pass it over to Joe, I also wanted to share that we successfully expanded our footprint to the East. In February, we opened our de novo branch in Lake Elmo. This is a growing area in the Twin Cities, and we are thrilled with the opportunities it presents to Bridgewater Bank.

在把電話交給 Joe 之前，我也想分享我們已成功將據點向東擴展。2 月，我們在 Lake Elmo 開設了新設（de novo）分行。這是雙城地區一個正在成長的區域，我們對其為 Bridgewater Bank 帶來的機會感到非常振奮。

With that, I'll turn it over to Joe.

接下來我把電話交給 Joe。

Thanks, Jerry. Before we take a deeper dive into the first quarter results, I wanted to walk through the balance sheet efficiency actions we took in late January and early February, which are laid out on Slide 5. As Jerry mentioned, this was really a win-win for us as our treasury team recognized how we could take advantage of the volatility in interest rates to not only improve future profitability, but also generate substantial near-term revenue.

謝謝你，Jerry。在我們更深入探討第一季結果之前，我想先說明我們在 1 月下旬與 2 月上旬採取的資產負債表效率提升行動，內容列於投影片第 5 頁。如 Jerry 所提，這對我們而言確實是雙贏，因為我們的資金管理團隊辨識到可如何利用利率波動，不僅提升未來獲利能力，也能在短期內創造可觀收入。

As part of this strategy, we sold a portion of our high-quality securities portfolio, which included the sale of $147 million of treasuries for a net gain of $1.2 million, and the sale of $62 million of municipal bonds for a net gain of $6.1 million. By selling these securities that were yielding in the 4% and 5% ranges, we were able to redeploy these dollars into higher-yielding loans going forward.

作為該策略的一部分，我們出售了部分高品質證券投資組合，其中包括出售 1.47 億美元的美國公債，淨收益 120 萬美元，以及出售 6,200 萬美元的市政債，淨收益 610 萬美元。透過出售這些殖利率約在 4% 與 5% 區間的證券，我們得以將資金重新配置至未來殖利率更高的貸款。

In addition to these securities sales, we also prepaid $97.5 million of higher cost FHLB advances that were being used to fund the securities. While this resulted in a prepayment expense of $982,000, it helped to improve our funding mix and reduce our overall cost of funds.

除上述證券出售外，我們也提前償還了 9,750 萬美元、用於為該等證券提供資金的較高成本 FHLB 預支款。雖然這導致 98.2 萬美元的提前償還費用，但有助於改善我們的資金來源結構並降低整體資金成本。

At the end of the day, we generated an additional $7.3 million of pretax net income in the first quarter, increased our permanent capital levels and supported future net interest margin expansion by reducing our cost of funds and creating an opportunity to redeploy capital into higher-yielding loans. This is another example of how we are actively and thoughtfully managing our balance sheet to drive shareholder value.

歸根結底，我們在第一季額外創造了730萬美元的稅前淨利，提升了永久資本水準，並透過降低資金成本、創造將資本重新配置至更高收益貸款的機會，支持未來淨利差擴張。這是我們如何積極且審慎地管理資產負債表以提升股東價值的另一個例子。

Turning to Slide 6. We were able to grow net interest income by 3% quarter-over-quarter despite the average interest-earning assets declining $185 million as a result of the balance sheet actions I just mentioned. This is pretty impressive and was driven by 24 basis points of net interest margin expansion in the first quarter to 2.99%.

接著看第6頁投影片。儘管由於我剛提到的資產負債表行動，平均生息資產減少了1.85億美元，我們仍得以使淨利息收入較上季成長3%。這相當令人印象深刻，主要由第一季淨利差擴張24個基點至2.99%所帶動。

Our expectation had been to get to a 3% net interest margin by the end of '26, but we were very pleased that several factors allowed us to nearly get there in the first quarter. First, we saw the full quarter impact of the fourth quarter rate cuts on both sides of the balance sheet as total deposit costs declined 18 basis points and loan yields were still able to reprice higher by 3 basis points given the fixed rate nature of the portfolio.

我們原先預期要到2026年底淨利差才會達到3%，但很高興有幾項因素讓我們在第一季就幾乎達標。首先，我們看到2025年第四季降息對資產負債表兩端的完整季度影響：總存款成本下降18個基點，而由於投資組合以固定利率為主，貸款收益率仍能上調3個基點完成重定價。

Notably, deposit betas during this most recent rate cut cycle have outperformed the betas we saw during the prior cycle, primarily due to a larger portion of our deposit base being directly tied to short-term rates.Second, loan fees continued to increase as payoffs remained elevated.

值得注意的是，在最近這一輪降息循環中，存款貝塔值的表現優於上一輪循環，主要因為我們存款基礎中有更大比例直接與短期利率連動。第二，隨著提前清償仍維持在高位，貸款手續費持續增加。

And third, there was a modest margin impact within the quarter from the balance sheet efficiency actions we took, which resulted in a decrease in higher cost borrowings and a smaller balance sheet. Given that we were able to pull forward much of our expected net interest margin expansion for the year into the first quarter, we expect the pace of margin expansion to slow meaningfully going forward.

第三，我們採取的資產負債表效率措施在本季對利差帶來小幅影響，這些措施使高成本借款下降且資產負債表規模縮小。鑑於我們已將今年預期的淨利差擴張很大一部分提前至第一季實現，我們預期未來利差擴張的速度將明顯放緩。

However, we still expect to see some mild margin expansion over the coming quarters, even with no additional rate cuts. With net interest margin resetting higher, some margin expansion expected to continue and earning asset growth set to return, we are well-positioned to continue driving net interest income moving forward.

不過，即使不再進一步降息，我們仍預期未來幾季會出現一些溫和的利差擴張。隨著淨利差重設至較高水準、預期仍將持續些許擴張，且生息資產成長將回歸，我們已具備良好條件在未來持續推動淨利息收入成長。

Slide 7 highlights some of the net interest margin drivers. The cost of total deposits declined by 18 basis points in the first quarter and is now down 40 basis points over the past two quarters. The decline in the first quarter reflects the full quarter impact of the rate cuts from the fourth quarter of 2025.

第7頁投影片重點說明淨利差的部分驅動因素。第一季總存款成本下降18個基點，過去兩季合計已下降40個基點。第一季的下降反映了2025年第四季降息的完整季度影響。

Absent any additional rate cuts, we would expect to see deposit costs stabilize going forward, although we will continue to look for additional opportunities to lower the rates of deposit accounts where it makes sense. Our portfolio loan yield increased 3 basis points during the quarter to 5.81%.

若沒有進一步降息，我們預期未來存款成本將趨於穩定；不過，在合理的情況下，我們仍會持續尋找進一步下調存款帳戶利率的機會。本季我們的投資組合貸款收益率上升3個基點至5.81%。

As we've said in the past, we expect our loan portfolio to continue to reprice higher in the current environment given the larger fixed rate component, which makes up 65% of the portfolio. We have been actively originating more variable rate loans to make the portfolio more rate neutral going forward.

如同我們過去所說，鑑於目前環境以及投資組合中較高的固定利率比重（占65%），我們預期貸款投資組合將持續以更高利率重定價。我們也一直積極承作更多浮動利率貸款，使投資組合未來在利率變動下更為中性。

Variable rate loans now make up 23% of the loan portfolio, up from 17% a year ago. We would expect this loan repricing to continue to support future margin expansion as our loan portfolio includes $644 million of fixed rate loans scheduled to mature over the next 12 months at a weighted average yield of 5.73% and another $106 million of adjustable rate loans repricing or maturing at 3.86%.

浮動利率貸款目前占貸款投資組合的23%，高於一年前的17%。我們預期此一貸款重定價將持續支持未來利差擴張，因為我們的貸款投資組合中，未來12個月內將到期的固定利率貸款為6.44億美元，加權平均收益率為5.73%；另有1.06億美元的可調利率貸款將重定價或到期，收益率為3.86%。

With these lower yields running off the books and new originations in the first quarter going on the books around 6%, we have further repricing upside ahead of us. Turning to Slide 8. We continue to see strong profitability and revenue growth trends as our adjusted return on average assets was just under 1% for the second consecutive quarter.

隨著這些較低收益率的貸款逐步退出帳面，而第一季新承作貸款入帳利率約在6%左右，我們未來仍有進一步重定價上行空間。接著看第8頁投影片。我們持續看到強勁的獲利能力與營收成長趨勢，調整後平均資產報酬率已連續第二季接近1%。

We have also continued to consistently grow total revenue, driven by steady net interest income growth. In addition, noninterest income has topped $2 million every quarter since the fourth quarter of 2024, even excluding securities gains. This is a result of new fee income sources we have added recently, including swap fees and investment advisory fees, both of which we expect to continue to see throughout 2026.

我們也持續穩定地推升總營收，主要由淨利息收入的穩健成長所帶動。此外，即使排除證券收益，自2024年第四季以來，每一季的非利息收入都超過200萬美元。這是因為我們近期新增了新的手續費收入來源，包括換匯/利率交換（swap）手續費與投資顧問費，我們預期這兩項收入在2026年將持續貢獻。

Turning to Slide 9. We have a strong track record of well-managed expense growth as evidenced by our consistently better than peer efficiency ratio. Excluding the $982,000 of FHLB prepayment expense, expenses still a bit elevated in the first quarter, which is typically the case due to some seasonality.

接著看第9頁投影片。我們在費用成長管理方面有良好紀錄，從我們一貫優於同業的效率比率即可看出。即使排除98.2萬美元的FHLB提前償還費用，第一季費用仍略偏高，這通常是因為季節性因素所致。

First quarter expenses included our annual merit increases going into effect across the organization early in the quarter, several key strategic hires related to the disruption in the market and the pull forward of some charitable contributions. Occupancy expense also increased due to the opening of our new branch in Lake Elmo.

第一季費用包含本季初全公司生效的年度績效調薪、因應市場動盪而進行的數項關鍵策略性招募，以及部分慈善捐款的提前認列。由於我們在萊克艾爾莫（Lake Elmo）新分行開幕，場地/租用（occupancy）費用也有所增加。

As we've said before, we continue to expect adjusted noninterest expense to track closely with our general pace of asset growth over time. Keep in mind that this won't apply in the first quarter as assets decline due to securities sales.

如同我們先前所說，長期而言，我們仍預期調整後非利息費用將與資產成長的整體步調大致一致。請注意，第一季因出售證券導致資產下降，因此此關係在第一季不適用。

With that, I'll turn it over to Nick.

接下來我把時間交給Nick。

Thanks, Joe. Turning to Slide 10. You can see our core deposit momentum continued with annualized growth of 3.2% in the first quarter. We were pleased with this level of growth as balances tend to remain seasonally lower earlier in the year.

謝謝，Joe。接著看第10頁投影片。你可以看到，我們核心存款動能延續，第一季年化成長率為3.2%。我們對這樣的成長水準感到滿意，因為每年年初存款餘額通常會因季節性因素而偏低。

We have also seen an ongoing positive deposit mix shift given the more consistent core deposit growth and overall decline in higher cost brokered and time deposits, which have declined on a combined basis year-over-year.

隨著核心存款成長更為穩定，以及高成本的經紀存款與定期存款整體下降（合計較去年同期下滑），我們也持續看到存款結構出現正向的組合轉移。

We continue to be very pleased with our core deposit growth and pipeline overall. This includes traction in our affordable housing vertical as well as opportunities from the ongoing M&A disruption in the Twin Cities. While our deposit growth tends to be a bit slower during the first half of the year, we feel really good about our ability to continue growing core deposits over time as these provides the fuel for our organic loan growth.

我們對核心存款成長以及整體業務管線仍感到非常滿意。其中包括我們在可負擔住宅（affordable housing）垂直領域的進展，以及雙城地區持續的併購（M&A）擾動所帶來的機會。雖然我們的存款成長在上半年通常會稍慢一些，但我們對於隨時間持續擴大核心存款的能力感到非常有信心，因為這些存款為我們的有機貸款成長提供燃料。

Turning to Slide 11. Loan balances grew 5.5% annualized in the first quarter. We have seen an increase in competition in recent months, which has caused spreads to tighten a bit, but our pipeline remains strong and is near three year highs. As a result, we are in a good position to be selective on the types of deals we want to do and at yields that make sense.

接著看第11頁投影片。第一季貸款餘額年化成長5.5%。近幾個月我們看到競爭加劇，導致利差略為收窄，但我們的業務管線仍然強勁，接近三年來高點。因此，我們處於有利位置，可以在我們想做的交易類型上更具選擇性，並以合理的收益率承作。

Overall, we feel we are right on track to hit our expectations of high single-digit loan growth for the year. Obviously, there will be various factors that impact our pace of growth, including competitive dynamics, levels of payoffs and of course, core deposit growth, which is really our governor on how quickly we can grow loans.

整體而言，我們認為我們正按計畫推進，可望達成今年貸款高個位數成長的預期。當然，影響我們成長速度的因素很多，包括競爭態勢、還款（payoffs）水準，以及核心存款成長——而核心存款成長確實是我們能以多快速度擴張貸款的主要制約因素。

Turning to Slide 12. You can see that our loan pipeline is continuing to translate into new originations, while loan advances continue to increase as well. The increase in loan advances was driven by new construction projects over the past year that are now funding. We would expect to see new originations and advances remain strong in 2026.

接著看第12頁投影片。您可以看到，我們的貸款案源（pipeline）持續轉化為新的承作（originations），同時貸款撥款（advances）也持續增加。貸款撥款的增加，主要是因過去一年新增的建築工程案目前開始撥款。我們預期在2026年，新承作與撥款將維持強勁。

Payoff activity also remained elevated, and we expect these to continue given the current interest rate environment. Turning to Slide 13. C&I was the largest loan growth category during the first quarter. This was largely due to activity in real estate-related C&I, including affordable housing.

還款活動也仍維持在較高水準，考量目前的利率環境，我們預期此情況將持續。接著看第13頁投影片。第一季貸款成長最大的類別是工商貸款（C&I）。這主要來自與不動產相關的C&I活動，包括平價住宅（affordable housing）。

C&I is a strategic growth focus for us and an area in which we continue to invest. This includes adding additional talent with three new C&I bankers we've recently brought on board, stemming from the M&A disruption in the market. Overall, we are optimistic about our ability to continue expanding both talent and clients in this area.

C&I是我們策略性成長的重點，也是我們持續投入的領域。其中包括增聘人才；由於市場上併購（M&A）造成的擾動，我們近期新加入了三位C&I銀行業務人員。整體而言，我們對於在此領域持續擴大人才與客戶基礎的能力感到樂觀。

We continue to see meaningful opportunities for growth in affordable housing as balances in this vertical increased $57 million or 35% annualized during the first quarter. This growth was spread across both C&I and multifamily. With an ongoing focus on growing affordable housing and C&I as well as our strong expertise in multifamily and CRE, we feel good about the mix and growth outlook for our loan portfolio.

我們在平價住宅方面仍看到顯著的成長機會；第一季該垂直領域的餘額增加5,700萬美元，年化成長率為35%。此成長分布於C&I與多戶住宅（multifamily）兩個面向。在持續聚焦平價住宅與C&I成長、並結合我們在多戶住宅與商用不動產（CRE）的深厚專業下，我們對貸款組合的結構與成長展望感到有信心。

With that, I'll turn it over to Katie.

接下來我把時間交給Katie。

Thanks, Nick. Turning to Slide 14. Our overall credit profile remains strong. After a modest increase in nonperforming assets and net charge-offs in the fourth quarter, both came back down in the first quarter. We mentioned in January that the multifamily loan we moved to nonaccrual in the fourth quarter was under a purchase agreement.

謝謝，Nick。接著看第14頁投影片。我們整體的信用概況仍然強勁。在第四季不良資產與淨沖銷（net charge-offs）小幅上升後，第一季兩者都回落。我們在1月提到，第四季轉為停計息（nonaccrual）的那筆多戶住宅貸款已在購買協議之下。

As planned, this transaction closed in the first quarter, dropping our NPAs back to 0.22%. Net charge-offs were also very minimal at just 0.05% annualized for the quarter. As we have said before, with a loan portfolio of our size, we do expect to have some modest net charge-offs and upticks in nonperforming assets from time to time. But we have also demonstrated our ability to effectively work through these credits.

如計畫所示，該交易已於第一季完成交割，使我們的不良資產（NPA）比率回落至0.22%。本季淨沖銷也非常低，僅為0.05%（年化）。如同我們先前所說，以我們這樣規模的貸款組合而言，我們確實會不時出現一些溫和的淨沖銷與不良資產的上升。但我們也已展現出有效處理這些授信案件的能力。

Overall, our loan portfolio continues to perform well, and we remain well reserved at 1.31% of total loans. Looking at Slide 15, our watch and special mention loans have remained relatively stable, sitting right around 1% of total loans, while substandard loans declined quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to the multifamily loan mentioned previously.

整體而言，我們的貸款組合持續表現良好，且備抵仍相當充足，為總貸款的1.31%。看第15頁投影片，我們的觀察（watch）與特別關注（special mention）貸款維持相對穩定，約占總貸款的1%；而次級（substandard）貸款則較上季下降，主要是因前述那筆多戶住宅貸款。

We continue to monitor all watch list credits closely, but again, feel good about our overall asset quality and our ability to identify emerging risks within the portfolio.

我們持續密切監控所有觀察名單上的授信，但同樣地，我們對整體資產品質以及辨識組合中新興風險的能力感到有信心。

I'll now turn it back over to Joe.

接下來我把時間交回給Joe。

Thanks, Katie. Slide 16 highlights our enhanced capital position, which benefited from some of the balance sheet efficiency initiatives we mentioned earlier. Notably, our CET1 ratio increased from 9.17% to 9.53%. We did not repurchase any shares during the quarter given our strong organic growth pipeline and where the stock was trading.

謝謝，Katie。第16頁投影片重點呈現我們更強化的資本部位，這也受惠於我們先前提到的一些資產負債表效率提升措施。值得注意的是，我們的普通股權第一類資本（CET1）比率由9.17%提升至9.53%。鑑於我們強勁的內生成長案源，以及當時股價的交易水準，本季我們未進行庫藏股回購。

In fact, we actually announced the launch of an at-the-market offering for the sale of up to $50 million of common stock, which could add approximately 100 basis points to our CET1 ratio, if fully executed. However, we did not execute on the sale of any of these shares during the first quarter.

事實上，我們宣布啟動「隨行就市」（at-the-market, ATM）發行計畫，最多可出售5,000萬美元普通股；若全數執行，約可使CET1比率增加100個基點。不過，我們在第一季並未出售任何這些股票。

While we feel comfortable with our current capital levels, we like the additional optionality and capital cushion the ATM offering can provide if we choose to use it. Given the strong recent performance of the stock, we want to have the optionality to execute on the ATM and support capital levels if market conditions are favorable.

雖然我們對目前的資本水準感到安心，但我們也喜歡ATM發行在需要時可提供的額外彈性與資本緩衝。鑑於近期股價表現強勁，我們希望保有在市場條件有利時執行ATM、以支撐資本水準的選擇權。

Turning to Slide 17. I'll recap our near-term expectations. As Nick mentioned, we feel we are on track to grow the loan portfolio at a high single-digit pace over the course of 2026. This will be dependent on a variety of factors, especially our ability to continue generating strong core deposit growth as we look to keep our loan-to-deposit ratio in the 95% to 105% range.

接著看第17頁投影片。我將回顧我們的近期展望。如Nick所提，我們認為在2026年期間，貸款組合可望以高個位數的速度成長。這將取決於多項因素，尤其是我們能否持續創造強勁的核心存款成長，以便將貸存比維持在95%至105%的區間。

From a net interest margin standpoint, we have basically already reached our 3% target that we had for the end of the year. As a result, we expect to see just some slow margin expansion from here, assuming no additional rate cuts in 2026. Our main focus remains on growing net interest income, which we believe we can do given expectations for margin expansion and continued loan growth.

就淨利差（NIM）而言，我們基本上已達到原先設定的年底3%目標。因此，假設2026年不再進一步降息，我們預期自此之後淨利差僅會緩步擴張。我們的主要重點仍是提升淨利息收入；基於淨利差擴張與貸款持續成長的預期，我們相信可以做到。

We also expect expense growth to align relatively well with asset growth over time. This may not be the case each quarter, but over the long run, we believe this alignment can continue as we have seen in the past. We feel we are well reserved at current levels and would expect provision to remain dependent on the pace of loan growth and the overall asset quality of the portfolio.

我們也預期費用成長長期而言將與資產成長大致一致。這不一定每一季都會如此，但從長期來看，我們相信這種一致性可延續，正如過去所見。我們認為目前備抵水準相當充足，並預期提存（provision）仍將取決於貸款成長速度以及整體資產品質。

We also feel that we can maintain stable capital levels after a solid increase in the first quarter. We also have some future optionality based on market conditions around share repurchases and the ATM we have in place.

在第一季明顯提升之後，我們也認為可以維持穩定的資本水準。此外，針對庫藏股回購以及我們已設置的ATM，我們也保有依市場狀況而定的未來彈性。

I'll now turn it back to Jerry.

接下來我把時間交回給Jerry。

Thanks, Joe. Before we open it up for questions, I wanted to provide a quick progress report on our 2026 strategic priorities. We remain focused on taking market share in a profitable way. In the first quarter, I was pleased to see good loan and core deposit growth, but what was even more exciting was a substantial net interest margin expansion. Our credit culture also continues to show through with minimal net charge-offs.

謝謝，Joe。在開放提問之前，我想先快速報告我們2026年策略重點的進度。我們仍聚焦於以具獲利性的方式提升市占率。第一季我很高興看到貸款與核心存款都有良好成長，但更令人振奮的是淨利差大幅擴張。我們的信用文化也持續展現成效，淨沖銷維持在極低水準。

Our affordable housing vertical is another area that we are very focused on in 2026, and we have seen positive traction in this space as our brand and reputation continue to build. Lastly, on the technology front, we are working through several initiatives, which include bank-wide efforts to set the foundation for leveraging AI thoughtfully across the organization.

平價住宅垂直領域是我們在2026年另一個高度聚焦的方向；隨著我們的品牌與聲譽持續建立，我們已在此領域看到正向進展。最後，在科技方面，我們正推動多項計畫，包括全行性的努力，以奠定基礎，讓組織能夠審慎且有系統地運用AI。

I'm proud of the team and the efforts put forth in the first quarter and believe we are well positioned for the year ahead.

我為團隊以及第一季所付出的努力感到自豪，並相信我們已為接下來的一年做好充分準備、處於有利位置。

With that, we will open it up for questions.

接下來，我們開放提問。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Brendan Nosal, Hovde Group.

Brendan Nosal，Hovde Group。

Maybe just starting off here on capital. You created, what, 30 to 40 basis points of tangible capital this quarter with the securities sale. Do you think that lessens the need for you to tap the market with the ATM in your view?

也許先從資本談起。你們這一季透過出售證券，創造了大概30到40個基點的有形資本，對吧。以你的看法，這是否降低了你們透過ATM到市場籌資的必要性？

Brendan, this is Joe. Yes, I mean, I think it all depends like we said. I mean, we're going to be opportunistic with the ATM. We like the optionality that it provides. I think we're not going to bank on translating unrealized gains to realized gains.

Brendan，我是Joe。是的，我的意思是，我認為一切都取決於我們先前所說的情況。我們會在ATM上採取機會主義的做法。我們喜歡它所提供的選擇性。我認為我們不會把未實現收益轉為已實現收益當作理所當然。

So I just think as we just generally think about capital, I think we're comfortable with where we're at. We're comfortable with the optionality we have on both sides. I want to be thoughtful about the organic growth prospects that we have. And so I don't think it changes the calculus by kind of the onetime gain that we took.

所以我認為，從整體資本的角度來看，我們對目前的位置感到安心。我們也對兩端所擁有的選擇性很有信心。我希望能審慎看待我們的內生成長前景。因此，我不認為這次一次性的收益會改變我們的計算方式。

Okay. Okay. Maybe turning to the hires you made this quarter. I think FTE headcount was up like 15 for the quarter. I guess that there's a lot of M&A dislocation in your markets. But just wondering if there's any really notable hires in that number that you're particularly excited about?

好的。好的。也許轉到你們這一季的招募。我想全職員工（FTE）人數這一季大概增加了15人。我猜你們的市場有很多併購（M&A）造成的動盪。但想請問，在這個數字裡，有沒有什麼特別值得一提、你們特別興奮的關鍵招募？

Brendan, this is Nick. Yes, I mean, we've been saying it for a while that we feel like we're well-positioned in the market to take advantage, both on the client front and the talent front, from the M&A disruption. I think sometimes those hires come early in that process, sometimes it takes some time, and we're starting to see the fruits of that labor pay off now.

Brendan，我是Nick。是的，我們講了一段時間，我們覺得自己在市場上的位置很好，能夠利用M&A帶來的擾動，不論是在客戶端或人才端。我想有時候這些招募會在過程早期就發生，有時候也需要一些時間，而我們現在開始看到這些努力的成果正在顯現。

We're really excited about some C&I hires that we've had in the last handful of months. Those folks are really hitting the ground running now and are able to be bringing in some really phenomenal opportunities for us with great local C&I relationships.

我們對過去幾個月在商業與工業（C&I）方面的一些招募感到非常振奮。這些同仁現在真的很快就上手，並且能為我們帶來一些非常出色的機會，背後是很強的在地C&I人脈關係。

And around that, we're having to bolster and taking advantage of some of that disruption to bolster in other areas. Katie has done a great job hiring some senior credit folks to assist us in that C&I effort. So overall, we feel like our brand is well positioned to continue to take advantage of that M&A disruption on the hiring front.

此外，圍繞這點，我們也必須強化其他領域，並利用這些擾動來補強。Katie在招募一些資深授信人員方面做得非常好，來協助我們推動這些C&I業務。整體而言，我們認為我們的品牌定位良好，能在招募端持續把握這波M&A擾動帶來的機會。

Okay. Great. I'm going to sneak one more in here. Just on this quarter's actions with the securities portfolio, do you view that as additive to your prior outlook of the 3% NIM by the end of '26 or just kind of an acceleration of getting there? And I'm asking because if the NIM outlook is still around 3-ish, but the earning asset base is a couple of hundred million smaller, there's obviously like NII considerations to that dynamic.

好的。很好。我再偷偷問一題。就本季對證券投資組合的操作而言，你們認為這是對先前「到2026年底NIM達到3%」的展望有所加分，還是只是加速達成？我這樣問是因為，如果NIM展望仍在約3%左右，但生息資產基礎少了幾億美元，顯然會牽涉到淨利息收入（NII）的考量。

Yes. I mean I think that the securities sale certainly contributed to the margin outperformance, but it was a small amount. I mean it's 2 basis points in the quarter. So it's just -- there's no one silver bullet, certainly. This was part of it. So I think it's not like by not doing that, we are going to miss out on pulling forward margin going forward. So it had an impact. It was just part of the overall strategy itself.

是的。我的意思是，證券出售確實對淨利差的優於預期有所貢獻，但幅度不大。也就是本季大概2個基點。所以——當然沒有任何單一的靈丹妙藥。這只是其中一部分。因此我認為，不是說如果不做這件事，我們未來就會錯失提前拉升淨利差的機會。它確實有影響。但它只是整體策略的一部分。

But the bigger thing, I think, is just the cost of deposit decline that we experienced and really outperformed in the quarter. I think that, coupled with loan payoffs, I mean, I think, as we said, there's -- we really wanted to not rely on rate cuts and additional rate cuts to really pull forward that margin.

但我認為更大的因素，是我們經歷的存款成本下降，而且本季表現確實優於預期。我想再加上貸款提前清償，我的意思是，正如我們所說——我們真的不希望依賴降息或進一步降息來提前推動淨利差。

So it's definitely an all-hands-on-deck effort to achieve the margin expansion we did in the first quarter.

所以，為了達成第一季的淨利差擴張，這確實是全員投入的努力。

Jeff Rulis, D.A. Davidson.

Jeff Rulis，D.A. Davidson。

Just a question on the M&A side. A lot of discussion of benefiting from disruption. I guess taking the other side of that is just a check-in on your outward acquisitions, if talking about conversations and the interest. I see it's numbet two on your capital priorities of chasing down M&A. Any updates to mention there?

我有一題關於M&A。大家談了很多如何從市場動盪中受益。那從另一個角度來看，就是想確認一下你們對外收購的進展，例如目前的對話與興趣程度。我看到在你們的資本優先事項中，追求M&A排在第二。這方面有什麼更新可以分享嗎？

Jeff, it's Jerry. I'd say nothing different than the past. I mean, I certainly continue to stay in front of people. I would probably say things up here in the first quarter to have slowed down more than I expected, but I think that has a lot to do with just geopolitical reasons. So we'll see.

Jeff，我是Jerry。我會說跟過去沒有什麼不同。我的意思是，我當然持續與各方保持接觸。我可能會說第一季到目前為止，進度比我預期的更慢一些，但我認為這很大程度與地緣政治因素有關。所以我們再看看。

But it certainly continues to be a priority. But at the end of the day, it's organic growth and continue to take market share in the Twin Cities is first and foremost what we're focusing on.

但這無疑仍然是優先事項。不過歸根結底，我們最優先聚焦的仍是內生成長，以及在雙子城（Twin Cities）持續擴大市占。

And maybe on the -- not to focus too much on the margin, but it didn't sound like the restructuring or kind of the moves you made with the balance sheet didn't have much impact in the quarter. I guess the timing of that, maybe for Joe, is there any tail benefit of those moves that it was 2 basis points this quarter.

另外，可能不要太聚焦在淨利差，但聽起來你們的重整或資產負債表上的調整，在本季對結果影響不大。我想問一下時點問題，可能給Joe：這些動作是否有任何尾端效益？因為本季只貢獻了2個基點。

So that's, I guess, question one on the margin. Is there a tail that you expect to see in the second quarter? And then the other part is, I guess, as you hit the margin goal, maybe you got to set a new one, we get the language of moderate increases from here.

所以，這算是關於淨利差的第一個問題。你們預期第二季會看到一些延續性的效益嗎？另外一部分是，我想當你們達到淨利差目標後，也許就得設定新的目標；我們聽到的措辭是從這裡開始「溫和增加」。

But just trying to see about further out where you think a terminal margin could be where the balance sheet sits today.

但我想更往後看，在目前資產負債表結構下，你們認為終端淨利差可能會落在哪個水準？

Yes, Jeff, I'll try to address the first part and then the second. I think there's definitely going to be a pull forward or a future impact by just selling those securities and redeploying those into higher-yielding loans. So the 2 basis points this quarter, you can certainly -- it was early on in the quarter, so you could somewhat annualize that as we redeploy those into loans earning in the sixes. So that's certainly definitely beneficial.

是的，Jeff，我先嘗試回答第一部分，再回答第二部分。我認為，透過出售那些證券並將資金重新配置到收益率更高的貸款上，未來肯定會有提前反映或後續影響。所以本季的2個基點——你當然可以理解為，因為是在本季較早時點發生，當我們把資金重新投放到收益率在6%區間的貸款時，某種程度上可以把它年化來看。因此這確實是明顯有利的。

I think as we talked about, in the past, the amount of deposits that we have linked to Fed funds, I mean, we're close to $2 billion now. I think to have 75 basis points of cuts in the fourth quarter really saw obviously a full quarter benefit of that here. And I think that certainly drove the majority of the margin expansion. I think even outperformed our expectation on really deposit betas as we compared it to prior cycles.

我想如同我們先前討論的，過去我們與聯邦基金利率（Fed funds）連動的存款金額，我是說，現在已接近20億美元。我認為第四季若有75個基點的降息，顯然在這裡就能看到整整一季的效益。而我認為這確實推動了大部分的利差擴張。我認為就存款貝他值而言，與先前循環相比，表現甚至優於我們的預期。

So super pleased with that. And then obviously, on the loan repricing side, we've kind of laid out that's more spread pretty evenly throughout the year as loans reprice. So I think that's where we just talk about the more kind of mild expansion opportunities. It's pretty front-loaded, driven by deposits, and then it will be more gradual and backloaded based on assets.

所以我們對此非常滿意。然後很明顯，在貸款重新定價方面，我們已經說明，隨著貸款重新定價，這部分會在全年相對平均地分布。所以我認為這就是我們所說較為溫和的擴張機會所在。它相當前置，主要由存款驅動，之後則會依資產端而更為漸進、並偏向後段。

And the securities itself were -- I think, it's always been a source of strength for us. Our securities portfolio has been above market earnings certainly. And so -- but by selling the securities, by no means do we now have an underperforming securities portfolio that lags on performance. It's certainly additive as well.

至於證券本身——我認為它一直是我們的強項來源。我們的證券投資組合收益確實高於市場。所以——但透過出售證券，並不代表我們現在就變成一個表現落後、績效落後的證券投資組合。它同樣也具有增益效果。

So I think we'll continue to look for opportunities to rationalize deposit costs lower throughout the year. I mean that will never stop, and we're certainly not going to bank on rate cuts. As I said, I think we're assuming no rate cuts the rest of the year. And we're just really pleased with the expansion we had. I mean, we get certainly to experience, and that margin uptick, ultimately, most focused on growing NII.

因此我認為我們會持續在全年尋找機會，將存款成本合理化並進一步降低。我的意思是，這件事永遠不會停止，而我們當然也不會把希望寄託在降息上。如我所說，我認為我們假設今年剩餘時間不會降息。而我們對這次的擴張成果非常滿意。我的意思是，我們當然會從中累積經驗，而這次利差上揚，最終我們最關注的是推動淨利息收入（NII）成長。

And I think as the loan portfolio and the loan growth prospects translate, that certainly will happen.

而我認為，隨著貸款投資組合以及貸款成長前景逐步反映出來，這件事確實會發生。

Nathan Race, Piper Sandler.

Nathan Race，Piper Sandler。

Just going back to the last line of question around kind of the yield pickup on the fixed and adjustable rate loans that are maturing over the next year. Joe, can you help us just with the yield pickup that we can expect on those two portfolios relative to what you laid out in terms of the runoff yield on Slide 21?

回到上一個問題最後一點，關於未來一年到期的固定利率與浮動利率貸款所帶來的收益率提升。Joe，你能否協助我們說明，這兩個投資組合相對於你在第21頁投影片所提到的到期流失（runoff）收益率，我們可以預期的收益率提升幅度？

Yes. I mean, I think, as I said, it's pretty balanced throughout the year. So it's not like it's concentrated in one quarter or the other. I think specifically the adjustable rate portfolio, just over $100 million, sub-4%. So as that comes up on reprice, and whether that -- either that pays off or it reprices and resets today at kind of new money yields in the sixes, I think they're certainly additive to margin going forward and accretive to the existing loan book.

可以。我的意思是，如我所說，它在全年分布相當均衡。所以並不是集中在某一季或另一季。我認為就浮動利率投資組合而言，規模略高於1億美元，收益率在4%以下。因此當它進入重新定價時，不論是到期償還，或是重新定價並在今天以大約6%區間的新資金收益率重設，我認為未來都會對利差有正面增益，並對現有貸款帳簿具增厚（accretive）效果。

I think the fixed rate portfolio, as we've continued to churn through the reprice over the last couple of years, obviously, that yield and reprice, there's less of a benefit, but there's still certainly a benefit today that's still sub-6%. I just think the other piece that we talked about on the loan payoff front, as deals that have deferred fees associated with them on originations do pay off, that obviously accelerates the fee potential.

我認為固定利率投資組合方面，隨著我們在過去幾年持續周轉並完成重新定價，顯然在收益率與重新定價上，帶來的好處較少，但目前仍然確實有好處，因為仍有部分收益率低於6%。我想我們也談到另一個部分：在貸款提前清償方面，當一些交易在承作時所附帶的遞延費用（deferred fees）隨著貸款清償而實現時，這顯然會加速費用認列的潛力。

We saw a pickup here in the first quarter. 12 basis points of the loan yield was loan fees. That's an uptick from prior quarters and gives us an opportunity to recycle dollars in the low 6s.

我們在第一季看到提升：貸款收益率中有12個基點來自貸款費用。這比前幾季有所上升，也讓我們有機會把資金再投入到6%出頭的水準。

So I think it's certainly not concentrated. It's spread throughout the year. Continue to see that benefit both from new originations and growing the portfolio and then just existing kind of repricing opportunities.

所以我認為它確實不是集中發生的。它分散在全年。我們會持續看到這項效益，既來自新的承作與投資組合成長，也來自既有貸款的重新定價機會。

Got it. That's helpful. I appreciate the earlier commentary around kind of deposit costs under the current kind of forward rate outlook. But just curious kind of what you're seeing from a competitive perspective in terms of deposit pricing across the Twin Cities?

了解。這很有幫助。我也很感謝你先前針對在目前這種前瞻利率展望下的存款成本所做的評論。不過我想請教，從競爭角度來看，你們在雙子城（Twin Cities）地區的存款定價競爭情況觀察到什麼？

And when it comes to deposit gathering, curious if maybe, Nick, you could touch on kind of what the latent deposit gathering opportunities look like with some of the team members you brought over recently from some competitors in terms of what the size of their kind of deposit portfolios look like at their prior institutions?

另外在吸收存款方面，也想請教或許Nick你可以談談：你們最近從一些競爭對手那邊延攬過來的團隊成員，他們在先前任職機構時所管理的存款組合規模大概是多少？以及目前潛在的存款拓展機會看起來如何？

Nate, this is Nick. Yes, I mean, on the deposit front overall, I mean, it continues to be a competitive market, but we are seeing new deposits come in at costs that are meaningfully lower than we saw last year. We feel really good about the team that we have and their ability to get in front of the right opportunities to bring in core deposits at cost that makes sense.

Nate，我是Nick。是的，我的意思是，就整體存款而言，市場仍然競爭激烈，但我們確實看到新進存款的成本明顯低於去年。我們對目前的團隊以及他們鎖定正確機會、以合理成本帶進核心存款的能力感到非常有信心。

The teams that we brought on board or the individuals we brought on board, they're actively prospecting and working through their portfolio. There's low-hanging fruit on the deposit front that can come over quickly. And those balances tend to come more in the savings and money market side of things, which tend to be a little bit more expensive with operating accounts to follow as our treasury management teams work with their clients to onboard the full relationship.

我們新加入的團隊或個人，他們正積極開發客戶並梳理其投資組合。在存款方面有一些「低垂的果實」可以很快轉移過來。而這些餘額通常會先以儲蓄與貨幣市場存款為主，這類通常會比營運帳戶稍微昂貴一些；之後隨著我們的財資管理（treasury management）團隊與客戶合作，將完整往來關係導入，營運帳戶也會跟進。

So overall, we'll be able to blend the cost of those deposits down. But the prospects with these folks to bring in sticky core deposit relationships, both on the consumer -- the commercial and the business owner side, which our executive banking team does a phenomenal job of bringing on full deposit relationships with the owners and executives at these companies, we feel great about our prospects to continue to grow core deposits over time.

因此整體而言，我們能把這些存款的成本加權拉低。但就這些同仁帶來可黏著的核心存款關係的前景而言，無論是在消費者端——商業端與企業主端，我們的高階主管銀行（executive banking）團隊在協助這些公司的所有人與高階主管建立完整存款往來關係方面做得非常出色——我們對於隨時間持續成長核心存款的前景感到非常樂觀。

The Lake Elmo market that we talked about, we feel like that's a really underserved market and that long term, we'll be able to grow well within that community. We've hired some great folks on that side of town as well that we feel will drive deposit growth long term.

至於我們提到的Lake Elmo市場，我們認為那是一個服務相對不足的市場，長期來看，我們將能在該社區內有良好的成長。我們也在城鎮那一側聘用了幾位很優秀的人才，我們相信他們將在長期推動存款成長。

So we feel really good about our deposit pipeline and our ability to drive core deposit growth, especially when we think about the first half of the year being a seasonally low part of the year for us on the deposit front.

因此我們對存款管線以及推動核心存款成長的能力感到非常有信心，特別是考量到上半年在存款方面對我們而言通常是季節性較淡的時期。

We grew balances really well in Q4, which is pretty typical for us from a seasonality perspective. And we were not surprised to see some of those balances drift out as our customers did distributions, pay taxes, that sort of thing. So we feel good that we were able to grow deposits even in what is a seasonally more difficult quarter for us to do so.

我們在第四季的餘額成長表現很好，從季節性角度來看這對我們相當典型。而我們也不意外看到其中一些餘額流出，因為客戶進行分配、繳稅等事項。因此我們對於即使在一個季節性上更難成長存款的季度仍能增加存款，感到很有信心。

Got it. That's great color. Really helpful. I apologize if you already touched on this, but if I could sneak one last one in on expenses. Just given the step-up in 1Q, I'm curious if there was any kind of front-loading of costs just given the branch opening and maybe some seasonality.

了解。這些說明很有參考價值。非常有幫助。如果你們已經提過我先說聲抱歉，但我想再補問最後一題關於費用。考量到第一季費用的上升，我想了解是否有任何成本是因為分行開業以及一些季節性因素而提前認列（front-loading）？

And then maybe, Joe, if you could just help us with kind of the starting point for 2Q expenses just to kind of get to that high single-digit growth guide consistent with kind of the loan growth expectations?

然後也許，Joe，如果你能協助我們釐清一下第二季費用的起點，以便達到與貸款成長預期一致的高個位數成長指引？

Yes, Nate, I think as we said, our annual merit cycle, there's always a step-up at the beginning of the year as promotions and merit increases take place. So it's historically and with prior years is a step-up in salaries and benefits. However, I would say, to Nick's point earlier, I mean, we continue to get in front of great people as part of the M&A disruption.

是的，Nate，我想如同我們所說，我們每年的績效調薪循環，年初在升遷與績效加薪生效時，通常都會有一個上升幅度。所以從歷史經驗以及過往年度來看，薪資與福利都會在年初出現一個階梯式上升。不過我會說，呼應 Nick 先前的觀點，我們也持續在併購（M&A）動盪之際，搶先接觸到很優秀的人才。

And so I think the headcount up and just supporting the growth of the organization also contributes to that step-up in salaries. Certainly, Lake Elmo coming online, super excited about that and a little bit of step-up in occupancy, but that market is going to be fantastic for us.

因此，我認為人力編制增加、以及支援組織成長，也會促成薪資的那個上升幅度。當然，Lake Elmo 開始啟用，我們非常興奮，入住/使用率也會小幅上升，但那個市場對我們來說會非常棒。

And then the other thing is just a real push on marketing and advertising throughout our market. Given the disruption, that's been a continued campaign. So not kind of a onetime item, but certainly just a continuation of really trying to continue to build the brand. So I think ultimately, as you said, I think we don't try to look at expenses in isolation on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

另外一點是，我們在整個市場大力推動行銷與廣告。鑑於市場動盪，這一直是一個持續性的活動。所以不是一次性的項目，而是持續努力建立品牌。因此我想最終，如你所說，我們不會只用逐季（QoQ）的角度孤立地看費用。

We're more just thinking about continuing to invest in the business over the long haul. And just given the growth prospects, we feel really good about the investment we continue to make in people and technology. And I think over the long haul, as we've always said, that relationship of asset growth relative to expenses, we still feel like we maintain that.

我們更多是在思考長期持續投資於業務。而且考量成長前景，我們對於持續在人員與科技上的投資感到非常有信心。我想長期來看，正如我們一直說的，資產成長相對於費用的關係，我們仍覺得能維持。

I get this first quarter, obviously, with the sale of the securities, that average assets, NIE to average assets ratio does somewhat break down. But I think over the long haul, we're confident that the asset growth and the expense growth will go in line and excited about the investments we continue to make in the business.

我理解第一季因為出售證券，平均資產，以及 NIE 對平均資產的比率在某種程度上會失真。但長期來看，我們有信心資產成長與費用成長會同步，並且也對我們持續在業務上的投資感到振奮。

Understandable. Makes sense. I appreciate the color.

可以理解。很合理。謝謝你提供的補充說明。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Brandon Rud, Stephens.

Brandon Rud，Stephens。

Thank you for all the color on the NIM. I think you just touched on it, but the difference in the period end and average deposits, when you look at a good starting point for the second quarter, would you see deposits kind of closer to the period end level of $4.3 billion or closer to that average level?

謝謝你們對 NIM 提供的各種補充說明。我想你剛剛也提到了，但就期末與平均存款的差異來看，若以第二季的良好起點來判斷，你們會認為存款會更接近期末的 43 億美元水準，還是更接近那個平均水準？

Yes, I mean closer to the period end. And I think as Nick said, there are some seasonal outflows with the deposit base, but I do think as taxes get paid, distributions get made, I mean, those balances build back up. So I think that's a good way to think about it.

是的，我的意思是更接近期末水準。而且如 Nick 所說，存款基礎會有一些季節性流出，但我確實認為，隨著稅款繳納、分配款發放完成，這些餘額會再回升。所以我想這樣思考是個不錯的方式。

Yes, Brandon, I think our low watermark on deposits is usually like early January, late January -- or mid- to late January, I should say, and it typically rebuilds from there. So we feel good about where we ended the quarter.

是的，Brandon，我認為我們存款通常的低點大概是在一月初、一月下旬——更精確地說是一月中下旬——之後通常會逐步回升。所以我們對於季度末的水準感到滿意。

Okay. Perfect. And just my last one. It seems like a bit of a slower start to the year for the multifamily portfolio. Is that more reflective of stronger growth in '25? Or is that a broader trend?

好的。完美。最後一個問題。看起來今年多戶住宅（multifamily）投資組合的開局稍微慢一些。這比較反映 2025 年成長較強之後的正常化？還是更廣泛的趨勢？

Brandon, this is Nick. I don't think it's a broader trend. I mean, I think quarter-over-quarter, there's some quarters where we see large growth where we have some good originations and a small amount of payoffs, and then certain quarters where payoffs outpaces our new loan originations. So I'm not overly concerned around what we saw in Q1 within that portfolio.

Brandon，我是 Nick。我不認為這是更廣泛的趨勢。我的意思是，逐季來看，有些季度我們會看到較大的成長，因為有不錯的承作量且到期清償（payoffs）較少；而某些季度則是清償量超過我們的新貸款承作量。所以我對第一季在該投資組合中看到的情況並不太擔心。

Our teams continue to be in front of the right clients and building deep relationships with folks. We mentioned our advances. We've seen an uptick in both multifamily and CRE construction in the last 12 months.

我們的團隊持續接觸到合適的客戶，並與大家建立更深的關係。我們提到過我們的撥款（advances）。過去 12 個月，我們看到多戶住宅與 CRE（商用不動產）建築融資都有所增加。

So that's providing some tailwinds for us to build construction advances, and those loans, once complete and stabilized, do sort of roll into our multifamily and CRE buckets, creating some growth within those categories as well, as those construction projects convert. So no, I mean, our pipeline remains really strong. We feel really good about the opportunities we have in front of us.

因此，這為我們擴大建築融資撥款帶來一些順風；而這些貸款在完工並穩定後，確實會逐步轉入我們的多戶住宅與 CRE 類別，隨著建案轉換，也會在這些類別中帶來成長。所以不，我的意思是，我們的案源（pipeline）仍然非常強勁。我們對眼前的機會感到非常樂觀。

And I think we are continuing our trend over the last handful of years of really being disciplined in our growth approach, being laser-focused on trying to grow our loans in line with deposits and remaining in front of as many folks as we can to build a really strong pipeline and then be selective on the credits that we feel the best about and the ones in which we can add to the balance sheet in a profitable way.

而且我想，我們也延續過去幾年的趨勢，在成長策略上保持高度紀律，聚焦於讓貸款成長與存款同步，並盡可能接觸更多客戶以建立非常強的案源，然後在授信上做選擇，挑選我們最有把握、且能以獲利方式納入資產負債表的案子。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Jerry Baack for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想把電話會議交回給 Jerry Baack 做結語。

Thanks, everyone, for joining our call today. We're really excited about 2026 and the growth and profitability outlook that is in front of us and continuing to take advantage of the M&A disruption in the Twin Cities. I also just want to give a big shout out to our team members, our veterans and our new hires. We have a phenomenal team here, and I appreciate everything they do. Everybody, have a great day.

謝謝各位今天參加我們的電話會議。我們對 2026 年以及眼前的成長與獲利展望感到非常振奮，並將持續把握雙城地區併購（M&A）動盪所帶來的機會。我也想特別向我們的團隊成員、資深同仁以及新進同仁致上誠摯的感謝。我們有一支非常出色的團隊，我很感謝大家的付出。祝各位有美好的一天。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

本次電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參加今天的簡報。您現在可以掛線。