Pathward Financial Inc (CASH) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to Pathward Financial's Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Investor Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的支持，並歡迎參加 Pathward Financial 2023 財年第三季度投資者電話會議。 （操作員說明）

As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Darby Schoenfeld, Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音中。我現在想將電話會議轉交給高級副總裁兼投資者關係主管達比·舍恩菲爾德 (Darby Schoenfeld)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and welcome. With me today are Pathward Financial's CEO, Brett Pharr; and CFO, Glen Herrick, who will discuss our operating and financial results for the third fiscal quarter of 2023, after which we will take your questions.

謝謝您，接線員，歡迎光臨。今天與我在一起的有 Pathward Financial 的首席執行官 Brett Pharr；首席財務官格倫·赫里克 (Glen Herrick) 將討論我們 2023 年第三財季的運營和財務業績，之後我們將回答您的問題。

Additional information, including the earnings release, the investor presentation that accompanies our prepared remarks and supplemental slides may be found on our website at pathwardfinancial.com.

其他信息，包括收益發布、附帶我們準備好的評論的投資者演示以及補充幻燈片，可以在我們的網站 pathwardfinancial.com 上找到。

As a reminder, our comments may include forward-looking statements, including with respect to anticipated results for future periods. Those statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and anticipated results to differ. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Please refer to the cautionary language in the earnings release, investor presentation and in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings for additional information covering factors that could cause actual and anticipated results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

提醒一下，我們的評論可能包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關未來時期預期結果的陳述。這些陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與預期結果存在差異。該公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。請參閱收益報告、投資者陳述和公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件（包括我們最近提交的文件）中的警示性語言，了解可能導致實際和預期結果與前瞻性結果存在重大差異的因素的更多信息聲明。

Additionally, today, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures on this conference call. References to non-GAAP measures are only provided to assist you in understanding the company's results and performance trends. Reconciliations for such non-GAAP measures are included in the appendix of the investor presentation.

此外，今天，我們將在本次電話會議上討論某些非公認會計準則財務措施。對非公認會計準則衡量標準的參考僅用於幫助您了解公司的業績和業績趨勢。此類非公認會計準則衡量標準的調節表包含在投資者演示文稿的附錄中。

Now let me turn the call over to Brett Pharr, our CEO.

現在讓我將電話轉給我們的首席執行官布雷特·法爾 (Brett Pharr)。

Thanks, Darby, and thanks, everyone, for joining us. As we start today, not news to anyone, the banking industry as a whole has come through some turbulent times. Last quarter, we talked about how our business model differentiated us, especially in these times. This quarter, I really want to share how those differentials translate into our strengths. Just a few examples. The industry suffered from unstable deposits, we have not. Compression on net interest margin from rising interest rates throughout the industry, but even counting the increase in card expenses, we have a growing net interest margin, not a lower one.

謝謝達比，謝謝大家加入我們。從今天開始，對任何人來說都不是什麼新聞，整個銀行業已經經歷了一些動蕩的時期。上個季度，我們討論了我們的業務模式如何使我們脫穎而出，尤其是在當今時代。本季度，我真的很想分享這些差異如何轉化為我們的優勢。僅舉幾個例子。該行業遭受存款不穩定的困擾，但我們沒有。全行業利率上升對淨息差造成壓縮，但即使算上卡費用的增加，我們的淨息差也在增長，而不是降低。

There are general loan-related concerns, both demand and credit, but we have a collateral-managed portfolio with diverse asset classes built for whatever may come. And importantly, we typically do not do CRE purpose lending. During these times, our business model puts us in the envious position of allowing us to be defensive while still having increasing returns. More about some details of this in the next few minutes.

存在與貸款相關的普遍擔憂，包括需求和信貸，但我們有一個抵押品管理的投資組合，其中包含針對可能發生的情況而構建的多種資產類別。重要的是，我們通常不提供商業地產目的貸款。在這些時期，我們的商業模式讓我們處於令人羨慕的境地，讓我們能夠保持防禦性，同時仍然獲得不斷增加的回報。在接下來的幾分鐘內將詳細介紹這方面的一些細節。

But first, the third quarter. Pathward once again produced solid results, consistent with our performance so far in fiscal year 2023. Our net income for the quarter was $45.1 million or $1.68 per diluted share. Both were significant increases when compared to the same quarter last year. We did this by growth in both net interest income and noninterest income. Our net interest margin grew to 6.18%, an increase of 6 basis points from last quarter and a significant expansion, 142 basis points from the third quarter last year. While 6 basis points and sequential quarter NIM growth doesn't seem as large as you might expect, remember that last quarter includes the impact of our seasonal tax business, which can temporarily boost the net interest margin.

但首先是第三季度。 Pathward 再次取得了穩健的業績，與我們 2023 財年迄今為止的業績一致。我們本季度的淨利潤為 4510 萬美元，或攤薄後每股收益 1.68 美元。與去年同期相比，兩者都有顯著增長。我們通過淨利息收入和非利息收入的增長來做到這一點。淨息差增長至6.18%，較上季度上升6個基點，較去年第三季度大幅擴張142個基點。雖然 6 個基點和連續季度淨息差增長似乎沒有您預期的那麼大，但請記住，上個季度包括我們季節性稅收業務的影響，這可以暫時提高淨息差。

Our adjusted NIM, considering rate-related card processing fees, was 4.88%. We are very pleased with this net interest margin performance and believe the steady trend upward will continue in 2024.

考慮到與費率相關的卡處理費用，我們調整後的淨息差為 4.88%。我們對淨息差的表現非常滿意，並相信2024年將繼續保持穩定上升的趨勢。

Before I turn my attention to the loan side of the business, we have a history of delivering proven solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses and helping them meet specific financial goals. We also understand the challenges these businesses may face right now in efforts to secure the funding they need. How do we do that? We have a set of methods and controls that allow us to serve these clients safely, what I often refer to as collateral managed. We recently released a video on our LinkedIn page that we think tells the story well from the customers' perspective, so please take some time to check it out.

在我將注意力轉向業務的貸款方面之前，我們擁有向中小企業提供行之有效的解決方案並幫助他們實現特定財務目標的歷史。我們也了解這些企業目前在努力獲得所需資金方面可能面臨的挑戰。我們該怎麼做呢？我們擁有一套方法和控制措施，使我們能夠安全地為這些客戶提供服務，我通常將其稱為抵押品管理。我們最近在 LinkedIn 頁面上發布了一段視頻，我們認為該視頻從客戶的角度很好地講述了這個故事，所以請花一些時間查看一下。

Some specific asset highlights this quarter. We had significant growth in our insurance stream and finance loans. We had expansion in our term lending and SBA/USDA balances when compared to last quarter. We also saw an increase in the number of working capital originations. That's an area that we are especially optimistic about in this particular economic climate.

本季度的一些具體資產亮點。我們的保險業務和金融貸款顯著增長。與上季度相比，我們的定期貸款和 SBA/USDA 餘額有所增加。我們還看到營運資金來源數量的增加。在這種特殊的經濟環境下，這是我們特別樂觀的一個領域。

I do want to make a comment on renewable energy loans. Recent times, we've had good demand and an increase in originations. But industry-wide, we are experiencing a slowdown in the pipeline as projects become less attractive due to rising interest rates. We expect this to continue into 2024, which will likely lead to lower originations and therefore, a higher tax rate next year. This is already factored into the guidance we are introducing today.

我確實想對可再生能源貸款發表評論。最近一段時間，我們的需求旺盛，來源量也有所增加。但在整個行業範圍內，由於利率上升，項目吸引力下降，我們正在經歷開發進度放緩。我們預計這種情況將持續到 2024 年，這可能會導致來源減少，從而導致明年稅率更高。這已經納入我們今天介紹的指南中。

That being said, our various asset classes provide us the diversity that is built for economic cycles. In order to deliver on our strategic initiatives of optimizing our earning asset portfolio, sometimes, we may grow working capital; other times will be equipment finance; others it may be insurance premium finance. It may even mean that if some of our securities mature, we may reinvest those funds in other securities since rates have increased significantly. This kind of optionality helps us meet our strategic goals in a variety of environments.

話雖如此，我們的各種資產類別為我們提供了針對經濟周期而構建的多樣性。為了實現優化盈利資產組合的戰略舉措，有時，我們可能會增加營運資本；其他時候是設備融資；其他可能是保險費融資。這甚至可能意味著，如果我們的某些證券到期，我們可能會將這些資金重新投資於其他證券，因為利率已大幅上升。這種選擇性有助於我們在各種環境中實現我們的戰略目標。

Now a few words about BaaS partnerships and our deposits. If you listened to last quarter's call, you heard how we are different. Partnerships we have formed, continue to manage and continue to source are integral to our financial inclusion purpose, but also provide stable deposits and coveted fee income. As the banking industry is experiencing rising deposit costs and/or deposit outflows, this model is less impacted by the environment. We've built long-term relationships with a core group of companies that contribute significantly to our deposit stability. These partnerships are pivotal to our success.

現在簡單介紹一下 BaaS 合作夥伴關係和我們的存款。如果您聽過上個季度的電話會議，您就會聽到我們的不同之處。我們已經建立、繼續管理和繼續尋找的合作夥伴關係是我們普惠金融目標不可或缺的一部分，而且還提供穩定的存款和令人垂涎的費用收入。由於銀行業正面臨存款成本上升和/或存款外流，這種模式受環境影響較小。我們與一批核心公司建立了長期合作關係，這些公司對我們的存款穩定性做出了重大貢獻。這些合作夥伴關係對於我們的成功至關重要。

Importantly, we are very careful and diligent in who we decide to work with. This is called [smart defense]. For example, during the recent expansion in fintechs, we made sure that those we were partnering with had a strong understanding of regulatory requirements and could survive their cash burn phase. We added very limited partners during that time. And notably, we stayed away from concentrating in any one industry, even establishing internal industry-specific limits. This allows us to focus on our current partners, maximize those partnerships, strengthen and deepen the existing relationships and work together to expand and enhance product offerings.

重要的是，我們在決定與誰合作時非常謹慎和勤奮。這就是所謂的【智能防禦】。例如，在金融科技最近的擴張過程中，我們確保與我們合作的伙伴對監管要求有深入的了解，並且能夠度過燒錢階段。在那段時間我們增加了非常有限的合作夥伴。值得注意的是，我們沒有專注於任何一個行業，甚至建立了內部特定行業的限制。這使我們能夠專注於現有的合作夥伴，最大限度地擴大這些合作夥伴關係，加強和深化現有的關係，並共同努力擴大和增強產品供應。

But we have added a few new partners and recently launched a few new programs or capabilities in conjunction with these new partners. We launched a new line of credit for consumers with Propel Holdings. We paired with Clair to offer spending and savings accounts as well as earned wage advances. I'd also like to mention that we announced a new relationship with Finix. We are their banking partner, supporting their launch as a payment processor.

但我們增加了一些新的合作夥伴，並且最近與這些新合作夥伴一起推出了一些新的計劃或功能。我們與 Propel Holdings 為消費者推出了新的信貸額度。我們與克萊爾合作提供支出和儲蓄賬戶以及預支工資。我還想提一下，我們宣布與 Finix 建立新的合作關係。我們是他們的銀行合作夥伴，支持他們推出支付處理器。

These new programs and associations may take time to deliver a meaningful impact to our deposit balances and revenue. This is why our model is built on long-term contracts. We are excited to strengthen our partnership network, and we continue to fulfill our purpose of increasing financial access for more Americans. And because of the partnerships Pathward has formed and nurtured, most of our deposits are held in millions of retail card accounts with an average balance of less than $1,000. We have very few institutional accounts, and those we do have are typically cash collateral tied to loans within our commercial finance group. As a result, our noninterest-bearing deposits on the balance sheet have a weighted average life of over 6 years based on our decay study.

這些新計劃和協會可能需要一段時間才能對我們的存款餘額和收入產生有意義的影響。這就是為什麼我們的模型建立在長期合同的基礎上。我們很高興能夠加強我們的合作夥伴網絡，並且我們將繼續實現為更多美國人提供更多金融服務的目標。由於 Pathward 建立和培育的合作夥伴關係，我們的大部分存款都保存在數百萬個零售卡賬戶中，平均餘額不到 1,000 美元。我們的機構賬戶很少，而我們擁有的機構賬戶通常是與我們商業金融集團內的貸款掛鉤的現金抵押品。因此，根據我們的衰變研究，我們資產負債表上的無息存款的加權平均壽命超過 6 年。

Just a comment on BaaS industry trends. The value of these deposits is significant, and we believe others in the industry are realizing that in the wake of recent events in banking. There are more banks entering the Banking as a Service space, but as recent news has reflected, they have not always invested in the regulatory framework needed. I believe there will be a bit of a regulatory cycle as these new entrants adjust to the third-party demand, the cost of which will eventually be included in pricing.

只是對 BaaS 行業趨勢的評論。這些存款的價值巨大，我們相信，在銀行業最近發生的事件之後，業內其他人也意識到了這一點。有越來越多的銀行進入銀行即服務領域，但正如最近的新聞所反映的那樣，它們並不總是投資於所需的監管框架。我相信，隨著這些新進入者適應第三方需求，將會有一個監管週期，其成本最終將包含在定價中。

However, at the moment, we are seeing more competition on pricing, and we've continued to work very closely with our partners. This may lead to slightly higher card processing fees in 2024, but we believe we can continue to grow both our GAAP net interest margin and adjusted net interest margin, which includes these costs in 2024. This is also included in the guidance we introduced today.

然而，目前我們看到價格競爭更加激烈，我們繼續與合作夥伴密切合作。這可能會導致 2024 年的卡處理費用略高，但我們相信我們可以繼續提高 GAAP 淨息差和調整後的淨息差，其中包括 2024 年的這些成本。這也包含在我們今天推出的指導中。

Before I turn things over to Glen, I want to comment on our CFO search. We've made a lot of progress. We've had some very substantive discussions and have a strong candidate pipeline. It's our hope to announce something in the coming months.

在將事情交給格倫之前，我想對我們的首席財務官招聘發表評論。我們已經取得了很大的進步。我們進行了一些非常實質性的討論，並擁有強大的候選人渠道。我們希望在未來幾個月內宣布一些事情。

Now I'll turn it over to Glen to take us through our financial results.

現在我將把它交給格倫，讓他向我們介紹我們的財務業績。

Thank you, Brett. For the quarter ended June 30, net income totaled $45.1 million or $1.68 per share, an increase from $22.4 million or $0.76 per share in the prior year's quarter. Net interest income was $97.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, an increase of 35% from the prior year quarter. This was driven by expansion in the net interest margin to 6.18% from 4.76%. NIM expansion was driven by 162 basis points expansion in loan and lease portfolio yields and an 82 basis point expansion in the yield on the securities portfolio.

謝謝你，布雷特。截至 6 月 30 日的季度，淨利潤總計 4510 萬美元，即每股 1.68 美元，高於去年同期的 2240 萬美元，即每股 0.76 美元。 2023 財年第三季度淨利息收入為 9750 萬美元，比上年同期增長 35%。這是由於淨息差從 4.76% 擴大至 6.18%。淨息差擴張是由貸款和租賃投資組合收益率擴張 162 個基點以及證券投資組合收益率擴張 82 個基點推動的。

Remember, the bulk of our deposit costs are recorded as card processing expenses. If you include those expenses in our net interest margin calculation, our adjusted NIM would have been 4.88% compared to 4.89% last quarter and 4.62% in the third quarter of last year.

請記住，我們的大部分存款成本都記錄為卡處理費用。如果將這些費用納入我們的淨息差計算中，我們調整後的淨息差將為 4.88%，而上季度為 4.89%，去年第三季度為 4.62%。

Also keep in mind that the revenue we are earning on our off-balance sheet deposits is not shown in the NIM but in fee income. We expect our net interest margin to continue to expand as we deliver on our strategic initiative of optimizing the interest-earning portfolio and repricing our assets in the current rate environment, targeting appropriate yields.

另請記住，我們從資產負債表外存款中獲得的收入並不顯示在淨息差中，而是顯示在費用收入中。我們預計，隨著我們實施優化生息投資組合和在當前利率環境下重新定價資產的戰略舉措，以適當的收益率為目標，我們的淨息差將繼續擴大。

Provision expense was $1.8 million in the third quarter. During the prior year quarter, the business recorded a credit of $1.3 million to provision primarily due to releases in the commercial finance portfolio. As of June 30, the company had an ACL coverage rate of 2.01% compared to 2.04% at the same time last year. ACL coverage in our commercial finance group was 1.35% compared to 1.56% in the third quarter last year and 1.53% last quarter. The sequential decrease was driven by a mix shift towards insurance premium finance and SBA loans, which have a lower allowance rate.

第三季度撥備費用為 180 萬美元。去年同期，該業務錄得 130 萬美元的撥備信貸，主要是由於商業金融投資組合的釋放。截至6月30日，該公司的ACL覆蓋率為2.01%，而去年同期為2.04%。我們商業金融集團的 ACL 覆蓋率為 1.35%，去年第三季度為 1.56%，上季度為 1.53%。環比下降的原因是向保險費融資和 SBA 貸款的混合轉變，這些貸款的準備金率較低。

Noninterest income increased 25% from the prior year quarter to $67.7 million in the third quarter. This increase was primarily driven by $14.6 million of deposit servicing fee income associated with off-balance sheet deposits.

第三季度非利息收入較上年同期增長 25%，達到 6770 萬美元。這一增長主要是由與表外存款相關的 1,460 萬美元存款服務費收入推動的。

Turning to expenses. Total noninterest expenses grew 19% or $18 million from the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily driven by $20.5 million of contractual card processing expenses related to the higher rate environment. Total deposits, including on- and off-balance sheet, increased $158 million or 2% from the prior year quarter to $7.1 billion. Total deposits decreased from the linked quarter, primarily due to a seasonal decrease in tax return-related deposits.

轉向開支。非利息支出總額較去年同期增長 19%，即 1,800 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於與較高費率環境相關的 2050 萬美元合同卡處理費用所致。總存款（包括表內和表外）較去年同期增加 1.58 億美元，增幅為 2%，達到 71 億美元。存款總額較上一季度有所下降，主要是由於與納稅申報相關的存款季節性減少。

During the third quarter, we maintained an average of $1.2 billion of deposits off-balance sheet, earning fee income roughly equal to the effective Fed funds rates. At June 30 period end, there were $781 million of deposits off-balance sheet. As mentioned last quarter, we serviced deposits related to government stimulus programs. That will decline over the fourth quarter and throughout fiscal year 2024.

第三季度，我們平均保持 12 億美元的表外存款，賺取的費用收入大致等於有效聯邦基金利率。截至 6 月 30 日期末，表外存款為 7.81 億美元。正如上季度提到的，我們為與政府刺激計劃相關的存款提供服務。這一數字將在第四季度和 2024 財年有所下降。

At June 30, roughly $970 million of these deposits remain. These deposits continue to be slowly spent down while unclaimed balances are being returned to the U.S. Treasury. Between July 2023 and the end of fiscal year 2024, we expect to return close to $450 million of unclaimed deposits. This reduction in our total deposit levels will lower the amount of funds we hold off-balance sheet and service for partner banks.

截至 6 月 30 日，這些存款中尚有約 9.7 億美元。這些存款繼續慢慢被花掉，而無人認領的餘額則被退還給美國財政部。從 2023 年 7 月到 2024 財年末，我們預計將返還近 4.5 億美元的無人認領存款。我們總存款水平的減少將減少我們在資產負債表外持有的資金量以及為合作夥伴銀行提供的服務。

Total loans and leases ended at $4.1 billion as of June 30, growing 9% from the last quarter and 10% from the prior year. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by insurance premium finance, term lending and SBA and USDA loans.

截至 6 月 30 日，貸款和租賃總額為 41 億美元，環比增長 9%，環比增長 10%。同比增長主要由保險費融資、定期貸款以及 SBA 和 USDA 貸款推動。

Credit quality across the portfolio remains strong. Nonperforming loans of 93 basis points were up slightly from 76 basis points in the previous quarter, and our net charge-off rates remain stable. We remain confident in our collateral management and the quality of our loan portfolio.

整個投資組合的信用質量依然強勁。不良貸款為 93 個基點，較上一季度的 76 個基點略有上升，淨核銷率保持穩定。我們對抵押品管理和貸款組合的質量仍然充滿信心。

From a liquidity perspective, Pathward continues to be in a good position. Our balance sheet is strong, and the company holds $781 million in deposits off-balance sheet. In addition, we have cash and cash equivalents of $515 million, unpledged investment securities of $124 million, FHLB borrowing capacity of $744 million and funds available through the Fed discount window of $234 million. When factoring in unsecured funding and other wholesale funding options, this gives us over $3 billion in available liquidity.

從流動性角度來看，Pathward 仍然處於有利地位。我們的資產負債表穩健，公司資產負債表外存款達 7.81 億美元。此外，我們還擁有 5.15 億美元的現金和現金等價物、1.24 億美元的未抵押投資證券、7.44 億美元的 FHLB 借貸能力以及 2.34 億美元的通過美聯儲貼現窗口可用的資金。考慮到無擔保融資和其他批發融資選項，這為我們提供了超過 30 億美元的可用流動性。

Our strong balance sheet and return levels allow us to continue to return value to shareholders. During the fiscal 2023 third quarter, we repurchased approximately 490,000 shares at an average price of $43.83. An additional 249,000 shares of common stock at an average price of $50.23 were purchased in July through July 21, 2023.

我們強大的資產負債表和回報水平使我們能夠繼續為股東回報價值。在 2023 財年第三季度，我們以 43.83 美元的平均價格回購了約 490,000 股股票。 2023 年 7 月至 21 日期間，以平均價格 50.23 美元額外購買了 249,000 股普通股。

We are increasing our guidance for fiscal year 2023 to a range of $5.60 and $6 in GAAP earnings per diluted share. We also expect the effective tax rate to be in the range of 10% to 14%. We are also introducing fiscal year 2024 guidance of $6.10 to $6.60 per diluted share. This guidance includes the impacts from declining EIP deposit balances.

我們將 2023 財年的 GAAP 攤薄每股收益指引提高至 5.60 美元至 6 美元的範圍。我們還預計有效稅率將在 10% 至 14% 之間。我們還推出了 2024 財年稀釋每股 6.10 至 6.60 美元的指引。該指南包括 EIP 存款餘額下降的影響。

Additionally, as Brett mentioned, the market has seen slowing demand for renewable energy fundings, which will impact tax credits and we expect them to be lower in 2024. As a result, we expect our annual effective tax rate in fiscal year 2024 will be in the 16% to 20% range.

此外，正如 Brett 提到的，市場對可再生能源資金的需求正在放緩，這將影響稅收抵免，我們預計 2024 年稅收抵免將會降低。因此，我們預計 2024 財年的年度有效稅率將為16% 到 20% 的範圍。

That concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the line for questions.

我們準備好的發言到此結束。接線員，請開通提問線路。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question comes from the line of Frank Schiraldi with Piper Sandler.

我們的第一個問題來自 Frank Schiraldi 和 Piper Sandler 的對話。

Wondered if you could talk about in terms of the 2024 guide, the initial guide here. Can you share with us any sort of macro backdrop that assumes, including interest rate outlook? Do you just sort of follow the forward curve in terms of outlook here? And does it also include the potential for continued capital return through the buyback?

想知道您是否可以談論 2024 年指南，即此處的初始指南。您能否與我們分享任何宏觀背景假設，包括利率前景？您是否只是遵循遠期曲線的前景？它還包括通過回購獲得持續資本回報的潛力嗎？

Frank, this is Glen. I could start. Yes, it does include generally the forward curve. We were anticipating today's action by the Fed as part of that. That obviously factored into our guidance. We talked about we're being a little cautious on investment tax credits in the renewable energy lending for next year. So we wanted to call off that component in our guide as well as then the other business conditions and macro events that Brett touched on in his section.

弗蘭克，這是格倫。我可以開始了。是的，它通常包括遠期曲線。我們預計美聯儲今天的行動是其中的一部分。這顯然是我們指導的一個因素。我們談到我們對明年可再生能源貸款的投資稅收抵免持謹慎態度。因此，我們想取消指南中的該部分，以及布雷特在他的部分中提到的其他業務條件和宏觀事件。

It's about capital and buybacks.

這是關於資本和回購的。

Yes. And our plan, you could assume, we continue to try to maintain or plan to maintain a consistent balance sheet. And so with the return levels that we have, we would look to do continued buybacks at these price levels.

是的。您可以假設，我們的計劃將繼續努力維持或計劃維持一致的資產負債表。因此，根據我們的回報水平，我們希望在這些價格水平上繼續回購。

Okay. And that's -- so that would be factored into guidance, whatever your plans are there on the buybacks?

好的。那就是 - 所以這將被納入指導，無論你的回購計劃是什麼？

Yes, that's correct.

對，那是正確的。

Okay. And then just touching on a couple of things, the fewer renewable energy projects in 2024. I guess I understand the higher interest rates and what that does for demand. But I thought that there was this backlog maybe, given that there wasn't anything getting done for a while, that might sort of offset or overcome that. Is that -- just any more color on just your thoughts, what's driving you guys to decrease your expectations or give these expectations for decreased energy projects and tax credits next year?

好的。然後談幾件事，2024 年可再生能源項目會減少。我想我了解更高的利率以及這對需求的影響。但我認為，考慮到一段時間內沒有完成任何事情，可能存在積壓，這可能會抵消或克服這一點。是不是——只是你們的想法有更多的色彩，是什麼驅使你們降低你們的期望或對明年減少能源項目和稅收抵免給出這些期望？

Yes. Frank, this is Brett. I mean what we're seeing is a lot of these deals were funded with a mix of equity and debt, the tax equity components of it. And what's happening is because there are higher rates in the marketplace, they'd have to have a whole lot more tax equity in it. And investor capital is just not coming into it, at least at the size transactions that we generally operate with. So that's why the pipeline has slowed down. And these things, as you can imagine, they have a fairly long pipeline before they actually turn into a project. And so we're just looking at our pipeline and having sort of realistic expectations about how much of that's going to happen next year.

是的。弗蘭克，這是布雷特。我的意思是，我們所看到的是，這些交易中有很多都是通過股權和債務（其中的稅收股權組成部分）的組合來融資的。正在發生的事情是因為市場上的稅率更高，他們必須擁有更多的稅收公平。而投資者的資本並沒有進入其中，至少在我們通常進行的交易規模上是這樣。這就是管道速度減慢的原因。正如你可以想像的那樣，這些東西在真正變成一個項目之前有一個相當長的管道。因此，我們只是關注我們的渠道，並對明年將發生多少情況抱有某種現實的期望。

Okay. All right. Fair enough. And then on the interest rate outlook and the margin, just wondering if you can talk about what sort of things you're doing [to effect the] margin here from a potential down rate environment. Or are you at the point now with where the variable loan book is and where the floors are that you can get some additional NIM expansion even in some downward movement in rates if it comes to that next year? Just kind of any color on directionally if we do get the forward curve, that we do get rates sort of lining up with where the forward curve is now, what are your thoughts on margin?

好的。好的。很公平。然後關於利率前景和利潤率，只是想知道您是否可以談談您在潛在的利率下降環境中正在採取哪些措施[以影響]利潤率。或者，您現在是否已經掌握了可變貸款賬簿的位置以及下限，即使明年利率有所下降，您也可以獲得一些額外的淨息差擴張？如果我們確實得到了遠期曲線，我們確實得到了與遠期曲線現在的位置一致的利率，那麼您對保證金有何看法？

Yes. So Frank, this is Brett. So one of the things that we like about our business model is we've got different asset classes, and those different asset classes have different duration elements of it. You'll note that we've been a little lean on the longer duration assets like equipment leasing. What I would expect to happen as we go into the year, we'll start trying to figure out how to do more of those because they have a longer life to do it.

是的。弗蘭克，這是布雷特。因此，我們喜歡我們的業務模型的一件事是我們擁有不同的資產類別，並且這些不同的資產類別具有不同的久期元素。您會注意到，我們有點依賴設備租賃等較長期限的資產。當我們進入這一年時，我預計會發生什麼，我們將開始嘗試找出如何做更多的事情，因為它們有更長的壽命來做到這一點。

And keep in mind, I think round numbers, only about 25% of our assets reprice in a given year or less. And so you've got quite a bit of opportunity to bring on longer-term assets that have a longer duration to help. So we were pretty clear, we're slow on the way up in getting the margin and we should be slow on the way down on losing the margin. And so that's -- Glen, anything you'd add?

請記住，我認為大約 25% 的資產會在特定年份或更短的時間內重新定價。因此，你有很多機會引入具有較長持續時間的長期資產來提供幫助。所以我們很清楚，我們在獲得利潤方面進展緩慢，在失去利潤方面我們應該緩慢下降。那麼——格倫，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No. And then the other thing is recall, Frank, as if and when rates do come down, our card processing expenses that are rate related, those fall off immediately. So there's no lag to those. So those reset real time, which certainly give us a little tailwind as well.

不。然後另一件事是回憶，弗蘭克，好像當費率確實下降時，我們與費率相關的卡處理費用會立即下降。所以這些沒有滯後。所以這些都是實時重置的，這當然也給我們帶來了一些順風。

Okay. Great. And then just lastly, if I could. Just trying to get a handle on loan growth here. I think the linked quarter growth in the commercial finance side was mostly insurance premium finance, which I assume that sort of growth rate isn't sustainable in that piece of the business. And we all hear about the manufacturing slowdown on the macro side. So how is that impacting the commercial finance business, your expectations are for growth here, particularly in that business going forward?

好的。偉大的。最後，如果可以的話。只是想控制這裡的貸款增長。我認為商業金融方面的相關季度增長主要是保險費金融，我認為這種增長率在該業務領域是不可持續的。我們都聽說宏觀方面製造業放緩。那麼，這對商業金融業務有何影響？您對這裡的增長的期望，特別是該業務的未來發展？

Yes. I think there's a few things. One is banks are pulling back, and we think of that as being an opportunity. So we are seeing a little bit of that. So hopefully, that's why I mentioned, for example, equipment leasing at the right time, we might be able to get into that a little more. I've been saying for some time, the working capital class should pick up as this slowdown goes on. And we're not seeing it in the pure numbers yet, but we're starting to see it in opportunities for origination. And those -- because of the diligence involved in them, it can take 90 to 120 days to start showing up as actual assets.

是的。我認為有幾件事。一是銀行正在撤資，我們認為這是一個機會。所以我們看到了一些這樣的情況。因此，希望這就是我提到的原因，例如，在適當的時候進行設備租賃，我們也許能夠進一步深入探討這一點。一段時間以來，我一直在說，隨著經濟放緩的持續，營運資本水平應該會有所回升。我們還沒有從純粹的數字中看到它，但我們開始在創始機會中看到它。而這些——由於其中涉及盡職調查，可能需要 90 到 120 天才能開始顯示為實際資產。

So I mean I think there's some opportunity. The insurance stream and finance group did very well this time, very impressed with what they've done. That kind of growth, you're correct, it's not sustainable. But we'd like to -- particularly with the yield we're getting to stay at that level for what is such a low-risk asset class. So I think it's more of a steady as it goes. We'll be picking the asset classes where we can get the yield and get the business, and certainly thinking about that duration opportunity before rates start going down.

所以我的意思是我認為有一些機會。保險流和金融組這次表現得非常好，他們的表現給我留下了深刻的印象。你是對的，這種增長是不可持續的。但我們希望——特別是考慮到我們將如此低風險的資產類別的收益率保持在這個水平。所以我認為它的發展更加穩定。我們將選擇可以獲得收益並獲得業務的資產類別，當然也會在利率開始下降之前考慮持續時間的機會。

Okay. So it sounds like you still expect growth in the commercial finance business going forward. Is that fair on this level going next year?

好的。因此，聽起來您仍然預計商業金融業務未來會增長。明年這個水平公平嗎？

I do, I do. I think that's right. I just don't know which asset classes it will be in. Yes, that's right.

我做我做。我認為這是對的。我只是不知道它將屬於哪個資產類別。是的，沒錯。

The next question comes from the line of Michael Perito with KBW.

下一個問題來自 Michael Perito 與 KBW 的對話。

I had a couple -- a few things I wanted to touch on with you guys. Number one, I appreciate some of this color on some of these new partnerships that you guys are launching. I was wondering if you can maybe -- I realize this might be a little hard since there aren't a lot of them yet. But just on these -- the line of credit for consumers with Propel and just generally kind of on just credit agreements or contracts that you guys maybe are starting to consider a bit more than you have historically. Can you give us a sense of how you're trying to structure the credit risk within these? Is there like a lot of indemnification built in? Or should we expect kind of as these things ramp up over time, that there'll be some noise in the income statement in terms of maybe like higher yields on the NII, but then some indemnification on losses to like expense or fees? Like just trying to get a better sense of how you're structuring these and how we should think about them as they ramp, realizing there's some time, but just trying to get ahead of it.

我有一些事情想和你們談談。第一，我很欣賞你們正在推出的一些新合作夥伴關係中的一些這種色彩。我想知道你是否可以——我意識到這可能有點困難，因為還沒有很多。但就這些而言——Propel為消費者提供的信用額度，以及一般的信用協議或合同，你們可能開始考慮比歷史上更多的東西。您能否讓我們了解一下您如何嘗試構建其中的信用風險？是否有很多內置的賠償？或者我們是否應該預期，隨著這些事情隨著時間的推移而增加，損益表中會出現一些噪音，比如國家信息基礎設施的收益率更高，但隨後會對費用或費用等損失進行一些賠償？就像只是試圖更好地了解如何構建這些以及我們在它們發展時應該如何思考它們，意識到還有一些時間，但只是試圖超越它。

Yes. Mike, I appreciate the question. We've been very consistent that we do not want to be exposed to make it consumer credit risk. And so these agreements and any agreements like that, that we're going to enter into are going to have appropriate credit enhancements. Those might be of a different varieties, some might be they're just short term on our balance sheet and then they get securitized away. Some might be waterfall structures, some might actually have credit enhancement guarantees that we can rely on.

是的。邁克，我很欣賞這個問題。我們一直非常一致地認為，我們不想承受消費者信用風險。因此，我們將要簽訂的這些協議和任何類似協議都將有適當的信用增級。這些可能是不同的品種，有些可能只是我們資產負債表上的短期資產，然後就會被證券化。有些可能是瀑布結構，有些可能實際上有我們可以依賴的信用增級擔保。

We do this because these consumer credit products are needed by our partners in the marketplace, and they want to have a way to offer it and we don't want to get disintermediated with our other products because we don't have one. And so that's one of the main reasons that we're in it. Now we're very optimistic about, for example, the Propel Holdings partnership and what it's going to do, and we do make some economics on it. But as you fully understand, when you give up the credit risk, you also give up the bulk of the economics. It will be an income stream for us, but it won't be huge.

我們這樣做是因為我們的市場合作夥伴需要這些消費信貸產品，他們希望有一種方式來提供這些產品，而我們不想因為我們沒有其他產品而與我們的其他產品脫節。這就是我們參與其中的主要原因之一。例如，現在我們對 Propel Holdings 的合作夥伴關係以及它將要做的事情非常樂觀，我們確實對此進行了一些經濟學分析。但正如您充分理解的那樣，當您放棄信用風險時，您也就放棄了大部分經濟。這對我們來說是一個收入來源，但不會很大。

Got it. And then I was also interested to see you guys mentioned the earned wage advance space with Clair. It's an interesting space. I've been starting -- I've been spending some more time there over the last 9 months or so. Seems like there's not a lot of bank market share. Like I know there's DailyPay, there's a couple of guys, nonbanks that have some share. I know Green Dot talked about doing stuff. But can you maybe give us a sense of is that a sizable opportunity for you guys? Do you think there's room for a bank to kind of take some share and make some money in the EWA space? And just would love some high-level thoughts as we think about you guys growing maybe with other partnerships in that area and that type of -- the magnitude of that opportunity.

知道了。然後我也很感興趣地看到你們和克萊爾提到了工資預支空間。這是一個有趣的空間。我已經開始——在過去的 9 個月左右的時間裡，我在那裡度過了更多的時間。看來銀行的市場份額並不多。就像我知道的 DailyPay 一樣，有幾個非銀行人士擁有一些份額。我知道綠點談到了做事。但您能否讓我們了解這對你們來說是一個相當大的機會嗎？您認為銀行有空間在 EWA 領域分一杯羹並賺點錢嗎？當我們想到你們可能與該領域的其他合作夥伴以及該類型的合作夥伴一起成長時，我們會喜歡一些高層次的想法——機會的大小。

This is a new business. And I think there's a lot yet to be learned in the industry, how big is it going to be, how well it's going to be received. I think there are certain regulatory questions that are going to be around it. I think employers are going to have some perspective on it. We like Clair as a partner. They're one of the few fintech start-ups that we engage with. And right now, we're just going to ride this out with them and understand how well they can grow.

這是一項新業務。我認為這個行業還有很多東西需要學習，它的規模有多大，它的受歡迎程度如何。我認為圍繞它會存在某些監管問題。我認為雇主對此會有一些看法。我們喜歡克萊爾作為合作夥伴。他們是我們合作的少數幾家金融科技初創企業之一。現在，我們將與他們一起度過難關，了解他們的成長情況。

Obviously, it turns into a huge industry and a huge business. We might take those learnings and do it with others. But right now, this is -- these are the things we do. We watch things, we plant seeds. We let them grow for a long time. And that's why we're -- we think 5, 7 years, not necessarily next year for a lot of these programs, what they're going to produce.

顯然，它變成了一個巨大的產業和巨大的生意。我們可以將這些經驗教訓與其他人一起做。但現在，這就是我們所做的事情。我們觀察事物，我們播種。我們讓他們成長很長一段時間。這就是為什麼我們 - 我們認為很多這些項目將在 5、7 年，不一定是明年，他們將產生什麼。

Yes. So it sounds like between some of the credit stuff you're doing in the EWA, at this point, it's more about protecting your share with critical customers that you have. But into the future, you're certainly keeping a pulse on how the products perform and how the market evolves and you would be willing to push forward in a larger way with some of those things if you felt the opportunity was worthwhile.

是的。因此，聽起來您在 EWA 中所做的一些信貸工作之間，目前更多的是保護您在關鍵客戶中的份額。但展望未來，您肯定會密切關注產品的表現以及市場的發展情況，如果您認為機會值得，您將願意在其中一些事情上進行更大的推動。

Yes, I think that's right. And we're also -- we're placing a bet on what we think is a really good partner that has the potential to grow significantly. But it's yet to be seen if that happens.

是的，我認為這是對的。我們還把賭注押在我們認為真正有潛力、有顯著增長潛力的合作夥伴上。但這種情況是否會發生還有待觀察。

Yes. Cool. Good color. And then just on the -- maybe a question for Glen. Since we only get to pass to you with these questions for so much longer here, just on the OpEx side. You got one more quarter in fiscal '23 here. Obviously, you guys have given the guide. My guess is you're looking to reasonably hold the efficiency ratio fairly stable, maybe improve it a little bit. But just what's kind of the order of magnitude of things on the list to invest in for next year? Like what are some of the key areas where you are allocating dollars? And just generally, I mean, how are you thinking about expense growth?

是的。涼爽的。顏色好。然後也許是格倫的一個問題。因為我們只能在這裡向您傳達這些問題，而且只是在運營支出方面。 23 財年還有一個季度。顯然，你們已經給出了指導。我的猜測是，您希望合理地保持效率比相當穩定，也許會稍微提高一點。但明年投資清單上的項目的數量級是多少呢？比如您配置美元的一些關鍵領域是什麼？總的來說，我的意思是，您如何看待費用增長？

As an industry, obviously, that there's been a pretty tight lid on it. But Brett, as you pointed out, I mean, you guys really are insulated from a lot of these pressures, so there's definitely room to invest. And I'm just curious what you guys maybe might be investing in as we think to next year and what that rate of growth could look like.

顯然，作為一個行業，它受到了相當嚴格的限制。但是布雷特，正如你所指出的，我的意思是，你們確實免受了很多這些壓力，所以肯定有投資的空間。我只是好奇你們明年可能會投資什麼以及增長率會是什麼樣子。

So we -- as you recall, Mike, we really think about operating leverage here and at least over time, growing our revenues at least 2x of expenses. Now certain periods and some of the spaces that we play in, yes, we have to make investments in those. But I think in this environment, at least as it sits today, you could expect us to maintain expenses fairly tight to where we're at today, and they will slowly grow as our revenues grow, but not get too far ahead of that. Many of our expenses are variable in nature, and so those will go consistently with revenue. And then the rest of our expenses and where we make investments, you can think of technology and risk management, primarily compliance.

所以，正如你所記得的，邁克，我們確實考慮了這裡的運營槓桿，至少隨著時間的推移，我們的收入增長至少是支出的兩倍。現在，我們必須在某些時期和某些領域進行投資。但我認為在這種環境下，至少在今天的情況下，你可以期望我們將開支維持在相當緊縮的水平，並且隨著我們收入的增長，它們將緩慢增長，但不會超前太多。我們的許多支出本質上是可變的，因此這些支出將與收入保持一致。然後我們的其餘費用以及我們進行投資的地方，您可以考慮技術和風險管理，主要是合規性。

Great. And has the -- just -- sorry, go ahead.

偉大的。抱歉，請繼續。

I'm just going to add, staying on top of both of those and a lot of the technology investments are made in the compliance space, as more and more attention is focused on Banking as a Service providers and consumer protection and small business protection. Making sure you have up-to-date compliance systems, we believe, is going to continue to be a competitive advantage and incredibly important.

我只是想補充一點，在這兩個方面保持領先地位，並且大量技術投資都是在合規領域進行的，因為越來越多的注意力集中在銀行即服務提供商以及消費者保護和小企業保護上。我們相信，確保您擁有最新的合規系統將繼續成為一種競爭優勢，並且非常重要。

Yes. Yes. I mean it certainly seems that way when you just look at this kind of headlines. So that makes sense. And then just lastly for me, one kind of financial follow-up to Frank's line of questioning, and I apologize if I missed this. But just are you able to give us just kind of like a broad indication of the type of provisioning you assume in that '24 guide? Is it reasonable to assume it's similar year-on-year plus or minus to '23 based on kind of the macro and the forward curve and everything you're assuming? Is that a reasonable assumption without getting too specific around numbers? Or is there something that could alter that? Go ahead.

是的。是的。我的意思是，當你只看這類頭條新聞時，看起來確實是這樣。所以這是有道理的。最後對我來說，是對弗蘭克提問的一種財務後續行動，如果我錯過了這一點，我深表歉意。但是您能否向我們提供您在 24 小時指南中假設的配置類型的大致指示？根據宏觀、遠期曲線以及您假設的所有內容，假設它與 23 年同比增減類似是否合理？在沒有對數字過於具體的情況下，這是一個合理的假設嗎？或者有什麼可以改變這一點嗎？前進。

We feel really good about our -- yes. No, thanks, Mike. We feel really good about our credit positioning today. And we are looking hard to see if there's something we're missing, but we feel comfortable. I think Brett did a good job explaining we're not taking credit risk in the consumer space. We feel confident in the way we manage our collateral on the commercial finance space. So yes, roughly similar levels of provisioning as some of that will depend on loan growth with the CECL. You have to take a lot of that upfront. So where that lands will depend on how new originations are a little bit year-over-year. But yes, similar provisioning is a good assumption.

我們對我們的感覺非常好——是的。不，謝謝，邁克。我們今天對我們的信用定位感覺非常好。我們很努力地尋找是否遺漏了一些東西，但我們感覺很舒服。我認為布雷特很好地解釋了我們不會在消費領域承擔信用風險。我們對商業金融領域抵押品的管理方式充滿信心。所以，是的，撥備水平大致相似，其中一些將取決於 CECL 的貸款增長。你必須預先採取很多措施。因此，其落地位置將取決於每年新發源的情況。但是，類似的配置是一個很好的假設。

The next question comes from the line of David Feaster with Raymond James.

下一個問題來自大衛·費斯特和雷蒙德·詹姆斯的台詞。

Maybe just kind of following up on that last line of questioning. Obviously -- so just looking at the 2024 guidance. I'm curious from your perspective, I mean, look, your crystal ball is as clear as mine is right now. And I appreciate the commentary about assuming the forward curve and some of the thoughts on provisioning and expenses. But I'm just curious what you think of is really the key driver of the differences between the achievability of the top end versus the low end of the range. Is it growth? Is it this credit cycle? I'm just curious, what do you see as the biggest drivers between the top end and the low end of that range?

也許只是對最後一行問題的跟進。顯然，只要看看 2024 年的指導即可。我很好奇從你的角度來看，我的意思是，看，你的水晶球現在和我的一樣清晰。我很欣賞關於假設遠期曲線的評論以及關於準備金和費用的一些想法。但我只是很好奇您的想法實際上是該範圍的高端與低端可實現性之間差異的關鍵驅動因素。是成長嗎？這是信貸週期嗎？我只是很好奇，您認為該範圍的高端和低端之間最大的驅動因素是什麼？

David, there are so many factors, which is the reason we have that kind of a wider range. But I would say the first thing is yield and margin. Throughout this particular cycle, I think we've been surprised on how thin we had to price loans compared to the way rates have risen. And so it took a while for yield to really show up. If, in fact, banks are slowing down on our lending, and we're able to do the kind of limiting I want to do, which I would say is working capital. We'll get the margin, and we'll be at the higher end of that. That's one big thing.

大衛，有很多因素，這就是我們擁有更廣泛範圍的原因。但我想說第一件事是收益率和利潤率。在這個特定的周期中，我認為我們對貸款定價與利率上漲的方式相比的程度如此之低感到驚訝。因此，收益率花了一段時間才真正顯現出來。事實上，如果銀行放慢貸款速度，我們就能夠進行我想做的限制，我想說的是營運資金。我們將獲得利潤，並且我們將處於較高水平。這是一件大事。

I'm not worried about credit. If there's ever a time that we're strength for credit, it's our collateral. No unsecured debt, we collateral manage everything, I don't have any particular concerns about that. And I did mention the Banking as a Service partners, they're putting pressure on it. We have long-term contracts, but it's a function of them bringing new business. And do we have to make some concessions for them to get new business in here, and that might impact margins as well. So those are my big ones. Glen, anything to add?

我不擔心信用問題。如果說我們在某個時候有足夠的信用實力，那就是我們的抵押品。沒有無擔保債務，我們管理一切抵押品，我對此沒有任何特別的擔憂。我確實提到了銀行即服務合作夥伴，他們正在向其施加壓力。我們有長期合同，但這是他們帶來新業務的一個功能。我們是否必須為他們做出一些讓步才能在這裡獲得新業務，這也可能會影響利潤率。這些是我的大事。格倫，有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. I think you're right. The macro is -- if we start seeing more normalized loan beta yields, then that will certainly drive us to that top end as well as just where demand for loan volume is and when that picks up. And so we're certainly being somewhat cautious on how much loan demand there will be in this environment. And so kind of what you would expect your typical drivers, David.

是的。我想你是正確的。宏觀的是——如果我們開始看到更多正常化的貸款貝塔收益率，那麼這肯定會推動我們達到最高水平，以及貸款量的需求在哪里以及何時回升。因此，我們當然對這種環境下的貸款需求量持謹慎態度。這就是你對典型司機的期望，大衛。

Okay. And then maybe just following up on the partner conversation -- yes.

好的。然後也許只是跟進合作夥伴的談話——是的。

I just want to point out, the income tax credit, obviously, we are pretty cautious there. That's a pretty good chunk of earnings there year-over-year. And so to the extent that renewable energy projects pick up the pace again, that could be an opportunity as well.

我只想指出，顯然，我們在所得稅抵免方面非常謹慎。與去年同期相比，這是相當可觀的收入。因此，只要可再生能源項目再次加快步伐，這也可能是一個機會。

Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe just switching gears to the partner conversation again. I'm just curious, have you seen any impact on your partners from the bank failures at all and just the impact of the venture capital side? And then maybe just more broadly, how is the pipeline of partnerships look at this point and how negotiations for contracts are going today? It sounds like just listening to you, Brett, that maybe the partners to some extent are getting a little bit of more aggressive in terms and maybe a bit more pricing power. Is that a fair characterization?

好的。這很有幫助。然後也許只是再次切換到夥伴對話。我只是很好奇，您是否看到銀行倒閉以及風險投資方面的影響對您的合作夥伴產生了任何影響？也許更廣泛地說，目前的合作夥伴關係以及合同談判進展如何？聽起來就像只是聽你說的，布雷特，也許合作夥伴在某種程度上在條款上變得更加激進，也許定價能力更大了。這是一個公平的描述嗎？

Yes. I think in my comments, what I was alluding to is there's a lot more competitors that had jumped into the Banking as a Service business, and they've done some thin pricing. Now a lot of cases, they did it with fintech start-ups in fairly small things. And we'll see kind of what happens there. But some of the bigger partners are, one, are seeing some of the thin pricing that's out there; and two, the fact that rates have moved up gives them a greater interest in the deposits we have. And that all of a sudden, they care about that a whole lot.

是的。我認為在我的評論中，我暗指的是有更多的競爭對手已經進入銀行即服務業務，並且他們做了一些薄弱的定價。現在很多情況下，他們都與金融科技初創企業一起在相當小的事情上做到了這一點。我們將會看到那裡會發生什麼。但一些較大的合作夥伴，第一，看到了一些低廉的定價；第二，第二，利率上升使他們對我們的存款產生了更大的興趣。突然之間，他們非常關心這一點。

So I think those are the things that are kind of putting pressure on it. Now I mentioned and I believe this, that part of this is going to be a regulatory cycle. You can read all the newspaper articles about what's going on in this and some of the things that have happened, that they're even very public reflected. So I think there'll be a reversion back to the mean in 12 to 18 months. But in the short term, there's certainly some pressure here.

所以我認為這些都是對其施加壓力的事情。現在我提到並且我相信這一點，這部分將是一個監管週期。你可以閱讀所有關於正在發生的事情以及已經發生的事情的報紙文章，它們甚至是非常公開反映的。所以我認為 12 到 18 個月內就會恢復到平均值。但從短期來看，這里肯定存在一些壓力。

Yes, we have partners in the pipeline. We have them all the time. We have some running to us because of regulatory issues at other institutions. And so we try to take advantage of that. And one of the problems for them when they come to us though is they get a bit of sticker shock because we don't do it as cheaply as people that did it before because they don't have the risk and compliance framework. So there's negotiations that go on in that. So it's not all doom and gloom. We just want to be sure people understood, there is some margin pressure going on in the short term.

是的，我們正在尋找合作夥伴。我們一直都有它們。由於其他機構的監管問題，我們有一些需要處理的問題。所以我們嘗試利用這一點。然而，當他們來找我們時，他們面臨的問題之一是他們會感到有點震驚，因為我們的成本不像以前的人那樣低，因為他們沒有風險和合規框架。因此，談判正在進行中。所以，這並不全是厄運和悲觀。我們只是想確保人們理解，短期內存在一些利潤壓力。

That makes sense. And then I'm just curious, you've got a unique and interesting perspective. You play in a very broad set of segments across the country. I'm just curious, maybe as you step back and look at some of the trends and consumer behaviors maybe within your fintech partnerships, the demand that you're seeing for credit from SBA and the commercial finance portfolio, is there anything interesting that you're seeing just, I guess, in terms of the health of the consumer or the economy more broadly? I'm just curious, as you look at tea leaves, just how do you think the health of the economy is and anything interesting you're seeing?

這就說得通了。然後我只是很好奇，你有一個獨特而有趣的視角。您在全國范圍內參與非常廣泛的細分市場。我只是好奇，也許當您退後一步，看看您的金融科技合作夥伴關係中的一些趨勢和消費者行為、您所看到的 SBA 信貸需求和商業金融投資組合時，您是否有任何感興趣的事情我想，我們只是從消費者的健康或更廣泛的經濟角度來看？我只是好奇，當你觀察茶葉時，你認為經濟的健康狀況如何以及你看到的任何有趣的事情？

Well, on the consumer side, what I would say is remember that the bulk of our business is at the lower end of the economy. And as one of my consumer credit people once told me, they're always in a recession. And so there's no real difference in the transactions. They're still buying their groceries, still going to the drugstore, buying gas, et cetera. And so we're not really seeing anything particular around that, the deposits that are coming down are more because of EIP and the runoff of tax deposits than anything else.

好吧，在消費者方面，我要說的是，請記住，我們的大部分業務都處於經濟的低端。正如我的一位消費信貸人員曾經告訴我的那樣，他們總是處於衰退之中。因此，交易並沒有真正的區別。他們仍然在購買雜貨，仍然去藥店，購買汽油，等等。因此，我們並沒有真正看到這方面有什麼特別之處，存款的下降更多是由於生態產業園和稅收存款的流失而不是其他原因。

Conversely, on the commercial finance side, there are industries that we serve where they're not borrowing as much because they don't have as much activity going on. Our transportation factoring business is off a bit. And it's not because there's not available to borrow, there's just less business that's out there and less need for it. And so you see some of that in certain areas, seeing some slowdown. But I would not say that we see anything that is dramatic or certainly not anything that we saw like when COVID first hit, it's fairly mild.

相反，在商業金融方面，我們所服務的某些行業的借款量沒有那麼多，因為它們沒有那麼多的活動。我們的運輸保理業務略有下滑。這並不是因為無法借貸，而是因為業務減少了，對貸款的需求也減少了。所以你會在某些領域看到一些放緩。但我不會說我們看到了任何戲劇性的事情，或者肯定不是我們在新冠病毒第一次襲擊時看到的任何事情，它相當溫和。

Thank you. And that concludes the Pathward Financial Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Investor Conference Call. Thank you.

謝謝。 Pathward Financial 2023 財年第三季度投資者電話會議至此結束。謝謝。