Pathward Financial Inc (CASH) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to Pathward Financial's first-quarter fiscal year 2025 investor conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

女士們，先生們，感謝大家的支持，歡迎參加 Pathward Financial 2025 財年第一季投資者電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次電話會議正在錄音。

I'd now like to turn the conference call over to Darby Schoenfeld, Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將電話會議轉給高級副總裁、參謀長和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, Greg Sigrist, who will discuss our operating and financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, after which we will take your questions. Additional information included in the earnings release, the presentation that accompanies our prepared remarks, and supplemental slides may be found on our website at pathwordfinancial.com. 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.

謝謝接線員，歡迎您。今天與我一起的是 Pathward Financial 的執行長 Brett Pharr；以及財務長 Greg Sigrist，他將討論我們 2025 財年第一季的營運和財務業績，之後我們將回答您的問題。收益報告中包含的其他資訊、伴隨我們準備好的發言的簡報以及補充幻燈片可以在我們的網站 pathwordfinancial.com 上找到。提醒一下，我們的評論可能包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關未來期間預期結果的陳述。這些聲明受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與預期結果不同。該公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

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.

請參閱收益報告、投資者介紹以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件（包括我們最近的文件）中的警告性語言，以獲取更多信息，涵蓋可能導致實際和預期結果與預期存在重大差異的因素。

Additionally, today, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures on this call. References to non-GAAP measures are provided to assist you in understanding the company's results and performance trends, particularly in competitive analysis. Reconciliation for such non-GAAP measures are included in the earnings release and 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指標。提供非 GAAP 指標的參考，以幫助您了解公司的績效和績效趨勢，特別是在競爭分析方面。此類非公認會計準則指標的對帳表包含在收益報告和投資者報告的附錄中。

Included in the non-GAAP measures, this quarter, we will begin reporting an adjusted net interest margin, including contractual rate-related card processing expenses associated with deposits that are on the company's balance sheet. All mentions of adjusted net interest margin on this call will refer to the updated metric. This will replace our previously reported adjusted net interest margin, which included contractual rate-related card processing expenses associated with all deposits, including custodial deposits. You will find this adjusted net interest margin measure included in our non-GAAP reconciliations in the earnings release and the supplemental slides that were filed today in conjunction with the earnings release.

包含在非公認會計準則指標中，本季我們將開始報告調整後的淨息差，其中包括與公司資產負債表上的存款相關的合約利率相關的卡片處理費用。本次電話會議中所有關於調整後淨利差的提及均指更新後的指標。這將取代我們先前報告的調整後淨利差，其中包括與所有存款（包括託管存款）相關的合約利率相關卡處理費用。您會發現，這項調整後的淨利差指標已包含在我們收益報告的非公認會計準則對帳表中，以及今天與收益報告一起提交的補充幻燈片中。

Finally, all time periods referenced are fiscal quarters and fiscal years, and all comparisons are to the prior-year period unless otherwise noted.

最後，除非另有說明，所有引用的時間段均為財政季度和財政年度，且所有比較均與去年同期進行比較。

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

現在，讓我將電話轉給我們的執行長 Brett Pharr。

Thanks, Darby, and welcome, everyone, to our earnings conference call. Fiscal 2025 has started out well. And during the quarter, we made good progress against the strategy we laid out last year. The biggest step we took was closing the sale of our insurance premium finance business in October, along with the subsequent sale of securities. This move started the process of optimizing close to $800 million on our balance sheet by putting us in a position to reallocate those funds into higher-yielding assets or those with optionality.

謝謝，達比，歡迎大家參加我們的收益電話會議。2025 財年開局良好。本季度，我們按照去年制定的策略取得了良好進展。我們採取的最大措施是十月份完成保險費融資業務的出售以及隨後的證券出售。此舉啟動了優化我們資產負債表上近 8 億美元資金的進程，使我們能夠將這些資金重新分配到收益更高的資產或具有可選性的資產中。

Keeping our focus has helped us deliver strong results. We reported earnings of $1.29 per share for the first quarter, which represents year-over-year growth of 22% and net income of $31.4 million. Our results were driven in part by an increase in net interest income of 6% when compared to the same quarter last year. We also expanded our quarterly net interest margin and adjusted net interest margin, which includes contractual rate-related processing expense associated with deposits on the company's balance sheet to 6.84% and 5.41%, respectively. Performance metrics were strong for the quarter with return on average assets for the quarter of 1.69% and return on average tangible equity of 25.65%. We are also reiterating our fiscal 2025 guidance of $7.25 to $7.75 earnings per diluted share.

保持專注幫助我們取得了強勁的業績。我們報告第一季每股收益為 1.29 美元，年增 22%，淨收入為 3,140 萬美元。我們的業績部分得益於與去年同期相比淨利息收入增加了 6%。我們也將季度淨利差和調整後淨利差（包括與公司資產負債表上的存款相關的合約利率相關處理費用）分別擴大至 6.84% 和 5.41%。本季業績指標強勁，季平均資產回報率為 1.69%，平均有形股本回報率為 25.65%。我們也重申 2025 財年每股攤薄收益 7.25 美元至 7.75 美元的預期。

Our focus on the loan side of the balance sheet has not changed. Given our competitive position in the payment space, we are limited to an asset size of $10 billion in order to remain under the Durbin amendment threshold, which leads us to focus on optimizing the assets that we keep on balance sheet. This focus means our assets either have high risk-adjusted returns or optionality for balance sheet velocity. As a part of this focus, we executed the sale of our insurance premium finance business, as I mentioned before.

我們對資產負債表貸款的關注沒有改變。鑑於我們在支付領域的競爭地位，為了保持在 Durbin 修正案門檻以下，我們的資產規模被限制在 100 億美元以內，這導致我們專注於優化資產負債表上的資產。這種重點意味著我們的資產要麼具有高風險調整回報，要麼具有資產負債表速度的可選性。作為這項重點的一部分，正如我之前提到的，我們執行了保費融資業務的出售。

We also announced a strategic partnership to support renewable energy loan growth. Renewable energy continues to be a focus for Pathward, where we are underwriting conventional construction loans and USDA-guaranteed loans with proper risk-adjusted returns and providing us optionality on the balance sheet.

我們也宣佈建立策略合作夥伴關係，以支持再生能源貸款成長。再生能源繼續成為 Pathward 關注的重點，我們承銷傳統建築貸款和美國農業部擔保貸款，並提供適當風險調整後的回報，並在資產負債表上為我們提供可選性。

Our partner brings strong industry experience to the table. And we expect that co-innovation of this partnership will accelerate efficient, scalable, and predictable growth within Pathward's renewable energy initiative.

我們的合作夥伴擁有豐富的產業經驗。我們期望，此次合作的共同創新將加速 Pathward 再生能源計畫的高效、可擴展和可預測的成長。

Our fiscal first quarter orginations were strong, particularly in renewable energy, equipment finance, and working capital. And We believe that this origination momentum will continue.

我們第一季的財務表現強勁，特別是在再生能源、設備融資和營運資金方面。我們相信，這種發展動能將會持續下去。

Another aspect of the lending side that we're focused on is credit sponsorships, where we act as a lender of record. We continue to expand our reach through growth with our existing partners and nurturing a strong pipeline of prospective partners who are mission-aligned and share our risk and compliance posture.

我們關注的貸款方面的另一個方面是信用贊助，我們在其中充當記錄貸款人。我們將繼續透過與現有合作夥伴的共同發展來擴大我們的業務範圍，並培養一群與我們有著共同使命、共享風險和合規立場的潛在合作夥伴。

During the first quarter, we originated more of these loans than any other first quarter in the company's history. These loans are protected by certain layers of credit support and offer us additional balance sheet flexibility.

在第一季度，我們發放的此類貸款比公司歷史上任何一個第一季都多。這些貸款受到一定層次的信用支持保護，並為我們提供了額外的資產負債表彈性。

The first quarter of fiscal year 2025, our partner solutions team extended contracts with two of our top-issuing partners, one for additional two years and one for additional five years.

2025 財年第一季度，我們的合作夥伴解決方案團隊與我們的兩個最大發行合作夥伴延長了合同，其中一個延長了兩年，另一個延長了五年。

After the quarter ended, we also signed a contract with a new partner. We remain dedicated to growing and nurturing our partnerships while addressing new opportunities in our pipeline. The pipeline remains strong, and we continue to work tirelessly with potential new clients to show them the breadth of products we offer, our ability to scale and expand with them, and an expertise that comes with being in the industry for 20 years.

本季結束後，我們也與新的合作夥伴簽訂了合約。我們將繼續致力於發展和培育我們的合作夥伴關係，同時抓住我們面臨的新機會。我們的產品線仍然強勁，我們將繼續不懈地與潛在的新客戶合作，向他們展示我們所提供的產品的廣度、我們與他們一起擴大規模和擴張的能力，以及我們在該行業20 年的經驗所累積的專業知識。

Tax season has begun. We're off to a good start, with 12% more enrolled tax offices than last year. We look forward to updating you more on the next call.

報稅季節已經開始。我們開局良好，註冊稅務所的數量比去年增加了 12％。我們期待在下次通話中向您提供更多更新資訊。

For a couple of quarters now, we have talked about our strategy to be the trusted platform that enables our partners to thrive. We believe this strategy will help us deliver our goal to drive growth in revenue and net income in the next few years. This growth will come in two forms.

幾個季度以來，我們一直在談論我們的策略，即成為值得信賴的平台，讓我們的合作夥伴蓬勃發展。我們相信這項策略將有助於我們實現未來幾年推動收入和淨收入成長的目標。這種成長將體現在兩個方面。

In the short term, our focus on optimizing the balance sheet should drive an expanded net interest margin with additional net interest income. This is due to rotating assets out to higher-yielding assets. In addition to the we made, we also have a portion of loans on the balance sheet that were underwritten prior to the increase in interest rates.

短期內，我們專注於優化資產負債表，以增加淨利息收入，從而擴大淨利差。這是由於資產輪換為收益更高的資產。除了我們所做的貸款之外，我們的資產負債表上還有一部分是在利率上升之前承銷的貸款。

Longer term, having the right people, process, and systems will allow us to continue to grow partner solutions. This team produces primarily noninterest income, diversifying our revenue stream. With the increased desire for embedded finance, combined with the innovation from fintechs and other payments-focused companies, the opportunity for growth in this aspect of our business is significant. We offer an array of products: issuing; acquiring; digital payments, including direct to debit and ACH; financial institution solutions; credit solutions; and professional tax solutions, allowing Pathward to provide an array of products to partners. We can provide multiple solutions while offering expertise, operational excellence, true partnership, and a mature risk and compliance infrastructure that is led by our consultative governance approach.

從長遠來看，擁有合適的人才、流程和系統將使我們能夠繼續發展合作夥伴解決方案。團隊主要產生非利息收入，使我們的收入來源多樣化。隨著對嵌入式金融的需求不斷增加，再加上金融科技和其他以支付為重點的公司的創新，我們業務在這方面的成長機會巨大。我們提供一系列產品：發行；取得；數位支付，包括直接扣款和 ACH；金融機構解決方案；信用解決方案；以及專業的稅務解決方案，使得 Pathward 能夠為合作夥伴提供一系列產品。我們可以提供多種解決方案，同時提供專業知識、卓越的營運、真正的合作夥伴關係以及由我們的諮詢治理方法主導的成熟風險和合規基礎設施。

Now, I'd like to turn it over to Greg, who will take you through the financials and guidance in more detail.

現在，我想把麥克風交給格雷格，他將向您更詳細地介紹財務狀況和指導。

Thank you, Brad. The first-quarter results included growth in net interest income and noninterest income. Net interest income grew 6% despite the sale of the insurance premium finance business, which closed on October 31. The net interest margin of 6.84% and adjusted net interest margin of 5.41% expanded when compared to the prior year's quarter. This is primarily due to a mix shift to higher-yielding assets as well as an increase in yields across our lending businesses.

謝謝你，布拉德。第一季的業績包括淨利息收入和非利息收入的成長。儘管保險費融資業務於 10 月 31 日出售，淨利息收入仍增加了 6%。淨利差為 6.84%，調整後淨利差為 5.41%，較去年同期擴大。這主要是由於資產組合向高收益資產轉移以及貸款業務收益率上升。

Sequentially, both measures also expanded due to a mix shift to higher-yielding assets. Our continued efforts to increase new production yields produced a 9.45% average yield on commercial finance loans and leases originated during the quarter compared to the last quarter's yield on the same portfolio of 8.49%.

隨後，由於資產組合向高收益資產轉移，這兩項指標也均有所擴大。我們持續努力提高新產品收益率，本季商業金融貸款和租賃的平均收益率達到 9.45%，而上一季同一投資組合的收益率為 8.49%。

Provision for credit losses was $12 million, which includes provisioning for our strong loan production in the quarter. We continue to see the benefit from our strong credit and collateral management. Noninterest income increased 9% and when compared to the prior year's quarter, primarily due to an increase in gain on loan sales. This was in line with our focus on having optionality on the balance sheet, including the sale of eligible loans.

信貸損失準備金為 1,200 萬美元，其中包括本季強勁貸款產出的準備金。我們繼續看到強大的信用和抵押品管理帶來的好處。與去年同期相比，非利息收入增加了 9%，這主要歸因於貸款銷售收益的增加。這符合我們對資產負債表可選性的關注，包括出售合格貸款。

Total noninterest expense increased 4% versus the same quarter last year, primarily due to an increase in compensation and benefits, partially offset by decreases in contractual rate-related card processing expenses. The increase in compensation and benefits is largely due to hiring additional talent on our technology team. This is a direct reflection of our comments last quarter where we detailed to you some of the work we've been doing in technology, and the investments in people and talent aligned to that work.

總非利息支出較去年同期增加 4%，主要由於薪酬和福利增加，但部分被合約利率相關的卡片處理費用的減少所抵消。薪資和福利的增加主要是因為我們的技術團隊聘用了更多的人才。這直接反映了我們上個季度的評論，當時我們向您詳細介紹了我們在技術方面所做的一些工作，以及與這項工作相關的對人才的投資。

Finally, we did recognize a gain on the sale of our insurance premium finance business. But during the quarter, we also sold approximately $175 million in par value securities at a loss that largely offset the gain, thereby largely neutralizing the impact on the income statement. We use some of the proceeds of both of these sales to repay outstanding short-term borrowings and the remainder was used to fund loans or shifted to custodial deposits.

最後，我們確實確認了保險費融資業務出售的收益。但在本季度，我們也出售了約 1.75 億美元的面額證券，虧損在很大程度上抵消了收益，從而在很大程度上抵消了對損益表的影響。我們利用這兩次銷售的部分收益來償還未償還的短期借款，其餘部分則用於資助貸款或轉為託管存款。

Deposits held on the company's balance sheet at December 31 totaled $6.5 billion, a decrease of around $400 million from the prior year. This primarily reflects the repayment of wholesale deposits and our return of inactive EIP deposits to the treasury. Sequentially, deposits grew $644 million following our normal seasonal patterns.

截至 12 月 31 日，該公司資產負債表上的存款總額為 65 億美元，比上年減少約 4 億美元。這主要反映了批發存款的償還以及我們將不活躍的 EIP 存款返還給國庫。與上一季相比，存款成長了 6.44 億美元，符合正常的季節性模式。

Custodial deposits held at partner banks at December 31 totaled $840 million compared to $1.1 billion last year. However, average balances for the quarter were $388 million compared to $379 million last year. Total loans and leases at December 31 were $4.6 billion, slightly above the balance of $4.4 billion from a year ago.

截至 12 月 31 日，合作銀行持有的託管存款總額為 8.4 億美元，去年同期為 11 億美元。不過，本季的平均餘額為 3.88 億美元，而去年同期為 3.79 億美元。截至 12 月 31 日的貸款和租賃總額為 46 億美元，略高於去年同期的 44 億美元餘額。

If you take into account the fact that we completed the sale of our insurance premium finance business, which reduced the balance by approximately $600 million, we saw some pretty incredible growth. This is primarily due to higher term lending balances, particularly renewable energy construction loans that convert to USDA, as well as asset-based lending and warehouse. Origination in these loan verticals has been deliberate as they provide us with either higher risk-adjusted returns or optionality on the balance sheet.

如果考慮到我們完成了保險費融資業務的出售，這使餘額減少了約 6 億美元，我們看到了相當驚人的成長。這主要是由於定期貸款餘額較高，特別是轉換為美國農業部的可再生能源建設貸款，以及資產抵押貸款和倉庫貸款。這些貸款垂直領域的起源是經過深思熟慮的，因為它們為我們提供了更高的風險調整回報或資產負債表上的可選性。

Our liquidity remains strong with approximately $4 billion available. This is slightly higher than where we were last year at this time, and we are extremely pleased with our position. The securities portfolio will continue to draw down by approximately $250 million over the next 12 months, giving us additional capacity to optimize the balance sheet.

我們的流動性依然強勁，有約 40 億美元可用。這比去年同期略高，我們對我們的狀況非常滿意。未來 12 個月，證券投資組合將繼續減少約 2.5 億美元，這將為我們優化資產負債表提供額外的能力。

Finally, during the quarter, we repurchased approximately 702,000 shares at an average share price of $74.5. With the sale of the insurance premium finance business, we had more flexibility in executing share repurchases this quarter, and we made the decision to accelerate them.

最後，在本季度，我們以平均每股 74.5 美元的價格回購了約 702,000 股。隨著保險費融資業務的出售，我們在本季度執行股票回購時擁有了更大的靈活性，並且我們決定加快股票回購。

We are reiterating our fiscal year 2025 GAAP earnings per diluted share guidance range of $7.25 to $7.75. This includes a number of assumptions, no rate cuts for the remainder of the year. We expect net interest margins to exceed those of fiscal 2024 as a result of our strategy to optimize the balance sheet. We still expect an effective tax rate of 18% to 22%. Guidance also includes expected share repurchases.

我們重申 2025 財年 GAAP 每股攤薄收益預期範圍為 7.25 美元至 7.75 美元。這包括一系列假設，今年剩餘時間內不會降息。由於我們優化資產負債表的策略，我們預期淨利差將超過 2024 財年的水準。我們仍預期有效稅率為18%至22%。該指引還包括預期的股票回購。

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

我們的準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，請打開電話線以回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Frank Schiraldi, Piper Sandler.

（操作員指示）Frank Schiraldi、Piper Sandler。

Hey, good afternoon.

嘿，下午好。

Hi, Frank.

你好，弗蘭克。

Just wanted to start with the commercial finance business. You saw really strong growth in the quarter. I think, Brett, you mentioned a new renewable energy partnership. Just curious, your thoughts, you noted you expect the momentum to continue. Just wondering your thoughts on expectations of growth rates going forward in this business over the near term?

只是想從商業金融業務開始。您看到本季成長確實強勁。布雷特，我想你提到了新的再生能源夥伴關係。只是好奇，你的想法是，你注意到你預計這種勢頭將會繼續下去。只是想知道您對短期內該業務的成長率預期有何看法？

Yeah. I mean, I think we'll continue to emphasize that product set. Part of it is -- it is a product that gives us a lot of optionality. And you're seeing that even in our returns this quarter where you can enter in transactions, they ultimately result in a salable loan, and so we really like that business model.

是的。我的意思是，我認為我們會繼續強調該產品系列。部分原因是——它是一種為我們提供了許多可選性的產品。而且您會看到，即使在本季的回報中，您也可以輸入交易，最終會產生可銷售的貸款，因此我們非常喜歡這種商業模式。

Part of your question may be around shifts in the political environment. And I think there's some potential of some slowdown, but there still needs to be a lot of investment in energy infrastructure in the country, I think about battery storage is an area that no matter what happens, we're going to need. There's going to be a demand for AI power. And so I think it's still going to be good and strong. It may not jump as much in future quarters as it did this time, but I still expect growth there.

您的問題的一部分可能與政治環境的變化有關。我認為可能會出現一些放緩的跡象，但國家仍然需要在能源基礎設施方面進行大量投資，我認為無論發生什麼，電池儲存都是我們需要的領域。對人工智慧的需求將會出現。因此我認為它仍然會很好而且強勁。未來幾季它可能不會像這次一樣有如此大的漲幅，但我仍然預計會出現成長。

Okay. And then correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like that the higher for longer in terms of the rate outlook is, I think, the best scenario for your balance sheet and earnings pickup. And so we definitely seem like we've gotten more -- a little better clarity maybe into that versus where we were three months ago. So just curious the guide was reiterated full-year bottom-line EPS guide. But shouldn't you benefit from this higher for longer rate picture, which should otherwise boost expectations a bit?

好的。如果我錯了，請糾正我，但我覺得，就利率前景而言，長期維持較高的利率對你的資產負債表和獲利成長來說是最好的情況。因此，與三個月前相比，我們似乎確實獲得了更多的了解——可能對此有了更清晰的認識。所以只是好奇，該指南重申了全年底線每股盈餘指南。但你不應該從這種長期利率走高的情況中獲益嗎，否則這應該會稍微提升預期？

Yeah. I think a few things, and then maybe Greg can comment on it. You're right. However, longer, assuming curve -- yield curve, which we're getting right now, is good for us. And so that's definitely a tailwind. As we kind of think about what's coming, though, some of it depends on which assets you have the continued growth at. So some assets are get a better benefit from that than others, and so we're looking at those pieces.

是的。我想到了一些事情，然後格雷格也許可以對此發表評論。你說得對。然而，更長遠的假設曲線——我們現在得到的殖利率曲線對我們有利。所以這無疑是個順風。然而，當我們思考未來會發生什麼事時，我們會發現有些事情取決於哪些資產能夠持續成長。因此，有些資產比其他資產從中獲得更好的收益，所以我們正在關注這些資產。

One thing I would tell you is we always look at our tax season, and we want to see what happens to the tax season before we have any conversations. And so that's certainly partly in our mind, we think it's going to be a great year, but you wait to see that kind of coming through.

我想告訴你的一件事是，我們總是專注於我們的納稅季節，我們想在進行任何對話之前了解納稅季節的情況。所以，這當然在某種程度上是我們的想法，我們認為這將是偉大的一年，但您還要等待，看看它是否會實現。

The last thing I would say is we are contemplating various kinds of investments over time, and we've been doing it for a while. We'll continue to be doing some things in the technology area, risk and compliance to match the volumes that we have added and those kinds of things. So we'll have more to say about that later, but there's good tailwinds, but more potentially to come.

我最後要說的是，我們正在考慮進行各種投資，而且我們已經這樣做了一段時間。我們將繼續在技術、風險和合規領域做一些事情，以匹配我們增加的業務量和諸如此類的事情。因此，我們稍後會對此進行更多討論，但目前已經有了良好的順風，但未來還可能出現更多變化。

Okay. And then just lastly, just on the partnerships, you mentioned the two large partnerships on the Partner Solutions side that you re-upped. Just curious, any as you re-up these contracts, is there any broad-based read through in terms of any changes to the economics? Are you seeing any pressure on pricing? Any improvement on pricing? Any change in the economics, broadly speaking, that's number one.

好的。最後，關於合作夥伴關係，您提到了在合作夥伴解決方案方面重新建立的兩個大型合作夥伴關係。只是好奇，當您重新簽訂這些合約時，是否有任何關於經濟變化的廣泛解讀？您是否感受到定價方面的壓力？定價方面有任何改善嗎？從廣義上講，經濟方面的任何變化都是第一位的。

And then two, just wondering if you can give any further detail on the new partner you signed post-quarter? Thanks.

其次，我想知道您是否可以提供有關本季度後簽署的新合作夥伴的更多詳細資訊？謝謝。

Yeah. On the economics, obviously, not to any specific deal, but because of the rate environment, there is continued pressure and discussion on what do we call (inaudible) commission deposits, contractual fee --

是的。從經濟角度來看，顯然不是針對任何具體交易，而是因為利率環境，我們所說的佣金存款、合約費持續受到壓力和討論。--

Contractual-related processing fee.

合約相關的加工費。

Processing fees. So I think some of that, there's pressure there. We try to offset that with other kinds of transaction fees, et cetera. And that's not necessarily about those two, but that's generally what we're seeing as we go through this and people are just more attuned to the rate environment.

加工費。因此，我認為這裡存在一些壓力。我們嘗試透過其他類型的交易費用等來抵消這筆費用。這不一定與這兩個因素有關，但我們在經歷這個過程時通常會看到這種情況，人們只是更加關注利率環境。

Don't really want to comment on the one was announced after the fact. Just know that pipelines are full. All these things are constantly being looked at and particularly both in the partner's interest in our interest long before contracts expire looking for extensions of those because nobody wants to go through a switching process.

我真的不想對事後宣布的消息發表評論。只知道管道已滿。所有這些事情我們都在不斷關注，特別是為了合作夥伴的利益和我們的利益，早在合同到期之前就尋求延長合同，因為沒有人願意經歷轉換過程。

Sure. No, that makes sense. Okay, that's all. Thank you.

當然。不，這很有道理。好的，就這些。謝謝。

Thanks, Frank.

謝謝，弗蘭克。

Tim Switzer, KBW.

提姆‧斯威策，KBW。

Hey, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my questions. I have a follow-up on, I guess, the partner pipeline here and it's been about a year plus of some disruption in the banking as a service industry. Has that created a lot of opportunities for you guys more recently? And how do you see this evolving over the course of the new administration. Do you see any relief possibly on the regulatory side, or do you think this will continue to create opportunities for you, given the disruption?

嘿，下午好。感謝您回答我的問題。我想，我對這裡的合作夥伴管道進行了跟踪，銀行業即服務業已經經歷了大約一年多的混亂。這是否為你們最近創造了很多機會？您認為新政府執政期間此情況將如何發展？您是否認為監管方面可能會有所緩解？ 或者，考慮到目前的混亂，您是否認為這將繼續為您創造機會？

Yeah. The headline would be, yes. This is going to continue to give us opportunities I think you've got to bifurcate the political regulatory environment into two groups. It is obviously true that there is going to be a change in tone at the top in general bank regulatory environments, which is going to provide some relief. And you've got FDIC statement that came out today, all of which are very good news for the banking industry in general.

是的。標題是，是的。這將繼續為我們提供機會，我認為你必須將政治監管環境分為兩類。顯然，整體銀行監管環境的高層基調將會改變，這將帶來一些緩解。今天，聯邦存款保險公司 (FDIC) 發布了聲明，這對整個銀行業來說都是非常好的消息。

However, in those areas where there is potential for customer harm. There's going to be a bipartisan view that you can't do that. And so I think in our specific narrow space, there will continue to be a considerable pressure from a regulatory environment just to prevent that kind of customer harm.

然而，在那些可能對顧客造成傷害的地區。兩黨都會一致認為你不能這樣做。因此，我認為在我們特定的狹窄空間內，監管環境將繼續施加相當大的壓力，以防止此類客戶傷害。

Yeah. Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Switching topics here a little bit. It looks like commercial charge-offs ticked up just a little bit. Can you provide some color on what you guys are seeing there and kind of the outlook for the rest of the portfolio, excluding the tax business?

是的。好的，這很有道理。這裡稍微轉換一下話題。看起來商業沖銷額略有增加。您能否提供一些您所看到的情況以及除稅收業務之外的其餘投資組合的前景？

You know, we always look at commercial charge-offs within a range and there are one-offs every quarter come and go. Sometimes it's a charge-off in the next quarter, it's a recovery there's nothing happening in that portfolio that's unexpected, and it's very much within the ranges that we've been over time. So there's nothing happening there. It's just normal business that we have that usually has an individual story.

你知道，我們總是專注在一定範圍內的商業沖銷，而且每季都會有一次性的沖銷。有時它會在下一季沖銷，有時會出現復甦，投資組合中不會發生任何意外的事情，而且它在我們長期以來的範圍內。所以那裡沒有發生任何事。這只是我們的正常業務，通常都有一個獨特的故事。

Yeah. And the only thing I would add, Tim, is when you look at the credit metrics for the quarter, charge-off past dues, and the like, everything is either stable or improving. Just as another a couple of more data points you can look at, but I agree with press commentary on that.

是的。提姆，我唯一想補充的是，當你查看本季的信用指標、註銷逾期款項等時，你會發現一切都很穩定或正在改善。就像您可以查看的另外幾個數據點一樣，但我同意媒體對此的評論。

Okay. And the last question I had is do you guys have any other plans for like securities restructuring or redeployment of remixing the balance sheet following the commercial finance business sale beyond just moving into the higher-yielding loan categories you guys have talked about previously?

好的。我的最後一個問題是，除了之前談到的轉向高收益貸款類別之外，你們在商業金融業務出售後還有其他計劃嗎？

Well, I never say never on a securities remixing, I think we'd have to be opportunistic on it. We're pretty comfortable with what's there, and it's rolling down over the next 12 months, and it's a fairly five-year duration, which is fairly short. So I'm not sure I see the impetus to go out and just kind of blindly to it, but opportunistically perhaps.

好吧，我永遠不會對證券混合說不，我認為我們必須對此抱持機會主義的態度。我們對目前的情況非常滿意，而且它將在未來 12 個月內逐步下滑，持續時間相當長，為五年，相當短。所以我不確定我是否看到了走出去的動力，並且只是盲目地去做，但也許是機會主義的。

As it relates to broader just remixing though. I mean, we've got some really good verticals on the balance sheet right now with a lot of good momentum behind them. We're always looking to evaluate where are the opportunities, where there might be gaps either in the markets we're in or adjacencies. So you might see some of that come up over the next 12 to 18 months. But right now, we're actually really comfortable with the risk-adjusted returns we have on the portfolio we've got. I'd like to continue to take a bit of duration. I think we're at that point in the rate cycle where more duration is helpful, which we definitely did this past quarter. But I think just remixing what we've got. It's actually a pretty good strategy. It's been working for us.

因為它與更廣泛的混音有關。我的意思是，我們目前在資產負債表上有一些非常好的垂直行業，而且它們背後有很多良好的發展勢頭。我們始終在尋求評估機會在哪裡，以及我們所在的市場或相鄰市場中可能存在哪些空白。因此，您可能會在未來 12 到 18 個月內看到其中的一些情況。但目前，我們對所持有的投資組合的風險調整回報實際上感到非常滿意。我想繼續花一點時間。我認為我們正處於利率週期的這個節點，更長的期限是有幫助的，我們上個季度確實做到了這一點。但我認為只是重新混合我們已經得到的東西。這實際上是一個非常好的策略。它一直對我們起作用。

Perfect. Okay. Thank you, guys.

完美的。好的。謝謝你們。

David Feaster, Raymond James.

大衛菲斯特、雷蒙詹姆斯。

Hi, good afternoon, everybody.

大家下午好。

Hey, David.

嘿，大衛。

I just wanted to touch on the credit sponsorship side. I mean you touched on seeing stronger volumes. I know this is a focus for you all. Could you just touch on where you're having the most success where you're having -- where you're seeing most opportunities what types of credit or industries are you primarily focused in? And when would you expect to see more partners added to this segment and maybe accelerate growth even further?

我只是想談談信用贊助方面。我的意思是你提到了看到更強的交易量。我知道這是大家關注的焦點。您能否簡單談談您在哪些方面取得的最大成功？您預計何時會有更多的合作夥伴加入這一領域，並進一步加速成長？

You know, it's interesting, David, that if there's any place or the story of regulatory pressure has created opportunities for us it's in this space. Frankly, we have new partners and/or existing partners with new volumes that have come to us because other partner banks missteps and some of the third-party comments. And so that's why we're getting that growth. And we suspect that's going to continue for a period of time. And we like this because it's waterfall credit protected.

你知道，大衛，有趣的是，如果有任何地方或監管壓力的故事為我們創造了機會，那就是在這個領域。坦白說，我們有了新的合作夥伴和/或現有的合作夥伴，他們的新業務量是因為其他合作銀行的失誤和一些第三方的評論而來的。這就是我們實現成長的原因。我們懷疑這種情況會持續一段時間。我們喜歡這個，因為它具有瀑布信用保護。

As we talked about, it comes on the balance sheet. It goes off the balance sheet. So it gives us a lot of optionality, make fees in that. So it's a good space to be in. And well, we talk about sort of the traditional payment side of this, giving us opportunities because of the compliance environment, we've actually seen more actual closed opportunities in this space.

正如我們剛才所說，它出現在資產負債表上。它不再計入資產負債表。因此，它為我們提供了多種選擇，並可收取費用。所以這是一個很好的空間。我們談論的是傳統支付方面，合規環境為我們提供了機會，我們實際上看到了這個領域更多實際的封閉機會。

That's great. And then within the working capital finance side, you guys have touched on that this is -- I mean, you've seen really nice growth there. obviously, ABL has seen really nice growth. You touched on this -- we've talked about this business historically doing well during an economic downturn.

那太棒了。然後在營運資金融資方面，你們已經提到了這一點——我的意思是，你們看到了那裡非常好的成長。顯然，ABL 取得了非常好的成長。您提到了這一點——我們曾經討論過，從歷史上看，該業務在經濟低迷時期表現良好。

I mean is this any indication of that? Or is this you all gaining share and adding new partners? Or are there other factors that are driving outsized growth there and maybe somewhat of a countercyclical business.

我的意思是這能表明這一點嗎？或者這是你們都在獲得份額並增加新的合作夥伴？或者是否存在其他因素推動了該行業的超高速成長以及某種程度上的逆週期業務。

I don't think this growth is a common at all on the economy. Sometimes this area grows because of the shifts in the economy. We've done a little bit more work on focusing on our distribution capabilities here. And I think that's what's happened here. We really like this asset class.

我認為這種成長對經濟來說根本不常見。有時，這個區域會因為經濟的變化而擴大。我們在這裡做了更多工作來專注於我們的分銷能力。我想這就是這裡發生的事情。我們非常喜歡這個資產類別。

We've got a secret sauce around it. It has excellent risk-adjusted returns. We're really good at it. It's a core in the heart of the lending business from the very beginning that makes up the old Crestmark to -- we really like it, but this growth was largely because of some improvements we made in the overall distribution.

我們有秘方。它具有出色的風險調整回報。我們確實擅長這個。從一開始它就是貸款業務的核心，構成了舊的 Crestmark——我們真的很喜歡它，但這種增長主要是因為我們在整體分銷方面所做的一些改進。

Okay, that's great. Glad to hear that. And then just last one for me. You touched on tax season, you've got 12% more enrolled offices. It sounds like things are starting out. Could you just touch on what your -- how to think about the tax business, what you're seeing and what's driving the increase in offices that are enrolling?

好的，太好了。很高興聽到這個消息。這對我來說只剩下最後一個了。您提到了納稅季，您的註冊辦事處增加了 12%。聽起來事情已經開始有進展了。您能否簡單談談您如何看待稅務業務、您所看到的情況以及推動註冊辦事處數量增加的因素？

We've been doing this a while. We've got a good management team top professionals at it with many, many decades of experience. They're doing a reasonable job of grabbing market share. And we'll see. We'll report on the rest of that later on once it comes through.

我們已經這樣做有一段時間了。我們擁有一支優秀的管理團隊，由數十年豐富經驗的頂尖專業人士組成。他們在搶佔市場份額方面做得很好。我們將會看到。一旦其餘內容完成，我們將稍後報告。

All right. Thanks, everybody.

好的。謝謝大家。

Thanks, David.

謝謝，大衛。

Thank you for your question, and that concludes Pathward Financial's investor conference call. Thank you.

感謝您的提問，Pathward Financial 的投資者電話會議到此結束。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。