Eastern Bankshares Inc (EBC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Eastern Bankshares, Inc., fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Today's call will include forward-looking statements, including statements about Eastern's future financial and operating results, outlook, business strategies, and plans, as well as other opportunities and potential risks that management foresees.

您好，歡迎參加 Eastern Bankshares, Inc. 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。今天的電話會議將包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關東方航空未來財務和經營業績、前景、業務戰略和計劃以及管理層預見的其他機會和潛在風險的陳述。

Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current estimates or beliefs and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or the timing of events to differ materially from the views expressed today. More information about such risks and uncertainties is set forth under the caption Forward-Looking Statements in the earnings press release as well as in the Risk Factors section and other disclosures in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements made during this call represent management's views and estimates as of today, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

此類前瞻性陳述反映了管理層目前的估計或信念，並受到風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果或事件發生的時間與今天表達的觀點有重大差異。有關此類風險和不確定性的更多信息，請參見收益新聞稿中的“前瞻性陳述”標題以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期文件中的“風險因素”部分和其他披露內容。本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述均代表管理層截至目前的觀點和估計，本公司不承擔因新資訊或未來事件而更新這些陳述的義務。

During the call, the company will also discuss both GAAP and certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of GAAP to the non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the company's earnings press release, which can be found at investor.easternbank.com. Please note this event is being recorded.

在電話會議期間，該公司還將討論公認會計原則和某些非公認會計原則財務指標。有關 GAAP 與非 GAAP 財務指標的調整表，請參閱該公司的收益新聞稿，該新聞稿可在 Investor.easternbank.com 上找到。請注意此事件正在被記錄。

(Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Bob Rivers, Chair and CEO. Please go ahead.

（操作員指示）我現在想將會議轉交給主席兼執行長 Bob Rivers。請繼續。

Thank you, Julie. Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining our fourth-quarter earnings call. I hope your 2024 is off to a good start. With me today is Jim Fitzgerald, our Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officer, who will review our financials in a few minutes.

謝謝你，朱莉。大家，早安。感謝您參加我們的第四季財報電話會議。我希望您的 2024 年有一個好的開始。今天和我在一起的是我們的首席行政兼首席財務官吉姆·菲茨杰拉德（Jim Fitzgerald），他將在幾分鐘內審查我們的財務狀況。

As I reflect on the year 2023, it was a year of strategic repositioning for Eastern. We remain nimble in navigating in a certain environment while remaining focused on our strategic priorities. We have emerged from 2023 better and stronger despite all the year's challenges and believe we are well positioned for success in 2024 and beyond.

回顧2023年，這是東方航空戰略重新定位的一年。我們在特定環境中保持靈活，同時繼續專注於我們的策略重點。儘管面臨著許多挑戰，2023 年我們仍然變得更好、更強，並相信我們已做好準備，在 2024 年及以後取得成功。

As we entered 2023, Eastern and all banks were facing a big challenge with higher interest rates, changing customer preferences, which placed a greater emphasis on liquidity and general economic headwinds. As you all know, these conditions led to the failures of a few US banks, marking a very tumultuous time for our industry.

進入 2023 年，東方銀行和所有銀行都面臨利率上升、客戶偏好變化的巨大挑戰，這更強調了流動性和總體經濟逆風。眾所周知，這些情況導致一些美國銀行倒閉，標誌著我們行業的一個非常動盪的時期。

We responded quickly and boldly to this environment by restructuring our securities portfolio in the first quarter. The sale allowed us to immediately improve both our funding position and our earnings outlook. When we look back at this transaction, we are very pleased with the outcomes and very glad we did it early when the industry headwinds became apparent.

我們對這種環境做出了快速而大膽的反應，在第一季重組了我們的證券投資組合。此次出售使我們能夠立即改善我們的資金狀況和獲利前景。當我們回顧這筆交易時，我們對結果非常滿意，並且很高興我們在行業逆風變得明顯時儘早完成了這項交易。

After the securities repositioning, we move forward to sell our insurance agency business, Eastern Insurance Group. This, too, was a very difficult decision as Eastern Insurance had been a core part of Eastern and a significant piece of our culture. The transaction, which closed in the fourth quarter, exceeded our expectations.

證券重新定位後，我們將繼續出售保險代理業務東方保險集團。這也是一個非常困難的決定，因為東方保險一直是東方保險的核心部分，也是我們文化的重要組成部分。該交易於第四季度完成，超出了我們的預期。

The valuation premium was very significant, and the transaction further strengthened our financial foundation with enhanced liquidity and capital. The transaction also allowed us to think opportunistically about the future.

估價溢價非常可觀，此交易進一步增強了我們的財務基礎，增強了流動性和資本。這次交易也讓我們能夠機會主義地思考未來。

While we were working on the insurance sale, we were able to come to an agreement with Denis Sheahan and the Cambridge Bancorp Board on the merger we announced in September. The merger with Cambridge meets all of our acquisition criteria in powerful ways. It is an in-market merger with an extremely attractive partner that we know well and have long respected for their strong banking franchise and leading wealth management platform.

當我們致力於保險銷售時，我們與 Denis Sheahan 和 Cambridge Bancorp 董事會就我們 9 月宣布的合併達成協議。與劍橋的合併以強有力的方式滿足了我們所有的收購標準。這是一次與極具吸引力的合作夥伴的市場內合併，我們非常了解該合作夥伴，並因其強大的銀行業務和領先的財富管理平台而長期受到尊重。

The combination strengthens our market position in core markets, solidifies our leading position among banks headquartered in the Greater Boston area, more than doubles our wealth business, and significantly enhances our financial performance metrics. As a result of these strategic transactions, we entered 2024 with great optimism, strength, and excitement for our future. Although we recognize we need to finish the job and obtain both shareholder and regulatory approval for the merger, we believe we are on track for both and look forward to closing early in the second quarter.

此次合併增強了我們在核心市場的市場地位，鞏固了我們在總部位於大波士頓地區的銀行中的領先地位，使我們的財富業務增加了一倍以上，並顯著提高了我們的財務績效指標。這些策略交易的結果是，我們帶著極大的樂觀、力量和對未來的興奮進入了 2024 年。儘管我們認識到我們需要完成這項工作並獲得股東和監管機構對合併的批准，但我們相信我們正在按計劃實現這兩項目標，並期待在第二季初完成。

As Jim will detail, we expect the first half of 2024 to be focused on the preparation, closing, and banking conversion of Cambridge, but the strategic benefits of the transaction will be clear in our second-half results when the noise settles down. This is very exciting for us.

正如吉姆將詳細介紹的那樣，我們預計 2024 年上半年將重點關注劍橋的準備、關閉和銀行業務轉換，但當噪音平息後，該交易的戰略利益將在我們的下半年業績中顯現出來。這對我們來說非常令人興奮。

When we went public in 2020, our goal was to deploy the capital raised in ways that would allow us to generate very competitive returns and build a leading independent Boston banking franchise. We are confident the second half of 2024 will demonstrate success (technical difficulty) both these ambitions. And we look forward to communicating our updates and results along the way.

當我們在 2020 年上市時，我們的目標是以能夠產生非常有競爭力的回報並建立領先的獨立波士頓銀行特許經營權的方式部署籌集的資金。我們有信心 2024 年下半年這兩個目標將會成功（技術難度）。我們期待著一路交流我們的最新情況和結果。

The differences between the start of 2023 and that of 2024 are of vivid contrast. We very much look forward to executing on all of our plans with Cambridge as our partner and are confident that we will achieve the financial targets we laid out back in September. Jim will go through those in more detail shortly.

2023年初和2024年的差異形成了鮮明的對比。我們非常期待與劍橋作為我們的合作夥伴一起執行我們的所有計劃，並相信我們將實現 9 月制定的財務目標。吉姆很快就會更詳細地討論這些內容。

As I turn it over to Jim to discuss all of this in more detail, I offer my endless gratitude and appreciation for our dedicated colleagues at Eastern for persevering through one of the busiest and most stressful years of our careers, but nonetheless, one of the most successful at Eastern as we better position the company financially and strategically. Through their extraordinary efforts in so many ways, they repeatedly demonstrated unfailing support for our customers and community partners and each other through often challenging economic circumstances while putting us in a position for what we believe will be a very successful 2024.

當我把它交給吉姆來更詳細地討論所有這些問題時，我對東方航空的敬業同事表示無限的感激和讚賞，他們堅持度過了我們職業生涯中最忙碌和壓力最大的幾年之一，但儘管如此，東方航空最為成功，因為我們在財務和策略上更好地定位了公司。透過他們在多方面的非凡努力，他們在經常充滿挑戰的經濟環境中反覆展示了對我們的客戶和社區合作夥伴以及彼此的堅定支持，同時使我們能夠在 2024 年取得非常成功的業績。

I'd also like to again recognize our former Eastern Insurance colleagues. As you can see from our financial results, the value that was created by their hard work over a long period of time resulted in exceptional valuation for their business and gain for our shareholders. We are confident that AJ Gallagher is a great employer for our former colleagues at Eastern Insurance, and we wish them the very best.

我還要再次感謝我們以前的東方保險同事。正如您從我們的財務表現中看到的那樣，他們長期辛勤工作所創造的價值為他們的業務帶來了非凡的估值，並為我們的股東帶來了收益。我們相信 AJ Gallagher 是東方保險公司前同事的優秀雇主，我們祝福他們一切順利。

And now I'll turn it over to Jim.

現在我將把它交給吉姆。

Great. Thank you, Bob. And good morning, everyone. As Bob mentioned, the fourth quarter closed a very busy year for us with the securities repositioning in early 2023, the sale of Eastern Insurance late in the year, and the announcement of the merger with Cambridge in September. Sale of Eastern Insurance closed in the fourth quarter and is included in our results. It had a very large and positive impact with a gain of $295 million after tax, which led to improved capital ratios.

偉大的。謝謝你，鮑伯。大家早安。正如 Bob 所提到的，第四季對我們來說是非常忙碌的一年，2023 年初進行了證券重新定位，年底出售了東方保險，並於 9 月宣布了與劍橋的合併。東方保險的出售已於第四季度完成，並包含在我們的業績中。它產生了非常大的正面影響，稅後收益達到 2.95 億美元，從而提高了資本比率。

The net cash proceeds of about $500 million had a positive impact on our liquidity position as well. All in all, we continue to be pleased with the execution of the transaction, which exceeded all of our expectations.

約 5 億美元的淨現金收益也對我們的流動性狀況產生了正面影響。總而言之，我們對交易的執行仍然感到滿意，這超出了我們的所有預期。

In addition to the gain and the movement of insurance results to discontinued operations, Q4 had some additional noise with the FDIC special assessment of $10.8 million and some higher compensation expenses. I will go through those through my remarks.

除了收益和保險業績向已終止業務的變動之外，第四季還出現了一些額外的噪音，FDIC 特別評估為 1,080 萬美元，補償費用也較高。我將透過我的發言來闡述這些內容。

First, I'll touch on some highlights of the quarter. Net income for the quarter was $318.5 million or $1.95 per diluted share and was driven by the gain on the insurance transaction of $295 million, which is slightly higher than we projected at the time of the announcement back in September.

首先，我將談談本季的一些亮點。本季淨利為 3.185 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.95 美元，主要得益於 2.95 億美元的保險交易收益，該收益略高於我們在 9 月發佈公告時的預期。

The transaction improved our TCE ratio by over 3 percentage points and our CET1 ratio by 2.5 percentage points from Q3. The combination of the cash proceeds from the sale and strong deposit performance in the quarter allowed us to reduce our broker deposits and FHLB advances by $1 billion, and we ended the quarter with a nominal amount of wholesale funding.

與第三季相比，此交易使我們的 TCE 比率提高了 3 個百分點以上，CET1 比率提高了 2.5 個百分點。出售帶來的現金收益和本季強勁的存款表現相結合，使我們能夠將經紀人存款和 FHLB 預付款減少 10 億美元，並且我們在本季度結束時獲得了名義金額的批發資金。

As I mentioned, deposit performance was stronger in the quarter than we had expected and better than the prior couple of quarters. Excluding broker deposits, our core deposits increased by over $500 million in the quarter. We continue to see migration out of lower cost accounts into higher costs, but at a slower rate than the prior quarters.

正如我所提到的，本季的存款表現強於我們的預期，也優於前幾季。不包括經紀人存款，本季我們的核心存款增加了 5 億多美元。我們繼續看到成本從較低的帳戶轉向更高的成本，但速度比前幾季慢。

Loan growth continues to be slow, primarily due to market conditions, although we have had a cautious approach while the environment has stabilized. Loan growth in the quarter was 1.5% on an annualized basis. Although we experienced an increase in nonperforming loans and charge-offs in the quarter, overall levels continue to be modest. We've had very good success in resolving problems as they come up. Of the three office loans that moved to NPL status in the third quarter, which we had mentioned as part of our Q3 results, one property has been sold, one is under contract for sale, and one is currently being marketed.

儘管我們在環境穩定的情況下採取了謹慎的態度，但貸款成長仍然緩慢，主要是由於市場狀況。本季貸款年化成長率為 1.5%。儘管本季不良貸款和沖銷有所增加，但整體水準仍然較低。我們在解決出現的問題方面取得了非常好的成功。在第三季轉為不良貸款狀態的三筆辦公室貸款中，我們在第三季業績中提到過，其中一處房產已出售，一處房產正在簽訂銷售合同，一處房產目前正在銷售。

An additional new NPL in Q4 is also undergoing a sales process of the collateral and is under contract for sale. But the sales prices are in line with our expectations and in line with our provision levels in the third and fourth quarters. Our Board approved a dividend of $0.11 per share that's payable on March 15 to shareholders of record on March 1, 2024.

第四季新增的另一筆不良貸款也正在進行抵押品的銷售流程，並已簽署銷售合約。但銷售價格符合我們的預期，也符合我們第三季和第四季的撥備水準。我們的董事會批准了每股 0.11 美元的股息，該股息將於 3 月 15 日支付給 2024 年 3 月 1 日登記在冊的股東。

Turning to the balance sheet, assets were essentially unchanged from the third quarter at $21.1 billion. Loans were up slightly by $50 million to $14 billion, and overall deposits were up by $170 million to $17.6 billion. As mentioned, we were able to reduce our wholesale funds in the quarter by over $1 billion, and our cash position was up $84 million to $700 million. Securities increased by $140 million due to the impact of lower rates and improved valuation, which was partially offset by principal runoff.

資產負債表方面，資產與第三季基本持平，為 211 億美元。貸款小幅增加 5,000 萬美元，達到 140 億美元，存款總額增加 1.7 億美元，達到 176 億美元。如前所述，本季我們的批發資金減少了超過 10 億美元，而我們的現金部位增加了 8,400 萬美元至 7 億美元。由於利率降低和估值提高的影響，證券增加了 1.4 億美元，但部分被本金流失所抵消。

Shareholders' equity is up by $528 million, primarily due to the insurance gain, earnings, and the improvement in AOCI. We're very pleased with where the balance sheet ended the year and think our capital and liquidity should provide us with a competitive advantage over time.

股東權益增加了 5.28 億美元，主要是由於保險收益、利潤以及 AOCI 的改善。我們對今年的資產負債表非常滿意，並認為隨著時間的推移，我們的資本和流動性應該為我們提供競爭優勢。

As mentioned and as was expected, the fourth-quarter earnings had a lot of noise. The insurance gain was recorded in discontinued operations and was $295 million after tax. This led to net income of $318.5 million or $1.95 per diluted share. For the year, the insurance gain offset the securities loss earlier in the year, and net income was $232.2 million or $1.43 per diluted share.

正如所提到的和預期的那樣，第四季度的收益有很多噪音。保險收益計入已終止經營業務，稅後金額為 2.95 億美元。這導致淨利潤為 3.185 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.95 美元。今年，保險收益抵消了年初的證券損失，淨利潤為 2.322 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.43 美元。

Net interest income was $133.3 million in the fourth quarter, down from $137.2 million in the prior quarter. The reduction of $3.9 million in the quarter was due to higher interest expense. The reduction quarter to quarter was 2.8% and overall net interest income was slightly above last quarter's guidance.

第四季淨利息收入為 1.333 億美元，低於上一季的 1.372 億美元。本季減少 390 萬美元是由於利息支出增加。季減 2.8%，整體淨利息收入略高於上季指引。

The FTE net interest margin was 2.69% down from 2.77% in the third quarter. The decline in the margin was due to a faster increase in funding costs of 20 basis points, while earning assets were up 1 basis point. The primary reason loan yields were only up 1 basis point quarter to quarter were some interest recoveries that were recorded in Q3 and made our commercial loan yield higher than it would otherwise have been. The loan loss provision was $5.2 million, and I'll cover reserve levels shortly when I get to asset quality.

FTE 淨利差為 2.69%，較第三季的 2.77% 下降。利潤率下降的原因是融資成本較快成長了 20 個基點，而獲利資產則增加了 1 個基點。貸款收益率每季僅上升 1 個基點的主要原因是第三季記錄的一些利息回收，使我們的商業貸款收益率高於本來應有的水平。貸款損失準備金為 520 萬美元，當我談到資產品質時，我將很快覆蓋準備金水準。

Operating noninterest income was $21.8 million in the quarter, up from $20.7 million in the third quarter. As we discussed on the last call, the third quarter included some small losses on sales of commercial loans. Excluding that, all operating line items were in line with the prior quarter.

本季營業非利息收入為 2,180 萬美元，高於第三季的 2,070 萬美元。正如我們在上次電話會議中討論的那樣，第三季商業貸款銷售出現了一些小額虧損。除此之外，所有營運項目均與上一季持平。

Non-interest expense was $121 million in the quarter and $117.4 million on an operating basis. Included in operating expenses were the $10.8 million special assessment from the FDIC and $4.5 million of the operating portion of salary and employee benefits that are higher than where we expect them to be going forward. I'll provide more comments on our expenses going forward when I get to the outlook.

本季非利息支出為 1.21 億美元，營運支出為 1.174 億美元。營運費用中包括 FDIC 的 1,080 萬美元特別評估以及工資和員工福利營運部分的 450 萬美元，這些費用高於我們對未來的預期。當我談到前景時，我將對我們未來的支出提供更多評論。

As I mentioned in prior quarters, our tax rate was impacted by the securities loss and the insurance gain. The tax expense in the quarter on the operating results was $2.3 million.

正如我在前幾個季度提到的，我們的稅率受到證券損失和保險收益的影響。本季經營業績的稅費為 230 萬美元。

We experienced a slight increase in non-performing loans in the quarter from $47.5 million to $52.6 million. As a percentage of loans, NPLs moved modestly from 34 basis points to 38 basis points.

本季不良貸款略有增加，從 4,750 萬美元增至 5,260 萬美元。不良貸款佔貸款的百分比從 34 個基點小幅上升至 38 個基點。

Net charge-offs in the quarter were $11.4 million or 32 basis points. With essentially no net charge-offs in the first three quarters of the year, full-year net charge-offs were 9 basis points. Provision expense was $5.2 million, bringing the allowance for loan losses at the end of the quarter to $149 million or 1.07% of total loans, and the allowance covered non-performing loans by nearly three times.

本季淨沖銷額為 1,140 萬美元，即 32 個基點。由於今年前三個季度基本上沒有淨沖銷，全年淨沖銷為 9 個基點。撥備支出為 520 萬美元，使季末貸款損失準備金達到 1.49 億美元，佔貸款總額的 1.07%，不良貸款覆蓋率近三倍。

We've been very active in resolving problem loans. Of the three office NPLs from the third quarter, all are being resolved via property sales. One was sold in the fourth quarter. One is under contract and expected to sell this quarter, and the final one is being marketed. Additionally, we had one new non-office NPL in the fourth quarter that we also expect to resolve this quarter via property sale. All of the sales prices have been in line with our expectations and in line with the provisions or charge-offs we recorded in Q3 and Q4.

我們一直非常積極地解決問題貸款。在第三季的三起辦公室不良貸款中，全部都是透過房地產銷售解決的。其中一間於第四季售出。其中一件已簽訂合同，預計將於本季出售，最後一件正在上市。此外，我們在第四季度出現了一項新的非辦公不良貸款，我們也預計在本季透過房產出售來解決。所有銷售價格均符合我們的預期，並符合我們在第三季和第四季記錄的撥備或沖銷。

We updated our office portfolio page and added some more disclosure on our multifamily and shared national credit portfolios in the presentation. We appreciate the input we received from a variety of investors and analysts and hope that the added information is helpful.

我們更新了辦公室投資組合頁面，並在簡報中添加了更多有關多戶家庭和共享國家信貸投資組合的揭露資訊。我們感謝來自各種投資者和分析師的意見，並希望添加的資訊有所幫助。

We provide the outlook on two pages, one for Eastern pre-merger and then a page specific to Cambridge. For Eastern on a stand-alone basis, we expect the first and second quarters of 2024 to be similar to Q4 of 2023. We experienced better deposit performance in Q4 than we anticipated, and we expect that to help stabilize net interest income around current levels.

我們提供了兩頁的展望，一頁是東部合併前的內容，另一頁是劍橋的具體內容。對於東方航空而言，我們預計 2024 年第一季和第二季將與 2023 年第四季類似。我們在第四季的存款表現優於我們的預期，我們預計這將有助於將淨利息收入穩定在目前水準附近。

We could see some modest margin declines in early 2024 but believe the margin levels are stabilizing as well. If we do see some Fed rate reductions in 2024, that will benefit both net interest income and the margin, but that will have a greater impact in late 2024 and the full year 2025.

我們可能會看到 2024 年初利潤率略有下降，但相信利潤率水準也在趨於穩定。如果我們確實看到聯準會在 2024 年降息，這將有利於淨利息收入和利潤率，但這將在 2024 年末和 2025 年全年產生更大的影響。

We expect that the credit picture this year will be similar to Q3 and Q4 of 2023. We expect trends to start to normalize, and that will lead to increases in nonperforming loans, while we expect these to be contained. We believe our active management of loans as they become more vulnerable will help us work through the resolution process like we have seen over the last two quarters.

我們預計今年的信貸狀況將與 2023 年第三季和第四季類似。我們預計趨勢將開始正常化，這將導致不良貸款增加，但我們預計不良貸款將得到遏制。我們相信，隨著貸款變得更加脆弱，我們對貸款的積極管理將幫助我們完成解決過程，就像我們在過去兩個季度所看到的那樣。

On the expense front, as I mentioned, certain expenses were elevated in Q4 and will not recur going forward. We expect to start the first quarter with a run rate of operating expenses between $102 million and $103 million, which is in line with the guidance of last quarter. However, we have two major projects in addition to Cambridge that we are completing in the first half of 2024 that will create long-term benefits but will cause elevated expenses in the first and second quarter.

在費用方面，正如我所提到的，某些費用在第四季度有所增加，並且今後不會再出現。我們預計第一季開始時的營運費用運作率為 1.02 億美元至 1.03 億美元，這與上季的指引一致。然而，除了劍橋之外，我們還有兩個主要項目將於 2024 年上半年完成，這將創造長期效益，但會導致第一季和第二季的費用增加。

First of these is we are moving our corporate headquarters in Boston. Their themes are as you would expect. We're moving to less space with a lower aggregate cost than what we currently have. The space is also modern and well designed and will be more aligned with our hybrid working model. We moved early in the second quarter and will have elevated occupancy expense in Q1 and Q2 as we pay for moving costs and the lease overlap.

首先，我們將把公司總部遷至波士頓。他們的主題正如你所期望的那樣。我們正在搬遷到比目前更小的空間和更低的總成本。該空間也很現代化，設計精良，將更符合我們的混合工作模式。我們在第二季初搬家，由於我們支付搬家成本和租賃重疊，第一季和第二季的入住費用將會增加。

We are also updating our online and mobile banking platforms and will gradually be transitioning customers in Q1 and Q2. We're very excited about the upgrade, but we'll have some overlap of costs as we transition the product. The impact of these is expected to be $3 million each in the first two quarters of 2024 for a total of approximately $6 million.

我們也正在更新線上和手機銀行平台，並將在第一季和第二季逐步過渡客戶。我們對升級感到非常興奮，但是當我們過渡產品時，我們會出現一些成本重疊。預計 2024 年前兩個季度，這些影響將分別達到 300 萬美元，總計約 600 萬美元。

Both projects will be completed by the end of the second quarter. Although these projects will cause some elevated costs in the short term, we expect both to provide long-term benefits. We expect the tax rate to normalize in 2024 in the 22% to 23% range.

這兩個項目都將於第二季末完成。儘管這些項目會在短期內造成一些成本上升，但我們預期兩者都會帶來長期效益。我們預計稅率將在 2024 年正常化在 22% 至 23% 的範圍內。

Turning to the outlook with Cambridge, we continue to be very excited about the opportunity and confident the combined franchise will be a market leader in all respects. As a reminder, the SEC declared our S-4 effective on January 12 and the shareholder meetings are set for February 28. We continue to work with our regulators and expect to provide updates as we move forward.

談到劍橋的前景，我們仍然對這個機會感到非常興奮，並相信合併後的特許經營權將在各個方面成為市場領導者。謹此提醒，SEC 宣布我們的 S-4 於 1 月 12 日生效，股東大會定於 2 月 28 日舉行。我們將繼續與監管機構合作，並期望在前進過程中提供最新資訊。

Along with the Cambridge team, we've made significant progress in planning for the integrations. Banking integration is planned for the second quarter, and the wealth integration is scheduled for Q3. We believe both conversion plans are tracking very well. We have spent considerable time reviewing and updating all of the financial information we outlined at the announcement last September, and we provide an update on slide 19.

我們與劍橋團隊一起在規劃整合方面取得了重大進展。銀行整合計畫在第二季進行，財富整合計畫在第三季進行。我們相信這兩個轉換計劃進展順利。我們花了大量時間審查和更新去年 9 月公告中概述的所有財務信息，並在幻燈片 19 上提供了更新。

As you can see, we have confidence in our ability to meet or exceed just about all of the key financial metrics and are still working through our capital management planning. Our pro forma operating metrics with Cambridge are significant improvements to our stand-alone financial metrics. We're confident that the combination with Cambridge will provide us with a richer, more profitable business mix and a larger operating platform that will allow us to accelerate the financial improvements we talked about when we went public in 2020.

正如您所看到的，我們對達到或超過幾乎所有關鍵財務指標的能力充滿信心，並且仍在製定我們的資本管理規劃。我們與劍橋的預期營運指標是我們獨立財務指標的重大改進。我們相信，與劍橋的合併將為我們提供更豐富、更有利可圖的業務組合和更大的營運平台，使我們能夠加速我們在 2020 年上市時談到的財務改善。

In particular, the expected improvement in the net interest margin and run rate earnings are very significant and put Eastern in a position at the end of 2024 that would have taken a number of years to deliver as a stand-alone entity. We realize we need to execute well and that it will take until the second half of the year to start delivering these results, but we are comfortable with the projections and very confident in our financial and strategic direction.

特別是，淨利差和運行率收益的預期改善非常顯著，使東方航空在 2024 年底達到作為獨立實體需要數年時間才能實現的目標。我們意識到我們需要良好執行，並且需要到今年下半年才能開始交付這些結果，但我們對預測感到滿意，並對我們的財務和策略方向非常有信心。

Thank you. And Julie, we're ready to open up for questions.

謝謝。朱莉，我們準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Mark Fitzgibbon, Piper Sandler.

（操作說明）Mark Fitzgibbon、Piper Sandler。

Good morning.

早安.

Good morning, Mark.

早上好，馬克。

It sounds like you guys are pretty confident that you'll get approval in early second quarter on the Cambridge deal. Given that other banks have been waiting much longer for approvals, what gives you that level of confidence?

聽起來你們非常有信心在第二季初獲得劍橋交易的批准。鑑於其他銀行等待批准的時間要長得多，是什麼給了您如此大的信心？

Sure, Mark. I'm joking and hopefully you'll laugh with me. I anticipated that to be your first question, so thank you.

當然，馬克。我是在開玩笑，希望你能跟我一起笑。我預計這是您的第一個問題，所以謝謝您。

I think on a serious note, we have very strong communications and relationships with our regulators. They obviously have a job to do. We've supplied all the information both in the initial application and all the follow-ups. And we understand that they have a job to do, but we'll continue to communicate with them. As I said in previous calls, this timeline is very comparable and similar to what we experience in the Century transaction. And as we have further updates, we'll provide them.

我認為，嚴肅地說，我們與監管機構有著非常密切的溝通和關係。他們顯然有工作要做。我們已在初始申請和所有後續申請中提供了所有資訊。我們知道他們有工作要做，但我們會繼續與他們溝通。正如我在之前的電話會議中所說，這個時間表與我們在世紀交易中經歷的情況非常相似。當我們有進一步的更新時，我們將提供它們。

Okay. And then I wondered if you could possibly give us an updated tangible book value estimate with Cambridge. Obviously, given the movement we've had in rates since the announcement, you would think that the tangible book value would be much higher than that [$10.16] original estimate. Any comments there?

好的。然後我想知道您是否可以向我們提供劍橋的更新的有形帳面價值估計。顯然，考慮到自公告以來我們的利率變動，您可能會認為有形帳面價值將遠高於最初估計的 [10.16 美元]。有什麼意見嗎？

Sure. I would say this, Mark, as you would expect and would know, we've updated all of our analysis continuously since September. Spent a lot of time using year-end data, the 12/31, both for marketing the loans to market and all of the various assets and liabilities. At this point, I'm not sure it makes sense to provide some of that because rates have changed since then and rates will continue to change.

當然。我想說的是，馬克，正如您所期望和知道的那樣，自 9 月以來我們不斷更新所有分析。花了很多時間使用年終數據（12/31），既用於向市場推銷貸款，也用於行銷所有各種資產和負債。目前，我不確定提供其中一些資訊是否有意義，因為自那時以來費率已經發生變化，並且費率將繼續變化。

We do anticipate this question and understand the interest in it. And I think what we'd say on that is let us think about how best to provide some updates along the way. Again, we're a little bit nervous because things are going to change between now and closing. We don't want certain numbers to be overinterpreted. But let us come back on how we could help out with that, but also provide it in a way that we think makes sense.

我們確實預見到這個問題並理解人們對它的興趣。我認為我們要說的是讓我們思考如何最好地提供一些更新。同樣，我們有點緊張，因為從現在到結束之間事情會發生變化。我們不希望某些數字被過度解讀。但讓我們回顧一下我們如何能夠提供幫助，同時以我們認為有意義的方式提供它。

Okay. And then wondering if you could share any thoughts around growth for loans, excluding the impact of Cambridge and also fees?

好的。然後想知道您是否可以分享有關貸款增長的任何想法，排除劍橋和費用的影響？

Sure. I think on the -- I'll start with loans. It continues to be a challenging market for loan growth. We don't see that changing in the next quarter or two. We're very confident that our lending teams, both here at Eastern and when we combined with Cambridge, are going to be market leaders and should be well positioned.

當然。我想——我將從貸款開始。對於貸款成長來說，這仍然是一個充滿挑戰的市場。我們認為這種情況在未來一、兩個季度不會改變。我們非常有信心，我們的貸款團隊，無論是在東方還是與劍橋合併，都將成為市場領導者，並且應該處於有利地位。

But the loan growth that we had in the fourth quarter, which was, call it 1.5% is very much in line with the low single digits that we've been talking about for the last couple of quarters. And I think as we look out a couple of quarters from now, that's the same levels we'd anticipate.

但我們第四季的貸款成長（即 1.5%）與我們過去幾季一直在談論的低個位數非常一致。我認為，當我們展望未來幾個季度時，這與我們預期的水平相同。

I think one of our jobs here financially is to get the balance sheet in as good a position as possible. And we feel like we're making very good strides there. So when the market does turn, we'll be very capable of going. And as I said, we have very strong lending teams. But at this point, that low single digits is what we would continue to guide to.

我認為我們在財務方面的工作之一就是使資產負債表處於盡可能良好的位置。我們覺得我們在這方面取得了很大的進展。因此，當市場確實發生轉變時，我們將非常有能力繼續前進。正如我所說，我們擁有非常強大的貸款團隊。但在這一點上，我們將繼續指導這個低個位數。

And then fees, anything --?

然後就是要收費什麼的——？

Fees, obviously, the big story there is the wealth fees that are coming over from Cambridge and really changes our income statement in a very positive way, away from wealth, which I think was your specific question. There's very -- what I would consider low-single-digit growth in those other accounts, deposit services, et cetera. Away from wealth, there's not that much going on in those other line items.

費用，顯然，最重要的是來自劍橋的財富費用，它確實以非常積極的方式改變了我們的損益表，遠離財富，我認為這是你的具體問題。我認為其他帳戶、存款服務等的成長幅度非常小。除了財富之外，其他項目並沒有發生太多事情。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Mark.

謝謝，馬克。

Laurie Hunsicker, Seaport Research Partner.

Laurie Hunsicker，海港研究合夥人。

Hi, thanks, good morning.

嗨，謝謝，早安。

Good morning, Laurie.

早安，勞裡。

If we could just go back to pro forma the deal, maybe a different way to ask it is can you help us to think about pro forma intangibles?

如果我們可以回到形式上的交易，也許換個方式來問它，你能幫助我們考慮一下形式上的無形資產嗎？

Sure. So I think I may give a similar answer I did to Mark. So Laurie, as you know, the announcement was September 19. I think the rates that were used for that were September 15, something very close to that. Rates were lower at 12/31 than they were at that time period in September. And the things that you would expect to happen did happen, right? The mark-to-market was a little bit lower that reduced the amount of the intangibles.

當然。所以我想我可能會給出與馬克類似的答案。如你所知，勞瑞 (Laurie) 的宣布日期是 9 月 19 日。我認為所使用的利率是 9 月 15 日，非常接近那個日期。12 月 31 日的利率低於 9 月同期的利率。你期望發生的事情確實發生了，對嗎？以市值計算的價格略低，從而減少了無形資產的數量。

Obviously, since then, rates have moved up a little bit. And it's not something you can track every day. There's a process involved there. I think -- and it is similar to the spirit we said with Mark -- I understand the question, and we want to be helpful there. A little reluctant to put information out that's going to be stale by the time you get it and then change even further between now and closing. But we'd be very open to thinking about sharing things and providing information that would be helpful.

顯然，自那時以來，利率有所上升。這不是你每天都能追蹤的事情。這裡面有一個過程。我認為——這與我們與馬克所說的精神類似——我理解這個問題，我們希望在那裡提供幫助。有點不願意發布訊息，當你收到這些訊息時，這些訊息就會過時，然後從現在到結束之間會發生進一步的變化。但我們非常願意考慮分享事情並提供有用的信息。

Just want to make sure it doesn't create unintended consequences. As I said, by the time -- I'm a little bit afraid by the time we get you information, it's going to be stale, which would be the case if we were giving you 12/31 numbers. So but very happy to think about that and come back within a short period of time to see what we can do.

只是想確保它不會造成意想不到的後果。正如我所說，到那時，我有點擔心，當我們向您提供資訊時，這些資訊將會過時，如果我們給您 12/31 數字，就會出現這種情況。所以，但很高興想到這一點，並在短時間內回來看看我們能做什麼。

Okay. So I guess probably you're going to have a similar answer then in terms of thinking about accretion impact on net interest income and margin?

好的。因此，我想在考慮對淨利息收入和利潤率的增加影響時，您可能會得到類似的答案？

Yes, I mean, it's a totally different -- we appreciate all of your questions and interest on that. And we are thinking through how we want to ultimately disclose all that. So your questions are very helpful that way and your insights. So we're thinking through that and we'll come back on that as well. That would be part of the total answer.

是的，我的意思是，這是完全不同的——我們感謝您提出的所有問題和對此的興趣。我們正在考慮最終希望如何披露這一切。所以你的問題和你的見解非常有幫助。所以我們正在考慮這個問題，我們也會重新考慮這個問題。這將是總答案的一部分。

Okay. And then just to clarify, when you talked in your comments about modest margin decline for the first half of 2024, that was obviously exclusive of accretion income. Is that correct?

好的。然後澄清一下，當您在評論中談到 2024 年上半年利潤率小幅下降時，這顯然不包括增值收入。那是對的嗎？

That was at Eastern. So definitely, yes, Laurie. That was -- the comments I was making there were stable net interest income and stabilizing margin at Eastern pre-closing.

那是在東方。所以肯定是的，勞裡。那是——我在東方結算前發表的評論是穩定的淨利息收入和穩定的利潤率。

Got you. Okay. That's helpful. And then can you just help us think about -- or maybe what's the spot margin for the month of December?

明白你了。好的。這很有幫助。然後您能否幫助我們考慮一下——或者 12 月份的即期保證金是多少？

Same as the quarter, 2.69%.

與季度相同，為 2.69%。

Okay. And then what was the timing in the quarter in terms of the reduction on borrowings in FHLB -- brokered in -- was that-- when in the quarter (inaudible)?

好的。然後，就 FHLB 借款減少而言，本季的時間表是什麼？（聽不清楚）？

Yeah, the one lumpy item -- lumpy is not a technical term obviously -- but the EIG proceeds were, call it, November 1, and that was approximately $500 million. So that was a component of it. The other reductions were really due to deposit inflows that took place throughout the quarter.

是的，一個塊狀項目——塊狀顯然不是一個技術術語——但 EIG 的收益是，可以這麼說，11 月 1 日，大約是 5 億美元。所以這是它的一個組成部分。其他減少實際上是由於整個季度的存款流入所致。

Okay. Great. And then just going back to your -- the Class B office nonperformers, can you just -- the four credits -- can you just take us through the one that was sold? What was the balance and then what ultimately ended up being the write-down there?

好的。偉大的。然後回到你的——B級辦公室表現不佳者，你能——四個學分——你能帶我們看看被出售的那個嗎？餘額是多少，最終的減記是多少？

The one under contract, same thing, the one being marketed, what's the balance? What's the new one? If you could just break out those four so we have it. And then the new one that came in, is that also Class B?

合約下的，同樣的，正在銷售的，餘額是多少？新的是什麼？如果你能把這四個分開，我們就有了。然後新來的，也是B班嗎？

Yeah. So let me -- there is a lot there. Let me try and go through slowly. So I'm going to focus first on the three non-performers from last quarter that were office, and they were all in the financial district in Boston. So your memory is very good there.

是的。讓我來說一下——那裡有很多東西。讓我試著慢慢地過一遍。因此，我將首先關注上季度表現不佳的三名辦公室人員，他們都在波士頓金融區。所以你的記憶力非常好。

The one that's sold is the one I can provide the information. That was a $9 million loan. The charge-off was $4 million. And that closed in the fourth quarter. The one that's under contract for sale is a little bit of a smaller loan and we will provide the details on that when it actually closes.

賣掉的就是我能提供資訊的那個。那是一筆900萬美元的貸款。沖銷金額為 400 萬美元。這一切在第四季結束。出售合約中的貸款規模較小，我們將在實際結束時提供詳細資訊。

The third office portfolio nonperformer from the third quarter is being marketed. That's a slightly larger loan. I don't remember that number -- the loan balance off the top of my head, but it's larger. It's the largest of the three.

第三季表現不佳的第三個辦公室投資組合正在上市。這是一筆稍微大一點的貸款。我不記得那個數字了——貸款餘額在我的腦海中浮現，但它更大。這是三個中最大的一個。

The new nonperforming loan in Q4 was not an office property. It was just a commercial real estate loan. It was approximately a $15 million loan. And we do expect to resolve it this quarter.

第四季新增不良貸款並非辦公物業。這只是一筆商業房地產貸款。這大約是一筆1500萬美元的貸款。我們確實希望在本季解決這個問題。

Got you. Okay. And then the three -- I guess you gave us last quarter $26 million. Was that $26 million net of the $4 million in charge-offs?

明白你了。好的。然後三個——我猜你上個季度給了我們 2600 萬美元。這 2600 萬美元是扣除 400 萬美元的沖銷後的淨額嗎？

At that time, it was gross. So the charge-offs came later. The $26 million was the principal balance, yeah.

那時候，真是慘不忍睹。所以沖銷後來發生了。是的，2600 萬美元是本金餘額。

Perfect. Great. Thanks, I'll leave it there.

完美的。偉大的。謝謝，我會把它留在那裡。

Thanks, Laurie.

謝謝，勞裡。

(Operator Instructions) Damon DelMonte, KBW.

（操作員說明）Damon DelMonte，KBW。

Hey, good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking my question this morning. Just a question on expenses. I got the commentary on the first two quarters of the year. We'll have an additional $3 million each for those two projects you have going on. But when we look at the underlying base, I think you said it was like $102 million, $103 million. What growth are you expecting off of that base?

嘿，大家早安。感謝您今天早上提出我的問題。只是一個費用問題。我收到了今年前兩個季度的評論。我們將為您正在進行的這兩個項目各額外提供 300 萬美元。但當我們看一下基礎時，我想你說的是 1.02 億美元、1.03 億美元。您預計在此基礎上會有怎樣的成長？

Again, putting the two items, the two $3 million items aside, Damon, so the first two quarters would be start at that level, $102 million, $103 million, a pretty modest growth from there. In fact, those would really be pretty close to run rates for the full quarter.

再說一次，把這兩個項目，兩個價值300 萬美元的項目放在一邊，達蒙，所以前兩個季度將以這個水平開始，1.02 億美元，1.03 億美元，從那裡開始是一個相當溫和的增長。事實上，這些確實非常接近整個季度的運行率。

Obviously, Cambridge is coming in, and that's going to confuse that a little bit. But if you annualize the $102 million to $103 million, you'd be very close to the year end -- to the annualized number that we expect -- would expect without Cambridge.

顯然，劍橋即將加入，這會讓事情變得有點混亂。但是，如果將 1.02 億至 1.03 億美元年化，那麼您將非常接近年底 - 達到我們預期的年化數字 - 在沒有劍橋的情況下所預期的。

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then the commentary around the outlook for credit and more of a normalization, how would you characterize a normalized net charge-off year for you guys?

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。然後是圍繞著信貸前景和更正常化的評論，你們如何描述你們正常化的淨沖銷年？

I'm laughing.

我在笑。

You've got to go back a few years for that probably, right?

你可能得回到幾年前才知道這一點，對吧？

Yeah. No, I think what we believe here is that we were at very low -- we and the industry, right? We are at very low levels for a long period of time. When we look at our current levels and let's just call it nonperformers, again, 40-ish basis points, maybe a touch higher than that, and charge-offs for the year of, call it, 9 to 10 basis points.

是的。不，我認為我們相信我們和整個行業都處於非常低的水平，對嗎？我們在很長一段時間內處於非常低的水平。當我們看看目前的水平時，讓我們再次將其稱為不良者，40 個基點左右，可能比這個高一點，並且今年的沖銷，稱之為 9 到 10 個基點。

We would expect both of those metrics to migrate up a little bit, but in a contained way. We don't see large increases in them, but they were at very low levels for a very long period of time. And as you know, the environment is clearly changing and we would expect those to move upward.

我們預計這兩個指標都會略有上升，但會以一種有限的方式。我們沒有看到它們大幅增加，但它們在很長一段時間內處於非常低的水平。如您所知，環境正在明顯變化，我們預計這些變化將會上升。

But again, contained is the word we use internally. So it's hard to give you a number, but we don't see big increases there. Contained is the word I would say one more time.

但同樣，「包含」是我們內在使用的字。所以很難給你一個數字，但我們沒有看到大幅成長。「包含」這個詞我會再說一次。

Got it. Okay. I think that's all that I had. Thank you very much.

知道了。好的。我想這就是我所擁有的一切。非常感謝。

And there are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Bob Rivers for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回鮑伯·里弗斯（Bob Rivers），讓他發表結束語。

Well, thank you for your interest and your questions. And we look forward to sharing more with you during our next earnings call at the end of April. Have a great day.

好的，感謝您的興趣和提問。我們期待在四月底的下一次財報電話會議上與您分享更多資訊。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect. Thank you.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。謝謝。