Hope Bancorp Inc (HOPE) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Hope Bancorp 2022 Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 Hope Bancorp 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Angie Yang, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Please go ahead.

請注意，正在記錄此事件。我現在想把會議轉交給投資者關係和企業傳播總監 Angie Yang。請繼續。

Thank you, Andrew. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the Hope Bancorp 2022 Fourth Quarter Investor Conference Call.

謝謝你，安德魯。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們的 Hope Bancorp 2022 年第四季度投資者電話會議。

As usual, we will be using a slide presentation to accompany our discussion this morning. If you have not done so already, please visit the Presentations page of our Investor Relations website to download a copy of the presentation or if you are listening into the webcast, you should be able to view the slides from your computer screen as we progress through the presentation.

像往常一樣，我們將使用幻燈片演示來配合今天上午的討論。如果您還沒有這樣做，請訪問我們的投資者關係網站的演示文稿頁面下載演示文稿的副本，或者如果您正在收聽網絡廣播，您應該能夠在我們進行時從您的計算機屏幕上查看幻燈片演示文稿。

Beginning on Slide 2, let me begin with a brief statement regarding forward-looking remarks. The call today may contain forward-looking projections regarding the future financial performance of the company and future events. These statements are based on current expectations estimates, forecasts, projections and management assumptions about the future performance of Hope Bancorp otherwise referred to as the company as well as the businesses and markets in which the company does and is expected to operate. These statements constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

從幻燈片 2 開始，讓我先做一個關於前瞻性評論的簡短聲明。今天的電話會議可能包含有關公司未來財務業績和未來事件的前瞻性預測。這些陳述基於當前對 Hope Bancorp（也稱為公司）未來業績以及公司開展和預計開展業務的業務和市場的預期估計、預測、預測和管理層假設。這些陳述構成 1995 年美國私人證券訴訟改革法案含義內的前瞻性陳述。

These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. We refer you to the documents the company files periodically with the SEC as well as the safe harbor statements in our press release issued yesterday. Hope Bancorp assumes no obligation to revise any forward-looking projections that may be made on today's call. The company cautions that the complete financial results to be included in the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, could differ materially from the financial results being reported today.

這些陳述不是對未來表現的保證。實際結果和結果可能與此類前瞻性陳述中表達或預測的內容存在重大差異。我們建議您參考公司定期向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件以及我們昨天發布的新聞稿中的安全港聲明。 Hope Bancorp 沒有義務修改在今天的電話會議上可能做出的任何前瞻性預測。該公司警告說，將包含在截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的 10-K 表格年度報告中的完整財務結果可能與今天報告的財務結果存在重大差異。

In addition, some of the information referenced on this call today are non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to our 2022 fourth quarter earnings release for management's reasons and purposes for using non-GAAP figures and the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures. Now we have allotted 1 hour for this call. Presenting from the management side today will be Kevin Kim, Hope Bancorp's Chairman, President and CEO; and Dave Malone, Interim Chief Financial Officer; Peter Koh, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, is here with us as usual and will be available for the Q&A session.

此外，今天電話會議中引用的一些信息是非 GAAP 財務指標，請參閱我們的 2022 年第四季度財報，了解管理層使用非 GAAP 數據的原因和目的以及 GAAP 與非 GAAP 財務指標的對賬.現在我們為這次通話分配了 1 小時。今天來自管理方面的是 Hope Bancorp 的董事長、總裁兼首席執行官 Kevin Kim；臨時首席財務官 Dave Malone；高級副總裁兼首席運營官 Peter Koh 像往常一樣與我們在一起，並將出席問答環節。

With that, let me turn the call over to Kevin Kim. Kevin?

有了這個，讓我把電話轉給凱文金。凱文？

Thank you, Angie. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today.

謝謝你，安吉。大家早上好，感謝您今天加入我們。

Let's begin on Slide 3 with a brief overview of our financial results. Despite the operating environment becoming more challenging during the fourth quarter, we delivered solid financial results, which reflect the benefits of the lower risk, more diversified loan portfolio that we have built and continued improvement in asset quality. Given the market's expectations for the economic conditions to weaken further in 2023, we became even more selective in terms of new loan production favoring businesses that are less impacted by consumer spending trends and a more recessionary resistant. Importantly, the lower risk, more diversified loan portfolio we have built continues to improve with our criticized and classified loans consistently decreasing over the course of the year.

讓我們從幻燈片 3 開始，簡要概述我們的財務結果。儘管第四季度的經營環境變得更具挑戰性，但我們實現了穩健的財務業績，這反映了我們建立的風險較低、貸款組合更多元化以及資產質量持續改善的好處。鑑於市場對 2023 年經濟狀況將進一步走弱的預期，我們在新貸款生產方面變得更加有選擇性，有利於受消費者支出趨勢影響較小且抗衰退能力更強的企業。重要的是，我們建立的風險較低、更多元化的貸款組合繼續改善，我們的批評和分類貸款在這一年中持續減少。

In the fourth quarter, we reported net income of $51.7 million or $0.43 per share, while our pre-provision net revenue, or PPNR, was $78.1 million. Both net income and PPNR were slightly lower than the preceding quarter, primarily associated with an increase in deposit costs attributed to the highly competitive market for deposits. However, with our solid financial performance as well as a positive shift in AOCI, we generated a 2.2% increase in group value per share and a 2.9% increase in tangible book value per share while also increasing our risk-based regulatory capital ratios.

在第四季度，我們報告的淨收入為 5170 萬美元或每股 0.43 美元，而我們的撥備前淨收入或 PPNR 為 7810 萬美元。淨收入和 PPNR 均略低於上一季度，這主要與高度競爭的存款市場導致的存款成本增加有關。然而，憑藉我們穩健的財務業績以及 AOCI 的積極轉變，我們的集團每股價值增長了 2.2%，每股有形賬面價值增長了 2.9%，同時也提高了我們基於風險的監管資本比率。

Moving on to Slide 4. In the fourth quarter, we funded $793 million in new loans, which is lower than the preceding quarter as it reflects a more selective approach to new loan production and our overall goal to target higher-yielding floating loan assets as well as a lower level of loan demand resulting from higher interest rates particularly for commercial real estate loans.

轉到幻燈片 4。第四季度，我們為新貸款提供了 7.93 億美元的資金，低於上一季度，因為這反映出對新貸款生產採取更具選擇性的方法，以及我們的總體目標是將高收益浮動貸款資產作為目標利率上升導致貸款需求水平下降，尤其是商業房地產貸款。

The fourth quarter also tends to be a seasonally slower period for C&I loan production, which has become a major driver of our overall loan production volumes. As a result of the lower level of loan fundings, we had a slight decline in total loans from the end of the prior quarter, although for the full year, total loans increased in excess of 10% or 12.2% excluding PPP loans, which is in the top range of our estimated target.

第四季度也往往是 C&I 貸款生產的季節性放緩期，這已成為我們整體貸款生產量的主要驅動力。由於貸款資金水平較低，我們的貸款總額較上一季度末略有下降，但全年貸款總額增長超過 10% 或 12.2%，不包括 PPP 貸款，這是在我們估計目標的頂部範圍內。

Consistent with the trend that we have seen over the past several quarters as a result of the investments we have made to build our C&I lending capabilities, C&I loans continue to account for the majority of our new loan production. In the fourth quarter, C&I loans represented 54% of our total loan funding and the average rate of new C&I loans increased 162 basis points over the preceding quarter largely reflecting increase in (inaudible) rates. In line with our focus on developing relationships with larger, stronger commercial enterprises, our corporate Banking Group accounted for 79% of our C&I loan fundings in the fourth quarter. We experienced the strongest contributions this quarter from our healthcare and telecom teams. And from a geographic perspective, we are starting to see growing contributions from the new additions we have made to expand our middle market lending in the Southeast and upper Midwest areas of the United States.

由於我們為建立 C&I 貸款能力而進行的投資，與我們在過去幾個季度看到的趨勢一致，C&I 貸款繼續占我們新貸款產量的大部分。第四季度，C&I 貸款占我們總貸款資金的 54%，新 C&I 貸款的平均利率比上一季度增加 162 個基點，主要反映了（聽不清）利率的上升。根據我們專注於與更大、更強的商業企業發展關係，我們的企業銀行集團在第四季度占我們 C&I 貸款資金的 79%。本季度我們的醫療保健和電信團隊做出了最大貢獻。從地域的角度來看，我們開始看到我們為擴大我們在美國東南部和中西部上游地區的中間市場貸款而增加的新增貸款的貢獻越來越大。

In terms of commercial real estate loans, we had $324 million of funding which reflects a decrease from the preceding quarter due to lower loan demand. We attribute this decrease to industry-wide trends as a result of the higher interest rate. In addition, we are targeting lower risk property types and focusing on obtaining wider spreads as part of our cautious approach to risk management, while at the same time, improving our profitability.

在商業房地產貸款方面，我們有 3.24 億美元的資金，這反映出由於貸款需求下降而比上一季度有所減少。我們將這種下降歸因於利率上升導致的全行業趨勢。此外，作為我們謹慎的風險管理方法的一部分，我們瞄準風險較低的財產類型並專注於獲得更大的利差，同時提高我們的盈利能力。

With the targeted segments and increased loan pricing, the average rate of our new CRE loans increased 100 basis points compared with the preceding quarter. Overall, we saw increasing trends in loan pricing in all asset classes during the fourth quarter combined with the higher mix of C&I loan production, this resulted in our average rate on total new loan production increasing by 134 basis points over the preceding third quarter to 6.71%.

隨著目標細分市場和貸款定價的提高，我們新增 CRE 貸款的平均利率與上一季度相比增加了 100 個基點。總體而言，我們看到第四季度所有資產類別的貸款定價呈上升趨勢，加上 C&I 貸款產量的更高組合，這導致我們的新貸款總產量的平均利率比上一季度增加 134 個基點，達到 6.71 %。

Moving on to Slide 5 demonstrating our ongoing transformation to a lower-risk loan portfolio, C&I loans increased by 21.4% over the course of 2022. At the same time, Commercial real estate loans grew by just 3.4% during the year. All in all, resulting in loan growth of 10.4% for the full year. As a result, C&I loans as of December 31, 2022, accounted for 33% of total loans, an increase from 30% a year earlier. And commercial real estate loans decreased to 61% of total loans, down from 65% at year-end 2021. We have also had success in improving the diversification within each of the buckets of our loan portfolio.

轉到幻燈片 5，展示我們正在向低風險貸款組合轉型，C&I 貸款在 2022 年期間增長了 21.4%。與此同時，商業房地產貸款在這一年僅增長了 3.4%。總而言之，全年貸款增長 10.4%。因此，截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，C&I 貸款佔總貸款的 33%，高於去年同期的 30%。商業房地產貸款佔貸款總額的比例從 2021 年底的 65% 下降至 61%。我們還成功地提高了貸款組合中每個類別的多元化程度。

In particular, our hotel-motel portfolio represented just 10% of our CRE loan portfolio compared with 14% a year earlier. At the same time, our multifamily portfolio increased to 14% of our total loan portfolio at year end of 2022 from 8% as of year-end 2021. These results are due to 2 primary factors: the first being the success we are having with our efforts to target more lower-risk CRE property types; and the second being the growing benefits of the investments that we have made over the years to enhance our C&I lending capabilities.

特別是，我們的酒店-汽車旅館組合僅占我們 CRE 貸款組合的 10%，而去年同期為 14%。與此同時，到 2022 年底，我們的多戶家庭投資組合佔總貸款組合的比例從 2021 年底的 8% 增加到 14%。這些結果歸因於兩個主要因素：首先是我們與我們努力瞄準更多風險較低的商業地產類型；第二個是我們多年來為提高我們的 C&I 貸款能力而進行的投資帶來的日益增長的收益。

Now I will ask David to provide additional details on our financial performance for the fourth quarter. David?

現在，我將請大衛提供有關我們第四季度財務業績的更多詳細信息。大衛？

Thank you, Kevin, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，凱文，大家早上好。

Beginning with Slide 6, I will start with our net interest income, which totaled $150.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 representing a decrease of 1.7% from the preceding third quarter. While we had recognized a 2.1% increase in our average earning assets in the fourth quarter, this increase in interest income from higher earning assets was offset by an increase in deposit costs. Our net interest margin decreased 13 basis points quarter-over-quarter to 3.36%. The average yield on earning assets -- on interest-earning assets increased 70 basis points quarter-over-quarter resulting from the repricing of variable rate loans as well as higher pricing on new loan production.

從幻燈片 6 開始，我將從我們的淨利息收入開始，2022 年第四季度的淨利息收入總計 1.505 億美元，比上一季度下降 1.7%。雖然我們已經確認第四季度平均收益資產增長了 2.1%，但來自高收益資產的利息收入的增加被存款成本的增加所抵消。我們的淨息差環比下降 13 個基點至 3.36%。由於可變利率貸款的重新定價以及新貸款生產的定價較高，收入資產的平均收益率 - 生息資產的平均收益率環比增長 70 個基點。

However, this increase was offset by an 83 basis point increase in our average cost of deposits. The increase in our average cost of deposits was the result of the attrition that we experienced in noninterest-bearing deposits in the quarter combined with increases in the rates on all of our interest-bearing deposit categories. Moving forward, based on current expectations for interest rate movements, we expect our net interest margin will continue to be pressured in the first quarter of 2023, largely due to our expectation for rising deposit costs as maturing time deposits renew at higher rates and also due to our projection for higher average time deposit balances in the first quarter.

然而，這一增長被我們平均存款成本增加 83 個基點所抵消。我們平均存款成本的增加是由於本季度我們的無息存款減少以及我們所有有息存款類別的利率上升所致。展望未來，根據目前對利率變動的預期，我們預計我們的淨息差將在 2023 年第一季度繼續承壓，這主要是由於我們預期存款成本上升，因為到期的定期存款以更高的利率更新，也由於符合我們對第一季度平均定期存款餘額較高的預測。

Continued increases in loan yields are expected to offset some of the increase in deposit costs, but overall, we are expecting margin compression through the first half of 2023. The amount of compression will be dependent on a variety of factors relating to balance sheet composition as well as the interest rate environment.

貸款收益率的持續增長預計將抵消部分存款成本的增加，但總體而言，我們預計到 2023 年上半年利潤率將受到壓縮。壓縮的程度將取決於與資產負債表構成相關的多種因素，例如以及利率環境。

Moving on to Slide 7. Our new loan production in the fourth quarter was comprised of 65% variable rate loans and variable rate loans represented 46% of our total loan portfolio as of December 31, 2022.

轉到幻燈片 7。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們第四季度的新貸款產量由 65% 的可變利率貸款組成，可變利率貸款占我們總貸款組合的 46%。

Now moving on to Slide 8. Our noninterest income was $12.1 million for the fourth quarter, representing a decrease of 9% from the preceding third quarter. The primary driver of this decrease was lower gains on sales of SBA loans attributed to a lower volume of loans sold and a decrease in swap fee income.

現在轉到幻燈片 8。第四季度我們的非利息收入為 1210 萬美元，比上一季度下降 9%。這一下降的主要原因是由於出售的貸款數量減少和掉期費收入減少，SBA 貸款銷售收益減少。

Additionally, we also realized a gain of $375,000 from the sale of equity investments in the third quarter, which was not recurring in the fourth quarter.

此外，我們還從第三季度的股權投資出售中獲得了 375,000 美元的收益，這在第四季度沒有出現。

Moving on to noninterest expense on Slide 9. Our noninterest expense was $84.5 million, which was relatively consistent with the preceding third quarter. We experienced a decrease in salaries and benefits expense, primarily resulting from lower incentive compensation expense. We also had a swing in OREO expense to OREO income largely reflecting fair value adjustments. These positive variances were offset by small increases in other areas of noninterest expense. Looking at the first quarter of 2023, noninterest expense is expected to trend higher due to projected increases in salaries and benefits as well as earnings credit rates associated with certain segments of our deposit base. As a percentage of average assets, we expect our noninterest expense will remain in the current range of 1.79% to 1.81%.

轉到幻燈片 9 的非利息費用。我們的非利息費用為 8450 萬美元，與前一個第三季度相對一致。我們的工資和福利費用有所減少，這主要是由於激勵薪酬費用較低。我們也有 OREO 費用對 OREO 收入的波動，這主要反映了公允價值調整。這些正差異被其他非利息支出領域的小幅增長所抵消。展望 2023 年第一季度，由於薪資和福利的預計增長以及與我們存款基礎的某些部分相關的收益信貸利率，預計非利息支出將呈上升趨勢。作為平均資產的百分比，我們預計我們的非利息費用將保持在目前 1.79% 至 1.81% 的範圍內。

Now moving on to Slide 10. I will discuss deposit trends. Our total deposits increased 1.5% from the end of the prior quarter. The increase in deposits combined with a relatively flat loan portfolio, reduced our net loan-to-deposit ratio to 97.2% at the end of the fourth quarter from 99.2% at the end of the preceding quarter. We experienced a decrease in noninterest-bearing deposits during the fourth quarter with nearly 40% of this decrease coming from our commercial depositors, moving their excess liquidity into interest-bearing accounts.

現在轉到幻燈片 10。我將討論存款趨勢。我們的總存款比上一季度末增加了 1.5%。存款的增加加上相對平穩的貸款組合，使我們的淨貸存比率從上一季度末的 99.2% 降至第四季度末的 97.2%。第四季度，我們的無息存款有所減少，其中近 40% 來自我們的商業存款人，他們將過剩的流動性轉移到了有息賬戶中。

A portion of the outflow from noninterest-bearing deposits can also be attributed to seasonal fluctuations that we typically see in the fourth quarter related to property tax payments and normal year-end trends and operating cash flows among some of our larger commercial depositors. To offset the decrease in noninterest-bearing deposits and to improve our overall liquidity, we increased our balance of time deposits.

無息存款的部分流出也可歸因於我們通常在第四季度看到的季節性波動，這些波動與財產稅支付以及我們一些較大的商業存款人的正常年終趨勢和經營現金流有關。為抵消無息存款的減少和改善我們的整體流動性，我們增加了定期存款餘額。

Looking forward to 2023, we expect our noninterest-bearing and core deposits will return to a more stable to growing trend as we make progress with deposit strategies that are currently being implemented.

展望 2023 年，隨著我們目前正在實施的存款策略取得進展，我們預計我們的無息存款和核心存款將恢復到更穩定的增長趨勢。

Now moving on to Slide 11. I will review our asset quality. We recognized positive trends across the portfolio in the fourth quarter. Total nonperforming assets at December 31, 2022, decreased 28% quarter-over-quarter to $69 million and reflected reductions in nonaccrual loans, delinquent loans 90 days or more on accrual status and accruing TDRs. At quarter end, total nonperforming assets represented just 36 basis points of total assets, down from 51 basis points at the end of the third quarter. Total criticized and classified loans decreased by 8% in the fourth quarter. For the full year, total criticized and classified loans decreased by 48% due to 2 primary factors: first, we experienced steady improvement in asset quality as more borrowers demonstrated sustained improvement in their financial performance as they recovered from the impact of the pandemic; and secondly, we continue to be proactive in derisking the portfolio of loans that were deemed to be higher risk via loan sales.

現在轉到幻燈片 11。我將審查我們的資產質量。我們認識到第四季度整個投資組合的積極趨勢。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，不良資產總額環比下降 28% 至 6900 萬美元，反映了非應計貸款、應計狀態 90 天或以上的拖欠貸款和應計 TDR 的減少。截至季度末，不良資產總額僅佔總資產的 36 個基點，低於第三季度末的 51 個基點。受批評和分類的貸款總額在第四季度下降了 8%。全年不良分類貸款同比下降48%，主要受兩大因素影響：一是資產質量穩步提升，更多藉款人從疫情影響中恢復，財務狀況持續改善；其次，我們繼續積極主動地通過出售貸款來降低被認為風險較高的貸款組合的風險。

Overall, our loss experience remains relatively low. We had $6.4 million in net charge-offs during the fourth quarter or 17 basis points of average loans on an annualized basis. For the full year, we recognized net recoveries of $12.2 million. In the fourth quarter, we recorded a provision for credit losses of $8.2 million, which primarily reflects a decline in the projected macroeconomic variables. At December 31, 2022, our allowance for credit losses coverage ratio represented 1.05% of total loans, while our coverage of nonperforming assets increased to 234% from 166% at September 30, 2022.

總體而言，我們的損失經驗仍然相對較低。我們在第四季度有 640 萬美元的淨註銷，即年化平均貸款減少 17 個基點。全年，我們確認了 1220 萬美元的淨回收。在第四季度，我們記錄了 820 萬美元的信貸損失準備金，這主要反映了預期宏觀經濟變量的下降。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的信用損失準備金覆蓋率佔貸款總額的 1.05%，而我們的不良資產覆蓋率從 2022 年 9 月 30 日的 166% 增加至 234%。

Now moving on to Slide 12. Let me provide an update on our capital position and returns. With our solid financial performance, all of our capital ratios with the exception of our Tier 1 leverage ratio improved from the end of the prior quarter. Our tangible common equity to tangible asset ratio remains strong at 8.29% as of December 31, 2022, up 20 basis points from September 30.

現在轉到幻燈片 12。讓我提供有關我們資本狀況和回報的最新情況。憑藉我們穩健的財務業績，除一級槓桿率外，我們所有的資本比率都比上一季度末有所改善。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的有形普通股與有形資產比率保持在 8.29% 的強勁水平，比 9 月 30 日上升了 20 個基點。

As announced yesterday, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share, which remain the same as last quarter. During the quarter, we did not repurchase any stock and continue to have $35.3 million of our $50 million stock repurchase program available for future repurchases.

正如昨天宣布的那樣，我們的董事會宣布派發每股 0.14 美元的季度現金股息，與上一季度持平。在本季度，我們沒有回購任何股票，我們的 5000 萬美元股票回購計劃中仍有 3530 萬美元可用於未來回購。

With that, let me turn the call back to Kevin.

有了這個，讓我把電話轉回給凱文。

Thank you, David.

謝謝你，大衛。

Now moving on to Slide 13. Let me briefly summarize our financial performance for 2022 versus the outlook that we initially provided a year ago. In terms of loan growth, we guided that our reenergized focus on business development was expected to lead to high single-digit to low double-digit loan growth for 2022, excluding PPP. We achieved the higher end of our guidance with 12.2% loan growth, excluding PPP.

現在轉到幻燈片 13。讓我簡要總結一下我們 2022 年的財務業績與我們一年前最初提供的展望。在貸款增長方面，我們指導我們重新聚焦業務發展，預計將在 2022 年實現高個位數至低兩位數的貸款增長，不包括 PPP。我們以 12.2% 的貸款增長（不包括購買力平價）實現了指導的較高端。

We initially guided for stable net interest margin for the beginning of the year and then revised to continued margin expansion for the second half of 2022 and flat to slight compression in the fourth quarter, potentially offsetting a -- to a small degree year-to-date margin expansion. In 2022, we experienced margin expansion in the first 3 quarters of the year, which was partially offset by margin compression in the fourth quarter, aggregating to a 23 basis point increase in NIM for 2022. In terms of profitability, we guided for enhanced net interest income expansion driven by rising interest rates and earnings asset growth -- asset growth in the range of 13% to 16% for the full year. We achieved the lower end of this guidance with net interest income in 2022, increasing by 13% over 2021. We said noninterest expense to average assets would range from 1.65% to 1.7% near term and later updated the guidance to 1.75% to 1.8% for the full year and we achieved the middle range of this guidance with 1.78% noninterest expense to average assets for 2022. And finally, we projected that our criticized loan balances would trend down by approximately 20% to 30% by year-end.

我們最初指導今年年初淨息差穩定，然後修正為 2022 年下半年利潤率繼續擴張，第四季度持平至輕微壓縮，可能在較小程度上抵消同比日期邊距擴展。 2022 年，我們在今年前 3 個季度經歷了利潤率擴張，但被第四季度利潤率壓縮部分抵消，2022 年 NIM 總計增長 23 個基點。在盈利能力方面，我們指導提高淨利潤利率上升和收益資產增長推動利息收入擴張——全年資產增長在13%至16%之間。我們在 2022 年實現了該指導的下限，淨利息收入比 2021 年增長了 13%。我們表示短期內非利息支出占平均資產的比例將在 1.65% 至 1.7% 之間，隨後將指導更新為 1.75% 至 1.8%全年，我們實現了該指導的中間範圍，2022 年非利息支出占平均資產的 1.78%。最後，我們預計到年底，我們的批評貸款餘額將下降約 20% 至 30%。

We basically achieved that by midyear and revise this guidance to a reduction of 30% to 40% for the full year. We actually delivered a 48% reduction in total criticized loans from the year-end of 2021 to year-end of 2022. All in all, we delivered solid financial performance which was consistent with our guidance, notwithstanding the volatility that we all experienced in 2022 with the pace of interest rate hikes having been faster than at any time in recent history.

我們在年中基本實現了這一目標，並將這一指導意見修改為全年減少 30% 至 40%。實際上，從 2021 年底到 2022 年底，我們的不良貸款總額減少了 48%。總而言之，儘管我們在 2022 年都經歷了波動，但我們的財務業績穩健，符合我們的指導方針加息步伐比近代歷史上任何時候都快。

Now moving on to Slide 14. I will wrap up with a few comments about our outlook and priorities for 2023. It is clear that 2023 will be a challenging year on numerous fronts. Given the current level of economic uncertainty, we will continue to maintain our selective approach to new loan production and continue to focus on generating higher yielding C&I loans that are more resistant to recessionary pressures.

現在轉到幻燈片 14。我將總結一些關於我們 2023 年展望和優先事項的評論。很明顯，2023 年在許多方面都將是充滿挑戰的一年。鑑於當前的經濟不確定性水平，我們將繼續保持對新貸款生產的選擇性方法，並繼續專注於產生更能抵抗衰退壓力的更高收益率的 C&I 貸款。

As with 2022, we expect our strengthened and expanded C&I lending capabilities will be a major driver of new loan production in 2023 with the larger contributions coming from the more recent additions that we have made to the Corporate Banking group and our increased presence in newer geographic markets, we are confident in our ability to generate strong loan production without compromising on our underwriting or pricing criteria.

與 2022 年一樣，我們預計我們加強和擴大的 C&I 貸款能力將成為 2023 年新貸款產生的主要驅動力，其中更大的貢獻來自我們最近對企業銀行業務集團的新增業務以及我們在較新地區的業務增加市場，我們有信心在不影響我們的承保或定價標準的情況下產生強勁的貸款產品。

As a result, and while maintaining our cautious approach to new loan production in the current environment, we expect to generate loan growth in the mid-single digits in 2023. This lower level of projected loan growth will also enable us to focus more heavily on building a lower cost, stable core deposit base. The deposit strategies that we are implementing now are focused on further strengthening our retail foundation of individual and smaller business customers as well as our larger corporate client base. However, with the near term, we expect higher deposit costs will mitigate the expansion of our net interest income. We anticipate that our net interest income for the full year of 2023 will increase modestly with higher cost of deposits and borrowings, offsetting in large part, higher interest income from the growth in our earnings assets.

因此，在當前環境下對新增貸款保持謹慎態度的同時，我們預計 2023 年的貸款增長將達到中等個位數。這種較低水平的預計貸款增長也將使我們能夠更加專注於建立成本較低、穩定的核心存款基礎。我們現在正在實施的存款策略的重點是進一步加強我們的個人和小型企業客戶以及我們更大的企業客戶群的零售基礎。然而，在短期內，我們預計更高的存款成本將減緩我們淨利息收入的增長。我們預計，隨著存款和借款成本的上升，我們 2023 年全年的淨利息收入將適度增長，這在很大程度上抵消了我們盈利資產增長帶來的更高利息收入。

We are also expecting the run rate of our noninterest income to trend lower in 2023 versus 2022 due to a reduction in net gains from SBA loan sales while premiums available in the secondary markets have somewhat stabilized, we believe that maintaining a greater portion of these higher-yielding assets in our portfolio while interest rates remain at this high level, will add greater long-term value by way of interest income.

我們還預計 2023 年非利息收入的運行率將低於 2022 年，原因是 SBA 貸款銷售的淨收益減少，而二級市場的可用保費有所穩定，我們認為這些較高的部分會保持更大比例-我們投資組合中的收益資產，而利率保持在這個高水平，將通過利息收入增加更大的長期價值。

Given the challenges of the current operating environment, we will also further strengthen our focus on disciplined expense controls, while we leverage the significant investments in talent and capabilities we have made in our franchise over the past few years. We are looking deeply across the organization and our branch network for opportunities to further enhance efficiencies while at the same time, strengthening our presence in targeted markets. While we are fully cognizant that 2023 will be a challenging year, we expect the pressures on our margins and profitability from the rising deposit costs will diminish as we progress through the year. As a result of the significant investments that we have made in our organization over the past few years, we are a much stronger and much more diversified franchise today than we have ever been. We believe we are well positioned to effectively manage through economic downturns and build shareholder value for the long term.

鑑於當前經營環境的挑戰，我們還將進一步加強對紀律性費用控制的關注，同時我們利用過去幾年在我們的特許經營中對人才和能力進行的大量投資。我們正在整個組織和我們的分支機構網絡中深入尋找機會，以進一步提高效率，同時加強我們在目標市場的影響力。雖然我們充分認識到 2023 年將是充滿挑戰的一年，但我們預計，隨著我們在這一年的進展，不斷上升的存款成本對我們的利潤率和盈利能力造成的壓力將會減少。由於我們在過去幾年中對我們的組織進行了大量投資，今天我們的特許經營權比以往任何時候都強大得多，也更加多元化。我們相信，我們有能力有效應對經濟衰退並為股東創造長期價值。

With that, we would be happy to take your questions and add any color -- additional color as requested. Operator, please open up the call.

有了這個，我們很樂意回答您的問題並添加任何顏色——根據要求添加其他顏色。接線員，請打開電話。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

The first question comes from Matthew Clark with Piper Sandler.

第一個問題來自 Matthew Clark 和 Piper Sandler。

Maybe we could start -- maybe we just start on noninterest-bearing deposits, the decline there. If you could just give us some additional color on what drove that decline and I guess, what gives you confidence that you're going to be able to stabilize those balances, if not grow them this year?

也許我們可以開始 - 也許我們只是從無息存款開始，那裡的下降。如果你能給我們一些額外的顏色來說明是什麼導致了這種下降，我想，是什麼讓你相信你將能夠穩定這些平衡，如果今年不增加的話？

Well, the outflows of noninterest-bearing deposits have very close relationship to the higher interest rates. The people are more sensitive to the earnings opportunity with their funds at the bank. So there was a somewhat meaningful migration from the noninterest-bearing deposits to interest-bearing deposits. But we believe much of the migration of those noninterest-bearing deposits may have happened already with the expectation that interest rates are viewed to have reached its peak. So that's how I see the market as of today. Unfortunately, it's a function of what and when the Fed does with the rates, then we do not have any control over the actions. So we are just focusing on what we can do internally, and we are implementing a number of deposit initiatives focused both corporate and retail core deposits that we believe will help protect and strengthen our lower cost deposit base.

那麼，無息存款的流出與較高的利率有著非常密切的關係。人們對銀行存款的盈利機會更加敏感。因此，存在從無息存款到有息存款的某種有意義的遷移。但我們認為，這些無息存款的大部分遷移可能已經發生，並且預期利率已達到峰值。這就是我對今天市場的看法。不幸的是，這是美聯儲對利率採取何種行動以及何時採取行動的函數，因此我們無法控制這些行動。因此，我們只專注於我們可以在內部做的事情，並且我們正在實施一些以公司和零售核心存款為重點的存款計劃，我們認為這將有助於保護和加強我們的低成本存款基礎。

So there was nothing in there that was related to customers leaving the bank maybe that were -- might have been a little chunky.

所以那裡沒有任何與客戶離開銀行有關的東西，也許 - 可能有點笨拙。

No, no. I think a lot more to do with the macroeconomic and market interest rate environment.

不，不。我認為更多的是與宏觀經濟和市場利率環境有關。

Okay. Great. And then just on the interest-bearing deposit costs, we see the average for the quarter, but do you happen to have the end of the year kind of spot rate on either total deposits or interest-bearing?

好的。偉大的。然後就帶息存款成本而言，我們看到了本季度的平均值，但你是否碰巧有年末總存款或生息的即期利率？

Yes, we -- our spot rates on deposits as of December 31 was 2.16% and total interest-bearing deposits 3.12%.

是的，截至 12 月 31 日，我們的存款即期利率為 2.16%，計息存款總額為 3.12%。

Okay. And if you have at the average monthly NIM in December.

好的。如果你在 12 月的平均每月 NIM。

Monthly NIM in December, let me see.

12月月度NIM，讓我看看。

3.28%.

3.28%。

Okay. Great. And then just last one from me on the net charge-offs this quarter. Can you just give us a sense for what drove that, if there was anything unusual there, if that was kind of managing down criticized or if that's a more reasonable range going forward?

好的。偉大的。然後是我關於本季度淨沖銷的最後一個。你能否告訴我們是什麼推動了這一點，如果那裡有什麼不尋常的地方，如果那是一種管理上的批評，或者如果這是一個更合理的範圍？

Sure. This is Peter. Yes, the charge-offs this quarter were slightly elevated. We don't see any real systemic issues there. I think really just one-off cases. I think just part of our overall practice management to try to exit and resolve some of these loans. So yes, it was slightly elevated, but again, I think we're just one-offs.

當然。這是彼得。是的，本季度的沖銷略有增加。我們在那裡看不到任何真正的系統性問題。我認為真的只是一次性案例。我認為只是我們整體實踐管理的一部分，試圖退出並解決其中一些貸款。所以是的，它略有升高，但我認為我們只是一次性的。

The next question comes from Chris McGratty with KBW.

下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Chris McGratty。

Kevin, you talked about just the normalization of the mix of deposits getting back. Could you just provide a little bit more color. I assume you're talking about just greater CD mix and perhaps a downward pressure on DDA, but any context of what you're modeling specifically to get to that slight growth in NII for the year.

凱文，你剛剛談到了存款組合的正常化。你能再提供一點顏色嗎？我假設你只是在談論更大的 CD 組合，也許是 DDA 的下行壓力，但你正在建模的任何背景都是為了實現今年 NII 的輕微增長。

Maybe I can try to answer that. This is Peter. So I think with that just overall deposit base because of the CDs, I think we had a high reliance on CDs in the fourth quarter. And as we look at some of our other opportunities and initiatives, I am seeing -- we are seeing a lot of opportunities in other areas as well. I think including noninterest-bearing accounts with some of our existing customer base and also, I think, money market or savings accounts as well.

也許我可以嘗試回答這個問題。這是彼得。因此，我認為由於 CD 的原因，只有整體存款基礎，我認為我們在第四季度高度依賴 CD。當我們審視我們的其他一些機會和舉措時，我看到了——我們在其他領域也看到了很多機會。我認為包括我們現有客戶群的無息賬戶，我認為還包括貨幣市場或儲蓄賬戶。

So we have a variety of different initiatives, I believe that we can pursue this year -- that is a little bit different, I think, than what we just experienced, I think, in the fourth quarter where there was a heavy reliance on time deposits.

因此，我們有各種不同的舉措，我相信我們可以在今年推行——我認為這與我們剛剛經歷的情況有點不同，我認為第四季度嚴重依賴時間存款。

Chris, if I may add, we do not view time deposits as our primary source of funding, obviously. And in the immediate quarter, as banks continue to compete for deposits, we expect continued inflows of our cities into our mix. But we see opportunities to track lower cost core deposits. And eventually, we are really trying to help build our core deposit customer base for the long term.

克里斯，如果我可以補充一點，我們顯然不將定期存款視為我們的主要資金來源。在下個季度，隨著銀行繼續爭奪存款，我們預計我們的城市將繼續流入我們的組合。但我們看到了追踪成本較低的核心存款的機會。最終，我們真的在努力幫助建立我們的長期核心存款客戶群。

So as we go toward the end of 2023, I think we have a much improved deposit mix. For the immediate term, immediate near-term and quarters, we still expect to see inflows of our CD.

因此，當我們走向 2023 年底時，我認為我們的存款組合有了很大改善。對於近期、近期和季度，我們仍然希望看到我們的 CD 流入。

Okay. The other question is on capital. I guess twofold question. Your stock sitting at tangible book. Obviously, the environment is uncertain, but thoughts on buybacks at or below tangible book. And also, can you remind us on your current thoughts on the convert that's going to get put to you later the mid- of the spring?

好的。另一個問題是關於資本。我想雙重問題。你的股票坐在有形的書上。顯然，環境是不確定的，但回購的想法在或低於有形賬簿。而且，您能否提醒我們您目前對將在春季中旬晚些時候提交給您的皈依者的想法？

Okay. Chris, given the volatility in the market, we think it would be prudent to maintain a conservative stance on capital for the near term. And I would expect that any activity related to our convertible notes should precede any other capital actions. And in terms of the convertible note, which we expect to be put by investors in May of this year, we have been very actively looking at various options to pay off that convertible notes. And we are currently in the final stages of our analysis.

好的。克里斯，鑑於市場的波動性，我們認為在短期內保持對資本的保守立場是謹慎的。我希望與我們的可轉換票據相關的任何活動都應先於任何其他資本行動。就我們預計投資者將在今年 5 月發行的可轉換票據而言，我們一直在非常積極地尋找各種選擇來償還該可轉換票據。我們目前正處於分析的最後階段。

And I expect that we would be able to make an announcement closer to the end of the first quarter. Having said that, considering our current valuation in the market, I can assure you that we are very actively monitoring opportunities to reenter the buyback market.

我希望我們能夠在接近第一季度末時發佈公告。話雖如此，考慮到我們目前的市場估值，我可以向你保證，我們正在非常積極地關注重新進入回購市場的機會。

Okay. Okay. So I guess the range of outcomes for the convert would be replace it at a higher cost, potentially use excess cash, if you have any, to paid off, that's kind of how you're thinking about the balance.

好的。好的。因此，我想轉換的結果範圍將以更高的成本替換它，可能會使用多餘的現金（如果有的話）來還清，這就是您考慮餘額的方式。

Yes. Well, we don't know. I think it is a little immature to share whether the convertible notes will be fully refinanced, or we will just refinance a portion of that.

是的。好吧，我們不知道。我認為分享可轉換票據是否將全部再融資，或者我們將只對其中的一部分進行再融資，這有點不成熟。

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

下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Gary Tenner。戴維森。

Just wanted to ask about the expectations for, I guess, balance sheet growth in 2023. You talked about mid-single-digit loan growth. Wondering if there's a piece of that, that could be funded by securities, cash flows or cash on the balance sheet? Or do you expect that kind of balance sheet growth and deposit growth is pretty well launched up with that loan growth over the course of the year?

我想問一下對 2023 年資產負債表增長的預期。你談到了中個位數的貸款增長。想知道是否有一部分可以由資產負債表上的證券、現金流或現金提供資金？或者您是否預計這種資產負債表增長和存款增長會在今年的貸款增長中很好地啟動？

We plan to fund our loan -- new loan production mainly with our deposits. And obviously, we are currently seeing approximately $50 million per quarter of cash flow being generated from our investment portfolio, but we currently plan on 100% reinvestment back to the investment portfolio. So we believe that mid-single-digit loan growth will be funded by our deposit growth and our expectation for the deposit growth will be pretty comparable to our loan growth.

我們計劃為我們的貸款提供資金——主要用我們的存款來產生新的貸款。顯然，我們目前看到我們的投資組合每季度產生大約 5000 萬美元的現金流，但我們目前計劃 100% 再投資回投資組合。因此，我們認為中個位數的貸款增長將由我們的存款增長提供資金，我們對存款增長的預期將與我們的貸款增長相當。

Okay. And then I think a couple of times you have mentioned deposit strategies that you're implementing. Can you give us any more color on what you're doing there? Are they kind of business line oriented? Or is it just greater kind of pressure on loan customers to bring deposits over? Just some more color there.

好的。然後我想你有幾次提到你正在實施的存款策略。你能給我們更多關於你在那裡做什麼的顏色嗎？他們是面向業務線的嗎？或者這只是對貸款客戶帶來存款的更大壓力？那裡還有一些顏色。

Gary, this is Peter. Yes, we would like to share more information. But I think for competitive reasons, we can't disclose too much, but I do just want to share, we do have sort of a multi-prong approach to this. And I think the focus, as we mentioned before, really will be in terms of the core deposits. And so I think every category that you see there that would be considered core deposits that we are building and currently implementing strategies around those.

加里，這是彼得。是的，我們願意分享更多信息。但我認為出於競爭原因，我們不能透露太多，但我只是想分享一下，我們確實對此採取了多管齊下的方法。正如我們之前提到的，我認為重點實際上是核心存款。因此，我認為您在那裡看到的每個類別都將被視為我們正在構建並目前正在圍繞這些實施戰略的核心存款。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

The next question comes from Tim Coffey with Janney.

下一個問題來自 Tim Coffey 和 Janney。

Kevin, can you kind of provide some color on the pipeline that you're seeing right now?

凱文，你能為你現在看到的管道提供一些顏色嗎？

Yes. Yes. The pipeline for the first quarter of this year is down compared with the start of the fourth quarter of 2022, but I think that is normally expected due to (inaudible) factors. And the smaller pipeline is also due to the higher interest rate environment and the overall impact it has industry-wide on CRE loan demand. And in addition to that, given the looming recession, we are also exerting greater pricing and credit discipline as we continue to be more selective in our lending practice and favor businesses that are less impacted by consumer spending and a more recessionary resistant. So pipeline is smaller, and that is not really unexpected.

是的。是的。與 2022 年第四季度開始相比，今年第一季度的管道數量有所下降，但我認為由於（聽不清）因素，這通常是預期的。而較小的管道也是由於較高的利率環境及其對整個行業對 CRE 貸款需求的整體影響。除此之外，鑑於迫在眉睫的經濟衰退，我們還在實施更嚴格的定價和信貸紀律，因為我們在貸款實踐中繼續更具選擇性，並支持受消費者支出影響較小且抗衰退能力更強的企業。所以管道更小，這並不意外。

Okay. Are you seeing any stresses within your current borrowers from a higher rate environment?

好的。您是否看到當前借款人在高利率環境中有任何壓力？

Well, we are really trying to focus on customers who are more recession resistant. And so far, we have not seen any significant impact to loan demand for those type of customers. But obviously, high interest rates will impact all areas of lending, and we are very cognizant of that.

好吧，我們真的在努力關注那些更能抵抗衰退的客戶。到目前為止，我們還沒有看到對這類客戶的貸款需求有任何重大影響。但顯然，高利率將影響貸款的所有領域，我們非常清楚這一點。

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

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回管理層聽取任何閉幕詞。

Thank you, Andrew. Once again, thank you all for joining us today. We hope everyone stays safe and healthy, and we look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. So long, everyone.

謝謝你，安德魯。再次感謝大家今天加入我們。我們希望每個人都保持安全和健康，我們期待下個季度再次與您交談。久違了大家

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

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。