Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp (MCB) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Metropolitan Commercial Bank's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. Hosting the call today from Metropolitan Commercial Bank are Mark DeFazio, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Greg Sigrist, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) During today's presentation, reference will be made to the company's earnings release and investor presentation, copies of which are available at mcbankny.com.

歡迎參加首都商業銀行 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。今天主持大都會商業銀行電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Mark DeFazio；執行副總裁兼財務長 Greg Sigrist。今天的通話正在錄音。 （操作員說明）在今天的演示中，將參考公司的收益發布和投資者演示，其副本可在 mcbankny.com 上取得。

Today's presentation may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to the company's notices regarding forward-looking statements and non-GAAP measures that appear in the earnings release.

今天的演示可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果出現重大差異。請參閱公司關於收益發布中出現的前瞻性陳述和非公認會計原則措施的通知。

It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Mark DeFazio, President and Chief Executive Officer. You may begin.

現在我很高興請總裁兼執行長馬克‧德法齊奧 (Mark DeFazio) 發言。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Shelby, and good morning, and thank you all for joining our third quarter earnings call. I will be brief today because I'd like to leave more time for Q&A.

謝謝謝爾比，早安，感謝大家參加我們的第三季財報電話會議。今天我的發言會很簡短，因為我想留出更多時間來問答。

To get started, I am pleased with MCB's third quarter and year-to-date results. To say the last 9 months have been challenging is an understatement. However, as you can see, MCB has been able to navigate through these challenging times, primarily because we were as prepared as we can be for them. Along with our ability to grow alongside of these challenges, year-to-date, we have experienced reasonable balance sheet growth funded by new core deposits while maintaining our underwriting and pricing disciplines.

首先，我對 MCB 第三季和年初至今的業績感到滿意。說過去 9 個月充滿挑戰是輕描淡寫的。然而，正如您所看到的，MCB 能夠度過這些充滿挑戰的時期，主要是因為我們已做好充分準備。除了我們應對這些挑戰的能力之外，今年迄今為止，我們在新的核心存款的支持下實現了合理的資產負債表增長，同時保持了我們的承保和定價紀律。

All deposit verticals contributed to our growth in liquidity as well as early contributions from our latest initiatives in 1031, title and EB-5 lines. Excess liquidity this quarter also allowed us to pay down our Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings, which were used specifically to off-ramp our previous on-balance sheet crypto deposits. We are confident we will see further reductions of these borrowings over the coming quarters.

所有存款垂直領域都促進了我們流動性的成長，以及我們在 1031、產權和 EB-5 領域的最新舉措的早期貢獻。本季的流動性過剩也使我們能夠償還聯邦住房貸款銀行的借款，這些借款專門用於減少我們先前表內的加密貨幣存款。我們有信心在未來幾季看到這些借款進一步減少。

We are also confident that each of our deposit verticals will continue to set us aside from others and maintain MCB as a core-funded institution. We are working on a number of other deposit and fee income initiatives, which we will start discussing in the coming months. And I'm confident they will all add to our liquidity arsenal, which will not only stave off margin compression but will start to expand it.

我們也相信，我們的每個存款垂直領域將繼續使我們脫穎而出，並維持 MCB 作為核心資助機構的地位。我們正在製定一些其他存款和費用收入舉措，我們將在未來幾個月開始討論。我相信它們都會增加我們的流動性武器庫，這不僅會避免利潤率壓縮，而且會開始擴大它。

Finally, as many of you may have seen online last night, we issued a press release related to the settlement with the Federal Reserve and the New York State Department of Financial Services pertaining to a matter from March 2020. The amount of the fine has been fully reserved for, and enhancements to our processes and procedures have been well underway for some time.

最後，正如你們許多人昨晚在網路上看到的那樣，我們發布了一份新聞稿，涉及與聯準會和紐約州金融服務部就 2020 年 3 月起的一件事達成和解。罰款金額為一段時間以來，我們的流程和程序已充分保留和改進。

I will now turn the call over to Greg for more detail.

我現在將把電話轉給格雷格以了解更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Mark, and good morning, everyone. We are pleased to report strong third quarter net income of $22.1 million and fully diluted EPS of $1.97. Despite a challenging operating environment for banks, net interest income remained steady at $53.6 million. Significant expansion in total interest income was driven both by strong loan growth through the first 9 months of the year as well as the impact of 2 rate increases since May of 2023. While funding costs have largely offset this increase in the quarter, we were able to substantially pay down borrowings late in the quarter and remain confident in our ability to drive lower cost deposits through 2024 and beyond.

謝謝你，馬克，大家早安。我們很高興地報告第三季淨利潤為 2,210 萬美元，完全攤薄後每股收益為 1.97 美元。儘管銀行的經營環境充滿挑戰，淨利息收入仍穩定在 5,360 萬美元。今年前9 個月的強勁貸款成長以及自2023 年5 月以來兩次升息的影響推動了總利息收入的大幅增長。雖然融資成本在很大程度上抵消了本季度的這一增長，但我們仍然能夠在本季末大幅償還借款，並對我們在 2024 年及以後降低存款成本的能力保持信心。

MCB saw deposit growth across all verticals, as Mark had mentioned, with total deposit verticals increasing $291 million or nearly 6% despite the challenges of an evolving rate environment and its influence on customers. Net inflows were particularly strong for retail deposits, including those with loan customers, which collectively were up $188 million, reflecting growth from both existing and new customers. We did see outflows of $58 million, representing the return of remaining corporate and reserve deposits with former crypto clients.

正如Mark 所提到的，MCB 的所有垂直領域的存款都在增長，儘管不斷變化的利率環境及其對客戶的影響帶來了挑戰，但垂直領域的存款總額增加了2.91 億美元，即近6 %。零售存款（包括貸款客戶的存款）的淨流入尤其強勁，總計增加了 1.88 億美元，反映了現有客戶和新客戶的成長。我們確實看到了 5,800 萬美元的資金外流，這代表著前加密貨幣客戶剩餘的公司存款和準備金存款的回報。

For additional color, net of those outflows, noninterest-bearing deposits increased in the quarter by $75 million or just over 4%. We had a very strong quarter for lending, with net loan growth of $205 million or 4% on $333 million of loan production. Bigger picture, year-to-date net loan growth of $514 million has been fully funded by $738 million of net inflows from our deposit verticals. The excess liquidity in the quarter has been used to reduce borrowings.

更引人注目的是，扣除這些資金外流後，本季無息存款增加了 7,500 萬美元，略高於 4%。我們的貸款季度表現非常強勁，貸款淨成長 2.05 億美元，即貸款產出 3.33 億美元，成長 4%。從更宏觀的角度來看，今年迄今 5.14 億美元的淨貸款成長已完全由我們存款產業的 7.38 億美元淨流入提供資金。本季的過剩流動性已用於減少借款。

New loan production came in at an average yield of 8.7% versus the second quarter portfolio yield of 6.54%, which showcases MCB's pricing discipline and the resilience of the lending franchise. There was 17 basis points of net interest margin compression in the quarter primarily as a result of liabilities pricing -- repricing more quickly than assets in the short run. There are several factors that give comfort that we are at or very near the inflection point for NIM, assuming, of course, a stable rate environment.

新貸款產出的平均收益率為 8.7%，而第二季投資組合收益率為 6.54%，這反映了 MCB 的定價紀律和貸款業務的彈性。本季淨利差壓縮了 17 個基點，主要是由於負債定價——短期內重新定價速度快於資產。當然，假設利率環境穩定，有幾個因素可以讓我們確信我們正處於或非常接近淨利差的轉折點。

Loan pricing discipline has been maintained, which is evident in our new production yields. We do expect to see the continued repricing of the loan book, which is a relatively short duration book. Borrowings have been substantially paid down. And while that is apparent in the spot balance sheet, the average balance sheet for the third quarter shows we have incurred interest expense on a much higher average balance for borrowed funds. We do expect to see the benefit of those reduced borrowings to benefit NIM and, more importantly, P&L as we move forward.

貸款定價紀律一直得到遵守，這從我們的新產量中可以明顯看出。我們確實預計貸款帳簿將繼續重新定價，因為貸款帳簿的期限相對較短。借款已大幅償還。雖然這在現貨資產負債表中很明顯，但第三季的平均資產負債表顯示，我們因借入資金的平均餘額高得多而產生了利息費用。我們確實希望看到這些減少的借款將有利於NIM，更重要的是，隨著我們的前進，損益表也會受益。

We entered the year with $250 million in borrowings. And as we've said for the past few quarters, we do expect to reduce borrowings close to this level by year-end. We did see an opportunity late in the third quarter to lock in funding costs on $300 million of FHLB borrowings, using a pay-fixed swap at an average rate of approximately 5% versus the third quarter average borrowing rate of 5.66%. That benefit will start to come into NIM and P&L in the fourth quarter. The goal would be to exit 2023 with only the $300 million of hedged FHLB borrowings remaining on the balance sheet. And as Mark has already mentioned, we expect MCB's newest deposit verticals to provide a funding advantage well into the future.

今年我們的借款額為 2.5 億美元。正如我們在過去幾個季度所說的那樣，我們確實預計到年底將借款減少到接近這一水平。我們確實在第三季末看到了鎖定 FHLB 3 億美元借款融資成本的機會，使用平均利率約為 5% 的固定支付掉期，而第三季平均借款利率為 5.66%。該收益將於第四季開始計入淨利差和損益表。目標是到 2023 年結束時，資產負債表上只剩下 3 億美元的對沖 FHLB 借款。正如馬克已經提到的，我們預計 MCB 最新的存款垂直領域將在未來提供融資優勢。

Touching briefly on credit. Asset quality remains strong. Strong loan growth drove credit provisioning in the quarter, which was partially offset by improvement in the economic forecast underlying our CECL model. Total noninterest income was down approximately $1.3 million in the prior linked quarter due largely to the exit from crypto. We were particularly pleased, however, to see corporate disbursement client revenues continue to scale, with revenues up 22% in the prior linked quarter and up 104% from the prior year quarter. Noninterest expense in the quarter did benefit from the settlement reserve and related release of $3 million. Legal fees came down substantially from the prior quarter but remained elevated by roughly $600,000, which we would expect to drop out of the run rate prospectively.

簡單談信用。資產品質依然強勁。強勁的貸款成長推動了本季的信貸撥備，但我們的 CECL 模式所依據的經濟預測的改善部分抵消了這一成長。上一季的非利息總收入下降了約 130 萬美元，這主要是由於加密貨幣的退出。然而，我們特別高興看到企業支付客戶收入持續擴大，上一季的營收成長了 22%，比去年同期成長了 104%。本季的非利息支出確實受益於結算準備金和相關釋放的 300 萬美元。法律費用較上一季大幅下降，但仍上漲約 60 萬美元，我們預計該費用將不再出現在運行費率中。

Lastly, the increase in comp and benefits reflects our continued investment in human capital. This includes the increase in FTEs during 2023, many of whom were onboarded in the second and third quarters and is in line with increased profitability. There was a discrete tax benefit of approximately $1.8 million in the quarter from the conversion of stock awards. Going forward, we would expect the effective tax rate to be in the range of 31% to 32%, excluding discrete items.

最後，薪資和福利的增加反映了我們對人力資本的持續投資。這包括 2023 年 FTE 的增加，其中許多人是在第二季和第三季入職的，這與獲利能力的提高是一致的。本季度股票獎勵轉換帶來了約 180 萬美元的離散稅收優惠。展望未來，我們預計有效稅率將在 31% 至 32% 之間，不包括離散項目。

And I will now turn the call back to Shelby for Q&A.

現在我將把電話轉回給謝爾比進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Nick Cucharale with Hovde Group.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 Hovde Group 的 Nick Cucharale 提出的第一個問題。

I wanted to start on the expense front. Nice to see a material reduction in the professional fees this quarter. Given the resolution of the regulatory issues, is it your expectation that this line continues to normalize? I heard that $600,000 you expect to drop out in the third quarter, but -- or in the fourth quarter, but is there more to come in the near term now?

我想從費用方面開始。很高興看到本季專業費用大幅減少。鑑於監管問題得到解決，您是否期望這條線繼續正常化？我聽說您預計在第三季或第四季退出 60 萬美元，但短期內還會有更多的退出嗎？

I wouldn't expect any upward movement on the professional fee line, Nick, over the next couple of quarters, particularly from a core perspective. I think legal expense will settle out largely in the fourth quarter but maybe into the first quarter, just given some timing. Given the announcement yesterday, I think you'd still expect to see some in the quarter.

尼克，我預計在接下來的幾個季度裡，專業費用線不會出現任何上升趨勢，特別是從核心角度來看。我認為法律費用將主要在第四季度結算，但也可能在第一季結算，只要給出一些時間表。鑑於昨天的公告，我認為您仍然期望在本季度看到一些。

Longer term though, I mean, we've talked for many quarters and many years now about investments we make in the business, and that's not just human capital, which I mentioned in my prepared remarks but also investments in technology and our digital strategies.

但從長遠來看，我的意思是，我們已經討論了很多季度和很多年了，我們在業務上的投資，這不僅僅是我在準備好的發言中提到的人力資本，還有對技術和數位策略的投資。

So we did announce the Finzly partnership earlier this week. So I think people have seen that. There's, over the last several quarters, been some spend in that line related to our digital initiatives. I think you're going to continue to see that. And as we get through the budget process and Mark and team have a chance to finalize the plans around, I think you'll get more guidance in the first quarter, in January, I should say, around what that looks like. And again, that's noncore to me. But -- and I think where you're kind of probably going with this is what should you expect from a core run rate perspective on expenses. And I think we've been pretty consistent as we've talked over the last couple of years, we can really drive core efficiency ratio in the 40s.

因此，我們本週早些時候確實宣布了 Finzly 合作夥伴關係。所以我認為人們已經看到了這一點。在過去的幾個季度中，我們在該領域進行了一些與我們的數位計劃相關的支出。我想你會繼續看到這一點。當我們完成預算流程並且馬克和團隊有機會最終確定相關計劃時，我認為您將在第一季（我應該說是一月份）獲得更多有關具體情況的指導。再說一次，這對我來說不是核心。但是，我認為您可能會從費用的核心運行率角度期望看到這一點。我認為，正如我們在過去幾年中所說的那樣，我們一直非常一致，我們確實可以將核心效率提高到 40 多歲。

Right now, if you look at it on a core basis and stripped out legal fees in particular and some of the technology spend, I think you'd see it in the high 40s. And I think the expectation would be to continue driving that lower as we go through time. And the investments we're making in this quarter, particularly in people, it helps to do that. There's client-facing people in those numbers. And it's -- the team is working hard. And as we've seen over the last couple of years, we typically see a pretty quick return on those types of investments.

現在，如果你從核心角度來看，特別是剔除法律費用和一些技術支出，我認為你會看到它在 40 多歲左右。我認為隨著時間的推移，我們的預期是繼續降低這一水平。我們在本季進行的投資，特別是在人才方面的投資，有助於做到這一點。這些數字中有面向客戶的人。而且團隊正在努力工作。正如我們在過去幾年中看到的那樣，我們通常會看到此類投資的回報相當快。

Probably more than you asked for in the question, Nick, but I thought I'd give it to you all at once.

尼克，可能比你在問題中要求的要多，但我想我會立即把它全部給你。

No, that's great color. I appreciate it. I know we're in the early innings and you touched on it briefly in your opening remarks, but could you update us on your newest deposit verticals, 1031, title, EB-5, et cetera?

不，那是很棒的顏色。我很感激。我知道我們正處於早期階段，您在開場白中簡短地談到了這一點，但是您能否向我們介紹一下您最新的存款垂直領域、1031、標題、EB-5 等等？

They're well on their way. The infrastructure, setting those to -- specifically with 1031, we can start with that. There are 2 or 3, actually, technologies that we have to integrate in order to be very competitive in that space, and we are well on our way. We have our IT team working with our 1031 team in implementing these new technologies.

他們一切順利。基礎設施，將它們設置為 - 特別是 1031，我們可以從它開始。實際上，我們必須整合 2 到 3 種技術才能在該領域保持競爭力，而且我們已經在路上了。我們的 IT 團隊與 1031 團隊合作實施這些新技術。

So we would expect -- we had -- we didn't expect much out of 1031 or EB-5 in 2023. These were 2024 big initiatives for us. So we'll be fully prepared and fully in the market for 1031 and title in '24, early January. And EB-5 also, there's a lot that goes behind it. It's a complicated business from a documentation perspective, policies, procedures and getting out into the marketplace. So they're fully stood up, and so we expect it to have a good run rate in 2024 and beyond.

因此，我們預計——我們曾經——對 2023 年的 1031 或 EB-5 沒有太多期望。這些對我們來說是 2024 年的重大舉措。因此，我們將做好充分準備，並在 24 年一月初的 1031 和冠軍市場上全力以赴。 EB-5 背後還有很多事情要做。從文件角度、政策、程序和進入市場來看，這是一項複雜的業務。所以他們已經完全站穩了腳跟，所以我們預計它在 2024 年及以後會有良好的運行率。

Fantastic. And then loan growth was strong again this quarter. Are pipelines at similar levels relative to the previous quarter?

極好的。本季貸款成長再次強勁。與上一季相比，管道數量是否處於相似水平？

Yes, I would say so. Yes.

是的，我會這麼說。是的。

Yes, pipeline remains robust.

是的，管道仍然強勁。

And we'll take our next question from Chris O'Connell with KBW.

我們將回答 KBW 的 Chris O'Connell 提出的下一個問題。

So I wanted to follow up on that last question there regarding loan growth and overall balance sheet growth. It sounds like pipelines on the deposit side and the loan side remain full. Do you expect going forward on the deposit side that there's any kind of remaining core noninterest-bearing deposit mix shift remaining or that the growth from these new deposit verticals can offset any kind of overlay mix shift on a go-forward basis?

因此，我想跟進有關貸款成長和整體資產負債表成長的最後一個問題。聽起來存款方和貸款方的管道仍然滿了。您是否預計在存款方面，未來還會有任何類型的剩餘核心無息存款組合轉變，或者這些新存款垂直領域的增長可以在未來的基礎上抵消任何類型的疊加組合轉變嗎？

Well, in the quarter, Chris, I mean, we're really pleased to see in the quarter the existing verticals all contributed. That was largely -- it's a lot of existing clients. It was also new clients, particularly, in retail and with our lending clients. Importantly, though, I mean, we're really focused on -- the mix I'm thinking I'm focused on the most is that DDA versus interest-bearing mix. And with the $75 million of DDA growth in the quarter, that's a direct reflection of how hard the teams are working, right? They get it, and they're really focused on working with our clients and bringing in the operating accounts.

好吧，克里斯，我的意思是，在本季度，我們真的很高興看到現有的垂直行業在本季度都做出了貢獻。這很大程度上是很多現有客戶。這也是新客戶，特別是零售客戶和貸款客戶。但重要的是，我的意思是，我們真正關注的是——我認為我最關注的組合是 DDA 與計息組合。本季 DDA 成長了 7500 萬美元，這直接反映了團隊的工作努力程度，對嗎？他們明白了，他們真正專注於與我們的客戶合作並引入營運帳戶。

So I think -- looking ahead, I really think that the mix is going to be pretty consistent. I would expect to see all deposit verticals continuing to contribute. The teams are working really hard. I'd like to see that DDA mix of existing verticals continue to scale as well. And then the new verticals, EB-5 and title and escrow, 1031, that to me, I mean, that -- those -- that's a long runway for those just to continue to scale and scope.

所以我認為——展望未來，我真的認為這種組合將會非常一致。我希望看到所有存款垂直行業繼續做出貢獻。團隊工作非常努力。我希望看到現有垂直產業的 DDA 組合也能繼續擴大規模。然後是新的垂直行業，EB-5 以及所有權和託管，1031，對我來說，我的意思是，對於那些想要繼續擴大規模和擴大範圍的人來說，這是一條很長的跑道。

And I mean, they contributed this quarter. They've contributed for the last 2 quarters actually. They're going to continue to contribute for quarter and beyond. But you're really going to see those verticals scale in the latter half of next year. And that to me is just the real exciting part here in terms of what you're going to see from a mix shift perspective that's going to impact that cost of funds over time.

我的意思是，他們在本季做出了貢獻。他們實際上在過去兩個季度做出了貢獻。他們將在本季及以後繼續做出貢獻。但你真的會在明年下半年看到這些垂直領域的規模擴大。對我來說，這才是真正令人興奮的部分，因為你將從混合轉變的角度看到，隨著時間的推移，這將影響資金成本。

Yes. And for the new verticals and the deposit production coming on there, any sense in general terms, what the blended cost of the new deposit pipelines are coming on at?

是的。對於新的垂直產業和那裡的存款生產，一般而言，新存款管道的混合成本是多少？

Yes. I mean, as you know, we're not going to talk about pricing in specific verticals, except I would say for EB-5 in particular, it's certainly on a blended basis inside of our current total cost of deposits. So that's going to give you some comfort that as we continue to put on new production yield loans, which, frankly, right now are over 9% of what we see in the pipeline, you're going to see healthy loan yields coming on the asset side repricing, but you're going to see those newer deposits starting to come in inside of our current funding base, and that's a good place to be.

是的。我的意思是，如您所知，我們不會討論特定垂直領域的定價，但我要特別指出的是 EB-5，它肯定是在我們當前總存款成本內的混合基礎上進行的。因此，當我們繼續發放新的生產收益率貸款時，這會讓您感到一些安慰，坦白說，目前這些貸款占我們在管道中看到的貸款的9% 以上，您將看到健康的貸款收益率即將到來。資產方面的重新定價，但你會看到那些新的存款開始進入我們目前的融資基礎，這是一個好地方。

Got it. I guess said another way, I mean interest-bearing deposit costs are at -- now at [$410 million]. How much higher do you think that those will go over the next 2 or 3 quarters?

知道了。我想換句話說，我的意思是計息存款成本現在是[4.1 億美元]。您認為未來 2 或 3 個季度的成長率會高出多少？

My crystal ball is broken, Chris. I mean I think you're still going to see -- I think you've already largely seen the pull-through effect of rate impacts to this point. You might see a little bit more impact in the third -- in the fourth quarter in October potentially. But I would actually expect to see that number starting to hold steady, particularly if you think we're through the rate hike cycle, right? We are liability-sensitive. State that as it is. But over the next 2 quarters, assuming the rate hikes kind of settle out, I think we're pretty close to the high end of that number.

我的水晶球壞了，克里斯。我的意思是，我認為你仍然會看到——我認為你已經在很大程度上看到了利率影響的拉動效應。您可能會在第三季（十月的第四季）看到更多的影響。但我實際上希望看到這個數字開始保持穩定，特別是如果你認為我們已經經歷了升息週期，對吧？我們對責任敏感。照原樣陳述。但在接下來的兩個季度，假設升息問題得到解決，我認為我們已經非常接近這個數字的上限了。

Got it. And just given that outlook and some of the borrowing dynamics that you discussed in the prepared remarks, how do you see the NIM progressing near term into the fourth quarter and over the next several quarters if the rate environment kind of remains steady?

知道了。鑑於您在準備好的發言中討論的前景和一些借貸動態，如果利率環境保持穩定，您如何看待第四季度和未來幾季的淨利差進展？

Yes. I really truly feel we might have seen the inflection point in the third quarter on NIM, Chris. I think that's going to go back to your kind of your embedded last question, which is, is there any upward pressure on the existing interest-bearing deposit side? I'm not seeing it right now.

是的。我真的覺得我們可能已經在第三季看到了 NIM 的拐點，Chris。我認為這將回到你所提出的最後一個問題，即現有的計息存款方面是否存在上行壓力？我現在還沒有看到它。

I would expect us, frankly, to start that inflection point, if not already, then into the fourth quarter. You might see some modest uplift in the fourth quarter in NIM. But by the time we get into the first quarter next year, again, a combination of a more stable rate environment and the connotation that would have on our funding cost, combined with just the ability to continue to reprice the asset side, you'll start to see that uplift certainly by the first quarter at the latest.

坦白說，我希望我們能夠開始這個拐點，如果不是已經的話，那麼會在第四季開始。您可能會看到第四季度淨息差略有上升。但到明年第一季時，更穩定的利率環境和對我們融資成本的影響，再加上繼續對資產方重新定價的能力，你會最晚肯定會在第一季開始看到這種提升。

Got it. And on the GPG pipeline, I know you guys announced that partnership and have some things that you look to update us on as we get into 2024. But how do you see the GPG fees trending into the fourth quarter? Should we expect those to be up on a quarter-over-quarter basis?

知道了。關於 GPG 管道，我知道你們宣布了合作夥伴關係，並希望在進入 2024 年時向我們通報一些最新情況。但是您如何看待第四季度的 GPG 費用趨勢？我們是否應該預期這些數字會比上季上升？

I would still expect to see GPG revenues trending as they have historically, Chris. If you call that 15%, 20%, whatever range you're looking at historically, I'm not seeing anything that would say otherwise. I mean we're obviously still continuing to focus on the quality clients we want to have in the portfolio there. And I think, as you know, though, anybody we onboard now, it's really -- you're not going to see any substantial revenue generation, fee generation for at least 12 to 18 months. It takes some time to get them to the process and ramp up.

我仍然希望看到 GPG 收入會像歷史上那樣發展，克里斯。如果你稱之為 15%、20%，無論你在歷史上看到什麼範圍，我都沒有看到任何其他說法。我的意思是，我們顯然仍在繼續關注我們希望在投資組合中擁有的優質客戶。但我認為，正如您所知，對於我們現在加入的任何人來說，至少在 12 到 18 個月內，您不會看到任何實質的收入產生和費用產生。讓他們進入流程並加快速度需要一些時間。

But just with the existing portfolio of clients we've got, you're starting to see -- I called out in my prepared remarks, the corporate disbursement clients you're starting to see some of those partners really hit their stride, and as they're building out their client base, it's filtering through. But I would say continue to look at the historic run rate, I think that's a good place to start.

但就我們現有的客戶組合而言，你開始看到——我在準備好的發言中指出，企業支付客戶你開始看到其中一些合作夥伴真正取得了進展，並且隨著他們正在建立自己的客戶群，並進行過濾。但我想說繼續關注歷史運行率，我認為這是一個很好的起點。

Got it. And then just lastly, on the consent order and the impact going forward. Obviously, the actual monetary penalty came in below expectations. How -- do you have any color or detail as to how much of the kind of internal investments related to that are needed on a go-forward basis?

知道了。最後，關於同意令及其未來的影響。顯然，實際罰款金額低於預期。關於未來需要多少與此相關的內部投資，您是否有任何顏色或細節？

I think I don't think there's any more additional internal investments. We have been working on improving the policies and procedures as I mentioned in my prepared remarks. So there will be no incremental increase in costs associated with addressing the concerns of the regulators. We may have some outside validation done through some consulting work to validate what we have done, but we're in a pretty good shape to address the concerns of the regulators.

我認為不會再有任何額外的內部投資。正如我在準備好的演講中提到的，我們一直在努力改進政策和程序。因此，解決監管機構擔憂的相關成本不會增加。我們可能會透過一些諮詢工作進行一些外部驗證，以驗證我們所做的事情，但我們處於良好的狀態來解決監管機構的擔憂。

And we'll take our last question from Alex Lau with JPMorgan.

我們將回答摩根大通的 Alex Lau 提出的最後一個問題。

Just to follow up on the previous topic. Can you talk -- walk through the 2 consent orders and how you expect to respond to these if this changes how you approach the GPG business at all?

只是為了跟進上一個主題。您能否談談 2 份同意令，以及​​如果這完全改變您處理 GPG 業務的方式，您希望如何回應這些同意令？

Well, the consent orders are pretty straightforward. They're specific to different areas of compliance oversight, specifically for the consumer-facing part of GPG. And we have been addressing -- as you know, this is a 2020 matter. So we have been addressing and working alongside very productively with our regulators. So we have a very good relationship with the regulators, open communication, good transparency. They've had some very good ideas and some suggestions on how to address these type of business relationships. You saw recently, there was joint agency guidance that came out on third-party oversight for these types of relationships. So that's been very helpful.

嗯，同意令非常簡單。它們針對不同的合規監督領域，特別是針對 GPG 面向消費者的部分。如你所知，我們一直在解決這個問題，這是 2020 年的問題。因此，我們一直在與監管機構進行有效的溝通和合作。所以我們與監管機構有著非常好的關係，開放的溝通，良好的透明度。他們對如何處理此類業務關係提出了一些非常好的想法和建議。您最近看到，針對此類關係的第三方監督發布了聯合機構指南。這非常有幫助。

And we'll address them one by one. It's no different than findings in any report of exam. We'll address them. We'll evaluate them. We'll have discussions with the regulators. And then we will make the changes necessary. We will likely get some of the changes looked at by outside companies to validate, and then we'll present them to the regulators for their review and consideration.

我們將一一解決它們。這與任何檢查報告中的發現沒有什麼不同。我們會解決他們的問題。我們將對他們進行評估。我們將與監管機構進行討論。然後我們將做出必要的改變。我們可能會得到外部公司審查的一些變更進行驗證，然後我們會將它們提交給監管機構供其審查和考慮。

But we don't find it to be a heavy lift. We've addressed many of these already because this was in a very acute challenge in March of 2020, specifically because of the global pandemic and the circumstances around that. But no, we're in a good place, and we have good dialogue with the regulators on this.

但我們並不認為這是一項繁重的工作。我們已經解決了其中的許多問題，因為這是 2020 年 3 月面臨的非常嚴峻的挑戰，特別是由於全球大流行及其周圍的情況。但不，我們處於一個很好的位置，我們與監管機構就此進行了良好的對話。

Yes. And the only thing I would add, Alex, is I mean we -- from an investment perspective with human capital, we've almost doubled the number of folks in that the control function since that time, since early 2020. And I think that speaks to Mark's point in terms of the level of focus on this internally since that time.

是的。亞歷克斯，我唯一要補充的是，我的意思是，從人力資本投資的角度來看，自 2020 年初以來，我們負責控制職能的人數幾乎增加了一倍。我認為就從那時起內部對此的關注程度而言，馬克的觀點得到了體現。

And just a follow-up to that. Does this impact the near-term growth potential of the GPG business with regards to gathering deposits and fee income at that historical growth pace?

這只是後續行動。這是否會影響 GPG 業務在以歷史成長速度收集存款和費用收入方面的近期成長潛力？

I don't think so. As I sort of signaled many times over the last several quarters, we are repositioning and looking primarily at more B2B business in GPG as it relates to the payment space and not really looking to expand the consumer side of the business. So no, we don't expect any interruption of business at all.

我不這麼認為。正如我在過去幾個季度中多次表示的那樣，我們正在重新定位並主要關注 GPG 中更多的 B2B 業務，因為它與支付領域相關，而不是真正尋求擴大消費者方面的業務。因此，我們預計業務不會出現任何中斷。

And my last question was on the nonperforming loans. There was a tick-up in the quarter. Can you share some color on what that loan was and also maybe just refresh us on the health of the existing nonperformer?

我的最後一個問題是關於不良貸款的。本季出現了小幅上漲。您能否分享一些有關這筆貸款的信息，或者讓我們重新了解現有不良貸款的健康狀況？

Working backwards, we are still going through the foreclosure process on that one loan that's in Mission, Kansas, and we're still fairly optimistic on a positive outcome likely to be a 2024 event. As it relates to the tick-up, it was 2 small loans actually with the same principle, I think, roughly $3.5 million each. We have no concerns at all on at least half of it, one loan at $3.5 million. The other loan, we are highly confident we'll get paid 100 cents on a $1. So no concerns at all. And overall, the health of the book is very good.

回過頭來看，我們仍在經歷堪薩斯州 Mission 的一筆貸款的取消抵押品贖回權流程，我們仍然對 2024 年可能出現的積極結果相當樂觀。就提價而言，我認為實際上是兩筆小額貸款，其原理相同，每筆約為 350 萬美元。至少有一半是我們完全不擔心的，一筆 350 萬美元的貸款。對於另一筆貸款，我們非常有信心以 1 美元獲得 100 美分。所以完全不用擔心。整體而言，這本書的健康度非常好。

Yes. And stating the obvious, the nonperforming ratio there is still incredibly low even with that modest uptick of those 2 small loans.

是的。顯而易見的是，即使這兩項小額貸款略有上升，不良率仍然低得令人難以置信。

And before Mark does any closing remarks, I just want to thank Mark for the time I've spent with MCB. It's a remarkable franchise. It's an incredible team. So Mark, thank you to you. Thank you to the Board. I really enjoyed working here and working with everybody, too.

在 Mark 做結束語之前，我只想感謝 Mark 與 MCB 一起度過的時光。這是一個非凡的特許經營權。這是一支令人難以置信的團隊。所以馬克，謝謝你。感謝董事會。我真的很喜歡在這裡工作，也很喜歡和大家一起工作。

Yes. And we feel the same, Greg, and we wish you all the best in your new initiatives. And hopefully, we'll keep in touch and work together as -- again.

是的。格雷格，我們也有同樣的感覺，我們祝福你在新計劃中一切順利。希望我們能夠再次保持聯繫並共同努力。

There's no doubt. And Chris and Alex, it's been a pleasure working with you guys the last couple of years. And Nick, sorry for the timing on it. It's been really good getting to know you as you've gotten up to the curve here. But as you know, it's a remarkable franchise, so good luck.

毫無疑問。克里斯和亞歷克斯，過去幾年與你們一起工作非常愉快。尼克，對於時間安排感到抱歉。很高興認識你，因為你已經達到了這裡的水平。但如你所知，這是一個非凡的特許經營權，祝你好運。

And this concludes the allotted time for questions. I would like to turn the call over to Mark DeFazio for any additional or closing remarks.

分配的提問時間到此結束。我想將電話轉給馬克·德法齊奧（Mark DeFazio），詢問任何補充或結束語。

I have nothing other than thank you again for your support and interest in MCB. And as I've said many times, we are here, and we're available to anybody, any investor or analyst who would like to chat with us off-line. Have a nice day.

我只想再次感謝您對 MCB 的支持和關注。正如我多次說過的，我們就在這裡，任何人、任何投資者或分析師只要想與我們離線聊天，都可以與我們聯繫。祝你今天過得愉快。

This does conclude today's conference call and webcast. A webcast archive of this call can be found at www.mcbankny.com. Please disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day.

今天的電話會議和網路廣播到此結束。本次電話會議的網路廣播存檔可在 www.mcbankny.com 上找到。此時請斷開您的線路，祝您有美好的一天。