Medallion Financial Corp (MFIN) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome to the Medallion Financial third-quarter 2023 earnings conference call.

女士們、先生們，早安，歡迎參加 Medallion Financial 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Ken Cooper. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人肯·庫珀。請繼續。

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Medallion Financial Corp's third-quarter earnings call. Joining me today are Andrew Murstein, President and Chief Operating Officer; and Anthony Cutrone, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝大家，早安。歡迎參加大獎章金融公司第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起出席的還有總裁兼營運長 Andrew Murstein；和財務長安東尼·庫特羅內。

Certain statements made during the call today constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to and within the meaning of the Safe Harbor provisions under Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended.

今天電話會議期間所做的某些聲明構成前瞻性聲明，這些聲明是根據經修訂的 1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案中的安全港條款並在其含義範圍內做出的。

Such forward-looking statements are subject to, both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Those risks and uncertainties are described in our earnings press release issued yesterday in our filings with the SEC. The forward looking statements made today are as of the day of this call, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these forward looking statements.

此類前瞻性陳述受到已知和未知的風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與此類陳述有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性已在我們昨天向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中發布的收益新聞稿中進行了描述。今天所做的前瞻性陳述截至本次電話會議之日，我們不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

In addition to our earnings press release, you can find our third-quarter supplement presentation on our website by visiting the medallion.com and clicking Investor Relations. The presentation is near the top of the page. With that, I will turn it over to Andrew Murstein, President.

除了我們的收益新聞稿外，您還可以透過造訪 mellion.com 並點擊投資者關係在我們的網站上找到我們的第三季補充簡報。簡報位於頁面頂部附近。接下來，我將把它交給總裁安德魯·默斯坦 (Andrew Murstein)。

Thank you, Ken. Good morning, everyone. Medallion Financial had a strong third-quarter that culminated with our best earnings for the nine months ended September 30 in any year since our IPO over 27 years ago. In the third quarter, we generated $11.2 million of net income and $0.48 of earnings per share. Year- to- date, we are at $40.8 million of net income and $1.77 of earnings per share.

謝謝你，肯。大家，早安。 Medallion Financial 第三季表現強勁，截至 9 月 30 日的九個月的利潤達到了 27 年來最好的水平。第三季度，我們實現了 1,120 萬美元的淨利潤和 0.48 美元的每股盈餘。年初至今，我們的淨利潤為 4,080 萬美元，每股收益為 1.77 美元。

These results have again been driven by higher than normal originations in our consumer lending. Solid results from our commercial lending, continued success in cash collections from our taxi medallion loans and a successful efforts to leverage our operating costs.

這些結果再次是由於我們的消費貸款高於正常水平而推動的。我們的商業貸款取得了堅實的成果，我們的計程車牌照貸款現金回收的持續成功以及槓桿營運成本的成功努力。

We have been clear for some time now that our strategy is to grow net interest income by offsetting rising cost to borrow with continued growth in loan originations. We have done that for another quarter, even as our origination activity has started to normalize back to historical levels.

一段時間以來，我們已經明確表示，我們的策略是透過貸款發放的持續成長來抵銷借貸成本的上升，從而增加淨利息收入。儘管我們的發起活動已經開始正常化回到歷史水平，但我們已經在另一個季度這樣做了。

As we look to the future, we will continue to take proactive steps to raise our credit standards and increased pricing. With total assets of over $2.5 billion, we anticipate loan growth to moderate from the levels we have seen over the past two years, which should enhance earnings with reduced credit allowances needed at origination. This provides more flexibility and options for us to consider around capital allocation, such as a 25% increase in the dividend of board authorized starting next month, which enhances shareholder return.

展望未來，我們將繼續採取積極措施提高信用標準並提高定價。由於總資產超過 25 億美元，我們預計貸款成長將較過去兩年的水平有所放緩，這將透過減少發放時所需的信貸額度來提高收益。這為我們在資本配置方面提供了更多的靈活性和選擇，例如從下個月開始授權董事會股息增加 25%，從而提高股東回報。

Moving to the update for each of our segments. Our consumer lending business had another quarter of heightened activity of originations. We believe this robust origination activity is due to our target customer, still being active in purchasing towable RVs, [marine] and single project home improvements.

轉向我們每個細分市場的更新。我們的消費貸款業務的發起活動又增加了一個季度。我們相信，這種強勁的發起活動是由於我們的目標客戶仍然積極購買拖曳式房車、[船舶]和單一專案家居裝修。

These all have active markets today as compared to the higher end towable RVs, yards, a multi project or whole house remodels, which has significantly higher costs and maybe more susceptible to a slowdown. As a reminder, our average loan origination is around a very manageable $25,000 with a prime or near prime borrowers are more focused on the payment levels than the rates.

與高端可牽引房車、庭院、多項目或整個房屋改造相比，這些如今都有活躍的市場，後者的成本要高得多，而且可能更容易受到經濟放緩的影響。提醒一下，我們的平均貸款發放額約為 25,000 美元，非常易於管理，優質或接近優質借款人更關注還款水平而不是利率。

In addition, we continue to see some industry players scale back or exit these business lines, which helps us. The dealers and contractors who we work with know that we have great service levels and would be here a long term, which helps them refer business to us. Our commercial business originated $9 million of loans in the quarter and ended the quarter with $100 million of loans outstanding.

此外，我們繼續看到一些行業參與者縮減或退出這些業務線，這對我們有幫助。與我們合作的經銷商和承包商知道我們擁有出色的服務水平並且會長期服務，這有助於他們向我們推薦業務。我們的商業業務在本季發放了 900 萬美元的貸款，本季結束時未償貸款為 1 億美元。

The segment generated after-tax earnings of $2 million during the quarter, which included net after-tax gains related to equity investments of $1.6 million. Our bottom line benefited again from another good quarter of cash collections on taxi medallion assets. This quarter, we collected $5.7 million, which translated into $0.1 of earnings per share.

該部門在本季產生了 200 萬美元的稅後收益，其中包括與股權投資相關的 160 萬美元的稅後淨收益。我們的利潤再次受益於出租車牌照資產的另一個良好的現金回收季度。本季度，我們收到了 570 萬美元，相當於每股收益 0.1 美元。

Also of note shortly after the quarter ended, we executed a structured settlement with one of our larger taxi medallion borrowers and collected an addition $9.4 million, which will result in the pre-tax gain of approximately $8 million in the fourth quarter.

另外值得注意的是，在本季結束後不久，我們與一家較大的計程車牌照借款人達成了結構性和解，並額外收取了940 萬美元，這將導致第四季度稅前收益約為800萬美元。

We continued to be delighted with our taxi medallion collection performance, but I again stress that payment patterns are expected to fluctuate. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, our board has authorized at 25% increase in our quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.1 per share per quarter.

我們仍然對出租車牌照收集表現感到滿意，但我再次強調，支付模式預計會出現波動。最後，正如我之前提到的，我們的董事會已授權將季度股息從每季每股 0.08 美元增加到 0.1 美元，增幅為 25%。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Anthony to provide some additional insight into our quarter.

現在，我將把電話轉給安東尼，以提供我們季度的一些額外見解。

Thank you, Andrew. Good morning, everyone. For the quarter, net interest income grew 16% to $48.8 million from the prior year, driven by increased interest rates on new originations, coupled with the loan growth, we have experienced since the prior year. These two factors have been able to counteract the rising cost of funds we continue to experience.

謝謝你，安德魯。大家，早安。本季淨利息收入較上年增長 16%，達到 4,880 萬美元，這主要是由於新貸款利率上升，加上自上年以來我們經歷的貸款增長。這兩個因素能夠抵消我們持續經歷的資金成本上升的影響。

Our net interest margin on gross loans with 8.35% for the quarter as compared to 8.48% in the second quarter and 8.63% in the prior year quarter. The compression in net interest margin is related to two things. First, home improvement lending has been the fastest growing component of our consumer lending business. With these prime credits having a much lower interest rates and compared to our much larger recreation portfolio.

本季總貸款淨利差為 8.35%，而第二季為 8.48%，去年同期為 8.63%。淨利差壓縮與兩件事有關。首先，房屋裝修貸款一直是我們消費貸款業務中成長最快的部分。與我們更大的娛樂投資組合相比，這些優質積分的利率要低得多。

The second is the rising cost of funds we are experiencing in tandem with the current interest rate environment. Although, we have been successful in increasing our own rates, it is not on a one-to-one basis. Specific to originations, we are currently writing in an average rate of 11.75% on home improvement loans, up from approximately 9% a year ago.

第二個是我們正在經歷的資金成本與當前利率環境同步上升。儘管我們已經成功地提高了自己的費率，但這並不是一對一的。具體到貸款發放情況，我們目前的房屋裝修貸款平均利率為 11.75%，高於一年前的約 9%。

On an average rate of approximately 16.25% on recreation loans, up from 14.75% a year ago. In addition to passing along interest rate increases, we continue to take proactive measures to tighten credit in our consumer lending.

娛樂貸款的平均利率約為 16.25%，高於一年前的 14.75%。除了傳導升息外，我們還繼續採取積極措施收緊消費貸款信貸。

At the end of 2018, subprime loans were 66% of the recreation portfolio. Today, some prime loans are 38% of that portfolio. Our provision for credit loss was $14.5 million for the quarter compared to $10 million in the prior year quarter. The increased provision is primarily a result of one, the continued normalization of loss experienced in our consumer portfolio, up from the unprecedented lows experienced during the pandemic and to the growth of our overall portfolio.

截至 2018 年底，次級貸款佔娛樂投資組合的 66%。如今，一些優質貸款佔該投資組合的 38%。本季我們的信貸損失準備金為 1,450 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,000 萬美元。撥備增加的主要原因是我們的消費者投資組合的損失持續正常化，從疫情期間經歷的前所未有的低點上升，以及我們整體投資組合的成長。

Provision is inclusive of a $1.8 million benefit related to recoveries on taxi medallion loans during the quarter. Operating expenses were $19.1 million during the quarter, down from $19.4 million in the prior year quarter. The drop was primarily the result of lower legal and professional fees in the current period, offset by higher salary and benefit costs and higher servicing costs associated with a larger book of loans. For the quarter, net income attributable to our shareholders was $11.2 million and our diluted earnings per share was $0.48.

撥款包括與本季出租車牌照貸款回收相關的 180 萬美元福利。本季營運費用為 1,910 萬美元，低於去年同期的 1,940 萬美元。下降的主要原因是本期法律和專業費用降低，但被工資和福利成本上升以及與貸款規模增加相關的服務成本上升所抵消。本季度，歸屬於股東的淨利潤為 1,120 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.48 美元。

Just a quick final comment on the balance sheet. On September 29th, we closed the $39 million private placement of 9.25% notes, a large portion of which has been used to settle $33 million of the 8.25% notes, which mature in March 2024, with the remaining $3 million of those notes interest to be able to be repaid at maturity.

最後對資產負債表進行快速評論。 9 月 29 日，我們完成了 3,900 萬美元的 9.25% 票據私募，其中很大一部分已用於結算 2024 年 3 月到期的 8.25% 票據中的 3,300 萬美元，其餘 300 萬美元的票據利息支付給到期時能夠償還。

It's important to note that this new issuance priced at a rate 75 basis points above time as compared to our previous notes issuance in 2021, which priced at 400 basis points above prime. Our ability to price the instruments at a lower spread to find from just a few years ago speaks to our underlying business as a whole and the progress that we have made in transforming the company.

值得注意的是，與我們先前在 2021 年發行的票據相比，此次新發行的定價高出 75 個基點，後者的定價高出 400 個基點。我們能夠以幾年前較低的價差對工具進行定價，這說明了我們整個基礎業務以及我們在公司轉型方面取得的進展。

At the end of the quarter, the company had $160 million of debt at the parent company, which continues to fund the investments in our operating subsidiaries. With that debt being less than 50% of our equity. That covers our third-quarter financial results.

截至本季末，該公司在母公司的債務為 1.6 億美元，母公司繼續為我們營運子公司的投資提供資金。該債務不到我們股本的 50%。這涵蓋了我們第三季的財務表現。

Andrew and I are now happy to take your questions.

安德魯和我現在很高興回答你的問題。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now be conducting a question and answer session. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。女士們、先生們，我們現在將進行問答環節。 （操作員說明）

Mike Grondahl , Northland Securities.

麥克‧格隆達爾，北國證券。

Hey, guys, thanks a lot. Two questions, maybe to start off with, could you kind a give us a sense of your margin outlook going forward? And then Anthony, I think we typically get net charge offs kind of by category in dollars and percent. Could you also provide those?

嘿，夥計們，非常感謝。或許首先要問兩個問題，能否讓我們了解您未來的利潤前景？然後安東尼，我認為我們通常會按類別以美元和百分比的形式獲得淨沖銷。你也能提供那些嗎？

Sure. So, with regards to the margin, we still believe, as we have said for a couple of quarters that this is going to continue to be compression, but we think we bottom out around [eight] net interest margin. We still have a ways to go in terms of our cost of funds rising, but I think what's important to note is that we have passed to long, especially in the most recent year, a large number of increased rates on new originations.

當然。因此，就利潤率而言，我們仍然相信，正如我們在幾個季度中所說的那樣，這將繼續壓縮，但我們認為淨利差將在[8]左右觸底。就資金成本上升而言，我們還有很長的路要走，但我認為值得注意的是，我們已經長期，特別是在最近一年，對新產品的利率大量提高。

So, we think, as we get closer to the top of the credit cycle, there will be a little bit more compression, but then, as we have increased the rates on in our book matures in terms of a higher average interest rate, that should help us long term.

因此，我們認為，當我們接近信貸週期的頂部時，將會有更多的壓縮，但是，隨著我們提高帳面上的利率，成熟的平均利率會更高，應該對我們有長期的幫助。

Got it. So, a couple more quarters of compression until you hit about 8%. Did I hear that right?

知道了。因此，再壓縮幾個季度，直到達到 8% 左右。我沒聽錯吧？

Yes, I think that's fair. And obviously, what the Fed decides to do is going to be a catalyst for a lot of things, but that's how we are seeing it. And to your other question about charge-offs for the quarter, charge offs in rec and home improvement were $9 million and $3 million. Commercial was zero and we had $1.7 million of recoveries and taxis.

是的，我認為這是公平的。顯然，聯準會決定要做的事情將成為許多事情的催化劑，但這就是我們的看法。至於你關於本季沖銷的另一個問題，娛樂和家居裝修的沖銷分別為 900 萬美元和 300 萬美元。商業成本為零，我們有 170 萬美元的回收和計程車費用。

Got it. And then on your CDs, what was the average rate you are paying at the end of three Q, kind of compared to market?

知道了。然後，在您的 CD 上，與市場相比，您在三個季度結束時支付的平均利率是多少？

We are probably about 150 to 175 basis points below what a current three-year CD would be. So, we think, we creep up and again, that goes back to what we were just talking about. Our cost of funds is going to increase towards that 475 ish, 500 level over the next several quarters, but again, our top line is going to continue to increase as we have seen it do for the past several quarters now.

我們可能比目前三年期 CD 低約 150 至 175 個基點。所以，我們認為，我們再次爬行，這又回到了我們剛才談論的內容。在接下來的幾個季度中，我們的資金成本將增加到 475 左右、500 左右的水平，但我們的收入將繼續增加，正如我們在過去幾個季度所看到的那樣。

Yes, you have done a good job of raising yield, that's for sure. And then Andy, two questions for you. One, how are you thinking about the $160 million of debt at the holding company, as you get these taxi cab modality in collections? And then secondly, how are you thinking about 2024?

是的，你們在提高產量方面做得很好，這是肯定的。然後安迪，有兩個問題想問你。第一，當您收集這些計程車模式時，您如何看待控股公司 1.6 億美元的債務？其次，您如何看待 2024 年？

So, let me just also touch on the net interest margin. The net interest income, we expect, of course, the increase, just to be clear, there is on the margin is now that is missing accurately for several quarters now should go down to about an 8%, but as the portfolio grows, the margins continue to shrink, but the net interest income continues to increase because of the volume of the portfolio, the originations.

那麼，讓我也來談談淨利差。當然，我們預期淨利息收入會增加，需要明確的是，現在的邊際利潤已經連續幾個季度準確缺失，現在應該會下降到 8% 左右，但隨著投資組合的增長，利潤率繼續萎縮，但由於投資組合的規模和來源，淨利息收入持續增加。

The debt amount, we think is conservative at that level, when I have really leveraged too much. We have always operated is, you know, Mike, you have known us for many, many years, so for about 30 years, we were a regulated investment company, BDC. So, we were limited to about one to one debt to equity.

我們認為，當我的槓桿率確實過高時，債務金額在這個水平上是保守的。我們一直在經營，你知道，麥克，你已經認識我們很多很多年了，所以在大約 30 年的時間裡，我們是一家受監管的投資公司，BDC。因此，我們的債務與股本的比例被限制在約一比一。

So, we have always kind of operated at a low leverage ratio. So, we refinanced that debt, as you know, that was nice to put behind us. We have debt coming due in March 2024, which refinanced as we announced on September 30. So, we don't anticipate adding significant new debt, if any debt at all for the next year or so.

因此，我們一直以較低的槓桿率進行操作。所以，正如你所知，我們為這筆債務進行了再融資，這很好。我們的債務將於 2024 年 3 月到期，正如我們在 9 月 30 日宣布的那樣，該債務已進行再融資。因此，我們預計明年左右不會增加大量新債務（如果有的話）。

In terms of the outlook for 2024, I would say, overall, we are pretty optimistic, as the numbers continue to show and the results continued to show. We have had strong loan demand in RV marine, home-improvement, mezzanine continues to be very strong too. This is probably one of the highest deal flow, we have seen from that division in the 25 years that we have owned them.

就 2024 年的前景而言，我想說，總體而言，我們相當樂觀，因為數字繼續顯示，結果繼續顯示。我們在房車船舶、家居裝修、夾層樓方面的貸款需求強勁，也仍然非常強勁。這可能是我們擁有該部門 25 年來所看到的交易流量最高的部門之一。

So, across the board, continued growth. Hopefully more collections from the Medallion portfolio. We have done a great job collecting on a lot of loans there. We still are hold about $200 million, and we will do whatever we can to collect as much of that.

因此，總體而言，持續成長。希望獎章組合中有更多收藏。我們在那裡收集了大量貸款，做得很好。我們仍然持有約 2 億美元，我們將盡一切努力籌集盡可能多的資金。

You have congestion pricing hitting New York City soon. So, that could be a boost for Medallion prices, when they try to keep consumer cars out of the city. More people, ideally will be taking taxis, as well as Ubers. And, we increased the dividend, so as everybody can kind of sit back and watch the growth in 2024. They will be able to receive a $0.4 per share dividend. So, overall, I would say, we are bullish on the year ahead.

紐約市很快就會面臨擁堵收費。因此，當他們試圖將消費型汽車排除在城市之外時，這可能會提振大獎章價格。理想情況下，更多的人會乘坐出租車以及優步。而且，我們增加了股息，讓每個人都可以坐下來觀察 2024 年的成長。他們將能夠獲得每股 0.4 美元的股息。因此，總的來說，我想說，我們對未來一年持樂觀態度。

Great. Thanks again.

偉大的。再次感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Christopher Nolan, Ladenburg Thalmann.

克里斯多福諾蘭，拉登堡塔爾曼。

Andrew, did I hear you say the those $200 million Medallions outstanding?

安德魯，我聽說你說過那些價值 2 億美元的獎章尚未兌現嗎？

That's what we are owed. Correct, as you know, they are written down to a much lower number, much less than 1% of our assets today, but that's how much legally we were owed. And the collections can come through by, either foreclosing on the Medallions, which are worth about $150 or so now in New York City. We are carrying them, as you know, at a lower number, but all these and we have been saying this for many, many years, all the loans have personal guarantees attached to them.

這就是我們所欠的。是的，如您所知，它們的減記金額要低得多，遠低於我們今天資產的 1%，但這就是我們合法欠下的金額。這些收藏可以透過取消獎章贖回權來實現，這些獎章現在在紐約市價值約 150 美元左右。如您所知，我們持有的貸款數量較少，但所有這些，我們多年來一直在說，所有貸款都有個人擔保。

So, thankfully, we are seeing a lot of settlements this year. I don't know, if the borrowers are bullish on the congestion pricing plan, which is business in general, but they are coming in and settling with us. So, hopefully that continues.

因此，值得慶幸的是，今年我們看到了許多和解。我不知道借款人是否看好擁堵定價計劃，這通常是生意，但他們正在進來並與我們達成和解。所以，希望這種情況能夠持續下去。

Got it. For the $9.4 million Medallion recovery in the fourth quarter. Why is that a gain, shouldn't that be a recovery?

知道了。第四季尊爵會收回了 940 萬美元。為什麼說這是一種收穫，那不應該是一種恢復嗎？

So, see, I don't know what is a recovery, it's going to be a benefit in our provision. So, these assets had been written down to a book value of $1.4 million. So, it's the difference between the cash collected and the asset that goes away, that's the $8 million.

所以，看，我不知道什麼是復甦，這將是我們的供應中的一個好處。因此，這些資產的帳面價值已減記為 140 萬美元。所以，這就是收取的現金和消失的資產之間的差額，也就是 800 萬美元。

Okay, so that's simply just, we could potentially have a lower loan loss provision than normal, right?

好吧，這只是，我們的貸款損失準備金可能比正常情況要低，對嗎？

Right. Yes, So that $8 million should all flow through as a benefit in the loan loss provision, that's correct.

正確的。是的，因此 800 萬美元應該全部作為貸款損失準備金中的收益流過，這是正確的。

And then where are you thinking of taking the reserve ratio?

那麼準備金率你想到哪裡呢？

So, currently in a word for around 420 on rec, and just about 220 or so on home improvement. We think those are good numbers. So, in connection with the adoption of CECL on January 1, we have got a, we do a lot more quantitative forecasting, and we look at future expected losses, if the economy were to take a sudden downturn, which we have been expecting, those rate could step up, but, if we continue with the pace where we are, we think those are good numbers and that's where the allowances should remain.

所以，目前總而言之，rec 大約 420，而家居裝脩大約 220 左右。我們認為這些數字不錯。因此，就 1 月 1 日通過 CECL 而言，我們做了更多的定量預測，我們著眼於如果經濟突然下滑（我們一直在預期），未來的預期損失，這些比率可能會上升，但是，如果我們繼續保持目前的速度，我們認為這些數字不錯，而且津貼應該保持在這個水平。

Okay. And then given final question. Given your comments in terms of loan growth to moderate, should we expect relatively, what does moderate mean, I mean, is (inaudible)

好的。然後給出最後一個問題。鑑於您對貸款成長適度的評論，我們是否應該相對預期，適度意味著什麼，我的意思是（聽不清楚）

So, I think in the nine months consumer loans grew around 16% and we have been experiencing 20% to 30% growth year-over-year in those two categories. And that was good, we intentionally did that and made those, took the opportunity to take these recoveries and this capital that we generated from these Medallion collections and reinvested in the business.

因此，我認為在這 9 個月裡，消費貸款增加了 16% 左右，而這兩個類別的同比增長則達到了 20% 至 30%。這很好，我們有意這樣做並製作了這些，並藉此機會利用了這些回收品以及我們從這些獎章收藏中獲得的資金，並將其重新投資於業務。

I think going forward, we would expect somewhere in the ballpark of 8% to 12% growth, with the ability to increase that or decrease it as necessary. I think growing at 20% is different, when you have got $1 billion balance sheet as opposed to growing at 20%, when you have got a $2.5 billion balance sheet.

我認為，展望未來，我們預計成長率約為 8% 至 12%，並且可以根據需要增加或減少成長率。我認為，當你的資產負債表為 10 億美元時，以 20% 的速度增長與當你的資產負債表為 25 億美元時，以 20% 的速度增長是不同的。

Okay, that's it for me. Thank you.

好吧，我就這樣了。謝謝。

Matt Howlett , B. Riley Securities.

馬特‧豪利特 (Matt Howlett)，B. 萊利證券 (Riley Securities)。

Thanks for taking my question. Another fine quarter, and they just seems to be disconnect between, you guys are performing with the market [views] that, I want to get to that, but the first question is with the moderation alone growth, the excess capital and you just raised the dividend.

感謝您提出我的問題。又一個美好的季度，他們之間似乎脫節了，你們的表現符合市場[觀點]，我想談這一點，但第一個問題是增長放緩、資本過剩以及你們剛剛籌集的資金股息。

We have a high-class problem, we have lot of capital, you are above, I think 50 well above 15% and looks like, you will generate more capital, you got that game coming into the third quarters. So, you have already got sort of $0.25 in the bank already.

我們有一個高級問題，我們有很多資本，你在上面，我認為 50 遠高於 15%，看起來，你會產生更多的資本，你可以讓比賽進入第三季。所以，您已經在銀行存有 0.25 美元。

My question to you is, what do you think about terms of excess capital? Could you get more aggressive buying another platform, buying back shares? Just talk to me about what you have been running at this breakneck speed and loan growth is going to slow, it's going to free up a lot of capital, you have got great earnings. Anything, we should think about [points] of that capital?

我問你的問題是，你對過剩資本條款有何看法？你能更積極地購買另一個平台，回購股票嗎？只要告訴我你一直在以如此驚人的速度運行，貸款成長將會放緩，這將釋放大量資本，你將獲得豐厚的收入。無論如何，我們應該考慮一下那個資本的[點]？

I think, we are always looking at new businesses and acquisitions. It's really not a good time to go off base and go into new lines of business, all of our businesses are doing so well. So, we are going to continue to focus on them. I would say that, we probably have a lot of good options, since we don't plan on going into new businesses that could be buying back more stock.

我認為，我們一直在尋找新業務和收購。現在確實不是離開基地進入新業務領域的好時機，我們所有的業務都做得很好。因此，我們將繼續關注它們。我想說的是，我們可能有很多不錯的選擇，因為我們不打算進入可能回購更多股票的新業務。

Last year, I think we bought about 10% of the company back in 2022. The buyback has another $20 million to go. It lets us raise the dividend, as you state. We are now paying $0.40 of share. So, we raised a 25%. So, we can put more money into the bank, if need be, if we are surprised and loan growth is stronger and we are able to really pass on a lot of the increases and prices to our borrowers and charge more, that's always a good option for us still, but it's nice to have options.

去年，我認為我們在 2022 年購買了該公司約 10% 的股份。回購還需要 2,000 萬美元。正如你所說，它讓我們提高股息。我們現在支付 0.40 美元的股份。因此，我們籌集了 25%。因此，如果需要的話，我們可以向銀行投入更多的錢，如果我們感到驚訝並且貸款增長更加強勁，並且我們能夠真正將大量的增長和價格轉嫁給我們的借款人並收取更多費用，那總是好的我們仍然有選擇，但有選擇是件好事。

And, I think the one thing that I would add to that is, we do have a large amount of capital, regulatory capital at the bank, but we also have a high minimum that we have got to maintain 15% capital maintenance ratio, as you are aware. So, given the size of book that we have now, a slight deviation because of CECL and what we need to record is an allowance could have a meaningful impact on that ratio.

而且，我認為我要補充的一件事是，我們確實在銀行擁有大量資本、監管資本，但我們也有一個很高的最低要求，即我們必須維持 15% 的資本維持率，因為你知道。因此，考慮到我們現在擁有的帳簿規模，CECL 造成的輕微偏差以及我們需要記錄的津貼可能會對這一比率產生有意義的影響。

So, if we need to stay at 15%, staying just above 15% at the size, we are doesn't actually, it doesn't work for us. So, we need a larger buffer to account for that variability, which we haven't yet experienced in the nine months, since we have adopted CECL, but, if the economy does take a downturn, we might, and I think that's why we want to make sure that, we have got ample capital cushion, as well as to what Andrew said, increasing the dividend and providing other shareholder returns that we can.

所以，如果我們需要保持在 15%，保持在 15% 以上的規模，我們實際上不會，這對我們不起作用。因此，我們需要更大的緩衝來應對這種變化，自從我們採用CECL 以來，我們在九個月內還沒有經歷過這種變化，但是，如果經濟確實出現下滑，我們可能會這樣做，我認為這就是為什麼我們希望確保我們擁有充足的資本緩衝，正如安德魯所說，增加股息並提供我們所能提供的其他股東回報。

Look, it's a high class problem, having it looks like your capital generation is only going to increase. So, when I look at slide 11 that you have to charge us, most of the banks have been out there saying charge-offs on your credit card or auto is going to be kind of pre pandemic levels by early next year.

看，這是一個高級問題，看起來你的資本產生只會增加。因此，當我查看投影片 11 時，您必須向我們收費，大多數銀行都表示，到明年初，您的信用卡或汽車的扣款將達到大流行前的水平。

You guys are not quite there, but you are almost there [charges], but when I look at that chart, though, given the moving up in credit, look like a more home improvement, I mean, you kind of show us 6% charge-off in 2009, but it doesn't seem like, you are ever get close to that, even if we go into a major recession.

你們還沒有完全做到這一點，但你們已經快到了[收費]，但是當我看那張圖表時，考慮到信貸的上升，看起來像是更多的家庭改善，我的意思是，你們向我們展示了6% 2009 年沖銷，但即使我們陷入嚴重衰退，您似乎也無法接近這一目標。

We hope not. I think what I said earlier is important, just in 2018, two thirds of our recreational portfolio was subprime. Within subprime, that's the regulatory definition 660 FICO. Today, that's a third. So, we have drastically changed the credit quality of this portfolio over a number of years.

我們希望不會。我認為我之前說的很重要，就在 2018 年，我們的娛樂投資組合中有三分之二是次貸。在次級貸款中，這就是監管定義 660 FICO。今天，這是第三次。因此，多年來我們大幅改變了該投資組合的信用品質。

And we hope that, as well as in the past year, stepping up the rates that we are getting a new origination. So, we think that all of those things are good steps and should help us indoubtabely when we hit the next downturn.

我們希望，與過去一年一樣，提高我們獲得新起源的速度。因此，我們認為所有這些都是很好的步驟，當我們遇到下一次經濟衰退時，無疑應該對我們有所幫助。

And then my final question is for both you and especially, Andy, you have been obviously running the company a long time. What is the disconnect here between the numbers you are putting out that 20 plus ROEs, the significant discount to book listed disconnect between your performance in the market, right? People just looking at prior cycles, they are looking at the banks, are they not appreciating your underwriting, your movement up in credit, all your pricing. Can you just maybe just go over that for me? Thank you very much.

然後我的最後一個問題是問你們，尤其是安迪，你們顯然已經經營公司很久了。您給出的 20 多個 ROE 數字之間的脫節是什麼？您在市場上的表現之間的脫節是什麼？人們只是關注之前的周期，他們關注的是銀行，他們是否不欣賞你的承銷、你的信貸上升以及你所有的定價。你能幫我回顧一下嗎？非常感謝。

Yes, definitely to answer is a great question, though. Years ago, you are right. We have been out there is a long time in the late 90s and they were making a dollar, a share for the stock was at 30, we are trading at 30 times earnings. Now, we are at as you point out in your note this morning, Matt, 3.5 times earnings and a shockingly low.

是的，不過，絕對要回答是一個很好的問題。幾年前，你是對的。我們在 90 年代末已經存在很長一段時間了，他們賺了一美元，股票的每股價格是 30，我們的本益比是 30 倍。現在，正如您今天早上在筆記中指出的那樣，馬特，我們的本益比是 3.5 倍，而且是一個令人震驚的低點。

So, I really hope, we just can get in front of more mind. There is more institutional buyers doesn't take much to move the needle, if we can get some good institutional support in the stock and a large volume of stock being bought, that will surely drive up the price.

所以，我真的希望，我們能夠吸引更多人的注意。機構買家多了並不需要太多的推動，如果我們能在股票上得到一些好的機構支持並且大量購買股票，那肯定會推高價格。

And, we are doing more conferences, getting more eyeballs, getting more phone calls these days. So, I just think, if we continue to reduce, this would be hard for the market to ignore us for much longer.

而且，這些天我們正在舉辦更多的會議，吸引更多的眼球，接到更多的電話。所以，我只是認為，如果我們繼續減少，市場將很難長時間忽視我們。

Look, the taxi medallions now a tailwind for you, given we only had $8 million in pre-tax again in October. Did I read that correctly?

看，計程車牌照現在對你來說是順風車，因為我們 10 月的稅前收入只有 800 萬美元。我讀對了嗎？

Yes, exactly. Yes, that's been the icing on the cake for us to less more pretty big cake, I guess because, we are collecting a lot of money there. So, we will continue to do so, I hope. Again, the business is picking out, the Medallion business bottomed out at about 79,000 of Medallion has been picking up ever since the last few years.

對，就是這樣。是的，這對我們來說是錦上添花，我想是因為，我們在那裡籌集了很多錢。因此，我希望我們將繼續這樣做。再次，業務正在回升，Medallion 業務觸底反彈，約為 79,000 個 Medallion 自過去幾年以來一直在回升。

And I would just add that this is consistent what we are experiencing in the Medallion in our space right now. It's consistent with what Andrew and management here has been saying all along. If you go back a number of years, when we were in the height of the issues that the taxi medallion space was encountering, we always knew when we were transparent about it, that eventually we get to a point, where the prices are going to go down any further and at that point, then we would benefit, as we had already taken the pain. So, I think that's what we have experienced, not just the past nine months, but also last year as well.

我想補充一點，這與我們目前在我們空間的獎章中所經歷的一致。這與安德魯和管理階層一直以來所說的一致。如果你回到很多年前，當我們正處於出租車牌照空間遇到的問題最嚴重的時候，我們總是知道當我們對此透明時，最終我們會達到一個點，即價格將會上漲。再往下走，到那時我們就會受益，因為我們已經承受了痛苦。所以，我認為這就是我們所經歷的，不僅是過去九個月，也是去年。

Well there, just looked at the significant off balance sheet value and those taxi [since it's] a huge tailwinds here, earnings going forward on top of really great performance. And hopefully they will see, people will see the performance versus what we are seeing from the banks, what the problems they are experiencing and some of your performance. Congratulations. Thanks, Anthony.

好吧，只要看看資產負債表外的重要價值和那些出租車，[因為它是]這裡的巨大推動力，在真正出色的業績之上，未來的盈利將會繼續增長。希望他們會看到，人們會看到銀行的表現與我們從銀行看到的情況、他們遇到的問題以及你們的一些表現。恭喜。謝謝，安東尼。

Thank you, Matt.

謝謝你，馬特。

Thank you. As there are no further questions, I would now hand the conference over to Andrew Murstein, President for any closing comments.

謝謝。由於沒有其他問題，我現在將會議交給主席安德魯·默斯坦 (Andrew Murstein) 發表閉幕評論。

Thank you again for joining us this morning. Our company is doing well, and we have lot to be proud of. We are working hard and seeing great results of position as well to continue to deliver shareholder value. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Investor Relations team. The contact information is on the last page of our earnings supplement, as well as the IR section of our website. Thanks again and have a great rest of your day.

再次感謝您今天早上加入我們。我們公司做得很好，有很多值得驕傲的地方。我們正在努力工作，並看到了良好的業績，並繼續為股東創造價值。一如既往，如果您有任何疑問，請隨時聯繫我們的投資者關係團隊。聯絡資訊位於我們的收入補充資料的最後一頁以及我們網站的 IR 部分。再次感謝，祝您有個愉快的一天。

Thank you. The conference of Medallion Financial has now concluded. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。勳章金融會議現已結束。感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開線路。