SLM Corp (SLM) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Sallie Mae First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). I would now like to turn the call over to Melissa Bronaugh, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

歡迎參加 Sallie Mae 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）。我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係主管 Melissa Bronaugh。請繼續。

Thank you, David. Good evening, and welcome to Sallie Mae's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. It is my pleasure to be here today with Jon Witter, our CEO; and Pete Graham, our CFO. After the prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions.

謝謝你，大衛。晚上好，歡迎參加 Sallie Mae 的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。我很高興今天能與我們的執行長 Jon Witter 一起來到這裡。和我們的財務長皮特·格雷厄姆（Pete Graham）。在準備好發言後，我們將開始提問。

Before we begin, Keep in mind, our discussion will contain predictions, expectations and forward-looking statements. Actual results in the future may be materially different from those discussed here due to a variety of factors. Listeners should refer to the discussion of those factors on the company's Form 10-Q and other filings with the SEC.

在我們開始之前，請記住，我們的討論將包含預測、期望和前瞻性陳述。由於多種因素，未來的實際結果可能與此處討論的結果有重大差異。聽眾應該參考公司向 SEC 提交的 10-Q 表格和其他文件中對這些因素的討論。

For Sallie Mae, these factors include, among others, results of operations, financial conditions and/or cash flows, as well as any potential impacts of various external factors on our business. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any predictions, expectations or forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after today, Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

對 Sallie Mae 來說，這些因素包括經營績效、財務狀況和/或現金流，以及各種外部因素對我們業務的潛在影響。我們沒有義務更新或修改任何預測、預期或前瞻性陳述，以反映今天（2024 年 4 月 24 日星期三）之後發生的事件或情況。

Thank you. And now I'll turn the call over to Jon.

謝謝。現在我將把電話轉給喬恩。

Thank you, Melissa and David. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Sallie Mae's first quarter 2024 results. I'm pleased to report on a successful quarter and progress towards our '24 goals. I hope you'll take away 3 key messages today.

謝謝你們，梅麗莎和大衛。各位晚上好。感謝您今天加入我們討論 Sallie Mae 2024 年第一季的業績。我很高興地向大家報告一個成功的季度以及我們在實現「24 小時」目標方面所取得的進展。我希望您今天能掌握 3 個關鍵資訊。

First, we're off to a fast start in 2024. Second, we're encouraged by the trends we have seen in our credit performance. And third, we believe we have positive momentum for the rest of the year.

首先，我們將在 2024 年快速起步。第三，我們相信今年剩餘時間我們將呈現正面動能。

Let's begin with the quarter's results. GAAP diluted EPS in the first quarter of '24 was $1.27 per share as compared to $0.47 in the year-ago quarter. Our results for the first quarter were driven by a combination of strong business performance, improvement in credit trends and the gain on our first loan sale of the year.

讓我們從本季的業績開始。 2024 年第一季 GAAP 稀釋後每股收益為 1.27 美元，去年同期為 0.47 美元。我們第一季的業績是由強勁的業務表現、信貸趨勢的改善以及今年首筆貸款銷售的收益共同推動的。

Loan originations for the first quarter of '24 were $2.6 billion, which is up 6% over the first quarter of '23. We have seen our application volume grow as well, increasing 4% year-over-year. We believe that this is a solid start to 2024.

24 年第一季的貸款發放額為 26 億美元，比 23 年第一季成長 6%。我們發現我們的申請量也有所成長，年增 4%。我們相信，這是 2024 年良好的開端。

Credit quality of originations was consistent with past years. Our cosigner rate for the first quarter of '24 was 91% versus 89% in the first quarter of '23. Average FICO score for the first quarter of 2024 was 748 versus 746 in the first quarter of 2023. The credit improvement that we observed in 2023 has continued through the first quarter of 2024.

起源的信用品質與往年一致。 2024 年第一季我們的聯合簽章率為 91%，而 2023 年第一季為 89%。 2024 年第一季的 FICO 平均評分為 748，而 2023 年第一季為 746。

Net private education loan charge-offs in Q1 were $83 million, representing 2.14% of average loans in repayment. This is down 29 basis points from fourth quarter of 2023 and better than expectations. Although we are still in the early stages of implementation, we are pleased with the medium-term performance of our loss mitigation programs and are seeing improvement in our roll to default rates, as well as positive performance trends in all stages of delinquency.

第一季私人教育貸款核銷淨額為 8,300 萬美元，佔平均還款貸款的 2.14%。這比 2023 年第四季下降了 29 個基點，好於預期。儘管我們仍處於實施的早期階段，但我們對減損計劃的中期表現感到滿意，並且看到我們的違約率有所改善，以及各個拖欠階段的積極表現趨勢。

As we mentioned in our year-end call, we did see a rise in delinquencies in the fourth quarter due to what we described at that point as the mechanical results of borrowers entering into new payment programs who are in their qualifying period. We have added additional disclosure around both our delinquency and forbearance metrics and are seeing the desired results. Excluding those borrowers that are in their loan modification qualifying period, delinquencies are down quarter-over-quarter from 3.1% in Q1 of 2023 to 2.7% in Q1 of 2024.

正如我們在年終電話會議中提到的那樣，我們確實看到第四季度的拖欠率有所上升，因為我們當時將其描述為處於合格期限內的借款人加入新付款計劃的機械結果。我們已經增加了有關拖欠和寬容指標的額外披露，並且正在看到預期的結果。不包括處於貸款修改資格期內的借款人，拖欠率環比下降，從 2023 年第一季的 3.1% 降至 2024 年第一季的 2.7%。

Loans in disaster or hardship forbearance were 1% at the end of Q1 2024, consistent with performance in Q1 of '23. The $2.1 billion loan sale that we were able to execute in the first quarter generated $143 million in gains. We are encouraged by the price we received, which is in line with our expectations. We still expect to sell additional loans in 2024 with market conditions dictating the timing and our balance sheet growth targets dictating the volume. The balance sheet growth expectations for the year remains at 2% to 3%.

截至 2024 年第一季末，災難或困難容忍貸款為 1%，與 2023 年第一季的表現一致。我們在第一季執行的 21 億美元貸款銷售產生了 1.43 億美元的收益。我們對收到的價格感到鼓舞，這符合我們的預期。我們仍預計在 2024 年出售額外貸款，市場條件決定時間，我們的資產負債表增長目標決定數量。全年資產負債表成長預期維持在2%至3%。

First quarter of 2024, we continued a capital return strategy by repurchasing 1.3 million shares at an average price of $20.32. We have reduced the shares outstanding since we began this strategy in 2020 by just over 50% and at an average price of $15.95. We expect to continue to use the gain and capital release from future loan sales to programmatically and strategically buyback stock throughout the year.

2024年第一季度，我們持續實施資本回報策略，以平均價格20.32美元回購130萬股股票。自 2020 年開始實施此策略以來，我們已將流通股減少了 50% 以上，平均價格為 15.95 美元。我們預計將繼續利用未來貸款銷售的收益和資本釋放來有計劃地和策略性地回購股票。

Pete will now take you through some additional financial highlights of the quarter. Pete?

皮特現在將帶您了解本季的一些其他財務亮點。皮特？

Thank you, Jon. Good evening, everyone. Before we jump into the key drivers of earnings for the quarter, I wanted to mention a change to our guidance metrics that you may have noticed in our earnings release, investor presentation. We have discontinued reporting non-GAAP core earnings and its related metrics, as it has been identical to our GAAP earnings in the last 8 quarters, including this quarter. As such, for purposes of our 2024 guidance, we are now using GAAP earnings in place of non-GAAP core earnings in the calculation of the earnings per common share metric. However, the guidance range is unchanged at $2.60 to $2.70.

謝謝你，喬恩。各位晚上好。在我們討論本季收益的主要驅動因素之前，我想提一下我們的指導指標的變化，您可能已經在我們的收益發布和投資者演示中註意到了這一變化。我們已停止報告非 GAAP 核心收益及其相關指標，因為它與我們過去 8 個季度（包括本季度）的 GAAP 收益相同。因此，就我們的 2024 年指引而言，我們現在在計算每股普通股收益指標時使用 GAAP 收益代替非 GAAP 核心收益。然而，指導範圍保持在 2.60 至 2.70 美元不變。

Now for a discussion of key drivers of earnings. Year after year, our quality loan portfolio generated significant net interest income. For the first quarter of 2024, we earned $387 million of net interest income. This is down 4% from the prior year quarter and level with the fourth quarter of 2023. Although average yields of interest-earning assets are up about 45 basis points over the year ago quarter, average interest-earning asset balances are down slightly, which resulted in a $26 million decrease in interest income from the year ago period.

現在討論獲利的關鍵驅動因素。年復一年，我們的優質貸款組合產生了可觀的淨利息收入。 2024 年第一季度，我們獲得了 3.87 億美元的淨利息收入。較上年同期下降 4%，與 2023 年第四季持平。萬美元。

Interest expense was $44 million higher as borrowing rates increased approximately 75 basis points from the prior year. Net interest margin for the first quarter was 5.5% compared to 5.7% in the year ago quarter. We continue to believe over the long term that low to mid-5% is the appropriate NIM target.

由於借款利率比上年增加約 75 個基點，利息支出增加了 4,400 萬美元。第一季淨利差為 5.5%，去年同期為 5.7%。我們仍然相信，從長期來看，低至中 5% 是合適的淨利差目標。

Our total provision for credit losses in the income statement was $12 million first quarter 2024. This is comprised of an increase in provision of $145 million related to volume and prepayment assumption updates, offset by a release of $133 million associated with the $2.1 billion loan sale we completed during the quarter. The majority of the increase of provision is related to origination volume during the main peak that occurs in the first quarter of each year.

2024 年第一季度，我們損益表中的信貸損失撥備總額為1,200 萬美元。美元釋放所抵消我們在本季完成了。撥備增加的大部分與每年第一季主峰期間的發行量有關。

Additionally, we reduced our long-term prepayment assumption, which accounted for approximately 26% of the increase during the quarter. Although this change in assumption has a negative impact on provision, this is a long-term positive as we will continue to keep our interest-earning assets on our balance sheet for a longer period of time.

此外，我們也降低了長期預付款假設，約佔本季增量的 26%。儘管這個假設的變化對撥備產生負面影響，但這是一個長期的正面影響，因為我們將繼續在較長一段時間內將生息資產保留在資產負債表上。

Net charge-offs for our private education loan portfolio in the first quarter were $83 million or 2.1%, consistent with the year ago quarter. Our private education loan reserve at the end of the first quarter is $1.4 billion. or 6.1% of total student loan exposure, which includes the on-balance sheet portfolio plus the accrued interest receivable of $1.4 billion. Our reserve rate shows improvement over the 6.4% in the prior year quarter and is consistent with levels at the end of 2023.

第一季我們私人教育貸款組合的淨沖銷額為 8,300 萬美元，即 2.1%，與去年同期一致。第一季末我們的私人教育貸款準備金為14億美元。或學生貸款總額的 6.1%，其中包括資產負債表內投資組合加上 14 億美元的應計應收利息。我們的準備金率較去年同期的 6.4% 有所改善，與 2023 年底的水準一致。

Private education loans delinquent 30 days or more, 3.4% of loans in repayment, a decrease from 3.9% at the end of 2023 and consistent with the 3.4% at the end of the year ago quarter. As Jon mentioned earlier, we've refined our disclosure around both delinquencies and forbearance to get more visibility into our credit performance. When adjusting the numbers that I just discussed to remove the borrowers who are in a 3-month qualifying period related to one of our new programs, improvement in delinquencies is compelling.

拖欠 30 天或以上的民辦教育貸款佔償還貸款的 3.4%，較 2023 年底的 3.9% 有所下降，與去年同期末的 3.4% 一致。正如喬恩之前提到的，我們完善了有關拖欠和延期的披露，以便更清楚地了解我們的信用表現。當調整我剛才討論的數字以刪除處於與我們的新計劃之一相關的 3 個月資格期內的借款人時，拖欠率的改善是引人注目的。

At the end of the first quarter, loans delinquent 30 days or more, becomes 2.7% of loans in repayment as compared to 3.2% at the end of 2023 and 3.1% in the year ago quarter. We believe that this is a medium-term indicator of the success of the new programs, and we'll continue to monitor and disclose performance in the coming quarters.

第一季末，拖欠 30 天或以上的貸款佔償還貸款的 2.7%，而 2023 年底為 3.2%，去年同期為 3.1%。我們相信，這是新計劃成功的中期指標，我們將在未來幾季繼續監控和揭露業績。

First quarter operating expenses were $160 million compared to $143 million in the prior quarter and $155 million in the year ago quarter. This was a 4% increase compared to the first quarter of 2023. The majority of this increase relates to increase in volume in the quarter compared to the prior year, with applications increasing 4% and disbursements increasing 6%. Total noninterest expenses in the first quarter were $162 million compared to $202 million in the prior quarter and $157 million in the year ago quarter.

第一季營運費用為 1.6 億美元，上一季營運費用為 1.43 億美元，去年同期營運費用為 1.55 億美元。與 2023 年第一季相比成長了 4%。第一季非利息支出總額為 1.62 億美元，上一季為 2.02 億美元，去年同期為 1.57 億美元。

Finally, our liquidity and capital positions are solid. We ended the quarter with liquidity of 19.1% of total assets. At the end of the first quarter, total risk-based capital was 13.5% and common equity Tier 1 capital was 12.3%. Another measure -- the loss absorption capacity of the balance sheet is GAAP equity plus loan loss reserves over risk-weighted assets, which was a very strong 16.2% We believe, we're well positioned to continue to grow our business and return capital to shareholders going forward.

最後，我們的流動性和資本狀況穩固。本季末，我們的流動性佔總資產的 19.1%。第一季末，總創投為13.5%，普通股一級資本為12.3%。另一項衡量標準—資產負債表的損失吸收能力是GAAP 權益加上貸款損失準備金與風險加權資產的比，達到非常強勁的16.2% 我們相信，我們有能力繼續發展我們的業務並將資本返還給股東們繼續前進。

I'll now turn the call back to Jon.

我現在將電話轉回給喬恩。

Thanks, Pete. I hope you agree that we have executed well in the first quarter and that you share my belief that we have positive momentum for the full year 2024. There has been some question about the potential implications of delays and technical issues associated with the Department of Education's launching of the new fast reforms. At this point, we do not believe that these issues will cause material impact on volume, but may likely condense an already short peak season.

謝謝，皮特。我希望您同意我們在第一季的表現良好，並且您同意我的信念，即我們在 2024 年全年擁有積極的勢頭。一輪改革快速啟動。目前，我們認為這些問題不會對銷量造成實質影響，但可能會導致本已短暫的旺季進一步惡化。

Externally, we continue to partner with our schools to assist families through this process. Through the calculation tools available on our website, our scholarship search capabilities available through Scholly and other materials we provide to families. We are there to help make this peak season as frictionless as possible.

在外部，我們繼續與學校合作，幫助家庭完成這個過程。透過我們網站上提供的計算工具，我們可以透過 Scholly 和我們向家庭提供的其他資料提供獎​​學金搜尋功能。我們致力於幫助讓這個旺季盡可能順利。

Internally, we are preparing for a condensed peak with enhanced staffing, improved digital and other self-service capabilities and other actions. While early, we are also paying attention to the impact of one of our major competitors exiting the market. We believe this will afford the opportunity to compete for new business. While too early to declare definitively, early analysis suggests a slight volume increase from borrowers that previously had a relationship with that competitor. We expect to see the first real signs of opportunity during peak season over the summer and into the fall.

在內部，我們正在透過加強人員配置、改善數位化和其他自助服務能力等行動，為高峰做準備。雖然還很早，但我們也在關注我們的主要競爭對手之一退出市場的影響。我們相信這將提供競爭新業務的機會。雖然現在明確宣布還為時過早，但早期分析表明，先前與該競爭對手有關係的借款人的貸款量略有增加。我們預計在夏季和秋季的旺季期間會看到第一個真正的機會跡象。

In addition to our originations growth in the first quarter, Pete also mentioned the continuation of slower prepayment speeds, both of which are positive for balance sheet growth and interest income as we look toward the second quarter of the year. We will continue to focus on operational execution, expense management and NIM to drive results.

除了第一季的發放成長之外，皮特還提到預付款速度持續放緩，這對於我們展望今年第二季的資產負債表成長和利息收入都是正面的。我們將繼續專注於營運執行、費用管理和淨利差以推動績效。

Let me conclude with a discussion of 2024 guidance. As I mentioned earlier this evening, we are encouraged by both the successful Q1 origination season, the positive trends we are seeing with credit performance and our first loan sale execution of the year. We are also optimistic that these things will lead to a successful 2024. We believe the medium-term success of our programs will continue to normalize and we look forward to updating you on that performance progress throughout the year. At this time, we are reaffirming the 2024 guidance that we communicated on our last earnings call, all key metrics.

最後讓我討論一下 2024 年指導方針。正如我今晚早些時候提到的，我們對第一季的成功發放季、我們在信貸表現方面看到的積極趨勢以及我們今年的首次貸款銷售執行感到鼓舞。我們也樂觀地認為，這些事情將帶來 2024 年的成功。目前，我們重申我們在上次財報電話會議上傳達的 2024 年指引，以及所有關鍵指標。

With that, Pete, let's go ahead and open up the call for some questions.

皮特，接下來，讓我們開始問一些問題。

(Operator Instructions). Our first question is coming from Sanjay Sakhrani with KBW.

（操作員說明）。我們的第一個問題來自 KBW 的 Sanjay Sakhrani。

This is actually Steven Kwok in for Sanjay. I guess the first question I have is just around the quarter. Relative to your original expectations, how did the quarter come in just because we're trying to tie that back to your guidance that was maintained. Was it that the quarter was in line? Or was it better than expectations that is early in the year and thus you're maintaining your guidance?

這其實是史蒂文·郭（Steven Kwok）飾演的桑傑（Sanjay）。我想我的第一個問題是在本季左右。相對於您最初的預期，本季的表現如何，只是因為我們試圖將其與您維持的指導聯繫起來。該季度是否符合預期？或者它是否比年初的預期要好，因此您維持您的指導？

Yes, I'd say it's largely in line with what we expected it would be. And although there are some positive trends and developments in the quarter, as Jon said, it's still earlier in the year. So we'll wait and see how things develop over the coming quarters, but we feel good about the start.

是的，我想說這很大程度上符合我們的預期。正如喬恩所說，儘管本季出現了一些積極的趨勢和發展，但現在還處於今年早些時候。因此，我們將拭​​目以待未來幾季的發展，但我們對這個開始感覺良好。

Got it. And then just around the credit side. It's nice to see that the credit trends are funding positively. Just as we look at the reserve rate, like over -- as your credit metrics has been improved, how should we think about what the reserve rate can get to over time?

知道了。然後就是信用方面。很高興看到信貸趨勢正在積極融資。正如我們查看準備金率一樣，隨著您的信用指標得到改善，我們應該如何考慮準備金率隨著時間的推移會達到什麼水平？

Yes, I don't think that we're ready to call a number for the absolute reserve rate over time. But I think it makes sense that as we continue to see improvements in credit metrics like charge-offs, et cetera, that we will continue to see modest improvements in the overall level of reserves that were required to put up.

是的，我認為隨著時間的推移，我們還沒有準備好撥打絕對準備金率的號碼。但我認為，隨著我們繼續看到沖銷等信貸指標的改善，我們將繼續看到所需準備金的整體水平略有改善，這是有道理的。

I think that, coupled with the changes in underwriting that we've made and we continue to sort of [treat] each year, the origination quality is very strong. That will be (inaudible) over time as well.

我認為，加上我們在核保方面所做的改變以及我們每年繼續進行的[治療]，原始品質非常強。隨著時間的推移，這也會（聽不清楚）。

We'll take our next question from Terry Ma with Barclays.

我們將接受巴克萊銀行馬特里 (Terry Ma) 提出的下一個問題。

So it looks like you're getting some pretty positive results from our loan mod programs. Can you maybe just talk about what more you need to see or what more has to happen before you get some more confidence in kind of updating your guide for the year?

看來您從我們的貸款模組計劃中獲得了一些非常積極的成果。在您對更新今年的指南更有信心之前，您能否談談您還需要看到什麼或必須發生什麼？

Yes. Terry, it's Jon. I'll take that one. As you indicated, we are very pleased with the progress and the results that we've seen so far. All of the metrics that we can look at, at the early stages of a customer entering a loan mod or meeting or modestly exceeding our expectations. So examples of those types of metrics would be things like what is the success rate of people making their qualified -- other qualifying payments. So we like all of that. And I think we sort of described it as sort of positive medium-term results.

是的。特里，這是喬恩。我會接受那個。正如您所指出的，我們對迄今為止所取得的進展和結果感到非常滿意。我們可以在客戶進入貸款模式或會議的早期階段查看的所有指標，或略微超出我們的預期。因此，這些類型的指標的例子包括人們進行合格付款的成功率是多少。所以我們喜歡這一切。我認為我們將其描述為積極的中期結果。

Ultimately, though, the real proof here is do folks graduate from their programs, do they enjoy strong financial success on the other side of those programs. And I think that's just something that we will gain more and more confidence in with each passing month and each passing quarter. But I think given it was still relatively early stages, I think we felt like we want to see a bit more of that seasoning before we thought about updating guidance.

但最終，真正的證據是人們是否從他們的課程畢業，他們是否在這些計畫的另一面獲得了巨大的財務成功。我認為隨著每個月和每季的過去，我們將獲得越來越多的信心。但我認為鑑於目前還處於相對早期的階段，我認為我們希望在考慮更新指導之前看到更多的調味料。

We'll take our next question with Jeff Adelson from Morgan Stanley.

我們將回答來自摩根士丹利的傑夫·阿德爾森的下一個問題。

Yes, just along the same lines of credit. I guess as we look at the increased use of these mods and the extended grace periods. Are there any kind of metrics you can point us to in the success rate. I know you just alluded to that, how you're seeing qualifying payments, et cetera. But I guess I'm just wondering if you look at -- I don't know if this is the right way to look at it, but if you look at the delinquency rate, the percent of extended grace period and the percent in hardship forbearance, that number has gone up versus a year ago.

是的，只是沿著相同的信用額度。我想當我們看到這些模組的使用增加和寬限期延長時。您可以向我們指出成功率方面的任何指標嗎？我知道您剛才提到了您如何看待合格付款等等。但我想我只是想知道你是否看看——我不知道這是否是正確的看待方式，但如果你看看拖欠率、延長寬限期的百分比和困難的百分比忍耐一下，這個數字比一年前有所上升。

So how do you give us that confidence that those are going to perform as expected and help your credit even in a year from now and you're not just putting them into a bucket where the default rate isn't going to show up for now.

那麼，您如何讓我們相信這些產品將按預期發揮作用，甚至在一年後也能幫助您提高信用度，而不僅僅是將它們放入目前不會出現違約率的桶中。

Yes, Jeff, look, fair question. We can certainly go away and think about is there additional disclosure that we want to make there. We have not done that today. Certainly rest assured, we look very hard at those varied metrics internally. Those are the various metrics that we then project out forward when we start to think about guidance for the year as well as the long-term normalization of guidance sort of back to the 1.9% to 2.1% range.

是的，傑夫，聽著，這是一個公平的問題。我們當然可以離開並思考是否有我們想要在那裡進行的額外披露。今天我們還沒有這樣做。當然請放心，我們在內部非常仔細地檢視這些不同的指標。當我們開始考慮今年的指導以及指導的長期正常化（回到 1.9% 至 2.1% 範圍）時，我們會預測這些各種指標。

But ultimately, the way that we're all going to get comfortable with that is to see these programs fully seasoned over the next several quarters and get back to that target delinquency rate that we think is the right delinquency and net charge-off rate for us to be shooting for. So we'll think about the question of additional sort of disclosure. Thank you for that but I think we feel very comfortable that what we're seeing is consistent with the guidance that we have given.

但最終，我們所有人都能接受的方式是看到這些計劃在接下來的幾個季度中得到充分的成熟，並回到我們認為正確的拖欠率和淨沖銷率的目標拖欠率。之拍攝。因此，我們將考慮額外披露的問題。謝謝您，但我認為我們感到非常放心，我們所看到的與我們給予的指導是一致的。

Okay. Got it. And just to circle back on the comment about your competitor exiting you kind of alluded to a slight benefit from their existing customers showing interest. I guess, why wouldn't there be a more meaningful benefit? I mean you've got peak summer season coming with freshmen going to school. It seems like it might be more meaningful than just more of a slighter modest benefit given their presence in the market before?

好的。知道了。回到關於你的競爭對手退出你的評論，有點暗示他們現有客戶表現出興趣會帶來一點好處。我想，為什麼沒有更有意義的好處呢？我的意思是，隨著新生上學，夏季高峰期即將到來。考慮到他們之前在市場上的存在，這似乎比僅僅帶來一點小小的好處更有意義？

Yes, Jeff, I think the way I would explain that is you have to remember that the competitor in question did not leave the market until after they had fulfilled their commitment and sort of made the opportunity for the spring loans that they had already committed to. So I think we talk often about the fact that in our business, spring follows fall, fall doesn't follow spring, that sort of second semester follow-on business, the (inaudible) is largely cash for that in the first quarter.

是的，傑夫，我想我要解釋的方式是你必須記住，相關競爭對手直到他們履行了承諾並為他們已經承諾的春季貸款創造了機會之後才離開市場。因此，我認為我們經常談論這樣一個事實：在我們的業務中，春天跟隨秋天，秋天並不跟隨春天，這種第二學期的後續業務，（聽不清楚）在第一季主要是現金。

So I think we've been extremely consistent in saying we expect it to be really very little impact of this strategic move by this competitor until we got to the summer peak season. I think we were pleasantly surprised at the -- sort of the modest improvement and sort of additional incremental business that we saw there when we looked at customers that had existing relationships with this competitor because quite frankly, we really weren't expecting any in the spring semester.

因此，我認為我們一直非常一致地表示，在我們進入夏季旺季之前，我們預計該競爭對手的這項策略舉措的影響實際上非常小。我認為，當我們查看與該競爭對手有現有關係的客戶時，我們看到了適度的改進和額外的增量業務，這讓我們感到驚喜，因為坦率地說，我們真的沒想到會出現任何變化。

I think to your second question of why you wouldn't see more, I think it's because the peak season for kids going back to school in the fall, really doesn't start until June at the earliest. It really gets going in earnest in July and August. And so I think we'll start to have an early reader batches to set expectations in the second quarter earnings, but I think it will still be preliminary. I think where we will really sort of fully understand the benefit and our success in competing for this new business is when we report out on peak performance, which is obviously always been third quarter type of conversation.

我認為對於為什麼你不會看到更多的第二個問題，我認為這是因為孩子們秋季返校的旺季實際上最早要到六月才開始。七月和八月，它才真正開始認真進行。因此，我認為我們將開始有一群早期讀者來設定第二季度收益的預期，但我認為這仍然是初步的。我認為，當我們報告高峰績效時，我們才能真正充分理解我們在競爭這項新業務方面的好處和成功，這顯然一直是第三季的談話類型。

We will take our next question from John Hecht with Jefferies.

我們將回答約翰·赫克特和傑弗里斯提出的下一個問題。

Just looking at margin, NIM, it looks like -- well, the direct-to-consumer deposits are stabilizing. I'm wondering kind of given the yield curve outlook, what we should think about the NIM kind of fluctuations as I think you have about 2/3 fixed rate loans and 1/3 adjustable rate loans. And so maybe you could kind of give us some details about how the reset period looks for that group. And then thinking about CD maturities and repricing of that, what we should think about the cost of liabilities and how that affects NIM over the next few quarters?

只要看看利潤率、淨利差，看起來——嗯，直接面向消費者的存款正在穩定下來。我想知道考慮到殖利率曲線的前景，我們應該如何看待淨利差的波動，因為我認為你有大約 2/3 的固定利率貸款和 1/3 的可調利率貸款。因此，也許您可以向我們提供一些有關該組的重置期的詳細資訊。然後考慮定期存單的到期日及其重新定價，我們應該如何考慮負債成本以及這對未來幾季的淨利差有何影響？

Yes. I don't necessarily want to get into all of the mechanical parts of it. But what I would say is when we originally set our guidance, we were expecting 5 rate cuts this year. And we also talked about, in the last call, that we're mildly asset-sensitive and then flip to being liability-sensitive over a longer period of time. And so sort of higher for longer, at least in the short term is, mildly beneficial to us because we'll earn more on the asset side over the near term as the short-term rates don't get lower this quickly. So at the margins, it's probably net positive towards NIM for the year and maybe the NIM compression they anticipated happening, doesn't happen as fast. But we'll wait and see how that develops over the course.

是的。我不一定想了解它的所有機械部分。但我想說的是，當我們最初設定指導時，我們預計今年將降息 5 次。在上次電話會議中，我們也談到，我們對資產有輕微敏感度，然後在較長一段時間內轉向對負債敏感。因此，長期來看，至少在短期內，利率走高對我們來說是有一定好處的，因為短期利率不會這麼快下降，我們將在資產方面獲得更多收益。因此，從邊際角度來看，今年的淨利差可能是淨正值，而且他們預期的淨利差壓縮可能不會那麼快發生。但我們將拭目以待，看看整個過程中情況會如何發展。

Okay. And then remind us -- remind me when -- when the reset of the adjustable rate occurs and what it's reset off of?

好的。然後提醒我們——提醒我何時——可調整利率何時重置以及重置的原因是什麼？

So our loans are SOFR based and largely as sort of a monthly reset. Obviously, the deposits are set in the market, but generally referencing off of Fed funds or other short-term rates, but competitively priced in terms of deposit flows. And then the ABS is also SOFR based but generally, the reset periods can be slightly longer on that.

因此，我們的貸款是基於 SOFR 的，很大程度上是每月重置。顯然，存款是在市場上設定的，但通常參考聯邦基金或其他短期利率，但在存款流量方面定價具有競爭力。然後 ABS 也是基於 SOFR 的，但一般來說，重置週期可以稍微長一​​些。

(Operator Instructions). We'll take our next question from Rick Shane with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）。我們將回答摩根大通的 Rick Shane 提出的下一個問題。

Look, I'd like to pull a little harder on the thread that Jeff started, which is thinking about sort of -- or how to calibrate for loans and modification, I think it would be really helpful if you would show -- as you show with the dollars of loans and forbearance, the dollars of loans in mod as well. I'd like to talk a little bit about the migration we've seen this quarter. If we go back to last quarter, implicitly, there were about 70 basis points of loans that were in the qualifying period. That's the difference between the 3.9% and the 3.2%. That represents, call it, $105 million worth of loans. What percentage of that $105 million actually was successful and emerged from that period and is now fully modified?

聽著，我想在傑夫開始的線程上稍微用力一點，它正在考慮某種——或者如何校準貸款和修改，我認為如果你能表現出——就像你一樣，那將會非常有幫助顯示貸款和寬容的美元，也顯示mod 中貸款的美元。我想談談我們本季看到的遷移。如果我們回到上個季度，隱含地，有大約 70 個基點的貸款處於合格期。這就是 3.9% 和 3.2% 之間的差異。這相當於價值 1.05 億美元的貸款。這 1.05 億美元中，有多少比例實際上是成功的，是從那個時期產生的，現在已經完全修改了？

Yes, Rick, I think the way that I would think about it is a loan would only show up as being modified if they were successful at making their 3 qualifying payments, and then they would go into and be counted as a modified loan for the duration of whatever that particular program was. So if it was a -- if it was a short-term rate reduction, that would be a certain time frame, if it were a longer-term further, that would be a different time frame.

是的，里克，我認為我的想法是，只有當他們成功支付 3 筆合格付款時，貸款才會顯示為已修改，然後他們將進入並被計為修改後的貸款該特定計劃的持續時間。因此，如果是短期降息，那將是一個特定的時間框架，如果是更長期的降息，那將是一個不同的時間框架。

But you don't get counted in those numbers unless you've made your 3 qualifying payments. And if you fail to make your 3 qualifying payments generally as a rule, you were put back into the delinquency bucket at the level that you would have been given that payment history.

但除非您已完成 3 筆符合資格的付款，否則您不會被計入這些數字。一般來說，如果您未能完成 3 筆合格付款，您將被重新放入拖欠類別中，其等級與您所獲得的付款歷史記錄相同。

So it is a, in my mind, pretty clean test. The customers that are in here are the one that have been successful at qualifying for those payments over the course of a quarter, 3 months. And if you don't qualify, then you move very quickly back into sort of the rest of the delinquency buckets and you continue to age and perform as you would as a result.

所以在我看來，這是一個非常乾淨的測試。這裡的客戶是在一個季度（三個月）內成功獲得這些付款資格的客戶。如果你不符合資格，那麼你很快就會回到其他犯罪類別，並且你會繼續變老並表現得像你一樣。

Got it. But here's what I'm trying to understand. So and correct me if I'm wrong, I understand that 2.7 this quarter, 3.2% last quarter. The difference between the 3.9% and the 3.2% last quarter to be people who have been off of loan modifications, but have not yet met the 3 payment standard. So they are still showing up as delinquent but the expectation is that if they meet that standard, they will migrate.

知道了。但這就是我想要理解的。因此，如果我錯了，請糾正我，我理解本季為 2.7%，上季為 3.2%。 3.9%和上季3.2%之間的差異是那些已經取消貸款修改但尚未達到3還款標準的人。因此，他們仍然被視為違法，但預期如果他們達到該標準，他們就會遷移。

And what I'm looking at is, in the last quarter, there were $107 million specifically or implicitly of loans that were in that test period. This quarter, sequentially, delinquencies declined $90 million. So what I'm trying to understand is of that $107 million that could have rolled through and improve your delinquencies? How much did that $107 million contribute to the $90 million improvement we saw?

我看到的是，在上個季度，測試期間的具體或隱含貸款為 1.07 億美元。本季度，拖欠額連續下降了 9,000 萬美元。那麼我想了解的是，這 1.07 億美元本可以轉存並改善您的拖欠情況嗎？這 1.07 億美元對我們看到的 9,000 萬美元的改善有何貢獻？

Yes, I understand that question. I don't think we have provided that level, Rick, of detail and disclosure.

是的，我理解這個問題。里克，我認為我們沒有提供那種程度的細節和披露。

Got it. Okay. I appreciate it.

知道了。好的。我很感激。

Just to add, there's some additional sort of tabular disclosure on the dollar amounts of -- in modification in [footnote] for -- if you look at that, that doesn't give you what you need to do the calculation you're looking for, then just reach back out to Melissa, then we can dig into it more.

只是補充一下，還有一些關於美元金額的額外表格披露——在[腳註]中進行了修改——如果你看一下，這並沒有給你做你正在尋找的計算所需的東西因為，然後聯繫梅麗莎，然後我們就可以進一步深入研究。

Terrific. I appreciate that. And just if I can indulge one last one. How do you -- when the loan is modified, how do the economics change? that presumably changes the cash flows, does it change the GAAP accruals from an income perspective?

了不起。我很感激。如果我能放縱最後一份就好了。當貸款修改時，經濟會如何改變？這大概會改變現金流量，從收入角度來看，它是否會改變 GAAP 應計項目？

Yes. It will -- because the modification will depend on which of the programs, whether it's a rate-based program, whether it's term-based program, et cetera. And then again, once those qualifying payments are made, they come out in delinquency bucket and they go back into the book and whatever the modified terms are, will drive the accruals.

是的。會的——因為修改將取決於哪個項目，是否是基於費率的項目，是否是基於學期的項目，等等。話又說回來，一旦支付了這些合格的付款，它們就會出現在拖欠款中，然後會回到賬簿中，無論修改後的條款是什麼，都將推動應計費用。

We'll take our next question from John Arfstrom with RBC Capital Markets.

我們將回答加拿大皇家銀行資本市場部的約翰‧阿夫斯特羅姆 (John Arfstrom) 提出的下一個問題。

You guys made a comment about slower prepayment speeds. And curious if that was a surprise at all for you. Anything to read into that? And do you expect that to continue?

你們對預付款速度較慢發表了評論。我很好奇這對你來說是否是一個驚喜。有什麼值得讀的嗎？您預計這種情況會持續下去嗎？

No, it's or just -- each time we run through the process, we look at recent performance trends. And we've seen over the recent past continuing improvement in the sort of overall lower levels of prepayment. And as we looked at that trend and kind of roll that for another quarter, it caused us to make a different assumption regarding our longer-term outlook for prepayment.

不，它是或只是 - 每次我們運行該流程時，我們都會查看最近的性能趨勢。最近我們看到，預付款整體較低水準持續改善。當我們觀察這一趨勢以及下一個季度的滾動情況時，我們對預付款的長期前景做出了不同的假設。

And Jon, I think the thing I would add because I think we have seen there's a number of factors that influence prepayment. Obviously, rate environment is a big part of the sort of calculus there. And so I think the changing rate outlook from the beginning of the year, if you had said to me, (inaudible) behave this way, the way that they behave, are you surprised that consolidations would have continued to slow. I would have said, no, I'm not surprised by that. I think we were all expecting at the beginning of the year, a different rate environment, and I think that goes into the equation as well.

喬恩，我想我要補充一點，因為我認為我們已經看到有很多因素會影響預付款。顯然，利率環境是此類計算的重要組成部分。因此，我認為，從今年年初開始，利率前景的變化，如果您對我說，（聽不清楚）以這種方式行事，他們的行為方式，您是否會對合併繼續放緩感到驚訝。我會說，不，我對此並不感到驚訝。我認為我們在年初都期待著不同的利率環境，我認為這也反映在了這個等式中。

Okay. Fair enough. And then just one more. Your stock has done well recently. I think you deserve it. But are we still in the green zone on the buyback? And just curious how aggressive you'd like to be on that. If you can provide us with any color on your thinking?

好的。很公平。然後還有一個。你的股票最近表現不錯。我認為你應得的。但我們仍然處於回購的綠色區域嗎？只是好奇你想在這方面表現得有多正面。您能為我們提供您的想法嗎？

Yes. Again, we reassess that at point in time. And as you probably observed, the rate market has been fairly volatile to start the year. And that will be sort of a game time call as we evaluate time with the next transactions. But this -- the transaction we had done in the first quarter was at a point in time when rate were a little more favorable than maybe they are on spot today, but expectation is as we move through this year, there will be other opportunities that present themselves.

是的。我們再次及時重新評估這一點。正如您可能觀察到的那樣，利率市場年初以來一直相當波動。當我們評估下一筆交易的時間時，這將是一種遊戲時間調用。但是，我們在第一季進行的交易是在利率比今天更有利的時間點進行的，但預計隨著今年的進展，將會有其他機會展示自己。

I think I confused the question, Pete, but I was asking on the buyback, the share repurchase program, how aggressive you guys...

我想我混淆了這個問題，皮特，但我問的是回購、股票回購計劃，你們有多積極…

Yes. So as I said in the last earnings call, we're going to be more programmatic around the buyback program this year. And so with the first loan sale that we completed in the quarter, we put a plan in place to buy back shares, and we're going to be programmatic across -- to try and be in the market across the trading days period this year as opposed to in and out in periods of time.

是的。因此，正如我在上次財報電話會議中所說，今年我們將更有計劃地圍繞回購計畫。因此，隨著我們在本季度完成的第一筆貸款銷售，我們制定了回購股票的計劃，我們將有計劃地進行 - 嘗試在今年的交易日期間進入市場而不是在一段時間內進出。

This does conclude the Q&A portion of today's call. I would now like to turn the floor over to Mr. Jon Witter for clone remarks.

今天電話會議的問答部分到此結束。現在我想請 Jon Witter 先生發表克隆言論。

David, thank you, and thank you to everyone who joined in and joined us this evening. Again, we are excited about the first quarter performance. I think we are excited about the outlook for the year and look forward to continuing to discuss our performance with you as the quarters unfold. As always, if there's more detailed questions or things that we didn't get to, please feel free to reach out to Melissa and our team and happy to follow up over the course of the next couple of days. And until we talk to you next quarter. Thank you again for your interest in Sallie Mae. Have a great evening.

大衛，謝謝你，也感謝今晚加入我們的所有人。我們再次對第一季的表現感到興奮。我認為我們對今年的前景感到興奮，並期待隨著季度的展開繼續與您討論我們的業績。像往常一樣，如果有更詳細的問題或我們未解決的問題，請隨時聯繫 Melissa 和我們的團隊，並樂意在接下來的幾天內跟進。直到我們下個季度與您交談。再次感謝您對莎莉梅的關注。祝您有個美好的夜晚。

I'm sorry, Melissa, back to you for some closing business.

抱歉，梅麗莎，有件事要結束了。

Thank you for your time and questions today. A replay of this call and the presentation will be available on the Investors page at salliemae.com. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me directly. This concludes today's call.

感謝您今天抽出時間並提出問題。本次電話會議和簡報的重播將在 salliemae.com 的投資者頁面上提供。如果您還有任何疑問，請隨時直接與我聯繫。今天的電話會議到此結束。

Thank you. This concludes today's Sallie Mae First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. Please disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful evening.

謝謝。今天的 Sallie Mae 2024 年第一季財報電話會議和網路廣播到此結束。此時請斷開您的線路，祝您有個美好的夜晚。