South Plains Financial Inc (SPFI) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the South Plains Financial Inc. second-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. During today's presentation, all parties will be in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, the conference will be open for questions with instructions to follow at that time. As reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

女士們、先生們，下午好，歡迎參加 South Plains Financial Inc. 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。在今天的演示過程中，各方都將處於僅聽模式。演講結束後，會議將開放接受提問，並附有屆時遵循的說明。謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音中。

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Steve Crockett, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of South Plains Financial. Please go ahead, sir.

我現在想將電話轉給 South Plains Financial 財務長兼財務主管 Steve Crockett 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining our earnings conference call. With me here today are Curtis Griffith, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Cory Newsom, our President; and Brent Bates, our Chief Credit Officer. The related earnings press release and earnings presentation are available on our news and events section of our website, spfi.bank.

謝謝接線員，大家下午好。我們感謝您參加我們的收益電話會議。今天與我在一起的有我們的董事長兼執行長柯蒂斯‧格里菲斯 (Curtis Griffith)；科里·紐瑟姆，我們的總統；以及我們的首席信貸官布倫特貝茨 (Brent Bates)。相關收益新聞稿和收益示範可在我們網站 spfi.bank 的新聞和活動部分取得。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this call may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated future results. Please see our safe harbor statements in our earnings press release and in our earnings presentation. All comments made during today's call are subject to those Safe Harbor statements. Any forward-looking statements presented herein are made only as of today's date, and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements except as required by law.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到各種風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，這些因素可能導致實際結果與預期的未來結果有重大差異。請參閱我們的收益新聞稿和收益示範中的安全港聲明。今天電話會議期間發表的所有評論均受這些安全港聲明的約束。本文中提出的任何前瞻性陳述均僅截至今日作出，除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新此類前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

Additionally, during today's call, we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe are useful in evaluating our performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures can also be found in our earnings release and in the earnings presentation.

此外，在今天的電話會議中，我們可能會討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估我們的績效。這些非公認會計原則財務指標與最具可比性的公認會計原則財務指標的調節表也可以在我們的收益發布和收益演示中找到。

Curtis, let me hand it over to you.

柯蒂斯，讓我把它交給你。

Thank you, Steve, and good afternoon. On today's call. I will briefly review the highlights of our second-quarter 2024 results, as well as discuss our efforts to drive our profitability and returns, as we continue to strive to be a high performing bank. Cory will discuss our loan portfolio as well as our initiatives to drive growth across the bank. Steve will then conclude with a more detailed review of our second-quarter financial results.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，下午好。在今天的電話會議上。我將簡要回顧我們 2024 年第二季業績的亮點，並討論我們在繼續努力成為高績效銀行的過程中為提高盈利能力和回報所做的努力。科里將討論我們的貸款組合以及我們推動整個銀行成長的舉措。最後，史蒂夫將對我們第二季的財務表現進行更詳細的審查。

Starting on slide 4 of our earnings presentation, we delivered second-quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.66 as compared to $0.64 in the first quarter of 2024. Strength in the quarter came from robust organic loan growth, which lifted the yield on our loan portfolio and contributed to our margin expansion.

從我們收益簡報的幻燈片 4 開始，我們公佈的第二季稀釋後每股收益為 0.66 美元，而 2024 年第一季為 0.64 美元。本季的強勁表現來自強勁的有機貸款成長，這提高了我們貸款組合的收益率，並有助於我們的利潤率擴張。

We also continued to closely manage our liquidity with a focus on maximizing the profitability and returns of the bank. This led to a modest reduction in customer deposits, as we work to keep deposit costs steady through the quarter. Importantly, we believe competitive pressures for deposits have started to ease, while new loan yields have remained robust, leading to our solid NIM expansion in the quarter.

我們也繼續密切管理我們的流動性，重點是最大化銀行的獲利能力和回報。這導致客戶存款略有減少，因為我們努力在整個季度保持存款成本穩定。重要的是，我們認為存款的競爭壓力已開始緩解，而新貸款收益率仍然強勁，導致本季淨利差穩健擴張。

Looking to the second half of the year we expect our NIM expansion to moderate, as deposit costs are likely to move modestly higher while loan growth returns to more normal levels, as Cory will discuss in a moment. Strength in the quarter also helped a further improvement in our efficiency ratio, which declined to 66.7% as compared to 67.9% in the linked quarter, while our return on average assets improved 3 basis points to 1.07% as compared to the first quarter.

展望今年下半年，我們預計淨利差擴張將放緩，因為存款成本可能會小幅上升，而貸款增長將恢復到更正常的水平，正如科里稍後將討論的那樣。本季的強勁表現也有助於我們的效率進一步提高，效率比上一季的 67.9% 下降至 66.7%，而平均資產回報率則較第一季提高 3 個基點至 1.07%。

We also grew our tangible book value per share to $24.15 at June 30, as compared to $23.56 at March 31, 2024. I am very pleased with the steady financial progress that we continue to deliver, which is a credit to our employees and their commitment to the bank and our customers.

截至 6 月 30 日，我們也將每股有形帳面價值增至 24.15 美元，而 2024 年 3 月 31 日為 23.56 美元。我對我們持續實現的穩定財務進展感到非常高興，這是對我們員工的信任以及他們對銀行和客戶的承諾。

I'm also pleased that our performance is being recognized more broadly, as Forbes Magazine ranked City Bank 12th in their 2024 Best Banks in America list, while S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked us the 28th Best Performing US Community Bank, with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion in 2023. This speaks to our management team's focus on operating South Plains at a high level, while maximizing value for all our stakeholders.

我還很高興我們的表現得到了更廣泛的認可，《福布斯》雜誌將城市銀行評為2024 年美國最佳銀行排行榜第12 位，而標準普爾全球市場情報將我們評為美國表現最佳社區銀行第28 位，資產規模在30 億美元之間到 2023 年將達到 100 億美元。這說明我們的管理團隊專注於高水準營運 South Plains，同時為所有利害關係人實現價值最大化。

Turning to credit, we continue to aggressively manage the credit quality of our loan portfolio. During the second quarter, we moved a substandard multi-family property loan in Houston to non-accrual. This is a loan that we have had rated substandard since June of last year and have been closely monitoring and proactively working on the credit over that time period. This is not a surprise nor a reflection of the multifamily market in Houston or in any of our markets.

談到信貸，我們繼續積極管理貸款組合的信貸品質。在第二季度，我們將休士頓的一項不合格多戶房產貸款轉為非應計貸款。這是一筆自去年 6 月以來我們一直將其評級為次級的貸款，在此期間我們一直在密切監控並積極進行信貸工作。這並不令人意外，也不是休士頓或我們任何市場的多戶型市場的反映。

As we have discussed on prior calls, we have a strong credit culture that is focused on identifying problems early, working with our borrowers and taking the appropriate steps to resolve challenges. We continue to vigorously stress test the credit quality of our loan portfolio in order to identify potential problems early and then work to remediate them. We will never sacrifice credit quality for growth, especially in the current environment, where we are starting to see a few stresses in the national economy.

正如我們在先前的電話會議中所討論的那樣，我們擁有強大的信貸文化，專注於及早發現問題、與借款人合作並採取適當措施解決挑戰。我們繼續大力對貸款組合的信用品質進行壓力測試，以便及早發現潛在問題，然後努力補救。我們永遠不會為了成長而犧牲信貸質量，特別是在當前的環境下，我們開始看到國民經濟面臨一些壓力。

We are fortunate to operate in Texas, where the economy remains healthy with a growing population and a business-friendly state government. We will remain cautious and vigilant given by current high interest rate environment.

我們很幸運能在德州開展業務，那裡的經濟保持健康，人口不斷增長，州政府對企業友善。鑑於當前的高利率環境，我們將保持謹慎和警惕。

As a result, we are aggressively preparing for whatever environment may come over the next few quarters and have confidence in the credit quality of our loan portfolio. While the economic outlook may be uncertain, we believe that, we are in a strong position as the bank and the company each significantly exceed the minimum regulatory levels necessary to be deemed well capitalized.

因此，我們正在積極為未來幾季可能出現的任何環境做好準備，並對我們貸款組合的信貸品質充滿信心。儘管經濟前景可能不確定，但我們相信，我們處於有利地位，因為銀行和公司都大大超過了被視為資本充足所需的最低監管水平。

At June 30, 2024, the consolidated common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio was 12.61%, and our Tier 1 leverage ratio was 11.81%. Additionally, our loans held for investment to deposit ratio stood at 85% at quarter end. Given our capital position, we remain focused on both growing the bank, while also returning a steady stream of income to our shareholders through our quarterly dividend.

截至2024年6月30日，合併普通股一級風險資本率為12.61%，一級槓桿率為11.81%。此外，截至季末，我們的投資貸款與存款比率為 85%。鑑於我們的資本狀況，我們仍然專注於發展銀行，同時透過季度股息向股東返還穩定的收入。

Yesterday, our Board of Directors authorized a $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, which will be our 21st consecutive quarterly dividend to be paid on August 12, 2024, for shareholders of record on July 29, 2024. We also have a $10 million stock repurchase program in place, which our Board authorized in February. We had limited buyback activity through the second quarter as we balanced liquidity for growth, as well as being mindful of the limited trading volume of our shares.

昨天，我們的董事會批准了每股 0.14 美元的季度股息，這將是我們將於 2024 年 8 月 12 日向 2024 年 7 月 29 日登記在冊的股東派發的連續 21 個季度股息。我們還制定了 1000 萬美元的股票回購計劃，董事會於 2 月批准了該計劃。我們在第二季的回購活動有限，因為我們平衡了流動性以促進成長，同時也注意到我們股票的交易量有限。

To conclude, the bank is doing well and is positioned, we believe, to drive organic growth across both our community and metropolitan markets, while being well prepared for varying economic conditions as we have proactively managed the credit quality of our loan portfolio, to ensure we're staying ahead of any challenges. I'm excited for the many opportunities that lay ahead.

總而言之，該銀行表現良好，我們相信，它能夠推動我們社區和大都市市場的有機增長，同時為不同的經濟條件做好充分準備，因為我們積極管理貸款組合的信貸質量，以確保我們將始終領先於任何挑戰。我對未來的許多機會感到興奮。

Now let me turn the call over to Cory.

現在讓我把電話轉給科里。

Thank you, Curtis, and good afternoon, everyone. Starting on slide 6, we grew our loan portfolio by $82.5 million, or 10.9% annualized in the second quarter as compared to the linked-quarter. Our loan growth remained relationship focused and occurred primarily in direct energy loans, seasonal agriculture related loans and single-family property loans. As I will touch on, this loan growth was partially offset by the expected decline in our consumer auto loan portfolio. We also experienced an approximate $20 million loan payoff in the second quarter, which was at a below market interest rate and provides us the opportunity to redeploy the liquidity at a market rate.

謝謝柯蒂斯，大家下午好。從投影片 6 開始，我們第二季的貸款組合比上一季增加了 8,250 萬美元，年化成長率為 10.9%。我們的貸款成長仍以關係為主，主要發生在直接能源貸款、季節性農業相關貸款和單戶房產貸款。正如我將談到的，這種貸款成長部分被我們消費者汽車貸款組合的預期下降所抵消。我們還在第二季償還了約 2000 萬美元的貸款，該利率低於市場利率，為我們提供了以市場利率重新部署流動性的機會。

Looking forward, we continue to expect low to mid-single-digit loan growth for the full-year 2024. Our guidance is based on expectation that we could continue to experience payoffs through the second half of the year.

展望未來，我們繼續預期 2024 年全年貸款將出現低至中個位數的成長。我們的指導是基於我們可以在今年下半年繼續獲得回報的期望。

Additionally, several of our bigger construction and development loans have largely been funded through the second quarter, so this tailwind that we've been experiencing is set to decline. Overall, if our payoffs are lower than anticipated, we would expect full-year loan growth to be at the high end of our range. The yield on our loan portfolio was 6.6% in the second quarter, up 7 basis points as compared to 6.53% in the linked-quarter.

此外，我們的幾筆較大的建設和開發貸款大部分已在第二季度獲得資金，因此我們所經歷的這種順風勢將會減弱。總體而言，如果我們的回報低於預期，我們預計全年貸款成長將處於我們範圍的高端。第二季我們的貸款組合收益率為 6.6%，較上一季的 6.53% 上升 7 個基點。

As we move through the year, it is expected that the Federal Reserve may begin to reduce their benchmark interest rate by 25 or 50 basis points depending on their ability to bring inflation closer to their 2% target. We continue to believe that a lack of liquidity in our markets may keep new loan yields elevated, while rates begin to decline, which will be supportive of our margin and net interest income growth.

隨著今年的進展，預計聯準會可能會開始將基準利率降低 25 或 50 個基點，具體取決於其使通膨接近 2% 目標的能力。我們仍然認為，市場流動性缺乏可能會導致新貸款收益率上升，而利率開始下降，這將支持我們的利潤率和淨利息收入成長。

Moving to slide 8. We grew loans by $8 million, or 3% annualized to $1.07 billion in our major metropolitan markets of Dallas, Houston and El Paso as compared to the linked-quarter. Our growth was impacted by the $20 billion pay down in El Paso, which I previously mentioned. Our major metropolitan loan portfolio now represents 34.5% of our total loan portfolio, which speaks to the scale that our lenders have achieved. Looking forward, we continue to benefit bad debt from dislocation caused by competitive mergers which continues to provide opportunities for our team to take share and move relationships to South Plains.

轉到投影片 8。與上一季相比，我們在達拉斯、休士頓和埃爾帕索等主要大都會市場的貸款增加了 800 萬美元，即年化成長率 3%，達到 10.7 億美元。我們的成長受到我之前提到的埃爾帕索 200 億美元首付款的影響。我們的主要城市貸款組合目前占我們總貸款組合的 34.5%，這說明了我們的貸款人已達到的規模。展望未來，我們將繼續從競爭性合併造成的錯位中受益，這繼續為我們的團隊提供份額並將關係轉移到南部平原的機會。

The Permian Basin is also a region that continues to experience dislocation as competitors go through both ownership and leadership changes which is creating an opportunity to attract high-quality loan and deposit relationships to South Plains. As I discussed on our first quarter call, we've invested in our people, branches and infrastructure in the Permian and are hitting our stride, as our City Bank brand continues to gain acceptance in the region.

二疊紀盆地也是一個繼續經歷混亂的地區，因為競爭對手經歷了所有權和領導層的變化，這為南部平原吸引高品質的貸款和存款關係創造了機會。正如我在第一季電話會議上所討論的那樣，我們已經在二疊紀盆地的人員、分支機構和基礎設施上進行了投資，並且隨著我們的城市銀行品牌繼續在該地區獲得認可，我們正在大步前進。

The loan growth that we've been experiencing should drive interest income growth in the quarter ahead while we have opportunities to reprice loans as outlined on slide 9. As we have been discussing, we expect to continue to deliver interest income growth as many lower rate loans continue to experience principal repayments and or rate resets. We expect the pace to continue through the third quarter.

我們經歷的貸款成長應該會推動未來一個季度的利息收入成長，同時我們有機會對貸款重新定價，如幻燈片 9 所示。正如我們一直在討論的那樣，由於許多較低利率的貸款繼續經歷本金償還和/或利率重置，我們預計利息收入將繼續增長。我們預計這一步伐將持續到第三季。

Turning to slide 10, our indirect auto loan portfolio declined $19.7 million to $253.7 million at the end of the second quarter. We remain cautious with a focus on maintaining the credit quality of this portfolio as competitors continue to be more aggressive at the higher end of the credit spectrum while volumes have declined. We're not changing how we price risk and are comfortable seeing our portfolio gradually shrink. As Curtis said, we will never sacrifice credit quality for the sake of growth.

轉向幻燈片 10，我們的間接汽車貸款組合在第二季末下降了 1,970 萬美元，至 2.537 億美元。我們保持謹慎態度，重點關注維持該投資組合的信貸質量，因為競爭對手在信貸範圍的高端領域繼續更加激進，而交易量卻有所下降。我們不會改變風險定價的方式，並且很高興看到我們的投資組合逐漸縮小。正如柯蒂斯所說，我們永遠不會為了成長而犧牲信用品質。

This can be further seen in the indirect portfolio's strong credit quality were 30-plus days past due were 21 basis points in the second quarter, essentially flat from 22 basis points in the first quarter. Additionally, our 10- to 29-day past dues are an early indicator that the consumer is having challenges and ours continue to hold steady through the second quarter.

這可以從間接投資組合的強勁信用品質中進一步看出，第二季逾期 30 多天為 21 個基點，與第一季的 22 個基點基本持平。此外，我們 10 至 29 天的逾期費用是消費者面臨挑戰的早期指標，我們的逾期費用在第二季度繼續保持穩定。

Turning to slide 11, we generated $12.7 million of non-interest income in the second quarter as compared to $11.4 million in the linked-quarter. This was primarily due to increases of $1 million in bank card service charges and interchange revenue mainly as a result of continued growth in customer card usage and incentives received during the period, $408,000 in income from investments in small business investment companies and incremental growth at our treasury management business.

轉向投影片 11，我們在第二季創造了 1,270 萬美元的非利息收入，而上一季為 1,140 萬美元。這主要是由於銀行卡服務費和交換收入增加了100 萬美元，主要是由於客戶卡使用量的持續增長和期內收到的激勵措施、小型企業投資公司投資收入408,000 美元以及我們的增量增長所致。

These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $548,000 in mortgage banking revenues, which included a decrease of $735,000 in the fair value adjustment of the mortgage servicing rights assets.

這些增長被抵押貸款銀行收入減少 548,000 美元部分抵消，其中包括抵押貸款服務權資產公允價值調整減少 735,000 美元。

For the Q2, non-interest income was 26% of bank revenues as compared to 24% in the first quarter. Continuing to grow our non-interest income remains a focus of our team.

第二季度，非利息收入佔銀行收入的 26%，而第一季為 24%。繼續增加我們的非利息收入仍然是我們團隊的重點。

I would now like to turn the call over to Steve.

我現在想把電話轉給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Cory. For the second quarter, diluted earnings per share was $0.66 which compares to $0.64 per share in the linked-quarter.

謝謝，科里。第二季稀釋後每股收益為 0.66 美元，而上一季每股收益為 0.64 美元。

Turning to slide 13. Net interest income was $35.9 million for the second quarter as compared to $35.4 million for the linked-quarter. Interest income increased $481,000 in the second quarter as compared to the linked-quarter, primarily due to a $1.6 million rise in loan interest income, and a decrease of $930,000 in interest income on other interest earning assets.

轉到投影片 13。第二季淨利息收入為 3,590 萬美元，上一季為 3,540 萬美元。第二季利息收入較上一季增加 481,000 美元，主要是由於貸款利息收入增加 160 萬美元，以及其他生息資產的利息收入減少 930,000 美元。

The growth in loan interest income was mainly due to an increase in average loans of $68.1 million and a rise of 7 basis points in the yield on loans. Our net interest margin calculated on a tax equivalent basis was 3.63% in the second quarter as compared to 3.56% in the linked quarter. The 7 basis point increase to our NIM was due primarily to higher loan yields that more than offset the rise in our cost of deposits. Our non-interest bearing deposits declined modestly through the second quarter to 26.3% of total deposits, as compared to 26.8% in the linked quarter.

貸款利息收入的成長主要是由於平均貸款增加6,810萬美元以及貸款收益率上升7個基點。我們第二季以稅等值計算的淨利差為 3.63%，而上一季為 3.56%。我們的淨利差增加 7 個基點，主要是因為貸款收益率上升，足以抵銷存款成本的上升。我們的無息存款在第二季小幅下降至總存款的 26.3%，而上一季為 26.8%。

As outlined on slide 14, our average cost of deposits was 243 basis points in the second quarter, an increase of 2 basis points from the linked-quarter, as the competition for deposits has eased through the quarter. Importantly, we have been aggressively managing our funding costs to maximize our profitability, which has led to a modest decline in our deposit base in the quarter. We continue to pursue initiatives to drive organic deposit growth to match our liquidity needs, as we work to drive loan growth through the second half of the year. We will continue to prudently manage our liquidity as we focus on our profitability and returns.

如投影片 14 所示，我們第二季的平均存款成本為 243 個基點，比上一季增加了 2 個基點，因為本季存款競爭有所緩解。重要的是，我們一直在積極管理融資成本，以最大限度地提高獲利能力，這導致本季我們的存款基礎略有下降。我們將繼續採取措施推動有機存款成長，以滿足我們的流動性需求，同時我們努力在下半年推動貸款成長。我們將繼續審慎管理我們的流動性，同時關注我們的獲利能力和回報。

Turning to slide 15. Our ratio of allowance for credit losses to total loans held for investment was 1.40% at June 30, 2024, unchanged from the end of the prior quarter. We have recorded a $1.8 million provision for credit losses in the second quarter, which was largely attributable to net charge off activity, increased loan balances and higher non-performing loans during the quarter.

轉到投影片 15。截至2024年6月30日，我們的信用損失準備金佔投資貸款總額的比率為1.40%，與上季末持平。我們在第二季度記錄了 180 萬美元的信貸損失準備金，這主要歸因於本季度的淨沖銷活動、貸款餘額增加和不良貸款增加。

As Curtis touched on, our non-performing loans totaled $23.5 million at the end of the second quarter, an increase of $20 million from the first quarter, due to a previously classified $20.6 million multi-family property credit that was placed on non-accrual status after the maturity date was accelerated.

正如柯蒂斯所說，第二季末我們的不良貸款總額為2,350 萬美元，比第一季增加了2,000 萬美元，這是由於先前分類的2,060 萬美元多戶房地產信貸被計為非應計利息。

Skipping ahead to slide 18, our non-interest expense was $32.6 million in the second quarter, as compared to $31.9 million in the linked-quarter. The $642,000 increase was largely the result of a rise of $436,000 in mortgage commission expense as loan originations increased. Looking ahead to the third quarter, we expect non-interest expense to modestly rise from the second quarter's level.

跳到幻燈片 18，我們第二季的非利息支出為 3,260 萬美元，而上一季的非利息支出為 3,190 萬美元。增加 642,000 美元主要是由於貸款發放增加，抵押貸款佣金費用增加了 436,000 美元。展望第三季度，我們預期非利息支出將較第二季小幅上升。

Moving to slide 20. We remain well-capitalized with tangible common equity to tangible assets of 9.44% at the end of the second quarter, an increase of 22 basis points from the end of the first quarter. Tangible book value per share increased to $24.15 as of June 30, 2024, compared to $23.56 as of March 31, 2024. The increase was primarily driven by $8.8 million of net income after dividends paid.

轉到投影片 20。我們的資本仍然充足，第二季末有形普通股佔有形資產的比例為 9.44%，比第一季末增加了 22 個基點。截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，每股有形帳面價值增至 24.15 美元，截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日為 23.56 美元。這一增長主要是由支付股息後 880 萬美元的淨利潤推動的。

I'll turn the call back to Curtis for concluding remarks.

我會將電話轉回給柯蒂斯進行總結發言。

Thank you, Steve. To conclude, I'm very proud of our second quarter results, as we continue to focus on maximizing our profitability and returns, as we strive to deliver value for all of our stakeholders. Through the quarter, we generated healthy loan growth, while keeping our funding costs relatively stable, which led to an expansion of our NIM.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。最後，我對我們第二季的業績感到非常自豪，因為我們繼續專注於最大化獲利能力和回報，努力為所有利害關係人創造價值。在整個季度，我們實現了健康的貸款成長，同時保持融資成本相對穩定，這導致我們的淨利差擴大。

Looking forward, we are seeing a slight easing of competitive pressures on deposit costs, good opportunities to expand lending across our markets and are making progress on growing our non-interest income. I believe we're well-positioned to further grow the bank, and I remain optimistic on the future for South Plains.

展望未來，我們看到存款成本的競爭壓力略有緩解，有擴大整個市場貸款的良好機會，並且在增加非利息收入方面正在取得進展。我相信我們已經做好了進一步發展銀行的準備，我對南平原的未來仍然持樂觀態度。

Thank you again for your time today. Operator, please open the line for any questions.

再次感謝您今天抽出時間。接線員，如有任何問題請撥打電話。

(Operator Instructions) Brett Rabatin, Hovde Group.

（操作員說明）Brett Rabatin，Hovde Group。

Hey, good afternoon, everyone. I wanted to start with the fee income and the bank card. Is the second-quarter level of fees, is that kind of a good run rate to build off of from here? Or do you expect any of those various buckets to be different relative to the second quarter and the back half of the year?

嘿，大家下午好。我想從手續費收入和銀行卡開始。第二季的費用水準是否是一個良好的運作率？或者您預計這些不同的桶中的任何一個相對於第二季度和今年下半年會有所不同嗎？

Yeah. Brett, this is Steve. It's a little bit elevated on the bank card side. There's some annual rebates and a few things that make that a little bit higher usually in the second quarter, $400,000 or so probably. But outside of that overall non-interest income, those other line items should be pretty good run-rate outside of maybe what mortgage might do.

是的。布雷特，這是史蒂夫。銀行卡這邊有點高。有一些年度回扣和其他一些因素通常會在第二季度提高一點，可能是 400,000 美元左右。但除了整體非利息收入之外，除了抵押貸款可能會產生的影響之外，其他項目的運作率應該相當不錯。

Okay. That's helpful. And then Curtis, you talked about the deposit pressures maybe easing a little bit. Can you give us any examples of that, whether it's being able to reprice some 5% CDs lower, or when you say easing, can you maybe quantify that a little more?

好的。這很有幫助。然後柯蒂斯，您談到存款壓力可能會有所緩解。您能否為我們舉一些例子，無論是能夠將 CD 重新定價降低 5%，還是當您說寬鬆時，您能否稍微量化一下？

I think I'd say that we're just seeing fewer ads out in the local media about rates that start with a [6]. There might still be a few out there and there's definitely still some out there that are in the [5s]. But we're just not seeing the ad dollars being spent, I guess, to try to move business over. And we certainly have some competitors who are still very hungry for deposits.

我想我想說的是，我們在當地媒體上看到的有關以 開頭的費率的廣告越來越少了。[6]。可能仍然有一些，而且肯定還有一些在[5秒]。但我想，我們只是沒有看到廣告費用被花在試圖轉移業務上。我們當然有一些競爭對手仍然非常渴望存款。

And we've kind of taken the position that we're not going to see a whole lot of stuff run off, but we're going to keep reasonable liquidity. And if some high cost deposits won't move elsewhere, we'll give them a chance. But right now, that's the way I kind of summarize it, that the advertising dollars being spent to promote very high interest CDs or money market accounts has kind of diminished in most of our markets.

我們的立場是，我們不會看到大量資金流失，但我們將保持合理的流動性。如果一些高成本存款不會轉移到其他地方，我們會給他們一個機會。但現在，這就是我總結的方式，在我們的大多數市場中，用於推廣高利息 CD 或貨幣市場帳戶的廣告費用有所減少。

So, Brett, this is Cory. Hope you're doing good. I think I would just tack on with that though. We have been working at reducing some of the rates that we have some of our deposits and we're not seeing any run off that's coming with it. Now, we're not going to be so naïve to think that we're going to cut them down and try to replace them. It's too much of a challenge to go chase new dollars, but we have been slowly dialing that down a little bit.

所以，布雷特，這是科里。希望你一切都好。我想我還是會繼續說下去。我們一直在努力降低部分存款的利率，但我們沒有看到隨之而來的任何流失。現在，我們不會天真地認為我們要砍掉它們並嘗試更換它們。追逐新的美元是一個太大的挑戰，但我們一直在慢慢降低這一點。

Okay. If I could sneak in one last one around that multifamily loan, could you provide any color on appraisal, do you have a specific reserve on it? And then just how you see that loan working off the non-accrual bucket?

好的。如果我可以偷偷地在多戶家庭貸款周圍添加最後一筆貸款，您能否提供任何評估顏色，您對此有具體的保留嗎？那麼您如何看待這筆貸款在非應計項目中的作用呢？

So Brett, this is Cory. So I'm going to first tell you how we got where we ended up with this one. We've sat around and had this discussion with you guys on many occasions about how we try to identify problems early and this is a perfect example of this. I mean, we've identified this credit well over a year ago and have been working towards trying to get it resolved.

布雷特，這是科里。所以我首先要告訴你我們是如何得到這個結果的。我們在許多場合與你們坐下來討論如何儘早發現問題，這就是一個完美的例子。我的意思是，我們在一年前就已經確定了這個問題，並且一直在努力解決這個問題。

I would think that this one is fully accounted for. I think that's probably where I'm going to stop with it on that.

我認為這一點已經得到充分考慮。我想我可能就到此為止了。

I would tell you that we don't view this credit as being systemic with what people are talking about with multifamily. We think this one's isolated in its own right. And I think we're in the process of working our way out of this one, but I think I'm really proud of the fact that the way we identified it. It falls right in line with the things that we have set back and talked about trying to identify these credits early and try to work our way through them. We've got a pretty good history of that and this is just one example of it.

我想告訴你，我們不認為這種信用與人們談論的多戶家庭是系統性的。我們認為這本身就是孤立的。我認為我們正在努力擺脫這個問題，但我認為我對我們識別它的方式感到非常自豪。它與我們已經推遲並討論過的事情完全一致，試圖儘早識別這些信用並嘗試解決它們。我們在這方面有相當豐富的歷史，這只是其中的一個例子。

Joe Yanchunis, Raymond James.

喬揚楚尼斯，雷蒙德詹姆斯。

Good afternoon. Over the past few quarters, your metro markets have been delivering the lion share of the loan growth. I understand there was a $20 million pay down. I believe you said in El Paso. But is there anything to call out for the outsized loan growth coming from your rural markets? Do you expect that trend to continue for the balance of the year?

午安.在過去的幾個季度中，地鐵市場在貸款成長中佔據了最大份額。據我了解，預付款為 2000 萬美元。我相信你在埃爾帕索說過。但是，農村市場貸款的大幅成長有什麼值得關注的地方嗎？您預計今年餘下時間這種趨勢會持續下去嗎？

Joe, this is Brent. Our pipelines have been pretty stable throughout this year. What I would say is, it is getting a little bit more granular. Average loan balance coming in, we think is going to be a little bit smaller, but the total pipeline staying about the same. We've got a pretty good mix, but this year becoming less metro and more of our other markets.

喬，這是布倫特。今年我們的管道一直相當穩定。我想說的是，它變得更加精細。我們認為平均貸款餘額會減少一些，但總貸款額保持不變。我們有一個非常好的組合，但今年變得更少地鐵和更多我們的其他市場。

Joe, if you look at what really makes up some of the non-metro for us, I mean bringing the stuff back into West Texas and the Permian and stuff, we've had great business in these markets. It's a nice complement to what we're doing in the metro stuff.

喬，如果你看看我們的一些非地鐵的真正組成部分，我的意思是把這些東西帶回德克薩斯州西部和二疊紀盆地等等，我們在這些市場上有很好的業務。這是我們在地鐵方面所做的工作的一個很好的補充。

Absolutely. Okay. Perhaps I missed this in the materials. Did you quantify how much stock you repurchased in the quarter? And given the recent run-in the stock, can you shed some color on your appetite for share repurchase activity from here?

絕對地。好的。也許我在材料中錯過了這一點。您是否量化了本季回購了多少股票？考慮到該股最近的上漲，您能否透露一下您對股票回購活動的興趣？

Yeah. I'll start. It was a nominal amount in the buyback and really occurred in the earlier part of the quarter. I think we had talked maybe a little bit last quarter, about we've got the buyback in place, but we were fairly aggressive with it in the previous buyback plan, but we were going to be a little bit more cautious in where that is I'll let Curtis talk and I'll pull up that number, but it's definitely not a significant number.

是的。我開始吧。這是名義上的回購金額，實際發生在本季早些時候。我想我們上個季度可能已經討論過我們已經實施了回購，但我們在之前的回購計劃中相當積極，但我們會在這方面更加謹慎我會讓柯蒂斯談談，然後我會調出這個數字，但這絕對不是一個重要的數字。

Joe, of course, we're very pleased at the recent run up. I'd like to think some of that's just recognizing some value that we bring in, but we also understand, obviously, it's a very broad-based increase to most bank stocks out there as. I guess, the market begins to realize that bank stocks have generally all been undervalued for quite a while now, and maybe some money is moving back out of some of the high flying tech stocks and finding a home in the financials. I figured we're a beneficiary of that a little bit.

喬，當然，我們對最近的成長感到非常高興。我想其中一些只是認識到我們帶來的一些價值，但我們也明白，顯然，這對大多數銀行股票來說是一個非常廣泛的成長。我想，市場開始意識到銀行股普遍被低估已有相當長一段時間了，也許一些資金正在從一些飛速發展的科技股中撤出，並在金融股中找到了歸宿。我想我們是其中一點的受益者。

Yes, we still want to have the plan in place in case we do see some decline in there to be then supportive of the market. But, in current levels, we'd be pretty slow to be adding anything in there in terms of buyback, where the market goes from here. But we're getting on up there and I think some more. I just say reasonable prices, I guess, on how the stock has been trading lately.

是的，我們仍然希望制定計劃，以防萬一我們確實看到價格下跌，從而支撐市場。但是，在目前的水平上，我們在回購方面添加任何東西的速度都會相當緩慢，而市場的發展方向也是如此。但我們正在繼續前進，我想還有更多。我只是說合理的價格，我猜，是關於股票最近的交易情況。

Yeah. We bought about 12,000, 13,000 shares back during the quarter. How about that? $300,000 or $400,000 worth.

是的。我們在本季回購了大約 12,000 股、13,000 股。怎麼樣？價值 30 萬美元或 40 萬美元。

Okay. And then last one for me here. Given the forward curve, can you discuss the impact to loan yields with the 25 basis point rate cut?

好的。然後是我這裡的最後一個。鑑於遠期曲線，您能否討論降息 25 個基點對貸款殖利率的影響？

Steve?

史蒂夫？

Yeah, I'll start. I mean with the -- we've been looking at this ongoing. And we really think a 25-basis point cut, it's going to be closer to neutral to us, I would say, just again given our given the assumptions we've got and the repricing that we know about. It's going to take a few more rate cuts before you would start to see anything above that.

是的，我要開始了。我的意思是，我們一直在關注這個問題。我想說的是，我們真的認為降息 25 個基點對我們來說將更接近中性，再次考慮到我們所得到的假設和我們所了解的重新定價。在你開始看到高於這一水平之前，還需要幾次降息。

But 25, you could see in the short term maybe a little bit of more expense than or little bit less interest income than you would see reduction in interest expense just until we are able to a few of the deposits they may not reprice on the same day as you would see a rate cut. But we do have public funds and a few other deposits that are directly tied to an index that we would see some relief on. But it's going to take a few more rate cuts before we start to see a more meaningful benefit.

但是25，你可能會看到，在短期內，利息收入的支出可能會比利息支出的減少多一點或少一點，直到我們能夠對一些存款進行重新定價，他們可能不會以同樣的價格重新定價。但我們確實有公共基金和一些其他存款，它們與指數直接掛鉤，我們會看到一些緩解。但在我們開始看到更有意義的好處之前，還需要再降息幾次。

And Joe, I think I would just go on with what Steve said. I think if you look at it -- kind of in a worst case scenario, it's neutral. I think we would work as we do on a consistent basis to try to take advantage of it in every way possible. But even -- I think even in a worst case, it's just neutral to us.

喬，我想我會繼續史蒂夫說的話。我認為如果你看一下——在最壞的情況下，它是中性的。我認為我們將一如既往地努力以各種可能的方式利用它。但即使——我認為即使在最壞的情況下，這對我們來說也是中性的。

Understood. Thank you for taking my questions.

明白了。感謝您回答我的問題。

Woody Lay, KBW.

伍迪萊，KBW。

Hey, guys. Wanted to start on loan growth. I mean, it was pretty impressive, especially given the pay downs you saw in the quarter. Could you just talk through sort of the appetite your customers have for credit in this current environment?

嘿，夥計們。希望從貸款成長開始。我的意思是，這是相當令人印象深刻的，特別是考慮到您在本季度看到的工資下降。您能否談談您的客戶在當前環境下對信貸的興趣？

Yeah. And this is Brent. One of the things I think was mentioned, one of the things that drove our growth this quarter was ag operating lines, about $25 million of that funding. And while we're seeing a good pipeline and good volume, and it's been pretty steady over the last couple of quarters, It's certainly less than it has been in the last past years.

是的。這是布倫特。我認為其中提到的一件事是，推動我們本季成長的因素之一是農業營運線，其中約 2500 萬美元的資金。雖然我們看到了良好的管道和良好的銷量，並且在過去幾個季度中相當穩定，但它肯定比過去幾年要少。

But I feel like it's sustainable. The types of deals we're seeing are kind of across the board, but the C&I was that really drove our growth this quarter were mostly M&A-related strategic transactions with wealthy families that were making a strategic decision about their business. And we're still seeing a little bit of that right now that makes sense for us, makes sense for them.

但我覺得這是可持續的。我們看到的交易類型是全面的，但真正推動我們本季成長的 C&I 主要是與富裕家族進行的併購相關策略交易，這些家族正在對其業務做出戰略決策。我們現在仍然看到一些對我們來說有意義的事情，對他們來說也有意義的事情。

Woody, this is Curtis. One of the other things that we've hit on this several times, we had some fairly significant debt construction projects going. And while there are not new loans on the books in the quarter, they were loans that still hadn't completed their construction, so there were still draws out there. We're not completely to the end of that, but we're getting fairly close.

伍迪，這是柯蒂斯。我們多次談到這一點的其他事情之一是，我們正在進行一些相當重要的債務建設項目。雖然本季帳面上沒有新增貸款，但這些貸款尚未完成建設，因此仍有提款。我們還沒有完全結束，但我們已經相當接近了。

And I would say that, we are not seeing the volume of new construction lending coming in that we had nine months ago, so that's one effect. You saw a nice bump out there in some loan balances that weren't truly new loans on the books. They were just continuing to fund up what we'd already had committed. That's one reason.

我想說的是，我們沒有看到九個月前的新建築貸款量，所以這是其中之一。您看到一些貸款餘額大幅增加，但帳面上並不是真正的新貸款。他們只是繼續為我們已經承諾的事情提供資金。這是原因之一。

We're being pretty cautious, I think, that third and fourth quarter, we'll still get some growth. I do believe that. But it's probably not going to be at the level we saw here in the second quarter.

我認為，我們非常謹慎，第三和第四季度，我們仍將獲得一些成長。我確實相信這一點。但它可能不會達到我們在第二季度看到的水平。

Woody, I think we go one step further though. We're sitting here latter part of July right now. We actually have a crop in the field. We had a crop in the field in two years. We hadn't funded up. Even to this point in the year, we had fundings even to where we are the most part our anticipated fundings in a long time.

伍迪，我認為我們更進一步了。我們現在正坐在這裡，七月下旬。我們實際上在田裡有莊稼。兩年後我們田裡就有了莊稼。我們還沒有籌集到資金。即使到今年的這個時候，我們的資金也達到了我們長期以來預期資金的大部分。

So if you couple that with some of the additional loan growth that we see, we're going to be conservative in what we think is going to be out there and we're going to be careful about the type of stuff that gets through our credit culture. But I'm telling you, you get a little bit of ag to add into it this year that we hadn't had in a couple of years.

因此，如果將其與我們看到的一些額外貸款增長結合起來，我們將對我們認為將會出現的情況持保守態度，並且我們將謹慎對待通過我們的貸款的類型。但我告訴你，今年你會得到一些我們幾年來從未有過的 ag 加入其中。

The ag loans traditionally when we have a good crop, you'll see some fairly significant fundings in the third quarter. While we'll get some pay downs during the calendar year, we really won't see much until fairly late in the fourth quarter. We'll get the benefit of that for most of the next two quarters out there, as those fundings get off the books too. As Cory said, we're glad to have it because we just haven't had much the last couple of years.

傳統上，當我們收成好的時候，農業貸款就會在第三季看到一些相當大的資金。雖然我們會在日曆年中得到一些減薪，但直到第四季末我們才真正看到太多。我們將在接下來兩個季度的大部分時間裡受益，因為這些資金也將被記入帳外。正如科里所說，我們很高興擁有它，因為過去幾年我們沒有得到太多。

Yeah. That's really helpful color. I think you also mentioned growth in the indirect energy loans in the quarter. Could you quantify the growth in that segment?

是的。這真是有用的顏色。我想您也提到了本季間接能源貸款的成長。您能否量化該細分市場的成長？

Yeah. It was about $15 million. It's really energy-related transactions. There's service business there. There was corporate bridge transactions. And so some of that may be temporary fundings, but good business, good overall business with deposit, and other fee income business. Some of that will be temporary, but it's really energy related more on the service side than I would say direct E&P.

是的。金額約 1500 萬美元。這確實是與能源相關的交易。那裡有服務業。有企業過橋交易。因此，其中一些可能是臨時資金，但業務良好，存款和其他費用收入業務的整體業務良好。其中一些將是暫時的，但與我所說的直接勘探與生產相比，它實際上更多地與服務方面的能源相關。

Yeah. We didn't suddenly decide to loan a bunch of money to people to go dig oil wells, just to be clear. Now the loans are very much energy related, as Brent says, but we didn't suddenly change direction and start funding a bunch of exploration loans.

是的。需要澄清的是，我們並不是突然決定要藉一大筆錢給人們去挖油井。正如布倫特所說，現在這些貸款與能源密切相關，但我們並沒有突然改變方向並開始為大量勘探貸款提供資金。

Yeah. Got it. And then lastly, you called out some initiatives implemented in order to boost deposit growth. Just any detail you can provide on those initiatives?

是的。知道了。最後，您提出了一些旨在促進存款成長的措施。您能提供任何有關這些舉措的細節嗎？

I don't think that there's any one smoking gun out there. For us to sit there trying to tell you that I think would be remiss. I think we do a really good job from a customer service standpoint chasing the treasury.

我不認為有任何確鑿證據。如果我們坐在那裡試圖告訴你這一點，我認為是失職的。我認為從客戶服務的角度來看，我們在追逐國庫方面做得非常好。

We talk about treasury all the time. I'm telling you, our team is amazing in what we've been able to pull together and we have continued to expand that, but it all gets down to deliverables. So it's just one aspect of what we're doing throughout the bank. Is there one secret smoking gun? I don't think I'll introduce you name there. I think you can see, we're maintaining deposit levels that sounds working.

我們一直在談論國庫。我告訴你，我們的團隊在團結一致方面取得了驚人的成就，我們也持續擴大這個範圍，但這一切都取決於可交付成果。所以這只是我們整個銀行所做工作的一方面。是否有一把秘密確鑿的證據？我想我不會在那裡介紹你的名字。我想你可以看到，我們維持的存款水準聽起來很有效。

Definitely. All right, thanks for taking my questions.

確實。好的，謝謝你回答我的問題。

Thanks, Woody.

謝謝，伍迪。

Stephen Scouten, Piper Sandler.

史蒂芬·斯考頓，派珀·桑德勒。

Hey. Thanks, guys. Good afternoon. I wanted to just revisit that conversation around rate cuts and how your balance sheet might respond. Are you guys still modestly liability sensitive overall? And can you remind me what amount of the book is kind of truly floating? I think it was maybe in the 15%-16% of loans that are truly floating rate, but just a refresher there?

嘿。謝謝，夥計們。午安.我想重新審視一下有關降息以及資產負債表可能如何反應的討論。你們整體上仍然對責任敏感嗎？你能提醒我這本書有多少部分是真正的浮動嗎？我認為可能是 15%-16% 的貸款才是真正的浮動利率，但只是回顧一下？

Yeah. We are still slightly as liability sensitive at this point, but very, very slightly given what we're estimating on different pay downs, different things on the loan side. As far as the mix, yeah, there's about 19% of the portfolio that's variable that would reprice immediately.

是的。在這一點上，我們仍然對責任稍微敏感，但考慮到我們對不同的首付和貸款方面的不同情況的估計，我們的責任非常非常敏感。就組合而言，是的，大約 19% 的投資組合是可變的，會立即重新定價。

Got it. Okay, helpful. Thank you. And then on the loan growth commentary, it sounds like things will continue at a nice pace, maybe not quite as rapid as we saw this quarter. But how do you think about overall balance sheet growth beyond that? Obviously, you did have strong growth this quarter, but average earning assets were actually down. So just kind of wondering how that mix will play out and if you think you'll see actual balance sheet growth along with the loan growth moving forward?

知道了。好的，有幫助。謝謝。然後，關於貸款成長的評論，聽起來事情將以良好的速度繼續下去，也許不會像我們本季看到的那麼快。但您如何看待除此之外的整體資產負債表成長？顯然，本季確實實現了強勁成長，但平均收益資產實際上有所下降。因此，我只是想知道這種組合將如何發揮作用，以及您是否認為您會看到實際的資產負債表隨著貸款成長而成長？

I wouldn't look for really large asset growth, but we've still been working hard in some of our markets, Permian in particular, to add to the team and get more relationships in the bank. So we're not trying to shrink the bank by any means. What we are trying to do is rationally maintain the proper liquidity out there to not be paying interest on money that we really don't have any good use for. And particularly, if we do get back into an environment of Fed rate cuts, we want to be proactive in trying to plan for those and not be tying down a lot of high-cost deposits for a long time.

我不會尋求真正大規模的資產成長，但我們仍在一些市場（特別是二疊紀市場）努力工作，以擴大團隊規模並在銀行中建立更多關係。因此，我們不會試圖以任何方式縮減銀行規模。我們正在努力做的是合理地維持適當的流動性，以免為我們實際上沒有任何用處的錢支付利息。特別是，如果我們確實回到聯準會降息的環境，我們希望積極主動地制定計劃，而不是長期束縛大量高成本存款。

So we continue to lean forward paying up very competitive rates on our now accounts, money market accounts, and we'll continue to utilize that tool in markets that we see chances to expand in. We have seen some pretty good deposit growth even in our metro markets. And I think that's going to continue. Again, we're not trying to grow at any superfast pace, but as long as we can get a fairly steady low to mid-level percentage of asset growth annualized, I think we're pretty happy with that right now in this environment.

因此，我們繼續傾向於為我們的現有帳戶、貨幣市場帳戶支付非常有競爭力的利率，並且我們將繼續在我們認為有機會擴張的市場中使用該工具。即使在我們的地鐵市場，我們也看到了一些相當不錯的存款成長。我認為這種情況將會持續下去。再說一遍，我們並不試圖以任何超快的速度增長，但只要我們能夠獲得相當穩定的低至中水平的年化資產增長百分比，我認為我們現在在這種環境下對此感到非常滿意。

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And then I guess lastly -- I'm sorry, Cory, go ahead.

是的，這很有意義。我想最後——對不起，科里，繼續吧。

No. I mean, you just go with what Curtis was talking about. I mean, we're trying to figure out how much of the rate cut it's going to take to really have that next boost in loan growth and loan demand that really comes in. And our focus is making sure that we're prepared ahead of time to be able to fund that. And you couple that with election that's coming and I mean we talked about this election, but it's coming fast.

不。我的意思是，你只要照著柯蒂斯所說的去做就可以了。我的意思是，我們正在努力弄清楚需要降息多少才能真正推動下一次貸款成長和貸款需求的真正成長。我們的重點是確保我們提前做好準備，以便能夠為此提供資金。你將其與即將到來的選舉結合起來，我的意思是我們談論了這次選舉，但它來得很快。

And so as fuel rate cuts in there, if there's one or two this year or what happens after the first of the year, we're just trying to make sure we're prepared from the funding side because we still see the demand that's here. We know of different projects that are just waiting for some improvement.

因此，當燃油價格下調時，如果今年有一兩次或今年第一年後發生什麼情況，我們只是想確保我們在資金方面做好準備，因為我們仍然看到這裡的需求。我們知道有不同的項目正在等待改進。

Yeah. Makes sense. And I guess along those lines, your internal capital build the last several quarters has been extremely robust and it sounds like maybe share repurchase is not all that attractive to these levels. So is that really saving that dry powder for growth that could be coming down the line or is it M&A? Or can you kind of walk me through what how you think about those capital usage priorities?

是的。有道理。我想沿著這些思路，過去幾季你們的內部資本建設非常強勁，聽起來也許股票回購對這些水準來說並不是那麼有吸引力。那麼，這真的是為未來的成長節省了乾粉，還是併購？或者您能否向我介紹一下您對這些資本使用優先事項的看法？

Well, in this environment, Cory mentioned earlier, with the uncertainties out there, the election, the geopolitical thing around the world, we could see some major upsets here and there. And I'd a lot rather have a little too much capital than too little. So we're going to continue to try to maintain a solid growth rate in that.

科里之前提到，在這種環境下，由於存在不確定性、選舉、世界各地的地緣政治問題，我們可能會在這裡或那裡看到一些重大的不安。我寧願擁有太多的資本，也不願意擁有太少的資本。因此，我們將繼續努力保持穩健的成長率。

If the right opportunity comes along for an M&A deal, we've got some, as you say, dry powder to use on it. First and foremost, we want to be sure that, we're well-capitalized with whatever organic growth comes our way. That's really job one right there.

如果併購交易出現合適的機會，正如您所說，我們有一些乾粉可以使用。首先也是最重要的是，我們要確保我們擁有充足的資本，並且能夠應付任何有機成長。這確實是第一項工作。

Stephen, also keep in mind, we have a little bit of sub-debt that we're trying to make sure we're very well prepared and positioned to take care of based on how rates reset on it. I mean, if you go back and look at, if you want to talk about buyback, we're conscious of where we're trading, from a trading volume on a consistent basis, because we want to get better at that.

史蒂芬，也請記住，我們有一些次級債務，我們正在努力確保我們做好充分準備並準備好根據其利率重置方式來處理。我的意思是，如果你回頭看看，如果你想談論回購，我們會從穩定的交易量中意識到我們的交易位置，因為我們希望在這方面做得更好。

We want to make sure we're prepared for whatever growth, whatever opportunities might come. We've seen some M&A activity recently but not a lot, but it may open back up. Who knows? We just want to be ready.

我們希望確保我們為任何成長、任何可能出現的機會做好準備。我們最近看到了一些併購活動，但不是很多，但可能會重新開放。誰知道？我們只是想做好準備。

Yes. I love it. Thank you. Optionality's always good. Appreciate all the time, guys.

是的。我喜歡它。謝謝。有選擇性總是好的。一直以來都很感激，夥計們。

Thanks, Stephen.

謝謝，史蒂芬。

Thank you. And we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I'll now turn the call back over to Curtis Griffith for closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束了。現在，我將把電話轉回給柯蒂斯·格里菲斯 (Curtis Griffith)，讓他發表結束語。

Thank you, operator. Thanks, everybody, that participated on the call today. We do think, we are well-positioned now for whatever may come our way. We do face potential challenges, as we just said out there in the national economy and perhaps the world situation. While we can't plan for everything, we still believe here that being cautious and conservative in our approach to handling of our capital, and our depositors' funds is the right thing to do. We love the markets that we're in.

謝謝你，接線生。謝謝今天參加電話會議的所有人。我們確實認為，無論發生什麼，我們現在都處於有利位置。我們確實面臨潛在的挑戰，正如我們剛才所說的，在國家經濟方面，也許還有世界情勢方面。雖然我們無法為所有事情做好計劃，但我們仍然相信，在處理我們的資本和儲戶資金的方法上保持謹慎和保守是正確的做法。我們熱愛我們所處的市場。

We think we will continue to have expansion opportunities in those markets, and we have some awesome people out there on the team that continue to work very hard every day to bring that business into City Bank and South Plains Financial. They're the reason that we can do what we can do. I always want to say, thank you to every one of them because we wouldn't be here without them.

我們認為我們將繼續在這些市場中擁有擴張機會，我們的團隊中有一些很棒的人，他們每天都在繼續努力工作，將這項業務引入城市銀行和南平原金融。它們是我們能夠做我們能做的事情的原因。我總是想說，感謝他們每一個人，因為沒有他們我們就不會在這裡。

And with that, I will close the call. Thank you.

至此，我將結束通話。謝謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束，您現在可以掛斷電話了。感謝您的參與。