Stellar Bancorp Inc (STEL) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Rebecca, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Stellar Bank Q2 earnings release conference call. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的耐心等待。我叫麗貝卡，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加恆星銀行第二季財報電話會議。 （接線生指示）

Thank you. I will now turn the call over to Courtney Theriot. Please go ahead.

謝謝。現在我將把電話轉給Courtney Theriot。請講。

Thank you, operator, and thank you to all who have joined our call today. Good morning. Our team would like to welcome you to our earnings call for the second quarter of 2025. This morning's earnings call will be led by our CEO, Bob Franklin; and CFO, Paul Egge. Also in attendance today are Steve Retzloff, Executive Chairman of the company; Ray Vitulli, President of the company and CEO of the Bank; and Joe West, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of the bank.

謝謝接線員，也謝謝今天參加我們電話會議的各位。早安.我們的團隊歡迎您參加我們2025年第二季的財報電話會議。今天早上的財報電話會議將由我們的執行長Bob Franklin和財務長Paul Egge主持。出席會議的還有公司執行董事長Steve Retzloff、公司總裁兼銀行執行長Ray Vitulli以及銀行高級執行副總裁兼首席信貸官Joe West。

Before we begin, I need to remind everyone that some of the remarks made today constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. We intend all such statements to be covered by the Safe Harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the act.

在開始之前，我需要提醒大家，今天發表的部分言論構成《1995年私人證券訴訟改革法》（修訂版）中定義的前瞻性陳述。我們旨在使所有此類陳述均受該法案中關於前瞻性陳述的安全港條款的保護。

Also note that if we give guidance about future results, that guidance is only a reflection of management's beliefs at the time the statement is made, and such beliefs are subject to change. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement except as may be required by law.

另請注意，如果我們對未來業績做出指引，該指引僅反映管理層在作出該陳述時的信念，而該信念可能會發生變化。除法律另有規定外，我們不承擔公開更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

Please see the last page of the text in this morning's earnings release, which is available on our website at ir.stellar.bank for additional information about the risk factors associated with forward-looking statements. At the conclusion of our remarks, we will open the line and allow time for questions.

請參閱今天上午收益報告的最後一頁，該報告可在我們的網站 ir.stellar.bank 上查閱，以了解更多關於前瞻性陳述相關風險因素的資訊。發言結束後，我們將開放提問環節。

I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Bob Franklin.

現在我將把電話轉給我們的執行長鮑勃富蘭克林。

Good morning and welcome to the Stellar Bancorp's second-quarter earnings call. We are pleased to share our results for the quarter, evidencing the great work our team has performed toward our goals for growth.

早安，歡迎參加恆星銀行第二季財報電話會議。我們很高興分享本季的業績，這證明了我們團隊在實現成長目標方面所做的出色工作。

In the first quarter, we described how we thought the year would play out, with our loan volume stabilizing with payoffs in the second quarter, giving us momentum for growth in the third and fourth quarters. Our pipeline is healthy and continues to support growth. We are seeing great results from our business development efforts with new loan originations, nearly doubling in the second quarter when compared to the first.

在第一季度，我們描述了我們對今年的預期：我們的貸款額度趨於穩定，第二季度開始還款，這為第三季和第四季的成長提供了動力。我們的貸款管道健康，並將繼續支持成長。我們的業務拓展工作取得了顯著成果，新貸款發放量在第二季幾乎比第一季翻了一番。

This is the highest level since 2022, and we believe it marks the return to organic growth. In these efforts, we continue to be supported by the resilient Texas marketplace, which provides Stellar Bank with great opportunities.

這是自2022年以來的最高水平，我們相信這標誌著公司恢復了有機成長。在這些努力中，我們繼續得到了德克薩斯州富有韌性的市場的支持，這為Stellar Bank提供了巨大的機會。

Our markets have seen M&A activity pick up as many in the country focus on business-friendly states. With this consolidation comes some disruption, and we anticipate potential for both customer acquisition and talent as a result.

隨著美國許多企業將目光聚焦於營商便利的州，我們市場的併購活動已回升。這種整合帶來了一些顛覆性的變化，我們預期這將帶來客戶獲取和人才培養的潛力。

Our foundation is our great balance sheet, exhibiting strong capital and liquidity and highlighting our commitment to core funding. These attributes provide us with a good net interest margin and plenty of optionality in the marketplace, a tribute to our disciplined approach around relationship banking. We continue to focus on expanding existing relationships and building new ones.

我們的基礎是良好的資產負債表，展現出強勁的資本和流動性，並凸顯了我們對核心資金的承諾。這些特點為我們帶來了良好的淨利差和充足的市場選擇，這得益於我們嚴謹的關係型銀行業務模式。我們將繼續專注於拓展現有關係並建立新的關係。

Our strategy is clear: continue to build Stellar into the bank of choice in our markets for small business leaders. We are a community bank, and we understand that our commitment to relationship banking is what will drive long-term value for our shareholders.

我們的策略很明確：繼續將Stellar打造成為我們市場中小型企業領導者的首選銀行。我們是一家社區銀行，我們深知，致力於關係型銀行業務，才能為股東創造長期價值。

And with that, I'm going to turn the call over to Paul Egge for further color on the quarter.

接下來，我將把電話轉給 Paul Egge，讓他進一步介紹本季的情況。

Thanks, Bob, and good morning, everybody. We are pleased to report second quarter 2025 net income of $26.4 million or $0.51 per diluted share, which is up from net income of $24.7 million or $0.46 per share in the first quarter. These Q2 results represent an annualized ROAA of 1.01% and an annualized ROATCE of 12.16%.

謝謝，鮑勃，大家早安。我們很高興地宣布，2025年第二季淨利為2,640萬美元，即每股攤薄收益0.51美元，高於第一季的2,470萬美元，即每股收益0.46美元。第二季業績的年化ROAA為1.01%，年化ROATCE為12.16%。

Key highlights of our Q2 performance were non-interest expense management and low credit costs, primarily due to low net charge-offs. Our balance sheet grew incrementally, thanks largely to deposit growth. while loans ended the quarter slightly up from the first quarter.

我們第二季業績的亮點在於非利息支出管理以及較低的信貸成本，這主要得益於較低的淨沖銷額。我們的資產負債表穩定成長，這主要得益於存款的成長。本季末的貸款餘額較第一季略有成長。

During the second quarter, net interest income was $98.3 million, representing a slight decrease in the $99.3 million booked in the first quarter of 2025. This was due largely to lower earning assets and slightly lower net interest margin for the quarter. This translated into still a healthy net interest margin of 4.18% in the second quarter, relative to 4.2% in the first quarter.

第二季淨利息收入為9,830萬美元，較2025年第一季的9,930萬美元略有下降。這主要是由於本季生息資產減少及淨息差略有下降。這意味著第二季淨利差仍維持健康水平，為4.18%，而第一季為4.2%。

Purchase accounting accretion in the second quarter was $5.3 million, which was relatively flat compared to the $5.4 million in the first quarter. Excluding purchase accounting accretion, tax equivalent net interest income decreased slightly in the quarter to $93.1 million from $94 million in the prior quarter, and net interest margin excluding accretion was 3.95%, down from 3.97% in the prior quarter.

第二季採購會計增值530萬美元，與第一季的540萬美元相比基本持平。扣除採購會計增值後，本季稅後淨利息收入略有下降，從上一季的9,400萬美元降至9,310萬美元；扣除增值後的淨利差為3.95%，低於上一季的3.97%。

Margin performance during the second quarter was impacted by higher funding costs, more than offsetting higher yields on earning assets, which resulted in that two-basis point change versus the first quarter. We should note that that first quarter benefited from some deposit seasonality that impacted deposit funding costs to the positive in that quarter.

第二季的利潤率表現受到融資成本上升的影響，這抵消了生息資產收益率上升的影響，導致其與第一季相比變化了兩個基點。值得注意的是，第一季受益於一些存款季節性因素，這對該季度的存款融資成本產生了積極影響。

Second-quarter margin, excluding purchase accounting accretion and the cost of deposits we experience, still reflect an incremental improvement from the fourth quarter of 2024. So we continue to feel good about our ability to defend and incrementally improve our top tier margin profile.

第二季的利潤率（不包括購買會計增值和我們經歷的存款成本）仍然反映出與 2024 年第四季相比的逐步改善。因此，我們繼續對我們捍衛和逐步改善頂級利潤率的能力感到滿意。

Walking further down the income statement, we booked a provision for credit losses of $1.1 million in the second quarter, which is driven primarily by an increase in our allowance for unfunded commitments due to a nice increase in our unfunded loan commitments during the quarter.

進一步查看損益表，我們在第二季度提列了 110 萬美元的信貸損失準備金，這主要是由於本季度我們的未撥付貸款承諾大幅增加，導致未撥付承諾準備金增加。

To a lesser extent, this was also driven by minimal -- this level of provision was driven by minimal net charge offs. Our allowance for credit losses on loans ended the quarter at $83.2 million or 1.14% of loans, which is down 1 basis point from the 1.15% of loans that we had at the end of the first quarter.

在較小程度上，這也是由極低的撥備水準造成的－這一水準的撥備是由極低的淨沖銷額造成的。本季末，我們的貸款信用損失準備金為8,320萬美元，佔貸款總額的1.14%，較第一季末的1.15%下降了1個基點。

Moving on to non-interested income, we earned $5.8 million for the second quarter of 2025 versus $5.5 million in the first quarter. Here, we must note the second quarter benefited from additional earnings from Federal Reserve Bank dividends as a result of Stellar becoming a member of the Fed at the beginning of the second quarter.

說到非利息收入，我們在2025年第二季的獲利為580萬美元，而第一季為550萬美元。需要指出的是，由於Stellar在第二季初成為聯準會成員，聯準會股息帶來的額外收益為第二季帶來了收益。

Next, non-interest expense for the quarter was essentially flat at approximately $70 million. This is better than planned and reflective of our focus on holding the line where we can on expenses.

其次，本季非利息支出基本持平，約7,000萬美元。這比計劃要好，也體現了我們致力於控制支出的決心。

Our solid bottom-line results have driven internal capital generation and our ability to maintain a very strong balance sheet and capital position. Total risk-based capital was 15.98% at the end of the second quarter, relative to 15.97% at the end of the first quarter.

我們穩健的獲利績效推動了內部資本的生成，並使我們保持了非常強勁的資產負債表和資本狀況。第二季末，創投總額為15.98%，而第一季末為15.97%。

Year-over-year tangible book value increased 10.8% from $18 per share to $19.94 per share, and this is after the effect of dividends and some significant share repurchase activity over the last year. On the topic of share repurchases, we bought back 791,000 shares of our stock at a weighted average price of $26.08 per share during the quarter.

有形帳面價值年增10.8%，從每股18美元增至每股19.94美元，得益於去年派發股息和進行了一些大規模股票回購活動。在股票回購方面，我們本季以每股26.08美元的加權平均價格回購了79.1萬股股票。

In closing, we really like where we sit, both financially and strategically. We are positioned to deliver positive operating leverage by adding more scale to the Stellar Bank platform and maintain a really strong balance sheet. We believe this will give us the financial flexibility to be opportunistic.

最後，我們非常滿意目前的財務和策略狀況。我們有能力透過擴大恆星銀行平台的規模來實現積極的營運槓桿，並保持強勁的資產負債表。我們相信，這將賦予我們足夠的財務彈性，讓我們能夠抓住機會。

Thank you and I will now turn the call back over to Bob.

謝謝，現在我會把電話轉回給鮑伯。

Thank you, Paul. Operator, I think we're ready for questions. Thank you.

謝謝保羅。接線員，我想我們已經準備好提問了。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) David Feaster, Raymond James.

（操作員指示）大衛·菲斯特，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Hi, good morning, everybody.

大家好，早安。

Good morning, Dave.

早上好，戴夫。

I wanted to start first on the growth outlook. We saw loans stabilize this quarter, which is encouraging. I was just hoping you could maybe touch on the competitive landscape for loans, kind of origination activity relative to payoffs and paydowns and some of the just -- what's driving the payoffs and paydowns and I -- when do you think we can start seeing originations offset that headwind and growth start to accelerate?

我想先談談成長前景。本季貸款情況趨於穩定，令人鼓舞。希望您能談談貸款的競爭格局，貸款發放活動與還款狀況的關係，以及推動還款和還款的因素。您認為什麼時候才能看到貸款發放抵銷逆風，並開始加速成長？

Hey, David, yeah, so the originations, as Bob mentioned, nearly doubled in the second quarter compared to the first. And our pipelines kind of support that level of continued origination. So when you look at the waterfall of what kind of where that needs to be, we've got a pretty good feel around where payoffs are. A lot of those are coming from just trades of properties that they sell. But kind of at that level, we originated $640 million in the second quarter, and that kind of resulted in this slight growth. So we know that's probably the bar where origination is greater than that will result in some growth.

嘿，大衛，是的，正如鮑勃提到的，第二季度的貸款發放幾乎比第一季翻了一番。我們的管道在某種程度上支撐了這種持續的貸款發放水準。所以，當你看到貸款發放量需要達到的水平時，我們對收益的來源非常清楚。其中許多收益來自於他們出售的房產交易。但就這個水準而言，我們第二季的貸款發放量為6.4億美元，這帶來了輕微的成長。所以我們知道，這可能是一個門檻，如果貸款發放量超過這個水平，就會帶來一些成長。

The other component is what we call our carried, which is our advances less our payments. And because of the loans that we have been putting on, we should see a lift in future quarters in that area where in previous quarters, that's actually been a decrease for us because of where we sit with unfunded in our loans book.

另一部分是我們所謂的“附帶收益”，即預付款減去還款。由於我們一直在發放貸款，未來幾季這部分收益應該會有所提升。而前幾季度，由於我們的貸款帳簿中存在未撥備資金，這部分收益實際上是下降的。

So kind of the two factors to your question about going forward is continue on the origination path and then see those loans that book -- have some advances that will exceed the payments to give us a lift there.

因此，對於您關於未來的問題，有兩個因素需要考慮：一是繼續沿著發起路徑前進，二是查看那些帳面貸款——有一些預付款將超過付款，從而為我們帶來幫助。

We like where these loans -- where the rates came on for these loans. It's healthy as well. And even in -- as you know, the markets we serve are extremely competitive, but we have -- our bankers are out on the street. We've had some new hires that are starting to get some traction. We've had wins in Dallas market and continue to have -- get some market share gains here in the Houston-Beaumont region.

我們對這些貸款的利率很滿意，而且利率也很健康。即使在——正如你所知，我們所服務的市場競爭非常激烈，但我們的銀行家也紛紛離開。我們招募了一些新員工，他們開始獲得一些支援。我們在達拉斯市場取得了一些成功，並且在休士頓-博蒙特地區繼續保持市場份額的成長。

Okay, that's helpful. And maybe touching on the other side, the funding side, obviously, there's been some noise there. I'm just curious, maybe the competitive landscape for funding in your markets and just the strategy and ability to continue to drive core deposits going forward. And would you expect funding costs to kind of remain relatively stable or maybe increase? Just kind of curious your thoughts on the funding side.

好的，這很有幫助。或許可以談談另一方面，融資方面，顯然有一些聲音。我只是好奇，例如你們市場融資的競爭格局，以及未來繼續推動核心存款成長的策略和能力。您預計融資成本會保持相對穩定還是上升？我很好奇您對融資方面的看法。

On time, we've seen a little bit of a -- not so much on the competitive side on the time deposits. On the money market, there's absolutely competitive part there and we dealt with that through kind of what we call a measured approach with exception pricing where we need it.

就時間而言，我們發現定期存款的競爭略有減弱。貨幣市場絕對存在競爭，我們透過所謂的「有節制」的方法來應對，並在必要時進行例外定價。

Where our -- the second quarter in our net new, so our -- in terms of dollar of open less closed was the highest in three quarters and the second highest in six quarters. And the mix of that 50% in the second quarter was to new customers that have not been at Stellar Bank before. So our approach and strategy is to expand our existing customer base but then go out and kind of tackle what the market will give us, and we're well positioned for that.

我們第二季的淨新增客戶（即新開戶數減去已關閉戶數）達到了三個季度以來的最高水平，六個季度以來的第二高水平。第二季這50%的客戶來自之前從未在Stellar Bank光顧過的新客戶。因此，我們的方法和策略是先擴大現有客戶群，然後再積極應對市場變化，而我們已為此做好了充分的準備。

Okay. And just last one for me, you guys have done a great job managing expenses. I'm curious, as you look at expenses going forward, is there more wood to chop on that front? Or just given the disruption around you, whether there could be some opportunities to maybe invest in new talent and maybe be a bit offensive here?

好的。最後我想問一下，你們在管理費用方面做得非常出色。我很好奇，在考慮未來的費用時，你們在這方面還有什麼需要改進的地方嗎？或者，考慮到你們周圍的混亂局面，是否有機會投資新的人才，或在這方面採取一些進攻措施？

So I'd characterize our expense management as holding the line where we can. And that is so that we can be opportunistic when the right opportunities come up as opposed to kind of feeling like we're on a deficit on spend and more spend would kind of put us in a less optimal place. So the net effect of our strategy of holding the line where we can opens up the possibility to be opportunistic. But it's still a dynamic where we're going to focus on holding the line where we can so that the revenue growth outpaces the expense dynamics.

所以，我認為我們的支出管理就是「力所能及地守住底線」。這樣，當合適的機會出現時，我們就能抓住機會，而不是感覺支出不足，而增加支出又會讓我們處於一個不太理想的境地。因此，我們「力所能及地守住底線」的策略最終效果是，我們有機會抓住機會。但這仍然是一個動態過程，我們仍將專注於力所能及地守住底線，以確保收入成長超過支出成長。

Yeah, David, I think from that standpoint, we are certainly open for new talent. I think we don't stop looking for additional talent that would help us grow the bank. The nice part for us, I think, to some extent is that the back-office build around the things that we had to do over going over $10 billion is it's pretty well done. So we don't expect growth in that area. But we certainly are looking for additional talent to help grow the bank in the future. So we won't let that keep us from acquiring talent.

是的，大衛，我認為從這個角度來看，我們當然對新人才持開放態度。我認為我們不會停止尋找能夠幫助我們發展銀行的人才。我認為，對我們來說，某種程度上的好處在於，圍繞著我們超過100億美元業務所必須做的事情，後台建設做得相當不錯。所以我們不期待這方面會有什麼成長。但我們肯定會尋找更多人才來幫助銀行未來發展。所以我們不會讓這阻礙我們招募人才。

Okay, that's helpful. Thanks, everybody.

好的，這很有幫助。謝謝大家。

Will Jones, KBW.

威爾瓊斯，KBW。

Yeah, hey ,guys, good morning.

是的，嘿，大家早安。

Good morning, Will.

早安，威爾。

So Paul, if I could just weave together some of the commentary on just maybe the deposit cost competition landscape, and just mirror that with your desire to see some growth in the back half of the year, could you just piece out what the implications are for how the margin could trend, as we move into the third and fourth quarters of this year?

因此，保羅，如果我可以將一些關於存款成本競爭格局的評論結合起來，並將其與您希望在今年下半年看到一些增長的願望結合起來，您能否闡明這對利潤率趨勢的影響，因為我們進入今年第三季度和第四季度？

So we feel really good about our position -- our ability to defend our margin. There has been a little bit of mix shift in the kind of funding base, and that's been largely strategic. We've relied a little less on FHLB borrowings and brokered funds in the second quarter -- actually, I should say relied a little less on FHLB borrowings and brokered CDs in the second quarter and instead, relied on a lower cost alternative to FHLB funding, which was an interest-bearing demand broker, which we've lowered our exposure to.

因此，我們對自己的狀況——也就是我們捍衛利潤的能力——感到非常滿意。融資基礎的組成略有變化，這主要是出於策略考量。第二季度，我們對聯邦住房貸款銀行（FHLB）借款和經紀基金的依賴略有減少——實際上，我應該說，第二季度我們對聯邦住房貸款銀行（FHLB）借款和經紀存單的依賴略有減少，而是轉向了一種成本更低的FHLB融資替代方案，即有利息的活期經紀業務，我們降低了對這類業務的敞口。

But ultimately, that drove a little bit of a shifting cost in the kind of funding base during the second quarter relative to the first quarter. But really, we feel awesome about where we stand currently in terms of at our low -- relative low points on usage of wholesale funds at the end of the second quarter. And funding composition is what's going to drive our ability to drive improvements to margin.

但最終，這導致第二季度相對於第一季度，融資成本略有變化。但實際上，我們對目前的狀況感到非常滿意，因為第二季末批發資金的使用率處於相對較低的水平。資金結構將推動我們提高利潤率的能力。

If it stays more consistent as it currently stands, we'll be able to go probably improve margin kind of on a basis point by basis point [nice, tight] basis. If we're able to kind of continue to decrease our usage of wholesale funds, we may be able to drive a little better dynamic. So really focusing on staying core is what's going to help us drive what we think is a structurally strong core margin in our business. To the extent we backslide, we like our ability to still defend where we're at.

如果維持目前較穩定的狀態，我們或許能夠逐個基點地提高利潤率（不錯，很緊）。如果我們能夠持續減少批發資金的使用，或許能推動業績略有改善。因此，真正專注於維持核心業務，才能幫助我們實現我們認為結構性強勁的核心利潤率。即使業績下滑，我們也樂於維持現有水準。

Yeah, that's great. I appreciate that thoughtful response. And I know you talked in the past just about your desire to see securities balances grow a little bit. But as I look this quarter, they at least leveled out on an average basis here. Did you feel like you've done all you need to do in terms of building up that bond portfolio?

是的，太好了。我很感激您深思熟慮的回應。我知道您之前說過希望證券餘額能稍微成長一些。但就本季而言，證券餘額至少平均持平了。您覺得在建立債券投資組合方面，您已經做了所有需要做的事情嗎？

Yes, absolutely. I mean, we're still incrementally -- we're satisfied with the size of it and we'd incrementally grow to a degree, but it's -- we're focused on growing loans. We feel like we have a great liquid balance sheet.

是的，絕對是如此。我的意思是，我們仍在穩步發展——我們對目前的規模感到滿意，並且會逐步增長到一定程度，但我們專注於增加貸款。我們感覺我們的資產負債表流動性很好。

I'd say when you track the average balances in the second quarter versus the first quarter, the first quarter when we had benefited from the seasonality of our government banking business, we did incrementally invest in some securities in a latter such that you had higher average balances in the first quarter.

我想說，當你追蹤第二季與第一季的平均餘額時，你會發現，第一季我們受益於政府銀行業務的季節性，我們確實在後者中逐步投資了一些證券，因此第一季的平均餘額更高。

So that is a seasonal anomaly. But where we were in the second quarter is pretty much where we want to be and I would say more on a percentage of assets basis. So if we're able to grow assets, we'll try to maintain around the same percentage of asset dynamic that we currently hold.

所以這只是季節性異常。但我們第二季的業績基本上符合我們的預期，而且我認為，從資產佔比來看，情況會更好。因此，如果我們能夠增加資產，我們會努力將資產佔比維持在目前水準。

Yeah, okay, great. Thanks, Paul. And then excess capital that you guys have, I mean, it's a high-class problem and you're deploying that somewhat through buybacks, but evaluations have also moved a little bit from where you bought back in the first and second quarter. Does that still play a role near term or do you really, lean more into the organic growth as you see that opportunity picking up? Thanks.

好的，太好了。謝謝，保羅。然後，你們的過剩資本，我的意思是，這是一個嚴重的問題，你們正在透過回購來部署這些資本，但估值也與第一季和第二季回購的水平相比略有波動。這在短期內還會發揮作用嗎？還是隨著你看到機會的回升，你真的會更傾向於有機成長？謝謝。

The organic growth is the number one use of capital that we want to engage in. And secondarily, there's other strategic uses of capital for which we feel like we benefit from optimal flexibility on that front. And then last, share repurchases are an awesome tool for us. We were very active in the first half of the year. Our demand for share repurchases is really graduated based on price. So we're going to be -- as you guys might have seen in the first half of the year, we're able and willing to be pretty aggressive when we feel like that dynamic is merited.

有機成長是我們最希望投入的資本用途。其次，還有其他策略性資本用途，我們認為這方面的最佳靈活性將使我們受益匪淺。最後，股票回購對我們來說是一個非常棒的工具。今年上半年我們非常活躍。我們對股票回購的需求其實是根據價格逐步遞增的。因此，正如各位在上半年可能已經看到的那樣，當我們認為這種動態值得時，我們有能力並且願意採取相當激進的行動。

Yeah, understood. All right guys, that's all for me. Thanks.

好的，明白了。好了，各位，我的就到這裡。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Matt Olney, Stephens.

（操作員指示）馬特·奧爾尼，史蒂芬斯。

Hi, thanks. Good morning, everybody.

嗨，謝謝。大家早安。

Good morning, Matt.

早安，馬特。

I want to go back to the long growth discussion and dig in more to the originations that really improved this quarter that Bob noted. Any color on the mix of originations? And I know you guys have been working hard building out kind of a C&I, more of a middle-market strategy over the last year or so. Just any color on that progress and just the overall origination mix.

我想回到之前關於成長的長期討論，深入探討Bob提到的本季真正有所改善的貸款來源。請問您能提供貸款來源結構的詳細資訊嗎？我知道你們在過去一年左右的時間裡一直在努力建構一種類似C&I（商業和工業）的、更偏向中端市場的策略。請您提供這方面的進展以及整體貸款來源結構的詳細資訊。

Hi, Matt, the -- no, it's -- as you mentioned, the -- we've got a good mix of C&I in that in there. We got down to really low levels on our concentrations on CRE and C&D. So there's a little backfill in in those areas as well, but we continue to push and look at opportunities on the C&I side. And we're pleased with where that's been, not only in the second quarter but just over the past few quarters of our mix in the C&I front. So it's kind of all across the board, not -- it looks similar to how we've originated. It's just that at higher, absolute dollar amounts.

嗨，馬特，不，正如你所提到的，我們的商業和工業（C&I）業務組合很好。我們對商業房地產（CRE）和建築與建築裝飾（C&D）的關注度已經降到了很低的水平。所以在這些領域也有一些回補，但我們會繼續推進，尋找商業和工業的機會。我們對目前的情況感到滿意，不僅是第二季度，而且是過去幾季我們在商業和工業方面的業務組合。所以，這幾乎是全方位的，而不是——看起來和我們最初的樣子很相似。只是絕對金額更高了。

Okay, appreciate that. And then I want to go back on to the expense discussion. And Paul, you mentioned the banks did a nice job kind of holding the line so far this year, and it looks like expenses are pretty flat year over year through the first half of the year. Based on where we're at today, do you think it's reasonable to assume expenses just continue to remain flat for the remainder of the year in '25 as compared to '24, absent any of those investments that you'll be opportunistic looking for?

好的，謝謝。然後我想回到費用討論。保羅，你提到今年到目前為止，銀行在控制支出方面做得很好，而且看起來今年上半年的支出比基本持平。基於我們目前的情況，你是否認為，在沒有你尋求機會的投資的情況下，2025年剩餘時間的支出與2024年相比會繼續持平，這種假設合理嗎？

Absent opportunistic investment, that's the goal, is hold the line right here. We're really pleased with the fact that we've been able to outperform our -- where we initially budgeted and where we initially kind of positioned the expense story. And we're really pleased with us actually kind of meeting last year's guidance and beating this year's guidance. So that's the goal. But part and parcel to that is having that flexibility to be opportunistic.

不投機取巧，這就是我們的目標，就是堅守底線。我們非常高興，我們的業績超出了我們最初的預算，也超出了我們最初設定的費用目標。我們也非常高興，我們實際上達到了去年的預期，並且超過了今年的預期。這就是我們的目標。但其中至關重要的一點是，我們要擁有這種抓住機會的彈性。

Yeah, okay. Makes sense. And then on the discussion around the core margin, I think we have talked about kind of a intermediate term goal is getting back to that 4% margin. And we've talked on this call about the deposit cost competition, a little bit more of a headwind now than before. Is that 4% core margin, is that still a reasonable goal? And do you see any kind of potential Fed cut that we could see later on this year and the next year? Do you see that benefiting the margin as you stand today, or is that potentially more of a headwind if that were to happen?

好的，很有道理。然後關於核心利潤率的討論，我想我們已經討論過一個中期目標，那就是回到4%的利潤率。我們在這次電話會議上也談到了存款成本競爭，現在的阻力比以前更大了。 4%的核心利潤率仍然是合理的目標嗎？您認為聯準會在今年稍晚和明年可能會降息嗎？您認為這對目前的利潤率有利嗎？還是說，如果降息，可能會帶來更大的阻力？

It'll benefit the margin. I mean, when you get the right cuts, we find that we have a little bit of kind of initial adjustment noise that's hard to parse out. But by and large, the normalization of the yield curve is going to benefit us in the industry. We really like where we sit and we still have point-to-point inversions, especially where we kind of play in the yield curve.

這對利潤率有利。我的意思是，當利率下調到適當的水平時，我們會發現有一些初始調整的噪音，很難分辨。但總的來說，殖利率曲線的正常化將使我們這個產業受益。我們非常滿意目前的狀況，而且我們仍然有點對點的反轉，尤其是在殖利率曲線的某個位置。

So with the front end coming down, if and when you have the rate cuts, that has -- opens up more kind of structural opportunity for our margin to continue to improve in the medium term. Immediately, there could be a little bit of noise, but we like where we sit and we like and we were -- it is our intention to scratch and claw back up to a four handle on margins.

因此，隨著前端成本的下降，如果利率下調，這將為我們的利潤率在中期內持續改善提供更多結構性機會。短期內可能會出現一些波動，但我們對目前的狀況感到滿意，我們也喜歡現在的狀況——我們的目標是努力將利潤率回升至四倍左右。

Okay. Appreciate the commentary, Paul. And then on the capital front, you mentioned the buyback on a previous question. What about -- I think you also talked about earlier this year, you pay down some debt. It seems like there's maybe another tranche or two of debt that could be redeemed. Just any update on the debt at this point.

好的。感謝你的評論，保羅。然後關於資本方面，你在先前的問題中提到了回購。那——我記得你今年早些時候也提到過，你償還了一些債務。現在看來，可能還有一兩批債務可以贖回。目前債務有什麼最新進展嗎？

We're looking at that kind of in conjunction. It's in the playbook with share repurchases and how we think about kind of the uses of our excess here. So we are evaluating that really in line with the other options out there. So it's certainly there for us to consider.

我們正在綜合考慮這些因素。這和股票回購以及我們如何利用剩餘資金都息息相關。因此，我們正在根據其他選項進行評估。所以，這當然值得我們考慮。

Okay. And then I guess just on M&A, we've seen a flurry of deals in your backyard over the last few weeks, which is great to see. I'm just curious about the bank's M&A discussions and talking with potential partners. Just any update on maybe the pace of those conversations more recently.

好的。然後我想就併購而言，過去幾週我們看到貴行出現了一系列交易，這很好。我只是對貴行的併購談判以及與潛在合作夥伴的談判情況感到好奇。請問您最近關於這些談判進展的進展。

Yeah, Matt. I think the pace of the conversations have been fairly kicked up a bit. And I think one of the things for us is just to make sure we're mindful to stay disciplined around pricing. And I think some of this exuberance sometimes causes some disruption around pricing for some of these things.

是的，馬特。我覺得討論的節奏確實加快了一些。我認為我們要做的工作之一就是確保在定價方面保持紀律。我認為這種過度的熱情有時會對某些產品的定價造成一些幹擾。

But I think we always make sure that we want to not do any damage to the franchise that we already have but we are still seeking partners to help build the balance sheet, build the bank. And there's still some opportunities out there for us. And so we're going to continue those discussions.

但我認為我們始終確保不損害我們現有的特許經營權，但我們仍在尋找合作夥伴來幫助建立資產負債表和銀行體系。我們仍然有一些機會。因此，我們將繼續進行這些討論。

Okay. Thanks for the update, guys.

好的。謝謝大家的更新。

John Rodis, Janney.

約翰‧羅迪斯，詹妮。

Hey, good morning, guys.

嘿，大家早安。

Good morning, John.

早安，約翰。

Yeah. I guess most of my questions have been asked and answered. But Paul, maybe just one on the other income line item. You highlighted the Fed dividends. So all things equal going forward in the second half, does the other income line probably trend back more towards sort of the first-quarter level?

是的。我想我的大部分問題都已經問過了，也得到了解答。但是保羅，也許我只想問一下關於另一項收入的問題。你強調了聯準會的股利。那麼，在下半年所有因素都相同的情況下，另一項收入項目是否可能會回落到第一季的水平？

Yeah. There is some lumpy pieces that fall into other income. One of them is our SBIC income which sometimes can add some lumpiness to it. But the key in ongoing component to other income is going to be the new entrant of these dividends as a by-product of holding Fed stock and being a Fed member. So that's going to go on in perpetuity. Some of the other dynamics, I can't promise that there won't be volatility in that line. But net-net, what drove most of the difference between the first quarter and the second quarter is a ongoing benefit.

是的。有些不規則的部分屬於其他收入。其中之一就是我們的SBIC收入，有時會增加一些不規則部分。但其他收入中持續性收入的關鍵部分是持有聯準會股票和成為聯準會成員所帶來的股息收入。所以這種情況會一直持續下去。至於其他一些動態因素，我無法保證這部分收入不會出現波動。但總的來說，第一季和第二季之間差異的主要原因是持續性收益。

Okay, sounds good. Thank you.

好的，聽起來不錯。謝謝。

I will now turn the call back over to Bob for closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給鮑勃，請他作結束語。

Thank you, operator, and thank you to all of you that have joined the call this morning. And we are adjourned. Thank you.

謝謝接線生，也謝謝今天上午參加電話會議的各位。現在我們休會。謝謝大家。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。現在可以掛斷電話了。