Third Coast Bancshares Inc (TCBX) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Third Coast Bank first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Third Coast Bank 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）提醒您，本次會議將被錄音。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host for today, Natalie Hairston, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很榮幸介紹今天的主持人：投資人關係部的 Natalie Hairston。謝謝。您可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for Third Coast Bancshares conference call and webcast to review our first quarter 2026 results. With me today is Bart Caraway, Founder, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; John McWhorter, Chief Financial Officer; and Audrey Spaulding, Chief Credit Officer. First, a few housekeeping items.

謝謝接線員，各位早安。感謝各位參加 Third Coast Bancshares 的電話會議與網路直播，我們將回顧 2026 年第一季業績。今天與我一同出席的有：創辦人、董事長、總裁暨執行長 Bart Caraway；財務長 John McWhorter；以及信貸長 Audrey Spaulding。首先，先說明幾項例行事項。

There will be a replay of today's call, and it will be available by webcast on the Investors section of our website at ir.thirdcoast.bank. There will also be a telephonic replay available until April 30, and more information on how to access these replay features was included in yesterday's earnings release.

今天的會議將提供重播，並可透過網路直播在我們網站投資人專區 ir.thirdcoast.bank 觀看。另亦提供電話重播至 4 月 30 日止；如何使用這些重播功能的更多資訊已包含在昨日發布的財報新聞稿中。

Please note that the information reported on this call speaks only as of today, April 23, 2026, and therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay listening or transcript reading. In addition, the comments made by management during this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws.

請注意，本次電話會議所揭露之資訊僅截至今日（2026 年 4 月 23 日）為準，因此提醒您，具時效性的資訊在您收聽重播或閱讀逐字稿時可能已不再準確。此外，管理階層於本次電話會議中的評論可能包含符合美國聯邦證券法所定義之「前瞻性陳述」。

These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management. However, various risks, uncertainties and contingencies could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in the statements made by management.

這些前瞻性陳述反映管理階層目前的觀點。然而，各種風險、不確定性與偶發事件可能導致實際結果、表現或成就與管理階層所表達者出現重大差異。

The listener or reader is encouraged to read the annual report on Form 10-K to better understand those risks, uncertainties and contingencies. The comments made today will also include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Additional details and reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures were included in yesterday's earnings release, which can be found on the Third Coast website.

我們鼓勵聽眾或讀者閱讀 Form 10-K 年報，以更充分了解上述風險、不確定性與偶發事件。今天的評論亦將包含若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。更多細節以及與最直接可比之 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節，已載於昨日的財報新聞稿中，並可於 Third Coast 網站查閱。

Now I would like to turn the call over to Third Coast's Founder, Chairman, President and CEO, Mr. Bart Caraway. Bart?

現在我想把電話交給 Third Coast 的創辦人、董事長、總裁暨執行長 Bart Caraway 先生。Bart？

Good morning, everyone, and thank you, Natalie. Welcome to the TCBX first quarter 2026 earnings call. I'll begin by discussing the company's progress in the quarter. John will cover the financial performance in more detail. Then Audrey will provide a credit quality update. Then I'll close with a few thoughts on management's outlook.

各位早安，謝謝你，Natalie。歡迎參加 TCBX 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。我將先談談公司本季的進展；John 會更詳細說明財務表現；接著 Audrey 會提供信用品質更新；最後我會以幾點對管理階層展望的看法作結。

As we look at our first quarter, let's start with the broader context. This quarter marked a significant milestone for Third Coast highlighted by a successful addition of Keystone Bancshares to our platform. The Keystone merger acquisition had a substantial impact on our results this quarter, driving solid growth in loans and deposits, expanding our customer base and strengthening our presence in the key markets in Central Texas, which translated into an expanded balance sheet, specifically, assets increased by 23.2%, loans by 19.5% and deposits by 23.5% from year-end.

回顧第一季，先從更宏觀的背景談起。本季對 Third Coast 而言是一個重要里程碑，亮點在於成功將 Keystone Bancshares 納入我們的平台。Keystone 的併購對本季業績帶來顯著影響，推動放款與存款的穩健成長、擴大客戶基礎，並強化我們在德州中部關鍵市場的布局，進而帶動資產負債表擴張；具體而言，資產較年末增加 23.2%、放款增加 19.5%、存款增加 23.5%。

Equally important is the strength of our underlying business. Our loan pipelines are robust, customer activity is healthy and the strategic investments we continue to make in our platform are already gaining traction. This includes enhancements to our leadership team and the purposeful build-out of several key divisions. Within our corporate banking group, we have added seasoned best-in-class relationship bankers in Houston and Dallas, including experienced teams focused on select dedicated verticals. We also launched our asset-based lending platform, adding to our credit product suite.

同樣重要的是我們核心業務的韌性。我們的放款案源（pipeline）強勁、客戶活動健康，而我們持續在平台上的策略性投資也已開始見效。這包括強化領導團隊，以及有目的地擴建數個關鍵事業部門。在企業金融團隊方面，我們在休士頓與達拉斯新增了資深、同業最佳等級的關係經理（relationship bankers），其中包含專注於特定垂直領域的成熟團隊。我們也推出資產基礎融資（asset-based lending）平台，擴充我們的授信產品組合。

We believe these will be an important contributor to our loan growth and fee income. In addition, we have expanded our public funds and correspondent banking teams, further diversifying our funding base and expanding our reach across Texas and beyond. While many of these teams are still early in the ramp-up, we believe these combined investments position us to drive organic growth at meaningful levels, reinforcing our long-term goals of scalability, disciplined growth and sustainable profitability. Overall, we believe the first quarter demonstrates headway in building a stronger franchise while staying true to our fundamentals that have consistently driven our success and performance.

我們相信，這些將成為放款成長與手續費收入的重要貢獻來源。此外，我們也擴編公共資金（public funds）與同業往來銀行（correspondent banking）團隊，進一步分散資金來源並擴大我們在德州及其他地區的觸及範圍。雖然其中許多團隊仍處於初期爬坡階段，但我們相信，這些投資的綜效將使我們得以在具意義的水準上推動有機成長，並強化我們對可擴展性、紀律成長與可持續獲利的長期目標。整體而言，我們認為第一季展現了在堅守一貫成功與績效驅動之基本面下，持續打造更強大特許經營體（franchise）的進展。

With that, I'll turn the call over to John to walk through the financial results and provide additional details on the quarter. John?

接下來我把電話交給 John，請他帶大家檢視財務結果並提供本季更多細節。John？

Thank you, Bart, and good morning, everyone. As Bart mentioned, the Keystone transaction is the primary factor influencing the quarter-over-quarter changes in our financial results. Keystone added roughly 20% to our loans and deposits and roughly $3.3 million in merger-related nonrecurring noninterest expense. I'll focus my comments on providing clarity around those impacts, along with our underlying trends.

謝謝你，Bart，各位早安。如 Bart 所提，Keystone 交易是影響我們本季財務結果季對季變動的主要因素。Keystone 使我們的放款與存款約增加 20%，並帶來約 330 萬美元與併購相關的一次性非利息費用。我將著重說明這些影響，以釐清相關變動，同時也會談到我們的基本趨勢。

Starting with expenses. Our noninterest expenses were higher during the quarter, largely due to Keystone-related items as well as sign-on bonuses for several recent senior level hires. During the first quarter of 2026, the company recorded $3.3 million in Keystone merger-related noninterest expenses, primarily consisting of $1.6 million in legal and professional, $1.3 million of salary and benefits and $400,000 in miscellaneous.

先從費用談起。本季非利息費用上升，主要來自 Keystone 相關項目，以及近期數位高階主管到任的簽約獎金（sign-on bonuses）。2026 年第一季，公司認列 330 萬美元 Keystone 併購相關非利息費用，主要包括 160 萬美元法律與專業服務費、130 萬美元薪資與福利，以及 40 萬美元其他雜項。

Additionally, the company recorded $644,000 in salary and benefits attributable to sign-on bonuses during the first quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter of above-average hiring. These expenses are nonrecurring and reflect the near-term cost of integrating Keystone and onboarding new talent. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter was $0.88, but excluding merger expenses, would have been $1.02. Also excluding merger expenses, return on average assets would have been 1.25%.

此外，公司於第一季另認列 64.4 萬美元薪資與福利，係歸因於簽約獎金。本季為連續第二季出現高於平均水準的招募。這些費用屬一次性，反映整合 Keystone 與新人才到任（onboarding）的短期成本。本季稀釋後每股盈餘為 0.88 美元；若排除併購費用，則為 1.02 美元。同樣地，若排除併購費用，平均資產報酬率（ROAA）將為 1.25%。

Net interest income was $53.6 million for the first quarter, marking a 2.7% increase from the previous quarter, driven by higher-than-average earning assets following the merger and offset by a lower net interest margin. The margin decline resulted primarily from the merger, but also from the reversal of $996,000 in accrued interest from 2 loans placed on nonaccrual.

第一季淨利息收入為 5,360 萬美元，較前一季增加 2.7%，主要受惠於併購後平均生息資產高於常態，但部分被較低的淨利差所抵銷。利差下滑主要源自併購因素，另外也受到將 2 筆轉列為停計息（nonaccrual）的放款所回轉 99.6 萬美元應計利息的影響。

Turning to loan growth. Excluding Keystone, loans were up approximately $45 million for the quarter, whereas quarterly average balances were up over $100 million. And the second quarter has started even stronger with April month-to-date loans already up over $100 million. Pipelines are full and some of our new lenders are just getting stuck. Lastly, I might mention that tangible book value ended the quarter at $31.97, which compares favorably to $31.69, which was the guidance that we gave in October of last year when we announced the acquisition. Most of our expense savings will be realized in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

接著談放款成長。若排除 Keystone，本季放款約增加 4,500 萬美元；而季度平均餘額則增加逾 1 億美元。第二季開局更強勁，4 月截至目前放款已增加逾 1 億美元。案源充足，我們部分新進放款人員也才剛開始上手。最後補充一點：本季期末有形帳面價值（tangible book value）為 31.97 美元，優於我們在去年 10 月宣布收購時所提供的 31.69 美元指引。今年大部分的費用節省將在第三與第四季實現。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Audrey to discuss asset quality.

接下來我把電話交給 Audrey，請她說明資產品質。

Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to provide a summary of asset quality for the first quarter. Nonperforming assets to total assets increased by 11 basis points from the prior quarter. The increase in nonperforming assets was primarily due to 1 CRE loan of approximately $17.1 million being placed on nonaccrual as well as the addition of $1.8 million in purchased credit impaired loans from the Keystone acquisition, which are on nonaccrual. This increase was partially offset by a $5 million decline in loans over 90 days past due and still accruing. When placing the $17.1 million loan on nonaccrual as well as a $602,000 loan, we reversed $996,000 in accrued interest, which impacted our margin.

謝謝你，John，各位早安。我想就第一季資產品質做一個摘要。非執行資產占總資產比率較前一季上升 11 個基點。非執行資產增加主要因為 1 筆約 1,710 萬美元的商用不動產（CRE）放款被轉列為停計息，以及因 Keystone 收購而新增 180 萬美元的購入信用減損（purchased credit impaired）放款，該等放款亦為停計息。此增幅部分被逾期超過 90 天但仍計息之放款減少 500 萬美元所抵銷。在將該筆 1,710 萬美元放款以及一筆 60.2 萬美元放款轉列為停計息時，我們回轉了 99.6 萬美元的應計利息，對利差造成影響。

On April 7, the Bancorp closed on the property securing the $17.1 million CRE loan. Our LTV on the property based upon a 2026 appraisal is just under 70%. It is also worth noting that $5.3 million of our nonaccrual loans are fully guaranteed by the SBA. The allowance for credit losses totaled $51.5 million, representing 0.98% of gross loans as of March 31, 2026, compared to $43.9 million or 1% as of the previous quarter end. The increase was primarily due to the day 1 allowance related to the Keystone acquisition. We recorded net recoveries of $4,000 in the first quarter.

4 月 7 日，Bancorp 完成取得作為該筆 1,710 萬美元 CRE 放款擔保之不動產。我們依據 2026 年鑑價計算之該不動產 LTV 略低於 70%。另值得注意的是，我們停計息放款中有 530 萬美元由 SBA 提供全額保證。信用損失備抵（allowance for credit losses）總額為 5,150 萬美元，截至 2026 年 3 月 31 日占總放款 0.98%，相較於前一季季末的 4,390 萬美元或 1%。增加主要來自 Keystone 收購相關的第 1 日備抵（day 1 allowance）。我們在第一季認列淨回收（net recoveries）4,000 美元。

Our loan portfolio remains well diversified and reflects organic production as well as contributions from the Keystone portfolio with allocations consistent with the prior year. Commercial and industrial loans are 42% of total loans, while construction, development and land loans were 17%, owner-occupied CRE was 11% and nonowner-occupied CRE was 18%. I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding asset quality during our question-and-answer session.

我們的貸款投資組合仍維持良好分散，反映了有機成長的產出，以及來自 Keystone 投資組合的貢獻，其配置與前一年一致。商業與工業貸款占總貸款的 42%，而建築、開發與土地貸款占 17%，自用型商用不動產（CRE）占 11%，非自用型 CRE 占 18%。我很樂意在問答環節中回答任何關於資產品質的問題。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Bart. Bart?

接下來，我把電話交回給 Bart。Bart？

Thank you, Audrey. As we move further into 2026, we are increasingly confident in the direction of the franchise and the strategic foundation we have put in place. We believe we are building one of the best platforms in the country and across our footprint, with our expanded corporate banking, including ABL along with our public funds and correspondent banking capabilities, which position us to continue scaling the company in a disciplined and thoughtful way. We believe these groups, combined with our core teams represent durable long-term growth engines that will drive organic growth, diversify our balance sheet and deepen client relationships over time.

謝謝你，Audrey。隨著我們進一步邁入 2026 年，我們對本行的發展方向以及已建立的策略基礎愈發有信心。我們相信，我們正在打造全國、以及我們服務版圖內最優秀的平台之一；憑藉我們擴大的企業銀行業務（包括 ABL），以及我們的公共資金與同業往來銀行（correspondent banking）能力，使我們得以以自律且審慎的方式持續擴大公司規模。我們相信，這些團隊與我們的核心團隊結合，將成為具韌性的長期成長引擎，推動有機成長、分散資產負債表，並隨時間深化客戶關係。

We believe when these teams gain scale, they will drive even stronger pipelines and profitability with the potential to generate over $1 million in fees per month and extend our quarterly loan growth target range to $75 million to $125 million. Underpinning all of this is our continuous improvement mindset, which is now deeply embedded across the organization. What started as a 1% improvement challenge has evolved into a culture centered on execution, accountability and delivering consistency across outcomes for our stakeholders. And we believe that continues to be a key differentiator for Third Coast.

我們相信，當這些團隊達到規模後，將帶來更強勁的業務管道與獲利能力，並有潛力每月產生超過 100 萬美元的費用收入，同時把我們的季度貸款成長目標區間延伸至 7,500 萬至 1.25 億美元。支撐這一切的是我們持續改善的思維模式，如今已深植於整個組織之中。最初的 1% 改善挑戰，已演變為以執行力、責任承擔與為利害關係人提供一致成果為核心的文化。我們也相信，這仍將是 Third Coast 的關鍵差異化優勢。

Ongoing consolidation across the banking sector continues to strengthen our scarcity value and positions us at the early stages of unlocking additional upside for our franchise. Finally, I want to thank our team for their exceptional work this quarter and extend a warm welcome to our Keystone customers and shareholders. We appreciate your continued support in Third Coast and look forward to building on this momentum.

銀行業持續的整併，正不斷強化我們的稀缺價值，並使我們處於為本行解鎖更多上行空間的早期階段。最後，我要感謝我們團隊在本季的卓越表現，並熱烈歡迎我們的 Keystone 客戶與股東。我們感謝各位對 Third Coast 的持續支持，並期待在此動能之上再接再厲。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to the operator to begin the question-and-answer session. Operator?

接下來，我把電話交回給接線員，開始問答環節。接線員？

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Matthew Olney, Stephens.

Matthew Olney，Stephens。

Hey, thanks, and good morning. I'll start with the net interest margin. As you guys mentioned, some noisy results this quarter with Keystone. I heard the commentary about the nonaccrual impact of the margin as well. Any color you can give us as far as expectations for the margin in the near term? Thanks.

嗨，謝謝，早安。我先從淨利差談起。正如你們提到的，本季因 Keystone 的因素，結果有些雜訊。我也聽到關於非應計對利差影響的說明。你們能否就短期內利差的預期提供一些補充說明？謝謝。

Sure. So Matt, this is John. Last quarter, I guided to a number in kind of the 3.90% range. And I think Third Coast stand-alone before this interest reversal, that's exactly where we were. So the interest reversal is worth about 4 basis points. And then, of course, we merged with Keystone. Their margin was about 3.50%. So you average kind of all that out and assuming nothing unusual next quarter, and I think we're about 3.75% for the margin going forward.

當然。Matt，我是 John。上季我給的指引大約在 3.90% 左右。我認為 Third Coast 單獨來看，在這次利息沖回（interest reversal）之前，確實就是在那個水準。這次利息沖回大約影響 4 個基點。然後，當然，我們與 Keystone 合併了，他們的利差大約是 3.50%。把這些因素平均起來，並假設下季沒有不尋常的情況，我認為往後的利差大約在 3.75% 左右。

Okay. Perfect. Appreciate that, John. And then on the loan growth front, it sounds like 2Q is off to a really strong start. Would love to hear more about the drivers of what you're seeing there. Any of this from the new producers hired or market disruption? Just more commentary on the pipeline would be helpful.

好的。非常好。謝謝你，John。接著談貸款成長，聽起來第二季開局非常強勁。很想多聽一些你們看到的驅動因素。這當中有多少來自新聘的業務人員，或是市場擾動？對業務管道多一些評論會很有幫助。

Yeah, very observational, Olney. I think it's both what you mentioned. One, we have both some new team members and some team members that we hired last year that are -- obviously have some good volumes. And at the same time, we are seeing some opportunities from some of the disruption in the market. And I think the combination has actually basically really got a -- really robust pipeline. As matter of fact, I think the first quarter may mask a little bit of how good it was because we had an exceptional number of payoffs or otherwise, our loans would have been up quite a bit more.

是的，你觀察得很到位，Olney。我認為兩者都有。第一，我們有一些新加入的成員，也有一些是去年聘用的成員——顯然帶來了不錯的量能。同時，我們也因市場的一些擾動而看到機會。我認為這兩者的結合，基本上形成了非常強健的業務管道。事實上，我覺得第一季可能在某種程度上掩蓋了表現有多好，因為我們出現了異常多的提前清償（payoffs）或其他因素；否則我們的貸款增幅會更大。

So we're still seeing the pipelines grow right now, and we feel pretty good of where we stand. The market is good. These producers that we're bringing are highly productive and have a loyal customer base. And at the same time, some of the disruption is starting to play out where we're able to basically compete and win some business that we've been after for a while. So all in all, despite all the other macro headwinds, it's actually looking really good for us in terms of our growth and volumes.

所以我們目前仍看到業務管道在成長，對我們所處的位置感覺相當不錯。市場狀況良好。我們引進的這些業務人員生產力很高，且擁有忠誠的客戶基礎。同時，一些市場擾動也開始發酵，使我們能夠競爭並贏得一些我們追蹤已久的業務。總體而言，儘管仍有其他總體環境逆風，就成長與量能而言，對我們來說看起來其實非常好。

Yeah, and Matt, I might add that with the market disruption, that's really what's given us the opportunity to hire a lot of these people that we've talked about over the last couple of quarters. So we've paid sign-on bonuses to some of these people, again, two quarters in a row. I don't necessarily envision that happening in the second quarter of this year, but many of the people that we hired were exceptional. They were great opportunities, just ones that we couldn't pass up that will very much contribute to our growth going forward.

是的，Matt，我補充一下：正是市場擾動，才讓我們有機會聘用過去幾季一直提到的許多人才。因此，我們已連續兩季向其中一些人支付簽約獎金（sign-on bonuses）。我不一定預期今年第二季還會發生同樣情況，但我們聘用的許多人都非常出色，是難得的機會，我們無法錯過；他們將在未來的成長上做出很大貢獻。

But it's not an every quarter sort of thing. I think, I said the expenses related to that were about $650,000, and we likely -- I mean, who knows, maybe we have other opportunities, but I don't think it will be of that magnitude. I think most of who we wanted to hire recently, we've hired in the last six months.

但這不是每一季都會發生的事。我想我提過，相關費用大約是 65 萬美元；而我們很可能——我的意思是，誰知道呢，也許還會有其他機會——但我不認為會達到那樣的規模。我認為我們近期想聘用的大多數人，在過去六個月已經聘到了。

And if I could add on to that, like the folks that we've hired are people that have had long-term relationships with the existing leadership here. So these aren't new people that are unknown to us. They are people that either worked with before or had long-time relationships with that we've been after for a while. And once again, similar to what happened right after the pandemic, there's a lot of dislocation and disruption that's allowed us to finally get them over the fence.

如果我再補充一下，我們聘用的這些人，很多都與我們現有的領導團隊有長期關係。因此，他們不是我們不熟悉的新面孔，而是我們曾共事過、或長期保持關係、且我們追求已久的人才。再一次，類似疫情剛結束後的情況，市場出現大量錯位與擾動，讓我們終於能把他們「說服過來」。

Yeah, okay. Makes sense, and you guys seem to be in a nice spot to take advantage of all disruption.All back in the queue. Thank you.

好的，了解。很合理，而且你們看起來處在一個很好的位置，可以把握所有的擾動。我先回到隊列。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Rose, Raymond James.

Michael Rose，Raymond James。

Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Maybe just following up on mass loan growth question. It looks like in the quarter, if I exclude Keystone, you were kind of below that $75 million to $100 million range that you had talked about previously. Was there any sort of elevated paydowns or anything that may have impacted the organic growth?

嗨，各位早安。謝謝回答我的問題。延續剛才貸款成長的問題，如果我把 Keystone 排除在外，看起來你們本季的表現有點低於先前提到的 7,500 萬到 1 億美元區間。是否有任何較高的提前償還（paydowns）或其他因素影響了有機成長？

And maybe if you can just parse out what it is. And then I think, Bart, I heard you say given some of the hires that you made over the past couple of quarters that -- maybe that range on a go-forward basis is $75 million to $125 million. So a nice kind of uptick there.

也許你們可以把原因拆解一下。另外，Bart，我聽到你說，考量過去幾季的招募——往後的區間可能是 7,500 萬到 1.25 億美元，算是相當不錯的上調。

I assume that there's some time that it will take for some of the newer hires to get ramped up. So should we expect an acceleration to kind of the mid- to higher point of that range in the back half of the year? Just trying to frame out the loan growth outlook.

我想新聘人員需要一些時間才能完全上手、拉升產能。因此，我們是否應該預期在下半年加速，落在該區間的中段到高段？我只是想更好地掌握貸款成長展望。

Yeah, Good comments. So early in the quarter, we actually had such strong loan growth that we thought we're going to be above budget on it. But then we had some significant paydowns that came through. And it was -- the timing of it, we thought was going to be kind of spread out over a few quarters, and it just happened to be kind of all in one quarter. And they were significant enough that they offset a lot of that growth.

是的，很好的評論。其實在本季初，我們的貸款成長非常強勁，以至於我們以為會高於預算。但之後出現了一些大額提前償還。原本在時間上，我們以為會分散在幾個季度發生，但剛好集中在同一季。而且金額相當可觀，抵消了不少成長。

So I don't expect that to continue. Those headwinds probably kind of came first quarter. We'll maybe have a few -- I always have a few surprise paydowns as somebody sells or what have you. But I think the pipeline has grown that if we even mirror what we did last quarter, we're going to have pretty strong net loan growth. So that's why John and I and Audrey talking that we feel like it's probably going to be -- this year is going to turn out to be a little better than what we even anticipated on the loan growth. Having said that, obviously, it's always lumpy. I can't control the timing of when these loans close. But prospectively, we look like it's going to be a very strong loan year for us.

所以我不預期這種情況會持續。那些逆風大概主要出現在第一季。之後我們可能還是會有一些——我總是會遇到幾筆意外的提前償還，例如有人出售資產之類。但我認為業務管道已經成長到，即使我們只是複製上季的表現，也會有相當強勁的淨貸款成長。這也是為什麼 John、我以及 Audrey 都在討論，我們覺得今年的貸款成長可能會比我們原先預期的還要好一些。話雖如此，成長當然總是有波動的；我無法控制貸款成交的時間點。但往前看，對我們而言，今年看起來會是非常強勁的一個貸款年度。

Very, very helpful. And then just as it relates to the $17.1 million credit that was added to nonaccrual. Is that a credit that you previously talked about? I just -- I don't remember or recall and then it seems like you have an appraisal on the property. I mean, what's kind of the expectation here for resolution? Is it a couple of quarters? I know it's hard to kind of parse out individual credits, but just given the magnitude of size here, just trying to better understand the -- when it could eventually come out of the run rate.

非常、非常有幫助。然後就關於新增列入停息的 1,710 萬美元授信。這筆授信是你們之前提過的那一筆嗎？我只是——我不記得或想不起來了，而且看起來你們對該物業做了估值。我是說，這裡對於解決的預期大概是什麼？會是幾個季度嗎？我知道很難去拆解單一授信，但就這個規模而言，只是想更好地理解——它最終可能何時會從常態化的運行水準中退出。

Sure. I can give you some more color on that. I don't think we have talked about the loan previously, but it is a seasoned loan. We originated it in 2021. So it's been on the books and paying for many years. They had a significant decline in occupancy due to a tenant bankruptcy. So that kind of precipitated the issue there. The LTV, it's just under 70% based on a new appraisal within the last 90 days, and that's the as is value on the current occupancy. We're getting ready to list it with a national broker, and we're working on some additional leases to increase the occupancy. But yes, I would think, yes, it's probably going to be a couple of quarters.

當然。我可以再補充一些細節。我不認為我們之前談過這筆貸款，但它是一筆存續已久的貸款。我們在 2021 年承作，所以已在帳上並且正常還款多年。由於一名承租戶破產，入住率大幅下滑，因此引發了這個問題。依據過去 90 天內的新估值，LTV 略低於 70%，而那是以目前入住率下的現況（as is）價值計算。我們正準備委託一家全國性仲介掛牌，同時也在洽談一些額外租約以提高入住率。不過是的，我認為——是的——大概會需要幾個季度。

Okay. Perfect. I appreciate that, Audrey. Maybe if I could just slip in one more. It looks like on the deposit side, the growth on an organic basis was actually pretty strong. Obviously, some of the mix change was due to the acquisition. But just as we kind of think about deposit growth as we move forward, I think, Bart, you previously talked about it kind of somewhat matching loan growth. Is that kind of still the expectation there?

好的。完美。謝謝你，Audrey。也許我再插問一個。看起來在存款端，若以有機成長來看其實相當強勁。當然，部分結構性變化是因併購所致。但當我們往前看存款成長時，我記得 Bart 你之前提過大致會與貸款成長相匹配。這仍然是目前的預期嗎？

Yeah So Michael, one thing that I wanted to point out there, we had a lot more cash at quarter end. And -- the reason for that is we sold the Keystone investment portfolio, 100% of it, thinking that we were going to fund up a bunch of loans and replace it before quarter end, and that didn't happen because we had those big loan payoffs. But -- so their investment portfolio, it was roughly $75 million. In April, our loans were up more than $100 million. So that's going to be a big help to the margin and just the fact that the loan-to-deposit ratio was lower for the quarter.

是的。Michael，我想在這裡指出一點：我們在季末持有更多現金。其原因是我們把 Keystone 的投資組合全部賣掉了，100% 都賣了，原本以為在季末前會撥付一批貸款並在季末前把它替換回來，但因為出現那些大型貸款提前清償，所以沒有發生。不過——他們的投資組合大約是 7,500 萬美元。4 月我們的貸款增加了超過 1 億美元。這將對淨利差有很大幫助，也包括本季貸存比偏低這個事實。

We do try to fund to the extent that we can just-in-time funding, and we really thought we were going to have more loan fundings. We weren't expecting the payoffs. They almost all came out of one lender's portfolio who's no longer with the bank, and we weren't sad to see those loans payoff. But going forward, I'd expect the loan-to-deposit ratio to creep up a little bit more, and we've already reallocated that cash into loans, so that should help the margin as well.

我們確實會盡可能採取即時（just-in-time）資金調度來放款，而我們原本真的以為會有更多貸款撥付。我們沒有預期到提前清償。幾乎都來自一位已不在本行的放款人所管理的投組，而我們也不介意看到那些貸款被清償。展望未來，我預期貸存比會稍微往上爬一些，而且我們已經把那筆現金重新配置到貸款上，因此也應該會對淨利差有所幫助。

Okay, yeah, that helps explain. I appreciate the color and context. I'll step back up.

好的，是的，這樣就解釋得通了。謝謝你提供的補充與背景。我先回到隊列。

Woody Lay, KBW.

Woody Lay，KBW。

Hey, thanks for taking my question. I had a couple of follow-ups on credit. I was just curious, are there any trends to note in criticized or classified loans this quarter?

嗨，謝謝讓我提問。我有幾個關於授信的追問。我只是好奇，本季在受關注（criticized）或分類（classified）貸款方面，有沒有任何值得注意的趨勢？

Well, obviously, the $17.1 million, that was an increase in classifieds for the quarter. We had a couple of CRE loans that were downgraded during the quarter, but they are both current now. We've got low LTVs on current appraisals. Those LTVs are closer to the 50%, 60%, and we're not expecting any issues there. Those are actually moving in the right direction.

嗯，很明顯，那筆 1,710 萬美元使本季的分類貸款增加。我們本季有幾筆商用不動產（CRE）貸款被降級，但目前兩筆都仍為正常（current）。依據最新估值，我們的 LTV 都很低，LTV 大約在 50%、60% 左右，我們不預期那裡會有任何問題。那些其實正朝正向方向改善。

And if you take out $17 million, it really is pretty moderate.

如果把那 1,700 萬美元拿掉，其實整體相當溫和。

Yeah, If you take out the $17 million, in fact, classifieds were up about $15 million. So we actually had some net reduction there if you excluded that $17 million. Our NPAs actually would have declined 15 basis points, had it not been for the $17 million loan.

是的，如果把那 1,700 萬美元拿掉，事實上分類貸款本季增加約 1,500 萬美元。所以若排除那 1,700 萬美元，我們其實是淨減少。我們的不良資產（NPA）原本會下降 15 個基點，若不是因為那筆 1,700 萬美元貸款。

So I think I would comment that I still feel the portfolio looks really good. I mean we're not seeing any macro trends or any micro trends on it. I think the story was the one property we took back other than that. I think we're seeing some really strong economic environment for us. We're seeing basically our customers very stable and navigating through all the chaos and disruption that's out there. Portfolio looks pretty good, I think I agree.

所以我想我會評論說，我仍然覺得投組看起來非常好。我的意思是，我們沒有看到任何總體趨勢或個別趨勢。我認為除了我們收回的那一處物業之外，故事就是那樣。我想我們所處的經濟環境非常強勁。我們看到基本上客戶非常穩定，能在外部各種混亂與擾動中持續前行。投組看起來相當不錯，我想我同意。

That's great to hear. And maybe just last for me. I was just looking for an update on how the integration of Keystone is going. When core conversion is scheduled? And do you still feel good about all the assumptions that were laid out at deal announcement?

很高興聽到。那我最後一個問題：我想了解 Keystone 的整合進度如何。核心系統轉換（core conversion）預計何時進行？以及你們是否仍對交易公告時提出的所有假設感到有信心？

Yeah, I mean, I think it's actually going better than expected. It's a good cultural fit. We love the market. And thus far, the team has really kind of rallied and kind of worked well together. I'd say the conversion is going to be in July. And thus far, it's been going very, very well. If you remember, we did do a core conversion last summer. And so I guess everybody is already acclimated to change, and we're very familiar with our system. So converting a bank onto our system versus doing a whole bank conversion is a whole lot easier.

是的，我的意思是，我覺得實際上進展比預期更好。文化契合度很高。我們很喜歡那個市場。而且到目前為止，團隊確實凝聚起來、合作得很好。我會說轉換會在 7 月進行。到目前為止，一切都非常、非常順利。如果你還記得，我們去年夏天確實做過一次核心系統轉換。所以我想大家都已經適應變動，而且我們對自己的系統非常熟悉。把一家銀行轉到我們的系統上，與做整家銀行的全面轉換相比，要容易得多。

So -- and by the way, we have a whole ERM team and project management team that kind of rides herd on this. And so it's very organized, and we feel like everybody has the up-to-date training to be able to make this pretty seamless.

另外——順帶一提，我們有一整個 ERM 團隊與專案管理團隊在全程督導。因此流程非常有組織，我們覺得每個人都已完成最新訓練，能讓這次轉換相當順暢。

Yeah. And Woody, as far as the assumptions and the cost saves, we're running two different banks today on two different systems. So obviously, that's more expensive. So we won't realize any of the cost saves from data processing until August. It will be the first month of savings there. Keystone needed a full-blown financial statement audit, so we didn't have any savings there.

是的。Woody，至於假設與成本節省，我們目前等於是在兩套不同系統上運行兩家不同的銀行，所以顯然成本更高。因此，在 8 月之前我們不會在資料處理方面實現任何成本節省；8 月會是第一個出現節省的月份。Keystone 需要進行一次完整的財務報表審計，所以那部分我們沒有任何節省。

So going forward, we do expect more. We obviously don't need auditors out there anymore. We won't have examiners, obviously. The data processing will happen in the third quarter. So most of the expense saves are still to come. I think we had forecast $6 million in savings and a lot of it is those couple of categories, the professional fees and the data processing fees and things like that.

所以往後我們確實預期會有更多節省。我們顯然不再需要審計師到現場了，也不會再有檢查人員（examiners），當然。資料處理會在第三季完成。因此，大部分的費用節省仍在後面。我想我們原先預估有 600 萬美元的節省，其中很大一部分就是那幾個類別：專業費用、資料處理費用等等。

Got it All right. Well, I appreciate you all taking my questions. Thank you.

了解。好吧，謝謝各位回答我的問題。謝謝。

Bernard Von Gizycki, Deutsche Bank.

Bernard Von Gizycki，德意志銀行。

Hey guys, good morning. Maybe just on expenses from here, how do we think about maybe whether it's a quarterly run rate for the rest of the year or how to think about it just from here to the end of the year, just given some of the lumpy M&A-related costs, which I believe they're nonrecurring as you've highlighted. Not sure if there's any spillover in other merger-related costs that you want to highlight? And then those cost saves as they come in, are they fully realized in 3Q and 4Q? Or does that spill over in '27? Just any thoughts you can break out in expenses?

各位早安。也許就費用從現在開始往後看，我們該如何思考——不論是今年剩餘期間的季度常態化水準（run rate），或是從現在到年底該怎麼看——考量到一些併購相關成本的波動性，我相信你們已強調它們屬於一次性（nonrecurring）。不確定是否還有其他併購相關成本的外溢需要特別指出？另外，隨著成本節省逐步進來，它們會在第三季與第四季完全反映嗎？還是會延續到 2027 年？關於費用端，有沒有任何可以拆解的想法？

Yeah. So the last thing first, I think by January 1 of next year, we will have 100% of the cost saves. But some of them, we won't have until year-end, some things that we're accruing for some expenses. But as far as expense run rate, it's hard to put a handle on. I mean, obviously, you could take this quarter and minus out the $3.3 million and then maybe the extra bonuses that we paid out, that's another $650,000.

是的。先回答你最後一個問題，我認為到明年 1 月 1 日，我們將實現 100% 的成本節省。但其中有一些要到年底才會出現，因為我們正在就某些費用做提列（accruing）。至於費用的常態化水準，確實很難精準掌握。我的意思是，很明顯，你可以用本季為基礎，扣掉 330 萬美元，然後再扣掉我們額外發放的獎金，那大約是 65 萬美元。

I mean that's kind of a good starting point for that. But we're spending time and effort on conversion merger-related stuff. So we're not quite to a point where I can give you a good run rate number, but it's certainly this quarter minus the merger expenses and probably more than that.

我的意思是，這算是一個不錯的起點。但我們目前把時間和精力花在轉換與合併相關的事項上。所以我還沒到能給你一個很好的常態化（run rate）數字的程度，但肯定是本季扣除合併費用後的水準，而且可能還會高於那個。

Okay. Got it. And then what about like fee income? Just any thoughts on with the new hires, obviously, with Keystone, just any things we should be thinking about going forward or how we can think about for the rest of the year in fee income?

好的，了解。那手續費收入（fee income）方面呢？就新進人員，當然還有 Keystone 這邊，對於接下來或今年剩餘時間的手續費收入，有沒有什麼我們應該留意或思考的方向？

Yeah, so we guided to $4 million for the quarter, and that's almost exactly where we were. I think it will be a little bit higher going forward. But again, we're not a huge fee income shop. So it's not going to be materially different. I think it's going to be between that $4 million and $4.5 million range.

是的，我們對本季的指引是 400 萬美元，而實際上幾乎就是那個水準。我認為往後會稍微高一些。但再說一次，我們不是以手續費收入為主的銀行，所以不會有實質性的差異。我想大概會落在 400 萬到 450 萬美元之間。

Great. Thanks for taking my questions. Thank you.

很好，謝謝回答我的問題。謝謝。

Matt Olney, Stephens.

Matt Olney，Stephens。

Hey, thanks for taking a follow-up. Just want to go back to the net interest margin outlook. John, I think you said that 3.75%. I was struggling to get to that number. I heard your commentary about the liquidity and the impact of that kind of late in the quarter and so far early what you're seeing in April. Any other color that can help us get to that 3.75% number? Was there any impact of securitization or anything else that can help kind of speak to the noise that we saw and moving from the results in the first quarter to that 3.75% in 2Q?

嗨，謝謝讓我追問。我想回到淨利差（net interest margin, NIM）的展望。John，我記得你說是 3.75%。我有點難推到那個數字。我聽到你提到流動性，以及它在季末偏後段的影響，還有你們在 4 月初目前看到的情況。還有沒有其他補充說明，能幫助我們理解怎麼到 3.75%？是否有證券化（securitization）或其他因素的影響，可以解釋我們看到的雜訊，以及從第一季結果到第二季 3.75% 的變化？

Yeah, I think if you add back the reversal of interest, that's going to be worth about 4 basis points. So it's not too terribly far from the 3.75% just to start with. I think the rest of where I'm thinking we get there is through better loan fees. The loan fees were a little light this quarter. It looks like they're running heavier. We didn't talk about securitizations.

是的，我想如果把利息回轉（reversal of interest）加回來，大概值 4 個基點。所以一開始其實離 3.75% 不會太遠。我認為其餘能到那裡的部分，是透過更好的貸款手續費（loan fees）。本季貸款手續費稍微偏低，看起來目前的走勢比較強。我們沒有談到證券化。

We obviously didn't do one in the first quarter, but we are -- we're always looking at it, working on them. I can't say for sure that we'll do one in the second quarter, but I think the odds are probably more likely than not that we will be able to do another securitization this quarter. And if we do, it will look similar to the last ones where there's a fair amount of fee income associated with it, and that goes into the margin. And I'm not considering that in the 3.75% number that would push it even higher if we were able to do that.

我們第一季顯然沒有做，但我們——我們一直都在看、也在推進。我不能確定第二季一定會做一筆，但我認為本季能再做一次證券化的機率，可能是偏高、比較可能會做。如果我們做了，會跟前幾次類似，會有相當多與之相關的手續費收入，而那會反映在利差裡。而我在 3.75% 這個數字裡並沒有把它算進去；如果我們能做到，會把數字推得更高。

Yes. And when we start running a little bit higher loan-to-deposit ratio, that will certainly help. Again, we had such a strong start the first part of the quarter. We hadn't had the payoffs. I think that would have made somewhat of a difference on the margin as well. And as we're able to kind of delve that in a little bit, I think that's going to kind of help our margin over the next couple of quarters.

是的。而且當我們的貸存比（loan-to-deposit ratio）開始跑得稍微高一些時，這肯定會有幫助。再說一次，我們在本季前段開局非常強，當時還沒有出現提前清償（payoffs）。我認為那也會對利差造成一些影響。隨著我們能把這些因素再梳理得更清楚一些，我認為這會在接下來幾季對我們的利差有所幫助。

Yeah well, definitely some noisy trends given all the moving parts, but I appreciate you kind of walking through all the items. Thanks, guys.

是的，考量到所有變動因素，確實有一些雜訊趨勢，但我很感謝你把各項因素都帶我們走過一遍。謝謝各位。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Dave Storms, Stonegate.

Dave Storms，Stonegate。

Morning, and thank you for taking my questions. Just wanted to maybe start with maybe some underwriting following the merger. Has there been anything that's been learned either from the Keystone way of doing things or first of doing things or maybe any synergies that can be picked up in underwriting?

早安，謝謝讓我提問。我想先從合併後的授信審查（underwriting）談起。從 Keystone 的做法或 First 的做法中，有沒有學到什麼？或是在授信審查上有沒有可以取得的協同效益？

I think it's all kind of in process. So they had a few products a little different from ours that's been kind of interesting that we might be able to take and evolve. And at the same time, I think being able to overlay our bigger legal lending limit and some of the things that we do, particularly on the corporate side of it is going to open up some business for them on some probably bigger loans and bigger relationships. So -- but it's only been a few weeks since we brought them on board. And I think that's going to play out as we kind of get this thing integrated, and it will be a lot easier when they're on our system as well.

我想這些都還在進行中。他們有幾個產品跟我們稍有不同，這點很有意思，我們可能可以吸收並加以演進。同時，我認為把我們較高的法定放款上限（legal lending limit）以及我們的一些作法疊加上去，特別是在企業端，將會為他們帶來一些業務機會，可能是更大的貸款與更大的客戶關係。所以——但我們把他們納入體系也才幾週。我想這會隨著整合推進而逐步展現，等他們也上到我們的系統後會容易很多。

Understood. And then just thinking about the long-term NIM trends. Before Keystone, you were trending in the plus 4% range. I guess what would it take to get the portfolio back to that, again, thinking over the longer term?

了解。那再想一下長期的 NIM 趨勢。Keystone 併入之前，你們大概是在 4% 以上的區間。我想問的是，從長期來看，要怎麼樣才能讓投資組合回到那個水準？

I'm sorry, I didn't follow the question, Dave.

抱歉，Dave，我沒有聽懂你的問題。

No, sorry, Just long-term NIM trends. I know you're talking about maybe three quarters. But just before the merger, you were around 4%, a little north of that. Is it possible to get back to that range? And kind of what would that take?

不，抱歉。就是長期的 NIM 趨勢。我知道你們在談可能三個季度的情況。但在合併之前，你們大概在 4% 左右，甚至略高。是否有可能回到那個區間？大概需要什麼條件？

That's probably optimistic at that point because we have a relatively high cost of funds. I mean the way we would get there would be through more loan fees, which we think is possible. I mean that certainly would be a goal, an aspirational sort of goal number. We think as we get bigger and lead more deals, there will be more loan fees associated with it that will help the margin, but 4% is probably pretty optimistic for our way of doing business. And I think it's way above here anyway. Great.

在那個時間點來看，這可能偏樂觀，因為我們的資金成本相對較高。我的意思是，我們要到那裡的方式會是透過更多的貸款手續費，而我們認為這是有可能的。那當然會是一個目標、一個較具企圖心的目標數字。我們認為隨著規模變大、主辦（lead）更多案子，相關的貸款手續費會增加，進而幫助利差，但以我們的經營模式來說，4% 可能相當樂觀。而且我認為那也遠高於目前的水準。很好。

Thanks for taking my questions.

謝謝讓我提問。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. And there are no further questions at this time. I'll hand the floor back to Mr. Caraway for closing remarks.

謝謝。目前沒有其他問題。我把時間交回給 Caraway 先生做結語。

Well, thank you, Diego, and thank you, everybody, for joining us for our earnings call, first one in 2026 and look forward to talking to you all next quarter. Thank you for your support.

好的，謝謝你，Diego，也謝謝各位參加我們的法說會，這是 2026 年的第一場，也期待下個季度再與各位交流。感謝各位的支持。

Thank you. This concludes today's call. All parties may disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。各方可斷線。