Univest Financial Corp (UVSP) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Univest Financial Corporation Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. I would now like to turn the call over to Jeff Schweitzer, President and CEO of Univest Financial Corporation. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的支持，歡迎參加 Univest Financial Corporation 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。現在我想將電話轉給 Univest Financial Corporation 總裁兼首席執行官 Jeff Schweitzer。請繼續。

Thank you, Mandeep, and good morning, and thank you to all of our listeners for joining us. Joining me on the call this morning is Mike Keim, our Chief Operating Officer and President of Univest Bank and Trust; and Brian Richardson, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝曼迪普，早上好，感謝所有聽眾加入我們。今天早上和我一起參加電話會議的是 Mike Keim，我們的首席運營官兼 Univest 銀行和信託公司總裁；以及我們的首席財務官布萊恩·理查森 (Brian Richardson)。

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone of the forward-looking statements disclaimer. Please be advised that during the course of this conference call, management may make forward-looking statements that express management's intentions, beliefs or expectations within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Univest's actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家注意前瞻性聲明的免責聲明。請注意，在本次電話會議期間，管理層可能會發表前瞻性聲明，表達聯邦證券法含義內管理層的意圖、信念或期望。 Univest 的實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述預期的結果存在重大差異。

I will refer you to the forward-looking cautionary statements in our earnings release and in our SEC filings. Hopefully, everyone had a chance to review our earnings release from yesterday. If not, it could be found on our website at univest.net under the Investor Relations tab.

我將向您推薦我們的收益報告和美國證券交易委員會文件中的前瞻性警示聲明。希望每個人都有機會回顧我們昨天發布的財報。如果沒有，可以在我們的網站 univest.net 的“投資者關係”選項卡下找到。

We reported net income of $16.8 million during the second quarter or $0.57 per share. This was a 26.7% increase in earnings per share over the second quarter of 2022. Our results during the quarter included a $1.1 million after-tax restructuring charge related to the reduction of 3 financial centers, along with reduced headcount, primarily focused on our commercial real estate and residential mortgage lending teams. These cost reduction initiatives were in response to the macroeconomic headwinds we are observing relating to rising funding costs. We anticipate these expense reduction initiatives will result in $5.4 million of annualized savings.

我們報告第二季度淨利潤為 1680 萬美元，即每股 0.57 美元。每股收益比 2022 年第二季度增長了 26.7%。我們本季度的業績包括與減少 3 個金融中心相關的 110 萬美元稅後重組費用，以及減少的員工人數，主要集中在我們的商業部門房地產和住宅抵押貸款團隊。這些降低成本的舉措是為了應對我們觀察到的與融資成本上升有關的宏觀經濟逆風。我們預計這些費用削減舉措每年將節省 540 萬美元。

Like most in our industry, we continue to be impacted by the rising cost of funding, which negatively impacted our net interest margin, which contracted by 44 basis points during the quarter. Given the rising cost of funding, we continue to increase loan pricing and focus our lending on full relationship customers. While loan production was still strong during the second quarter. This is due to commitments we had already made to customers. And we anticipate lending to slow in the second half of the year and full year loan growth to approximate 9%.

與我們行業中的大多數公司一樣，我們繼續受到融資成本上升的影響，這對我們的淨息差產生了負面影響，本季度淨息差收縮了 44 個基點。鑑於融資成本不斷上升，我們繼續提高貸款定價，並將貸款重點放在完全關係客戶上。雖然第二季度貸款生產仍然強勁。這是由於我們已經向客戶做出的承諾。我們預計下半年貸款將放緩，全年貸款增速將達到 9% 左右。

Before I pass it over to Brian, I would like to thank the entire Univest family for the great work they do every day. Our team continues to focus on making a positive impact on our communities by serving our customers, communities and each other. I will now turn it over to Brian for further discussion on our results.

在將其交給 Brian 之前，我要感謝整個 Univest 家族每天所做的出色工作。我們的團隊繼續致力於通過為客戶、社區和彼此提供服務，對我們的社區產生積極影響。我現在將把它交給布萊恩進一步討論我們的結果。

Thank you, Jeff, and I would also like to thank everyone for joining us today. I would like to start by touching on five items from the earnings release.

謝謝杰夫，我還要感謝大家今天加入我們。我想首先談談收益​​發布中的五個項目。

First, as Jeff mentioned, we experienced continued pressure on funding costs during the quarter due to a mix shift of deposits as well as increased deposit betas and borrowing costs. Reported margin of 3.14% decreased 44 basis points compared to last quarter.

首先，正如傑夫提到的，由於存款的混合轉移以及存款貝塔係數和借貸成本的增加，我們在本季度經歷了融資成本的持續壓力。報告利潤率為 3.14%，較上季度下降 44 個基點。

Our NIM contraction did slow during the quarter. NIM for the month of March was 3.41%. This decreased by 14 and 19 basis points during April and May, respectively. NIM contraction for the month of June was only 1 basis point, resulting in a monthly NIM of 3.07%. Our cycle-to-date interest-bearing deposit beta was 46.6% for the quarter and 33.7% when including total deposits. Our cost of funds was 2.19%, up from 1.53% last quarter.

我們的淨息差收縮在本季度確實放緩。 3月份淨息差為3.41%。 4 月和 5 月分別下降了 14 和 19 個基點。 6 月份淨息差僅收縮 1 個基點，月度淨息差為 3.07%。本季度迄今周期至今的計息存款貝塔值為 46.6%，若包含總存款則為 33.7%。我們的資金成本為 2.19%，高於上季度的 1.53%。

Second, I would like to provide an update on our liquidity and funding position. During the quarter, deposits increased by $152.7 million. We experienced decreases of $46 million in personal accounts, $27.8 million in public funds and $77.9 million in business accounts, which includes outflows for 2 customers which totaled $157 million. Offsetting these decreases was a $304.4 million increase in brokered deposits, which ended the quarter at $431.4 million or 5.7% of total assets.

其次，我想提供有關我們的流動性和融資狀況的最新信息。本季度存款增加 1.527 億美元。我們的個人賬戶減少了 4600 萬美元，公共資金減少了 2780 萬美元，企業賬戶減少了 7790 萬美元，其中包括 2 個客戶的資金流出總計 1.57 億美元。經紀存款增加了 3.044 億美元，抵消了這些下降，本季度末達到 4.314 億美元，佔總資產的 5.7%。

Noninterest-bearing deposits decreased by $216 million during the quarter, of which $151.6 million occurred in April and $25.5 million occurred in June. As of June 30, noninterest-bearing deposits represented 26.4% of total deposits compared to 30.8% at March 31. At June 30, unprotected deposits, which excludes insured, internal and collateralized and trust and public fund deposit accounts, totaled $1.4 billion and represented 23.3% of total deposits.

本季度無息存款減少 2.16 億美元，其中 4 月減少 1.516 億美元，6 月減少 2550 萬美元。截至 6 月 30 日，無息存款佔存款總額的 26.4%，而 3 月 31 日為 30.8%。截至 6 月 30 日，無保障存款（不包括保險存款賬戶、內部存款賬戶、抵押存款賬戶、信託存款賬戶和公共基金存款賬戶）總計 14 億美元，佔佔存款總額的23.3%。

The corporation and its subsidiaries had committed borrowing capacity of $3.2 billion at June 30, of which $2 billion was available. We also maintained uncommitted funding sources from correspondent banks of $410 million at June 30, of which $285 million was unused.

截至 6 月 30 日，該公司及其子公司已承諾借款能力為 32 億美元，其中 20 億美元可用。截至 6 月 30 日，我們還保留來自代理銀行的未承諾資金來源 4.1 億美元，其中 2.85 億美元未使用。

Third, during the quarter, we recorded a provision for credit losses of $3.4 million. Our coverage ratio of 1.28% at June 30 was consistent with March 31. Net charge-offs for the quarter totaled $512,000 or 3 basis points annualized. During the quarter, we saw continued stability in nonperforming assets and a reduction in criticized and classified loans for the second consecutive quarter.

第三，本季度我們記錄了 340 萬美元的信貸損失撥備。截至 6 月 30 日，我們的覆蓋率為 1.28%，與 3 月 31 日一致。該季度的淨沖銷總額為 512,000 美元，按年化計算為 3 個基點。本季度，不良資產持續穩定，批評和分類貸款連續第二個季度減少。

Fourth, noninterest income increased $835,000 or 4.4% compared to the second quarter of 2022. The value of our diversified business model continues to serve us well during the current interest rate cycle and the resulting pressure on our spread business.

第四，與 2022 年第二季度相比，非利息收入增加了 835,000 美元，即 4.4%。在當前的利率週期以及由此給我們的利差業務帶來的壓力下，我們多元化業務模式的價值繼續為我們提供良好的服務。

Fifth, noninterest expense increased $2.4 million or 5.1% compared to the second quarter of 2022. Excluding the $1.3 million of restructuring charges incurred during the quarter, expenses increased $1.1 million or 2.3%. I believe the remainder of the earnings release was straightforward. And I would now like to provide an update to our 2023 guidance.

第五，與 2022 年第二季度相比，非利息支出增加了 240 萬美元，即 5.1%。不包括本季度產生的 130 萬美元的重組費用，支出增加了 110 萬美元，即 2.3%。我相信收益發布的其餘部分很簡單。現在我想更新我們的 2023 年指南。

First, on last quarter's call, I had guided to loan growth of 5% to 8% for 2023. As Jeff mentioned earlier, we anticipate lending to slow in the second half of the year. And while our year-to-date loan growth was $339 million or 11% annualized, we expect full year loan growth of approximately 9%.

首先，在上個季度的電話會議上，我指導 2023 年貸款增長 5% 至 8%。正如傑夫之前提到的，我們預計下半年貸款將放緩。雖然我們今年迄今的貸款增長為 3.39 億美元，年化增長率為 11%，但我們預計全年貸款增長約為 9%。

We expect net interest income to be flat to up 2% for the year based on current information. This reflects yesterday's 25 basis point rate increase and a cycle-to-date all-in deposit beta of approximately 40% by the end of the year. Deposit betas continue to be volatile in the current environment and could have a material impact on our actual net interest income.

根據目前的信息，我們預計今年淨利息收入將持平至增長 2%。這反映了昨天加息 25 個基點以及年底前週期至今的全部存款貝塔值約為 40%。在當前環境下，存款貝塔值繼續波動，可能對我們的實際淨利息收入產生重大影響。

Second, our provision for credit loss guidance remains unchanged at $12 million to $16 million. However, the provision will continue to be event-driven, including loan growth, changes in economic-related assumptions and the credit performance of the portfolio, including specific credits.

其次，我們的信用損失指導準備金保持在 1200 萬至 1600 萬美元不變。然而，準備金將繼續由事件驅動，包括貸款增長、經濟相關假設的變化以及投資組合的信貸表現（包括特定信貸）。

Third, our noninterest income growth guidance for the year is being reduced from 4% to 6% to 2% to 4%. As a reminder, the 2% to 4% is off the 2022 base of $76.9 million, which excludes $977,000 of BOLI death benefits.

第三，我們今年的非利息收入增長指引從4%至6%下調至2%至4%。需要提醒的是，2% 至 4% 低於 2022 年 7,690 萬美元的基數，其中不包括 977,000 美元的 BOLI 死亡撫卹金。

Fourth, our noninterest expense growth guidance is being reduced from 7% to 9% to 6% to 8%. This reflects the previously discussed cost-saving initiatives as well as the one-time restructuring charges incurred during the quarter. Lastly, as it relates to income taxes, we expect our effective tax rate to be approximately 20% based on current statutory rates.

第四，我們的非利息支出增長指導從 7% 至 9% 下調至 6% 至 8%。這反映了之前討論的成本節約舉措以及本季度產生的一次性重組費用。最後，由於與所得稅相關，根據現行法定稅率，我們預計有效稅率約為 20%。

That concludes my prepared remarks. We will be happy to answer any questions. Mandeep, would you please begin the question-and-answer session?

我準備好的發言就到此結束。我們很樂意回答任何問題。 Mandeep，請開始問答環節好嗎？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Frank Schiraldi from Piper Sandler.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Frank Schiraldi。

It sounds like based on the guide or the outlook that you've got a little bit more to go on the deposit betas. But you also talked about, it kind of sounds like, seeing some NIM stabilization here in the month of June. So do you think that -- just wondering if you can talk about where new business is going on here and if you do think that the NIM has stabilized at this point at that sort of June level.

聽起來根據指南或前景，您還有更多的存款測試要做。但你也談到，聽起來有點像 6 月份看到一些 NIM 穩定。那麼您是否認為 - 只是想知道您是否可以談論這裡的新業務正在發生，以及您是否確實認為 NIM 目前已穩定在 6 月的水平。

Frank, this is Brian. Overall, I think there still will be a little bit of downward pressure on NIM, although it has slowed. One data point in the month of June is a little bit tough to reach a conclusion based on. But we are seeing on the asset side, loans continue to kind of ratchet up, now coming on in the mid-7% range.

弗蘭克，這是布萊恩。總體而言，我認為NIM仍將面臨一定的下行壓力，儘管已經放緩。六月的一個數據點有點難以得出結論。但我們看到在資產方面，貸款繼續增加，目前在 7% 的中間範圍。

The wildcard continues to be really on the deposit side and what occurs there. Of course, with the Fed pausing in the back half of the quarter, helped with yesterday's action, that will bring a little bit of an element of uncertainty here as we progress forward. But again, the 1 basis point of NIM contraction in the month of June was certainly a welcome data point.

通配符實際上仍然存在於存款方面以及那裡發生的情況。當然，由於美聯儲在本季度後半段暫停，加上昨天的行動，這將在我們前進的過程中帶來一些不確定因素。但同樣，6 月份淨息差收縮 1 個基點無疑是一個值得歡迎的數據點。

Okay. And then I guess, same question on the -- just loan balance side. In terms of the growth, have you seen some stabilization in balances later in the quarter, just given your commentary about -- it sounded like this was just stuff that was already sort of in the pipeline that led to the growth this quarter.

好的。然後我想，在貸款餘額方面也有同樣的問題。就增長而言，您是否看到本季度晚些時候餘額出現了一些穩定，就您的評論而言——聽起來這只是已經在醞釀中的東西，導致了本季度的增長。

And just to follow up on that, when we think about this new update, the 9% expected growth, is the bias that -- given the expansion markets and such that the bias is still to the upside there? Or how should we think about that?

跟進這一點，當我們考慮這個新的更新時，9% 的預期增長，是否是一種偏見——考慮到市場的擴張以及這樣的偏見仍然是向上的？或者說我們應該如何思考這個問題？

Frank, it's Mike Keim. Loan growth was solid throughout the quarter. And as we look through and project through the rest of the year, we are very focused on bringing in that 9% level. We think that, that's consistent with regard to where our deposit levels continue to grow to and also to maintain the current capital ratios that we have in place.

弗蘭克，我是邁克·凱姆。本季度貸款增長穩健。當我們回顧和預測今年剩餘時間時，我們非常專注於實現 9% 的水平。我們認為，這與我們的存款水平繼續增長以及維持我們現有的資本比率是一致的。

So when you balance that out plus what Brian indicated in terms of where we're pricing our loans at, all of those give us the indication that we will be able to hit that 9%. We're not trying to go above that 9% at this point in time. I will tell you demand would be there for us. We could do more than that. We just think it's a prudent target to hit at that point in time.

因此，當你將這一點與布萊恩所指出的我們的貸款定價相結合時，所有這些都表明我們將能夠達到 9%。目前我們並不想超過 9%。我會告訴你我們會有需求。我們可以做得更多。我們只是認為在那個時間點實現這個目標是一個謹慎的目標。

The other thing that combines into this is that our mortgage production is starting to swing towards much more oriented toward the agency side of the business. So we expect less residential mortgage to go on to our balance sheet and stay on our balance sheet throughout the rest of the year.

與之相結合的另一件事是，我們的抵押貸款生產開始轉向更加面向代理業務的方向。因此，我們預計資產負債表上的住宅抵押貸款將減少，並在今年剩餘時間內留在我們的資產負債表上。

Our next question comes from the line of Michael Perito from KBW.

我們的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Michael Perito。

I wanted to maybe follow up on a couple of Frank's questions around growth in NIM. I mean, just as we think about like some of the "expansion markets" that you guys are in, like Lancaster, maybe even the Jersey Shore, kind of outside your core market, I mean, can you give us a reminder or an update of how kind of self-funded those markets are?

我可能想跟進 Frank 提出的關於 NIM 增長的幾個問題。我的意思是，正如我們思考你們所處的一些“擴張市場”，比如蘭開斯特，甚至可能是澤西海岸，有點超出你們的核心市場，我的意思是，您能給我們一個提醒或更新嗎？這些市場的自籌資金情況如何？

And when you think about loan growth and putting stuff on, I mean, is there kind of a change in approach? Or kind of do you have to sit down with the teams there and maybe like rejigger around focuses in terms of making sure that there's as much focus on bringing in loans as deposits as maybe a year, 1.5 years ago, when there was just more funding available kind of across your franchise to you?

當你考慮貸款增長和投入時，我的意思是，方法是否有某種變化？或者你是否必須與那裡的團隊坐下來，也許需要重新調整重點，以確保像一年、1.5年前那樣，像吸收存款一樣重視引入貸款，當時資金更多您的特許經營範圍內有哪些可用的方式？

Yes. So Mike, it's Mike Keim. I'll answer the last part of that question first. When we were sitting on excess liquidity of $0.5 billion to $0.75 billion, obviously, we were more focused on the loan side of the equation and using up that excess liquidity position. Given the current situation, we have actually further emphasized deposits as an equal weight relative to loans with our RM teams. And we're also looking at SBA volume, where we can do some things with regard to the gain-on-sale line items there.

是的。邁克，我是邁克·凱姆。我先回答這個問題的最後一部分。顯然，當我們擁有 5 億至 7.5 億美元的過剩流動性時，我們更關注等式的貸款方面並利用多餘的流動性頭寸。鑑於目前的情況，我們實際上在RM團隊中進一步強調了存款與貸款的同等權重。我們也在關注 SBA 的數量，我們可以針對其中的銷售收益項目採取一些措施。

So we have refocused the teams. But we're still going to take good care of our customers. 9% loan growth is still very healthy. But we do have an emphasis for our RM teams across our footprint to continue to raise and increase the level of deposits that we hold. From the new markets perspective, the way to just look at this is we would have ramped up hiring faster if what happened in early March did not happen.

所以我們重新調整了團隊的重點。但我們仍然會照顧好我們的客戶。 9%的貸款增長仍然非常健康。但我們確實強調我們的 RM 團隊要繼續提高我們持有的存款水平。從新市場的角度來看，如果三月初發生的事情沒有發生，我們會更快地增加招聘。

So we're taking a more disciplined approach and a more patient approach with regard to the new markets. We're glad that we are in them. It gives us geographic distribution with regard to our loan portfolios. And we see that as a great part of our future. Those teams are also focused on deposits just as much as they are on loans. And like I said, we just have to be a little bit more patient in terms of the ramp-up period there. We understand that, we acknowledge that and we think that's appropriate.

因此，我們對新市場採取了更加嚴格的方法和更加耐心的方法。我們很高興我們在他們之中。它為我們提供了貸款組合的地理分佈。我們認為這是我們未來的重要組成部分。這些團隊也像關注貸款一樣關注存款。就像我說的，我們只需要在準備階段多一點耐心。我們理解這一點，我們承認這一點，並且我們認為這是適當的。

That's helpful color. And maybe a question for Brian. Just the 100 basis points reduction in the range on the OpEx for this year, just as we think to next year, I mean, is it fair -- understand you probably stopped shy from giving us a number. But is it fair to think of that growth rate taking another step down next year just with the full benefit of some of these cost actions coming in and just kind of the more controlled posture you guys are having on the OpEx line as we think about 2024?

這是有用的顏色。也許還有一個問題要問布萊恩。今年的運營支出範圍減少了 100 個基點，就像我們對明年的預期一樣，我的意思是，這公平嗎？請理解，您可能不再羞於給我們一個數字。但是，考慮到 2024 年，隨著這些成本行動的全面實施，以及你們在運營支出方面採取的更加可控的姿態，明年的增長率會進一步下降，這公平嗎？ ？

Yes. So clearly not going to be giving full year guidance for 2024. But I think you're -- the way you're thinking about it would be correct, where there continue to be controls on the expense side of the house.

是的。因此，顯然不會給出 2024 年全年指導。但我認為，您的思考方式是正確的，將繼續對房屋的費用方面進行控制。

Got it. And then just one last one for me for Jeff. I'm trying to get everyone involved this morning. I know historically, Jeff, you -- maybe let's call it the last couple of years, maybe a little longer, you've been pretty negative on bank M&A and been adamant that the organic growth opportunity was significant, and you guys clearly executed on that.

知道了。最後一張是我送給傑夫的。今天早上我正努力讓每個人都參與進來。我從歷史上知道，傑夫，你——也許我們稱之為過去幾年，也許更長一點，你對銀行併購持相當消極的態度，並堅信有機增長機會是重要的，而且你們顯然執行了那。

As we think about the next phase of Univest's growth here in the next few years, obviously right now, the bank M&A environment is really tough. But as we think about '24 and '25 and the current funding environment and rate environment, does bank M&A come back into the conversation more, assuming some of the basics like around your own currency recovery and things like that? Or do you not really foresee any change in your stance on that?

當我們思考 Univest 未來幾年的下一階段增長時，顯然現在銀行併購環境非常艱難。但是，當我們考慮“24”和“25”以及當前的融資環境和利率環境時，銀行併購是否會更多地回到對話中，假設一些基本知識，例如圍繞您自己的貨幣復甦之類的事情？或者你真的沒有預見到你對此的立場會發生任何改變嗎？

Mike, I don't really see any change in our stance. We've had a lot of success doing the lift-out approach. I'm excited about -- although Mike said, as he pointed out, we're going to be a little more patient. I'm excited about the teams that we are building in Pittsburgh and Baltimore and what we can do in those markets organically to go and do an M&A transaction on the bank side.

邁克，我真的沒有看到我們的立場有任何改變。我們在提升方法方面取得了很大的成功。我很興奮——儘管邁克說，正如他指出的那樣，我們會更有耐心。我對我們在匹茲堡和巴爾的摩建立的團隊以及我們可以在這些市場上有機地進行銀行方面的併購交易感到興奮。

With what we've done on the digital front, with what we've done with Encino and a lot of the things that we've put in place, I'm not sure it would be a seamless a transition to acquire a smaller bank at this point as it might have been a few years ago. So I think we will continue to focus on the organic strategy, lifting out, growing those markets, getting them up to a sizable amount and then continue to look for new places to expand into as opposed to necessarily doing an M&A transaction.

憑藉我們在數字領域所做的工作、我們對 Encino 所做的工作以及我們已經採取的許多措施，我不確定收購一家小型銀行是否會是一個無縫過渡此時此刻，就像幾年前一樣。因此，我認為我們將繼續專注於有機戰略，剝離、發展這些市場，使其達到相當大的規模，然後繼續尋找新的領域進行擴張，而不是一定要進行併購交易。

I would now like to turn the call over to Jeff Schweitzer for closing remarks.

現在我想將電話轉給傑夫·施韋策 (Jeff Schweitzer) 致閉幕詞。

Well, thank you, Mandeep, and thank you, everybody, for listening in today. We appreciate your interest in our organization. And while it is continuing to be a challenging environment, we're very, very confident of our ability to manage through it and excited about the future of Univest, and look forward to talking to everybody again next quarter. Have a great day.

好的，謝謝曼迪普，也謝謝大家今天的收聽。我們感謝您對我們組織的興趣。雖然環境仍然充滿挑戰，但我們對自己的管理能力非常非常有信心，並對 Univest 的未來感到興奮，並期待下個季度再次與大家交談。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝你們，女士們、先生們。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。