Versabank (VBNK) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

早安，女士們先生們。

Welcome to VersaBank's third quarter fiscal 2024 financial results conference call.

歡迎參加 VersaBank 2024 財政年度第三季財務業績電話會議。

This morning, VersaBank issued a news release reporting its financial results for the third quarter ended July 31, 2024.

今天上午，VersaBank 發布新聞稿，報告了截至 2024 年 7 月 31 日的第三季財務業績。

The news release, along with the Bank's financial statements, MD&A and supplemental financial information are available on the bank's website in the Investor Relations section as well as on SEDAR+ and EDGAR.

新聞稿以及銀行的財務報表、MD&A 和補充財務資訊可在銀行網站的投資者關係部分以及 SEDAR+ 和 EDGAR 上取得。

(Operator Instructions) Also, today's call will be archived for replay, both via the telephone and via the Internet, beginning approximately one hour following completion of the call.

（操作員說明）此外，今天的通話將被存檔，以便在通話結束後約一小時內透過電話和網路重播。

Details on how to access the replays are available in this morning's news release.

有關如何存取重播的詳細信息，請參閱今天上午的新聞稿。

I would like to remind our listeners that the statements about future events made on this call are forward-looking in nature and are based on certain assumptions and analysis made by VersaBank management.

我想提醒我們的聽眾，本次電話會議中有關未來事件的陳述本質上是前瞻性的，並且基於 VersaBank 管理層所做的某些假設和分析。

Actual results could differ materially from our expectations due to various material risks and uncertainties associated with VersaBank's businesses.

由於與 VersaBank 業務相關的各種重大風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與我們的預期有重大差異。

Please refer to VersaBank's forward-looking statement advisory in today's presentation.

請參閱今天簡報中 VersaBank 的前瞻性聲明諮詢。

I would now like to turn the call over to David Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of VersaBank.

我現在想將電話轉給 VersaBank 總裁兼執行長 David Taylor。

Please go ahead, Mr. Taylor.

請繼續，泰勒先生。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's call.

大家早安，感謝您參加我們今天的電話會議。

With me today is Chief Financial Officer, John Asma.

今天和我在一起的是財務長約翰‧阿斯瑪 (John Asma)。

I'd like to begin today's call by discussing one of the most important announcements in the history of our bank, the closing late last week of our US acquisition.

我想在今天的電話會議開始時討論我們銀行歷史上最重要的公告之一，即上週晚些時候完成的美國收購。

It's been a long process, spanning more than two years since we first announced the transaction in spring of 2022, but this was no mean feat, what we understand to be a relatively rare occurrence in the United States.

這是一個漫長的過程，自 2022 年春季首次宣布這項交易以來，已經過去了兩年多的時間，但這絕非易事，我們認為這在美國相對罕見。

There were many who thought it wouldn't be possible, however, with a rock solid foundation based on our branchless digital B2B model, a proven track record of innovation, earnings growth and no loan losses, and a truly unique risk mitigated offering in our receivable purchase program, we present to the US regulators with a very compelling proposition.

然而，許多人認為這是不可能的，因為我們擁有基於無網點數位 B2B 模式的堅實基礎、良好的創新記錄、盈利增長和無貸款損失，以及真正獨特的風險緩解產品。在計畫中，我們向美國監管機構提出了一個非常引人注目的主張。

I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all those at VersaBank for their tireless efforts on both the regulatory approval process and the acquisition itself.

我想藉此機會公開感謝 VersaBank 的所有人員，感謝他們在監管審批流程和收購本身所做的不懈努力。

The incredible team at Stearns Financial for being great partners throughout the transaction and our advisors for their ongoing counsel throughout this initiative.

斯特恩斯金融公司令人難以置信的團隊在整個交易過程中成為了出色的合作夥伴，我們的顧問在整個計劃中提供了持續的建議。

This is a transformational event in VersaBank's growth trajectory.

這是 VersaBank 成長軌跡中的一個變革性事件。

We are now able to bring our unique and highly attractive RPP solution, which has been successful in Canada to the largest point of sale financing market in the world.

我們現在能夠將我們獨特且極具吸引力的 RPP 解決方案（該解決方案在加拿大取得成功）帶到全球最大的銷售點融資市場。

With the closing of the acquisition on schedule last Friday, we are now in the process of finalizing our first post transaction RPP partner in the United States.

隨著上週五收購如期完成，我們現在正在確定我們在美國的第一個交易後 RPP 合作夥伴。

And on the deposit side, we are now able to raise economical FDIC insured deposits to fund this program and we have the mechanisms in place to do that.

在存款方面，我們現在能夠籌集經濟的 FDIC 保險存款來為該計劃提供資金，並且我們擁有適當的機制來做到這一點。

In a few minutes, I'll discuss how we are able to launch the RPP in the United States, this with virtually no capital expenditures, minimal additional operating expenditures, and very low execution risk.

幾分鐘後，我將討論我們如何能夠在美國啟動 RPP，幾乎沒有資本支出、最少的額外營運支出以及非常低的執行風險。

Turning to our financial results.

轉向我們的財務表現。

Preparations for the closing of our US acquisition and broad launch of our RPP program in the US gave rise to a fair amount of noise this quarter.

本季度，我們為完成美國收購和在美國廣泛啟動 RPP 計劃所做的準備工作引起了相當多的噪音。

We view this in three categories.

我們將其分為三類。

One, we maintained higher cash balances in preparation to fund the capital requirements of the US subsidiary following the closing of the SBH acquisition.

第一，我們維持較高的現金餘額，為 SBH 收購完成後滿足美國子公司的資本需求做好準備。

The higher cash balances temporarily depressed our net interest margin, which was already dampened by what we typically experience when interest rates decline.

較高的現金餘額暫時壓低了我們的淨利差，而利率下降時我們通常會經歷的情況已經削弱了淨利差。

The rates we pay in our Canadian term deposits decreased more slowly than the Government of Canada rate.

我們支付的加拿大定期存款利率下降速度慢於加拿大政府利率。

So there is a period of catch up.

所以有一個追趕期。

Of course, we benefit in the same way when interest rates were rising.

當然，當利率上升時，我們也會以同樣的方式受益。

Three, non-interest expenses increased due to acquisition related costs, some of which were specific to the third quarter and some of which are being incurred ahead of the asset growth and revenue generated by the launch of our US RPP.

第三，非利息支出因收購相關成本而增加，其中一些是第三季特有的，另一些是在我們推出美國RPP產生的資產成長和收入之前發生的。

I will note that there will again be one-time costs in the fourth quarter, given the acquisition formally closed in Q4.

我要指出的是，鑑於收購已在第四季正式完成，第四季將再次產生一次性成本。

We achieved another record high for total assets of $4.5 billion, driven by 11% year-over-year growth in our loan portfolio.

在貸款組合年增 11% 的推動下，我們的總資產再創新高，達到 45 億美元。

As expected, we saw a seasonal pickup in the growth in our Canadian RPP point of sale business, which expanded 4% sequentially.

如預期，我們的加拿大 RPP 銷售點業務成長出現季節性回升，較上季成長 4%。

Even as discretionary spending in Canada generally remains soft, growth also continues to dampen by higher than typical put backs of loans that have gone 90 days in arrears to our partners due to a higher default among the borrowers.

儘管加拿大的可自由支配支出普遍保持疲軟，但由於借款人違約率較高，拖欠我們合作夥伴 90 天的貸款回執高於典型水平，增長也繼續受到抑制。

This, of course, is exactly how our model is supposed to work.

當然，這正是我們的模型應該如何運作的。

The defaulted loans go back to our partners and we are made whole by the cash holdback.

拖欠的貸款將返還給我們的合作夥伴，而現金扣留使我們完整。

You can see this very clearly in our provision for credit losses, which was zero in Q3.

您可以從我們的信用損失準備金中清楚地看到這一點，第三季的信用損失準備金為零。

You can see the continued performance of our business models, in our year-to-date fiscal 2024 results with all key metrics trending in the right direction, most notably, net income for the first nine months of this year is up 15% and EPS is up 17%.

您可以在我們的2024 財年迄今為止的業績中看到我們業務模式的持續表現，所有關鍵指標都朝著正確的方向發展，最值得注意的是，今年前9 個月的淨利潤增長了15 %，每股收益成長上漲了17%。

I'd now like to turn the call over to John to review our financial results in detail.

我現在想把電話轉給約翰，詳細檢視我們的財務表現。

John?

約翰？

Thanks, David.

謝謝，大衛。

Before I begin, I will remind you that our financial statements and MD&A for the third quarter and the nine months are available on our website under the Investors section as, well as on SEDAR and EDGAR.

在開始之前，我要提醒您，我們第三季和前九個月的財務報表和 MD&A 可以在我們網站的「投資者」部分以及 SEDAR 和 EDGAR 上找到。

All of the following numbers are reported in Canadian dollars as per our financial statements, unless otherwise noted.

除非另有說明，以下所有數字均按照我們的財務報表以加幣報告。

Starting with the balance sheet, total assets at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2024 grew 13% year over year and 3% sequentially to a new high of $4.5 billion.

從資產負債表開始，2024財年第三季末的總資產年增13%，季增3%，達到45億美元的新高。

Cash and securities were $401 million, or 9% of total assets, up from 7% in both Q3 last year and Q2 of this year.

現金和證券為 4.01 億美元，佔總資產的 9%，高於去年第三季和今年第二季的 7%。

Book value per share increased to a new high of $15.23. Our CET1 ratio increased to 11.75% and our leverage ratio was 8.54%, with both remaining above internal targets.

每股帳面價值升至 15.23 美元的新高。我們的CET1比率升至11.75%，槓桿率為8.54%，均維持在內部目標之上。

Turning to our income statement.

轉向我們的損益表。

Total consolidated revenue increased 1% year over year and decreased 5% sequentially to $27 million.

綜合總收入年增 1%，季減 5%，至 2,700 萬美元。

The year-over-year increase was driven primarily by higher net interest income as our digital banking loan portfolio continues to grow, while the sequential decrease was mainly due to the impact of temporary dampening of cost of funds as Canadian interest rates fall, which was exasperated by the higher cash balances.

年比成長主要是由於我們的數位銀行貸款組合持續成長而導致淨利息收入增加，而環比下降主要是由於加拿大利率下降導致資金成本暫時下降的影響，因現金餘額增加而惱火。

Consolidated net interest expenses were $13.5 million, up from $12.9 million last year and $12.2 million for Q2 of this year.

合併淨利息支出為 1,350 萬美元，高於去年的 1,290 萬美元和今年第二季的 1,220 萬美元。

The primary year over year and sequential increases were due to costs related to the US bank acquisition and preparation for the launch of our receivable purchase program in the US.

首次同比和連續增長是由於與美國銀行收購和準備在美國啟動應收帳款購買計劃相關的成本。

As David noted, we will see additional acquisition related costs in the fourth quarter returning to a normalized cost structure in Q1.

正如大衛指出的那樣，我們將看到第四季度額外的收購相關成本恢復到第一季的標準化成本結構。

Consolidated net income for Q3 decreased 3% year over year and 18% sequentially to $9.7 million, or $0.36 per share with the decrease driven by the factors described above.

第三季合併淨利潤年減 3%，季減 18%，至 970 萬美元，即每股 0.36 美元，下降的原因是上述因素。

Our loan portfolio grew to a new record $4.05 billion at the end of Q3, driven once again by our point of sale receivable purchase program, which increased 16% year over year and 4% sequentially to $3.2 billion.

在我們的銷售點應收帳款購買計劃的推動下，我們的貸款組合在第三季末增長至新紀錄的 40.5 億美元，年增 16%，環比增長 4%，達到 32 億美元。

Our receivable purchase program portfolio represented 80% of our total loan portfolio at the end of Q3, up from 78% at the end of Q2.

截至第三季末，我們的應收帳款購買計畫組合佔總貸款組合的 80%，高於第二季末的 78%。

Our real estate portfolio contracted 9% year over year and 10% sequentially to $745 million.

我們的房地產投資組合年減 9%，季減 10%，至 7.45 億美元。

As we continue to transition to CMHC insured loans, which is because they are 0% risk weighted and require no regulatory capital.

隨著我們繼續向 CMHC 保險貸款過渡，這是因為它們的風險權重為 0%，並且不需要監管資本。

We have current commitments outstanding of $570 million with $125 million outstanding at the current time, which we anticipate growing over the next several quarters.

我們目前未履行的承諾金額為 5.7 億美元，目前未履行的承諾金額為 1.25 億美元，我們預計未來幾季還會持續成長。

As a reminder, our real estate portfolio is primarily mortgages and construction loans for residential properties.

提醒一下，我們的房地產投資組合主要是住宅物業的抵押貸款和建築貸款。

We have very little exposure to commercial use properties.

我們很少涉足商業用途物業。

Turning to the income statement for our digital banking operation.

轉向我們數位銀行業務的損益表。

Net interest margin on loans, that is excluding cash and securities was 2.41%.

貸款淨利差（不包括現金和證券）為2.41%。

That was 28 basis points or 10% lower on a year-over-year basis and 11 basis points or 4% sequentially.

年比下降 28 個基點或 10%，季減 11 個基點或 4%。

Net interest margin overall, including the impact of cash, securities, and other assets, decreased 34 basis points year over year or 13%, and decreased 22 basis points or 9% sequentially to 2.23%.

整體淨利差（包括現金、證券和其他資產的影響）較去年同期下降34個基點或13%，季減22個基點或9%至2.23%。

Q3 net interest margin reflect the continued growth of the receivable purchase program portfolio, which is comprised of lower risk weighted, lower yielding but higher ROCE assets than commercial real estate, as well as temporary increases in cost of funds as due to the decreases in interest rates in Canada.

第三季淨利差反映了應收帳款購買計畫組合的持續成長，其中包括風險加權較低、收益率較低但 ROCE 高於商業房地產的資產，以及由於利息下降而導致的資金成本暫時增加加拿大的利率。

Cost of funds for Q3 was 4.17%, up 55 basis points year over year and down 4 basis points sequentially.

第三季資金成本為4.17%，較去年同期上升55個基點，較上季下降4個基點。

The temporary upward pressure from interest rates is being offset by the benefit of continued expansion of our low cost insolvency professional deposits, as insolvency activity in Canada continues to steadily increase.

隨著加拿大破產活動持續穩定成長，我們的低成本破產專業存款持續擴張的好處正在抵消利率的暫時上行壓力。

Our provision for credit losses or PCL in Q3 remain negligible at 0% of average loans compared to 0.02% last year and with a 12 quarter average of 0%.

我們第三季的信貸損失或 PCL 撥備仍然微不足道，佔平均貸款的 0%，而去年為 0.02%，12 個季度的平均值為 0%。

Before turning the call back to David, a quick review of our cybersecurity business, DRT Cyber.

在給 David 回電之前，先快速回顧一下我們的網路安全業務 DRT Cyber​​。

On a standalone basis within DRT Cyber, Digital Boundary Group revenues for Q3 increased 8% year over year to $2.5 million and gross profit increased 5% to $1.9 million, both due to higher services agreements.

在 DRT Cyber​​ 內部的獨立基礎上，Digital Boundary Group 第三季的營收年增 8% 至 250 萬美元，毛利成長 5% 至 190 萬美元，這均得益於服務協議的增加。

Sequentially, both were down slightly, primarily as a function of the timing of service engagements.

隨後，兩者均略有下降，主要是由於服務參與時間的影響。

DBG remained profitable within DRTC.

DBG 在 DRTC 內保持獲利。

DRTC's net loss of $106,000 in Q3 of this year was comparable with a net loss a year ago and an improvement from a net loss of $162,000 in Q2 of this year.

DRTC 今年第三季的淨虧損為 106,000 美元，與去年同期的淨虧損相當，比今年第二季的淨虧損 162,000 美元有所改善。

I'd now like to turn the call back to David for some closing remarks.

現在我想把電話轉回給大衛，讓他做一些結束語。

Thanks, John.

謝謝，約翰。

As we enter the US market with our point of sale receivable purchase program in a meaningful way, we still feel a lot of the questions around how and why we're able to do what we do in our RPP with no loan losses to date.

當我們以有意義的方式透過銷售點應收帳款購買計畫進入美國市場時，我們仍然對如何以及為何能夠在 RPP 中做到迄今為止沒有貸款損失的問題抱有很多疑問。

Let me take a minute to walk through the model.

讓我花一點時間來瀏覽一下該模型。

For those viewing our presentation, our graphic uses an example of a home hot water heater loan, but the model works for virtually any goods or service that can be financed at the point of sale.

對於觀看我們演示的人來說，我們的圖表使用了家庭熱水器貸款的範例，但該模型幾乎適用於可以在銷售點融資的任何商品或服務。

As part of our master agreements with our RPP partners, embedded in the economics of every loan we purchase is what we refer to as a cash holdback, an amount of cash that we hold on our balance sheet as a deposit.

作為我們與 RPP 合作夥伴的主協議的一部分，我們購買的每筆貸款的經濟學中都包含了我們所說的現金保留，即我們在資產負債表上作為存款持有的現金金額。

These cash holdbacks are aggregated in a pool for each partner.

這些現金保留會匯總到每個合作夥伴的一個資金池中。

The amount of these cash holdbacks is based on a multiple of historical default rates for similar types of loans and borrowers, the key word here being multiple.

這些現金扣留的金額是基於類似類型貸款和借款人的歷史違約率的倍數，這裡的關鍵字是倍數。

In other words, the cash holdbacks are multiple times in excess of what would be considered a worst loss case scenario.

換句話說，現金扣留是最壞損失的數倍。

With our partner acting as administrator of the loan that is exclusively dealing with the end customer, we receive monthly payments until the loan is repaid.

我們的合作夥伴擔任專門與最終客戶打交道的貸款管理人，我們每月收到付款，直到貸款償還。

If and when a loan goes 90 days in arrears, we automatically return that loan to our partner to deal with the collections.

如果貸款拖欠 90 天，我們會自動將該貸款退還給我們的合作夥伴來處理催收事宜。

At the same time, we automatically debit the partner's cash holdback account, making us hold on the loan.

同時，我們會自動從合作夥伴的現金保留帳戶中扣除，從而保留貸款。

One might ask, why would a point-of-sale finance company want to work with us if they retain the lending risk?

有人可能會問，如果銷售點金融公司保留貸款風險，為什麼他們願意與我們合作？

There are several reasons, all of which are rooted in our proprietary software, which is the foundation of our RPP value proposition for our partners.

有幾個原因，所有這些都植根於我們的專有軟體，這是我們為合作夥伴提供 RPP 價值主張的基礎。

One, the economics makes sense, because the efficiency of our branchless digital B2B model, there is enough margin for both the bank and our partners to do very nicely.

第一，經濟上是有意義的，因為我們無網點數字 B2B 模式的效率很高，銀行和我們的合作夥伴都有足夠的利潤來做得很好。

Two, we typically provide our partners with 100% of the value of the loan, compared to say 70% to 80% through their conventional financing sources.

第二，我們通常向合作夥伴提供 100% 的貸款價值，而透過傳統融資來源提供的貸款價值為 70% 到 80%。

That means less need for their own capital and significantly higher return on equity for them.

這意味著他們對自有資本的需求減少，股本回報率顯著提高。

Three, because we can purchase loans on demand, even daily, we significantly reduce their liquidity needs.

第三，因為我們可以按需購買貸款，甚至是每天購買，所以我們大大減少了他們的流動性需求。

And I will note here that our goal is to advance in real time purchasing.

我要在這裡指出的是，我們的目標是推進即時購買。

And four, our software automates everything.

第四，我們的軟體使一切自動化。

It's seamless and it just works.

它是無縫的並且可以正常工作。

Importantly, we are looking to replace all of our financing of our potential RPP partner -- oh, excuse me, importantly we're not looking to replace all the financing of our potential RPP partner.

重要的是，我們正在尋求替換我們潛在 RPP 合作夥伴的所有融資 - 哦，對不起，重要的是我們不打算替換我們潛在 RPP 合作夥伴的所有融資。

Funding diversification on their part is smart.

他們的資金多元化是明智的。

We just want to be an additional convenient economical source of funding that will allow them not only to grow their business faster, but also more profitably.

我們只是想成為一個額外方便、經濟的資金來源，使他們不僅能夠更快地發展業務，而且還能獲得更多利潤。

It's definitely a win-win.

這絕對是雙贏的。

The other question I get is how can you possibly do this with no CapEx, hardly any additional OpEx and very little risk?

我得到的另一個問題是，在沒有資本支出、幾乎沒有任何額外營運支出且風險很小的情況下，你怎麼可能做到這一點？

Because our RPP business essentially operates in the cloud, expansion to the US requires little more than signing up with Microsoft at their US Azure data center, which was done months ago.

由於我們的 RPP 業務本質上是在雲端中運營，因此擴展到美國只需在幾個月前與 Microsoft 的美國 Azure 資料中心簽約即可。

We can facilitate US deposit raising and us RPP lending from our existing technology centers in Canada.

我們可以透過加拿大現有的技術中心促進美國存款籌集和美國 RPP 貸款。

With our US acquisition license, we are just erasing the border.

憑藉我們在美國的收購許可證，我們正在消除邊界。

Yes, we will have a de minimus amount of additional OpEx in the US, primarily for our leadership team, and we plan to add few dedicated US RPP account people as we ramp, but these amounts are negligible relative to the revenue we expect business to drive over the long term.

是的，我們將在美國擁有微量的額外營運支出，主要用於我們的領導團隊，並且我們計劃在我們的擴張過程中增加一些專門的美國RPP 帳戶人員，但相對於我們預期的業務收入，這些金額可忽略不計長期駕駛。

Our US receivable purchase program opportunity, alongside our anticipated continued steady growth in Canada, is expected to generate strong, sustainable expansion of our loan portfolio for the years to come.

我們的美國應收帳款購買計畫機會，加上我們預期在加拿大的持續穩定成長，預計將在未來幾年為我們的貸款組合帶來強勁、可持續的擴張。

It will enable us to further capitalize on the significant operating leverage in our model to drive growth in profitability and the return on common equity and efficiency that is among the very best in North American banking industry.

這將使我們能夠進一步利用我們模型中的重要營運槓桿來推動獲利能力以及普通股回報率和效率的成長，這在北美銀行業中名列前茅。

Continued growth in our POS RPP in Canada alone will push us pass the $5 billion milestone.

光是加拿​​大 POS RPP 的持續成長就將推動我們突破 50 億美元的里程碑。

In addition to RPP POS growth, we expect near-term expansion in our real estate portfolio, which exists to capitalize on decades of experience in this sector to generate additional returns with very low risk.

除了 RPP POS 成長之外，我們預計我們的房地產投資組合近期也會擴張，該投資組合的存在是為了利用該領域數十年的經驗，以極低的風險產生額外的回報。

We are in the process of transitioning much of this portfolio to zero risk weighted CMHC insured loans, meaning they require no regulatory capital, which will further enhance our return on common equity.

我們正在將大部分投資組合轉變為零風險加權 CMHC 保險貸款，這意味著它們不需要監管資本，這將進一步提高我們的普通股回報率。

Finally, with respect to net interest margin, while we do expect to see some continuing short-term pressure as interest rates in Canada decrease, we will also continue to benefit from the expansion of our insolvency professional deposits as bankruptcies in Canada continue to trend upward.

最後，就淨利差而言，雖然我們確實預計，隨著加拿大利率下降，短期壓力將持續存在，但隨著加拿大破產率繼續呈上升趨勢，我們也將繼續受益於破產專業存款的擴張。

We also expect a higher net interest margin contribution from our US RPP portfolio due to more favorable economics for the solution there.

我們也預計，由於該解決方案的經濟效益更為有利，我們的美國 RPP 投資組合將帶來更高的淨利差貢獻。

To conclude, despite the acquisition related noise, our third quarter results continue to demonstrate the considerable operating leverage in and very low risk nature of our branchless digital B2B model, a model that we have proven out in Canada and that we are very confident we will see the same success in much larger, faster growing US market.

總而言之，儘管存在與收購相關的噪音，但我們第三季的業績繼續證明了我們的無網點數位B2B 模式具有可觀的營運槓桿和極低的風險性質，該模式已在加拿大得到證明，我們非常有信心我們將在更大、成長更快的美國市場也能取得同樣的成功。

With that, I'd like to open the call to questions.

接下來，我想開始提問。

Operator?

操作員？

(Operator Instructions) David Feaster, Raymond James.

（操作員說明）David Feaster，Raymond James。

All right.

好的。

Good morning, everybody.

大家早安。

Congratulations on closing the deal.

恭喜您完成交易。

Thank you, David.

謝謝你，大衛。

So we've got -- the deal is now closed, I was hoping maybe you could start with just how conversations are going with new partners in the US.

所以我們——交易現已完成，我希望你可以先談談與美國新合作夥伴的對話進展。

How demand is trending and maybe the growth trajectory that you're expecting.

需求趨勢如何，也許還有您期望的成長軌跡。

And then just remind us of those better economics on the RPP program in the states that you were alluding to.

然後提醒我們您提到的各州 RPP 計劃的經濟效益會更好。

Yeah.

是的。

Well, the reception we've had in the United States is tremendous, and some partners have patiently waited for us to finally be able to operate in the states.

嗯，我們在美國受到的歡迎是巨大的，一些合作夥伴耐心地等待我們最終能夠在美國開展業務。

And one we're working with right now to conclude and get them operational, there's a multitude of others that will be signing up over the course of the next year.

我們現在正在與其中一個合作，以完成並讓它們投入運行，還有許多其他人將在明年註冊。

They've been convinced for the last few years that it's going to work very well for them.

在過去的幾年裡，他們一直堅信這對他們來說會非常有效。

So at super reception in the United States, and one already in the hopper, a very patient one, that stuck with us through the process, that maybe in a month or so we'll be fully operational.

因此，在美國的超級接待處，一個已經在料斗中的，一個非常有耐心的，在整個過程中一直陪伴著我們，也許一個月左右我們就會全面投入運作。

The economics in the US are slightly better than Canada in that the US bank cost of funds runs about 1% lower than the equivalent rate in Canada, particularly recently in that our deposit rates in Canada, as I was mentioning, are a bit sticky.

美國的經濟狀況略好於加拿大，因為美國銀行的資金成本比加拿大的同等利率低約 1%，特別是最近，正如我所提到的，我們在加拿大的存款利率有點黏性。

They don't come down quite as fast as Bank of Canada rates.

它們的下降速度不如加拿大央行的利率。

So theoretically, there's about a 1% improvement in the RPP program in the US versus Canada.

因此，從理論上講，美國的 RPP 計劃比加拿大的 RPP 計劃提高了約 1%。

And we've been averaging, say, approximately 250 basis points in Canada.

比如說，我們在加拿大的平均利率約為 250 個基點。

So a fairly significant improvement in profitability in the states.

因此，各州的獲利能力有了相當顯著的改善。

That's terrific.

太棒了。

And to that point, I was hoping you could touch on the funding growth side in the states.

就這一點而言，我希望您能談談美國的資金成長方面。

You just talked about the lower deposit costs.

您剛才談到了較低的存款成本。

Could you just touch on the timeline?

能談談時間線嗎？

I mean, like, can you immediately with deal close, start driving deposit growth here in the states and just walk through your strategy for funding growth in the US?

我的意思是，你能在交易完成後立即開始推動美國的存款成長，並簡單介紹一下你在美國的融資成長策略嗎？

The answer is yes, we can immediately start raising positive.

答案是肯定的，我們可以立即開始籌集資金。

We already are at our retail outlet and holding forward over the counter, of course.

當然，我們已經到達零售店並在櫃檯前等候。

And thankfully, we have recently signed up with your company, Raymond James, to supplies with deposits.

值得慶幸的是，我們最近與貴公司 Raymond James 簽訂了定金供應協議。

And there's another large company -- brokerage firm that we had the documentation to sign between the two, your company, David, and the other one gives us tremendous reach into the deposit market.

還有另一家大公司——經紀公司，我們有兩家公司之間簽署的文件，你的公司，大衛，另一家公司讓我們進入了存款市場。

So those two are yours is signed, and the other one is likely to be signed today sometime.

所以這兩份是你的，已經簽了，另一份可能會在今天的某個時候簽。

That's plenty of deposit access for our little bank.

對我們的小銀行來說，這已經是足夠的存款管道了。

I'm sure over the course of the year there'll be more signing up with us, but with you and the other one, that is more than we can possibly ever use.

我確信在這一年裡將會有更多的人與我們簽約，但對於你和另一個人來說，這比我們可能使用的還要多。

That's great.

那太棒了。

I love to hear it.

我喜歡聽。

And then just one quick modeling question.

然後是一個快速建模問題。

You called out some one-time costs in the quarter.

您列出了本季的一些一次性成本。

Could you quantify those and maybe quantify what was in this quarter and some of the one-time charges you might expect next quarter?

您能否量化這些費用，並可能量化本季的費用以及您可能預計下季的一些一次性費用？

Well, there's about $700,000 or so directly associated with US acquisition in Q3.

嗯，大約有 70 萬美元左右與第三季的美國收購直接相關。

It'd be consulting fees, an ongoing expense will be additions to our payroll.

這將是諮詢費，持續的費用將增加到我們的薪資單中。

This would be the hires of the senior people in the United States to run the shop.

這將是聘請美國的高級人員來經營這家商店。

There was also a picnic celebration that we had in Canada at my farm that had a bit of a bill on part of the

我們在加拿大的農場也舉辦了野餐慶祝活動，其中有一部分帳單

[$700,000].

[700,000 美元]。

So those were direct expenses associated with the US acquisition.

所以這些都是與美國收購相關的直接費用。

Then there'd be miscellaneous type expenses, a lot of travel costs, meetings, and then the additional Board members with fees and such that started to go through in the quarter.

然後還有各種雜項費用、大量差旅費用、會議費用，然後是額外的董事會成員費用等，這些費用在本季開始發生。

The other thing that impacted us this quarter that John alluded to was with the bank in Canada dropping rates, the Canadian deposit rates fall with the bank in Canada, but they lag.

約翰提到的本季影響我們的另一件事是加拿大銀行降低利率，加拿大存款利率隨著加拿大銀行的下降而下降，但它們卻落後。

So it's happened this quarter, we're raising about $120 million additional over and above what we normally raise in deposits in order to fund the US acquisition.

因此，本季發生了這種情況，我們在通常籌集的存款基礎上額外籌集了約 1.2 億美元，以便為美國收購提供資金。

So we're raising just at the wrong time because the bank in Canada dropped the rates and our deposit rates hadn't quite dropped, that being the change in deposit market hadn't quite dropped in lockstep with it.

因此，我們在錯誤的時間籌集資金，因為加拿大銀行降低了利率，而我們的存款利率並沒有完全下降，因為存款市場的變化並沒有完全與之同步下降。

So we probably all in squeezed our margin and it cost us in the order of about [$609,000] in additional interest expense.

因此，我們可能都在擠壓我們的利潤，這使我們損失了大約 [609,000 美元] 的額外利息費用。

But of course, it goes away.

但當然，它會消失。

The rates are almost caught up again now, but I suppose we just had another trough in bank account.

現在利率幾乎再次上漲，但我想我們的銀行帳戶剛剛經歷了另一個低谷。

So hopefully, our deposit rates catch up faster than they did the last time.

因此，希望我們的存款利率能夠比上次更快趕上。

And based on the disclosures, it's about a three-month lag.

根據披露的信息，大約有三個月的滯後。

Is that right?

是這樣嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

And we've got a nice graph for you, David, if you want to have re-graph, it's painful to see it, of course, and it didn't used to be like this, years ago, I've been banking 47 years and it used to go like it was tied together with a steel bar.

我們為你準備了一張很好的圖表，大衛，如果你想重新繪製圖表，看到它當然很痛苦，而且幾年前，我一直在銀行業務，以前不是這樣的47 年過去了，它就像是用一根鋼筋綁在一起。

But for some reason, Canadian deposit market sort of lags, which means that we banks pay a little more than we should be paying in the short run while all the deposit rates catch up with the reduction of Bank of Canada rate.

但由於某種原因，加拿大存款市場有點滯後，這意味著我們銀行支付的費用比短期內應支付的費用略多，而所有存款利率都趕上了加拿大央行利率的下調。

Okay.

好的。

That's helpful.

這很有幫助。

Thanks, everybody.

謝謝大家。

Well, thank you, Dave.

嗯，謝謝你，戴夫。

Looking forward to seeing you downstairs.

期待在樓下見到您。

I'm in the windy city today and it actually isn't windy.

我今天在風城，其實沒有風。

It's beautiful, beautiful day out, looking out on the lake here, clear blue skies.

這是美麗的一天，在這裡眺望湖水，藍天白雲。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) There seems to be no further questions at this time.

（操作員說明） 目前似乎沒有進一步的問題。

I'd now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Taylor.

我現在想把電話轉回給泰勒先生。

Well, I'd like to thank everybody for joining us today.

嗯，我要感謝大家今天加入我們。

And I look forward to speaking to you at the time of our fourth quarter.

我期待在第四季時與您交談。

And for those who are attending the Raymond James Conference here in Chicago, I look forward to talking to you downstairs in a few minutes, so over and out.

對於那些正在芝加哥參加雷蒙德詹姆斯會議的人，我期待著幾分鐘後在樓下與你們交談，所以一遍又一遍。

Thank you, sir.

謝謝您，先生。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。

We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

我們感謝您的參與，並請您斷開線路。

Have a lovely day.

祝你有美好的一天。