Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Wintrust Financial Corporation's second-quarter and year-to-date 2026 earnings conference call. A review of the results will be made by Tim Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer; David Dykstra, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer; and Richard Murphy, Vice Chairman and Chief Lending Officer. As part of their reviews, the presenters may make reference to both the earnings press release and the earnings release presentation. Following their presentation, there will be a formal question-and-answer session.

歡迎參加 Wintrust Financial Corporation 2026 年第二季及年初至今的盈餘電話會議。本次將由總裁兼執行長 Tim Crane、副董事長兼營運長 David Dykstra，以及副董事長兼首席放款長 Richard Murphy 進行業績回顧。在回顧過程中，簡報人可能會同時引用盈餘新聞稿與盈餘發布簡報資料。簡報結束後，將進行正式的問答環節。

During the course of today's call, Wintrust's management may make statements that constitute projections, expectations, beliefs, or similar forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated or projected in any such forward-looking statements. The company's forward-looking assumptions that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the information discussed during this call are detailed in our earnings press release and in the company's most recent Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC.

在今天的電話會議過程中，Wintrust 管理層可能會發表構成預測、期望、信念或類似的前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與任何此類前瞻性陳述中所預期或推估的結果存在重大差異。可能導致實際結果與本次電話會議所討論資訊出現重大差異的公司前瞻性假設，已詳載於我們的盈餘新聞稿、公司最近一期 Form 10-K，以及其後向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的任何文件中。

Also, our remarks may reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Our earnings press release and earnings release presentation include a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest comparable GAAP financial measure. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

此外，我們的發言可能會提及某些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。我們的盈餘新聞稿與盈餘發布簡報資料包含各項非 GAAP 財務衡量指標與最接近之可比 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節表。提醒各位，本次電話會議將被錄音。

I will now turn the conference call over to Mr. Tim Crane.

現在我將把電話會議交給 Tim Crane 先生。

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to Wintrust's second-quarter 2026 earnings call. In addition to those that Latif introduced, I'm joined by our Chief Financial Officer, Dave Stoehr; and Chief Legal Officer, Kate Boege. As we do every quarter, I'll provide a brief overview of the quarter. Dave Dykstra will discuss key financial results. Rich will review loan activity and credit quality, and I'll be back to share some final thoughts before we open up to your questions.

各位早安，歡迎參加 Wintrust 2026 年第二季盈餘電話會議。除了 Latif 介紹的與會者外，我也與我們的財務長 Dave Stoehr 以及法務長 Kate Boege 一同出席。如同每一季一樣，我將先就本季做簡要概述。Dave Dykstra 將說明主要財務結果。Rich 將回顧放款動能與信用品質，而在開放各位提問之前，我會再回來分享一些最後想法。

As a reminder, we're focused on three key strategic priorities to drive financial results and build shareholder value, delivering an exceptional and differentiated customer experience, generating strategic and disciplined growth, and continuing to build on our foundation by investing for the future. Delivering on these priorities, we reported very strong loan and deposit growth, net interest margin in line with expectations, well-managed expenses, and stable credit quality.

提醒各位，我們聚焦三項關鍵策略優先事項，以推動財務成果並提升股東價值：提供卓越且具差異化的客戶體驗、實現策略性且有紀律的成長，以及透過為未來投資持續鞏固我們的基礎。在落實這些優先事項之下，我們呈報了非常強勁的放款與存款成長、符合預期的淨利差、良好的費用控管，以及穩定的信用品質。

All of this produced our sixth consecutive record quarter of net income. Second-quarter net income was $233.7 million, up from just over $227 million in the first quarter. Year-to-date net income was $461 million, up 20% from the same period last year. Net interest income, the biggest driver of our revenue growth was up 13% quarter over quarter on an annualized basis. Our growth this quarter was all organic, one client, one relationship at a time.

以上成果使我們連續第六季創下淨利新高。第二季淨利為 2.337 億美元，高於第一季的略高於 2.27 億美元。年初至今淨利為 4.61 億美元，較去年同期成長 20%。淨利息收入作為我們營收成長的最大驅動因素，以年化基礎計算，較前一季成長 13%。本季的成長全為內生成長，一次一位客戶、一次一段關係地累積而來。

We continue to deliver our differentiated value proposition to gain market share by adding new households and deepening relationships with existing clients. I'm particularly pleased with the strong operating leverage we delivered in the first two quarters of the year. Not only are we growing revenue nicely, we are also managing expenses to ensure we can continue to invest in the tools, capabilities, and the people that lead to stronger client relationships.

我們持續提供具差異化的價值主張，透過新增家庭客戶並深化既有客戶關係來取得市占。我特別滿意我們在今年前兩季所展現的強勁營運槓桿。我們不僅營收成長良好，也同時控管費用，以確保能持續投資於工具、能力與人才，進而帶來更強的客戶關係。

On our last call, we shared plans to open branches between now and the end of the year. Our newest location, Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and in the Illinois towns of Montgomery and Elk Grove Village will open in the coming weeks with several others to follow later in the quarter, including three in Northwest Indiana. In all cases, we look to open branches either as fill-ins within an existing footprint or in new communities that are a strategic fit for our community banking model.

在上次電話會議中，我們分享了從現在到年底開設分行的計畫。我們最新據點——芝加哥 Lakeview 社區，以及伊利諾州的 Montgomery 與 Elk Grove Village——將在未來幾週開幕，另有數個據點將於本季稍晚陸續開設，包括印第安納州西北部的三家分行。在所有情況下，我們開設分行的目標，或是在既有版圖內補點，或是在符合我們社區銀行模式策略契合的新社區設點。

Additionally, on July 6, we announced an important investment in our Wealth Management business with the intent to purchase the Guardian ship services business from Northern Trust. This is a good bolt-on acquisition to a business we know well and will cement our position as a leading provider of guardianship services in the Chicago area. We expect that transaction will close later this year.

此外，7 月 6 日我們宣布對財富管理業務進行一項重要投資，擬向 Northern Trust 收購 Guardian 監護服務業務。這是一項對我們熟悉的業務所進行的良好補強型收購，並將鞏固我們作為芝加哥地區領先監護服務提供者的地位。我們預期該交易將於今年稍晚完成交割。

Finally, we continue to make enhancements to our digital banking experience with new features and functionality coming in the third quarter that will make it easier for consumers and businesses alike to manage their relationship online. These investments are part of our effort to build for our future, so that we can continue to deliver the exceptional experience our customers and the market expect from us. All in all, a very strong straightforward quarter with the consistent performance you have seen from us for many quarters.

最後，我們持續強化數位銀行體驗，第三季將推出新功能與新特性，讓消費者與企業客戶都能更容易在線上管理其往來關係。這些投資是我們為未來奠基努力的一部分，使我們能持續提供客戶與市場對我們所期待的卓越體驗。總體而言，本季表現非常強勁且明確，延續各位在過去多個季度所看到的穩健表現。

Now let me return things over to Dave to give a little bit more detail on the results.

現在我把時間交回給 Dave，請他就本次結果提供更多細節。

Great. Thanks, Tim. Let me start with the balance sheet. Specifically, deposit growth was approximately $2.2 billion of growth during the quarter, representing a 15% increase over the prior quarter on an annualized basis. The strong deposit growth funded continued solid second-quarter loan growth of approximately $1.6 billion, representing 12% growth on an annualized basis.

好的。謝謝你，Tim。我先從資產負債表談起。具體而言，本季存款成長約 22 億美元，以年化基礎計算，較前一季增加 15%。強勁的存款成長支撐了第二季持續穩健的放款成長，約增加 16 億美元，以年化基礎計算成長 12%。

Yields and rates on major balance sheet categories were slightly lower with loan yields moving down 7 basis points from the prior quarter to 6.07%. This was primarily due to back book repricing of the commercial insurance premium finance portfolio and slight spread compression due to competitive market pressures.

主要資產負債表類別的收益率與利率略為下降，其中放款收益率較前一季下滑 7 個基點至 6.07%。這主要是由於商業保險保費融資投資組合的存量資產（back book）重新定價，以及在競爭性市場壓力下利差略有收窄所致。

Interest-bearing deposits, which were up substantially, were flat to the prior quarter at 2.74%. I would note that the period-end loans were approximately $1.2 billion higher than the average loans for the second quarter giving us a great start to achieving higher level of average earning assets in the third quarter of 2026.

計息存款雖大幅增加，但其成本率與前一季持平，為 2.74%。我也要指出，期末放款餘額約比第二季平均放款高出 12 億美元，這讓我們在 2026 年第三季提升平均生息資產水準方面有了很好的起步。

Turning to the income statement results. This was again a very solid operating quarter producing another record level of quarterly net income. Net interest income improved $18.3 million compared to the first quarter of 2026. The benefit to net interest income from an increase of $2.1 billion in average earning assets, was offset by a 4 basis point decline in the net interest margin.

接著看損益表結果。本季再次是一個非常穩健的營運季度，創下另一個季度淨利新高。與 2026 年第一季相比，淨利息收入增加 1,830 萬美元。平均生息資產增加 21 億美元對淨利息收入帶來的助益，被淨利差下滑 4 個基點所抵銷。

The net interest margin was negatively impacted by 1 basis point due to one additional day in the quarter, 2 basis points related to the back book reprice of the premium finance portfolio, and 1 basis point related to other items, including mix and the spread compression that I discussed. The result was a margin of 3.52% for the second quarter of 2026 and has ranged from 3.50% to 3.59% during the last 10 quarters, showing the sustained stability of this metric.

淨利差受到負面影響：其中 1 個基點來自本季多了一天、2 個基點與保費融資投資組合存量資產重新定價相關，另 1 個基點與其他項目相關，包括組合結構以及我先前提到的利差收窄。因此，2026 年第二季淨利差為 3.52%，過去 10 個季度介於 3.50% 至 3.59% 之間，顯示此指標具持續的穩定性。

The provision for credit losses continue to remain consistent with prior quarters staying in the $20 million to $30 million range for the sixth consecutive quarter as the overall credit environment and our asset quality has remained stable. Regarding the noninterest income and noninterest expense sections. Noninterest income totaled $141.3 million in the second quarter, which was an increase from the $134.1 million recorded in the prior quarter.

信用損失準備金持續與前幾季一致，連續第六季維持在 2,000 萬至 3,000 萬美元區間，因整體信用環境與我們的資產品質保持穩定。關於非利息收入與非利息費用部分。第二季非利息收入合計 1.413 億美元，高於前一季的 1.341 億美元。

The roughly $7 million increase was primarily the result of a $4 million improvement in mortgage banking revenue as the spring buying season provided a modest amount of increased purchase volume and related revenues. Another contributing factor to the increase in this category is that the company recorded approximately $2 million of higher BOLI income, which was primarily related to higher earnings on BOLI investments that support certain deferred compensation plan benefits.

約 700 萬美元的增幅主要來自房貸銀行業務收入改善 400 萬美元，因春季購屋旺季帶來適度增加的購屋貸款量及相關收入。推升此類別增加的另一項因素是，公司認列約 200 萬美元較高的 BOLI 收入，主要與用以支持特定遞延補償計畫福利之 BOLI 投資收益提高有關。

And I'll note that this $2 million increase in BOLI income had a similar offsetting increase in compensation expense during the quarter. So as a result, noninterest income and net interest expense were both equally elevated for the quarter by almost $2 million. The company also recorded approximately $1.8 million more security gains in the second quarter compared to the first quarter.

我也要指出，本季BOLI收入增加的這200萬美元，同期在薪酬費用上也出現了類似的抵銷性增加。因此，本季非利息收入與淨利息費用兩者都同樣被拉高，幅度接近200萬美元。公司在第二季認列的證券收益也比第一季多約180萬美元。

The impact of the increases just noted, mortgage banking, BOLI, and security gain revenue was about $8 million. These items tend to have some volatility related to market conditions and may or may not occur in the third quarter. In fact, we currently expect mortgage revenues to fall back into the low $20 million range as the home buying seasonality subsides.

剛才提到的增幅——按揭銀行業務、BOLI以及證券收益收入——合計影響約800萬美元。這些項目往往會因市場狀況而具有一定波動性，第三季可能發生也可能不會發生。事實上，隨著購屋季節性趨緩，我們目前預期按揭收入將回落至2,000多萬美元的低端區間。

Noninterest expenses totaled $397.5 million in the second quarter, up from the $382.6 million recorded in the prior quarter. The primary reasons for the increase other than to support the exceptional growth where salary and employee benefits expense increased by approximately $5.6 million as compared to the first quarter due primarily to the second quarter having a full effect of annual merit increases that were effective February 1, increased commissions that support the higher mortgage production, and $2 million impact from the BOLI related deferred comp expense I just discussed.

第二季非利息費用合計3.975億美元，高於前一季的3.826億美元。除為支撐卓越成長之外，增加的主要原因是薪資與員工福利費用較第一季增加約560萬美元，主要因第二季完整反映自2月1日起生效的年度績效調薪、為支援較高按揭產量而增加的佣金，以及我剛才提到與BOLI相關的遞延薪酬費用帶來的200萬美元影響。

Advertising and marketing expenses increased by $7.2 million in the second quarter when compared to the prior quarter. As we've discussed many times in the past, this category of expenses tends to be higher in the second and the third quarters of the year due to expenditures related to various sports sponsorships and other summertime sponsorship events held in the communities that we serve.

第二季的廣告與行銷費用較前一季增加720萬美元。如同我們過去多次討論，這類費用通常在每年的第二與第三季較高，原因是我們服務社區中各類體育贊助及其他夏季贊助活動相關支出。

Offsetting the aforementioned increases was a reversal of crude FDIC assessment expense of $5.2 million related to the final true-up the special assessment previously imposed by the FDIC to pay for the two bank failures that occurred in 2023. The quarterly net overhead ratio improved slightly over the prior quarter, helping the company produce solid operating leverage during the second quarter and for the first half of 2026.

抵銷上述增幅的是，與FDIC先前為支付2023年發生的兩起銀行倒閉而徵收的特別評估費用之最終結算調整相關，我們回轉了520萬美元的FDIC評估費用。本季淨管理費用比率較前一季略有改善，協助公司在第二季以及2026年上半年實現穩健的營運槓桿。

In summary, I'll reiterate that this was a very solid quarter and first half of the year. The company accomplished exceptional loan and deposit growth, relatively stable net interest margin, another record level of net income, sustained growth in tangible book value per share, and a continued low level of nonperforming assets.

總結來說，我要再次強調，這是一個非常穩健的季度以及上半年。公司達成了卓越的放款與存款成長、相對穩定的淨利差、再創新高的淨利、每股有形帳面價值持續成長，以及持續維持低水準的不良資產。

So with that, I'll conclude my comments and turn it over to Rich to discuss credit.

以上是我的說明，接下來我把時間交給Rich來談信用。

Thanks, Dave. As detailed on slide 7 of the investor presentation, the loan growth during the second quarter was strong and broad-based with total portfolio growth of $1.6 billion or 12% annualized. Every lending segment saw positive growth during the second quarter and year-over-year loan growth was $4.6 billion or 9%.

謝謝，Dave。如投資人簡報第7頁所示，第二季放款成長強勁且涵蓋面廣，整體投資組合增加16億美元，年化成長率為12%。第二季各放款業務分項皆呈現正成長，而年增放款成長為46億美元，年增率為9%。

Of note, the first insurance funding portfolio grew $722 million, as mentioned during prior calls, the second quarter is typically our largest funding quarter for this business. In addition, commercial loans grew by $518 million, fueled by solid production in our asset base and leasing groups. Commercial real estate loans grew by $108 million and the Wintrust Life Finance team continued to build their portfolio by $116 million.

值得注意的是，第一保險融資投資組合增加7.22億美元；如先前電話會議提到，第二季通常是此業務最大的資金投放季度。此外，商業放款增加5.18億美元，主要受惠於我們資產基礎與租賃團隊的穩健承作量。商用不動產放款增加1.08億美元，而Wintrust Life Finance團隊也持續擴大其投資組合，增加1.16億美元。

From a credit quality perspective, as detailed on slide 15, we continue to see strong credit performance across the portfolio. Nonperforming loans decreased from $182.7 million or 0.34% to $179.3 million or 0.32% and remained at a very manageable level. Charge-offs for the quarter were 10 basis points, down from 14 basis points in the quarter -- in the prior quarter.

就信用品質而言，如第15頁所示，我們持續看到整體投資組合的信用表現強勁。不良放款由1.827億美元（0.34%）降至1.793億美元（0.32%），仍維持在非常可控的水準。本季核銷為10個基點，低於前一季的14個基點。

The level of NPLs and charge-offs in the second quarter reflect a stable credit environment as evidenced by the chart of historical nonperforming asset levels on slide 16 and the consistent level of our special mention and substandard loans on slide 15.

第二季不良放款與核銷水準反映信用環境穩定，這可由第16頁歷史不良資產水準圖表，以及第15頁我們「特別關注」與「次級」放款維持一致的水準得到佐證。

This quarter is another example of our commitment to identify problems early and charging them down where appropriate. Our goal, as always, is to stay ahead of any credit challenges. Also, as noted in our last few earnings calls, we continue to be highly focused on our exposure to commercial real estate loans, which comprised roughly one-quarter of our total loan portfolio.

本季再次展現我們致力於及早辨識問題，並在適當時予以減記的承諾。我們一貫的目標是領先任何信用挑戰。此外，如同最近幾次法說會所提，我們仍高度關注商用不動產放款曝險，其約占我們整體放款投資組合的四分之一。

As detailed on slide 19, we continue to deliver solid performance in this portfolio during the second quarter as CRE NPLs remained at a very low level, remaining unchanged from the first quarter at 0.12% and CRE charge-offs continue to remain at historically low levels.

如第19頁所示，第二季我們在此投資組合仍交出穩健表現，因CRE不良放款維持在非常低的水準，與第一季持平為0.12%，且CRE核銷仍處於歷史低檔。

On slide 25, we continue to provide enhanced detail on our CRE office exposure. Currently, this portfolio remained steady at $1.6 billion or 11.3% of our total CRE portfolio and only 2.9% of our total loan portfolio. We monitor this portfolio very closely and we continue to perform deep dive analysis on a quarterly basis. The most recent deep dive analysis showed very consistent results when compared to prior quarters.

在第25頁，我們持續提供更詳盡的CRE辦公室曝險資訊。目前該投資組合維持穩定在16億美元，占我們CRE總投資組合的11.3%，且僅占整體放款投資組合的2.9%。我們非常密切監控此投資組合，並持續以季度為基礎進行深入分析。最近一次深入分析的結果與前幾季相比非常一致。

Finally, as we have discussed on previous calls, our teams stay in very close contact with our customers, and these conversations continue to reflect a measured optimism around the business climate. That concludes my comments on lending and credit, and now I'll turn it back over to Tim.

最後，如同我們在先前電話會議中討論過的，我們團隊與客戶保持非常密切的聯繫，而這些對話仍反映出對商業環境的審慎樂觀。以上是我對放款與信用的說明，接下來把時間交還給Tim。

Okay. Thank you, Rich. Just some final thoughts. With respect to the third quarter and the remainder of the year, our targets remain unchanged. We're working toward loan growth in the mid- to high-single digits and deposit growth to largely fund that loan growth. The fact this quarter that we generated over $2 billion in core deposits without increasing deposit costs is evidence of our strength in the market and our ability to consistently build long-term franchise value.

好的。謝謝你，Rich。最後補充幾點想法。就第三季以及今年剩餘期間而言，我們的目標維持不變。我們正朝向放款成長達中到高個位數百分比，並以存款成長來大致支應該放款成長。本季我們在未提高存款成本的情況下新增超過20億美元核心存款，這證明了我們在市場上的實力，以及我們持續建立長期特許經營價值的能力。

As Rich mentioned, our clients continue to be cautiously optimistic. They're managing the impact of the war in the Middle East and persistent inflation relatively well. As such, our pipelines are solid across all of our loan categories. We continue to expect our net interest margin to be a few basis points either side of 350.

如Rich所提，我們的客戶仍保持審慎樂觀。他們對中東戰爭與持續通膨的影響管理得相對良好。因此，我們在各類放款項目上的案源管線都很穩健。我們仍預期淨利差將在350個基點上下幾個基點的範圍內波動。

We're very neutral in terms of rates up or down in the market. So where we land will depend on whether the competitive pricing pressures that Dave mentioned continue and to what degree. Independent of the actual margin, we expect solid net interest income growth and good operating leverage. Finally, we expect expenses to remain well managed, solid credit performance, and an increase in CET1 and our other capital ratios in the coming quarters.

就市場利率上升或下降而言，我們的立場非常中性。因此，我們最終落點將取決於Dave提到的競爭性定價壓力是否持續，以及其程度如何。不論實際利差如何，我們預期淨利息收入將穩健成長，並帶來良好的營運槓桿。最後，我們預期費用將持續受到良好控管、信用表現穩健，且未來幾季CET1及其他資本比率將上升。

To sum up, we continue to feel good about our position in the market and our ability to deliver our differentiated customer experience to grow our business. We believe with the continued focus of our dedicated team, along with the sophisticated financial solutions we offer, we are well positioned to continue to deliver strong results for our shareholders for the remainder of 2026.

總結而言，我們對自身在市場中的定位以及透過差異化客戶體驗來推動業務成長的能力仍感到樂觀。我們相信，在專注投入的團隊持續努力，以及我們所提供的精密金融解決方案加持下，我們已具備良好條件，在2026年剩餘期間持續為股東交出強勁成果。

Latif, with that, we'll open this up to questions, please.

Latif，接下來我們開放提問，謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Jon Arfstrom, RBC Capital Markets.

（接線員指示）RBC Capital Markets的Jon Arfstrom。

Tim, maybe a question for you, just to follow up in your prepared comments. You had just really strong deposit growth for the quarter. And I'm curious if there's anything you would call out in terms of what's driving that growth? And then any updates on your outlook for expected deposit pricing from here? Obviously, a good quarter. But how do you see things as we roll forward into Q3 and Q4?

Tim，或許問你一個問題，延續你在事先準備的發言。你們本季存款成長非常強勁。我想了解是否有任何你會特別點出的因素在驅動這個成長？另外，對於接下來存款定價的展望是否有更新？顯然這是一個很好的季度。但展望往前進入第三季與第四季，你怎麼看？

Yeah. You bet, John. Yeah, we were obviously very pleased with the deposit growth in the quarter. We do get a little bit of municipal seasonality that, in some ways, matches the seasonality of our loan growth business in the second quarter, but very good commercial growth, which will lead to increases over time in our treasury management fees and that activity and frankly, good retail growth as well. And that's in advance of opening a number of branches in the second half of the year here that will continue to help with the deposit growth.

是的。當然，John。我們顯然對本季存款成長非常滿意。我們確實會有一些市政業務的季節性波動，在某些方面與我們第二季貸款成長業務的季節性相呼應；但商業端成長非常不錯，這將隨時間推升我們的資金管理（Treasury Management）費用及相關活動，坦白說，零售端成長也很不錯。而且這還是在我們預計於今年下半年開設多家分行之前，這些分行將持續有助於存款成長。

I believe on the last call, we said that both the loan yields and the deposit costs were going to be relatively stable. We were very pleased that even with that growth, the deposit cost was flat. So -- all in all, a very strong deposit growth quarter. And I think we would look to not quite the same number, but strong deposit growth in the second half of the year.

我記得在上次電話會議上，我們提到貸款收益率與存款成本都會相對穩定。我們很高興，即使在這樣的成長之下，存款成本仍持平。所以——總體而言，這是一個非常強勁的存款成長季度。而我認為我們會期待今年下半年雖不一定達到同樣的數字，但仍會有強勁的存款成長。

Pricing remains relatively rational in the market. And if anything, our position continues to improve from a competitive standpoint.

市場上的定價仍相對理性。而且若有什麼變化的話，從競爭角度來看，我們的地位持續改善。

Okay. Good. Thank you. And then on lending, you guys mentioned competitive pressures a couple of times, and I know we kind of went through this a few quarters ago. But just curious what you're seeing from the marketplace. The growth number is obviously very strong, but anything at all the concerns here or anything less rational in terms of the competitive environment?

好的。很好。謝謝。接著談到放款，你們提到競爭壓力好幾次，我知道我們在幾個季度前也大致討論過。但我想了解你們從市場上看到什麼。成長數字顯然非常強勁，但在競爭環境方面，有沒有任何擔憂，或是有任何不那麼理性的情況？

Jon, this is Dave. I would say -- as I said, if you broke the margin down, maybe a basis point relates to sort of mix and competitive pressure. So it's not dramatic. We're seeing a little bit on the commercial and the commercial real estate side. And -- but it's not widespread. It's a little episodic.

Jon，我是Dave。我會說——如我所說，如果把利差拆開來看，可能有一個基點與結構（mix）以及競爭壓力有關。所以並不明顯。我們在商業放款與商用不動產那邊看到一點。但並不普遍。比較是零星發生。

So there are deals that we are turning down for pricing. And we're doing the same thing on the premium finance side. We had really good growth there, $722 million of growth in the quarter, probably could have had a little bit more, but some of the larger deals on the premium finance side were just being priced awfully, awfully thin, and we just took passes on them. So we're going to stay disciplined on doing loans at reasonable prices and getting paid for the risk.

所以有些案子我們因為定價而選擇不做。在保費融資（premium finance）那邊我們也做同樣的事。我們那邊成長非常好，本季成長了7.22億美元，原本可能還可以再多一些，但保費融資端有些較大的案子定價實在、實在太薄了，所以我們就放棄了。因此，我們會維持紀律，以合理價格承作貸款，並確保風險有得到相應報酬。

And even with that 12% loan growth for the quarter on an annualized basis and strong pipelines are good. So just a little bit of pressure there, but not dramatic. Again, as I said, if you broke the margin down 2 basis points, what's the back book repricing of premium finance, which those aren't tied to but correlate closely to prime. And the last prime change we had was in December of last year. So it takes a full nine months for those to reprice through.

即便如此，本季貸款年化成長率達12%，而且強勁的案源管線也很不錯。所以那邊只是有一點壓力，但不明顯。再說一次，如我所說，如果把利差拆開來看，有2個基點是來自保費融資存量（back book）的重新定價；那些雖然不是直接掛鉤，但與最優惠利率（prime）高度相關。而我們上一次prime調整是在去年12月。因此需要完整九個月才會把重新定價反映完。

So probably a basis point or two next quarter on that. But other than that, it would just be the competitive pressures that we see that we either move the margin up or down from there. But nothing dramatic, just a slight a bit.

所以下一季大概還會有一到兩個基點的影響。除此之外，就只是我們看到的競爭壓力，讓我們在那之後把利差往上或往下調整。但沒有什麼劇烈變化，只是些微而已。

Okay. That's helpful. Thank you.

好的。這很有幫助。謝謝。

Nathan Race, Piper Sandler.

Nathan Race，Piper Sandler。

Dave, I was wondering if you could kind of unpack the expense outlook a bit more for the back half of the year. You mentioned some of the adjustments around the fully that have the impact in both other fees and expenses. But just any thoughts on how you see kind of the run rate trending in the back half of the year, you get to that kind of mid-single-digit guidance that we've talked about in the past.

Dave，我想請你再更詳細拆解一下今年下半年費用展望。你提到一些與Fully相關的調整，會同時影響其他費用收入與費用。但想請教你對下半年費用run rate走勢的看法，以及如何達到我們過去談到的中個位數成長指引。

Yeah. Well, if you adjust for the FDIC credit that we took for the assessment true-up, our expenses for the quarter would probably have been about $403 million roughly. If you factor in the good growth that we had in the second quarter and has substantial growth and then, again, expecting to grow nicely in the third quarter including the branch, some of the branches Tim talked about, you probably expect that number to go from $403 million up just a little bit. So say $405 million plus or minus, probably a good range.

是的。如果把我們因評估費（assessment）調整（true-up）而認列的FDIC抵減（credit）扣除，本季費用大概會是約4.03億美元左右。若再把我們第二季的良好成長（而且是相當可觀的成長）納入考量，並且同樣預期第三季會持續不錯的成長，包括Tim提到的一些分行，你大概會預期這個數字從4.03億美元小幅上升。所以大概4.05億美元上下，正負一些，應該是合理區間。

Again, you can't always predict what's going to happen with some of the market things with BOLI. So that would just sort of assume that BOLI was flat. But -- so I think if you look at that and then project that out, we're still on track to be mid-single-digit expense growth, '26 over '25. And so I think that that target is still right on what we expected to happen.

再說一次，你不一定能預測某些與BOLI（銀行持有人壽保險）相關的市場因素會怎麼變化。所以這裡只是先假設BOLI持平。但——我認為如果你這樣看並往外推，我們仍在軌道上，費用成長會是中個位數，亦即2026年相較2025年。因此我認為這個目標仍完全符合我們原先預期的走勢。

Got you. That's really helpful. And then just going back to the trajectory for loan yields going forward. I appreciate the comments around some of the pricing pressures on the P&C side of things that impacted the 2Q loan yields. But just generally, maybe outside of P&C, which can be seasonal in 2Q, any thoughts on just in terms of kind of the blended rate on new loan production these days when you strip out insurance for your finance.

了解。這真的很有幫助。接著回到未來貸款收益率的走勢。我理解你提到P&C端的一些定價壓力影響了第二季貸款收益率。但更一般性地說，或許先不看P&C（第二季可能有季節性），你對於目前新承作貸款的綜合利率（blended rate）有何看法？如果把保險相關的保費融資剔除的話。

Yeah. Well, I said overarching, I would say we probably still expect one or two basis point impact to the margin from the premium finance back book in the third quarter, and then we're done with that. We're through with the back book reprice. So if you take that into account and there's one day impact that we had this quarter, which is a basis point, we'll have that again next quarter.

是的。整體來說，我會說我們大概仍預期第三季保費融資存量（back book）會對利差造成一到兩個基點的影響，之後就結束了。我們就會完成存量重新定價。所以如果把這點納入考量，另外本季有一個「少一天」的影響，大約是一個基點，下一季也會再出現一次。

So if you take that and put everything else aside, you're probably right at a $3.50 margin roughly, and then it will just depend on competitive pricing up or down. But we still think the incremental difference between what the incremental deposit pricing and loan pricing is, in total, is roughly a $3.50 margin.

所以如果把這些因素納入、其他先放一邊，你大概會落在約3.50%的利差水準，接著就取決於競爭定價是往上或往下。但我們仍認為，增量存款定價與增量貸款定價之間的增量差異，合計大約就是3.50%的利差。

So we think we can hold that with incremental pricing on both (inaudible) the side and maintain a margin that is plus or minus a few basis points. And really, that will depend on mix and competitive pressures. But right now, we would think we can still hold that like we've been talking about.

因此我們認為，透過在（聽不清楚）端與貸款端的增量定價，我們可以維持利差在正負幾個基點的範圍內。而這真的會取決於結構（mix）與競爭壓力。但就目前而言，我們認為仍能像我們一直談的那樣維持住。

Okay. Great. If I could just sneak one last one in for Tim. Just on M&A. There's some increased chatter these days in the market. And we've seen some continued trickle of small bank deals across the region. So just curious kind of what you're seeing in terms of some additional bite-sized acquisition opportunities consistent with what we've seen in the past from you guys? And just any thoughts on anything more transformational or larger in terms of what those conversations may or may not be trending along these days?

好的。很好。如果可以的話，我想再偷偷加問Tim最後一題。關於併購（M&A）。最近市場上相關討論變多了。我們也看到區域內持續有一些小型銀行交易零星出現。所以想請教你們目前看到的情況：是否有更多符合你們過去風格的「一口大小」（bite-sized）收購機會？以及對於更具轉型性或更大型的交易，你對這些對話目前的走向（或未必有走向）有何看法？

Yeah, Nate, I think your summary was sort of right. I mean, the deals that we've seen so far have been sort of smaller, including in our market. We continue to stay in touch with people, as you would expect. And again, in addition to the wealth-related deal we did this quarter, we would look for opportunities, but we would continue to be very disciplined.

是的，Nate，我想你的總結大致正確。我的意思是，我們目前看到的交易確實偏小型，包括在我們的市場也是如此。我們也持續與各方保持聯繫，這也符合你的預期。而且，除了我們本季完成的那筆與財富管理相關的交易之外，我們也會尋找機會，但我們仍會非常有紀律。

And as you know, good strategic good cultural fit. And I would still characterize the M&A conversations as exploratory at this point.

而且如你所知，策略契合度高、文化契合度也好。不過我仍會把目前的併購（M&A）對話形容為仍處於探索階段。

Okay. Great. I appreciate all the color. Thanks, guys.

好的。很棒。感謝你們提供這麼多細節。謝謝各位。

Jeff Rulis, D.A. Davidson.

Jeff Rulis，D.A. Davidson。

Just checking back in on the loan growth. It sounded like ended the first quarter with some momentum and it sounds like that's sort of the period end in the second quarter kind of surged as well. I guess looking into the second half, kind of stick into that guidance, I guess, is it simply visibility to kind of stay within the mid- to high-single-digit range? Or anything I guess what takes place for you to kind of exceed the -- or be at the high end for the full year from what you see?

我想再追問一下貸款成長。聽起來第一季末有一些動能，而第二季末似乎也同樣在期末出現一波加速。我想展望下半年，回到你們的指引，是否只是因為能見度足以讓你們維持在中到高個位數的區間？或者，從你們目前看到的情況，有什麼因素會讓你們全年表現超過——或是落在全年區間的高端？

Well, I think we've been pretty consistent recently and probably over the last few years, say, mid- to high- single digits is generally what we've been producing given the diversified nature of the portfolio, excluding the second quarter where it is outsized a little bit for premium finance. So we still feel comfortable with the pipelines where they're at, and it really is -- it will just sort of depend on customer preferences.

我想我們最近、甚至過去幾年一直都相當一致：考量到投資組合的多元化特性，中到高個位數大致就是我們通常能做到的水準；第二季除外，因為保費融資（premium finance）讓數字稍微偏大。所以我們對目前的案源管線（pipeline）水位仍感到放心，而實際結果確實——將取決於客戶偏好。

You could potentially see if the mortgage market get better, the mortgage warehouse could go up, you could have less paydowns on CRE portfolios also fluctuate a couple of hundred million either direction per quarter, just very nuanced changes. But yeah, I would say this was a broad base, as Rich said, this was a broad-based growth quarter. Every major category was up a little bit. And the customers are feeling pretty good.

如果房貸市場轉好，房貸倉儲融資（mortgage warehouse）可能會上升；商用不動產（CRE）投資組合的提前償還（paydowns）也可能減少，這些都可能讓每季在任一方向波動幾億美元，屬於非常細微的變化。但對，是的，我會說如Rich所言，這一季的成長是全面性的。每個主要類別都有小幅上升。而客戶的感受也相當不錯。

So we still think that mid- to high single digits is a really good target. And we'll see how it flows from just customer timing as far as closing on these deals. But we expect both the third and the fourth quarters to be in that range right now.

所以我們仍認為中到高個位數是一個非常好的目標。接下來就看客戶在這些交易的結案時點（closing timing）如何推進。但就目前而言，我們預期第三季和第四季都會落在那個區間。

And I can't tell you anything specific that would change it other than if the mortgage market heated up, we'd probably get a little bit more in mortgage warehouse, but the rest of them is just blocking and tackling and taking advantage of our market position in Chicago and West Michigan and Southeast Wisconsin, which is fantastic, and we'll just keep doing what we're doing.

我也說不出有什麼特定因素會改變這個看法；除非房貸市場升溫，我們在房貸倉儲融資可能會多一些。除此之外，其餘就是把基本功做好，並善用我們在芝加哥、西密西根與威斯康辛州東南部的市場地位——那裡的條件非常好——我們會持續照現在的方式做下去。

Sounds encouraging. One last one just on expenses again. But within the advertising, marketing, understanding the seasonality, the leg up, is there anymore that you're leaning into that line? Or would that -- for the full-year growth for the advertising marketing still align with the overall expense growth? Is that kind of mid-single digit for that line? Or is it something a little heavier than that? And maybe you've got other leverage in other lines.

聽起來很令人鼓舞。最後一題，還是關於費用。在廣告與行銷這一項，理解有季節性、且本季有抬升，那你們是否還會更積極投入這條線？或者就全年來看，廣告行銷的成長仍會與整體費用成長一致？也就是這條線大概是中個位數成長？還是會比那更高一些？也許你們在其他費用項目上有更多槓桿可以抵消。

Well, usually, the second and third quarters, as we said, are elevated due to the sports sponsorships with some of the major league teams. So unless they all go to the World Series this year, and it leaks into the fourth quarter, we would expect that to trend down a little bit in the fourth quarter. As you can look at 2025 and probably get the sort of the magnitude of the changes from quarter to quarter in the marketing line. But that seasonality has been that way for a number of years.

通常如我們所說，第二季和第三季會因為與一些大聯盟球隊的體育贊助而偏高。所以除非今年他們全都打進世界大賽，導致費用延伸到第四季，否則我們預期第四季會稍微回落。你可以看2025年，大概就能掌握行銷費用這一項在各季之間變動的幅度。但這種季節性已經持續很多年了。

Right. I guess I'm trying to exclude that seasonality for the full year, are you looking for that line item to be kind of mid- or high-single digit growth knowing that you're going to back down at the end of the year?

了解。我想把季節性因素排除後，問的是全年來看：即便年底會回落，你們是否仍預期這個科目會是中或高個位數的成長？

Yeah, this is Tim. Sorry. Probably, but we do have a number of new brand open openings, and we've been very successful in growing the new branches. And so we'll support with marketing dollars, the entry into those markets. But the overall expense guidelines that Dave gave include those branch expenses.

對，我是Tim。抱歉。大概是，但我們也有多個新品牌據點開幕，而且我們在新分行的成長上非常成功。因此我們會用行銷預算支持進入那些市場。不過Dave提供的整體費用指引已包含這些分行相關費用。

So we're having a lot of success in the market right now, and we're going to press that advantage. And if we need to spend marketing dollars to do that, we will. But we're adding clients right now. We're winning business. We believe we're adding share. And so there's no reason not to continue to be aggressive on that front.

我們目前在市場上非常成功，我們會把這個優勢再加大。如果需要投入行銷費用來做到這點，我們就會投入。但我們現在正在增加客戶。我們正在贏得業務。我們相信我們正在提升市占。所以沒有理由不在這方面持續積極。

Okay. Thanks for the color.

好的。謝謝你提供的細節。

Jared Shaw, Barclays.

Jared Shaw，Barclays。

I guess maybe going back to the deposits. Any -- could you give us an update on what the end-of-period cost of deposits was going into third quarter?

我想回到存款。你們能否更新一下，進入第三季時期末（end-of-period）的存款成本是多少？

Yeah. The cost of deposits was flat as we said, with the first quarter and end of period was roughly flat, too. So we're steady as she goes. Even with that 15% growth during the quarter, we held them fairly steady. So end of period was basically where the average was for the period.

可以。如我們所說，存款成本與第一季相比持平，期末水準也大致持平。所以我們就是穩穩地往前走。即便本季存款成長了15%，我們仍把成本維持得相當穩定。因此期末基本上與本期平均水準差不多。

Okay. And then how should we think about the DDA growth in third quarter off of sort of looking at that delta between average and then the period anything to call out there? Was that some of the impact from the muni trends that you were talking about?

好的。那第三季的活期存款（DDA）成長，我們該怎麼看？從平均數與期末之間的差異來看，有沒有什麼需要特別指出的？那是否與你剛才提到的市政（muni）趨勢有些影響？

No, I don't think too much related to the municipal deposits. As you suggest, I think looking at the averages makes sense. I think on an average basis, we were up $300 million in DDA deposits for the quarter. And if you look at the past year, the mix has stayed kind of 19.3%, 19.4%, 19.5% in terms of percentage of total deposits as we've grown total deposits pretty significantly. So we're pretty happy with that, and it's just kind of steady growth as we move forward.

不，我認為和市政存款的關聯不大。如你所說，我覺得看平均數是合理的。以平均口徑來看，本季DDA存款增加了3億美元。如果看過去一年，隨著我們總存款顯著成長，DDA占總存款的比重大致維持在19.3%、19.4%、19.5%這樣的水準。所以我們對此相當滿意，接下來就是持續穩健成長。

And obviously, we're trying to win checking accounts and households every day. So the average is the right way to look at it.

而且很明顯，我們每天都在努力爭取支票帳戶與家庭客戶。所以用平均數來看是正確的方式。

Okay. All right. And then on the Northern Trust deal, any color you can share with us on how we should think about modeling the fee in expenses going forward from that?

好的。好。另外關於Northern Trust這筆交易，對於未來費用端要如何建模，你們能分享一些看法嗎？

Yeah. Jared, I mean we -- you can appreciate, we're between announcement and closing here. And so there really isn't much more we can say other than what was in the press release. So I would sort of aim you back there. It's a modest-sized, nice bolt-on for us.

可以。Jared，你也能理解，我們現在處於公告與交割（closing）之間的期間。所以除了新聞稿裡的內容之外，我們實在沒有太多可以補充的。我會建議你回去參考那份新聞稿。這是一筆規模不大、但對我們而言很不錯的補強型（bolt-on）交易。

Great. Thank you.

很好。謝謝。

Chris McGratty, KBW.

Chris McGratty，KBW。

Dave or Tim, you mentioned in your prepared remarks, just the expectation for CET1 to continue to grow even with the balance sheet expectations to grow. Does that at all when you -- especially with Basel III reform to consider layering in buybacks into the narrative.

Dave或Tim，你們在事先準備的發言中提到，即使資產負債表預期會成長，CET1仍預期會持續增加。在你們——尤其是在巴塞爾協定III（Basel III）改革的背景下——這是否會讓你們開始把庫藏股回購（buybacks）納入敘事考量？

Yeah, Chris, I mean, I think it may. Just to give everybody a background, the CET1 was 10.4% this quarter, and that's flat given obviously the very substantial growth in the balance sheet. We feel very comfortable with that capital level given our risk profile. And as I suggested, we think that ratio will go up in the third and fourth quarters, and then we'll see what happens with respect to any rule changes.

是的，Chris，我的意思是，我認為有可能。先給大家一些背景，本季CET1為10.4%，在資產負債表顯著成長的情況下，這個比率基本持平。以我們的風險概況來看，我們對這個資本水準感到非常安心。而如我先前所說，我們認為該比率在第三季與第四季會上升，之後再看任何規則變更會帶來什麼影響。

But I think we're closer to the point where we'll be discussing what we do with excess capital. And maybe just to head off the kind of part B of that question, our preference would be to continue to use that capital to invest in our business and grow loans.

但我認為我們已經更接近會開始討論如何運用超額資本的時間點了。也許先回應這個問題的第二部分，我們的偏好會是持續運用這些資本投資於業務並擴大放款。

We certainly would look at appropriate acquisitions if they were a good fit and further down the chain, you get buybacks and/or kind of repayment of some debt and followed by dividends. So the good news is I think we're going to have some flexibility on that front going forward.

如果有合適且契合的併購機會，我們當然也會評估；再往後才會是庫藏股回購和/或償還部分債務，最後才是股利。所以好消息是，我認為未來在這方面我們會有一些彈性。

Okay. Great. And then I guess a follow up, just more of a modeling true-up. The -- any reason why earning assets won't grow at the same rate as loans? And then second, Dave, any outlook on the tax rate?

好的。很好。那我想追問一下，主要是模型上的校準。— 有沒有什麼原因會讓生息資產的成長速度不會跟放款一樣？第二，Dave，稅率方面有沒有任何展望？

Yes. Well, the tax rate first quarter is usually a little bit lower and the second quarter was more normal. So the second-quarter tax rate, 26.5% is a pretty good estimate for that. And I'd expect earning assets to grow similar to loan growth. We usually try to match deposit growth to loan growth. And so I would think your earning asset growth would follow suit there.

有。先談稅率，第一季通常會稍微低一些，第二季就比較正常。所以第二季的稅率26.5%是相當不錯的估計值。而我預期生息資產的成長會與放款成長相近。我們通常會讓存款成長與放款成長相匹配。因此我認為你的生息資產成長也會隨之而動。

This quarter, we've outperformed a little bit on the deposit growth over loan growth. But as Tim said, we're really happy to grow the franchise and bring in those new clients. So that's a good thing. But I would expect loans, deposits, earning assets, all to be very similar growth rates.

本季我們的存款成長相對於放款成長略有超前。但如Tim所說，我們很樂見特許經營規模擴大並帶進這些新客戶。所以這是好事。但我預期放款、存款、生息資產的成長率都會非常接近。

Perfect. Thank you.

完美。謝謝。

Casey Haire, Autonomous.

Autonomous的Casey Haire。

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but another NIM question. Apologies if I missed this, but the spot loan yields at June 30 and then new money bond yields, that's been a very nice story for you guys over the last year. I'm just wondering if that could continue on where new money is coming in on the bond book.

不好意思又問同一題，但我還有一個NIM（淨利差）問題。如果我漏聽了先說抱歉，但6月30日的即期放款收益率，以及債券投資組合中新投入資金的債券收益率，過去一年對你們來說一直是很不錯的故事。我只是想知道，債券投資組合的新資金進來時，這樣的趨勢是否能持續？

Yeah. Well, again, we expect loan and deposit rates to be relatively flat other than the basis point or two compression from the premium finance commercial back book repricing, and then it'll just depend as we said, on competitive pressure. So spot rates on everything are pretty close to where we're at on this, and mix could change, obviously, depending on which the asset class comes in.

是的。嗯，再次強調，除了保費融資商業存量組合重新定價帶來的1到2個基點的壓縮之外，我們預期放款與存款利率大致會維持平穩；接下來就如我們所說，取決於競爭壓力。所以各項產品的即期利率都非常接近我們目前的水準，而資產組合的結構當然可能會改變，取決於進來的是哪一類資產。

But again, we're very neutral, we think, on the margin and plus or minus a few basis points from 350. And if you have mid- to high-single digit loan and deposit growth, we think we grow NII mid- to high-single digits. So we think that's a really good story, a very consistent story, and we think we can perform to that.

但總之，我們對利差的看法相當中性，約在350個基點上下幾個基點的區間。如果放款與存款成長是中到高個位數百分比，我們認為淨利息收入（NII）也能以中到高個位數百分比成長。所以我們認為這是一個很好的故事、一個非常一致的故事，而且我們認為我們能做到。

Okay. Great. And on the bond side of things, new money loan yields on the bond book.

好的。很好。那在債券方面，債券投資組合中新投入資金的收益率呢？

We don't have that much runoff. We do a lot of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae sort of mortgage-backed products. So a few hundred million of cash flow off of that quarter, plus anything that maybe we invest from the growth. But those are around 5%-ish.

我們的到期/流失（runoff）其實不多。我們做很多Ginnie Mae、Fannie Mae這類的抵押貸款支持產品。所以每季大概有幾億美元的現金流回收，再加上我們可能把成長帶來的資金拿去投資。但那些收益率大約在5%左右。

Okay. Very good. And just last one for me. So look, the deposit costs have been great. Obviously, you're taking advantage of your position as kind of the last bank standing in Chicago. Just wondering with Chase as the number one in your market and their Smart Cash product obviously, not seeing any impact today, but are your clients asking for this? Like what sort of dynamics that you're seeing playing out in the Chicago market?

好的。非常好。我最後一個問題。你們的存款成本表現一直很棒。顯然你們也在利用自己作為芝加哥幾乎「最後一家仍站著的銀行」這樣的地位。我想問的是，Chase在你們市場是第一名，他們的Smart Cash產品也是如此——雖然目前看起來沒有影響，但你們的客戶有在詢問這個嗎？你們在芝加哥市場看到的動態大概是什麼？

Yeah. I mean, as you all know, we're third in share in the Chicago market. And over the last couple of years have continued to grow that nicely. I think we expect that to continue and the cash sorting, AI, new product introductions are something we deal with every day. And the impact so far has been modest. We're certainly watching those types of developments and we'll react accordingly. But nothing significant yet.

是的。我的意思是，如各位所知，我們在芝加哥市場的市占排名第三。而過去幾年我們也持續把市占成長得不錯。我想我們預期這會持續，而現金分流（cash sorting）、AI、新產品推出等，是我們每天都在面對的事情。到目前為止影響不大。我們當然會密切關注這類發展並做出相應反應。但目前還沒有任何顯著影響。

Great. Thank you.

很好。謝謝。

David Chiaverini, Jefferies.

Jefferies的David Chiaverini。

I had a follow up on the competitive environment. Would you say that is your sense that the competitive pressure in premium finance and CRE is transitory? Or could it be more lasting? And then as a follow up to that, how would you rate the intensity of the competitive environment. Is this an 8 out of 10 on the intensity scale?

我想追問一下競爭環境。你會說你們的感受是，保費融資與商用不動產（CRE）的競爭壓力是暫時性的嗎？還是可能會更持久？另外延伸問一下，你會如何評估競爭環境的強度？如果用強度量表來看，這算是10分中的8分嗎？

This is Rich Murphy. I don't know how you would raise it on the intensity scale. I think we've always been in a pretty competitive market as it relates to good quality assets. So I don't think things are all that different. But there is definitely -- I would point to -- you noted in CRE, fully funded CRE deals of good quality.

我是Rich Murphy。我不知道你要怎麼在強度量表上打分。我認為就優質資產而言，我們一直都處在相當競爭的市場。所以我不覺得情況有那麼不同。但確實——我會指出——你提到CRE，優質、資金已全數到位（fully funded）的CRE案子。

There is definitely a lot of competition out there. Obviously, in the C&I space, those deals that come with a lot of deposits are very, very competitive. We feel though that we're going to be aggressive because we want to win market share. But I think we also have historically shown a lot of discipline to get things priced right. We think we offer a good value proposition and we are going to compete hard.

外面的競爭確實非常激烈。顯然在工商金融（C&I）領域，那些能帶來大量存款的案子競爭非常、非常激烈。不過我們認為我們會採取積極策略，因為我們想要贏得市占。但我想我們過去也一再展現出很強的紀律性，確保定價合理。我們認為我們提供的是很好的價值主張，而且我們會全力競爭。

But when things get a little too aggressive, whether that's on your scale of 8 or 9 or 10, we will step away. But as of this point, we still see a lot of deals. Our pipelines are full. It is different from a year ago. There's no doubt about that. But it's still, I think, we compete very effectively in the space we're in right now. So a sharp (inaudible), but we're winning more than we're losing.

但當市場變得過於激進時，不管在你的量表上是8、9或10，我們就會選擇退出。但截至目前，我們仍然看到很多案子。我們的案源管線很滿。這跟一年前相比確實不同。這點毫無疑問。但我認為在我們目前所處的領域，我們仍然能非常有效地競爭。所以（聽不清楚），但我們贏的比輸的多。

Very helpful color. And then shifting over to the branch openings. Can you remind us of the plans there, the number of branches per year for the next couple of years? And any early read as to how those new branches are performing?

這些補充很有幫助。接著談到分行開設。你能提醒我們相關計畫嗎？未來幾年每年大概會開多少家分行？以及對於這些新分行的表現，有沒有任何初步觀察？

Sure. At least to a degree, we don't kind of forecast out several years on the branch activity. But obviously, the three that I mentioned in my comments, plus several more this year, including the three in Northwest Indiana. And I would tell you, frankly, we're pretty good at this. We recently purchased a branch in a community that we weren't in from an organization elected to close it.

當然。至少在某種程度上，我們不會把分行活動往後好幾年去做預測。但很明顯地，我在評論中提到的那三家，再加上今年還有好幾家，包括印第安納州西北部的那三家。坦白說，我會告訴你，我們在這方面做得相當不錯。我們最近在一個我們原本沒有據點的社區，向一家決定關閉該分行的機構買下了一家分行。

And in just a little bit over 90 days, we've got $70 million in deposits. And -- the communities that we're going into are largely attractive communities to us. And so I feel very comfortable we're going to be growing nicely in terms of those new branches.

而在短短超過90天內，我們就取得了7,000萬美元的存款。而且——我們進入的社區對我們而言大多是具吸引力的社區。因此，我對這些新分行在成長方面會有不錯表現感到非常有信心。

But we haven't done really other than Macatawa now two years ago in the acquisition. So this organic growth opportunity is what the market's given us right now.

但除了兩年前收購Macatawa之外，我們其實沒有做太多併購。所以，這個有機成長的機會就是市場目前給我們的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Timur Braziler, UBS.

UBS的Timur Braziler。

I guess as you're thinking about funding future loan growth, in terms of that deposit mix for future funding, is that expectation to change at all going forward or are you still expecting kind of broader deposit growth? I guess I'm trying to get at the ability to continue growing DDAs in this environment or maybe we're going to see more of that growth being funded by higher costing funding products.

我想問的是，當你們在思考未來貸款成長的資金來源時，就未來資金所需的存款組合而言，這個預期接下來會有任何改變嗎？還是你們仍然預期會有較廣泛的存款成長？我想了解的是，在目前這種環境下，持續成長活期存款（DDA）的能力如何？或者我們可能會看到更多成長是由成本較高的資金產品來支撐？

Well, as Dave said, we expect to continue to grow deposits. And with respect to mix, the challenge for us is we tend to outperform the market in terms of our deposit growth. And so -- if that happens, we'd like to keep DDA at 19% to 20% in terms of the mix. Just hard to say how much we're going to have to grow.

嗯，正如Dave所說，我們預期會持續增加存款。至於組合方面，我們的挑戰在於，我們的存款成長往往優於市場。因此——如果確實如此，我們希望在組合中把活期存款（DDA）維持在19%到20%。只是很難說我們需要成長多少。

But we like growing deposits. We like adding clients. We think that grow the value of the franchise. And so we're happy to take that deposit growth. And we'll see what the market gives us. But again, $2 billion-plus worth of deposit growth with no change in deposit cost in our minds was very good performance in the quarter.

但我們喜歡增加存款。我們喜歡新增客戶。我們認為這會提升特許經營價值。因此我們樂於承接這樣的存款成長。而我們會看看市場給我們什麼。但再說一次，本季在我們看來，存款成長超過20億美元且存款成本沒有變動，是非常好的表現。

Yeah. No, absolutely. And I guess, to that point, the fact that deposit costs were flat in this environment. It sounds like that 350 margin expectation kind of furthers that flat deposit trajectory from a cost standpoint? Is that the way we should be thinking about it as margins 350 as long as those deposit costs could be kept flat?

是的。不，完全同意。我想就這點而言，在這種環境下存款成本持平。聽起來你們對淨利差350個基點的預期，某種程度上也延續了從成本角度看存款成本持平的走勢？我們是否應該這樣理解：只要存款成本能維持持平，淨利差就能維持在350？

Yes, plus or minus a couple of basis points, but yes.

是的，上下差個幾個基點，但沒錯。

Okay. Great. And then just last for me. It looks like you added a couple of fixed-rate swaps here that started in June with some higher swap rates. I guess, has this gone to offset some of the lower yielding swaps that are already in place for this year and next? And I guess, as you look at the current contribution from the derivatives book here, is it still pretty neutral or is it leaning maybe one direction or another?

好的。很好。最後一個問題。看起來你們在6月新增了幾筆固定利率交換（swap），而交換利率較高。我想問，這是否用來抵消今年與明年既有、殖利率較低的交換部位？另外，從目前衍生性商品部位對損益的貢獻來看，仍然相當中性嗎？還是可能偏向某一個方向？

Well, the last part of the -- this is Dave. The last part of the question, it's a 1 basis point positive impact to us for this quarter. So fairly neutral. We did add some swaps during the quarter. As we said before, we're trying to add on to the swap position to cover those that are going to mature off. But if you notice those swaps during the quarter, the strike rates were rates were actually higher than what the one-month SOFR rate was.

嗯，問題的最後一部分——我是Dave。本季對我們是正向影響1個基點。所以相當中性。我們確實在本季新增了一些交換。如同我們之前說過的，我們是想在交換部位上做一些補充，以覆蓋那些即將到期的部位。但如果你注意到本季做的那些交換，履約利率（strike rate）其實高於1個月SOFR利率。

So for example, one of them had a strike rate of 4%. So that was in the money. We typically did a one-year forward start and then went four or five years. But since these were in the money, we decided to put them as an immediate start and just get a slight benefit from that for the first year. But we're just really -- we're not trying to add to the swap portfolio in total generally.

例如，其中一筆的履約利率是4%。所以那是價內（in the money）。我們通常會做一年後起始（one-year forward start），然後期限做四到五年。但由於這些是價內，我們決定改成立即起始，並在第一年取得些微的好處。但我們其實——整體而言並不是要增加交換投資組合的總規模。

We're just trained to fill out with the later years as some of these mature off and probably keep around a $6 billion plus or minus a (inaudible) value in that portfolio.

我們只是訓練有素地在較後面的年度補齊，因為其中一些會到期退出；而且大概會把該投資組合維持在約60億美元上下（加減一個（聽不清））的名目金額。

Great. Thank you.

很好。謝謝。

Janet Lee.

Janet Lee。

For Premium Finance, since like the property insurance premiums industry-wide seems to be flattening out a bit and you mentioned some competitive pressure, does that change your outlook on the growth trajectory of premium finance business, like what kind of growth should we forecast for 2026 or '27?

關於保費融資（Premium Finance），由於整體產險保費似乎開始有點趨於持平，而且你也提到一些競爭壓力，這會改變你們對保費融資業務成長軌跡的看法嗎？例如對2026或2027年，我們應該預測什麼樣的成長？

Yeah. The -- well, this is Dave. There are pressures on the property side. That's the softest part of the market, and we are seeing those rates down and particularly condo rates in Florida, there's a lot of softening there. Those run up really high and now they've sort of come back down.

是的。——嗯，我是Dave。在財產險那一端確實有壓力。那是市場中最疲弱的部分，我們看到那些費率在下降，特別是佛羅里達州的公寓（condo）費率，那邊有相當程度的走軟。那些之前漲得很高，現在又有點回落。

But you are also seeing other professional coverages besides property that are up a little bit. So we sort of think of the aggregate of the portfolio of loans. If you put in the property coverage, the casualty and the liability coverages to be roughly flat to maybe up just very low-single digit basis points or single percentage increases.

但你也會看到，除了財產險之外的其他專業險種有些略為上升。所以我們會以整體貸款組合的總和來看。如果把財產險、意外險（casualty）以及責任險（liability）的保障一起納入，我們認為大致會持平，或最多僅小幅上升，約為低個位數的基點或單位數百分比的增幅。

So we also then are growing units that we believe we're growing units year over year. So we would expect premium finance year over year and taking the seasonality out of the equation, first quarter, second quarter service seasonality to grow low-single digits right now.

此外，我們也在增加件數（units），我們相信我們的件數是逐年成長的。因此，我們預期保費融資在逐年比較、並排除季節性因素（第一季、第二季的服務季節性）後，目前會呈現低個位數成長。

So we still like the business. It's still out there. We're still competitive. It's just there's a few of the competitors that will chase the larger deals out there and price them way down and -- but we're just not going to chase what we consider to be irrational pricing there. But that's not the majority of the book.

所以我們仍然喜歡這門生意。市場仍然存在。我們仍具競爭力。只是有少數競爭對手會去追逐市場上較大的案子，並把價格壓得非常低——但我們不會去追逐我們認為不理性的定價。不過那並不是整體業務的大多數。

It's just a little bit of the book that we walk away from. So we would still expect growth there to be in the low-single digits year over year.

只是我們會放棄其中一小部分的案子。因此，我們仍預期那邊的成長會是逐年低個位數。

Got it. All other questions have been asked and answered. Thank you.

了解。其他問題都已經問過並得到回答了。謝謝。

Ben Gerlinger, Citi.

Citi的Ben Gerlinger。

Great deposit growth quarter, especially the (inaudible) all pretty much in one (inaudible). I get that you guys have the branches that you're expecting to build Northwest Indiana to front run the [bears]. When you think about or just like kind of commercial deposits or silos and deposits that really aren't associated like the bricks and sticks branches.

本季存款成長很亮眼，尤其是（聽不清）幾乎都集中在同一個（聽不清）。我理解你們有一些分行，預計在印第安納州西北部建置，以便提前布局、搶在[bears] 之前。當你們思考商業存款或各個業務線（silos）的存款，這些存款其實不一定和實體分行（bricks and sticks branches）直接相關時——

Is there anything on that? Because I mean, I get billets is good. It's just kind of here and there. I don't know how much that's going to really impact the broader balance sheet because it's considerably larger than you were a decade ago?

這方面有什麼可以分享的嗎？因為我的意思是，我理解billets是好的。只是有點零星分散。我不確定這對整體資產負債表能有多大影響，因為相較十年前，你們的規模已經大得多了？

Yeah. I mean, it's a good question, Ben. And I guess what I would point to is if you look at the loan growth, particularly C&I loan growth in some of the other verticals when we win business in those categories, we expect those customers to bring us deposits. And so as you see commercial loan growth and you see loan growth in some of our niches like the ESOP business and our construction business, we're winning treasury management service fee income. We're asking for deposits.

是的。我的意思是，這是個好問題，Ben。我想我會指出的是，如果你看貸款成長，特別是我們在其他垂直領域贏得這些類別的業務時的商業與工業（C&I）貸款成長，我們預期這些客戶會把存款帶給我們。因此，當你看到商業貸款成長，以及我們在一些利基領域（例如 ESOP 業務與建築業務）的貸款成長時，我們也在贏得財資管理服務費收入。我們也會要求存款。

And so as you say, we're bigger. And so to show good deposit growth, as we have done regularly, we need deposit growth across the board, including the commercial sectors. And so that's built in the branches, as you say, will be more retail and small business. But they do increase our presence in Northwest Indiana and that makes a difference with some of the commercial entities as well.

所以如你所說，我們規模更大了。因此，要像我們一向定期做到的那樣展現良好的存款成長，我們需要全方位的存款成長，包括商業部門。所以正如你所說，這些分行的設置會更偏向零售與小型企業。但它們確實提升了我們在印第安納州西北部的能見度，這對一些商業實體也同樣有影響。

Got you. That's helpful. And then when you think about the hiring effort, like can you think about like LPOs or anything beyond Chicago or kind of touching like Michigan, could you think other larger MSAs within the, quote-unquote, Midwest?

了解。這很有幫助。接著談到招募方面，例如你們是否會考慮像是 LPO（貸款生產辦公室）之類的布局，或是在芝加哥以外、甚至延伸到密西根；你們是否會考慮在所謂的中西部其他較大的都會統計區（MSA）？

Well, we do have a small number of people in other markets that is sort of our way to start to penetrate those markets. And West Michigan was an example. We had a lot of business in West Michigan before we made the Macatawa purchase. And I think we're competitive in some of the other Midwestern cities where we don't yet have a footprint. And we'll continue to do that.

嗯，我們確實在其他市場有少數人員，這算是我們開始滲透那些市場的一種方式。西密西根就是一個例子。在我們收購 Macatawa 之前，我們在西密西根就已經有很多業務。我認為在一些我們尚未有據點的其他中西部城市，我們也具備競爭力。我們會持續這麼做。

And when it makes sense, we'll add physical footprint, which kind of is the next leg of the stool. So -- we've done that in Rockford. We did that in West Michigan. There are other markets we can do that in coming up.

當時機合適時，我們會增加實體據點，這有點像下一個階段。所以——我們在羅克福德（Rockford）做過。我們在西密西根也做過。接下來還有其他市場我們也可以這樣做。

That's helpful. Thank you.

這很有幫助。謝謝。

Brandon Rud, Stephens Inc.

Brandon Rud，Stephens Inc.。

So most of my questions have been already been answered. Maybe just one more on the expenses. I noticed the step-up in software and equipment in the quarter. Is that related to the digital banking investments that you mentioned, Tim, and is that a good run rate that's $39 million to look at on a go-forward basis?

我大多數問題都已經被回答了。也許再問一個關於費用的問題。我注意到本季軟體與設備費用有一個跳升。這是否與你提到的數位銀行投資有關，Tim？另外，往後來看，3,900 萬美元是否可以視為一個合理的常態水準（run rate）？

Yeah. We're investing in technology as all institutions are. And so whether it's cybersecurity or whether it's customer feature functionality, that's a line where you're likely to see more growth than others. And so I think you should expect some upward trajectory in that expense, but it's really across the board, better data management, the early phases of AI, the customer feature functionality, we're delivering cyber. So it's sort of all sorts of stuff in that bucket.

是的。我們正在投資科技，就像所有機構一樣。因此，不論是資安（cybersecurity）或是客戶功能體驗，這一項費用線你可能會看到比其他項目更高的成長。所以我認為你應該預期這項費用會有一些上行趨勢，但其實是全面性的：更好的資料管理、AI 的早期階段、客戶功能體驗，以及我們在資安方面的交付。所以這個桶子裡包含各式各樣的東西。

Okay. Perfect. And then maybe just one on credit. I know the one at the bottom left of page 18, there is a bit of a step-up in the allowance on the commercial portfolio. I'm just wondering, is that a change in macro assumptions or is there a particular loan category that drove that increase?

好的。非常好。再來可能問一個關於信用的問題。我知道在第 18 頁左下角，商業投資組合的備抵（allowance）有些上升。我想確認一下：這是宏觀假設的變動，還是有特定的貸款類別推動了這個增加？

No, it would be the more macro assumptions. There's nothing specific out there that's driving any change in those factors.

不，主要是宏觀假設。沒有任何特定項目在推動那些因素的變動。

Okay. Perfect. Thank you very much.

好的。非常好。非常感謝。

Daniel Tamayo, Raymond James.

Daniel Tamayo，Raymond James。

Maybe just taking a step back here. So just kind of looking at your history here, it looks like long history of efficiency ratio really trending down, and you're at a point now where I'm not sure you've been before in the kind of low to mid-50s. You talked about positive operating leverage this year, but just curious your thoughts with the margin relatively stable in this range, your ability to continue to drive that operating leverage going forward or where you think it might start to stabilize?

也許先退一步來看。從你們的歷史來看，效率比率長期呈下降趨勢，而你們現在處在我不確定以前是否到過的區間，大約在 50% 出頭到 50% 中段。你提到今年會有正向的營運槓桿，但我想了解的是：在利差（margin）在這個區間相對穩定的情況下，你們未來持續推動營運槓桿的能力如何？或你認為它可能會在什麼地方開始趨於穩定？

Yeah. I mean, we're targeting continued operating leverage. And as we start to work on 2027, that will be part of our target as well. And so we hope there are scale benefits with some of the investments that we're making. And so kind of built into the expectations for our teams.

是的。我的意思是，我們的目標是持續的營運槓桿。而當我們開始規劃 2027 年時，這也會是我們目標的一部分。因此，我們希望我們正在進行的一些投資能帶來規模效益。所以這也被納入我們對團隊的預期之中。

We're going to add clients, and we're going to continue to win business in kind of a well-positioned market. And so that would be our expectation.

我們會增加客戶，並且會在一個定位良好的市場中持續贏得業務。因此，這就是我們的預期。

Thanks, Tim. And then maybe one qualitative one for you also on the -- just on the M&A environment. I appreciate your commentary on you're at the exploratory stages, but you guys are kind of well-known as a buyer in the region. Just curious your view on, given the run-up we've had in stock prices, what that's done to seller expectations, any conversations you've had.

謝謝你，Tim。另外也想問一個偏質性的問題，關於——併購（M&A）環境。我理解你提到目前仍在探索階段，但你們在區域內算是相當知名的買方。我想請教你的看法：鑑於股價近期的上漲，這對賣方的期待造成了什麼影響？以及你們在對話中有沒有觀察到什麼？

Well, I can't speak to any specific conversations, but in some way, I think it's helped. People are always cautious about exploring alternatives when their stock price is perceived to be low and so as long as our performance and our securities move up relative to others, there's not a huge change. It's just that somebody feels like they're getting a better price.

嗯，我無法談任何特定對話，但在某種程度上，我認為這是有幫助的。當一家公司的股價被認為偏低時，人們在探索替代方案時總是會更謹慎；因此，只要我們的表現與我們的證券價格相對於其他同業上升，整體並不會有很大的改變。只是有人會覺得自己拿到更好的價格。

So I -- the math is the math. And I know there are a lot of social and emotional factors that go into any transaction. But I think in general, it's probably a little helpful.

所以我——數學就是數學。我知道任何交易都會有很多社會與情緒因素。但我認為整體而言，可能是稍微有幫助的。

Okay. Great. Well, thanks for answering our questions.

好的。很好。謝謝你回答我們的問題。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Tim Crane for closing remarks. Sir?

謝謝。我現在想把電話會議交回給 Tim Crane 做結語。先生？

Yeah. Thanks, Latif. For everybody, good questions. We certainly understand why you ask what you do, and we appreciate your interest. I would leave you with this: This was a really strong quarter, once again creating value for our shareholders. We continue to deliver on our three priorities, which keeps our team focused on delivering strong results.

好的。謝謝你，Latif。各位提出了很好的問題。我們當然理解你們為什麼會問這些，也感謝你們的關注。我想留給大家的是：這又是一個非常強勁的季度，為我們的股東創造價值。我們持續聚焦並交付我們的三大優先事項，讓團隊專注於交出強勁成果。

And over the last several quarters, we've consistently outperformed peers without compromising our credit standards or our commitment to clients and our communities. We believe we're well positioned for the second half of the year and quite frankly, well positioned for time periods beyond that. So I hope everybody is enjoying the summer and thank you for joining us and for your interest today. Have a great day.

在過去幾個季度，我們在不犧牲信用標準、也不影響我們對客戶與社區承諾的前提下，持續穩定地優於同業。我們相信我們已為今年下半年做好良好布局，而且坦白說，也為更長期的時間區間做好了布局。希望大家夏天過得愉快，謝謝各位今天加入並關注我們。祝大家有美好的一天。

Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. This concludes today's conference call.

感謝各位參與。您現在可以中斷連線。今天的電話會議到此結束。