Amerant Bancorp Inc. (AMTB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you, and welcome to the Amerant Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press *0. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Laura Rossi, Executive Vice President, Head of Investor Relations. Laura, please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to review Amerant Bancorp's third quarter 2026 results. On today's call are Carlos Iafigliola, our President and CEO, and Sharymar Calderon, our CFO. As we begin, please note that discussions on today's call contain forward-looking statements, meaning of the Securities Exchange Act. In addition, we will also refer to non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the company's earnings release for a statement regarding forward-looking statements, as well as for information and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures. We'll now turn it over to our CEO, Carlos Iafigliola.

Thank you, Laura. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Amerant's third quarter 2026 results. This quarter represents another step forward in building a more profitable and resilient franchise. Our net income increased to $25.7 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, and our return on assets reached 1%. That progress reflects stronger net interest income and margin expansion, management, continued balance sheet optimization, and improving credit quality. Most importantly, we continue advancing the strategic priorities that are moving our brand from stabilization towards sustainable growth. Following our annual board strategy session, our direction remains clear. Deliver on our financial and credit quality commitments, continue simplifying our operating model, focus investment toward the market and capabilities where Amerant has a distinct competitive advantage, and deploy capital and resources toward the most attractive opportunities. In that context, I would like to update you on the evolution of our 4 strategic initiatives during the quarter. First, Transform Credit. This initiative is about strengthening credit selection, portfolio monitoring, and credit operating model to enable profitable growth with greater consistency and performance predictability and within established risk appetite. During the third quarter, the work completed early in the year began to show more clearly in our results. Non-performing loans continue to decline and classified balances also moved lower. We continue actively resolving criticized exposures while advancing workflow enhancements and automation of the credit approval process to improve data integrity, accountability, and consistency aimed at lending stakeholders. With the credit foundation strengthened, our focus is increasingly on pairing data, discipline underwriting with growth in more granular and higher quality relationships. Second, operational efficiency. This initiative is about simplifying how we operate, optimizing structural costs, increasing capacity, and creating a more scalable platform that can deliver consistent service and stronger returns. We continue disciplined expense management while improving our earnings generation power. This resulted in a significant improvement in the efficiency ratio, narrowing the gap to the 60% we have been targeting. We are now moving from identifying opportunities to making clear decisions across the organization. This includes reviewing team structures, client coverage, and productivity of our channels, while advancing in digitization and deploying practical AI use cases. Third, client profitability. This initiative is about managing the full relationship return, not simply individual products, and directing our people and capital toward the clients and businesses where we can create the greatest value. During the quarter, we continued strengthening referral discipline and coordination across commercial banking, private banking, treasury management, and wealth management. In the following strategy session, we're taking this work further by assessing relationships based on profitability, aligning service models and pricing within client needs, and identifying targeted opportunities to cross-sell single-profit relationships. Fourth, grow the bank. This initiative is about growing loans, deposits, assets under management, and fee income in the market and businesses where Amerant has differentiated capabilities while remaining aligned with our risk appetite and return objectives. We are focused on building scale in priority verticals and client segments, including more granular C&I, residential lending, practice finance, logistics and wholesale, asset-based and supply chain finance, and selected CRE opportunities with experienced sponsors. We will also continue to use our syndication capacity to manage larger, new, and existing exposures. Our international business remains a distinctive source of low-cost funding and an important platform for relationship growth. We remain focused on deepening wallet share across international clients through wealth, treasury management, and specialized personal and commercial lending solutions. As we continue to optimize our deposit mix by reducing higher-cost deposits and selectively exiting non-profitable single-product relationships, the overall quality and economics of our deposit franchise will continue to strengthen. With this in mind, we have migrated certain low-cost interest-bearing balances to DDAs, which improve our ratio of non-interest-bearing deposits to total deposits without any impact to the retention of these accounts. In our domestic markets, we have prioritized in Florida, where our brand, market position, and client relationships give us a clear right to win, and refining our branch and coverage model to support profitable growth. Taken together, these initiatives are producing measurable progress. Return on assets reached our target 1%, return liquidity improved, net interest margin expanded, and capital remains strong. These results are creating a new baseline for our company and reinforce our confidence that Amerant is moving in the right direction. Our strong capital position also provides us with the flexibility to continue returning value to shareholders. Accordingly, on October 21, our Board authorized a share repurchase program for up to $50 million through December 31, 2027. Our priorities remain the same: disciplined loan growth, continued credit improvement, greater operating efficiency, deeper and more profitable client relationships, and thoughtful capital allocation. We have more work ahead, but we enter the final quarter of the year with a stronger foundation, clear choices, and growing momentum. With that strategic context, I will turn it to Sharymar to walk through the quarter's financial results in more detail.

Thank you, Carlos, and good morning, everyone. Let's turn to slide 4, where you will see our balance sheet highlights. Total assets were $10.2 billion as of the end of the third quarter, a decrease from $10.3 billion as of the end of the second quarter. The decrease was primarily driven by lower interest-bearing deposits. Cash and cash equivalents were $361.5 million, up by $60.3 million compared to $301.1 million in the second quarter, reflecting higher liquidity balances during the quarter. Total investment securities were $2.2 billion, down by $382.8 million compared to $2.6 billion in the previous quarter. This was primarily driven by lower debt securities available for sale. Total gross loans were $7.1 billion, up by $207.8 million compared to $6.9 billion in the second quarter. This was driven primarily by increases in single-family residential and commercial loans. These were partially offset by decreases in CRE, loans to non-depository financial institutions, as well as owner-occupied loans. Additionally, elevated payoffs partially offset loan production, including several repayments that also contributed to improved asset quality. On the deposit side, total deposits were $8.2 billion, down by $109.6 million compared to $8.4 billion in the second quarter, primarily driven by decreases in interest-bearing demand deposits, as well as savings and money market deposits. These were partially offset by increases in non-interest-bearing demand deposits and time deposits. Also relevant for this quarter, on September 17, 2026, the company completed a registered offering of $50 million of 7% senior notes due in 2031. Offering added attractive long-term funding in a rising rate environment while also enhancing liquidity at the holding company. We are pleased to report that our assets under management increased $77.9 million to $3.45 billion in the third quarter, driven primarily by net new assets of $76.5 million. This is a strong result that reflects the growing momentum in our wealth management business, which we continue to view as an increasingly important source of fee income. During the quarter, we made meaningful progress by onboarding new talent and deepening cross-sell activity with commercial clients, both of which contributed to our growth. This reinforces our conviction that this business can play a significant and expanding role in diversifying our income stream over time. The relationship-first model and the depth of our domestic and international client base position us well to capture that opportunity, and we remain excited about deepening advisory relationships across both markets. Let's turn to slide 5. Looking at the income statement, diluted earnings per share for the third quarter was $0.65 per share, compared to $0.53 per share in the second quarter. Net interest income was $90.5 million, up $7.9 million from $82.6 million in the second quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher interest income on loans and investment securities, combined with lower total interest expense on deposits and FHLB advances due to lower average balances and average rates. Net interest margin was 3.77% compared to 3.52% in the second quarter. The increase reflected a lower cost of funds from non-interest-bearing deposits and shorter-term advances we took during the quarter, as well as benefits from additional interest on longer payments previously in non-accrual status that was recorded during the quarter. The provision for credit losses was $6.2 million, compared to $4.8 million in the second quarter, reflecting higher specific reserves in the commercial portfolio, offset by lower collectively evaluated reserves driven by changes in portfolio composition and macroeconomic assumptions. Non-interest income was $18.3 million, up by $177,000 from $18.2 million. This increase was primarily driven by higher deposit and service fees and higher gains on the early extinguishment of FHLB advances. These were partially offset by lower loan-level derivative income and lower other non-interest income during the quarter. Non-interest expense was $69.1 million, up by $221,000, or 0.3%, from $68.9 million in the second quarter. The increase in non-interest expense was primarily driven by higher professional fees and higher salaries and employee benefits. These were partially offset by a decrease of $1.9 million in advertising expenses, as well as an increase of $1.1 million in OREO income. Pre-tax pre-provisioned revenue reached $39.7 million, which is the highest quarterly result recorded since 4Q 2022, compared to $31.9 million in the second quarter of this year. This increase was primarily driven by higher net interest income and non-interest income, partially offset by the increase in non-interest expense. You can also see that ROA and ROE this quarter were 1% and 11.29%, which are the highest quarterly results reported since 3Q 2022 and 4Q 2021 respectively, compared to 0.84% and 9.23% respectively in the prior quarter. Our efficiency ratio was 63.51% compared to 68.37% in the second quarter. The improvement reflected stronger revenue and stable operating expenses as cost-saving initiatives offset higher personnel and professional fees. Turning now to slide 6 to discuss our capital metrics. Our CET1 increased to 12.07% from 11.94% in the prior quarter, mainly driven by higher net income during the quarter, while partially offset by $3.6 million in shareholder dividends and $2 million in share repurchases. Tangible common equity declined during the quarter, primarily driven by unrealized losses in the available-for-sale investment portfolio. Market yields rose by more than 100 basis points, well beyond the single Federal Reserve rate increase, as markets priced in additional tightening. The decline in TCE was partially offset by higher earnings and lower share repurchases. Importantly, the valuation of the AFS portfolio has significantly improved compared to quarter-end as market rates have dropped since quarter-end. We paid a cash dividend of $0.09 per share of common stock on August 28, 2026, and our Board of Directors just approved a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share payable on November 27 of this year. During the third quarter, we repurchased approximately 70,592 shares at a weighted average price of $28.47 per share, compared to tangible book value per share of $20.94 as of September 30, 2026. This represented 1.36 times tangible book value and 1.32 times book value. On slide 7, we show our well-diversified deposit mix along with the composition of our loan portfolio. Total deposits for the quarter were $8.2 billion, down $109.6 million, or 1.3%, compared to $8.4 billion in the previous quarter. This decrease was primarily driven by lower balances from large domestic commercial fund providers and was partially offset by higher balances in private banking deposits. International deposits were stable, with a slight decline of $9.5 million or 0.3% from the previous quarter. Also, as part of our strategic diversification efforts, while deposits from customers domiciled in Venezuela decreased $96.8 million or 3.9%, deposits from countries other than Venezuela increased $87.3 million or 12%, a testament to the value of our international customer relationships. In terms of deposit mix, broker deposits remained mostly stable quarter over quarter at $497.4 million. Core deposits decreased by $125.8 million or 2% driven by decreases in higher cost, interest-bearing demand, savings, and money market deposits. As Carlos mentioned, non-interest-bearing demand deposits increased as we continued optimizing our deposit base. During the quarter, we migrated approximately $270 million in low-cost interest-bearing deposits to non-interest-bearing demand deposits without affecting client retention. This migration provides a clearer view of the strength of our non-interest-bearing deposit base and the underlying value of these stable relationships. Total loans were $7.1 billion, up $107.8 million or 3% compared to $6.9 billion in the second quarter. As mentioned earlier, this increase was driven by increases in single-family residential and commercial loans. These were partially offset by decreases in CRE, loans to financial institutions, as well as owner-occupied loans. As a reminder, we use our international funding to support domestic loan growth as we don't currently take credit risk outside of the U.S. Next, on slide 8, you can see the evolution of our net interest income. NII increased $7.9 million from the prior quarter to $90.5 million in 3Q. This increase was primarily driven by higher interest income on loans and investment securities, combined with lower total interest expense on deposits and FHLB advances due to lower average balances and rates. Net interest margin was 3.77% compared to 3.52% in the second quarter. Cost of total deposits declined to 2.07% from 2.21% in the prior quarter, and cost of funds declined to 2.23% from 2.38%. Moving to slide 9, here we show the drivers of the 25-basis-point increase in net interest margin from 3.52% in the second quarter to 3.77% in the third quarter. Loans were the largest contributor, adding 18 basis points, primarily as a result of the repricing of our variable rate portfolio, the timing within the quarter when we redeployed our liquidity into yielding assets, and fees upon early loan exits. Additional interest collected on NPLs that we exited during the quarter contributed an additional 6 basis points. Securities contributed 3 basis points, and cost of funds added 2 basis points. These positive contributions were partially offset by a 4-basis-point reduction from other earning assets. Taken together, these components reconcile the quarter-over-quarter expansion in net interest margin and demonstrate the benefit of our continued and disciplined loan growth efforts. Now, turning to asset quality as shown on slide 10, non-performing loans were down $21.6 million or 12.6% to $149.5 million or 1.46% of total assets. During the third quarter, criticized loans decreased primarily driven by the payoff of 3 commercial and CRE relationships, partially offset by downgrades of 4 relationships across commercial, owner-occupied, and CRE loans, as well as several smaller commercial and residential loans. Subsequent to quarter-end, a $5 million commercial loan that was downgraded during the quarter was also paid off, further improving our NPL to total loans and to total assets ratios. In the next slide, we provide a similar view over our classified portfolio. During the third quarter, downgrades to classified loans were primarily driven by 4 relationships across commercial, owner-occupied, and CRE loans. At the same time, we continue to make progress reducing balances in this category, with payoffs and paydowns totaling $80.3 million, which includes the payoff of 4 large relationships during the period. Now moving to slide 12, we discuss special mention loans and their key characteristics, including portfolio composition and collateral coverage. During the quarter, downgrades to special mention were primarily driven by 2 relationships and were partially offset by paydowns. Overall, third quarter results demonstrate continued progress in our credit enhancement efforts. Non-performing and overall criticized loans declined during the quarter, supported by disciplined monitoring, timely identification of emerging credit risk, and continued resolution activity through payoffs and paydowns. While we continue to closely monitor developments across the portfolio, the reductions this quarter reflect the actions we have taken to improve portfolio quality and enhance visibility over time. Now moving on to slide 13. Here we show the drivers of the provision recorded this quarter and impact to the allowance for credit losses. The provision for credit losses was $6.2 million in the third quarter. The provision was driven by a $12.6 million net increase in specific reserves, primarily due to 4 commercial relationships, $2 million in requirements for charge-offs, and $600,000 due to loan growth. This was partially offset by $6.4 million release mainly attributable to changes in macroeconomic factors and a $2.7 million release in reserves for contingencies as lines of credit were funded. In addition, the bank recorded a $2.5 million reserve due to recently acquired season loans. During the third quarter of 2026, gross charge-offs totaled $3.9 million, composed mainly of 1 commercial loan, and the remaining charge-offs were related to indirect consumer loans and smaller commercial and consumer loans, with $1.9 million in recoveries. We estimate gross charge-offs to be in the range of 30 to 35 basis points for the fourth quarter, including some possible write-offs of existing specific reserves. Also, recoveries may occur as our Special Assets team continues efforts toward resolution of previously charged-off loans. Lastly, the allowance for credit losses ratio was up slightly to 1.36% from 1.27% in the second quarter, primarily due to increases in coverage of individually evaluated loans. On slide 14, you can see our expectations for the fourth quarter of 2026. We expect total loans to reach approximately $7.3 billion by the fourth quarter of 2026. Following the work completed in the first half of the year to strengthen our credit foundation, we are seeing increased momentum in the loan production, including opportunities primarily through C&I lending programs supported by residential lending as we focus on building a more granular, higher quality portfolio. On the funding side, we are revising our total deposit guidance to approximately $8.5 billion by the fourth quarter of 2026. As noted earlier, exits by large commercial fund providers during the quarter are weighing on our expected domestic deposit balance at year-end. We are also refining our outlook for international deposit growth to reflect the expected pace of balance formation. The progress we saw during the quarter and the increased activity we observed among commercial and corporate clients across a range of industries in Venezuela continues to reflect the gradual pickup in economic activity and reinforces our confidence in this as a meaningful source of growth and in our ability to capture funds across the client ecosystem. The pace of realization reflects the timing of inflows, the conversion of commercial activity into personal liquidity, and compliance and due diligence timelines that vary with the complexity of each account and relationship. We are revising our expectations for the net interest margin to be in the range of 3.65% to 3.70% in the fourth quarter. Although the interest rate environment will place upward pressure on our cost of funds, we expect the repricing of the variable rate loan portfolio, our deposit repricing discipline, and the continued growth in lower cost deposits to provide more than an offset. From an expense perspective, we expect fourth quarter non-interest expense to be approximately $68 million as we continue making progress toward a target efficiency ratio of approximately 60%. In terms of capital management, we will continue to optimize our approach by balancing capital retained to support growth with share repurchases and dividends designed to enhance shareholder returns. And with that, I will pass it back to Carlos for additional comments and closing remarks.

Thank you, Sharymar. As we move through the last quarter of the year, we remain focused on executing against our strategic priorities with discipline and purpose, translating the strategic process we have made into measurable financial results. First, we will sustain our loan growth momentum with a continued focus on risk-adjusted returns, and balancing asset quality. The growth we pursue must be purposeful, granular, and consistent with our risk appetite. Capital directed toward the markets, industries, and client relationships where Amerant is best positioned to create value. Second, we will continue advancing on credit quality. We're deepening our credit culture through consistent underwriting standards, relationship-based decision-making, and proactive portfolio oversight. At the same time, we are cultivating a high-quality pipeline with greater transparency into risk-adjusted returns and stronger accountability throughout the credit process. Third, we will continue to realize the benefits of the efficiency initiatives we announced earlier this year. The current cost reductions and incremental revenue are strengthening operating leverage, and we will continue simplifying processes, improving productivity, and aligning resources with our highest return opportunities. Fourth, we will continue advancing our relationship-first approach to deepen client engagement, and support lower cost deposits growth across both domestic and international markets. This means bringing the full capabilities of Amerant to our clients, increasing share of wallet and managing relationships based on their total profitability and long-term potential. Finally, we remain committed to preserving strong capital ratios while balancing capital retained to support growth with dividends and share repurchases that return value to shareholders. We have a stronger foundation, clear priorities, and a disciplined execution plan. We are encouraged by the progress reflected in this quarter's results and remain focused on converting that momentum into sustainable value for our shareholders. With that, Sharymar and I will take questions. Operator, please open the line for Q&A.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question is coming from Michael Rose from Raymond James. Your line is now live.

I wanted to start on deposits. I was a little bit surprised to see the benefit as much as they were just given all the progress and momentum that you've talked about, Carlos. Can you just describe kind of what happened there and then, you know, as it relates to the fourth quarter and the growth that you're expecting there, how much of that is coming from kind of the international piece versus the domestic piece? Thanks.

Thank you, Michael, and good morning, everyone. I believe what you have seen during the third quarter is that the reactivation of the Venezuelan economy has needed additional CAPEX and additional distributions between commercial and corporate accounts within the country, so the money is starting to move in order to create the necessary investments within the economy to support the reactivation. So I see it more as a transactional decline, more than a structural decline. We still believe the momentum is extremely positive and we will continue to see positive momentum. I'm not sure if you also noticed the AUM increased. So I believe you should look into the bundle between deposits and AUM. So even though the deposits took a little drop during the quarter, you know, also some funds ended up in AUM as well. At the same time, as I mentioned before, the operational activity of nature of these accounts is creating this fluctuation. Sharymar?

It's important, Carlos, to reiterate that the fundamentals of the Venezuelan and LATAM growth have not changed. When we look at balances quarter over quarter, they can reflect that natural timing of and wealth management formation. And as Carlos mentioned, you saw that happening through the wealth management portfolio in 3Q with upside of almost $100 million. So the momentum is still there, it's still strong, and we feel very confident about this growth opportunity. And regarding the expectation for the fourth quarter, we could see a mix of 60% coming from the international side, and 40% from the domestic side.

That's very helpful, Carlos. I appreciate the thorough response. Sharymar, just switching to the margin. The guide assumes some contraction. I assume some of that has to do with just the decline in Venezuelan deposits this quarter, and then the notes that you issued as well. As we think about the fourth quarter, how much of the impact is from those 2 items versus just core compression? Just trying to get a better understanding of the bridge between third and fourth. Thanks.

Sure, Michael. So, I would say actually it's an improvement versus the normalized 3Q NIM. The 3Q NIM had a portion related to collections on loans that were NPL. So, if we take that component out and some early exits that provided some improvements to the yield and we normalize the NIM, we actually would see some improvement in 4Q. We do continue to see some pressure and cost of funds. I mean, customers have interest for higher yield short-term products. But at the same time, we will have a full quarter's worth of repricing of variable rate loans. We continue to expect growth on the international low-cost deposits. We have modeled 1 rate hike happening in December. It won't be a significant contribution, but it does provide for an improvement in NII. I would say that if rate hikes happen, we would get closer to the 3.70%, and if rates are stable, that would take us closer to the 3.65%.

And, Sharymar, there is also something that we said, that the growth of the international side has allowed us to lower dependency on high-cost deposits, so the blended rate has definitely helped us.

I appreciate all that, Carlos. And if I could just slip 1 more in. Carlos, you hit the 1% target. I guess the simple way to ask it is what's next? And, you know, with the efficiency expected to continue to come down to your target, you know, how should we think about the opportunity for ROA expansion into next year? Thanks.

Yeah, no, thank you for the question. So, as you can imagine, 4Q, there is a lot of planning for 2027. We are conducting capacity analysis on the business. As you know, we're coming from a period of reshuffle, recalibrating risk, exiting relationships that are not accretive for the bank nor the income or the risk side of the house. So we're very optimistic about 2027. Again, I believe the 1% ROA is a new baseline that we have from now on. And now, what we believe it will happen is that our operating expenses would need to reflect the impact of the hiring of more business people, as we're trying to the whole commercial and the domestic side of the house for a steady loan growth. And that would definitely help us to achieve a better return on asset for 2027. So we have been, you know, very active, projecting balance sheet for next year and what will be the impact, but we definitely remain, you know, committed to improve the 1%. So, you know, if you think, the Amerant of the future should be definitely trying to target the 1.20% in the longer term.

Okay, I appreciate all the color. Thanks, everyone.

Next question today is coming from Russell Gunther from Stephens, your line is now live.

This is Nick calling in for Russell. I just wanted to go back on the deposit side. You know, NIBs were up pretty meaningful this quarter. How much of that was tied to new relationships versus existing customer moving balances? And should we think about that current mix as sustainable or was there anything unusual about the quarter?

Well, the combination, and thank you for the question, so we have analyzed our interest-bearing base over the past year or so. And we identified several accounts that were carrying a very low interest expense. And what we did, this is a project that took us a couple of quarters to complete. We classified those as non-interest-bearing evidently by dropping the rate to 0. So the change was approximately $270 million going into that category due to the reclass, but at the same time we were able to grow $100 million into the non-interest-bearing category. So that is pretty much the combination. I believe it's a reflection of who we really are as a bank. Those are non-sensitive deposits that should have been DDAs since the beginning. And due to different, you know, product characteristics over time, they were interest-bearing. So going forward, there will be an additional migration that should be expected. But at the same time, we continue to grow within that category. And we...