Oct 28, 2026 earnings call — Record revenue and Finward acquisition
Record third quarter revenue of $273.9 million and adjusted net income of $87.8 million.
Revenue $0.3B (est $0.3B) · EPS $0.84 (est $0.82)
Key quotes
"Third quarter adjusted fee income was the highest in the company's history, led by double-digit percentage growth in wealth management income, bank card income, and client derivative fees."
"End-of-period loan balances increased $170 million, or 5% on an annualized basis, with C&I, Summit, and Consumer all having strong quarters."
"The increase in classified assets was primarily driven by the downgrade of a single ICRE relationship with multiple loans."
Analyst Q&A 6
Margin change timeline after rate hikes
Q (Brendan Nosal · Hovde Group): They asked how to think about the timeline from the immediate 7-8 basis point margin bump to the longer-term 3-4 basis point benefit. They also asked how the Finward deal math changes given recent marks to Finward's book value and capital.
A: Management said about 60% of loans reprice quickly with short-end SOFR, giving an initial 7-8 basis point improvement right away. They said deposit repricing will play out over another quarter or two and that the Finward deal shows slightly more upfront tangible book dilution but more accretion income that stretches the earn-back from about 0.6 years to about 0.9 years.
"So again, we think about that as an initial 7-8 basis point of improvement right away." — Jamie Anderson (CFO)
Drivers of commercial growth and borrowings
Q (Brandon Rud · Stephens): They asked what drove the strong commercial and small business growth — line utilization, CapEx, or other — and whether the period-end borrowings a few hundred million above average were temporary or a good number to model for Q4.
A: Management said the growth was broad-based across markets and product categories and was primarily C&I rather than line utilization. They also said the $1 billion of borrowings is a reasonable number to use for the fourth quarter, noting borrowings will bounce around point-in-time and they sometimes swap brokered CDs into borrowings.
"Yeah, I think the $1 billion of borrowing is a good number to use for the fourth quarter." — Archie Brown (CEO)
FX and leasing fee growth; rate effects on loans
Q (Daniel Tamayo · Raymond James): They asked expected annual growth rates for the FX and leasing businesses. They also asked how higher rates so far and potential further increases might affect loan demand, especially CRE and specialty businesses.
A: Management said Bannockburn (FX) tends to grow in a stair-step way and they expect it to grow in a high single digit to 10% range yearly; leasing is slowing to roughly a 5%-10% growth range because amortization is catching up and production mix affects results. They said C&I loan demand is not affected yet and near-term pipeline is strong, but CRE shows signs of softening in multifamily and more competition and looser structures in industrial, which is tempering CRE growth.
"On the C&I side, it is not affecting it yet." — Archie Brown (CEO)
What would lift loan growth; deposit pressure
Q (Brian Foran · Truist): They asked what would need to change to move growth from low-to-mid single digits back to mid-to-high single digits, and whether deposit competition might intensify and hurt asset sensitivity and margins.
A: Management said stronger C&I helps and the main near-term pressures are on CRE (multifamily softness and industrial competition) and some payoff activity at Oak Street; those would need to improve for higher growth. They said they are not highly concerned near term about deposit competition, noting some public fund money is moving, but their relatively low loan-to-deposit ratio gives flexibility to pull levers like reducing securities or being more aggressive on deposits.
"I think for us, the one advantage we have, at least going into the current cycle, is we have a pretty low loan-to-deposit ratio." — Archie Brown (CEO)
Expense guide, classified credit, M&A focus
Q (Jon Arfstrom · RBC): They asked whether the new expense guide strips out the items that pushed Q3 expenses higher (incentives, healthcare, credit-related items). They also asked about the classified credit increase and whether the firm remains active on M&A.
A: Management said the guide strips out those one-time or seasonal items and they expect the broad company incentive true-up from Q3 will not recur in Q4, which will moderate expenses; credit collection and healthcare timing should also ease. They described the classified credit as an isolated multi-asset real estate investor with related C&I issues, said market interest in selling underlying assets is encouraging, and said the near-term focus is closing Finward though they remain open to opportunistic deals in 2027.
"We think at this point that was more of a year-to-date adjustment that we will not have in the fourth quarter." — Jamie Anderson (CFO)
Efficiency ratio outlook after cost saves
Q (David Konrad · KBW): They asked how the efficiency ratio could trend over the next couple of years as integrations finish and announced cost saves are realized, noting leasing affects the ratio.
A: Management said the leasing business increases the efficiency ratio by about 200 basis points because fee income is upfront while depreciation sits in expenses. They said the company has been running around 57% and, after all actions, expects the efficiency ratio to come down about 50-100 basis points to roughly 56%.
"The leasing business impacts our efficiency ratio by about 200 basis points." — Jamie Anderson (CFO)