Preferred Bank (PFBC) Q3 2026 Earnings Call: Einlagen steigen, Nettozinsspanne bei 3,49 %

Die Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) wies für das dritte Quartal 2026 einen Nettogewinn von 32,9 Mio. US-Dollar bzw. 2,73 US-Dollar je Aktie aus. Die Ergebnisse enthielten eine Stornierung von Zinserträgen in Höhe von 2,1 Mio. US-Dollar, die die ausgewiesene Nettozinsspanne schmälerte.

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse

• Der Nettogewinn belief sich auf 32,9 Mio. US-Dollar, was 2,73 US-Dollar je Aktie entspricht.
• Die Nettozinsspanne lag bei 3,49 %. Das Management erklärte, dass sie ohne die Zinsertragsanpassung von 2,1 Mio. US-Dollar bei 3,60 % gelegen hätte.
• Die Einlagen stiegen im Vergleich zum Vorquartal um 77 Mio. US-Dollar oder 1,2 %, trotz des intensiven Wettbewerbs durch Banken, Nicht-Banken und US-Staatsanleihen.
• Das Kreditvolumen ging um 40 Mio. US-Dollar zurück, nachdem ein Großkredit in den Status „zur Veräußerung gehalten“ umgegliedert wurde. Das Management bezeichnete die Kredit-Pipeline für das vierte Quartal als solide.
• Die wertberichtigten Vermögenswerte (Classified Assets) beliefen sich auf insgesamt 177,6 Mio. US-Dollar, einschließlich 11,5 Mio. US-Dollar an übernommenen Immobilien (OREO). Gerichtsverfahren verzögerten weiterhin die Abwicklung einiger uneinbringlicher Kredite.
• Das Management prognostiziert für das vierte Quartal zinsunabhängige Aufwendungen zwischen 23 Mio. und 24 Mio. US-Dollar.

Wichtigste Finanzdaten

Geschäftliche und operative Entwicklung

Die Kreditbestände gingen aufgrund unerwarteter Rückzahlungen, eines schwächeren Neugeschäfts im Vergleich zum zweiten Quartal und der Umgliederung eines Großkredits in den Status „zur Veräußerung gehalten“ zurück. Ein Teil der in Aussicht stehenden Kredite verzögerte sich und wurde ins vierte Quartal verschoben. Laut Management führten die höheren Zinsen bei einigen Kreditnehmern zu mehr Vorsicht bei Projekten, während andere Kunden Gelegenheiten zu attraktiveren Preisen prüften.

Die Gewinnung von Einlagen blieb schwierig. Das Management gab an, dass die Kunden Bankeinlagen mit den höheren Zinsen von Wertpapierfirmen und den steuerlichen Vorteilen von US-Staatsanleihen in Kalifornien verglichen. Die Bank senkte die Gesamteinlagenkosten um 3 Basispunkte und legte dabei Wert auf Preisdisziplin, was laut Management das Einlagenwachstum begrenzt haben könnte.

Die Aufwendungen gingen in erster Linie aufgrund geringerer Berater- und Anwaltskosten im Zusammenhang mit problembehafteten Krediten sowie niedrigerer Rückstellungen für erfolgsabhängige Vergütungen infolge des Rückgangs der Rentabilität zurück.

Prognose des Managements

Das Management rechnet für das vierte Quartal mit zinsunabhängigen Aufwendungen von 23 Mio. bis 24 Mio. US-Dollar.

Das Unternehmen erwartet im vierten Quartal ein stärkeres Kreditwachstum, unterstützt durch verzögerte Auszahlungen und neues Geschäft, nannte jedoch kein beziffertes Ziel für das Kreditwachstum.

Das Management geht davon aus, dass der Wettbewerb um Einlagen bis ins Jahr 2027 anhalten wird. Es erklärte zudem, dass ein höherer Leitzins der US-Notenbank der Nettozinsspanne zugutekommen würde, da die Preferred Bank aktivsensitiv ist, während es das allgemeine Zinsumfeld als relativ stabil beschrieb.

Risiken und wichtige Beobachtungspunkte

• Die Konditionen für Einlagen bleiben stark umkämpft, da Kunden Angebote von Banken, Wertpapierfirmen und US-Staatsanleihen abwägen.
• Höhere Zinsen veranlassen einige Kreditnehmer dazu, Projekte zu verzögern oder zu überdenken.
• Die Abwicklung unrentierlicher Kredite verlief langsamer als vom Management erwartet, da sich mehrere Kredite weiterhin in Insolvenzgerichtsverfahren befinden.
• Obwohl Sicherheitenwerte und Beleihungsausläufe eine Erholung unterstützen können, hängt der Zeitplan von Veräußerungen teilweise von Gerichtsentscheidungen ab.
• Das Management erklärte, dass sich die Verschlechterung der Kreditqualität verlangsamt habe, jedoch weitere Kredite im Wert von 20 Mio. US-Dollar als minderwertig (substandard) eingestuft wurden, während sie weiterhin verzinst wurden.

Highlights der Analysten-Fragerunde

Bei der Preferred Bank laufen im vierten Quartal Festgelder (CDs) im Wert von knapp 1,7 Mio. US-Dollar mit einer gewichteten Durchschnittsrendite von 3,81 % aus. Das Management rechnet bei der Wiederanlage mit Zinssätzen von etwa 3,75 % bis 4,00 %.

Das Management erwartet, dass das Einlagen-Beta in einem Szenario steigender Zinsen langsamer sein wird als beim Zinsrückgang. Priorität hat weiterhin die Kontrolle der Refinanzierungskosten, selbst wenn dies das Einlagenwachstum einschränkt.

Mehrere große problembehaftete Kredite könnten im vierten Quartal veräußert werden, der Zeitplan bleibt jedoch von Insolvenzgerichtsverfahren abhängig. Sollten sich die Verzögerungen fortsetzen, könnte die Bank die Zwangsversteigerung betreiben und die Immobilien direkt veräußern.

Das Management erklärte, dass der Einlagenbestand zum Quartalsende einen angemessenen Ausgangspunkt für das vierte Quartal darstellt. Die Differenz zwischen den durchschnittlichen Beständen und den Endbeständen spiegelte weitgehend den zeitlichen Ablauf von Fälligkeiten und Zugängen vermittelter Einlagen (Brokered Deposits) gegen Ende des Quartals wider.

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz zu den Quartalszahlen

Vollständiges Transkript der Telefonkonferenz

Ausführungen des Managements

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the Preferred Bank Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call.

[Operator Instructions]

Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Jeffrey Haas of Financial Profiles. Please go ahead.

Jeffrey Haas

Thank you, Drew. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss Preferred Bank's financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. With me today from management are Chairman and CEO, Li Yu; President and Chief Operating Officer, Wellington Chen; Chief Financial Officer, Edward Czajka, Chief Risk Officer, Nick Pi; and Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Johnny Hsu.

Management will provide a brief summary of the results, and then we will open up the call to your questions. During the course of this conference call, statements made by management may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based upon specific assumptions that may or may not prove correct. Forward-looking statements are also subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Preferred Bank's operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Preferred Bank.

For a detailed description of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the SEC required documents the bank files with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. If any of these uncertainties materialize or any of these assumptions prove incorrect, Preferred Bank's results could differ materially from its expectations as set forth in these statements. Preferred Bank assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Li Yu. Please go ahead.

Li Yu

Thank you. Good day, everyone. Preferred Bank's third quarter net income was $32.9 million or $2.73 per share. This quarter was negatively affected by a $2.1 million recovery of interest income. Deposits grew $77 million or 1.2% on a linked quarter basis as everybody is already aware of that the deposit market is very, very competitive. Looking forward, this condition will likely go into the year 2027. The banks are now not only facing more competition from nonbank institutions, but also strangely, we see many of our customers deposit -- invest extra funds into the treasuries.

Loans for the quarter decreased $40 million after we placed a large credit on the for sale status. Unlike at the beginning of the third quarter when we reported in our last conference phone call, but this time, our pipeline seems to be very solid, and we're very hopeful that in the fourth quarter to have a good solid growth.

As we reported earlier, the net interest -- net interest income was affected by a reversal of interest income, and that has affected our net interest margin. This quarter, net interest margin reported 3.49%. Without this $2.1 million adjustment, it would have been 3.60%.

Going forward, we see a stable interest rate market condition. If the Fed fund is going to adjust higher then it will further benefit our net interest margin as we, Preferred Bank, is an asset-sensitive bank. Resolution of nonaccrual loans is continuing but slower than what we hope for. The level of nonaccrual remains stable, largely because several credit was scheduled to be resolved in this quarter are stuck in the court proceedings that has pushed it back to third and fourth quarter -- fourth quarter next year.

The pace of migration seems a slowdown or subsided. There were only $20 million of additional credit that was classified as substandard that remain on accrual status. The rest of them are all have been included in the non-accural number. We are pleased with our consistent cost control of overhead even under a very inflationary period. And we are constantly looking for opportunities to gradually improve our noninterest income. And with the outlook of a strong 2027 economy and relatively stable interest rate environment, we're looking forward to a good 2027 year. Thank you. Ready for your questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

The first question comes from Matthew Clark with Piper Sandler.

Fragen und Antworten

Matthew Clark

I wanted to start on the deposit side. Maybe, Ed, can you update us on how much in the way of CDs you have maturing here in the fourth quarter and the weighted average roll-off and roll-on rates that you expect?

Edward Czajka

Yes. We have just under $1.7 million maturing in the fourth quarter. So it's a fairly heavy quarter from a maturity standpoint. Weighted average yield is 3.81%. Those are likely to come on anywhere between 3.75% to 4% as they roll over.

Matthew Clark

Okay. So not that big of a headwind there. And then do you happen to have the spot rate -- your deposit cost spot rate at the end of September, if not the month of September?

Edward Czajka

Yes, I do. Total deposit cost was 3.06% for the month of September and the spot margin was 3.58%.

Matthew Clark

Okay. And then deposit beta, I think, on the way down was about 69%. Any thoughts on what you might experience on the way up this time, assuming you get maybe another rate hike in December and maybe one in March?

Edward Czajka

Definitely slower, Matthew. As you can see, we were able to decrease total deposit costs by 3 basis points in very, very difficult rate environment. So I think part of what you see in terms of the deposit growth versus deposit costs was a function of management's discipline toward keeping the deposit costs down, although that likely cost us some growth in the quarter. Our focus is on keeping the costs under control.

Matthew Clark

Okay. And then just a couple on credit. Do you have the criticized loan balance at the end of September, I think it was $170 million at the end of June. And then how much of your NPAs do you think you can get rid of by the end of the first quarter? And any concern around losses there?

Nick Pi

Yes. Matthew, the total classified loan was $177.6 million, which covers classifieds plus $11.5 million OREO, so which is around $17.7 million above what we just disclosed for nonaccrual. So that's the classified loans. So for our solutions side, I believe during the fourth quarter, as Mr. Yu mentioned, that some of the loans actually is in the BK court, but we do believe all these BK proceedings is heading in the right direction and several BK court approved to sell the property in BK court. If that's continued delay, then probably we're going to foreclose and we're going to dispose by ourselves.

So hopefully, by Q4, there will be a couple of large loans will be disposed. However, it still depends on the court decision. So sometimes, even though the collateral property has a good loan to value, and we can fully recover. However, we have to subject to our BK Court's proceedings, and we do have options for handling that as well.

Operator

The next question comes from Andrew Liesch with StoneX Financial.

Andrew Liesch

A question on the loan growth here in the quarter. Were there outsized paydowns? Just what was the cause of the more modest pace of growth than what you might have been expecting?

Li Yu

Do you want to comment about that, Wellington?

Wellington Chen

Yes, Andrew. The loan growth is a combination of both the payoff. We had some unexpected payoffs and also production is -- it wasn't as robust as the second quarter production. But having a lot of loans that's in the pipeline, kind of delay in funding and all that, so it does carry over to this quarter. And that's why we're looking at the fourth quarter together with the new loan production looking at a stronger pipeline.

Andrew Liesch

Got it. Have you had any customers telling you that they may delay projects that may not pencil in face of higher rates?

Wellington Chen

That is the case, too. I mean, with the higher rate, people are a little bit more conscientious about the project itself. But also having said that with the market itself a higher rate, they're actually looking for more option on the opportunity to pick up some better deals.

Andrew Liesch

Got it. And then expenses were very well controlled this quarter, down quite a bit from the second quarter. Anything unique in that number? And where do you think a good jumping off point or a good starting point for the fourth quarter would be?

Edward Czajka

Yes. So we had a decrease in professional services, primarily legal fees, which are typically associated with the problem loans. And then our incentive compensation accrual was lower this quarter than it was in the prior quarter due to profitability being slightly less. On a go-forward basis, I would say for Q4, look for somewhere between $23 million and $24 million, Andrew.

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

The next question comes from Andrew Terrell with Stephens.

Andrew Terrell

Maybe just a housekeeping on the deposits. It looks like a lot of the deposit growth maybe happened towards the end of the quarter, just comparing the end of period versus the average. Anything that you feel like it was more transitory in the deposit base at the end of the period? Or is this the end of period number kind of a good launch point in the fourth quarter?

Edward Czajka

No, it's a good launch point for the next quarter, Andrew. There's nothing magical there. A number of the broker deposits, we have specifically maturing and coming on late in the quarter as opposed to early in the quarter. So that's why you see a bit of a discrepancy between the quarterly average and the month end -- quarter end balance.

Andrew Terrell

Okay. Great. I appreciate it. And then just wanted to get your views on just overall kind of deposit growth in this environment. I appreciate all the color on the loan side. But it sounds like a tougher deposit market, just your views on ability to kind of core fund growth and what kind of cost?

Li Yu

Well, Andrew, the market situation with the deposit pricing is all over the place. You are probably familiar with what bank is posting generally in the 3s for TCDs, okay, because money market and interest-bearing DDAs, it's all over the place. Everybody has a different view with every customer. But on the TCD, which is generally more available information, the banks are in the mid- to high 3s. But all the security houses is in close to mid-4s. And some of them, the latest we see E*TRADE is offering 4.75, okay? And right now, because of Treasury nature is being not taxable in California income tax, which is a 13% top rate. So a 5% Treasury became 5.65% effective yield, okay? So we see many of the customer take up after their CD renewed, they are moving to Treasury. So this is the general market is moving right now with all the interest rate environment, it's all over the place, okay? We just have to do everything we can just hold on to our customers, and meanwhile, try to grow a little bit.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Li Yu for any closing remarks.

Li Yu

Thank you -- well, it's an eventful third quarter for us. We hope that fourth quarter, we'll see operation equally as consistent as we have right now, but hopefully, this -- many of the items we're working on will show positive results. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.