ワシントン・トラスト（WASH）2026年第3四半期決算説明会：マージン拡大、第4四半期のNIM見通しは2.85%〜2.90%

要点

• ワシントン・トラスト・バンコープが発表した2026年第3四半期の純利益は1,940万ドル（1株当たり1.01ドル）となり、第2四半期から340万ドル（1株当たり0.18ドル）増加した。
• 純利息収入は前四半期比7%増、前年同期比15%増の4,470万ドルとなった。純利息マージン（NIM）は2.84%に拡大し、前四半期比で11ベーシスポイント、前年同期比で44ベーシスポイント上昇した。
• 当四半期中の預金は7,700万ドル（1%）増加し、前年同期比では4%増加した。一方、大口市場調達（ホールセール・ファンディング）は6月30日時点から8,000万ドル（18%）減少した。
• 2,230万ドルのオフィスローンの解決を受けて信用指標が改善した。不稼働貸出金の比率は、第2四半期の0.78%から総貸出金の0.48%に低下した。
• 経営陣は第4四半期の純利息マージン見通しを2.85%〜2.90%とした。この見通しには9月の利上げが含まれているが、追加利上げの可能性は除外されている。
• 9月30日時点の商業ローンパイプラインは約2億3,000万ドルで、商工業（C&I）融資が中心となっている。経営陣は引き続き、四半期ベースで2%〜3%の商業ローン成長率を目指している。

主要財務データ

当四半期には、利息計上が再開されたローンに伴う前四半期分の利息収入28万3,000ドルが含まれており、純利息マージンを約2ベーシスポイント押し上げた。実効税率は20.4%であった。

事業および営業業績

ウェルスマネジメント収入は前四半期比で1%減少したものの、前年同期比では7%増加した。預かり資産連動収入の増加は、税務サービス手数料収入の季節的減少によって相殺された。

モーゲージパイプラインの縮小と市場金利の上昇により、モーゲージバンキング収入は減少した。ローン関連デリバティブ収入は92万4,000ドル増加し、銀行保有生命保険（BOLI）収入には95万4,000ドルの利益が含まれた。

第3四半期の貸出増加は商業用不動産が牽引した。経営陣によると、当四半期中のローンポートフォリオ全体の年率成長率は約5%、商業ローンポートフォリオの年率成長率は約10%となった。

約2億3,000万ドルの商業ローンパイプラインは、機関投資家向けバンキンググループの約4,000万ドルを含め、商工業（C&I）融資が中心であった。経営陣は、第3四半期の季節的な軟調さを経て、第4四半期および第1四半期には機関投資家向け取引が活発化すると予想している。

ワシントン・トラストはまた、第4四半期末近くにロードアイランド州の2店舗を開設する準備を進めている。経営陣は、1店舗あたりの継続的な年間経費ランレートを約75万〜80万ドルと見積もっている。

経営陣による業績見通し

経営陣は第4四半期の純利息マージンを2.85%〜2.90%と予想している。ワシントン・トラストは引き続き緩やかな資産感応型を維持しており、ガイダンスには9月の利上げのみが反映されている。経営陣は、25ベーシスポイントの追加利上げごとにマージンのランレートが1〜2ベーシスポイント上昇する可能性があると推計した。

ローンポートフォリオのうち約21億ドルがSOFRまたはプライムレートに連動しており、SOFR連動ローンは通常毎月リセットされる。20億ドルの住宅ローンポートフォリオからのキャッシュフロー再投資により、四半期あたり1〜2ベーシスポイントのマージン押し上げ効果が見込まれる。また、経営陣は解約されたスワップによるさらに4ベーシスポイントのプラス効果も確認した。

店舗、マーケティング、テクノロジー、人件費への投資を反映し、第4四半期の非利息費用は第3四半期から約150万ドル増加する見込みである。これには同社の慈善財団への年間75万ドルの寄付金は含まれていない。経営陣は、この寄付金を含めた第4四半期の費用水準を約4,100万ドルと確認した。

2026年通期の実効税率は約21.5%となる見込みである。

リスクおよび注視事項

優良な商業用不動産資産をめぐる競争圧力は依然として強い。経営陣は市場のスプレッドが170〜180ベーシスポイントの範囲にあることに触れ、低金利で実行された商業用不動産（CRE）ローンの金利改定効果が制限される可能性があると述べた。

入居率は安定しており、コミットされたスポンサーが存在し、返済遅延もないにもかかわらず、潜在的な評価リスクのため、約600万ドルのクラスA物件が不稼働ステータスに移行した。このローンの満期は2031年である。

経営陣は、660万ドルの研究施設（ラボスペース）エクスポージャーからの撤退に向けてスポンサーと協働している。これとは別の2,800万ドルの研究施設物件は入居率95%となっており、テナントの賃料支払い実績の改善が続けば「要注意先」から外れる可能性がある。

売却可能有価証券の公正価値低下と四半期配当により、当四半期中に自己資本は減少した。経営陣は、規制上の自己資本比率は満足のいく水準であるものの、GAAP（米国会計基準）に基づく自己資本比率は同業他社の水準を下回ったままであると述べた。

アナリスト質疑応答のハイライト

• 預金調達：経営陣は、無利息預金の伸びの大部分を機関投資家向けバンキングの顧客関係および関連する運用口座によるものとした。同行は預金の伸びを貸出金の伸びと同程度に維持しつつ、適切な場合には大口市場調達を活用する選択肢も保持する方針である。
• 貸出金の伸び：上半期に返済が活発だったため、2026年暦年で1桁台半ばの成長を達成するほどの規模を回復することは見込んでいない。提示された目標は代わりに、四半期ごとに2%〜3%の商業ローンの伸びを含むランレートを反映している。
• 店舗費用：新設する2店舗の開設前に、採用費用や不動産費用の一部が発生する。経営陣は、店舗が本格稼働を開始するにあたり、2027年第1四半期に四半期ベースで約30万ドルの追加費用が発生するというモデル上の想定は合理的であることに同意した。
• 資本配分：経営陣は現在、自社株買いの計画はない。予想されるバランスシートおよび貸出金の成長を支えるため、資本を維持している。

決算説明会文字起こし全文

決算説明会の完全なトランスクリプト

経営陣による説明

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.'s Q3 2026 Conference Call. My name is Hillary, and I'll be your operator today. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

I'll now turn the call over to Sharon Walsh, Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications. Sharon, please go ahead.

Sharon Walsh

Thank you, Hillary. Good morning, and welcome to Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.'s conference call for the third quarter of 2026.

Joining us this morning are members of Washington Trust's executive team, Ned Handy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Mary Noons, President and Chief Operating Officer; Ron Ohsberg, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and Bill Wray, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer.

Please note that today's presentation may contain forward-looking statements, and our actual results could differ materially from what is discussed on today's call. Our complete safe harbor statement is contained in our earnings release, which was issued yesterday, as well as other documents that are filed with the SEC.

All of these materials and other public filings are available on our Investor Relations website at ir.washtrust.com. Washington Trust trades on NASDAQ under the symbol WASH.

I'm now pleased to introduce you to today's host, Washington Trust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ned Handy. Ned?

Edward Handy

Thank you, Sharon. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our third quarter conference call. We continue to appreciate your time and your interest in Washington Trust. I'll begin with a few comments about the quarter, and then Ron will provide more detail on our financial performance.

Following our remarks, Mary and Bill will join us for the question-and-answer session. We delivered another strong quarter marked by growth in earnings and net interest income, continued margin expansion and improved operating efficiency. Our asset quality metrics improved, reflecting the resolution of a commercial real estate office loan. Our capital position remains strong and supports prudent growth.

We're continuing to expand our presence in Rhode Island with 2 new branches opening in the coming months. These locations will provide the trusted advice, comprehensive solutions, convenience and personalized service that our customers deserve.

We look forward to building long-term financial partnerships with individuals, families and businesses in these markets.

And now I'll turn the call over to Ron to provide additional details on our third quarter financial results. Ron?

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. Thanks, Ned, and good morning, everyone. Third quarter net income was $19.4 million or $1.01 per share, up by $3.4 million or $0.18 from the preceding quarter. Pre-provision pretax net revenue, or PPNR, was up 20% from Q2 and up by 26% year-over-year. Net interest income was $44.7 million, up by 7% from Q2 and up by 15% year-over-year.

The margin was 2.84%, up by 11 basis points from Q2 and up by 44 basis points year-over-year. The third quarter included $283,000 of second quarter interest income from a loan that was returned to accrual during the quarter, and this benefited the NIM by about 2 basis points.

Noninterest income was up by $1.6 million or 9% compared to Q2 and by -- up by 15% year-over-year. Wealth management revenues were down by 1% compared to Q2 and up by 7% year-over-year. In the third quarter, an increase in asset-based revenues were offset by a decline in tax servicing fee -- a seasonal decline in tax servicing fee income.

Mortgage banking revenues totaled $3.2 million, down by 9% from the second quarter and down by 10% year-over-year, reflecting a decrease in the mortgage pipeline as well as rising market interest rates. Loan-related derivative income was up by $924,000 and income from bank-owned life insurance was up largely due to the recognition of a gain of $954,000 in the third quarter.

Noninterest expense totaled $38.8 million in the third quarter, up by $200,000 or 0.5%. Our third quarter effective tax rate was 20.4%, and we expect our full year 2026 rate to be approximately 21.5%.

Turning to the balance sheet. Total loans were up by 1% from June 30. Total commercial loans increased by $62 million or 2.3%, driven by growth in the CRE portfolio. Deposits were up by $77 million or 1% from the end of the second quarter and up by $213 million or 4% year-over-year. And wholesale funding was down by $80 million or 18% from the end of June.

Total equity amounted to $531 million, down by $23 million from the end of the second quarter. In the third quarter, net income was offset by a decline in the fair value of available-for-sale debt securities as well as the quarterly dividend. The dividend remains at $0.56 per share.

Turning to asset and credit quality. Overall, our asset and credit quality metrics improved. At September 30, nonaccruing loans were 48 basis points on total loans, decreasing from 78 basis points and past due loans were 54 basis points on total loans, down by -- down from 81 basis points at the end of the second quarter.

The improvement was largely driven by the resolution of an office loan of $22.3 million that was placed on nonaccrual in the first quarter. During the third quarter, this loan was restructured, resulting in $18.5 million being returned to accrual and $3.8 million being charged off. In the third quarter, we recognized $1.8 million provision for credit losses.

And at this time, I will turn the call back over to Ned.

Edward Handy

Thanks, Ron, and we'll move to question and answers.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Justin Crowley from Piper Sandler. A reminder to unmute yourself locally if you would like to ask the question on your device. I will move to the next question. Please rejoin the queue if you are looking to ask a question. Your next call comes from the line of Damon DelMonte from KBW.

質疑応答

Damon Del Monte

Just wanted to start on the outlook for the margin. You've had a string of consecutive quarters of nice margin expansion. And just kind of curious, Ron, to get your thoughts on how you see it kind of playing out over the back half of this year and as we go into '27, especially with the rate hike that we had in September and the prospects of additional hikes over the coming quarters as well.

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. So, Damon, it's probably a little early to be talking about 2027, but our -- we've revised our guidance for Q4. We're going to guide to a range of 2.85% to 2.90%.

Damon Del Monte

Okay, great. When we think about...

Ronald Ohsberg

So, yes, I would say that we remain modestly asset sensitive. So, that guidance includes just the September rate hike at this point. And we think that each 25 basis point hike probably gives us 1 to 2 basis points on the run rate.

Damon Del Monte

2 basis points on the run rate. Okay, great. And then kind of along those lines, the noninterest-bearing deposit growth has been really strong in the last couple of quarters. Just any color on what's driving that?

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. I think a good part of it is the institutional banking team onboarding operating accounts related to the relationships that they're bringing in is probably the biggest driver. But I think we have kind of an across-the-board approach to taking in deposits across both retail and commercial at this point. So, yes, we had pretty good growth in the quarter, and we'll see if we can maintain that.

Damon Del Monte

Got it. Okay. And then just one more for me. On the expense outlook, a good quarter this quarter, pretty much flat. Just curious on your outlook for the fourth quarter and kind of any puts and takes around that.

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. Yes. So, listen, on the last call, we guided to a $1 million increase in the quarter, and we came in below that. I would say a lot of that is timing related. So, we're going to see a shift to some of that previously expected expense growth shifting into the fourth quarter.

So, for the fourth quarter, we're looking at an increase of about $1.5 million. We are making some targeted investments in a few areas, including some new branches that are coming online, some marketing spend, some technology spend, some personnel spend, kind of that $1.5 million is kind of evenly distributed across that.

That -- none of that includes our annual $750,000 contribution to our charitable foundation. So, that would be incremental to the $1.5 million.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Justin Crowley from Piper Sandler.

Justin Crowley

Hopefully, you can hear me now.

Edward Handy

We can, Justin.

Justin Crowley

Perfect. Ron, just going back to the margin. If I remember correctly, I believe you were going to get another 4 basis points benefit from the terminated swap this quarter. So, I just wanted to confirm that, that was the case.

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes, it is.

Justin Crowley

Okay. And then I guess just looking out a little further, do you have detail on what loan repricings look like if we go out to the end of 2027? What that looks like from a volume and then just rate pickup standpoint?

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. So, we've got, call it, about $2.1 billion of SOFR and prime-based loans. So, each -- those SOFR loans are resetting monthly. So, that's kind of the repricing that we see immediately every time the Fed makes a change.

Justin Crowley

Okay. And then -- but for the -- like the fixed to floating or any of the like 5-year CRE paper, do you get any benefit there, just kind of given some of the growth you put on back in 2022?

Ronald Ohsberg

I'm sorry, say that again, Justin.

Justin Crowley

Just for the 5-year fixed to floating type commercial real estate paper. If I just kind of like look back to growth you put on 5 years ago, I would think there's some benefit there as we get into next year, although perhaps not.

Edward Handy

Yes. I would say -- Justin, it's Ned. I would say that CRE loans that are maturing that were underwritten at much lower rates are obviously -- to the extent that they do extend and don't pay off, we still see a fair amount of those paying off even before maturity. But I'd say we get a little bit of a lift, obviously, from the lows.

I will tell you, though, that what we're seeing in the market in general is spreads are tightening. As rates rise, they tend to, especially in sort of high-quality assets. So, we're seeing spreads in the, I don't know, 170s, 180s for high-quality assets. So, that bites into that benefit a little bit.

And obviously, there's a lot of competition for quality assets. So, it's a mix. I mean I think we're getting a little bit of a lift off of the lows. But I think in general, the market is very competitive and spreads are getting a little thinner.

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. So, Justin, I can add to that. Really, there's more of a tangible benefit, I think, on the residential side. We've got a $2 billion residential book. So, as that's amortizing and we're reinvesting those cash flows, that's giving us a tailwind of about 1 to 2 basis points a quarter.

Justin Crowley

Okay. Got it. That's helpful. And then just on loan growth, I think you guys have talked about mid-single digits previously. It seems like that might be tough to get to just barring a really strong fourth quarter. So, just kind of curious how you're thinking about that trend line from here.

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. Yes. So, listen, I would say when we think about mid-single digits, we're really talking about run rate versus calendar year. So, we had strong payoffs in the first and second quarter. So, we're not going to make that up inside of 2026.

But I think our loan growth in the second quarter and in the third quarter was pretty strong, and we're looking at annualized total portfolio growth of 5%, and we're looking at within the commercial book about 10%. So, this quarter, the commercial book delivered 2.3%. That's kind of within our target range of 2% to 3% quarterly commercial growth, which over the year, we're looking at that averaging out to about 10% annualized growth.

Justin Crowley

Okay. Got it. And then maybe just one last one as a follow-up to that a little. Just any thoughts on the mix as we go forward? You saw CRE come back after the slower first half with some of the payoffs you alluded to and then the softer period on the C&I or institutional group. So, just kind of curious how you're thinking about both of those areas?

Edward Handy

Yes, that's a good question. And I think as we guided, the growth in Q3 would be sort of real estate heavy given the seasonality of the institutional, especially in the education space, the institutional business. But the pipeline going forward, I mean, we've got about a $230 million pipeline as of 9/30, which is weighted towards C&I, with about $40 million of that today in the institutional group.

We did do a $10 million New England school deal in the third quarter. So, there was a little bit of institutional, but I think it kind of followed as we predicted that it would slow down a little bit in Q3 and pick up Q4 and into Q1. But pipeline is pretty strong and again, weighted towards commercial.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Laurie Hunsicker, who is a private investor.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Laurie Hunsicker from Seaport. I just wanted to circle back here on expenses. I just want to make sure that I'm getting this right. So, round numbers, you're going to be about $41 million or so for the fourth quarter, including the Charitable Foundation of $750,000?

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. And then obviously, that is including the branch spend, the Bristol and the Pawtucket. Can you update us on exactly when those are opening? And then just help us think about is that fourth quarter then a fully baked run rate? Or how should we be thinking about that?

Ronald Ohsberg

No. They're coming on. Laurie, I don't have the exact timing, but right around the end of the quarter. There is some ramp-up spending that occurs. We have to hire the people. We've got some real estate costs. So, some of that expense is -- you can see it in our -- you will see it in our run rate even before the branch is opened. But the ongoing run rate for a branch is around $750,000 to $800,000 a year.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. So, just in terms of 1-quarter expense modeling, just thinking about maybe another $400,000 add for those branches to be fully phased. Or maybe it's a little less, maybe it's 150 a branch or maybe 300 additional -- $300,000 additional of expense into the first quarter of '27.

Ronald Ohsberg

I think that's fair. Yes.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Okay. And do you have any branches planned now for 2027?

Ronald Ohsberg

We have nothing planned, although I would say that we are still interested in expanding the branch footprint. So, nothing to talk about yet, but in coming quarters, we probably have something to talk about there.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Okay. Great. Yes, loved seeing your deposit growth and just very. You held the line almost across the board on raising rates there. So, your loan-to-deposit ratio now sitting below 95%, which is great. Can you help us think about what that target looks like into next year? And then maybe, Ned, just very high level, can you talk about the competitive pressures you're seeing on deposit costs in order to grow those buckets?

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. So, yes, we're very pleased with our loan-to-deposit ratio, which is at a level a low level that we've rarely been at in the past. And as you know, Laurie, we've been quite a bit higher than that previously. We're committed to maintaining our deposit growth in the neighborhood of where our loan growth is. Our loan growth will be higher in the coming couple of years than it has been in the previous couple of years.

So, we will have our work cut out for us to keep that deposit growth going and making sure that we can fund those loans. We don't have -- we've got internal policy limits and things of that nature. But I don't have a target loan-to-deposit ratio to share with you. I will say that we would rely on wholesale funding to some degree to fund appropriate loan growth when we get to that point. I don't know. That's about the best I can tell you.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Okay. And do you have a spot margin?

Ronald Ohsberg

Yes. I mean, call it 2.85% for September.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Great. And then I just had a couple of questions on credit. Loved, obviously, seeing the $22 million resolution. The $6 million Class A that was new into nonperformers, I guess, what is that loan? What's the occupancy? What's maybe your thoughts on timing of resolution there?

William Wray

Laurie, this is Bill Wray. That's been there for a while. Committed sponsors never missed a payment, but we just felt it was the appropriate time to look at potential valuation risk, but the property doesn't mature until 2031. So, occupancy has been level, but it's not at stabilized levels. So, we felt that was just the right step to take at this point.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. But so last quarter, it was performing and then you moved it to nonperformer. I'm just wondering what triggered that?

William Wray

I'm just thinking about valuation risk, I think, and we felt it was the right time. Again, there's been no change in commitment from the sponsors, no change in occupancy up or down. And as you said, they've never missed a payment.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Okay. Great. And then I just wondered on the $6.6 million lab space, any update on that? I know that was in sort of initial lease-up phase, I think last time we were chatting. Any color to add there?

William Wray

We are working with the sponsors on that and moving towards an exit scenario. And so we're in the middle of those discussions.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Okay. And then last one for me. The $28 million lab space that's unclassified, I think there was a thought that, that potentially could be returning here to -- that it could certainly be migrating out of special mention here in the next couple of quarters. I have in my notes that property was fully leased. Can you just update us on when we might see movement in that?

William Wray

It's fully leased, 95%. We've been waiting for the tenants to burn off free rent and show performance. All trends have been positive. And so we're feeling reasonably good about a near-term move out of special mention. But until we have all the quarter-end information in terms of rent payments, we don't -- we can't commit to that yet, but that's where it's headed, we think.

Laura Havener Hunsicker

Okay. Great. And then one very last question, Ned, for you. Obviously, your capital ratios are very, very strong here. Can you just refresh us on revisiting the buyback and how you're thinking about that?

Edward Handy

Yes. I mean we don't have any plans to buy stock back at this point, the price is high. I mean we've got the capital. We've got other things to invest in, and we want to make sure we have ample capital to support the growth we're looking forward to on the loan side. So, I think we'll kind of keep our position of holding off on repurchases at the moment. Ron, I don't know if you have other...

Ronald Ohsberg

No, that's it. I mean we've got plans to grow the balance sheet. So, we're going to hold on to that capital right now. Laurie, I mean, listen, our regulatory capital ratios look fine. Our GAAP capital ratios remain on the lighter side of the peer group. We recognize that. We've recognized that for a while. So, I think the prudent thing for us to do right now is to deploy that capital into the growth of the business.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Ned Handy, Chairman and CEO, for closing remarks.

Edward Handy

Well, thank you, everybody. Again, we appreciate your time and your interest in Washington Trust and very much look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. Have a great day, everybody.

Operator

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