アメリス・バンコープ（ABCB）2026年第3四半期決算説明会：EPSは5年ぶりの高水準を記録

アメリス・バンコープ（NASDAQ: ABCB）は、純利息収入の増加、費用抑制、および継続的なバランスシートの拡大に支えられ、2026年第3四半期の希薄化後EPSが過去5年間で最高水準に達したと発表しました。預金獲得競争が激化する中、経営陣は融資価格の設定において規律あるアプローチを維持しました。

主要なポイント

• 純利益は1億1,610万ドルに達し、希薄化後EPSは過去5年間で最高となる1.73ドルに上昇しました。
• 純利息収入は520万ドル増加して2億5,770万ドルとなりました。純利息マージンは3.87%で、前四半期から1ベーシスポイント低下しました。
• 平均収益資産は3億50万ドル増加（年率4.5%増）しました。貸出金は1億7,310万ドル増加（年率約3%増）しました。
• 預金は3億1,940万ドル増加し、無利息預金が預金構成全体の29.2%を占めました。
• 総資産利益率（ROA）が1.61%、PPNR ROAが2.27%、有形自己資本利益率（ROTCE）が15.01%となり、収益性は引き続き堅調でした。
• 経営陣は、短期的な貸出金および預金の伸び率が1桁台半ばになると予想する一方で、預金コストの上昇と競争激化が今後数四半期にわたりマージンを圧迫する可能性があると警告しています。

主要財務データ

事業および営業業績

四半期の新規融資実行額は23億ドルと堅調を維持しました。商業・産業（C&I）向け融資、住宅ローン、建設融資などに幅広く分散して拡大したものの、商業用不動産（CRE）における繰上返済の高水準な推移によって一部相殺されました。

経営陣によると、CREの繰上返済利率は新規融資の利回りよりも約100ベーシスポイント低い水準でした。繰上返済により収益資産は縮小したものの、より利回りの高い新規融資への付け替えが進んだことでマージンの採算性が保たれました。四半期末時点のCREおよび建設融資の集中度は、それぞれ250%と50%となりました。

預金の伸びは引き続きコアとなる顧客関係に重点が置かれました。資金調達の30%近くが無利息口座からとなっており、無利息口座やNOW口座を含む当座預金口座が全体の約48%を占めました。

住宅ローンの新規実行額は13.7%減少、住宅ローン手数料収入は10.1%減少しました。同社は収入減に伴い、住宅ローン関連の人件費を削減しました。住宅購入向けローンが住宅ローン構成の90%以上を占め続けていますが、住宅在庫の不足や第4四半期および第1四半期の定常的な季節要因が引き続き制約となっています。

ナッシュビルのチームは、預金主導型戦略により顧客関係の構築を継続しました。同拠点による貢献度はまだ比較的わずかですが、調達構成は想定通りに展開していると経営陣は述べています。

経営陣の見通し

経営陣は、短期的な貸出金および預金の伸び率を1桁台半ばと予測しています。長期的な貸出金の成長ペースは、預金の伸びによって制約・調整される見込みです。

同社は、収益資産の拡大により純利息収入が成長し続けると見込んでいます。しかし、預金コストの上昇と競合圧力により、今後数四半期で純利息マージンが圧縮する可能性があると経営陣はみています。同社のバランスシートはほぼ中立ですが、わずかにアセット・センシティブ（金利上昇局面で有利）であり、同社の試算によれば25ベーシスポイントの利上げごとにマージンが約1ベーシスポイント押し上げられる見込みです。

調整後エフィシエンシー・レシオは、2026年通期で約50%となる見通しです。

2027年について、経営陣は四半期のコア費用を約1億6,500万ドル〜1億6,900万ドルと見込んでいます。住宅ローン収入や関連費用が現在の予想と異なる場合、この範囲は変更される可能性があります。同社は現在、来年の住宅ローン事業活動がほぼ横ばい、またはやや減少すると見込んでいます。

短期的な年率換算純貸倒損失率は、20〜25ベーシスポイントの範囲内にとどまる見込みです。

リスクと注視すべき領域

預金獲得競争は、短期的なマージンにおける最大のリスクです。経営陣は、有利息預金の金利上昇と、無利息預金から有利息預金への潜在的な資金シフトの両方を注視しています。

貸出金利の獲得競争も引き続き激化しています。同社は採算の合わない価格設定の取引は追求せず、不必要なバランスシートの拡大よりも収益性を伴う成長を優先すると述べています。

当四半期中、要注意先・要管理先債権や不導体資産（NPA）の動きを含め、信用指標は一定の正常化を見せました。経営陣は、この資産質の悪化は構造的・システム的なものではないとし、同社の要注意先債権比率1.15%は電話会議で言及された同業他社と比較して引き続き良好な水準にあると指摘しました。

住宅ローン活動は、在庫不足、季節的に落ち込む四半期、および高金利環境の長期化に直面しています。また、借入手がマクロ経済状況を見極める中で新規プロジェクトに一定の慎重さを示すと予想されますが、第3四半期末時点で既存の融資パイプラインに解約などの悪影響は見られていません。

アナリスト質疑応答の要点

• 融資需要とパイプライン：経営陣によると、パイプラインは第3四半期末時点で第2四半期の水準を上回り、十分な案件量を維持しています。既存プロジェクトは進行中ですが、顧客は2026年第4四半期および2027年第1四半期における新規プロジェクトの開始に対して慎重になる可能性があります。
• 借入手の返済能力：同社は、借入手が概して十分な自己資本、現金、元利金返済カバー率を有しており、段階的な利上げを吸収できると考えています。経営陣は、規律ある融資審査が引き続き不可欠であると強調しました。
• 預金および融資の価格設定：9月の預金コストは四半期平均レベルを約3ベーシスポイント上回りましたが、資産利回りは約5ベーシスポイント上昇しました。無利息預金構成のおかげで、拡大は引き続きマージン向上に寄与しました。
• 余剰流動性：預金の伸びが貸出金の伸びを上回った場合、有価証券の購入を増やす可能性があると経営陣は説明しました。現在、債券ポートフォリオは収益資産の約10%を占めています。
• 資本配分：オーガニック成長が引き続き最優先事項であり、次いで新たに承認された2億ドルの自社株買い枠に基づく機動的な自社株買いとなります。配当は控えめな水準を維持し、選別的なM&Aは優先順位が最後で、企業文化と財務面の両方での適合が必要となります。
• 採用および営業レバレッジ：経営陣は、優秀な人材の強化・獲得には選別的でありながらも、大幅な追加採用を行うことなく現在のチームで1桁台半ばの成長を支えることができると考えています。

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 the Ameris Bancorp Third Quarter Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. [Operator Instructions] Please also note today's event is being recorded.

At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to Nicole Stokes, Chief Financial Officer. Ma'am, please go ahead.

Nicole Stokes

Great. Thank you, Jamie, and thank you to all who have joined our call today. During the call, we will be referencing the press release and the financial highlights that are available on the Investor Relations section of our website at amerisbank.com.

I'm joined today by Palmer Proctor, our CEO; and Doug Strange, our Chief Credit Officer. Palmer will begin with opening comments, and then I will discuss the details of our financial results before we open up for Q&A. But before we begin, I'll remind you that our comments may include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The actual results could vary materially.

We list some of the factors that might cause results to differ in our press release and in our SEC filings, which are available on our website. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, early developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Also during the call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in reference to the company's performance. You can see our reconciliation of these measures and GAAP financial measures in the appendix to our presentation. And with that, I'll turn it over to Palmer.

H. Proctor

Thank you, Nicole. Good morning, everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to join our third quarter earnings call today. Our focus at Ameris continues to be on building core franchise value through profitable growth strong profitability metrics and disciplined balance sheet management, including our priority of tangible book value growth.

And this quarter, again, supported all of these core fundamentals and resulted in a 5-year record high EPS of $1.73 per diluted share. During the quarter, we experienced good organic growth and average earning assets at approximately 5% annualized and deposits at 6% annualized -- and importantly, we were able to drive this growth while protecting our above-average margin of 3.87% in the quarter.

All profitability metrics remain strong, including our ROA of over 1.60%, our PPNR ROA of 2.27%and our return on tangible common equity of 15%, even with our strong capital levels. We continue to concentrate on profitable growth and positive operating leverage, which is evident in the improvement in our efficiency ratio hovering around 50% for the year. Our disciplined management of the balance sheet has us well positioned for the future.

Our reserve coverage is strong at 1.62% of total loans, which represents 35% of portfolio NPAs. Our capital level with over 13% common equity Tier 1 positions us well for future organic growth in our attractive southeastern markets. We will also consider additional share buybacks and as our Board recently approved another $200 million repurchase authorization. On an annualized basis, reported tangible book value per share grew 5% in the quarter -- excluding the impact of AOCI, tangible book value growth would have been over 14%.

Our loan growth production was $2.3 billion in the quarter, which was consistent with last quarter's remaining at a very healthy level. our profitable loan growth was driven by a mix of C&I, residential mortgage and construction and was partially offset by elevated CRE payoffs. On the deposit side, we saw growth in the mid-single-digit range, with our focus being on core deposits and relationship banking.

We have a granular deposit base and almost 30% of our funding from noninterest-bearing accounts and almost 48% of our accounts are checking, both noninterest-bearing and now accounts. Credit quality normalized some in the quarter, but remains very favorable compared to peer. CRE and construction concentrations finished the quarter at 250%, and 50% respectively.

Overall, I'm very pleased with our financial performance in the third quarter. We're well positioned as we go into 2027 as we continue to focus on organic and profitable growth our attractive southeastern footprint. I'll stop there and turn it over to Nicole to discuss our third quarter financial results.

Nicole Stokes

Great. Thank you, Palmer. In the third quarter, we reported net income of $116.1 million or $1.73 per diluted share. Our return on assets was $1.61. Our PPNR ROA was $2.27, and our return on tangible common equity was 15.01% for the quarter. Our adjusted efficiency ratio improved to 49.15% this quarter from 50.42% last quarter as we saw an increase in revenue and a decrease in expenses.

For the year, our adjusted efficiency ratio is 49.84% and I anticipate ending the year around that 50% ratio. Capital levels continue to increase and tangible book value per share grew to 45.65% during the quarter. Our tangible common equity ratio increased to 11.14% and our total risk-based capital was back up to 15%. While we were not active in the buyback this quarter, our Board has recently approved another $200 million share repurchase plan.

Net interest income increased $5.2 million this quarter for a total of $257.7 million. We were pleased with our net interest margin of 3.87% just 1 basis point below the 388 we reported last quarter. Our loan yield improvement was offset by the increase in funding costs and our bond portfolio declined slightly as expected as we had a bump in the bond yield last quarter from the inflation bonds.

Our asset liability sensitivity is very close to neutral, but we do believe that some margin compression is possible over the next few quarters due to higher deposit costs and competition. We continue to focus on profitable growth, and we expect that our net interest income will continue to grow through that earning asset growth. Adjusted noninterest income decreased approximately $2 million this quarter, mostly from lower mortgage revenue as the production fell mortgage production declined about 13.7%, but our fees only declined about 10.1% this quarter.

Again, another testament to our focus on profitable production and profitable growth. Adjusted noninterest expense also decreased this quarter by approximately $2.5 million, driven mostly by lower mortgage-related compensation. Overall, asset quality remains strong with nonperforming assets and net charge-offs at low levels. Annualized net charge-offs improved to 19 basis points this quarter. We continue to anticipate net charge-offs in that 20 to 25 basis point range near term.

On the provision, we recorded about $12.6 million of provision in the third quarter, which was a decline of about $4.7 million compared to last quarter and our reserve coverage remains strong at 1.62. Looking at our balance sheet, we ended the quarter with about $28.5 billion of total assets, up slightly from the second quarter. but our average earning assets grew $300.5 million in the quarter or 4.5% annualized.

Loans grew $173.1 million or about 3% annualized with our loan pipelines and production remaining at healthy levels. Total deposits grew $319.4 million, partially helped by the beginning of our seasonal inflows of public funds, and our noninterest-bearing mix remained strong at 29.2%. We project loan and deposit growth in the mid-single-digit range near term and expect that longer-term deposit growth will be the governor of loan growth.

Overall, it was another outstanding quarter for us. And with that, I'm going to wrap it up and turn it over to the operator for any questions from the group. James, please go ahead.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question today comes from Russell Gunther from Stephens.

質疑応答

Russell Elliott Gunther

I wanted to start off on the loan growth discussion, the call. I appreciate the kind of mid-single-digit near-term outlook. I guess maybe could we start with sort of how you're thinking about the mix of that growth in the fourth quarter, perhaps what the CRE pay down might contribute there?

And then just stepping back, bigger picture with the backup in rates and anticipated future hikes. Is there an absolute level of rates where demand destruction occurs and that general target of mid-single-digit growth becomes at risk.

Nicole Stokes

So I would start by saying that the mix of the loan growth, I think, will be very consistent with what you saw this quarter, assuming that loan that the CRE pay off, if they slow a little bit, you could see some growth there as well. When we look at our production, we were really pleased with the production as diversified as it is -- as it was. -- and some of that production will fund in future quarters.

So again, looking at CRE, the premium finance, residential. We really have a lot of opportunity for diversification. So I think it will be very consistent with what you saw this quarter. Hopefully, there's -- I always say, I'm a split personality on the CRE payoffs. I certainly like seeing the payoff that shows a healthy market. And again, when the payoffs are coming off 100 basis points less than our production, that's good for the margins. So I like it from that side.

But then the other side of me as the CFO, I hate to lose earning assets. So -- but again, if we can refill them at 100 basis points higher, we certainly will take that. So assuming CRE payoff level off, we could see a little bit of growth in CRE next quarter as well, but I think it will be pretty diversified.

And then I think your second question was on the loan rates and at what point do we start seeing some pullback. I think for us, we've been so focused on profitable growth and that we've said for many, many quarters now that we don't think we need to get bigger just to get bigger, we need to get bigger to get better. And so we've been focused on that profitable growth, and I think that will continue into next quarter.

So those loans, whatever we -- on the loan side, we expect the deposit side to be commensurate. And so we'll continue to focus on that profitable growth and kind of mid-single-digit loan growth going forward.

Russell Elliott Gunther

Got it. Okay. Excellent. Very helpful. And then maybe just switching gears on to the expense side of things. You kind of gave us where you expect the efficiency to shake out for the year. How are you thinking about '27? What's a reasonable kind of growth rate as you guys contemplate continued investments in lending talent and tech?

Nicole Stokes

Yes. I think that right now, consensus has us growing at about 6.8% to 7%. And I think that might be a little bit aggressive, but I think the first quarter is very close. I think where we start getting into maybe consensus being a little bit high is when we kind of look going into the second, third and fourth quarter that right now, I think consensus has expenses going up but they also have mortgage revenue going up.

So assuming mortgage revenue, again, kind of take that noise out for a minute and assume just core expenses, I think probably somewhere in the $165 million to $169 million a quarter for the year. And so I think consensus might be a little bit high there as we're getting more into our budget season but I do think that mortgage, of course, could change that. So if something happened in the rate environment and we were surprised, and we saw some room from mortgage to grow, you'd see some expenses grow there.

But we're, at this point, anticipating mortgage to be pretty consistent, maybe even down a little bit next year. So those expenses would be affected as well.

Operator

Our next question comes from Woody Lay from KBW.

Wood Lay

Maybe a follow-up on the profitable growth. And we saw a pretty big move in rates this past quarter. I got the Fed rate hike. Are you all seeing the benefit of that on new loan production? Or is competition impacting some of that benefit?

H. Proctor

Woody. Yes, I would tell you, when you look at the growth in our markets, which are very competitive markets, but growth markets, the thing we're focused on, as Nicole touched on was that profitable loan growth. And our growth is really going to be guided by the opportunities in our market and the economic conditions surrounding that.

So it will remain measured and disciplined and profitable. But the thing we're focused on too is we've been able to grow mid-single digits, while also protecting the NIM, and that's important to us. We don't feel like we need to chase deals. We are seeing a lot of irrational pricing out there. But we would rather be measured in that approach than be foolish and trying to compete with some of the rates that we're seeing out there.

There is a lot of disruption if that is part of your question. And so that does present opportunities. But then how those deals are priced will come down to our disciplines here at the bank, and we're pretty disciplined.

Wood Lay

Got it. That's helpful. And then maybe shifting over to deposit costs. And I was just interested if how you all were thinking about deposit betas in an upgrade cycle, especially if we got additional rate hikes? And then kind of where -- if you all had a spot deposit cost at the end of September with the September hike?

Nicole Stokes

We do. So when we look at betas, the rate hike was so late in the quarter that it's -- I hate to even give the betas out because I think a lot of that's going to happen kind of in the first kind of month of the fourth quarter kind of in October is really we're going to see that. So when you look at kind of our prior up-cycle betas and then our down cycle betas, we would expect this cycle to be very similar to the prior cycles.

And right now, we're beating that a little bit. But again, I think some of that could come out kind of in the fourth quarter. And then when you look at our spot deposit rates for the end of the quarter, our production for the quarter on new production, so I think there's 2 questions there, production versus spot rates. New production was just slightly higher than the second quarter. But when you look at September production versus June production, they were actually almost exactly the same.

And then when you look at spot quarter, I'm sorry, spot deposit costs for the last month just for the month of September, it was about 3 basis points higher than the quarter but our assets were about 5 basis points higher. So there was definitely a positive trend that we liked at the end of the quarter.

Wood Lay

That's great to hear. I mean I guess the -- with deposit costs increasing quarter-over-quarter. I'm just curious if the increase is a reflection of the competition driving it up? I mean it feels like the industry might have front ran the hike a little bit -- but it sounds like there will be that catch-up in the fourth quarter as you talked about?

Nicole Stokes

I do. I think you're actually right on both accounts, if that's possible. So I do think that deposit competition. And when we kind of look at our margin, we've got some headwinds and some tailwinds, and it's always that way. From a tailwind perspective, we are slightly asset sensitive. So every 25 basis point hike should be about 1 basis point of margin from a modeling perspective.

The steeper curve and Fed increasing helps us with our balance sheet. But then the headwind against that, which is exactly what you said, is that competitive pressure. We feel it definitely on the deposit side. The asset spread and the deposit pricing. So we're watching both of those very, very closely. And then the other piece of that is that deposit mix.

If you start -- if we start seeing migration from noninterest-bearing into interest-bearing. So those was -- both of those 2 things would affect the deposit costs. The mix as well as competitive pricing, which is why my margin guidance is down a little bit. I think we're going to bump around a few basis points up and down for a few quarters as all this settles.

H. Proctor

But you know, one other point on that, I think it's important to remember from an industry perspective is that we like to talk about all this increasing deposit costs. But what you need to remember is assuming you've got discipline, most people are going to also price up on the loan side to offset a lot of that deposit cost.

So I think people are on the assumption that loan rates are going to stay the same and deposit rates are going to go up. Well, that's if you're running that model, it's going to be short-lived. So I would tell you that the way to look at it is, is any increase in deposit costs, hopefully, the majority of that will be passed along in the loan cost too. So there will be a balance there as we go forward as an industry.

Wood Lay

Yes. That's really helpful color. Well, that's all for me.

Nicole Stokes

Thanks, Woody. .

Operator

Our next question comes from Stephen Scouten from Piper Sandler.

Stephen Scouten

Maybe jump in a little bit on that last comment that you made, the ability to get higher loan rates as rates move higher and deposit costs seem to be going up. What do you feel like is the appetite for your customer base in your markets today, maybe kind of the economic stability and ability to kind of absorb slightly higher rates on the borrowing side?

H. Proctor

Yes. I think the -- I think there's a lot of capacity there, not just for our bank but for the industry because when you look at the sponsorship behind a lot of deals today and equity in the deals today, and the cash and a lot of the deals today and debt service coverage, more importantly, under stress scenarios, there's a lot of capacity there, unlike what we've had in prior times, especially during recessionary times.

So I think a lot of -- and especially if it's gradual, this 25 basis points and 50 basis points, [ natioratic ], and we jump up 75 basis points to 100 basis points in short order, that does have a shock effect, but in terms of our -- especially our C&I group to be able to absorb that additional rate increase, that capacity is there, the way we underwrite.

I think the most important thing is just making sure you're being disciplined, not chasing deals in terms of getting tight on that debt service coverage from the start because if you're already tight from the beginning and then you do have an increase in rates, which we all expect, then that's where things can get a little heated. But right now, based on our book and what we're seeing on the stress scenarios, which Doug and his team run, we've got plenty of capacity there, which is encouraging to see.

Stephen Scouten

Great. That's helpful. And you guys -- maybe if we can talk about the mortgage business a little bit, have always had a really stable, strong mortgage business even in the face of a lot of volatility. Can you talk about maybe how the purchase business, in particular, is trending as of late? And if you expect any material help from if it holds, of course, has moved back down slightly in the 10-year?

H. Proctor

Yes. I mean it's all relative right in terms of timing in the mortgage industry, and we are getting ready to move into some seasonally slower quarters in terms of fourth quarter and first quarter. But what we've also done, as you've seen this quarter is you've got to make sure that your -- the expense side is proportion to the revenue decline, and that's what we've done a good job of managing those expenses.

I think right now, there's limited inventory. Our purchase mix right now still runs 90-plus percent purchase versus refi. And -- but when you're in transient markets like we are in some of the higher-growth markets, there's still opportunity there. I think a lot of folks, what we're going to find is if there is a pullback in the 10-year that most folks are going to go ahead and take advantage of that because I think people have come to the realization that rates are going to remain relatively or a higher rate environment for an extended period of time.

So what we're encouraging borrowers to do is go ahead and make that purchase and allow us to fund that and then we can always refi later. So I think any pullback we see could be very helpful to the volume, which for all of us has moderated considerably, especially as we move into fourth and first quarter.

Stephen Scouten

Yes, that makes sense. And how -- just at a high level, how do you guys think about the efficiency ratio on average for that business? Versus the rest of the bank?

H. Proctor

It's running higher now than we would like. Typically, for us, it runs in the 60% range. And then now it's considerably higher than that just given where we are. We have been able to maintain. We had a little improvement in the gain on sale this quarter too. But I think the key to being -- having that efficiency there is making sure that as your revenue declines or expenses are also declining at the same time.

And back to my earlier point, that's what's been evident in how we've operated our mortgage company. And we'll continue to. And then on the flip side of that, as you garner some benefit from technology and automating everything you've got in terms of being able to lever up the platform. So we spend equally as much time on trying to figure out how we can build capacity into the platform with what we have as opposed to just WACC in expenses.

Stephen Scouten

Yes. No, that's very helpful. Great. Congrats on a really good quarter.

H. Proctor

Thank you.

Operator

And our next question comes from Christopher Marinac from Bain Capital.

Christopher Marinac

Just wanted to ask about a scenario where deposits grow faster than loans. And would you tend to kind of put the exoliquidity just in the short-term cash? Or could you do more in securities portfolio over time?

Nicole Stokes

We could definitely do more in the bond book. We're at about 10% of earning assets. And so we definitely have some room that if we -- if our deposit growth outpaced our loan growth, we could definitely put it in the bond book. And when you look at what our purchases for the quarter in the bond book versus some coming on rates of some loan categories, we would definitely feel comfortable going into the bond book.

Christopher Marinac

Great. And then just a quick question about sort of hiring updates, whether it's on the loan side or other parts of the company in just terms of how you see your team building out in the future?

H. Proctor

Yes. I hate to sound like a broken record here, Chris. But when I look at what our expectations are internally and for consensus out there in terms of mid-single-digit growth, we feel very comfortable with that with the existing team. And we're always in a mode of being able to upskill and train our employees to make sure that the production is work needs to be -- but in terms of our necessity to have to go out and hire and load up on expense of new hires to obtain our objectives, that's not something we have to do.

We're very fortunate, we've got a stable group of wonderful bankers that have been on board and they know how to produce. And so for us, we try and maintain that kind of net 0, which is how we were this quarter. We made some upgrades as we go, but don't feel the compulsion nor the need to have to go out and do excessive hiring, we're always looking for good talent. That being said, and we'll continue to be selective there. But that's kind of where we stand right now, we feel very comfortable with the existing team we have in terms of maintaining and exceeding gold.

Christopher Marinac

That's very helpful, Palmer. I appreciate that. And I guess that just reinforces that there's still positive operating leverage that we should expect in the future.

H. Proctor

Absolutely.

Operator

And our next question comes from David Feaster from Raymond James.

David Feaster

Good morning, everybody. I wanted to start -- maybe I'll start on the capital side. Look, you got a fortress balance sheet, right? Obviously, that's a huge advantage, a high-quality issue. But just given your profitability, you're going to continue to accrete capital quickly even as growth accelerates back towards a mid-single-digit pace.

I'm just kind of curious, how do you think about priorities today? It's obviously not burning a hole in your pocket, but Curious how you think about the buyback or other opportunities for deploying that capital? Just wanted your thoughts.

H. Proctor

Yes. I would tell you that our -- we've been very consistent in our response there, and that has not changed in terms of our priority stack. So first and foremost, will be obviously organic growth I will tell you, having excess capital in this type of environment with as many cross currents there are from a macro environment and the economy as it stands today, we like where we are.

And then if you look at our return on equity, it's still very solid, even given the excess capital we have, which is an important distinction. Then secondary to that, you've got the opportunity for buybacks. And as we said in our earlier statement, the Board had renewed a $200 million buyback. So we'll continue to be opportunistic there. And then our dividend is very modest. I don't see a whole lot of change there with the dividend.

And then last but not least would be selective M&A. But most of the targets that we like are not for sale. And so it takes something very -- it's got to be a cultural fit. It's got to be a financial fit. And unless something like that unique unicorn kind of came along, that would probably be last on our list.

David Feaster

Okay. That's helpful. And maybe just touching on credit. I was hoping you could touch on -- we saw criticized classified NPAs all take a bit higher. Curious if you could talk about what you're seeing on the credit front? What you're watching closely? And then maybe just any underlying trends in the Balboa equipment finance business and what you're seeing there?

H. Proctor

Yes. David, this is Doug. Thank you. If I can start at the back, equipment finance is still performing where we wanted. You know that a couple of years ago, we retooled the credit box and very happy where they're performing today. So that's going the way we want it to. If you look at the normalization, we had some migration in and out of non-pass and sometimes that can be lumpy, but we're working through that with customers. as we speak.

We don't see this as being systemic, and we are -- as Nicole said, we're reiterating our guidance of charge-offs at 20 to 25 basis points. And if you step back and look and our criticized ratio at 115 basis points. When you compare it to peer and the midpoint for our peer group, we're less than half where they are. So -- and I'll just end where you use your term, you said Fortress balance sheet. We do have a fortress balance sheet, which does include a very good reserve as well.

Yes. I think credit always Credit always deserves scrutiny, David. But so the perspective and when you look at the asset quality, which is ours is well above peer and remains really a clear strength for our franchise.

David Feaster

Yes. Yes, for sure. Maybe just 1 more quick one. Just wanted to get a pulse to your clients from your perspective. You've got a broad footprint across some really strong markets. Just curious it sounds like production is really good. To your point, I mean, getting more payoffs and pay downs is indicative of a strong market. But I'm curious how demand is trending? How is the pipeline looking ahead in the fourth quarter?

Are you starting to see anything fall out of the pipeline that may not pencil as rates are rising? And then just any commentary on the competitive landscape from the lending standpoint?

H. Proctor

Yes. I'll kind of take that in reverse order. The landscape remains competitive, but that's something we're accustomed to in our high-growth markets. I will tell you, just on calls that I've been on personally, the pipeline right now is -- the good news is it was up at the end of the third quarter relative to where we were even in the second quarter.

So pipelines remain full, we are not seeing any fallout at this point. And I would tell you anything that's underway is still being pursued moving forward. The real question comes in on new projects and new opportunities and people having a little bit of cautious optimism, if that, in terms of being moving forward. So I think it's really going to be predicated on the activity we see in the fourth quarter from a macro standpoint.

But right now, I think existing pipelines are full. And I don't see any fallout, but I think as we move into next year, it will be interesting to see how much people start to -- and typically around election time, anyway, people use those an excuse to maybe hold off on new initiatives. It doesn't mean, but they still have a business to operate and run. But I think just based on what we're seeing right now, everything we have is in the pipeline will remain in the pipeline. But I do think, to your point, we'll probably see some caution as we move into the fourth quarter and first quarter of next year.

David Feaster

If I could just ask 1 quick follow-on. Just kind of curious how the Nashville seems -- I mean they've only been here 3 or 4 months, but curious how they're contributing to that.

H. Proctor

It's reminiscent of what we see in a lot of our high-growth Florida and Georgia markets. They're a small but mighty team. And as I told everybody earlier, the way we're going to judge their success, if you will, over the short time they've been here at the end of the year is going to be on the number of relationships they're building.

And that's probably what's most encouraging to me. When I look at the relationships they're building, they're leading with the deposit side. So when I look at the mix and the funding supporting the loan growth, it is exactly what we had hoped. And it's measured in terms of the growth. But what we're seeing, we're really encouraged by and hope that, that trend continues to where it becomes a more meaningful part of our operation.

David Feaster

That's great. That's great.

H. Proctor

You bet.

Operator

And our next question comes from Gary Tenner from D.A. Davidson.

Gary Tenner

Just wanted to ask a follow-up on the rate sensitivity conversation from earlier. I know you provided the amount of loans that reprice in the next year, I think $13.3 billion Nicole, could you be a little more specific for us just in terms of the actual floating rate piece of that just as we're modeling through change in rates?

Nicole Stokes

Yes. So thing what you're asking is kind of over the next year, what do we have kind of repricing?

Gary Tenner

Well, I think you specified $13.3 billion repricing. I'm just kind of asking how much of that is actually kind of floating rate immediate, if you will, prime or silver base?

Nicole Stokes

Got it. So about $8.5 million is within the next 3 months.

Gary Tenner

Okay. Great. And I think there was a question earlier and just maybe repeat it or recast it. In terms of kind of the shift up in market rates and kind of banks competing away or the tendency to compete away some of that benefit, even if you're seeing an absolute increase in production yields are the spreads a bit tighter?

Nicole Stokes

This for our kind of. Yes. So on the loan side, the spreads are -- I mean they're a BI competitive. It is definitely competitive. And I think that goes back to Palmer's point that we don't have to compete on some of this crazy pricing that we're starting to see in the market and that we really are focused on profitable growth.

And then from spread perspective to deposit rates and deposit production, which is really where we also focused. We are still -- our growth this quarter was still margin accretive because of our noninterest-bearing mix. But if we had to fund all of our loan growth with just interest-bearing deposits, we would be slightly margin dilutive, about 25 basis points kind of spread difference between that interest-bearing deposit growth and the loan growth production rates.

And so that's really why we continue to focus on that core deposit growth and that noninterest-bearing mix.

Operator

And at this time, we'll be ending today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Palmer Proctor for any closing remarks.

H. Proctor

Great. Thank you, Jamie, and I'd like to thank our teammates for another outstanding quarter. We remain focused on our core fundamentals, while serving our customers and growing our attractive Southeastern franchise. Thank you for listening to our third quarter call, and we appreciate your continued interest in Ameris Bank.

Operator

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we'll conclude today's conference call and presentation. We thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.