워싱턴 트러스트(WASH) 2026년 3분기 실적 발표회: 마진 확대, 4분기 NIM 가이던스 2.85%~2.90%

핵심 요약

• 워싱턴 트러스트 뱅코프(Washington Trust Bancorp)는 2026년 3분기 순이익이 1,940만 달러(주당 1.01달러)로 2분기 대비 340만 달러(주당 0.18달러) 증가했다고 발표했습니다.
• 순이자이익은 전분기 대비 7%, 전년 동기 대비 15% 증가한 4,470만 달러를 기록했습니다. 순이자마진(NIM)은 2.84%로 확대되어 전분기 대비 11bp, 전년 동기 대비 44bp 상승했습니다.
• 예금은 해당 분기 동안 7,700만 달러(1%) 증가하고 전년 동기 대비 4% 증가한 반면, 도매 자금 조달은 6월 30일 대비 8,000만 달러(18%) 감소했습니다.
• 2,230만 달러 규모의 오피스 대출 문제가 해결되면서 신용 지표가 개선되었습니다. 무수익 여신 비율은 총대출의 0.48%로 2분기 0.78%에서 하락했습니다.
• 경영진은 4분기 순이자마진 가이던스로 2.85%~2.90%를 제시했습니다. 이 전망에는 9월 금리 인상은 포함되었으나 향후 추가 인상 가능성은 제외되었습니다.
• 9월 30일 기준 상업용 대출 파이프라인은 약 2억 3,000만 달러를 기록했으며 상공업(C&I) 대출 비중이 높았습니다. 경영진은 분기별 2%~3%의 상업용 대출 성장 목표를 지속적으로 추진하고 있습니다.

주요 재무 데이터

이번 분기에는 정상 이자 수취 상태로 전환된 대출에서 발생한 이전 분기 이자수익 28만 3,000달러가 포함되어 순이자마진을 약 2bp 상승시키는 효과를 냈습니다. 실효세율은 20.4%였습니다.

사업 및 영업 성과

자산관리 수익은 2분기 대비 1% 감소했으나 전년 동기 대비로는 7% 증가했습니다. 자산 기반 수익의 증가분은 세무 대행 수수료 수익의 계절적 감소로 상쇄되었습니다.

모기지 파이프라인 축소와 시장 금리 상승으로 인해 모기지 은행 수익은 감소했습니다. 대출 관련 파생상품 수익은 92만 4,000달러 증가한 반면, 은행 소유 생명보험 수익에는 95만 4,000달러의 이익이 포함되었습니다.

상업용 부동산이 3분기 대출 성장을 견인했습니다. 경영진은 이번 분기 전체 대출 포트폴리오가 연환산 약 5%의 성장률을 기록했고, 상업용 포트폴리오는 연환산 약 10% 성장했다고 밝혔습니다.

약 2억 3,000만 달러 규모의 상업용 대출 파이프라인은 기관 금융 그룹의 약 4,000만 달러를 포함해 상공업(C&I) 대출 비중이 높았습니다. 경영진은 3분기 계절적 둔화 이후 4분기와 1분기에 기관 영업 활동이 강화될 것으로 예상합니다.

워싱턴 트러스트는 4분기 말경 로드아일랜드주 지점 2곳의 개점을 준비하고 있습니다. 경영진은 지점당 연간 지속 비용 발생률을 약 75만~80만 달러로 추정했습니다.

경영진 가이던스

경영진은 4분기 순이자마진을 2.85%~2.90%로 전망합니다. 워싱턴 트러스트는 여전히 완만한 자산 민감형 상태를 유지하고 있으며, 가이던스에는 9월 금리 인상분만 반영되었습니다. 경영진은 기준금리가 25bp 추가 인상될 때마다 마진 런레이트에 1~2bp가 추가될 수 있다고 추정했습니다.

대출 포트폴리오 중 약 21억 달러가 SOFR 또는 우대금리에 연동되어 있으며, SOFR 연동 대출은 일반적으로 매월 금리가 재산정됩니다. 20억 달러 규모의 주택담보대출 포트폴리오에서 발생하는 현금흐름의 재투자는 분기당 1~2bp의 마진 개선 호재를 제공할 것으로 기대됩니다. 경영진은 또한 해지된 스왑 계약으로 4bp의 추가 이점이 발생했다고 확인했습니다.

4분기 비이자비용은 지점, 마케팅, 기술 및 인력에 대한 투자를 반영해 3분기 대비 약 150만 달러 증가할 것으로 예상됩니다. 이는 당사 자선 재단에 납입하는 연간 75만 달러의 기부금을 제외한 금액입니다. 경영진은 해당 기부금을 포함한 4분기 지출 수준이 약 4,100만 달러가 될 것이라고 확인했습니다.

2026년 전체 연간 실효세율은 약 21.5%가 될 것으로 예상됩니다.

리스크 및 주요 점검 항목

우량 상업용 부동산 자산에 대한 경쟁 압력이 여전히 높습니다. 경영진은 시장 스프레드가 170~180bp 수준이라며, 과거 낮은 금리로 실행된 상업용 부동산(CRE) 대출의 금리 재산정 이점이 제한될 수 있다고 언급했습니다.

약 600만 달러 규모의 클래스 A 자산은 안정적인 점유율, 헌신적인 스폰서, 연체 부재에도 불구하고 잠재적 가치 평가 리스크로 인해 부실 여신(NPL)으로 분류되었습니다. 해당 대출의 만기는 2031년입니다.

경영진은 660만 달러 규모의 연구실 공간 대출 익스포저를 정리하기 위해 스폰서와 협력 중입니다. 별도의 2,800만 달러 규모 연구실 공간 자산은 임대율이 95%에 달하며, 임차인의 임대료 납부 실적이 계속 개선될 경우 주의요망 등급에서 제외될 수 있습니다.

매도가능채권의 공정가치 하락과 분기 배당금 지급으로 인해 이번 분기 동안 총자본이 감소했습니다. 경영진은 규제 자본 비율이 만족스러운 수준임에도 불구하고 GAAP 자본 비율은 동종 업계 수준보다 낮게 유지되고 있다고 언급했습니다.

애널리스트 Q&A 하이라이트

• 예금 자금 조달: 경영진은 무이자 예금 증가의 상당 부분이 기관 금융 관계 및 관련 영업 계좌 덕분이라고 설명했습니다. 은행은 적절한 경우 도매 자금 조달을 활용할 수 있는 옵션을 유지하면서 예금 성장률을 대출 성장률과 비슷한 수준으로 유지할 계획입니다.
• 대출 성장: 상반기의 견조한 상환세로 인해 회사는 2026년 연간 한 자릿수 중반대의 성장을 달성할 만큼 수량을 회복하기 어려울 것으로 예상하고 있습니다. 제시된 목표는 대신 분기별 2%~3%의 상업용 대출 성장을 포함한 런레이트를 반영합니다.
• 지점 비용: 신규 지점 2곳이 개점하기 전에 일부 채용 및 부동산 비용이 발생할 예정입니다. 경영진은 지점이 완전히 가동됨에 따라 2027년 1분기에 약 30만 달러의 분기 추가 비용이 발생하는 것이 합리적인 추정 가정이라는 점에 동의했습니다.
• 자본 배분: 경영진은 현재 자사주를 매입할 계획이 없습니다. 예상되는 재무상태표 및 대출 성장을 지원하기 위해 자본을 유보하고 있습니다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

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.

질의응답

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.