아메리스 반코프(ABCB) 2026년 3분기 실적 발표회: EPS 5년 만에 최고치 경신

아메리스 뱅코프(Ameris Bancorp, NASDAQ: ABCB)는 순이자이익 증가, 비용 관리, 지속적인 재무상태표 성장에 힘입어 2026년 3분기 희석 주당순이익(EPS)이 5년 만에 최고치를 기록했다고 발표했습니다. 경영진은 예금 금리 경쟁이 심화되는 가운데 대출 금리 책정에 있어 엄격한 접근 방식을 유지했습니다.

핵심 요약

• 순이익은 1억 1,610만 달러에 달했으며, 희석 EPS는 5년 만에 최고치인 1.73달러로 증가했습니다.
• 순이자이익은 520만 달러 증가한 2억 5,770만 달러를 기록했습니다. 순이자마진(NIM)은 3.87%로 전분기 대비 1bp(1bp=0.01%p) 하락했습니다.
• 평균 이자수익자산은 3억 50만 달러(연환산 4.5%) 증가했습니다. 대출은 1억 7,310만 달러(연환산 약 3%) 증가했습니다.
• 예금은 3억 1,940만 달러 증가했으며, 무이자 예금이 전체 예금 비중의 29.2%를 차지했습니다.
• 자산수익률(ROA) 1.61%, 충당금 적립 전 영업이익 기준 ROA(PPNR ROA) 2.27%, 유형보통주자본수익률(ROTCE) 15.01%를 기록하며 견조한 수익성을 유지했습니다.
• 경영진은 단기 대출 및 예금 성장률이 5% 안팎(mid-single-digit) 수준일 것으로 예상하면서도, 향후 몇 분기 동안 예금 비용 상승과 경쟁 심화가 순이자마진에 압박을 가할 수 있다고 경고했습니다.

주요 재무 데이터

사업 및 영업 실적

분기 대출 취급액은 23억 달러로 건전한 수준을 유지했습니다. 성장은 상업 및 공업 대출, 주택담보대출, 건설 대출 전반에 걸쳐 다변화되었으나, 상업용 부동산(CRE) 조기 상환 증가로 일부 상쇄되었습니다.

경영진은 CRE 조기 상환 금리가 신규 대출 금리보다 약 100bp 낮게 형성되어 있다고 밝혔습니다. 조기 상환으로 수익자산은 감소했으나, 이를 더 높은 수익률의 신규 대출로 대체하면서 마진 수익성에 기여했습니다. 분기 말 CRE 및 건설 대출 집중도는 각각 250%와 50%를 기록했습니다.

예금 성장은 핵심 거래 관계 유치에 계속 집중되었습니다. 조달 자금의 거의 30%가 무이자 계좌에서 나왔으며, 무이자 계좌 및 NOW 계좌를 포함한 당좌예금(checking accounts)이 전체 계좌의 약 48%를 차지했습니다.

주택담보대출 취급액은 13.7% 감소했고, 주택담보대출 수수료 수입은 10.1% 줄었습니다. 회사는 수익 감소에 발맞추어 주택담보대출 관련 보수를 줄였습니다. 구매 목적의 주택담보대출이 비중의 90% 이상을 계속 차지했으나, 제한적인 주택 재고와 통상적인 4분기 및 1분기 계절적 요인이 여전히 제약으로 작용하고 있습니다.

내슈빌 팀은 예금 중심 전략으로 거래 관계를 계속 구축했습니다. 경영진은 이 사업부의 기여도가 아직은 상대적으로 작지만 자금 조달 구조가 예상대로 개선되고 있다고 전했습니다.

경영진 가이던스

경영진은 단기적으로 대출과 예금 성장률이 5% 안팎일 것으로 전망하고 있습니다. 장기적으로는 예금 성장이 대출 성장 속도를 좌우할 것으로 예상됩니다.

회사는 이자수익자산 확대에 힘입어 순이자이익이 계속 성장할 것으로 기대합니다. 그러나 경영진은 예금 비용 상승과 경쟁 압박으로 인해 향후 몇 분기 동안 순이자마진 축소 가능성이 있다고 보고 있습니다. 재무상태표는 중립에 가까우나 약간 자산 민감적(asset-sensitive)입니다. 회사의 모델링에 따르면 금리가 25bp 상승할 때마다 마진이 약 1bp 증가할 수 있습니다.

조정 효율성 비율은 2026년 말에 약 50% 수준을 기록할 것으로 예상됩니다.

2027년의 경우 경영진은 분기별 핵심 영업비용을 약 1억 6,500만 달러에서 1억 6,900만 달러 사이로 추정했습니다. 주택담보대출 수익 및 관련 비용이 현재 예상과 다를 경우 이 범위는 변경될 수 있습니다. 회사는 현재 내년 주택담보대출 영업 활동이 전반적으로 유지되거나 소폭 감소할 가능성이 있는 것으로 보고 있습니다.

단기 연환산 순상각률은 20~25bp 범위를 유지할 것으로 예상됩니다.

리스크 및 주요 점검 사항

예금 경쟁은 단기 마진의 주요 리스크입니다. 경영진은 이자부 예금의 금리 인상과 무이자 예금에서 이자부 예금으로의 자금 이동 가능성을 모두 모니터링하고 있습니다.

대출 금리 경쟁 역시 치열하게 유지되고 있습니다. 회사는 비경제적인 가격의 거래를 추진하지 않을 것이며, 단순히 재무상태표를 확장하는 것보다 수익성 있는 성장을 우선시할 것이라고 밝혔습니다.

해당 분기 동안 요주의 및 고정이하 대출과 부실자산(NPA)의 변동을 포함한 신용 지표가 어느 정도 정상화되었습니다. 경영진은 이러한 이동이 구조적(systemic)으로 보이지 않는다며, 1.15%의 요주의 대출 비율이 실적 발표에서 언급된 동종 업체들에 비해 우수한 수준을 유지했다고 언급했습니다.

주택담보대출 활동은 제한적인 재고, 계절적 비수기, 고금리 환경 장기화의 영향에 직면해 있습니다. 경영진은 3분기 말 기준으로 기존 대출 파이프라인에서 무산된 건은 없었으나, 차주들이 거시경제 여건을 주시함에 따라 신규 프로젝트 추진에 다소 신중한 태도를 보일 것으로 예상하고 있습니다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

• 대출 수요 및 파이프라인: 경영진은 파이프라인이 2분기 수준을 상회하며 3분기 말에도 탄탄하게 유지되었다고 밝혔습니다. 기존 프로젝트는 계속 진행 중이나, 고객들이 2026년 4분기 및 2027년 1분기에 신규 프로젝트를 시작하는 데 있어 보다 신중해질 수 있습니다.
• 차주 상환 능력: 회사는 차주들이 점진적인 금리 인상을 감내할 수 있는 충분한 자기자본, 현금 및 부채상환능력(DSCR)을 전반적으로 보유하고 있다고 판단합니다. 경영진은 엄격한 대출 심사(underwriting) 유지가 여전히 필수적이라고 강조했습니다.
• 예금 및 대출 금리: 9월 예금 비용은 분기 평균보다 약 3bp 높았던 반면, 자산 수익률은 약 5bp 더 높았습니다. 무이자 예금 비중에 힘입어 성장이 마진 개선(margin-accretive)에 기여하는 구조를 유지했습니다.
• 잉여 유동성: 경영진은 예금 성장이 대출 성장을 상회할 경우 유가증권 매입을 늘릴 수 있다고 말했습니다. 채권 포트폴리오는 현재 수익자산의 약 10%를 차지합니다.
• 자본 배분: 자체 성장(Organic growth)이 최우선 과제로 유지되며, 새로 승인된 2억 달러 규모의 자사주 매입 한도에 따른 기회주의적 자사주 매입이 그 뒤를 잇습니다. 배당은 완만한 수준을 유지하고 있으며, 선별적인 M&A는 후순위로서 기업문화적 및 재무적 적합성이 모두 필요합니다.
• 인력 채용 및 영업 레버리지: 경영진은 대규모 추가 채용 없이도 기존 인력으로 5% 안팎의 성장을 지원할 수 있다고 판단하며, 우수 인재 영입은 선별적으로 진행할 예정입니다.

실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

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.

질의응답

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.