프리퍼드 뱅크(PFBC) 2026년 3분기 실적 컨퍼런스 콜: 예금 증가, 순이자마진(NIM) 3.49%

프리퍼드 뱅크(NASDAQ: PFBC)가 2026년 3분기 순이익 3,290만 달러(주당 2.73달러)를 기록했다고 발표했다. 이번 실적에는 공시된 순이자마진(NIM)을 낮춘 210만 달러의 이자수익 환입이 포함됐다.

핵심 요약

• 순이익은 3,290만 달러로, 주당 2.73달러에 해당한다.
• 순이자마진(NIM)은 3.49%를 기록했다. 경영진은 210만 달러의 이자수익 조정을 제외하면 3.60%였을 것이라고 밝혔다.
• 예금은 은행, 비은행 기관 및 미국 국채와의 치열한 경쟁에도 불구하고 전분기 대비 7,700만 달러(1.2%) 증가했다.
• 대출은 대규모 신용공여 건이 매각예정 자산으로 분류되면서 4,000만 달러 감소했다. 경영진은 4분기 대출 파이프라인이 견조하다고 평가했다.
• 총 건전성 분류 대상 자산은 기타 부동산 소유(OREO) 1,150만 달러를 포함해 1억 7,760만 달러였다. 법원 절차 진행으로 인해 일부 무수익 여신의 해결이 지속적으로 지연됐다.
• 경영진은 4분기 비이자비용 가이드런스로 2,300만 달러에서 2,400만 달러를 제시했다.

핵심 재무 데이터

사업 및 영업 실적

대출 잔액은 예상치 못한 조기 상환, 2분기 대비 둔화된 신규 대출 집행, 대규모 신용공여 건의 매각예정 자산 전환 등으로 감소했다. 파이프라인에 있던 일부 대출은 지연되어 4분기로 이월됐다. 경영진은 금리 상승으로 인해 일부 차주가 프로젝트에 더 신중해진 반면, 다른 고객들은 더 매력적인 가격대의 기회를 검토하고 있다고 밝혔다.

예금 유치는 여전히 난항을 겪었다. 경영진은 고객들이 은행 예금 상품을 증권사가 제공하는 고금리 상품 및 캘리포니아주 내 미국 국채의 세제 혜택과 비교하고 있다고 설명했다. 은행은 가격 책정 규율을 최우선으로 고려해 총 예금 비용을 3bp 인하했으며, 경영진은 이것이 예금 성장을 제한했을 수 있다고 인정했다.

비용은 주로 부실대출 관련 전문 서비스 및 법률 비용 감소와 수익성 감소에 따른 성과급 충당금 축소로 인해 줄어들었다.

경영진 가이드런스

경영진은 4분기 비이자비용이 2,300만 달러에서 2,400만 달러 사이가 될 것으로 예상하고 있다.

회사는 지연된 자금 집행과 신규 대출 집행에 힘입어 4분기 대출 성장세가 강해질 것으로 예상하면서도, 정량적인 대출 성장 목표치는 제시하지 않았다.

경영진은 예금 경쟁이 2027년까지 이어질 것으로 예상한다. 또한 프리퍼드 뱅크는 자산 민감도가 높아 연방기금금리가 상승할 경우 순이자마진(NIM)에 유리할 것이라고 밝혔으며, 전반적인 금리 환경은 비교적 안정적인 것으로 설명했다.

리스크 및 주요 관전 포인트

• 고객들이 은행, 증권사, 미국 국채의 제안을 비교함에 따라 예금 금리 경쟁은 여전히 치열하다.
• 금리 상승으로 인해 일부 차주가 프로젝트를 지연시키거나 재검토하고 있다.
• 여러 신용공여 건이 여전히 파산법원 절차에 묶여 있어 무수익 여신의 해결이 경영진의 예상보다 지연되고 있다.
• 담보 가치와 담보인정비율(LTV)이 회수를 뒷받침할 수는 있으나, 처분 시점은 부분적으로 법원의 결정에 달려 있다.
• 경영진은 신용등급 하락 속도가 둔화되었다고 밝혔으나, 이자 수취 상태를 유지하면서 고정(substandard)으로 분류된 대출 2,000만 달러가 추가되었다.

애널리스트 Q&A 주요 내용

프리퍼드 뱅크는 4분기에 만기가 도래하는 양도성예금증서(CD)가 170만 달러 미만이며, 가중평균 수익률은 3.81%이다. 경영진은 롤오버 금리가 약 3.75%에서 4.00% 수준일 것으로 예상하고 있다.

경영진은 금리 상승 시나리오에서의 예금 베타가 금리 하락 시기보다 더 완만할 것으로 예상한다. 예금 성장이 제한되더라도 자금 조달 비용 통제를 최우선 과제로 두고 있다.

몇몇 대규모 부실대출이 4분기에 처분될 가능성이 있지만, 시점은 여전히 파산법원 절차에 달려 있다. 지연이 지속되는 경우 은행은 담보권 실행을 추진하여 해당 자산을 직접 처분할 수 있다.

경영진은 분기 말 예금 잔액이 4분기를 시작하는 합리적인 기준점을 제공한다고 밝혔다. 평균 잔액과 기말 잔액의 차이는 주로 분기 말 중개예금의 만기 및 추가 조달 시점을 반영한 것이다.

실적발표 콘퍼런스 콜 전문

전체 실적 발표 컨퍼런스 콜 녹취록

경영진 발표

Operator

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

[Operator Instructions]

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

Jeffrey Haas

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

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

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

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

Li Yu

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

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

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

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

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

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

The first question comes from Matthew Clark with Piper Sandler.

질의응답

Matthew Clark

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

Edward Czajka

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

Matthew Clark

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

Edward Czajka

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

Matthew Clark

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

Edward Czajka

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

Matthew Clark

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

Nick Pi

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

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

Operator

The next question comes from Andrew Liesch with StoneX Financial.

Andrew Liesch

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

Li Yu

Do you want to comment about that, Wellington?

Wellington Chen

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

Andrew Liesch

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

Wellington Chen

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

Andrew Liesch

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

Edward Czajka

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

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

The next question comes from Andrew Terrell with Stephens.

Andrew Terrell

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

Edward Czajka

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

Andrew Terrell

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

Li Yu

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

Operator

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

Li Yu

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

Operator

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