Cuộc họp báo cáo kết quả kinh doanh Q3 2026 của FinWise Bancorp (FINW): Giá trị giải ngân đạt 2,1 tỷ USD

Điểm tin chính

• FinWise Bancorp báo cáo lợi nhuận ròng quý 3/2026 đạt 10,0 triệu USD, tương đương 0,73 USD trên mỗi cổ phiếu pha loãng. Các hoạt động liên tục đạt lợi nhuận 10,4 triệu USD, bao gồm khoản lãi 6,5 triệu USD từ giao dịch mua giá rẻ liên quan đến thương vụ Tallied.
• Doanh số cho vay mới đạt 2,1 tỷ USD, nhờ hoạt động cho vay sinh viên theo mùa và sự tăng trưởng từ chương trình cho vay tiêu dùng có tăng cường tín dụng được triển khai vào năm 2025.
• Dư nợ cho vay có tăng cường tín dụng tăng 97% so với quý trước lên 146,2 triệu USD. Thu nhập lãi thuần tăng 17% so với quý 2 lên 41,9 triệu USD, trong khi biên lãi thuần (NIM) đạt 19,58%.
• Mức xóa nợ ròng đối với các khoản vay không có tăng cường tín dụng đã giảm xuống 2,6 triệu USD từ mức 5,2 triệu USD trong quý 2. Ban lãnh đạo lưu ý rằng kết quả tín dụng thuận lợi trong quý không phản ánh tốc độ duy trì trong ngắn hạn.
• Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến doanh số cho vay mới trong quý 4/2026 đạt khoảng 1,5 tỷ đến 1,6 tỷ USD và coi khoảng này là mức cơ sở hàng quý hợp lý cho năm 2027, với mức tăng trưởng khoảng 5% trong suốt cả năm. Triển vọng này không bao gồm các đối tác mới.
• FinWise và Upstart đã chấm dứt mối quan hệ hợp tác tài trợ có hiệu lực từ ngày 30 tháng 9 năm 2026. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết Upstart đóng góp không đáng kể vào doanh số cho vay mới và doanh thu trong quý 3, đồng thời không có rủi ro tín dụng liên quan đáng chú ý nào.

Dữ liệu tài chính trọng yếu

Kết quả kinh doanh và hoạt động

FinWise lý giải sự gia tăng doanh số cho vay mới là do hoạt động cho vay sinh viên mạnh hơn dự kiến và sự tăng tốc của một đối tác cho vay tiêu dùng có tăng cường tín dụng. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết quy mô trên phần còn lại của danh mục đầu tư duy trì ổn định so với quý trước.

Giao dịch với Tallied đã bổ sung công nghệ thẻ tín dụng, năng lực quản lý chương trình và một đội ngũ giàu kinh nghiệm. FinWise dự định giữ lại nền tảng và năng lực cung cấp dịch vụ trong khi thoái vốn khỏi các khoản phải thu thẻ tín dụng đã mua lại, vốn được phân loại là các hoạt động đã chấm dứt. Ban lãnh đạo mô tả đây là một phương pháp hiệu quả hơn về vốn để mở rộng danh mục sản phẩm thẻ.

Công ty cho biết mạng lưới đối tác tiềm năng tiếp tục mở rộng. Họ đã ký hợp đồng với một đối tác thanh toán trong quý 3 sau khi ký với một đối tác thẻ trả trước vào quý trước. Ban lãnh đạo chỉ ra rằng các đối tác đã ký hợp đồng hoặc điều khoản ghi nhớ thường lớn hơn và trưởng thành hơn, có tiềm năng doanh thu dài hạn lớn hơn, nhưng không đưa ra ước tính doanh thu cụ thể cho mạng lưới đối tác này.

FinWise đã mua lại 159.099 cổ phiếu với giá 2,2 triệu USD trong quý 3. Kể từ khi chương trình được phê duyệt vào tháng 5 năm 2026, công ty đã mua lại 188.835 cổ phiếu với giá 2,6 triệu USD, tương đương khoảng 28% trong số 685.000 cổ phiếu được ủy quyền. Kế hoạch Quy tắc 10b5-1 dự kiến sẽ có hiệu lực khi thời gian hạn chế giao dịch của công ty bắt đầu vào giữa tháng 12.

Dự báo từ Ban lãnh đạo

• Doanh số cho vay mới: Doanh số cho vay mới trong quý 4/2026 ước tính đạt khoảng 1,5 tỷ đến 1,6 tỷ USD dựa trên bốn tuần đầu tiên của tháng 10. Ban lãnh đạo coi đây là tốc độ duy trì hàng quý hợp lý cho năm 2027, tiếp theo là mức tăng trưởng khoảng 5% trong suốt cả năm. Kết quả này không bao gồm các đối tác mới.
• Dư nợ có tăng cường tín dụng: Ban lãnh đạo kỳ vọng mức tăng trưởng tự thân đạt khoảng 20 triệu USD, tương đương 15% trong quý 4. Ban lãnh đạo đề xuất xây dựng mô hình tăng trưởng khoảng 5% trong năm 2027 trước khi có sự đóng góp từ các đối tác mới.
• Xóa nợ ròng: Mức khoảng 4 triệu USD đối với các khoản vay không có tăng cường tín dụng là giả định của ban lãnh đạo cho quý 4 và là quan điểm về một mức chuẩn hóa hơn theo thời gian.
• Nợ xấu: Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến sẽ có từ 5 triệu đến 7 triệu USD chuyển sang trạng thái nợ xấu trong quý 4.
• Biên lãi thuần: Biên lãi thuần báo cáo dự kiến sẽ tăng theo thời gian do dư nợ có tăng cường tín dụng tăng trưởng nhanh hơn chi phí vốn. Không bao gồm thu nhập tăng cường tín dụng thặng dư, ban lãnh đạo tiếp tục kỳ vọng mức giảm dần phù hợp với việc giảm rủi ro bảng cân đối kế toán.
• Bán khoản vay SBA: FinWise có kế hoạch tiếp tục bán phần được bảo lãnh trong khi điều kiện thị trường vẫn thuận lợi. Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến doanh số bán sẽ thấp hơn trong năm 2027 do khối lượng cho vay mới giảm.
• Thuế suất: Ban lãnh đạo khuyến nghị sử dụng mức 26% cho mô hình dự báo quý 4/2026 và cả năm 2027.

Rủi ro và các điểm cần theo dõi

Chi phí tín dụng dự kiến sẽ bình thường hóa sau một quý thuận lợi bất thường. Ban lãnh đạo nhấn mạnh rằng khoản xóa nợ ròng trong quý 3 không nên được coi là tốc độ duy trì mới trong ngắn hạn và dự kiến sẽ có thêm sự chuyển dịch nợ xấu trong quý 4.

FinWise đang tiến hành chứng khoán hóa một phần dư nợ SBA không được bảo lãnh. Công ty dự kiến chuyển nhượng các khoản dư nợ đó theo mệnh giá và cung cấp sự tăng cường tín dụng thông qua lợi ích giữ lại, nhưng định hướng tín dụng của công ty không giả định việc hoàn tất giao dịch này.

Hai đối tác đã chỉ ra rằng họ đang xem xét xin giấy phép ngân hàng hoặc mua lại một ngân hàng. Thỏa thuận của họ kéo dài đến cuối năm 2028 và đầu năm 2029, nhưng các hợp đồng không ngăn cản họ giảm doanh số cho vay mới thông qua FinWise. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết một số sản phẩm vẫn có thể ở lại với FinWise ngay cả khi các đối tác có được giấy phép ngân hàng.

Chi phí có thể tiếp tục không đồng đều khi công ty tích hợp Tallied và đầu tư vào sự tăng trưởng đối tác, tuân thủ và hạ tầng hoạt động. Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến một số chi phí liên quan đến Tallied sẽ giảm bớt nhưng không đưa ra dự báo về tốc độ duy trì chi phí.

Các điểm nổi bật trong phần Hỏi & Đáp với chuyên gia phân tích

Các chuyên gia phân tích tập trung vào việc liệu doanh số cho vay mới 2,1 tỷ USD trong quý 3 có bền vững hay không. Ban lãnh đạo giải thích sự gia tăng này là do hoạt động cho vay sinh viên tăng mạnh bất thường và việc tăng tốc chậm trễ của một đối tác, đồng thời duy trì mức cơ sở thấp hơn cho quý 4 và năm 2027 không bao gồm các quan hệ đối tác mới.

Về thời điểm của các thỏa thuận tiềm năng, ban lãnh đạo cho biết các hợp đồng đã ký và điều khoản ghi nhớ có thể bắt đầu tạo ra doanh thu đáng kể hơn từ cuối năm 2027 đến năm 2028, tùy thuộc vào thời điểm ra mắt và thử nghiệm. Công ty từ chối định lượng mức đóng góp tiềm năng.

Ban lãnh đạo cũng làm rõ rằng sự tăng trưởng dài hạn trong dư nợ có tăng cường tín dụng sẽ cần có thêm các đối tác mới. Các chương trình hiện tại dự kiến sẽ mang lại mức tăng như dự kiến trong quý 4 và tăng trưởng khoảng 5% trong năm 2027.

Về việc hoàn trả vốn cho cổ đông, FinWise cho biết họ có ý định mua lại nhiều cổ phiếu nhất có thể ở mức giá dưới giá trị sổ sách trong khi vẫn duy trì các thông số vốn của mình. Hạn mức khối lượng giao dịch hiện đang hạn chế việc mua vào hàng ngày, trong khi kế hoạch Quy tắc 10b5-1 sẽ cho phép mua lại trong các thời gian hạn chế giao dịch.

Toàn văn Biên bản Cuộc họp Báo cáo Kết quả Kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the FinWise Bancorp's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this conference is being recorded.

The conference will begin now.

Juan Arias

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today for FinWise Bancorp's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call.

Earlier today, we filed our earnings release and investor deck and posted them to our investor website at investors.finwisebancorp.com. Today's conference call is being recorded and webcast on the company's investor website as previously mentioned.

On today's call, management's prepared remarks and answers to your questions may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed today. Forward-looking statements represent management's current estimates, expectations and beliefs, and FinWise Bancorp assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in the future. We encourage listeners to review the more detailed discussions related to these forward-looking statements, including factors that may negatively impact them contained in the company's earnings press release and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hosting the call today are CEO, Jim Noone; CFO, Bob Wahlman; and Executive Chairman, Kent Landvatter.

Jim, please go ahead.

James Noone

Good afternoon, everyone.

Third quarter results demonstrate the tangible progress we have made in broadening our platform and building a more capital-efficient sponsor bank. We originated $2.1 billion in loans, and we nearly doubled our credit-enhanced balances to $146 million in the quarter. Even after the cost of those partner arrangements, net interest income rose 17% from the second quarter. We also recognized a onetime gain from our first acquisition transaction.

Credit performance also improved during the quarter. Net charge-offs on loans without credit-enhancement were $2.6 million in the quarter, well below the range of the last few quarters. Nonperforming asset balances also decreased slightly quarter-over-quarter. With tangible book value up 9% over the past year, a leverage ratio of 18.1%, a strong pipeline of prospective partners and continued share repurchases, we have the capital strength, teams and operating environment to continue to execute.

I'll now provide some additional context on the factors that drove our core performance during the quarter. First, loan originations increased to $2.1 billion, reflecting both the typical seasonal increase in our student lending program as well as strong organic growth from a credit-enhanced consumer lending program we launched in 2025. Volume across the remainder of the portfolio was stable quarter-over-quarter. Second, credit-enhanced balances grew to $146.2 million, driven by a meaningful pickup from a partner that we previously noted was slower to ramp during the first half of the year.

For modeling purposes, please note that prior period credit-enhanced balances have been recast to reflect the reclassification of the Tallied credit card portfolio to discontinued operations. As a result, comparisons to previously reported amounts may differ. Long-term growth in credit-enhanced balances will come from new partner additions and expanding the pipeline for this product remains a key area of focus and an important part of our long-term plans.

I want to briefly walk through how we manage partner risk in the credit-enhanced product. We rely, first and foremost, on the structure and strength of the underlying loans and then look to the fintech partner. Under credit-enhancement, the fintech partner contractually agrees to cover credit losses on the loans and keeps a cash reserve at FinWise that we can draw on to recover against any charge-offs. Before any partner launches, they go through our full due diligence, covering compliance, risk, cyber, controls and financial strength. They must then pass 3 credit tests. We first model the worst performing vintage. We then stress historical charge-offs by 50% and 100%. In each case, the portfolio must demonstrate an ability to replenish the required cash reserve.

Finally, we review the partner's indemnity strength, including under the stress scenarios just mentioned. After launch, reserves are contractually required to be replenished weekly. We monitor the portfolio performance monthly and review updated charge-off and vintage analysis quarterly with our loan committee and Board. We judge partner strength on existing capitalization, earnings and resources, not on their ability to raise new capital. And lastly, backup servicing ensures collections continue if a partner ceases operations.

Returning to the key drivers of our third quarter performance. Credit trends were positive during the quarter. Net charge-offs for noncredit-enhanced loans declined to $2.6 million from $5.2 million in the prior quarter, primarily reflecting the resolution of several previously classified credits and a reduced number of accounts migrating to classified status. Nonperforming loan balances decreased slightly quarter-over-quarter from $37.7 million to $37.1 million, with approximately 48% of those balances at the end of Q3 guaranteed by the federal government.

As part of our effort to manage risk tolerance levels and streamline our balance sheet, the bank is actively working on a securitization for a portion of our SBA unguaranteed balances. We anticipate transferring these balances at par with a credit-enhancement for securitization investors in the form of our retained interest. While we are encouraged by improved credit performance, we do not expect the unusually favorable credit results reported this quarter to be indicative of a new run rate in the near term. Bob will provide additional context around our expectations for net charge-offs and classified asset migration in his remarks.

Overall, we remain very comfortable with the quality of our portfolio. Credit performance across the portfolio remains healthy and generally in line with our expectations. Our pipeline of fintech partners remains very strong, and we believe we are entering a favorable period for new partnership growth over the next 12 to 24 months across lending, cards and payments. As we've discussed previously, we expect to announce new partners towards the end of this year. And importantly, the opportunities we are pursuing today are larger, more diverse and often have greater long-term revenue potential than those we were evaluating just a few years ago.

Next, FinWise and Upstart have mutually agreed to end our sponsorship relationship effective September 30, 2026. Upstart contributed an immaterial amount of origination volume and an immaterial amount of revenue in the third quarter. And we continue to have no meaningful credit exposure to Upstart loans on our balance sheet. This termination is not expected to have any material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Upstart has been a great partner for us since 2019. We are proud of the customers we have served with them, and we wish them the best in their future plans.

On a related note, I also want to touch on the increase in fintech charter activity under the current administration, including both de novo and bank merger applications. Our strategy to diversify partners and lines of business is designed to withstand the occasional transition of a fintech partner to that of an insured bank. As many of you know, charter and merger applications are inherently uncertain in both outcome and timing. While a small number of larger fintechs are pursuing charters, the embedded finance market remains heavily dependent on sponsor bank partnerships. Against that backdrop, we believe our diversified business model, broad product capabilities, regulatory and compliance infrastructure and strong pipeline position us well to manage through any potential changes over time. We value all of our partnerships and remain focused on continuing to diversify revenue streams across lending, cards and payments.

In closing, this quarter's results reinforce our conviction in the company's long-term trajectory and the significant opportunity that exists. The progress we are making across lending, cards and payments, coupled with a growing pipeline of increasingly meaningful partners supports our confidence in the future. We remain focused on disciplined execution, continued improvement in credit quality and building long-term shareholder value.

I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Bob Wahlman, to provide more detail on our financial results.

Robert Wahlman

Thanks, Jim, and good afternoon, everyone.

Before reviewing our results, I'd like to briefly address the impact of the Tallied transaction completed during the quarter. As part of the transaction, we acquired credit card technology, program management capabilities and an experienced team that will expand our ability to support card programs for fintech partners. At the same time, we determined that holding credit card receivables was not aligned with our long-term strategy and approved a plan to exit the business while retaining the technology platform and servicing capabilities.

As a result, the credit card portfolio and other related assets and liabilities are being reported as discontinued operations, while the retained portfolio and the team remain part of continuing operations. This approach allows us to leverage the acquired capabilities through a more capital-efficient model, consistent with our broader fintech banking strategy. Given the impact of the Tallied transactions, discontinued operations presentation and purchase accounting adjustments, reported results for the quarter are, in some respects, not directly comparable to prior periods. Accordingly, I will focus today's discussion on the underlying performance of the business and the key trends we are seeing across the platform.

For the third quarter, FinWise reported net income of $10 million or $0.73 per diluted share. Continuing operations generated net income of $10.4 million or $0.76 per diluted share, while discontinued operations reported a loss of $0.4 million or $0.03 per diluted share. Importantly, continuing operations results in the third quarter included a $6.5 million bargain purchase gain recognized in connection with the Tallied transaction, which was recorded in noninterest income.

Net interest income was $41.9 million for the third quarter, reflecting continued growth in the credit-enhancement loan portfolio and improved credit performance. Lower migration of performing loans to nonperforming loans reduced interest reversals on nonaccrual loans and contributed to a higher average yield on loans held for investment. Receipt of interest on a tax refund also increased net interest income. Net interest margin was 19.58% for the third quarter. The margin reflected continued growth in the higher-yielding credit-enhanced loan portfolio and improved credit performance. Lower migration of performing loans to nonaccrual status reduced interest reversals on nonaccrual loans and supported higher yields on loans held for investment. These benefits were partially offset by higher interest expense associated with growth in average time certificates of deposit.

Noninterest income was $60.8 million in the third quarter. The results reflect higher credit-enhancement income associated with growth in the credit-enhanced portfolio, the $6.5 million bargain purchase gain previously discussed in connection with the Tallied transaction and increased strategic program fees driven by higher program volume and strategic program loans held for investment. These benefits were partially offset by a decline in the fair value of the company's investment in BFG.

Noninterest expense was $42.7 million in the third quarter. Results reflected higher credit-enhancement guarantee and servicing expenses associated with growth in the credit-enhanced loan portfolio. Excluding credit-enhancement-related expenses, noninterest expense increased $2.8 million, primarily driven by higher salaries and employee benefits, including employees added to the Tallied transaction as well as other higher operating expenses.

The efficiency ratio was 41.6% for the third quarter. The ratio benefited partly from strong revenue growth, particularly from interest income generated by our expanding credit-enhanced loan portfolio. While the ratio was influenced by the Tallied transaction and related accounting impacts, we continue to believe there is meaningful opportunity for improvement in core efficiency over time as revenues from our growing credit-enhanced loan portfolio outpaced expense growth.

Total assets were $958.3 million as of September 30, 2026. Asset growth during the quarter was driven primarily by continued expansion of the credit-enhanced loan portfolio and the related credit-enhancement asset. Of note, the credit-enhanced balances increased to $146.2 million as of September 30. This is a 97% one quarter increase from credit-enhanced balance as of June 30 of $74.2 million adjusted for the movement of credit card receivables to discontinued operations. These increases were partially offset by reductions in strategic program loans held for sale and other loans held for investment, reflecting the company's ongoing balance sheet optimization efforts.

Total deposits were $707.6 million as of September 30, 2026. Deposit growth during the quarter was driven by an increase in time certificates of deposits and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, partially offset by a decrease in interest-bearing demand deposits. We continue to maintain a strong capital position with a bank leverage ratio of 18.1%, well above the 8% threshold required to be considered well capitalized.

Finally, we continue to execute our share repurchase program during the quarter while maintaining a strong capital position. We believe repurchasing shares below tangible book value remains a compelling use of capital. During the 3 months ended September 30, 2026, we repurchased 159,099 shares for $2.2 million. Since the Board authorized the program in May 2026, we have repurchased 188,835 shares for $2.6 million, representing approximately 28% of the 685,000 shares authorized under the program. Additionally, the Board has approved a Rule 10b5-1 share repurchase plan that will become effective at the start of our self-imposed blackout period in mid-December.

Let me provide forward outlook on some key metrics. Loan originations for 4Q 2026 and full year 2027. While origination volumes may fluctuate from quarter to quarter, loan originations for the fourth quarter are currently tracking in the range of approximately $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion based on activity through the first 4 weeks of October. We view $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion of quarterly originations as a reasonable run rate for 2027 with approximately 5% growth above that level as the year progresses. We also suggest that you consider Q3 seasonality in any forecast. This 2027 outlook excludes any contribution from new partners.

SBA loan sales. We will continue to follow our strategy of selling guaranteed portions of our SBA loans as long as market conditions remain favorable. For modeling purposes, the average gain on sale over the past 2 quarters is a reasonable proxy for fourth quarter gain on sale income. In 2027, we anticipate that the level of sales will decline, reflecting the lower level of origination volume.

Quarterly net charge-offs. Based on current portfolio balances, we continue to view net charge-offs for noncredit-enhanced loans of around $4 million as a reasonable assumption for the fourth quarter and a more normalized level over time. Nonperforming loan balances for 4Q 2026. We anticipate a migration to nonperforming loans in the range of approximately $5 million to $7 million in the fourth quarter.

Net interest margin. We are maintaining our prior outlook. Including the impact of credit-enhanced balances, we expect net interest margin to increase over time as the credit-enhanced portfolio continues to grow and the funding costs increase at a slower rate. Excluding excess credit-enhanced income, we continue to expect a gradual decline in the margin, consistent with our ongoing risk reduction strategy.

The efficiency ratio. We continue to see opportunities to enhance operating leverage as the business scales. While the path may not be linear from quarter to quarter, our long-term focus remains on improving our core efficiency ratio, excluding credit-enhancement accounting effects. Tax rate. While multiple factors may influence the actual tax rate, we suggest using 26% in new modeling for 4Q 2026 and full year 2027.

With that, we would like to open the call for Q&A. Operator?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Andrew Terrell with Stephens.

Phần hỏi đáp

Andrew Terrell

I wanted to start on the originations were really strong this quarter. I think you guys had guided for, I think it was like $1.6 billion, obviously, well north of that. I was curious just kind of what -- it's obviously a positive, but curious what drove such kind of a large delta this quarter. Anything outsized or any kind of trends that have improved you could speak to?

Robert Wahlman

Sure. Let me speak to that, Andrew. The -- I guess there's 2 components that I see there. The first component is the student loan activity, which was more robust than what we've experienced in the past, very strong. And the second was the program that we had been looking to ramp up for a long time and really coming through and ramping up during the third quarter. So I think those were the primary 2 drivers for the increased origination volume over what we had suggested previously.

Andrew Terrell

Okay. Great. And then if I could ask around -- we've obviously been talking a lot about credit throughout this year within the SBA business and the credit performance this quarter, very solid. Jim, I think in some of your remarks, you talked about maybe working on a securitization in the SBA business. But then some of the credit kind of forward commentary, it sounds like charge-offs step back up from here and maybe some NPL migration as well. Can you help us just piece those 2 items together? I'd love a little more color on the SBA securitization and expected move there.

James Noone

Yes. So I would look at the SBA securitization as like an event, Andrew, right? It's something that we're working towards. We've certainly been working towards for a while. We expect -- we anticipate transferring those balances at par with the credit-enhancement. But the kind of the forward guidance is independent of a securitization transaction. So if that transaction is successful, we would certainly announce it and look to provide some updated commentary at that point. I think we were very happy with the continued improvement in credit quality, particularly the decrease in NCOs and NPAs this quarter.

Most of the difference quarter-over-quarter in NCOs came from that core portfolio, which includes SBA. The NCOs there were roughly $400,000 for the core portfolio versus $2.9 million last quarter. It's a market improvement and it's encouraging. I would call it unusually favorable this quarter and not indicative of like a new run rate. It's just confirmation of the direction generally is how I would describe it. So just to be clear, we are moving the figure on NCO guidance to $4 million from the $4 million to $5 million range we provided last quarter because we are seeing improvement in that legacy portfolio, but we knew it would be lumpy, and we still expect core portfolio NCOs that are higher than what we had this quarter.

Andrew Terrell

Got it. Okay. But just to make totally sure, the guidance for the charge-offs is independent of it would get better if you work through anything securitization-wise in the SBA book?

James Noone

That's accurate.

Andrew Terrell

Okay. Great. And then lastly, I just want to ask on the core expenses. If you back out the credit-enhanced piece, up pretty decently this quarter. I think I've got it going from 15.6% last quarter to 18.4% this quarter. I know there was some added costs from Tallied, but it feels like a surprising step up. Curious if there are any other drivers that caused the move up in expenses this quarter? And is this the right level to kind of build off of for operating expenses going forward?

Robert Wahlman

That's my question, Andrew. So as you know, we don't guide to expense numbers. Third quarter includes the Tallied team and other costs to run the program. It also includes some true-up personnel costs. But our focus is revenue growth outpacing expense growth to improve our core efficiency ratio. And that path may not be linear, be lumpy. We do -- we have said we will increase our spend as necessary to support our growth in partners and partner growth. But I don't think -- I'm not aware of anything right now that would change my view. And of course, it included the Tallied expenses. So some of the Tallied expenses are included in discontinued operations, but to the extent that it relates to the platform, those continue to be included in our numbers. So I don't think I see anything else there of note.

Operator

Your next question comes from Manuel Navas with Piper Sandler.

Manuel Navas

Can you talk to the pipeline a bit more? I appreciate that the revenue increase this quarter was from someone that you guys had almost paused and then they ramped up again. And then you have a number of partners coming online this year and early next year, and the pipeline seems to be adding one. Just kind of talk through it a little bit and what our expectations and how quickly things ramp? I know there's usually -- not all the revenues hit right away, but just give us an update on pipeline expectations.

Robert Wahlman

Yes. No problem, Manuel. I had mentioned last quarter, the pipeline was stronger than I had seen it in 8 years with the bank. And I would just say it's continuing to compound. The pipeline slide in our deck gives you some details there. But we did disclose another signed contract during Q3. It's a payments partner, which is an important milestone for us. And so we're highlighting both a new prepaid partner last quarter, a new payments partner contract this quarter, both of which are signed. We haven't been able to release kind of any formal announcements on either of them yet. But generally, we're really happy with the results of the sales efforts and the contracts that are coming through.

Manuel Navas

And then with this -- that's left to come. Anything else to discuss about what happened with Upstart? And is there anyone else that you would consider tenuous at the moment?

Robert Wahlman

So with Upstart, I think, first off, it was mutually agreed to end the relationship effective September 30. As we noted in the prepared remarks, Upstart contributed an immaterial amount of originations and an immaterial amount of revenue in the third quarter. The termination is not expected to have any material impact on financial condition or results of operations, and we continue to have no meaningful credit exposure there. Upstart has been a great partner for us since 2019. We're proud of the customers that we've served. We wish them the best. But we're also very happy to have delivered $2.1 billion in originations with no material contribution from Upstart.

Manuel Navas

Do you sense any other partners that would are on the way out?

Kent Landvatter

Yes, I'll take that one, Manuel. This is Kent. We do have a couple that have made their intentions clear that they are thinking of pursuing a chartered. One is actually pursuing a bank. And we just wanted to note that those -- both those agreements run into late 2028 and early 2029, which gives us time to replace partners. But even with the chartered sponsor bank relationship keeps its value for certain products and capabilities. Just generally speaking, though, chartered makes sense for certain well-established fintechs where the advantages outweigh the significant lift to becoming a bank. But most of our partners still sit in the middle of the bell curve and our target markets is really focused on fintechs that would be less interested in becoming a bank. And importantly, we've always operated on the premise that we'll exit partners for one reason or another from time to time. So that's why we built a scalable platform, added payments and cards, and we've built out a great sales team.

Manuel Navas

I appreciate that. Shifting over to the balance sheet. The credit-enhanced loan increase is welcome. I have to track and you removed some of the credit card fees from Tallied. But based on what's in there now, what's kind of the growth -- is there anything you can tell us about growth potential for those balances and for the overall loan portfolio?

James Noone

Yes. So I can start first with like the credit-enhanced piece, Manuel. It's been a successful product for us. We're happy to have delivered meaningful growth this quarter. And it's a good example, I think, that like the direction of travel with all of our products at the bank is very positive. But quarter-to-quarter, it can be challenging to forecast when exactly a growth engine kicks in or when it turns up into a higher gear. But we grew this from virtually 0 to $100 million in a couple of quarters. Growth then slowed and now it kicks back up.

Looking forward, I would say most of the long-term growth will have to come from new partners there that we launch. The organic growth in Q4 is likely to be another $20 million or 15% on top of the balances that we just reported by the end of the year. And then for modeling purposes, I would probably use a 5% growth rate on that balance next year until new partners can be launched. But like I said, it's been a successful product for us, and we're confident we'll continue to deliver for shareholders with it.

Manuel Navas

And at the moment, no existing partners are adding to that enhanced, but you do have some pipeline partners that should be adding to that enhanced over the next 2 quarters?

Robert Wahlman

So I would say that the organic growth, right, between, let's say, the end of -- for Q4 and then the 5% growth rate that I just mentioned for 2027 balances, that is all organic. As far as new partners in the pipeline, there's tons of new partners across payments, cards, credit-enhanced balance sheet, some of which are disclosed. I think it's on Slide 12 of our investor deck. But ultimately, to move beyond that $20 million pickup in Q4 and then a 5% growth rate on those balances in '27. To go beyond that, we need new partners to launch with that product.

Operator

Your next question comes from Joe Yanchunis with Raymond James.

Joseph Yanchunis

I apologize if some of this is already discussed. I hopped on a little late. So just tell me to read the transcript if it has. Did you guys discuss the new originations, the massive leap this quarter and what that would impact or what you're kind of expecting in 4Q? Because I'm assuming that, that full year outlook will stale. And then kind of given that strength in the student lending and the rapid growth in credit-enhance relationships, just updated expectations for what you expect in 2027?

James Noone

So yes, we had talked about that a little bit at the beginning, Joe. But -- so we would anticipate that during the third quarter, we had 2 significant events, one of which was the -- excuse me, the high level of originations from the new partner that we had been monitoring and we had set things up and have been waiting for some time for everything to work and for them to really launch the program, which was big.

And then the second item that drove the origination volume was the size of the credit card activity that was -- not credit card activity, my apologies, is the size of the student lending activities, which the origination volume was, again, significantly greater than what we anticipated.

Joseph Yanchunis

Okay. And looking at the updated pipeline slide, you've got 4 signed agreements under 5 signed term sheets, with most of those programs looking to -- expect to launch over the next 3 quarters. Can you help us understand how meaningful those relationships could be financially once fully ramped and whether the majority of the revenue should come towards the end of '27? Or is that more of a 2028 event?

James Noone

So on the last piece of your question, it really depends on when they launch here, Joe. If they're launching and the piloting stage gets off quickly, then it's going to be more of an end of '27. But somewhere between the end of '27 and into '28 is when that pipeline will start to monetize or be revenue producing for the bank. As far as just helping you gauge size, we did speak to the fact that the partners that are in pipeline, they're either under contract or under term sheet, they're generally larger, meaning more mature and also meaning greater long-term revenue potential for us.

We're not going to -- and we haven't put a kind of a revenue figure on the pipeline, just like we don't bake new partners into our origination guidance until we have more of a track record with them. But we are trying to give you as much disclosure and insight as we can into how -- I think how productive and successful that pipeline is becoming. And all of it really stems back to the investments that we made to broaden the products that we offer across cards and payments. And you saw us announce our first prepaid partner last quarter, our first payments contract this last quarter. So I think overall, we're really pleased with the efforts of the sales team.

Joseph Yanchunis

Okay. That's helpful. And then looking at the expense side, I noticed that the headcount across IT compliance and risk management, BSA, AML, it declined sequentially, while the total headcount increased just a little bit. At the same time, the NIE excludes credit-enhanced increases. Can you help us understand how much of that increase reflects temporary talent integration costs versus permanent investment in personnel and infrastructure? And what would be a reasonable quarterly expense run rate that we could use as a jumping off point to 2027?

Robert Wahlman

Okay. I'll speak to that. The we don't guide to expenses. Third quarter numbers include the Tallied team and other costs to improve the program. Some of those costs are embedded in the discontinued operations. Of those costs, other of those costs related to the platform are included in operating expenses. Our focus is on generating growth that outpaces expenses and will improve our core efficiency, although that path may not be linear. We have talked about increasing our spend as necessary to support our growth in partners and new partners and partner revenue growth. At this time, I'm not aware of anything that would change my view in regards to the expenses. I do look for some of those expenses to be moderated related to Tallied that is included in that core -- that is included in the continuing operations.

Joseph Yanchunis

Okay. And then last one for me here, kind of doing a pivot on the current partners. I guess aside from Upstart, are you aware of any of your other partners that are pursuing a bank charter?

Robert Wahlman

Yes. We have 2 partners that have indicated that they would be pursuing a bank charter. The agreements on those run into late '28 and early '29, which gives us time to replace them. But we -- one of the most important things here is we built a platform that -- and a sales team out that really is designed to increase the number of partners. We've always assumed partners would leave for one reason or another. And this just ensures that, that pipeline is maintained as fresh and that we're getting new partners in. And when we look for new partners, we're looking very carefully at those who might be less interested at pursuing a fintech charter. Does that help?

Joseph Yanchunis

No, that was very helpful. And as the way you write these contracts changed for protection, you just mentioned that some of these ones run through '28, '29. Have the way you write these contracts changed to protect the bank from this type of activity? Or has that always been in place?

James Noone

There is no specific language in there that protects the bank from that. So they could stop originating with the bank if they chose to. But we've had very good open conversations with both of these partners, and there are products that they're interested in offering with us -- through us even if they do get the charter.

Joseph Yanchunis

But is there any exclusivity where you would have that type of product should they receive that bank charter?

James Noone

No. Exclusivity, just to give you a little background, is a difficult one here because partners always try and avoid a single point of failure if the bank gets in trouble that is supporting them. And we actually encourage partners at certain levels to find other partners. And so we're co-partners with other banks on a fintech or 2. So it's very standard practice to not have those exclusivity clauses in your contracts.

Operator

Your next question comes from Manuel Navas with Piper Sandler.

Manuel Navas

Just to kind of dig in here. I can look at this quarter as fully including Tallied expenses, but the Tallied expenses might shift around a bit, it sounds like. It sounds like you're -- they might decline. Is that the right way to think about the run rate with Tallied?

James Noone

Yes. So when we bring -- when we do -- and this was a purchase of assets and assumption liabilities transaction of a business accounted for as an acquisition of a business. And any time you do an acquisition, you're going to have some upfront -- heavy costs upfront, whether they be legal to execute on the transaction and then just the ongoing run rate for that business. But as you bring that business on and integrate those activities into our core business, those expenses we should see decline some.

Manuel Navas

Do you have a sense for that amount? And if there's any other cost savings you expect to have on top of that?

James Noone

We don't guide -- provide guidance as to expenses, and I don't have a number that I could share with you anyway.

Manuel Navas

Okay. Separately, the bargain basement gain is great. You bought back 1% of shares. You still trade well below tangible book value. You're doing that trading plan is -- can you speak to the buyback pace going forward? What does that contemplate?

Robert Wahlman

So the buyback plan is our policy provides that we maintain a consolidated bank leverage ratio at least 5% above the well-capitalized level, so 13% with an early warning tripwire at 14%. The guidance from our Board is to buy back as much as is available in compliance with the rules on share buyback as long as the buyback price is below book value. As you know, we're not a heavily traded stock. And when we apply the 25% rule, it limits the amount that we can repurchase. And -- but we've done as much as we can in every day in the market that we've been able to access the market.

One thing that Jim referenced in his comments is that we will -- we have -- the Board has approved us implementing a 10b5-1 election, whereby we can continue to buy back shares during the blackout period, which is something that we did not have in place as we went into the third quarter quiet period of the second half of September and then the entire month of October. So that will also be different. So we're buying back as much as we can within those parameters.

Manuel Navas

In essence, this last quarter, you were able to buy back 159,000 shares, but you'll be able to do it more days in the fourth quarter potentially?

Robert Wahlman

Yes, yes. We should be able to do that with more days because we'll have the 10b5-1 program in place. So we should be able to buy through -- all the way through the end of the year and through January.

Manuel Navas

Is your concentration levels, do you have the slide where you talk about your top 3 fintech programs were 50% of originations? Do you have a sense for how much your top 3 produce across all your revenues? Your top 3 customers, just trying to...

Robert Wahlman

Yes, we do it pretty well. No, we don't disclose it. What we did try to do when we did that slide is to give you a metric that you can kind of gauge. So we certainly do internally. It's not something we've disclosed publicly. But I think generally, with a lot of the other things that we talked about today, you can see the direction of travel, right? You can see that origination volume becoming more diffused amongst partners. You can see less reliance on heavy originators. And I think especially with the disclosure on Upstart and leaving that agreement, the bank leaving that agreement, I think to post $2.1 billion in originations with no material contribution from Upstart is also indicative of just the diversification that we've built into the business over the years and you'll continue to see built out in the business. Like when you look at that sales pipeline and you see those payment partners on there, that's not a product that we had 2 years ago. So I would just point to the direction of travel generally.

Manuel Navas

Okay. One other last one, I think, but it might be thorny. The main place where core revenues grew most was net interest income ex credit-enhancement, so very, very core net interest income. And that allowed for an increase in adjusted NIM that moved in a different direction than you've kind of been expecting it to go. Can you kind of describe why? I know from here, you kind of expect the NIM to -- that particular metric of NIM to come down. The reported NIM will keep rising. But can you talk about those forces? Why did it not go in the direction you expected? And then why is it going to shift direction going forward?

Robert Wahlman

So if the net interest margin on a particular client that we have in the credit-enhanced program exceeds that average interest rate that we had on, call it, the noncredit-enhanced portfolio, and I'm talking again after the -- after excluding the credit-enhanced accounting anomalies, that's going to pull that rate up. But I think that you can't look at one quarter and one quarter and say, okay, things have changed dramatically. I would also note there is the reference in the earnings release that there was a tax interest income number for a large refund that we had been waiting for, for roughly 3 years. And that goes into the net interest margin, too, and helped to drive that up. But -- so you can't look at just one quarter and say that's not what we're expected. It's going to be up and down, and we did have that anomaly in the third quarter with this tax interest income.

Manuel Navas

That's helpful. I will look for that refund.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] This now concludes our question-and-answer session. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This does conclude today's teleconference. Please disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.