Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. quarterly report, Q1 FY2022

Sound Financial Bancorp, Inc. — Q1 2022 Form 10-Q

Business context and reporting period. The company is a bank holding company operating primarily through Sound Community Bank in Washington, with an insurance agency subsidiary. This unaudited report covers the three months ended March 31, 2022; balance-sheet comparisons are with December 31, 2021. Amounts below are in U.S. dollars; financial statement figures are generally in millions unless noted.

Financial performance and position

MetricQ1 2022 / March 31, 2022Comparable / prior date
Net interest income$7.62 million$6.54 million, Q1 2021
Net income$1.72 million; diluted EPS $0.65$2.45 million; diluted EPS $0.93, Q1 2021
Net interest margin3.49%3.09%, Q1 2021
Efficiency ratio74.77%66.69%, Q1 2021
Total assets$958.9 million$919.7 million, December 31, 2021
Net loans held for portfolio$703.1 million$680.1 million, December 31, 2021
Total deposits$836.1 million$798.3 million, December 31, 2021
Cash and cash equivalents$197.1 million$183.6 million, December 31, 2021
Allowance for loan losses$6.4 million; 0.90% of loans$6.3 million; 0.92%, December 31, 2021
Nonaccrual loans$4.7 million; 0.67% of loans$5.6 million; 0.81%, December 31, 2021
Stockholders’ equity$93.9 million$93.4 million, December 31, 2021

Operating cash flow was $2.9 million; investing activities used $26.3 million and financing activities provided $36.9 million. Cash increased $13.5 million during the quarter. Subordinated notes, net, were $11.6 million; there were no outstanding FHLB advances or PCBB borrowings. The notes mature in 2030 and carry a 5.25% fixed rate until October 2025, then a floating rate.

The Bank and the holding company reported Community Bank Leverage Ratios of 10.96% and 10.05%, respectively, above applicable minimum requirements. The company reported $207.3 million in cash and available-for-sale securities, $1.3 million in loans held for sale, and access to borrowing facilities, subject to collateral requirements.

Material changes versus the prior comparable period

  • Net income fell 29.7% year over year. Net interest income increased 16.6%, mainly as deposit interest expense declined by $868,000; this more than offset a $214,000 increase in interest income.
  • Noninterest income declined 43.7% to $1.52 million, chiefly because gains on loan sales fell to $365,000 from $2.05 million as mortgage originations and sale margins declined. Loans sold were $12.2 million versus $68.1 million.
  • Noninterest expense rose 10.9% to $6.84 million, including higher salaries and benefits. The efficiency ratio consequently worsened.
  • Portfolio loans grew 3.4% from year-end, with increases in most categories; commercial business loans declined 12.8%, primarily from SBA forgiveness of PPP loans. Deposits rose 4.7%, including growth in noninterest-bearing accounts. Management noted that some growth reflected temporary lawyer trust account balances.
  • Nonperforming assets declined to $5.4 million from $6.2 million. Net charge-offs were $24,000 versus $65,000 a year earlier; the company recorded a $125,000 loan-loss provision, compared with none in Q1 2021.
  • Available-for-sale securities had $682,000 of gross unrealized losses at quarter-end, versus $25,000 at year-end. The resulting after-tax other comprehensive loss was $608,000; management attributed the securities losses to market rates and spreads, not issuer or collateral credit quality.

Outlook, commentary, risks and unusual items

  • The filing provides no quantitative earnings or revenue guidance. Management said it expects to continue regular quarterly cash dividends, subject to board discretion. On April 26, 2022, the board declared a $0.17-per-share dividend and extended authorization to repurchase up to $2.0 million of shares through October 29, 2022.
  • Management described the bank’s branches as open with normal hours and substantially all employees back in routine working environments. It continued to monitor COVID-19 impacts.
  • Key disclosed risks include changes in interest rates and deposit costs, loan demand and credit performance, real estate values, funding access, mortgage secondary-market conditions, regulation, cybersecurity and third-party provider disruptions. Results also depend on estimates for credit losses and mortgage servicing rights. The company cautioned that interim results are not necessarily indicative of full-year results.
  • Commitments to extend credit totaled $138.7 million, including $90.6 million of unfunded construction commitments. These are off-balance-sheet exposures and do not necessarily represent expected cash outflows.
  • The company had $2.1 million of PPP loans outstanding, fully guaranteed by the SBA. Adoption of the current expected credit loss standard was deferred until the applicable fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2022; management had not determined the size of any adoption impact.
  • Management reported effective disclosure controls, no material changes in internal control over financial reporting, no material change in previously disclosed risk factors, and no legal proceedings expected to have a material adverse effect.

Investor verification priorities

  1. Confirm whether deposit growth from lawyer trust and specialty-business accounts is sustained, and review uninsured time deposits and deposit concentration.
  2. Track loan growth and credit quality, particularly commercial and multifamily real estate and construction lending, nonperforming loans, and the adequacy of the allowance.
  3. Assess sensitivity of net interest income and securities values to further interest-rate changes, including the impact of unrealized securities losses.
  4. Monitor mortgage production and sale gains, servicing-rights valuation assumptions, and whether lower mortgage activity continues to weigh on noninterest income.
  5. Review liquidity and capital availability alongside credit commitments, dividend payments, and the extended share-repurchase authorization.