OFG BANCORP annual report, FY2011

OFG Bancorp (Oriental Financial Group Inc.) — FY2011 Form 10-K

Reporting period: Fiscal year ended December 31, 2011; comparisons are primarily with FY2010. The company is a Puerto Rico-based financial holding company operating banking, wealth-management, and treasury businesses. It reported through 30 financial centers in Puerto Rico and a pension-administration subsidiary in Florida.

Key financial results

MetricFY2011FY2010
Operating revenues$171.4 million$140.3 million
Net interest income$140.4 million$135.1 million
Net income$34.5 million$9.8 million
Income (loss) available to common shareholders$29.6 million$(18.2) million
Basic and diluted EPS$0.67$(0.50)
Non-interest expenses$122.3 million$112.6 million
Net interest margin2.17%2.11%
Efficiency ratio66.22%64.54%
  • Operating revenues rose 22.2%. Net interest income increased 3.9%, as higher loan income—especially from FDIC-covered loans—more than offset lower investment income. Interest expense fell 7.2%, and the average cost of deposits declined to 1.87% from 2.12%.
  • Core banking and wealth-management revenues increased 12.5% to $44.2 million. Reported non-interest income was $31.0 million, including a $28.0 million gain on securities sales, a $13.2 million derivative loss, a $4.8 million loss on early repurchase-agreement extinguishment, and a $15.0 million securities impairment.
  • Net interest spread was 2.12%, down from 2.17%; the margin improved to 2.17% from 2.11%. The efficiency ratio worsened as expenses grew faster than the comparable core revenue base.
  • Consolidated cash flows were $(34.3) million from operations, $857.9 million from investing activities, and $(667.0) million from financing activities. Cash and cash equivalents increased $156.5 million to $605.5 million at year-end.
  • Total assets were $6.69 billion, down 8.4%. Investment securities were $3.87 billion, down 12.4%; net loans were $1.67 billion, down 5.8%. Deposits were $2.40 billion, down 7.5%, and borrowings were $3.52 billion, down 10.3%. Repurchase agreements were the largest funding source, at $3.06 billion.
  • Stockholders’ equity was $695.6 million, down 5.0%, reflecting substantial share repurchases. Regulatory capital remained strong: Group Tier 1 leverage was 9.65% and total risk-based capital was 32.84%; the Bank was classified as well-capitalized.

Material changes and unusual items

  • FY2010 common-shareholder results included a $22.7 million deemed preferred-stock dividend from the Series C conversion; FY2011 had no comparable charge. This contributed to the improvement in common earnings alongside higher net income.
  • The Eurobank FDIC-assisted acquisition, completed in April 2010, was fully integrated during 2011. Management said it was becoming more accretive than anticipated. Covered loans declined 20.0% year over year, while improved expected cash flows produced a $1.4 million net recapture of covered-loan losses in 2011, versus a $6.3 million provision in 2010.
  • Management recorded a $15.0 million impairment on a collateralized debt obligation in Q4 2011; the security was sold in January 2012 at its year-end carrying value. The full-year result also included $28.0 million of securities-sale gains and $13.2 million of derivative losses.
  • For Q4 2011, net income was a loss of $11.9 million and the loss available to common shareholders was $13.1 million, or $(0.31) per share. The filing attributes the quarter’s result in part to non-interest losses; the CDO impairment was recorded in Q4.
  • Non-covered net credit losses rose to $9.6 million, or 0.81% of average non-covered loans, from $7.8 million, or 0.67%. Non-performing assets increased to $149.8 million (2.42% of assets) from $134.4 million (2.03%). The Bank changed its residential mortgage non-accrual policy to 90 days past due and recorded interest write-downs, including a $1.8 million adjustment and a further $2.4 million loss in December.

Outlook, risks, and contingencies

  • Management described a three-to-five-year strategy focused on expanding lending and wealth management, growing fee income, attracting deposits, and improving efficiency. It expected the December 2011 funding transactions to add approximately $13 million to 2012 net interest income on an annualized basis; this is management’s estimate, not a formal earnings forecast.
  • Puerto Rico was in its sixth year of recession, with persistent fiscal, employment, housing, and credit-quality pressures. The filing identifies geographic concentration, possible further loan losses and foreclosures, interest-rate and prepayment risk, and competition as material risks.
  • Liquidity depends in part on wholesale funding, including repurchase agreements and brokered deposits. Certain repo counterparties can exercise early put options; the company disclosed $600 million of repo funding maturing in December 2011 was partly repaid and partly renewed. A $105 million FDIC-guaranteed note was due March 16, 2012, and multiple repo and FHLB put dates were approaching in 2012.
  • The FDIC shared-loss arrangements reimburse 80% of qualifying losses on covered assets, subject to contract terms and time limits. Coverage is 10 years for single-family residential losses and five years for commercial losses; the filing notes possible reimbursement delays or loss of protection if contractual conditions are not met. The indemnification asset was $392.4 million at year-end.
  • Management said legal matters were not expected to have a material adverse effect on consolidated financial condition or results, but an adverse outcome could affect results or cash flows in a particular period. The filing states that the estimate of reasonably possible litigation and regulatory losses was not significant.
  • The Puerto Rico tax reform reduced the enacted marginal corporate tax rate; remeasurement of deferred taxes contributed $5.2 million of expense in 2011. The company also disclosed tax benefits and tax-law uncertainty tied to its international banking entity. Management concluded internal control over financial reporting was effective; KPMG issued unqualified opinions on the financial statements and internal controls.

Most important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether non-performing loans, impaired commercial and mortgage loans, and loss rates continued to rise after year-end, especially given the Puerto Rico downturn and the change in mortgage non-accrual treatment.
  • Whether the FDIC-covered loan pools’ improved cash-flow assumptions prove sustainable, and whether the $392.4 million indemnification asset is collectible under the shared-loss agreements.
  • How the company refinanced or repaid the March 2012 FDIC-guaranteed note and managed repo/FHLB put dates, collateral requirements, and reliance on wholesale funding.
  • How much FY2011 earnings depended on securities gains, derivative accounting, covered-loan accretion, and the one-time CDO impairment, versus recurring core operations.
  • Whether the projected approximately $13 million annualized net-interest-income benefit from the funding changes was realized, and how capital, dividends, and buybacks evolved after year-end.