PROVIDENT FINANCIAL HOLDINGS INC annual report, FY2015

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. — FY2015 Form 10-K

Reporting period: Fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, compared primarily with the year ended June 30, 2014. This is an annual filing, not a filing for calendar-year 2014 Q4. The company is a Riverside, California-based bank holding company operating community banking and mortgage banking businesses, principally in Southern California.

Financial performance and condition

MetricFY2015 / June 30, 2015Prior comparable period
Net income$9.8 million; diluted EPS $1.07FY2014: $6.6 million; diluted EPS $0.65
Net interest income$33.3 million; net interest margin 3.03%FY2014: $30.7 million; 2.79%
Non-interest income$40.4 million, including $34.2 million gain on loan salesFY2014: $31.7 million; loan-sale gain $25.8 million
Non-interest expense$58.0 millionFY2014: $54.2 million
Total assets$1.175 billionJune 30, 2014: $1.106 billion
Loans held for investment, net$814.2 millionJune 30, 2014: $772.1 million
Deposits$924.1 millionJune 30, 2014: $897.9 million
FHLB borrowings$91.4 million; weighted-average rate 2.78%June 30, 2014: $41.4 million; 3.18%
Stockholders’ equity$141.1 millionJune 30, 2014: $145.9 million

Net income rose 48%, primarily reflecting higher mortgage-banking revenue as loan-sale volume increased 35% to $2.49 billion. Mortgage originations were $2.52 billion versus $1.99 billion. The gain-on-sale margin edged down to 1.37% from 1.38%. Higher production also increased compensation and other expenses. The efficiency ratio improved to 79% from 87%; return on average assets was 0.87% versus 0.58%, and return on average equity was 6.81% versus 4.31%.

The loan-loss allowance recovery was $1.4 million, compared with a $3.4 million recovery in FY2014. Net recoveries were $367,000, versus net charge-offs of $1.8 million. Non-performing assets declined to $16.3 million, or 1.39% of assets, from $18.4 million, or 1.66%. The allowance was $8.7 million, 1.06% of gross loans held for investment, versus $9.7 million, or 1.25%.

Cash and cash equivalents fell $37.5 million to $81.4 million. Cash flows were negative $57.8 million from operating activities, negative $40.0 million from investing activities, and positive $60.2 million from financing activities; cash declined by $37.5 million overall. Operating cash flow was affected substantially by the high volume of mortgage loans originated and sold. The company reported $324.0 million of remaining FHLB borrowing availability and no outstanding borrowings under its $12.2 million Federal Reserve discount-window facility or $12.0 million correspondent-bank federal-funds facility.

At June 30, 2015, the Bank’s regulatory capital ratios were 10.68% Tier 1 leverage, 17.22% CET1, 17.22% Tier 1 risk-based, and 18.47% total capital; the company reported 11.94%, 19.24%, 19.24%, and 20.49%, respectively. Both exceeded applicable well-capitalized thresholds. The filing gives no earnings or revenue guidance.

Material changes and management outlook

  • Loans held for investment grew 5%. Multi-family loans increased to $347.0 million from $301.2 million, while single-family loans declined to $366.0 million from $377.8 million. Management’s stated strategy is to moderately grow assets, reduce single-family concentration, and increase higher-yielding multi-family, commercial real estate, construction, and commercial business lending.
  • Transaction deposits rose to $578.4 million; time deposits declined to $345.7 million. Management intends to continue emphasizing lower-cost checking and savings accounts and competing less aggressively on time-deposit rates.
  • FHLB borrowings increased $50.0 million, principally due to new long-term advances. Stockholders’ equity declined 3%, primarily due to repurchases and dividends, partly offset by earnings. The company repurchased 784,906 shares during FY2015 at an average $15.93 per share and paid $0.45 per share in annual dividends, versus $0.40 in FY2014.
  • Management noted improving Inland Empire employment and California housing indicators, but continued to flag regional economic weakness and real-estate-market uncertainty. Its outlook is conditional on market conditions; it cautioned that the balance sheet could decline or stabilize rather than grow.
  • Interest-rate modeling estimated that a 100-basis-point rate increase would raise 12-month net interest income by 0.20%, while a 100-basis-point decrease would reduce it by 18.57%. These are model estimates, not forecasts; management cautioned that actual outcomes may differ materially.

Risks, contingencies, and unusual items

  • Credit exposure is concentrated in California real estate: approximately 79% of real-estate loans were secured by Southern California collateral. Multi-family and commercial real-estate loans totaled $447.9 million, or 54.4% of loans held for investment.
  • Non-traditional single-family loans were $243.6 million, or 66.7% of single-family investment loans; categories overlap. These include interest-only, stated-income, negative-amortization, low-FICO, and extended-amortization loans. Of $152.6 million in interest-only loans, $72.8 million were scheduled to begin full amortization within 12 months.
  • Mortgage banking results depend on origination volume, interest rates, secondary-market demand, investor eligibility, and hedge performance. Fair-value changes on loans held for sale and related derivatives produced a net loss of $186,000 in FY2015, compared with a net gain of $2.5 million in FY2014.
  • The Bank had a $275,000 reserve for an employee classification lawsuit. After year-end, on August 12, 2015, the court granted the Bank summary judgment; plaintiffs appealed on August 18. Management reported no other pending legal proceeding expected to have a material adverse effect.
  • Loan repurchases and premium refunds remain exposures. FY2015 loan repurchases were $1.6 million; loan-sale premium refunds totaled $2.0 million. The filing reports a $653,000 liability for future premium refunds and additional recourse liabilities for investor representations and warranties and the FHLB Mortgage Partnership Finance program.
  • The company identified risks from interest-rate changes, deposit competition and liquidity, loan-loss-estimate uncertainty, regulation and compliance costs, litigation, fraud and cybersecurity, natural disasters, and possible limits on realization of its $5.6 million net deferred tax asset.
  • The board declared a $0.12-per-share dividend on July 21, 2015, paid September 1, 2015. Deloitte & Touche issued unqualified opinions on the financial statements and internal control over financial reporting; management concluded controls were effective as of June 30, 2015.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether mortgage originations, gain-on-sale margins, and secondary-market access remain sufficient to support mortgage-banking earnings.
  • Performance and current collateral values for the California-concentrated and non-traditional loan portfolios, including upcoming interest-only conversions and loan maturities.
  • Future credit costs and adequacy of the $8.7 million allowance as non-performing assets and classified loans evolve.
  • Funding costs and liquidity as time deposits mature, FHLB borrowings rise, and interest rates change; also verify the company’s sensitivity assumptions against actual results.
  • Capital and dividend capacity under phased-in regulatory capital-buffer rules, alongside continued share repurchases and distributions.
  • Outcome of the employee lawsuit appeal and any changes in loan-repurchase, premium-refund, or other contingent liabilities.