BOK FINANCIAL CORP quarterly report, Q1 FY2015

BOK Financial Corporation — Q1 2015 Form 10-Q

Reporting period: Three months ended March 31, 2015. BOK Financial is a regional bank holding company with Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and Wealth Management businesses.

Key financial results

MetricQ1 2015Comparable period / change
Net income attributable to BOK Financial shareholders$74.8 million$76.6 million in Q1 2014; $64.3 million in Q4 2014
Diluted earnings per share$1.08$1.11 in Q1 2014; $0.93 in Q4 2014
Net interest revenue$167.7 millionUp $5.1 million year over year; down $2.0 million sequentially
Net interest margin2.55%2.71% in Q1 2014; 2.61% in Q4 2014
Other operating revenue$166.0 millionUp 19% year over year
Operating expenses$220.3 millionUp 19% year over year; down $5.6 million sequentially
Efficiency ratio64.91%60.06% in Q1 2014
Provision for credit losses$0Also zero in Q1 2014 and Q4 2014
Operating / investing / financing cash flow$(174.8) million / $(635.3) million / $944.9 millionCash and cash equivalents increased $134.8 million to $2.61 billion

Balance sheet, funding and capital

  • Total assets were $30.30 billion; total deposits were $21.15 billion; and total equity was $3.39 billion at March 31, 2015.
  • Loans totaled $14.68 billion, up $476 million from year-end 2014. Commercial loans were $9.39 billion and commercial real estate loans were $2.94 billion. Deposits were broadly unchanged from year-end.
  • Borrowed funds totaled approximately $5.04 billion, including $3.70 billion of Federal Home Loan Bank advances, compared with $2.13 billion of other borrowings at year-end. The bank reported approximately $6.1 billion of estimated unused collateralized credit availability.
  • Consolidated capital ratios were 13.07% common equity Tier 1, 13.07% Tier 1, 14.39% total capital and 9.74% leverage. The tangible common equity ratio was 9.86%.
  • The company held $424 million in parent-company cash and interest-bearing cash. Subsidiary-bank dividend capacity to the parent was zero at quarter-end under new capital rules and internal policy.

Material changes and operating drivers

  • Shareholder-attributable earnings declined year over year, while fee income grew strongly. Mortgage banking revenue rose $16.5 million, principally on higher originations; funded mortgage loans for sale reached $1.6 billion.
  • Higher expenses partly reflected the prior-year comparison: Q1 2014 included a $15.5 million reversal of accrued executive compensation, which provided a reported $10.2 million after-tax benefit. Q1 2015 personnel and non-personnel expenses also increased.
  • Net interest margin compressed amid low rates, competitive loan pricing and increased Federal Reserve deposits funded partly by FHLB borrowings. The loan portfolio yield was 3.59%, down 14 basis points sequentially.
  • Net loan recoveries were $8.4 million, including $8.8 million of commercial real estate recoveries. Nonperforming assets excluding U.S.-government-guaranteed assets declined to $123 million from $129 million at year-end.
  • Potential problem loans rose to $118 million from $79 million at year-end. The allowance for loan losses was $197.7 million; the combined allowance including off-balance-sheet credit losses was approximately $199 million, or 1.35% of loans.
  • Commercial Banking earnings rose to $46.0 million from $35.1 million year over year; Consumer Banking earnings fell to $3.9 million from $7.8 million; Wealth Management earnings rose to $4.5 million from $2.5 million.

Outlook, risks and unusual items

  • No specific earnings or financial guidance was provided. Management said fee-revenue growth is expected to come from new products, services and market development, while noting economic, regulatory, competitive and market constraints.
  • Energy exposure is material: energy loans were $2.90 billion, about 20% of total loans, and unfunded energy commitments were $2.7 billion. Management cited falling energy prices as a risk and said its stress test supported its view that the portfolio could withstand a short-term price correction.
  • Mortgage servicing rights and related hedges caused a net $5.0 million pretax loss in Q1. Their fair values are sensitive to mortgage rates, prepayments and changing primary-secondary rate spreads.
  • Two putative class actions concern consumer overdraft practices. Management said it could not reasonably estimate potential losses; the cases were in preliminary stages. Other ordinary-course litigation was not expected by management to materially affect results.
  • Off-balance-sheet exposures included $8.1 billion of loan commitments, $394 million of standby letters of credit and $174 million of mortgage loans sold with recourse. These amounts are not necessarily future cash requirements.
  • The company paid a $0.42-per-share quarterly dividend and repurchased 502,156 shares at an average $58.71 per share. The board approved another $0.42 dividend after quarter-end. Capital distributions remain subject to regulatory constraints.
  • Management identified interest-rate, credit, liquidity, regulatory, competitive and operational risks. Its modeled next-12-month net interest revenue sensitivity was a 0.72% decline under a 200-basis-point rate increase and a 2.73% decline under a 50-basis-point decrease; management cautioned that models rely on uncertain assumptions.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether margin pressure and higher FHLB funding continue, and how they affect net interest revenue and liquidity.
  • Developments in energy exposure, potential problem loans, commercial real estate recoveries and allowance adequacy.
  • Whether elevated mortgage production and fee income persist, given rate-sensitive origination volumes and mortgage-servicing-rights volatility.
  • The status and potential financial impact of overdraft-related litigation and mortgage repurchase or recourse obligations.
  • How new capital requirements and zero bank dividend capacity affect parent liquidity, dividends and share repurchases.
  • Underlying operating expense trends after accounting for the prior-year executive compensation reversal and branch-closure costs.