Business context and reporting period
Customers Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company operating through Customers Bank, filed this unaudited Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The bank provides commercial and consumer banking and nationwide mortgage-warehouse financing. Management highlighted strong growth in multifamily and commercial lending and a January purchase of $277.9 million of adjustable-rate jumbo residential mortgages from Flagstar Bank.
Financial performance and condition
- Earnings: Net income was $8.1 million, up 13.2% from $7.2 million in Q1 2013. Diluted EPS was $0.32, down from $0.38, as the weighted-average diluted share count increased materially. Income before tax was $11.6 million.
- Interest income and margins: Net interest income rose 31% to $29.5 million. Net interest margin fell to 2.92% from 3.25%; average loan yields declined amid lower market rates, repayments of higher-yielding loans, and growth in lower-yielding multifamily loans.
- Other income and expenses: Non-interest income increased to $7.6 million, including a $2.8 million realized securities gain; mortgage-warehouse fees fell $1.9 million. Non-interest expense rose to $21.2 million from $16.5 million, reflecting higher staffing, professional services, occupancy, regulatory assessments, and technology spending.
- Credit costs: Provision for loan losses was $4.4 million, compared with a $0.1 million benefit in Q1 2013. The increase reflected loan growth and a $1.5 million reduction in estimated FDIC loss-sharing benefits. Allowance for loan losses was $26.7 million; quarterly net charge-offs were $0.2 million.
- Balance sheet: Total assets reached $5.01 billion, up 20.7% from year-end. Net loans receivable were $3.33 billion, including $2.47 billion in non-covered commercial real estate loans. Loans held for sale were $697.5 million. Total deposits were $3.61 billion, up 21.8%; shareholders’ equity was $400.9 million.
- Debt and liquidity: Borrowings totaled $970.3 million at quarter-end, principally $905.0 million of FHLB advances and $65.3 million of other borrowings. Cash and cash equivalents were $290.5 million. Operating cash flow was $79.3 million; investing activities used $853.8 million and financing activities provided $831.9 million. Management said available funding sources were adequate for foreseeable needs; disclosed FHLB capacity was $2.1 billion, with $835 million utilized in short-term borrowings.
- Capital: The Bank’s total risk-based capital ratio was 12.36%, Tier 1 risk-based ratio 11.63%, and Tier 1 leverage ratio 9.71%. The filing says the Bank and Bancorp met applicable capital adequacy requirements and the Bank was well capitalized.
Material changes, outlook, and risks
- Quarter-end total assets increased $861.1 million from December 31, 2013. Management cited multifamily loan growth of $495.3 million, the Flagstar residential mortgage purchase, and $134.6 million growth in commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loans.
- Deposits grew substantially, partly from seasonal student deposits and brokered money-market accounts. Such growth supported loan expansion, alongside increased FHLB borrowing.
- Credit quality indicators included $12.6 million of non-accrual non-covered loans and $6.3 million of non-covered OREO. Non-performing covered assets were $14.8 million. The filing reported $5.1 million of total troubled debt restructurings.
- Management reported no specific forward earnings guidance. It described continued growth and infrastructure investment, while cautioning that forward-looking statements are subject to risks and actual results may differ. It also noted forthcoming Basel III requirements and potential regulatory compliance costs.
- Unusual items included the $2.8 million securities-sale gain, a $0.6 million out-of-period tax adjustment relating to 2013, and higher professional-services spending associated with loan workouts, litigation, and regulatory inquiries. A $2.0 million loss contingency had been recorded in Q1 2013 for suspected mortgage-warehouse fraud; the filing reported a remaining net amount of $0.7 million in other assets.
- Key risks include concentration and rapid growth in commercial real estate and multifamily lending; reliance on deposit and wholesale funding, including seasonal and brokered deposits; interest-rate and margin pressure; acquired and legacy loan workouts; mortgage-warehouse fraud or counterparty exposure; and rising operating and regulatory costs.
Important facts for investors to verify
- Whether rapid multifamily and commercial real estate loan growth is maintaining underwriting standards and appropriate loss reserves.
- How deposit composition, seasonal student balances, brokered funding, and FHLB advances evolve, and their effect on liquidity and funding costs.
- Whether falling net interest margin and lower loan yields persist, and how much earnings depend on nonrecurring securities gains and the tax adjustment.
- Trends in non-accrual loans, OREO, acquired-credit portfolios, FDIC reimbursements, and the remaining mortgage-warehouse fraud-related asset.
- Capital ratios relative to growth, the impact of Basel III implementation, and any changes in regulatory or litigation costs.