Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:AMTB) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Carlos Iafigliola: Yes, there is–we have been doing analysis, Brady, and honestly the gap of what we need in terms of risk management, integrated audit, and bull risk and all that regulatory framework, crossing the $10 billion is– we’re probably already are completed on that end. We did every possible sensitivity analysis – risk, shocks, etc., so those are already covered. I believe that one of the items that you mentioned, Jerry, the Durbin amendment wouldn’t have a significant impact for us. We started estimating and it’s probably in the $500,000 to $1 million a year – that’s preliminary expectations what we have, but again you have to have a four quarter average going north of the $10 billion in order for all these changes to kick in, so we’ll definitely keep an eye and as we get closer, we’re definitely going to do any type of GAAP analysis to understand. But based on our preliminary assessments, we are in very good shape to be closer to $10 billion.

Brady Gailey: Okay. Then just bigger picture on performance metrics, as I look at 2022, you guys basically hit–there was a lot of noise in the year, but you basically on a core basis hit a 1 ROA. How are you thinking about profitability looking forward? Do you think the 1 ROA is kind of stable from here? Is there room for additional profitability improvement or pushing the efficiency ratio down further?

Carlos Iafigliola: No, I believe the 1 is sustainable. We have been doing a lot of changes in terms of our cost structure and in terms of other income. I believe one of the key drivers is the financial margin, that we believe is very strong, and as you saw captured in almost–you know, people refer to 125 basis points over the quarter, but in reality we had the last change of the Federal Reserve on September 21, so in reality it feels like 200 basis points. We believe that we should be stable at around 4% financial margin that will give us the core earnings to keep closer to the 1%, so we feel strong on that too.

Brady Gailey: Okay, and then finally for me, just this core system conversion in May, outside of any sort of one-time expenses, will there be any changes in the expense base? Will the expense base go higher with this new system, or does it allow you to potentially become more efficient so expenses could go down? Any impact from that conversion?

Carlos Iafigliola: Yes, we will provide more guidance on the decrease on the second semester, probably when we get closer to conversion because there will be several applications. If you recall, in the Q1 and Q2, we recorded provisions for contract termination for two of our largest technology providers, so as soon as we go into conversion, the second semester of 2023 shouldn’t have the regular expenses related to this previous technology provider. More to come on that, but we’ll fit you up with more information on those decommission as we get closer to conversion.

Brady Gailey: Okay, but post-conversion, expenses are more likely to go down or up?

Carlos Iafigliola: They should be going down due to this decommission of certain services, correct.

Brady Gailey: Got it. Actually, one more – so the expense outlook for $58 million to $59 million, is that just for the first quarter of 2023 or do you think that that’s the 2023 quarterly run rate for the full year?

Carlos Iafigliola: That’s reflective of what we believe it will be the first quarter. Again as Jerry mentioned, as we continue to build up business teams and as we continue to–for instance, the last quarter of 2022 was a great example, there was a surge in production so therefore there was an increase needed in the accrual for variable comp, so as we move and as we create more businesses, that should be subject to change. But this guidance is for the Q1.

Brady Gailey: Okay, great. Thanks for the color, and it was great to see the buyback. Thanks for the color, guys.