Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Tory Nixon: Yes, it’s Tory again. Definitely not the case and not accurate. We exited the multifamily division, which was a part of the commercial bank that had existed at kind of legacy Umpqua Bank for quite some time, about $3.9 billion to $4 billion in assets, small garden-style apartments, average deal about $2 million, and it was just – we just made the decision that, again, is very transactional, was it in line with the commentary around really strong full relationship banking. And so exited that business. And – but we have many other parts of the company that we will continue to do multifamily lending for our customers in the commercial real estate division in community commercial banking. So we will continue to do lots of multifamily lending. We’re just not doing it through the multifamily division.

Matthew Clark: Okay, thank you.

Tory Nixon: Welcome.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Chris McGratty with KBW. Your line is open.

Chris McGratty: Great, thanks. Ron, maybe a margin question. Looking at your Slide 8, you gave the range of – on a core basis, 3.10% to 3.30% for Q3. And obviously, you talked about the – what would take to get to the high and low end of that. To get to your full year guide of 3.20% to 3.40%, that would imply kind of an exit, if you assume the low end of around 3%. I guess I wanted to take your temperature on your thoughts about that entering 2024. If the Fed stays at high rates, like how do you view the core margin of this company trending once the Fed is done?

Ron Farnsworth: Hey, Chris, this is Ron. So again, the Q3 guide, we included in that there is going to be based off of deposit flows in the third quarter, and we sort of talked a bit about it, but we can see how that plays out. I’m not saying that the guide at 3% on an exit velocity basis. This is a blended – this is an annual number, but it also recognizes the fact that the first 2 months of the year was holding standalone. We closed the combination for the month of March and then that’s still given through the year. So one would assume that there are stable deposit flows will be pretty consistent in Q4 as we expect to be in Q3. Again, that’s going to be the determining factor.

Chris McGratty: Okay. So the 3.10% to 3.30% range for Q3, that could also be the range for Q4 based on – I just want to make sure I got that button up. Is that right?

Ron Farnsworth: Very much so. Very much so. And sensitivity within that range will be based off deposit flows. Simple as that.

Chris McGratty: Understood. Okay. Got it. Thanks. And then on the expenses, I just want to come back to – I know you’ve talked about investing some of the additional savings. Is that kind of what you’re trying to message to us that you may have more to talk about next quarter, but don’t go in putting cost – additional cost saves in the numbers. Is that kind of what you’re trying to message?

Clint Stein: Sort of, yes. Chris, this is Clint. Yes, what we stated all along was that we were committed, regardless of what was going on with inflation, tight labor market and everything else to delivering a minimum of $135 million of cost savings to the bottom line. And – but we also were working on other internal opportunities so that we have flexibility to address those issues. And also during that time period, separately Umpqua and Columbia, both expanded into the Phoenix market. Umpqua expanded into the Colorado market and Columbia into the Utah market. And it’s – our commitment is to bank – bring our full scope of services and solutions to those markets. And so part of that just, frankly, is some retail locations and we can essentially kind of just put a rough number out on what each retail location costs us.

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