East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Ebrahim Poonawala: Got it. That was good color. And maybe just one, maybe, Chris, for you. And apologies if I missed it, but the special mention loans, we saw that pick up 95 bps was 60 sites. What’s driving that? Is it just your own internal portfolio review? Or are there certain areas within the commercial book where you’re seeing some softness?

Christopher Del Moral-Niles: I’ll let our Chief Risk Officer, address that one.

Irene Oh: Thank you, Chris. Ebrahim, when we look at that, honestly, there really aren’t any drivers, one way or another or sector. It is really pretty broad-based, as I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we continue to monitor the portfolio very carefully. And as appropriate, given kind of where rates are, we do expect that there will be some kind of increases in the classified and criticized asset ratio, given the very, very low basis those are at [indiscernible]

Operator: Our next question comes from Dave Rochester with Compass Point. Please go ahead.

David Rochester: Irene and Chris, congrats on the new roles. I know you mentioned it’s a little early on the expense front for next year. But just bigger picture, is there anything we need to watch out for any big ticket items, either on the regulatory side or systems upgrades or anything like that, that would potentially keep that expense growth rate elevated next year?

Irene Oh: Yes. I don’t think so, Dave. I mean, obviously, we have the special assessment, the SAIC special access, but that will impact everyone in the industry, but nothing particular.

David Rochester: And then as a follow-up on the margin. First, it sounded like you mentioned maybe seeing a little bit of an impression near term, correct me if I’m wrong, but you guys also highlighted a pretty big deceleration and increase in deposit costs with the spot barely up from the quarter average. So just wondering, absent any Fed rate changes, could you actually see NIM stabilize near term and you’ll continue to benefit from earning assets re-pricing higher? And are you seeing that growth into 2024?

Christopher Del Moral-Niles: As I look to the fourth quarter, I certainly see the mix should we be able to continue the deposit growth from our customers that we’re seeing as providing some lift to that compression risk. That having been said, if there’s another Fed hike, there’ll probably be some repricing of existing deposits that will work against us. So those are the dynamics that are at play, but I think you’ve captured the spirit of remarks well.

Irene Oh: Maybe I’ll just add. I mean, if you look at the third quarter and the trajectory of the NIM and this helps kind of inform our thoughts around this, so NIM from July was 345 And then for August and September, we’ve got a little bit of better 350 for both quarters, so months, excuse me. So that helps us kind of fray where we’re at and we’re comfortable with the stabilization as we move forward.

Operator: The next question comes from Manan Gosalia with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Manan Gosalia: I wanted to ask about just a little bit more color on the funding side. It looks like you’re getting some nice loan growth and it sounds like you’re going to continue to lean in here. I think you noted that market deposit growth this quarter is coming from money market and time deposits. Is that where you’re going to be focused on bringing in new funding to fund the loans?

Christopher Del Moral-Niles: I think we’re going to be looking across the board. And frankly, we’ve seen success across the board. In fact, on the consumer side, we’re expecting to grow deposits driven by some initiatives we have internally with business checking accounts, on small and medium-sized businesses as well as consumers as well as a further push to better integrate our new mortgage customers into our checking ecosystem. So, I think we’ll see consumer lift that won’t necessarily be at the higher-end cost, but we’re also expecting to grow commercial balances. And as Dominic alluded to, there have been opportunities for us to be selective and proactive with new customers to the bank. And we’re obviously prioritizing new customers that come with significant deposits at the right price points.