First Hawaiian, Inc. (NASDAQ:FHB) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Jamie Moses: No, I think you’ve nailed it, Bob. I think we will €“ are likely to see some migration continue to go from non-interest bearing to interest bearing accounts. And I mean, I suppose if you look back at the history, we were, kind of just under 40% or so, non-interest bearing deposits to total deposits. So, I mean, I think if you think about that, sort of migration, I think that is maybe what we could see or maybe slightly better than that. I mean, it really depends on how long this cycle lasts.

Steven Alexopoulus: Okay. Jamie, congrats on the position. Ralph did a great job while they’re waiting for you. And thanks for taking my questions.

Jamie Moses: Thanks Steve.

Robert Harrison: Thanks Steve.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Andrew Liesch with Piper Sandler. Your line is now open.

Andrew Liesch: Hey, good morning, everyone. Hi, Jamie.

Jamie Moses: Hi, Andrew.

Andrew Liesch: Question on the margin here sounds like little bit more expansion this quarter, but then do you think it’s going to top out there or is there still some benefit that could come from rate hikes, depending on what we get here in the next few months?

Jamie Moses: Yes, I think the guidance is pretty good in terms of where we expect Q1 to be, if there are some more rate hikes, we could see a little bit more accretion to the NIM. And if there aren’t, then maybe we’re sort of at that range on the guidance there. So, again, right, this is all forecasting what we think the Fed is going to do and how our balance sheet, sort of catches up on those things. So, I think we feel good about 4% to 5%, but I think there is room for improvement if we see some more Fed rate hikes.

Andrew Liesch: Got it. That’s helpful.

Robert Harrison: We do where deposit rates are now relative to interest rates. So, we don’t feel there is a catch up. We’ve been saying pretty close to our customers on this and making sure that they see the value in their relationship with the bank and as we take care of that.

Andrew Liesch: Got you. And then on the cadence of the loan growth mid-single-digits, how is that going to transpire throughout the year? I guess, how is the pipeline looking for this quarter? How much is €“ what are the dealer flooring customers telling you?

Robert Harrison: Yes. As you saw, we ended up the year with a strong fourth quarter in dealer flooring, higher than it had been going to about $25 million a month increase for fourth quarter, it was above that right at , but that still left us at just about 450 million versus December 2019 at 860, so I don’t think there’s any way we’re going to go up $400 million in 2023, but I think there will continue to be accretion and increase in that dealer flooring book as supply lines become unstuck and we see a little bit slowdown in buying activity by the consumer. So, I think there will be, kind of a tailwind for us in dealer flooring. That’s up against certainly a headwind in residential. The refinance market has essentially ended.

As we all know, we are seeing a little bit slower activity in home equity lines as far as new loans, but we are seeing growth in that based on existing relationships we have with customers. So, I think those are some of the puts and takes. The one that we have more control over and we’re still in that market is commercial real estate and that still remains active, but probably not at the same level we saw in 2022.

Andrew Liesch: Got it. That’s great color. Thanks so much guys. I’ll step back.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Kelly Motta with KBW. Your line is now open.