Colony Bankcorp Inc. 2026 Q3 Earnings Call

Before we get started, I would like to go through our standard disclosures. Certain statements we make on this call could be constituted as forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Current and prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to, pandemics, variations of the company's assets, businesses, cash flows, financial conditions, prospects, and other results of operations. Additional cautionary statements related to the First Reliance merger are located in our merger press release, merger investor presentation, and SEC filings, all of which are available on our website.

I would also like to add that during our call today, we will reference our third quarter earnings release and investor presentation, which were both filed yesterday. Please have those available to reference. With that, I will turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Heath Fountain.

Thanks, Brantley, and thank you to everyone for joining our third quarter earnings call today. We are pleased to report improved financial performance for the quarter, and our team continues to make progress towards achieving our goals. We previously announced that regulatory and shareholder approvals have been obtained for our partnership with First Reliance, and we are expecting legal close to occur on November 1st. Both teams have been working diligently toward ensuring a smooth transition for both the upcoming legal close in November and the scheduled systems conversion and customer integration that will occur in the second quarter of next year. We are proud of the progress both teams have made, and we remain on track with our timeline. We are pleased to have surpassed a 1.25 operating ROA this quarter and believe we are on a good long-term trajectory for continued growth and profitability.

However, as we integrate First Reliance, we expect ROA to pull back by 10-15 basis points over the next few quarters due to higher expenses associated with operating the combined company on two core systems until conversion late in the second quarter of 2027. We still feel good about reaching our ROA target of 135 or better, but that will occur after we start to realize the full cost savings, which will begin in the third quarter of next year. Loan growth for the third quarter was around 2% annualized, and that brings us to about 5.4% year-to-date annualized loan growth. Pricing discipline remains a priority for us, and the rising rate environment has tempered near-term loan growth compared to our long-term target of 8%-12%.

Repricing of loan renewals from lower rates will continue to provide opportunities to capture increased interest income and drive growth in earning asset yields even as near-term net loan growth is softer. As we look out into next year, given the current economic environment and rate outlook, we think we'll be looking at loan growth around our current level of 5% for the coming year as we continue to prioritize improving profitability. Margin improved seven basis points from the prior quarter to 3.59% and reflects continued balance sheet improvement and a healthy weighted average rate on new and renewed loans. As illustrated on slide 40, our expected base case repricing unlocks substantial value heading into 2027. The spread between our legacy asset yields and current origination rates will allow us to drive meaningful net interest income growth as those loans and investments reprice.

Our non-interest income was strong this quarter, expanding over the prior quarter thanks to disciplined execution and steady growth across our business lines. However, as the rate environment remains relatively elevated, we do expect mortgage origination volumes to moderate. Higher mortgage rates naturally create a cooling effect on home sales and refinance pipelines, and we are proactively managing that business to align with expected production levels. As we look at the combined company, we expect mortgage production to be softer in the near term compared to our original projections. We are actively rightsizing expenses and operational infrastructure to match expected mortgage volumes while preserving the capacity needed to scale effectively over the long term. Core deposits remain a strategic priority.

While competition across our footprint has increased in this rate environment, our team remains disciplined by prioritizing relationship-driven, low-cost operating accounts over high-cost, rate-sensitive deposits that compromise our net interest margin. This approach aligns with our current lending posture and lower near-term loan growth expectations. Our focus is on efficient balance sheet growth to drive earnings improvement over the long term rather than funding growth at the expense of margin. Treasury yields across the curve have reached multi-decade highs, creating some incremental pressure on our unrealized investment losses and AOCI. The impact today on our portfolio is less pronounced than what we experienced in prior cycles. Our efforts to downsize the bond portfolio and allow duration to shorten have positioned the balance sheet to be more resilient to rate volatility.

Even after absorbing these marks this quarter, our tangible book value per share increased from the prior quarter and our TCE ratio held firm. Yesterday, we also announced a sale-leaseback transaction for three of our retail branch locations with a lease agreement to lease back those branches for an initial 15-year term. There will be no closures or customer impacts as part of this transaction, and the lease term represents a long-term commitment to those markets and to our customers there. We expect a gain on sale of the assets of approximately $15 million, which we plan to fully offset with a strategic sale of underperforming securities. We plan to redeploy proceeds primarily in loans over the next several quarters, providing liquidity for future growth and improving the position of the balance sheet.

While we may be opportunistic in purchasing investments, reinvesting proceeds back into similar duration securities at higher yields is not part of our strategy. The two primary considerations for us to consider a balance sheet restructure have been the ability to improve our net interest rate risk position and to deploy the funds into loans. Derek will provide more detail on the transaction in slides 17 and 18, and our investor presentation gives an overview. We expect the net outcome will be accretive to tangible book value and to earnings. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, our primary focus is on execution. Completing our partnership with First Reliance is a transformative milestone that significantly elevates our scale and competitive positioning across the Southeast. We are executing from a position of financial strength, and we are excited about the significant value this combination will unlock heading into 2027.

With that, I'll turn it over to Derek to go over the financials in more detail.

Thank you, Heath. Operating net income increased to $11.6 million in the third quarter, and operating pre-provision net revenue increased to approximately $16.3 million. Earning asset yields increased for another consecutive quarter, leading to margin expansion of seven basis points to 3.59%. Net interest income increased approximately $508,000, and the driver behind the increase is the new and renewed weighted average loan rate of 7.26%, compared to 7.14% in the previous quarter, and shown on slide 38. Overall cost of funds ticked up slightly to 1.98% from 1.95% in the prior quarter and is representative of the current rate environment and rate outlook. We expect long-term deposit betas to be in line with the previous cycle, although the timing could be slightly different due to the competitive nature and sensitivity of depositors across the combined company's footprint.

Margin is expected to increase in the fourth quarter due to the impacts of purchase accounting and accretion after the close of the merger. We still expect that increase to be largely in line with our initial projections. Heath mentioned repricing in 2027, and we feel that will be a meaningful contributor to net interest income and margin as those dollars reprice. As shown on slide 40, base case indicates $223 million of fixed-rate loans currently at an average rate today of 5.21%, and $76 million of investments at an average of 1.77%. This provides the opportunity to pick up meaningful yield on the repricing of those assets at today's rates. Operating non-interest income increased $702,000 from the previous quarter to $12.3 million. The quarter-over-quarter increase is primarily attributed to increased deposit related fees, interchange income, and SBA related income.

Slide 19 shows the pre-tax performance of our business lines. Mortgage production has slowed in the current rate environment and upon entering a seasonally lower period of activity. Marine and RV lending shows a decline in pre-tax income. However, we allocate funding costs based on market-driven funds transfer pricing, and those costs were higher in the quarter due to market dynamics. Those costs are eliminated on a consolidated basis but are included in their standalone metrics. For marine and RV lending, interest income grew by $190,000 in the quarter, and loans outstanding increased about $10 million. Colony Financial Advisors' pre-tax income slightly decreased quarter-over-quarter due to additional commission income in the second quarter. AUM increased $17 million quarter-over-quarter, or about 11% annualized. The SBSL division improvement during the quarter is related to the increased gain on sale of SBA loans.