Amalgamated Financial Corp. Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results; Immediate Liquidity Coverage at 183% of Uninsured Non Super-Core Deposits

NEW YORK, July 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amalgamated Financial Corp. (the “Company” or “Amalgamated”) ( AMAL), the holding company for Amalgamated Bank (the “Bank”), today announced its complete financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Second Quarter 2023 Highlights (on a linked quarter basis)

• Net income of $21.6 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, compared to $21.3 million, or $0.69 per diluted share.
• Core net income¹ of $22.0 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, as compared to $23.0 million, or $0.74 per diluted share.

Deposits and Liquidity

• Total deposits decreased $146.7 million, or 2.1%, to $6.9 billion including a $126.4 million decline in Brokered CD utilization.
• Excluding Brokered CDs, deposits remained essentially unchanged at $6.4 billion, reflecting a strong and stable deposit base.
• Political deposits increased $157.7 million, or 23.3%, to $835.8 million.
• Average cost of deposits, excluding Brokered CDs, was 87 basis points for the quarter, where non-interest bearing deposits remained steady and comprised a noteworthy 46% of total deposits.
• Super-core deposits totaled approximately $3.6 billion, had a weighted average life of 17 years, and comprised 55% of total deposits excluding Brokered CDs.
• Total uninsured deposits were $3.9 billion, improving to 57% of total deposits. Excluding uninsured super-core deposits of approximately $2.5 billion, remaining uninsured deposits were approximately 20-23% of total deposits with immediate liquidity coverage of 183%.
• Cash and borrowing capacity totaled $2.6 billion (immediately available) plus unpledged securities (two-day availability) of $758.3 million for total liquidity within two-days of $3.3 billion (85% of total uninsured deposits).

Assets and Margin

• Loans receivable, net of deferred loan origination costs, increased $53.5 million, or 1.3%, to $4.3 billion.
• Held-to-maturity and available for sale PACE assessments grew $64.3 million to $1.1 billion.
• Net interest income was $63.0 million, at the high-end of the guidance range provided in the first quarter. Net interest margin was 3.33%, in line with expectations.

Share Repurchase

• Repurchased approximately 139,000 shares, or $2.2 million of common stock under the Company’s $40 million share repurchase program announced in the first quarter of 2022.
• The Company expects to continue repurchasing shares through its common stock share repurchase program, with $23.5 million of remaining capacity. The timing and exact amount of stock repurchase activity will be informed by economic and regulatory considerations as well as Amalgamated's overall position, earnings outlook, and capital deployment priorities.

Investments and Capital

• Tangible common equity ratio of 6.59%, represents another consecutive quarter of improvement.
• Available for sale securities, which are 73% of the Company's traditional securities portfolio, had unrealized losses of 7.6%, with an effective duration of 1.8 years.
• Traditional held-to-maturity securities, which are 27% of the Company's traditional securities portfolio, had unrecognized losses of 11.0%, with an effective duration of 4.1 years.
• Regulatory capital remains above bank “well capitalized” standards, with a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.51% at June 30, 2023, and continues to increase in line with strategic plans.
• Our leverage ratio was 7.78%, an increase of 28 basis points from the prior quarter.

Priscilla Sims Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Amalgamated is a conservatively managed bank with a simple model, prudent asset liability management practices, efficient operations, experienced management, strong asset quality and, importantly, a uniquely stable deposit base which is beginning to benefit from strong political deposit inflows as the presidential election cycle begins.”

^{1 Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure are set forth on the last page of the financial information accompanying this press release and may also be found on our website, www.amalgamatedbank.com.}

Second Quarter Earnings

Net income for the second quarter of 2023 was $21.6 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, compared to $21.3 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2023. The $0.3 million increase for the second quarter of 2023 compared to the preceding quarter was primarily driven by a $2.7 million increase in non-interest income, a $1.1 million decrease in provision expense, and a $1.1 million decrease in non-interest expense offset by a $4.3 million decrease in net interest income, and a $0.2 million increase in income tax expense.

Core net income excluding the impact of solar tax equity investments (non-GAAP)¹ for the second quarter of 2023 was $22.0 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, compared to $23.0 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2023. Excluded from core net income for the second quarter of 2023 were $0.3 million of pre-tax losses on sales of securities and $0.3 million in severance costs. Excluded from the first quarter of 2023 were $3.1 million of pre-tax losses on the sale of securities and $0.8 million of pre-tax gains on subordinated debt repurchases.

Net interest income was $63.0 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $67.3 million for the first quarter of 2023. Interest income on securities decreased $0.2 million driven by a 12 basis point increase in securities yield offset by a decrease in the average balance of securities of $102.0 million. Loan interest income increased $0.6 million driven by a $73.5 million increase in average loan balances offset by a 7 basis point decrease in loan yields. The increase in interest income was offset by higher interest expense on deposits of $5.0 million driven by a 45 basis point increase in deposit costs and an increase in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits of $165.5 million. The changes in deposit costs were primarily related to a $43.8 million increase in average Brokered CDs and a $112.5 million increase in average savings, NOW, and money market deposits.

Net interest margin was 3.33% for the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of 26 basis points from 3.59% in the first quarter of 2023. The decrease is largely due to increased rates and average balances of interest-bearing liabilities, primarily costs for deposits. No prepayment penalties were earned in loan income in the first or second quarter of 2023.

Provision for credit losses totaled $3.9 million for the second quarter of 2023 compared to $5.0 million in the first quarter of 2023. The decrease in the provision is largely due to a $1.2 million impairment charge on a Silicon Valley Bank (“SIVB”) senior note in the first quarter of 2023, which was subsequently sold during the second quarter.

Core non-interest income excluding the impact of solar tax equity investments (non-GAAP)¹ was $8.2 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $7.5 million in the first quarter of 2023. The increase of $0.7 million was primarily related to increased income from equity investments, higher Trust Department fees, and fees on treasury investments for certain clients seeking alternative yields to deposit pricing.

Core non-interest expense (non-GAAP)¹ for the second quarter of 2023 was $37.2 million, a decrease of $1.4 million from the first quarter of 2023. This was primarily driven by a $0.8 million decrease in compensation and employee benefits comprised mainly of increased payroll taxes given timing of corporate incentive payments, temporary personnel costs, and benefit insurance costs incurred during the first quarter of 2023. Additionally, advertising expense and data processing expense decreased during the quarter, offset by increased reserves for FDIC depository insurance and increased professional fees.

Our provision for income tax expense was $7.8 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $7.6 million for the first quarter of 2023. The increase reflects the higher pre-tax income in the second quarter. Our effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2023 was 26.5%, compared to 26.2% for the first quarter of 2023.

Balance Sheet Quarterly Summary

Total assets were $7.8 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to $7.8 billion at March 31, 2023, in keeping with our strategy to keep our balance sheet flat. Notable changes within individual balance sheet line items include a $53.5 million increase in loans receivable, net of deferred loan origination costs, funded mainly by a $58.9 million decrease in available-for-sale investment securities, and a $15.4 million decrease in resell agreements. Additionally, Brokered CDs declined by $126.4 million, offset by a $90.0 million increase in short-term borrowings.

Total loans receivable, net of deferred loan origination costs at June 30, 2023 were $4.3 billion, an increase of $53.5 million, or 1.3%, compared to March 31, 2023. The increase in loans is primarily driven by a $32.9 million increase in multifamily loans, a $25.6 million increase in commercial and industrial loans, a $5.9 million increase in the commercial real estate portfolio, offset by a $1.6 million decrease in residential loans, and a $9.2 million decrease in construction loans. During the quarter we had $5.2 million of payoffs and upgrades of criticized or classified loans, including a payoff of a $3.8 million office related loan, as we continue to focus on the improving the credit quality of the commercial portfolio.

Deposits at June 30, 2023 were $6.9 billion, a decrease of $146.7 million, or 2.1%, as compared to $7.0 billion as of March 31, 2023. Deposits excluding Brokered CDs decreased by $20.3 million to $6.4 billion, a 0.3% decrease compared to March 31, 2023. Deposits held by politically active customers, such as campaigns, PACs, advocacy-based organizations, and state and national party committees were $835.8 million as of June 30, 2023, an increase of $157.7 million compared to $678.1 million as of March 31, 2023. Non-interest-bearing deposits represented 45% of average total deposits and 43% of ending total deposits for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, contributing to an average cost of total deposits of 110 basis points.

Nonperforming assets totaled $35.3 million, or 0.45% of period-end total assets at June 30, 2023, a decrease of $3.4 million, compared with $38.7 million, or 0.49% on a linked quarter basis. The decrease in non-performing assets was primarily driven by the $1.8 million SIVB senior note placed on nonaccrual status in the first quarter of 2023, which was subsequently sold in the second quarter, and a $1.3 million commercial real estate loan that was 90 days past due and accruing at March 31, 2023 was brought current in the second quarter. Additionally, a $1.7 million commercial loan was charged off in the quarter which was substantially reserved for as of the first quarter, offset by an additional $1.4 million in retail loans that were placed on nonaccrual status.

During the quarter, the allowance for credit losses on loans increased $0.1 million to $67.4 million at June 30, 2023 from $67.3 million at March 31, 2023. The ratio of allowance to total loans was 1.59%, a decrease of 2 basis points from 1.61% in the first quarter of 2023.

Capital Quarterly Summary

As of June 30, 2023, our Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio was 12.51%, Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio was 15.26%, and Tier-1 Leverage Capital Ratio was 7.78%, compared to 12.23%, 15.00%, and 7.50%, respectively, as of March 31, 2023. Stockholders’ equity at June 30, 2023 was $528.6 million, compared to $519.2 million at March 31, 2023. The increase in stockholders’ equity was primarily driven by $21.6 million of net income for the quarter offset by a $7.9 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss due to the tax effected mark-to-market on our available for sale securities portfolio.

Our tangible book value per share was $16.78 as of June 30, 2023 compared to $16.42 as of March 31, 2023. Tangible common equity was 6.59% of tangible assets, compared to 6.43% as of March 31, 2023.

Conference Call

As previously announced, Amalgamated Financial Corp. will host a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2023 results today, July 27, 2023 at 11:00am (Eastern Time). The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-877-407-9716 (domestic) or 1-201-493-6779 (international) and asking for the Amalgamated Financial Corp. Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. A telephonic replay will be available approximately two hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing 1-844-512-2921, or for international callers 1-412-317-6671 and providing the access code 13739618. The telephonic replay will be available until August 3, 2023.

Interested investors and other parties may also listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the investor relations section of our website at https://ir.amalgamatedbank.com/. The online replay will remain available for a limited time beginning immediately following the call.

The presentation materials for the call can be accessed on the investor relations section of our website at https://ir.amalgamatedbank.com/.

About Amalgamated Financial Corp.

Amalgamated Financial Corp. is a Delaware public benefit corporation and a bank holding company engaged in commercial banking and financial services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amalgamated Bank. Amalgamated Bank is a New York-based full-service commercial bank and a chartered trust company with a combined network of five branches across New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco, and a commercial office in Boston. Amalgamated Bank was formed in 1923 as Amalgamated Bank of New York by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, one of the country's oldest labor unions. Amalgamated Bank provides commercial banking and trust services nationally and offers a full range of products and services to both commercial and retail customers. Amalgamated Bank is a proud member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values and is a certified B Corporation®. As of June 30, 2023, our total assets were $7.8 billion, total net loans were $4.2 billion, and total deposits were $6.9 billion. Additionally, as of June 30, 2023, our trust business held $40.3 billion in assets under custody and $14.5 billion in assets under management.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release (and the accompanying financial information and tables) refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures including, without limitation, “Core operating revenue,” “Core non-interest expense,” “Core non-interest income,” “Core net income,” “Tangible common equity,” “Average tangible common equity,” “Core return on average assets,” “Core return on average tangible common equity,” and “Core efficiency ratio.”

Our management utilizes this information to compare our operating performance for June 30, 2023 versus certain periods in 2023 and 2022 and to prepare internal projections. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures facilitate making period-to-period comparisons and are meaningful indications of our operating performance. In addition, because intangible assets such as goodwill and other discrete items unrelated to our core business, which are excluded, vary extensively from company to company, we believe that the presentation of this information allows investors to more easily compare our results to those of other companies.

The presentation of non-GAAP financial information, however, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures. We strongly encourage readers to review the GAAP financial measures included in this release and not to place undue reliance upon any single financial measure. In addition, because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release with other companies’ non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial disclosures to comparable GAAP measures found in this release are set forth in the final pages of this release and also may be viewed on our website, amalgamatedbank.com.

Terminology

Certain terms used in this release are defined as follows:

“Core efficiency ratio” is defined as “Core non-interest expense” divided by “Core operating revenue.” We believe the most directly comparable performance ratio derived from GAAP financial measures is an efficiency ratio calculated by dividing total non-interest expense by the sum of net interest income and total non-interest income.

“Core efficiency ratio excluding solar tax impact” is defined as “Core non-interest expense” divided by “Core operating revenue excluding solar tax impact.” We believe the most directly comparable performance ratio derived from GAAP financial measures is an efficiency ratio calculated by dividing total non-interest expense by the sum of net interest income and total non-interest income.

“Core net income” is defined as net income after tax excluding gains and losses on sales of securities, gains on the sale of owned property, costs related to branch closures, restructuring/severance costs, acquisition costs, and taxes on notable pre-tax items. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is net income.

“Core net income excluding solar tax impact” is defined as net income after tax excluding gains and losses on sales of securities, gains on the sale of owned property, costs related to branch closures, restructuring/severance costs, acquisition costs, tax credits and accelerated depreciation on solar equity investments, and taxes on notable pre-tax items. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is net income.

“Core non-interest expense” is defined as total non-interest expense excluding costs related to branch closures, restructuring/severance, and acquisitions. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total non-interest expense.

“Core non-interest income excluding the impact of solar tax equity investments” is defined as total non-interest income excluding gains and losses on sales of securities, gains on the sale of owned property, and tax credits and depreciation on solar equity investments. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is non-interest income.

“Core operating revenue” is defined as total net interest income plus “core non-interest income”, defined as non-interest income excluding gains and losses on sales of securities and gains on the sale of owned property. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is the total of net interest income and non-interest income.

“Core operating revenue excluding solar tax impact” is defined as total net interest income plus non-interest income excluding gains and losses on sales of securities, gains on the sale of owned property, and tax credits and depreciation on solar equity investments. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is the total of net interest income and non-interest income.

“Core return on average assets” is defined as “Core net income” divided by average total assets. We believe the most directly comparable performance ratio derived from GAAP financial measures is return on average assets calculated by dividing net income by average total assets.

“Core return on average assets excluding solar tax impact” is defined as “Core net income excluding solar tax impact” divided by average total assets. We believe the most directly comparable performance ratio derived from GAAP financial measures is return on average assets calculated by dividing net income by average total assets.

“Core return on average tangible common equity” is defined as “Core net income” divided by “Average tangible common equity.” We believe the most directly comparable performance ratio derived from GAAP financial measures is return on average equity calculated by dividing net income by average total stockholders’ equity.

“Core return on average tangible common equity excluding solar tax impact” is defined as “Core net income excluding solar tax impact” divided by “Average tangible common equity.” We believe the most directly comparable performance ratio derived from GAAP financial measures is return on average equity calculated by dividing net income by average total stockholders’ equity.

“Super-core deposits” are defined as total deposits from commercial and consumer customers, with a relationship length of greater than 5 years. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total deposits.

“Tangible assets” are defined as total assets excluding, as applicable, goodwill and core deposit intangibles. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total assets.

“Tangible common equity”, and “Tangible book value” are defined as stockholders’ equity excluding, as applicable, minority interests, preferred stock, goodwill and core deposit intangibles. We believe that the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total stockholders’ equity.

"Traditional securities portfolio" is defined as total investment securities excluding PACE assessments. We believe the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total investment securities.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included in this release that are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified through the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “aspire,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “in the future,” “may” and “intend,” as well as other similar words and expressions of the future. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, any or all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (i) uncertain conditions in the banking industry and in national, regional and local economies in our core markets, which may have an adverse impact on our business, operations and financial performance; (ii) deterioration in the financial condition of borrowers resulting in significant increases in loan losses and provisions for those losses; (iii) deposit outflows and subsequent declines in liquidity caused by factors that could include lack of confidence in the banking system, a deterioration in market conditions or the financial condition of depositors; (iv) changes in our deposits, including an increase in uninsured deposits; (v) unfavorable conditions in the capital markets, which may cause declines in our stock price and the value of our investments; (vi) continued fluctuation of the interest rate environment, including changes in net interest margin or changes that affect the yield curve on investments; (vii) potential deterioration in real estate collateral values; (viii) changes in legislation, regulation, public policies, or administrative practices impacting the banking industry, including increased regulation and FDIC assessments in the aftermath of recent bank failures; (ix) the outcome of legal or regulatory proceedings that may be instituted against us; (x) our inability to maintain the historical growth rate of the loan portfolio; (xi) changes in loan underwriting, credit review or loss reserve policies associated with economic conditions, examination conclusions, or regulatory developments; (xii) the impact of competition with other financial institutions, including pricing pressures and the resulting impact on our results, including as a result of compression to net interest margin; (xiii) any matter that would cause us to conclude that there was impairment of any asset, including intangible assets; (xiv) the risk that the preliminary financial information reported herein and our current preliminary analysis will be different when our review is finalized; (xv) increased competition for experienced members of the workforce including executives in the banking industry; (xvi) a failure in or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes, spam attacks, human error, natural disasters, power loss and other security breaches; (xvii) a downgrade in our credit rating; (xviii) increased political opposition to Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) practices; (xix) recessionary conditions; (xx) the ongoing economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; (xxi) physical and transitional risks related to climate change as they impact our business and the businesses that we finance, and (xxii) future repurchase of our shares through our common stock repurchase program. Additional factors which could affect the forward-looking statements can be found in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC and available on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov/. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this release, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor Contact:
Jamie Lillis
Solebury Strategic Communications
[email protected]
800-895-4172

Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited)