David Pfister

David Pfister asked about loan demand, pipeline trends, payoffs, and paydowns, as well as the competitive landscape, focusing on pricing versus structure. He also inquired about equipment finance production, demand segments, underlying credit trends, and fee income opportunities.

Answer

CEO H. Palmer Proctor Jr. expressed optimism for Q4 loan demand across all verticals, noting steady payoffs and a bullish outlook for 2025-2026. He highlighted competitive pressure primarily on pricing, with disruption helping to garner volume without compromising structure. Regarding equipment finance, H. Palmer Proctor Jr. observed picking up demand, a strong credit box, and declining charge-offs/NPAs, reflecting robust small business performance. Chief Credit Officer Douglas D. Strange confirmed the retooling of the credit box in late 2023/early 2024, yielding good results and charge-offs within target. Douglas D. Strange also mentioned strong fee income, with 75% expected to be recurring, and plans to securitize paper to increase production and generate servicing fee income.

David Pfister with Raymond James asked about loan demand and pipeline trends, the impact of payoffs and paydowns on growth, competitive dynamics in the market, and the performance of the equipment finance business, including production, demand, credit trends, and fee income opportunities.

Answer

CEO Palmer Proctor discussed strong demand across all verticals and steady payoffs, noting that competition primarily impacts pricing rather than structure. Chief Credit Officer Douglas Strange detailed the retooling of the equipment finance credit box in late 2023/early 2024, which has led to positive results and declining charge-offs. Mr. Strange also highlighted strong fee income in the equipment finance sector, anticipating about 75% of it to be recurring, and mentioned plans to securitize paper to increase production and maintain servicing fee income.

David Pfister of Raymond James & Associates Inc. asked about Glacier Bancorp's loan growth trends, pipeline strength, competitive landscape dynamics, current credit quality observations, particularly in the ag sector, and the long-term feasibility of achieving a 4% net interest margin.

Answer

Chief Credit Administrator Tom Dolan described consistent loan pipeline pull-through and build-back, noting geographic variations in pricing competition but no structural stretching. He identified the ag sector as the only area with slight pressure due to depressed prices, while overall credit quality showed normalization from historic lows. CFO Ron Copher expressed confidence in reaching a 4% net interest margin in the future, potentially by late next year, depending on loan/deposit growth and Fed actions.