Bridgewater Bancshares - Q4 2023

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Good morning, and welcome to the Bridgewater Bancshares 2023 Q4 earnings. My name is Betsy, and I will be your conference operator today. All participants have been placed in a listen-only mode. After Bridgewater's opening remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question, please press star then 1 on your touchtone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then 2. Please note that today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to introduce Justin Horstman, Vice President of Investor Relations, to begin the conference call. Please go ahead.

Justin Horstman (VP of Investor Relations)

Thank you, Betsy, and good morning, everyone. Joining me on today's call are Jerry Baack, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Joe Chybowski, Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Shellberg, Chief Credit Officer, and Nick Place, Chief Lending Officer. In just a few moments, we will provide an overview of our 2023 Q4 financial results. We will be referencing a slide presentation that is available on the investor relations section of Bridgewater's website, investors.bridgewaterbankmn.com. Following our opening remarks, we will open the call for questions. During today's presentation, we may make projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We caution that such statements are predictions and that actual results may differ materially. Please see the forward-looking statement disclosure in the slide presentation and our 2023 Q4 earnings release for more information about risks and uncertainties which may affect us.

The information we will provide today is as of and for the Q4 and year ended December 31, 2023, and we undertake no duty to update the information. We may also disclose non-GAAP financial measures during this call. We believe certain non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the related GAAP measures, provide meaningful information to investors to help them understand the company's operating performance and trends and to facilitate comparisons with the performance of our peers. We caution that these disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP. Please see our slide presentation and 2023 Q4 earnings release for reconciliations of the non-GAAP disclosures to the comparable GAAP measures. I would now like to turn the call over to Bridgewater's Chairman, President, and CEO, Jerry Baack.

Jerry Baack (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

Thank you, Justin, and thank you to everyone joining us today. As we wrap up 2023, I'm encouraged by the positive trends we began seeing in the third and fourth quarters, and how this momentum sets us up for what we anticipate to be a more favorable interest rate and macroeconomic environment in 2024. Net interest margin stabilization trends continued in the fourth quarter as loan yields expanded and the pace of rising funding costs slowed. Joe will talk more about the margin in a few minutes, but overall, we are pleased with the recent trends we have seen. With our liability-sensitive balance sheet, we believe we are well positioned to benefit from potential rate cuts and a more normalized yield curve in 2024. From a balance sheet perspective, deposit growth continued to outpace our more muted pace of loan growth.

Given the environment in 2023, we have been slowing loan growth, building deposits, and optimizing our funding base. As a result, our loan deposit ratio declined to 100% in the fourth quarter from 108% just a few quarters ago. As we head into 2024, our core deposit pipeline remains strong and we are seeing signs of loan demand picking up in the Twin Cities. Well-managed expenses have always been a trademark of Bridgewater, and that was no different in 2023. As expected, we saw expenses pick up in the back half of the year, but overall, full-year expense growth was just 4.8% in 2023, lower than our 6.1% pace of asset growth. We're able to do this even with continued investments in our people and technology.

Asset quality continues to be superb, with just 1 basis point of charge-offs and 2 basis points of non-performing assets. I continue to be impressed by our client-centric discipline and of our lending and credit teams. Our underwriting is consistent and our outreach and partnership with clients have been very productive. In addition, our multifamily portfolio continues to perform well. I know we get lumped in with some of the more volatile coastal and high-growth markets, but the data shows the Twin Cities market is stable and much more favorable for multifamily. After 18 years, we have extensive experience in this space. Another true highlight continues to be our consistent tangible book value growth. Tangible book value was up nearly 10% in 2023 and has increased each of the past 28 quarters.

Turning to Slide 4, you can see our tangible book value is up 180% during those 28 quarters, compared to a median of just 50% for banks with $3 billion-$10 billion in assets. We continue to feel that this is a true differentiator for Bridgewater and a way that we can provide shareholder value going forward. Before I turn it over to Joe, I wanted to share updates on a few other initiatives that our teams have been working on. Our risk team continues to enhance our all-encompassing risk management framework to be scalable to support our longer-term growth plans. Our technology team has worked to implement enhancements to improve organization-wide efficiencies and install new data technology to create insights our teams can use to better serve our clients.

For example, an upgrade to our commercial client-facing platform was completed in November, providing state-of-the-art technology for our business clients. And at Bridgewater, people are key. With our low turnover, we have worked hard to cultivate a growth mindset with our leadership and development program. Many of these are behind-the-scenes efforts, but they are all significant in executing our long-term strategy. With that, I'll turn it over to Joe.

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Thank you, Jerry. Turning to Slide 5, net interest margin compression slowed in the fourth quarter, down 5 basis points from the Q3 to 2.27, as stabilization trends continued. The compression was primarily due to ongoing industry-wide deposit cost pressures and the timing of loan fees, which were stronger in the third quarter due to higher payoff activity. However, overall margin stabilization continued as our December standalone margin was 2.30, which was flat compared to September standalone. The stabilization in the margin has also driven stability in our net interest income as loan growth has moderated. In fact, net interest income, excluding loan fees, which have been impacted by fewer payoffs in the current environment, increased quarter-over-quarter for the first time since the Q3 of 2022.

As Jerry mentioned, our balance sheet is well positioned to benefit from potential rate cuts, but more specifically, a more normalized yield curve. We have over $1 billion of adjustable funding explicitly tied to short-term interest rates, which should reprice lower when there is a potential rate cut. This includes immediately adjustable deposits as well as derivative cash flow hedges. In addition, our loan portfolio, which is 70% fixed rate, should continue to reprice higher even when interest rates come down, given the blended roll-off rate relative to new origination yields. Turning to Slide 6, you can see the portfolio loan yield steadily moving higher. Loan fees had just an eight basis points impact on the portfolio yield in the fourth quarter. This is down from roughly a thirty basis points impact in mid-2022, as payoffs have declined and new loan originations have moderated.

The yield on our securities portfolio has also continued to increase, up 24 basis points from the Q3 to 4.63%. This is up 72 basis points year-over-year. While loan growth has moderated, we have continued to grow our AFS portfolio as opportunities present themselves. Deposit costs increased just 20 basis points in the fourth quarter, down from 33 basis points in the third quarter and 65 basis points in the second quarter. While this pace continues to slow, competition for deposits remains and is still driving deposit costs higher across the industry. Meanwhile, reduced levels of borrowings in the second half of the year have helped to slow overall funding costs.

In addition to the $1 billion of adjustable funding tied to short-term interest rates, which I mentioned earlier, we have an additional $479 million of funding, including time deposit maturities over the next year and callable brokered deposits, that, while less immediate, can be a benefit to funding costs over time as rates start to come down. Turning to Slide 7, total revenue has continued to stabilize with the margin and net interest income as well. You'll notice that non-interest income declined $317,000 in the fourth quarter, primarily due to $493,000 of FHLB prepayment income in the third quarter, not recurring in the fourth quarter. Turning to Slide 8, expenses remained very well controlled in 2023. As we've said in the past, our goal is to generally grow expenses in line with asset growth over time.

Full-year non-interest expense in 2023 increased 4.8%, below the pace of asset growth, which was 6.3% in 2023. In fact, the majority of the expense increase from 2022 to 2023 was due to higher FDIC insurance assessment costs, while salaries and benefits actually decreased from last year. As expected, we saw higher expenses in the second half of the year, primarily due to the accrual for bonuses paid to all of our team members, as well as continued investments in technology. I would also mention that we early adopted a tax accounting rule that retroactively moves our amortization of tax credit investment expense from NIE down to the income tax line. Overall, our efficiency ratio has continued to increase throughout the year to 58.8% in the fourth quarter, due primarily to revenue headwinds.

We still maintain a highly efficient operating model relative to other banks and expect that to remain the case. We feel good about our ability to control expenses while still making key investments in the business, technology, and our people. With that, I'll turn it over to Nick.

Nick Place (Chief Banking Officer)

Thanks, Joe. Turning to Slide 9. Deposit growth continues to be a primary focus as balances increased 3.7% annualized and outpaced loan growth for the third consecutive quarter, reducing our loan-to-deposit ratio to 100%. Since March, we have seen good deposit momentum, with non-interest-bearing balances up each of the past three quarters and solid core deposit growth. After two consecutive quarters of core deposit growth, core balances declined 5.8% annualized in the fourth quarter. This was not unexpected, as our core deposit growth tends not to be linear due to the higher balance client relationships, longer acquisition and onboarding times, and timing of larger inflows and outflows. As we head into 2024, we look to continue growing core deposits over time, keeping in mind that quarterly balances may have some ups and downs along the way.

This includes the Q1, which is typically a seasonally lower quarter for core deposits due to the tax season and industry cyclicality. As has been the case throughout our history, we will continue to supplement core deposit growth with wholesale funding as needed to support loan growth. Overall, we continue to steadily onboard new deposit client relationships, and with several key hires to our treasury management team in 2023, we feel good about our deposit pipeline and the opportunities we continue to get in front of as we enter 2024. From a broader funding perspective, as Joe mentioned earlier, we have ample repricing opportunities if rates move lower. Turning to Slide 10, loan balances remained relatively flat during the Q4.

As we indicated last quarter, we expected more limited near-term loan growth, given reduced demand and fewer deals penciling out due to the high-interest rate environment, as well as elevated levels of payoffs. Overall, we saw loan growth of 4.3% in 2023. For 2024, we expect loan growth in the low to mid-single digit range for the full year, with growth being more heavily weighted toward the back half of the year. Keep in mind that new loan yields are coming on around 7%, which is accretive to our overall portfolio yield of 5.33%. Market loan demand will be the biggest driver of growth in 2024, and we are starting to see signs of this picking up in the Twin Cities. In fact, our loan pipeline has increased to levels on par with year-end 2022.

The rate environment and levels of payoffs and paydowns will also affect our pace of loan growth in 2024. Slide 11 highlights the repricing of our loan portfolio, which we expect to continue to move higher even if the interest rates decline. This is primarily due to our large fixed rate portfolio, which makes up 70% of total loans, and our small variable rate portfolio, which makes up just 15% of total loans. We have $575 million of fixed and adjustable rate loans maturing or repricing over the next 12 months at weighted average yields of 5.11% and 4.15%, respectively. We would be able to redeploy these funds into... with meaningfully higher yields, even if we see rate cuts in 2024.

The repricing impact of our larger fixed and adjustable rate portfolios should outweigh the repricing of our smaller variable rate portfolio as rates come down. On Slide 12, you can see there was not a lot of movement in the various loan portfolios, given relatively stable loan balances during the Q4. The movement we saw was primarily related to balances migrating out of construction as these deals complete their construction phase. Our multifamily portfolio generated the most growth in 2023, up $82 million, or 6%. I'll now turn it over to Jeff.

Jeff Shellberg (Deputy Chief Credit Officer)

Thanks, Nick. On Slide 13, we wanted to provide some more detail on our multifamily portfolio. First, our total CRE concentrations as a % of capital have always been elevated. However, we think it's important to note that over half of this concentration is in multifamily, an asset class we view as lower risk due to our proven track record, substantial experience and expertise, and favorable market conditions. The Twin Cities market is more stable than the more volatile coastal and high growth markets, which often dominate the headlines. Simply put, there are less booms and busts. In fact, the Twin Cities market ranks second among top markets in multifamily demand, due in part to the shortage of single-family housing, and ranks second in affordability, as rent-to-income levels are at all-time lows.

Thanks to our deep relationships with local multifamily owners and developers and our strong lending and credit teams, we have been able to generate strong growth in this portfolio by experiencing only $62,000 in net charge-offs since inception in 2005. We remain comfortable about our multifamily exposure and will look to continue growing the book in the future. Slide 14 provides some more additional information on our CRE and office portfolios. Not much has changed here over the past couple quarters. The majority of our non-owner occupied CRE book is fixed rate, which helps from a repricing risk standpoint. We continue to engage with our clients that have maturing loans or resetting rates over the next 12 months to identify possible cash flow strain and recommend solutions early in the process, if necessary.

We have limited non-owner occupied CRE office exposure, making up about 5% of total loans. This includes only 4 loans located in the central business districts, totaling $35 million. We continue to monitor this portfolio closely, and we feel good about the outlook, given the lower average loan amount, diversified client base, and primarily Midwestern suburban office exposure. Turning to Slide 15, we continue to see strong performance across our entire portfolio as non-performing assets and net charge-offs both remained at consistently low levels. This is a result of our measured risk selection, consistent underwriting standards, active credit oversight, and experienced lending and credit teams. We remain well reserved at 1.36% of gross loans.

We had no provision for credit losses during the quarter, given the stable loan balances, but we did have a $250,000 negative provision for unfunded commitments, which are primarily construction loans. This is similar to what we have seen over the past few quarters. One item to call out is the addition of $15 million to our 30-89 days past-due loans. This was just an administrative delinquency due to the timing of a closing on one matured loan. The loan closed after year-end and continues to perform as a pass-rated credit. Overall, we are still not seeing early signs of credit weakness, and we feel good about our book. That said, as the interest rate, the higher interest rate environment continues to put pressure on businesses, we do expect to see some credit loss normalization over time.

On Slide 16, you can see that our watch and substandard loans again remained relatively stable during the quarter. We feel good about the risk profile of the portfolio and believe it is well-positioned moving forward. I'll now turn it back over to Joe.

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Thanks, Jeff. Slide 17 highlights the continued building of our capital ratios, including tangible common equity, which increased from 7.61 to 7.73, and CET1, which increased from 9.07 to 9.16.

In addition, we took advantage of lower valuations during the Q4 to resume share repurchases. During the quarter, we bought back over 423,000 shares at a weighted average price of $10.72 per share, for a total of $4.5 million. We still have $20.5 million remaining under our current repurchase plan. We will continue to evaluate future repurchases based on a variety of factors, including capital levels, growth opportunities, and market conditions. Share repurchases are just one of our capital priorities. Our primary capital priority remains organic growth. Beyond that, we continue to review and monitor potential M&A opportunities. Turning to Slide 18, I'll summarize our thoughts on our outlook for 2024.

We expect loan growth in the low to mid-single digit range, with drivers including loan demand, market conditions, the pace of payoffs, and core deposit growth. While we're seeing signs of increased demand and a larger pipeline, it takes time for those opportunities to work their way through the process and to get to closing. As a result, we'd expect the slower pace of loan growth we saw in the second half of 2023 to continue into early 2024, with more of our growth likely weighted toward the back half of the year. We expect the net interest margin to remain relatively stable, near current levels in this rate environment. There are still several variables that may cause us to fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter, but we expect to continue seeing stability from here.

Our margin is well positioned to benefit when we see rate cuts and an upward sloping yield curve. We look for full-year expense growth to again track in line with asset growth in 2024. Similar to 2023, this will likely be weighted more toward the back half of the year, with expenses remaining relatively flat early in 2024. Our quarterly provision expense has been very low through much of 2023. However, the provision in 2024 will likely be tied to our pace of loan growth, the overall asset quality of the portfolio, and the broader macroeconomic picture. Finally, we believe we can continue to build capital ratios in 2024 with earnings retention and a more moderated pace of loan growth than prior years. I'll now turn it back over to Jerry.

Jerry Baack (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

Thanks, Joe. Finishing up on Slide 19, I'll cover our strategic priorities for 2024. First, as we've discussed already, we want to optimize our balance sheet for longer-term profitable growth to be ready to deploy capital into growth opportunities as interest rate environment normalizes and the market becomes more favorable. Second, we want to continue taking market share in the Twin Cities. This includes several initiatives, such as expanding our niche in affordable housing, which has high demand in the Twin Cities, given the lack of single-family housing. We'll also continue to execute further on our C&I initiatives, specifically in certain verticals, such as our network of women business leaders and implementers of the Entrepreneurial Operating System. In addition, we will continue to monitor and evaluate potential M&A opportunities that could enhance our business. Third, is to generate new efficiencies across the business while continuing to invest.

Each department is tasked with identifying ways they can incrementally improve operational efficiencies within their groups. In addition, we will be making ongoing investments in technology, including leveraging a new CRM platform for the organization and launching an upgraded retail and small business online banking solution. Finally, continuing to scale our risk management function and monitor asset quality risks will be top of mind again in 2024. With that, we will open it up for questions.

Operator (participant)

As a reminder, to ask a question, please press Star then 1 on your touchtone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press Star then 2. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question today comes from Jeff Rulis with D.A. Davidson. Please go ahead.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Thanks. Good morning. Maybe, Joe, if you could, you kind of mentioned kind of well-positioned for, for rate cuts. Could you have specifics or quantify what, what the margin or NII benefit per 25 basis point rate cut would be?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, Jeff. So I think the way that we're thinking about it is, you know, the further the cuts happen, so I mean, the first couple of cuts, right? I mean, it's not going to be reactive one for one. And I think, you know, as we think about the evolving, you know, as the picture evolves and the curve normalizes, I think, you know, you could see an acceleration. But I think early on, I mean, our base case, you know, is three rate cuts in the back half of 2024.

And so I just think when we think about the position of the balance sheet, and really the drivers, I mean, we are well positioned for a normalized yield curve and certainly rate cuts, especially impacting the front end of the curve, you know, is most impactful to the deposit base. And we've highlighted, you know, $1 billion of liabilities that would reprice. You know, about half of those are explicitly tied to Fed funds. So I think it's one of those environments where, you know, similar to the way up where it's you lag betas. I think, you know, that's an environment where, you know, should rates get cut that we'd evolve, but certainly an environment that we do well.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Okay. So early on, first couple, is that possibly a headwind, or kind of neutral to margin or NII?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

No, I wouldn't say a headwind. I think, you know, when you consider the liability side, you know, the $1 billion that we've highlighted obviously will, you know, will benefit, you know, should short rates come down. I think the other thing we've highlighted on the earning asset side is obviously the loan portfolio continues to turn over and reprice, as Nick said, you know, in the low to mid sevens. So even if rates come down, you know, the belly of the curve, depending on what happens there, we'll still reprice higher given, you know, the roll-off rates of loans itself.

So I think if you consider those factors together, I mean, we'll definitely benefit in a rate cut environment, certainly, and even more, you know, should the curve itself, you know, normalize with more upward sloping shape. I just think it's, you know, early on, obviously, you're trying to balance growth too, and we certainly are confident with our ability to grow core deposits. But I think that, you know, that first cut, let's say it's 25 basis points, you're still trying to manage the ability to grow in that environment. And so I don't think we want to say, you know, you slash the deposit base and you at the expense of growth.

So I think it's, it's slower to start, 'cause, you know, deposit competition pressures are still, you know, real in the Twin Cities and, and across the nation. And, so I think we're just trying to be mindful of that. But obviously, the further you go along, you know, depending on how many cuts we see, you know, the more beneficial it will be to the liability side and obviously more beneficial and more time for the earning asset side to reprice. And then obviously maintain those yields on a go-forward basis, just given the more heavy fixed rate nature.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Got it. Yeah, just asking about the path as we get into cuts and kind of near term, medium term. And I guess the other piece of that is, should loan growth pick up? Another piece of that is, loan fees should also inflect a bit too. Is that the expectation, if loan growth is better, you get a better boost on the margin?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, I think that, you know, the, the fees will pick up as growth picks up. I do think, you know, one of the things we talked about too is on the flip side, you know, if there are, you know, payoffs that we experience more or higher in 2024, you know, there's an acceleration of fees as well. So it's kind of, you know, puts and takes to the, to the story. The other thing I'd say is just given the growth outlook, and as, as we highlighted this quarter, I mean, it's the Q1 of net interest income growth, you know, since 2022, the back half of 2022. So I think as, as, as Nick said, the, the pipeline itself, as it picks up and loan growth picks up, you know, obviously it drives net interest income growth.

And so, you know, margin is more the output from that perspective. But I think as that growth, as we anticipate, picks up in the back half of the year, you see net interest income growth as well. And margin itself certainly feel good about stabilization and, you know, and ultimately expansion should rates get cut.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Got it. If I could ask a question on Slide nine, just that kind of the other repricing opportunities bucket. Do you have kind of the weighted average of those, that bucket of CDs and callable brokered, you know, the total, either combined or individually, that $479 million?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

I can get that number for you, Jeff, after. I mean, the callable brokered we've highlighted, the $185 million, is the callables that are over 5%. So I know that number offhand. From the CD standpoint, I don't have that number offhand, but it, I wanna say it's probably in the low 4s. Our CD portfolio, you know, has a weighted average maturity of less than 11 months. So really trying to highlight that, you know, on the way up, that portfolio is shortened and then ultimately, you know, is certainly a repricing opportunity should rates fall.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Okay. Got it. And then maybe last one. Nick, do you have the... Interested in the pay downs, payoffs, linked quarter, the—what, what that was in the third quarter to the fourth, as well as maybe the jump-off point of, of the loan pipeline number for—as you had exited the Q3 and, and as you entered the first here.

Nick Place (Chief Banking Officer)

Sure. We do have a slide in the appendix, I believe, that kind of highlights-

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Slide 22.

Nick Place (Chief Banking Officer)

There you go. So that, I mean, that'll just show Q4 information. So it does break out all the components of, you know, both new originations and advances, the volume of pay downs, and then, our payoffs and then amortizations to get to our net number. Is that what you're looking for?

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Yeah, it looks like... Okay, so, almost $150 million in payoffs, pay downs in the fourth quarter. Is that, up, down, sideways from the Q3?

Nick Place (Chief Banking Officer)

Yeah. Payoffs were elevated in the third quarter. I think August was our high water mark for payoffs on the year. So, you know, we did have higher originations and payoffs both in Q3. But, you know, feel good about where our pipeline is today. We mentioned in the prepared remarks that, you know, our year-end pipeline is on par with where we ended in 2022, and that's been building in each of the last two quarters. So, you know, we feel really good about, you know, our ability to continue to, you know, get in front of quality transactions and rebuild that pipeline.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Okay. So yeah, I was looking at that relative linked quarter pipeline increase. So it's, it's up over 3Q. I don't know what the percent is, but something, something of an increase. Is that fair?

Nick Place (Chief Banking Officer)

... from the pipeline?

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

What was the balance with the pipeline and then entering the Q4 to today, basically?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, the pipeline's up probably 35% from where it ended Q3.

Jeff Rulis (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Great. Thanks. I'll step back.

Operator (participant)

Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press Star, then 1 to enter the question queue. The next question comes from Nathan Race with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Yep. Hi, guys. Good morning. Thank you for taking the questions.

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Hi, Nate.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Going back to margin discussion, I appreciate the guidance in terms of how to think about the cadence and the margin with Fed rate cuts that are expected in the back half of this year. But just kind of think about the outlook for the next couple of quarters if the Fed's on hold. You know, I noticed that the cash balances were a little higher quarter-over-quarter on the average balance sheet. So not sure if, you know, the plan, just given that loan growth may be a little slower in the first half of the year versus the second half, is to maybe pay down some wholesale funding, which may support some margin expansion over the next quarter or two.

Within that context, would be curious to hear what maybe the spot rate on deposit cost was at the end of December?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, Nate, I think, you know, that's always an option, and I think we're constantly trying to balance that with, you know, obviously a growing loan pipeline. So, we certainly evaluate that. We've also supplemented some of that loan growth with securities purchases that, you know, have been at fairly attractive yields. But obviously, at the end of the day, you know, it's loan growth is the driver. So I mean, while balances might have been a bit higher, you know, in 4Q, I think ultimately, you know, we look at the entire balance sheet and really try to optimize it as much as we can. From the spot rate standpoint, so spot rate, December was 3.18 on deposits. It's actually the Q1 it's been down relative to the average deposit rate.

I think that's another point that we wanna highlight, is when you think about from stability and potential inflection on the deposit cost standpoint.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Mm-hmm. Gotcha. So putting all those pieces together, it sounds like it's fair to assume that the margin likely troughed in the first quarter- oh, I'm sorry, in Q2 relative to-

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, I think as we've been saying... Yeah, as we've been saying, I think it's, you know, we've, we've seen stability in a path to stability for, you know, the last couple of quarters. And I think ultimately, loan fees, which obviously are really tied to payoffs, you know, will cause it to bounce around here or there. But I think long term, it's, as we think about it, I mean, we, we feel like it's, it's hit stability. And I think the key point there is September NIM, as I said in prepared remarks, was 2.30, and December NIM standalone was 2.30 as well. So I think that's, that I think, certainly highlights the stable nature of it.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Yep, definitely. And just kind of thinking about the composition of loan growth expectations for this year, any thoughts, perhaps, Nick, in terms of, you know, how you're thinking about the composition of, you know, C&I growth, versus multifamily and CRE, and just kind of what that makeup looks like in the pipeline coming out of December?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, sure. You know, I don't expect our portfolio to shift meaningfully throughout 2024. I mean, we certainly have a lot of initiatives around growing our C&I base and our C&I clientele. You know, those transactions, the onboarding times of those are much longer, and given the low interest rate environment that we were in for so long, it does make a lot of those more difficult to try to refinance over. So if we think about near-term opportunities for pipeline, those tend to be more, you know, CRE driven through some transactions that our clients are getting in front of. So there's probably more opportunity in the near term, you know, in our typical multifamily and CRE book to build the pipelines in a faster nature.

And the C&I initiatives are really more, you know, longer term in nature, and we've made good progress there. It's just those... it tends to be a slower build.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Yep, got it. And just maybe turning to expenses, you know, I think the expectations there are pretty clear. You know, kind of follow asset growth. You know, expenses were up 5% in 2023. You grew assets 6%. So, you know, assuming, you know, kind of that similar low to mid single digit loan growth outlook for this year, is it fair to expect expenses to follow a similar kind of growth trajectory this year, even with some of the technology stack upgrades that were described by Jerry?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, Nate, I think that's a good way to think about it. I think, we continue to, to optimize the technology stack, and continue to see benefits, too. I think, you know, it was 3 years ago, we put a loan origination platform in place, and we've really seen, you know, a ton of, efficiencies from that. I think that's part of the reason we can grow to the pace we are, and you know, net FTEs were only up 9, so on a year-over-year basis. So I think, yeah, we look at those, at the technology efficiencies, whether it's, you know, the small business platform that we look to, to implement at the back half of 2024, or it's, you know, even just generic workflow solutions. I think all of those are, are helping us become more efficient.

And then obviously, you know, we continue to invest in our people as, as that's obviously our greatest asset. So, yeah, the expense growth as it always has, it's on a year-over-year basis, should run in line with asset growth. You know, as we highlighted, you know, quarter-over-quarter, similar to deposits, it's not linear. But generally, if you look over the long haul, it's in line with asset growth.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Mm-hmm. Gotcha. And a couple more for me, just in terms of fee income. You know, with some of the C&I initiatives that you guys have in place, I imagine, you know, it's generally a longer sales cycle, in terms of kind of onboarding clients and getting the treasury suites set up. But just kind of any thoughts on just kind of the fee income run rate as some of those initiatives take hold this year?

Nick Place (Chief Banking Officer)

Yeah, this is Nick. I think, you know, certainly there's more opportunity to build some TM-related fees associated with those, you know, higher treasury clients. You're right that that's a longer onboarding cycle. I think we have been diligent about, you know, providing our clients with, you know, all the tools and resources that they need, and then also diligently digging through and looking at the market to determine are we, you know, charging the appropriate amounts for those. So I think that's been a big initiative here over the last couple of years. You know, that will be, you know, something we'll continue to focus on. But, as you know, it tends not to be a really large component of our income.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Right. And then just on share repurchases going forward, you know, it's nice to see the buyback step up in the fourth quarter. Was that more of kind of a idiosyncratic situation where there was, like, a share block that came up that you guys just wanted to be proactive on? Or do you kind of anticipate, you know, share repurchases remaining a more continual component to the capital management approach over the at least the next quarter or two, just given where the stock trades relative to tangible book?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, Nate, this is Joe. I think—I mean, we're always looking at it. I think we always try to balance the priorities, and, you know, we certainly outline those and how we think about it, you know, organic growth obviously being our top priority. And so, you know, as we sat in Q4 and with the, you know, the moderation in the loan growth and, you know, I think the other piece to it, too, was we had a goal to get CET1 back above 9%, which, you know, we achieved in the third quarter. And so, you know, I think it...

We look at it constantly across the realm of things that we can do and felt like it was appropriate to be more active, you know, like you said, given valuations in the fourth quarter. So it's something we'll continue to always evaluate, you know, in the spectrum of priorities and, you know, and we'll certainly be opportunistic, as we've always said.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Okay, sounds good. And then just on the tax rate, I think you had mentioned in the release that there was some tax credits that occurred in the fourth quarter. Is that going to be more kind of episodic going forward, or do you kind of anticipate getting back to kind of the 23%-25% range, at least over the next quarter or two?

Joe Chybowski (President and CFO)

Yeah, I think that's a good range. I think, the noise, too, I think, will help with that. We mentioned this, the change in policy that we've made going forward, where, you know, there used to be this above the line, below the line on tax credits. That's all going to be concentrated below the line now, so it'll be a lot cleaner. But yeah, tax credits are always... You know, we'll continue to do that. I think that's, that's definitely an expertise of ours to invest and also finance. And I think, you know, that, that will be cleaner from a presentation standpoint, but your tax rate is range that you mentioned is right in line with how we're thinking about it.

Nathan Race (Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst)

Okay, great. I appreciate all the color. Thank you, everyone.

Operator (participant)

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the call back over to Jerry Baack for any closing remarks.

Jerry Baack (Chairman of the Board and CEO)

Well, thanks, everybody, for joining our call today. We feel well positioned for 2024 and going forward and continue to see encouraging trends. You know, our brand and our culture and our team has never been stronger. So, we're looking forward to talking to you in about three months. Thank you. Bye.

Operator (participant)

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.