Executive Summary

Q2 2024 showed clear operating improvement on margin expansion: net interest margin rose 17 bps to 3.37%, driving net income to $66.6M and operating EPS to $0.58 (+5% YoY) despite slower balance growth .
Management emphasized disciplined loan/deposit pricing over growth, accepting lower loans (-$164M QoQ) and deposit outflows (-$339M QoQ), while net interest income rose by $9.55M QoQ on better spreads .
Credit trends were stable-to-mixed: net charge-offs eased to 0.26% (from 0.28% in Q1) but NPAs rose 4 bps to 0.43% of assets; ACL/loans increased to 1.17% .
Strategic update: company agreed to sell its RIA (FinTrust), recording a $5.1M goodwill impairment; focus pivots to Private Banking, Retail, and Trust, with closing expected in Q3 2024 .
Estimates context: S&P Global consensus data were unavailable in our tool for this issuer at this time; as a result, we do not present versus-estimate comparisons this quarter (see Estimates Context).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Net interest margin expanded 17 bps QoQ to 3.37% as asset yields rose 20 bps to 5.59% while deposit costs increased only 3 bps to 2.35% .
- Operating EPS increased to $0.58 (+5% YoY; +12% QoQ), aided by higher net interest income and lower credit provision YoY; operating ROA was 1.04% .
- Management discipline: “We achieved these results by remaining sharply focused on loan and deposit pricing even if that meant accepting slower growth in the near term” — CEO Lynn Harton .
What Went Wrong
- Balance sheet contraction: loans declined to $18.21B (-$164M QoQ) and customer deposits fell $339M QoQ (seasonal public funds outflow and conservative pricing) .
- Noninterest income fell $3.0M QoQ due to the absence of a $2.4M lease termination gain recorded in Q1; operating expense flat QoQ, GAAP expenses +$2.0M .
- Asset quality mixed: NPAs increased to 0.43% of assets (+4 bps QoQ) even as net charge-offs improved to 0.26% of average loans from 0.28% in Q1 .

Financial Results

Metric	Q2 2023	Q1 2024	Q2 2024
Total Revenue ($MM)	$213.92	$225.84	$233.02
Net Interest Revenue ($MM)	$200.29	$199.15	$208.70
Noninterest Income ($MM)	$36.39	$39.59	$36.56
Diluted EPS (GAAP) ($)	$0.53	$0.51	$0.54
Diluted EPS – Operating ($)	$0.55	$0.52	$0.58
Net Interest Margin (FTE) (%)	3.37	3.20	3.37
Efficiency Ratio – GAAP (%)	55.71	60.47	59.70
Efficiency Ratio – Operating (%)	54.17	59.15	57.06
ROA – GAAP (%)	0.95	0.90	0.97
ROA – Operating (%)	1.00	0.93	1.04

KPIs and Balance Sheet

KPI	Q2 2023	Q1 2024	Q2 2024
Loans ($B, period-end)	$17.395	$18.375	$18.211
Deposits ($B, period-end)	$22.252	$23.332	$22.982
Net Charge-offs / Avg Loans (%)	0.20	0.28	0.26
NPAs / Total Assets (%)	0.40	0.39	0.43
ACL – Loans / Loans (%)	1.10	1.15	1.17
TCE / TA (%)	8.21	8.49	8.78

Loan Portfolio Breakdown (Period-end, $MM)

Category	Q1 2024	Q2 2024
Owner Occupied CRE	3,310	3,297
Income Producing CRE	4,206	4,058
Commercial & Industrial	2,405	2,299
Commercial Construction	1,936	2,014
Equipment Financing	1,544	1,581
Residential Mortgage	3,240	3,266
Home Equity	969	985
Residential Construction	257	211
Manufactured Housing	328	321
Consumer	180	183
Total Loans	18,375	18,211

Notes and drivers:

QoQ margin expansion (NIM +17 bps) reflected 20 bps higher average earning asset yields vs +3 bps deposit cost, lifting net interest revenue +$9.55M QoQ despite balance headwinds .
QoQ noninterest income decline tied to the absence of a $2.4M lease termination gain recorded in Q1 .
Deposits declined seasonally and due to stricter public funds pricing; loans decreased with customers cautious amid macro and election uncertainty .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance/Commentary	Change
Loan growth	Near term (H2 2024 outlook)	Not specifically quantified	“We expect loan growth to be weaker in the near term as customers appear to be taking a conservative approach to economic and election uncertainty.”	Lowered tone vs Q1 commentary
Net interest margin	2H24	Not provided	Commentary emphasizes pricing discipline and Q2 expansion; no explicit range given	Not provided
Noninterest expense (Operating)	Q3 2024	Not provided	Q2 operating expenses were flat QoQ; no forward guide given	Not provided
Tax rate	2024	Not provided	Not provided	Not provided
Dividend per share	Ongoing	$0.23 quarterly	$0.23 declared in Q2 (unchanged YoY)	Maintained
Wealth (RIA – FinTrust)	Transaction timing	N/A	Sale agreed; targeted closing in Q3 2024	New strategic action

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q4’23 and Q1’24)	Current Period (Q2’24)	Trend
Margin trajectory & deposit beta	Q1: NIM 3.20%; cost of deposits 2.32%; cumulative beta 44% through Q1; management balanced pricing with growth .	NIM 3.37% (+17 bps QoQ) as asset yields +20 bps outpaced +3 bps deposit cost; continued pricing discipline .	Improving margin on disciplined funding costs.
Loan growth/pipeline	Q1: Loans +1.2% annualized; core deposits +5% annualized; noted conservative management stance .	Loans fell QoQ (-$164M) as customers turned cautious; management expects weaker near-term growth .	Slowing growth, near-term caution.
Credit quality	Q4: elevated special items impacted earnings; Q1: NCOs 0.28%; NPAs 0.39% .	NCOs 0.26% (improved); NPAs 0.43% (up 4 bps); ACL/loans 1.17% .	Mixed: slightly higher NPAs, marginally lower NCOs.
Wealth strategy (FinTrust)	N/A in Q1 release.	FinTrust divestiture announced; focus on Private Banking, Retail, Trust .	Portfolio repositioning.
Mortgage activity	Q1: Closings $171M; locks $260M .	Closings $215M; locks $295M .	Improving volume QoQ.

Call source references: corporate press release and IR, with Q&A/transcript hosted externally .

Management Commentary

“Our second quarter results showed solid improvement, driven by healthy net interest margin expansion and disciplined expense control. We achieved these results by remaining sharply focused on loan and deposit pricing even if that meant accepting slower growth in the near term.” — Lynn Harton, Chairman & CEO .
“Compared with the first quarter, we saw decreases in both loans and deposits, yet our pricing discipline led to a $9.55 million increase in net interest income.” — Lynn Harton .
“We made the decision to sell our investment in our Registered Investment Advisor, FinTrust… while setting a more aggressive growth course for our Private Banking, Retail, and Trust businesses… We expect the FinTrust transaction to close in the third quarter.” — Lynn Harton .

Q&A Highlights

Themes discussed included margin sustainability and pricing discipline, drivers of deposit costs and loan growth trajectory, and credit quality dynamics (notably within equipment finance and CRE portfolios) as the bank prioritizes risk-adjusted returns over volume .
Management reiterated focus on disciplined funding and loan pricing to support spreads; acknowledged near-term weaker loan growth given customer caution .
No explicit quantitative guidance ranges were provided for NIM, OpEx, or tax rate in the primary materials reviewed; dividend policy remained unchanged at $0.23 per share in Q2 .

Estimates Context

S&P Global consensus for Q2 2024 was not retrievable due to a mapping issue in our tool. As a result, we do not present versus-estimate comparisons this quarter. We attempted to fetch “Primary EPS Consensus Mean” and “Revenue Consensus Mean” for “Q2 2024,” but the query failed due to missing mapping for UCBI in the S&P CIQ company map (tool error log available) [GetEstimates tool error].
Third-party outlets reported mixed interpretations of revenue vs. estimates; given inconsistency and our policy to anchor on S&P Global, we refrain from using non-SPGI estimates this period .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Mix/price over volume: Management is prioritizing spread protection; NIM expanded 17 bps QoQ to 3.37% despite lower loans and deposits — a constructive development for earnings power if sustained .
Balance sheet conservatism: Expect near-term slower loan growth; public funds seasonality and tighter deposit pricing remain headwinds for balance growth .
Credit watchpoints: NCOs improved to 0.26%, but NPAs ticked up to 0.43%; ACL/loans increased to 1.17% — manageable, but merits monitoring given CRE and equipment finance exposures .
Capital and TBV momentum: TCE/TA rose 29 bps QoQ to 8.78%; tangible book value per share improved to $19.13 — supportive of resilience and optionality .
Strategic focus shift: FinTrust divestiture streamlines wealth strategy, reallocating focus to Private Banking, Retail, and Trust; near-term $5.1M impairment recognized .
Trading setup: Narrative hinges on durability of margin gains vs. potential for incremental funding pressure and muted loan growth; any clearer NIM guide or deposit stabilization would be a positive catalyst, while further NPAs drift would be a risk .

Additional source references for Q1 and prior-trend context: Q1 2024 8-K/press release with financial tables and investor slides -. Q2 2024 press release (IR site/PDF) .

UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS INC (UCBI)·Q2 2024 Earnings Summary