GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (February 1, 2024) – Arrow Financial Corporation (NasdaqGS® – AROW) ("Arrow") reported net income of $7.7 million, and fully diluted earnings per share ("EPS") of $0.46 per share for the fourth quarter of 2023, versus $12.1 million and EPS of $0.71, for the same period in 2022. For the year ended 2023, net income totaled $30.1 million, with EPS of $1.77, versus $48.8 million, and EPS of $2.86, for the same period in 2022.
The Board of Directors of Arrow declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share payable February 23, 2024 to shareholders of record as of February 12, 2024. This marks the 43rd consecutive quarterly cash dividend declared by Arrow.
This Earnings Release and related commentary should be read in conjunction with our February 1, 2024 Form 8-K and related Fourth Quarter 2023 Investor Presentation, which can also be found on our website: arrowfinancial.com/documents/investor-presentations.
Arrow President and CEO David S. DeMarco:
“As we reflect on a challenging year, I want to thank our employees who continued to diligently serve the needs of our customers, communities and shareholders. Arrow finished the year with robust loan growth, posting record high loan balances while maintaining strong credit, capital and liquidity positions. We also expanded our existing stock repurchase program by $5 million and reinstated our dividend reinvestment program. Our solid finish to the year is directly attributable to the hard work and dedication of our exceptional team."
Highlights and Key Metrics
- Loans reached a record of $3.2 billion, an increase of $224 million (7.5%) for the year and $68 million (9% annualized growth) during the fourth quarter1
- Fourth-quarter loan yields increased by 16bps from the prior quarter to 4.86%, while loan rates reached 5.01% at December 31, 2023
- Retail deposit balances of $3.5 billion, slightly ahead of year-end 2022
- Net interest margin was 2.53% for the quarter, and 2.65% for the full year (2.55% and 2.67% on a full tax equivalent basis, respectively)
- Sold all 27,771 of Visa Class B shares for a pre-tax gain of $9.3 million; Recognized a pre-tax loss of $9.2 million on repositioning of investment portfolio (sale of ~$110 million of securities); Reinvestment of proceeds resulted in annual interest income run-rate improvement of over $3 million
- Net charge-offs remained low at 0.05% for the quarter
- Tangible Book Value at year-end was $21.06, an increase from $19.37 from the prior year
- Nonperforming assets increased to $21.5 million or 0.51% of period-end assets, primarily due to one large loan relationship of approximately $15 million, which is well collateralized
1 Excludes $5.8 million Fair Value hedge adjustment
Please see below for further quarter- and year-end detail.
Income Statement
- Net Income: Net income for 2023 was $30.1 million, down from $48.8 million for 2022. The decrease from the prior year was primarily the result of a decrease in net interest income of $13.5 million and an increase of non-interest expense of $11.5 million, partially offset by a $1.4 million decrease in the provision for credit loss and a $6.7 million decrease in the provision for income taxes.
- Net Interest Income: Net interest income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $104.8 million, a decrease of $13.5 million, or 11.4%, from the prior year, primarily due to an increase in interest expense. Interest and fees on loans were $142.0 million, an increase of 25.7% from the $113.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily driven by loan growth and higher loan rates. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $57.7 million. This represents an increase of $46.4 million, or 410.5%, from the $11.3 million in expense for the prior-year period. The increase was driven primarily by higher deposit rates and changes in deposit composition.
- Net Interest Margin: Net interest margin was 2.65% for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 3.03% for the year ended December 31, 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the net interest margin was 2.53%, as compared to 3.08% for the fourth quarter of 2022. The decrease in net interest margin compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 and the full year 2022 was primarily the result of the cost of interest-bearing liabilities increasing at a faster pace than the yield on average earning assets. In addition, deposits have continued to migrate to higher cost products, such as money market savings and time deposits.
| |
Twelve Months Ended |
| |
(dollars in thousands) |
| |
December 31, 2023 |
December 31, 2022 |
| Interest and Dividend Income |
$ 162,564 |
$ 129,651 |
| Interest Expense |
57,732 |
11,308 |
| Net Interest Income |
104,832 |
118,343 |
| Average Earning Assets(1) |
3,948,708 |
3,902,077 |
| Average Interest-Bearing Liabilities |
2,903,925 |
2,834,266 |
| |
|
|
| Yield on Earning Assets(1) |
4.12% |
3.32% |
| Cost of Interest-Bearing Liabilities |
1.99 |
0.40 |
| Net Interest Spread |
2.13 |
2.92 |
| Net Interest Margin |
2.65 |
3.03 |
| |
|
|
| Income Earned on PPP Loans included in Net Interest Income |
$ — |
$ 1,589 |
| Net Interest Income excluding PPP loans |
$ 104,832 |
$ 116,754 |
| Net Interest Margin excluding PPP loans |
2.65% |
3.00% |
| |
|
|
| (1) Includes Nonaccrual Loans. |
|
|
- Provision for Credit Losses: For 2023, the provision for credit losses related to the loan portfolio was $3.4 million, compared to $4.8 million in 2022. The key drivers for the provision for credit losses in 2023 were loan growth and charge-offs, offset by changes to the economic forecast factors embedded in the credit loss allowance model as well as qualitative factors relating to local and Arrow specific conditions.
- Non-interest Income: Noninterest income was $29.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of 5.8%, as compared to $30.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Income from fiduciary activities, which includes Wealth Management services, was fairly consistent to the prior year. Fees and other services to customers declined compared to the prior year, primarily due to lower interchange fees.
- Non-interest Expense: Noninterest expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 increased by $11.4 million, or 14.0%, to $93.0 million, as compared to $81.6 million in 2022. The largest component of noninterest expense is salaries and benefits paid to our employees, which totaled $47.7 million in 2023. Salaries and benefits increased $0.7 million, or 1.4%, from the prior year. The overall increase from the prior year was primarily related to $4.8 million of additional legal and professional fees incurred in 2023 associated with the delay in the filing of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "2022 Form 10-K"), and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, as well as an increase in costs related to technology and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance.
- Provision for Income Taxes: The provision for income taxes for 2023 was $7.4 million, compared to $14.1 million for 2022. The effective income tax rates for 2023 and 2022 were 19.8% and 22.4%, respectively. The reduction in the effective tax rate was the result of substantially similar permanent favorable tax benefits in each year while pre-tax income decreased in 2023.
Balance Sheet
- Total Assets: Total assets were $4.17 billion at December 31, 2023, an increase of $200.4 million, or 5.0%, compared to December 31, 2022.
- Cash and Cash Equivalents: Total cash and cash equivalents were $142.5 million at December 31, 2023, an increase of $77.9 million, or 120.4%, compared to December 31, 2022.
- Investments: Total investments were $636.1 million at December 31, 2023, a decrease of $121.0 million, or 16.0%, compared to December 31, 2022. The decrease was driven primarily by paydowns and maturities of approximately $119 million and the net decrease from the repositioning of investment portfolio of approximately $25 million, partially offset by an improvement in the markto- market adjustments of $23 million. The proceeds were primarily used to fund loan growth and for general corporate purposes. There were no credit quality issues related to the investment portfolio.
- Balance Sheet Management: In the fourth quarter of 2023, Arrow entered into balance sheet transactions to improve profitability and its asset-liability management position. Arrow sold all 27,771 of its previously held Visa Class B shares for a pre-tax gain of $9.3 million while recognizing a pre-tax loss of $9.2 million on the repositioning of the investment portfolio, resulting in an annual interest income run-rate improvement of over $3 million in pre-tax earnings.
- Loans2: At December 31, 2023, total loan balances reached $3.2 billion, up $224 million, or 7.5%, from the prior-year level. Loan growth for the fourth quarter was $67.7 million. The consumer loan portfolio grew by $46.5 million, or 4.4%, over the balance at December 31, 2022. The residential real estate loan portfolio increased $123.0 million, or 11.55%, from the prior year primarily as a result of the continued strength of the housing market within Arrow's service area. Commercial loans, including commercial real estate, increased $54.4 million, or 6.4%, over the balances at December 31, 2022.
2 Excludes $5.8 million Fair Value hedge adjustment
- Allowance for Credit Losses: The allowance for credit losses was $31.3 million at December 31, 2023, an increase of $1.3 million from December 31, 2022. The allowance for credit losses represents 0.97% of loans outstanding, a decrease from 1.00% at year-end 2022. Asset quality remained solid at December 31, 2023. Net loan losses, expressed as an annualized percentage of average loans outstanding, were 0.07% for the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to 0.08% for the prior year. Nonperforming assets of $21.5 million at December 31, 2023, represented 0.51% of period-end assets, compared to $12.6 million or 0.32% at December 31, 2022. As stated above, the increase is primarily due to one large loan relationship of approximately $15 million, which is well collateralized.
- Deposits: At December 31, 2023, total deposit balances were $3.7 billion, an increase of $189.2 million, or 5.4%, from the prior-year level. Arrow obtained $175 million of brokered CDs with corresponding three-year swaps as part of a funding hedge to strategically manage its asset-liability profile and cost of funds. Non-municipal deposits, excluding brokered CDs, increased by $45.3 million and municipal deposits decreased by $31.1 million as compared to December 31, 2022. Noninterest-bearing deposits decreased by $78.4 million, or 9.4%, during 2023, and represented 20.6% of total deposits at year-end, as compared to the prior-year level of 23.9%. At December 31, 2023, total time deposits, excluding brokered CDs, increased $278.6 million from the prior-year level. The change in composition of deposits was primarily pressure from competitive rate pricing and the migration from low to higher costing products.
- Capital: Total shareholders’ equity was $379.8 million at December 31, 2023, an increase of $26.2 million, or 7.4%, from the year-end 2022 balance. Arrow's regulatory capital ratios remained strong in 2023. At December 31, 2023, Arrow's Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio was 13.00% and Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio was 14.74%. The capital ratios of Arrow and both of its subsidiary banks, Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company ("GFNB") and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company ("SNB"), continued to significantly exceed the “well capitalized” regulatory standards.
Additional Commentary
- Industry Recognition: Both GFNB and SNB continue to maintain their Bauer Financial 5-Star "Exceptional Performance" ratings for the 16th and 14th consecutive years, respectively.
————
About Arrow: Arrow Financial Corporation is a multi-bank holding company headquartered in Glens Falls, New York, serving the financial needs of northeastern New York. Arrow is the parent of GFNB and SNB. Other subsidiaries include North Country Investment Advisers, Inc. and Upstate Agency, LLC.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliation: In addition to presenting information in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), this news release contains financial information determined by methods other than GAAP (non-GAAP). The following measures used in this release, which are commonly utilized by financial institutions, have not been specifically exempted by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may constitute "non-GAAP financial measures" within the meaning of the SEC's rules. Certain non-GAAP financial measures include: tangible equity, return on tangible equity, tax-equivalent adjustment and related net interest income, tax-equivalent and the efficiency ratio. Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by Arrow from time to time are useful in evaluating Arrow's performance and that such information should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for or superior to the related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar measures presented by other companies. See the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures in the section "Selected Quarterly Information."
Safe Harbor Statement: The information contained in this news release may contain statements that are not historical in nature but rather are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections about the future. These statements may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, involving a degree of uncertainty and attendant risk. In the case of all forward-looking statements, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what the statements predict or forecast, explicitly or by implication. Arrow undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. This News Release should be read in conjunction with Arrow’s 2022 Form 10-K, and other filings with the SEC.
To view the full tables for the earnings release, please Click Here.