First Busey Corporation Announces 2024 Third Quarter Earnings

Core Financial Performance - Net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $32.0 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share, compared to $27.4 million, or $0.47 per diluted common share in the second quarter of 2024, and $30.7 million, or $0.54 per diluted common share in the third quarter of 2023 [2][24] - Adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $33.5 million, or $0.58 per diluted common share, compared to $29.0 million, or $0.50 per diluted common share in the second quarter of 2024, and $30.7 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share in the third quarter of 2023 [2][3] - Annualized return on average assets and annualized return on average tangible common equity were 1.06% and 12.80%, respectively, for the third quarter of 2024 [2][19] Revenue and Income Composition - Noninterest income for the third quarter of 2024 was $36.0 million, representing 30.5% of operating revenue, compared to $33.8 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $31.0 million in the third quarter of 2023 [5][26] - Wealth Management and FirsTech segments contributed $16.2 million and $5.6 million, respectively, to noninterest income for the third quarter of 2024, accounting for 60.4% of total noninterest income [5][26] Expense Management - Noninterest expense was $75.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $75.5 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $70.9 million in the third quarter of 2023 [6][24] - Adjusted core expense, excluding certain non-operating items, was $71.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $71.1 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $66.0 million in the third quarter of 2023 [6][24] Asset Quality and Capital Position - Non-performing assets decreased to $8.3 million, representing 0.07% of total assets as of September 30, 2024 [12] - The allowance for credit losses was $85.0 million, representing 1.09% of total portfolio loans outstanding, providing coverage of 10.34 times the non-performing loan balance [12] - Tangible common equity increased to 8.96% of tangible assets at September 30, 2024, compared to 8.36% at June 30, 2024, and 7.06% at September 30, 2023 [13] Strategic Developments - A transformative partnership with CrossFirst Bankshares was announced, which will create a premier commercial bank with approximately $20 billion in combined assets and 77 full-service locations across 10 states [8][9] - The merger agreement allows CrossFirst stockholders to receive 0.6675 of a share of Busey's common stock for each share of CrossFirst common stock [9][10] Balance Sheet Strength - Total assets were $11.99 billion as of September 30, 2024, compared to $11.97 billion as of June 30, 2024, and $12.26 billion as of September 30, 2023 [25] - Total deposits were $9.94 billion at September 30, 2024, compared to $9.98 billion at June 30, 2024, and $10.33 billion at September 30, 2023 [26][27]