Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a return on average assets of 1.20%, up from 1.04% in the third quarter, and a return on average common equity of 11.27%, an increase from 10.14% [7] - The efficiency ratio improved to 55.5 from 58.1 in the third quarter and 61.8 a year ago [7] - Reported net income for the fourth quarter was $209.5 million or $2.74 per share, a 16.1% increase from the third quarter [7] - For the full year, net income was $684.6 million or $9.29 per share [8] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Fourth quarter net interest income totaled $522.5 million, a 10% increase from the third quarter, driven by double-digit growth in loans and demand deposit accounts (DDAs) [8] - Trust and securities processing income increased by $4.5 million or 5.1% linked-quarter, driven by new business activities from fund services and private wealth teams [9] - Total non-interest income was impacted by market-related variances, with a decrease in fee income of $11.2 million from the third quarter [18] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company experienced a 13% linked-quarter annualized growth in average loans and a 5.6% growth in average deposits [9] - Quarterly top-line loan production reached $2.6 billion, with commercial and industrial (C&I) loans showing a 27% annualized growth over the third-quarter average balances [9] - Total non-performing loans were $145 million, or 37 basis points of loans, with total criticized loan levels improving by 9.1% from the prior quarter [10] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to prioritize organic growth, stating that it does not need to pursue mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to generate assets [12] - The management expressed confidence in capitalizing on opportunities in newly acquired markets and expanding in existing markets [13] - The company is cautious about M&A, indicating a preference for tuck-in acquisitions that make financial and strategic sense [14][15] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management remains optimistic about maintaining strong asset quality metrics and expects trends of loan growth to continue [10][13] - The company anticipates achieving positive operating leverage in 2026, despite expected lower contractual purchase accounting accretion benefits [21] - The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter was 20.3%, with expectations for 2026 to be between 20%-22% [25][26] Other Important Information - The company reported $39.7 million in acquisition expenses for the fourth quarter, compared to $35.6 million in the previous quarter [8] - The net interest margin for the fourth quarter was reported at 3.29%, with a core margin of 2.96%, increasing 18 basis points sequentially [21][22] - The company has a common equity Tier One ratio of 10.96%, a 26 basis point increase from September [12] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you provide more detail on the drivers of commercial loan growth in the quarter? - Management noted strong performance across all markets and verticals, with 50% of growth coming from new customer acquisition and market share gains [33] Question: Can you touch on the NPL increase and the timeline for working through acquired credits? - Management indicated the increase was specific to one fully secured credit and expressed confidence in maintaining historical charge-off norms [36] Question: How should we think about average DDA growth quarter over quarter? - Management expects a slight pickup in DDA growth, driven by new client acquisitions and seasonal trends [44] Question: Can you discuss potential revenue synergies from the Heartland acquisition? - Management highlighted opportunities in mortgage products, credit cards, and corporate trust business as key areas for revenue synergies [79] Question: What are the lessons learned from the Heartland acquisition? - Management emphasized the importance of culture and maintaining control over the integration process, noting the transaction went exceptionally well [96][101]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a return on average assets of 1.20%, up from 1.04% in the third quarter, and a return on average common equity of 11.27%, an increase from 10.14% [5] - The efficiency ratio improved to 55.5 from 58.1 in the third quarter and 61.8 a year ago [5] - Reported net income for the fourth quarter was $209.5 million or $2.74 per share, a 16.1% increase from the third quarter [5] - For the full year, net income was $684.6 million or $9.29 per share [6] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Fourth quarter net interest income totaled $522.5 million, a 10% increase from the third quarter, driven by double-digit growth in loans and demand deposit accounts (DDAs) [6] - Trust and securities processing income increased by $4.5 million or 5.1% linked-quarter, driven by new business activities from fund services and private wealth teams [7] - The company experienced a 13% linked-quarter annualized growth in average loans and a 5.6% growth in average deposits [7] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a 3.9% rate of net payoffs and pay downs as a percentage of total loans [9] - Total non-performing loans were $145 million, or 37 basis points of loans, with total criticized loan levels improving by 9.1% from the prior quarter [9] - Industry-wide non-performing loans for banks reported so far were a median of 55 basis points [9] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to focus on organic growth as its top capital priority, while also being open to tuck-in acquisitions that make financial and strategic sense [12] - The management emphasized the importance of maintaining strong asset quality metrics while continuing to build capital [11] - The company is excited about opportunities in newly acquired markets and plans to capitalize on these in 2026 [13] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the company's ability to generate assets organically and take market share ahead of peers [11] - The company expects trends of loan growth to continue, especially in newly acquired markets [12] - Management remains cautious about M&A, focusing instead on organic growth and maintaining the company's culture and business model [12] Other Important Information - The effective tax rate was 20.3% for the fourth quarter and 19.7% for the full year, with expectations for 2026 to be between 20%-22% [24][25] - The company reported a net interest margin of 3.29%, with a core margin of 2.96%, increasing 18 basis points sequentially [20] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you provide more detail on the drivers of commercial loan growth in the quarter? - Management noted that growth comes from new customer acquisition and market share gains, with strong performance across all markets and verticals [31] Question: Can you touch on the NPL increase and timeline for working through acquired credits? - Management indicated that the increase was specific to one fully secured credit and expressed confidence in maintaining historical charge-off norms [36] Question: How should we think about average DDA growth quarter over quarter? - Management expects a slight pickup in DDA growth, driven by new client acquisitions and seasonal inflows [42] Question: Are all cost savings realized, and where are incremental dollars being invested? - Management confirmed that all identified cost savings have been realized and emphasized disciplined investment in sales activities [55] Question: Can you discuss potential revenue synergies from the Heartland acquisition? - Management highlighted opportunities in mortgage products, credit cards, and corporate trust business as key areas for revenue synergies [78] Question: What are the expectations for loan and deposit growth? - Management stated that they focus on building a strong deposit base and expect exceptional growth in both loans and deposits without specific guidance on loan-to-deposit ratios [117]

India-based Knight FinTech, a technology provider to banks and financial institutions, has raised $23.6m in a Series A funding round led by Accel. The round included participation from IIFL and Rocket Capital, while existing investors such as Prime Venture Partners, 3One4 Capital, Commerce VC and Trifecta Capital also joined. Knight FinTech said the funding brings its total capital raised to $30m. Mumbai-headquartered Knight FinTech was founded in 2019. As a banking and digital lending infrastructure p ...