Earnings call transcript: Amerant Bancorp reports Q3 2025 earnings miss, stock drops

Amerant Bancorp Inc. (AMTB) reported its third-quarter earnings for 2025, revealing a significant miss on earnings per share (EPS) compared to market expectations. The company posted an EPS of $0.35, falling short of the forecasted $0.51, a 31.37% negative surprise. Despite revenue coming in slightly above expectations at $111.44 million, the market reacted negatively, with the stock price dropping 9.64% to $17.53 in pre-market trading. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a market capitalization of $654.9 million and currently trades at a notably high P/E ratio of 195.57x.

Key Takeaways

• Amerant Bancorp’s EPS fell short of forecasts by 31.37%.
• Revenue exceeded expectations with a 1.12% surprise.
• Stock price declined by 9.64% in pre-market trading.
• Net interest margin was higher than projected, at 3.92%.
• Expense reduction initiatives are set for 2026.

Company Performance

Amerant Bancorp’s performance in Q3 2025 was marked by mixed results. The company managed to exceed revenue expectations but failed to meet EPS forecasts, highlighting operational challenges. The net interest margin rose to 3.92%, surpassing projections, while net interest income increased by $3.7 million to $94.2 million. However, the core pre-provision net revenue (PPNR) saw a sequential decline of $3.7 million.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $111.44 million, 1.12% above forecast
• Earnings per share: $0.35, 31.37% below forecast
• Total assets: $10.4 billion
• Net interest margin: 3.92%
• Return on assets (ROA): 0.57%
• Return on equity (ROE): 6.21%
• Efficiency ratio: 69.84%

Earnings vs. Forecast

Amerant Bancorp’s Q3 2025 results revealed a substantial EPS miss, with actual EPS at $0.35 versus the forecasted $0.51. This represents a 31.37% negative surprise, a significant deviation from expectations. Revenue, however, slightly exceeded forecasts by 1.12%, reaching $111.44 million.

Market Reaction

The market responded negatively to Amerant Bancorp’s earnings miss, with the stock price dropping 9.64% in pre-market trading to $17.53. This decline places the stock closer to its 52-week low of $15.63, reflecting investor concerns over the company’s earnings performance.

Outlook & Guidance

Looking forward, Amerant Bancorp projects a net interest margin of 3.75% for Q4 2025 and anticipates loan growth between $125 million and $175 million. The company is also targeting core ROA between the mid-80s and low-90s. In 2026, expense reduction initiatives are expected to save $2-3 million per quarter. InvestingPro data reveals that analysts expect the company to remain profitable this year, with additional insights available in the comprehensive Pro Research Report covering 1,400+ top US stocks.

Executive Commentary

CEO Jerry Plush emphasized the priority of addressing asset quality, stating, "Asset quality, addressing it head on was and will continue to be our top priority." He also noted, "We are positioning Ameren for the better in the coming periods." CFO Sherry Calderon highlighted the proactive approach to resolving credit issues, saying, "The earlier we get in front of a customer and try to get to a resolution, the better outcomes that we expect to have."

Risks and Challenges

• Continued credit quality concerns could impact future performance.
• Expense reduction efforts may face implementation challenges.
• The cautious approach to commercial real estate lending could limit growth.
• International expansion poses potential regulatory and operational risks.
• Market volatility and economic conditions may affect loan growth.

Q&A

During the earnings call, analysts focused on Amerant Bancorp’s credit quality and strategic alternatives. The company acknowledged significant portfolio reviews and a proactive stance on credit issues, while also exploring strategic options if performance does not improve.

Full transcript - Amerant Bancorp Inc Class A (AMTB) Q3 2025:

Kate, Conference Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Ameren Third Quarter twenty twenty five Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations.

You may begin.

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Thank you, Kate. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to review Amerant Bancorp’s Third Quarter twenty twenty five Results. On today’s call are Jerry Plush, our Chairman and CEO and Charimar Calderon, our Senior Executive Vice President and CFO. As we begin, please note that discussions on today’s call contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act. In addition, references will also be made to non GAAP financial measures.

Please refer to the company’s earnings release for a statement regarding forward looking statements as well as for information and reconciliation of non GAAP financial measures to GAAP measures. I will now turn it over to our Chairman and CEO, Jerry Plush.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Thank you, Laura. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Amarin’s third quarter twenty twenty five results. First, I want to thank everyone for adjusting their schedules to accommodate the rescheduling of our earnings call this quarter. We intend to establish this new time frame as when Amarin will report going forward, so our team has the appropriate time to prepare each quarter end. We greatly appreciate your understanding.

So similar to the approach we implemented last quarter, during today’s call, I’ll start with some overall comments, and then Sharon will provide commentary on results and asset quality. Then I’ll provide several prepared remarks on some strategic updates in order to allow time for Q and A. You will note today that there are several new slides in the deck this quarter that we think show capital levels and asset quality quarter to quarter comparisons in an easier to follow format. So while we continue to make progress in key areas of our strategy, our primary focus this quarter was on asset quality over loan growth. I’ll provide more details on this in a minute, but the increase in non performing asset levels must be immediately addressed, and I will cover the plan here in the fourth quarter to approach achieving reduced levels in the coming quarters.

Clearly, the higher provision from a detailed loan by loan review kept us from achieving consensus or better overall results this quarter. We will also provide some color on progress so far here in the fourth quarter on this call. Otherwise, you will see solid performance as shown by an outstanding net interest margin and higher net interest income. Sherry will cover the other P and L items in detail shortly. But I do want to note in advance that while core expenses rose $2,000,000 over the prior quarter, this increase was from legal expenses related to trust services and to asset quality resolution efforts as well as higher consulting expenses in connection with our AI governance build out and enhancements, and we do not expect a continuation of expense at these levels in the fourth quarter.

Regarding expenses, please note that in my closing remarks, I’ll also provide more color on our planned expense reduction initiatives already underway, which will begin to be seen in the fourth quarter and throughout 2026. On the funding side, our core deposits increased, while total deposits remained stable given the planned reduction in broker deposits we previously indicated on last quarter’s call. We continue to focus on the quality of mix of deposits as a priority. International banking continues to strengthen its presence across LATAM. It is worth noting that approximately 50% of the new accounts opened during the 2025 originated from other countries, most notably Argentina, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Peru.

This expansion reflects the success of our business development initiatives, client relationship management and targeted marketing efforts throughout the LatAm region. Loans declined by 3.4% quarter over quarter as again our focus was on 8Q over growth, but our pipeline build is underway here in the fourth quarter. Approximately $288,000,000 of the loan decline in 3Q was related to payoffs and asset quality related sales. So as I promised earlier, we’ll turn back to asset quality. And addressing asset quality head on was and will continue to be our top priority.

3Q was the quarter with the highest volume of annual and limited reviews along with covenant testing with over $3,500,000,000 in loans review. We did see continued deterioration in both classified and criticized. And while we exited $35,000,000 in nonperforming loans through third party refinancing payoffs, charge offs, transfers to REO and upgrades, as I have previously noted, additional downgrades to NPLs were primarily driven by the receipt of borrowers’ updated financials and certain covenant failures in the quarter. We are all in on driving progress post quarter end, and we believe we have a line of sight on several significant opportunities to do so already. So for example, we just, as in this past Friday, received an $11,800,000 full payoff, which results in an 8,700,000 recovery of previous charge offs, dollars 341,000 of interest income to be recorded in the fourth quarter as well as a recovery of $188,000 in legal expenses, and again, all of which will be recorded in 4Q.

Our coverage of reserves over NPLs is at 0.77 times due to the increased level of NPLs. However, please note that all NPLs with balances over $1,000,000 were individually evaluated for exposure to charge offs and or reserves, which explains the increase in provisioning for credit losses in 3Q and in specific reserves quarter over quarter. While Sherry will provide additional detail on this, I wanted to just put this upfront, and we’ll go through more detail in NPLs, ACL and the specifics on the provision for credit losses. Let’s turn to capital. And if you look at capital, all levels remain very strong.

Our Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $09 per share, reinforcing confidence in Ameren’s long term outlook and capital strength. We also intend to resume share buybacks post earnings when the blackout period ends under the existing remaining authorization in 10b5-one plan as we continue to execute on our strategy going forward. So with that, let me turn it over to Sherry now to cover 3Q results in detail.

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Thank you, Jerry, and good morning, everyone. Let’s turn to Slide three. Here, you will see the highlights of our balance sheet. Total assets reached $10,400,000,000 as of the close of the third quarter. As we guided in the second quarter, we offset lower loan originations, loan payoffs and pay downs with purchases of investment securities.

Total investment securities were $2,300,000,000 up by $336,800,000 all of which are highly marketable securities and were classified as available for sale. Total gross loans were down by $247,400,000 dollars to $6,900,000,000 primarily driven by increased prepayments and the sale of a large substandard loan, which more than offset loan production in the quarter, as well as the focus on asset quality overproduction, which delayed the business pipeline materializing. On the deposit side, total deposits were relatively flat, only down by 5,600,000 to $8,300,000,000 although core deposits increased by 59,400,000.0 Additionally, as we previously guided, we reduced broker deposits by $93,700,000 and partially replaced this funding with FHLB advances, which increased by 66,700,000.0 Broker to total deposits now stand at 6.6% of total deposits, well below our maximum of 10%. Also in the third quarter, we restructured $210,000,000 of fixed rate FHLB advances and changed the original maturity at lower interest rates. We incurred an early termination and modification penalty of $3,400,000 which was deferred and is being amortized over the term of the new advances as an adjustment to the yields.

The net effect is an improvement in the cost of this source of funding. Our assets under management increased 104,490,000 to $3,170,000,000 primarily driven by higher market valuations. As I’ve shared in past calls, we continue to see this as an area of opportunity for us to grow fee income going forward. Looking at the income statement on Slide four, you will see that we had a strong net interest margin, which was higher than projected at 3.92% due to higher average rates for both loans and securities, lower average rates on deposits, lower average balances in interest bearing deposits including broker deposits. NIM increases were partially offset by higher average balances in the investment securities portfolio, lower average loan balances and placements, as well as higher average balances on time deposits and FHLB advances.

Net interest income was $94,200,000 up $3,700,000 primarily driven by higher average rates on loans and securities and lower average balances and rates on deposits. Non interest income was $17,300,000 while non interest expense was $77,840,000 On a core basis, however, core non interest income was $17,500,000 while core non interest expense was $75,900,000 We had guided non interest expense for this quarter to be approximately $73,000,000 The variance to actual results was primarily driven by $2,400,000 in expenses on professional fees as Jerry just described and $1,400,000 in higher other expenses primarily related to earnings credits, which are provided to certain commercial deposits in the mortgage banking industry to help offset deposit service charges incurred. Also adding to the variance of non interest expenses were non core expenses of $2,000,000 recorded during the quarter, which I will describe in the next slide. Reprovision net revenue was down at $33,600,000 in 3Q twenty twenty five compared to $35,900,000 in 2Q twenty twenty five and core PPNR was $35,800,000 a decrease of $1,400,000 or 3.7% compared to $37,100,000 in 2Q twenty twenty five. The core PPNR impact was primarily from the higher expenses we do not project occurring again at the same level in the fourth quarter as I just referenced.

A reconciliation of core PPNR and the impact on fee ratios is shown in Appendix one included in this presentation. Next up in Slide five, you can see ROA and ROE this quarter were zero point five seven percent and six point two one percent compared to 0.910.06% respectively, and our efficiency ratio was 69.84% compared to 67.48%. These ratios were primarily impacted by the decrease in net income and the increase in expenses during the quarter respectively. This quarter we had $2,000,000 in non routine non interest expenses, which included $900,000 in losses on loans held for sale carried at the lower of cost or fair value in connection with the sale of one substandard owner occupied loan $500,000 in net losses on sale and valuation expense of an OREO in Houston, a single family property and $600,000 in expenses related to the downsizing of Ameren Mortgage. Turning to Slide six.

As you can see, we have added a new slide as Jerry referenced, showing the quarter over quarter comparison of our capital ratios. As you can see, our capital ratios are very strong and continue to reflect improvement across the board. Our CET1 was 11.54% compared to 11.24 last quarter, mainly driven by lower risk weighted assets and from net income during the quarter, while partially offset by $10,000,000 in share repurchases and $3,800,000 in dividends. We paid our quarterly cash dividend of $09 per share of common stock on 08/29/2025 and our Board of Directors just approved a quarterly dividend of $09 per share payable on November 28. During the third quarter, we also repurchased 487,657 shares at a weighted average price of $20.51 per share compared to tangible book value of $21.56 as of June 30.

Moving on to asset quality, we added two new slides here as well this quarter. As you can see on Slide eight, non performing assets increased to $140,000,000 or 1.3% of total assets compared to $98,000,000 or 0.9% of total assets in the prior quarter. I will cover the drivers of this increase in the next slide. Additionally, mention loans totaled 224,400,000.0 with the increase primarily driven by three commercial loans totaling $106,000,000 two CRE loans totaling $25,000,000 and three owner occupied loans totaling $20,000,000 All loans have acceptable mitigants in place, including adequate loan to value ratios, interest reserves, personal guarantees and other structural enhancements. These increases were partially offset by $31,000,000 in further downgrades to classified loans and $30,000,000 in payoffs.

These increases are the result of rigorous efforts by portfolio management, credit and credit review, complemented by an independent third party firm brought in to ensure timely reviews of updated financial information and risk rating, including identification of any possible deteriorated conditions to allow us to be more proactive in expediting resolution. Through these reviews, we covered approximately $3,500,000,000 in the loan portfolio through covenant testing or annual or limited financial reviews. We expect to continue to prioritize efforts on proactive credit quality measures, including continuing to use independent third party assistance. Moving on to Slide nine, the increase in non performing loans was primarily driven by the downgrade of three CRE loans totaling $31,000,000 of which one is a single tenant property that is currently vacant and the other two which missed contractual milestones. Please note that all three loans have adequate collateral coverage and did not require reserves.

Adding to the increase in non performing loans were nine commercial loans totaling $38,900,000 downgraded due to updated financials and missed projections, as well as other smaller loans totaling 7,200,000.0 These additions were partially offset by the payoff of two commercial loans totaling $21,200,000 charges for the quarter totaling $9,500,000 and other net reductions of $4,100,000 which include loan transfers to OREO upgrades and pay downs. In addition, substandard loans in accruing status increased by $84,000,000 primarily driven by two CRE loans totaling $49,500,000 one due to updated financials and the other due to missed contractual milestones. Both loans have adequate collateral coverage. Adding to the increase were six commercial loans totaling $37,100,000 primarily due to updated financials. Important to note that the majority of these loans exhibit adequate payment performance or have other acceptable mitigants in place, including adequate loan to value ratios, interest reserves, personal guarantees or other structural enhancements which support the continued accrual status.

These increases were partially offset by $78,200,000 from payoffs and $30,500,000 in the sale of one substandard loan. In the next slide, we show the drivers of the provision recorded in 3Q and impact to the allowance for credit losses. The provision for credit losses was $14,600,000 in the third quarter, including the release of $700,000 in loan commitments. The provision was comprised of $7,800,000 in additional specific reserves, dollars 8,900,000.0 to cover charge offs, dollars 3,600,000.0 due to credit quality and macroeconomic factors, offset by releases of $2,300,000 due to the reduction in loan balances and $2,700,000 due to recoveries. During the 2025, gross charge offs totaled $9,500,000 related to two commercial loans totaling $4,100,000 several small business commercial loans totaling $1,800,000 one CRE loan totaling 1,300,000.0 indirect consumer loans totaling $1,800,000 and other smaller balance loans.

Lastly, the allowance for credit losses coverage ratio increased to 1.37% of total loans, up from 1.2% in the second quarter. Excluding specific reserves, the coverage ratio rose from 1.17% to 1.23%. In the next slide, I’d like to provide some details on our expectations for the 2025. In terms of loan growth, we currently have a pipeline for 4Q of approximately $350,000,000 via organic production and $150,000,000 via our newly launched syndications program. As we continue to focus on asset quality, we expect some of this loan production and purchases of syndications to be partially offset by reductions in criticized assets as well as payoffs and maturities, with the net loan growth for the quarter being between 125,000,000 to 175,000,000 This represents approximately a 2.5 increase from 3Q twenty twenty five.

Regarding deposits, we expect growth to be in line with loan growth. We will evaluate a further reduction in brokered as well as other higher cost deposits. Looking at profitability, we project our net interest margin to be approximately 3.75 for the fourth quarter. We continue to project non interest income to be between 17,500,000.0 and $18,000,000 in 4Q. Regarding expenses, we expect them to decrease to the range of $74,000,000 to $75,000,000 We expect the efficiency ratio to be in the high 60s given the lower growth from payoffs and asset quality related reductions.

And finally, we project core ROA to be between the mid-80s and low-90s, although we could possibly get closer to 1% given recoveries on collections from previously charged off substandard loans like the one Jerry just referenced. And with that, I pass it back to Gerry for additional comments and closing remarks.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Thanks, Sherri. Finally, turning to the final slide we will cover, I’d like to provide some color on the topics shown here. So first, regarding expense reduction initiatives. We launched an expense reduction initiative with an initial goal of achieving a baseline of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 in savings per quarter in 2026. Again, this is a baseline, and the analysis of additional opportunities are in process.

There’s going to be more to come on this. You’ll begin to see the start of these reductions in the fourth quarter. Examples of items that we are either evaluating or already implementing include contract reviews, transferring certain tasks from third parties to in house resources and just outright expense elimination. And again, please note, we’re in the process of evaluating every opportunity by detailed line item reviews for additional reductions. So next, regarding Commercial Banking leadership, I’ve asked Mike Mercy to step into the Head of Commercial Banking role, recently vacated by our former Chief Commercial Banking Officer, as previously announced during the third quarter of Form eight ks.

Mike is a seasoned leader with over thirty five years of banking experience and is well known and respected in the Florida marketplace. We also intend to further build out our commercial teams in both Palm Beach County and the Greater Tampa market in the coming months. Also, as we just announced last week, the addition of Angel Medina to bolster our in market leadership and business development efforts here in the greater Miami County marketplace, and it’s been well received as Angel is well known and respected here as a senior leader. He just started with us this week, and we anticipate that he will be a significant contributor to growth opportunities in this marketplace. Next, the heightened emphasis we’re placing on reducing nonperforming assets.

There is no question this is job one. We are realigning even more select personnel in order to drive resolution as prudently and expeditiously as possible and aligning more personnel to proactively address upcoming covenant testing and financial statement updates. We’ve complemented our in house reviews with a well known third party to expedite risk rating testing in the third quarter and to assess a very significant portion of the portfolio, as I previously mentioned, for any signs of potential concerns. We expect to continue to invest in these reviews in the fourth quarter to ensure timely completion of the review scheduled for 4Q. We’ve also launched an extended multi hour all hands leadership weekly meeting to address special assets as a working group to monitor and drive progress.

We will be looking to provide a mid quarter update on progress via our investor presentation, which we will file ahead of the upcoming Piper Sandler Conference in mid November. Now turning to buybacks to give an update. With respect to capital management, while we’ll continue to take a prudent approach, carefully balancing the need between retaining capital to support growth initiatives or growth objectives compared with buybacks and dividends to enhance returns, We intend to utilize the $13,000,000 remaining in our current authorized buyback program this quarter given where our stock is currently trading. In 3Q, we utilized the 10b5-one plan to repurchase 487,000 shares for $10,000,000 in the quarter, as Sherry previously noted, and we intend to do the same thing here in the fourth quarter. So as we wrap up today’s comments, I want to underscore the priorities we’ve outlined and emphasize a number of key underlying strengths here: strong capital levels and outstanding net interest margin opportunities for additional fee income from growing AUM levels a heightened focus on driving expense discipline and most importantly, increased focus on accelerating progress on asset quality.

We’ve taken decisive steps this quarter to strengthen risk oversight and we’ll continue to allocate resources and leadership focus to accelerate progress. While this quarter reflected the impact of this proactive approach to credit risk, we remain confident in the strength of our franchise and the opportunities ahead. With leadership changes in commercial banking, further strengthening of bank strength in special assets and credit, targeted growth initiatives in key markets and lines of business and a clear plan for cost reductions and capital deployment, we are positioning Ameren for the better in the coming periods. I’d just like to thank you for your continued support as we execute on these commitments. So with that, I’ll stop and Sherri and I will look to answer any questions you have.

Kate, please open the line for Q and A.

Kate, Conference Operator: Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session. Thank you. Our first question comes from the line of Michael Rose with Raymond James. Please go ahead with your question.

Michael Rose, Analyst, Raymond James: Hey, good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking my questions. Maybe I’ll with the

Kate, Conference Operator: just start

Michael Rose, Analyst, Raymond James: same question I feel like I’ve asked the past two quarters. Just on kind of the lay of the land where you guys think you are on credit. I know the migration is probably as frustrating to you as it is to us. But if I go back to when you raised capital about a year ago, I think the expectations were for much stronger financial performance. And it looks like the resolution of some of these credits over the next couple of quarters is certainly going to weigh on growth performance, etcetera.

So Jerry, I guess the question is, when do you think we kind of hit the inflection point on credit? And when do you think realistically, you can get back to a more sustainable, durable 1% plus ROA? Thanks.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Sure. Appreciate the question and totally understand where you’re coming from. Look, I think the third quarter was the highest peak in terms of and I referenced that it was over $3,500,000,000 of the portfolio, right? So you’re basically over half the portfolio was evaluated either for annual reviews, limited reviews or covenant tests in the quarter. It is substantially lower here in the fourth quarter.

And as I said, Michael, earlier, I think we’ve got a very good line of sight. I did give a specific example of a very significant resolution. And I believe both in special invention and in substandard, we are well on our way working through these. Look, the most challenging part, Michael, is the timing of resolution on these items, right? That’s the piece that has clearly less predictability.

And you can see, look here, just three weeks, almost four weeks after quarter end, we have a resolution of a material item. We’ve got a number of these with a good line of sight. I think with all the comments that I made around, and I think Sherry shares the same belief, the bench strength that we’ve done, the teamwork that across the areas that’s being approached on this, we’re heading into having a much better line of sight and a much better path to early identification and resolution rather than seeing the type of flow that’s going through the stages that obviously we saw this quarter. And I do think, Michael, a couple of other things. The expense initiatives are critical.

We will give more color on that in a couple of weeks at the upcoming investor conference. And as I said, I believe we are at a very low baseline that we just wanted to let people know that all of that’s identified, and we can apply those reductions in as we look at projections going forward. And we believe there is significant additional opportunity for us. And again, I think that’s just realigning priorities that and I guess the other good thing to say is you also heard in terms of there’s a rebirth on the credit side. We’ve already had some nice outstandings booked so far in the fourth quarter.

And as Sherry referenced, you’re going to see the beginnings of not just organic growth coming back in, but also the launch of the syndication program, which is critical for us. Because again, remember, we’re not just looking to buy, we’re looking to participate. And so given the size of exposures, we think that that’s smart for not only growth, but also prudent risk management.

Michael Rose, Analyst, Raymond James: I appreciate all that commentary. Sherry, just a quick one for you. The margin guide for the fourth quarter implies a step down. I’m sorry if I missed this. It’s a busy morning.

But what’s going to specifically drive that step down from this quarter’s level?

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Sure, Michael. So the guidance that we gave for the fourth quarter is close to the three seventy five million A couple of drivers into that number compared to 3Q is we’re not going to see a full quarter’s worth of repricing on the asset side on floating rate loans. After the rate cut that occurred in September, we now will see the full quarter showing that impact. We’re also including an update in terms of an additional rate cut happening now, which will impact two out of the three months of the quarter. And then that would be offset by the repricing of our deposits.

We continue to see a beta close to $40,000,000 as we did in the past. So we definitely see the assets repricing faster than the deposits. The other thing, Michael, is that within the number that you see in 3Q, we have collections on some special assets, which created a higher level of the NIM. We do expect some of those things to happen in the fourth quarter as we continue to collect on those, but the guidance we’re giving is more on the normalized NIM.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. Hey, Michael, and I just would like to add to Sherry’s comments that I think you’re also going to see production given the rate decrease that happened in September, the anticipated decrease that, that will result in lower yields on new production coming in as well. And what it does not include is if there’s any recoveries, as I’ve just referenced on that one credit of interest income that previously had been reversed. So if we have recoveries on interest income, that could obviously be a positive. And of course, as we’ve done previously, we’ll disclose all of that as part of it.

Michael Rose, Analyst, Raymond James: Okay. I appreciate the color. And maybe just one last one for me, and this is back to you, Jerry. You’ve been in the seat for a bunch of years now. I know you’re not happy with the performance.

I know investors aren’t. But just given the health of M and A markets at this point, is there a point in time where you might want to consider strategic alternatives? Thanks.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. Hey, look, Michael, I think we’ve stated all along, we’re a publicly traded organization. The way we have to think about things is and I think the way the Board needs to think about things is our ability to execute and drive the results. Obviously, if there are opportunities, there has to be weight, right? But I mean, focus right now is on getting things on the right track and getting back to the kind of returns that Sherry referenced here in the fourth quarter as a step in the right direction.

We do believe we’re taking all the right steps given where we are. But look, I mean, I think, obviously, everything has to be evaluated as it comes up.

Michael Rose, Analyst, Raymond James: Our

Kate, Conference Operator: next question comes from the line of Russell Gunther with Stephens. Please go ahead.

Russell Gunther, Analyst, Stephens: Hey. Good morning, guys.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: I

: wanted to start on the loan growth discussion. Appreciate all the color there. Jerry, maybe if you think about what the kind of go forward organic opportunity is and the sustainability of that kind of 125,000,000 to 175,000,000 net loan growth guidance. And then maybe just more specifically on the syndication activity. I know you gave us some color as to what we would expect from a growth perspective in 4Q.

How should we think about sort of the ebbs and flows participating in versus participating out?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes, great question. I think it depends on, Russell, the opportunities that the business development, the RMs generate. Our head of syndication is working closely on a lot of different opportunities already with the team. Clearly, we demonstrated we participated in our first big deal. I’m sure you saw the participation in the Raise acquisition financing where we were also a syndication agent.

I think that was a great way to announce that we’re willing and able to look at deals like that and be an active participant and also actually participate in helping get the deal syndicated. And I think that’s one of the reasons why when we brought Jack on board, we were so excited to be able to attract someone with his contacts and experience. As I look at it on a go forward, I think it is again, it’s a great tool of two ways, right? We did say upfront that the volume was going to be more purchased than us actively participating away. But my expectation in ’twenty six is you’ll see that become a bigger piece because part of what we’re trying to do is start to get hold sizes back into the sub-thirty million dollars range on deals.

We are seeing much larger opportunities. And so we think this, again, is a great way for us to not only help assist on the growth side, but I think prudent risk management and maintaining lower hold sizes on a go forward basis.

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: And Russell, to complement that, the way we see it is on the short term and short term, I mean, now in the fourth quarter, we’re focused on the buy side and creating that two way street relationship. And then starting 2026, the efforts will be more on the sales side and making sure that when we get opportunities that come to our store table, we’re able to participate some portions out and have a lead there.

: Got it. Okay. Thank you both for that. I appreciate it. And then how should we think about the size of the investment portfolio kind of alongside the net loan growth guide you guys are expecting?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. Look, Russell, I think and again, we gave previous guidance that in the absence of loan growth, or I should say, to supplement the balance sheet, we elected to expand growth in the portfolio. I think on a go forward basis, it’s pretty clear, we would much rather be deploying those funds into loan growth than any continued growth in investments. So if you do see some additional growth, this would be the in my opinion, the last period. And frankly, there probably could be some contraction in this period.

One of the scenarios we’re actually looking at along the way is how much of that do we still even want to maintain here in the fourth quarter. So more to come as we continue to do analysis there. But I think with the reemergence of the pipeline, the launch of the syndication program here in this quarter with something already done and under our belt, I think you’ll start to see that it will be back to the growth coming on the loan side, certainly not on the security side.

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. And Russell to that, the investment portfolio and the way the purchases were made in last few quarters were on the fixed rate side. So valuation has been really good. And it provides an opportunity for liquidity to be able to redeploy wherever we want, like from a loan perspective or to repay off some higher cost deposits.

: Got it. Okay, guys. Super helpful. Thank you. And then just the last one for me would be a follow-up on the asset quality discussion.

Charge offs came in pretty darn close to what you had expected for this quarter. As you address sort of the inflow that occurred in 3Q, what is the outlook for realized loss content over the next couple of quarters?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. I mean, we’ll both give some color on that. But in my remarks, what we did was go through credit by credit and do the analysis. And if there was a need for either a charge off or the addition of specific reserves, they were set. Russell, the one way to potentially think about it is the establishment of specifics maybe where you might see charges.

But again, it’s already been reserved for. But otherwise, I think our book on charge off activity, and I’ll let Sherry go ahead and answer. But on the business book, coupled with the rest of the indirect, it would be back into the

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: So we’re seeing something close to the 30 to 35 basis points. A portion of that is related to the amount that we still have in the indirect consumer portfolio and some small commercial loans. And then the excess out of that would be if we were to charge off some of the loans that currently have some specific reserves.

: Got it. Okay, great. Thank you both for taking my questions.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Thank Our you,

Kate, Conference Operator: next question comes from the line of Stephen Scouten with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: I guess maybe one

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: more kind of follow-up around credit would be I guess my question is, can you give us any color on kind of the vintages of credits that saw maybe incremental reserves or these specific reserves you were just referencing?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Trying to get a feel for if this is

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: just lingering credit issues from the past or if these are actually maybe some issues that are burgeoning up on some of the faster growth that we’ve seen over the last couple of years.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. Look, I think it’s a mix. You can look back to where it was a much lower rate environment. So let me give a good example, where we’ve looked at credits that are either sort of going into the pass watch or special mention category. We’re obviously evaluating given the low rates they’re at, what would the potential refinancing risk be, right, under current rates as these things are looking to mature.

So I mean, I think you’re looking at anywhere from in the 2020 to 2024 range because, again, you’re looking at a lower rate environment in those earlier years and then obviously a higher one more recently. Got it. Okay. And I

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: guess the follow-up to that is and maybe this is just the depth of the portfolio review we spoke to, Jerry, but what gives you confidence today that the worst could be behind us here after, I think, maybe hoping to feel that way like a year ago around this time? And do you keep a lid on loan growth until maybe there’s greater certainty that these issues are kind of

: in the past?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. Look, and to I’ll take the last point you made first, which is kind of where the prioritization was in 3Q. The emergence that you’ll see in loan growth, I think, we will tell you it’s much more selective in terms of industry type. We’re not really looking it’s more in the C and I side. It’s not really looking at significant growth at all in the commercial real estate side.

And I do think that, again, when you look at some of that, a big piece of this would come through, as we just referenced on syndication as well. Look, asset quality, I keep coming back to we’ve allocated more personnel. I think we’ve got a really proactive effort going on across the organization right now that I think the way we’re working through that is probably, to your question, why I have greater confidence on resolution because the open communication and line of sight and proactively going to each of these and working through solutions is really becoming more and more evident in sort of the feeling I think we have across the organization, certainly internally at this point.

: Okay. And maybe just last thing

Michael Rose, Analyst, Raymond James: for me, just around expenses and

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: the potential expense initiative. I know, Shari, you noted some of

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: the expenses

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: bit eloquent. They didn’t shouldn’t repeat in some

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: of those categories. But I

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: wanna make sure I heard you right. I heard I

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: think, Jerry, you said, like, 3,000,000 a quarter. I’m assuming that’s, like, $23,000,000 annualized. But kinda how do think about where you hope the expense base to get in 2026? Is the hope

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: to kind of keep it flat?

Stephen Scouten, Analyst, Piper Sandler: Or do you think we could see actual net reductions in the overall expense base, just kind of framing up that potential?

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Sure. So I’m going to start first with driving from the 3Q to the 4Q expectation. As I mentioned, there were some expenses that we’re not expecting to be recurring, like downsizing of mortgage, some legal expenses on the trust side, including surrendering the license and payment, and some investments in governance like AI and That takes us to a more, I’m going to call it the normalized level of the $74,000,000 But on top of that, then we’re expecting some additional reductions through some initiatives. And this includes things like reviewing third party contracts. Do we need them?

Do we need them at that same level? When we’re working on a co source or outsourced approach and have the knowledge and skill set to do that internally, can we shift that back? And that leads us to the $2.5 to $3,000,000 It would be per quarter, not annualized, of what Gary just mentioned. So with that, we’re still working into finalizing numbers, but we do expect a net reduction starting 2026.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. And Stephen, to add to that, the disciplined way that we are approaching it is the two to three were early identification items. The process we’re going through right now is a very stringent line by line, component by component. Are there opportunities? And again, whether it’s bringing anything we’ve done to third party internally, do we still need the level of help that we have?

I mean, it’s all over the it’s every single thing is being penalized and scrutinized, and it’s a team wide effort across all of the functions in the organization. At the same time, the one area where we’re going to continue to build out and make sure is, obviously, whatever we need on the risk side, we’re going to implement. I also referenced that we have business development opportunities to expand in both Tampa and Palm Beach. There are areas of priority where we would patent. So that puts a heightened emphasis on us to find offsets to those, plus to continue to look for reductions to get a greater savings than that two or three a quarter that we’ve established as a baseline.

So as I referenced, more to come. We’ll probably have some additional color, frankly, at the upcoming conference. It’s in mid November that I referenced. Thank you.

Kate, Conference Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Woody Lave with KBW. Please go ahead.

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: Hey, good morning, guys.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Good morning, Woody.

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Good morning.

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: Just had another follow-up on credit. We should have missed the have you all used third party reviews in the past? Or is this really the first quarter that you’ve used the third party?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: In the third quarter of last year, we had a limited review. This year was a more considerable effort. And our view is that it is designed to give some comfort on accuracy of risk rating and timeliness of risk rating. And so Woody, a lot of this is the scrutiny that you get by being in the regional bracket. This is all part of the build that we wanted to ensure.

But frankly, there is a lot of opportunity for internally for the teamwork that I’ve referenced between the line, between credit, between credit review and being in a very proactive way about it. And this was, I do want to reference again, this was the highest quarter, right, for annual reviews, limited reviews and covenant testing to be done. It’s basically over half the portfolio. So it’s much less significant in the other three quarters of the year.

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: Yes. So I think just about 50% was reviewed in the third quarter. How much of the loan portfolio do you expect to be reviewed in the fourth quarter?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes, I want to say it’s in the 1,300,000,000.0 to 1.5 range. And remember, a lot of that is quarterly covenant testing, right? You’ve probably gone through the bulk of annual reviews at this stage.

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: Yes. And then when you look at I think it was 12 credits downgraded In the broader industry, we’ve seen some weakness in the subprime consumer and especially auto. When you look at your downgrades, are you seeing any overlying trends that’s impacting these borrowers? Or do they seem unconnected?

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: I don’t think you see the exposure in a material way that others have. Again, we’re not someone that had the exposure that others did to NDFIs, we didn’t have any impact from some of the big issues that others have reported on this quarter. We were not involved. I think when you look at powers, particularly, I think, on the commercial real estate side and just where there’s probably construction underway, it’s whether there’s are they still on track timing wise, and that sometimes because of delays creates issues. We also and I’d already referenced, do we anticipate there could be some refinancing risk over the next twelve to twenty four months?

And so we’ve done early identification of those as well. So just examples on the commercial real estate side.

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Yeah, Jerry, to complement that, I think it’s important that it’s not only on the industry side that we’re seeing that these loans are across multiple industries, but also the drivers for these items are different, whether it’s a covenant that was missed, a milestone in a construction project, or a milestone in the repositioning of one. So I think it’s important that there’s no concentration in terms of that of that risk.

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: Got it. Do you feel like this is my last follow-up? Do feel like you’re being more aggressive with some of the downgrades than you have been in the past? Or is the strategy been pretty consistent?

Laura Rossi, Head of Investor Relations, Amerant Bancorp: Yes, I think we are. And what we’re seeing here is that timeliness and being proactive makes a difference. The earlier we get in front of a customer and try to get to a resolution, the better outcomes that we expect to have. So that’s what’s driving this level of reviews and the timeliness of these things that we’re doing.

Woody Lave, Analyst, KBW: Got it. All right. Thanks for taking my questions.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Absolutely. Have a good day.

Kate, Conference Operator: This now concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to management for closing comments.

Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO, Amerant Bancorp: Yes. Thank you, Kate, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today to review Amarin’s third quarter results. Hope all of you have a great day. Thank you.

Kate, Conference Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This does conclude today’s teleconference. You may disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

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