Washington Trust Reports Third Quarter 2020 Earnings

WESTERLY, R.I., Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:WASH), parent company of The Washington Trust Company, today announced third quarter 2020 net income of $18.3 million, or $1.06 per diluted share, compared to net income of $21.0 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, reported for the second quarter of 2020.

"Washington Trust's third quarter results reflect our success at generating solid earnings during the most challenging of economic times," stated Edward O. Handy III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "We had good performances across key business lines, led by strong mortgage banking activity, increases in wealth management assets under administration, and in-market deposit growth.  As we move forward, we do so cautiously, but with confidence in our team, our business model and our strong financial foundation."

Selected financial highlights for the third quarter of 2020 include:

• Returns on average equity and average assets for the third quarter were 13.99% and 1.24%, respectively, compared to 16.51% and 1.46%, respectively, in the preceding quarter.
• The provision for credit losses was $1.3 million in the third quarter, compared to $2.2 million in the preceding quarter.
• Wealth management revenues were $9.0 million for the third quarter, up by $349 thousand, or 4%, from the preceding quarter.
• Mortgage banking continued its strong performance in the third quarter with revenues totaling $12.4 million.  Third quarter 2020 mortgage banking revenues were up by $7.5 million, or 155%, from the same period a year ago.
• Residential mortgage loan origination activity amounted to an all-time quarterly high of $510 million in the third quarter of 2020, up by $83.6 million, or 20%, from the preceding quarter.  Residential mortgage loan originations increased by $215 million, or 73%, from the same period a year ago.
• Total loans amounted to $4.3 billion at September 30, 2020, essentially flat from the end of the preceding quarter.  Total loans were up by $504 million, or 13%, from a year ago.
• In-market deposits (total deposits less out-of-market wholesale brokered deposits) amounted to $3.7 billion at  September 30, 2020, up by $129 million, or 4%, from the end of the preceding quarter, and up by $546 million, or 17%, from a year ago.

Net Interest Income
Net interest income was $31.7 million for the third quarter of 2020, up by $709 thousand, or 2%, from the second quarter of 2020.  The net interest margin was 2.31% for the third quarter, unchanged from the preceding quarter.

Significant linked quarter changes included:

• Average interest-earning assets increased by $63 million, with an increase of $81 million in average loans, partially offset by a decrease of $19 million in average cash and short-term investments balances.  The yield on interest-earning assets for the third quarter was 2.98%, down by 20 basis points from the preceding quarter, reflecting the impact of lower market interest rates.
• Average interest-bearing liabilities decreased by $43 million, with a decrease of $126 million in average wholesale funding balances, partially offset by an increase of $83 million in average in-market deposits.  Wholesale funding balances consist of wholesale brokered time deposits, Federal Home Loan Bank advances and Federal Reserve Payment Protection Program Lending Facility ("PPPLF") borrowings.  The cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the third quarter of 2020 was 0.85%, down by 23 basis points from the preceding quarter, reflecting the impact of lower market interest rates.
• Average noninterest-bearing demand deposit balances increased by $98 million from the preceding quarter.

Noninterest Income
Noninterest income totaled $25.5 million for the third quarter of 2020, down by $852 thousand, or 3%, from the second quarter of 2020.  Linked quarter changes included:

• Mortgage banking revenues totaled $12.4 million for the third quarter of 2020, down by $2.5 million, or 17%, from the record quarterly level in the second quarter of 2020, with a decline in unrealized gains partially offset by an increase in realized gains.  Net realized gains increased on a linked quarter basis due to increased sales volume and sales yield on loans sold to the secondary market.  Mortgage loans sold to the secondary market reached an all-time quarterly high of $354 million in the third quarter of 2020, up by $49 million, or 16%, from the preceding quarter.  Net unrealized gains decreased on a linked quarter basis, reflecting a decrease in the mortgage pipeline and a corresponding decrease in the fair value of mortgage loan commitments as of September 30, 2020.
• Wealth management revenues amounted to $9.0 million for the third quarter of 2020, up by $349 thousand, or 4%, on a linked quarter basis.  This included an increase in asset-based revenues of $630 thousand, or 8%, partially offset by a decrease in transaction-based revenues of $281 thousand, or 63%.  The decline in transaction-based revenues was mainly due to tax preparation fees, which are generally concentrated in the first half of the year.
  Wealth management assets under administration ("AUA") amounted to $6.4 billion at September 30, 2020, up by $257 million, or 4%, from June 30, 2020.  The increase reflected net investment appreciation of $335 million, partially offset by net client asset outflows of $78 million in the third quarter of 2020.  The average balance of AUA for the third quarter of 2020 increased by approximately $594 million, or 10%, from the average balance for the preceding quarter.
• Loan related derivative income was $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2020, up by $1.2 million from the preceding quarter, reflecting a higher volume of commercial borrower interest rate swap transactions.
• Income from bank-owned life insurance totaled $567 thousand in the third quarter of 2020, down by $224 thousand, or 28%, from the preceding quarter.  Included in the second quarter was $229 thousand of non-taxable income due to the receipt of life insurance proceeds.

Noninterest Expenses
Noninterest expenses totaled $32.3 million for the third quarter of 2020, up by $3.9 million, or 14%, from the second quarter of 2020.  Linked quarter changes included:

• Salaries and employee benefits expense, our largest noninterest expense, amounted to $21.9 million, up by $2.4 million, or 12%, from the preceding quarter.  This was largely attributable to approximately $1 million of deferred labor (contra-expense) recognized in the second quarter associated with the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loan originations in that quarter, as well as third quarter volume-related increases in mortgage originator commission expense and third quarter increases in performance-based compensation expense.
• Legal, audit and professional fees were up by $593 thousand from the preceding quarter, reflecting increased costs associated with various legal and consulting matters.
• Outsourced services expense was up by $376 thousand from the preceding quarter, largely due to volume-related increases in third party processing costs associated with customer loan related derivative transactions.
• FDIC deposit insurance costs were down by $282 thousand from the preceding quarter, reflecting a decline in our assessment rate.
• Other expenses were up by $413 thousand from the preceding quarter.  Of this increase, $170 thousand resulted from the second quarter reversal of a contingency reserve.

Income Tax
Income tax expense totaled $5.1 million for the third quarter of 2020, down by $416 thousand from the preceding quarter, largely due to a lower level of pre-tax income.  The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2020 was 21.9%, compared to 20.9% in the preceding quarter.  Based on current federal and applicable state income tax statutes, the Corporation currently expects its fourth quarter effective tax rate to be 21.9% and its full-year 2020 effective tax rate to be approximately 21.5%.

Investment Securities
The securities portfolio totaled $914 million at September 30, 2020, down by $25 million, or 3%, from June 30, 2020, reflecting routine pay-downs on mortgage-backed securities, calls of debt securities, as well as a temporary decrease in the fair value of available for sale securities.  These decreases were partially offset by purchases of U.S. government agency and U.S. government-sponsored debt securities, including mortgage-backed securities.  Third quarter 2020 purchases totaled $129 million, with a weighted average yield of 1.68%.  Securities represented 16% of total assets at both September 30, 2020 and June 30, 2020.

Loans
Total loans stood at $4.3 billion at September 30, 2020, down by $6 million, or 0.1% from the end of the preceding quarter.  Linked quarter changes included:

• Commercial loans increased by $5 million from June 30, 2020.
• Residential real estate loans decreased by $1 million from June 30, 2020.
• The consumer loan portfolio decreased by $9 million from the balance at June 30, 2020.

Washington Trust continues to work with and support our customers experiencing financial difficulty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  See the section labeled "Supplemental Loan Portfolio Information" in the accompanying tabular disclosures for information regarding loan deferments and PPP loans.

Deposits and Borrowings
Total deposits amounted to $4.3 billion at September 30, 2020, up by $184 million, or 4%, from the end of the preceding quarter.  Included in total deposits are out-of-market wholesale brokered time deposits, which increased by $56 million, or 11%, from June 30, 2020.  Excluding wholesale brokered time deposits, in-market deposits at September 30, 2020 were up by $129 million, or 4%, from the end of the preceding quarter, reflecting seasonal inflows of various institutional and governmental depositors based on their underlying business cycles.

Federal Home Loan Bank advances totaled $714 million at September 30, 2020, down by $291 million from June 30, 2020.

As of September 30, 2020, the balance of PPPLF borrowings amounted to $106 million, up by $67 million from the balance at June 30, 2020.

Asset Quality
Nonperforming assets amounted to $14.7 million at September 30, 2020, down by $1.3 million from the end of the preceding quarter.  Total nonaccrual loans amounted to $14.7 million, or 0.34% of total loans, at September 30, 2020, compared to $16.0 million, or 0.37% of total loans, at June 30, 2020.  Total past due loans amounted to $10.4 million, or 0.24% of total loans, at September 30, 2020, compared to $14.7 million, or 0.34% of total loans, at June 30, 2020.  The granting of loan payment deferments has not resulted in increased nonaccrual and past due loans, as these amounts do not reflect loans that have been modified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Washington Trust actively monitors loan deferments and asset quality given the continued uncertainty regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various industries and customer segments.

Total troubled debt restructured ("TDR") loans amounted to $8.6 million as of September 30, 2020, up by $2.1 million from June 30, 2020, due to loan payment deferments on residential and consumer loans that were delinquent before the pandemic and did not qualify for TDR accounting relief.

The allowance for credit losses ("ACL") on loans amounted to $42.6 million, or 1.00% of total loans, at September 30, 2020, compared to $41.4 million, or 0.97% of total loans, at June 30, 2020.  The ACL on unfunded commitments, included in other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, amounted to $2.2 million at September 30, 2020, essentially unchanged from the balance at June 30, 2020.

In the third quarter of 2020, a provision for credit losses of $1.3 million was charged to earnings, compared to $2.2 million in the preceding quarter.  In the third quarter of 2020, net charge-offs of $96 thousand were recognized, compared to $308 thousand in the preceding quarter.

Capital and Dividends
Total shareholders' equity was $527.7 million at September 30, 2020, up by $7.5 million from June 30, 2020.  This increase included net income of $18.3 million, which was partially offset by $8.9 million in dividend declarations and a decline of $2.9 million in the accumulated other comprehensive income component of shareholders' equity reflecting a temporary decline in the fair value of available for sale debt securities.

Capital levels at September 30, 2020 exceeded the regulatory minimum levels to be considered well capitalized, with a total risk-based capital ratio of 13.09% at September 30, 2020, compared to 12.78% at June 30, 2020.

Book value per share amounted to $30.57 at September 30, 2020, compared to $30.14 at June 30, 2020.

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of 51 cents per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.  The dividend was paid on October 9, 2020 to shareholders of record on October 1, 2020.

Conference Call
Washington Trust will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter results, business highlights and outlook on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time).  Individuals may dial in to the call at 1-888-243-4451.  An audio replay of the call will be available, shortly after the conclusion of the call, by dialing 1-877-344-7529 and entering the Replay PIN Number 10148833; the audio replay will be available through November 3, 2020.  Also, a webcast of the call will be posted in the Investor Relations section of Washington Trust's web site, http://ir.washtrust.com, and will be available through December 31, 2020.

Background
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. is the parent of The Washington Trust Company.  Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation, the largest state-chartered bank headquartered in Rhode Island and one of the Northeast's premier financial services companies.  Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth management and trust services through its offices located in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts.  The Corporation's common stock trades on NASDAQ under the symbol WASH.  Investor information is available on the Corporation's web site at http://ir.washtrust.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are "forward-looking statements".  We may also make forward-looking statements in other documents we file with the SEC, in our annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials, and in oral statements made by our officers, directors or employees.  You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "assume," "outlook," "will," "should," and other expressions that predict or indicate future events and trends and which do not relate to historical matters.  You should not rely on forward-looking statements, because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control.  These risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Some of the factors that might cause these differences include the following: the negative impacts and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to contain its spread on our employees, customers, business operations, credit quality, financial position, liquidity and results of operations; the length and extent of the economic contraction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; continued deterioration in local, regional, national or international economic conditions or conditions affecting the banking or financial services industries, financial capital markets and the customers and communities we serve; changes in consumer behavior due to changing political, business and economic conditions, including increased unemployment, or legislative or regulatory initiatives; the possibility that future credits losses are higher than currently expected due to changes in economic assumptions or adverse economic developments; volatility in national and international financial markets; reductions in net interest income resulting from interest rate volatility as well as changes in the balance and mix of loans and deposits; reductions in the market value or outflows of wealth management assets under administration; decreases in the value of securities and other assets; reductions in loan demand; changes in loan collectibility, increases in defaults and charge-off rates; changes in the size and nature of our competition; changes in legislation or regulation and accounting principles, policies and guidelines; operational risks including, but not limited to, cybersecurity incidents, fraud, natural disasters and future pandemics; reputational risk relating to our participation in the Paycheck Protection Program and other pandemic-related legislative and regulatory initiatives and programs; and changes in the assumptions used in making such forward-looking statements. In addition, the factors described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our Annual Report on  Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, as updated by our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings submitted to the SEC, may result in these differences. You should carefully review all of these factors and you should be aware that there may be other factors that could cause these differences. These forward-looking statements were based on information, plans and estimates at the date of this report, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes.

Supplemental Information - Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), this press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures.  Washington Trust's management believes that the supplemental non-GAAP information, which consists of measurements and ratios based on tangible equity and tangible assets, is utilized by regulators and market analysts to evaluate a company's financial condition and therefore, such information is useful to investors.  These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures which may be presented by other companies.  Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names.