Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results
Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESQ) reported strong fourth-quarter results, with a net income of $3.9 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, marking a rise from $3.6 million in the prior quarter. Loans grew by 23% annualized, totaling $672.4 million, driven by robust commercial lending. The bank's net interest margin improved to 4.49%. Deposits surged 31% annualized to $804.1 million. However, the provision for loan losses increased by $950,000 year-over-year. Despite challenges arising from the pandemic, Esquire maintains solid asset quality with nonperforming loans at 0.34%.
- Net income rose to $3.9 million in Q4 2020, up from $3.6 million in Q3 2020.
- Loans increased by $36.8 million or 23% annualized to $672.4 million.
- Net interest margin improved to 4.49%, up from 4.23% in Q3 2020.
- Deposits grew by $58.5 million or 31% annualized to $804.1 million.
- Merchant fee income rose by 23% to $4.6 million.
- Provision for loan losses increased by $950,000 from the previous year.
- Net income for the year declined to $12.6 million from $14.1 million in 2019.
- Returns on average assets and common equity decreased compared to 2019.
JERICHO, N.Y., Jan. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESQ) (the "Company"), the financial holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association ("Esquire Bank"), today announced its operating results for the fourth quarter and the full year 2020. Significant achievements during the current quarter when compared to the third quarter 2020 ("linked quarter") include:
- Net income increased to
$3.9 million , or$0.51 per diluted share, as compared to$3.6 million , or$0.48 per diluted share on a linked quarter basis. Net income and diluted earnings per share were$3.9 million and$0.50 , respectively, for the fourth quarter of 2019. - Industry leading returns on average assets and common equity of
1.70% and12.54% , respectively, as compared to1.60% and11.99% on a linked quarter basis. - Significant improvement in our net interest margin to
4.49% when compared to4.23% on a linked quarter basis, primarily driven by our growth in higher yielding attorney commercial loans. - Loans increased
$36.8 million , or23% annualized, to$672.4 million on a linked quarter basis due to our commercial loan growth. Loans increased$107.1 million , or19% , from year end 2019 due to growth in our commercial and multifamily loan portfolios. - Deposits increased
$58.5 million , or31% annualized, to$804.1 million on a linked quarter basis, primarily driven by attorney commercial deposits, with a cost of funds of0.11% (including demand deposits). Demand deposits, totaling$351.7 million , represent44% of total deposits while off-balance sheet sweep funds totaled$380 million at year end, demonstrating the continued strength of our branchless core business model. - Merchant fee income from our payment processing platform increased
23% to$4.6 million on a linked quarter basis as we continue to expand our merchant relationships and increase processing volumes. Total fee income represents32% of total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020. - Continued solid asset quality metrics with nonperforming loans to total loans of
0.34% and a reserve for loan losses to total loans of1.70% . The reserve ratio is1.75% , excluding$21.9 million in SBA guaranteed PPP loans. - In October 2020, we launched a new suite of best-in-class digital assets including our customer centric CRM coupled with our digital marketing resources, newly designed and highly functional website, and new brand image to support future growth. These innovative digital technologies will support seamless communication to the communities we serve, significantly enhance our multimedia digital marketing capabilities, streamline our on-line functionality and associated application processes, and support our industry leading performance metrics through the next decade and beyond.
- Esquire Bank remains well above the bank regulatory "Well Capitalized" standards.
"Our new Esquire brand and digital assets will transform the current and future business verticals we serve across the country," stated Tony Coelho, Chairman of the Board. "This will ensure the markets we serve view our Company as a leading financial and technology provider in the industry."
"Despite the effects of the pandemic and economic recession, our Company continues to generate industry leading returns as a result of our unique national business model, stable payment processing fee income and low-cost branchless core funding sources," stated Andrew C. Sagliocca, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our strong balance sheet coupled with our industry leading returns will continue to allow the Company to take advantage of new opportunities and navigate this challenging environment."
Fourth Quarter Earnings
Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2020 was
Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2020 increased
The provision for loan losses was
Noninterest income increased
Noninterest expense increased
The Company's efficiency ratio was
The effective tax rate was approximately
Year to Date Earnings
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2020 was
Net interest income for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased
The provision for loan losses was
Noninterest income increased
Noninterest expense increased
The effective tax rate for the year ended 2020 was approximately
Asset Quality
Nonperforming assets, totaling
Balance Sheet
At December 31, 2020, total assets were
Total deposits were
Stockholders' equity increased
COVID-19 Pandemic
We implemented a customer payment deferral program (principal and interest) to assist business borrowers and certain consumers that may be experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 related challenges. These loans will continue to accrue interest during the deferral period unless otherwise classified as nonaccrual. Consistent with the CARES ACT and regulatory guidance, borrowers that were otherwise current on loan payments that were granted COVID-19 related financial hardship payment deferrals will continue to be reported as current loans throughout the agreed upon deferral period. There were no delinquent loans upon adoption of our payment deferral program. The following table provides information regarding payment deferral loans.
As of December 31, 2020 | |||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||
Weighted Average | Weighted Average | ||||||||
Number of | Loan | Debt Service | Loan to | ||||||
Borrowers | Balance | Coverage | Value Ratio | ||||||
1 – 4 family | 3 | $ | 11,430 | 1.35x | 69 | % | |||
Multifamily | 4 | 10,332 | 1.21x | 64 | |||||
Commercial real estate | 2 | 7,452 | 1.25x | 49 | |||||
Consumer | 3 | 9 | NA | NA | |||||
Total | 12 | $ | 29,223 |
From a merchant processing perspective, we have taken action to identify and assess our COVID-19 related credit exposure, primarily defined as merchant returns and chargebacks, by merchant industry type and category. These industry types include, but are not limited to, restaurants, hospitality, travel, and entertainment. We have also assessed the level and adequacy of our ISO and merchant reserves held on deposit at Esquire Bank. Currently, based on our assessments, we have not identified any elevated credit risk in these affected industry types and other categories and our return and chargeback ratios remain relatively consistent with pre-COVID-19 levels.
The COVID-19 pandemic may continue to impact our financial results and demand for our products and services in 2021 and potentially beyond. The short and long-term implications of this healthcare and economic crisis may continue to affect our revenues, earnings results, allowance for loan losses, capital reserves, and liquidity in the future.
About Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc.
Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Jericho, New York, with one branch office in Jericho, New York and an administrative office in Boca Raton, Florida. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Esquire Bank, National Association, is a full-service commercial bank dedicated to serving the financial needs of the litigation industry and small businesses nationally, as well as commercial and retail customers in the New York metropolitan area. The bank offers tailored financial and payment processing solutions to the litigation community and their clients as well as dynamic and flexible merchant payment processing solutions to small business owners. For more information, visit www.esquirebank.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" relating to future results of the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: changes in business plans as circumstances warrant; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; and other risks detailed in the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements," "Risk Factors" and other sections of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are not a guarantee of future events, and that actual events may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "might," "should," "could," "predict," "potential," "believe," "expect," "attribute," "continue," "will," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "projection," "goal," "target," "outlook," "aim," "would," "annualized" and "outlook," or similar terminology. Further, given its ongoing and dynamic nature, it is difficult to predict the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business. The extent of such impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain, including when the coronavirus can be controlled and abated and when and how the economy may be reopened. As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse local and national economic consequences, we could be subject to any of the following risks, any of which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations: the demand for our products and services may decline, making it difficult to grow assets and income; if the economy is unable to substantially reopen, and high levels of unemployment continue for an extended period of time, loan delinquencies, problem assets, and foreclosures may increase, resulting in increased charges and reduced income; collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline in value, which could cause loan losses to increase; our allowance for loan losses may increase if borrowers experience financial difficulties, which will adversely affect our net income; the net worth and liquidity of loan guarantors may decline, impairing their ability to honor commitments to us; as the result of the decline in the Federal Reserve Board's target federal funds rate to near
ESQUIRE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||
December 31, | December 31, | ||||||
2020 | 2019 | ||||||
ASSETS | |||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 65,185 | $ | 61,806 | |||
Securities purchased under agreements to resell, at cost | 51,726 | — | |||||
Securities available for sale, at fair value | 117,655 | 146,419 | |||||
Securities, restricted at cost | 2,694 | 2,665 | |||||
Loans | 672,421 | 565,369 | |||||
Less: allowance for loan losses | (11,402) | (6,989) | |||||
Loans, net of allowance | 661,019 | 558,380 | |||||
Premises and equipment, net | 3,017 | 2,835 | |||||
Other assets | 35,418 | 25,903 | |||||
Total Assets | $ | 936,714 | $ | 798,008 | |||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||||||
Demand deposits | $ | 351,692 | $ | 201,837 | |||
Savings, NOW and money market deposits | 441,160 | 459,037 | |||||
Certificates of deposit | 11,202 | 19,746 | |||||
Total deposits | 804,054 | 680,620 | |||||
Other liabilities | 6,584 | 6,326 | |||||
Total liabilities | 810,638 | 686,946 | |||||
Total stockholders' equity | 126,076 | 111,062 | |||||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | $ | 936,714 | $ | 798,008 | |||
Selected Financial Data | |||||||
Common shares outstanding | 7,793,482 | 7,652,170 | |||||
Book value per share | $ | 16.18 | $ | 14.51 | |||
Equity to assets | 13.46 | % | 13.92 | % | |||
Capital Ratios (1) | |||||||
Tier 1 leverage ratio | 12.51 | % | 13.50 | % | |||
Common equity tier 1 capital ratio | 15.44 | % | 16.68 | % | |||
Tier 1 capital ratio | 15.44 | % | 16.68 | % | |||
Total capital ratio | 16.69 | % | 17.83 | % | |||
Asset Quality | |||||||
Nonaccrual loans | $ | 2,303 | $ | 1,476 | |||
Allowance for loan losses to total loans | 1.70 | % | 1.24 | % | |||
Nonperforming loans to total loans | 0.34 | % | 0.26 | % | |||
Nonperforming assets to total assets | 0.25 | % | 0.18 | % | |||
Allowance to nonperforming loans | 495 | % | 474 | % | |||
____________________________ | |||||||
(1) Regulatory capital ratios presented on bank-only basis. |
ESQUIRE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||
Three months ended | Year ended | ||||||||||||
December 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
Interest income | $ | 10,094 | $ | 9,356 | $ | 38,630 | $ | 36,659 | |||||
Interest expense | 213 | 504 | 1,190 | 2,548 | |||||||||
Net interest income | 9,881 | 8,852 | 37,440 | 34,111 | |||||||||
Provision for loan losses | 1,550 | 600 | 6,250 | 1,850 | |||||||||
Net interest income after provision for loan losses | 8,331 | 8,252 | 31,190 | 32,261 | |||||||||
Noninterest income: | |||||||||||||
Merchant processing income | 4,572 | 2,983 | 14,099 | 10,976 | |||||||||
Other noninterest income | 116 | 181 | 548 | 835 | |||||||||
Total noninterest income | 4,688 | 3,164 | 14,647 | 11,811 | |||||||||
Noninterest expense: | |||||||||||||
Employee compensation and benefits | 4,424 | 3,836 | 16,873 | 14,677 | |||||||||
Other expenses | 3,314 | 2,505 | 11,797 | 10,257 | |||||||||
Total noninterest expense | 7,738 | 6,341 | 28,670 | 24,934 | |||||||||
Income before income taxes | 5,281 | 5,075 | 17,167 | 19,138 | |||||||||
Income taxes | 1,399 | 1,202 | 4,549 | 4,995 | |||||||||
Net income | $ | 3,882 | $ | 3,873 | $ | 12,618 | $ | 14,143 | |||||
Earnings Per Share | |||||||||||||
Basic | $ | 0.52 | $ | 0.52 | $ | 1.70 | $ | 1.91 | |||||
Diluted | $ | 0.51 | $ | 0.50 | $ | 1.65 | $ | 1.82 | |||||
Selected Financial Data | |||||||||||||
Return on average assets | 1.70 | % | 2.01 | % | 1.45 | % | 1.93 | % | |||||
Return on average equity | 12.54 | % | 14.19 | % | 10.69 | % | 13.95 | % | |||||
Net interest margin | 4.49 | % | 4.79 | % | 4.47 | % | 4.86 | % | |||||
Efficiency ratio (1) | 53.1 | % | 52.8 | % | 55.0 | % | 54.3 | % | |||||
____________________ | |||||||||||||
(1) Efficiency ratio represents noninterest expenses divided by the sum of net interest income plus noninterest income. |
ESQUIRE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||
For the Three Months Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
Average | Average | Average | Average | ||||||||||||||
Balance | Interest | Yield/Cost | Balance | Interest | Yield/Cost | ||||||||||||
INTEREST EARNING ASSETS | |||||||||||||||||
Loans | $ | 658,855 | $ | 9,533 | 5.76 | % | $ | 532,938 | $ | 8,266 | 6.15 | % | |||||
Securities, includes restricted stock | 115,370 | 423 | 1.46 | % | 136,401 | 836 | 2.43 | % | |||||||||
Securities purchased under agreements to resell | 29,447 | 94 | 1.27 | % | — | — | — | % | |||||||||
Interest earning cash and other | 71,789 | 44 | 0.24 | % | 64,073 | 254 | 1.57 | % | |||||||||
Total interest earning assets | 875,461 | 10,094 | 4.59 | % | 733,412 | 9,356 | 5.06 | % | |||||||||
NONINTEREST EARNING ASSETS | 30,724 | 31,939 | |||||||||||||||
TOTAL AVERAGE ASSETS | $ | 906,185 | $ | 765,351 | |||||||||||||
INTEREST BEARING LIABILITIES | |||||||||||||||||
Savings, NOW, Money Market deposits | $ | 407,186 | $ | 191 | 0.19 | % | $ | 394,969 | $ | 405 | 0.41 | % | |||||
Time deposits | 10,185 | 21 | 0.82 | % | 19,909 | 98 | 1.95 | % | |||||||||
Total interest bearing deposits | 417,371 | 212 | 0.20 | % | 414,878 | 503 | 0.48 | % | |||||||||
Short-term borrowings | 55 | — | — | % | 1 | — | — | % | |||||||||
Secured borrowings | 82 | 1 | 4.85 | % | 87 | 1 | 4.56 | % | |||||||||
Total interest bearing liabilities | 417,508 | 213 | 0.20 | % | 414,966 | 504 | 0.48 | % | |||||||||
NONINTEREST BEARING LIABILITIES | |||||||||||||||||
Demand deposits | 353,531 | 232,267 | |||||||||||||||
Other liabilities | 11,985 | 9,817 | |||||||||||||||
Total noninterest bearing liabilities | 365,516 | 242,084 | |||||||||||||||
Stockholders' equity | 123,161 | 108,301 | |||||||||||||||
TOTAL AVG. LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | $ | 906,185 | $ | 765,351 | |||||||||||||
Net interest income | $ | 9,881 | $ | 8,852 | |||||||||||||
Net interest spread | 4.39 | % | 4.58 | % | |||||||||||||
Net interest margin | 4.49 | % | 4.79 | % |
ESQUIRE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC. | |||||||||||||||||
For the Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
Average | Average | Average | Average | ||||||||||||||
Balance | Interest | Yield/Cost | Balance | Interest | Yield/Cost | ||||||||||||
INTEREST EARNING ASSETS | |||||||||||||||||
Loans | $ | 605,273 | $ | 35,588 | 5.88 | % | $ | 507,546 | $ | 31,790 | 6.26 | % | |||||
Securities, includes restricted stock | 126,166 | 2,556 | 2.03 | % | 147,737 | 3,909 | 2.65 | % | |||||||||
Securities purchased under agreements to resell | 7,402 | 94 | 1.27 | % | — | — | — | % | |||||||||
Interest earning cash and other | 99,069 | 392 | 0.40 | % | 47,059 | 960 | 2.04 | % | |||||||||
Total interest earning assets | 837,910 | 38,630 | 4.61 | % | 702,342 | 36,659 | 5.22 | % | |||||||||
NONINTEREST EARNING ASSETS | 30,028 | 30,700 | |||||||||||||||
TOTAL AVERAGE ASSETS | $ | 867,938 | $ | 733,042 | |||||||||||||
INTEREST BEARING LIABILITIES | |||||||||||||||||
Savings, NOW, Money Market deposits | $ | 421,530 | $ | 888 | 0.21 | % | $ | 366,430 | $ | 2,070 | 0.56 | % | |||||
Time deposits | 16,785 | 297 | 1.77 | % | 20,002 | 473 | 2.36 | % | |||||||||
Total interest bearing deposits | 438,315 | 1,185 | 0.27 | % | 386,432 | 2,543 | 0.66 | % | |||||||||
Short-term borrowings | 29 | — | — | % | 1 | — | — | % | |||||||||
Secured borrowings | 84 | 5 | 5.95 | % | 88 | 5 | 5.68 | % | |||||||||
Total interest bearing liabilities | 438,428 | 1,190 | 0.27 | % | 386,521 | 2,548 | 0.66 | % | |||||||||
NONINTEREST BEARING LIABILITIES | |||||||||||||||||
Demand deposits | 301,359 | 236,918 | |||||||||||||||
Other liabilities | 10,066 | 8,216 | |||||||||||||||
Total noninterest bearing liabilities | 311,425 | 245,134 | |||||||||||||||
Stockholders' equity | 118,085 | 101,387 | |||||||||||||||
TOTAL AVG. LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | $ | 867,938 | $ | 733,042 | |||||||||||||
Net interest income | $ | 37,440 | $ | 34,111 | |||||||||||||
Net interest spread | 4.34 | % | 4.56 | % | |||||||||||||
Net interest margin | 4.47 | % | 4.86 | % |
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SOURCE Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc.
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