PACW PacWest Bancorp

Fourth Quarter 2015 Highlights

• Square 1 Acquisition Closed October 6, 2015
• Net Earnings of $71.8 Million, or $0.60 Per Diluted Share; Adjusted Net Earnings of $83.9 Million, or $0.70 Per Diluted Share
• New Loan and Lease Production of $1.4 Billion for the Quarter
• Core Deposits Increased $3.8 Billion for the Quarter and Represented 67% of Total Deposits
• Core Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin of 5.10%

Full Year 2015 Highlights

• Net Earnings of $299.6 Million, or $2.79 Per Diluted Share; Adjusted Net Earnings of $287.4 Million, or $2.68 Per Diluted Share
• New Loan and Lease Production of $4.2 Billion for the Year; Organic Growth Rate of 9%
• Core Deposits Increased $4.4 Billion for the Year, Including $3.8 Billion From the Square 1 Acquisition
• Core Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin of 5.25%
  
  

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PacWest Bancorp (Nasdaq:PACW) today announced net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2015 of $71.8 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, compared to net earnings for the third quarter of 2015 of $69.6 million, or $0.68 per diluted share.  Net earnings for the full year 2015 were $299.6 million, or $2.79 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $168.9 million for the full year 2014, or $1.92 per diluted share.  The increase in annual net earnings was due mostly to including the operations of CapitalSource for all of 2015 compared to including its operations in 2014 only from the April 7, 2014 merger date.

When certain income and expense items described below are excluded, adjusted net earnings were $83.9 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $65.1 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2015.  Adjusted net earnings were $287.4 million, or $2.68 per diluted share, for the full year 2015 compared to $219.7 million, or $2.49 per diluted share, for the full year 2014.

Matt Wagner, President and CEO, commented, “Our strong fourth quarter results capped a year of profitable growth and continued solid operating performance.  Our full year 2015 diluted EPS increased 45%, driving our return on assets of 1.70% and return on tangible equity of 15.76%. These exceptional operating results allowed us to distribute more than $215 million of cash dividends to our stockholders in 2015.”

Mr. Wagner continued, “Our entry into the venture capital banking space as a result of the Square 1 acquisition combined with the recent expansion of new commercial construction and multi-family  lending groups will help to diversify our loan and lease portfolio along product and geographical lines and contribute toward our targeted upper single-digit portfolio growth. With our strong capital levels and overall sound asset quality metrics we are well positioned for continued success. Our achievements were recently recognized in Forbes magazine’s 2016 List of America’s Best Banks where PacWest was named the second best performing of the 100 largest publicly-traded U.S. banks.”

Patrick Rusnak, Executive Vice President and CFO stated, “Our fourth quarter tax equivalent net interest margin on a core basis of 5.10% reflects proactive steps taken during the third and fourth quarters in connection with the Square 1 acquisition.  These actions included a further reduction in time deposits and a restructuring of the acquired investment securities portfolio.  Further, Square 1’s core deposits substantially improved our core deposit base driving core deposits as a percentage of total deposits up to 67%, nearly a 20% increase.  Our total organic loan and lease portfolio growth for 2015, which excludes merger related and bulk acquisitions, totaled over $800 million, or 7%, driven by growth in cash flow, asset-based and construction lending.”

Mr. Rusnak continued, “Our total oil and gas related credit exposure at year end was $137 million, or less than one percent of total loans and leases, reflecting a reduction of 10% from principal payments received during the fourth quarter. The reserves related to this credit exposure total approximately 8%. We continue to control operating expenses as shown by our efficiency ratio, which declined to 39.3% in the fourth quarter. We are excited about our prospects for 2016 and believe our talented teams will continue to deliver strong results.”

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS

In evaluating our earnings, certain items are excluded to arrive at adjusted net earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share, as detailed below:

INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Net Interest Income

Net interest income increased by $36.7 million to $229.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $192.5 million for the third quarter of 2015 due to higher average investment and loan balances offset by lower discount accretion on acquired loans.  The loan and lease yield for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 6.21% compared to 6.34% for the third quarter of 2015.  The decrease in the loan and lease yield was due to lower discount accretion on acquired loans and the yield on new originations being lower than the current portfolio yield. Total discount accretion on acquired loans was $16.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 (46 basis points on the loan and lease yield) compared to $17.1 million in the third quarter of 2015 (57 basis points on the loan and lease yield). The decrease in discount accretion was due primarily to lower accelerated accretion from early payoffs.

The tax equivalent net interest margin (“NIM”) for the fourth quarter of 2015 was 5.22% compared to 5.46% for the third quarter of 2015. The decrease in the NIM was due to lower discount accretion on acquired loans and a higher percentage of average lower-yielding assets in the mix. Discount accretion on acquired loans contributed 36 basis points to the NIM in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 48 basis points in the third quarter of 2015.    

The cost of total deposits decreased to 0.24% in the fourth quarter from 0.33% in the third quarter due to the increased balance of noninterest-bearing deposits and a lower level of higher-cost time deposits.

Net interest margin information is presented in the following table for the periods indicated:

The tax equivalent NIM and loan and lease yield are impacted by volatility in accelerated accretion of acquisition discounts due to the prepayment of acquired loans and leases. The effects of this item are shown in the following table for the periods indicated:

The impact on the tax equivalent net interest income and NIM from all purchase accounting items is set forth in the table below for the periods indicated:

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased by $12.3 million to $28.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $15.8 million for the third quarter of 2015 due mostly to higher other commissions and fees of $6.3 million, higher leased equipment income of $2.3 million, higher other income of $2.7 million and higher service charges on deposit accounts of $1.3 million. The increase in other commissions and fees was comprised of $3.3 million from loan prepayment fees, $1.7 million from foreign exchange fees and $0.7 million from credit card fee income. The last two items are new revenue streams acquired in the Square 1 acquisition. Leased equipment income increased due to higher average balances and other income increased due to gains from early lease terminations, dividends received on other investments, a miscellaneous recovery and warrant gains. We acquired a portfolio of equity warrants in the Square 1 acquisition, and we continue to receive warrants in connection with extending loan commitments to certain of our customers. Warrants potentially provide gains in the case of a future customer liquidity event. The increase in deposit service charges was due to the acquired Square 1 deposits. 

The following table presents details of noninterest income for the periods indicated:

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense increased by $32.1 million to $122.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $90.1 million for the third quarter of 2015.  The increase was due mostly to higher acquisition, integration and reorganization costs of $16.9 million related to the Square 1 acquisition and integration. All operating expense categories were higher quarter over quarter due mostly to the Square 1 acquisition. Foreclosed assets expense is lower by $7.7 million due to gains of $3.0 million on foreclosed asset sales in the fourth quarter, while the third quarter included a write-down of $4.6 million on an existing foreclosed property.

The following table presents details of noninterest expense for the periods indicated:

Income Taxes

Our overall effective income tax rate was 40.7% for the fourth quarter of 2015 and 36.4% for the third quarter of 2015.  The effective tax rate for the full year 2015 was 37.6%. 

BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS

Loans and Leases

Total loans and leases increased $2.0 billion in the fourth quarter to $14.5 billion at December 31, 2015.   The net increase was driven by the acquisition of Square 1 loans of $1.6 billion and fourth quarter originations and purchases of $1.4 billion, offset partially by principal repayments of $910.4 million.   For the year ended December 31, 2015, total loans and leases increased $2.6 billion, or approximately 22%. Fourth quarter new production included $96 million of purchased multi-family loans and the third quarter included $132 million of purchased multi-family and student loans.

The following table presents a roll forward of the loan and lease portfolio for the periods indicated:

The following table presents the composition of our loan and lease portfolio as of the dates indicated:

Production from our recently expanded construction lending team is ramping up resulting in the growth in construction loans in the fourth quarter from the combination of new loans originated and disbursements on previously booked loans. Venture capital loans and unfunded loan commitments showed large increases in the fourth quarter due to the acquired balances from Square 1.

Credit Exposure Affected by Low Oil Prices

At December 31, 2015, PacWest had 24 outstanding loan and lease relationships totaling $137.3 million to borrowers involved in the oil and gas services industry, down from $152.3 million at September 30, 2015.  The collateral for these loans and leases primarily includes equipment, such as drilling equipment and transportation vehicles.  At December 31, 2015, three relationships totaling $47.1 million were on nonaccrual status and were classified, down from $47.9 million at September 30, 2015.   The largest of these relationships had an aggregate outstanding balance of $40.1 million at December 31, 2015.  These nonaccrual loans had specific valuation allowances of $6.3 million at December 31, 2015 reflecting a $4.9 million increase during the fourth quarter of 2015. The total reserves related to our oil and gas services industry exposure was approximately 8% at year end.

Deposits and Client Investment Funds

The following table presents the composition of our deposit portfolio as of the dates indicated:

At December 31, 2015, core deposits totaled $10.6 billion, or 67% of total deposits, including $6.2 billion of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, or 39% of total deposits.  Core deposits obtained in the Square 1 acquisition totaled $3.8 billion.

The following table summarizes the maturities of our time deposits as of the date indicated:

In addition to deposit products, we also offer alternative non-depository cash investment options for select clients, including investments managed by Square 1 Asset Management, Inc. (“S1AM”) our registered investment advisor subsidiary, and third-party sweep products.  Total client investment funds at December 31, 2015 were $2.0 billion, of which $1.6 billion was managed by S1AM.   In conjunction with the integration of Square 1 Bank, approximately $300 million of assets managed by S1AM were transferred into on-balance sheet deposit products during the fourth quarter of 2015.   

PROVISION AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES

A provision for credit losses of $13.8 million was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $8.7 million in the third quarter of 2015. The fourth quarter provision was comprised of a $15.1 million provision for Non-PCI loans and leases and a negative provision of $1.3 million for PCI loans. The allowance for Non-PCI credit losses to Non-PCI loans and leases coverage ratio increased to 0.85% at December 31, 2015 from 0.82% at September 30, 2015.  The increase in the reserve for unfunded commitments was due to higher levels of expected unfunded commitments utilization and a higher level of unfunded commitments, excluding any gained in the Square 1 acquisition.  The negative provision for PCI loans resulted from increases in actual and expected cash flows, mostly due to payoffs.

The following tables show roll forwards of the allowance for credit losses for the periods indicated:

All acquired loans are recorded initially at their estimated fair value including an estimate of credit losses. The table below presents two alternative views of credit risk coverage ratios for Non-PCI loans reflecting adjustments for acquired loans and associated purchase accounting discounts:

Non-PCI loans and leases at December 31, 2015 included $8.3 billion of originated loans and leases that were not obtained through acquisitions. The related allowance for loan and lease losses totaled $90.5 million, or 1.09% of the outstanding balance.

CREDIT QUALITY

The following table presents Non-PCI loan and lease credit quality metrics as of the dates indicated:

The following table presents Non-PCI nonaccrual loans and leases and accruing loans and leases past due between 30 and 89 days by portfolio segment and class as of the dates indicated:

The following table presents nonperforming assets as of the dates indicated:

SQUARE 1 FINANCIAL, INC. ACQUISITION

On October 6, 2015, the acquisition of Square 1 Financial, Inc. (“Square 1”) was consummated in a transaction valued at approximately $815 million.  PacWest Bancorp is the surviving company and Pacific Western Bank is the surviving subsidiary bank, with the banking operations of Square 1 conducted under the trade name of Square 1 Bank, a division of Pacific Western Bank.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Square 1 stockholders received 0.5997 shares of PacWest common stock for each share of Square 1 common stock and holders of stock options and restricted stock units received cash consideration as described in the merger agreement. The total value of the per share merger consideration was $26.37, based on the closing price of PacWest common stock of $43.97 on October 6, 2015.

The following table shows the various purchase accounting adjustments at the acquisition date by category along with accretion/amortization periods: 

ABOUT PACWEST BANCORP

PacWest Bancorp (“PacWest”) is a bank holding company with over $21 billion in assets with one wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank (“Pacific Western”). The Bank has 80 full-service branches located throughout the state of California and one branch in Durham, North Carolina. Pacific Western provides commercial banking services, including real estate, construction, and commercial loans, and comprehensive deposit and treasury management services to small and medium-sized businesses.  Pacific Western offers additional products and services under the brands of its business groups, CapitalSource and Square 1 Bank. CapitalSource provides cash flow, asset-based, equipment and real estate loans and treasury management services to established middle market businesses on a national basis.  Square 1 Bank offers a comprehensive suite of financial services focused on entrepreneurial businesses and their venture capital and private equity investors, with offices located in key innovation hubs across the United States. For more information about PacWest Bancorp, visit www.pacwestbancorp.com, or to learn more about Pacific Western Bank, visit www.pacificwesternbank.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” about the Company and its subsidiaries within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including certain plans, strategies, goals, and projections and including statements about our expectations regarding our acquisition of Square 1, intentions to expand Pacific Western’s lending business, credit loss exposure, profitability, and loan and lease portfolio growth. All statements contained in this release that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “assume,” “intend,” “believe,” “forecast,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “will,” “should,” “look forward” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements (including statements regarding future financial and operating results and future transactions and their results) involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance or achievements. Actual results could differ materially from those contained or implied by such forward-looking statements for a variety of factors, including without limitation:

• changes in economic or competitive market conditions could negatively impact investment or lending opportunities or product pricing and services;
• credit quality deterioration or pronounced and sustained reduction in market values or other economic factors which adversely affect our borrowers’ ability to repay loans and leases;
• higher than anticipated delinquencies, charge-offs, and loan losses;
• compression of spreads on newly originated loans and leases; 
• the impact of asset/liability repricing risk and liquidity risk on net interest margin and the value of investments;
• higher than anticipated increases in operating expenses;
• increased costs to manage and sell foreclosed assets;
• reduced demand for our services due to strategic or regulatory reasons;
• our inability to grow deposits or access wholesale funding sources;
• legislative or regulatory requirements or changes could negatively impact our business including an increase to capital requirements;
• loan repayments higher than expected;
• our ability to complete future acquisitions and to successfully integrate such acquired entities, including Square 1, or achieve expected benefits, synergies and/or operating efficiencies within expected time frames or at all;
• business disruption following the Square 1 acquisition;
• changes in our stock price;
• the reaction to the Square 1 acquisition of the Company’s customers, employees and counterparties;
• inability to attract qualified professionals;
• the success and timing of other business strategies; and
• other risk factors described in documents filed by PacWest with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available at the time of the release. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.