April 21st, 2026

The call conveyed strong underlying franchise momentum: robust deposit and loan growth, solid NII and PPNR expansion, improved efficiency, stable core asset quality excluding two material fraud-related charge-offs, and management confidence reflected in opportunistic buybacks and reiterated 2026 targets. The primary negatives were the sizeable one-time fraud-related charge-offs (LAM and Cantor Group 5) that reduced reported earnings and remain subject to uncertain recoveries, some mortgage volatility from March rate moves, and near-term pressure from higher deposit cost assumptions given removed rate-cut expectations. Overall, management framed the disruptions as largely behind them and provided an outlook showing revenue and margin tailwinds, leading to a favorable near-to-medium-term operating view.

Company Guidance

Management reiterated 2026 targets and provided detailed guidance: $6.0B of HFI loan growth and an $8.0B deposit growth target (deposit balances may be flat in Q2 then normalize in Q3, with a year‑end loan‑to‑deposit ratio in the mid‑70s), NII growth of 11–14% (now expected toward the upper end) with modest NIM expansion versus 2025 (Q1 NIM was 3.54%), deposit costs guided to $650–$700M, blended deposit beta ~65–70% (warehouse ~90–100%, Juris/HOA ~35%), total noninterest income ex‑securities +13–17%, total noninterest expense up 7–11% with operating expenses $1.6–$1.65B (incorporating $50M of identified savings), ACL metrics of 87 bps total ACL to funded loans (loan loss reserve 78 bps expected to trend to the low‑80s and total ACL into the low‑90s), core net charge‑offs 25–35 bps (expected around or slightly above the midpoint with declines in H2), CET1 target of 11% (tangible common equity ~6.8% in Q1), effective tax rate ~19%, and continued opportunistic $50M share repurchases in Q1 while keeping capital policy steady.