Oppenheimer lifts S&P 500 year-end target to Wall Street-high on trade optimism
Oppenheimer Asset Management on Monday raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index to 7,100, the highest among major Wall Street brokerages, betting on easing trade tensions and strong corporate earnings.
Its current target implies an 11.13 per cent upside to the benchmark index's last close of 6,388.64. Oppenheimer previously set a target of 5,950 for the index.
'With the announcement of trade deals (Japan, EU) by President Trump... we believe that enough 'tariff hurdles' have been overcome for now,' Oppenheimer strategists led by John Stoltzfus said in a note.
The U.S. and European Union finalized a trade deal on Sunday, that sets a 15 per cent tariff on most European goods including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, while the EU pledged to buy US$750 billion in U.S. energy and invest $600 billion in the U.S. economy.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump struck a $550 billion deal with Japan.
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and RBC Capital Markets also raised their S&P 500 targets
The S&P 500 has rebounded 28.2 per cent since its April 8 low, following Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, broadly driven by cyclical sectors such as technology, industrials and communication services.
Oppenheimer brought back its S&P 500 earnings estimate to $275, which it had originally set in December 2024, having trimmed its projection to $265 in April.
Stoltzfus continues to favor U.S. equities, particularly cyclical stocks, and sees further upside as inflation moderates and expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady in this week's policy meeting.
(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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Date Monday, July 28, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. ET Call participants President & Chief Executive Officer — Jude Melville Chief Financial Officer — Greg Robertson Need a quote from one of our analysts? Email pr@ Takeaways GAAP Net Income: $20.8 million GAAP net income for Q2 2025, including a $3.36 million GAAP gain from the sale of a branch, a $570,000 GAAP acquisition expense, and a $1 million core conversion expense. Non-GAAP Core Net Income: $19.5 million non-GAAP core net income after excluding transaction-related and system conversion costs in Q2 2025. Core Return on Average Assets (ROAA): 1.01% core ROAA in Q2 2025. Total Loans Held for Investment: Total Deposits: Decreased $38.5 million in Q2 2025, primarily from a $140.9 million net reduction in interest-bearing deposits related to financial institution withdrawals and the branch sale; excluding the $50.7 million in branch sale-related outflows, deposits would have risen $12.1 million. Noninterest-Bearing Deposits: Rose by $102 million or 7.8% on a linked quarter basis in Q2 2025, with a short-term inflow of approximately $60 million, which was subsequently withdrawn after quarter end. Bank Borrowings: Increased $179 million (41%) in Q2 2025 due to short-term FHLB advances for transitioning correspondent relationships in conjunction with core system conversion. Net Interest Margin: GAAP net interest margin was flat at 3.68% for Q2 2025; non-GAAP core margin (excluding purchase accounting accretion) remained 3.64% compared to Q1 2025. Interest-Bearing Deposit Costs: Declined four basis points from the linked quarter in Q2 2025, with money market costs down 26 basis points quarter-over-quarter and time deposit costs down 17 basis points quarter over quarter. Cost of Total Deposits: Weighted average total cost of deposits was 2.64% for Q2 2025 and 2.62% as of June 2025; Weighted average cost was 2.64% for the quarter and 2.62% as of June 2025, a six basis point decrease from the prior quarter. Noninterest Expense: GAAP noninterest expense was $51.2 million for Q2 2025, including $570,000 of acquisition-related expense and $1 million of conversion-related expense; core noninterest expense was $49.6 million, with guidance for Q3 2025 indicating a modest rise in core noninterest expense into the low $50 million range prior to Oakwood cost savings in Q4 2025. Loan Discount Accretion: Projected to average $750,000–$800,000 per quarter in loan discount accretion going forward. Non-Performing Loans (NPLs): Rose to 0.97% from 0.69% in Q2 2025 from Q1 2025, attributed to three loan relationships totaling $23.7 million; reserves for these credits are at 34%, 14%, and adequate levels, respectively. Annualized Net Charge-Offs: Decreased from 0.07% to 0.05% on a linked quarter basis. Operational Initiatives: Core platform converted to FIS-IPS; "approaching $750,000 a year" in future operational savings expected from the branch sale. M&A Developments: Summary Management described asset quality metrics as Asset quality metrics trended negatively due to specific, previously identified relationships migrating to nonaccrual status in Q2 2025, but indicated reserves were sufficient and that approximately 50% of nonperforming loans are concentrated in three credits targeted for resolution in the second half of 2025. The core processing system conversion and the branch sale were highlighted as successful operational efforts, with the new FIS-IPS platform adopted to enable more efficient future growth and M&A integration. The cost of funds continued its downward trajectory, as total interest-bearing deposit costs and total deposit costs both declined from the prior quarter in Q2 2025. Strategic funding actions included a material increase in FHLB borrowings to support core conversion activities and corresponding liquidity. Tied to increased pipeline activity but constrained by a focus on capital accretion, diversification, and concentration risk reduction. Melville stated, "We are preparing to enter 2026 with as strong of a balance sheet, as positive a go-forward P&L opportunity, as diversified a geographic footprint, and as much operational capacity as I can remember during my time as CEO." Robertson said, "We think that we'll have margin improvement for the rest of the year, but timing is subject to the pace of liquidity normalization and fixed-rate loan repricing." Correspondent and fee income initiatives are expanding via SBA loan services and derivatives (interest rate swaps), with management expressing confidence these will contribute more meaningfully to results in the next 12–24 months. Operational cost trajectory is projected to lift modestly in Q3 2025 before Oakwood conversion-related savings partially materialize in Q4 2025. Industry glossary C&I (Commercial and Industrial loans): Loans to businesses for operational or capital purposes, excluding real estate-specific lending. CRE (Commercial Real Estate loans): Lending secured by commercial real estate properties. C&D (Construction and Development loans): Financing specifically for building or developing real estate projects. FHLB (Federal Home Loan Bank) Advances: Short- or long-term loans from the regional FHLB, commonly used as a liquidity source for banks. Core Conversion: The process of transitioning to a new bank core processing platform, affecting all transaction and account management systems. NPL (Non-Performing Loan): Loans on which borrowers are not making scheduled payments of principal or interest. Net Charge-Offs: The amount of loans written off as a loss, net of any recoveries, during a reporting period. SBIC Pass-Through Income: Fee or income stream derived from pass-through gains/losses on Small Business Investment Company investments. Correspondent Banking: A service where one bank provides payment, clearing, and financing services to other banks. Betas (Deposit Betas): The percentage of interest rate changes that banks pass on to depositors, indicating deposit rate sensitivity to external rates. Full Conference Call Transcript Jude Melville: Okay. Thanks, Matt. Good morning, and thanks as always to everyone for prioritizing this call. I know you have plenty to do on a Monday morning, and we appreciate you participating with us. I'd like to start by explaining that we chose a later than normal release date out of an abundance of caution given the core system conversion we conducted over the past few weeks. I wanted to err on the side of giving our team ample time to close out the quarter. We were successful. And going forward, I expect we will revert to our normal release date and time. Four things I'd like to highlight before I turn it over to Greg to offer a more detailed analysis of our performance. First, the quarter was successful financially. We again posted 1% ROAA earnings, we maintained our net interest margin, we increased our capital levels, as well as increasing our tangible book value by almost 15% annualized. These have been our primary goals over the past few quarters, and we're pleased to accomplish them despite an extra busy quarter. We also originated loans at a healthy pace even while continuing to decrease C&D concentration levels, as well as improving the makeup of our funding base, growing noninterest-bearing accounts quarter over quarter. Second, the quarter was successful operationally. We embarked two years ago on a project to upgrade our core processing system to IPS, the FIS large bank platform, and after thousands of man-hours of preparation and then an action-packed Memorial Day weekend, executed successfully, positioning ourselves for more efficient processing for the foreseeable future. We're excited about this partnership and believe it will lead to more efficient organic and inorganic operational effectiveness. We also continue to work on cultivating our branch footprint, teaming with a local community bank in the sale of one of our legacy branches. Proud to again deliver on a win-win proposition for the local market and our local employees, leaving them in secure hands while we position our broader footprint for future operations savings, approaching $750,000 a year. These operational decisions require significant work to execute by large numbers of our teammates, and I'm proud of the way they've done so. We announced a partnership with Progressive Bank, a $750 million community bank in the North Louisiana area of our footprint. We've known the team at Progressive for many years, and it felt for some time that they've made good partners. I'm very proud that they chose to join us on this next stage of our journey. They have excellent asset quality, strong long-term client relationships, and a team that will fit in day one within the B1 culture. Between continued integration of the Oakwood Bank footprint conversion scheduled for late in the third quarter and incorporation of Progressive with a projected close of the first of the new year, we enter 2026 projecting meaningful upside earnings accretion added by our fruitful M&A activity. Fourth, our asset quality metrics trended negatively during the quarter, and that's partly a function of successful work navigating through the process on a handful of relationships that have been previously identified. We've not been identifying new relationships through which we have to work, experiencing a decline in our watch list over the past two quarters. We believe we are adequately reserved against the non-performing and all borrowers continue to work with us towards resolution. And while we don't expect we won't suffer any losses over the remainder of the year as we bring the subject credits to their conclusion, the quarter, as with most all our recent quarters, exhibited exemplary net charge-offs at 0.01%. We are preparing to enter 2026 with as strong of a balance sheet, as positive a go-forward P&L opportunity, as diversified a geographic footprint, and as much operational capacity as I can remember during my time as CEO. I'm excited to see our team continue to perform. With that, I'll turn it over to Greg. Thanks again. Greg Robertson: Thank you, Jude, and good morning, everyone. As always, I'll spend a few minutes reviewing our results and will discuss our updated outlook before we open up for Q&A. Second quarter GAAP net income and EPS available to common shareholders was $20.8 million and $0.70 and included a $3.36 million gain on a sale of a branch, which we closed April 4. GAAP results also include a $570,000 acquisition-related expense and a $1 million core conversion expense. Excluding these noncore items, non-GAAP core net income and EPS available to common shareholders was $19.5 million and $0.66 per share. From our perspective, second quarter results marked another solid quarter and consistent profitability generating a 1.01% core ROAA. From a corporate perspective, we were active during the quarter with a successful core conversion, which occurred over Memorial Day weekend. We also sold one location at South Louisiana in early April, as Jude had mentioned, and finally announced the acquisition of North Louisiana-based Progressive Bank. The actual merger announcement occurred earlier this month. However, we were obviously busy in the months leading up to the announcement. Starting with the balance sheet, total loans held for investment increased 4.5% annualized on a linked quarter basis, up $66.7 million from Q1. Scheduled and non-scheduled paydowns and payoffs slowed somewhat during the second quarter, totaling $365 million, while new loan production was $432 million during the quarter. Loan growth was driven primarily by C&I and CRE, which increased $98.8 million and $61.6 million from a linked quarter. This growth was partially offset by decreases in construction and residential of $33.4 million and $54.5 million, respectively. Based on unpaid principal balances, texted-based loans remain relatively flat at approximately 40% of the overall loan portfolio as of June 30. Total deposits decreased $38.5 million, mostly due to a net decrease in interest-bearing deposits of $140.9 million on a linked quarter basis. The net decline was primarily driven by withdrawals from financial institution accounts and the branch sale earlier in the quarter that we mentioned. The decline in our interest-bearing deposits during the quarter was somewhat strategic in nature as the weighted average cost of these outflows averaged 4.45%. HAMR is replaced with a more efficient source of brokered CDs and deposits. Excluding the $50.7 million in deposits transferred from the branch sale during the quarter, net deposit growth would have been $12.1 million for the linked quarter. I think it's worth noting this includes bringing onto the balance sheet and replacing over $100 million in high-cost deposit balances with the Oakwood acquisition that we previously mentioned as our strategy. Net interest-bearing deposits increased, noninterest-bearing deposits, excuse me, increased $102 million or 7.8% on a linked quarter basis driven by a short-term inflow of approximately $60 million which subsequently were withdrawn after the quarter end. Lastly, on the funding side of the balance sheet, bank borrowings increased $179 million from the prior quarter or approximately 41%. The large increase was due primarily to an increase in short-term FHLB advances which was utilized at quarter-end to facilitate the transition of our correspondent banking relationship, which was aligned with our core conversion. Moving on to the margin, our GAAP reported second quarter net interest margin remained unchanged in the linked quarter at 3.68%, while the non-GAAP core net interest margin, excluding purchase accounting accretion, also remained unchanged from the prior quarter, at 3.64%. Interest-earning asset growth during the second quarter was offset by excess funding utilized during the core conversion and incremental funding to replace the deposits transferred in the branch sale. The lower-cost deposits divested from our branch sale equated to approximately two basis points drag in the second quarter margin. Additionally, the excess liquidity carried during the second quarter accounted for about three bps drag on the margin. We expect going forward to continue to maintain somewhat elevated liquidity levels at least in the near term, assuming no rate cuts over the next two quarters, we would expect deposit costs to remain relatively flat in the near term but we will be affected by our ability to retain and attract lower-cost noninterest-bearing deposit accounts. We are pleased with our ability to manage our deposit rates. Total interest-bearing deposit costs declined four basis points from the linked quarter highlighted by a 26 basis point quarter-over-quarter reduction in overall cost of money market deposits and a 17 basis point reduction in overall cost of time deposits. Notably, the weighted average total cost of deposits for the first quarter was 2.64%, down six basis points from the linked quarter while June weighted average cost of total deposits was 2.62%. While further improvements in funding costs are subject to the Fed's interest rate decisions, we remain encouraged by this trajectory. I'd like to make note of a few takeaways to slide on page 22 in our best presentation. Continue to see 45% through 55% of overall deposit betas as achievable regarding any future rate cuts. I would also like to point out our overall core CD balance retention rate was 96% during June. This impressive statistic reflects on our team's continued focus on maintaining and retaining core deposit relationships. As you will see on page 23, we have approximately $2.8 billion in floating rate loans approximately at 7.56% weighted average rate but also have approximately $611 million fixed rate loans maturing over the next twelve months at a weighted average of 6.18% which we would expect to reprice in the mid 7% range. Last thing I would add is our expectations for loan discount accretion to average approximately $750,000 to $800,000 per quarter going forward. Moving on to the income statement, GAAP noninterest expense was $51.2 million and included $570,000 of acquisition-related expense and $1 million conversion-related expense. Core noninterest expense for the quarter of $49.6 million was relatively unchanged from a linked quarter. We do expect a modest increase in Q3 in the core expense base primarily due to the timing of various investments hitting in Q3 and Q4. However, we should start seeing partial quarter impact of the Oakwood cost savings after the conversion in the fourth quarter. Second quarter GAAP and core noninterest income was $14.4 million and $11.1 million, respectively. GAAP results did include the $3.36 million gain on the branch sale that we mentioned previously and $47,000 loss on sale of securities. Noninterest income results for the second quarter were relatively in line with our expectations. However, I would like to mention our SBIC pass-through income of a negative $246,000 during the quarter was $500,000 lower than what we had expected. This particular component of fee income can be difficult to predict. However, we would expect some normalization going forward. Over the long run, we continue to expect an upward trend in our core noninterest income although the trajectory may be bumpy, as we've mentioned, quarter to quarter. Lastly, I'd like to provide some context to the credit migration during the second quarter. Q2 NPLs increased 0.28% from 0.69% in Q1 to 0.97% in Q2, with this increase driven by negative migration of three separate loan relationships representing total outstanding principal balances of $23.7 million. Annualized net charge-offs decreased from 0.02% from 0.07% in Q1 to 0.05% in Q2. Of the three previously mentioned credits, we are 34% reserved on one credit, 14% reserved on the other, and adequately reserved on the final third credit. We expect to find resolution on these credits during the third and fourth quarter of the year with the reserve on the one that has 34% possibly settled in the next year. That concludes my prepared remarks. I'll hand the call back over to you, Jude, for anything you'd like to add before opening up for Q&A. Thanks, Greg. I don't have anything to add yet. Why don't we jump into questions? Thanks. Operator: Thank you. Please press star and the number one on your telephone keypad. Again, that is star and the number one on your telephone keypad. Our first question comes from the line of Freddie Strickland from Hovde Group. The line's open. Freddie Strickland: Hey. Good morning, guys. Good. Just wanted to drill down on the excess liquidity piece related to the core conversion. I guess the first way I read that was that maybe that go away, but Greg, it sounds like in your prepared comments, you're going to hang on to that excess liquidity for a little bit longer. Greg Robertson: Yeah. Good question. Well, what we were using liquidity for in the core conversion, we were transferring from a correspondent bank that we've used for a while to a direct to Fed relationship. So during that process, we're clearing two different places. So we needed the additional liquidity. I think we'll continue to carry some of that liquidity as we go forward until we get past the core conversion with the Oakwood franchise. Because we're helping them manage their balance sheet in real time too. So having that additional liquidity, which we kinda had all year long, is partly been for the conversion specifically in the second quarter, but also now we're looking at Oakwood's conversion. Until we get beyond that, and it just handling everything on one balance sheet, so to speak, we feel that's the right thing to do. Freddie Strickland: Got it. That's helpful. And just so I understand the credit moves this quarter, this was simply migration from substandard to non-accrual, and you mostly reserve for this what it sounds like, given some of your prepared comments? Greg Robertson: Yeah. The one credit was on there last quarter. I think we moved it to nonaccrual last quarter. We have like we'd mentioned, about a 35% reserve on that credit. It's a C&I relationship where we're continuing to evaluate the collateral on that. So that's kind of a moving through the process of our trying to get the resolution with that. The borrowers have been cooperative on that one. The other two recent more recent moves is a of them is a commercial real estate piece. The other was owner-occupied piece. The commercial real estate piece, we put up a million 6 reserve on it. As we move to resolution for that one. And then, the owner-occupied piece we're very close to resolution on that one. So I think we'll just are moving at different paces, but we think we're from what the information we have right now, we think for the risk we have, we kinda reserve where we think is appropriate. And we'll continue to move toward resolution. Jude Melville: I'll just emphasize that none of those are surprises. We just kinda working its way through the system over the course of the year. With each step, you label it something different. And it doesn't necessarily change the underlying risk parameters. So feel good about the progress on working our way through that and as Greg said, we're benefiting from good client communication and working towards resolution together as opposed to there being any standoff. And so as a bank, that's what you hope for when you have an issue pop up that you can work with your borrower to get to a good resolution and I feel like those things are happening. Freddie Strickland: One follow-up on that. I mean, all else equal, given you feel like you're getting resolution on these, I mean, could we see NPAs probably drop some in the back half of the year, all old people? Greg Robertson: One thing I think if you know, those three credits are you know, 50% of NPLs. So I think you know, as they start resolving or we get to resolution, I think the number will start dropping. You know, the most immediate resolution is the smaller one. It's about $4.5 million of the $23.7 million. And that one's m and m. And then had we worked through the other two and I think you'll see those numbers drop pretty significantly. And that would be back to where we've operated over the last eight quarters, let's just say. Freddie Strickland: Got it. Thanks for taking my questions. I don't know if that's a third quarter thing. That's I mean, hopefully, that direction moves correctly, but, you know, it's kind of a through the rest of the year, forecast. These things take a while even if you're working together. Operator: Alright. Thanks, Freddie. Our next question comes from the line of Michael Rose from Raymond James. Your line is open. Michael Rose: Hey, good morning, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. Just wanted to start on the good morning. I just wanted to start on the expense outlook. Looks like you were, you know, basically flattish quarter on quarter. On an operating basis. Obviously, a system's conversion with Oakwood here, coming up, cost savings realization. So just trying to get a sense for, you know, that $49.6 million this quarter. Know, how should we think about the next quarter or two from progression point of view? I know there's lots of moving pieces, and you guys have been pretty busy. Behind the scenes with the FIS conversion and soon to be the Oakwood conversion. Thanks. Greg Robertson: Yeah. I think we managed good from an expense standpoint. We managed to a good spot in the second quarter with a lot of activity going on. I think in the third quarter, some of our expected investments, you'll probably see that shift up into the low $50 million range. And I do wanna remind in the fourth quarter, you know, we're set to close, or convert the Oakwood franchise on September 20, so the weekend of September 27. So that effectively, the way we usually schedule those is we'll only pick up a couple of months of the impact of any kind of cost saves in the fourth quarter. So I would think for the remainder Q3 specifically, it'd be in the low $50 million range is what we expect for the run rate. Michael Rose: Alright. And then it sounds like a little bit higher in the in the fourth quarter. Alright. Appreciate it. And then maybe just going to the to the margin, certainly, I understand the excess liquidity and you know, the other impacts. But is it fair that we should I know you're gonna hold some of the excess liquidity. So as we're thinking about the core margin, would it have a little bit upward trajectory from here? I know there's some puts and takes. Just obviously with, you know, I think loan yields were down. You know, q on q, but you did have some, you know, deposit costs come down as well. So just trying to get a kind of a starting point for the margin and how the asset sensitivity could change with you know, with the, with the progress deals we think about next year? Greg Robertson: Yeah. I think the way we think about margin from here on out is really for the balance of the remainder of the year. So we think we can improve margin let's just say, in the in the four to six basis points range from here on out for the rest of the year. Now I think it's probably gonna trend maybe be flatter in Q3 and up in Q4. But the timing of that is going to be a little bit tricky. Based on you know, how we handle the excess liquidity and you know, the deals on a fixed rate maturities that are coming due and the timing of which some of those price up. So we think that we'll have margin improvement for the rest of the year. The timing of that may be a little tricky as we move forward. Michael Rose: Okay. Great. Maybe just one last one if I could. The loan growth was about 4.5% annualized this quarter. I know you'd previously talked about kind of low single digits. Obviously, the industry, we're seeing better pull-through rates and a little bit more optimism. Can you just talk about kind of the puts and takes to that prior outlook? I mean, seems like it should be at least modestly improved just given you know, the backdrop that we're seeing, but would love to hear from your perspective how we should think about growth in the near term. Thanks. Greg Robertson: Yeah. I think we think that the mid single-digit growth for the rest of the year is we're having starting to have, as you mentioned, we're starting to have more requests. The pipeline is building, but I think from our standpoint, the tangible book value growth and the capital accretion that we've been experiencing with our financial performance. We're gonna maintain some discipline as we go forward. And kinda stick to that plan. Jude Melville: Yeah. I think the other thing is we've made great strides. So decreasing some of our concentration risk. And so we wanna continue to be diversified and that typically means trying to focus more on C&I growth, which and owner-occupied kind of stuff, which tend to be a little harder to get and a little smaller for a bank like ours. So I think the range that we've articulated previously kind of that mid single digits, four to six, maybe we end up near the high end of that range versus the low end. But I don't think it's a fundamental shift. And in where we end up growth-wise, partly because it's not just about growth. As Greg said, it's about other things too, margin and tangible book value, capital appreciation, concentration risk, so we wanna make sure that we're participating in the growth, but we wanna do so in a way that leads to the best kind of incremental outcome for our shareholders. And we think that means balance. So I would say the range is still accurate. We just think we'll be at the higher end of the range as opposed to the lower end. Which is a positive thing. Michael Rose: Makes sense. Thanks for taking all my questions. I'll step back. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Matt Olney from Stephens. Your line is open. Matt Olney: Hey, thanks. Good morning, everybody. Wanna go back to discussion around the loan yields, and you made a lot of progress there over the last several quarters, but that momentum slowed this quarter. Just looking for any more color on kind of what drove the softness in 2Q? And then as you look forward, any more commentary about expectations as far as repricing some of these fixed rate loans we've talked about over the last few quarters? Greg Robertson: Yeah. I think what we saw, the balance or the average weighted rate we as we stated in the three sixty range, I think the spot rate at the June was more around three forty coming up. Excuse me, seven forty. We still are pricing deals in the in the mid to low sevens. And we think that's you know, obviously, you'd like to get as much yield as you could. But I think competition is driving some of that, and we wanna be in the mix from a competitive standpoint. And so far, the deals that we're seeing priced are still they're still holding up in the in the mid to low sevens. Almost the deals we're looking at. And there are a few that we passed on because of pricing, but we feel like at this time, that's kinda where we wanna be. Matt Olney: And Matt, one thing that I'd add too is this readily available. From the press release, but the breakdown within the loan portfolio quarter over quarter we had deferred loan fees and our business manager factoring light product that we offer those fees, that segment was, was lower to the tune of about a million quarter over quarter. So that, you know, that just all rolls up in the aggregate. Loan interest income. And so that's a little flavor for where some of that drag might be coming from. But by product type, C&I and CRE, those individual loan item categories were still up quarter over quarter. Matt Olney: Okay. Okay. Thanks for that, Greg and Matt. And then on the Greg, you mentioned, I think, in prepared remarks, the FHLB borrowings moved higher in the second quarter. And remained elevated at quarter end. Will those also remain elevated in the near term similar to your commentary about just overall liquidity next quarter or two, or have those already came down? Greg Robertson: So we use some of that as from a with the liquidity bill that I mentioned. I think the reality is we're gonna continue to evaluate the best avenues of funding. Both in the near and the long term. And at this point, the thing that made the most sense was the utilization of FFFOP availability. That was all on the short end. A little provide a little context to funding. And we've talked about it on these calls or in meetings over since the announcement of the Oakwood acquisition. That we were gonna manage their balance sheet kind of in a systematic fashion of looking at higher price funding. And moving that using our balance sheet or using other sources of funding to reposition that. And since 12/31 of this year, we've been able to manage down or move away about $140 million of deposits. That had a weighted average of about 5% or a little higher than that. So we're using different funding sources to systematically kinda manage through that. I would expect us to continue to do that for the back half of the year as well. So to answer your question directly, it could move up and down I think, you know, hit from a quarter over quarter in a point in time. It may move it may not move at all. From an optic standpoint, but that mean we're not moving it up and down intra quarter to take advantage of some pricing opportunities. Matt Olney: Okay. That's great context, Greg. Thanks for that. And then my last question, just going back to the core conversion you guys did recently. At the bank. Just any early feedback on that newer platform and just remind us how much of that switch is a more of a near term cost savings for the bank versus just a longer term savings, more efficiency around future growth. Thanks. Jude Melville: Yeah. I think it's probably a little too early to have much of a judgment in terms of people's feelings about the new system. You know, I think it just takes a little while to get used to it. And we had a very successful execution in terms of getting it done. That weekend of, and there was a lot of preparation for that, obviously. And now we're in the let's get used to it phase. You know, which clearly change management takes a little while and so it's too early to offer any big picture summation on experience but I think all the reasons that we chose to move to that system still hold true, and I think we'll end up being very excited about it. One of the things that one of the reasons that we was that we feel like it better prepared us to take advantage of efficient growth in the future and still have every reason to think that's true. Don't know that we'll see a lot of savings immediately. Partly because we're making it's allowing us to make some other investments in technology. You know, that we've talked quite a bit about. Preparing to be $10 billion and making sure that we have the right systems to be able to report and to manage. And so the aggregate package is gonna end up being similar in cost to cost we already have, but our capability, not only on the core, but on other technological systems should be increased. But that, of course, is our decisions that will out over the next couple years. Yeah. I do think that one of the advantages to the system is that not only should it make organic growth more efficient, but it also allows us to contemplate M&A activity with a little more aggression, which know, not that we haven't had aggression before given our track record, but you know, the confidence that we can that we can get on a calendar to be able to convert partners is important and you know, also the fact that we can with assurance, offer them a good core partnership. As bankers think about partnering with other bankers, they think about their system. And the system, I think, will give more confidence than the one that we had before. So a lot of reasons embark upon it. Even absent day one financial aid. We do think that over time, there'll be a lot of financial benefits to being on the system and again, it will take a few months of change management to get used to it. And that's not a bad thing. That's just part of it. And I look forward to in 2026. Cycling through, and I think all of our employees and our clients will be appreciative of the change at that point. Matt Olney: Okay. Thank you, Jude. Thanks for all the commentary. I'll step back. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Christopher Marinac from Janney Montgomery Scott. The line is open. Christopher Marinac: I wanted to drill down on Smith, Seanott and just get a sense from you of kind of, you know, where do you think you are in the of the business? I know it's made a lot of progress. It's got five, six, you know, billion of AUM. And just curious kinda where you think they are in terms of how much more that can go in the next twelve to twenty-four months. Jude Melville: Yeah. Good. Thanks, Chris. Appreciate that. And, you know, that is a part of our business so that we can get quite as much attention and probably because it hadn't been around as long, but it's part that we're very excited about, not just Smith Sheldon Wilson taking in isolation, but very excited about the correspondent banking in general, and that's one of a handful of products that we're offering and to our client base, which is, you know, probably 120 banks are doing business with us in some form or fashion today. I think when we bought SSW and began that process, they had about 40 banks, maybe 45. So we've been able to grow those relationships and I don't see any reason that we won't be able to continue to grow that. I will say that I think growth can mean different things and doesn't just mean AUM. Although, we have been happy to over double the AUM SSW is over doubled their AUM since joining up with us, and expect that we'll be able to continue to grow that number, but we're also focused on things that aren't AUM related such as providing swaps for our client banks, which is beginning to generate some fee income and SBA work, which, again, doesn't increase your AUM, but it does increase your fee income. And wanna continue to we believe we'll continue to have opportunities to grow that part of the business. You know, we've made some significant changes in personnel. So for the first time this year, we have a senior executive whose full-time job is to coordinate the multiple parts of our correspondent banking network and I think we're feeling really good about the progress that he's making. You know, part of it is we've had a number of products that have run independently, they haven't really coordinated a lot in terms of their sales efforts. And so we're in the process of making sure that we have a unified sales effort and all that to say, I think as Greg says every quarter, and as I say when I talk about it, I think it's gonna be continue to be a little rocky in terms of the magnitude each quarter. But if you look at it over time, I think we expect to continue to grow net income and next twelve, twenty-four months. I'll be surprised if we don't double its impact by the end of that time period. We think that there's a lot of potential there, and a lot of momentum building internally that doesn't quite show up in the numbers, particularly a little bit mess this time because what if you just think about our fee income in general, because of that SBA SBIC drag, but the actual underlying growth and fee income relative to the correspondent banking function is moving in the right direction, and we feel excited about it. Christopher Marinac: Great. Thank you for all that background. I appreciate it. And then just a quick capital question as it relates to kind of Progressive and kind of the data you shared a few days ago. So as we think about that, you know, 10.2%, you know, excluding Marks, after Progressive, is there a north star on capital ratios that you look for as you think about organic growth plus any other external opportunities that come down the road? Greg Robertson: We think that by the end of this year, before we close the acquisition, TC will be close to eight fifty. Total risk-based close to thirteen thirty, thirteen forty range. We think in those two ratios, kind of the north star for us would be on a risk-based scenario. Somewhere in the thirteen seventy-five area. We think approaching 14 would probably give us enough capital to be opportunistic and ready to deploy the capital the right way if the opportunity presents itself. I think, on the TCE front, you know, that's in the nine range. Low nine range, somewhere in that ballpark. Probably what we talk about being our normal over time or what we aspire to be. Jude Melville: Yeah. I would just say, you know, I certainly think that's the direction we wanna move in over time. But we've also been operating at a level lower than that and still being able to take advantage of opportunities over the past couple of years in particular. So we certainly think there's an optimal level, but we also think there's a practical level, you kind of have to balance those two. And so we don't feel like we have to put things on hold necessarily to get to nine as long as we're doing the right things to increase incremental levels of income at the right pace, which over time ultimately generate a higher capital ratio and higher tangible book value ratio. So nine yeah, I like that number for kind of aspirational goal, Greg said. But I also don't think that we need to not take advantage of opportunities along the way as we've done a good job of over the past two, three years when those levels have been considerably lower. It's really pleased with the movement of things. And that's probably some of these investments span off. Christopher Marinac: Great. Jude, thank you so much. Thank you, Greg, as well. I appreciate it. Operator: Thanks, Chris. Our next question comes from the line of Manuel Navas from D. A. Davidson. Your line is open. Manuel Navas: Hey. Good morning. A lot of my questions have been asked and answered, but I just wanted to get a little specific on the loan growth. Is that mid single digit guide just the back half of the year, or is that four to percent for the whole year? And talk about it seems like your demand is higher, but can just talk about sentiment on the borrower base as well? Greg Robertson: Yeah. Well, I think I'll answer your first question. So we think that for the whole year, it's probably gonna be in the low four and a half range just based on the we the production in the first quarter. A slow start. A slow start of the year dragging us down, but we think going forward from here, like you had mentioned, it could be in the four to six looks like maybe trending toward the higher part of that range. On a run rate. On run rate. Yeah. Annualized. Per quarter. Yeah. Manuel Navas: That's really helpful. Is that your appetite, or is there are you sensing an improved sentiment? Can you talk about that for a moment as well? Jude Melville: I think it's a little bit of both. I mean, we are in a little different position than we were a year ago in terms of our capital levels and kinda what we were talking about earlier. We wanna continue to increase those levels, but we also feel like there's room to take advantage of opportunities. And so we wanna be sure that we're selective when we do it, but we wanna be sure we take advantage of opportunities. And that particularly the downward transition that we made in our construction concentration levels over the past couple years have really impacted our loan growth over time. And so but then also, they've put us in a better spot now. So we can do some more construction again, being selective and not getting back in a position where we feel like we have too much exposure. We can kind of incrementally add pick and choose where we add some exposure there, which we might not have had might not have felt as much flexibility to do so a year ago. So a little bit our own. I do think that just anecdotally, you definitely feeling like there's a little more activity out there in general. I think the year has been somewhat muted by just uncertainty around what's gonna happen with tariffs, what's gonna happen with the big beautiful bill, you know, things of that nature. But I think we're starting to either get some clarity on that or people are just starting to say, hey. We gotta keep moving on with our lives and taking care of business. Much as they have done over the past five, six years despite numerous uncertainties. And at some point, you just particularly the small businesses that we deal with. They just have to keep on keeping on. And so I think you're seeing a little bit of that, a little resolution of whatever the external circumstances are, we're gonna continue to do our thing internally, and I think you're feeling a little bit of positive momentum across our markets. I don't know if anybody as we round up the year and move into 2026. So the table have any different opinion or the No. I would agree with that. I hardly I think you're also starting to see other banks be a little more aggressive, and that's one reason for the more competition on the loan yield side is that they're feeling that need an opportunity to get out there and do some things and you know, we've tried to be fairly consistent in how we operate the past couple of years, and not get too hot, not get too light, just kinda down the middle of the road. And I think there's some other banks that maybe shut down a little more, but then are now starting back up. And know, they're obviously seeing some of that same positive sentiment that we're seeing. And it's exciting. We wanna we're here to do business. So yeah, excited about the industry being in that same mindset. Manuel Navas: I appreciate that commentary. I just wanted to switch to fees for a moment. Definitely heard the confidence in the with Sean Wilson team. The swing factor this quarter was that pass-through loss. What other lines do you have, like, kind of more near-term confidence that can kind of just build the back half of the year? Jude Melville: Getting more looking at the fee income line specifically. Yeah. There are two ones that have really taken hold lately have been or beginning to take hold are the SBA loan service providing. You know, we do that through Waterstone out of Houston, then I think we're definitely seeing that they've I believe, added four bank clients over the past quarter. In addition to seeing our internal participation in SBA origination growing. Again, not a huge needle mover yet, but I think moving in the right direction to be so in the future. And so I'm excited about that. And I don't regardless of the political lens, I think there's I think if you were to try to list the governmental programs that have the most bipartisan support, I think SBA to be up there near the top of the list. So we feel like that opportunity will only grow over time, and we're excited about that. We're also seeing quite a bit of momentum in the derivatives business that we have serving our clients and other bank clients. By offering interest rate swaps. As a way to tailor the pricing on their loans and you know, we're starting to see more and more wins come through the celebration channel. I don't know what the right word is for it. But as we talk about what we're doing I'm seeing a greater pace of swap victories. And I think that says our bankers become more comfortable with it. They can help our clients be more comfortable with it and make sure that we're offering it when it makes sense. And but we haven't we've only just now begun offering that to other banks. We've been what we like to do is for a lot of these non-interest or excuse me. Fee income sources of income, the goal really is to provide it to our own clients. Make sure that we're comfortable doing so. And then offer it to other bank clients and each of our partnerships, we've become whether that be SSW or if you are stone or now the derivatives business, we've begun by partnering with folks that could serve our own clients, and then we branch out and try to offer that to community bank clients. And so we've only just begun doing that with the derivatives business. And so we look forward to some opportunities, particularly again in 2026-2027. Picking up there. But the pace at which I'm hearing of victories is increasing and gives us confidence that those will be a couple areas that we can count on. Being additive to our earnings over the next couple of years. Greg, do you want to mention anything else? Greg Robertson: No. I think you touched on Waterstone in the beginning. I think from our February 1 acquisition last year, we've increased the number of banks that they do business with. And that because they are they work on prequalification underwriting packaging post-closing servicing. All the way to if you have a problem loan. They help the dialogue with the SBA. That is a valuable tool for these banks that they're doing business with, and that approaching doubling since we've taken over. So I think that excited about that with a very robust pipeline for the back half of '25 for them. So very comfortable with that and excited about it. Jude Melville: And I think over time, we'll look to add of these product capabilities. You know, there are correspondent banks that do a really good job for these banks, but there aren't a lot of correspondent banks that offer some of these slightly more complicated, sophisticated products. And we believe that's a role that we can serve. So we'll continue, particularly that some of the governmental lending stuff is our areas that we wanna look for further opportunity in. Manuel Navas: I appreciated the commentary. Thank you. Jude Melville: Thank you. Thanks, Manuel. Operator: There are no further questions. I'll now turn the call back over to Jude for closing remarks. Jude Melville: Okay. Good. Well, again, appreciate everybody joining us today, and it seemed like a pretty positive earnings season for us as a bank and then for the community banking industry as a whole. So I'm trying to see that positivity and hope to continue building on it. You know, banking is a lot about just consistent incremental improvement grinding it out quarter to quarter, and then being prepared for opportunity. And we've done a good job of that, particularly over the past couple of years. Incremental improvement, and then when an opportunity for an Oakwood partnership or for a progressive partnership comes up, we're prepared to take it on from a capital standpoint and from an institutional knowledge standpoint and now from a technological standpoint. And we'll continue to make those investments and be focused on the little things which add up to big things over time. So appreciate your support and hopefully we'll talk to you all again in about three months. Take care. Operator: The meeting has now concluded. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,019%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor. *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025 This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. 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Globe and Mail
27 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Former SAG-AFTRA executive director David White named interim executive director of NFLPA
Former SAG-AFTRA executive director David White was elected interim executive director of the NFL Players Association on Sunday night. White replaces Lloyd Howell, who stepped down last month amid a series of revelations that created a distraction for the players' union. 'We have full faith in David to take the union forward and operate in the best interests of our membership,' NFLPA President Jalen Reeves-Maybin said in a statement. 'David has spent much of his career fighting for collectively bargained rights in the labor movement and is committed to putting players first in all the union does. We are confident that he will inspire solidarity and provide the necessary stability during this period of transition.' White was chosen among multiple internal and external candidates. A voting player representative from all 32 teams participated in the Board's vote, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private, said the Board conducted interviews with each candidate over the last two weeks and the process was player-led and voted on by the Board. 'I am grateful to the NFLPA's player leadership for entrusting me with the privilege and responsibility to guide their union as interim executive director,' White said. 'It's a duty I do not take lightly, and I'm committed to re-establishing trust and ensuring the union is serving its members best. I look forward to working with the entire NFLPA team to protect players' health and safety, secure their financial well-being, and further strengthen their voice to shape their futures.' Reeves-Maybin said a thorough search process for a permanent executive director will start soon. 'This process will continue to be player led, as the strength of our union has and will always lie with our membership,' Reeves-Maybin said. White, a veteran labour executive, has guided some of the most prominent entertainment and financial organizations in the world. He is the CEO of 3CG Ventures, a premier executive coaching and strategic consulting firm.
