Solid Balance Sheet Growth, Record Results in Insurance and Wealth Management

Trustmark Corporation (NASDAQGS:TRMK) reported net income of $26.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing diluted earnings per share of $0.42. For the full year, Trustmark’s net income totaled $147.4 million, representing diluted earnings per share of $2.34. Trustmark’s net income in 2021 produced a return on average tangible equity of 10.81% and a return on average assets of 0.86%. Trustmark’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share payable March 15, 2022, to shareholders of record on March 1, 2022.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220125005343/en/

Printer friendly version of earnings release with consolidated financial statements and notes: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/52567902/en

2021 Highlights

• Loans held for investment (HFI) increased $423.3 million, or 4.3%
• Nonperforming assets declined 10.1% to represent 0.64% of loans HFI and held for sale (HFS)
• Recoveries exceeded charge-offs by $3.7 million
• Total deposits increased $1.0 billion, or 7.4%
• Repurchased $61.8 million, or approximately 1.9 million shares of common stock
• Insurance and Wealth Management businesses had a record year with revenue up 7.4% and 11.3%, respectively
• Mortgage Banking revenue totaled $63.8 million with loan production exceeding $2.8 billion
• Noninterest income totaled $221.9 million and represented 34.7% of total revenue
• Completed voluntary early retirement program that reduced workforce by 3.6%
• Expanded market optimization efforts with a net reduction of 10 offices during the year
• Continued technology investments to enhance efficiency and productivity

Duane A. Dewey, President and CEO, commented, “Our banking and mortgage banking businesses performed well while our insurance and wealth management businesses achieved record results. We experienced significant loan and deposit growth, and credit quality remained strong. While we continue to navigate the challenging low interest rate environment, we remain committed to positioning the company for continued long-term success. Our balance sheet is well positioned for rising interest rates. We will continue investments in technology to improve efficiency and broaden our reach through digital marketing and product delivery. Trustmark is well-positioned to serve and expand its customer base and create long-term value for its shareholders.”

Balance Sheet Management

• Loans HFI increased $72.9 million, or 0.7%, during the quarter
• Investment securities increased $128.9 million, or 3.7%, as excess liquidity was deployed linked-quarter
• Total deposits increased $164.3 million, or 1.1%, linked-quarter
• Maintained strong capital position with CET1 ratio of 11.29% and total risk-based capital ratio of 13.55%

Loans HFI totaled $10.2 billion at December 31, 2021, reflecting an increase of $72.9 million, or 0.7%, linked-quarter and $423.3 million, or 4.3%, year-over-year. The linked-quarter growth primarily reflects increases in commercial and industrial loans, 1-4 family mortgage loans, other loans, and loans secured by nonfarm, nonresidential properties which were offset in part by a decline in other real estate secured loans. Trustmark’s loan portfolio remains well-diversified by loan type and geography.

Deposits totaled $15.1 billion at December 31, 2021, up $164.3 million, or 1.1%, from the prior quarter and $1.0 billion, or 7.4%, year-over-year. Trustmark continues to maintain a strong liquidity position as loans HFI represented 67.9% of total deposits at year end 2021. Noninterest bearing deposits represented 31.6% of total deposits at December 31, 2021. Interest-bearing deposit costs totaled 0.13% for the fourth quarter, a decrease of 1 basis point linked-quarter. The total cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 0.19% for the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of 2 basis points from the prior quarter.

During the fourth quarter, Trustmark repurchased $27.1 million, or approximately 816 thousand of its common shares. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, Trustmark repurchased $61.8 million, or approximately 1.9 million of its common shares. As previously announced, Trustmark’s Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program effective January 1, 2022, under which $100 million of Trustmark’s outstanding shares may be acquired through December 31, 2022. The repurchase program, which is subject to market conditions and management discretion, will continue to be implemented through open market repurchases or privately negotiated transactions. At December 31, 2021, Trustmark’s tangible equity to tangible assets ratio was 7.86%, while the total risk-based capital ratio was 13.55%.

Credit Quality

• Allowance for credit losses (ACL) represented 0.97% of loans HFI and 500.85% of nonperforming loans, excluding individually evaluated loans at year-end
• Net charge-offs totaled $101 thousand in the fourth quarter
• Loans remaining under a COVID-19 related concession represented approximately 1 basis point of loans HFI at December 31, 2021

Nonaccrual loans totaled $62.7 million at December 31, 2021, a decrease of $3.5 million from the prior quarter and $430 thousand year-over-year. Other real estate totaled $4.6 million, reflecting a $1.7 million decrease from the prior quarter and a $7.1 million decline from the prior year. Collectively, nonperforming assets totaled $67.3 million, reflecting a linked-quarter decrease of 7.2% and year-over-year reduction of 10.1%.

The provision for credit losses for loans HFI was a negative $4.5 million in the fourth quarter. Negative provisioning was primarily due to improvements in credit quality and economic forecasts. The provision for credit losses for off-balance sheet credit exposures was $2.9 million in the fourth quarter, primarily driven by increases in unfunded amounts. Collectively, the provision for credit losses totaled a negative $1.6 million in the fourth quarter compared to a negative $3.5 million in the prior quarter and a negative $5.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Allocation of Trustmark’s $99.5 million ACL on loans HFI represented 1.00% of commercial loans and 0.87% of consumer and home mortgage loans, resulting in an ACL to total loans HFI of 0.97% at December 31, 2021. Management believes the level of the ACL is commensurate with the credit losses currently expected in the loan portfolio.

Revenue Generation

• Excluding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) interest and fees, net interest income (FTE) increased $1.2 million, or 1.2%, linked-quarter
• The net interest margin (FTE) totaled 2.53% in fourth quarter; excluding interest and fees on PPP loans and Federal Reserve Bank balance, net interest margin (FTE) was 2.82%
• Noninterest income totaled $50.8 million and represented 34.1% of total revenue in fourth quarter

Revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $149.1 million, a decrease of 2.2% from the prior quarter and 16.0% from the same quarter in the prior year. The linked-quarter decline primarily reflects lower mortgage banking revenue while the year-over-year decline is attributed to lower net interest income and reduced mortgage banking revenue. In 2021, revenue totaled $640.3 million, a decrease of 8.7% from the prior year.

Net interest income (FTE) in the fourth quarter totaled $101.2 million, resulting in a net interest margin of 2.53%. The net interest margin, excluding PPP loans and Federal Reserve Bank balance, was 2.82%, down 8 basis points from the prior quarter, significantly influenced by the growth of the investment securities portfolio. Continued low interest rates decreased the yield on the loans held for investment and held for sale portfolio as well as the securities portfolio and were partially offset by lower costs of interest-bearing deposits.

Noninterest income in the fourth quarter totaled $50.8 million, a decrease of $3.4 million from the prior quarter and $15.4 million from the prior year. The linked-quarter change reflects an increase in service charges on deposit accounts which was more than offset by a decline in mortgage banking revenue, a seasonal decline in insurance revenue, and a reduction in other income. The decrease in noninterest income year-over-year is principally due to lower mortgage banking revenue.

Mortgage loan production in the fourth quarter totaled $590.7 million, a decline of 16.7% linked-quarter and 25.1% year-over-year. Mortgage banking revenue totaled $11.6 million in the fourth quarter, a decrease of $2.4 million from the prior quarter and $16.5 million year-over-year. The linked-quarter decline is attributable to reduced spreads which resulted in lower net gains on sales of mortgage loans in the secondary market offset in part by increased net hedge ineffectiveness. In 2021, mortgage loan production totaled $2.8 billion, down 6.1% from the record level set the prior year. Mortgage banking revenue totaled $63.8 million in 2021, compared to $125.8 million in the prior year.

Insurance revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $11.7 million, a seasonal decline of $417 thousand from the prior quarter and an increase of $1.5 million from the prior year. Insurance revenue in 2021 totaled $48.5 million, up $3.3 million, or 7.4%, from the prior year. The solid performance during the year reflects an expanded producer workforce as well as the realization of operational efficiencies from investments in technology and improved processes.

Wealth management revenue totaled $8.8 million in the fourth quarter, down 3.5% from the prior quarter and up 11.7% from the prior year. In 2021, wealth management revenue totaled $35.2 million, an increase of 11.3% from the prior year. During 2021, Trustmark continued to enhance its competitive positioning and efficiency of its wealth management businesses as well as expand its Private Banking capabilities in key markets.

Noninterest Expense

• Adjusted noninterest expense, which excludes ORE expense, amortization of intangibles, charitable contributions resulting in state tax credits, costs associated with the voluntary early retirement program and regulatory charges increased $1.6 million, or 1.3%, from the prior quarter. Please refer to the Consolidated Financial Information, Footnote 10 – Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Adjusted noninterest expense in the fourth quarter was $118.2 million, up $1.6 million, or 1.3%, from the prior quarter. Salaries and employee benefits expense in the fourth quarter totaled $68.3 million. Excluding the $5.6 million charge associated with the voluntary early retirement program in the third quarter, salary and employee benefits expense declined $754 thousand, or 1.1%, linked-quarter.

Total services and fees increased $598 thousand during the fourth quarter due to continued investments in technology and higher professional fees. Other real estate expense, net declined $1.0 million during the fourth quarter to $336 thousand. Other expense totaled $14.6 million in the fourth quarter. Excluding the $5.0 million regulatory settlement charge in the prior quarter, other expense increased $1.1 million linked-quarter principally due to increased operational losses.

During 2021, Trustmark consolidated 15 offices, expanded deployment of myTeller interactive teller machine technology, and opened five offices designed to efficiently serve and expand customer relationships.

“Looking forward, Trustmark will continue to focus upon efficiency, growth and innovation opportunities. We continue to pursue opportunities to redesign workflows and restructure the organization to further leverage investments in technology that will broaden our reach, enhance the customer experience, and improve efficiency. We remain focused on providing the financial services and advice our customers have come to expect while building long-term value for our shareholders,” said Dewey.

Additional Information

As previously announced, Trustmark will conduct a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. Central Time to discuss the Corporation’s financial results. Interested parties may listen to the conference call by dialing (877) 317-3051 or by clicking on the link provided under the Investor Relations section of our website at www.trustmark.com. A replay of the conference call will also be available through Wednesday, February 9, 2022, in archived format at the same web address or by calling (877) 344-7529, passcode 4362420.

Trustmark is a financial services company providing banking and financial solutions through 180 offices in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “may,” “hope,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “seek,” “continue,” “could,” “would,” “future” or the negative of those terms or other words of similar meaning. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our future expectations or state other “forward-looking” information. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to anticipated future operating and financial performance measures, including net interest margin, credit quality, business initiatives, growth opportunities and growth rates, among other things, and encompass any estimate, prediction, expectation, projection, opinion, anticipation, outlook or statement of belief included therein as well as the management assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements. You should be aware that the occurrence of the events described under the caption “Risk Factors” in Trustmark’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should any such underlying assumptions prove to be significantly different, actual results may vary significantly from those anticipated, estimated, projected or expected. Furthermore, many of these risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and may continue to be amplified by or may, in the future, be amplified by, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and also by the effectiveness of varying governmental responses in ameliorating the impact of the pandemic on our customers and the economies where they operate.

Risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations of Management include, but are not limited to, changes in the level of nonperforming assets and charge-offs, an increase in unemployment levels and slowdowns in economic growth, our ability to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our markets and our customers, as well as the effectiveness of actions of federal, state and local governments and agencies (including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB)) to mitigate its spread and economic impact, local, state and national economic and market conditions, conditions in the housing and real estate markets in the regions in which Trustmark operates and the extent and duration of the current volatility in the credit and financial markets, levels of and volatility in crude oil prices, changes in our ability to measure the fair value of assets in our portfolio, material changes in the level and/or volatility of market interest rates, the performance and demand for the products and services we offer, including the level and timing of withdrawals from our deposit accounts, the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation, our ability to attract noninterest-bearing deposits and other low-cost funds, competition in loan and deposit pricing, as well as the entry of new competitors into our markets through de novo expansion and acquisitions, economic conditions, including the potential impact of issues related to the European financial system and monetary and other governmental actions designed to address credit, securities, and/or commodity markets, the enactment of legislation and changes in existing regulations or enforcement practices or the adoption of new regulations, changes in accounting standards and practices, including changes in the interpretation of existing standards, that affect our consolidated financial statements, changes in consumer spending, borrowings and savings habits, technological changes, changes in the financial performance or condition of our borrowers, changes in our ability to control expenses, greater than expected costs or difficulties related to the integration of acquisitions or new products and lines of business, cyber-attacks and other breaches which could affect our information system security, natural disasters, environmental disasters, pandemics or other health crises, acts of war or terrorism, and other risks described in our filings with the SEC.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of this information, whether as the result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.