Trustmark Corporation (NASDAQ:TRMK) reported net income of $51.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing diluted earnings per share of $0.81. Net income in the fourth quarter produced a return on average tangible equity of 15.47% and a return on average assets of 1.28%. For the full year, Trustmark’s net income totaled a record level of $160.0 million, representing diluted earnings per share of $2.51. Diluted earnings per share in 2020 increased 8.2% when compared to the prior year. Trustmark’s net income in 2020 produced a return on average tangible equity of 12.58% and a return on average assets of 1.05%.

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Trustmark’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share payable March 15, 2021, to shareholders of record on March 1, 2021.

Gerard R. Host, Executive Chairman, stated, “This past year has been extremely challenging for everyone. The effects of COVID-19 have significantly impacted the ways in which we live, work and interact with one another. We extend our deepest sympathies to all who lost loved ones and all who have been impacted by this pandemic. We also extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to healthcare professionals for their tireless and self-sacrificing work during this pandemic. Also, we want to thank our associates for their countless efforts to serve our customers and support our communities and businesses. Trustmark remains committed to providing solutions to meet customer’s unique needs during these unprecedented times.”

2020 Highlights

• Supported local communities with loan originations totaling $970 million through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
• Loans held for investment increased $488.9 million, or 5.2%
• Nonperforming assets declined 9.3%, net charge-offs represented 0.02% of average loans
• Total deposits increased $2.8 billion, or 24.9%
• Record mortgage loan production of $3.0 billion produced noninterest income of $125.8 million
• Total revenue expanded 14.3% to $701.1 million
• Noninterest income totaled $274.6 million, an increase of 46.8%
• Maintained strong capital position with CET1 ratio of 11.62% and total risk-based capital ratio of 14.12%

Duane A. Dewey, President and CEO, commented, “Our financial results demonstrate the value of Trustmark’s diversified financial services businesses. Despite a challenging environment, our banking, insurance and wealth management businesses all performed well while our mortgage banking business achieved record results. We experienced significant loan and deposit growth, and credit quality remained extremely strong as did capital ratios. Trustmark continues to be well-positioned to serve and expand its customer base and create long-term value for its shareholders.”

Balance Sheet Management

• Loans held for investment decreased $23.2 million, or 0.2%, during the quarter
• Total deposits increased $826.4 million, or 6.2%, during the quarter
• Enhanced capital base with issuance of $125 million of subordinated debt

Loans held for investment totaled $9.8 billion at December 31, 2020, reflecting an increase of 5.2% from the prior year. At December 31, 2020, Trustmark’s gross PPP loans totaled $623.0 million. Net of deferred fees and costs of $12.9 million, PPP loans totaled $610.1 million. Collectively, loans held for investment and PPP loans totaled $10.4 billion at year end 2020, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 11.8% from the prior year.

Deposits totaled $14.0 billion at December 31, 2020, up $826.4 million, or 6.2%, from the prior quarter and $2.8 billion, or 24.9%, year-over-year primarily reflecting the impact of additional customer liquidity. Noninterest bearing deposits represented 31.0% of total deposits at December 31, 2020. Interest-bearing deposit costs totaled 0.27% for the fourth quarter, a decrease of 4 basis points linked-quarter. The total cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 0.30% for the fourth quarter of 2020, a decrease of 3 basis points from the prior quarter.

Trustmark’s capital position remained solid, reflecting the strength and diversity of its financial services businesses. During the fourth quarter of 2020, Trustmark Corporation issued $125 million of 3.625% fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due in 2030 for general corporate purposes, further strengthening its regulatory capital position. At December 31, 2020, Trustmark’s tangible equity to tangible assets ratio was 8.34%, while the total risk-based capital ratio increased to 14.12%.

As previously announced, Trustmark’s Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program effective April 1, 2020, under which $100 million of Trustmark’s outstanding shares may be acquired through December 31, 2021. While Trustmark suspended its share repurchase program during the first quarter of 2020 to preserve capital given the economic uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Trustmark expects to resume the repurchase of its shares from time to time at prevailing market prices, through open market or private transactions, depending on market conditions, and in conjunction with its disciplined share repurchase framework. There is no guarantee as to the number of shares that may be repurchased by Trustmark, and Trustmark may discontinue purchases at any time at management’s discretion.

Credit Quality

• Allowance for credit losses represented 1.19% of loans held for investment and 572.69% of nonperforming loans, excluding individually evaluated loans at year-end
• Net charge-offs totaled $291 thousand, or 0.01% of average loans, in the fourth quarter
• Loans remaining under a COVID-19 related concession represented approximately 35 basis points of loans held for investment at December 31, 2020

Nonperforming loans totaled $63.1 million at December 31, 2020, an increase of $9.3 million from the prior quarter and $9.9 million year-over-year. Other real estate totaled $11.7 million, reflecting a $4.6 million decrease from the prior quarter and a $17.6 million decline from the prior year. Collectively, nonperforming assets totaled $74.8 million, reflecting a linked-quarter increase of 6.7% and year-over-year reduction of 9.3%.

Allocation of Trustmark’s $117.3 million allowance for credit losses on loans held for investment represented 1.20% of commercial loans and 1.16% of consumer and home mortgage loans, resulting in an allowance for credit losses to total loans held for investment of 1.19% at December 31, 2020, representing a level management considers commensurate with the present risk in the loan portfolio.

Revenue Generation

• Mortgage banking revenue totaled $28.2 million and represented 15.9% of total revenue in the fourth quarter
• Noninterest income totaled $66.1 million and represented 37.3% of total revenue in fourth quarter
• The net interest margin (FTE) totaled 3.15% in fourth quarter; excluding interest and fees on PPP loans, net interest margin (FTE) was 2.91%

Revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $177.5 million, a decrease of 1.3% from the prior quarter and an increase of 15.9% from the same quarter in the prior year. The linked-quarter decline reflects higher net interest income, which was more than offset by reduced mortgage banking revenue. In 2020, revenue totaled $701.1 million, an increase of 14.3% from the prior year. Excluding interest and fees on PPP loans, revenue totaled $674.5 million in 2020, an increase of $60.9 million, or 9.9%, from the prior year principally due to growth in mortgage banking revenue.

Net interest income (FTE) in the fourth quarter totaled $114.3 million, resulting in a net interest margin of 3.15%. Relative to the prior quarter, net interest income (FTE) increased $5.1 million reflecting an increase of $4.5 million in interest income as well as a $611 thousand reduction in interest expense. Excluding interest and fees on PPP loans, net interest income (FTE) totaled $99.4 million, resulting in a net interest margin of 2.91%, a linked-quarter decline of 14 basis points. 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 $66.1 million, a decrease of $7.6 million from the prior quarter and an increase of $18.5 million from the prior year. The linked-quarter change reflects increases in service charges on deposit accounts and bank card and other fees, which were more than offset by a decline in mortgage banking revenue and a seasonal decline in insurance revenue. The increase in noninterest income year-over-year is principally due to increased mortgage banking revenue.

Mortgage loan production in the fourth quarter totaled $788.4 million, a seasonal decline of 11.0% from the prior quarter and a 58.1% increase year-over-year. Mortgage banking revenue before hedge ineffectiveness totaled $29.1 million in the fourth quarter, a decline of $6.6 million from the prior quarter primarily due to lower gains on sale of loans in the secondary market. In 2020, mortgage loan production totaled a record $2.98 billion, up 69.4% from the prior year. Mortgage banking revenue totaled $125.8 million in 2020, an increase of $96.0 million from the prior year.

Insurance revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $10.2 million, a seasonal decline of $1.4 million from the prior quarter and an increase of $832 thousand from the prior year. Insurance revenue in 2020 totaled $45.2 million, up $2.8 million, or 6.6%, 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 $7.8 million in the fourth quarter, up 2.1% from the prior quarter and 1.0% from the prior year. In 2020, wealth management revenue totaled $31.6 million, an increase of 3.1% from the prior year. During 2020, 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 non-interest expense, which excludes amortization of intangibles, ORE expenses, and credit losses for off-balance sheet credit exposures, increased $4.9 million, or 4.3%, from the prior quarter. Please refer to the Consolidated Financial Information, Footnote 10 – Non-GAAP Financial Measures.
• Efficiency ratio improved to 63.35% in 2020, a decline of 303 basis points from the prior year

Adjusted noninterest expense in the fourth quarter was $119.6 million, up $4.9 million, or 4.3%, from the prior quarter. Salaries and employee benefits increased $2.3 million linked-quarter principally due to increases for performance-based incentives. Total services and fees increased $1.3 million during the fourth quarter due to continued investments in technology and higher professional fees. Other expense increased $1.2 million from the prior quarter principally due to increased operational losses and other expenses.

Credit loss expense related to off-balance sheet credit exposures was a negative $1.1 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting the improvement of the macroeconomic factors used to determine the necessary reserves for off-balance sheet credit exposures. Other real estate expense was a negative $812 thousand for the fourth quarter, a decrease of approximately $2.0 million from the prior quarter, which is attributed to lower write-downs of ORE of $716 thousand and a net gain on the sale of ORE property of $1.3 million.

During 2020, Trustmark consolidated six offices and expanded deployment of interactive teller machines. In January 2021, Trustmark opened a new office featuring a design that integrates myTeller interactive teller machine technology as well as provides enhanced areas for customer engagement. With the opening of this office, two other offices were closed.

“Looking forward, Trustmark will focus upon efficiency, growth and innovation opportunities while building upon its solid risk management processes, corporate culture and core values. We will continue to optimize delivery channels to reflect changing customer preferences and introduce technology to enhance growth and efficiency opportunities. We will provide the services and advice our customers have come to expect while building term value for our shareholders,” said Dewey.

Additional Information

As previously announced, Trustmark will conduct a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 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 10, 2021, in archived format at the same web address or by calling (877) 344-7529, passcode 10151113.

Trustmark is a financial services company providing banking and financial solutions through 183 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 Board (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.