MOFG - MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year of 2021

Fourth Quarter Summary ¹

• Net income for the fourth quarter was $14.3 million, or $0.91 per diluted common share.
  • Total revenue, net of interest expense, of $50.0 million.
  • Credit loss expense of $0.6 million.
  • Noninterest expense of $30.4 million.
• Excluding Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans, commercial loans were $2.68 billion ² , as compared to $2.64 billion ² , an increase of 5.5% annualized.
• Efficiency ratio was 56.74% ² , an increase of 40 basis points ("bps").
• Nonperforming assets ratio declined 5 bps to 0.53% and the net charge-off ratio was a recovery of 3 bps.
• Average total deposits were $5.0 billion, as compared to $4.9 billion, an increase of 2.7%, while cost of average total deposits decreased 2 bps to 0.24% and cost of funds decreased 2 bps to 0.35%.

Full Year 2021 Summary ¹

• Record net income of $69.5 million, or $4.37 per diluted common share.
• Book value and tangible book value per share grew 4.6% and 6.4% ² , respectively.
• Return on average equity and return on average tangible equity of 13.18% and 16.63% ² , respectively.
• Net charge-off ratio was a recovery of 1 basis point.
• Efficiency ratio was 54.65% ² , a decline of 227 bps from the prior year.
  

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Jan. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MidWest One Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOFG) (“we”, “our”, or the "Company”) today reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2021 of $14.3 million, or $0.91 per diluted common share, compared to net income of $16.3 million, or $1.03 per diluted common share, for the linked quarter. For the full year of 2021, the Company reported record earnings, with net income of $69.5 million, or $4.37 per diluted common share, compared to net income for the full year of 2020 of $6.6 million, or $0.41 per diluted common share.

CEO COMMENTARY

Charles Funk, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "The fourth quarter of 2021 was a solid ending to a record earnings year for MidWest One . During the quarter, we saw good ex-PPP commercial loan growth, continued progress in wealth management, and improvements in our nonperforming loans and nonperforming assets ratios. We are pleased with the return on average tangible equity of 13.50%.

Key to continued progress in our Company is quality loan growth. We saw ex-PPP linked quarter commercial loan growth of 5.5% annualized in the fourth quarter. This is even more impressive when considering that we saw a high level of pay-offs during the fourth quarter and continued low credit line usage. We begin 2022 with a solid pipeline of new loans and optimism that this growth will continue.

The consistent improvement in overall asset quality was one of the big stories for the Company in 2021. At year-end, nonperforming loans fell below 1.0%, at 0.97% of total loans. For the quarter and for the entire year, we had a net recovery of charged-off loans. Importantly, we expect to see continued progress in nonperforming assets in 2022.

With respect to fee income, there is no doubt that our mortgage team contributed mightily to the record 2021 results. In line with the rise in long-term interest rates, we see that slowing in 2022. Our wealth management team also continued to shine as their revenue in 2021 was up $2.0 million, or 21.2%, from the prior year and we expect continued good progress.

We have continued to make headway in our previously announced acquisition of Iowa First Bancshares Corp. ("IOFB"), which is expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2022. We look forward to welcoming our new customers and employees to MidWest One .

Finally, between share repurchases and the cash dividend, we returned $25.8 million to our common shareholders in 2021. Looking ahead, our common stock dividend increase of 5.6% for 2022 reflects our confidence in continued sound financial performance."

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1} Fourth Quarter Summary compares to the third quarter of 2021 (the "linked quarter") unless noted. Full Year 2021 Summary compares to the full year 2020 unless noted.
² Non-GAAP measure. See the separate Non-GAAP Measures section for a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Net Interest Income

Net interest income decreased to $38.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 from $40.3 million in the third quarter of 2021 due primarily to decreased PPP loan fee accretion stemming from loan forgiveness that continued to be robust in the fourth quarter of 2021. Net PPP loan fee accretion was $2.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to $3.6 million in the linked quarter.

Average interest earning assets increased $117.2 million to $5.61 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to the third quarter of 2021. When adjusting for the $91.0 million reduction in average PPP loan balances due to forgiveness, average interest earning assets increased $206.9 million, primarily due to cash inflows from deposit activity that resulted in an increase in interest earning deposits in banks on the balance sheet and that were used to purchase debt securities, coupled with non-PPP loan growth.

The Company's tax equivalent net interest margin was 2.83% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 3.00% in the linked quarter due to a decrease in total interest earning assets yield, partially offset by reduced funding costs. Total interest earning assets yield decreased 19 bps from the linked quarter due to the reduced benefit from PPP net loan fee accretion described above, coupled with lower loan coupon rates at origination and re-pricing, and an asset mix shift to cash and debt securities. The cost of interest bearing liabilities decreased 3 bps to 0.43%, primarily as a result of interest bearing deposits costs of 0.30%, which declined 2 bps from the linked quarter.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased $2.0 million, or 22.3%, from the linked quarter. The increase was primarily due to an increase of $1.2 million in loan revenue and an increase of $0.5 million in 'Other' noninterest income. The increase in loan revenue was primarily driven by a $0.9 million increase in the fair value of our mortgage servicing rights. The increase in 'Other' noninterest income partially stemmed from a $0.2 million increase in income received from our commercial loan back-to-back swap program.

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

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased $0.7 million, or 2.2%, from the linked quarter primarily due to an increase of $0.9 million in compensation and employee benefits and a $0.6 million increase in legal and professional expenses. The increase in compensation and employee benefits was primarily due to an increase of $0.5 million related to incentive and commission expense. The increase in legal and professional expenses was partially due to $0.2 million merger-related legal expenses. Partially offsetting these increases was a decrease of $0.5 million in 'other' noninterest expense. The decline in 'other' noninterest expense was primarily driven by the settlement of litigation claims totaling $0.7 million during the third quarter of 2021, which did not recur in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The increase in noninterest expense and the decline in net interest income, partially offset by the increase in noninterest income noted above, were the primary drivers of the increase in the efficiency ratio, which increased 0.40 percentage points to 56.74% from 56.34% in the linked quarter.

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

The following table presents details of merger-related expenses for the periods indicated:

Income Taxes

The effective income tax rate increased to 24.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to 21.7% in the linked quarter. This increase was primarily due to the year-end adjustment to federal tax expense based upon 2021 taxable income. The Company's effective tax rate is lower than its combined statutory tax rate due to benefits related to tax-exempt interest and bank-owned life insurance. The effective income tax rate for the full year 2022 is expected to be in the range of 19.5-21.5%.

Loans Held for Investment

Loans held for investment, net of unearned income, decreased $23.6 million, or 0.7%, to $3.25 billion from September 30, 2021, driven primarily by PPP loan forgiveness and partially offset by new loan production during the fourth quarter of 2021. The revolving line of credit utilization was consistent with the linked quarter at 32%.

The following table presents the composition of loans held for investment, net of unearned income, as of the dates indicated:

PPP Loans

The following table presents PPP loan measures as of the dates indicated:

Credit Loss Expense & Allowance for Credit Losses

The following table shows the activity in the allowance for credit losses for the periods indicated:

As of December 31, 2021, the allowance for credit losses ("ACL") was $48.7 million, or 1.50% of loans held for investment, net of unearned income, compared with $47.9 million, or 1.47% of loans held for investment, net of unearned income, at September 30, 2021. The ACL declined 12.3% from the prior year-end. After excluding net PPP loans, the ACL as a percentage of loans held for investment, net of unearned income, increased to 1.52% ⁽¹⁾ as of December 31, 2021, from 1.51% ⁽¹⁾ at September 30, 2021. The increase in the ACL during the fourth quarter was primarily attributable to reserve taken to support loan growth.

⁽¹⁾ Non-GAAP Measure. See the Non-GAAP Measures section for a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

Deposits

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

CREDIT RISK PROFILE

During the fourth quarter of 2021, we saw improvements in overall asset quality when compared to the linked quarter and the corresponding period in the prior year. We continued to experience net recoveries in the fourth quarter of 2021 and recorded net recoveries of $0.4 million for the year-ended December 31, 2021. Our nonperforming loans ratio of 0.97% was an improvement of 6 bps from the linked quarter and 23 bps from the prior year-end. Special mention / watch credits did increase $34.5 million from the linked quarter based upon our proactive credit monitoring processes. However, year-over-year, special mention / watch credits were down $39.8 million, or 25.3%.

The following table presents a roll forward of nonperforming loans for the period:

CAPITAL

Effective March 31, 2020, we elected the 5-year phase-in option allowed under the interim final rule (IFR) issued by the federal banking regulatory agencies that delays the estimated impact on regulatory capital stemming from the implementation of the current expected credit losses (CECL) accounting standard. The IFR allows the add back of 100% of the capital effect from the day one CECL transition adjustment and 25% of the capital effect from subsequent increases in the allowance for credit losses through the two-year period ending December 31, 2021. The modified CECL transitional amount of $9.4 million will then be reduced from capital over the subsequent three-year period.

CORPORATE UPDATE

Share Repurchase Program

Under the current repurchase program, the Company repurchased 58,900 shares of its common stock at an average price of $31.02 per share and a total cost of $1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. At December 31, 2021, the total amount available under the Company's current share repurchase program was $5.8 million.

Cash Dividend Announcement

On January 25, 2022, the Company’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.2375 per common share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 1, 2022.

CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

The Company will host a conference call for investors at 11:00 a.m. CT on Friday, January 28, 2022. To participate, you may pre-register for this call utilizing the following link: https://www.incommglobalevents.com/registration/q4inc/9571/midwestone-financial-group-inc-4th-quarter-2021-earnings-call/ . After pre-registering for this event you will receive your access details via email. You are also able to on the day of the call dial 1-844-200-6205, using an access code of 306531 at least fifteen minutes before the call start time. If you are unable to participate on the call, a replay will be available until April 28, 2022, by calling 1-866-813-9403 and using the replay access code of 602023. A transcript of the call will also be available on the Company’s web site (www.midwestonefinancial.com) within three business days of the call.

ABOUT MIDWEST ONE FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

MidWest One Financial Group, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa. MidWest One is the parent company of MidWest One Bank, which operates banking offices in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, and Colorado. MidWest One provides electronic delivery of financial services through its website, MidWest One .bank. MidWest One Financial Group, Inc. trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MOFG”.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of such term in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We and our representatives may, from time to time, make written or oral statements that are “forward-looking” and provide information other than historical information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. These factors include, among other things, the factors listed below. Forward-looking statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations and assumptions of our management and on information currently available to management, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “plans,” “goals,” “intend,” “project,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “may” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Additionally, we undertake no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events, except as required under federal securities law.

Our ability to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Factors that could have an impact on our ability to achieve operating results, growth plan goals and future prospects include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including its effects on the economic environment, our customers and our operations, including due to supply chain disruptions, as well as any changes to federal, state, or local government laws, regulations, or orders in connection with the pandemic; (2) government intervention in the U.S. financial system in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the effects of recent legislative, tax, accounting and regulatory actions and reforms; (3) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our financial results, including possible lost revenue and increased expenses (including the cost of capital), as well as possible goodwill impairment charges; (4) the risks of mergers (including with IOFB), including, without limitation, the related time and costs of implementing such transactions, integrating operations as part of these transactions and possible failures to achieve expected gains, revenue growth and/or expense savings from such transactions; (5) credit quality deterioration or pronounced and sustained reduction in real estate market values causing an increase in the allowance for credit losses, an increase in the credit loss expense, and a reduction in net earnings; (6) the effects of interest rates, including on our net income and the value of our securities portfolio; (7) changes in the economic environment, competition, or other factors that may affect our ability to acquire loans or influence the anticipated growth rate of loans and deposits and the quality of the loan portfolio and loan and deposit pricing; (8) fluctuations in the value of our investment securities; (9) governmental monetary and fiscal policies; (10) changes in and uncertainty related to benchmark interest rates used to price loans and deposits, including the expected elimination of LIBOR and the adoption of a substitute; (11) legislative and regulatory changes, including changes in banking, securities, trade, and tax laws and regulations and their application by our regulators; (12) the ability to attract and retain key executives and employees experienced in banking and financial services; (13) the sufficiency of the allowance for credit losses to absorb the amount of actual losses inherent in our existing loan portfolio; (14) our ability to adapt successfully to technological changes to compete effectively in the marketplace; (15) credit risks and risks from concentrations (by geographic area and by industry) within our loan portfolio; (16) the effects of competition from other commercial banks, thrifts, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, credit unions, securities brokerage firms, insurance companies, money market and other mutual funds, financial technology companies, and other financial institutions operating in our markets or elsewhere or providing similar services; (17) the failure of assumptions underlying the establishment of allowances for credit losses and estimation of values of collateral and various financial assets and liabilities; (18) volatility of rate-sensitive deposits; (19) operational risks, including data processing system failures or fraud; (20) asset/liability matching risks and liquidity risks; (21) the costs, effects and outcomes of existing or future litigation; (22) changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions, nationally, internationally or in the communities in which we conduct business; (23) changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by state and federal regulatory agencies and the Financial Accounting Standards Board; (24) war or terrorist activities, widespread disease or pandemic, or other adverse external events, which may cause deterioration in the economy or cause instability in credit markets; (25) the effects of cyber-attacks; (26) the imposition of tariffs or other domestic or international governmental policies impacting the value of the agricultural or other products of our borrowers; and (27) other risk factors detailed from time to time in Securities and Exchange Commission filings made by the Company.