BPOP - Popular Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results

• Net income of $211.4 million in Q2 2022, compared to net income of $211.7 million in Q1 2022.
• Net interest margin of 3.09% in Q2 2022, compared to 2.75% in Q1 2022; net interest margin on a taxable equivalent basis of 3.45% in Q2 2022, compared to 3.05% in Q1 2022.
• Credit Quality:
  • Non-performing loans held-in-portfolio (“NPLs”) decreased by $42.0 million from Q1 2022; NPLs to loans ratio at 1.6% vs. 1.8% in Q1 2022;
  • Net charge-offs (“NCOs”) increased by $2.3 million from Q1 2022; annualized NCOs at 0.08% of average loans held-in-portfolio vs. 0.05% in Q1 2022;
  • Allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) to loans held-in-portfolio at 2.24% vs. 2.29% in Q1 2022; and
  • ACL to NPLs at 142.7% vs. 130.4% in Q1 2022.
• Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 16.39%, Common Equity per Share of $55.78 and Tangible Book Value per Share of $46.18 at June 30, 2022.

Popular, Inc. (the “Corporation,” “Popular,” “we,” “us,” “our”) (NASDAQ:BPOP) reported net income of $211.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to net income of $211.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.

Ignacio Alvarez, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are very pleased with our results for the second quarter. We earned $211.4 million in net income, with increases in both net interest income and non-interest income as compared to the first quarter. Our net interest income increased by $39.6 million to $533.9 million, driven by improved margin and growth in our loan and investment portfolios. Loan growth was broad based with balances increasing in all categories, except mortgage. The increase in our net interest margin reflects higher interest rates and the strength of our deposit franchise. Consumer spending remained resilient during the quarter and deposit balances continued to grow. Credit quality remained strong with net charge offs at near record lows, and we continued to reduce our non-performing loans. Our liquidity and capital positions remain strong which provide us the flexibility to continue to invest for growth in the future while we continue returning capital to our shareholders.

While we are vigilant regarding the possible negative impacts of record inflation, higher interest rates and the war in Ukraine, we are still seeing growth in the U.S. and P.R. with a historically strong employment market and healthy consumer deposit and spending levels. In Puerto Rico we continue to benefit from the stimulative impact of federal disaster relief spending. We are confident in our ability to continue to deliver results for our shareholders at the same time as we invest in our people, businesses and communities.”

Significant Events

Acquisition of Key Customer Channels and Amendments to Commercial Contracts with Evertec

On July 1, 2022, the Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (“BPPR”) completed its previously announced acquisition of certain assets and assumption of certain liabilities used by Evertec Group, LLC (“Evertec Group”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Evertec, Inc. (“Evertec”) (NYSE: EVTC), to service certain BPPR channels.

As a result of the closing of the transaction, BPPR acquired from Evertec Group certain critical channels, including BPPR’s retail and business digital banking and commercial cash management applications. BPPR also entered into amended and restated service agreements with Evertec Group pursuant to which Evertec Group will continue to provide various information technology and transaction processing services to Popular, BPPR and their respective subsidiaries.

Under the amended service agreements, Popular will have greater optionality to develop and enhance technology platforms and more flexibility to select service vendors, as Evertec Group will no longer have exclusive rights to provide certain of Popular’s technology services. This is expected to improve Popular’s ability to meet its customer needs in a timely manner. In addition, the amended service agreements are projected to reduce service costs as a result of discounted pricing and lowered caps on contractual pricing escalators tied to the Consumer Price Index. As part of the transaction, BPPR also strengthened its relationship with Evertec in the payments business, including through the incorporation of a revenue sharing structure for BPPR in connection with its merchant acquiring relationship with Evertec.

As consideration for the transaction, BPPR delivered to Evertec Group 4,589,169 shares of Evertec common stock valued at closing at $169 million (based on Evertec’s stock price on June 30, 2022 of $36.88), resulting in an after-tax gain of approximately $112 million.

In terms of capital, the transaction results in a negative impact of approximately $55 million in Popular’s tangible book value as a result of the net effect of the after-tax gain of the Evertec shares used as consideration for the transaction (approximately $112 million), minus approximately $167 million in goodwill and other intangible assets recognized by the Corporation in connection with the transaction and the effect of purchase accounting-related adjustments.

As a result of the transfer of the shares used as consideration for the transaction, Popular’s ownership stake in Evertec was reduced from approximately 16.3% to approximately 10.6% at the closing of the transaction. In connection with the transaction, Popular has agreed to further reduce its voting interest in Evertec to no more than 4.5%, whether through selling shares of Evertec common stock or a conversion of such shares into non-voting preferred stock within 90 days of the closing of the transaction. Popular expects to sell down its stake in Evertec to no more than 4.5%, subject to market conditions, and intends to return to shareholders, via common stock repurchases, any after-tax gains resulting from such sale, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.

Completion of Accelerated Share Repurchase

On July 12, 2022, the Corporation completed its previously announced accelerated share repurchase program for the repurchase of an aggregate $400 million of Popular’s common stock. Under the terms of the accelerated share repurchase agreement (the “ASR Agreement”), on March 2, 2022 the Corporation made an initial payment of $400 million and received an initial delivery of 3,483,942 shares of Popular’s Common Stock (the “Initial Shares”). The transaction was accounted for as a treasury stock transaction. As a result of the receipt of the Initial Shares, the Corporation recognized in shareholders’ equity approximately $320 million in treasury stock and $80 million as a reduction in capital surplus. Upon the final settlement of the ASR Agreement, the Corporation received an additional 1,582,922 shares of common stock and recognized approximately $120 million as treasury stock with a corresponding increase in its capital surplus account. The Corporation repurchased a total of 5,066,864 shares at an average purchase price of $78.9443 under the ASR Agreement.

Net interest income on a taxable equivalent basis – Non-GAAP financial measure

Net interest income, on a taxable equivalent basis, is presented with its different components in Table D and E for the quarter and year ended June 30, 2022 and comparable periods. Net interest income on a taxable equivalent basis is a non-GAAP financial measure. Management believes that this presentation provides meaningful information since it facilitates the comparison of revenues arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources.

Non-GAAP financial measures used by the Corporation may not be comparable to similarly named non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

Net interest income for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 was $533.9 million, compared to $494.3 million in the previous quarter, an increase of $39.6 million. Net interest income, on a taxable equivalent basis, for the second quarter of 2022 was $595.5 million compared to $548.1 million in the first quarter of 2022, or an increase of $47.4 million.

Net interest margin for the quarter increased 34 basis points to 3.09% from 2.75% in the first quarter of 2022. On a taxable equivalent basis, net interest margin for the second quarter of 2022 was 3.45%, compared to 3.05% in the prior quarter. The improved net interest margin is driven by a higher interest rate environment that resulted in higher yields on variable rate assets, as well as new originations and investments, partially offset by an increase in funding costs. The composition of earning assets in the second quarter of the year also impacted the net interest margin positively as a higher proportion of earning assets was concentrated in loan portfolios. The main variances in net interest income on a taxable equivalent basis were:

• higher interest income from money market, trading and investment securities by $30.9 million, resulting from higher yield of the portfolio by 44 basis points driven by the increase in the interest on excess funds at the Federal Reserve and higher yield of the investment portfolio. The latter increase is mainly due to the maturity of U.S. Treasury Bills held in the available-for-sale securities portfolio and further re-investment on longer-term tax-exempt U.S. Treasury notes;

• higher interest income from commercial loans by $10.9 million due to higher average volume of loans by $486 million in a higher rate environment, partially offset by lower average volume and income of loans under the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) by $116 million and $5.5 million, respectively. Both BPPR and Popular Bank (“PB” or “Popular U.S.”) experienced growth in commercial loans despite the anticipated cancellation of PPP loans. Quarter-over-quarter, the Corporation’s loan portfolio increased by $654 million, in average, reflecting increases across all major loan segments except mortgages, including loan growth of $351 million in BPPR. Furthermore, one more day in the quarter resulted in approximately $1.9 million increase in interest income; and

• higher interest income from consumer loans, mainly driven by higher average volume by $116 million and increase in the yield of the portfolio by 14 basis points; both banks contributed to the increase in consumer loans;

partially offset by:

• higher interest expense on deposits by $3.0 million due to the increase in rates, partially offset by the decrease in average deposit balances driven by Puerto Rico government deposits due to the closing of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s Plan of Adjustment at the end of the first quarter.

The Corporation recognized income of $5.1 million related to loans issued under the SBA PPP, compared to $10.6 million in the previous quarter. These loans carried a yield of approximately 15.04% in the quarter, including the amortization of fees received under the program, compared to 17.01% in the first quarter of 2022. This portfolio of loans issued under the SBA PPP declined by $68 million in BPPR to a balance of $46 million and declined by $16 million in PB to a balance of $43 million. On June 30, 2022, the SBA PPP portfolio at BPPR and PB had a remaining aggregate balance of unamortized fees of $3.3 million.

Net interest income for the BPPR segment amounted to $447.8 million for the second quarter of 2022, compared to $415.2 million for the first quarter of 2022. Net interest margin for the second and first quarters of 2022 was 3.02% and 2.67%, respectively, an improvement of 35 basis points quarter-over-quarter. As discussed above, the net interest margin was impacted by higher volume and yield on investments and loans, partially offset by lower SBA PPP income. The cost of interest-bearing deposits was 0.19%, increasing 3 basis points from the first quarter of 2022. Total deposit cost for the quarter also increased by 2 basis points to 0.14%.

Net interest income for PB was $93.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $86.5 million during the previous quarter. Net interest margin for the quarter was 3.76%, an increase of 20 basis points from the 3.56% reported in the first quarter. The increase in net interest income results mostly from a higher volume of commercial and consumer loans, partially offset by higher costs on deposit driven by the change in market rates. The cost of interest-bearing deposits was 0.54%, increasing 8 basis points from the 0.46% reported in the first quarter of 2022, while the total cost of deposits, including demand deposits, was 0.42%, an increase of 6 basis points when compared to 0.36% in the previous quarter.

Non-interest income

Non-interest income increased by $2.7 million to $157.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, compared to $154.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. The variance in non-interest income was primarily driven by:

• higher other service fees by $4.3 million due to higher credit card fees by $4.5 million mainly in interchange income and higher debit card fees, partially offset by lower insurance fees;

partially offset by:

• higher losses on equity securities by $2.0 million mainly related to securities held for deferred benefit plans, which have an offsetting positive variance in personnel costs; and

• lower other operating income by $3.1 million mainly due to lower earnings from the portfolio of equity method investments and lower income from the sale of auto rental units.

Refer to Table B for further details.

Operating expenses

Operating expenses for the second quarter of 2022 totaled $406.3 million, an increase of $3.9 million when compared to the first quarter of 2022. The variance in operating expenses was driven primarily by:

• higher personnel cost by $1.8 million mainly due to higher incentives related to the profit-sharing plan which is tied to the Corporation’s financial performance, and higher salaries; partially offset by lower performance shares and restricted stock expenses;
  
  
• higher professional fees by $6.4 million mainly due to higher programming, processing and other technology services due to higher processing and service charges; and
  
  
• higher business promotion expenses by $6.3 million mainly due to higher credit cards rewards expense by $3.9 million as a result of transactional volumes.

partially offset by:

• lower other real estate owned (OREO) expenses by $5.1 million mainly due to higher gain on sale on mortgage and commercial properties; and
  
  
• lower other operating expenses by $6.3 million mainly as result of lower legal reserves.

Full-time equivalent employees were 8,615 as of June 30, 2022, compared to 8,492 as of March 31, 2022.

For a breakdown of operating expenses by category refer to Table B.

Income taxes

For the quarter ended June 30, 2022, the Corporation recorded an income tax expense of $64.2 million, compared to $50.5 million for the previous quarter. The increase in income tax expense was mainly attributable to higher income before tax and lower exempt income during the second quarter of 2022. The effective tax rate (“ETR”) for the second quarter of 2022 was 23%, compared to 19% for the previous quarter. The ETR of the Corporation is impacted by the composition and source of its taxable income. The Corporation expects its ETR for the year 2022 to be within a range from 17% to 20%. This range includes the impact of the recently closed Evertec transaction and the effect of the expected reduction in Popular’s voting interest in Evertec through the sale of its holdings of common stock or a conversion of such shares to non-voting preferred stock, either of which would trigger mark-to-market accounting on any remaining stake in Evertec.

Credit Quality

During the second quarter of 2022, the Corporation continued to show strong credit quality trends and low credit costs with low levels of NCOs and decreasing NPLs. We continue to closely monitor changes in the macroeconomic environment and on borrower performance, given potential economic headwinds, rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. However, management believes that the improvement over the last few years in the risk profile of the Corporation’s loan portfolios positions Popular to operate successfully under the current environment.

The following presents credit quality results for the second quarter of 2022:

• At June 30, 2022, total non-performing loans held-in-portfolio decreased by $42.0 million from March 31, 2022. BPPR’s NPLs decreased by $42.0 million, mostly driven by lower commercial and mortgage NPLs by $21.3 million and $21.9 million, respectively. The mortgage NPLs decrease was mainly due to the combined effects of collection efforts, increased foreclosure activity and sustained low levels of early delinquency compared with pre-pandemic trends. PB’s NPLs remained flat quarter-over-quarter. At June 30, 2022, the ratio of NPLs to total loans held-in-portfolio was 1.6%, compared to 1.8% in the first quarter of 2022.

• Inflows of NPLs held-in-portfolio, excluding consumer loans, decreased by $5.2 million quarter-over-quarter. In BPPR, total inflows decreased by $6.0 million, mostly driven by lower commercial and mortgage inflows of $4.5 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Mortgage inflows continued trending lower than pre-pandemic levels. NPL inflows at PB remained essentially flat quarter-over-quarter.

• NCOs amounted to $6.1 million, an unfavorable variance of $2.3 million when compared to the first quarter of 2022. PB’s NCOs reflected an unfavorable variance of $2.5 million, as the prior quarter was a net recovery of $1.7 million. BPPR‘s NCOs were $5.3 million, flat quarter-over-quarter. During the second quarter of 2022, the Corporation’s ratio of annualized net charge-offs to average loans held-in-portfolio was 0.08%, compared to 0.05% in the first quarter of 2022. Refer to Table M for further information on net charge-offs and related ratios.

• At June 30, 2022, the ACL increased by $4.0 million, or 0.6%, from the first quarter of 2022 to $681.8 million. The ACL incorporated updated macroeconomic scenarios for Puerto Rico and the United States. Given that any one economic outlook is inherently uncertain, the Corporation leverages multiple scenarios to estimate its ACL. The baseline scenario continues to be assigned the highest probability, followed by the pessimistic scenario.

• The current baseline forecast continues to show a favorable economic scenario. Annualized 2022 GDP growth of 2.8% is expected for both Puerto Rico and United States, compared to 3.5% and 3.7%, respectively, in the previous quarter. Changes in assumptions related to fiscal stimulus, higher energy prices and tighter financial market conditions contributed to the reduction. The 2022 average unemployment rate is forecasted at 6.9% and 3.5% for Puerto Rico and United States, respectively, improving from 7.3% and 3.6%, respectively, in the previous forecast. Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate forecast benefits from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) revisions that showed a stronger than expected labor market.

• In BPPR, the ACL increased by $4.0 million, mainly driven by higher loan volumes and changes in the macroeconomic scenarios. The ACL for the PB segment remained flat quarter-over-quarter as higher loan volumes in the commercial real estate and consumer portfolios offset reductions in qualitative reserves and favorable credit quality. The Corporation’s ratio of the allowance for credit losses to loans held-in-portfolio was 2.24% in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 2.29% in the previous quarter. The ratio of the allowance for credit losses to NPLs held-in-portfolio stood at 142.7%, compared to 130.4% in the previous quarter.

• The provision for credit losses for the loan portfolios for the second quarter of 2022 was an expense of $9.9 million, compared to a benefit of $14.4 million in the previous quarter, reflecting the previously mentioned changes in the allowance for credit losses. The provision for the BPPR segment was an expense of $9.1 million, compared to a benefit of $12.7 million in the previous quarter, while the provision for the PB segment was an expense of $0.7 million, compared to a benefit of $1.7 million in the previous quarter.

• The provision for unfunded commitments for the second quarter of 2022 was a benefit of $0.2 million, compared to a benefit of $0.8 million in the previous quarter. The provision for credit losses in our investment portfolio was a benefit of $0.3 million flat from the first quarter of 2022. The provision for unfunded loan commitments, provision for credit losses on our loan and lease portfolios and provision for credit losses on our investment portfolio are aggregated and presented in the provision for credit losses caption in our Statement of Operations

Total assets increased by $2.0 billion from the first quarter of 2022, driven by:

• an increase in debt securities held-to-maturity of $1.6 billion due to the purchase of U.S. Treasuries; and

• an increase in loans held-in-portfolio of $0.8 billion mainly due to commercial loans growth at both BPPR and PB and an increase in consumer loans, mainly at BPPR, including auto loans, credit cards and other consumer loans;

partially offset by:

• a decrease of $0.4 billion in money market investments, in part due to the purchase of U.S. Treasury securities;

Total liabilities increased by $2.4 billion from the first quarter of 2022, driven by:

• an increase of $2.5 billion in deposits, mainly in Puerto Rico public sector as well as private demand deposit and savings accounts;

partially offset by:

• a decrease in borrowings of $99.7 million, mainly due to the maturity during this quarter of $100 million in borrowings at PB.

Stockholders' equity decreased by $377.9 million from the first quarter of 2022, principally due to an increase in accumulated unrealized losses on debt securities available-for-sale by $563.4 million due to a decline in the fair value of fixed-rate debt securities as a result of the rising interest rate environment, and to dividends, partially offset by the net income of $211.4 million for the quarter.

Common equity tier-1 ratio (“CET1”), common equity per share and tangible book value per share were 16.39%, $55.78 and $46.18, respectively, at June 30, 2022, compared to 16.26%, $60.78 and $51.16 at March 31, 2022. Refer to Table A for capital ratios.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without limitation those regarding Popular’s acquisition of certain assets and assumption of certain liabilities from EVERTEC and the transactions described in this press release (the “Transaction”) and Popular’s business, financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives and future performance. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on management’s current expectations and, by their nature, involve risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions. Potential factors, some of which are beyond the Corporation’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the effect of competitive and economic factors, and our reaction to those factors, the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses, delinquency trends, market risk and the impact of interest rate changes, capital market conditions, capital adequacy and liquidity, the effect of legal and regulatory proceedings, new accounting standards on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations, the scope and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic (including the appearance of new strains of the virus), actions taken by governmental authorities in response thereto, and the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic on Popular, our customers, service providers and third parties. Other factors include Popular’s ability to successfully transition and integrate the assets acquired as part of the Transaction, related operations, employees and third party contractors; unexpected costs, including, without limitation, costs due to exposure to any unrecorded liabilities or issues not identified during due diligence investigation of the Transaction or that are not subject to indemnification or reimbursement by EVERTEC; operational risks that may affect Popular and other risks arising from the acquisition of the acquired assets or by adverse effects on relationships with customers, employees and service providers and business and other risks arising from the extension of Popular’s current commercial agreements with EVERTEC. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature, are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continues,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project” and similar expressions, and future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “may” or similar expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.

More information on the risks and important factors that could affect the Corporation’s future results and financial condition is included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 and in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our filings are available on the Corporation’s website ( www.popular.com ) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission website ( www.sec.gov ). The Corporation assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or information which speak as of their respective dates.

About Popular, Inc.

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP) is the leading financial institution in Puerto Rico, by both assets and deposits, and ranks among the top 50 U.S. bank holding companies by assets. Founded in 1893, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Popular’s principal subsidiary, provides retail, mortgage and commercial banking services in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Popular also offers in Puerto Rico auto and equipment leasing and financing, investment banking, broker-dealer and insurance services through specialized subsidiaries. In the mainland United States, Popular provides retail, mortgage and commercial banking services through its New York-chartered banking subsidiary, Popular Bank, which has branches located in New York, New Jersey and Florida.

Conference Call

Popular will hold a conference call to discuss its financial results today Thursday, July 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be open to the public and broadcasted live over the Internet and can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the Corporation’s website: www.popular.com .

Listeners are recommended to go to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to download and install any necessary audio software. The call may also be accessed through a dial-in telephone number 1-844-200-6205 (Toll Free) or 1-646-904-5544 (Local). The dial-in access code is 491702.

A replay of the webcast will be archived in Popular’s website. A telephone replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call through Thursday, August 25, 2022. The replay dial in is: 1-866-813-9403 or 1-929-458-6194. The replay passcode is 436694.

An electronic version of this press release can be found at the Corporation’s website: www.popular.com .