NASDAQ:HBNC Horizon Bancorp (IN) Q1 2026 Earnings Report $18.86 -0.18 (-0.95%) Closing price 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$18.86 0.00 (0.00%) As of 07:18 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more. ProfileEarnings HistoryForecast Horizon Bancorp (IN) EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.51Consensus EPS $0.48Beat/MissBeat by +$0.03One Year Ago EPSN/AHorizon Bancorp (IN) Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$73.48 millionExpected Revenue$76.11 millionBeat/MissMissed by -$2.63 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/AHorizon Bancorp (IN) Announcement DetailsQuarterQ1 2026Date4/22/2026TimeAfter Market ClosesConference Call DateThursday, April 23, 2026Conference Call Time8:30AM ETUpcoming EarningsHorizon Bancorp (IN)'s Q3 2026 earnings is estimated for Wednesday, October 28, 2026, based on past reporting schedules, with a conference call scheduled on Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Quarterly Report (10-Q)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by Horizon Bancorp (IN) Q1 2026 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrApril 23, 2026ShareShareShare This ReportLink copied to clipboard.Key Takeaways Positive Sentiment: Horizon reported strong Q1 profitability with annualized ROA > 1.60%, ROTE > 19%, a durable net interest margin of 4.29%, and capital improvement (CET1 up 40 bps to 10.82%), driven by solid deposit and loan performance. Positive Sentiment: Deposit gathering was a standout, with ~$147 million growth (11% annualized) including ~$61 million of non‑interest‑bearing balances, supporting liquidity and margin resilience. Positive Sentiment: Credit metrics remain strong: non‑performing loans at 0.76%, substandard loans ~1.3% of loans, net charge‑offs only five bps annualized, and the allowance stable at 1.05%, indicating low loss risk. Neutral Sentiment: Management maintained disciplined pricing (elected not to chase low‑yield mortgage refi activity), leaving residential/consumer loans down ~$32 million in Q1 but expecting modest pickup later in 2026; equipment finance is on track but still ramping. Positive Sentiment: Full‑year 2026 guidance was reiterated (mid‑single digit loan/deposit growth, FTE NIM 4.25%–4.35%, NII growth low‑teens, fees mid‑$40M, expenses mid‑$160M), signaling management confidence despite changing rate assumptions. AI Generated. May Contain Errors.Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallHorizon Bancorp (IN) Q1 202600:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2xTranscript SectionsPresentationParticipantsPresentationSkip to Participants Operator00:00:00Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Horizon Bancorp conference call to discuss the final financial results for the first quarter of 2026. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by 0. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Now I will turn the call over to Mr. Todd Etzler, Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and General Counsel for the opening introduction. Please go ahead. Todd A. EtzlerEVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Horizon Bancorp00:00:41Good morning and welcome to our conference call to review Horizon's first quarter results. Please remember that today's call may contain statements that are forward-looking in nature. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed, including those factors noted in the slide presentation. Additional information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially is contained in Horizon's most recent Form 10-K, and its later filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, management may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that are intended to help investors understand Horizon's business. Reconciliations for these measures are contained in the presentation. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call. Todd A. EtzlerEVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Horizon Bancorp00:01:39For anyone who does not already have a copy of the press release and supplemental presentation issued by Horizon yesterday, they may be accessed at the company's website, horizonbank.com. Representing Horizon today are Executive Vice President and Senior Operations Officer Kathie A. DeRuiter, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer Lynn Kerber, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Risk Officer Todd A. Etzler, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John R. Stewart, and Chief Executive Officer and President Thomas M. Prame. At this time, I will turn the call over to Thomas M. Prame. Thomas. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:02:27Thank you, Todd. Good morning, and we appreciate you joining us. Horizon's first quarter results demonstrate the core strength of our community banking model and our commitment to shareholders to deliver a top-performing organization through durable peer-leading performance metrics and top-quartile shareholder returns. We are very pleased with the quarter's results, displaying an annualized return on average assets above 1.60%, return on average tangible common equity above 19%, and continued durability in our net interest margin at 4.29%. These results drove a meaningful increase in our CET1 by 40 basis points to 10.82% and improved total risk-based capital to 14.77% in the quarter. Specific highlights within the quarter were led by the team's excellent deposit gathering efforts with over $147 million in growth or 11% annualized. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:03:20These results were further enhanced by approximately $61 million of growth within the non-interest-bearing segments of the consumer and commercial portfolios. Our commercial lending team had a solid performance with $34 million in growth within the quarter, with elevated pipelines that we believe will continue to fuel solid balance sheet growth throughout 2026. Deposit momentum in the commercial was counterbalanced by episodic mortgage refinance activity in early Q1 where management elected not to chase lower-yielding mortgages under the balance sheet, remaining steadfast on its disciplined pricing. We feel confident in this decision. We have seen loan balances quickly align with full-year growth estimates in early Q2. This momentum, combined with our strong deposit balances, positions the organization well for solid organic growth on both sides of the balance sheet in 2026. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:04:12Additionally, our fee income efforts continue to make solid progress with year-over-year growth in our core relationship banking segments of service charges, interchange fees, and fiduciary services. Complementing these efforts, we continue to display excellent credit metrics with low charge-offs and non-performing loans below historical norms. As I mentioned at the beginning of my comments, we're very pleased with the first quarter results for our shareholders. Additionally, we are confident in our full-year outlook heading into Q2 with strong lending pipelines, positive deposit trends, fee income verticals gaining stride, and expenses well managed. It was a good start to the year on many fronts. Let me transition the presentation over to Horizon's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer, Lynn Kerber, who will share our lending highlights for the quarter and our continued excellent credit performance. Lynn? Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:05:04Good morning. This quarter reflected steady, disciplined commercial growth despite a competitive lending landscape and a dynamic rate environment. We continue to prioritize high-quality commercial lending, a well-balanced portfolio mix, and continued pricing discipline. Our credit metrics remain stable, and we're exiting the first quarter with solid momentum. Total loans held for investment ended the quarter at $4.87 billion, driven by a $34.2 million increase in commercial loans. As Thomas mentioned previously, residential and consumer loans were down on the quarter by $32 million as the leadership team elected not to leverage the balance sheet for lower-yielding mortgages in the first quarter. Residential mortgage lending remains an important offering, and we expect growth in subsequent quarters as the rate environment stabilizes and yields are more attractive. Commercial loan growth was concentrated in the Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, and Northwest Indiana market. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:06:07We continue to diversify the portfolio, with 37% of the net quarterly increase attributable to commercial and industrial loans, compared to their 30% share of the overall commercial portfolio. This mix reinforced the strength of our commercial franchise. Credit performance remained satisfactory and within historical ranges. Substandard loans were $63.4 million, representing 1.3% of total loans, which is consistent with the 1.22%-1.36% range over the past year, and down from $66.7 million, or 1.36%, in Q1 of last year. Non-performing loans are $37 million, representing 0.76% of total loans, consisting of $15.7 million in commercial loans, $10.6 million in residential real estate loans, and $8.4 million in consumer loans. While non-performing loans have increased modestly over recent quarters, levels remain manageable and consistent with a well-diversified portfolio. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:07:21We anticipate improvement in the subsequent quarters of 2026 as we are forecasting several loans returning to performing status, payoff, or completion of the collection efforts. These loans are well secured and/or appropriately reserved, and we do not expect an impact on losses. Net charge-offs were $626,000, or five basis points annualized, aligned with our historically low loss experience and favorable compared to the 15 basis points reported by our UBPR peer group for 2025. The allowance for credit losses remained stable at $51.3 million, or 1.05% of loans held for investment. The $391,000 provision reflects replenishment of charge-offs and a reduction in reserve for unfunded commitments. Going forward, provision levels will continue to be influenced by loan growth, portfolio composition, and economic conditions. Overall, we delivered a solid first quarter of commercial loan growth while maintaining our credit profile. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:08:32We expect continued momentum in 2026, supported by positive trends in lending activity early in Q2, increased residential mortgage, and consumer origination activity. We remain well positioned to serve high-quality clients across our markets, and our disciplined approach continues to support balanced, sustainable growth and strong shareholder returns. I'll now turn the commentary back to Thomas for an overview of our positive deposit trends. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:09:02Thank you, Lynn. Moving on to our deposit portfolio displayed on slide eight. Horizon's deposit portfolio had a very positive first quarter in terms of growth, portfolio mix, and cost. As mentioned previously, the portfolio growth of approximately $147 million comprised a good mix across both the consumer and commercial segments. The quarter was highlighted by $61 million in non-interest-bearing growth, reflective of the organization's continued efforts to expand sticky primary banking relationships within its attractive markets throughout Indiana and Michigan. Even with the excellent growth and balances, the team was successfully able to reduce overall interest-bearing costs by seven basis points in the quarter through consistent portfolio reviews with local leadership and an agile approach to local market pricing. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:09:47The franchise has found good rhythm in its deposit gathering efforts, and we believe our deposit portfolio continues to be well positioned to meet the growth and margin expectations of the organization with its granular composition and long-standing relationships in our local markets. Let me hand the presentation over to our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John R. Stewart, who will walk through additional first quarter financial highlights and the continued positive momentum we see for the remainder of 2026. John? John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:10:16Thank you, Thomas. Turning to slide nine. Consistent with our original outlook for the year, the net interest margin in Q1 was unchanged from the prior quarter at 4.29%. The objective all along was to build a balance sheet with a level of profitability that was durable and largely inoculated from changes in rates. Though one quarter does not necessarily make a trend, we feel good about the performance in Q1 and would note that our net interest margin and net interest income outlook is unchanged from our original guidance, despite going from the assumption of two rate cuts previously to none today. Specific to the first quarter, I would note that average interest earning cash balances did exceed our internal projections by about $60 million. You will recall the Q1 guidance called for average earning asset balances to decline from Q4 related to lower cash balances at year-end. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:11:11This did not happen primarily because deposit growth was stronger than expected in the quarter, which we were pleased to see. However, these higher cash balances did negatively impact the margin percentage by about four basis points in Q1. Away from cash, underlying margin trends remained supportive. New loan production in the quarter exceeded 6.6%, compared with average loan yields in the quarter of 6.28%, and roll-off yields just below 6%. In the investment portfolio, we are anticipating another $75-$100 million of principal cash flows over the balance of the year at about 4.7%. Reinvestment rates in Q1 approximated 4.8%. These earning asset trends should largely be supportive of the net interest margin. Even with the expectation that our interest-bearing deposit costs may be flat to up over the balance of the year with no further rate cuts. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:12:13As you can see on slide 10, non-interest income got off to a nice start in Q1. Excluding the $7 million warehouse gain and modest securities losses in the first quarter a year ago, fees were up about 13% year-over-year. This result was driven by strong year-over-year gains in service charges and fiduciary activities. While mortgage gain on sale was flat year-over-year, the team is off to a nice start in the second quarter, such that we would still anticipate full year results to reflect solid progress in this business. On slide 11, expenses came in at $40.7 million, in line with expectations, particularly considering the seasonal headwinds in benefits and occupancy expense. These areas were partially offset by lower levels of spend on outside business services and the timing of marketing spend. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:13:05Looking ahead, we would anticipate a modest increase in quarterly expense run rate in Q2 related to the full impact of annual merit increases and planned marketing spend for specific growth initiatives. That said, there is no change to our outlook for full year expenses in the mid $160 million range. Turning to capital on slide 12. Once again, capital ratios improved quite strongly in the quarter, with CET1 up 40 basis points to 10.82%. This result was driven by strong profitability levels and a modest sequential decline in risk-weighted assets as we continue to proactively manage the deployment of risk capital across the balance sheet. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:13:48As we have previously communicated, we are very comfortable with the company's capital position, particularly in light of the de-risk balance sheet we now have, and as our 2026 outlook suggests, the expectation that we will continue to accrete capital quickly, which you will see over the course of the year. Turning to Slide 13. Our guidance for 2026 has not changed. Period-end loan and deposit balances are still expected to grow mid-single digits, which continues to infer deposit growth modestly more than loan growth in dollars. As we have consistently noted, ultimately, balance sheet growth will be driven by deposit growth going forward, and this strategy has not changed. Net interest income is still expected to grow in the low teens year-over-year, with the FTE net interest margin in the range of 4.25%-4.35%. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:14:43Average earning asset balances are still expected to modestly exceed $6 billion for the full year. This outlook previously included the assumption for 225 basis point rate cuts in April and October, which have now been removed. This change in assumption did not impact the outlook. Fee income is still expected to be in the mid-$40 million range for the year, with results generally consistent quarter to quarter. Expenses in the mid-$160 million range is also unchanged. As noted in my prior remarks, for the reasons noted, we would anticipate a modest uptick in the quarterly run rate from the level seen in Q1. The effective tax rate is still anticipated to land in the range of 18%-20%. Overall, we are pleased with the start to the year in 2026, and as the guidance suggests, it should be a strong year for Horizon. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:15:37Steady growth with durable peer-leading returns on assets, returns on tangible common equity, and top quartile internal capital generation. With that, I will turn the call back over to Thomas. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:15:50Thank you, John, and I appreciate the summary of the quarter and the updated outlook for 2026. As we look ahead, our thesis will remain consistent with management focused on creating sustainable long-term value for our shareholders through our disciplined operating model, consistent profitable growth and peer-leading capital generation. As you can see from our financial results, we continue to build significant shareholder value and optionality with a durable top-tier financial earnings profile, excellent capital generation and a premier community banking franchise located in some of the best markets in the Midwest. We're confident in what we believe will be a positive outlook for our shareholders in 2026, and we look forward to sharing our second quarter results in July. At this time, I'd like to turn the presentation back over to our moderator to open up the line for questions for the management team. Thank you. Operator00:16:38Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Our first question for today will come from Brendan Nosal with the Hovde Group. Please go ahead. Brendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde Group00:17:01Hey, good morning, everybody. Hope you're doing well. Maybe just starting off here on deposit growth and the margin. Obviously, exceptional deposit growth this quarter, but there's a bit of a drag on the net interest margin just given that elevated cash position. As you look towards loan pipelines, how quickly do you think you can deploy that excess cash and then tie that into how you see the margin trending in the near term? John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:17:29Having extra cash from good, strong deposit growth in the quarter is not a bad thing. Didn't impact net interest income, but had a modest impact on the net interest margin as you noted. Excuse me. Looking forward, in the second quarter, we would anticipate being a modest net user of cash, so possibly see loan growth. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:18:08Slightly exceed deposit growth for the second quarter. As you look over the balance of the year, as the guidance would infer, cash was 3-ish% of earning assets in the first quarter. If it's between 2% and 3% over the balance of the year, that's within the realm of our expectations. Not really worried about having to deploy it quickly here. We'll continue with our strategic objectives on the liability side of the balance sheet, most notably. Brendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde Group00:18:36Okay. All right. Thanks, John. Maybe one more from me, just at a broader top level. Relatively nice in line quarter from a PPNR perspective. Reiterated the guide for 2026, up and down the expectation set. But the environment does continue to evolve here. So I'm curious if there are any areas in the outlook where you feel incrementally better or worse, versus three months ago? Is it as simple as progress according to plan? Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:19:05Thank you for the call. This is Thomas. Appreciate the question. No, I'd go with the second part of your response there about as expected. The outlook looks very similar. Very strong first quarter and look forward to the next subsequent quarters. Brendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde Group00:19:19Okay. Fantastic, Thomas. Thanks for taking my questions. Operator00:19:23The next question will come from Brendan Rohan with Stephens. Please go ahead. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:19:31Morning. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:19:32Morning. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:19:33I think maybe it deserves the first question to continue on the deposit growth topic. Are you seeing these client wins coming from M&A, from disruption in your markets, or is this coming from more similarly sized peers? Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:19:53Thanks for the question. For us, this deposit strategy started last year around how we organize weekly, daily as a team, and just the expectations we're putting out across all positions, client-facing positions about growing both sides of the balance sheet. It's not a strategy targeted at one specific institution and/or geography area. I'd say it's an elevated lift across the entire portfolio. As we talked about in some of our comments, the growth we saw was both in consumer and commercial, equally distributed, and also is distributed across both sides of the franchise in Indiana and Michigan. For us, we really see this more of just a true step up in our organic efforts and really not a specific target of a disruption in the marketplace and/or a specific institution. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:20:41Got it. Okay. Thank you for that. Maybe on the loan growth side, how much did payoff activity affect the commercial balances last quarter? Growth slowed a little bit. I'm just curious, I think for the full year, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the mid-single digit guide implies maybe a bit above that for commercial loan growth. I'm just curious if 1Q was maybe outsized payoffs. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:21:14Yeah. Good morning. This is Lynn, and thank you for your question. Payoffs activity actually was very consistent with our long-term averages. I would attribute it, your question really more to just a little bit of seasonality in the first quarter, also being selective in where we're lending. I don't really see payoffs as contributing to that in the first quarter. Really just looking at seasonality with the organic run rate. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:21:47Got it. Okay. Thanks for taking my questions. Operator00:21:51The next question will come from Damon DelMonte with KBW. Please go ahead. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:21:56Morning, Damon. Operator00:21:59Pardon me. It seems that Mr. DelMonte is back in the queue. We will move on to our next question with Mr. Nathan Race with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:22:15Hi, everyone. Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions. Thomas, I was wondering if, or maybe Lynn, if you could update us just on the equipment leasing team build-out, what you're seeing from a production standpoint. I believe in the past we've talked about the leasing build-out could be a benefit to fee income going forward. We're just curious if you could touch on that unit in particular. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:22:36Sure. When we first launched the equipment finance division, our business plan had certain assumptions to it. We're in effectively year two of that plan. The team has been running volume-wise, income-wise, a little bit between our year two and year three of the plan. It's been going really well. The team has been built out. We have capacity there. It's going as expected. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:23:08Okay, great. Maybe for Thomas or John, just going back to the earlier question when you think about the outlook and the guidance that you laid out. As you look at the macro landscape, and I appreciate the margin's pretty neutral to rate changes along the curve, but we just think about what would it take to drive upside to that outlook? Would it just be greater certainty from a macro perspective, some additional commercial hires? Or just any thoughts on what could be some sources to drive some outperformance to those expectations? Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:23:43Yeah, I think it'd be right down the line of what you just spoke to. As we talked about before, a bit of our governance around our balance sheets around deposit growth and core deposit growth. We have a very strong lending team that also has shown some incredible discipline, not just on credit but also on spreads. If accelerating our deposits and keeping that pace would give us some capacity to continue to grow the balance sheet. From a perspective of talent, I think we'd like to see some more talent adds in some of our key markets in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, down in Indianapolis, which could give us some accelerated growth. Overall, I think we have the right franchise to drive 2026, and any type of additional adds would just be an add to that. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:24:27Okay. Got it. That's helpful. Just one last one on capital management priorities going forward. To the earlier points, you guys are building capital at really strong clips and, absent a buyback or an increase in dividend or some acquisitions, seems like you guys are going to be operating with some significant excess capital levels. We're just curious to maybe hear some updated thoughts on how you're thinking about managing that excess capital inflows just to kind of optimize the return on tangible as well. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:24:57I appreciate the question, and also thanks for the acknowledgement around the capital generation of the new profile of the balance sheet. It's exactly what we wanted to do for our shareholder value proposition heading into 2026 and beyond. Now, as we have discussed before, our positive level of capital generation really does give optionality for our shareholder value proposition and whether that's going to be deploying it in accretive profitability, expanding our existing business model, buyback of shares or reinvesting in expanding some of our teams. These are all tools that are in our toolkit right now as we look forward into 2026. As you mentioned, we are very comfortable right now with our current capital levels and also the additional growth in capital. It's really not going to burn a hole in our pocket. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:25:39We'll be continuing to be very disciplined in the approach on that and making sure that we make sound decisions going forward around shareholder value. Again, very pleased with what the balance sheet's producing and also the outlook for our levels going forward. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:25:53Okay, great. I appreciate all the color. Thank you, guys. Operator00:25:57The next question will come from Damon DelMonte with KBW. Please go ahead Damon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBW00:26:02Hey, good morning, guys. Hopefully, you can hear me this time. Just had a question about the commercial loan outlook. Thomas, could you just kind of, or maybe Lynn, just give us a little bit of color as to what areas of the footprint and segments are driving the optimism? Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:26:20Hey, good morning. As you can see from our historical performance, we've been pretty balanced in our overall portfolio mix and our originations. I don't anticipate that to change. As I noted in my comments, we are looking to add some additional C&I and just diversify the overall portfolio. We've been seeing the results of that over the last several quarters. I don't expect our business model to change substantially. We're just balancing the right mix in the portfolio, pricing discipline and credit quality, of course. No substantial changes. As far as the outlook, I think it remains really unchanged at this point. We had communicated single-digit loan growth or mid-single-digit loan growth for the year. I think we're on track for that. We're just really sticking to our knittings at this point in time. Damon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBW00:27:19Great. Kind of with regards to market disruption, particularly in Michigan, are you seeing any opportunities to maybe add lending teams or target any potential additional hires? Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:27:36We added to our team substantially over the last few years, and we feel like we have capacity with our existing team, very talented group of bankers, a lot of experience. I feel good about that. That being said, we always have an eye for talent, and we'll look at that opportunistically. Damon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBW00:27:55Okay, great. That's all that I had. Thank you very much. Operator00:28:00Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. Our next question will come from Brian Martin with Brean Capital LLC. Please go ahead. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:28:10Hey, good morning, guys. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:28:12Good morning. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:28:14John, I wanted just to see if you could talk about just the pickup on the roll-off of the securities. It sounds like the pickup on the roll-off of the securities is maybe 10 basis points at this point. Can you talk about where the pickup is on the loan portfolio? Then just in particular, what yields you're getting on the new commercial product, and then also just in terms of growth, whether it be Lynn or somebody else. Just obviously the residential and consumer were down this quarter. I guess, can you talk about where's the appetite on the consumer and residential side? Just remind us what your growth outlook is for those components over the balance of the year. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:28:52Hey, Brian, it's John. I'll take the first part of that question and then pass it off to my teammates here on the loan growth discussion there. Yeah, we had some comments in the prepared remarks around the roll-on, roll-off dynamics in the loan portfolio. New production, coupon rate production in the quarter was just above 6.6%. The roll-off was just under 6% as you kind of roll that forward for the balance of the year. It's about $150 million a quarter in amortization and payoff activity. Absent any prepayment activity, that's coming off at about 6.1%. There is still some favorability between new production yields and what is coming off the balance sheet on the loan side. The same could be true, maybe to a lesser extent, as you noted on the securities portfolio. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:29:50As we look forward there for the balance of the year, it's a pretty consistent profile from what we saw in the first quarter in terms of anticipated cash flows. Then, if the environment were to look like it does plus or minus today, we would still be kind of in line to roll off yields or maybe slightly favorable. I wouldn't anticipate there being a lot of changes there. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:30:13Got you. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:30:13I'll pass the call to Thomas or Lynn on the loan side. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:30:19I know in the past there's been some questions about our maturities. As far as 2026, we've got about $380 million in our commercial portfolio that's going to roll off. It's about 12%. Those have a weighted average rate of about 6% right now. And then 2027 is about $318 million, about 10% of the portfolio. That has a weighted average rate of just under 6%. With origination rates on average in 7+, we've got 100-150 basis point pickup opportunity based on the current rate environment. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:30:59Got you. That's helpful. Then just in terms of the appetite on the consumer side and the residential, given they were down this quarter and with kind of a commentary about rates not being appropriate. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:31:12Yeah, thank you for the question. We still have appetite for both those products. We feel it's core in our overall community banking model. There was just some episodic pricing that happened at the end of 2025 and early 2026, specifically with the 10-year dipping down near 4%. In their marketplace, there was some pricing sub-6% on some longer duration fixed assets that we elected not to play in a small refinance volume there. Again, we don't see this as a long-term issue. We've already seen in April, the overall loan portfolio is performing extremely well on its growth aspects, aligning with John's earlier comments for the full year. We believe the consumer side was more of just an episodic piece on the mortgage. We don't expect mortgage consumer to have a hockey stick growth this year. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:32:02It'd be relatively flat, maybe mildly up, mildly down, but again, relatively consistent overall performance. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:32:10Got you. Okay. Just to be clear, I think John said maybe a 660 was kind of a, I thought that was new production yield, and at least from Lynn, it sounded as though it's seven. Is that just commercial for Lynn and maybe 660 for the aggregate loan book? Is that what you- Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:32:26Yeah, John was looking at a blend, and I was looking at specific coupon rates for the first quarter. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:32:33Yeah. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:32:33Yep. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:32:34Got you. Okay. Just want to make sure of that. Just last one from me was just on the capital priorities. Can you talk about, I think when you did the balance sheet restructuring, I think you talked about maybe waiting a couple quarters, proving yourself out? It seems like that's working well here. Just in terms of the opportunities on the M&A side, can you remind us, is M&A something you guys are considering at this point, or is it still a ways off? Just remind us of what your parameters are on potential M&A in terms of size or pricing or just anything that you can offer there, what the intent would be. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:33:11I appreciate the question. As we talked about earlier, for us with our capital deployment, it's all tools in the toolbox for us, whether that's M&A, whether that's doing buybacks, or perhaps even expanding team and up to and also including just letting capital continue to grow. When you look at our capital levels, I wouldn't say we screen higher than peers. I would say we're right in the range. As John mentioned earlier, we have a bit of a de-risk balance sheet, which allows us some flexibility on how much capital we need to hold. Overall, we're very pleased with our capital generation. We do not have a specific plan right now of going out and saying that we're going out into the M&A environment. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:33:51Again, we'll continue to look at all options going forward for our shareholders and evaluate them with a long-term view to make sure that we're making right decisions and very consistent and prudent decisions on capital deployment. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:34:04Okay. In the payback period, I guess in terms of where it needs to be on an M&A deal or even on share repurchases, I guess is that kind of sub three years? Is that kind of what you're thinking about in terms of where that payback is? John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:34:24Brian, I think the market has made their own determination as to kind of where payback periods need to be and if it's plus or minus three years. I wouldn't say we feel terribly differently about that. If you're willing to accept that on an acquisition, which comes with a certain level of risk, execution risk, integration risk, and so on and so forth, I think it would probably be our view that we would be willing to accept something longer than that for a risk-free transaction like stock repurchases, but we don't have any specific targets out there for that, Brian. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:34:59Yeah. Okay. Got you. All right. Thanks for taking the questions, guys. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:35:03Thank you. Operator00:35:06This will conclude our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Thomas Prame for any closing remarks. Please go ahead. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:35:15Again, thank you for joining us today at our earnings call. We appreciate your time and your interest in Horizon. Also, we look forward to sharing our second quarter results in July. Thank you very much, and hope you have a fantastic week. Operator00:35:30The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesJohn R. StewartEVP and CFOThomas M. PrameCEO and PresidentTodd A. EtzlerEVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate SecretaryAnalystsBrendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde GroupBrendan RohanAnalyst at StephensBrian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLCDamon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBWLynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon BancorpNathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper SandlerPowered by Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Quarterly report(10-Q) Horizon Bancorp (IN) Earnings Headlines3 US Bank Stocks That Could Benefit If Interest Rates Stay Higher LongerSeptember 24, 2026 | finance.yahoo.comHorizon Bancorp (IN) (NASDAQ:HBNC) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by AnalystsSeptember 20, 2026 | americanbankingnews.comYour book attachedBill Poulos is giving away his 'Safe Trade Options Formula' book for free - but only for a limited time through a temporary download link. He plans to charge for it soon. Download your copy now and lock it in at no cost, regardless of future pricing.September 29 at 1:00 AM | Profits Run (Ad)Horizon Bancorp Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend to ShareholdersSeptember 16, 2026 | tipranks.comHorizon Bank Appoints Nicholas Ritter and Charles Sulerzyski to Serve as Independent DirectorsAugust 18, 2026 | globenewswire.comHorizon Bancorp Highlights Margin Gains in Earnings CallAugust 14, 2026 | tipranks.comSee More Horizon Bancorp (IN) Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Horizon Bancorp (IN)? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Horizon Bancorp (IN) and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Horizon Bancorp (IN)Horizon Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, Horizon Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and municipal customers. Horizon Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgage loans, credit and debit cards, online and mobile banking, cash-management services and other treasury-management solutions. Its business banking activities include commercial real estate financing, commercial and industrial loans, small-business services and agricultural lending in selected markets. Founded in 1873, Horizon has a long history of serving communities in the Midwest. The bank operates through a branch network and digital channels in Indiana and Michigan, with a focus on relationship-based banking for retail and commercial customers. 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PresentationSkip to Participants Operator00:00:00Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Horizon Bancorp conference call to discuss the final financial results for the first quarter of 2026. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by 0. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Now I will turn the call over to Mr. Todd Etzler, Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and General Counsel for the opening introduction. Please go ahead. Todd A. EtzlerEVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Horizon Bancorp00:00:41Good morning and welcome to our conference call to review Horizon's first quarter results. Please remember that today's call may contain statements that are forward-looking in nature. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed, including those factors noted in the slide presentation. Additional information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially is contained in Horizon's most recent Form 10-K, and its later filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, management may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that are intended to help investors understand Horizon's business. Reconciliations for these measures are contained in the presentation. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call. Todd A. EtzlerEVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate Secretary at Horizon Bancorp00:01:39For anyone who does not already have a copy of the press release and supplemental presentation issued by Horizon yesterday, they may be accessed at the company's website, horizonbank.com. Representing Horizon today are Executive Vice President and Senior Operations Officer Kathie A. DeRuiter, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer Lynn Kerber, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Risk Officer Todd A. Etzler, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John R. Stewart, and Chief Executive Officer and President Thomas M. Prame. At this time, I will turn the call over to Thomas M. Prame. Thomas. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:02:27Thank you, Todd. Good morning, and we appreciate you joining us. Horizon's first quarter results demonstrate the core strength of our community banking model and our commitment to shareholders to deliver a top-performing organization through durable peer-leading performance metrics and top-quartile shareholder returns. We are very pleased with the quarter's results, displaying an annualized return on average assets above 1.60%, return on average tangible common equity above 19%, and continued durability in our net interest margin at 4.29%. These results drove a meaningful increase in our CET1 by 40 basis points to 10.82% and improved total risk-based capital to 14.77% in the quarter. Specific highlights within the quarter were led by the team's excellent deposit gathering efforts with over $147 million in growth or 11% annualized. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:03:20These results were further enhanced by approximately $61 million of growth within the non-interest-bearing segments of the consumer and commercial portfolios. Our commercial lending team had a solid performance with $34 million in growth within the quarter, with elevated pipelines that we believe will continue to fuel solid balance sheet growth throughout 2026. Deposit momentum in the commercial was counterbalanced by episodic mortgage refinance activity in early Q1 where management elected not to chase lower-yielding mortgages under the balance sheet, remaining steadfast on its disciplined pricing. We feel confident in this decision. We have seen loan balances quickly align with full-year growth estimates in early Q2. This momentum, combined with our strong deposit balances, positions the organization well for solid organic growth on both sides of the balance sheet in 2026. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:04:12Additionally, our fee income efforts continue to make solid progress with year-over-year growth in our core relationship banking segments of service charges, interchange fees, and fiduciary services. Complementing these efforts, we continue to display excellent credit metrics with low charge-offs and non-performing loans below historical norms. As I mentioned at the beginning of my comments, we're very pleased with the first quarter results for our shareholders. Additionally, we are confident in our full-year outlook heading into Q2 with strong lending pipelines, positive deposit trends, fee income verticals gaining stride, and expenses well managed. It was a good start to the year on many fronts. Let me transition the presentation over to Horizon's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer, Lynn Kerber, who will share our lending highlights for the quarter and our continued excellent credit performance. Lynn? Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:05:04Good morning. This quarter reflected steady, disciplined commercial growth despite a competitive lending landscape and a dynamic rate environment. We continue to prioritize high-quality commercial lending, a well-balanced portfolio mix, and continued pricing discipline. Our credit metrics remain stable, and we're exiting the first quarter with solid momentum. Total loans held for investment ended the quarter at $4.87 billion, driven by a $34.2 million increase in commercial loans. As Thomas mentioned previously, residential and consumer loans were down on the quarter by $32 million as the leadership team elected not to leverage the balance sheet for lower-yielding mortgages in the first quarter. Residential mortgage lending remains an important offering, and we expect growth in subsequent quarters as the rate environment stabilizes and yields are more attractive. Commercial loan growth was concentrated in the Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, and Northwest Indiana market. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:06:07We continue to diversify the portfolio, with 37% of the net quarterly increase attributable to commercial and industrial loans, compared to their 30% share of the overall commercial portfolio. This mix reinforced the strength of our commercial franchise. Credit performance remained satisfactory and within historical ranges. Substandard loans were $63.4 million, representing 1.3% of total loans, which is consistent with the 1.22%-1.36% range over the past year, and down from $66.7 million, or 1.36%, in Q1 of last year. Non-performing loans are $37 million, representing 0.76% of total loans, consisting of $15.7 million in commercial loans, $10.6 million in residential real estate loans, and $8.4 million in consumer loans. While non-performing loans have increased modestly over recent quarters, levels remain manageable and consistent with a well-diversified portfolio. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:07:21We anticipate improvement in the subsequent quarters of 2026 as we are forecasting several loans returning to performing status, payoff, or completion of the collection efforts. These loans are well secured and/or appropriately reserved, and we do not expect an impact on losses. Net charge-offs were $626,000, or five basis points annualized, aligned with our historically low loss experience and favorable compared to the 15 basis points reported by our UBPR peer group for 2025. The allowance for credit losses remained stable at $51.3 million, or 1.05% of loans held for investment. The $391,000 provision reflects replenishment of charge-offs and a reduction in reserve for unfunded commitments. Going forward, provision levels will continue to be influenced by loan growth, portfolio composition, and economic conditions. Overall, we delivered a solid first quarter of commercial loan growth while maintaining our credit profile. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:08:32We expect continued momentum in 2026, supported by positive trends in lending activity early in Q2, increased residential mortgage, and consumer origination activity. We remain well positioned to serve high-quality clients across our markets, and our disciplined approach continues to support balanced, sustainable growth and strong shareholder returns. I'll now turn the commentary back to Thomas for an overview of our positive deposit trends. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:09:02Thank you, Lynn. Moving on to our deposit portfolio displayed on slide eight. Horizon's deposit portfolio had a very positive first quarter in terms of growth, portfolio mix, and cost. As mentioned previously, the portfolio growth of approximately $147 million comprised a good mix across both the consumer and commercial segments. The quarter was highlighted by $61 million in non-interest-bearing growth, reflective of the organization's continued efforts to expand sticky primary banking relationships within its attractive markets throughout Indiana and Michigan. Even with the excellent growth and balances, the team was successfully able to reduce overall interest-bearing costs by seven basis points in the quarter through consistent portfolio reviews with local leadership and an agile approach to local market pricing. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:09:47The franchise has found good rhythm in its deposit gathering efforts, and we believe our deposit portfolio continues to be well positioned to meet the growth and margin expectations of the organization with its granular composition and long-standing relationships in our local markets. Let me hand the presentation over to our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John R. Stewart, who will walk through additional first quarter financial highlights and the continued positive momentum we see for the remainder of 2026. John? John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:10:16Thank you, Thomas. Turning to slide nine. Consistent with our original outlook for the year, the net interest margin in Q1 was unchanged from the prior quarter at 4.29%. The objective all along was to build a balance sheet with a level of profitability that was durable and largely inoculated from changes in rates. Though one quarter does not necessarily make a trend, we feel good about the performance in Q1 and would note that our net interest margin and net interest income outlook is unchanged from our original guidance, despite going from the assumption of two rate cuts previously to none today. Specific to the first quarter, I would note that average interest earning cash balances did exceed our internal projections by about $60 million. You will recall the Q1 guidance called for average earning asset balances to decline from Q4 related to lower cash balances at year-end. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:11:11This did not happen primarily because deposit growth was stronger than expected in the quarter, which we were pleased to see. However, these higher cash balances did negatively impact the margin percentage by about four basis points in Q1. Away from cash, underlying margin trends remained supportive. New loan production in the quarter exceeded 6.6%, compared with average loan yields in the quarter of 6.28%, and roll-off yields just below 6%. In the investment portfolio, we are anticipating another $75-$100 million of principal cash flows over the balance of the year at about 4.7%. Reinvestment rates in Q1 approximated 4.8%. These earning asset trends should largely be supportive of the net interest margin. Even with the expectation that our interest-bearing deposit costs may be flat to up over the balance of the year with no further rate cuts. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:12:13As you can see on slide 10, non-interest income got off to a nice start in Q1. Excluding the $7 million warehouse gain and modest securities losses in the first quarter a year ago, fees were up about 13% year-over-year. This result was driven by strong year-over-year gains in service charges and fiduciary activities. While mortgage gain on sale was flat year-over-year, the team is off to a nice start in the second quarter, such that we would still anticipate full year results to reflect solid progress in this business. On slide 11, expenses came in at $40.7 million, in line with expectations, particularly considering the seasonal headwinds in benefits and occupancy expense. These areas were partially offset by lower levels of spend on outside business services and the timing of marketing spend. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:13:05Looking ahead, we would anticipate a modest increase in quarterly expense run rate in Q2 related to the full impact of annual merit increases and planned marketing spend for specific growth initiatives. That said, there is no change to our outlook for full year expenses in the mid $160 million range. Turning to capital on slide 12. Once again, capital ratios improved quite strongly in the quarter, with CET1 up 40 basis points to 10.82%. This result was driven by strong profitability levels and a modest sequential decline in risk-weighted assets as we continue to proactively manage the deployment of risk capital across the balance sheet. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:13:48As we have previously communicated, we are very comfortable with the company's capital position, particularly in light of the de-risk balance sheet we now have, and as our 2026 outlook suggests, the expectation that we will continue to accrete capital quickly, which you will see over the course of the year. Turning to Slide 13. Our guidance for 2026 has not changed. Period-end loan and deposit balances are still expected to grow mid-single digits, which continues to infer deposit growth modestly more than loan growth in dollars. As we have consistently noted, ultimately, balance sheet growth will be driven by deposit growth going forward, and this strategy has not changed. Net interest income is still expected to grow in the low teens year-over-year, with the FTE net interest margin in the range of 4.25%-4.35%. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:14:43Average earning asset balances are still expected to modestly exceed $6 billion for the full year. This outlook previously included the assumption for 225 basis point rate cuts in April and October, which have now been removed. This change in assumption did not impact the outlook. Fee income is still expected to be in the mid-$40 million range for the year, with results generally consistent quarter to quarter. Expenses in the mid-$160 million range is also unchanged. As noted in my prior remarks, for the reasons noted, we would anticipate a modest uptick in the quarterly run rate from the level seen in Q1. The effective tax rate is still anticipated to land in the range of 18%-20%. Overall, we are pleased with the start to the year in 2026, and as the guidance suggests, it should be a strong year for Horizon. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:15:37Steady growth with durable peer-leading returns on assets, returns on tangible common equity, and top quartile internal capital generation. With that, I will turn the call back over to Thomas. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:15:50Thank you, John, and I appreciate the summary of the quarter and the updated outlook for 2026. As we look ahead, our thesis will remain consistent with management focused on creating sustainable long-term value for our shareholders through our disciplined operating model, consistent profitable growth and peer-leading capital generation. As you can see from our financial results, we continue to build significant shareholder value and optionality with a durable top-tier financial earnings profile, excellent capital generation and a premier community banking franchise located in some of the best markets in the Midwest. We're confident in what we believe will be a positive outlook for our shareholders in 2026, and we look forward to sharing our second quarter results in July. At this time, I'd like to turn the presentation back over to our moderator to open up the line for questions for the management team. Thank you. Operator00:16:38Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Our first question for today will come from Brendan Nosal with the Hovde Group. Please go ahead. Brendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde Group00:17:01Hey, good morning, everybody. Hope you're doing well. Maybe just starting off here on deposit growth and the margin. Obviously, exceptional deposit growth this quarter, but there's a bit of a drag on the net interest margin just given that elevated cash position. As you look towards loan pipelines, how quickly do you think you can deploy that excess cash and then tie that into how you see the margin trending in the near term? John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:17:29Having extra cash from good, strong deposit growth in the quarter is not a bad thing. Didn't impact net interest income, but had a modest impact on the net interest margin as you noted. Excuse me. Looking forward, in the second quarter, we would anticipate being a modest net user of cash, so possibly see loan growth. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:18:08Slightly exceed deposit growth for the second quarter. As you look over the balance of the year, as the guidance would infer, cash was 3-ish% of earning assets in the first quarter. If it's between 2% and 3% over the balance of the year, that's within the realm of our expectations. Not really worried about having to deploy it quickly here. We'll continue with our strategic objectives on the liability side of the balance sheet, most notably. Brendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde Group00:18:36Okay. All right. Thanks, John. Maybe one more from me, just at a broader top level. Relatively nice in line quarter from a PPNR perspective. Reiterated the guide for 2026, up and down the expectation set. But the environment does continue to evolve here. So I'm curious if there are any areas in the outlook where you feel incrementally better or worse, versus three months ago? Is it as simple as progress according to plan? Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:19:05Thank you for the call. This is Thomas. Appreciate the question. No, I'd go with the second part of your response there about as expected. The outlook looks very similar. Very strong first quarter and look forward to the next subsequent quarters. Brendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde Group00:19:19Okay. Fantastic, Thomas. Thanks for taking my questions. Operator00:19:23The next question will come from Brendan Rohan with Stephens. Please go ahead. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:19:31Morning. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:19:32Morning. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:19:33I think maybe it deserves the first question to continue on the deposit growth topic. Are you seeing these client wins coming from M&A, from disruption in your markets, or is this coming from more similarly sized peers? Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:19:53Thanks for the question. For us, this deposit strategy started last year around how we organize weekly, daily as a team, and just the expectations we're putting out across all positions, client-facing positions about growing both sides of the balance sheet. It's not a strategy targeted at one specific institution and/or geography area. I'd say it's an elevated lift across the entire portfolio. As we talked about in some of our comments, the growth we saw was both in consumer and commercial, equally distributed, and also is distributed across both sides of the franchise in Indiana and Michigan. For us, we really see this more of just a true step up in our organic efforts and really not a specific target of a disruption in the marketplace and/or a specific institution. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:20:41Got it. Okay. Thank you for that. Maybe on the loan growth side, how much did payoff activity affect the commercial balances last quarter? Growth slowed a little bit. I'm just curious, I think for the full year, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the mid-single digit guide implies maybe a bit above that for commercial loan growth. I'm just curious if 1Q was maybe outsized payoffs. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:21:14Yeah. Good morning. This is Lynn, and thank you for your question. Payoffs activity actually was very consistent with our long-term averages. I would attribute it, your question really more to just a little bit of seasonality in the first quarter, also being selective in where we're lending. I don't really see payoffs as contributing to that in the first quarter. Really just looking at seasonality with the organic run rate. Brendan RohanAnalyst at Stephens00:21:47Got it. Okay. Thanks for taking my questions. Operator00:21:51The next question will come from Damon DelMonte with KBW. Please go ahead. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:21:56Morning, Damon. Operator00:21:59Pardon me. It seems that Mr. DelMonte is back in the queue. We will move on to our next question with Mr. Nathan Race with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:22:15Hi, everyone. Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions. Thomas, I was wondering if, or maybe Lynn, if you could update us just on the equipment leasing team build-out, what you're seeing from a production standpoint. I believe in the past we've talked about the leasing build-out could be a benefit to fee income going forward. We're just curious if you could touch on that unit in particular. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:22:36Sure. When we first launched the equipment finance division, our business plan had certain assumptions to it. We're in effectively year two of that plan. The team has been running volume-wise, income-wise, a little bit between our year two and year three of the plan. It's been going really well. The team has been built out. We have capacity there. It's going as expected. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:23:08Okay, great. Maybe for Thomas or John, just going back to the earlier question when you think about the outlook and the guidance that you laid out. As you look at the macro landscape, and I appreciate the margin's pretty neutral to rate changes along the curve, but we just think about what would it take to drive upside to that outlook? Would it just be greater certainty from a macro perspective, some additional commercial hires? Or just any thoughts on what could be some sources to drive some outperformance to those expectations? Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:23:43Yeah, I think it'd be right down the line of what you just spoke to. As we talked about before, a bit of our governance around our balance sheets around deposit growth and core deposit growth. We have a very strong lending team that also has shown some incredible discipline, not just on credit but also on spreads. If accelerating our deposits and keeping that pace would give us some capacity to continue to grow the balance sheet. From a perspective of talent, I think we'd like to see some more talent adds in some of our key markets in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, down in Indianapolis, which could give us some accelerated growth. Overall, I think we have the right franchise to drive 2026, and any type of additional adds would just be an add to that. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:24:27Okay. Got it. That's helpful. Just one last one on capital management priorities going forward. To the earlier points, you guys are building capital at really strong clips and, absent a buyback or an increase in dividend or some acquisitions, seems like you guys are going to be operating with some significant excess capital levels. We're just curious to maybe hear some updated thoughts on how you're thinking about managing that excess capital inflows just to kind of optimize the return on tangible as well. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:24:57I appreciate the question, and also thanks for the acknowledgement around the capital generation of the new profile of the balance sheet. It's exactly what we wanted to do for our shareholder value proposition heading into 2026 and beyond. Now, as we have discussed before, our positive level of capital generation really does give optionality for our shareholder value proposition and whether that's going to be deploying it in accretive profitability, expanding our existing business model, buyback of shares or reinvesting in expanding some of our teams. These are all tools that are in our toolkit right now as we look forward into 2026. As you mentioned, we are very comfortable right now with our current capital levels and also the additional growth in capital. It's really not going to burn a hole in our pocket. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:25:39We'll be continuing to be very disciplined in the approach on that and making sure that we make sound decisions going forward around shareholder value. Again, very pleased with what the balance sheet's producing and also the outlook for our levels going forward. Nathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper Sandler00:25:53Okay, great. I appreciate all the color. Thank you, guys. Operator00:25:57The next question will come from Damon DelMonte with KBW. Please go ahead Damon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBW00:26:02Hey, good morning, guys. Hopefully, you can hear me this time. Just had a question about the commercial loan outlook. Thomas, could you just kind of, or maybe Lynn, just give us a little bit of color as to what areas of the footprint and segments are driving the optimism? Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:26:20Hey, good morning. As you can see from our historical performance, we've been pretty balanced in our overall portfolio mix and our originations. I don't anticipate that to change. As I noted in my comments, we are looking to add some additional C&I and just diversify the overall portfolio. We've been seeing the results of that over the last several quarters. I don't expect our business model to change substantially. We're just balancing the right mix in the portfolio, pricing discipline and credit quality, of course. No substantial changes. As far as the outlook, I think it remains really unchanged at this point. We had communicated single-digit loan growth or mid-single-digit loan growth for the year. I think we're on track for that. We're just really sticking to our knittings at this point in time. Damon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBW00:27:19Great. Kind of with regards to market disruption, particularly in Michigan, are you seeing any opportunities to maybe add lending teams or target any potential additional hires? Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:27:36We added to our team substantially over the last few years, and we feel like we have capacity with our existing team, very talented group of bankers, a lot of experience. I feel good about that. That being said, we always have an eye for talent, and we'll look at that opportunistically. Damon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBW00:27:55Okay, great. That's all that I had. Thank you very much. Operator00:28:00Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. Our next question will come from Brian Martin with Brean Capital LLC. Please go ahead. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:28:10Hey, good morning, guys. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:28:12Good morning. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:28:14John, I wanted just to see if you could talk about just the pickup on the roll-off of the securities. It sounds like the pickup on the roll-off of the securities is maybe 10 basis points at this point. Can you talk about where the pickup is on the loan portfolio? Then just in particular, what yields you're getting on the new commercial product, and then also just in terms of growth, whether it be Lynn or somebody else. Just obviously the residential and consumer were down this quarter. I guess, can you talk about where's the appetite on the consumer and residential side? Just remind us what your growth outlook is for those components over the balance of the year. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:28:52Hey, Brian, it's John. I'll take the first part of that question and then pass it off to my teammates here on the loan growth discussion there. Yeah, we had some comments in the prepared remarks around the roll-on, roll-off dynamics in the loan portfolio. New production, coupon rate production in the quarter was just above 6.6%. The roll-off was just under 6% as you kind of roll that forward for the balance of the year. It's about $150 million a quarter in amortization and payoff activity. Absent any prepayment activity, that's coming off at about 6.1%. There is still some favorability between new production yields and what is coming off the balance sheet on the loan side. The same could be true, maybe to a lesser extent, as you noted on the securities portfolio. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:29:50As we look forward there for the balance of the year, it's a pretty consistent profile from what we saw in the first quarter in terms of anticipated cash flows. Then, if the environment were to look like it does plus or minus today, we would still be kind of in line to roll off yields or maybe slightly favorable. I wouldn't anticipate there being a lot of changes there. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:30:13Got you. John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:30:13I'll pass the call to Thomas or Lynn on the loan side. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:30:19I know in the past there's been some questions about our maturities. As far as 2026, we've got about $380 million in our commercial portfolio that's going to roll off. It's about 12%. Those have a weighted average rate of about 6% right now. And then 2027 is about $318 million, about 10% of the portfolio. That has a weighted average rate of just under 6%. With origination rates on average in 7+, we've got 100-150 basis point pickup opportunity based on the current rate environment. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:30:59Got you. That's helpful. Then just in terms of the appetite on the consumer side and the residential, given they were down this quarter and with kind of a commentary about rates not being appropriate. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:31:12Yeah, thank you for the question. We still have appetite for both those products. We feel it's core in our overall community banking model. There was just some episodic pricing that happened at the end of 2025 and early 2026, specifically with the 10-year dipping down near 4%. In their marketplace, there was some pricing sub-6% on some longer duration fixed assets that we elected not to play in a small refinance volume there. Again, we don't see this as a long-term issue. We've already seen in April, the overall loan portfolio is performing extremely well on its growth aspects, aligning with John's earlier comments for the full year. We believe the consumer side was more of just an episodic piece on the mortgage. We don't expect mortgage consumer to have a hockey stick growth this year. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:32:02It'd be relatively flat, maybe mildly up, mildly down, but again, relatively consistent overall performance. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:32:10Got you. Okay. Just to be clear, I think John said maybe a 660 was kind of a, I thought that was new production yield, and at least from Lynn, it sounded as though it's seven. Is that just commercial for Lynn and maybe 660 for the aggregate loan book? Is that what you- Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:32:26Yeah, John was looking at a blend, and I was looking at specific coupon rates for the first quarter. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:32:33Yeah. Lynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon Bancorp00:32:33Yep. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:32:34Got you. Okay. Just want to make sure of that. Just last one from me was just on the capital priorities. Can you talk about, I think when you did the balance sheet restructuring, I think you talked about maybe waiting a couple quarters, proving yourself out? It seems like that's working well here. Just in terms of the opportunities on the M&A side, can you remind us, is M&A something you guys are considering at this point, or is it still a ways off? Just remind us of what your parameters are on potential M&A in terms of size or pricing or just anything that you can offer there, what the intent would be. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:33:11I appreciate the question. As we talked about earlier, for us with our capital deployment, it's all tools in the toolbox for us, whether that's M&A, whether that's doing buybacks, or perhaps even expanding team and up to and also including just letting capital continue to grow. When you look at our capital levels, I wouldn't say we screen higher than peers. I would say we're right in the range. As John mentioned earlier, we have a bit of a de-risk balance sheet, which allows us some flexibility on how much capital we need to hold. Overall, we're very pleased with our capital generation. We do not have a specific plan right now of going out and saying that we're going out into the M&A environment. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:33:51Again, we'll continue to look at all options going forward for our shareholders and evaluate them with a long-term view to make sure that we're making right decisions and very consistent and prudent decisions on capital deployment. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:34:04Okay. In the payback period, I guess in terms of where it needs to be on an M&A deal or even on share repurchases, I guess is that kind of sub three years? Is that kind of what you're thinking about in terms of where that payback is? John R. StewartEVP and CFO at Horizon Bancorp00:34:24Brian, I think the market has made their own determination as to kind of where payback periods need to be and if it's plus or minus three years. I wouldn't say we feel terribly differently about that. If you're willing to accept that on an acquisition, which comes with a certain level of risk, execution risk, integration risk, and so on and so forth, I think it would probably be our view that we would be willing to accept something longer than that for a risk-free transaction like stock repurchases, but we don't have any specific targets out there for that, Brian. Brian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLC00:34:59Yeah. Okay. Got you. All right. Thanks for taking the questions, guys. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:35:03Thank you. Operator00:35:06This will conclude our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Thomas Prame for any closing remarks. Please go ahead. Thomas M. PrameCEO and President at Horizon Bancorp00:35:15Again, thank you for joining us today at our earnings call. We appreciate your time and your interest in Horizon. Also, we look forward to sharing our second quarter results in July. Thank you very much, and hope you have a fantastic week. Operator00:35:30The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesJohn R. StewartEVP and CFOThomas M. PrameCEO and PresidentTodd A. EtzlerEVP, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Corporate SecretaryAnalystsBrendan NosalDirector, Equity Research at Hovde GroupBrendan RohanAnalyst at StephensBrian MartinDirector, Equity Analyst at Brean Capital LLCDamon DelMonteManaging Director, Equity Research at KBWLynn KerberEVP, CCBO at Horizon BancorpNathan RaceManaging Director, Senior Research Analyst at Piper SandlerPowered by