Amerant Bancorp NYSE: AMTB used its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call to outline a newly approved three-year strategic plan and to discuss the financial and credit actions management said are underway to “stabilize, optimize, and grow” the organization. Interim CEO Carlos Iafigliola said the plan is built on a “disciplined and sequenced roadmap” intended to enhance shareholder value, with near-term efforts focused on credit transformation, balance sheet optimization, and operational efficiency.
Strategic plan centers on credit, balance sheet, and expenses
Iafigliola said Amerant’s stabilization phase is prioritizing steps to “restore predictability” in credit performance. He described a decisive review of the loan portfolio and efforts to resolve credit issues, align exposures with strategic objectives, exit non-core markets and large exposures, and avoid migration into criticized categories. Management also emphasized more disciplined risk selection aligned with the company’s risk appetite.
On balance sheet optimization, management said it identified components that pushed assets above the $10 billion threshold and reduced non-core funding by quarter end to “right-size” the balance sheet and improve key metrics. Operationally, Iafigliola said the company is reviewing processes and leveraging technology to improve productivity and client experience, including launching an AI project to identify use cases to optimize processes.
The company also highlighted capital actions. CFO Sharymar Calderón said Amerant repurchased 737,334 shares during the quarter at a weighted average price of $17.63 per share, compared with tangible book value of $22.56 at December 31, 2025, which she said represented 78% of tangible book value. Calderón added that CET1 was 11.8%, up from 11.54% in the prior quarter, and noted $13 million in share repurchases and $3.7 million in shareholder dividends during the period. The board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share payable February 27.
Fourth-quarter results show lower EPS and higher reported expenses
Calderón reported diluted EPS of $0.07 for the fourth quarter, down from $0.35 in the third quarter. Net interest income totaled $90.2 million, a $4.0 million decline from the prior quarter, which management attributed to a smaller balance sheet, asset-liability repricing timing after interest rate cuts, and lower impact versus the prior quarter from collection efforts on previously classified loans. Net interest margin decreased to 3.78% from 3.92% in the third quarter.
Provision for credit losses was $3.5 million, down from $14.6 million in the third quarter. Non-interest income increased to $22.0 million from $17.3 million, driven by a gain on the sale and leaseback of two banking centers, higher gains from available-for-sale securities sold, and lower derivative losses. Core non-interest income (excluding non-core items) was $16.7 million.
Non-interest expense rose to $106.8 million, up $28.9 million sequentially. Calderón said the increase was primarily due to valuation expenses on loans held for sale, contract termination costs, staff separation costs, impairment charges on an investment carried at cost, and intangible assets related to the wind down of the mortgage company. Core non-interest expense (excluding non-core items) was $77.6 million.
Profitability and efficiency metrics weakened on a reported basis, with ROA of 0.10% and ROE of 1.12%, compared to 0.57% and 6.21% in the third quarter. The efficiency ratio was 95.19% versus 69.84% in the prior quarter, which management said reflected the decrease in net income and increase in expenses.
Balance sheet moves bring assets below $10 billion
Total assets were $9.8 billion at quarter end, down from $10.4 billion at the end of the third quarter. Calderón said the decline was primarily driven by the reduction of wholesale funding through the use of excess liquidity and investment sales, along with a reduction of higher cost deposits. Cash and cash equivalents fell by $160.7 million to $470.2 million, and investments declined to $2.1 billion from $2.3 billion.
Gross loans decreased by $244.6 million to $6.7 billion, which Calderón attributed to higher prepayments and repayments versus production, as the bank focused on improving credit quality. Deposits decreased by $514 million to $7.8 billion, reflecting efforts to reduce higher-cost and brokered deposits. Brokered deposits fell to $435.7 million from $550.2 million. The company repaid $119.7 million in long-term FHLB advances.
In Q&A, Iafigliola said the decision to reduce deposits and end the year below $10 billion was intentional, reflecting a desire not to carry the burden of being above that threshold based on non-organic sources of funding. He also said brokered deposits may be used as an asset-liability management tool, but not as a primary source of balance sheet growth.
Credit review drives higher nonperforming assets, with exits underway
Asset quality was a major theme. Calderón said non-performing assets increased to $187 million, or 1.9% of total assets, from $140 million, or 1.3%, in the prior quarter. She attributed the increase to “rigorous efforts” to review the commercial loan portfolio, supported by an independent third-party firm to ensure timely reviews and risk rating updates. Management said reviews covered approximately $5.3 billion, or 85% of the commercial loan portfolio, through covenant testing, annual reviews, or limited financial reviews.
Calderón said downgrades into non-performing loans were primarily in the commercial Florida portfolio and certain other loans with tangible collateral. She added that non-performing loan balances declined to $155 million in January due to paydowns, payoffs, and loan sales. For classified loans, she said downgrades were primarily driven by CRE loans in Florida and Texas and commercial Florida loans; four loan sales totaling $66 million closed in January 2026, with work continuing on an expected exit of the remaining $15 million credit during the first quarter of 2026.
Charge-off activity was elevated. Calderón reported gross charge-offs of $29.5 million in the fourth quarter, offset by $11.1 million of recoveries, including an $8 million recovery previously disclosed in the third-quarter 10-Q. The allowance for credit losses coverage ratio declined to 1.20% from 1.37%, which she said was primarily due to charge-offs of specific reserves.
2026 outlook: modest near-term growth, lower expenses, and NIM guidance
Management provided financial expectations for 2026. For the first quarter, Calderón said loan balances are expected to remain at similar levels to the fourth quarter as credit exits offset production. For the full year, the company estimated loan growth of 7% to 9%, with the higher end driven by funding of existing lines, and deposit growth expected to match loan growth. Net interest margin is projected to be in the 3.65% to 3.70% range.
On expenses, Calderón guided to approximately $70 million to $71 million in the first half of 2026, progressively reducing to $67 million to $68 million by year end. In Q&A, management cited cost opportunities including reduced higher-cost deposits with earnings credit impacts and optimization of marketing and advertising spend. Iafigliola said marketing-related actions taken in the fourth quarter set the stage for a leaner cost structure and suggested savings of more than $6 million in marketing expenses for 2026.
When asked how investors can measure progress on the three-year plan, management emphasized credit quality improvement and disciplined loan origination. Iafigliola also cited aspirational goals of getting return on assets “as close as possible to the 1%” and an efficiency ratio “as closer as possible to the 60%” by year-end 2026, with longer-term aspirations to improve further.
Iafigliola also addressed recent developments in Venezuela, describing the potential impact as positive given Amerant’s historical customer base there. He cited nearly $2 billion in deposits, significant assets under management, and approximately 50,000 customers in the country, and said Amerant is monitoring the situation and assessing opportunities, including supporting potential international oil industry activity through transactional services. Management added that it remains focused on deposit and AUM opportunities rather than lending strategy in the market.
About Amerant Bancorp NYSE: AMTB
Amerant Bancorp is the bank holding company and parent of Amerant Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. Amerant Bank delivers a comprehensive range of deposit and lending products to both retail and commercial clients, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer mortgages, and business lines of credit. In addition, the company offers specialized services such as treasury management, international trade finance, foreign exchange, and asset-based lending to support the complex needs of corporate and high-net-worth customers.
Tracing its roots to the early 1980s, Amerant has grown through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic expansion.
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