Non-Interest Expense
Non-interest expense increased $20.3 million to $51.3 million for the third quarter of 2024, compared to the third quarter of 2023 due primarily to a pre-tax $10.0 million regulatory reserve recorded in the third quarter of 2024, a $2.7 million increase in compensation and benefits related to the increase in number of employees, and a $1.8 million increase in technology costs related to the digital transformation initiative. At the beginning of 2024, the Company began implementing an innovative digital transformation project to improve its capabilities and efficiencies for both client facing and internal processes, which it expects to complete in 2025.
Non-interest expense increased $41.0 million to $135.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2023, due primarily to a pre-tax $10 million regulatory reserve recorded in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $9.5 million in compensation and benefits due to severance expenses related to the GPG wind down and the increase in number of employees, an increase of $4.6 million in professional fees primarily related to regulatory remediation costs, and an increase of $5.1 million in technology costs primarily related to the digital transformation project.
Income Tax Expense
The estimated effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2024 was 30.2% as compared to 22.2% for the third quarter of 2023. The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2023 reflects a discrete tax item related to the exercise of stock options in the third quarter of 2023 and the reversal of the regulatory settlement reserve in that period. The effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was 31.1% compared to 28.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its clients. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, which involve elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated statements of financial condition. Exposure to credit loss is represented by the contractual amount of the instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.
At September 30, 2024, the Company had $611.9 million in unused loan commitments and $36.6 million in standby and commercial letters of credit. At December 31, 2023, the Company had $595.1 million in unused commitments and $59.5 million in standby and commercial letters of credit.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity is the ability to economically meet current and future financial obligations. The Company’s primary sources of funds consist of deposit inflows, loan repayments and maturities, securities cash flows and borrowings. While maturities and scheduled amortization of loans and securities and borrowings are predictable sources of funds, deposit flows, mortgage prepayments and securities sales are greatly influenced by the general level of interest rates and changes thereto, economic conditions and competition.
The Company regularly reviews the need to adjust investments in liquid assets based upon its assessment of: (1) expected loan demand, (2) expected deposit flows, (3) yields available on interest-earning deposits and securities, and (4) the objectives of its asset/liability program. Excess liquidity is generally invested in interest earning deposits and short- and intermediate-term securities.
The Company’s most liquid assets are cash and cash equivalents. The levels of these assets are dependent on its operating, financing, lending and investing activities during any given period. At September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents totaled $318.5 million and $269.5 million, respectively. Securities, which provide an additional source of liquidity, totaled $954.6 million at September 30, 2024 and $932.2 million at December 31, 2023. At September 30, 2024, there were $782.6 million of securities pledged to support wholesale funding, and to a lesser extent certain other types of deposits, of which $172.7 million were encumbered. At December 31, 2023, there were $845.7