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First Republic Bank (FRCB)
Q1 2021 Earnings Call
Apr 14, 2021, 10:00 a.m. ET
Contents:
- Prepared Remarks
- Questions and Answers
- Call Participants
Prepared Remarks:
Operator
Greetings and welcome to First Republic Bank's first-quarter 2021 earnings conference call. Today's conference is being recorded. During today's call, the lines will be in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, the conference will be open for questions.
[Operator instructions] I would now like to turn the call over to Mike Ioanilli, vice president and director of investor relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Mike Ioanilli -- Investor Relations
Thank you, and welcome to First Republic Bank's first-quarter 2021 conference call. Speaking today will be Jim Herbert, the bank's founder, chairman, and CEO; Gaye Erkan, president and board member; and Mike Roffler, chief financial officer. Before I hand the call over to Jim, please note that we may make forward-looking statements during today's call that are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. For a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, please see the bank's FDIC filings, including the Form 8-K filed today, all available on the bank's website.
And now, I would like to turn the call over to Jim Herbert.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Mike. Good morning, everyone. We're off to a very strong start in 2021 with terrific growth in loans, deposits, and wealth management assets. First Republic's differentiated business model continues to perform very well.
In addition to strong earnings, we're quite pleased today to announce a 10% increase in our quarterly dividend to $0.22 per common share per quarter. This is our 10th consecutive year of quarterly dividend increases. Since 1985, First Republic's success and durability have been grounded in a culture of taking care of each client one at a time, while continuing to operate in a very safe and sound manner. Our long-term steady approach has led to consistent success through a wide variety of environments including this unprecedented pandemic.
We are extraordinarily proud of our team's dedication, hard work, and commitment to client service and to each other throughout this period. It's been absolutely amazing. A key part of our success is to take great care of our people who in turn take great care of their clients. We're pleased to have recently increased our companywide minimum wage to $30 per hour, up from $25 which we instituted in 2018.
The unwavering dedication of our clients is also the reason for our latest client satisfaction level as reflected in a very strong 2020 Net Promoter Score. The strong score once again validates our client service model. Our Net Promoter Score actually improved during the year and remains more than twice in the U.S. banking industry average.
Client satisfaction among those who identify as is our lead bank is nearly 2.5 times the industry average. This satisfaction level leads to long-term deep relationships and more referrals, which are the ultimate drivers of our growth. Let me summarize briefly the first-quarter results. Total loans outstanding were up 24% year over year.
Total deposits grew 37% year over year. Wealth management assets were up 59% year over year, and they now exceed $200 billion. This growth across the enterprise drove a very strong financial performance. Total revenue your rear has grown 24%.
Net interest income is up 25%. And importantly, tangible book value per share increased 14.5% year over year. Our strength safety and soundness continue to be reflected in strong capital liquidity and credit quality. During the first quarter, for instance, we raised an additional $914 million of Tier 1 capital.
Our total equity increased 25% year over year, supporting our strong growth. We don't engage in share buybacks. Strong credit has been, for almost 36 years, the core pillar of the First Republic and is a key to our strong results and stability. Net charge-offs for this quarter were only $487,000, a fraction of 1 basis point.
Non-performing assets at quarter-end were only 11 basis points of total assets. During the first quarter, we did reduce our reserve for credit losses. This is the result of seasonal guidelines leading us to a much improved economic outlook. The process of financial resumption of loan payments among our COVID-modified loans.
Mike will discuss this more in a moment. Looking through the rest of the year, we are very optimistic. Our clients continue to be very liquid and quite active. Our markets are on a solid path to returning to normal, it would appear.
And fiscal and monetary stimulus, as we all know, are very considerable. Overall, it's a great start to 2021 and we are extremely pleased. Now, let me turn the call over to Gaye Erkan, president.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Thank you, Jim. It was a terrific quarter that benefited from continued organic growth across the franchise leading to strong net interest income and wealth management revenues. As Jim mentioned, this is the direct outcome of the exceptional service provided by our caring colleagues and the resulting satisfied and loyal -- loyal clients. Over the past year, while working mostly remotely, our high cloud service model has been further strengthened by our continued focus on technology and process improvements.
For example, we implemented new digital features that further empower our clients including the ability to connect with their personal banker directly and securely through our mobile app. This digital to human service delivery provides greater convenience by allowing our clients to bank in a way that is customized to their needs. Today, more than three-quarters of our clients are using our mobile app. Importantly, our clients know that there is always a trusted human at the heart of their relationship with us even in the case of our digital experience.
We are a people-first organization and have always believed that our exceptional service starts with our colleagues. With that in mind, we continually do more to support and empower our colleagues so that they can be their best. As Jim mentioned, we recently increased our companywide minimum wage to $30 per hour. We also expanded our health and well-being benefits to support colleagues through this pandemic.
And we enhanced our employee home loan program, there's more than 30% of our colleagues currently participating. By taking great care of our colleagues, we are empowering them to deliver unparalleled service to clients. This in turn leads to repeat business and more client referrals. Let me now provide some additional comments about the quarter.
Loan origination volume was $15.7 billion. Our best core -- best first quarter ever. I would note that the average loan to value ratio for all real estate loans that originated during the first quarter remains conservative at 55%. Single-family residential volume was $6.9 billion.
Refinance accounted for 65% of single-family residential volume during the first quarter. The majority of the refinance activity continues to come from clients who formerly had loans at other institutions. Turning to business banking, business loans and line commitments were up 27% year over year excluding PPP loans. The growth in outstanding balances was driven by a utilization rate of 38.5% as well as new commitments.
During the quarter, we participated in round two of the paycheck protection program helping our small business and nonprofit clients obtain an additional 4,500 PPP loans. Our efforts have provided a much-needed lifeline for many during a difficult time. Since the program started, we have helped to support over 100,000 jobs. In terms of funding, it was an exceptional quarter.
Total deposits were up 37% from a year ago. We continued to maintain a diversified deposit funding base. Checking deposits increased by $9.5 billion in the first quarter and now represent over 67% of total deposits. Business deposits represented 59% of total deposits, up slightly from the prior quarter.
The average rate paid on all deposits for the quarter was just 9 basis points, leading to total funding costs of 24 basis points. Turning to wealth management, assets under management increased to $219 billion. Since January 1, 2020, assets under management are up 45%, of which fully 60% was net client inflow. During the quarter, we welcome three new wealth management teams from the First Republic.
The strength of our integrated model continues to attract a very high-quality team. Our first-quarter results demonstrate the power of our service culture and the creativity, care, and dedication of our colleagues. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Mike Roffler, chief financial officer.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Gaye. As Jim mentioned, we run the bank with strong credit capital and liquidity at all times. In the first quarter, we're pleased to have raised $914 million net new Tier 1 capital including both preferred and common stock. We issued the Series F of our preferred stock and redeem the Series G during the first quarter.
Following these two actions, we expect our quarterly dividend on preferred stock to be approximately $24 million going forward. We also raised $331 million of common equity during the quarter. And as a result, we expect our diluted share count to be approximately $179 million in the second quarter. We are very pleased with the progress of our COVID loan modifications.
At March 31st, COVID modifications were down more than 75% from their peak and now represent less than 1% of the bank's total loan portfolio. Let me touch on this quarter's provision for credit losses. Historically, the bank increased its loan loss reserve by approximately $20 million to $30 million per quarter as a result of loan growth. This quarter, however, we reduced our reserves by $15 million as the loan growth-related provision was more than offset by two positive factors.
First was the substantially improved economic outlook since year-end, which largely offset any necessary provision for loan growth. Second was the resumption of regular, consistent loan payments following the end of the COVID modification period. For some perspective, since we adopted CECL on January 1, 2020, we have recorded $142 million of net provisions over five quarters while only recognizing $3 million of net charge-offs. Net interest income was up a very strong 5% from the fourth quarter and 25% year over year.
This reflects our robust growth in earning assets. Our net interest margin for the first quarter was 2.67%. This is down from the fourth quarter due to the elevated cash position resulting from our exceptionally strong deposit growth. We continue to expect our net interest margin for the full-year 2021 to be in the range of 2.65% to 2.75%.
Our efficiency ratio for the first quarter was 63.5%. We're very pleased, given the extraordinary revenue growth in the quarter and over the past year, that our expenses have remained in line with said revenue growth. We continue to expect our efficiency ratio for the full-year 2021 to be in the range of 62% to 64%. Our effective tax rate for the first quarter was 21.9%.
Under current tax law, we continue to expect our tax rate for the full-year 2021 to be in the range of 20% to 21%. Overall, this was a great quarter and a very strong start to the year. And thank you. Now, I'll turn the call back over to Jim.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Gaye and Mike. First Republic's time-tested straightforward business model remains very focused on delivering extraordinary client service while operating quite safely. The model continues to perform very well. We'd be delighted to take any questions.
Thank you.
Questions & Answers:
Operator
[Operator instructions] And we'll take our first question from Steven Alexopoulos with J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
Hey, good morning, everyone.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Good morning, Steve.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
My first -- good morning. My first question is for Mike Roffler on NIM. So just given where liquidity levels now sit, as well as the shape of the yield curve, do you think the NIM has now bottomed? And, Mike, how do you see the NIM trending through the year given the range you just reconfirmed?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
So the first quarter, as we mentioned, was 2.67% and impacted by very strong cash levels given the exceptional deposit growth. And so it is depressed a little because of that. If you go back to the fourth quarter, for example, cash was about $7 billion, and the margin was about 6 basis points higher. Go back to that level, and our margin for the first quarter is a little bit higher than 2.73%.
And so cash is elevated now. As you know, tax day has been deferred a month, so it's May 17th now. And so typically, what happens is we have a liquidity buildup, and then it goes out to pay the federal and state taxes. And so you'd see a little bit of an upward in the margin just from liquidity being reduced.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
OK. So it sounds like NIM from here should trend modestly higher, right, as that liquidity draws down a bit?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
If liquidity draws down, I think that's right.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
Yep. OK. And then on the loan side, Jim, for years, you've pointed out that the company operates in many states that are supply constrained, right? With that said, all we're hearing now is that nationally, real estate is supply constrained. This seems to be a much more pronounced issue.
I'm curious. Could this constraint impair your ability to grow mid-teens this year? Or is there just enough share where you don't think it will be a factor?
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Good question, Steve. I think it won't be much of a factor. A couple of reasons. One, although we've done very well, we're still a small part of the markets that we operate in.
And particularly, if you think about dollar share as opposed to unit share because a place like San Francisco is very constrained, but the prices are strong. And the movement around the sale and transaction volume is down a little bit because of supply constraint, but the pop-up in rate and prices, I think, as soon as COVID fades into the background will pick up volume. It's already beginning to do so. New York is a really good example of that.
The volumes in New York have picked up considerably in the early part of the year. So I think we're going to be fine.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
OK. And then maybe one final one maybe for you, Jim. It looks like most of the COVID-impacted loans are moving back to paying full principal and interest. Are there any segments of the portfolio where you're not seeing loans on deferral resume full payment that you would call out for us? Thanks.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Not really. The restaurants are slower, and the hotels are slower, but they're coming around. And so I think it's pretty much across the board with those two exceptions. And they're not zero.
They're just trending more slowly.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
OK. Great. Thanks for the information.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
They're small parts of our portfolio. Those are small parts of our portfolio, as you know, anyway.
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
Yep, yep. Got it. Thanks, guys.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Next.
Operator
And up next, we'll take a question from Dave Rochester with Compass Point. Please go ahead.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Hey, good morning, guys. Nice quarter.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
You guys had some tremendous deposit growth this quarter, well above that H8 pace, which speaks to your ability to continue to take share there. I was just wondering if you had any sense for how much of that came from stimulus this quarter. And I know 2Q deposit trends are normally a little soft with the tax payments that, Mike, you just mentioned. But I was just curious if you're still seeing some momentum in inflows there and, just given the economic backdrop, if you're still expecting to have this deposit growth this coming quarter despite some of that softness.
Thanks.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Let me take that. Hi. So, yes, the deposit growth has been exceptional. And it was very well-diversified, primarily driven by consumer and nonfinancial business clients and a healthy mix of growth between new clients, as well as deepening existing relationships.
I'll also add that the average account balances are up in general, in the mid-teens for both consumer and business clients. Like all banks, we have been the beneficiary of the increased systemic deposit funding. But we're very well positioned because this environment has afforded us unique opportunity to engage new clients and prospects, and we remain confident in our ability to grow and fully fund our loan growth going forward.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
OK. Fantastic. Maybe just a quick one on the borrowing side. I know you guys have mentioned last time expecting $5 billion in maturities this year.
I was just wondering about the progression on that and then what kind of opportunity you might have to pay some of those down as we roll into '22 as well.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, Dave. So at the end of March, we've got about just under $4 billion of FHLB that comes due this year. That rate is just under 1.80%, and three-year money right now is around 55 basis points. So if you refinance those down, there is some benefit to that to help protect the margin and keep it in that range that we just talked about.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
And any sense for next year as well in terms of maturities?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. Excuse me, another -- just under $3 billion at about 1.5%.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
OK, great. Thanks. And then switching to refi loan growth. I know there's been some concern in the market on your ability to maintain strong loan growth trends just given the expected slowdown in mortgage activity this year, but you guys clearly continued to execute on growing that book very nicely this quarter.
Can you just talk about the trends you're seeing in that market today and what your outlook is as purchase activity continues to ramp up here in 2Q?
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yeah. The economy rebounding has also led to continued strong demand across all of our markets. Our pipeline is up strongly year over year. Our six-week rate logs remain robust.
They're higher than last year. And the composition of rate logs, purchase rate logs, are up significantly. The refi rate logs are down slightly, but refi always constitutes a great opportunity for us to get new clients. So we remain confident in our mid-teens guidance because business overall is very strong.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Yeah. Great. Sounds good. Maybe just one last one on margin.
Where are you guys seeing new loan yields at this point and securities purchase rates just given the uptick we've seen in the curve? Thanks.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Sure. So on the marginal side, the asset side are coming in, in high 2s. So single family, 2.75% to 3%; multi-family and CRE, more 3% to 3.5% range. And on the securities side, the munis are high 2s, around 3%, and government agents HQLA is 1.5% to 2%.
So the marginal side on the asset side coming in around 2.90%. And then the marginal cost of funding, as we have talked about the FHLB as well earlier, about 20 basis points or better. So we remain confident on the 2.65%, 2.75% range for NIM for the year and not to forget strong organic growth across the entire franchise. The NII is what pays the bills, the net interest income, and we have been very pleased with the strong growth in that, which offsets some fluctuations in NIM.
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Great. All right. Thank you very much.
Operator
And up next, we'll take a question from Ken Zerbe with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Ken Zerbe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
All right. Great. Thanks. Maybe a first question for Mike.
In terms of the reserves, if the outlook continues to get better for the economy, how much more room is in your reserves that could potentially come out? I guess I'm just trying to figure out like how much of the sort of the pandemic is still reflected in your ALLL.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
So it's a good question, Ken. So there's -- on the, call it, the quantitative forecasting side, where all banks are looking at an economic outlook, we're pretty much back to where we started on that aspect pre-COVID. So I don't think there's a lot of room on forward-looking economy because it's been such a strong recovery. And the second thing, and this is maybe harder to see, is every prediction we made before didn't end up as bad as we thought it might.
So the portfolio is just that much stronger. There are a few COVID modifications that have some specific allocated reserves to them, but those are relatively modest in nature from this point going forward. And so, we would anticipate if we kept growing the portfolio that there likely is some positive amount of reserve that gets recorded in future periods.
Ken Zerbe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Got it. And it should -- that -- that helps. And then in terms of the expenses, obviously it ticked up and your revenue is higher certainly as well. Can you just talk about some of the new investments that you guys are making in the franchise? Like something over the last eight quarters so that -- or just, you know, sort of the new initiatives specifically on the technology side?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. I mean, one of the things we're doing is we're obviously progressing through the core conversion in those costs. You see a little bit of an increase in professional fees and some of our compensation costs are tied to that. That's -- that's a big one for 2021 from a -- a project standpoint.
There's a very starting of the Hudson Yards expense in the first quarter just in March that'll start to pick up here in the second half of the year. And then, you know, the -- the third one that's maybe not as self-evident is given the revenue growth that you've mentioned, there is a variable nature to, you know, a bit of our compensation that's tied to the revenue growth be it in wealth management fees, the very strong checking growth that we've talked about, and loan volume which year over year I think is up about 50%. So, all those things sort of drives the expense growth that you see which is -- which has matched revenue growth nicely.
Ken Zerbe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Got it. Understood. And then just one last question. In terms of the deposit growth, obviously.
it's incredible. I don't think there's any question about that. And -- and you guys normally have sort of a very upward, sloping trend when it comes to growing deposits. But when we think about the magnitude of deposits that have come out your balance sheet, like I get in second quarter, you know, could be some volatility given tax payments, totally fine.
But when we think about the next several quarters, can you just talk about some of the factors that might drive that up or down from here? I mean, outside of your normal growth, I'm just wondering to what extent like how much if there's any excess in there just given -- I don't know, I mean, just given what's happening with the economy where some of that growth could potentially be transitory. Thanks.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Hi. So, on the deposit side, you're right. So, the tax outflows are shifted to May now, so May 15. So, we're going to see some tax outflows coming in and some of the average and median account balances being higher and is about mid-teens higher, both consumer and business side year over year that is benefiting from the stimulus in the market as well.
But we are very well positioned to help manage client needs across different macro environments with both on and off balance sheet liquidity solutions and optimizing our funding mix overall, whether it's the deposit side of it which is about 90% of our liabilities and beyond.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
I'll just add to that for a second and -- and or emphasize something Gaye said. There's an unusually high savings level in the -- in society, in general. It shows up more consumer deposits, but it's there in business as well. The liquidity, the general liquidity in the system from all of the stimulus is ending up in the banking system and we've gotten, I think, a bit more than our share of that because of the way that we operate and the trust that clients have in us.
But nonetheless, as Gaye said earlier, the average account size in the bank is up. And -- and what we don't know is how much of that is -- is temporary or permanent. We are guessing that a fair amount of it will be spent and thus become economic stimulus and that's of course how the system works. So, the last time we've seen anything close to this was a while ago.
And -- and in fact, I've never -- we've never experienced this level of stimulus before, but it will flow out into the -- into the economy in due course. So, our deposit growth in the future will not be this high.
Ken Zerbe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Understood. All right. Thank you very much.
Operator
And up next we will take a question from Bill Carcache with Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.
Bill Carcache -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst
Thank you. Good morning. Could you discuss what overlaying a strengthening economy in the second half of '21 would mean for the trajectory of your growth? Could that be incremental to the trends that you're seeing now? Just curious how you're thinking about that.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
That's a good question, Bill. And I, you know, it's going to be supportive of growth, of course. I think that the growth rate we've experienced this quarter as a relative number is high actually, mostly in part because of the base we're operating with on a comparison but also the housing market which is, you know, the bank is still strongly driven by single-family, loan-level volume which we like very much. It's a very safe asset class that we've managed to -- to -- to work very successfully.
And I think that's going to continue, the supply constraint will be the primary limiting factor there but we're taking share rather regularly too. I think a strong economy means stronger loan volume, generally speaking. That's directly paralleled, hard to say. But it -- but directionally, it is stronger.
Bill Carcache -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst
Thanks, Jim. That -- that's helpful. I wanted to -- separately shifting to expenses, I wanted to ask a follow-up question. You guys have expressed confidence in the 62% to 64% efficiency ratio target for 2021.
But could you more broadly speak to the longer-term sustainability of that range? We've seen over the years a bit of upward creep in your efficiency ratio for different reasons since you guys went public. But, you know, it would be helpful to know whether you think that 62% to 64% level can hold because that would suggest that more of your top-line growth can drop to the bottom line without pressure that we've seen in the past from expense growth outpacing revenue growth. I hopefully hear your thoughts on that.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
I think -- I think the last couple of years, we feel like we've been in a pretty good and consistent range. You know, 62%, 63%, 64%. You're right, if you go back to our early public days, it was a little bit lower. As a smaller institution, you didn't have as many infrastructure and regulatory expectations when you're, you know, below $50 billion.
So, we feel like we're in the right range because it allows us to continue to invest for the opportunities we see ahead of us in our markets for growth. And the great client service we continue to deliver, all those things, you know, lead us to this pretty consistent range we've had the last couple of years and feel good about given the opportunities that exist in our markets.
Bill Carcache -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst
Understood. So, all else equal, if -- if -- if the rate of expense growth, you know, is relative to revenues can hold in that level then -- then we -- we should see more of the top-line growth drop to the bottom line versus history when -- when expenses maybe grew a little bit faster. Is that sort of a reasonable thought process?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
I think so, but I think that it's also, you know, we think about stability and consistency over long periods of time, right? And so, we -- the margin has been pretty stable, you know, the last couple of years, our efficiency also. So, we're investing at the pace at which our revenues are growing to support client service and to continue to grow the bank. And that's how we think about it.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
If you -- I'll add for that for a second so that if you think about it, managing growth of expenses and revenues aligned in a 15% to 20%-growth company is very different than cutting expenses in a 5%-growth bank in order to improve results.
Bill Carcache -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst
That -- that makes sense. Very helpful. If I could squeeze in one last one. Just out of curiosity, have any of your wealth clients expressed interest in gaining exposure to crypto assets? Any thoughts on how you guys are thinking about the potential emergence of crypto as a potential asset class, you know, in -- in light of the coin-based IPO today? That would be helpful to hear just high level, how you guys are thinking about it.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Sure. I'll take that one. We're approaching the crypto or digital-asset ecosystem with utmost care and focus on safety, soundness, and compliance like everything else. So, we do not lend to crypto companies -- clients.
However, they can invest in crypto-related funds through their brokerage accounts, but we do not give fiduciary advice of such digital assets. And they're also assessing potential costs to the partners to help our clients through regular purchase, and as well as do more comprehensive aggregated reporting for those. But again, as I've started, given our foundation of safety, soundness, and rapid pace of the industry evolution, we're approaching it very methodically and conservative while accommodating our clients.
Bill Carcache -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst
Extremely helpful. Thank you so much for taking my questions.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Thanks.
Operator
And up next, we'll hear from John Pancari with Evercore Partners. Please go ahead.
Tom Stephens -- Evercore -- Analyst
Hi. Good morning. This is Tom Stephens on behalf of John Pancari. I just want to ask a quick question.
Regarding loan originations, there was a slight drop off in multi-family in the quarter. I just want to get your -- guys your thoughts on loan originations going throughout 2021, specifically regarding the multi-family portfolio. Thank you.
Gaye Erkan -- President
So, we have been mostly active doing safe deals, mostly refinance with experienced owner-managers that value our service and our relationship model. So, multi-family has been a resilient asset class on both coasts, and our rate logs -- or actually the six-week rate logs are up year over year. So, there is strong momentum and the vacancies are coming off of the elevated levels. So, there are signs of improvement that we're seeing and -- and it's a resilient asset class.
So, we'll continue to be active in that with -- with the safe loan-to-value ratio. So, we're very conservative as you know on credit underwriting.
Tom Stephens -- Evercore -- Analyst
OK. Great. Thank you for taking my questions.
Gaye Erkan -- President
OK.
Operator
And next question comes from Chris McGratty with KBW. Please go ahead.
Chris McGratty -- KBW -- Analyst
Hey, good morning. Mike -- Mike, last quarter, you talked about the efficiency benefit by about a point from COVID, and that making its way back into the run rate over the course of the year. Can you just give an update for that in terms of the pace of these deferred expenses that didn't occur last -- last year and maybe contextualizing this quarter's efficiency ratio in the guide? Thanks.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. I mean, I think this quarter's efficiency, you know, one thing to remember too is the first quarter is our highest period for payroll tax and 401(k), right? So, there's elevation from that that in the past is -- in -- in this quarter is typically added about 1%, and that -- that obviously smooths out over the year. Relative to pandemic benefits, you know, they're -- they're dissipating a little bit. Travel is still down, but it's, you know, $3 million or $4 million a quarter down, so it's not a big number.
Marketing and advertising has been lower because we have less events. That'll start to probably pick up the latter half of the year as things start to open up more. So, it's probably a little bit less than it was a year ago. One because expenses started reducing in March last year, so your comps are starting to be more normal.
And second is obviously the revenue base is much higher, so the impact is just less.
Chris McGratty -- KBW -- Analyst
OK. That's -- that's great color. And can -- on the -- just kind of switching gears, capital call line were up nicely again in the quarter. Can you just speak to kind of your outlook for that business given all the liquidities injected into the economy? Thanks.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Sure. The environment for PE and VC, both fundraising deal activity and exits continues to be very strong. The fundraising is robust, even went down virtually as cash-rich investors are looking for returns. And it provides ample capital for investments with over $2 trillion of private capital dry powder today on the sidelines.
And it feels dealmaking at a pace that actually exceeds pre-pandemic levels despite the high valuations, and funds are also realizing gains via multiple channels, whether it's equity market, sales to buyers, and SPACs. So as a result -- and as you guys know us, so we are underwriting with 90- to 180-day repayment terms with very strong GPs and LPs, and with known relationships on the personal banking side. So we feel very pleased with the growth, continued growth, and commitments, as well as, comfortable with our underwriting standards.
Chris McGratty -- KBW -- Analyst
OK, great. And maybe one just housekeeping item. The BOLI income last couple of quarters, is this -- just about the run rate we should be using $16.5 million, $17 million a quarter?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. We have done some purchases over the last couple of quarters. And so $16 million, $17 million is a pretty good run rate.
Chris McGratty -- KBW -- Analyst
OK. Thanks, guys.
Operator
And up next, we will take a question from Arren Cyganovich with Citi. Please go ahead.
Arren Cyganovich -- Citi -- Analyst
Thanks. I was hoping you could touch a little bit about the de-urbanization trends and -- and how that's impacting. Clearly -- clearly, it's not impacting your growth. You know, are you -- are you retaining those clients that, say, move to -- you know, on the West Coast to Idaho, or East Coast to Tennessee? You know, maybe you can just comment a little bit about what you're seeing within -- within multi -- sorry, within single-family there?
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Sure. It's a complicated issue, as we all know. What we're experiencing almost daily is a regeneration of the cities. New York, San Francisco, L.A., Boston are all recovering incrementally and measurably almost every day.
Companies are beginning to announce return to office programs that are actually a little more robust, I would say than we expected. The housing demand in the cities is now back. The prices are lower, which is, of course, stimulating demand, which is good. And rentals are down, and that's pulling -- pulling people back in as well.
There is some movement to Texas, Florida, Wyoming, et cetera, driven probably by tax policy, but also by opportunity. And that -- that I think is going to continue. But it's not going to be the incremental element that changes a San Francisco or New York, in our opinion and observation.
Arren Cyganovich -- Citi -- Analyst
And -- and for folks that are moving out of your market, clearly, it doesn't sound like there's a huge amount that you're losing in the growth there. Are -- are you actually retaining those customers within those markets [Inaudible]?
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Sorry, I should -- yeah, we do retain them. We do retain them. Very seldom do we lose them. With digital banking, free ATM service, everything else way, and a -- and a banker that they trust, we -- we keep them.
The distance is -- the distance is no longer a distance.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yeah. Just to add to Jim's comments on the -- on that side. Actually, we are doing the mobility study of our clients every year. And majority of the movement we are seeing is within our markets to reinforce Jim's point.
So whether it's moving from San Francisco, New York, to places like Florida has seen a lot of moving in and Wyoming. And some are moving from city centers to suburbs. So we are in Manhattan as much as we are in Greenwich, as well, or Fairfield County. So we're able to serve these clients.
And again, to reinforce Jim's points on digital investments and technology, for those who moved outside of our markets, which is the immaterial portion of that mobility, our continued investments in digital and technology allows us to serve them with some exceptional service, given the human trusted advisor at the heart of the relationship with many years of trust.
Arren Cyganovich -- Citi -- Analyst
Thank you.
Operator
And up next, our next question will come from Casey Haire with Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Casey Haire -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Yeah. Thanks, good morning, guys. I had a question for Mike on the securities book. It looks like you guys, just based on the average balances in the period end that you took advantage of higher rates in March.
Just wondering, given the improved liquidity position, is that -- is that something that you're going to look to aggressively continue in the second quarter here? Or is that just a one-time deal, just size of the securities book?
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yeah. So as you know us, we are very steady when it comes to investments. So we have -- we have two ways; a, we look for opportunities; b, we also take into account, first, the lending opportunities to clients, and we want to keep a pretty ALM-matched book. So we're slightly asset-sensitive.
So that drives the investment philosophy on the securities portfolio. To your point, rising longer-term rates in the quarter allowed us to opportunistically purchase municipal bonds in our investment portfolio, so we made about $3 billion purchases, close to 3% TY, just short of it. And it strengthened the NII growth. And given the marginal funding cost, it was right in the -- within the NIM guidance.
Our liquidity position remains very strong. It's driven to a great extent by the HQLA purchases that we're doing, as well as, the elevated cash levels. That's why you're seeing 15.3% HQLA ratio today, which, to some extent, reflects both the purchase and the elevated cash levels. So we feel comfortable with 12%, 12.25%, and above that, that we're going to be disciplined to keep it above that level.
Casey Haire -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Great, thanks. And on the next-gen strategy, those 35,000 households, I think you guys have said historically that 10% of that has -- has made their first home purchase. Is there an expectation that that accelerates given, you know, what the move to -- for home purchases. And, you know, I would think that would be -- there would be a nice tailwind for -- for that client base to pull forward that life moment?
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yes, great question. We're actually very pleased with the success of our millennial strategy. Let me start with your question, first, on the deepening existing relationships with our expanded toolkit. Actually, I'm pleased to say that now over 20% of our millennial clients are now mortgage clients of the bank, which is fantastic.
So it's up from the 10% that you have quoted. And at the same time, the millennial household acquisition continues to be strong as well, up 13% year over year, in a year where we launched the personal line of credit product at the same time. So the team did a great job bringing that to market. So with the expanded toolkit, with experienced, trusted advisors, where the millennials value the advice, and the digital to human connection, and mobile-first strategies that we deliver, we are confident that we are getting the same great clients, younger in their life, which is key for private banking.
Casey Haire -- Jefferies -- Analyst
OK. Great. So your 20% of that -- of that household base has converted or is converting toward First Republic single-family product. Is there any attrition to where you're losing that to a competitor? Like I know you guys have a 2% annual attrition rate.
Gaye Erkan -- President
It's in line with -- it's in line ---yes. So to confirm, over 20% of our millennial clients are now mortgage clients, whether they did with us or we refi-ed their loan. And in terms of attrition, it's in line with our overall clientele in terms of household attrition, as well as, the lead bank percentage and the lead bank NPS for millennial households are very much in line with our overall households, which is more than double the banking sector.
Casey Haire -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Great. Thank you.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Thanks.
Operator
Up next, we'll take a question from Andrew Liesch with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.
Andrew Liesch -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
Good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking the questions. You covered most of what I wanted to go over already, but on the wealth management front, there's been a -- from what it appears to be, an increase in press releases of recent hires. I'm just curious, like what's been the -- the trend of conversations with wealth managers coming on and joining First Republic.
Has that accelerated compared to the prior quarters? You know, an update there would be appreciated.
Gaye Erkan -- President
It's a continued momentum on the wealth management hiring. So we hired three new PWM teams in the first quarter. And our reputation continues to be very strong, and we expect to continue to add high-quality teams, but the pace of it is really -- you're seeing great reverse inquiry coming in and referrals from our existing wealth managers, as well, but the pace is really driven by the cultural fit. It's really important that we are the right fit for them, and they are the right fit for the First Republic culture.
So that's going to be the key for the pace of the hiring. But we're seeing great -- great high-quality teams and varying conversations.
Andrew Liesch -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
Got it. Thanks. You covered all of my questions.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Thanks.
Operator
And our next question will come from David Chiaverini with Wedbush Securities. Please go ahead.
David Chiaverini -- Wedbush -- Analyst
Thanks. A couple of questions for you. Starting with a follow-up on the capital call line business. So it was up in the first quarter, about $500 million, but growth slowed from the fourth quarter in which growth was about $2 billion.
So I was curious, you gave some commentary about the health of the overall private equity, venture capital, fundraising, all of those are strong. But just curious as to what was really the driver of the slowdown in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter, particularly, if this is reflective of an industry -- industry slowdown or anything else?
Gaye Erkan -- President
So actually, both our outstanding and commitments went up, and both commitments went up and the utilization went up, so the outstanding is up because of those two factors. So we are seeing continued growth. The deal activity and the valuations from quarter to quarter, it also changes. But again, as I said earlier, we are seeing tremendous growth, and the environment is quite strong on all fronts, whether it's fundraising, deal activity, or exits.
And we are seeing a healthy mix of existing clients deepening more relationships. But the fund formation and the deal activity in general, it does fluctuate from quarter to quarter, but it's continued growth year over year as well as quarter over quarter.
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
I think also one thing I highlighted earlier is the 90- to 180-day term. So if -- I think, David, you referenced a big quarter from September to December, well, some of these loans are getting paid back in the first quarter, right? Because of the short duration of the draw, they come back. And so I think when you consider that even growing as we did, continues to show the strength and depth of the market.
David Chiaverini -- Wedbush -- Analyst
Yes. That's helpful. Thanks for that. And then shifting gears.
You mentioned about how the -- it sounded as if the pricing on loans is consistent in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter. And that's despite the 10-year treasury yield increasing nicely. I was curious if you can comment on how much of a timing lag there could be before we see an improvement in loan pricing, particularly on the mortgage product?
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yes. To your point, it does lag the lending rates to mortgage rates to treasury yields sell-off. So year to date, we have seen mortgage competition continue to be strong, which kept the pricing stable, so rates have been very much in line with at the beginning of the year. That said, we'll see a benefit eventually as the yield curve steepens, and especially as the multifamily activity continues to gain more traction and more momentum.
But again, we do A-plus credit with A-plus pricing, a lot of relation pricing there. So we are pleased that the marginal yield, the high two's, couple that with about 20 basis points on the funding side -- on the marginal funding side, so that falls right in the NIM guidance, the 265, 275. That's coupled with strong safe organic earnings asset growth, the net interest income follows.
David Chiaverini -- Wedbush -- Analyst
Thanks very much.
Gaye Erkan -- President
Thank you.
Operator
And our next question will come from Jared Shaw with Wells Fargo Securities. Please go ahead.
Jared Shaw -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst
Hi. Good morning, everybody. I guess most of the stuff was said. I guess, Mike, just circling back on the provision going forward, you referenced the $20 million or $30 million sort of standard provision for growth.
You know, as we -- as we look at origination activity still being stronger and maybe a shift where nonsingle-family residential makes up incrementally bigger parts of that originations. Is that still the right range to use or should we be looking at like maybe more than 54-basis-point range to impact or to -- to account for growth?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah -- yeah, so I think the -- the 20 to 30 does sort of give you that latitude if the mix were any different. I think we've been -- I think this quarter 70% of our growth was single-family, and that obviously has a pretty low reserve estimation on it. And -- and you actually did mention something else. We're -- on January 1, 2020, we were 54 basis points of reserve to loans and we're right back there at this time.
This feels like the right range. And then depending upon mix, it could go down or up ever so slightly most likely.
Jared Shaw -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst
OK. Great, thanks. And I guess maybe just, you know, looking at the -- at the pipeline today, you mentioned 65%t of single-family origination was rebuy. Is that are we -- are we already seeing that sort of bleed out in the -- in the pipeline here? Did -- did most of that happen at the beginning of the quarter, or is there still a little bit of rate from all in the, you know, in the pipeline?
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yeah, we see that as well that refi usually picks up a bit as rates are going higher as well. But overall, when you look at from last year, so our refi rate logs have declined slightly from last year. But at the same time, purchase rate logs have shown tremendous growth, which is almost double what they were from a year ago. So -- and there's a strong spring buying season coming in.
We talked about the economy rebounding. Refinance does slow down over time as rates are going up, but it -- it has a natural floor because we do do a lot of refinance of clients, new clients to the bank from other institutions. So overall, given all these dynamics, we remain confident in our mid-teens loan guidance for the year.
Jared Shaw -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst
Great. Thank you.
Operator
And next, we will hear from Brock Vandervliet with UBS. Please go ahead.
Brock Vandervliet -- UBS -- Analyst
Hey, good morning. I was thinking I wasn't going to make it in the queue. On the -- on the wealth management side, a couple of people have touched on this, just very strong growth. I -- I just want to make sure, you know, that our model doesn't get offsides with -- with your own expectation.
Is there anything else you would -- you would call out as -- as special this quarter in terms of the -- the balanced growth that we should note going forward?
Gaye Erkan -- President
So let -- let me start with the AUM growth and I'll turn it to Mike for the fee side. So midyear, it's very much in line. So we have seen majority of the growth come in from net client inflow, deepening existing relationships, as well as the net client inflow coming in from the new hires. And about a third of our AUM income growth came in from the market change when I look at quarter over quarter.
And on the fee side, we have seen tremendous growth across all the [Inaudible].
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah -- yeah, maybe just one sort of clean-up thing since you sort of referenced it that way, Brock. The -- the first quarter -- if you recall last quarter, we had a year-end performance fee for one of our funds that we operate. This quarter, there's a modest adjustment to that because we sort of finalize year-end numbers and review it. That added just under $4 million to our investment management fee this quarter that, you know, won't recur.
So you're starting base is probably closer to 115 instead of 119 as you go forward. And then factor in AUM growth on top of that. And just as a reminder, most of that, you know, $4 million -- most of that $4 million does flow through our expenses also.
Brock Vandervliet -- UBS -- Analyst
OK, great. I appreciate that color. And -- so the similar question on occupancy, which has been very well-controlled. You mentioned the -- the Hudson Yards office a couple of times in the prepared remarks.
Can you -- can you dimension that expense?
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. So our occupancy rates has been pretty consistent the last few quarters, $56 million to $58 million. There is a modest amount, you know, in margin in the way we recognize rent costs for Hudson Yards. It will ramp in the second quarter more fully.
So you'll probably see occupancy jump let's call it $8 million roughly from today's first-quarter level.
Brock Vandervliet -- UBS -- Analyst
Got it. OK, great. Thank you. That's it, very helpful.
Operator
And up next, we'll hear from Jon Arfstrom with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Jon Arfstrom -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst
Great. Thanks for taking the questions. Gaye, I have a question for you, just a clarification on some comments you made earlier. Do you -- with the -- with the shape of the curve, the steepness of the curve the way it is today, would you expect earning asset yields to slowly growing higher over time?
Gaye Erkan -- President
Yeah, with the yield curve steepening, that is what we are looking forward to. But as I said, competition has been quite strong, so that kept pricing credit stable with the beginning of the year. So that's why the high two's the 2.90% to the 3% range has been kind of where the asset side yields have been coming in on the real estate side. But I mean the one-sixth of that steepness when you take 10-year Fed funds today compared to [Inaudible] a year ago, compared to no steepness in '19, that really shows how strong competition has been.
And we're doing A-plus credit and relationship pricing. We're seeing more of the relationship coming through to us given this service -- extraordinary service our colleagues have provided during the pandemic. But again, small fluctuations in that NIM is largely offset by the strong safe organic growth across the franchise which we have tremendous growth opportunities across all of our markets.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
If I could add to that just for a second. If you look on -- if you look at our investor deck on Page 34, we have a long historical NIM chart in there, and that's really worth noting. At this point, we're at -- we're at a low point in our history at 267. But that high point is also about 315, 313.
So we operate in a pretty narrow and stable range. That's one of the keys for the franchise is its long-term stability and predictability.
Jon Arfstrom -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst
Right. Good. And it gets to my next question, it's maybe a bit of an odd question, but what -- what do you think would have to happen for deposit costs and funding costs to start to go back up? It just seems like there's so much liquidity that maybe even a rise in short rates wouldn't send your funding costs back up. But what -- what would have to happen for that to move back up?
Gaye Erkan -- President
There -- well, let me answer this. So the stimulus, obviously, that we talked about the average balance and the median balances being up compared to a year ago was kind of it translated through the savings rate in the accounts. So that could basically, to some extent, reverse itself. More competition for funding as rates are going up.
But again, you know, as we listen to the Fed chairman, that it's going to be a while before the short end of the curve coming up. But hypothetically speaking, alternatives of whether it's money market mutual funds or other alternative competition in there that could also yield to higher costs. But putting costs aside for a second, and the percent checking is much higher than -- than we used to have at over 6% to 7%. So that's kind of driven by the stimulus as well to some extent.
So we're now going to have, you know, 37% year-over-year growth, which has kind of driven by stimulus. But at the same time, we have expanded our toolkit so much on the funding side deposits and beyond. We remain in the A-plus credit on the asset side and the safety and soundness of the bank. The funding has not been an issue.
It's just a matter of the pricing as you point out.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
The matching and the -- the core matching in the enterprise asset-liability matching would indicate that a rising rate environment benefits us slightly on -- on net interest income and margin. And the primary reason is that thing Gaye have mentioned which is a high percentage of checking.
Jon Arfstrom -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst
Yeah, it looks positive in the -- in the near term. That's certainly true. And then just one bigger picture, maybe for you, Jim. But -- the industry, in general, has a bit of a near-term loan growth problem and it's not been a problem for you, clearly, but there is this view that there's a lot of pent-up demand in commercial and seeing pipelines building and that we're going to see a lot of this loan growth pickup once the reopening really gains traction.
Are you seeing elements of that in your business? I understand your mid-teens growth and there's -- it's a mosaic of growth, but are you seeing elements of that in areas like -- like commercial for example?
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
A little bit but not too much yet. But we're -- a lot of the commercial loan business is really done in the CMBS market and outside the banking system too. And -- and the insurance market. So you have to -- so the banking system does not see at all the same share of commercial lending -- real estate lending that is -- that I used to see.
I think our -- our growth comes from client service. If you, again, in our investor deck, but about 80% or more of our lending is either to existing clients every year that are doing more business with us, that's about 50% to 55%. And another 20% to 25% is their direct referrals. So to some extent, we march inside of our business and our referrals and not so much in the general market.
And that's why our growth rate can be fundamentally different.
Jon Arfstrom -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst
OK. Thanks for taking my questions. I appreciate it.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you.
Operator
This concludes the Q&A portion of the event. I will now turn the call over to Jim Herbert.
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you all very much for taking the time today. We appreciate it. Have a good day. Bye-bye.
Operator
[Operator signoff]
Duration: 64 minutes
Call participants:
Mike Ioanilli -- Investor Relations
Jim Herbert -- Chief Executive Officer
Gaye Erkan -- President
Mike Roffler -- Chief Financial Officer
Steve Alexopoulos -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
Dave Rochester -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Ken Zerbe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Bill Carcache -- Wolfe Research -- Analyst
Tom Stephens -- Evercore -- Analyst
Chris McGratty -- KBW -- Analyst
Arren Cyganovich -- Citi -- Analyst
Casey Haire -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Andrew Liesch -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
David Chiaverini -- Wedbush -- Analyst
Jared Shaw -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst
Brock Vandervliet -- UBS -- Analyst
Jon Arfstrom -- RBC Capital Markets -- Analyst