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DATE
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET
CALL PARTICIPANTS
- President — Robert McCormick
- Chief Financial Officer — Michael Ozimek
- Chief Banking Officer — Kevin Curley
TAKEAWAYS
- Net Income -- $16.3 million, up 14.1%, driven by lower funding costs, wealth management income growth, and repricing of the loan portfolio.
- Noninterest Income from Wealth Management -- Rose 9% quarter over quarter, aided by a $1.26 billion assets under management base.
- Share Repurchase Activity -- 522,000 shares (2.9% of shares outstanding) repurchased under 2026 authorization for up to 2 million shares (11.1% of outstanding stock).
- Return on Average Assets -- Increased 10% to 1.02%.
- Return on Average Equity -- Rose 14% to 9.66%.
- Efficiency Ratio -- Improved by 6% to 54%.
- Loan Portfolio -- Average loans grew $158.9 million (3.1%) to reach $5.3 billion, an all-time high; residential real estate loans rose $93.2 million (2.1%), home equity lines of credit grew $50.8 million (12.3%), commercial loans increased $17.1 million (5.8%).
- Net Interest Income -- Achieved $44.7 million, climbing $4.3 million (10.7%).
- Net Interest Margin -- Stood at 2.84%, up 20 basis points.
- Yield on Interest-Earning Assets -- Reached 4.23%, up 10 basis points; cost of interest-bearing liabilities dropped to 1.79% from 1.92%.
- Total Deposits -- Grew by $156 million to $5.7 billion.
- Provision for Credit Losses -- $950,000, approximately tripling year over year, divided between loan growth and the forward-looking Moody's economic forecast.
- Nonperforming Loans -- Rose to $21.5 million from $18.8 million; ratio to total loans increased to 0.41% from 0.37%.
- Nonperforming Assets -- Totaled $22.8 million, a rise from $20.9 million.
- Allowance for Credit Losses -- $53 million with a 247% coverage ratio.
- Book Value per Share -- Reached $38.32, a 6% increase.
- Equity to Assets Ratio -- Ended at 10.31%, down from 10.85%.
- Recurring Noninterest Expense Guidance -- Targeted at $26.7 million-$27.3 million for the full year, net of ORE expense.
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RISKS
- Provision for credit losses increased to $950,000, with CFO Ozimek stating, "about half of it is loan growth and about half of it is that forward-looking component of the Moody's forecast that does have some of the economic factors looking slightly negative on the go forward."
- Rising nonperforming loans, up to $21.5 million (0.41% of total loans) from $18.8 million (0.37%), signaling moderate credit quality erosion.
- Equity to assets ratio declined to 10.31% from 10.85% as capital is deployed via share repurchases, with implications for future capital flexibility.
SUMMARY
TrustCo Bank Corp NY (TRST +3.15%) reported notable growth in net income and loan balances, with margin improvement and increased wealth management contributions further supporting stronger returns. The company emphasized aggressive capital deployment through accelerated share repurchases, complemented by ongoing deposit and loan portfolio expansion across all major lending categories. Expense management guidance was reaffirmed, and management discussed its reliance on the Moody's economic outlook in credit loss provisioning.
- Management stated, "share repurchase will remain the centerpiece of our capital deployment strategy," reinforcing their pro-repurchase stance despite downward-trending capital ratios.
- The company highlighted stable early-stage delinquencies and consistent recoveries, with net recoveries of $39,000 in the quarter and $238,000 over the past year.
- Competitive pressure in deposit pricing persists, with President McCormick describing "consumers are pushing for obviously higher CD rates. I think more than I've ever never seen before in my career."
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
- ORE (Other Real Estate): Company-held real estate acquired through foreclosure or loan default, for disposition or recovery.
- Basis Point: One hundredth of a percentage point (0.01%), commonly used to reference changes in interest rates or ratios.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Robert McCormick: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the call. I'm Rob McCormick, the President of TrustCo Bank Corp. I'm joined today, as usual, by Mike Ozimek, our CFO, who will go through the numbers; and Kevin Curley, our Chief Banking Officer, who will talk about lending. We're pleased to report that 2026 is off to a great start with net income of over $16 million, improving margin, positive return metrics and building momentum in our share buyback program. Net income improved in part because of strategic pricing of our time deposit products, which had the effect of reducing our cost of funds.
Also, contributing to this growth was noninterest income generated by our wealth management department, which increased 9% quarter-over-quarter. The most meaningful part of the story and a matter of significant shareholder interest is that the loan portfolio is, as expected, repricing as loans booked at lower rates over the past few years are replaced by higher earning loans. As the loan portfolio reaches another all-time high this quarter, the positive effect of repricing is becoming more pronounced and is having a meaningful impact on our financials. The great results announced yesterday are further bolstered by our stock buyback program.
As investors will recall, we repurchased 1 million shares during 2025 and have received authorization to buy another 2 million shares this year. In the first quarter of 2026, we purchased over 500,000 shares, putting us on pace to fully execute. We continue to believe that the best acquisition we can make is TrustCo Bank, and we expect that share repurchase will remain the centerpiece of our capital deployment strategy. Each of these pieces of our company strategy over the quarter generated significant improvement in our return metrics, highlighting our profitability, efficiency and capital leverage. Year-over-year, we saw return on average assets increased 10% to 1.02%. Return on average equity grew 14% to 9.66%.
Our efficiency ratio was lower by 6% to 54%. Now Mike will get into the details. Mike?
Michael Ozimek: Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. I'll now review TrustCo's financial results for the first quarter '26. As we noted in the press release, the company continued to see strong financial results for the first quarter of 2026, marked by increases in both net income and net interest income of the bank during the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2025. This performance is underscored by rising net interest income, continued margin expansion and sustained loan and deposit growth across key portfolios. This resulted in first quarter net income of $16.3 million, an increase of 14.1% over the prior year quarter, which yielded a return on average assets and average equity of 1.02% and 9.66%, respectively.
Capital remains strong. Consolidated equity to assets ratio was 10.31% for the first quarter of '26 compared to 10.85% in the first quarter of '25. Book value per share at March 31, '26 was $38.32, up 6% compared to $36.16 a year earlier. During the first quarter of 2026, TrustCo repurchased 522,000 shares of common stock or 2.9% of TrustCo's outstanding common stock under its previously announced repurchase program that allows the company to repurchase up to 2 million shares or 11.1% of TrustCo common stock in 2026. We remain committed to returning value to shareholders through a disciplined share repurchase program, which reflects our confidence in the long-term strength of the franchise and our focus on capital optimization.
Credit quality continues to be consistent as we saw nonperforming loans modestly increased to $21.5 million in the first quarter of '26 from $18.8 million in the first quarter of '25. Nonperforming loans to total loans increased to 41 basis points in the first quarter of '26 from 37 basis points in the first quarter of '25. Nonperforming assets to total assets was 35 basis points, up from 33 basis points in the first quarter of '25. Our continued focus on solid underwriting within our loan portfolio and conservative lending standards positions us to manage credit risk effectively in the current environment.
Average loans for the first quarter of '26 grew 3.1% or $158.9 million to $5.3 billion from the first quarter of '25, an all-time high. Consequently, overall loan growth has continued to increase and leading the charge was the home equity lines of credit portfolio, which increased $50.8 million or 12.3% in the first quarter of '26 over the same period in '25 and the residential real estate portfolio, which increased $93.2 million or 2.1%. Average commercial loans also increased $17.1 million or 5.8%. This uptick continues to reflect our local -- very strong local economy and increased demand for debt. For the first quarter of '26, the provision for credit losses was $950,000.
Retaining deposits has also been a key focus as we begin '26. Total deposits ended the quarter at $5.7 billion and was up $156 million compared to the prior year quarter. We believe the increase in these deposits compared to the same period in '25 continues to indicate strong customer confidence in the bank's competitive deposit offerings. The bank's continued emphasis on relationship banking, combined with competitive product offerings and digital capabilities has contributed to a stable deposit base that supports ongoing loan growth and expansion. Net interest income was $44.7 million for the first quarter of '26, an increase of $4.3 million or 10.7% compared to the prior year quarter.
The net interest margin for the first quarter of '25 was 2.84%, up 20 basis points from the prior year quarter. Yield on interest-earning assets increased to 4.23%, up 10 basis points from the prior year quarter, and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased to 1.79% in the first quarter of '26 from 1.92% in the first quarter of '25. The bank is well positioned to continue delivering strong net interest income performance even as the Federal Reserve contemplates whether or not to make rate changes in the months ahead. The bank remains committed to maintaining competitive deposit offerings while ensuring financial stability and continued support for our community banking needs.
Our Wealth Management division continues to be a significant recurring source of noninterest income. It had approximately about $1.26 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2026. Noninterest income attributable to wealth management and financial services fees represent 44.1% of noninterest income. The majority of this fee income is recurring, supported by long-term advisory relationships and a growing base of managed assets. Now on to noninterest expense. Total noninterest expense net of ORE expense came in at $26.9 million, up $631,000 from the prior year quarter. ORE expense net came in at an expense of $50,000 for the quarter as compared to $28,000 in the prior year quarter.
We're going to continue to hold the anticipated level of expense not to exceed $250,000 per quarter. All the other categories of noninterest expense were in line with our expectations for the first quarter. We would expect 2026 total recurring noninterest expense net of ORE expense to be in the range of $26.7 million to $27.3 million. Now Kevin will review the loan portfolio and nonperforming loans.
Kevin Curley: Thanks, Mike, and good morning to everyone. Our average loans grew by $158.9 million or 3.1% year-over-year. This is an improvement over last quarter's report of year-over-year growth of $126.8 million. The growth was centered in our residential loan portfolio with our first mortgage segment growing by $93.2 million or 2.1% and our home equity loans growing $50.8 million or 12.3% over last year. In addition, our commercial loans grew by $17.1 million or 5.8% over last year. For the first quarter, actual loans increased by $37.7 million compared to the fourth quarter. Purchased mortgage loans, including refinances and home equity loans grew by $35.3 million and commercial loans were up by $3.3 million for the quarter.
Our mortgage origination activity showed solid improvement during the quarter and year-over-year. Purchase loan volume was steady throughout the quarter. Refinance activity picked up earlier in the period with lower rates, then eased as market rates moved higher during the second half of the quarter. In all of our markets, rates were lower in the beginning of the quarter, decreased closer to 6.75% and have recently receded to 6% to 6.25% range. We continue to offer highly competitive mortgage rates with our 30-year fixed rate at 5.99%. In addition, our home equity products continue to offer customers lower cost alternatives to other forms of credit.
Overall, we are positive about our loan growth in the quarter and remain focused on driving stronger results moving forward. Now on to asset quality. As a portfolio lender, we originate loans to hold for the full term, reinforcing our disciplined underwriting standards. Asset quality at the bank remains very strong. Our early-stage delinquencies for our portfolio continue to remain stable. Charge-offs for the quarter amounted to a net recovery of $39,000, which follows a net recovery of $14,000 in the fourth quarter and a total of $238,000 in recoveries over the past year. Nonperforming loans were $21.5 million at this quarter end, $20.7 million last quarter and $18.8 million a year ago.
Nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.41% at this quarter end compared to 0.39% last quarter and 0.37% a year ago. Nonperforming assets were $22.8 million at quarter end versus $22.1 million last quarter and $20.9 million a year ago. At quarter end, our allowance for credit losses remained solid at $53 million with a coverage ratio of 247% compared to $52.2 million with a coverage ratio of 253% at year-end and $50.6 million with a coverage ratio of 270% a year ago. Rob, that's our story. We're happy to answer any questions you may have.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from the line of Ian Lapey with Gabelli Funds.
John Lapey: Congratulations. Just a couple. So the provision more than tripled compared to a year ago despite really solid metrics in terms of your portfolio, and you mentioned stable early-stage delinquencies. So are you still -- you mentioned in the release a more cautious economic outlook. Are you still using the baseline Moody's forecast or are you doing something else?
Michael Ozimek: Yes. So we are still using the baseline Moody's forecast. And I mean, what's really driving that increase in the provision, I mean, about half of it is loan growth and about half of it is that forward-looking component of the Moody's forecast that does have some of the economic factors looking slightly negative on the go forward. So that's what drives that calculation.
John Lapey: Okay. And then the release mentions competitive pressure on deposit pricing. Can you just talk about is anything new, any new entrants or anything changing there? And what's your -- it seems like you're doing quite well in...
Robert McCormick: I don't think there's anything new, Ian, but it's the same old, same old. A lot of the consumers are pushing for obviously higher CD rates. I think more than I've ever never seen before in my career anyway. Consumers have a magic number in their mind that they're pushing for. And you also have the natural competitors from the credit unions that we compete against. So they're tough competitors from a rate perspective. They don't have the same motivation and same issues that we have. So nothing really new, just those 2 popping up.
John Lapey: Okay. And then lastly, on capital, what was the Tier 1 common equity ratio? And as you continue to repurchase shares, -- where -- what's your comfort level in terms of where you'd like to see -- where you'd be comfortable with that settling out? I know it was 18.4% at year-end.
Robert McCormick: Yes. The share repurchase, we're taking it kind of one bite at a time and slower. Mike can comment on this if he wants. But we're taking it as we possibly can. We are fully committed and believe in the share repurchase, but we're certainly not going to jeopardize our capital position or our liquidity position to repurchase shares. We've always been known, you know, you've seen the way we run the place. We've always been known as well capitalized and very liquid by all measures, and we certainly wouldn't want to do anything to disrupt that.
John Lapey: Okay. Good. And then do you have the CET1 ratio? I know it will be in the queue.
Michael Ozimek: We haven't disclosed it yet, but I mean it's trending down the same way that the leverage ratio is trending. So we're putting that capital to work.
John Lapey: Okay, great and congrats again.
Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Robert McCormick for any closing remarks.
Robert McCormick: Thank you for your interest in our company, and have a great day.
Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
