Cambridge Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATC) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Chris O’Connell: Got it. And just thinking like longer term, I appreciate all the color around the margin and kind of where that’s heading for the remainder of the year. I mean how are you guys thinking about how the margin reacts without any further rate changes as you get into 2024? It starts to rebound, and if so, any loose comments around how much that rebound could be kind of on those equal rates as the loan portfolio and kind of overall asset base continue to reprice upward. And I mean, how are you guys thinking about it if we do get some rate relief for the Fed funds rate and how that might change kind of the margin outlook in 2024?

Denis Sheahan: There’s a lot of — Chris, there’s a lot of variables there. I would say all else being equal, the margin should expand. If the Fed — if you’re talking about if the Fed gives relief and cuts rates, but this — there’s a football field of variables and the question that are challenging to answer. I think just fundamentally, if the Fed cuts, we should benefit. We’re certainly, as you can expect, after that first quarter, we’re more liability sensitive than we were in the past. We were asset sensitive. But when you — when you increase rates 500 basis points in a short period of time, you kind of blow through a lot of that asset sensitivity. So we have some more liability sensitivity now if the Fed cuts, we will benefit.

Chris O’Connell: Okay. Got it. That’s all I had for now. Appreciate the time.

Denis Sheahan: Thanks, Chris.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Denis Sheahan for any closing remarks.

Denis Sheahan: Thanks, everybody. We look forward to speaking to you after our next earnings release.

Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.