Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Zach Wasserman: Erika, this is Zach. I’ll take that one. And the answer to your question is yes. We in terms of that very much is a sign of our trying to look ahead. Look at not only 2023 but also over the entirety of the strategic plan in Horizon and ensure that we’re setting up the overall financial performance in terms of revenue and the growth rate of overall expenses such that we can achieve the objectives in terms of profit growth — that is a very deeply held objective and we’re not looking in the short term, but in the long term to achieve it. As we talked about at Fairmont Investor Day, there are multiple strategic levers that we use to manage overall expenses to grow less than revenue to support that PPNR growth. And even as we drive a faster growth rate of the expenses — or sorry, the investments within expenses to drive ultimately business growth over the long term, but the efficiency drivers, operation accelerate that is going in reengineering, major customer-facing processes, taking waste and cost out of the system as we improve productivity our long track record of optimizing the consumer and retail branch distribution network, which is still very relevant, still it made, but it does represent an opportunity over time to reduce and to harvest expense saves and things like this organizational alignment, which are designed to help us to improve efficiency and hold cost growth at a low level.

I will note, it’s in the guidance that I’ve given in terms of overall core expense growth for 2023. But importantly, also helps us to achieve our strategic objectives. Align our organization yet even more towards our most important strategic priorities and to operate as efficiently and at pace as we can. So we are extremely focused on driving that long-term efficiency program, which is an important component of the PPNR guidance. And I do expect we’ll achieve the financial medium-term targets this year. That’s what’s baked into an implied by our overall guidance.

Rich Pohle: I think Erika, Steve, if I could add on just a bit and as you’ll remember from the Investor Day deck, shared a number of economic scenarios. And we were asked a question and commented that we would take action that the scenarios that the economy worsened and the more challenging scenario emerged. We’ve already closed 32 branches this month we are taking action consistent with our prior statement and the commitment around driving towards these medium-term financial goals. We’re looking ahead as well to ’24 with how we’re positioning the reinvestment off of the expense actions. So team is doing a great job. It’s a quick pivot, if you will, from a record year and a record quarter. But it’s with a very clear set of actions and plan and we’re executing.

Operator: The next question is from the line of Jon Arfstrom with RBC Capital Markets.

Jon Arfstrom : Just to follow up on Erika’s first question. You guys talked about your buyback being on pause because you’re watching the path of the economy. In the first half, you talked a little bit about the economic outlook since the Investor Day was slightly worse, yet Rich, you sound pretty confident. It feels like you feel good about your credit outlook just help us square that a little bit more. Are you actually seeing erosion maybe outside of your portfolios? Or help us understand your overall thinking because it seems like it’s pretty positive from my view.