National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE:NBHC) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Aldis Birkans: Yes. No. Absolutely. Right? I mean that is — if you look at the items in our balance sheet that by far, is the most expensive cost of funding and in terms of maximizing our net income, it is goal to pay down as much federal home loan bank advances as possible. We do like that capacity in terms of liquidity and access. So having a small amount on balance sheet and always have that machines — grease those wheels to make sure that we have access, and certainly, again, over the last 4 months has played out as an important source for banks to go in and make sure that they can fund day-to-day operations smoothly. That’s important. So we’re not necessarily looking to maybe pay down the last penny, but directionally, we continue to look for ways to expand our deposit relationships and pay down the more expensive debt.

Brett Rabatin: Okay. And then just lastly, I wanted to clarify — I wasn’t quite clear on the fee income guidance of $34 million to $36 million. Does that include or not include any potential improvement in the Cambr revenue going forward?

Aldis Birkans: That’s our rest of the year outlook for inclusive of all our lines of business. So including Cambr, mortgage banking — core banking fees.

Tim Laney: But I think his question was, does it include any of the optimization of Cambr? And the answer is no. We’ve just taken our expected run rate. Based on what we saw coming in the first — the second quarter.

Brett Rabatin: Okay. And if I could sneak in one last one. Tim, I’m curious, I’ve had a few banks tell me that they’re starting to have a few conversations. I’m curious if you’ve had any that reach out to you or if you were in any early rumblings of maybe some deal activity at some point in the next few quarters?

Tim Laney: I’m not going to speak to specific conversations. We’re always in conversations. Candidly, some interested in buying, others interested in selling. And I would say in terms of our own view around acquisitions, we’re really in a capital building mode. And we really have a lot to absorb as we work through the remainder of this year. We’re going to remain conservatively postured as it relates to questions around where the economy might go. And I think it will set us up nicely for 2024 with a lot of optionality.

Brett Rabatin: Okay. That’s great color. Appreciate it.

Aldis Birkans: You bet. Thanks for the questions.

Operator: Thank you. And I am showing we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Mr. Laney for his closing remarks.

Tim Laney: Thank you, Anna. As we noted, pipelines are strong as we look into the second half of the year. We continue to fill great about the markets that we operate in. Cost of deposits appears to be stabilizing, and knock on wood, we won’t see any more kind of dramatic action in the marketplace. Criticized assets actually came down in the quarter, and we feel very good about the quality of the loan portfolio and its performance and our ability to resolve issues quickly when they do present themselves. And again, well positioned for a solid second half of the year. So thanks, everyone, for your questions and your time today. Have a good day. Bye now.

Operator: And this concludes today’s conference call. If you would like to listen to the telephone replay of this call, it will be available in approximately 24 hours, and the link will be on the company’s website on the Investor Relations page. Thank you very much, and have a great day. You may now disconnect.

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