Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Li Yu: David, right now, with current environment you are almost all only to have at least 10% debt yield, okay, in order to qualify. There’s just no, I mean, if it is not a whole lot of it either loans that qualify that for those kinds of things. So naturally, there will be less applicants and when we are still doing things is, we have a group of very loyal customers, when they want to do something, they come to us and we try our very best and try to work with them to try to fulfill their needs. And that’s not to say next quarter when necessary planning to a certain degree of loan growth, because this time I doubt how many of our industry. I mean, our fellow bankers can have accurate crystal ball regarding the actual loan increase in the third quarter or fourth quarter, okay? It’s so unclear as far as we are concerned.

David Feaster: Okay. That makes sense. And then maybe just going back to the funding side. I know you guys — you talked last quarter about really going and trying to get some of the depositors that we are diversifying and moving out after the failures that just kind of panicked. Where are you at in bringing some of those guys back or have you had success bringing them back, and I guess, could that be a tailwind for core deposit growth going forward?

Li Yu: We are actually seeing that we — I mean a lot of the customers that had either reduced or left us — shouldn’t say left us, quite reduced, has been replenished their numbers, I mean, with us, okay? And we have not been going on, as you know and try to get a whole lot of new customers, okay, because number one, it doesn’t seem to be there’s a whole lot of opportunity in the marketplace, and number two, can you imagine the competition?

Edward Czajka: Yeah.

David Feaster: Yeah. A good point. And then last one, I just wanted to touch on the SBA department and kind of where we are with the build-out and the early read on that. And just look, the timing of that could be pretty good, just curious where we are there and whether you are still planning to sell or any appetite to retain?

Li Yu: Johnny, do you want to answer that?

Johnny Hsu: Yeah. On the — David, on the SBA department, we are currently an application part. We currently submitted our application for the delegated authority. So we anticipate ramping up the SBA section of our business second half of this year and going forward. And which still — yes, we are still looking to sell where we originate on our — in our portfolio — in that department.

David Feaster: Okay. That’s helpful. All right. Thanks everybody.

Operator: Our next question comes from Tim Coffey from Janney. Go ahead.

Tim Coffey: Thank you. Good morning, everybody. I have a question on the provision, relative to the credit metrics in terms of portfolio and actual charge-offs or not existing charge-off, net charge-off in the quarter. It seemed to be fairly large. If credit trends can remain consistent, do you see reserving at the same level going forward?

Li Yu: Well, personally, I mean, the guru of that is mix. Personally, I think, he is on the very, very, I mean, caution side regarding that, okay. Nick, do you want to give little more color on that?