Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Page 3 of 3

Manuel Navas: Okay. I appreciate that. I appreciate the disclosures here. Just kind of shifting topics. You talked a little bit about better fee income for the guide for the year. Wealth management is a big part of that. You talked about the AUM increase. Are there other like kind of fees within wealth management that are also driving that? Or is it mainly if the market is doing well, it’s going to do just as well. Was there any seasonality to this first quarter’s result in part on the wealth management side?

Daniel J. Schrider: No. The only – and it did not affect this quarter, the only thing that might hit from time to time, and it’s not significant relative to the overall is if we have a disposition of a trust within our trust division that may have some onetime fees. But what you saw and what you would expect for the remainder of the year is going to be driven by both market performance and our ability to attract new assets under management.

Manuel Navas: And it’s really interesting that you’re seeing or you’re testing it and probably seeing some early success. Can you talk a little bit more about that cross-sell with the high-yield savings account? I think that kind of speaks to your branding and kind of strength of these high-yield savings that you’ve brought on are able to cross-sell. Can you just talk a little bit more about that early success so far?

Daniel J. Schrider: Yes, it is early. We spent a good bit of 2023, just focusing on stabilizing the core deposit base. And the outreach, as I mentioned, is both from our commercial bankers, our folks in our retail offices and our wealth management pros that are reaching out. As I also mentioned, we created a DDA account, we think that has attributes that are – will be very attractive to the profile of the client that’s in the high-yield savings. And so I think next quarter, we’ll have more data on our success in driving into those portfolios. So a little bit early at this point. But I do believe, and history would support, I think where you were going, Manuel, and that is the reputation of the bank, the relationship approach we take, I think, gives us a higher probability of deepening those relationships and turning them into full banking clients.

Manuel Navas: Thank you for the color.

Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Daniel Cardenas with Janney Montgomery Scott. Please proceed.

Daniel Cardenas: Good afternoon, guys.

Daniel J. Schrider: Hey Dan.

Daniel Cardenas: Could you maybe give us an update on the health of the D.C. market and potentially, what kind of an impact there could be if the government does decide to reduce its office space substantially in the coming couple of years as there is a proposal out there to potentially do so?

Daniel J. Schrider: I think it could have, obviously, a material impact on office in D.C. surrounding areas. Now, the return to work within the government agencies hasn’t happened. It’s really a function of whether they dispose of the property and let the leases roll. And I think it’s going to affect those properties that are the large floor plate office buildings that are very difficult to re-tenant in a short window of time. So I do believe it could have an impact on investors in those types of properties. Tough to predict how much, Dan, an impact it would have. We look closely at our book, we don’t have exposure to those large floor plate relationships. We’ve stayed small professional office space, smaller individual units that are easier to re-tenant with service businesses where being present is important for – from an occupancy standpoint, but it certainly could have an impact.

I don’t think it will have a material impact on us, but it would and investors in that type of property.

Daniel Cardenas: Okay. All right, thanks. All my other questions have been asked and answered. Thank you.

Daniel J. Schrider: Thanks, Dan.

Charlie Cullum: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] There are no additional questions left at this time. I will hand it back to the management team for closing remarks.

Daniel J. Schrider: Thank you, and thank you again, everyone, for joining our call this afternoon. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to myself and we’ll be glad to get you the answers, but we appreciate you spending your time and hope you have a great afternoon.

Operator: That concludes today’s conference call. Thank you. You may now disconnect your lines.

Follow Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:SASR)

Page 3 of 3