Jamie Gregory: My point on the 2% to 4% and that’s a 2% to 4% reduction in the margin. So 6 basis points to 12 basis points. If you assume — if you want to assume that the Fed begins easing in May, you could assume that the Q3, whatever you had in there for your Q3 margin would be 2% to 4% lower. And so that’s kind of how we’re thinking about it. Just because the assumptions continue to change around when does this easing cycle start and how aggressive is it, we just wanted to give you something so that you could plug in whatever your expectation is and then just know that once we’re in that cycle that is what we expect the impact to the margin to be.
Russell Gunther: All right. That’s very helpful. I appreciate the clarification. Thank you, guys.
Kevin Blair: Yeah.
Operator: Our final question comes from Brody Preston from UBS. Please go ahead.
Brody Preston: Good morning, everyone.
Jamie Gregory: Good morning.
Brody Preston: Jamie, I just wanted to again just clarify, that was a 6 basis points to 12 basis points. Is that per cut that you’re kind of saying on a static balance sheet?
Jamie Gregory: No, no, that’s not per cut. That’s just during the cycle. That’s our expectation of where the margin will be as we progress through the cycle.
Brody Preston: Okay, okay. So it would be if the forward curve comes to pass it’s 6 basis points to 12 basis points off of the 3.20% that you’re kind of outlining as the ending point for the NIM by the fourth quarter?
Jamie Gregory: Yeah. And within that range, you could say that the more aggressive the Fed is, so if they’re going faster then it’s going to be at the higher end of the range, the larger negative impact. And if it’s a slow methodical, it could be the lower end of the range.
Brody Preston: Got it. Okay. And within your — within the guidance kind of setting the forward curve aside, what are you including for broker deposit runoff?
Jamie Gregory: We are assuming — I mentioned the $250 million to $500 million this quarter and then, you know, you would assume probably not the high end of that range each quarter going forward, but maybe $200 million to $400 million Q2 to Q4 decline in broker deposits.
Brody Preston: Okay, cool. And then I just want to ask one last one on the other income. I know that GreenSky, the $12 million was in there. But setting the GreenSky aside, it looks like it was still a decent quarter for the other income line item. And so I just wanted to ask what drove that and is it sustainable? And for the guidance for low single-digit growth in fee income, could you just remind us what base that is growing off of?
Jamie Gregory: The — in other income, there’s a little bit of that that is not necessarily repeatable. We had about a $3 million increase in BOLI revenue in the fourth quarter versus prior quarters. And so that’s something. As we think about fee revenue in the first quarter, there are two headwinds. You have that $3 million, then you have the impact of the GreenSky fourth quarter transaction that will not reoccur in the first quarter. What was the second part of your question, Brody?
Brody Preston: Just the low single digit growth in fee income that I think you called out on the slide. Just remind me what the base that you’re growing that off of is.
Jamie Gregory: We had adjusted fee revenue for this year. What was that, right at $460 million?
Kevin Blair: It is. That’s right.
Jamie Gregory: $460 million or $461 million.
Brody Preston: Awesome. Great, guys. I appreciate you taking my questions. Thanks.
Kevin Blair: Thanks, Brody.
Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Kevin Blair for any closing remarks. Thank you.
Kevin Blair: Thank you, Drew. And thank each of you for your attendance this morning, as well as your questions and continued interest in Synovus. I also want to once again thank all of our team members for your contributions in 2023. From meaningful progress on important priorities and strategic investments to the solutions delivered and the exceptional client experiences, you make it happen on a daily basis. While we receive the 2023 number one ranking in customer satisfaction and trust in the southeast from JD Power, our goal is to raise our client service levels even higher in 2024 and beyond. And as we cast our eyes towards 2024, we are embracing a new mantra, grow the bank. This signifies our shift back to a growth mindset after a year where external challenges necessitated a more defensive stance.
However, our pursuit of growth will be marked by prudence and will be fully aligned with our strategic goals and objectives. We will cultivate growth by amplifying the client experience, streamlining touch points, and continuing to be more proactive at providing valuable advice to our clients. In addition, our model facilitates delivering seamlessly across our lines of business and products and solutions which will allow us to further deepen our relationships and increase our share of wallet. At the same time, we’re committed to preserving and even improving key elements of our safety and soundness profile here at Synovus. Starting with improving our core deposit base to retaining levels of capital that put us in a strong position relative to our peers, and lastly, delivering credit metrics that prove the efforts taken over the last several years to diversify and fortify the balance sheet, especially during periods of economic stress.
