Webster Financial Corporation (WBS)’s Q4 2014 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

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Operator:

Our next question today is from Jerry. Please proceed with your question.

Timur Braziler

Hey good morning, this is actually Timur Braziler filling in for Jerry. My first question goes back to the assets sensitivity picture. The acquisition of the HSAs deposits that generally improved your overall assets sensitivity profile, might there be any opportunity on the asset side to try and up some yield today or will that just be held on to until rates finally start to move.

Glenn I. MacInnes – Chief Financial Officer

Well I think that, some of that will happen obviously when rates begin to move. We did invest, we will invest about half a million in the investment portfolio with the HSA. So we’ll take up some income from that. And we’ll be paying that in the loan fees during the first quarter and it’s probably that 800, 900 million a debt they’ll be borrowing so we’ll pick up some there as well.

Timur Braziler

Ok, but as far as the strategy, particularly for the investment security portfolio is, that’s not going to happen?

Glenn I. MacInnes – Chief Financial Officer

No, I don’t see us doing that.

Timur Braziler

And then looking at the length quarter increase within common benefits, it looks like it looks like it’s a little bit higher than that of a year ago quarter. I was just wondering, what portion of that increase has NE contributed to the new incentives plan rolled out during 2014?

Glenn I. MacInnes – Chief Financial Officer

Yeah, a bigger piece of it was related to the strong volume and strong finish we saw in the commercial size, so that piece and another piece I would highlight is we did see a pop in medical expense and typically we do see one in the fourth quarter but even one year over year basis probably we’re at 500 to 715,000 dollars so that was something we had anticipated two quarters ago. But that’s the way it came in. The community banks incentive program is quarterly so it’s running and it’s monthly payments so it’s not as much

The community banks incentive program is quarterly so it’s running and there’s monthly payment so you’re not gonna see as much of a pop there. Although we have seen more productivity and we have higher payoffs so it’s hitting on all cylinders. But the bigger driver was the strong finish on the commercial banks.

Right whats happening is the consumer incentive program is not net increasing pay-offs it’s allocating them better to value derived.

Timur Braziler:

And I guess a quick follow up on the incentive plan. Can we just touch on where that program is on a roll out perspective versus the original plan?

We’re fully rolled out on the community bank side. And have been for 3 quarters now. And we’re getting traction productivity so our productivity is up about 11%. And we’re so tightly lined up with profitability that we’re selling the right product so lot of good things happening there. I think we continue to look at where we’re rolling out next. Whether it’s our call centre or other lines of business. But I think we’ve been very satisfied where we are on the community bank side.

Okay great. Nice quarter.

Operator:

Our next question today is from Matthew Kelly from Strategy. Please proceed with the question

Matthew Kelly – Strategy
Hi guys. Just to clarify a couple of things on the income side. So there was a onetime, non-recurrent bow lee gain in the other interest income, what was that specifically?

Joseph J. Savage – President

Well that’s proceeds we re-state as part of the death benefit.

Matthew Kelly – Strategy

I’m saying what was the dollar mode of that?

Joseph J. Savage – President

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