Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $25.7 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, as higher net interest income, wider margins and continued credit-quality improvement lifted profitability.
Return on assets reached 1.00%, while return on equity rose to 11.29%, both the company’s strongest quarterly levels in several years. President and CEO Carlos Iafigliola said the results marked progress in the company’s effort to build a “more profitable and resilient franchise” through balance-sheet optimization, expense discipline and improved risk management.
Profitability and Margin Expansion
Net interest income increased $7.9 million from the second quarter to $90.5 million. Net interest margin expanded 25 basis points sequentially to 3.77%, from 3.52%.
Chief Financial Officer Sharymar Calderón said the increase reflected higher interest income from loans and investment securities, along with reduced interest expense on deposits and Federal Home Loan Bank advances. Loan repricing, liquidity deployment into earning assets and fees from early loan exits were among the contributors to margin expansion. The company also recorded additional interest on nonperforming loans that were resolved during the quarter.
Non-interest income was $18.3 million, up modestly from the prior quarter, while non-interest expense increased 0.3% to $69.1 million. Higher professional fees and employee costs were partly offset by lower advertising expense and higher other real estate owned income.
Pre-tax, pre-provision net revenue rose to $39.7 million, the highest quarterly level since the fourth quarter of 2022, from $31.9 million in the second quarter. The efficiency ratio improved to 63.51% from 68.37%, moving closer to the company’s approximately 60% target.
For the fourth quarter, Amerant expects net interest margin of 3.65% to 3.70%. Calderón said the guidance represents improvement versus a normalized third-quarter margin after accounting for nonrecurring benefits from nonperforming-loan collections and early loan exits. The outlook assumes continued pressure on funding costs, offset by variable-rate loan repricing, deposit repricing discipline and growth in lower-cost deposits.
Loan Growth, Deposits and Wealth Management
Total assets ended the quarter at $10.2 billion, down from $10.3 billion in the second quarter. Gross loans increased $207.8 million, or 3%, to $7.1 billion, driven principally by single-family residential and commercial lending. Growth was partly offset by lower commercial real estate, owner-occupied and non-depository financial institution loans, as well as elevated payoffs.
The company expects loans to reach approximately $7.3 billion by the end of the fourth quarter, supported primarily by commercial and industrial lending programs and residential lending.
Total deposits declined $109.6 million to $8.2 billion. The decrease was primarily tied to lower balances from large domestic commercial fund providers, partially offset by increases in private banking deposits, non-interest-bearing demand deposits and time deposits.
Amerant migrated approximately $270 million of low-cost interest-bearing balances into non-interest-bearing demand accounts during the quarter without losing the related accounts, management said. The company also added approximately $100 million in non-interest-bearing deposits through growth. Total deposit costs declined to 2.07%, from 2.21% in the previous quarter.
International deposits declined slightly, with Venezuelan customer deposits down $96.8 million, or 3.9%. Deposits from countries other than Venezuela rose $87.3 million, or 12%. Iafigliola characterized the Venezuela decline as transactional rather than structural, saying commercial and corporate activity in the country had required capital expenditures and distributions. He also noted that some funds moved into wealth-management accounts.
Assets under management increased $77.9 million to $3.45 billion, including $76.5 million of net new assets. Calderón said the growth reflected new talent additions and deeper cross-selling with commercial clients. The company expects total deposits to reach roughly $8.5 billion in the fourth quarter, with anticipated growth split approximately 60% from international sources and 40% from domestic sources.
Credit Quality and Capital Actions
Nonperforming loans declined $21.6 million, or 12.6%, to $149.5 million, equal to 1.46% of total assets. The reduction was driven by payoffs, including three commercial and commercial real estate relationships, partly offset by downgrades in commercial, owner-occupied and CRE lending. Subsequent to quarter-end, a $5 million commercial loan downgraded during the quarter was paid off.
Classified loan balances also declined, as payoffs and paydowns totaled $80.3 million, including four large relationships. However, the provision for credit losses rose to $6.2 million from $4.8 million in the second quarter, reflecting higher specific reserves associated mainly with four commercial relationships.
Gross charge-offs totaled $3.9 million and were partly offset by $1.9 million of recoveries. Amerant expects fourth-quarter gross charge-offs in a range of 30 to 35 basis points, including potential write-offs from existing specific reserves. Its allowance for credit losses ratio increased to 1.36% from 1.27%.
Amerant’s common equity Tier 1 ratio rose to 12.07% from 11.94%, supported by quarterly earnings. The company completed a registered offering of $50 million of 7% senior notes due 2031 on Sept. 17, adding long-term holding-company funding and liquidity.
The board authorized a share-repurchase program of up to $50 million through Dec. 31, 2027. During the third quarter, the company repurchased about 70,592 shares at a weighted average price of $28.47 per share. Amerant also declared a quarterly common dividend of $0.09 per share, payable Nov. 27.
2027 Outlook
Management said it views the 1% return-on-assets result as a new baseline and intends to improve on it over time. Iafigliola said the company is conducting capacity planning and retooling commercial and domestic banking operations to support steady loan growth, while continuing to exit relationships that do not meet its income or risk objectives.
Calderón said early 2027 quarterly non-interest expense is expected to run at roughly $69.5 million to $70 million, reflecting hiring to support growth. Management expects those investments to be partly offset by contract renegotiations and other cost-saving actions, while revenue growth supports continued improvement in the efficiency ratio.
About Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB)
Amerant Bancorp is the bank holding company for Amerant Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial products and services to consumers, businesses and institutions, with a primary focus on markets in Florida and Texas.
Amerant Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, home equity products, credit cards and treasury management services. It also provides wealth management and investment services, along with digital banking tools that allow customers to manage accounts, transfer funds and make payments online and through mobile devices.
The company traces its origins to 1970, when it was established as Commercebank.
