TrustCo's Fourth Quarter Caps Off A Solid 2019

GLENVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TrustCo Bank Corp NY ((TrustCo, NASDAQ:TRST) today announced full year 2019 net income of $57.8 million or $0.597 diluted earnings per share, and income of $13.9 million or $0.143 diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2019.  Average residential loan growth increased 5.6% or $187.7 million to a record $3.5 billion for the fourth quarter 2019.

Summary

Robert J. McCormick, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer noted, "We are pleased to report an increase in average residential loans of 5.6% or $187.7 million in the fourth quarter 2019 compared to the fourth quarter 2018.  Our focus on foundational principles of strong increasing book value, capital and asset growth, and operational efficiencies has allowed us to continue to grow our business and take advantage of changes in market and competitive conditions.  Our strong financial condition is evidenced by our continued recognition as a BauerFinancial, Inc. 5-Star Superior Bank Rating.  We continue to add core customer relationships, which ultimately drive future growth.  Loan growth and stabilizing cost of funds as a result of federal interest rate cuts have put us in a good position as we move forward."

"TrustCo continued to invest in the community and our business and consumers throughout 2019.  Evidenced by the record levels of residential loan balances achieved in 2019, the more than 10,000 hours of community service by our employees, and thousands of dollars of direct contributions to charitable organizations throughout the regions we serve.  We are particularly pleased that we have continued our over 100 year tradition of direct capital distributions to our shareholders in the form of cash dividends which in 2019 amounted to $26.2 million."  Loan portfolio expansion was funded by a combination of utilizing our strong cash balances and growth in our deposit base.  TrustCo's strong liquidity position continues to allow us to take advantage of opportunities when interest rate conditions change.

Details

Average loans were up $167.8 million or 4.4% in the fourth quarter 2019 over the same period in 2018.  Average residential loans, our primary lending focus, were up $187.7 million or 5.6% in the fourth quarter 2019, over the same period in 2018.  Average deposits were up $218.8 million or 5.2% for the fourth quarter 2019 over the same period a year earlier.  The increase in deposits was the result of a $195.0 million or 15.9% increase in average time deposits in the fourth quarter 2019 over the same period last year.  Excluding time deposits, total average core deposit accounts, which consist of checking, savings and money market deposit accounts, were up $23.8 million or 0.8% for the fourth quarter 2019 compared to the fourth quarter 2018.   

The cost of interest bearing liabilities increased to 0.90% in the fourth quarter 2019 from 0.61% in the fourth quarter 2018.  The cost of savings and interest bearing checking decreased slightly by 3 basis points and by 4 basis points, respectively, in the fourth quarter 2019 over the same period in 2018.  Money market deposits increased by 32 basis points to 0.81% versus 0.49% from the fourth quarter 2018.  The net interest margin for the fourth quarter 2019 was 3.02%.  A strategy executed during 2019 included offering competitive shorter term time deposit rates, which we expect will help stabilize net interest margin in the first and second quarter of 2020 as our shorter term time deposits would be expected to reprice lower and provide opportunity for increased margin expansion.

The Bank continued to demonstrate its ability to grow shareholders' equity as average equity was up $47.3 million or 9.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.  On this expanded equity, return on average assets and return on average equity were 1.06% and 10.41%, respectively, compared to 1.30% and 13.18% for the fourth quarter 2018.  Diluted earnings per share were $0.143 for the fourth quarter 2019, compared to $0.166 for the fourth quarter 2018.  Total operating expenses decreased by $1.0 million in the fourth quarter 2019 as compared to the fourth quarter 2018, driven by decreases in net occupancy expense, professional services, advertising expense, FDIC and other insurance expense, other real estate expense, and other expense, partially offset by an increase primarily in salaries and employee benefits.

Asset quality and the resulting loan loss reserve measures continued to improve.  Nonperforming loans (NPLs) were $20.9 million at December 31, 2019, compared to $25.0 million at December 31, 2018.  NPLs were equal to 0.51% of total loans at December 31, 2019, compared to 0.64% at December 31, 2018.  The coverage ratio, or allowance for loan losses to NPLs, was 212.4% at December 31, 2019, compared to 179.2% at December 31, 2018.  Nonperforming assets (NPAs) were $22.4 million at December 31, 2019 compared to $26.7 million at December 31, 2018.  The ratio of allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.09% as of December 31, 2019, compared to 1.16% at December 31, 2018 and reflects both the continued improvement in asset quality and the economic conditions in our primary markets.  The allowance for loan losses was $44.3 million at December 31, 2019 compared to $44.8 million at December 31, 2018.  The provision for loan losses for the year was $159 thousand for 2019, compared to $1.4 million in 2018.  Net chargeoffs decreased to $608 thousand for 2019 from $804 thousand for 2018.  The quarterly annualized net chargeoff ratio was 0.02% for 2019, compared to 0.05% in 2018. 

At December 31, 2019 the equity to asset ratio was 10.31%, compared to 9.88% at December 31, 2018.  Book value per share at December 31, 2019 was $5.55 compared to $5.07 a year earlier.

TrustCo Bank Corp NY is a $5.2 billion savings and loan holding company and through its subsidiary, TrustCo Bank, operated 148 offices in New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Florida at December 31, 2019.

In addition, the Bank's Financial Services Department offers a full range of investment services, retirement planning and trust and estate administration services.  The common shares of TrustCo are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TRST.

A conference call to discuss fourth quarter 2019 results will be held at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on January 22, 2020.  Those wishing to participate in the call may dial toll‑free 1‑888‑339‑0764.  International callers must dial 1‑412‑902‑4195.  Please ask to be joined into the TrustCo Bank Corp NY / TRST call.  A replay of the call will be available for thirty days by dialing 1‑877‑344‑7529 (1‑412‑317‑0088 for international callers), Conference Number 10138363.  The call will also be audio webcast at https://services.choruscall.com/links/trst200122.html and will be available for one year.

Safe Harbor Statement 
All statements in this news release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding our expectations for our performance during 2020, including our expectations for the repricing of our CD portfolio and the stabilizing of our net interest margin, the impact of Federal Reserve actions regarding interest rates and the growth of loans and deposits throughout our branch network, our ability to capitalize on economic changes in the areas in which we operate and the extent to which higher expenses to fulfill operating and regulatory requirements recur or diminish over time.  Such forward-looking statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially for TrustCo from those discussed. TrustCo wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The following important factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect TrustCo's actual results and could cause TrustCo's actual financial performance to differ materially from that expressed in any forward-looking statement:  our ability to continue to originate a significant volume of one-to-four family mortgage loans in our market areas; our ability to continue to maintain noninterest expense and other overhead costs at reasonable levels relative to income; our ability to make accurate assumptions and judgments regarding the credit risks associated with lending and investing activities; the effects of, and changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board, inflation, interest rates, market and monetary fluctuations; restrictions or conditions imposed by our regulators on our operations that may make it more difficult for us to achieve our goals; the future earnings and capital levels of us and Trustco Bank and the continued receipt of approvals from our primary federal banking regulators under regulatory rules to distribute capital to TrustCo, which could affect our ability to pay dividends; results of supervisory monitoring or examinations of Trustco Bank and TrustCo by our respective regulators; adverse conditions in the securities markets that lead to impairment in the value of securities in our investment portfolio; unanticipated effects from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act that may limit its benefits or adversely impact our business;  the perceived overall value of our products and services by users, including in comparison to competitors' products and services and the willingness of current and prospective customers to substitute competitors' products and services for our products and services; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and saving habits; the effect of changes in financial services laws and regulations and the impact of other governmental initiatives affecting the financial services industry; changes in management personnel; real estate and collateral values; changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the bank regulatory agencies, the FASB or PCAOB; disruptions, security breaches, or other adverse events affecting the third-party vendors who perform several of our critical processing functions; technological changes and electronic, cyber and physical security breaches; changes in local market areas and general business and economic trends, as well as changes in consumer spending and saving habits; our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing and managing our business; and other risks and uncertainties under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and, if any, in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or other securities filings.