Signature Bank (SBNY) Tops Q4 EPS by 38c

Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY) reported Q4 EPS of $3.26, $0.38 better than the analyst estimate of $2.88.

"2020 was a year where many worldwide suffered immensely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the distribution of the vaccines, we hope the world will be a safer place soon and look forward to 2021 being a year where we return to normal and all whose lives have been horribly affected can heal. During these difficult times, Signature Bank focused on providing assistance for colleagues and clients alike through several beneficial programs, including PPP, to help them through their struggles. 2020 also marked the time where recent initiatives put forth by the Bank developed into full-fledged businesses as the pandemic did not slow their progress. These new businesses, coupled with efforts emanating from our existing franchise, flourished throughout the year. The Bank saw remarkable record deposit growth and significant record loan growth leading to nearly $1 billion in pretax, pre-provision earnings, which increased 16.1 percent for the year. Furthermore, we strengthened our West Coast presence meaningfully utilizing our core banking model in California. To this end, 17 teams were appointed in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2020 alone,” explained Signature Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo.

“Signature Bank enters 2021 as a stronger financial institution through the bolstering of our capital position in excess of $1 billion with the issuance of $375 million in subordinated debt and $730 million in preferred stock. Moreover, we’ve reached asset/liability neutrality by significantly increasing floating rate assets as a percentage of the balance sheet while also notably reducing our commercial real estate concentration. Additionally, we have meaningfully improved our liquidity position through significant record core deposit inflows and reduced borrowings which contributed to a decline in our loan-to-deposit ratio to 77.1 percent. Signature Bank now has a multi-faceted growth profile, with traditional private client banking teams leading the charge in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Further fortifying the Bank’s market position are our multitude of national businesses, including Signature Financial, Asset Based Lending, Fund Banking, Venture Banking, Digital Banking, and Specialized Mortgage Banking Solutions, as well as SignetTM, our state-of-the-art blockchain-based payments platform. We look forward to a healthier 2021 as recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic commences, and life begins to return to normal,” DePaolo concluded.

Scott A. Shay, Chairman of the Board, added: “2020 was a dramatically difficult year from many perspectives. At Signature Bank, sadly, we saw some of our colleagues lose loved ones. The real human toll of COVID-19 was central to many of our activities in 2020 in relation to our colleagues and clients. We are ever mindful that our real assets are those with whom we work every day. Concurrently, during 2020, Signature Bank’s amazing organic growth was widespread across all areas of focus including the aforementioned new businesses. To support our growth, the Bank raised more than $1 billion in capital while remaining focused on credit quality. In difficult times, clients care about the basics, namely good, unbiased advice that puts them and their sleep-at-night safety first and foremost. We provide these levels of comfort through our dedicated bankers, who, throughout 2020, catered to clients at all hours.”

“Additionally, part of being a safe bank amid this landscape is paying close attention to technological advances. We have been at the forefront, as evidenced by the first to launch a blockchain-based payments platform, and we intend to keep it that way. Hence the reason we invested in developing Signet before most investors -- and even our clients -- recognized the emergence of and massive changes in the digital payments economy.”

“As the rapid and safe deployment of vaccines penetrates the nation, we look forward to an end to the pandemic, and the new opportunities that lie ahead,” Shay concluded.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Signature Bank (SBNY) click here.

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