United Community Banks completes balance sheet repositioning, expands buyback

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE: UCB) announced the completion of a balance sheet repositioning following the Sept. 1 sale of Navitas Credit Corp. and NLFC Reinsurance Corp., which generated approximately $2.0 billion in proceeds.

As part of the repositioning, the company reclassified $2.2 billion in held-to-maturity investment securities to available-for-sale and subsequently sold approximately $2.6 billion of lower-yielding securities. Those securities carried a weighted average yield of 2.20% and an average duration of roughly 5.5 years. Proceeds are being redeployed into cash and short-duration securities with an average yield of approximately 4.5% and an average duration of about two years.

The company expects to recognize an estimated pre-tax loss of approximately $300 million from the repositioning, partially offset by a $64 million pre-tax gain from the Navitas sale. United expects a net loss for the third quarter of 2026 but projects positive net income for the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2026.

Following the Navitas sale, United's pro forma common equity tier one (CET1) ratio stood at approximately 14.5%. Accounting for the repositioning and the recently completed acquisition of Peach State Bancshares, Inc., the company projects its CET1 ratio will remain above 13% for the third quarter of 2026.

United also reported that it repurchased $50 million in common shares during the third quarter to date, bringing total 2026 repurchases to $87 million under its existing program.

On Sept. 1, 2026, the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors authorized a $100 million increase to the share repurchase program, extending through Dec. 31, 2027. The prior authorization had $13 million remaining. The program does not obligate the company to repurchase any minimum number of shares and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time.

As of June 30, 2026, United Community Banks had $29.1 billion in assets and operated 200 offices across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

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