Hancock Whitney Loans Reach $26.5 Billion and Deposits $32.2 Billion After One Florida Bank Deal
Hancock Whitney Corp. (NASDAQ: HWC) ended the third quarter with $26.5 billion in loans and $32.2 billion in deposits, helped by its Aug. 1 purchase of One Florida Bank, MarketBeat reported from the company's Oct. 20 earnings call.
Excluding the acquisition, loans grew at a 4% annualized rate and deposits at 9%.
Net income was $110.1 million after a pretax charge of $30.4 million tied to the deal, according to the Motley Fool transcript. Adjusted earnings, which strip out acquisition costs, came to $1.66 per share, up 17% from a year earlier.
Loan and Deposit Growth
Total loans rose 8% from the second quarter, including $1.7 billion acquired from One Florida Bank. Chief Executive John Hairston said commercial real estate lending and equipment finance led the organic growth.
Deposits rose 9% from the prior quarter, including $1.9 billion acquired.
Noninterest-bearing deposits, which pay no interest to customers, stood at $10.6 billion, or 33% of the total. Management also said new bankers hired since the start of last year accounted for 55% of 2026 loan growth to date and 77% of the third quarter's growth.
Deposit Costs and Promotional Rates
Chief Financial Officer Mike Achary said promotional rates on certificates of deposit and money market accounts helped bring in deposits. They also raised the bank's funding costs. Achary said the bank is building liquidity for loan demand it expects in coming quarters.
The net interest margin, the gap between what a bank earns on loans and securities and what it pays on deposits, widened 5 basis points to 3.61%. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
MarketBeat said management expects higher deposit costs to limit further gains.
Capital, Buybacks and Credit Quality
The tangible common equity ratio, a measure of capital strength, fell 173 basis points from the second quarter to 8.05%.
Management attributed the drop to the cash purchase of One Florida Bank, share repurchases and interest rate swings that affected other comprehensive income. The bank bought back 1 million shares in the quarter at an average of $77.91.
Management said it will likely hold off on more repurchases until rates become clearer. Net charge-offs, which are loans written off as uncollectible, held at 16 basis points.
Criticized commercial loans fell $6.7 million to $485.3 million, the seventh straight quarterly decline.
Nonaccrual loans, which are no longer accruing interest, rose $19.6 million to $133.3 million. The allowance for credit losses stayed at 1.42% of total loans.
Management also acknowledged recent hurricanes in the Florida Panhandle and committed to supporting affected communities.
Full-Year Outlook
The efficiency ratio, which measures expenses against revenue (lower is better), improved to 54.46% from 55.31%. Management kept its outlook for low-double-digit full-year loan and deposit growth.
Its guidance calls for net interest income growth of 9% to 9.5%, fee income growth of 5.5% to 6%, and expense growth of 8% to 8.5%.
The report is part of the bank earnings flow investors have been tracking. Management described itself as cautiously optimistic about finishing 2026 with continued growth.