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State Bank Financial has bought 10 failed banks since 2009, and CEO Joe Evans discusses his outlook for more deals. He also discusses challenges with loan demand, and the long-term outlook for his bank in its core markets of Atlanta and Macon, Ga.
October 3
State Bank Financial Corp.’s shares slid Monday after the Atlanta company reported a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
The $2.8 billion-asset company said Monday that it earned $9.1 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, down 47% from the prior quarter and 33% from the same period in 2010. Its earnings per share also fell 47% from the prior quarter, to 26 cents, six cents short of estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
State Bank's shares were trading at $15.84 midday Monday, down 7% from Friday's closing price.
Founded in 2005, State Bank was recapitalized in 2009 and has used the proceeds largely to acquire the assets of seven failed banking companies in Georgia, including two in the fourth quarter. In its news release Monday, the company attributed its fourth-quarter results to a sharp increase in its provision for loan losses due to the declining value on the collateral on loans it inherited in its failed bank-deals. Its loan-loss provision in the quarter was $16.8 million, six times higher than its third-quarter provision.
The company reported strong organic loan growth in the quarter but said that its overall net interest income fell 9% from the prior quarter due to reduced accretion on its loans covered by loss-sharing agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Its noninterest income was $18.8 million, up 63% from a year earlier, driven by a $14.9 million gain on acquisition in the fourth quarter.
State Bank acquired substantially all of the assets and deposits of the failed Piedmont Community Bank and Community Capital Bank in October.
