- Amerant Bancorp reported a $12.5 million loss from loan sale.
- Temple View Capital paid $58.9 million for $71.4 million mortgages.
- Amerant’s total assets dropped to $9.9 billion last quarter.
Amerant Bancorp reported a $12.5 million loss from its latest loan portfolio sale.
The Coral Gables-based parent company of Amerant Bank (NYSE: AMTB) told shareholders on Jan 2. that Temple View Capital Funding LP and TVC Funding VII LLC paid $58.9 million in cash on Dec. 27 to acquire $71.4 million in mortgages, reflecting a 17.5% discount from the outstanding principal.
The portfolio comprises of 323 residential mortgage loans for business and investment properties with an average interest rate of 7.13%.
The decline marks a dip below the $10 billion regional bank threshold, which Amerant had surpassed at the end of the third quarter. The bank said it expects to exceed this milestone again this month from “strong deposit and loan pipelines.”
The drop in assets was also attributed to a $170 million repayment of Federal Home Loan Bank advances, which Amerant said was partially offset by deposit growth during the fourth quarter.
The bank reported progress in reducing its criticized loans through payoffs, upgrades and sales. While nonperforming loans fell by $71 million in the third quarter, substandard loans rose by over $9 million.
Nonperforming loans, also known as “special mention loans,” are credit agreements considered the most at-risk for banks due to their low likelihood of being repaid in full. Substandard loans fall under “classified loans,” and represent debts with potential risk but not yet in default. Both special mention and classified loans are considered criticized loans.
Amerant said its reduction in nonperforming loans in the quarter was largely due to two downgrades to substandard loan status.
“We want to be known as Florida’s bank,” he told the TBBJ. “That doesn’t happen overnight, but we have a good start. The amount of time we’re spending in this marketplace, it’ll pay dividends.”
Amerant is set to release its full earnings report for the fourth quarter and the year 2024 later this month.
