First Internet Bancorp reports Q4 EPS 68c, consensus 70c

Reports Q4 revenue $27.5M, consensus $23.5M. Reports Q4 loan loss provision $2.1M vs. $0.9M y/y and net interest margin of 2.09% vs. 2.30% y/y. "We satisfied strong, high quality loan demand in our commercial and consumer lending businesses in the fourth quarter, capping off a year of robust loan growth and annual growth in net interest income," said David Becker, CEO. "While higher deposit costs impacted earnings in the fourth quarter, we were pleased with the increase in income generated by our loan portfolio and the strong finish to the year by our small business lending team. As a result of investments we made during 2021 and 2022 in government guaranteed lending talent, we continue to move up the rankings, placing in the top 30 of 7(a) program lenders for the SBA’s 2022 fiscal year, and are in the top 15 for the 2023 fiscal year-to-date. We are also beginning to realize the rewards from important investments in our Banking-as-a-Service efforts. We made significant progress in the fourth quarter, going live with our platform partner, Increase, and providing payments services to power the small business bill pay product from Ramp, a leading corporate card and spend management platform. We have two additional fintech partners in the pilot phase, another four approaching the pilot phase and one in due diligence. We also expect our partnership with the platform Treasury Prime to be fully implemented during the first quarter of 2023 with the first associated fintech program to be on-boarded in the second quarter. As we enter 2023, we believe our increasing mix of variable rate loans, combined with new loan production coming on at higher rates, will help to offset the pressure of higher deposit costs. If interest rates follow the market’s expectations, deposit costs should stabilize later this year and decline thereafter, setting the stage to achieve higher earnings and profitability in 2024. Furthermore, our balance sheet and capital levels are strong and asset quality remains high, leaving us well-positioned for any changes in the broader economic environment."