1/23/2026

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star and then one on your touchtone phones. To withdraw your questions, you may press star and two. Please also note, today's event is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Lou de la Aguilera, Chairman and CEO. Sir, please go ahead.

speaker
Luis de la Aguilera
Chairman, President and CEO, USCB Financial Holdings

Thank you, Jamie, and good morning, and thank you for joining us for USCB Financial Holdings Q4 2025 Earnings Call. I am Luis de la Aguilera, Chairman, President, and CEO of USCB Financial Holdings. With me today reviewing our Q4 highlights is CFO Rob Anderson and Chief Credit Officer Bill Turner. who will provide an overview of the bank's performance, the highlights of which commence on slide three. 2025 was another successful year in which Team USCB closely focused on our business plan, executed efficiently, and delivered strong results. In reviewing overall performance, we note that total assets reached $2.8 billion, up 8.1% year over year. Loans grew by $216 million, or 11%, reflecting strong commercial activity and disciplined underwriting. Deposits increased $171 million, or 7.9%, demonstrating continued franchise growth and decline relationships. Net interest income expanded to 3.27%, improving from 3.16% in the prior year. Credit quality remains excellent, with non-performing loans at 0.14% of total loans. Tangible book value per share increased 10.8% year-over-year to 11.97%. These metrics affirm that our business model remains sound and that the bank continues to execute consistently across all major areas, profitability, balance sheet strength, credit quality, and capital. Still, as we executed our 2025 plans, management kept its eye on the future, taking strategic actions to enhance our earnings power in 2026 and beyond. In the third quarter of 2025, we completed a successful 40 million subordinated debt issuance, providing efficient capital at attractive terms. Most of the proceeds were used to repurchase approximately 2 million shares at a weighted average of 17.19% per share, underscoring our confidence in the intrinsic value of our stock and our commitment to returning capital to shareholders. In the fourth quarter of 2025, we reported gap-diluted EPS of $0.07, which included two known non-operating impacts – First, the execution of select restructuring of a securities portfolio that resulted in the sale of $44.6 million of lower yielding available for sale securities, producing an after-tax loss of $5.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share. Second, a $0.06 per share income tax liability expense related to prior periods for income generated in states outside of Florida. When you exclude these strategic non-routine items, operational diluted EPS was 44 cents consistent with last quarter and reflecting strong stable performance. The balance sheet repositioning was thoughtfully planned as we reinvested the proceeds into higher yielding loans at year end. As a matter of fact, Q4 2025 was our strongest loan production quarter for the year and this past December posted a record monthly closing high for 2025. This action is expected to lift NIM, accelerate earnings, and deliver long-term value for our shareholders. On expenses, while GAAP non-interest income and expense reflect the restructuring and one-time items, our operation efficiency ratio remained 55.92%, demonstrating stable operating leverage. Our capital remains strong, and we announced this week that the Board's approval of a 25% increase quarterly cash dividend of 12.5 cents per share. Risk-based capital ratios continue to exceed regulatory requirements by a comfortable margin, and the bank's underlying business remains solid, disciplined, and resilient across all metrics. CFO Anderson will guide us in detail through these strategic actions and their expected positive impacts. The following page, four, is self-explanatory, directionally showing nine select historical trends since recapitalization. Profitable performance based on sound and conservative risk management, is what our team is focused on consistently delivering. I'll now turn the call over to Rob for a deeper review of our performance.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Thank you, Lou, and good morning, everyone. Q4 was an interesting quarter for us, and there are several items that require some detailed explanations. Prior to addressing each item individually, I would note that the bank's core performance remains strong. The measures implemented in the fourth quarter will further strengthen USCB's position for continued improvement in 2026. First, as we previously disclosed, we executed a securities loss sale in December, which negatively impacted our earnings per share by 31 cents. We also incurred tax liabilities to other states where we generate income from loans. State tax liability expenses for all of 2024 and for the first three quarters of 2025 were recognized during the fourth quarter of this year. This was $1.1 million in negatively impacted earnings by 6 cents per share. Going forward, our tax expense should be modeled at 26.4%. Adjusting our gap figures for these two items only, you will find the operating or adjusted numbers on page six. This includes operating return on average assets of 1.14%, operating return on average equity of 15.05%, operating efficiency of 55.92%, and operating diluted earnings per share of 44 cents. I would note that our expenses were not adjusted, and this line item does include costs that, although semi-routine in nature, do not occur consistently. We have a full-year impact recognized in Q4 and subsequently will be amortized over 12 months in future periods. I'll provide further details once we get to the expense slide. Also, the 18.3 million shares represent a complete three-month period following the repurchase of shares in September. And last, tangible book value per share was $11.97. So with that overview, let's discuss deposits on the next page. Average deposits were essentially stable this quarter, down 3.9 million compared to the prior quarter, but up 314.6 million year-over-year, reflecting continued strength in core relationship growth. Within the mix, a positive development was a 26.4 million quarter-over-quarter increase in DDA balances, which represented 24.3% total average deposit. This shift toward lower-cost funding supports our NIM resilience, particularly in an uncertain rate environment. On pricing, interest... Bearing deposit rates decreased 27 basis points to 3.02%, down from 3.29% in the third quarter. Total deposit costs improved 25 basis points from the quarter to quarter and 20 basis points compared to the same quarter last year. These results reflect the benefit of the September, October, and December rate cuts and the disciplined repricing actions we have implemented. So with that, let's move on to the loan book. Average loans increased 31.9 million or 6.02 annualized compared to the prior quarter and 172.3 million or 8.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. On an end of period basis, our loan book grew just under 11%. As Lou mentioned, December was a record month for the new loan production. Also, since these loans were booked at the end of December, we did not get the full benefit of interest income in the period. This will be realized in Q1 of 2026. Additionally, we must provision on day one for these loans, so the financial impact in the quarter was negative. Portfolio yield declined modestly to 6.16%, reflecting the Federal Reserve's Q3 and Q4 rate cuts, which impacted our variable rate loans tied to SOFR and Prime. Additionally, a higher proportion of new loan production was short-tenured 180-day correspondent banking loans tied to SOFR. Gross loan production totaled $196 million in the fourth quarter with $83.5 million or 43% coming from correspondent banking. These loans carried a 5.26% new loan yield due to their short-term 180-day SOFR-linked structure, which helps explain the sequential yield decline. Excluding correspondent banking new loan production, new loan yields remained healthy at 6.43% for the quarter And as we look ahead to 2026, we expect loan yields to remain above 6%. On page 10 is a snapshot of our business verticals, and all these business verticals are led by very seasoned, experienced bankers and are pivotal to our branch-like model. These business verticals are highly scalable, and in the past year, we have added production personnel to support further growth. Moving on to page 11. Net interest income increased $933,000 on a linked quarter basis, representing 17.4% annualized growth and improved by $2.8 million compared to the same period last year. NIM expanded 13 basis points quarter over quarter and 11 basis points year over year to 3.27%, a key driver of this improvement. Consistent with what we discussed on the deposit slide is our ability to reprice the deposit book more quickly than the loan portfolios. Our disciplined deposit pricing strategy supported a steady NIM recovery throughout 2025. As we head into 2026, we expect further NIM improvement to be supported by continued impact of rate cuts and the ongoing execution of our deposit strategy, which emphasizes core relationship funding. Additionally, we anticipate NIM improvement from the securities restructuring performed late in Q4. Moving on to page 12. Our balance sheet remains well positioned to benefit from an easing cycle. According to our ALM model, the balance sheet is liability sensitive, and we continue to maintain a healthy mix between fixed rate and variable rate loans. With additional rate cuts expected in the near term, we anticipate meaningful relief in funding costs and a supportive backdrop for overall margin expansion. While we believe we can continue to outperform our model deposit betas, it's important to consider the dynamics on the asset side as well. We currently have 2.18 billion in the loan portfolio and 61% or roughly 1.33 billion is variable rate or hybrid in nature. Of that, 52% or approximately 692 million is scheduled to reprice or mature over the next year. This will naturally influence the pace at which asset yields adjust in the lower rate environment. In short, our liability sensitivity will depend on our ability to reprice our deposit book faster than the loan portfolio reprices. something we have historically executed well. With that, let's turn to our securities portfolio. We ended the quarter with 461.4 million in securities, split 67% AFS and 33% HTM with a quarterly portfolio yield of 3.01%. At current rates, we expect to receive 68.2 million of cash flows in 2026 and approximately 87.7 million in a 100 basis point down rate scenario. These cash flows provide meaningful optionality, allowing us to support loan growth or retire higher-cost funding as conditions evolve. At this point, we are not anticipating any additional portfolio restructuring. We do expect the yield on the investment portfolio to improve from current levels, driven by natural cash flow reinvestment at higher yields when available. As noted, the loss rate executed in the fourth quarter of 2025 was deliberately aimed at increased earnings, and the resulting cash flows were redeployed into higher-yielding loans. So with that, let me pass it over to Bill to discuss asset quality.

speaker
Bill Turner
Chief Credit Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. As you can see from page 14, the first graph shows the allowance for credit losses increased to $25.5 million at the end of the fourth quarter, that an adequate 1.16 of the portfolio. We made a $480,000 provision to the allowance that was driven mostly by the $59 million in net loan growth. There were no loan losses during the quarter. The remaining graphs on page 14 show the non-performing loans at quarter end grew by eight basis points or almost $2 million. The non-performing ratio stands at 0.14% of the portfolio, and these loans are well covered by the allowance. This increase is related to two past due residential real estate loans that are in the process of collection. These loans are well collateralized by real estate and no loss is expected. Classified loans also increased during the quarter to $6.4 million, or 0.29% of the portfolio, and represents 2.1% of capital. The increase is related to the two non-performing residential loans previously mentioned. No losses are expected from the classified loan pool. The bank continues to have no other real estate. On page 15, the first graph shows the diversified loan portfolio mix at year end. The loan portfolio increased $59 million on a net basis in the fourth quarter to just under $2.2 billion. Commercial real estate represents 57% of the loan portfolio, or $1.2 billion centered in retail, multifamily, and owner-occupied loans. The second graph is a breakout of the commercial real estate portfolios for the non-owner-occupied and owner-occupied loans, which also demonstrates their collateral diversification with no major changes from the third quarter. The table to the right of the graph shows the weighted average loan devalues of a commercial real estate portfolio at less than 60%, and the debt service coverage ratios are adequate for each portfolio segment. The quality and payment performances are good for all segments of the loan portfolio, with the overall past due ratio at 0.14% and non-performing loans also at 0.14%, with both ratios below peer banks. There were no loan losses in the quarter. Overall, the quality of the loan portfolio is good. Now let me turn it back over to Rob.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Okay. Thank you, Bill. The headline for non-interest income was the securities loss restriction we executed in December. The AFS securities sold represented approximately 12.6% of the AFS portfolio as of November 30, 2025, and had a weighted average yield of 1.70%. and the sales resulted in a one-time after-tax loss of $5.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share. The proceeds were reinvested into loans with a 6.15% yield. Excluding the security loss, non-interest income was $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, consistent with prior quarters. So let's move on to expenses. Our total expense base was $14.3 million, while up from the prior quarter contained $759,000 for a new bonus plan, for non-management personnel and enhancements of sales incentives and retention programs. It's important to note that the $759,000 represents an annual expense and will be accrued monthly based on performance in the future periods. The new bonus and retention programs aim to attract and retain top talent and position USCB as a leading bank employer. Consulting and legal fees rose by $315,000 compared to the previous quarter with $275,000 of this increase attributed to the non-routine expenses related to the universal shelf offering and the share repurchase transaction that took place earlier in 2025. Other operating expenses increased to $137,000 primarily due to force-placed insurance for specific borrowers, which the company fully expects to receive reimbursement for in the coming quarters. The operating efficiency ratio was 55.92, which encompasses the full 14.3 million expense base. Adjusting for the 759,000 and the 275,000, the fourth quarter expense base would have been 13.2 million, resulting in an adjusted efficiency ratio of 51.87%. When planning for 2026, we consider the 13.2 million to be an appropriate baseline for our expenses in Q4 of 25. So with that, let's turn it to cap, turn over to capital ratios. Earlier this week, the board approved a 25% increase to the dividend or 12 and a half cents per share based on strong operating earnings. As a reminder, in August of 2025, the company issued 40 million in subordinate notes and used most of the proceeds to buy back 2 million shares were approximately 10% of the company at a weighted average price of $17.19 per share. The bank maintains regulatory capital levels that significantly exceed the thresholds necessary for classification as well capitalized, and we look for ways to deploy capital where the return on average equity is between 15 to 17%, which equates to top quartile performance relative to peers of similar size. Last, I will note the ending share count for the quarter was 18.1 million, And with that, let me turn it back to Lou for some closing comments.

speaker
Luis de la Aguilera
Chairman, President and CEO, USCB Financial Holdings

Thank you, Rob. 2025 ended another strong year for U.S. Century, and we continue to proactively make ongoing strategic decisions that support profitability and shareholder value. As we look ahead into 2026, expanding and strengthening our deposit base remains one of our highest priorities. Our approach is multivertical and intentionally relationship-driven, not rate-driven. While all our production units are ready to deliver results, we are leaning on four of our strongest business lines, business banking, private client group, association banking, and correspondent banking. Each vertical has a clear plan, clear targets, and experienced leadership accountable for execution. Business banking delivered strong results in 2025, closing the year end at nearly 400 million deposits, and we are building on that momentum. In 2026, we're expanding production capacity by launching a new lending and deposit gathering team focused on Doral, Medley, and Hialeah, three of the densest small business markets in Miami-Dade. This team will emphasize SBA and CNI lending, operating accounts, and treasury services, all designed to bring in sticky relationship anchor deposits. It's a very targeted expansion, and this positions business banking to be one of our biggest contributors to organic deposit growth this year. Our private client group had an excellent year-round growing deposits, 18% to $300 million. This franchise continues to win because of its deep specialization in professional markets, legal, medical, and affluent professional clients. For 2026, we're adding more dedicated relationship talent, beginning with additional production hires expected between Q1 and Q2. The strategy here is share of wallet, more operating accounts, more treasury services, and deepening our footprint in the professional services sector. Association banking remains one of the most scalable opportunities and it carries our largest deposit growth target for 2026 of 100 million. The team now manages over 480 homeowner associations relationships today and continues to grow both deposits and lending in this vertical. Our 2026 strategy focus on property management company Roughly half of the HOAs in South Florida are professionally managed. And now with 25 firms onboarded, we're working hard to capture these operating and reserve balances. Keep in mind that approximately 40% of the state's population of 23 million live in either a condominium, homeowner association, or a planned urban development, underscoring the importance potential of this business vertical. This granular, stable, low beta deposit growth is exactly the kind of funding we want more of. Correspondent banking grew to $235 million by year end. The team also delivered a strong lending year and meaningful fee income through wire activity. In 2026, the focus is on expanding the corresponding banking relationships, onboarding three to five new correspondent banks, and maintaining an active travel schedule. We're also evaluating additional production talent to support growth. Our goal is to continue growing low-cost deposits as well as expand on trade finance and income and fee income opportunities. Our specialty business lines, namely private client, correspondent, and association banking have grown to $686 million, or 29.3% of total deposits. We have a clear and attainable plan to continue this important growth trajectory. With that said, I would like to open the floor to Q&A.

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time we'll begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star and then 1 on your touchtone phones. If you are using a speakerphone, we do ask that you please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your questions, you may press star and 2. Again, that is star and then 1 to join the question queue. We'll pause momentarily to assemble the roster.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

And our first question today comes from

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

Will Jones from KBW, please go ahead with your question.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

Yeah, hey, great. Good morning, guys.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

Good morning.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

So I just wanted to start on deposit trends. I know the story with average balances is a little bit different than what you saw in the period, but I just wanted to dig into kind of the shrinkage you saw there at the end of the year, essentially giving back some of that growth you saw last quarter. Rob, just any notable trends to point out there and any kind of seasonality to be aware of or strategic shrinkage you guys kind of saw there at the end of the quarter?

speaker
Luis de la Aguilera
Chairman, President and CEO, USCB Financial Holdings

Well, there's two things that happened literally on the last two weeks of the last month. We have a relationship with a client that is over 10 years old. phenomenal relationship and there was a significant move in deposits of well over a hundred million. This is something that they had communicated to us as early as February. It was a business move that they were going to make. It could have happened in January, but it happened in the last two weeks of the year. The client still maintains with us over a hundred and twelve million deposits, 31% is DDA, eight accounts, And that is something that's going to rebuild over time. There was also on the correspondent banking side about a $50 million swing also in the last two weeks of the year. But that has pretty much been recovered already in January. Our correspondent bank clients are flush with cash and periodically, especially at year end, they tend to pay down their loans. And that's exactly what happened here. Those were isolated, two very identified situations, and we're not really concerned about them. You know, we expected them.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

Yeah, okay, I got it. I guess that kind of bars my next question. You guys are kind of operating at the higher bound of your loan-to-deposit ratio that we've seen over the past handful of years. So I guess just based on your commentary, that's probably going to trend maybe back down a little bit. you know, in the first half of 26, but maybe just any thoughts about where you could, what range you would like to see that, you know, ratio operate in and how you think about current levels.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Yeah, I think optimally, I mean, I like kind of 90 to 95 on the loan to deposit ratio. I think, you know, you get a little bit above that. It seems a little too tight for Maven. You get a little Lower than that, I think you have a little bit more liquidity. So I generally like anywhere between 90 and 95, and I think we're operating at that level. As Lou mentioned, you do have some companies that do some window dressing at your end. We anticipate to build back those deposits. I think Lou mentioned in his closing comments, we have a lot of resources available. decked up against deposit building for 2026. And we feel that is the number one priority for the bank as we go into 2026. Yeah.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

Okay. That's helpful. And Lou, I thought your comments were interesting about this new kind of SBA, you know, vertical that you guys are launching there and some of your specific Florida markets. Maybe if you could just unpack that a little bit deeper for us, just frame what you see the that opportunity looking like over the next, you know, call it one to three years, and maybe whether or not you already have the personnel in place to kind of kickstart that initiative?

speaker
Luis de la Aguilera
Chairman, President and CEO, USCB Financial Holdings

Sure. Well, the initiative actually launched about four years ago, and we have been growing it prudently. It delivered over a million dollars in fee income last year. We do a lot of SBA 504, always have, always will, but we got into the 7A space just to diversify our product offering on the SBA side. Also, we like the gain-on-sale opportunity there. Our average ticket is about $1.2 million. I think most of them are real estate secured, so we tend to be conservative in nature. We're not a shop that is trying to do millions of dollars in $50,000 loans that are unsecured. That's not what we're going to be doing. We'd like to grow this probably in the next three years to about $40 or $50 million in annual volume, and that would deliver very handsomely on the fee income side. So we believe that the markets that we're going to be targeting down here, Hialeah, Medley, and Doral, they're contiguous markets on the north and northwest side of the county. Our analysis showed that there's over 43,000 small businesses in these markets, and that's the type of business we're going to go after pretty much with the same focus that we started. It's not the tiny little small SBA loan. These are established businesses. They have revenues probably between $3 million to $5 million, and again, this is the type of business that we're going to be selling treasury to and developing.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

Got it. Okay. So this is just an extension of what you guys are already doing on the SBA side then. Okay.

speaker
Luis de la Aguilera
Chairman, President and CEO, USCB Financial Holdings

Correct. We're just going to be ramping it up.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

Gotcha. Okay. That's helpful. And then the last thing for me, maybe just broad strokes over capital. You guys have been just fairly active over the past three months or so. Just strategically, as you think about some of the repurchase you did, the dividend increase, bond structure, and of course, organic growth. Maybe it's just a good time to reset and just ask whether there's anything else you guys are thinking about strategically on the capital front and maybe just what your top priorities are in 2026.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Yeah, besides building capital and returning it to shareholders, that's the number one priority. I mean, we just increased the dividend 25%. I think that demonstrates some conviction and strength by the management team and the board. We did a lot last year with the buyback and the sub-debt. I think 2026, we're looking to earn and return capital, and we don't have any significant plans, I would say, at this time to do anything other than produce good earnings and build it.

speaker
Will Jones
Analyst, KBW

Yeah, okay. Well, great. Thanks for the questions. Congrats on a strong year. Thank you, Will.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

Thanks, Will.

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

Our next question comes from Freddie Strickland from Hobdy Group, please go ahead with your question.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Hey, good morning. I wanted to drill down on the margin a little bit. It sounds like in your opening comments you talked about thinking there's going to be some expansion over the course of the year, but is it fair to expect a little bit more of a spike maybe in the first quarter from the impact of the balance sheet restructure and then kind of see a more steady growth over the rest of the year, particularly if we get some rate tests?

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

You broke up a little bit on the first part.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Are you referencing the NIMS, Eddie? Yeah, sorry about that. I want to talk about the margin and just whether we might see a little bit more of a spike in the first quarter. Yeah, I think we're going to be probably, I would say conservatively, probably a little flat. You know, what we had is some runoff in deposits that were, you know, moderately priced. We backfilled a little bit of that with some FHL deposits. The advances, which are a little bit pricier, we ended the quarter at 327. I think you should model flat to slightly up, not significant, and we'd look to build it. If we do get any rate cuts, certainly that would be on the front end of the curve, and we'd look to our $1.2 billion money market book to reprice plus our CDs, and I think that would give us the margin expansion as well. But right now, the challenge for us is to backfill The deposits we lost with either DDA or moderately priced money market and either pay off the advances or redeploy that into higher yielding loans. So I would say conservatively, flat to slightly up on the NIM in the first quarter.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

Appreciate that. Thanks, Rob.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

And just on the loan growth, I mean, it's kind of high single digits, low teens still on the cards. It sounds like it is, particularly given the strong growth at the quarter end. Yeah, I would say that. I mean, on average, we were, you know, kind of six percent for the quarter. But we just put up our largest quarterly new loan production in a while. It was one hundred ninety six million. And a lot of that was done at year end. So, you know, we didn't get the benefit of it. you know, in the quarter in terms of interest income, but we provisioned for it, and we'll get the benefit in the second quarter. But, you know, I would still say conservatively, certainly high single digits and maybe a little bit more to the low double digits would be a kind of a secondary guide for you.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

Perfect. And just one last question on the tax rate guidance.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

I think I heard you say that's going to go up to 26.4%. Is that a consequence of some of the securities you sold, or just curious what the driver was there? No, the main driver is that we self-identified with our tax professionals. We do have some loans that are out of state, and we want to make sure we're complying with everything. So we went ahead and paid those. It was for prior periods. But I would say from a modeling standpoint, going forward is 26.4%. is a good modeling number in terms of the tax expense you'll see in 2026.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

Understood. Thanks for taking the questions. Thank you, Fetty.

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and then one. To withdraw your questions, you may press star and two. Our next question comes from Evan Yee from Raymond James. Please go ahead with your question.

speaker
Evan Yee
Analyst, Raymond James

Hey, good morning, guys. Thank you for taking my questions.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Morning, Evan.

speaker
Evan Yee
Analyst, Raymond James

I was just kind of curious on your expense outlook, if you have any updates there, maybe what the puts and takes would be given, you know, just the new bonus plan enhancements to sales incentives and retention programs, in addition to what kind of sounds like more anticipated hires here. Thank you.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Yeah, so, you know, the fourth quarter I would characterize as, you know, first is, you know, We have our gap numbers, and this quarter we're referencing some non-gap numbers, which I historically really don't prefer, and I think we've done it one other time with a portfolio restriction maybe in 2023. But since we've been public, we have been reporting gap numbers, and that's what I prefer. I think it's just a cleaner quarter for you guys. But we backed out the two known items, and then on the expense side, You know, we did some new programs that were annual-type expenses that booked in the quarter, and those will be based on performance on a run rate going forward. But I think if you would have backed those things out, you know, our expense base was around 13.2 for the quarter, and I think you'll see that gradually increase in the first quarter with new hires and through the year. But we anticipate to have low 50%, you know, percent on an efficiency ratio. And but I think 13.2 would be a good jump off point for the fourth quarter as you model out 2026, if that's helpful.

speaker
Evan Yee
Analyst, Raymond James

OK, great. No, that is super helpful. And then I guess another one for me, I know we kind of just we touched on SBA, but just curious if you have any updates on your fee outlook as a whole. And could you maybe go into the puts and takes there? Thanks.

speaker
Rob Anderson
Chief Financial Officer, USCB Financial Holdings

Yeah, so on non-interest income, we've been running, you know, this quarter would have been $3.3 million if you backed out the securities loss that we executed. The quarter before was around $3.7, $3.3, $3.7. So, you know, I would anticipate us to continue to build that around, I think, the $3.5 to the $3.8 range for 2026 initially and as we move forward. But that's kind of what we're targeting. You know, I think that's a good number. and it should gradually build from there. We have a lot of, on the wire fees, new correspondent banks. We're increasing volume there. We've done that successfully. Swap fees remain attractive to our clients in the marketplace, and then certainly our treasury management business as well is bringing in a lot of fees as well. So I think there's opportunity there for us as a company, and I would say anywhere from 3.5 to 3.8 in the coming quarters is a good number.

speaker
Moderator
Conference Moderator

Okay, great. Thank you. I'll step back. Thank you, Evan.

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

And ladies and gentlemen, at this time, in showing no additional questions, we'll be concluding today's question and answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Lou for any closing remarks.

speaker
Luis de la Aguilera
Chairman, President and CEO, USCB Financial Holdings

Thank you, Jamie. Before I conclude, I want to express my appreciation to our shareholders, clients, and the entire USCB team for their continued confidence and partnership. As you've heard today, 2025 was a year marked by strong execution, discipline, decision-making, and strategic actions designed to evaluate our earnings power for years to come. As we move into 2026, our focus remains unchanged, deliver consistent performance, grow high-quality loans, strengthen core funding, manage risk with discipline, invest in our people, and create long-term value for our shareholders. I thank you all for your interest and support, and I look forward in meeting again at a next earnings call.

speaker
Jamie
Conference Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll be concluding today's conference call and presentation. We do thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

Disclaimer

This conference call transcript was computer generated and almost certianly contains errors. This transcript is provided for information purposes only.EarningsCall, LLC makes no representation about the accuracy of the aforementioned transcript, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the information provided by the transcript.

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