Timbercreek Financial Corp.

Recorded.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Timber Creek Financial's fourth quarter earnings call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session for analysts. Analysts are asked to raise their hands to register for a question. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Blair Tamblyn. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us to discuss the fourth quarter financial results. As usual, I'm joined by Scott Rowland, CIO, Tracy Johnson, CFO, and Jeff McTate, Head of Canadian Originations and Global Syndications. We closed 2022 with a very strong fourth quarter across our key financial measures as we benefited from higher interest rates applied across a larger portfolio of variable loans. This translated into strong growth in our investment income and distributable income. For example, DI was up 14% to 18 million in Q4 from the prior year quarter, and it grew 10% for the full year to 66 million after provisions. In this period of unusually rapid prime rate increases, excuse me, this period of unusually rapid prime rate increases caused some broader challenges in the real estate environment as well, including a general slowdown in commercial real estate transaction activity during Q2 and Q3. As expected, this is using Q4, which you will see reflected in higher transaction levels and turnover in the portfolio. While the general pace and magnitude of the increases in the prime rate and shorter-term rates generally has been an intentional shock to the economy, we think that it's important to note that the ultra-low rate environment that existed for much of the last decade was challenging for active lenders like Timber Creek. As we return to a more normalized rate environment in the latter part of 23 and into 24, from a macro perspective, our business will be very well positioned to generate attractive cash flow. As Scott and Jeff will speak to in a moment, we're actively managing a few situations where our borrowers have faced challenges in this environment. Active management is required from time to time in our business, and I'm confident in our team's ability to navigate these unique situations to preserve capital. With strong cost generation and a low payout ratio, we are fundamentally well-positioned, and the overall health and durability of the portfolio continues to underscore the value of our conservative approach. By underwriting high-quality income-producing assets from high-quality borrowers, we generally have more options in leeway in periods of market turbulence. With that, I'll turn it over to Scott to discuss the portfolio trends and market conditions.