Glacier Bancorp, Inc. Announces Results for the Qu

4th Quarter 2016 Highlights:

• Record earnings of $31.0 million for the current quarter, an increase of $1.5 million, or 5 percent, over the prior year fourth quarter net income of $29.5 million.
• Current quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.41, an increase of 5 percent from the prior year fourth quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.39.
• Loan growth of $88.5 million, or 6 percent annualized for the current quarter.
• Net interest margin of 4.02 percent as a percentage of earning assets, on a tax equivalent basis, remained unchanged compared to the prior year fourth quarter.
• The Company announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire TFB Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for The Foothills Bank, a community bank based in Yuma, Arizona.  As of December 31, 2016, TFB Bancorp, Inc. had total assets of $335 million, total loans of $280 million and total deposits of $284 million.
• Approved a special dividend of $0.30 per share in December.  This was the 13th special dividend the Company has declared.
• Declared and paid a regular quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share in December.  The dividend was the 127th consecutive quarterly dividend declared by the Company.

Full Year 2016 Highlights:

• Net income of $121 million for 2016, an increase of 4 percent over $116 million for 2015.
• Diluted earnings per share of $1.59, an increase of 3 percent from the prior year diluted earnings per share of $1.54.
• Organic loan growth of $554 million, or 11 percent annualized for the current year.
• Net interest margin of 4.02 percent as a percentage of earning assets, on a tax equivalent basis, for the current year compared to 4.00 percent for last year.
• The Company successfully completed the year long effort to consolidate its Bank divisions’ individual core database systems into a single core database system.
• The Company completed the acquisition and related database conversion of Treasure State Bank based in Missoula, Montana.

Financial Highlights

KALISPELL, Mont., Jan. 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: GBCI ) reported net income of $31.0 million for the current quarter, an increase of $1.5 million, or 5 percent, from the $29.5 million of net income for the prior year fourth quarter.  Diluted earnings per share for the current quarter was $0.41 per share, an increase of $0.02, or 5 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.39.  Included in the current quarter was $368 thousand of acquisition-related expenses and $749 thousand of expenses related to the Company’s consolidation of its bank divisions’ core database systems (Core Consolidation Project or “CCP”) including expenses related to the re-issuance of debit cards with chip technology.  “The fourth quarter represents a strong finish for Glacier Bancorp and completes a very good year,” said Randy Chesler, President and Chief Executive Officer.  “Our 13 Bank divisions and the supporting staff groups did an excellent job staying focused on the customer and delivering top quality results- led by record earnings, strong loan growth, stable margins and good credit performance,” Chesler said.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $121 million, an increase of $5.0 million, or 4 percent, from the $116 million of net income for the prior year.  Diluted earnings per share for 2016 was $1.59 per share, an increase of $0.05, or 3 percent, from the diluted earnings per share of $1.54 for the same period in the prior year.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire TFB Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for The Foothills Bank, a community bank based in Yuma, Arizona (collectively, “Foothills”), as the Company enters the state of Arizona.  As of December 31, 2016, Foothills had total assets of $335 million, total loans of $280 million and total deposits of $284 million.  The acquisition is subject to required regulatory approvals and other customary conditions of closing and is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2017.

During the third quarter of 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of Treasure State Bank (“TSB”) based in Missoula, Montana.  The Company’s results of operations and financial condition include the acquisition of TSB from the acquisition date and the following table provides information on the fair value of selected classifications of assets and liabilities acquired:

Asset Summary

Total investment securities of $3.101 billion at December 31, 2016 increased $129 million, or 4 percent, during the current quarter.  The increase in the investment portfolio during the current quarter was from the Company utilizing surplus cash and customer deposits to purchase primarily short weighted-average life U.S. Agency mortgage backed securities.  The Company continues to selectively purchase investment securities when the Company has excess liquidity.  Although, the overall trend is a reduction in the investment securities portfolio since the Company has successfully been able to redeploy the securities portfolio cash flow into the Company’s higher yielding loan portfolio.  Total investment securities decreased $212 million, or 6 percent, from the prior year end.  Investment securities represented 33 percent of total assets at December 31, 2016 compared to 36 percent of total assets at December 31, 2015.

The loan portfolio grew $88.5 million, or 2 percent, during the current quarter.  The loan category with the largest dollar increase was commercial real estate which increased $70.7 million, or 2 percent.  The loan category with the largest percentage increase was other commercial loans which increased $39.0 million, or 3 percent.  Excluding the acquisition of TSB, the loan portfolio increased $554 million, or 11 percent, since December 31, 2015 with $331 million and $235 million of the increase coming from growth in commercial real estate and other commercial loans, respectively.  “Fourth quarter loan growth was once again better than what we historically have seen.  It’s great to see continuing strength in loan originations.  This is reflective of the strong customer relationships we have in all of our Bank divisions,” Chesler said.

Credit Quality Summary

The Company continued to benefit from the gradual improvement in asset quality during the current quarter.  Non-performing assets at December 31, 2016 were $71.4 million, a decrease of  $6.9 million, or 9 percent, during the current quarter and a decrease of $8.7 million, or 11 percent, from a year ago.  Non-performing assets as a percentage of assets at December 31, 2016 was 0.76 percent which was a decrease of 12 basis points form the prior year end of 0.88 percent.  Early stage delinquencies (accruing loans 30-89 days past due) of $25.6 million at December 31, 2016 decreased $1.8 million from the prior quarter.

The allowance for loan and lease losses (“allowance”) as a percent of total loans outstanding at December 31, 2016 was 2.28 percent, a decrease of 27 basis points from 2.55 percent at December 31, 2015 which was driven by loan growth combined with stabilized credit quality.

Credit Quality Trends and Provision for Loan Losses

Net charge-offs for the current quarter were $4.1 million compared to $478 thousand for the prior quarter and $1.5 million from the same quarter last year.  The quarterly net charge-offs continue to experience a fair amount of volatility on a quarterly basis.  There was $1.1 million of current quarter provision for loan losses, compared to $626 thousand in the prior quarter and $411 thousand in the prior year fourth quarter.  Loan portfolio growth, composition, average loan size, credit quality considerations, and other environmental factors will continue to determine the level of the loan loss provision.

Supplemental information regarding credit quality and identification of the Company’s loan portfolio based on regulatory classification is provided in the exhibits at the end of this press release.  The regulatory classification of loans is based primarily on collateral type while the Company’s loan segments presented herein are based on the purpose of the loan.

Liability Summary

Non-interest bearing deposits of $2.042 billion at December 31, 2016 decreased $57 million, or 3 percent, from the prior quarter which was primarily driven by seasonal fluctuations.  Excluding the TSB acquisition, non-interest bearing deposits increased $111 million, or 6 percent, from December 31, 2015.  Core interest bearing deposits of $4.998 billion at current year end increased $126.7 million, or 3 percent, from the prior quarter.  Excluding the TSB acquisition, core interest bearing deposits increased $155 million, or 3 percent, from December 31, 2015.  Wholesale deposits (i.e., brokered deposits classified as NOW, DDA, money market deposit and certificate accounts) of $333 million at December 31, 2016 increased $103 million since December 31, 2015, the majority of the increase was driven by a need to obtain wholesale deposits necessary for an interest rate swap.

Securities sold under agreements to repurchase (“repurchase agreements”) of $474 million at December 31, 2016 increased $72.4 million, or 18 percent, from the prior quarter and increased $50.2 million, or 12 percent, from the prior year end.  Repurchase agreements fluctuated as certain customers had significant deposit cash flows.  Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) advances of $252 million at December 31, 2016 increased $39.9 million, or 19 percent, during the current quarter to supplement the current quarter deposit growth used to fund asset growth.

Stockholders’ Equity Summary

Tangible stockholders’ equity of $957 million at December 31, 2016 decreased $30.3 million, or 3 percent, from the prior quarter primarily as a result of declaring a special and quarterly dividend coupled with a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income.  The decrease in the accumulated other comprehensive income resulted from a decrease in the unrealized gain on the available-for-sale securities portfolio due to a rise in interest rates; such decrease was partially offset by the decrease in the unrealized loss on the interest rate swaps.  Tangible stockholders’ equity increased $36.0 million, or 4 percent, from a year ago, the result of earnings retention and $10.5 million of Company stock issued in connection with the TSB acquisition; such increases more than offset the increase in goodwill and other intangibles from the acquisition and the decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income.  Tangible book value per common share at quarter end decreased $0.40 per share from the prior quarter primarily driven by the decrease in other comprehensive income.  Tangible book value per common share increased $0.40 per share from a year ago and was principally due to earnings retention.

Cash Dividend On December 28, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of $0.30 per share, the thirteenth special dividend approved by the Company.  The dividend was payable January 19, 2017 to shareholders of record January 10, 2017.  On November 15, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share.  The dividend was payable December 15, 2016 to shareholders of record December 6, 2016.  Future cash dividends will depend on a variety of factors, including net income, capital, asset quality, general economic conditions and regulatory considerations.

Operating Results for Three Months Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to September 30, 2016, June 30, 2016, March 31, 2016  and December 31, 2015

Income Summary

Net Interest Income In the current quarter, interest income of $87.8 million increased $1.8 million, or 2 percent, from the prior quarter and was primarily attributable to the increase in interest income from commercial  loans.  As a result of loan growth, commercial loan interest income increased $2.1 million, or 4 percent, during the current quarter.  Current quarter interest income increased $4.5 million, or 5 percent, over the prior year fourth quarter also because of increases in interest income on commercial loans which increased $6.6 million, or 15 percent, which more than offset the $2.1 million decrease in investment income.

The current quarter interest expense of $7.2 million decreased $104 thousand, or 1 percent, from the prior quarter with such decrease driven from a decrease in FHLB interest expense as the funding needs have lessened with the deposit growth.  The total cost of funding (including non-interest bearing deposits) for the current quarter was 36 basis points compared to 37 basis points for both the prior quarter and the prior year fourth quarter.

The Company’s net interest margin as a percentage of earning assets, on a tax-equivalent basis, for the current quarter was 4.02 percent compared to 4.00 percent in the prior quarter.  During the current quarter, the earning asset yield increased by 2 basis points.  The Company’s current quarter net interest margin remained the same compared to the prior year fourth quarter.  “Once again, the bank divisions have maintained good discipline in loan and deposit pricing as reflected in achieving a net interest margin above 4.00 percent in each quarter of the year,” said Ron Copher, Chief Financial Officer.  “The Bank divisions remain focused on quality loan and deposit growth, especially non-interest bearing deposits.”

Non-interest Income Non-interest income for the current quarter totaled $28.0 million, a decrease of $279 thousand, or 1 percent, from the prior quarter and an increase of $3.5 million, or 15 percent, over the same quarter last year.  Service fee income of $15.6 million, decreased by $662 thousand, or 4 percent, from the prior quarter and increased $227 thousand, or 1 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter.  Gain on sale of loans for the current quarter increased $173 thousand, or 2 percent, from the prior quarter.  Gain on sale of loans for the current quarter increased $3.7 million, or 62 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter as a result of the housing market continuing to strengthen during the current year coupled with the low interest rate environment.  Other income of $2.1 million, increased $334 thousand, or 19 percent, over the prior quarter and increased $176 thousand, or 9 percent, over the prior year fourth quarter principally due to the current quarter gain on sale of other real estate owned (“OREO”).  Other income included operating revenue of $43 thousand from OREO and a gain of $438 thousand from the sale of OREO, a combined total of $481 thousand for the current quarter compared to $168 thousand for the prior quarter and $239 thousand for the prior year fourth quarter.

Non-interest Expense Summary

Non-interest expense of $66.7 million for the current quarter increased $1.5 million, or 2 percent, over the prior quarter and increased $4.5 million, or 7 percent, over the prior year fourth quarter.  Compensation and employee benefits for the current quarter increased by $456 thousand, or 1 percent, from the prior quarter.  Compensation and employee benefits for the current quarter increased by $2.9 million, or 8 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter due to the increased number of employees, including increases from the TSB acquisition and the acquisition of Cañon National Bank (“Cañon”) in October 2015, increased commissions from increased loan production and annual salary increases.  Current quarter occupancy and equipment expense increased $524 thousand, or 9 percent, from the prior quarter and increased $114 thousand, or 2 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter.  The current quarter data processing expense decreased $671 thousand, or 16 percent, from the prior quarter due to a decrease in CCP related expenses.  The current quarter data processing expense increased $164 thousand, or 5 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter.  The current quarter OREO expense of $2.1 million included $318 thousand of operating expense, $1.7 million of fair value write-downs, and $30 thousand of loss from the sales of OREO.  Current quarter other expenses of $11.9 million decreased $381 thousand, or 3 percent, from the prior quarter.  Current quarter other expenses increased $253 thousand, or 2 percent, from the prior year fourth quarter primarily driven by increases from costs associated with CCP.

Efficiency Ratio The current quarter efficiency ratio was 55.08 percent, a 76 basis points decrease from the prior quarter efficiency ratio of 55.84 percent which resulted from the increase in interest income on commercial loans.  The current quarter efficiency ratio compared favorably to 56.52 percent in the prior year fourth quarter.  The 1.44 percent decrease in the efficiency ratio was the result of increased interest income on commercial loans and gain on sale of loans, which was greater than the increase in non-interest expense.

Operating Results for Year ended December 31, 2016 Compared to December 31, 2015

Income Summary

Net Interest Income Net interest income for the the current year was $315 million, an increase of $24.1 million, or 8 percent, over the same period last year.  Interest income for the the current year increased $24.5 million, or 8 percent, from the prior year and was principally due to a $24.0 million increase in income from commercial loans.  Additional increases included a $1.3 million in interest income from residential loans.

Interest expense of $29.6 million for the current year increased $356 thousand, or 1 percent, over the the same period in the prior year.  Deposit interest expense for the current year increased $2.3 million, or 14 percent, from the prior year and was driven by an increase in wholesale deposits and the additional interest expense for an interest rate swap with a notional amount of $100 million that began accruing in December 2015.  FHLB interest expense decreased $2.6 million, or 30 percent, as the need for wholesale funding has decreased with strong deposit growth.  The total funding cost (including non-interest bearing deposits) for 2016 was 37 basis points compared to 40 basis points for 2015.

The net interest margin as a percentage of earning assets, on a tax-equivalent basis, for 2016 was 4.02 percent, a 2 basis point increase from the net interest margin of 4.00 percent for 2015.  The increase in the margin was primarily attributable to a shift in earning assets to higher yielding loans combined with a continued increase in low cost deposits.

Non-interest Income Non-interest income of $107.3 million for 2016 increased $8.6 million, or 9 percent, over the same period last year.  Service charges and other fees of $62.4 million for 2016 increased $3.1 million, or 5 percent, from the same period last year as a result of an increased number of deposit accounts, both from organic growth and from recent acquisitions.  The gain of $33.6 million on the sale of loans for 2016 increased $7.2 million, or 27 percent, from 2015 which was attributable to the stronger housing market and the low interest rate environment.  Included in other income was operating revenue of $127 thousand from OREO and gains of $918 thousand from the sales of OREO, which totaled $1.0 million for 2016 compared to $1.1 million for the prior year.

Non-interest Expense Summary

Non-interest expense of $259 million increased $22.0 million, or 9 percent, over the prior year.  Included in current year non-interest expense was $4.3 million of CCP related expenses.  Compensation and employee benefits for 2016 increased $17.3 million, or 13 percent, from the same period due to the increased number of employees including from the acquired banks and annual salary increases.  Occupancy and equipment expense of $26.0 million for 2016 increased $474 thousand, or 2 percent, over the prior year.  Outsourced data processing expense increased $3.3 million, or 29 percent, from the prior year primarily the result of additional costs from CCP.  OREO expense of $2.9 million in the current year decreased $798 thousand, or 22 percent, from the the prior year.  OREO expense for 2016 included $761 thousand of operating expenses, $1.8 million of fair value write-downs, and $314 thousand of loss from the sales of OREO.  Current year other expenses of $47.2 million increased $2.4 million, or 5 percent, from the prior year and was driven by increases from costs associated with CCP.

Provision for Loan Losses The provision for loan losses was $2.3 million for 2016, an increase of $49 thousand, or 2 percent, from the same period in the prior year.  Net charge-offs during 2016 was $2.5 million compared to net charge-offs of $2.3 million for 2015.

Efficiency Ratio The efficiency ratio was 55.88 percent for the twelve months of 2016 and 55.40 percent for the twelve months of 2015.  Although there were increases in both net interest income and non-interest income, such increases were outpaced by the increases in CCP expenses and compensation expenses which contributed to the higher efficiency ratio in 2016.

Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about management’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions that are not historical facts, and other statements identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “should,” “projects,” “seeks,” “estimates” or words of similar meaning.  These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company’s control.  In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change.  The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations in the forward-looking statements, including those set forth in this news release:

• the risks associated with lending and potential adverse changes of the credit quality of loans in the Company’s portfolio;
• changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve Board, which could adversely affect the Company’s net interest income and profitability;
• legislative or regulatory changes, including increased banking and consumer protection regulation that adversely affect the Company’s business;
• ability to complete pending or prospective future acquisitions, limit certain sources of revenue, or increase cost of operations;
• costs or difficulties related to the completion and integration of acquisitions;
• the goodwill the Company has recorded in connection with acquisitions could become impaired, which may have an adverse impact on earnings and capital;
• reduced demand for banking products and services;
• the risks presented by continued public stock market volatility, which could adversely affect the market price of the Company’s common stock and the ability to raise additional capital or grow the Company through acquisitions;
• consolidation in the financial services industry in the Company’s markets resulting in the creation of larger financial institutions who may have greater resources could change the competitive landscape;
• dependence on the Chief Executive Officer, the senior management team and the Presidents of Glacier Bank divisions; 
• potential interruption or breach in security of the Company’s systems and technological changes which could expose us to new risks (e.g., cybersecurity), fraud or system failures; and
• the Company’s success in managing risks involved in the foregoing.

The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement if it later becomes aware that actual results are likely to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statement.

Conference Call Information A conference call for investors is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, January 27, 2017.  The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet. Interested individuals are invited to listen to the call by telephone at 877-561-2748 and the conference ID is 45236374.  To participate on the webcast, log on to: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/xxxuhk7z . If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will be archived on our Web site, www.glacierbancorp.com , or by calling 855-859-2056 with the ID 45236374 until February 10, 2017.

About Glacier Bancorp, Inc. Glacier Bancorp, Inc. is a regional bank holding company providing commercial banking services in 88 communities in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Colorado. Glacier Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered in Kalispell, Montana, and  is the parent company for Glacier Bank, Kalispell and Bank divisions First Security Bank of Missoula; Valley Bank of Helena; Big Sky Western Bank, Bozeman; Western Security Bank, Billings; and First Bank of Montana, Lewistown, all operating in Montana; as well as Mountain West Bank, Coeur d’Alene operating in Idaho, Utah and Washington; Citizens Community Bank, Pocatello, operating in Idaho; 1st Bank, Evanston, operating in Wyoming and Utah; First Bank of Wyoming, Powell and First State Bank, Wheatland, each operating in Wyoming; North Cascades Bank, Chelan, operating in Washington; and Bank of the San Juans, Durango, operating in Colorado.

Visit our website at www.glacierbancorp.com

CONTACT: Randall M. Chesler (406) 751-4722 Ron J. Copher (406) 751-7706