Alerus Financial reports Q1 EPS 32c, consensus 32c

President and Chief Executive Officer Katie Lorenson said, “Our momentum continues into 2024 as we started the year with strong production and client acquisition in our commercial wealth bank and national retirement businesses. Deposit growth and inflows were robust at over 6%, adjusted net interest margin expanded another 7 basis points and our loan to deposit ratio trended down to 85.2%. We leveraged the Bank Term Funding Program as a strategic arbitrage which was additive to net interest income during the quarter and helped drive over 3% sequential growth. The company’s fee income, which accounted for 53.3% of total revenues, increased across each diversified business line. Our adjusted efficiency ratio decreased slightly, despite the inflationary headwinds, as we continue to manage expenses prudently. Maintaining our fortress balance sheet remained a priority and we ended the quarter with an allowance for credit losses to total loans of 1.31%, a CET1 capital ratio of 11.86%, and growth in tangible book value per common share of 7.8% over the prior year. We continue to make progress in returning the company to top tier performance and remain focused on the long-term success of the company. I would like to thank our team members for all they do to create value for our clients, our communities, and our shareholders.”