Cullen/Frost CFO says current mean of 2023 consensus EPS estimates ‘reasonable’

Speaking on the company’s Q4 earnings conference call, Cullen/Frost CFO Jerry Salinas stated: "Looking at our projection of full year 2023 total noninterest expenses, we expect total noninterest expense for the full year 2023 to increase at a percentage rate in the mid-teens over our 2022 reported level. Our continued expansion in Houston and Dallas and the introduction of our mortgage product accounts for about 2.5% of that projected growth. Also impacting the projected growth rate is significant investments that we will be making in information technology for both people and infrastructure. Investments in marketing in both advertising and people as we focus on expanding the communication of our value proposition and expense growth is also impacted by costs associated with continued support of our staff… Our current expectation is that our full year effective tax rate for 2023 should be in the range of about 14.5% to 15.5%, but that can be affected by discrete items during the year. Regarding the estimates for full year 2023 earnings, our current projections include a 25 basis point Fed rate increase in February, followed by a 25 basis point decrease in July. Given those rate assumptions and the 2023 noninterest expense growth of mid-teens, we currently believe that the current mean of analyst estimates of $10.89 is reasonable."