United Community Banks reports Q4 adjusted EPS 53c, consensus 52c

Reports Q4 revenue $165.737M, consensus $226.07M. Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton stated, “Our focus continues to be on both maintaining a strong balance sheet and investing in growth as we continue to build the company. This quarter, we entered into a bond portfolio restructuring transaction to reduce our exposure to interest rate volatility in this uncertain environment. This will have the additional advantage of increasing our earnings in 2024. In our core banking operations, we continue to be pleased with the ability of our teams to grow our book of business. In the fourth quarter, strong deposit growth allowed us to reduce high cost brokered deposits and more than fund loan growth. While the cost of deposits continued to drift upward, the pace of margin compression has slowed. Asset quality remained solid with net charge-offs for the bank, excluding Navitas, at low levels. Looking into 2024, we expect broader credit performance to remain strong, but are closely monitoring for potential changes in both the economic environment overall and specifically in our markets.”