Equity Bancshares, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Results; Including Net Interest Margin Growth Driven by Core Deposit Base.

WICHITA, Kan: Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: EQBK), ("Equity", "the Company", "we," "us," "our"), the Wichita-based holding company of Equity Bank, reported net income of $12.3 million and $0.80 earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

"Our Company's success is in large part due to our ability to adapt on behalf of our customers and teams no matter the banking environment. I'm pleased at our team's ability to deliver unparalleled support and service to our customer base," said Brad S. Elliott, Chairman and CEO of Equity. "Value creation is crucial for regional banks, and our ability to deliver sophisticated and customized solutions helps build our Company's organic growth, sustainability, and competitive advantage."

"During the third quarter our team continued to emphasize credit quality while meeting the needs of our customer base." Mr. Elliott said. "Our classified asset ratio is as low as it has ever been, while both capital and on balance sheet reserves remain high positioning Equity to be strategic as we assess both organic and acquisitive growth opportunities."

Notable Items:

During the quarter, the Company realized linked period Net Interest Margin growth of 13 basis points, and Net Interest Income growth of $1.6 million.

Pre-tax, pre-provision net income for the quarter was $15.5 million up $2.3 million linked quarter driven by growth in both net interest income and non-interest income.

The Company continued to emphasize investor returns through share repurchase and quarterly dividends. The Company's Board authorized a 20% increase in quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share, and authorized the repurchase of up to 1 million shares. During the quarter, the Company received non-objection from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City related to the repurchase plan.

Classified loans as a percentage of total risk-based capital at Equity Bank were 6.3%, down from 7.9% as of June 30, 2023, and 10.0% as of December 31, 2022.

During the third quarter, Equity announced two internal promotions to its executive management team. Chris Navratil was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Krzysztof Slupkowski was promoted to Chief Credit Officer.

Financial Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2023

Net income allocable to common stockholders was $12.3 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2023, as compared to $11.5 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The increase during the quarter was primarily driven by increases in interest income of $3.8 million and non-interest income of...