FinWise Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

- Loan Originations of $1.3 Billion -

- Net Income of $3.2 Million -

- Diluted Earnings Per Share of $0.23 -

MURRAY, Utah, April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FinWise Bancorp (NASDAQ: FINW) (“FinWise” or the “Company”), parent company of FinWise Bank (the “Bank”), today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.

First Quarter 2025 Highlights

• Loan originations totaled $1.3 billion, compared to $1.3 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and $1.1 billion for the first quarter of the prior year
• Net interest income was $14.3 million, compared to $15.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and $14.0 million for the first quarter of the prior year
• Net income was $3.2 million, compared to $2.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and $3.3 million for the first quarter of the prior year
• Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) were $0.23 for the quarter, compared to $0.20 for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and $0.25 for the first quarter of the prior year
• Efficiency ratio¹ was 64.8%, compared to 64.2% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and 61.0% for the first quarter of the prior year
• Nonperforming loan balances were $29.9 million as of March 31, 2025, compared to $36.5 million as of December 31, 2024, and $26.0 million as of March 31, 2024. Nonperforming loan balances guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) were $15.1 million, $19.2 million, and $14.8 million as of March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively

“Our business model remained resilient in the first quarter, even amidst a more uncertain macro environment,” said Kent Landvatter, Chairman and CEO of FinWise. “We posted solid loan originations and encouraging credit quality metrics, as both non-performing loan balances and net charge-offs declined sequentially. Furthermore, we continued to migrate our loan portfolio to a lower risk profile while still growing profitably and increasing tangible book value. Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, we also announced a new strategic program agreement where FinWise will provide both lending and our Credit Enhanced Balance Sheet product. While we will continue to closely monitor the economic environment, we remain excited about the outlook for our business and will maintain our focus on executing our business strategy to continue to position the Company for long-term growth and shareholder value creation.”

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_{¹ See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure.}

Selected Financial and Other Data

^{(1)   This measure is not a measure recognized under United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and is therefore considered to be a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of this measure to its most comparable GAAP measure. The efficiency ratio is defined as total non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income. The Company believes this measure is important as an indicator of productivity because it shows the amount of revenue generated for each dollar spent.
(2)   Tangible shareholders’ equity to tangible assets is considered a non-GAAP financial measure. Tangible shareholders’ equity is defined as total shareholders’ equity less goodwill and other intangible assets. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is total shareholder’s equity to total assets. The Company had no goodwill or other intangible assets at the end of any period indicated. The Company has not considered loan servicing rights or loan trailing fee assets as intangible assets for purposes of this calculation. As a result, tangible shareholders’ equity is the same as total shareholders’ equity at the end of each of the periods indicated.}

Net Interest Income
Net interest income was $14.3 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $15.5 million for the prior quarter and $14.0 million for the prior year period. The decrease from the prior quarter was primarily due to a decrease in yields and a seasonal decline in origination volume on the three highest yielding programs in the held-for-sale portfolio of $0.5 million, a decrease in yield offset in part by an increase in volume on the remaining held-for-sale portfolio of $0.3 million, and a decrease in yields offset in part by the increase in volume of the held-for-investment portfolio as variable rate loans were repriced to reflect the decrease in the prime rate of $0.5 million. The increase from the prior year period was primarily due to an increase in average interest-earning assets of $143.7 million, partially offset by lower yields on interest-earning assets and an increase in the average interest-bearing liabilities of $119.6 million.

Loan originations totaled $1.3 billion for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $1.3 billion for the prior quarter and $1.1 billion for the prior year period.

Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2025 was 8.27%, compared to 10.00% for the prior quarter and 10.12% for the prior year period. The decrease in net interest margin from the prior quarter and prior year period is attributable to the seasonal decline in originations of the three highest yielding held-for-sale programs, the repricing of our variable rate loan portfolio as interest rates have declined, and the Company’s strategy to reduce the average credit risk in the loan portfolio by increasing its investment in higher quality but lower yielding loans offset by a reduction in the costs of funds.

Provision for Credit Losses
The Company’s provision for credit losses was $3.3 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $3.9 million for the prior quarter and $3.2 million for the prior year period. The decrease in the provision for credit losses from the prior quarter was mainly due to lower net charge-offs of $1.0 million predominately in the non-SP loan portfolio offset in part by increased reserves for the held-for-investment loan portfolio growth, net of changes in modeling assumptions of $0.5 million. The increase in the provision for credit losses from the prior year period was primarily due to growth in the loans held-for-investment portfolio.

Non-interest Income

The increase in non-interest income from the prior quarter was due to an increase in other miscellaneous income resulting from a charge in the prior quarter of $0.9 million to remove unamortized premiums upon calling $160.0 million of callable certificates of deposits, growth in the Company’s operating lease portfolio, and an increased distribution received from BFG during the quarter. The Company also benefited from a favorable change in the fair value of our investment in BFG.

The increase in non-interest income from the prior year period was primarily due to an increase in Strategic Program fees primarily due to higher originations, a favorable change in the fair value of our investment in BFG, and an increase in other miscellaneous income. The increase in other miscellaneous income from the prior year period was the result of increased revenue from growth in the Company’s operating lease portfolio and increased distributions received from BFG.

Non-interest Expense

The increase in non-interest expense from the prior quarter resulted from increases in salaries and employee benefits and professional services. The salaries and employee benefits increase pertained mainly to an increase in federal employer payroll taxes of $0.4 million while the increase in professional services resulted from the reversal of over-accruals during the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase in non-interest expense from the prior year period was primarily due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits due mainly to increasing headcount and stock based compensation expense and other operating expenses driven by increased spending to support the growth in the Company’s business infrastructure.

Reflecting the decreased net interest income and increase in operating expenses, the Company’s efficiency ratio was 64.8% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 64.2% for the prior quarter and 61.0% for the prior year period. The Company anticipates the efficiency ratio will level off then begin to decline as revenues are realized in future periods from the credit enhanced loan, BIN sponsorship and payments initiatives developed during 2023 and 2024.

Tax Rate
The Company’s effective tax rate was 28.1% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 24.3% for the prior quarter and 26.5% for the prior year period. The increases from the prior quarter and prior year period were due primarily to estimated permanent differences related to officer compensation.

Net Income
Net income was $3.2 million for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $2.8 million for the prior quarter and $3.3 million for the prior year period. The changes in net income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the prior quarter and prior year period are the result of the factors discussed above.

Balance Sheet
The Company’s total assets were $804.1 million as of March 31, 2025, an increase from $746.0 million as of December 31, 2024 and $610.8 million as of March 31, 2024. The increase in total assets from December 31, 2024 was primarily due to continued growth in the Company’s loans held-for-investment, net, and loans held-for-sale portfolios of $24.6 million and $27.2 million, respectively, as well as an increase of $12.6 million in interest-bearing cash deposits. The increase in total assets compared to March 31, 2024 was primarily due to increases in the Company’s loans held-for-investment, net, and loans held-for-sale portfolios of $95.3 million and $63.8 million, respectively, as well as an increase in investment securities available-for-sale of $30.1 million. The increased loan balances are consistent with our strategy to grow the loan portfolio with higher quality lower risk assets.

The following table shows the gross loans held-for-investment (“HFI”) balances as of the dates indicated:

^{Note: SBA loans as of March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024 include $150.0 million, $158.7 million and $141.7 million, respectively, of SBA 7(a) loan balances that are guaranteed by the SBA. The HFI balance on Strategic Program loans with annual interest rates below 36% as of March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024 was $3.8 million, $3.1 million and $2.7 million, respectively.}

Total gross loans HFI as of March 31, 2025 increased $27.0 million and $101.3 million compared to December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively. The Company experienced growth primarily in its commercial real estate - owner occupied, commercial leases, and residential real estate loan portfolios, consistent with its strategy to increase its loan portfolio with higher quality, lower rate loans.

The following table shows the Company’s deposit composition as of the dates indicated:

The increase in total deposits at March 31, 2025 from December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024 was driven primarily by increases in brokered time certificates of deposits, which were added to fund loan growth and increase balance sheet liquidity. The increase in total deposits from March 31, 2024 was also driven primarily by an increase in noninterest-bearing demand deposits and interest-bearing demand deposits, primarily due to growth from new and existing customer relationships.

Total shareholders’ equity as of March 31, 2025 increased $3.6 million to $177.4 million from $173.7 million at December 31, 2024. Compared to March 31, 2024, total shareholders’ equity increased by $14.9 million from $162.5 million. The increase from December 31, 2024 was primarily due to the Company’s net income and stock-based compensation. The increase from March 31, 2024 was primarily due to the Company’s net income as well as the additional capital issued in exchange for the Company’s increased ownership in BFG and stock-based compensation partially offset by the repurchase of common stock under the Company’s share repurchase program.

Bank Regulatory Capital Ratios
The following table presents the leverage ratios for the Bank as of the dates indicated as determined under the Community Bank Leverage Ratio Framework of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation:

The decrease in the leverage ratio from the prior quarter and the prior year period primarily results from the growth in the loan portfolio exceeding the relative growth in capital from earnings. The Bank’s capital levels remain significantly above the regulatory well-capitalized guidelines as of March 31, 2025.

Share Repurchase Program
Since the share repurchase program’s inception in March 2024, the Company has repurchased and subsequently retired a total of 44,608 shares for $0.5 million. There were no shares repurchased during the first quarter of 2025.

Asset Quality
The recorded balances of nonperforming loans were $29.9 million, or 6.1% of total loans held-for-investment, as of March 31, 2025, compared to $36.5 million, or 7.8% of total loans held-for-investment, as of December 31, 2024 and $26.0 million, or 6.6% of total loans held-for-investment, as of March 31, 2024. The balances of nonperforming loans guaranteed by the SBA were $15.1 million, $19.2 million, and $14.8 million as of March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively. The decrease in nonperforming loans from the prior quarter was primarily attributable to an increase in principal repayments and payoffs. The increase in nonperforming loans from the prior year period was primarily attributable to loans in the SBA 7(a) loan portfolio being classified as non-accrual mainly due to the negative impact of elevated interest rates on the Company’s small business borrowers. The Company’s allowance for credit losses to total loans held-for-investment was 2.9% as of March 31, 2025 compared to 2.8% as of December 31, 2024 and 3.2% as of March 31, 2024. The slight increase in the ratio from the prior quarter was primarily due to growth in the allowance for credit losses attributable to the retained Strategic Program loans while the actual retained Strategic Program loan balances decreased from the prior quarter. The decrease in the ratio from the prior year period was primarily due to the respective balances of the guaranteed portion of the SBA 7(a) program loans, growth in the balances of lower risk owner-occupied CRE, leasing and other held-for-investment loan portfolios, and the shift in our Strategic Program held-for-investment loan balances to programs with lower historical losses.

The Company’s net charge-offs were $2.2 million, $3.2 million and $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively. The decrease from the prior quarter is primarily due to prior quarter charge-offs of the unguaranteed portion of SBA loans as well as decreased net charge-offs in the Strategic Program loans portfolio. The decrease from the prior year period is primarily due to a decrease in charge-offs in the Strategic Program loans portfolio as well as increased recoveries during the first quarter of 2025.

The following table presents a summary of changes in the allowance for credit losses and credit quality data for the periods indicated:

^{(1)   Excludes the provision for unfunded commitments.}

Webcast and Conference Call Information
FinWise will host a conference call today at 5:30 PM ET to discuss its financial results for the first quarter. A simultaneous audio webcast of the conference call will be available at https://investors.finwisebancorp.com/.

The dial-in number for the conference call is (877) 423-9813 (toll-free) or (201) 689-8573 (international). The conference ID is 13752183. Please dial the number 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

A webcast replay of the call will be available at investors.finwisebancorp.com for six months following the call.

Website Information
The Company intends to use its website, www.finwisebancorp.com, as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included in the Company’s website’s Investor Relations section. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investor Relations portion of the Company’s website, in addition to following its press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), public conference calls, and webcasts. To subscribe to the Company’s e-mail alert service, please click the “Email Alerts” link in the Investor Relations section of its website and submit your email address. The information contained in, or that may be accessed through, the Company’s website is not incorporated by reference into or a part of this document or any other report or document it files with or furnishes to the SEC, and any references to the Company’s website are intended to be inactive textual references only.

About FinWise Bancorp
FinWise Bancorp is a Utah bank holding company headquartered in Murray, Utah which wholly owns FinWise Bank, a Utah chartered state bank, and FinWise Investment LLC (together “FinWise”). FinWise provides Banking and Payment Solutions to fintech brands. The Company is expanding and diversifying its business model by incorporating Payments (MoneyRailsTM) and BIN Sponsorship offerings. Its existing Strategic Program Lending business, conducted through scalable API-driven infrastructure, powers deposit, lending and payments programs for leading fintech brands. In addition, FinWise manages other Lending programs such as SBA 7(a), Owner Occupied Commercial Real Estate, and Leasing, which provide flexibility for disciplined balance sheet growth. Through its compliance oversight and risk management-first culture, the Company is well positioned to guide fintechs through a rigorous process to facilitate regulatory compliance. For more information about FinWise visit https://investors.finwisebancorp.com.

Contacts
investors@finwisebank.com
media@finwisebank.com

"Safe Harbor " Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to, among other things, future events and its financial performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “might,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “continue,” “will,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “projection,” “forecast,” “budget,” “goal,” “target,” “would,” “aim” and “outlook,” or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company’s industry and management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond the Company’s control. The inclusion of these forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that such expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Accordingly, the Company cautions you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

There are or will be important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: (a) the success of the financial technology and banking-as-a-service (“BaaS”) industries, as well as the continued evolution of the regulation of these industries; (b) the ability of the Company’s Fintech Banking and Payment Solutions service providers to comply with regulatory regimes, and the Company’s ability to adequately oversee and monitor its Fintech Banking and Payment Solutions service providers; (c) the Company’s ability to maintain and grow its relationships with its service providers; (d) changes in the laws, rules, regulations, interpretations or policies relating to financial institutions, accounting, tax, trade, tariffs, monetary and fiscal matters, including the application of interest rate caps or maximums; (e) the Company’s ability to keep pace with rapid technological changes in the industry or implement new technology effectively; (f) system failure or cybersecurity breaches of the Company’s network security; (g) potential exposure to fraud, negligence, computer theft and cyber-crime and other disruptions in the Company’s computer systems relating to its development and use of new technology platforms; (h) the Company’s reliance on third-party service providers for core systems support, informational website hosting, internet services, online account opening and other processing services; (i) general economic, political and business conditions, either nationally or in the Company’s market areas; (j) increased national or regional competition in the financial services industry; (k) the Company’s ability to measure and manage its credit risk effectively and the potential deterioration of the business and economic conditions in the Company’s primary market areas; (l) the adequacy of the Company’s risk management framework; (m) the adequacy of the Company’s allowance for credit losses (“ACL”); (n) the financial soundness of other financial institutions; (o) changes in Small Business Administration (“SBA”) rules, regulations and loan products, including specifically the Section 7(a) program or changes to the status of the Bank as an SBA Preferred Lender; (p) changes in the existing regulatory framework for brokered deposits and potential reclassification of certain BaaS deposits as brokered deposits in light of proposed rulemaking or application of the current deposit framework by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) to the Bank 's BaaS deposits; (q) the value of collateral securing the Company’s loans; (r) the Company’s levels of nonperforming assets; (s) losses from loan defaults; (t) the Company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and the risks it faces with respect to claims and litigation initiated against the Company; (u) the Company’s ability to implement its growth strategy; (v) the Company’s ability to continue to launch new products or services successfully; (w) the concentration of the Company’s lending and depositor relationships through Strategic Programs in the financial technology industry generally; (x) interest rate, volatility and liquidity risks; (y) the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and its ability to remediate any future material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting; (z) dependence on the Company’s management team and changes in management composition; (aa) the sufficiency of the Company’s capital; (bb) compliance with laws and regulations, supervisory actions, the Dodd-Frank Act, capital requirements, the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering laws, predatory lending laws, and other statutes and regulations; (cc) the Company’s ability to maintain a strong core deposit base or other low-cost funding sources; (dd) results of examinations of the Company by its regulators; (ee) the Company’s involvement from time to time in legal proceedings; (ff) natural disasters and adverse weather, acts of terrorism, pandemics, an outbreak of hostilities or other international or domestic calamities, and other matters beyond the Company’s control; (gg) future equity and debt issuances; (hh) that the anticipated benefits of new lines of business that the Company may enter or investments or acquisitions the Company may make are not realized within the expected time frame or at all as a result of such things as the strength or weakness of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where the Company and such other businesses operate; (ii) further negative ratings outlooks or downgrades of the U.S.’s long-term credit rating, (jj) changes in legislative, regulatory or tax priorities, (kk) reductions in staffing at U.S. governmental agencies, (ll) potential government shutdowns or political impasses, including with respect to the U.S. debt ceiling and federal budget; and (mm) other factors listed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.

The timing and amount of purchases under the Company’s share repurchase program will be determined by the Share Repurchase Committee based upon market conditions and other factors. Purchases may be made pursuant to a program adopted under Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The program does not require the Company to purchase any specific number or amount of shares and may be suspended or reinstated at any time in the Company’s discretion and without notice.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether because of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict their occurrence. In addition, the Company cannot assess the impact of each risk and uncertainty on its business or the extent to which any risk or uncertainty, or combination of risks and uncertainties, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

FinWise has entered into agreements with certain of its Strategic Program service providers pursuant to which they provide credit enhancement on loans which protects the Bank by indemnifying or reimbursing the Bank for incurred credit and fraud losses. We estimate and record a provision for expected losses for these Strategic Program loans in accordance with GAAP, which requires estimation of the provision without consideration of the credit enhancement. When the provision for expected losses over the life of the loans that are subject to such credit enhancement is recorded, a credit enhancement asset reflecting the potential future recovery of those losses is also recorded on the balance sheet in the form of non-interest income (credit enhancement income). Reimbursement or indemnification for incurred losses is provided for in the form of a deposit reserve account that is replenished periodically by the respective Strategic Program service provider. Any remaining income on such loans in excess of the amounts retained by FinWise and placed in the deposit reserve account are paid to the Strategic Program service provider. Income on such loans in excess of amounts retained by FinWise are expensed for services provided by the Strategic Program service provider including its legal commitment to indemnify or reimburse all credit or fraud losses pursuant to credit enhancement agreements. The credit enhancement asset is reduced as credit enhancement payments and recoveries are received from the Strategic Program service provider or taken from its cash reserve account. If the Strategic Program service provider is unable to fulfill its contracted obligations under its credit enhancement agreement, then the Bank could be exposed to the loss of the reimbursement and credit enhancement income as a result of this counterparty risk. See the following reconciliations of non-GAAP measures for the impact of the credit enhancement on our financial condition and results. Note that these amounts are supplemental and are not a substitute for an analysis based on GAAP measures. Similar amounts for periods prior to the quarter ended December 31, 2024 were immaterial and therefore not separately disclosed.

The following non-GAAP measures are presented to illustrate the impact of certain credit enhancement expenses on total interest income on loans held-for-investment and average yield on loans held-for-investment:

Total interest income on loans held-for-investment net of credit enhancement expense and the average yield on loans held-for-investment net of credit enhancement expense are non-GAAP measures that include the impact of credit enhancement expense on total interest income on loans held-for-investment and the respective average yield on loans held-for-investment, the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

The following non-GAAP measures are presented to illustrate the impact of certain credit enhancement expenses on net interest income and net interest margin:

Net interest income and net interest margin net of credit enhancement expense are non-GAAP measures that include the impact of credit enhancement expenses on net interest income and net interest margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Non-interest expenses less credit enhancement expenses is a non-GAAP measure presented to illustrate the impact of credit enhancement expense on non-interest expense:

Total non-interest expense less credit enhancement expense is a non-GAAP measure that illustrates the impact of credit enhancement expenses on non-interest expense, the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

Total non-interest income less credit enhancement income is a non-GAAP measure to illustrate the impact of credit enhancement income resulting from credit enhanced loans on non-interest income:

Total non-interest income less indemnification income is a non-GAAP measure that illustrates the impact of credit enhancement income on non-interest income. The most directly comparable GAAP measure is non-interest income.

The following non-GAAP measure is presented to illustrate the effect of the credit enhancement program that creates the credit enhancement on the allowance for credit losses:

The allowance for credit losses excluding the effect of the allowance for credit losses related to credit enhanced loans is a non-GAAP measure that reflects the effect of the credit enhancement program on the allowance for credit losses. The total outstanding balance of loans held-for-investment with credit enhancement as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 was approximately $1.3 million and $0.9 million, respectively.

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