Ameris Won't Chase 'Crazy Pricing' Or Load Up On Expensive Hires, Executives Tell Analysts
Ameris is holding loan growth to the mid-single digits as rising rates stir up competition across its Southeast markets.
Ameris Bancorp, the Georgia-based bank holding company, will not match what its Chief Financial Officer Nicole Stokes called "crazy pricing" in the market, executives said on the company's third-quarter earnings call. Management said it expects loan growth in the mid-single digits without a costly hiring push.
Growth with discipline
Stokes said Ameris has told investors "for many, many quarters now that we don't think we need to get bigger just to get bigger." The bank, she added, needs "to get bigger to get better." She said deposit growth should match loan growth, and that longer term, deposits will be the governor of loan growth.
Chief Executive Palmer Proctor, asked how a Federal Reserve rate hike was affecting new loans, said disruption in the bank's markets creates opportunities. But how deals are priced, he said, "will come down to our disciplines here at the bank."
Later, Stokes said loan spreads are competitive, but that Ameris does not have to compete on "some of this crazy pricing that we're starting to see in the market."
No hiring spree
Asked about building out lending teams, Proctor said the bank can reach mid-single-digit growth with its existing bankers. He said Ameris does not need "to go out and hire and load up on expensive new hires," and that it aims for "net zero" hiring, which was the case this quarter.
On expenses, Stokes said she thinks consensus expectations for 2027 growth of about 6.8% to 7% may be a little aggressive, with core quarterly expenses likely somewhere in the 165 to 169 range for the year.
Margin and pipeline caution
Ameris reported net income of $116.1 million, or $1.73 per diluted share, with a net interest margin of 3.87%, one basis point below the prior quarter. Stokes said some margin compression is possible over the next few quarters on higher deposit costs and competition.
Proctor said the loan pipeline was up at the end of the third quarter from the second quarter, with no fallout. He expects customers to be more cautious in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2027, though.
The board has approved another $200 million buyback authorization. Ameris, which runs 163 banking offices across Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, had about $27.52 billion in assets at the end of 2025. Its shares were at $82.25 in Friday trading, down about 0.15% from the prior close.
Proctor said the pipeline's strength will depend on fourth-quarter activity, the first real test of the mid-single-digit target.
Sources
- Ameris Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript — benzinga.com
- Compared to Estimates, Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Q3 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics — Yahoo Finance
- Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Q3 Earnings Top Estimates — Yahoo Finance
- Ameris Bancorp: Q3 Earnings Snapshot – WTOP News — wtop.com
- What To Expect From Ameris Bancorp’s (ABCB) Q3 Earnings — Yahoo Finance
