Artificial Intelligence – Page 650

MIL-OSI: Origin Bancorp, Inc. Reports Earnings For Third Quarter 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

RUSTON, La., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Origin Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: OBK) (“Origin,” “we,” “our” or the “Company”), the holding company for Origin Bank (the “Bank”), today announced net income of $18.6 million, or $0.60 diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to net income of $21.0 million, or $0.67 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. Pre-tax, pre-provision (“PTPP”)⁽¹⁾ earnings was $28.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $32.0 million for the linked quarter.

“I am pleased with the balance sheet trends we showed in the third quarter,” said Drake Mills, chairman, president and CEO of Origin Bancorp, Inc. “I am confident these trends will continue and our bankers will capitalize on opportunities throughout our markets.”

⁽¹⁾ PTPP earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure, please see the last few pages of this document for a reconciliation of this alternative financial measure to its most directly comparable GAAP measure.

Financial Highlights

Total loans held for investment (“LHFI”) were $7.96 billion at both September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024. LHFI, excluding mortgage warehouse lines of credit (“MW LOC”), were $7.46 billion at September 30, 2024, reflecting an increase of $8.9 million, or 0.12%, compared to June 30, 2024.
Noninterest-bearing deposits were $1.89 billion at September 30, 2024, reflecting an increase of $27.1 million, or 1.5%, compared to June 30, 2024.
Net interest income was $74.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, reflecting an increase of $914,000, or 1.2%, compared to the linked quarter.
Our book value per common share was $36.76 as of September 30, 2024, reflecting an increase of $1.53, or 4.3%, compared to June 30, 2024. Tangible book value per common share⁽¹⁾ was $31.37 at September 30, 2024, reflecting an increase of $1.60, or 5.4%, compared to June 30, 2024.
Stockholders’ equity was $1.15 billion at September 30, 2024, reflecting an increase of $49.8 million, or 4.5%, compared to June 30, 2024.
At September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, the ratio of Company-level common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets was 12.46%, and 12.15%, respectively, the Tier 1 leverage ratio was 10.93% and 10.70%, respectively, and the total capital ratio was 15.45% and 15.16%, respectively. The ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets⁽¹⁾ was 9.98% at September 30, 2024, compared to 9.47% at June 30, 2024.

⁽¹⁾ Tangible book value per common share and tangible common equity to tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures. Please see the last few pages of this document for a reconciliation of these alternative financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was $74.8 million, an increase of $914,000, or 1.2%, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2024, $813,000 of which was driven by one additional day in the current quarter. Higher interest rates drove a net increase of $147,000 in net interest income, which was reflected in a $1.2 million increase in interest income earned on interest-earnings assets offset by a $1.1 million increase in interest expense paid on interest-bearing liabilities.

Higher interest rates on LHFI drove a $2.0 million increase in the yield for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2024, $1.5 million of which was driven by real estate-based loans. The average rate on LHFI increased to 6.67% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to 6.58% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. Higher interest rates on savings and interest-bearing transaction accounts drove a $1.1 million increase in interest expense, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits increased to 4.01% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to 3.95% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

The Federal Reserve Board sets various benchmark rates, including the federal funds rate, and thereby influences the general market rates of interest, including the loan and deposit rates offered by financial institutions. The federal funds target rate range was reduced by 50 basis points on September 18, 2024, to a range of 4.75% to 5.00%, the first rate reduction since early 2020.

The NIM-FTE was 3.18% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, representing a one- and a four-basis-point increase compared to the linked quarter and the prior year same quarter, respectively. The yield earned on interest-earning assets for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was 6.09%, an increase of five and 40 basis points compared to the linked quarter and the prior year same quarter, respectively. The average rate paid on total interest-bearing liabilities for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was 4.04%, representing a six- and 45-basis point increase compared to the linked quarter and the prior year same quarter, respectively.

As discussed in our June 30, 2024, Origin Bancorp, Inc. Earnings Release, we reversed $1.2 million of accrued loan interest during the quarter ended June 30, 2024, due to certain questioned activity involving a single banker, who has since been terminated, in our East Texas market. This reversal of accrued loan interest income negatively impacted the fully tax equivalent net interest margin (“NIM-FTE”) by five basis points for the linked quarter. Had we not experienced the reversal of the $1.2 million of accrued interest income during the quarter ended June 30, 2024, our NIM-FTE would have been 3.22% for the linked quarter, and we would have experienced a four-basis point decrease in our current NIM-FTE compared to the linked quarter. There was no equivalent interest income reversal during the current quarter and these loans remain on non-accrual.

Credit Quality

The table below includes key credit quality information:

	At and For the Three Months Ended									Change			% Change
(Dollars in thousands, unaudited)	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			September 30, 2023			Linked Quarter			Linked Quarter
Past due LHFI	$	38,838		$	66,276		$	20,347		$	(27,438	)	(41.4)%
Allowance for loan credit losses (“ALCL”)		95,989			100,865			95,177			(4,876	)	(4.8	)
Classified loans		107,486			118,254			64,021			(10,768	)	(9.1	)
Total nonperforming LHFI		64,273			75,812			31,608			(11,539	)	(15.2	)
Provision for credit losses		4,603			5,231			3,515			(628	)	(12.0	)
Net charge-offs		9,520			2,946			2,686			6,574		223.2
Credit quality ratios⁽¹⁾:
ALCL to nonperforming LHFI		149.35	%		133.05	%		301.12	%		16.30	%	N/A
ALCL to total LHFI		1.21			1.27			1.26			(0.06	)	N/A
ALCL to total LHFI, adjusted⁽²⁾		1.28			1.34			1.30			(0.06	)	N/A
Classified loans to total LHFI		1.35			1.49			0.85			(0.14	)	N/A
Nonperforming LHFI to LHFI		0.81			0.95			0.42			(0.14	)	N/A
Net charge-offs to total average LHFI (annualized)		0.48			0.15			0.14			0.33		N/A

___________________________

⁽¹⁾	Please see the Loan Data schedule at the back of this document for additional information.
⁽²⁾	The ALCL to total LHFI, adjusted, is calculated by excluding the ALCL for MW LOC loans from the total LHFI ALCL in the numerator and excluding the MW LOC loans from the LHFI in the denominator. Due to their low-risk profile, MW LOC loans require a disproportionately low allocation of the ALCL.

As discussed in our June 30, 2024, Origin Bancorp, Inc. Earnings Release, our credit metrics were negatively impacted by certain questioned activity involving a single banker, who has since been terminated, in our East Texas market. Our investigation of this activity remains ongoing and is not final; however, as a result of a forbearance agreement with one of our impacted customer relationships, our past due LHFI declined $26.4 million when compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2024. There was no material change in the level of our nonperforming or classified LHFI principal balances between the current quarter and the linked quarter as a result of the questioned activity. We continue to work with an outside forensic accounting firm to confirm the bank’s identification and reconciliation of the activity, targeting a conclusion of this analysis by the end of this year. At this time, we believe that any ultimate loss arising from the situation will not be material to our financial position.

Past due LHFI were $38.8 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $66.3 million at June 30, 2024. Of the $27.4 million decrease, $26.4 million were impacted by or related to the questioned activity. The remaining net decrease in past due LHFI was primarily due to charge-offs or payoffs in commercial and industrial past due loans during the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Nonperforming LHFI decreased $11.5 million for the quarter reflecting a decrease in the percentage of nonperforming LHFI to LHFI to 0.81% compared to 0.95% for the linked quarter. The decrease in nonperforming loans was primarily driven by three commercial and industrial loan relationships totaling $14.6 million at June 30, 2024, $10.4 million of which were charged-off and $4.2 million were paid down during the current quarter.

Classified loans decreased $10.8 million to $107.5 million at September 30, 2024, reflecting 1.35% as a percentage of total LHFI, down 14 basis points from the linked quarter. The decrease in classified loans was primarily driven by the same three commercial and industrial loan relationships mentioned in the nonperforming loan paragraph directly above.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was $16.0 million, a decrease of $6.5 million, or 28.8%, from the linked quarter. The decrease from the linked quarter was primarily driven by decreases of $5.2 million, $725,000 and $621,000 in the change in fair value of equity investments, mortgage banking revenue and other income, respectively.

The decrease in change in fair value of equity investments was due to a $5.2 million positive valuation adjustment on a non-marketable equity security recognized during the linked quarter with no comparable amount recognized during the current quarter.

The decrease in mortgage banking revenue was primarily due to an $833,000 combined decrease in the pipeline and interest rate lock commitment fair values during the current quarter compared to the linked quarter.

The decrease in other income was primarily due to an $818,000 gain on sale of bank property recognized in the linked quarter with no comparable amount recognized in the current quarter.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, was $62.5 million, a decrease of $1.9 million, or 2.9% from the linked quarter. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease of $1.6 million and in other noninterest expense.

The decrease in other expenses resulted from recognizing contingent liabilities totaling approximately $1.2 million related to certain questioned activity involving a single banker, who has since been terminated, in our East Texas market, as described previously, in the linked quarter with no comparable liability incurred in the current quarter. Also, contributing to the quarter over quarter decline was a $357,000 decrease in corporate membership fees.

Financial Condition

Loans

Total LHFI were $7.96 billion at both September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, and reflected an increase of $388.7 million, or 5.1%, compared to September 30, 2023.
Total LHFI, excluding MW LOC, were $7.46 billion at September 30, 2024, representing an increase of $8.9 million, or 0.1%, from June 30, 2024, and an increase of $179.8 million, or 2.5%, from September 30, 2023.
During the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to the linked quarter, we experienced declines in construction/land/land development loans and MW LOC of $25.8 million and $11.3 million, respectively, partially offset by growth in multi-family real estate loans of $36.1 million.

Securities

Total securities were $1.18 billion at both September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, and reflected a decrease of $129.8 million, or 9.9%, compared to September 30, 2023.
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes, primarily associated with the available for sale (“AFS”) portfolio, was $94.2 million at September 30, 2024, an improvement of $32.9 million, or 25.9%, from the linked quarter.
The weighted average effective duration for the total securities portfolio was 4.21 years as of September 30, 2024, compared to 4.28 years as of June 30, 2024.

Deposits

Total deposits at September 30, 2024, were $8.49 billion, a decrease of $24.3 million, or 0.3%, compared to the linked quarter, and represented an increase of $112.1 million, or 1.3%, from September 30, 2023. The decrease in the current quarter compared to the linked quarter was primarily due to a decrease of $205.2 million in brokered (which includes both brokered time and brokered interest-bearing demand) deposits. The decrease in brokered deposits was primarily replaced with customer deposits.
Excluding brokered deposits, total deposit increased $180.9 million, or 2.3%, to $8.05 billion, primarily due to increases of $87.0 million, $64.4 million and $27.1 million in money market deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, respectively.
At September 30, 2024, noninterest-bearing deposits as a percentage of total deposits were 22.3%, compared to 21.9% and 24.0% at June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023, respectively. Excluding brokered deposits, noninterest-bearing deposits as a percentage of total deposits were 23.5%, compared to 23.7% and 26.1% at June 30, 2024, and September 30, 2023, respectively.

Borrowings

FHLB advances and other borrowings at September 30, 2024, were $30.4 million, a decrease of $10.3 million, or 25.3%, compared to the linked quarter and represented an increase of $18.2 million, or 149.3%, from September 30, 2023.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity was $1.15 billion at September 30, 2024, an increase of $49.8 million, or 4.5%, compared to $1.10 billion at June 30, 2024, and an increase of $146.7 million, or 14.7%, compared to September 30, 2023.
The increase in stockholders’ equity from the linked quarter is primarily due to a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive loss of $32.9 million and net income of $18.6 million, partially offset by dividends declared of $4.8 million during the current quarter.

Conference Call

Origin will hold a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2024 results on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time (9:00 a.m. Eastern Time). To participate in the live conference call, please dial +1 (929) 272-1574 (U.S. Local / International 1); +1 (857) 999-3259 (U.S. Local / International 2); +1 (800) 528-1066 (U.S. Toll Free), enter Conference ID: 84865 and request to be joined into the Origin Bancorp, Inc. (OBK) call. A simultaneous audio-only webcast may be accessed via Origin’s website at www.origin.bank under the investor relations, News & Events, Events & Presentations link or directly by visiting https://dealroadshow.com/e/ORIGINQ324.

If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the webcast will be archived on the Investor Relations section of Origin’s website at www.origin.bank, under Investor Relations, News & Events, Events & Presentations.

About Origin

Origin Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana. Origin’s wholly owned bank subsidiary, Origin Bank, was founded in 1912 in Choudrant, Louisiana. Deeply rooted in Origin’s history is a culture committed to providing personalized relationship banking to businesses, municipalities, and personal clients to enrich the lives of the people in the communities it serves. Origin provides a broad range of financial services and currently operates more than 60 locations from Dallas/Fort Worth, East Texas, Houston, North Louisiana, Mississippi, South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. For more information, visit www.origin.bank.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Origin reports its results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). However, management believes that certain supplemental non-GAAP financial measures may provide meaningful information to investors that is useful in understanding Origin’s results of operations and underlying trends in its business. However, non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, Origin’s reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following are the non-GAAP measures used in this release: PTPP earnings, adjusted NIM-FTE, PTPP ROAA, tangible book value per common share, adjusted tangible book value per common share, tangible common equity to tangible assets, ROATCE, and core efficiency ratio.

Please see the last few pages of this release for reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include information regarding Origin’s future financial performance, business and growth strategies, projected plans and objectives, and any expected purchases of its outstanding common stock, and related transactions and other projections based on macroeconomic and industry trends, including changes to interest rates by the Federal Reserve and the resulting impact on Origin’s results of operations, estimated forbearance amounts and expectations regarding the Company’s liquidity, including in connection with advances obtained from the FHLB, which are all subject to change and may be inherently unreliable due to the multiple factors that impact broader economic and industry trends, and any such changes may be material. Such forward-looking statements are based on various facts and derived utilizing important assumptions and current expectations, estimates and projections about Origin and its subsidiaries, any of which may change over time and some of which may be beyond Origin’s control. Statements or statistics preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “assumes,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “foresees,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “could,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “will,” and “would” and variations of such terms are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts, although not all forward-looking statements include the foregoing words. Further, certain factors that could affect Origin’s future results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impact of current and future economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry, nationally and within Origin’s primary market areas, including the effects of declines in the real estate market, high-profile bank failures, high unemployment rates, inflationary pressures, elevated interest rates and slowdowns in economic growth, as well as the financial stress on borrowers and changes to customer and client behavior as a result of the foregoing; changes in benchmark interest rates and the resulting impacts on net interest income; deterioration of Origin’s asset quality; factors that can impact the performance of Origin’s loan portfolio, including real estate values and liquidity in Origin’s primary market areas; the financial health of Origin’s commercial borrowers and the success of construction projects that Origin finances; changes in the value of collateral securing Origin’s loans; developments in our mortgage banking business, including loan modifications, general demand, and the effects of judicial or regulatory requirements or guidance; Origin’s ability to anticipate interest rate changes and manage interest rate risk (including the impact of higher interest rates on macroeconomic conditions, competition, and the cost of doing business and the impact of prolonged elevated interest rates on our financial projections, models and guidance); the effectiveness of Origin’s risk management framework and quantitative models; Origin’s inability to receive dividends from Origin Bank and to service debt, pay dividends to Origin’s common stockholders, repurchase Origin’s shares of common stock and satisfy obligations as they become due; the impact of labor pressures; changes in Origin’s operation or expansion strategy or Origin’s ability to prudently manage its growth and execute its strategy; changes in management personnel; Origin’s ability to maintain important customer relationships, reputation or otherwise avoid liquidity risks; increasing costs as Origin grows deposits; operational risks associated with Origin’s business; significant turbulence or a disruption in the capital or financial markets and the effect of market disruption and interest rate volatility on our investment securities; increased competition in the financial services industry, particularly from regional and national institutions, as well as from fintech companies; difficult market conditions and unfavorable economic trends in the United States generally, and particularly in the market areas in which Origin operates and in which its loans are concentrated; Origin’s level of nonperforming assets and the costs associated with resolving any problem loans including litigation and other costs; the credit risk associated with the substantial amount of commercial real estate, construction and land development, and commercial loans in Origin’s loan portfolio; changes in laws, rules, regulations, interpretations or policies relating to financial institutions, and potential expenses associated with complying with such regulations; periodic changes to the extensive body of accounting rules and best practices; further government intervention in the U.S. financial system; a deterioration of the credit rating for U.S. long-term sovereign debt or actions that the U.S. government may take to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling; a potential U.S. federal government shutdown and the resulting impacts; compliance with governmental and regulatory requirements, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and others relating to banking, consumer protection, securities, and tax matters; Origin’s ability to comply with applicable capital and liquidity requirements, including its ability to generate liquidity internally or raise capital on favorable terms, including continued access to the debt and equity capital markets; changes in the utility of Origin’s non-GAAP liquidity measurements and its underlying assumptions or estimates; possible changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies, laws and regulations and other activities of governments, agencies and similar organizations; natural disasters and adverse weather events, acts of terrorism, an outbreak of hostilities (including the impacts related to or resulting from Russia’s military action in Ukraine or the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas, including the imposition of additional sanctions and export controls, as well as the broader impacts to financial markets and the global macroeconomic and geopolitical environments), regional or national protests and civil unrest (including any resulting branch closures or property damage), widespread illness or public health outbreaks or other international or domestic calamities, and other matters beyond Origin’s control; the impact of generative artificial intelligence; fraud or misconduct by internal or external actors (including Origin employees) which Origin may not be able to prevent, detect or mitigate, system failures, cybersecurity threats or security breaches and the cost of defending against them; Origin’s ability to maintain adequate internal controls over financial and non-financial reporting; and potential claims, damages, penalties, fines, costs and reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation, regulatory proceedings and enforcement actions. For a discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from expectations, please refer to the sections titled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Origin’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any updates to those sections set forth in Origin’s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Origin’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what Origin anticipates. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Origin does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is not possible for Origin to predict those events or how they may affect Origin. In addition, Origin cannot assess the impact of each factor on Origin’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included in this communication are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that Origin or persons acting on Origin’s behalf may issue. Annualized, pro forma, adjusted, projected, and estimated numbers are used for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts, and may not reflect actual results.

Contact:

Investor Relations
Chris Reigelman
318-497-3177
chris@origin.bank

Media Contact
Ryan Kilpatrick
318-232-7472
rkilpatrick@origin.bank

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Selected Quarterly Financial Data
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			September 30, 2023

Income statement and share amounts	(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Net interest income	$	74,804		$	73,890		$	73,323		$	72,989		$	74,130
Provision for credit losses		4,603			5,231			3,012			2,735			3,515
Noninterest income		15,989			22,465			17,255			8,196			18,119
Noninterest expense		62,521			64,388			58,707			60,906			58,663
Income before income tax expense		23,669			26,736			28,859			17,544			30,071
Income tax expense		5,068			5,747			6,227			4,119			5,758
Net income	$	18,601		$	20,989		$	22,632		$	13,425		$	24,313
PTPP earnings⁽¹⁾	$	28,272		$	31,967		$	31,871		$	20,279		$	33,586
Basic earnings per common share		0.60			0.68			0.73			0.43			0.79
Diluted earnings per common share		0.60			0.67			0.73			0.43			0.79
Dividends declared per common share		0.15			0.15			0.15			0.15			0.15
Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic		31,130,293			31,042,527			30,981,333			30,898,941			30,856,649
Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted		31,239,877			31,131,829			31,078,910			30,995,354			30,943,860

Balance sheet data
Total LHFI	$	7,956,790		$	7,959,171		$	7,900,027		$	7,660,944		$	7,568,063
Total LHFI excluding MW LOC		7,461,602			7,452,666			7,499,032			7,330,978			7,281,770
Total assets		9,965,986			9,947,182			9,892,379			9,722,584			9,733,303
Total deposits		8,486,568			8,510,842			8,505,464			8,251,125			8,374,488
Total stockholders’ equity		1,145,673			1,095,894			1,078,853			1,062,905			998,945

Performance metrics and capital ratios
Yield on LHFI		6.67	%		6.58	%		6.58	%		6.46	%		6.35	%
Yield on interest-earnings assets		6.09			6.04			5.99			5.86			5.69
Cost of interest-bearing deposits		4.01			3.95			3.85			3.71			3.47
Cost of total deposits		3.14			3.08			2.99			2.84			2.61
NIM – fully tax equivalent (“FTE”)		3.18			3.17			3.19			3.19			3.14
Return on average assets (annualized) (“ROAA”)		0.74			0.84			0.92			0.55			0.96
PTPP ROAA (annualized)⁽¹⁾		1.13			1.28			1.30			0.82			1.33
Return on average stockholders’ equity (annualized) (“ROAE”)		6.57			7.79			8.57			5.26			9.52
Book value per common share	$	36.76		$	35.23		$	34.79		$	34.30		$	32.32
Tangible book value per common share⁽¹⁾		31.37			29.77			29.24			28.68			26.78
Adjusted tangible book value per common share⁽¹⁾		34.39			33.86			33.27			32.59			32.37
Return on average tangible common equity (annualized) (“ROATCE”)⁽¹⁾		7.74	%		9.25	%		10.24	%		6.36	%		11.48	%
Efficiency ratio⁽²⁾		68.86			66.82			64.81			75.02			63.59
Core efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾		67.48			65.55			65.24			70.55			60.49
Common equity tier 1 to risk-weighted assets⁽³⁾		12.46			12.15			11.97			11.83			11.46
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets⁽³⁾		12.64			12.33			12.15			12.01			11.64
Total capital to risk-weighted assets⁽³⁾		15.45			15.16			14.98			15.02			14.61
Tier 1 leverage ratio⁽³⁾		10.93			10.70			10.66			10.50			10.00

__________________________

⁽¹⁾	PTPP earnings, PTPP ROAA, tangible book value per common share, adjusted tangible book value per common share, ROATCE, and core efficiency ratio are either non-GAAP financial measures or use a non-GAAP contributor in the formula. For a reconciliation of these alternative financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see the last few pages of this release.
⁽²⁾	Calculated by dividing noninterest expense by the sum of net interest income plus noninterest income.
⁽³⁾	September 30, 2024, ratios are estimated and calculated at the Company level, which is subject to the capital adequacy requirements of the Federal Reserve Board.

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Selected Year-To-Date Financial Data
(Unaudited)

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)		2024			2023

Income statement and share amounts
Net interest income	$	222,017		$	226,568
Provision for credit losses		12,846			14,018
Noninterest income		55,709			50,139
Noninterest expense		185,616			174,310
Income before income tax expense		79,264			88,379
Income tax expense		17,042			18,004
Net income	$	62,222		$	70,375
PTPP earnings⁽¹⁾	$	92,110		$	102,397
Basic earnings per common share		2.00			2.29
Diluted earnings per common share		2.00			2.28
Dividends declared per common share		0.45			0.45
Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic		31,051,672			30,797,399
Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted		31,160,867			30,903,222

Performance metrics
Yield on LHFI		6.61	%		6.19	%
Yield on interest-earning assets		6.04			5.50
Cost of interest-bearing deposits		3.94			3.03
Cost of total deposits		3.07			2.22
NIM-FTE		3.18			3.24
Adjusted NIM-FTE⁽²⁾		3.18			3.21
ROAA (annualized)		0.84			0.94
PTPP ROAA (annualized)⁽¹⁾		1.24			1.37
ROAE (annualized)		7.62			9.45
ROATCE (annualized)⁽¹⁾		9.04			11.47
Efficiency ratio⁽³⁾		66.83			62.99
Core efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾		66.09			59.94

____________________________

⁽¹⁾	PTPP earnings, PTPP ROAA, ROATCE, and core efficiency ratio are either non-GAAP financial measures or use a non-GAAP contributor in the formula. For a reconciliation of these alternative financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see the last few pages of this release.
⁽²⁾	Adjusted NIM-FTE is a non-GAAP financial measure and is calculated for nine months ended September 30, 2024, by removing the $20,000 net purchase accounting amortization from net interest income. And, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, by removing the $2.2 million net purchase accounting accretion from net interest income.
⁽³⁾	Calculated by dividing noninterest expense by the sum of net interest income plus noninterest income.

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Consolidated Quarterly Statements of Income
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			September 30, 2023

Interest and dividend income	(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Interest and fees on loans	$	133,195	$	129,879	$	127,186		$	123,673		$	121,204
Investment securities-taxable		6,536		6,606		6,849			7,024			8,194
Investment securities-nontaxable		905		893		910			1,124			1,281
Interest and dividend income on assets held in other financial institutions		3,621		4,416		3,756			3,664			4,772
Total interest and dividend income		144,257		141,794		138,701			135,485			135,451
Interest expense
Interest-bearing deposits		67,051		65,469		62,842			59,771			55,599
FHLB advances and other borrowings		482		514		518			220			3,207
Subordinated indebtedness		1,920		1,921		2,018			2,505			2,515
Total interest expense		69,453		67,904		65,378			62,496			61,321
Net interest income		74,804		73,890		73,323			72,989			74,130
Provision for credit losses		4,603		5,231		3,012			2,735			3,515
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		70,201		68,659		70,311			70,254			70,615
Noninterest income
Insurance commission and fee income		6,928		6,665		7,725			5,446			6,443
Service charges and fees		4,664		4,862		4,688			4,889			4,621
Other fee income		2,114		2,404		2,247			2,118			2,006
Mortgage banking revenue (loss)		1,153		1,878		2,398			(719	)		892
Swap fee income		106		44		57			196			366
Gain (loss) on sales of securities, net		221		—		(403	)		(4,606	)		(7,173	)
Change in fair value of equity investments		—		5,188		—			—			10,096
Other income		803		1,424		543			872			868
Total noninterest income		15,989		22,465		17,255			8,196			18,119
Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits		38,491		38,109		35,818			35,931			34,624
Occupancy and equipment, net		6,298		7,009		6,645			6,912			6,790
Data processing		3,470		3,468		3,145			3,062			2,775
Office and operations		2,984		3,072		2,502			2,947			2,868
Intangible asset amortization		1,905		2,137		2,137			2,259			2,264
Regulatory assessments		1,791		1,842		1,734			1,860			1,913
Advertising and marketing		1,449		1,328		1,444			1,690			1,371
Professional services		2,012		1,303		1,231			1,440			1,409
Loan-related expenses		751		1,077		905			1,094			1,220
Electronic banking		1,308		1,238		1,239			1,103			1,384
Franchise tax expense		721		815		477			942			520
Other expenses		1,341		2,990		1,430			1,666			1,525
Total noninterest expense		62,521		64,388		58,707			60,906			58,663
Income before income tax expense		23,669		26,736		28,859			17,544			30,071
Income tax expense		5,068		5,747		6,227			4,119			5,758
Net income	$	18,601	$	20,989	$	22,632		$	13,425		$	24,313
Basic earnings per common share	$	0.60	$	0.68	$	0.73		$	0.43		$	0.79
Diluted earnings per common share		0.60		0.67		0.73			0.43			0.79

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)

(Dollars in thousands)	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			September 30, 2023
Assets
Cash and due from banks	$	159,337		$	137,615		$	98,147		$	127,278		$	141,705
Interest-bearing deposits in banks		161,854			150,435			193,365			153,163			163,573
Total cash and cash equivalents		321,191			288,050			291,512			280,441			305,278
Securities:
AFS		1,160,965			1,160,048			1,190,922			1,253,631			1,290,839
Held to maturity, net of allowance for credit losses		11,096			11,616			11,651			11,615			10,790
Securities carried at fair value through income		6,533			6,499			6,755			6,808			6,772
Total securities		1,178,594			1,178,163			1,209,328			1,272,054			1,308,401
Non-marketable equity securities held in other financial institutions		67,068			64,010			53,870			55,190			63,842
Loans held for sale		7,631			18,291			14,975			16,852			14,944
Loans		7,956,790			7,959,171			7,900,027			7,660,944			7,568,063
Less: ALCL		95,989			100,865			98,375			96,868			95,177
Loans, net of ALCL		7,860,801			7,858,306			7,801,652			7,564,076			7,472,886
Premises and equipment, net		126,751			121,562			120,931			118,978			111,700
Mortgage servicing rights		—			—			—			15,637			19,189
Cash surrender value of bank-owned life insurance		40,602			40,365			40,134			39,905			39,688
Goodwill		128,679			128,679			128,679			128,679			128,679
Other intangible assets, net		39,272			41,177			43,314			45,452			42,460
Accrued interest receivable and other assets		195,397			208,579			187,984			185,320			226,236
Total assets	$	9,965,986		$	9,947,182		$	9,892,379		$	9,722,584		$	9,733,303
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Noninterest-bearing deposits	$	1,893,767		$	1,866,622		$	1,887,066		$	1,919,638		$	2,008,671
Interest-bearing deposits excluding brokered interest-bearing deposits		5,137,940			4,984,817			4,990,632			4,918,597			4,728,263
Time deposits		1,023,252			1,022,589			1,030,656			967,901			968,352
Brokered deposits		431,609			636,814			597,110			444,989			669,202
Total deposits		8,486,568			8,510,842			8,505,464			8,251,125			8,374,488
FHLB advances and other borrowings		30,446			40,737			13,158			83,598			12,213
Subordinated indebtedness		159,861			159,779			160,684			194,279			196,825
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		143,438			139,930			134,220			130,677			150,832
Total liabilities		8,820,313			8,851,288			8,813,526			8,659,679			8,734,358
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock		155,837			155,543			155,057			154,931			154,534
Additional paid-in capital		535,662			532,950			530,380			528,578			525,434
Retained earnings		548,419			534,585			518,325			500,419			491,706
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(94,245	)		(127,184	)		(124,909	)		(121,023	)		(172,729	)
Total stockholders’ equity		1,145,673			1,095,894			1,078,853			1,062,905			998,945
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	9,965,986		$	9,947,182		$	9,892,379		$	9,722,584		$	9,733,303

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Loan Data
(Unaudited)

	At and For the Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			September 30, 2023

LHFI	(Dollars in thousands)
Owner occupied commercial real estate	$	991,671		$	959,850		$	948,624		$	953,822		$	932,109
Non-owner occupied commercial real estate		1,533,093			1,563,152			1,472,164			1,488,912			1,503,782
Construction/land/land development		991,545			1,017,389			1,168,597			1,070,225			1,076,756
Residential real estate – single family		1,414,013			1,421,027			1,373,532			1,373,696			1,338,382
Multi-family real estate		434,317			398,202			359,765			361,239			349,787
Total real estate loans		5,364,639			5,359,620			5,322,682			5,247,894			5,200,816
Commercial and industrial		2,074,037			2,070,947			2,154,151			2,059,460			2,058,073
MW LOC		495,188			506,505			400,995			329,966			286,293
Consumer		22,926			22,099			22,199			23,624			22,881
Total LHFI		7,956,790			7,959,171			7,900,027			7,660,944			7,568,063
Less: ALCL		95,989			100,865			98,375			96,868			95,177
LHFI, net	$	7,860,801		$	7,858,306		$	7,801,652		$	7,564,076		$	7,472,886

Nonperforming assets⁽¹⁾
Nonperforming LHFI
Commercial real estate	$	2,776		$	2,196		$	4,474		$	786		$	942
Construction/land/land development		26,291			26,336			383			305			235
Residential real estate⁽²⁾		14,313			13,493			14,918			13,037			13,236
Commercial and industrial		20,486			33,608			20,560			15,897			17,072
Consumer		407			179			104			90			123
Total nonperforming loans		64,273			75,812			40,439			30,115			31,608
Repossessed assets		6,043			6,827			3,935			3,929			3,939
Total nonperforming assets	$	70,316		$	82,639		$	44,374		$	34,044		$	35,547
Classified assets	$	113,529		$	125,081		$	88,152		$	84,474		$	67,960
Past due LHFI⁽³⁾		38,838			66,276			32,835			26,043			20,347

Allowance for loan credit losses
Balance at beginning of period	$	100,865		$	98,375		$	96,868		$	95,177		$	94,353
Provision for loan credit losses		4,644			5,436			4,089			3,582			3,510
Loans charged off		11,226			3,706			6,683			3,803			3,202
Loan recoveries		1,706			760			4,101			1,912			516
Net charge-offs		9,520			2,946			2,582			1,891			2,686
Balance at end of period	$	95,989		$	100,865		$	98,375		$	96,868		$	95,177

Credit quality ratios
Total nonperforming assets to total assets		0.71	%		0.83	%		0.45	%		0.35	%		0.37	%
Nonperforming LHFI to LHFI		0.81			0.95			0.51			0.39			0.42
Past due LHFI to LHFI		0.49			0.83			0.42			0.34			0.27
ALCL to nonperforming LHFI		149.35			133.05			243.27			321.66			301.12
ALCL to total LHFI		1.21			1.27			1.25			1.26			1.26
ALCL to total LHFI, adjusted⁽⁴⁾		1.28			1.34			1.30			1.31			1.30
Net charge-offs to total average LHFI (annualized)		0.48			0.15			0.13			0.10			0.14

____________________________

⁽¹⁾	Nonperforming assets consist of nonperforming/nonaccrual loans and property acquired through foreclosures or repossession, as well as bank-owned property not in use and listed for sale.
⁽²⁾	Includes multi-family real estate.
⁽³⁾	Past due LHFI are defined as loans 30 days or more past due.
⁽⁴⁾	The ALCL to total LHFI, adjusted is calculated by excluding the ALCL for MW LOC loans from the total LHFI ALCL in the numerator and excluding the MW LOC loans from the LHFI in the denominator. Due to their low-risk profile, MW LOC loans require a disproportionately low allocation of the ALCL.

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Average Balances and Yields/Rates
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024				June 30, 2024				September 30, 2023
	Average Balance		Yield/Rate		Average Balance		Yield/Rate		Average Balance		Yield/Rate

Assets	(Dollars in thousands)
Commercial real estate	$	2,507,566	5.93	%	$	2,497,490	5.91	%	$	2,428,969	5.73	%
Construction/land/land development		1,019,302	7.37			1,058,972	6.98			1,044,180	7.04
Residential real estate⁽¹⁾		1,824,725	5.56			1,787,829	5.48			1,663,291	5.06
Commercial and industrial (“C&I”)		2,071,984	7.96			2,128,486	7.87			2,024,675	7.62
MW LOC		484,680	7.64			430,885	7.57			376,275	7.21
Consumer		22,739	7.93			22,396	8.06			23,704	7.74
LHFI		7,930,996	6.67			7,926,058	6.58			7,561,094	6.35
Loans held for sale		14,645	6.28			14,702	6.84			11,829	5.81
Loans receivable		7,945,641	6.67			7,940,760	6.58			7,572,923	6.35
Investment securities-taxable		1,038,634	2.50			1,046,301	2.54			1,310,459	2.48
Investment securities-nontaxable		146,619	2.46			143,232	2.51			216,700	2.35
Non-marketable equity securities held in other financial institutions		66,409	2.85			56,270	6.53			58,421	6.47
Interest-bearing balances due from banks		229,224	5.46			254,627	5.53			279,383	5.42
Total interest-earning assets		9,426,527	6.09			9,441,190	6.04			9,437,886	5.69
Noninterest-earning assets		559,309				567,035				597,678
Total assets	$	9,985,836			$	10,008,225			$	10,035,564

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Liabilities
Interest-bearing liabilities
Savings and interest-bearing transaction accounts	$	5,177,522	3.88	%	$	5,130,224	3.80	%	$	4,728,211	3.28	%
Time deposits		1,469,849	4.47			1,534,679	4.46			1,626,935	4.04
Total interest-bearing deposits		6,647,371	4.01			6,664,903	3.95			6,355,146	3.47
FHLB advances and other borrowings		40,331	4.75			41,666	4.96			230,815	5.51
Subordinated indebtedness		159,826	4.78			159,973	4.83			196,792	5.07
Total interest-bearing liabilities		6,847,528	4.04			6,866,542	3.98			6,782,753	3.59
Noninterest-bearing liabilities
Noninterest-bearing deposits		1,850,046				1,894,141				2,088,183
Other liabilities		162,565				163,273				151,716
Total liabilities		8,860,139				8,923,956				9,022,652
Stockholders’ Equity		1,125,697				1,084,269				1,012,912
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	9,985,836			$	10,008,225			$	10,035,564
Net interest spread			2.05	%			2.06	%			2.10	%
NIM			3.16				3.15				3.12
NIM-FTE⁽²⁾			3.18				3.17				3.14

____________________________

⁽¹⁾	Includes multi-family real estate.
⁽²⁾	In order to present pre-tax income and resulting yields on tax-exempt investments comparable to those on taxable investments, a tax-equivalent adjustment has been computed. This adjustment also includes income tax credits received on Qualified School Construction Bonds.

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Notable Items
(Unaudited)

	At and For the Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024						June 30, 2024						March 31, 2024						December 31, 2023						September 30, 2023
	$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾			$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾			$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾			$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾			$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾

	(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Notable interest income items:
Interest income reversal on relationships impacted by questioned banker activity	$	—		$	—		$	(1,206	)	$	(0.03	)	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Notable provision expense items:
Provision expense related to questioned banker activity		—			—			(3,212	)		(0.08	)		—			—			—			—			—			—
Provision expense on relationships impacted by questioned banker activity		—			—			(4,131	)		(0.10	)		—			—			—			—			—			—
Notable noninterest income items:
MSR gain (impairment)		—			—			—			—			410			0.01			(1,769	)		(0.05	)		—			—
Gain (loss) on sales of securities, net		221			0.01			—			—			(403	)		(0.01	)		(4,606	)		(0.12	)		(7,173	)		(0.18	)
Gain on sub-debt repurchase		—			—			81			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Positive valuation adjustment on non-marketable equity securities		—			—			5,188			0.13			—			—			—			—			10,096			0.26
Gain on bank property sale		—			—			800			0.02			—			—			—			—			—			—
Notable noninterest expense items:
Operating expense related to questioned banker activity		(848	)		(0.02	)		(1,452	)		(0.04	)		—			—			—			—			—			—
Total notable items	$	(627	)		(0.02	)	$	(3,932	)		(0.10	)	$	7			—		$	(6,375	)		(0.16	)	$	2,923			0.07

____________________________

⁽¹⁾	The diluted EPS impact is calculated using a 21% effective tax rate. The total of the diluted EPS impact of each individual line item may not equal the calculated diluted EPS impact on the total notable items due to rounding.

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Notable Items – Continued
(Unaudited)

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024						2023
	$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾			$ Impact			EPS Impact⁽¹⁾

	(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Notable interest income items:
Interest income reversal on relationships impacted by questioned banker activity	$	(1,206	)	$	(0.03	)	$	—		$	—
Notable provision expense items:
Provision expense related to questioned banker activity		(3,212	)		(0.08	)		—			—
Provision expense on relationships impacted by questioned banker activity		(4,131	)		(0.10	)		—			—
Notable noninterest income items:
MSR gain		410			0.01			—			—
Loss on sales of securities, net		(182	)		—			(7,029	)		(0.18	)
Gain on sub-debt repurchase		81			—			471			0.01
Positive valuation adjustment on non-marketable equity securities		5,188			0.13			10,096			0.26
Gain on bank property sale		800			0.02			—			—
Notable noninterest expense items:
Operating expense related to questioned banker activity		(2,300	)		(0.06	)		—			—
Total notable items	$	(4,552	)		(0.12	)	$	3,538			0.09

____________________________

⁽¹⁾	The diluted EPS impact is calculated using a 21% effective tax rate. The total of the diluted EPS impact of each individual line item may not equal the calculated diluted EPS impact on the total notable items due to rounding.

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Unaudited)

	At and For the Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024			December 31, 2023			September 30, 2023

	(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Calculation of PTPP earnings:
Net income	$	18,601		$	20,989		$	22,632		$	13,425		$	24,313
Provision for credit losses		4,603			5,231			3,012			2,735			3,515
Income tax expense		5,068			5,747			6,227			4,119			5,758
PTPP earnings (non-GAAP)	$	28,272		$	31,967		$	31,871		$	20,279		$	33,586

Calculation of PTPP ROAA:
PTPP earnings	$	28,272		$	31,967		$	31,871		$	20,279		$	33,586
Divided by number of days in the quarter		92			91			91			92			92
Multiplied by the number of days in the year		366			366			366			365			365
PTPP earnings, annualized	$	112,473		$	128,571		$	128,184		$	80,455		$	133,249

Divided by total average assets	$	9,985,836		$	10,008,225		$	9,861,236		$	9,753,847		$	10,035,564
ROAA (annualized) (GAAP)		0.74	%		0.84	%		0.92	%		0.55	%		0.96	%
PTPP ROAA (annualized) (non-GAAP)		1.13			1.28			1.30			0.82			1.33

Calculation of tangible common equity to tangible common assets, book value per common share and adjusted tangible book value per common share:
Total assets	$	9,965,986		$	9,947,182		$	9,892,379		$	9,722,584		$	9,733,303
Goodwill		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)
Other intangible assets, net		(39,272	)		(41,177	)		(43,314	)		(45,452	)		(42,460	)
Tangible assets		9,798,035			9,777,326			9,720,386			9,548,453			9,562,164

Total common stockholders’ equity	$	1,145,673		$	1,095,894		$	1,078,853		$	1,062,905		$	998,945
Goodwill		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)
Other intangible assets, net		(39,272	)		(41,177	)		(43,314	)		(45,452	)		(42,460	)
Tangible common equity		977,722			926,038			906,860			888,774			827,806
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		94,245			127,184			124,909			121,023			172,729
Adjusted tangible common equity		1,071,967			1,053,222			1,031,769			1,009,797			1,000,535
Divided by common shares outstanding at the end of the period		31,167,410			31,108,667			31,011,304			30,986,109			30,906,716
Book value per common share (GAAP)	$	36.76		$	35.23		$	34.79		$	34.30		$	32.32
Tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP)		31.37			29.77			29.24			28.68			26.78
Adjusted tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP)		34.39			33.86			33.27			32.59			32.37
Tangible common equity to tangible assets (non-GAAP)		9.98	%		9.47	%		9.33	%		9.31	%		8.66	%

Calculation of ROATCE:
Net income	$	18,601		$	20,989		$	22,632		$	13,425		$	24,313
Divided by number of days in the quarter		92			91			91			92			92
Multiplied by number of days in the year		366			366			366			365			365
Annualized net income	$	74,000		$	84,417		$	91,025		$	53,262		$	96,459

Total average common stockholders’ equity	$	1,125,697		$	1,084,269		$	1,062,705		$	1,013,286		$	1,012,912
Average goodwill		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)		(128,679	)
Average other intangible assets, net		(40,487	)		(42,563	)		(44,700	)		(46,825	)		(43,901	)
Average tangible common equity		956,531			913,027			889,326			837,782			840,332

ROATCE (non-GAAP)		7.74	%		9.25	%		10.24	%		6.36	%		11.48	%

Calculation of core efficiency ratio:
Total noninterest expense	$	62,521		$	64,388		$	58,707		$	60,906		$	58,663
Insurance and mortgage noninterest expense		(8,448	)		(8,402	)		(8,045	)		(8,581	)		(8,579	)
Adjusted total noninterest expense		54,073			55,986			50,662			52,325			50,084

Net interest income	$	74,804		$	73,890		$	73,323		$	72,989		$	74,130
Insurance and mortgage net interest income		(2,578	)		(2,407	)		(2,795	)		(2,294	)		(2,120	)
Total noninterest income		15,989			22,465			17,255			8,196			18,119
Insurance and mortgage noninterest income		(8,081	)		(8,543	)		(10,123	)		(4,727	)		(7,335	)
Adjusted total revenue		80,134			85,405			77,660			74,164			82,794

Efficiency ratio (GAAP)		68.86	%		66.82	%		64.81	%		75.02	%		63.59	%
Core efficiency ratio (non-GAAP)		67.48			65.55			65.24			70.55			60.49

Origin Bancorp, Inc.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures – Continued
(Unaudited)

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023

	(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Calculation of PTPP earnings:
Net income	$	62,222		$	70,375
Provision for credit losses		12,846			14,018
Income tax expense		17,042			18,004
PTPP earnings (non-GAAP)	$	92,110		$	102,397

Calculation of PTPP ROAA:
PTPP Earnings	$	92,110		$	102,397
Divided by the year-to-date number of days		274			273
Multiplied by number of days in the year		366			365
Annualized PTPP Earnings	$	123,037		$	136,904

Divided by total average assets	$	9,951,890		$	10,004,097
ROAA (annualized) (GAAP)		0.84	%		0.94	%
PTPP ROAA (annualized) (non-GAAP)		1.24			1.37

Calculation of ROATCE:
Net income	$	62,222		$	70,375
Divided by the year-to-date number of days		274			273
Multiplied by number of days in the year		366			365
Annualized net income	$	83,114		$	94,091

Total average common stockholders’ equity	$	1,091,018		$	995,395
Average goodwill		(128,679	)		(128,679	)
Average other intangible assets, net		(42,576	)		(46,391	)
Average tangible common equity		919,763			820,325

ROATCE		9.04	%		11.47	%

Calculation of core efficiency ratio:
Total noninterest expense	$	185,616		$	174,310
Insurance and mortgage noninterest expense		(24,895	)		(25,768	)
Adjusted total noninterest expense		160,721			148,542

Net interest income	$	222,017		$	226,568
Insurance and mortgage net interest income		(7,780	)		(5,187	)
Total noninterest income		55,709			50,139
Insurance and mortgage noninterest income		(26,747	)		(23,714	)
Adjusted total revenue		243,199			247,806

Efficiency ratio		66.83	%		62.99	%
Core efficiency ratio		66.09			59.94

The MIL Network –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: October Transformer of the Month: Nipa Phojanamongkolkij

Source: NASA

Dr. Nipa Phojanamongkolkij does not always do things the traditional way. As a systems engineer (SE) at Langley Research Center working closely with the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Nipa pushes boundaries and draws connections where few others would think to look. When she envisioned a way to use ChatGPT to help SE teams working on the Advanced Air Mobility Mission, she presented her initial idea to her team wondering, “Is this crazy?” Her idea evolved into a successful prototype, which is now used for air traffic management in the Airspace Operations and Safety Program. She has also leveraged natural language programming and NASA’s database of lessons learned to create a bot for flagging potential risks and mitigations in real time. Nipa’s journey in becoming the digital transformer she is today involves her ability to combine engineering principles and business outcomes with creative, human-centered approaches.
Nipa received an MS and PhD in industrial and systems engineering from Arizona State University after moving to the United States from Bangkok, Thailand, where she received her BS degree in electronics engineering. She joined NASA 15 years ago after honing her data analysis and process improvement skills in the business sector at Pepsi Corporation. Her previous experience molded her focus on demonstrating benefit and return on investment. In addition to a business-oriented mindset, Nipa credits much of her success at NASA to her abilities as an active listener, which helps her understand customer needs and address paint points.
One cross-cutting challenge Nipa noticed within the agency’s approach to SE was the issue of silos, particularly in handling requirements and research data. Many engineers stored information in documents on individual computers or SharePoint folders, making it difficult to share data and draw connections across missions, directorates, and centers. As a systems engineer, Nipa and her team work to pull these disparate elements into a connected digital format using methodology called model-based systems engineering (MBSE). “You can think of it like a gigantic database where you have everything connected—a table of research papers, a table of requirements, and a table of concept of operations documents,” she says.
However, using and leveraging this system requires specialized knowledge of the MBSE discipline and modeling language. To centralize system concept, architecture, and requirement data while democratizing access to it, Nipa conceived a way to leverage ChatGPT as an intermediary between the user and database. In fiscal year 2023, she received funding for her idea as a Digital Transformation Prototype Test, “Requirement Discovery Using Embedded Knowledge Graph with ChatGPT.” Nipa and her team developed a web-based dashboard that translates user questions into database queries and turns the database responses back into readable answers for the user. Nipa and her team curated the research used to create the database, reducing the chances of AI hallucination and misinformation. Using ChatGPT as a translator, general users benefitted from the system without needing to know how to formulate graph database queries.
Requirement creation through this system was seven times faster than traditional processes and yielded results comparable to those created by subject matter experts. In some cases, the approach even resulted in more creative requirements than human-generated ones. Nipa’s prototype allowed SEs to more efficiently analyze connections between existing requirements, predict new connections, and generate new requirements, streamlining critical processes for her team. The approach could benefit SEs across NASA centers, directorates, and missions and holds exciting potential for other use cases, such as generating candidate requirements and analyzing project risk. According to NASA Digital Engineering Lead Terry Hill, “The future of engineering is understanding how to do it from a data-centric perspective. Enabling the use of new and evolving technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large language models will aid our engineers to accomplish greater things and augment our workforce.”
Nipa and her team were recognized for their innovative work, receiving a Systems Engineering Technical Excellence Award (SETEA) in 2024 under the “Advancement of SE” category. Nipa’s out-of-the-box thinking has also positioned her as a trailblazer amongst her peers. “Nipa was ahead of everyone in terms of understanding what Digital Transformation is,” says Ian Levitt, Concepts Team Manager at Langley Research Center and co-lead on the Requirement Discovery Prototype Test. “She is extremely smart as well as practical, which is a rare combination. She has wonderful insights and helps me see more clearly what I am trying to do.” As a leader in the Digital Transformation community, Nipa recognizes the importance of collaboration, noting that her transformative work would not have been successful without her team. Their trust is what makes her ideas possible, along with Digital Transformation’s willingness to take chances on innovative, cutting-edge ideas. “They’re at the forefront of technology, so they’re receptive to high-risk projects,” she says. “That’s why I enjoy working with the Digital Transformation team.”
In turn, Nipa is excited to continue building community and momentum around transformation initiatives. Her team’s work inspired one group at Johnson Space Center to replicate their requirement discovery approach, and she has received multiple inquiries for demos on their prototype. Seeing how her work inspires and impacts others at the agency is one way she measures success. Whether she is connecting data sources or people, Nipa continues to push toward a more unified NASA, exemplifying what it means to be a digital transformer.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI: SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Investigates the Merger of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. – SASR

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Monteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered money for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2018-2022 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. We are headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and are investigating Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: SASR), relating to a proposed merger with Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, all Sandy Spring shares will automatically be converted into the right to receive 0.900 Atlantic Union shares, and cash in lieu of fractional shares.

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The MIL Network –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Celebrating Bioenergy Day 2024 With a Research Retrospective

Source: US National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Over the past year NREL researchers made critical advancements for the bioeconomy including recyclable wind turbine blades, converting carbon dioxide to formic acid, biobased and biodegradable polyesters, and wastewater resource recovery using algae. Photos by NREL

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) bioenergy research empowers the decarbonization of our nation’s industrial and transportation sectors and a circular bioeconomy through development and deployment of sustainable fuel, chemical, and polymer technologies.

NREL researchers have been uncovering secrets about interesting methods and technologies such as biodegradable plastics, phosphorus-eating algae for resource recovery, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) to value-added chemicals.

With National Bioenergy Day 2024 upon us, NREL reflects on some of the team’s scientific discoveries over the past year that have helped strengthen the bioeconomy.

Bioenergy Research Highlights From Fiscal Year 2024

Building Bridges Through Relationships and Photosynthesis Research

How do you bring together long-time research friends and help develop STEM collaboration with historically marginalized institutions and a DOE national laboratory all in a way that ignites passions and furthers bioenergy research? Through the DOE Office of Science Visiting Faculty Program (VFP) of course! Check out how the VFP brought together old friends and new, while mentoring a new generation of STEM students to understand the energy-generating mysteries of blue-green algae.

An NREL scientist holds small cubes of renewable biomass resin that can be used in wind turbine blades and can be recycled. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL

Advancing Methods for Recyclable, Plant-Based Wind Turbine Blades

Researchers at NREL see a realistic path forward to the manufacture of wind turbine blades derived from renewable biomass. The chemical recycling process allows the components of the blades to be recaptured and reused again and again, allowing the remanufacture of the same product. This method has the potential to end the current practice of old blades winding up in landfills at the end of their useful life.

Tools To Investigate How Organisms Control Energy at the Electron-Level

In NREL’s Advanced Spin Resonance Facility there is a special technical capability called electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy that provides insight into the most basic energy carrier and unit, the electron. Demystifying the fundamental processes of how organisms control energy at the level of electrons is key to advancing the applied research and development of systems for generating sustainable low-carbon fuels, chemicals, and electricity.

New Device Architecture Enables Streamlined Production of Formic Acid From CO₂ Using Renewable Electricity

Formic acid is a potential intermediate chemical with many applications, especially as a raw material for the chemical or biomanufacturing industries and potential input for biological upgrading into SAF. A research team led by NREL developed a conversion pathway to produce formic acid from CO₂ with high energy efficiency and durability while using renewable electricity. Analysis confirmed that this pathway is economically viable at scale and with use of commercially available components.

The novel perforated cation exchange membrane (CEM) architecture in a CO₂ electrolyzer to achieve energy-efficient and durable formic acid production has a patent by K.C. Neyerlin and Leiming Hu pending. Illustration by Elizabeth Stone, NREL

NREL Biomass Refining Technology a Cornerstone of SAFFiRE Renewables Biofuel Pilot Plant

SAFFiRE Renewables LLC broke ground in August 2024 on its biofuel pilot plant in Kansas to turn agriculture residue into a scalable biofuel business. The company has licensed an NREL technology that uses an alkaline bath and mechanical shredder to prepare corn stover for ethanol fermentation—essential steps for accessing the energy-dense sugars locked inside. The new plant will not only help DOE with its SAF goals, but using lignocellulosic corn leaves, stalks, and cobs can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 88% to 108% on a life-cycle basis compared to conventional jet fuel.

WaterPACT Project To Quantify and Reduce Plastic Waste in U.S. Rivers

With more than a million tons of plastic debris entering ocean-bound rivers, creeks, and sewer drains every year, it is essential to intercept this waste before it enters the ecosystems, communities, and ocean. To help solve this problem, the NREL-led Waterborne Plastics Assessment and Collection Technologies (WaterPACT) project is on a mission to develop renewable-energy-powered technologies that detect, quantify, and collect plastic from U.S. waterways.

The WaterPACT research team collected plastic and water samples near the mouths of the Columbia, Delaware, Los Angeles, and Mississippi rivers. Each river has a unique watershed (the area of land that drains water to it) and volume of plastics emissions. Illustration by Elizabeth Stone, NREL

The North Face Taps NREL-Led BOTTLE Consortium To Scale Biodegradable Polyester Alternative

Polyester-based clothing sheds and disperses tiny microplastic fibers throughout homes, soils, and waterways, taking centuries to degrade. One potential solution is replacing today’s petroleum-derived polyester with a nontoxic, biodegradable alternative made from polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). A team of BOTTLE consortium scientists from NREL and Colorado State University have developed a portfolio of PHAs that behave like conventional polyester but are biobased, biodegradable, and easier to recycle. In conjunction with The North Face, the BOTTLE team is scaling the process to produce several pounds of PHA fiber, which The North Face will test and evaluate for use in its product lines.

$15 Million Multilaboratory Effort To Advance Commercialization of CO₂ Removal

Carbon dioxide removal technologies have potential to help mitigate climate change by addressing existing carbon emissions and removing them from the atmosphere. To achieve this goal, scientists must first establish robust scientific frameworks and methodologies to account for these efforts—giving governments and private buyers a unified approach to tracking the climate impacts of their investments. In support of this, DOE tapped NREL to support a new $15 million research effort to improve the measurement, reporting, and verification of CO₂ removal technologies.

On the Ground in Colorado, NREL Is Simulating SAF Combustion During Flight

Public and private investments are helping accelerate production and use of SAF, an energy-dense, renewable fuel seen as essential for decarbonizing flight. Adopting SAF means proving the fuel is as safe and reliable as current fuels while being fully compatible with existing jet engines. NREL has developed computer simulations to predict how SAF performs during flight and provide insights on how to maximize its safety and performance. These simulated SAF combustion tests could determine if new fuels meet requirements before industry invests millions of dollars to produce large volumes for ASTM engine tests.

The Dynamics of Jet Fuel Combustion—Researchers from NREL’s Computational Science Center look at a detailed simulation of sustainable aviation fuel as it combusts in a “virtual jet engine.” Photo by Joe DelNero, NREL

NREL Researchers Produce First Macromolecular Model of Plant Secondary Cell Wall

Lignocellulosic biomass has potential as a feedstock for low-carbon biobased fuels and chemicals. However, this biomass type is difficult to break down during the conversion process due to three layers of biopolymers. NREL scientists quantitatively defined the relative positioning and structure of the three biopolymer layers in Populus wood using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular modeling. Having a computer model of the interplay of these three biopolymers will help design more efficient deconstruction approaches to convert renewable lignocellulosic biomass into better biobased materials.

NREL Research Quantifies Losses From Cardboard, Paper Waste

Of the estimated 110 million metric tons of paper and cardboard waste tossed out across the United States in 2019, approximately 56% was landfilled and 38% was recycled. This category of waste includes everything from newspapers and magazines to books and napkins, from junk mail and photographs to pizza boxes and milk cartons. New research from NREL showed that the estimated value for recovered postconsumer paper and carboard from landfills is $4 billion. Understanding this value can guide policymakers toward sustainable waste management practices and help researchers study the impact of implementing new waste-management technologies.

Newly Identified Algal Strains Rich in Phosphorous Could Improve Wastewater Treatment

Phosphorus in wastewater is a major contributor to harmful algal blooms in water bodies around the globe, with the potential to harm wildlife, livestock, and humans. To prevent this, wastewater treatment plants often rely on chemical- and energy-intensive techniques to remove phosphorus before it can impact downstream water bodies. NREL researchers developed the Revolving Algal Biofilm system for phosphorus removal from wastewater by maximizing the ability of algae to harness solar energy to efficiently accumulate and remove phosphorus from water.

A close-up of algal biofilm on a RAB system is shown on the left. On the right is a dried algal fertilizer product produced from the system. Photos from Gross-Wen Technologies

Pick Your Polymer Properties and This NREL Tool Predicts How To Achieve Them With Biomass

Petroleum-based polymers form the building blocks of plastics. Plastics can be made out of renewable biomass and waste resources, but identifying the right chemistry to make biobased polymers more sustainable and higher performing is the challenge. An NREL machine learning tool, PolyID™: Polymer Inverse Design, makes it easier to identify biobased polymers for use in plastics. Using artificial intelligence, the tool can screen millions of possible biobased polymer designs to create a short list of candidates for a given application.

Learn more about NREL’s bioenergy research.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Larsen and Kuster Introduce Bill to Enhance Federal Response to Close Substance Use Care Gap and Save Lives

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Annie Kuster (NH-02) introduced the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act to expand access to lifesaving, community-based harm reduction initiatives and services and enhance the federal response to the opioid and fentanyl epidemic.

“The opioid crisis is devastating Northwest Washington. This bill helps close the gap between members of our community who want treatment for substance use disorder and those who actually receive it,” said Larsen. “Congress must stay focused on breaking down barriers to effective community-based solutions that meet people where they are, prevent overdoses and save lives.”

“At a time when overdose deaths are finally falling in New Hampshire and across the country, it’s essential we keep our foot on the gas pedal and use every tool at our disposal to help save lives,” said Kuster. “I’m pleased to help introduce legislation that bolsters access to community-based harm reduction services, overdose reversal medications, and medication-assisted treatments so that we connect more communities with the treatment and recovery services they need to heal and recover.”

What Does the Bill Do?

The Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act would provide community-based organizations with more resources to administer life-saving harm reduction programs and services to people struggling with substance use. The bill would provide grant funding to support low-barrier health care options like naloxone (an overdose reversal medication), fentanyl test strips and low-threshold buprenorphine initiation to treat addiction. It would also provide funding to organizations to establish procedures and mechanisms for connecting individuals with evidence-based treatment and recovery support services.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) identifies harm reduction as a key pillar of its Overdose Prevention Strategy, and the White House National Drug Control Strategy argues harm reduction is vital for providing resources to people at the highest risk of overdose or poor health outcomes. Despite the demand and effectiveness of harm reduction services, they remain substantially underfunded at the state and federal level.

For a fact sheet on the bill, click here.

What Stakeholders Are Saying About the Bill

Representatives from stakeholder organizations emphasized the importance of the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act to combat the opioid epidemic.

National

National Association of EMS Physicians President José Cabañas‎, MD, MPH, FAEMS:

“EMS clinicians and medical directors are on the front lines of the opioid crisis in our country, caring for our most vulnerable patients and responding to the urgent needs of our communities. There is an ongoing need for federal support to enhance harm reduction programs and to ensure early access to addiction treatment for those suffering from substance use disorders. This bill is a vital step forward in addressing these issues, and NAEMSP fully advocates for federal support as we work together to combat this crisis.”

National Rural Health Association Chief Executive Officer Alan Morgan:

“The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) endorses the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act, which reauthorizes and expands SAMHSA’s Harm Reduction Grant Program to support harm reduction services and opioid treatment programs. Access to proven treatments, including medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), is required to reduce opioid-related fatalities. However, rural communities face significant barriers to treatment, with 72% lacking a buprenorphine provider and over 90% without an opioid treatment program. NRHA supports Representatives Larsen and Kuster’s steps to improving outcomes for rural Americans living with OUD.”

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chief Advocacy Officer Hannah Wesolowski:

“As we work towards overcoming the opioid epidemic in our country, we must ensure communities have all the resources they need to support people who are impacted. NAMI thanks Reps. Larsen and Kuster for introducing the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act to help ensure communities have vital lifesaving harm reduction resources. NAMI is proud to support the Closing the Opioid Treatment Gap Act to turn the tide on our nation’s opioid crisis.”

American Nurses Association President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN:

“Nurses care for patients impacted by substance use disorders every day and see firsthand how essential harm reduction programs are—not only saving lives but creating pathways to treatment and recovery for those not yet ready to stop using. The American Nurses Association (ANA) stands in support of the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act. This legislation supports and expands access to critical programs and services—ensuring nurses specializing in substance use disorder treatment can bridge the treatment gap and connect individuals battling substance use disorders to needed care, especially for those in rural and underserved communities. ANA commends Representatives Larsen and Kuster for introducing this important bill and urges Congress to pass it swiftly.”

American College of Physicians President Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PHD, MACP:

“The American College of Physicians supports evidence-based harm reduction strategies. These measures have been shown to prevent overdose, reduce transmission of infectious diseases, encourage safe use protocols, and save lives. As physicians, we see patients every day experiencing significant health issues due to substance use disorder. Expanded federal funding for harm reduction strategies, as proposed in the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act, could greatly help to improve the health and safety of those patients.”

Association of American Medical Colleges Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP:

“Evidence-based harm reduction strategies, such as overdose prevention programs, play an important role in preventing deaths, reducing spread of infectious diseases, and connecting people to treatment. While no single intervention on its own will fully resolve the challenges that individuals with substance use disorders face in accessing treatment, Rep. Rick Larsen and Rep. Annie Kuster’s bill would take an important step forward to continue and enhance SAMHSA’s support for harm reduction work across the country.”

This legislation is also supported by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the Overdose Prevention Initiative at Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).

Local

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers:

“Washington is fortunate to have Representative Larsen working at the federal level to combat the opioid epidemic and ensure federal resources are being delivered where they are most needed. I support the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act because it is a powerful tool to help fund key components of Snohomish County’s life-saving efforts, including Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), overdose reversal medication, and addiction prevention.”

Whatcom County Health and Community Services Health Officer Dr. Amy Harley:

“Access to federal grant funding for harm reduction services is essential for our community’s health. In Whatcom County the opioid overdose death rate is 5 times higher than 5 years ago. Programs that provide harm reduction services are a critical part of our comprehensive response to the overdose crisis. In our county, these programs provide overdose prevention education and opioid overdose reversal medications, as well as health screenings, supplies, and referrals – we help individuals avoid life-altering infections and get connected to care. Through Whatcom County’s Safety and Support program, we’ve distributed thousands of doses of life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications in the past year. These services are vital engagement points on the path to recovery, fostering community and increasing hope and resilience. Restoring funding opportunities through the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act will ensure the stability of these vital programs, and is especially important given current resource limitations at the local level and the severity of the crisis.”

San Juan County Council and the San Juan County Board of Health:

“The San Juan County Council and the San Juan County Board of Health are grateful to Representative Larsen for introducing the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act. Like every other County in America, we feel the effects of the opioid crisis in the damage it does to our communities and in the loss of precious lives, including those of our children. We support Harm Reduction as a scientifically sound public health strategy and a vital tool in helping people struggling with Substance Use Disorder stay alive to start on the road to recovery.”

The Board of Island County Commissioners:

“The Board of Island County Commissioners endorses Representative Larsen’s legislation, Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act, which will benefit our citizens affected by the opioid epidemic by expanding their access to harm reduction programs and services. We ask Congress to pass this legislation.”

Sound Pathways Executive Director Shannon Goforth:

“At Sound Pathways, we believe that harm reduction is crucial for connecting individuals with the services they need, empowering them to make informed, autonomous choices regarding drug use, mental health and recovery. Increasing grant access to support these services would bolster our capacity to improve the care we currently offer.”

Washington State Medical Association President John Bramhall, MD, PhD:

“The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA), representing physicians practicing in every specialty and corner of the state, applauds Congressman Rick Larsen’s introduction of the Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act. The WSMA supports policies that facilitate and improve access to evidence-based harm reduction efforts. This measure will save lives by directly engaging with people who use drugs to prevent overdoses and infectious disease transmission while establishing connections for ongoing care and treatment.”

Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer:

“The Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act is a critical step towards ensuring that people struggling with substance use have access to the care and support they need. Harm reduction is a proven strategy to prevent overdoses and life-threatening infections. This bill will help patients across Washington access evidence-based treatment and recovery support services. The Washington State Hospital Association applauds Congressman Larsen’s leadership on this issue.”

Washington State Association of Counties Interim Executive Director Derek Young:

“Counties are on the front line in the opioid epidemic. Our members know that strong federal partners are essential to closing the treatment gap and saving lives. We’re grateful for Representative Larsen championing these efforts.”

University of Washington’s Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center Co-Directors Susan Collins, PhD, and Seema Clifasefi, PhD, LICSW:

“The Closing the Substance Use Care Gap Act will ensure the availability of federal funding for evidence-based and life-saving harm-reduction services and treatment programs. It is critical that this reauthorization will support community-led and grassroots harm-reduction agencies and organizations, who work on the frontlines of the overdose epidemic. Funds will bolster services provided by state, Tribal, local and territorial governments to reduce substance-related harm and improve health and well-being for their citizens, families and communities. By investing in these essential harm-reduction services and more inclusive treatment approaches, this bill will better meet the needs of individuals and lift them up in their recovery journeys.”

The legislation is also supported by the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials (WSALPHO).

Larsen Focused on Combating Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis

Larsen continues to focus on supporting local efforts to combat the opioid crisis and save lives. Earlier this year, he introduced a districtwide opioid report that outlines a four-pillar framework to combat the crisis. Larsen has introduced three additional bills aimed at combating the crisis:

· In July, Larsen introduced the Workforce Opportunities for Communities in Recovery Act to create employment opportunities for people in recovery and support communities impacted by widespread opioid use.

· In August, Larsen introduced the bipartisan Protection for Reservation Occupants against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today (PROTECT) Act to give Tribal courts and law enforcement more tools and resources to combat the opioid epidemic.

· In September, Larsen introduced the End Fentanyl Trafficking with Local Task Forces Act to establish a dedicated federal funding stream to help multi-jurisdictional drug task forces combat opioid trafficking in Washington state and across the country.

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MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Wyden, Colleagues Call on Feds to Prosecute Tax Prep Companies for Illegally Sharing Sensitive Personal and Financial Taxpayer Data

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

October 23, 2024

Lawmakers: “DOJ has the sole authority to enforce the criminal statute on behalf of the millions of taxpayers harmed by this unauthorized disclosure of their sensitive personal and financial data.”

Washington D.C.— U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said today he has joined Senate and House colleagues to urge the Department of Justice to act against major tax preparation companies illegally sharing protected and sensitive taxpayer information with Big Tech firms.

“We write to urge you to investigate and prosecute the criminal behavior of major tax preparation companies identified in our investigation and confirmed by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Internal Revenue Service,” the lawmakers wrote.

Last month, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released an audit report confirming that four online tax preparation companies broke the law by sharing legally protected and sensitive taxpayer information with Big Tech firms without taxpayer consent. Specifically, the report found that consent statements being used by the tax prep companies did not clearly identify the intended use of taxpayer data, a violation of Treasury regulations. The IRS agreed with that assessment.

“The penalties for knowingly or recklessly disclosing or using tax return information include up to 1 year in prison, and penalties of up to $1000 per violation. DOJ has the sole authority to enforce the criminal statute on behalf of the millions of taxpayers harmed by this unauthorized disclosure of their sensitive personal and financial data,” the lawmakers continued.

Tax prep companies used pixels, computer code that tracks a user’s website activity, to obtain sensitive personal and financial information, including approximate income and refund amounts, for millions of taxpayers who filed their taxes online with these companies. Meta then used that information for advertising and to train its AI algorithm.

The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration conducted a detailed review of four tax preparation companies, and found the companies did not obtain proper taxpayer consent for the release of their information.

“Accountability for these tax preparation companies – who disclosed millions of taxpayers’ tax return data…is essential for protecting the rule of law and the privacy of taxpayers,” concluded the lawmakers.

The IRS recently announced the expansion of the highly successful Direct File program to 24 total states, including Oregon – making 30 million taxpayers eligible to file for free, securely, and directly with the IRS. However, many taxpayers still rely on private tax prep companies.

The letter was led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Along with Wyden, the letter was also signed by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. House Representative Katie Porter (D-Calif.).

The full text of the letter is here.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Secretary of the Navy Visits Georgia Tech Research Institute, Underscoring Commitment to Innovation and Collaboration

Source: United States Navy

ATLANTA – Oct. 23, 2024 – The Secretary of the Navy Hon. Carlos Del Toro visited the Georgia Tech Research Institute today to highlight the vital role of research and development in maintaining naval dominance and warfighting excellence. The Secretary addressed Georgia Tech students and faculty, and Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps students from Georgia Tech, Spelman College and Morehouse College, emphasizing the importance of their contributions to national security.

The Secretary’s visit underscored the Navy’s commitment to fostering strategic partnerships with academic institutions like Georgia Tech. GTRI, the applied research division of Georgia Tech, plays a crucial role in developing cutting-edge technologies for the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense.

“Georgia Tech is a powerhouse of innovation, and GTRI’s research is critical to ensuring our Sailors and Marines have the technological edge they need to prevail in any conflict,” said Secretary Del Toro. “The work being done here, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems, and electromagnetic spectrum operations, is directly aligned with the Navy’s strategic priorities.”

The Secretary highlighted GTRI’s contributions to the DON, including:

Collaborative Research: GTRI works closely with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and other DoD entities to address specific technological needs.

R&D Contributions: GTRI develops advanced systems such as autonomous vehicles, millimeter wave radar technologies, and electronic warfare solutions.

Prototyping and Testing: GTRI provides facilities for testing and validating new technologies to meet military specifications.

Technology Transition: GTRI focuses on translating research outcomes into practical applications, enhancing operational capabilities for the Navy and broader defense community.

The Secretary’s remarks also emphasized the importance of innovation in the face of evolving global challenges.

“To win the fight of the future, we must embrace and implement emerging technologies,” said Del Toro. “We are in an innovation race, and it is one we must win.”

The Secretary highlighted several DON innovation initiatives, including:

The Naval Science and Technology Strategy: This strategy guides the Navy and Marine Corps’ investments in science and technology research.

The Naval Innovation Center (NIC) at the Naval Postgraduate School: The NIC accelerates the innovation process by bringing research concepts out of the lab and into the field faster.

The Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board: This board provides independent advice and counsel on matters relating to science, technology, and acquisition.

The Disruptive Capabilities Office (DCO): The DCO identifies and implements already-available or emerging technologies to address the fleet’s capability gaps.

“With today’s enemies developing more advanced technological threats, we are grateful that the Secretary of the Navy made time to visit our Atlanta Region NROTC Midshipmen,” said Atlanta Region NROTC Commanding Officer Capt. Jesus Rodriguez. “Our future Naval officers were provided with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when the Secretary personally impressed on them the importance of continued studies in science and technology. Our Midshipmen and NROTC staff are all appreciative for the opportunity to meet with and listen to our Navy’s leadership emphasize the importance of our students’ initiative in technological development during their Naval careers.”

The Secretary concluded by issuing a call to action to the students in attendance.

“Innovation must permeate every aspect of our department’s approach to deliver technologies and capabilities at a speed and scale necessary for our Navy and Marine Corps to confront the challenges of today and the future.”

Read Secretary Del Toro’s remarks here.

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MIL Security OSI –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Secretary Del Toro As-Written Remarks at the Georgia Tech Research Institute

Source: United States Navy

Introduction/Thank You

Good afternoon, everyone!

It is wonderful to be with you at Georgia Tech Research Institute, the future of engineering, science, and technology.

President Cabrera, thank you for your leadership of the students here at Georgia Tech, the future scientists, engineers, innovators, and problem-solvers of our country.

Dr. Hudgens, thank you for your leadership and vision for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and all that you are doing to advance our national security interests.

I thank the future Navy and Marine Corps Officers from the NROTC consortium here with us today.

Thank you for answering the call to service—for choosing a path both challenging and difficult. I look forward to you joining our Fleet and Force.

To all of our Georgia Tech faculty and students, distinguished visitors, and guests—welcome, and thank you for your time today.

World Today

As you have read in the news, we face challenges in every corner of the world—from the Indo-Pacific, to Europe, to the Red Sea.

In Europe, we are approaching the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine is fighting not only for their own liberty and freedom—they are fighting to protect democracy in Europe and indeed around the world.

We proudly stand beside them in support for their just and noble cause.

For the first time since World War II, we face a comprehensive maritime power—our pacing challenge—in the Indo-Pacific.

The People’s Republic of China continues to exert its excessive maritime claims through their navy, coast guard, and maritime militia.

In the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, we have been working tirelessly alongside our NATO allies and Middle Eastern partners to protect innocent civilian mariners and commercial shipping from Iranian-aligned Houthi attacks.

Following the October 7th attacks in Israel one year ago, our Navy and Marine Corps were swiftly deployed to the region, forming an integrated force capable of responding to any threat.

Carrier Air Wing Three, our “Battle Axe,” played a pivotal role in protecting civilian mariners, deploying over sixty air-to-air missiles and over 420 air-to-surface weapons.

We mourn the loss of two trailblazing, combat-decorated naval aviators from Carrier Air Wing Three who passed away during a training event last week: Lieutenant Commander Lyndsay “Miley” Evans and Lieutenant Serena “Dug” Wileman.

Their sacrifice reminds us that what we ask of our Sailors and Marines is anything but routine.

And our hearts go out to the families and friends of these brave and selfless warfighters.

The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, made significant contributions in the region by deterring hostile Houthi attacks and preventing the conflict from escalating throughout the region.

Our warships—including the Carney, Mason, Gravely, Laboon, Eisenhower, and Thomas Hudner—have demonstrated exceptional performance under fire, successfully deterring and defeating missile and drone attacks targeting innocent maritime shipping.

Two of our highly capable destroyers, the USS Cole (DDG 67)—a warship which carries a proud legacy of standing tall to acts of terrorism—and the USS Bulkeley (DDG 84)—which will always have a special place in my naval carer as her first Commanding Officer—aided our Israeli allies in shooting down Iranian ballistic missiles.

I am incredibly proud of the professionalism, dedication, and resilience shown by our Cole and Bulkeley Sailors.

These brave young men and women illustrate the consistent excellence and effectiveness expected of our United States Navy.

Our Navy-Marine Corps Team remains at the center of global and national security—maintaining freedom of the seas, international security, and global stability.

DON Innovation Initiatives

To win the fight of the future, we must embrace and implement emerging technologies.

We stand on the shoulders of giants in innovation.

And delivering technology which changes the very nature of warfighting is in our DNA.

A little over a year ago, I stood in the courtyard of the Pentagon to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the Naval Research Lab—the place that invented radar, GPS, and the first satellite tracking system—and a place I worked at as a young lieutenant commander.

At that time, I challenged the research, engineering, and technology developers of today to take their place in the company of those innovation giants.

I challenged my team to innovate at the speed of relevance to deliver concepts of operations and capabilities which bolster deterrence and expand our warfighting advantage.

I challenged my Chief of Naval Research to align the Office of Naval Research’s investment in science and technology research—including the research conducted here at Georgia Tech—with each effort aimed at addressing issues we face as a maritime nation.

Within three months of my challenge to the Chief of Naval Research, he delivered.

Our new Naval Science and Technology Strategy now drives our Navy and Marine Corps’ innovation investments in science and technology research during this decisive period.

This strategy is a global call to service for scientists, engineers, inventors, and innovators from academia, industry, and government to work with us in solving naval problems to ensure our freedom and way of life.

And the Georgia Tech Research Institute has answered this call.

During this past fiscal year, ONR completed 22 grants here at GTRI worth $23.6 million, and Georgia Tech currently has 72 active contracts and grants with the Navy worth $216 million.

These ONR grants support research and development of technology in cyber, AI and autonomy, materials and electronics, as well as ocean, atmosphere, and space—focus areas in our Naval S&T Strategy.

Service to our national security is indeed the engine of GTRI.

Another critical investment we have made as a result of our strategic change is the establishment of the Naval Innovation Center at the Naval Postgraduate School.

The NIC will enhance and accelerate the innovation process at NPS by driving “ideas to impact,” bringing research concepts out of the lab and into the field faster by empowering students and partners across the entire Naval Research and Development Establishment to work with the Naval innovation ecosystem and industry—in a whole-of-Navy approach—to speed the delivery of warfighting advantages to our Naval forces.

Furthermore, we are supporting the construction of a purposefully-designed facility to house the NIC at the Naval Postgraduate School, providing a space for collaboration, defense-focused experimentation, and demonstration of operational use cases to ensure the right technology is evolving.

S&T Board One Year Update

Last fall, I also announced the establishment of the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board, with the intent that the board provide independent advice and counsel to the Department on matters and policies relating to scientific, technical, manufacturing, acquisition, logistics, medicine, and business management functions.

Our Science and Technology Board just completed its inaugural year.

Under the expert leadership of former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig, this impressive group of thought leaders with expertise in government, industry, and academia has completed an ambitious research agenda to identify new technologies for rapid adoption.

Since I signed out the Board’s initial tasking in February, they have achieved the impressive feat of undertaking and concluding six studies, delivering near term, practical recommendations, that the Department of the Navy can quickly implement.

I have accepted recommendation reports from the Board and issued implementation guidance related to the path forward on unmanned systems, improving sailor physical and mental health, mission assurance of digital infrastructure, and capitalizing on opportunities for additive manufacturing.

In fact, Georgia Tech’s own Chief Manufacturing Officer and Manufacturing Institute Executive Director Dr. Tom Kurfess, lent his breadth and depth of expertise in leading a study on additive manufacturing which I accepted last month.

It is a testament to the Board’s energy and dedication, that it is already embarking on additional projects to keep our Navy at the leading edge of technology and innovation.

Innovation Closer to the Fight

Similar to the focus of our S&T Board of Advisors, who are looking at today’s problems and ways that technology can provide new ways to tackle our operational challenges, I chartered a Disruptive Capabilities Office last January to look at already-available or emerging technology to address the Fleet’s capability gaps.

And they have delivered.

DCO identified meaty organizational, doctrinal, and technological advancements that the Navy has implemented, within six months, to close an emergent warfighting gap in Counter-UAS base defense for the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

DCO is also leading an effort to combine innovative commercial space-enabled capabilities in coordination with the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and other governmental agencies to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness for the Department of the Navy along with our allies and partners.

Replicator and Capability-Based Delivery

My call to innovation has also put more “ready players on the field” as we look to grow force structure in the near term.

In the last twelve months, I have fielded varying sizes of unmanned surface vessels into the hands of our operators for use in experimentation, CONOP development, and for operation.

We are expanding our systems to include not only homogeneous but also heterogeneous collaborative autonomy.

I am extremely proud of my team’s leadership in this domain, to include our leadership in identifying and quickly procuring the capabilities that support Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks’s “Replicator” initiative.

It is no accident that four of the five selected “Replicator” systems came out of the Department of the Navy’s innovation ecosystem.

And over the last year, our Department has expended more missiles than we have since the Second World War.

My Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems has been at the forefront of this fight.

Last year, I challenged that office to operate and field its systems as a “portfolio of capabilities”—and they have delivered.

The IWS RCO has been working hand-in-hand with our operators in the fight in the Red Sea to deliver innovations, in near-real time, as we continue to innovate—at speed.

Call to Action/Closing

I am extremely proud of everything our department has accomplished over the last three years, and I am excited for our Navy-Marine Corps team as we chart a course for the future—a future that will require us to respond and adapt to whatever geopolitical challenges our Nation may face.

To those Georgia Tech, Spellman, and Morehouse College students who are not affiliated with the NROTC program—if anything that I said today interests you, I encourage you to speak with me or a member of my staff to learn more about how you can join our team in the Navy or Marine Corps.

Service in the Navy and Marine Corps is more than just a job—it represents a chance to serve and become something much bigger than yourself.

And the Department of the Navy also provides numerous opportunities for public service beyond serving in uniform—we need engineers, scientists, and analysts in our Department.

As our Department continues to re-imagine and refocus our innovation efforts, I encourage all of you—our nation’s scientists, engineers, researchers, and inventors—to join us.

No matter how you serve, you’ll be part of a team working together toward a shared goal.

We are indeed in an innovation race—and it is one we must win.

Innovation must permeate every aspect of our Department’s approach to deliver technologies and capabilities at a speed and scale necessary for our Navy and Marine Corps to confront the challenges of today and the future.

Thank you all for your commitment to the Department of the Navy, the maritime services, and indeed our Nation.

May God continue to bless our Sailors, Marines, Civilians, and their families stationed around the globe with fair winds and following seas.

MIL Security OSI –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Sullivan, House Republicans Urge Biden-Harris Admin to Improve Plastic Management Treaty at U.N.

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Dan Sullivan
10.23.24
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden-Harris administration to press for improvements to a global plastics treaty being negotiated by United Nations participating countries. Sen. Sullivan expressed concerns that the treaty could be plagued with vague requirements and expensive efforts that do not provide adequate solutions to the pressing issue of plastic waste. The letter was first reported on in an article by Politico’s Jordan Wolman on October 16.
“Since this treaty has no enforcement provisions and relies on the good faith and self-reporting of signatory countries, the treaty needs to be common-sense and future-looking, building on reducing demand for single use plastic, on technical innovation, and on implementing measures that enhance the circularity of plastic,” Sen. Sullivan wrote. “I urge the Biden-Harris administration to focus on securing an agreement that the U.S. can join and one that will result in a lasting solution to end plastic pollution.”
Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) led a similar letter in the House joined by 26 of his Republican colleagues.
Click here to read the full letter.
Senator Sullivan has led on the issue of plastic pollution, specifically in regard to oceans and marine ecosystems, with his Save our Seas (SOS) 2.0 Act, introduced with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and signed into law in December 2020. This legislation has fostered multiple efforts to eliminate plastic pollution and mitigate the impacts on the environment, including:
The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program (SWIFR), authorized by SOS 2.0 and implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has provided $375 million in infrastructure and recycling programs for local communities.
The Save Our Seas Initiative, launched by USAID in 2022, has implemented programs in 25 cities across 10 countries to reduce the flow of ocean plastic pollution. The initiative’s recently-launched CIRCLE Initiative (Catalyzing Inclusive, Resilient and Circular Local Economies) is a public-private partnership that furthers this aim.
The Department of State leads inter-agency efforts to negotiate a 175+ country global treaty on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The Department also launched the End Plastic Pollution International Collaborative; EPPIC is a public-private partnership built to catalyze governments, NGOs, and businesses to support innovative solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.
The Marine Debris Foundation, a charitable and nonprofit foundation established by SOS 2.0, announced Juneau, Alaska as its headquarters, following strong support by Sen. Sullivan to locate the headquarters in Alaska.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) published a landmark report on the U.S. contribution to global ocean plastic waste; other members of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee have published additional reports that further our understanding and galvanize action to combat plastic pollution.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Administrator Checks on Recovery Efforts in Georgia, Meets with State and Local Officials as Hurricane Helene Recovery Continues Throughout the Southeast

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency 2

em>More than 141,000 Georgia households have been approved for $156 million in FEMA housing and other types of assistance
FEMA Administrator to travel to South Carolina on Thursday, October 24 to check on long-term recovery
WASHINGTON – Today, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is in Augusta, Georgia to meet with state and local officials, survivors and FEMA staff supporting recovery efforts. She will also meet with Georgia Emergency Management Agency to discuss long-term recovery. Tomorrow, she will travel to South Carolina to meet with Gov. McMaster, check on federal recovery efforts and visit local Disaster Recovery Centers.
To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved over $2 billion in federal assistance for individuals and communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. FEMA has over 5,000 personnel deployed throughout the Southeast, contributing to a total of over 6,000 federal responders who are working together to support state and local governments in their recovery efforts. FEMA personnel remain on the ground in communities across the Southeast and are actively coordinating with local officials, conducting damage assessments and helping individuals apply for disaster assistance programs.
Federal assistance for those affected by the hurricanes includes $940 million to support survivors with housing repairs, personal property replacement and other essential recovery efforts. Additionally, over $1.1 billion has been approved for debris removal and emergency protective measures, which are necessary to save lives, protect public health and prevent further damage to public and private property.
Applying for assistance is a critical first step towards recovery. Disaster survivors in certain areas of Georgia, Florida (Helene), Florida (Milton), North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia can begin their recovery process by applying for federal assistance through FEMA. Individuals affected by the hurricanes are encouraged to apply as soon as they are able to by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov, which is the fastest way to get an application started. Individuals can also apply using the FEMA App, calling 1-800-621-3362 or in person at a local Disaster Recovery Center. Disaster Recovery Centers in the affected communities can provide survivors with in-person help on their applications and answer questions. Center locations can be found at FEMA.gov/DRC. FEMA also has Disaster Survivor Assistance team members in the field supporting survivors and helping them with the application process.
Federal assistance for individuals may include upfront funds to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair storm-related damage to homes and personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay. Homeowners and renters with damage to their home or personal property from previous disasters, whether they received FEMA funds or not, are still eligible to apply for and receive assistance for other federally declared disasters.
Recovery Update
For those affected by Hurricane Helene, FEMA has approved over $1.3 billion in assistance. This includes $797 million in assistance for individuals and families, along with more than $524 million for debris removal and efforts to protect public health and safety. In response to Hurricane Milton, FEMA has approved more than $749 million in assistance, with $142 million allocated for individuals and families and over $606 million for debris removal and safety measures.
FEMA now has 57 Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout the affected communities to provide survivors with in-person assistance with more opening each day. These centers offer help with applications for FEMA assistance, information on available resources and guidance through the recovery process. Over 1,300 Disaster Survivor Assistance team members remain on the ground in neighborhoods in all affected states helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.
Support for Georgia
FEMA has approved over $156 million in housing and other types of assistance for more than 141,000 households.
There are 214 Disaster Survivor Assistance members in communities providing support. There are also nine Disaster Recovery Centers now open in Augusta, Baxley, Douglas, Lyons, Midway, Sandersville, Savannah, Thompson and Valdosta where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.
Residents can find resources like shelters and feeding sites at gema.georgia.gov/hurricane-helene.
Support for South Carolina
FEMA has approved over $166 million in housing and other types of assistance for more than 176,000 households.
More than 1,800 survivors who cannot return home are currently staying in safe and clean lodging through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.
There are 124 Disaster Survivor Assistance members in communities providing support. There are also eight Disaster Recovery Centers now open in Allendale, Anderson, Gaffney, Graniteville, Greenville, Greenwood, Newberry and Union where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.
Residents with questions on Helene can call the state’s toll-free hotline, open 24 hours a day, at 1-866-246-0133. Residents who are dependent on medical equipment at home and who are without power due to Helene may be eligible for a medical needs shelter. Call the state’s Department of Public Health Care Line at 1-855-472-3432 for more information.
Support for North Carolina
FEMA has approved over $134 million for over 94,000 households and other types of assistance. Additionally, FEMA has approved more than $189 million for debris removal and reimbursement of emergency protective measures for the state.
More than 2,600 survivors who cannot return home are currently staying in safe and clean lodging through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. Mass shelter numbers remain steady, with 11 shelters housing just over 440 occupants.
FEMA delivered over 7.8 million meals and 10.3 million liters of water to North Carolina. Commodity distribution, mass feeding and hydration operations remain in areas of western North Carolina. Voluntary organizations are supporting feeding operations with bulk food and water deliveries coming via truck and aircraft. Residents can visit ncdps.gov/Helene to get information and additional assistance.
There are over 420 Disaster Survivor Assistance members in communities providing support. There are also 15 Disaster Recovery Centers now open in Asheville, Bakersville, Boone, Brevard, Charlotte, Hendersonville, Jefferson, Lenoir, Marion, Morgantown, Newland, Old Fort, Sparta, Sylva and Waynesville where survivors can speak directly with FEMA and state personnel for assistance with their recovery. To find the nearest center, visit FEMA.gov/DRC.
Support for Florida
In response to Helene, FEMA has approved over $319 million in housing and other types of assistance for more than 99,000 households. Additionally, FEMA has approved more than $335 million in Public Assistance for debris removal and emergency work. In response to Milton, FEMA has approved over $142 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 121,000 households. Additionally, FEMA has approved more than $606 million in Public Assistance for debris removal and emergency work.
In response to Helene and Milton, FEMA delivered over 4.6 million meals and 4.4 million liters of water to Florida.
More than 5,500 survivors who cannot return home are currently staying in safe and clean lodging through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. Mass shelter numbers continue to decline, with 14 shelters housing just over 650 occupants.
There are 495 Disaster Survivor Assistance members in communities to provide support. There are also 16 Disaster Recovery Centers now open in Alligator Point (Mobile), Branford, Brooksville, Fort Pierce, Homosassa, Lake City, Largo, Live Oak, Madison, Old Town, Palmetto (Mobile), Perry, Punta Gorda (Mobile), Sarasota, Stuart, and Vero Beach supporting survivors from Debby, Helene and Milton where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.
Residents in need of information or resources should call the State Assistance Information Line (SAIL) at 1-800-342-3557. English, Spanish and Creole speakers are available to answer questions.
Support for Virginia
To date, FEMA has approved over $6.6 million in housing and other types of assistance for more than 2,200 households.
There are about 76 Disaster Survivor Assistance members in communities providing support. There are also six Disaster Recovery Centers open in Christiansburg, Damascus, Dublin, Independence, Marion and Tazewell where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.
Residents can find resources like shelters and feeding sites at: Recover – Hurricane Helene | VDEM (vaemergency.gov).
Support for Tennessee
FEMA has approved more than $14.3 million in housing and other types of assistance for more than 3,900 households.
There are more than 56 Disaster Survivor Assistance members in communities providing support. There are now three Disaster Recovery Center open in Erwin, Greenville and Morristown where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.
Counties continue to establish donation centers. For the evolving list, visit TEMA’s website.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI: Northfield Bancorp, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NOTABLE ITEMS FOR THE QUARTER INCLUDE:

DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE WERE $0.16 FOR THE CURRENT QUARTER COMPARED TO $0.14 FOR THE TRAILING QUARTER, AND $0.19 FOR THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2023.
NET INTEREST MARGIN REMAINED RELATIVELY STABLE AT 2.08% FOR THE CURRENT QUARTER AS COMPARED TO 2.09% FOR THE TRAILING QUARTER.
AVERAGE YIELD ON INTEREST-EARNING ASSETS DECREASED ONE BASIS POINT TO 4.38%, WHILE THE AVERAGE COST OF INTEREST-BEARING LIABILITIES REMAINED STABLE AT 2.95% FOR THE CURRENT QUARTER AS COMPARED TO THE TRAILING QUARTER.
DEPOSITS (EXCLUDING BROKERED) DECREASED MODESTLY BY $5.1 MILLION, OR LESS THAN 1% ANNUALIZED, COMPARED TO JUNE 30, 2024, AND INCREASED $15.0 MILLION, OR 0.5% ANNUALIZED, FROM DECEMBER 31, 2023. COST OF DEPOSITS AT SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 WAS 2.07% AS COMPARED TO 2.10% AT JUNE 30, 2024.
LOAN BALANCES DECLINED BY $27.2 MILLION, OR 2.7% ANNUALIZED, FROM JUNE 30, 2024, WITH DECREASES IN COMMERCIAL, MULTIFAMILY AND RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE LOANS OFFSET BY INCREASES IN HOME EQUITY, CONSTRUCTION AND LAND, AND COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LOANS.
ASSET QUALITY REMAINS STRONG DESPITE AN INCREASE IN NON-PERFORMING LOANS IN THE CURRENT QUARTER. NON-PERFORMING LOANS TO TOTAL LOANS WAS 0.75% AT SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 AND 0.42% AT JUNE 30, 2024.
THE COMPANY MAINTAINED STRONG LIQUIDITY WITH APPROXIMATELY $597 MILLION IN UNPLEDGED AVAILABLE-FOR-SALE SECURITIES AND LOANS READILY AVAILABLE-FOR-PLEDGE OF APPROXIMATELY $699 MILLION.
THE COMPANY REPURCHASED 560,683 SHARES FOR A COST OF $6.3 MILLION. THERE IS NO REMAINING CAPACITY UNDER THE CURRENT REPURCHASE PROGRAM.
CASH DIVIDEND DECLARED OF $0.13 PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK, PAYABLE ON NOVEMBER 20, 2024, TO STOCKHOLDERS OF RECORD AS OF NOVEMBER 6, 2024.

WOODBRIDGE, N.J., Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NORTHFIELD BANCORP, INC. (Nasdaq:NFBK) (the “Company”), the holding company for Northfield Bank, reported net income of $6.5 million, or $0.16 per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $6.0 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2024, and $8.2 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income totaled $18.7 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared to $29.4 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income reflected $795,000, or $0.02 per share, of additional tax expense related to options that expired in June 2024, and $683,000, or $0.01 per share, of severance expense related to staffing realignments. For the nine months ended September 30, 2023, net income reflected $440,000, or $0.01 per share of severance expense. The decrease in net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to the comparable prior year period was primarily the result of a decrease in net interest income, which was negatively impacted by higher funding costs, partially offset by improved interest and non-interest income.

Commenting on the quarter, Steven M. Klein, the Company’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “In the third quarter, the Northfield team continued to focus on financial performance, serving the businesses and consumers in our marketplace, and improving upon our operating efficiencies.” Mr. Klein continued, “We delivered solid financial performance for the quarter, increasing our net income, and earnings per share, as we manage our strong capital levels, core deposit and loan relationships, asset quality, and operating expenses. While significant risks remain, the decrease in short-term market interest rates late in the third quarter should provide increased economic activity in our marketplace and opportunities for our Company.”

Mr. Klein further noted, “I am pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.13 per common share, payable on November 20, 2024 to stockholders of record on November 6, 2024.”

Results of Operations

Comparison of Operating Results for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023

Net income was $18.7 million and $29.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, respectively. Significant variances from the comparable prior year period are as follows: a $10.9 million decrease in net interest income, a $1.3 million increase in the provision for credit losses on loans, a $1.5 million increase in non-interest income, a $3.2 million increase in non-interest expense, and a $3.1 million decrease in income tax expense.

Net interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, decreased $10.9 million, or 11.4%, to $84.8 million, from $95.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 due to a $34.8 million increase in interest expense, which was partially offset by a $23.9 million increase in interest income. The increase in interest expense was largely driven by the cost of interest-bearing liabilities, which increased by 96 basis points to 2.93% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, from 1.97% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, driven primarily by a 114 basis point increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits from 1.42% to 2.56% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, and a 31 basis point increase in the cost of borrowings from 3.58% to 3.89% due to rising market interest rates and a shift in the composition of the deposit portfolio towards higher-costing certificates of deposit and a greater reliance on borrowings. The increase in interest expense was also due to a $277.1 million, or 7.0%, increase in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities, including an increase of $149.8 million in the average balance of borrowed funds and a $127.1 million increase in average interest-bearing deposits. The increase in interest income was primarily due to a $156.1 million, or 2.9%, increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets coupled with a 47 basis point increase in the yield on interest-earning assets, which increased to 4.35% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, from 3.88% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, due to the rising rate environment. The increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets was primarily due to increases in the average balance of interest-earning deposits in financial institutions of $111.7 million, the average balance of other securities of $91.6 million, and the average balance of mortgage-backed securities of $88.5 million, partially offset by a decrease in the average balance of loans of $133.4 million.

Net interest margin decreased by 34 basis points to 2.07% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, from 2.41% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in net interest margin was primarily due to interest-bearing liabilities repricing at a faster rate than interest-earning assets. The net interest margin was negatively affected by approximately 12 basis points due to a $300 million low risk leverage strategy implemented in the first quarter of 2024. In January 2024, the Company borrowed $300.0 million from the Federal Reserve Bank through the Bank Term Funding Program at favorable terms and conditions and invested the proceeds in interest-bearing deposits in other financial institutions and investment securities. The Company accreted interest income related to purchased credit-deteriorated (“PCD”) loans of $1.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $1.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Net interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, included loan prepayment income of $648,000 as compared to $1.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

The provision for credit losses on loans increased by $1.3 million to $2.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $1.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to an increase in the specific reserve component of the allowance for credit losses, which was partially offset by a decrease in the general reserve component of the allowance for credit losses. The increase in the specific reserve was related to a single commercial and industrial relationship totaling $12.5 million that experienced credit deterioration and was placed on non-accrual during the current quarter, which has a specific reserve of $1.3 million and incurred a charge-off of $878,000. The decline in the general reserve component of the allowance for credit losses resulted from a decline in loan balances and an improvement in the macroeconomic forecast for the current period within our Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) model, partially offset by an increase in reserves related to changes in model assumptions, including the slowing of prepayment speeds, and an increase in reserves in the commercial and industrial and home equity and lines of credit portfolios related to an increase in non-performing loans in these portfolios and higher loan balances. Net charge-offs were $4.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, primarily due to $3.9 million in net charge-offs on small business unsecured commercial and industrial loans, as compared to net charge-offs of $5.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. Management continues to closely monitor the small business unsecured commercial and industrial loan portfolio, which totaled $31.0 million at September 30, 2024.

Non-interest income increased by $1.5 million, or 18.7%, to $9.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $8.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The increase was primarily due to increases of $790,000 in fees and service charges for customer services, related to an increase in overdraft fees and service charges on deposit accounts, $260,000 in income on bank owned life insurance, and $874,000 in gains on trading securities, net. Partially offsetting the increases was a $303,000 decrease in other income, primarily due to lower swap fee income. Gains on trading securities in the nine months ended September 30, 2024, were $1.6 million, as compared to $723,000 in the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The trading portfolio is utilized to fund the Company’s deferred compensation obligation to certain employees and directors of the plan. The participants of this plan, at their election, defer a portion of their compensation. Gains and losses on trading securities have no effect on net income since participants benefit from, and bear the full risk of changes in the trading securities market values. Therefore, the Company records an equal and offsetting amount in compensation expense, reflecting the change in the Company’s obligations under the plan.

Non-interest expense increased $3.2 million, or 5.2%, to $65.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $62.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The increase was primarily due to a $3.3 million increase in employee compensation and benefits, primarily attributable to higher salary expense, related to annual merit increases and higher medical expense, and an increase of $874,000 in deferred compensation expense, which is described above, and had no effect on net income. Employee compensation and benefits expense also includes severance expense of $683,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $440,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. During the second quarter of 2024, due to current economic conditions, the Company implemented a workforce reduction plan which included modest layoffs and staffing realignments. The annual estimated cost savings of this plan is $2.0 million, pre-tax. Partially offsetting the increase was a $461,000 decrease in stock compensation expense related to performance stock awards not expected to vest. Additionally, non-interest expense included a $727,000 increase in credit loss expense/(benefit) for off-balance sheet exposure due to a provision of $337,000 recorded during the nine months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to a benefit of $390,000 for the comparative prior year period. The benefit in the prior year period was attributable to a decrease in the pipeline of loans committed and awaiting closing. Partially offsetting the increases was a $552,000 decrease in advertising expense due to a change in marketing strategy and the timing of specific deposit and lending campaigns.

The Company recorded income tax expense of $7.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $11.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, with the decrease due to lower taxable income partially offset by a higher effective tax rate. The effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, was 29.7% compared to 27.2% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. In June 2024, options granted in 2014 expired and resulted in additional tax expense of $795,000, contributing to the higher effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2024.

Comparison of Operating Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024 and 2023

Net income was $6.5 million and $8.2 million for the quarters ended September 30, 2024 and September 30, 2023, respectively. Significant variances from the comparable prior year quarter are as follows: a $1.5 million decrease in net interest income, a $2.4 increase in the provision for credit losses on loans, a $1.5 million increase in non-interest income, a $189,000 decrease in non-interest expense, and a $513,000 decrease in income tax expense.

Net interest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, decreased $1.5 million, or 4.9%, to $28.2 million, from $29.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, due to an $8.0 million increase in interest expense, partially offset by an $6.6 million increase in interest income. The increase in interest expense was largely driven by the impact of rising market interest rates and a $227.0 million, or 5.7%, increase in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities, including increases of $158.4 million and $68.4 million in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits and borrowed funds, respectively. The increase in interest income was primarily due to a $155.1 million, or 3.0%, increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets coupled with a 38 basis point increase in yields on interest-earning assets due to the rising rate environment. The increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets was due to increases in the average balance of mortgage-backed securities of $240.3 million, the average balance of other securities of $64.0 million, and the average balance of interest-earning deposits in financial institutions of $26.8 million, partially offset by decreases in the average balance of loans outstanding of $172.8 million and the average balance of Federal Home Loan Bank of New York stock of $3.2 million.

Net interest margin decreased by 17 basis points to 2.08% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from 2.25% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to the cost of interest-bearing liabilities increasing faster than the repricing of interest-earning assets. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased by 64 basis points to 2.95% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from 2.31% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, driven primarily by a 77 basis point increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits from 1.82% to 2.59%, and a 30 basis point increase in the cost of borrowings from 3.63% to 3.93%. The increase in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities was partially offset by an increase in the yield on interest-earning assets, which increased by 38 basis points to 4.38% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from 4.00% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Net interest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, included loan prepayment income of $87,000, as compared to $183,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The Company accreted interest income related to PCD loans of $327,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $325,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

The provision for credit losses on loans increased by $2.4 million to $2.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from a provision of $188,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to an increase in the specific reserve component of the allowance for credit losses, which was partially offset by a decrease in the general reserve component of the allowance for credit losses. The increase in the specific reserve was related to a single commercial and industrial relationship that experienced credit deterioration and was placed on non-accrual during the current quarter, which has a specific reserve of $1.3 million and incurred a charge-off of $878,000. The decline in the general reserve component of the allowance for credit losses resulted from a decline in loan balances and an improvement in the macroeconomic forecast for the current period within our CECL model, partially offset by an increase in reserves related to changes in model assumptions, including the slowing of prepayment speeds, and an increase in reserves in the commercial and industrial portfolio related to an increase in non-performing loans and higher loan balances. Net charge-offs were $2.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, and included $1.4 million in net charge-offs on small business unsecured loans, as compared to net charge-offs of $2.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Non-interest income increased by $1.5 million, or 68.7%, to $3.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from $2.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, primarily due to a $294,000 increase in fees and service charges, primarily related to higher overdraft fees, a $1.0 million increase in gains on trading securities, net, and a $185,000 increase in other income, primarily due to higher swap fee income. For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, gains on trading securities, net, were $710,000, compared to losses of $295,000 in the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Gains and losses on trading securities have no effect on net income since participants benefit from, and bear the full risk of, changes in the trading securities market values. Therefore, the Company records an equal and offsetting amount in compensation expense, reflecting the change in the Company’s obligations under the Plan.

Non-interest expense decreased by $189,000, or 0.9%, to $20.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from $20.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to decreases of $386,000 in occupancy expense, attributable to lower real estate taxes, common area maintenance and electricity costs, $214,000 in data processing costs, attributable to a decrease in ongoing core processing costs related to a prior technology-related contract renewed at favorable terms, and $132,000 in advertising expense. Partially offsetting the decreases was a $504,000 increase in compensation and employee benefits, which included a $1.0 million increase in expense related to the Company’s deferred compensation plan which is described above, and had no effect on net income, that was offset by lower medical expense.

The Company recorded income tax expense of $2.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $2.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, with the decrease due to lower taxable income. The effective tax rate for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was 26.6%, compared to 26.0% for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Comparison of Operating Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024

Net income was $6.5 million and $6.0 million for the quarters ended September 30, 2024, and June 30, 2024, respectively. Significant variances from the prior quarter are as follows: an $458,000 decrease in net interest income, a $3.2 million increase in the provision for credit losses on loans, a $719,000 increase in non-interest income, a $2.6 million decrease in non-interest expense, and an $850,000 decrease in income tax expense.

Net interest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, decreased by $458,000, or 1.6%, primarily due to a $902,000 decrease in interest income, partially offset by a $444,000 decrease in interest expense on deposits and borrowings. The decrease in interest income was primarily due to a $124.4 million decrease in the average balance of interest-earning assets. The decrease in the average balance of interest-earning assets was primarily due to decreases in the average balance of interest-earning deposits in financial institutions of $91.6 million, the average balance of other securities of $60.5 million, and the average balance of loans outstanding of $48.1 million, partially offset by an increase in the average balance of mortgage-backed securities of $76.5 million. The decrease in interest expense on deposits and borrowings was primarily due to a $105.8 million, or 2.5%, decrease in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities attributable to a $73.2 million decrease in the average balance of interest-bearing deposits and a $32.7 million decrease in the average balance of borrowed funds.

Net interest margin decreased by one basis point to 2.08% from 2.09% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to a one basis point decrease in yields on interest-earning assets whereas the cost of interest-bearing liabilities remained level. Net interest income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, included loan prepayment income of $87,000 as compared to $210,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The Company accreted interest income related to PCD loans of $327,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, as compared to $321,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

The provision for credit losses on loans increased by $3.2 million to $2.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from a benefit of $618,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The increase in the provision for the current quarter was primarily due to an increase in the specific reserve component of the allowance for credit losses, attributable to a single commercial and industrial relationship that experienced credit deterioration and was placed on non-accrual during the current quarter, higher reserves related to changes in model assumptions during the current quarter, including the slowing of prepayment speeds and higher net-charge-offs. Net charge-offs were $2.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, as compared to net charge-offs of $1.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Non-interest income increased by $719,000, or 25.1%, to $3.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from $2.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The increase was primarily due to a $522,000 increase in gains on sales of trading securities, net, and a $192,000 increase in other income, primarily due to higher swap fee income. For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, gains on trading securities, net, were $710,000, compared to gains of $188,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Non-interest expense decreased by $2.6 million, or 11.4%, to $20.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, from $23.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a $2.0 million decrease in compensation and employee benefits, primarily attributable to a decrease in salaries and medical expense due to lower employee headcount, partially offset by a $522,000 increase in expense related to the Company’s deferred compensation plan which had no effect on net income. Also contributing to the decrease were decreases of $192,000 in occupancy expense, $397,000 in data processing costs, attributable to a decrease in ongoing core processing costs resulting from a prior technology-related contract renewed at favorable terms, $200,000 in advertising expense, and $122,000 in other non-interest expense. Partially offsetting the decreases was a $262,000 increase in professional fees, primarily due to an increase in outsourced audit services.

The Company recorded income tax expense of $2.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $3.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The effective tax rate for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was 26.6%, compared to 35.0% for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. During the quarter ended June 30, 2024, options granted in 2014 expired and resulted in additional tax expense of $795,000, contributing to the higher effective tax rate for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Financial Condition

Total assets increased by $132.5 million, or 2.4%, to $5.73 billion at September 30, 2024, from $5.60 billion at December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to increases in available-for-sale debt securities of $268.0 million, or 33.7%, and cash and cash equivalents of $3.4 million, or 1.5%, partially offset by a decrease in loans receivable of $139.7 million, or 3.3%.

Cash and cash equivalents increased by $3.4 million, or 1.5%, to $232.9 million at September 30, 2024, from $229.5 million at December 31, 2023. Balances fluctuate based on the timing of receipt of security and loan repayments and the redeployment of cash into higher-yielding assets such as loans and securities, or the funding of deposit outflows or borrowing maturities.

Loans held-for-investment, net, decreased by $139.7 million, or 3.3%, to $4.06 billion at September 30, 2024 from $4.20 billion at December 31, 2023, primarily due to decreases in multifamily, commercial and one-to-four family residential real estate loans, partially offset by increases in home equity and lines of credit, construction and land, and commercial and industrial loans. The decrease in loan balances reflects the Company remaining strategically focused on both managing the concentration of its commercial and multifamily real estate loan portfolios and disciplined loan pricing, as well as lower customer demand in the recent elevated interest rate environment. Multifamily loans decreased $110.1 million, or 4.0%, to $2.64 billion at September 30, 2024 from $2.75 billion at December 31, 2023, commercial real estate loans decreased $51.4 million, or 5.5%, to $878.2 million at September 30, 2024 from $929.6 million at December 31, 2023, one-to-four family residential loans decreased $11.1 million, or 6.9%, to $149.7 million at September 30, 2024 from $160.8 million at December 31, 2023, and other loans decreased $925,000, or 35.8%, to $1.7 million at September 30, 2024 from $2.6 million at December 31, 2023. Partially offsetting these decreases were increases in commercial and industrial loans of $19.1 million, or 12.3%, to $174.4 million at September 30, 2024 from $155.3 million at December 31, 2023, home equity and lines of credit of $8.4 million, or 5.2%, to $171.9 million at September 30, 2024 from $163.5 million at December 31, 2023, and construction and land loans of $2.1 million, or 6.6%, to $33.0 million at September 30, 2024 from $31.0 million at December 31, 2023.

As of September 30, 2024, non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans (as defined by regulatory guidance) to total risk-based capital was estimated at approximately 447%. Management believes that Northfield Bank (the “Bank”) maintains appropriate risk management practices including risk assessments, board-approved underwriting policies and related procedures, which include monitoring Bank portfolio performance, performing market analysis (economic and real estate), and stressing of the Bank’s commercial real estate portfolio under severe, adverse economic conditions. Although management believes the Bank has implemented appropriate policies and procedures to manage its commercial real estate concentration risk, the Bank’s regulators could require it to implement additional policies and procedures or could require it to maintain higher levels of regulatory capital, which might adversely affect its loan originations, the Company’s ability to pay dividends, and overall profitability.

Our real estate portfolio includes credit risk exposure to loans collateralized by office buildings and multifamily properties in New York State subject to some form of rent regulation limiting rent increases for rent stabilized multifamily properties. At September 30, 2024, office-related loans represented $183.6 million, or 4.5% of our total loan portfolio, with an average balance of $1.7 million (although we have originated these type of loans in amounts substantially greater than this average) and a weighted average loan-to-value ratio of 59%. Approximately 41% were owner-occupied. The geographic locations of the properties collateralizing our office-related loans are: 50.7% in New York, 47.8% in New Jersey and 1.5% in Pennsylvania. At September 30, 2024, our largest office-related loan had a principal balance of $90.0 million (with a net active principal balance for the Bank of $29.9 million as we have a 33.3% participation interest), was secured by an office facility located in Staten Island, New York, and was performing in accordance with its original contractual terms. At September 30, 2024, multifamily loans that have some form of rent stabilization or rent control totaled approximately $447.5 million, or approximately 11% of our total loan portfolio, with an average balance of $1.7 million (although we have originated these type of loans in amounts substantially greater than this average) and a weighted average loan-to-value ratio of 51%. At September 30, 2024, our largest rent-regulated loan had a principal balance of $16.9 million, was secured by an apartment building located in Staten Island, New York, and was performing in accordance with its original contractual terms. Management continues to closely monitor its office and rent-regulated portfolios. For further details on our rent-regulated multifamily portfolio see “Asset Quality”.

PCD loans totaled $9.3 million and $9.9 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The majority of the remaining PCD loan balance consists of loans acquired as part of a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-assisted transaction. The Company accreted interest income of $327,000 and $1.1 million attributable to PCD loans for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, as compared to $325,000 and $1.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively. PCD loans had an allowance for credit losses of approximately $2.9 million at September 30, 2024.

Loan balances are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

	September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Real estate loans:
Multifamily	$	2,640,944	$	2,665,202	$	2,750,996
Commercial mortgage		878,173		896,157		929,595
One-to-four family residential mortgage		149,682		151,948		160,824
Home equity and lines of credit		171,946		167,852		163,520
Construction and land		33,024		32,607		30,967
Total real estate loans		3,873,769		3,913,766		4,035,902
Commercial and industrial loans		174,253		165,586		154,984
PPP loans		160		202		284
Other loans		1,660		2,322		2,585
Total commercial and industrial, PPP, and other loans		176,073		168,110		157,853
Loans held-for-investment, net (excluding PCD)		4,049,842		4,081,876		4,193,755
PCD loans		9,264		9,344		9,899
Total loans held-for-investment, net	$	4,059,106	$	4,091,220	$	4,203,654

The Company’s available-for-sale debt securities portfolio increased by $268.0 million, or 33.7%, to $1.06 billion at September 30, 2024, from $795.5 million at December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to purchases of securities, partially offset by paydowns, maturities and calls. At September 30, 2024, $869.4 million of the portfolio consisted of residential mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae. In addition, the Company held $74.9 million in U.S. Government agency securities, $118.5 million in corporate bonds, substantially all of which were investment grade, and $684,000 in municipal bonds at September 30, 2024. Unrealized losses, net of tax, on available-for-sale debt securities and held-to-maturity securities approximated $19.6 million and $219,000, respectively, at September 30, 2024, and $32.5 million and $279,000, respectively, at December 31, 2023.

Equity securities were $10.7 million at September 30, 2024 and $10.6 million at December 31, 2023. Equity securities are primarily comprised of an investment in a Small Business Administration Loan Fund. This investment is utilized by the Bank as part of its Community Reinvestment Act program.

Total liabilities increased $132.3 million, or 2.7%, to $5.03 billion at September 30, 2024, from $4.90 billion at December 31, 2023. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in borrowings of $131.6 million, partially offset by a decrease in total deposits of $2.9 million. The Company routinely utilizes brokered deposits and borrowed funds to manage interest rate risk, the cost of interest-bearing liabilities, and funding needs related to loan originations and deposit activity.

Deposits decreased $2.9 million, or 0.1%, to $3.88 billion at September 30, 2024 as compared to December 31, 2023. Brokered deposits decreased by $17.9 million, or 17.9%, due to maturities that were replaced by borrowings. Deposits, excluding brokered deposits, increased $15.0 million, or 0.4%. The increase in deposits, excluding brokered deposits, was primarily attributable to increases of $80.9 million in time deposits, partially offset by decreases of $14.9 million in transaction accounts, $14.7 million in savings accounts, and $36.3 million in money market accounts. Growth in time deposits was attributable to the current interest rate environment and offering competitive interest rates to attract deposits. Estimated gross uninsured deposits at September 30, 2024 were $1.71 billion. This total includes fully collateralized uninsured governmental deposits and intercompany deposits of $859.3 million, leaving estimated uninsured deposits of approximately $852.2 million, or 22.0%, of total deposits. At December 31, 2023, estimated uninsured deposits totaled $869.9 million, or 22.4% of total deposits.

Deposit account balances are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

	September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Transaction:
Non-interest bearing checking	$	681,741	$	685,574	$	694,903
Negotiable orders of withdrawal and interest-bearing checking		1,230,176		1,251,342		1,231,943
Total transaction		1,911,917		1,936,916		1,926,846
Savings and money market:
Savings		911,067		916,598		925,744
Money market		265,800		255,550		302,122
Brokered money market		—		—		50,000
Total savings		1,176,867		1,172,148		1,277,866
Certificates of deposit:
$250,000 and under		585,606		568,809		525,454
Over $250,000		119,033		120,601		98,269
Brokered		82,146		—		50,000
Total certificates of deposit		786,785		689,410		673,723
Total deposits	$	3,875,569	$	3,798,474	$	3,878,435

Included in the table above are business and municipal deposit account balances as follows (dollars in thousands):

	September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023

Business customers	$	869,990	$	866,403	$	893,296
Municipal (governmental) customers	$	799,249	$	815,086	$	768,556

Borrowed funds increased to $1.05 billion at September 30, 2024, from $920.5 million at December 31, 2023. The increase in borrowings for the period was primarily due to a $205.5 million increase in borrowings under the Federal Reserve Bank Term Funding Program, which included favorable terms and conditions as compared to FHLB advances. Management utilizes borrowings to mitigate interest rate risk, for short-term liquidity, and to a lesser extent from time to time, as part of leverage strategies.

The following table sets forth borrowing maturities (excluding overnight borrowings and subordinated debt) and the weighted average rate by year at September 30, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

Year	Amount ⁽¹⁾	Weighted Average Rate
2024	$25,000	4.71%
2025	483,184	4.00%
2026	148,000	4.36%
2027	173,000	3.19%
2028	154,288	3.96%
	$983,472	3.92%

__________________________________________________
⁽¹⁾ Borrowings maturing in 2025 include $300.0 million of FRB borrowings that can be repaid without any penalty.

Total stockholders’ equity increased by $119,000 to $699.6 million at September 30, 2024, from $699.4 million at December 31, 2023. The increase was attributable to net income of $18.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, a $14.1 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive income, associated with an increase in the estimated fair value of our debt securities available-for-sale portfolio due to the increase in market interest rates, and a $1.9 million increase in equity award activity, partially offset by $18.1 million in stock repurchases and $16.5 million in dividend payments. On April 24, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a $5.0 million stock repurchase program, which was completed in May 2024, and on June 14, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a $10.0 million stock repurchase program. During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company repurchased 1.8 million of its common stock outstanding at an average price of $10.03 for a total of $18.1 million pursuant to the approved stock repurchase programs. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had no remaining capacity under its current repurchase program.

The Company’s most liquid assets are cash and cash equivalents, corporate bonds, and unpledged mortgage-related securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac, that we can either borrow against or sell. We also have the ability to surrender bank-owned life insurance contracts. The surrender of these contracts would subject the Company to income taxes and penalties for increases in the cash surrender values over the original premium payments. We also have the ability to obtain additional funding from the FHLB and Federal Reserve Bank of New York utilizing unencumbered and unpledged securities and multifamily loans. The Company expects to have sufficient funds available to meet current commitments in the normal course of business. The Company’s on-hand liquidity ratio as of September 30, 2024 was 16.4%.

The Company had the following primary sources of liquidity at September 30, 2024 (dollars in thousands):

Cash and cash equivalents⁽¹⁾	$	218,733
Corporate bonds⁽²⁾	$	104,633
Multifamily loans⁽²⁾	$	699,343
Mortgage-backed securities (issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac)⁽²⁾	$	491,985

__________________________________________________
(1) Excludes $14.2 million of cash at Northfield Bank.
(2) Represents estimated remaining borrowing potential.

The Company and the Bank utilize the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (“CBLR”) framework. The CBLR replaces the risk-based and leverage capital requirements in the generally applicable capital rules. At September 30, 2024, the Company and the Bank’s estimated CBLR ratios were 12.03% and 12.26%, respectively, which exceeded the minimum requirement to be considered well-capitalized of 9%.

Asset Quality

The following table details total non-accrual loans (excluding PCD), non-performing assets, loans over 90 days delinquent on which interest is accruing, and accruing loans 30 to 89 days delinquent at September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands):

	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			December 31, 2023
Non-accrual loans:
Held-for-investment
Real estate loans:
Multifamily	$	2,651		$	2,691		$	2,709
Commercial		8,823			10,244			6,491
One-to-four family residential		66			69			104
Home equity and lines of credit		1,123			1,124			499
Commercial and industrial		15,117			2,570			305
Other		6			6			7
Total non-accrual loans		27,786			16,704			10,115
Loans delinquent 90 days or more and still accruing:
Held-for-investment
Real estate loans:
Multifamily		—			—			201
Commercial		1,161			—			—
One-to-four family residential		304			136			406
Home equity and lines of credit		343			467			711
Commercial and industrial		835			—			—
Total loans held-for-investment delinquent 90 days or more and still accruing		2,643			603			1,318
Total non-performing loans/assets	$	30,429		$	17,307		$	11,433
Non-performing loans to total loans		0.75	%		0.42	%		0.27	%
Non-performing assets to total assets		0.53	%		0.30	%		0.20	%
Accruing loans 30 to 89 days delinquent	$	16,057		$	6,265		$	8,683

The Company’s non-performing loans at September 30, 2024 totaled $30.4 million, or 0.75%, of total loans as compared to $11.4 million, or 0.27%, at December 31, 2023. The $19.0 million increase in non-performing loans was primarily attributable to an increase in non-performing commercial and industrial loans of $15.6 million and an increase of $3.5 million in non-performing commercial real estate loans. One commercial and industrial relationship with an outstanding balance of $12.5 million at September 30, 2024, experienced credit deterioration and was placed on non-accrual status during the third quarter of 2024. The loan is currently in the process of being restructured and we expect to receive a partial payment of $10.0 million on or before October 31, 2024, with the remaining $2.5 million to be repaid over three years. The loan was individually evaluated for impairment, we charged off $878,000 and provided a specific reserve of $1.3 million. Additionally, management evaluated the collateral from the Company and assets subject to personal guarantees and, based on current estimates, believes there is adequate collateral and assets to support the current value of the loan absent the expected repayment of $10.0 million. Another commercial and industrial relationship with an outstanding balance of $750,000 is in the process of maturity extension. Additionally, there was an increase in non-performing unsecured small business loans. Unsecured small business loans totaled $31.0 million and $37.4 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Management continues to closely monitor the small business unsecured commercial and industrial loan portfolio.

The increase in non-performing commercial real estate loans was primarily attributable to one loan with a balance of $4.4 million, which was put on non-accrual status during the first quarter of 2024. Based on the results of the impairment analysis for this loan, no impairment reserve was necessary as the loan is adequately covered by collateral (a private residence and retail property, both located in New Jersey), with aggregate appraised values totaling $8.7 million.

Accruing Loans 30 to 89 Days Delinquent

Loans 30 to 89 days delinquent and on accrual status totaled $16.1 million, $6.3 million and $8.7 million at September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively. The following table sets forth delinquencies for accruing loans by type and by amount at September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands):

	September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Held-for-investment
Real estate loans:
Multifamily	$	2,259	$	168	$	740
Commercial		5,689		1,557		1,010
One-to-four family residential		2,286		1,769		3,339
Home equity and lines of credit		1,369		786		817
Commercial and industrial loans		4,450		1,977		2,767
Other loans		4		8		10
Total delinquent accruing loans held-for-investment	$	16,057	$	6,265	$	8,683

The increase in multifamily delinquent loans was primarily due to two relationships totaling $1.5 million that became current subsequent to September 30, 2024. The increase in commercial real estate delinquent loans was primarily due to two participation loans totaling $5.6 million that matured, and the lead bank is in the process of extending their maturity and should become current in the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase in commercial and industrial delinquent loans from December 31, 2023, was primarily due to two loans to one borrower totaling $1.5 million which we expect to become current in the fourth quarter of 2024, and, to a lesser extent, an increase in delinquencies in unsecured small business loans.

Subsequent to the quarter end, $1.1 million of home equity and lines of credit loans, $1.5 million of one-to-four family residential loans, and $1.5 million of commercial and industrial loans became current.

PCD Loans (Held-for-Investment)

The Company accounts for PCD loans at estimated fair value using discounted expected future cash flows deemed to be collectible on the date acquired. Based on its detailed review of PCD loans and experience in loan workouts, management believes it has a reasonable expectation about the amount and timing of future cash flows and accordingly has classified PCD loans ($9.3 million at September 30, 2024 and $9.9 million at December 31, 2023, respectively) as accruing, even though they may be contractually past due. At September 30, 2024, 2.1% of PCD loans were past due 30 to 89 days, and 24.6% were past due 90 days or more, as compared to 2.9% and 27.1%, respectively, at December 31, 2023.

Our multifamily loan portfolio at September 30, 2024 totaled $2.64 billion, or 65% of our total loan portfolio, of which $447.5 million, or 11%, included loans collateralized by properties in New York with units subject to some percentage of rent regulation. The table below sets forth details about our multifamily loan portfolio in New York (dollars in thousands).

% Rent Regulated	Balance		% Portfolio Total NY Multifamily Portfolio		Average Balance		Largest Loan		LTV^*	Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)^*	30-89 Days Delinquent		Non-Accrual		Special Mention		Substandard
0	$	286,728	39.1	%	$	1,166	$	16,603	51.0%	1.57x	$	1,709	$	534	$	782	$	874
>0-10		4,745	0.7			1,582		2,128	51.4	1.46		—		—		—		—
>10-20		18,681	2.5			1,437		2,865	49.2	1.59		—		—		—		—
>20-30		19,585	2.7			2,176		5,512	54.1	1.64		—		—		—		—
>30-40		15,183	2.1			1,265		3,088	48.3	1.63		—		—		—		—
>40-50		22,208	3.0			1,306		2,740	48.2	1.84		—		—		—		—
>50-60		9,452	1.3			1,575		2,341	39.9	2.03		—		—		—		—
>60-70		19,201	2.6			3,200		11,339	53.0	1.46		—		—		—		—
>70-80		22,405	3.1			2,489		4,914	48.0	1.53		—		—		—		—
>80-90		20,820	2.8			1,157		3,148	46.6	1.71		—		—		—		—
>90-100		295,256	40.1			1,779		16,909	52.6	1.65		—		2,117		1,204		4,482
Total	$	734,264	100.0	%	$	1,454	$	16,909	51.2%	1.62x	$	1,709	$	2,651	$	1,986	$	5,356

The table below sets forth our New York rent-regulated loans by county (dollars in thousands).

County	Balance		LTV^*	DSCR^*
Bronx	$	118,400	51.7%	1.64x
Kings		191,745	51.5%	1.66
Nassau		2,176	36.2%	1.88
New York		49,871	47.3%	1.64
Queens		38,864	44.3%	1.81
Richmond		28,790	60.6%	1.64
Westchester		17,689	61.8%	1.37
Total	$	447,535	51.4%	1.65x

* Weighted Average

None of the loans that are rent-regulated in New York are interest only. During the remainder of 2024, one loan with an aggregate principal balance of $1.8 million will re-price.

About Northfield Bank

Northfield Bank, founded in 1887, operates 38 full-service banking offices in Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, and Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, and Union counties, New Jersey. For more information about Northfield Bank, please visit www.eNorthfield.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This release may contain certain “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and may be identified by the use of such words as “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “should,” “plan,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue,” and “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Northfield Bancorp, Inc. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this release and in any other public statements made by Northfield Bancorp, Inc. may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions Northfield Bancorp, Inc. might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties as described in our SEC filings, including, but not limited to, those related to general economic conditions, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, changes in liquidity, the size and composition of our deposit portfolio and the percentage of uninsured deposits in the portfolio, competition among depository and other financial institutions, including with respect to fees and interest rates, changes in laws or government regulations or policies affecting financial institutions, including changes in the monetary policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, changes in asset quality, prepayment speeds, charge-offs and/or credit loss provisions, our ability to access cost-effective funding, changes in the value of our goodwill or other intangible assets, changes in regulatory fees, assessments and capital requirements, inflation and changes in the interest rate environment that reduce our margins, reduce the fair value of financial instruments or reduce our ability to originate loans, cyber security and fraud risks against our information technology and those of our third-party providers and vendors, the effects of war, conflict, and acts of terrorism, our ability to successfully integrate acquired entities, adverse changes in the securities markets, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Northfield Bancorp, Inc. does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release, or conform these statements to actual events.


(Tables follow)

NORTHFIELD BANCORP, INC. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OTHER DATA (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited)

							At or For the
	At or For the Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				June 30		September 30,
	2024		2023		2024		2024		2023
Selected Financial Ratios:
Performance Ratios ⁽¹⁾
Return on assets (ratio of net income to average total assets)	0.46	%	0.59	%	0.41	%	0.43	%	0.71	%
Return on equity (ratio of net income to average equity)	3.74		4.74		3.45		3.59		5.69
Average equity to average total assets	12.24		12.49		12.00		12.09		12.44
Interest rate spread	1.42		1.69		1.44		1.42		1.91
Net interest margin	2.08		2.25		2.09		2.07		2.41
Efficiency ratio ⁽²⁾	64.07		64.65		72.89		69.44		60.06
Non-interest expense to average total assets	1.43		1.49		1.60		1.53		1.50
Non-interest expense to average total interest-earning assets	1.50		1.56		1.68		1.60		1.57
Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities	128.75		132.21		128.47		128.63		133.66
Asset Quality Ratios:
Non-performing assets to total assets	0.53		0.19		0.30		0.53		0.19
Non-performing loans ⁽³⁾ to total loans ⁽⁴⁾	0.75		0.24		0.42		0.75		0.24
Allowance for credit losses to non-performing loans	115.67		378.67		200.96		115.67		378.67
Allowance for credit losses to total loans held-for-investment, net ⁽⁵⁾	0.87		0.91		0.85		0.87		0.91

(1)	Annualized where appropriate.
(2)	The efficiency ratio represents non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income.
(3)	Non-performing loans consist of non-accruing loans and loans 90 days or more past due and still accruing (excluding PCD loans), and are included in total loans held-for-investment, net.
(4)	Includes originated loans held-for-investment, PCD loans, acquired loans and loans held-for-sale.
(5)	Includes originated loans held-for-investment, PCD loans, and acquired loans.


NORTHFIELD BANCORP, INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts) (unaudited)

	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			December 31, 2023
ASSETS:
Cash and due from banks	$	14,193		$	14,575		$	13,889
Interest-bearing deposits in other financial institutions		218,733			138,914			215,617
Total cash and cash equivalents		232,926			153,489			229,506
Trading securities		13,759			12,939			12,549
Debt securities available-for-sale, at estimated fair value		1,063,486			1,119,439			795,464
Debt securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost		9,681			9,749			9,866
Equity securities		10,699			13,964			10,629
Loans held-for-sale		4,897			—			—
Loans held-for-investment, net		4,059,106			4,091,220			4,203,654
Allowance for credit losses		(35,197	)		(34,780	)		(37,535	)
Net loans held-for-investment		4,023,909			4,056,440			4,166,119
Accrued interest receivable		19,299			19,343			18,491
Bank-owned life insurance		174,482			173,483			171,543
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York stock, at cost		37,269			41,785			39,667
Operating lease right-of-use assets		28,943			29,305			30,202
Premises and equipment, net		22,973			23,628			24,771
Goodwill		41,012			41,012			41,012
Other assets		47,516			51,785			48,577
Total assets	$	5,730,851		$	5,746,361		$	5,598,396

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
LIABILITIES:
Deposits	$	3,875,569		$	3,798,474		$	3,878,435
Securities sold under agreements to repurchase		—			—			25,000
Federal Home Loan Bank advances and other borrowings		990,871			1,089,727			834,272
Subordinated debentures, net of issuance costs		61,386			61,331			61,219
Lease liabilities		33,529			34,035			35,205
Advance payments by borrowers for taxes and insurance		22,492			26,113			25,102
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		47,440			43,657			39,718
Total liabilities		5,031,287			5,053,337			4,898,951

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:
Total stockholders’ equity		699,564			693,024			699,445
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	5,730,851		$	5,746,361		$	5,598,396

Total shares outstanding		42,904,342			43,466,961			44,524,929
Tangible book value per share ⁽¹⁾	$	15.35		$	15.00		$	14.78

(1)

Tangible book value per share is calculated based on total stockholders’ equity, excluding intangible assets (goodwill and core deposit intangibles), divided by total shares outstanding as of the balance sheet date. Core deposit intangibles were $90, $111, and $154 at September 30, 2024, June 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively, and are included in other assets.


NORTHFIELD BANCORP, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts) (unaudited)

	For the Three Months Ended									For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						June 30,			September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2024			2023
Interest income:
Loans	$	46,016		$	46,213		$	45,967		$	138,030		$	135,220
Mortgage-backed securities		8,493			3,664			7,355			20,246			11,170
Other securities		2,684			1,095			3,506			10,031			3,593
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York dividends		914			933			935			2,819			2,125
Deposits in other financial institutions		1,211			831			2,457			7,060			2,225
Total interest income		59,318			52,736			60,220			178,186			154,333
Interest expense:
Deposits		20,304			13,614			20,664			60,241			31,918
Borrowings		9,949			8,593			10,041			30,653			24,182
Subordinated debt		836			837			828			2,492			2,484
Total interest expense		31,089			23,044			31,533			93,386			58,584
Net interest income		28,229			29,692			28,687			84,800			95,749
Provision/(benefit) for credit losses		2,542			188			(618	)		2,339			1,082
Net interest income after (benefit)/provision for credit losses		25,687			29,504			29,305			82,461			94,667
Non-interest income:
Fees and service charges for customer services		1,611			1,317			1,570			4,796			4,006
Income on bank-owned life insurance		999			920			976			2,939			2,679
(Losses)/gains on available-for-sale debt securities, net		(7	)		—			1			(6	)		(17	)
Gains/(losses) on trading securities, net		710			(295	)		188			1,597			723
Gain on sale of loans		—			99			51			51			134
Other		265			80			73			441			744
Total non-interest income		3,578			2,121			2,859			9,818			8,269
Non-interest expense:
Compensation and employee benefits		11,424			10,920			13,388			37,577			34,310
Occupancy		3,030			3,416			3,222			9,805			10,032
Furniture and equipment		450			479			477			1,411			1,393
Data processing		1,780			1,994			2,177			6,104			6,308
Professional fees		943			883			681			2,433			2,622
Advertising		282			414			482			1,282			1,834
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance		626			591			649			1,863			1,763
Credit loss expense/(benefit) for off-balance sheet exposures		151			160			103			337			(390	)
Other		1,692			1,710			1,814			4,891			4,598
Total non-interest expense		20,378			20,567			22,993			65,703			62,470
Income before income tax expense		8,887			11,058			9,171			26,576			40,466
Income tax expense		2,364			2,877			3,214			7,882			11,019
Net income	$	6,523		$	8,181		$	5,957		$	18,694		$	29,447
Net income per common share:
Basic	$	0.16		$	0.19		$	0.14		$	0.45		$	0.67
Diluted	$	0.16		$	0.19		$	0.14		$	0.45		$	0.67
Basic average shares outstanding		41,028,213			42,866,246			41,999,541			41,794,149			43,848,873
Diluted average shares outstanding		41,088,637			42,918,174			42,002,650			41,829,230			43,927,350


NORTHFIELD BANCORP, INC. ANALYSIS OF NET INTEREST INCOME (Dollars in thousands) (unaudited)

	For the Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024						June 30, 2024						September 30, 2023
	Average Outstanding Balance		Interest		Average Yield/ Rate ⁽¹⁾		Average Outstanding Balance		Interest		Average Yield/ Rate ⁽¹⁾		Average Outstanding Balance		Interest		Average Yield/ Rate ⁽¹⁾
Interest-earning assets:
Loans ⁽²⁾	$	4,079,974	$	46,016	4.49	%	$	4,128,105	$	45,967	4.48	%	$	4,252,752	$	46,213	4.31	%
Mortgage-backed securities ⁽³⁾		901,042		8,493	3.75			824,498		7,355	3.59			660,753		3,664	2.20
Other securities ⁽³⁾		273,312		2,684	3.91			333,855		3,506	4.22			209,341		1,095	2.08
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York stock		38,044		914	9.56			38,707		935	9.72			41,278		933	8.97
Interest-earning deposits in financial institutions		99,837		1,211	4.83			191,470		2,457	5.16			73,005		831	4.52
Total interest-earning assets		5,392,209		59,318	4.38			5,516,635		60,220	4.39			5,237,129		52,736	4.00
Non-interest-earning assets		275,342						265,702						248,315
Total assets	$	5,667,551					$	5,782,337					$	5,485,444

Interest-bearing liabilities:
Savings, NOW, and money market accounts	$	2,417,725	$	12,717	2.09	%	$	2,490,372	$	13,183	2.13	%	$	2,408,218	$	8,865	1.46	%
Certificates of deposit		700,763		7,587	4.31			701,272		7,481	4.29			551,904		4,749	3.41
Total interest-bearing deposits		3,118,488		20,304	2.59			3,191,644		20,664	2.60			2,960,122		13,614	1.82
Borrowed funds		1,008,338		9,949	3.93			1,041,035		10,041	3.88			939,922		8,593	3.63
Subordinated debt		61,350		836	5.42			61,294		828	5.43			61,127		837	5.43
Total interest-bearing liabilities		4,188,176		31,089	2.95			4,293,973		31,533	2.95			3,961,171		23,044	2.31
Non-interest bearing deposits		683,283						691,384						739,266
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		102,233						103,082						100,103
Total liabilities		4,973,692						5,088,439						4,800,540
Stockholders’ equity		693,859						693,898						684,904
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	5,667,551					$	5,782,337					$	5,485,444

Net interest income			$	28,229					$	28,687					$	29,692
Net interest rate spread ⁽⁴⁾					1.42	%					1.44	%					1.69	%
Net interest-earning assets ⁽⁵⁾	$	1,204,033					$	1,222,662					$	1,275,958
Net interest margin ⁽⁶⁾					2.08	%					2.09	%					2.25	%
Average interest-earning assets to interest-bearing liabilities					128.75	%					128.47	%					132.21	%

(1)	Average yields and rates are annualized.
(2)	Includes non-accruing loans.
(3)	Securities available-for-sale and other securities are reported at amortized cost.
(4)	Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the weighted average yield on interest-earning assets and the weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
(5)	Net interest-earning assets represent total interest-earning assets less total interest-bearing liabilities.
(6)	Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.

	For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30, 2024						September 30, 2023
	Average Outstanding Balance		Interest		Average Yield/ Rate ⁽¹⁾		Average Outstanding Balance		Interest		Average Yield/ Rate ⁽¹⁾
Interest-earning assets:
Loans ⁽²⁾	$	4,127,409	$	138,030	4.47	%	$	4,260,827	$	135,220	4.24	%
Mortgage-backed securities ⁽³⁾		791,850		20,246	3.42			703,320		11,170	2.12
Other securities ⁽³⁾		332,831		10,031	4.03			241,280		3,593	1.99
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York stock		38,781		2,819	9.71			41,093		2,125	6.91
Interest-earning deposits in financial institutions		184,420		7,060	5.11			72,683		2,225	4.09
Total interest-earning assets		5,475,291		178,186	4.35			5,319,203		154,333	3.88
Non-interest-earning assets		269,180						244,319
Total assets	$	5,744,471					$	5,563,522

Interest-bearing liabilities:
Savings, NOW, and money market accounts	$	2,457,320	$	38,231	2.08	%	$	2,443,400	$	19,194	1.05	%
Certificates of deposit		685,510		22,010	4.29			572,283		12,724	2.97
Total interest-bearing deposits		3,142,830		60,241	2.56			3,015,683		31,918	1.42
Borrowed funds		1,052,589		30,653	3.89			902,802		24,182	3.58
Subordinated debt		61,294		2,492	5.43			61,164		2,484	5.43
Total interest-bearing liabilities	$	4,256,713		93,386	2.93		$	3,979,649		58,584	1.97
Non-interest bearing deposits		691,406						788,991
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		101,639						102,765
Total liabilities		5,049,758						4,871,405
Stockholders’ equity		694,713						692,117
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	5,744,471					$	5,563,522

Net interest income			$	84,800					$	95,749
Net interest rate spread ⁽⁴⁾					1.42	%					1.91	%
Net interest-earning assets ⁽⁵⁾	$	1,218,578					$	1,339,554
Net interest margin ⁽⁶⁾					2.07	%					2.41	%
Average interest-earning assets to interest-bearing liabilities					128.63	%					133.66	%

(1)	Average yields and rates are annualized.
(2)	Includes non-accruing loans.
(3)	Securities available-for-sale and other securities are reported at amortized cost.
(4)	Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the weighted average yield on interest-earning assets and the weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
(5)	Net interest-earning assets represent total interest-earning assets less total interest-bearing liabilities.
(6)	Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.

Company Contact:
William R. Jacobs
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (732) 499-7200 ext. 2519

The MIL Network –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI: Northrim BanCorp Earns $8.8 Million, or $1.57 Per Diluted Share, in Third Quarter 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Northrim BanCorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRIM) (“Northrim” or the “Company”) today reported net income of $8.8 million, or $1.57 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $9.0 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2024, and $8.4 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, in the third quarter a year ago. The increase in third quarter 2024 profitability as compared to the third quarter a year ago was primarily the result of an increase in mortgage banking income and higher net interest income, which was only partially offset by higher other operating expenses and a higher provision for credit losses.

Dividends per share in the third quarter of 2024 increased to $0.62 per share as compared to $0.61 per share in the second quarter of 2024 and $0.60 per share in the third quarter of 2023.

“We had strong deposit-funded loan growth in the third quarter,” said Mike Huston, Northrim’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Deposits and loans both increased 7% from the end of the second quarter. Our deposit market share increased by 4% in the past year and by 42% in the past five years as our investments in people, expanded branch network, and differentiated service continue to attract new customers and strengthen existing relationships.”

Third Quarter 2024 Highlights:

Net interest income in the third quarter of 2024 increased 7% to $28.8 million compared to $27.1 million in the second quarter of 2024 and increased 9% compared to $26.4 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis (“NIMTE”)^* was 4.35% for the third quarter of 2024, up 5-basis points from the second quarter of 2024 and up 14-basis points from the third quarter a year ago.

Return on average assets (“ROAA”) was 1.22% and return on average equity (“ROAE”) was 13.69% for the third quarter of 2024.

Portfolio loans were $2.01 billion at September 30, 2024, up 7% from the preceding quarter and up 17% from a year ago, primarily due to new customer relationships, expanding market share, and to retaining certain mortgages originated by Residential Mortgage, a subsidiary of Northrim Bank (the “Bank”), in the loan portfolio.

Total deposits were $2.63 billion at September 30, 2024, up 7% from the preceding quarter, and up 8% from $2.43 billion a year ago. Non-interest bearing demand deposits increased 8% from the preceding quarter and decreased slightly year-over-year to $763.6 million at September 30, 2024 and represent 29% of total deposits.

The average cost of interest-bearing deposits was 2.24% at September 30, 2024, up from 2.21% at June 30, 2024 and 1.75% at September 30, 2023.

Mortgage loan originations increased to $248.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, up from $181.5 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $153.4 million in the third quarter a year ago. Mortgage loans funded for sale were $210.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $152.3 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $131.9 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Financial Highlights	Three Months Ended
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024					December 31, 2023			September 30, 2023
Total assets	$2,963,392			$2,821,668		$2,759,560					$2,807,497			$2,790,189
Total portfolio loans	$2,007,565			$1,875,907		$1,811,135					$1,789,497			$1,720,091
Total deposits	$2,625,567			$2,463,806		$2,434,083					$2,485,055			$2,427,930
Total shareholders’ equity	$260,050			$247,200		$239,327					$234,718			$225,259
Net income	$8,825			$9,020		$8,199					$6,613			$8,374
Diluted earnings per share	$1.57			$1.62		$1.48					$1.19			$1.48
Return on average assets		1.22	%		1.31		%		1.19	%		0.93	%		1.22	%
Return on average shareholders’ equity		13.69	%		14.84		%		13.84	%		11.36	%		14.67	%
NIM		4.29	%		4.24		%		4.16	%		4.06	%		4.15	%
NIMTE^*		4.35	%		4.30		%		4.22	%		4.12	%		4.21	%
Efficiency ratio		66.11	%		68.78		%		68.93	%		72.21	%		66.64	%
Total shareholders’ equity/total assets		8.78	%		8.76		%		8.67	%		8.36	%		8.07	%
Tangible common equity/tangible assets^*		8.28	%		8.24		%		8.14	%		7.84	%		7.54	%
Book value per share	$47.27			$44.93				$43.52			$42.57			$40.60
Tangible book value per share^*	$44.36			$42.03				$40.61			$39.68			$37.72
Dividends per share	$0.62			$0.61				$0.61			$0.60			$0.60
Common stock outstanding		5,501,943			5,501,562				5,499,578			5,513,459			5,548,436

^* References to NIMTE, tangible book value per share, and tangible common equity to tangible common assets, (all of which exclude intangible assets) represent non-GAAP financial measures. Management has presented these non-GAAP measurements in this earnings release, because it believes these measures are useful to investors. See the end of this release for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures.

Alaska Economic Update
(Note: sources for information included in this section are included on page 12.)

The Alaska Department of Labor (“DOL”) has reported Alaska’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August of 2024 was 4.6% compared to the U.S. rate of 4.2%. The total number of payroll jobs in Alaska, not including uniformed military, increased 1.8% or 6,400 jobs between August of 2023 and August of 2024.

According to the DOL, the Construction sector had the largest growth in new jobs through August compared to the prior year. The Construction sector added 2,600 positions for a year over year growth rate of 12.9% between August of 2023 and 2024. The larger Health Care sector grew by 2,000 jobs for an annual growth rate of 4.9% over the same period. The Oil & Gas sector increased by 6.5% or 500 new direct jobs. Professional and Business Services added 1,000 jobs year over year through August of 2024, up 3.4%. The Government sector grew by 700 jobs for 0.9% growth, adding 500 Federal jobs and 200 Local government positions in Alaska. The only sectors to decline between August 2023 and August 2024 were Manufacturing (primarily seafood processing) shrinking 1,300 positions and Information, down 200 jobs.

Alaska’s Gross State Product (“GSP”) in the second quarter of 2024, was estimated to be $69.8 billion in current dollars, according to the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”). Alaska’s inflation adjusted “real” GSP increased 6.5% in 2023, placing Alaska fifth best of all 50 states. However, in the second quarter of 2024 Alaska decreased at an annualized rate of 1.1%, compared to the average U.S. growth rate of 3%. Alaska’s real GSP decline in the second quarter of 2024 was primarily caused by a slowdown in the Mining, Oil & Gas; and Transportation and Warehousing sectors.

The BEA also calculated Alaska’s seasonally adjusted personal income at $55.4 billion in the second quarter of 2024. This was an annualized improvement of 4% for Alaska, compared to the national average of 5.3%.

The monthly average price of Alaska North Slope (“ANS”) crude oil was at an annual high of $89.05 in April of 2024 and averaged $74.06 in September of this year. The Alaska Department of Revenue (“DOR”) calculated ANS crude oil production was 479 thousand barrels per day (“bpd”) in Alaska’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 and declined to 461 thousand bpd in Alaska’s fiscal year 2024. Starting in fiscal year 2025 it is projected to grow to 477 thousand bpd. The DOR projects the number to grow rapidly and reach 640 thousand bpd by fiscal year 2033. This is primarily a result of new production coming on-line in and around the NPR-A region west of Prudhoe Bay.

According to the Alaska Multiple Listing Services, the average sales price of a single family home in Anchorage rose 5.2% in 2023 to $480,207, following a 7.6% increase in 2022. This was the sixth consecutive year of price increases. In the first nine months of 2024 the average price continues to increase 6.8% to an average sale of
$512,815.

The average sales price for single family homes in the Matanuska Susitna Borough rose 4% in 2023 to $397,589, after increasing 9.9% in 2022. This continues a trend of average price increases for more than a decade in the region. In the first nine months of 2024 the average sales price increased 4.6% in the Matanuska Susitna Borough to $415,709. These two markets represent where the vast majority of the Bank’s residential lending activity occurs.

The Alaska Multiple Listing Services reported a 1.2% decrease in the number of units sold in Anchorage when comparing January to September of 2023 and 2024. There were 5.4% less homes sold in the Matanuska Susitna Borough for the same nine month time period in 2024 compared to the prior year.

Northrim Bank sponsors the Alaskanomics blog to provide news, analysis, and commentary on Alaska’s economy. Join the conversation at Alaskanomics.com, or for more information on the Alaska economy, visit: www.northrim.com and click on the “Business Banking” link and then click “Learn.” Information from our website is not incorporated into, and does not form, a part of this earnings release.

Review of Income Statement

Consolidated Income Statement

In the third quarter of 2024, Northrim generated a ROAA of 1.22% and a ROAE of 13.69%, compared to 1.31% and 14.84%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2024 and 1.22% and 14.67%, respectively, in the third quarter a year ago.

Net Interest Income/Net Interest Margin

Net interest income increased 7% to $28.8 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $27.1 million in the second quarter of 2024 and increased 9% compared to $26.4 million in the third quarter of 2023. Interest expense on deposits increased to $10.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $9.5 million in the second quarter and $7.1 million in the third quarter of 2023.

NIMTE^* was 4.35% in the third quarter of 2024 up from 4.30% in the preceding quarter and 4.21% in the third quarter a year ago. NIMTE^* increased 14 basis points in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023 primarily due to a favorable change in the mix of earning-assets towards higher loan balances as a percentage of total earning-assets, higher earning-assets, and higher yields on those assets which were only partially offset by an increase in costs on interest-bearing deposits. The weighted average interest rate for new loans booked in the third quarter of 2024 was 7.24% compared to 7.90% in the second quarter of 2024 and 7.44% in the third quarter a year ago. The yield on the investment portfolio in the third quarter of 2024 decreased slightly to 2.80% from 2.82% in the second quarter of 2024 and increased from 2.43% in the third quarter of 2023. “We continue to see the benefit of new loan volume and repricing outweigh the modest increase in deposit costs in the third quarter of 2024,” said Jed Ballard, Chief Financial Officer. Northrim’s NIMTE^* continues to remain above the peer average of 3.13% posted by the S&P U.S. Small Cap Bank Index with total market capitalization between $250 million and $1 billion as of June 30, 2024.

Provision for Credit Losses

Northrim recorded a provision for credit losses of $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, which was comprised of of a $325,000 provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments and a provision for credit losses on loans of $1.7 million. The provision for unfunded commitments was primarily due to an increase in unfunded commitments, as well as an increase in estimated loss rates due to changes in mix and management’s assessment of economic conditions. The increase to the provision for credit losses on loans was primarily a result of loan growth, as well as an increase in the provision for loans individually evaluated and an increase in estimated loss rates. This compares to a benefit to the provision for credit losses of $120,000 in the second quarter of 2024, and provision for credit losses of $1.2 million in the third quarter a year ago.

Nonperforming loans, net of government guarantees, increased slightly during the quarter to $5.0 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $4.8 million at June 30, 2024, and decreased from $5.1 million at September 30, 2023.

The allowance for credit losses on loans was 394% of nonperforming loans, net of government guarantees, at the end of the third quarter of 2024, compared to 365% three months earlier and 326% a year ago.

Other Operating Income

In addition to home mortgage lending, Northrim has interests in other businesses that complement its core community banking activities, including purchased receivables financing and wealth management. Other operating income contributed $11.6 million, or 29% of total third quarter 2024 revenues, as compared to $9.6 million, or 26% of revenues in the second quarter of 2024, and $8.0 million, or 23% of revenues in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in other operating income in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the preceding quarter and the third quarter of 2023 was primarily the result of an increase in mortgage banking income due to a higher volume of mortgage activity. See further discussion regarding mortgage activity during the second quarter contained under “Home Mortgage Lending” below. The fair market value of marketable equity securities increased $576,000 in the third quarter of 2024 compared to a decrease of $60,000 in the prior quarter and an increase of $12,000 in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in other operating income in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the third quarter a year ago was due primarily to an increase in mortgage banking income as a result of higher volume of mortgage activity due to our expansion in Arizona, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest markets, as well as an increase in fair value of marketable equity securities.

Other Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were $26.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $25.2 million in the second quarter of 2024, and $22.9 million in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in other operating expenses in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2024 was primarily due to an increase in salaries and other personnel expense, including $653,000 in mortgage commissions expense due to higher mortgage volume and a $979,000 increase in profit share expense, which was partially offset by a $836,000 decrease in medical claims expense. The increase in other operating expenses in the third quarter of 2024 compared to a year ago was primarily due to an increase in salaries and other personnel expense, as well as an increase in OREO expense due to a gain on sale recorded in the third quarter of 2023 for proceeds received related to a government guarantee on an OREO property sold in December 2022.

Income Tax Provision

In the third quarter of 2024, Northrim recorded $2.8 million in state and federal income tax expense for an effective tax rate of 24.2%, compared to $2.5 million, or 21.9% in the second quarter of 2024 and $1.9 million, or 18.4% in the third quarter a year ago. The increase in the tax rate in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the third quarter of 2023 is primarily the result of a decrease in tax credits and tax exempt interest income as a percentage of pre-tax income in 2024 as compared to 2023.

Community Banking

In the most recent deposit market share data from the FDIC, Northrim’s deposit market share in Alaska increased to 15.66% of Alaska’s total deposits as of June 30, 2024 compared to 15.04% of Alaska’s total deposits as of June 30, 2023. This represents 62 basis points of growth in market share percentage for Northrim during that period while, according to the FDIC, the total deposits in Alaska were up 2.3% during the same period. Northrim opened a branch in Kodiak in the first quarter of 2023, a loan production office in Homer in the second quarter of 2023, a permanent branch in Nome in the third quarter of 2023, and a branch in Homer in the first quarter of 2024. See below for further discussion regarding the Company’s deposit movement for the quarter.

Northrim is committed to meeting the needs of the diverse communities in which it operates. As a testament to that support, the Bank has branches in four regions of Alaska identified by the Federal Reserve as ‘distressed or underserved non-metropolitan middle-income geographies’.

Net interest income in the Community Banking segment totaled $25.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $24.3 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $24.1 million in the third quarter of 2023. Net interest income increased 7% in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the second quarter of 2024 mostly due to higher interest income on loans. This increase was only partially offset by higher interest expense on deposits and borrowings and lower interest income on portfolio investments.

Other operating expenses in the Community Banking segment totaled $19.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, up $588,000 or 3% from $18.5 million in the second quarter of 2024, and up $2.1 million or 13% from $16.9 million in the third quarter a year ago. The increase in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the prior quarter was mostly due to an increases in salaries and other personnel expense, marketing expense, and professional fees. The increase in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the third quarter a year ago was primarily due to an increase in OREO expense due to a gain on sale recorded in the third quarter of 2023 for proceeds received related to a government guarantee on an OREO property sold in December 2022, as well as increases in salaries and other personnel expense and marketing expense.

The following tables provide highlights of the Community Banking segment of Northrim:

	Three Months Ended
	September		March 31,		December		September
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	30, 2024	June 30, 2024		2024		31, 2023		30, 2023
Net interest income	$25,901	$24,278	$24,215		$24,456		$24,050
(Benefit) provision for credit losses	1,492	(184)		197		885		1,190
Other operating income	4,540	3,693		3,813		4,048		3,597
Other operating expense	19,085	18,497		17,552		18,516		16,946
Income before provision for income taxes	9,864	9,658		10,279		9,103		9,511
Provision for income taxes	2,316	2,004		2,242		1,941		1,709
Net income	$7,548	$7,654	$8,037		$7,162		$7,802
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted	5,583,055	5,558,580		5,554,930		5,578,491		5,624,906
Diluted earnings per share	$1.34	$1.37	$1.45		$1.29		$1.39

	Year-to-date
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	September 30, 2024		September 30, 2023
Net interest income	$	74,394	$	71,502
Provision for credit losses		1,505		2,957
Other operating income		12,046		9,564
Other operating expense		55,134		52,168
Income before provision for income taxes		29,801		25,941
Provision for income taxes		6,562		5,216
Net income Community Banking segment	$	23,239	$	20,725
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted		5,574,135		5,688,687
Diluted earnings per share	$	4.16	$	3.64

Home Mortgage Lending

During the third quarter of 2024, mortgage loans funded for sale increased to $210.0 million, compared to $152.3 million in the second quarter of 2024, and $131.9 million in the third quarter of 2023.

During the third quarter of 2024, the Bank purchased Residential Mortgage-originated loans of $38.1 million of which roughly two-thirds were jumbos and one-third were mortgages for second homes, with a weighted average interest rate of 6.59%, up from $29.2 million and 6.82% in the second quarter of 2024, and up from $21.6 million and 6.60% in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in mortgage loans funded for investment has increased net interest income in the Home Mortgage Lending segment. Net interest income contributed $2.9 million to total revenue in the third quarter of 2024, up from $2.8 million in the prior quarter, and up from $2.3 million in the third quarter a year ago.

The Arizona, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest mortgage expansion markets were responsible for 20% of Residential Mortgage’s $248 million total production in the third quarter of 2024, 22% of $182 million total production in the second quarter of 2024, and 8% of $153 million total production in the third quarter of 2023.

The net change in fair value of mortgage servicing rights decreased mortgage banking income by $968,000 during the third quarter of 2024 compared to a decrease of $81,000 for the second quarter of 2024 and a decrease of $310,000 for the third quarter of 2023. Mortgage servicing revenue increased to $2.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 from $2.2 million in the prior quarter and from $2.4 million in the third quarter of 2023 due to an increase in production of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) mortgages, which contribute to servicing revenues at origination. In the third quarter of 2024, the Company’s servicing portfolio increased $64.8 million, which included $87.3 million in new mortgage loans, net of amortization and payoffs of $22.5 million as compared to a net increase of $41.8 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $58.2 million in the third quarter of 2023.

As of September 30, 2024, Northrim serviced 4,187 loans in its $1.17 billion home-mortgage-servicing portfolio, a 6% increase compared to the $1.10 billion serviced as of the end of the second quarter of 2024, and a 19% increase from the $982.1 million serviced a year ago.

The following tables provide highlights of the Home Mortgage Lending segment of Northrim:

	Three Months Ended
		September						March 31,			December			September
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)		30, 2024		June 30, 2024				2024			31, 2023			30, 2023
Mortgage commitments	$77,591			$88,006			$56,208			$22,926			$50,128
Mortgage loans funded for sale	$209,960			$152,339			$84,324			$79,742			$131,863
Mortgage loans funded for investment		38,087			29,175			17,403			27,114			21,585
Total mortgage loans funded	$248,047			$181,514			$101,727			$106,856			$153,448
Mortgage loan refinances to total fundings		6	%		6	%		4	%		4	%		5	%
Mortgage loans serviced for others	$1,166,585			$1,101,800			$1,060,007			$1,044,516			$982,098
Net realized gains on mortgage loans sold	$5,079			$3,188			$1,980			$1,462			$2,491
Change in fair value of mortgage loan commitments, net		60			391			386			(296	)		(289	)
Total production revenue		5,139			3,579			2,366			1,166			2,202
Mortgage servicing revenue		2,583			2,164			1,561			2,180			2,396
Change in fair value of mortgage servicing rights:
Due to changes in model inputs of assumptions¹		(566	)		239			289			(707	)		—
Other²		(402	)		(320	)		(314	)		(301	)		(310	)
Total mortgage servicing revenue, net		1,615			2,083			1,536			1,172			2,086
Other mortgage banking revenue		293			222			129			99			117
Total mortgage banking income	$7,047			$5,884			$4,031			$2,437			$4,405

Net interest income	$2,941			$2,775			$2,232			$2,276			$2,300
Provision (benefit) for credit losses		571			64			(48	)		—			—
Mortgage banking income		7,047			5,884			4,031			2,437			4,405
Other operating expense		7,643			6,697			6,086			5,477			5,951
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes		1,774			1,898			225			(764	)		754
Provision (benefit) for income taxes		497			532			63			(215	)		182
Net income (loss)	$1,277			$1,366			$162				($549	)	$572
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted		5,583,055			5,558,580			5,554,930			5,578,491			5,624,906
Diluted earnings per share	$0.23			$0.25			$0.03				($0.10	)	$0.09

¹Principally reflects changes in discount rates and prepayment speed assumptions, which are primarily affected by changes in interest rates.
²Represents changes due to collection/realization of expected cash flows over time.

	Year-to-date
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	September 30, 2024			September 30, 2023
Mortgage loans funded for sale	$446,623			$296,412
Mortgage loans funded for investment		84,665			119,144
Total mortgage loans funded	$531,288			$415,556
Mortgage loan refinances to total fundings		6	%		5	%

Net realized gains on mortgage loans sold	$10,247			$6,366
Change in fair value of mortgage loan commitments, net		837			194
Total production revenue		11,084			6,560
Mortgage servicing revenue		6,308			5,188
Change in fair value of mortgage servicing rights:
Due to changes in model inputs of assumptions¹		(38	)		(215	)
Other²		(1,036	)		(1,464	)
Total mortgage servicing revenue, net		5,234			3,509
Other mortgage banking revenue		644			257
Total mortgage banking income	$16,962			$10,326
Net interest income	$7,948			$5,022
Provision for credit losses		587			—
Mortgage banking income		16,962			10,326
Other operating expense		20,426			18,020
Income before provision for income taxes		3,897			(2,672	)
Provision for income taxes		1,092			(728	)
Net (loss) income Home Mortgage Lending segment	$2,805				($1,944	)
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted		5,574,135			5,688,687
Diluted (loss) earnings per share	$0.51				($0.34	)

¹Principally reflects changes in discount rates and prepayment speed assumptions, which are primarily affected by changes in interest rates.
²Represents changes due to collection/realization of expected cash flows over time.

Balance Sheet Review

Northrim’s total assets were $2.96 billion at September 30, 2024, up 5% from the preceding quarter and up 6% from a year ago. Northrim’s loan-to-deposit ratio was 76% at September 30, 2024, consistent with 76% at June 30, 2024,
and up from 71% at September 30, 2023.

At September 30, 2024, our liquid assets, investments, and loans maturing within one year were $1.07 billion and our funds available for borrowing under our existing lines of credit were $641.7 million. Given these sources of liquidity and our expectations for customer demands for cash and for our operating cash needs, we believe our sources of liquidity to be sufficient for the foreseeable future.

Average interest-earning assets were $2.67 billion in the third quarter of 2024, up 4% from $2.57 billion in the second quarter of 2024 and up 6% from $2.52 billion in the third quarter a year ago. The average yield on interest- earning assets was 5.92% in the third quarter of 2024, up from 5.83% in the preceding quarter and 5.48% in the third quarter a year ago.

Average investment securities decreased to $619.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $640.0 million in the second quarter of 2024 and $715.8 million in the third quarter a year ago. The average net tax equivalent yield on the securities portfolio was 2.80% for the third quarter of 2024, down from 2.82% in the preceding quarter

and up from 2.43% in the year ago quarter. The average estimated duration of the investment portfolio at September 30, 2024, was approximately 2.3 years compared to approximately 2.8 years at September 30, 2023. As of September 30, 2024, $105.1 million of available for sale securities with a weighted average yield of 0.61% are scheduled to mature in the next six months, $73.0 million with a weighted average yield of 2.48% are scheduled to mature in six months to one year, and $177.8 million with a weighted average yield of 1.31% are scheduled to mature in the following year, representing a total of $355.9 million or 13% of earning assets that are scheduled to mature in the next 24 months.

Total unrealized losses, net of tax, on available for sale securities decreased by $7.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 resulting in total unrealized loss, net of tax, of $7.6 million compared to $15.2 million at June 30, 2024, and $26.5 million a year ago. The average maturity of the available for sale securities with the majority of the unrealized loss is 1.3 years. Total unrealized losses on held to maturity securities were $2.1 million at September 30, 2024, compared to $3.0 million at June 30, 2024, and $4.5 million a year ago.

Average interest bearing deposits in other banks increased to $28.4 million in the third quarter of 2024 from $17.4 million in the second quarter of 2024 and decreased from $42.3 million in the third quarter of 2023, as deposit balances increased and cash was used to fund the loan growth and provide liquidity.

Portfolio loans were $2.01 billion at September 30, 2024, up 7% from the preceding quarter and up 17% from a year ago. Portfolio loans, excluding consumer mortgage loans, were $1.76 billion at September 30, 2024, up $105.2 million or 6% from the preceding quarter and up 14% from a year ago. This increase was diversified throughout the loan portfolio including commercial real estate nonowner-occupied and multi-family loans increasing by $33.2 million, construction loans increasing by $31.4 million, and commercial real estate owner-occupied loans increasing $29.0 million from the preceding quarter. Average portfolio loans in the third quarter of 2024 were $1.93 billion, which was up 5% from the preceding quarter and up 14% from a year ago. Yields on average portfolio loans in the third quarter of 2024 increased to 6.91% from 6.87% in the second quarter and from 6.61% in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in the yield on portfolio loans in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2024 and the third quarter a year ago is primarily due to loan repricing due to the increases in interest rates and new loans booked at higher rates due to changes in the interest rate environment. The yield on new portfolio loans, excluding consumer mortgage loans, was 7.43% in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to 8.26% in the second quarter of 2024 and 7.75% in the third quarter of 2023. The drop in yields on new loan production was largely related to the large volume of new commercial real estate versus commercial loans, as noted above, as well as slightly better credit quality of the loans originated in the third quarter of 2024.

Alaskans continue to account for substantially all of Northrim’s deposit base. Total deposits were $2.63 billion at September 30, 2024, up 7% from $2.46 billion at June 30, 2024, and up 8% from $2.43 billion a year ago. “The increase in deposits in the third quarter of 2024 were consistent with our customers’ business cycles and a result of continued acquisition of new relationships,” said Ballard. At September 30, 2024, 73% of total deposits were held in business accounts and 27% of deposit balances were held in consumer accounts. Northrim had approximately 34,000 deposit customers with an average balance of $48,000 as of September 30, 2024. Northrim had 22 customers with balances over $10 million as of September 30, 2024, which accounted for $978.4 million, or 38%, of total deposits. Demand deposits increased by 8% from the prior quarter and decreased slightly year-over-year to
$763.6 million at September 30, 2024. Demand deposits remained consistent at 29% of total deposits at both September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024 down from 31% of total deposits at September 30, 2023. Average interest- bearing deposits were up 4% to $1.80 billion with an average cost of 2.24% in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $1.73 billion and an average cost of 2.21% in the second quarter of 2024, and up 11% compared to $1.62 billion and an average cost of 1.75% in the third quarter of 2023. Uninsured deposits totaled $1.12 billion or 43% of total deposits as of September 30, 2024 compared to $1.1 billion or 46% of total deposits as of December 31, 2022. Since interest rates began increasing in 2022, Northrim has taken a proactive, targeted approach to increase deposit rates.

Shareholders’ equity was $260.1 million, or $47.27 book value per share, at September 30, 2024, compared to $247.2 million, or $44.93 book value per share, at June 30, 2024 and $225.3 million, or $40.60 book value per share, a year ago. Tangible book value per share^* was $44.36 at September 30, 2024, compared to $42.03 at June

30, 2024, and $37.72 per share a year ago. The increase in shareholders’ equity in the third quarter of 2024 as compared to the second quarter of 2024 was largely the result of earnings of $8.8 million and an increase in the fair value of the available for sale securities portfolio, which increased $7.6 million, net of tax, which were only partially offset by dividends paid of $3.4 million. The Company did not repurchase any shares of common stock in the third quarter of 2024 and has 110,000 shares remaining under the current share repurchase program as of September 30, 2024. Tangible common equity to tangible assets^* was 8.28% as of September 30, 2024, compared to 8.24% as of June 30, 2024 and 7.54% as of September 30, 2023. Northrim continues to maintain capital levels in excess of the requirements to be categorized as “well-capitalized” with Tier 1 Capital to Risk Adjusted Assets of 11.53% at September 30, 2024, compared to 11.68% at June 30, 2024, and 11.67% at September 30, 2023.

Asset Quality

Northrim believes it has a consistent lending approach throughout economic cycles, which emphasizes appropriate loan-to-value ratios, adequate debt coverage ratios, and competent management.

Nonperforming assets (“NPAs”) net of government guarantees were $5.3 million at September 30, 2024, up from $5.1 million at June 30, 2024 and $5.2 million a year ago. Of the NPAs at September 30, 2024, $3.0 million, or 61%, are nonaccrual loans related to three commercial relationships.

Net adversely classified loans were $6.5 million at September 30, 2024, as compared to $7.1 million at June 30, 2024, and $7.3 million a year ago. Adversely classified loans are loans that Northrim has classified as substandard, doubtful, and loss, net of government guarantees. Net loan recoveries were $96,000 in the third quarter of 2024, compared to net loan recoveries of $26,000 in the second quarter of 2024, and net loan recoveries of $96,000 in the third quarter of 2023. Additionally, Northrim had 11 loan modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty totaling $3.1 million, net of government guarantees in the third quarter of 2024.

Northrim had $127.4 million, or 6% of portfolio loans, in the Healthcare sector, $110.4 million, or 5% of portfolio loans, in the Tourism sector, $96.6 million, or 5% of portfolio loans, in the Accommodations sector, $83.6 million, or 4% of portfolio loans, in the Fishing sector, $70.6 million, or 3% of portfolio loans, in the Aviation (non-tourism) sector, $67.7 million, or 3% of portfolio loans, in the Retail sector, and $53.1 million, or 3% in the Restaurants and Breweries sector as of September 30, 2024.

Northrim estimates that $82.0 million, or approximately 4% of portfolio loans, had direct exposure to the oil and gas industry in Alaska, as of September 30, 2024, and $1.6 million of these loans are adversely classified. As of September 30, 2024, Northrim has an additional $29.7 million in unfunded commitments to companies with direct exposure to the oil and gas industry in Alaska, and no unfunded commitments on adversely classified loans. Northrim defines direct exposure to the oil and gas sector as loans to borrowers that provide oilfield services and other companies that have been identified as significantly reliant upon activity in Alaska related to the oil and gas industry, such as lodging, equipment rental, transportation and other logistics services specific to this industry.

About Northrim BanCorp

Northrim BanCorp, Inc. is the parent company of Northrim Bank, an Alaska-based community bank with 20 branches in Anchorage, Eagle River, the Matanuska Valley, the Kenai Peninsula, Juneau, Fairbanks, Nome, Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Sitka, serving 90% of Alaska’s population; and an asset-based lending division in Washington; and a wholly-owned mortgage brokerage company, Residential Mortgage Holding Company, LLC. The Bank differentiates itself with its detailed knowledge of Alaska’s economy and its “Customer First Service” philosophy. Pacific Wealth Advisors, LLC is an affiliated company of Northrim BanCorp.

www.northrim.com

Forward-Looking Statement

This release may contain “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined for purposes of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are, in effect, management’s attempt to predict future events, and thus are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s views only as of the date hereof. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, regarding our financial position, business strategy, management’s plans and objectives for future operations are forward-looking statements. When used in this report, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” and “intend” and words or phrases of similar meaning, as they relate to Northrim and its management are intended to help identify forward-looking statements. Although we believe that management’s expectations as reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure readers that those expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements, are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from our expectations as indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include: potential further increases in interest rates; the value of securities held in our investment portfolio; the impact of the results of government initiatives on the regulatory landscape, natural resource extraction industries, and capital markets; the impact of declines in the value of commercial and residential real estate markets, high unemployment rates, inflationary pressures and slowdowns in economic growth; changes in banking regulation or actions by bank regulators; inflation, supply-chain constraints, and potential geopolitical instability, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East; financial stress on borrowers (consumers and businesses) as a result of higher rates or an uncertain economic environment; the general condition of, and changes in, the Alaska economy; our ability to maintain or expand our market share or net interest margin; the sufficiency of our provision for credit losses and the accuracy of the assumptions or estimates used in preparing our financial statements, including those related to current expected credit losses accounting guidance; our ability to maintain asset quality; our ability to implement our marketing and growth strategies; our ability to identify and address cyber-security risks, including security breaches, “denial of service attacks,” “hacking,” and identity theft; disease outbreaks; and our ability to execute our business plan. Further, actual results may be affected by competition on price and other factors with other financial institutions; customer acceptance of new products and services; the regulatory environment in which we operate; and general trends in the local, regional and national banking industry and economy. In addition, there are risks inherent in the banking industry relating to collectability of loans and changes in interest rates. Many of these risks, as well as other risks that may have a material adverse impact on our operations and business, are identified in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, and from time to time are disclosed in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, you should be aware that these factors are not an exhaustive list, and you should not assume these are the only factors that may cause our actual results to differ from our expectations. These forward- looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and Northrim does not undertake any obligation to release revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or conditions after the date of this release.

References:

https://www.bea.gov/

http://almis.labor.state.ak.us/

http://www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/oil/prevailing/ans.aspx

http://www.tax.state.ak.us/

www.mba.org

https://www.alaskarealestate.com/MLSMember/RealEstateStatistics.aspx

https://www.capitaliq.spglobal.com/web/client?auth=inherit&overridecdc=1&#markets/indexFinancials

Income Statement

(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)	Three Months Ended								Year-t			o-date
(Unaudited)	September 30,		June 30,			September 30,			September 30,			September 30,
		2024		2024			2023			2024			2023
Interest Income:
Interest and fees on loans	$34,863		$32,367			$29,097			$97,680			$79,104
Interest on portfolio investments		4,164		4,310			4,727			12,994			14,018
Interest on deposits in banks		389		232			584			1,459			2,901
Total interest income		39,416		36,909			34,408			112,133			96,023
Interest Expense:
Interest expense on deposits		10,123		9,476			7,138			28,779			17,835
Interest expense on borrowings		451		380			920			1,012			1,664
Total interest expense		10,574		9,856			8,058			29,791			19,499
Net interest income		28,842		27,053			26,350			82,342			76,524
(Benefit) provision for credit losses		2,063		(120	)		1,190			2,092			2,957
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		26,779		27,173			25,160			80,250			73,567
Other Operating Income:
Mortgage banking income		7,047		5,884			4,405			16,962			10,326
Bankcard fees		1,196		1,105			1,022			3,218			2,916
Purchased receivable income		1,033		1,242			1,180			3,620			3,175
Service charges on deposit accounts		605		572			550			1,726			1,512
Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable equity securities		576		(60	)		12			830			(445	)
Other income		1,130		834			833			2,652			2,406
Total other operating income		11,587		9,577			8,002			29,008			19,890
Other Operating Expense:
Salaries and other personnel expense		17,549		16,627			15,657			49,593			46,324
Data processing expense		2,618		2,601			2,589			7,878			7,321
Occupancy expense		1,911		1,843			1,857			5,716			5,611
Professional and outside services		903		726			803			2,384			2,326
Marketing expense		860		690			499			2,063			1,996
Insurance expense		596		692			640			2,067			1,844
OREO expense, net rental income and gains on sale		2		2			(784	)		(387	)		(766	)
Intangible asset amortization expense		—		—			4			—			11
Other operating expense		2,289		2,013			1,631			6,246			5,521
Total other operating expense		26,728		25,194			22,896			75,560			70,188

Income before provision for income taxes		11,638		11,556			10,266			33,698			23,269
Provision for income taxes		2,813		2,536			1,892			7,654			4,488
Net income	$8,825		$9,020			$8,374			$26,044			$18,781
Basic EPS	$1.60		$1.64			$1.50			$4.73			$3.34
Diluted EPS	$1.57		$1.62			$1.48			$4.67			$3.30
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic		5,501,943		5,500,588			5,569,238			5,500,703			5,630,948
Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted		5,583,055		5,558,580			5,624,906			5,574,135			5,688,687

Balance Sheet (Dollars in thousands) (Unaudited)	September 30,			June 30,			September 30,
		2024			2024			2023
Assets:
Cash and due from banks	$42,805			$33,364			$31,276
Interest bearing deposits in other banks		60,071			21,058			79,952
Investment securities available for sale, at fair value		545,210			584,964			652,150
Investment securities held to maturity		36,750			36,750			36,750
Marketable equity securities, at fair value		12,957			12,381			10,615
Investment in Federal Home Loan Bank stock		4,318			4,929			6,334
Loans held for sale		97,937			85,926			63,151

Portfolio loans		2,007,565			1,875,907			1,720,091
Allowance for credit losses, loans		(19,528	)		(17,694	)		(16,491	)
Net portfolio loans		1,988,037			1,858,213			1,703,600
Purchased receivables, net		23,564			25,722			34,578
Mortgage servicing rights, at fair value		21,570			21,077			19,396
Other real estate owned, net		—			—			150
Premises and equipment, net		39,625			40,393			40,920
Lease right of use asset		7,616			8,244			9,673
Goodwill and intangible assets		15,967			15,967			15,973
Other assets		66,965			72,680			85,671
Total assets	$2,963,392			$2,821,668			$2,790,189
Liabilities:
Demand deposits	$763,595			$704,471			$764,647
Interest-bearing demand		979,238			906,010			875,814
Savings deposits		245,043			238,156			265,799
Money market deposits		201,821			195,159			230,814
Time deposits		435,870			420,010			290,856
Total deposits		2,625,567			2,463,806			2,427,930
Other borrowings		13,354			43,961			63,781
Junior subordinated debentures		10,310			10,310			10,310
Lease liability		7,635			8,269			9,673
Other liabilities		46,476			48,122			53,236
Total liabilities		2,703,342			2,574,468			2,564,930
Shareholders’ Equity:
Total shareholders’ equity		260,050			247,200			225,259
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$2,963,392			$2,821,668			$2,790,189

Additional Financial Information
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Composition of Portfolio Loans

		September 30, 2024				June 30, 2024					March 31, 2024					December 31, 2023					September 30, 2023
	Balance			% of total		Balance			% of total		Balance			% of total		Balance			% of total		Balance			% of total
Commercial loans	$492,414			24	%	$495,781			26	%	$475,220			26	%	$486,057			27	%	$492,145			28	%
Commercial real estate:
Owner occupied properties		412,827		20	%		383,832		20	%		372,507		20	%		368,357		20	%		359,019		21	%
Nonowner occupied and
multifamily properties		584,302		31	%		551,130		30	%		529,904		30	%		519,115		30	%		509,939		30	%
Residential real estate:
1-4 family properties
secured by first liens		248,514		12	%		222,026		12	%		218,552		12	%		203,534		11	%		180,719		10	%
1-4 family properties
secured by junior liens &
revolving secured by first liens		45,262		2	%		41,258		2	%		35,460		2	%		33,783		2	%		27,342		2	%
1-4 family construction		39,794		2	%		29,510		2	%		27,751		2	%		31,239		2	%		32,374		2	%
Construction loans		185,362		9	%		154,009		8	%		153,537		8	%		149,788		8	%		120,909		7	%
Consumer loans		7,836		—	%		6,679		—	%		6,444		—	%		6,180		—	%		5,930		—	%
Subtotal		2,016,311					1,884,225					1,819,375					1,798,053					1,728,377
Unearned loan fees, net		(8,746	)				(8,318	)				(8,240	)				(8,556	)				(8,286	)
Total portfolio loans	$2,007,565					$1,875,907					$1,811,135					$1,789,497					$1,720,091

Composition of Deposits

	September 30, 2024				June 30, 2024				March 31, 2024				December 31, 2023				September 30, 2023
	Balance		% of total		Balance		% of total		Balance		% of total		Balance		% of total		Balance		% of total
Demand deposits	$763,595		29	%	$704,471		29	%	$714,244		29	%	$749,683		31	%	$764,647		31	%
Interest-bearing demand		979,238	37	%		906,010	36	%		889,581	37	%		927,291	37	%		875,814	36	%
Savings deposits		245,043	9	%		238,156	10	%		246,902	10	%		255,338	10	%		265,799	11	%
Money market deposits		201,821	8	%		195,159	8	%		209,785	9	%		221,492	9	%		230,814	10	%
Time deposits		435,870	17	%		420,010	17	%		373,571	15	%		331,251	13	%		290,856	12	%
Total deposits	$2,625,567				$2,463,806				$2,434,083				$2,485,055				$2,427,930

Additional Financial Information
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Asset Quality

		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2023
Nonaccrual loans	$4,944			$4,830		$6,492
Loans 90 days past due and accruing		17		17		28
Total nonperforming loans		4,961		4,847		6,520
Nonperforming loans guaranteed by government		—		—		(1,455)
Net nonperforming loans		4,961		4,847		5,065
Other real estate owned	—			—		150
Repossessed assets	297			297		—
Net nonperforming assets	$5,258			$5,144		$5,215
Nonperforming loans, net of government guarantees / portfolio loans		0.25	%	0.26	%	0.29	%
Nonperforming loans, net of government guarantees / portfolio loans, net of government guarantees		0.26	%	0.28	%	0.31	%
Nonperforming assets, net of government guarantees / total assets		0.18	%	0.18	%	0.19	%
Nonperforming assets, net of government guarantees / total assets net of government guarantees		0.19	%	0.19	%	0.19	%
Adversely classified loans, net of government guarantees	$6,503			$7,068		$7,250
Special mention loans, net of government guarantees	$9,641			$8,902		$5,457
Loans 30-89 days past due and accruing, net of government guarantees / portfolio loans		0.08	%	0.03	%	—	%
Loans 30-89 days past due and accruing, net of government guarantees / portfolio loans, net of government guarantees		0.09	%	0.04	%	—	%
Allowance for credit losses / portfolio loans		0.97	%	0.94	%	0.96	%
Allowance for credit losses / portfolio loans, net of government guarantees		1.04	%	1.01	%	1.02	%
Allowance for credit losses / nonperforming loans, net of government guarantees		394	%	365	%	326	%
Gross loan charge-offs for the quarter	$15			$—		$91
Gross loan recoveries for the quarter		($111)		($26)		($187)
Net loan (recoveries) charge-offs for the quarter		($96)		($26)		($96)
Net loan charge-offs (recoveries) year-to-date		($164)		($68)		($134)
Net loan charge-offs (recoveries) for the quarter / average loans, for the quarter		—	%	—	%	(0.01)	%
Net loan charge-offs (recoveries) year-to-date / average loans, year-to-date annualized		(0.01)	%	(0.01)	%	(0.01)	%

Additional Financial Information
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

Average Balances, Yields, and Rates

	Three Months Ended
	September 30, 2024					June 30, 2024					September 30, 2023
	Average Balance			Average Tax Equivalent Yield/Rate		Average Balance			Average Tax Equivalent Yield/Rate		Average Balance			Average Tax Equivalent Yield/Rate
Assets
Interest bearing deposits in other banks	$	28,409		5.28	%	$	17,352		5.27	%	$	42,273		5.39	%
Portfolio investments		619,012		2.80	%		639,980		2.82	%		715,767		2.43	%
Loans held for sale		93,689		6.20	%		65,102		6.08	%		62,350		6.34	%
Portfolio loans		1,933,181		6.91	%		1,845,832		6.87	%		1,695,736		6.61	%
Total interest-earning assets		2,674,291		5.92	%		2,568,266		5.83	%		2,516,126		5.48	%
Nonearning assets		196,266					204,509					205,770
Total assets	$	2,870,557				$	2,772,775				$	2,721,896
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Interest-bearing deposits	$	1,796,107		2.24	%	$	1,725,013		2.21	%	$	1,619,478		1.75	%
Borrowings		43,555		4.07	%		38,390		3.92	%		76,681		4.73	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities		1,839,662		2.29	%		1,763,403		2.25	%		1,696,159		1.88	%
Noninterest-bearing demand deposits		722,000					706,339					747,147
Other liabilities		52,387					58,549					52,078
Shareholders’ equity		256,508					244,484					226,512
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	2,870,557				$	2,772,775				$	2,721,896
Net spread				3.63	%				3.58	%				3.60	%
NIM				4.29	%				4.24	%				4.15	%
NIMTE^*				4.35	%				4.30	%				4.21	%
Cost of funds				1.64	%				1.60	%				1.31	%
Average portfolio loans to average
interest-earning assets		72.29	%				71.87	%				67.39	%
Average portfolio loans to average total deposits		76.77	%				75.92	%				71.65	%
Average non-interest deposits to average
total deposits		28.67	%				29.05	%				31.57	%
Average interest-earning assets to average
interest-bearing liabilities		145.37	%				145.64	%				148.34	%

Additional Financial Information
(Dollars in thousands) (Unaudited)

Average Balances, Yields, and Rates

	Year-to-date
	September 30, 2024					September 30, 2023
	Average			Average Tax Equivalent		Average			Average Tax Equivalent
	Balance			Yield/Rate		Balance			Yield/Rate
Assets
Interest bearing deposits in other banks	$35,747			5.34	%	$79,362			4.82	%
Portfolio investments		643,221		2.82	%		723,693		2.41	%
Loans held for sale		63,917		6.14	%		40,433		6.06	%
Portfolio loans		1,857,756		6.85	%		1,608,293		6.46	%
Total interest-earning assets		2,600,641		5.81	%		2,451,781		5.30	%
Nonearning assets		200,619					192,430
Total assets	$2,801,260					$2,644,211
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Interest-bearing deposits	$1,751,179			2.20	%	$1,577,308			1.51	%
Borrowings		35,327		3.76	%		52,075		4.23	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities		1,786,506		2.23	%		1,629,383		1.60	%
Noninterest-bearing demand deposits		711,197					746,251
Other liabilities		57,097					42,596
Shareholders’ equity		246,460					225,981
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$2,801,260					$2,644,211
Net spread				3.58	%				3.70	%
NIM				4.23	%				4.17	%
NIMTE^*				4.29	%				4.24	%
Cost of funds				1.59	%				1.10	%
Average portfolio loans to average interest-earning assets		71.43	%				65.60	%
Average portfolio loans to average total deposits		75.45	%				69.22	%
Average non-interest deposits to average total deposits		28.88	%				32.12	%
Average interest-earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities		145.57	%				150.47	%

Additional Financial Information
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Capital Data (At quarter end)


			September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		September 30, 2023
Book value per share			$47.27		$44.93		$40.60
Tangible book value per share^*			$44.36		$42.03		$37.72
Total shareholders’ equity/total assets			8.78	%	8.76	%		8.07		%
Tangible Common Equity/Tangible Assets^*			8.28	%	8.24	%		7.54		%
Tier 1 Capital / Risk Adjusted Assets			11.53	%	11.68	%		11.67		%
Total Capital / Risk Adjusted Assets			12.50	%	12.58	%		12.58		%
Tier 1 Capital / Average Assets			9.08	%	9.17	%		9.02		%
Shares outstanding			5,501,943		5,501,562			5,548,436
Total unrealized loss on AFS debt securities, net of income taxes			($7,617)		($15,197)			($26,526		)
Total unrealized gain on derivatives and hedging activities, net of income taxes			$863		$1,212		$1,485

Profitability Ratios
	September 30, 2024	June 30, 2024	March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023		September 30, 2023
For the quarter:
NIM	4.29%	4.24%	4.16%		4.06%				4.15%
NIMTE^*	4.35%	4.30%	4.22%		4.12%				4.21%
Efficiency ratio	66.11%	68.78%	68.93%		72.21%				66.64%
Return on average assets	1.22%	1.31%	1.19%		0.93%				1.22%
Return on average equity	13.69%	14.84%	13.84%		11.36%				14.67%

	September 30,		September 30,
	2024		2023
Year-to-date:
NIM	4.23	%	4.17	%
NIMTE^*	4.29	%	4.24	%
Efficiency ratio	67.86	%	72.79	%
Return on average assets	1.24	%	0.95	%
Return on average equity	14.12	%	11.11	%

*Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited)

Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied, and are not audited. Although we believe these non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by stakeholders in the evaluation of the Company, they have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results as reported under GAAP.

Net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis

Net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis (“NIMTE”) is a non-GAAP performance measurement in which interest income on non-taxable investments and loans is presented on a tax equivalent basis using a combined federal and state statutory rate of 28.43% in both 2024 and 2023. The most comparable GAAP measure is net interest margin and the following table sets forth the reconciliation of NIMTE to net interest margin for the periods indicated.

	Three Months Ended
		September 30,						March 31,			December			September 30,
		2024		June 30, 2024				2024			31, 2023			2023
Net interest income	$28,842			$27,053			$26,447			$26,732			$26,350
Divided by average interest-bearing assets		2,674,291			2,568,266			2,558,558			2,612,297			2,516,126
Net interest margin (“NIM”)²		4.29	%		4.24	%		4.16	%		4.06	%		4.15	%

Net interest income	$28,842			$27,053			$26,447			$26,732			$26,350
Plus: reduction in tax expense related to tax-exempt interest income		385			378			379			374			373
		$29,227			$27,431			$26,826			$27,106			$26,723
Divided by average interest-bearing assets NIMTE²		2,674,291			2,568,266			2,558,558			2,612,297			2,516,126
		4.35	%		4.30	%		4.22	%		4.12	%		4.21	%

	Year-to-date
	September 30,			September 30,
		2024			2023
Net interest income	$82,342			$76,524
Divided by average interest-bearing assets		2,600,641			2,451,781
Net interest margin (“NIM”)³		4.23	%		4.17	%
Net interest income Plus: reduction in tax expense related to	$82,342			$76,524
tax-exempt interest income		1,142			1,202
	$83,484			$77,726
Divided by average interest-bearing assets		2,600,641			2,451,781
NIMTE³		4.29	%		4.24	%

²Calculated using actual days in the quarter divided by 366 for the quarters ended in 2024 and 365 for the quarters ended in 2023, respectively.

³Calculated using actual days in the year divided by 366 for year-to-date period in 2024 and 365 for year-to-date period in 2023, respectively.

*Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(Dollars and shares in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Tangible Book Value Per Share

Tangible book value per share is a non-GAAP measure defined as shareholders’ equity, less intangible assets, divided by shares outstanding. The most comparable GAAP measure is book value per share and the following table sets forth the reconciliation of tangible book value per share and book value per share for the periods indicated.

		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023		September 30, 2023
Total shareholders’ equity	$260,050		$247,200		$239,327		$234,718		$225,259
Divided by shares outstanding		5,502		5,502		5,500		5,513		5,548
Book value per share	$47.27		$44.93		$43.52		$42.57		$40.60

		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023		September 30, 2023
Total shareholders’ equity	$260,050		$247,200		$239,327		$234,718		$225,259
Less: goodwill and intangible assets		15,967		15,967		15,967		15,967		15,973
	$244,083		$231,233		$223,360		$218,751		$209,286
Divided by shares outstanding		5,502		5,502		5,500		5,513		5,548
Tangible book value per share	$44.36		$42.03		$40.61		$39.68		$37.72

Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets

Tangible common equity to tangible assets is a non-GAAP ratio that represents total equity less goodwill and intangible assets divided by total assets less goodwill and intangible assets. The most comparable GAAP measure of shareholders’ equity to total assets is calculated by dividing total shareholders’ equity by total assets and the following table sets forth the reconciliation of tangible common equity to tangible assets and shareholders’ equity to total assets.

Northrim BanCorp, Inc.	September 30,			March 31,		December			September 30,
	2024	June 30, 2024		2024			31, 2023			2023
Total shareholders’ equity	$260,050	$247,200	$239,327			$234,718			$225,259
Total assets	2,963,392	2,821,668		2,759,560			2,807,497			2,790,189
Total shareholders’ equity to total assets	8.78 %	8.76 %		8.67	%		8.36	%		8.07	%
Northrim BanCorp, Inc.	September 30,		March 31,			December			September 30,
	2024	June 30, 2024		2024			31, 2023			2023
Total shareholders’ equity	$260,050	$247,200	$239,327			$234,718			$225,259
Less: goodwill and other intangible assets, net	15,967	15,967		15,967			15,967			15,973
Tangible common shareholders’ equity	$244,083	$231,233	$223,360			$218,751			$209,286
Total assets	$2,963,392	$2,821,668	$2,759,560			$2,807,497			$2,790,189
Less: goodwill and other intangible assets, net	15,967	15,967		15,967			15,967			15,973
Tangible assets	$2,947,425	$2,805,701	$2,743,593			$2,791,530			$2,774,216
Tangible common equity ratio	8.28 %	8.24 %		8.14	%		7.84	%		7.54	%

Note Transmitted on GlobeNewswire on October 23, 2024, at 2:30 pm Alaska Standard Time.


Contact:	Mike Huston, President, CEO, and COO
	(907) 261-8750
	Jed Ballard, Chief Financial Officer
	(907) 261-3539

The MIL Network –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Dynabook Unveils New Ultra Lightweight Portégé X30L-M Packed with AI-Powered Performance

Source: Press Release Service – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Dynabook Unveils New Ultra Lightweight Portégé X30L-M Packed with AI-Powered Performance

Dynabook ANZ Pty. Limited, The Laptop Experts, proudly announce the launch of its latest innovation, the Portégé X30L-M, a high performance laptop that delivers unparalleled mobility and productivity.

The post Dynabook Unveils New Ultra Lightweight Portégé X30L-M Packed with AI-Powered Performance first appeared on PR.co.nz.

– –

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: Two Moscow Digital Projects Win International BRICS Solutions Awards

Source: Center of Diagnostics and Telemedicine

Two digital initiatives from Moscow have been recognized with the prestigious international BRICS Solutions Awards. The project titled “Digital Twin of the City of Moscow” was awarded in the category in the category of “Platforms and Integrated Solutions for Government and Public Administration,” while the initiative “Experiment on the use of innovative computer vision technologies for medical image analysis and subsequent applicability in the healthcare system of Moscow” was honored in the “Biotechnology and National Health” category.

Artificial Intelligence Supporting Medical Professionals

The project titled “Exploration of Innovative Technologies in Computer Vision for Medical Image Analysis and Implementation in the Healthcare System of Moscow” is being executed at the Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine of the Moscow Department of Health. This initiative employs artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and interpret results from various medical imaging modalities, including CT, MRI, X-ray, fluorography, and mammography. Starting in 2024, this advanced technology will be accessible to healthcare professionals across the nation upon integration of local infrastructure with the MosMedAI platform. Currently, AI-assisted interpretation processing is operational in over 10 regions.

“Our project aims to reduce the workload of specialists and enhance the quality and speed of reporting. For the past 4 years, AI has played a vital role in supporting our radiologists. During this period, it has processed over 13 million studies and currently is capable of identifying 38 different diseases. However, the final diagnosis and decision-making always remain the responsibility of the radiologists,” explained Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development.

“The neural network also performs automatic measurements for radiologists and generates radiology reports. We are continuing to develop this project, working on 22 additional modalities. This experiment, on such a large scale, is unprecedented globally. Moscow was the first to implement such solutions at a at the city level, and we believe this experience will serve as a model for other cities and countries, showcasing how modern technologies can improve medical care and the efficiency of healthcare professionals.” said Anastasia Rakova.

About the BRICS Solutions Awards

The BRICS Solutions Awards competition is organized annually by the country holding the BRICS chairmanship. In 2024, Russia chaired the awards, coordinated by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Roscongress Foundation. The awards recognize promising projects that improve the quality of life in BRICS countries. The competition fosters the exchange of knowledge and best practices and promotes collaboration on the development and implementation of new technologies.

“We are delighted to host the BRICS Solutions Awards for the second time in our country.

This year, the competition received a record number of applications, exceeding 1,300 submissions from all Member states of BRICS,” said Svetlana Chupsheva, Director General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. She noted that the categories “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Services,” “New Industry and Energy,” and “Biotechnology and National Health” attracted the most interest among participants, highlighting the growing importance of advanced technological solutions.

https://telemed.ai

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: Two Moscow digital projects received international BRICS Solutions Awards

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine

Two Moscow digital initiatives have been recognized by the prestigious international BRICS Solutions Awards. The project “Digital Twin of Moscow” was recognized in the nomination “Platforms and Integrated Solutions for State and Public Administration”, and the initiative “Experiment on the Use of Innovative Computer Vision Technologies for Analyzing Medical Images and Subsequent Application in the Moscow Healthcare System” was recognized in the nomination “Biotechnology and National Healthcare”.

Artificial Intelligence to Help Healthcare Workers

The project “Research of Innovative Computer Vision Technologies for Medical Image Analysis and Implementation in the Moscow Healthcare System” is being implemented at the Diagnostics and Telemedicine Center of the Moscow Department of Healthcare. The project uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and interpret the results of various types of medical imaging, including CT, MRI, X-ray, fluorography, and mammography. Starting in 2024, this advanced technology will be available to healthcare workers across the country after integrating local infrastructure with the MosMedAI platform. The AI-powered interpretation processing system is currently operating in more than 10 regions.

“Our project is aimed at reducing the workload of specialists and improving the quality and speed of issuing conclusions. Over the past 4 years, AI has played an important role in supporting our radiologists. During this time, it has processed more than 13 million studies and is currently able to identify 38 different diseases. However, the final diagnosis and decision-making always remain with radiologists,” explained Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development.

“The neural network also performs automatic measurements for radiologists and generates radiological reports. We continue to develop this project, working on 22 more modalities. This experiment of such scale has no analogues in the world. Moscow was the first to implement such solutions at the city level, and we are confident that this experience will serve as an example for other cities and countries, showing how modern technologies can improve medical care and increase the efficiency of medical workers,” said Anastasia Rakova.

About the BRICS Solutions Awards

The BRICS Solutions Awards competition is organised annually by the country currently chairing BRICS. In 2024, Russia will chair the award, coordinated by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Roscongress Foundation. The award recognises promising projects that improve the quality of life in the BRICS countries. The competition promotes the exchange of knowledge and best practices, as well as the development of cooperation in the development and implementation of new technologies.

“We are pleased to host the BRICS Solutions Awards in our country for the second time.

“This year, the competition received a record number of applications – more than 1,300 from all BRICS member countries,” said Svetlana Chupsheva, Director General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. She noted that the nominations that attracted the greatest interest from participants were “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Services,” “New Industry and Energy,” and “Biotechnology and National Health,” which underscores the growing importance of advanced technological solutions.

https://telemed.ai

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Onyx Enhances the Cinema Experience in One of the World’s Most Beautiful Cinemas, the Pathé Palace in Paris

Source: Samsung

Samsung Electronics today announced that six Samsung Onyx cinema LED displays have been successfully installed at the Pathé Palace theater in Paris, France. Together with The Wall, an 8K screen installed in the lobby and Smart Signage around the cinema, Samsung displays will raise the bar on the entire moviegoing experience.

Completely renovated over five years, the Pathé Palace is a one-of-a-kind venue known as much for its architecture by Renzo Piano as it is for the quality of its unique services. To deliver a premium cinema experience, Pathé Palace is using six Samsung Onyx screens: four 4K Onyx screens that measure over 10m wide and two 2K Onyx screens that measure 5m wide — all of which provide a new level of image quality to the audience.

“These six cutting-edge Samsung Onyx LED screens juxtapose brilliantly against the historic cinema, blending the classic with the modern to give moviegoers a truly unique experience,” said Menno van den Berg, President, Samsung Electronics France. “The stunning visual quality that these displays provide will engage the audience on another level and do full justice to each filmmakers’ vision.”

Samsung Onyx is the world’s first Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI)-certified cinema LED display for theatrical exhibition. The LED display provides exceptionally vivid color and detail-rich content, with a wide, vibrant color gamut providing consistent representation across the entire screen. Thanks to the self-lit LED Onyx screens, the HDR images they produce have clear blacks and contrasts. With luminance up to 300 nits, Onyx screens are more than six times brighter than typical film projectors.

“Films are most powerful when they fully immerse us in their worlds, and technology plays a crucial role in that magic. Samsung Onyx screens elevate the theatrical experience with pristine blacks and exceptional clarity, making every frame feel startlingly real.” said Jacques Durand, Chief Information Officer, Pathé Group.

Pathé Palace can also deliver exceptional 3D film experiences thanks to the 3D capabilities of the Onyx LED screens, which bring improved brightness and consistent color amplification for enhanced realism. When wearing active 3D glasses, a film’s subtitle text, images and even minor visual details gain unprecedented clarity, without shadowing and with less of the dizziness that can occur in traditional 3D movie theaters.

Comprehensively Enhancing Pathé’s Operations
Samsung has also installed The Wall (IWC model) in the main lobby of the Pathé Palace. Standing at 5.4m high and 9.6m wide, The Wall uses the MICRO AI Processor to analyze every second of footage instantly, upscaling up to 8K resolution and optimizing picture quality to have less visual noise. The Wall’s HDR technology makes the most out of color and highlights, enhancing contrast and making highlights look brighter. The screen uses MICRO LED technology, which individually controls pixels to provide precision and depth in the picture.

In addition to the Onyx screens and The Wall, Samsung has equipped the cinema with its Smart Signage (QMC series) to display the theater schedules and movie trailers in the lobby, as well as in front of each theater room, bringing the posters to life with the over 1 billion colors available. At the entrance of each theater room, Samsung’s Stretched Display (SH37C model) greets moviegoers with a crisp, clean screen in a 16:4.5 ratio. The Pathé headquarters office has also recently installed about 200 5K ViewFinity S9 monitors and the boardroom takes advantage of the impressive size and video capabilities of The Wall (IWA model).

Samsung Electronics has also previously equipped Pathé cinemas with its Onyx LED screens at Pathé Beaugrenelle in Paris and Pathé Bellecour in Lyon. This new installation at Pathé Palace represents a new milestone in the partnership between Samsung and Pathé, as they aim to continue innovating together in the future.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI USA: Remarks by APNSA Jake Sullivan at the Brookings Institution

US Senate News:

Source: The White House
Brookings InstitutionWashington, D.C.
Good morning, everyone. And thank you so much, David, for that introduction and for having me here today. It’s great to be back at Brookings.
As many of you know, I was here last year to lay out President Biden’s vision for renewing American economic leadership, a vision that responded to several converging challenges our country faced: the return of intense geopolitical competition; a rise in inequality and a squeeze on the middle class; a less vibrant American industrial base; an accelerating climate crisis; vulnerable supply chains; and rapid technological change.
For the preceding three decades, the U.S. economy had enjoyed stronger topline aggregate growth than other advanced democracies, and had generated genuine innovation and technological progress, but our economic policies had not been adapted to deal effectively with these challenges. That’s why President Biden implemented a modern industrial strategy, one premised on investing at home in ourselves and our national strength, and on shifting the energies of U.S. foreign policy to help our partners around the world do the same.
In practice, that’s meant mobilizing public investment to unlock private sector investment to deliver on big challenges like the clean energy transition and artificial intelligence, revitalizing our capacity to innovate and to build, creating diversified and resilient global supply chains, setting high standards for everything from labor to the environment to technology. Because on that level playing field, our logic goes, America can compete and win. Preserving open markets and also protecting our national security and doing all of these things together with allies and partners.
Since I laid this vision out in my speech at Brookings last year, I’ve listened with great interest to many thoughtful responses, because these are early days. Meaningful shifts in policy require constant iteration and reflection. That’s what will make our policy stronger and more sustainable.
So, today, I’m glad to be back here at Brookings to reengage in this conversation, because I really believe that the ideas I’m here to discuss and the policies that flow from them are among the most consequential elements of the administration’s foreign as well as domestic policy, and I believe they will constitute an important legacy of Joe Biden’s presidency.
I want to start by reflecting on some of the questions I’ve heard and then propose a few ways to consolidate our progress.
One overarching question is at the core of many others: Does our new approach mean that we’re walking away from a positive-sum view of the world, that America is just in it for itself at the expense of everyone else?
In a word, no, it doesn’t. In fact, we’re returning to a tradition that made American international leadership such a durable force, what Alexis de Tocqueville called “interest rightly understood.” The notion that it’s in our own self-interest to strengthen our partners and sustain a fair economic system that helps all of us prosper.
After World War Two, we built an international economic order in the context of a divided world, an order that helped free nations recover and avoid a return to the protectionist and nationalist mistakes of the 1930s, an order that also advanced American economic and geopolitical power.
In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, we took that order global, embracing the old Eastern bloc, China, India, and many developing countries. Suddenly, the major powers were no longer adversaries or competitors. Capital flowed freely across borders. Global supply chains became “just in time,” without anyone contemplating potential strategic risk.
Each of these approaches was positive-sum, and each reflected the world as it was.
Now, the world of the 1990s is over, and it’s not coming back, and it’s not a coherent plan or critique just to wish it so.
We’re seeing the return of great power competition. But unlike the Cold War era, our economies are closely intertwined. We’re on the verge of revolutionary technological change with AI, with economic and geopolitical implications. The pandemic laid bare the fragilities in global supply chains that have been growing for decades. The climate crisis grows more urgent with every hurricane and heat wave.
So we need to articulate, once again, de Tocqueville’s notion of interest rightly understood. To us, that means pursuing a strategy that is fundamentally positive-sum, calibrated to the geopolitical realities of today and rooted in what is good for America — for American workers, American communities, American businesses, and American national security and economic strength.
We continue to believe deeply in the mutual benefits of international trade and investment, enhanced and enabled by bold public investment in key sectors; bounded in rare but essential cases by principled controls on key national security technologies; protected against harmful non-market practices, labor and environment abuses, and economic coercion; and critically coordinated with a broad range of partners.
The challenges we face are not uniquely our own and nor can we solve them alone. We want and need our partners to join us. And given the demand signal we hear back from them, we think that in the next decade, American leadership will be measured by our ability to help our partners pull off similar approaches and build alignment and complementarity across our policies and our investments.
If we get that right, we can show that international economic integration is compatible with democracy and national sovereignty. And that is how we get out of Dani Rodrik’s trilemma.
Now, what does that mean in practice? What does this kind of positive-sum approach mean for trade policy? Are we walking away from trade as a core pillar of international economic policy?
U.S. exports and imports have recovered from their dip during the pandemic, with the real value of U.S. trade well above 2019 levels in each of the last two years. We’re also the largest outbound source of FDI in the world.
So, we are not walking away from international trade and investment. What we are doing is moving away from specific policies that, frankly, didn’t contemplate the urgent challenges we face: The climate crisis. Vulnerable, concentrated, critical mineral and semiconductor supply chains. Persistent attacks on workers’ rights. And not just more global competition, but more competition with a country that uses pervasive non-market policies and practices to distort and dominate global markets.
Ignoring or downplaying these realities will not help us chart a viable path forward. Our approach to trade responds to these challenges.
Climate is a good example. American manufacturers are global leaders in clean steel production, yet they’ve had to compete against companies that produce steel more cheaply but with higher emissions intensity. That’s why, earlier this year, the White House stood up a Climate and Trade Task Force, and the task force has been developing the right tools to promote decarbonization and ensure our workers and businesses engaged in cleaner production aren’t disadvantaged by firms overseas engaged in dirtier, exploitative production.
Critical minerals are another example. That sector is marked by extreme price volatility, widespread corruption, weak labor and environmental protections, and heavy concentration in the PRC, which artificially drops prices to keep competitors out of the marketplace.
If we and our partners fail to invest, the PRC’s domination of these and other supply chains will only grow, and that will leave us increasingly dependent on a country that has demonstrated its willingness to weaponize such dependencies. We can’t accept that, and neither can our partners.
That’s why we are working with them to create a high-standard, critical minerals marketplace, one that diversifies our supply chains, creates a level playing field for our producers, and promotes strong workers’ rights and environmental protections. And we’re driving towards tangible progress on that idea in just the next few weeks.
In multiple sectors that are important to our future, not just critical minerals, but solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, we see a broad pattern emerging. The PRC is producing far more than domestic demand, dumping excess onto global markets at artificially low prices, driving manufacturers around the world out of business, and creating a chokehold on supply chains.
To prevent a second China shock, we’ve had to act.
That’s what drove the decisions about our 301 tariffs earlier this year.
Now, we know that indiscriminate, broad-based tariffs will harm workers, consumers, and businesses, both in the United States and our partners. The evidence on that is clear. That’s why we chose, instead, to target tariffs at unfair practices in strategic sectors where we and our allies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild our manufacturing and our resilience.
And crucially, we’re seeing partners in both advanced and emerging economies reach similar conclusions regarding overcapacity and take similar steps to ward off damage to their own industries, from the EU to Canada to Brazil to Thailand to Mexico to Türkiye and beyond. That’s a big deal.
And it brings me back to my earlier point: We’re pursuing this new trade approach in concert with our partners. They also recognize we need modern trade tools to achieve our objectives. That means considering sector-specific trade agreements. It means creating markets based on standards when that’s more effective. And it also means revitalizing international institutions to address today’s challenges, including genuinely reforming the WTO to deal with the challenges I’ve outlined.
And it means thinking more comprehensively about our economic partnerships. That’s why we created the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity. That’s why we also gave them such catchy names.
Within IPEF, we finalized three agreements with 13 partners to accelerate the clean energy transition, to promote high labor standards, to fight corruption, and to shore up supply chain vulnerabilities before they become widespread disruptions. And within APEP, we’re working to make the Western Hemisphere a globally competitive supply chain hub for semiconductors, clean energy, and more.
And that leads to the next question I’ve often been asked in the last year and a half: Where does domestic investment fit into all of this? How does our positive-sum approach square with our modern industrial strategy?
The truth is that smart, targeted government investment has always been a crucial part of the American formula. It’s essential to catalyzing private investment and growth in sectors where market failures or other barriers would lead to under-investment.
Somehow, we forgot that along the way, or at least we stopped talking about it. But there was no plausible version of answers on decarbonization or supply chain resilience without recovering this tradition. And so we have.
We’ve made the largest investment ever to diversify and accelerate clean energy deployment through the Inflation Reduction Act. And investments are generating hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment all across the country; rapid growth in emerging climate technologies like sustainable aviation fuels, carbon management, clean hydrogen, with investments increasing 6- to 15-fold from pre-IRA levels.
This will help us meet our climate commitments. This will advance our national security. And this will ensure that American workers and communities can seize the vast economic opportunities of the clean energy transition and that those opportunities are broadly shared. And that last part is crucial.
The fact is that many communities hard hit in decades past still haven’t bounced back, and the two-thirds of American adults who don’t have college degrees have seen unacceptably poor outcomes in terms of real wages, health, and other outcomes over the last four decades.
For many years, people assumed that these distributional issues would be solved after the fact by domestic policies. That has not worked.
Advancing fairness, creating high-quality jobs, and revitalizing American communities can’t be an afterthought, which is why we’ve made them central to our approach.
In fact, as a result of the incentives in the IRA to build in traditional energy communities, investment in those communities has doubled under President Joe Biden.
Now, initially, when we rolled this all out, our foreign partners worried that it was designed to undercut them, that we were attempting to shift all the clean energy investment and production around the world to the United States.
But that wasn’t the case, and it isn’t the case.
We know that our partners need to invest. In fact, we want them to invest. The whole world benefits from the spillover effects of advances in clean energy that these investments bring.
And we are nowhere near the saturation point of investment required to meet our clean energy deployment goals, nor will markets alone generate the resources necessary either.
So, we’ve encouraged our partners to invest in their own industrial strength. We’ve steered U.S. foreign policy towards being a more helpful partner in this endeavor. And our partners have begun to join us. Look at Japan’s green transformation policy, India’s production-linked incentives, Canada’s clean energy tax credit, the European Union’s Green Deal.
As more and more countries adopt this approach, we will continue to build out the cooperative mechanisms that we know will be necessary to ensure that we’re acting together to scale up total global investment, not competing with each other over where a fixed set of investments is located.
The same goes for investing in our high-tech manufacturing strength. We believe that a nation that loses the capacity to build, risks losing the capacity to innovate. So, we’re building again.
As a result of the CHIPS and Science Act, America is on track to have five leading-edge logic and memory chip manufacturers operating at scale. No other economy has more than two. And we’re continuing to nurture American leadership in artificial intelligence, including through actions we’re finalizing, as I speak, to ensure that the physical infrastructure needed to train the next generation of AI models is built right here in the United States.
But all of this high-tech investment and development hasn’t come at the expense of our partners. We’ve done it alongside them.
We’re leveraging CHIPS Act funding to make complementary investments in the full semiconductor supply chain, from Costa Rica to Vietnam.
We’re building a network of AI safety institutes around the world, from Canada to Singapore to Japan, to harness the power of AI responsibly.
And we’ve launched a new Quantum Development Group to deepen cooperation in a field that will be pivotal in the decades ahead.
Simply put, we’re thinking about how to manage this in concert with our allies and partners, and that will make all of us more competitive.
Now, all this leads to another question that is frequently asked: What about your technology protection policies? How does that fit into a positive-sum approach?
The United States and our allies and partners have long limited the export of dual-use technologies. This is logical and uncontroversial. It doesn’t make sense to allow companies to sell advanced technology to countries that could use them to gain military advantage over the United States and our friends.
Now, it would be a mistake to attempt to return to the Cold War paradigm of almost no trade, including technological trade, among geopolitical rivals. But as I’ve noted, we’re in a fundamentally different geopolitical context, so we’ve got to meet somewhere in the middle.
That means being targeted in what we restrict, controlling only the most sensitive technologies that will define national security and strategic competition. This is part of what we mean when we say: de-risking, not decoupling.
To strike the right balance, to ensure we’re not imposing controls in an arbitrary or reflexive manner, we have a framework that informs our decision-making. We ask ourselves at least four questions:
One, which sensitive technologies are or will likely become foundational to U.S. national security?
Two, across those sensitive technologies, where do we have distinct advantages and are likely to see maximal effort by our competitors to close the gap? Conversely, where are we behind and, therefore, most vulnerable to coercion?
Three, to what extent do our competitors have immediate substitutes for U.S.-sensitive technology, either through indigenous development or from third countries, that would undercut the controls?
Four, what is the breadth and depth of the coalition we could plausibly build and sustain around a given control?
When it comes to a narrow set of sensitive technologies, yes, the fence is high, as it should be.
And in the context of broader commerce, the yard is small, and we’re not looking to expand it needlessly.
Now, beyond the realm of export controls and investment screening, we will also take action to protect sensitive data and our critical infrastructure, such as our recent action on connected vehicles from countries of concern.
I suspect almost no one here would argue that we should build out our telecommunications architecture or our data center infrastructure with Huawei.
Millions of cars on the road with technology from the PRC, getting daily software updates from the PRC, sending reams of information back to the PRC, similarly doesn’t make sense, especially when we’ve already seen evidence of a PRC cyber threat to our critical infrastructure.
We have to anticipate systemic cyber and data risks in ways that, frankly, we didn’t in the past, including what that means for the future Internet of Things, and we have to take the thoughtful, targeted steps necessary in response.
This leads to a final, kind of fundamental question: Does this approach reflect some kind of pessimism about the United States and our inherent interests?
Quite the contrary. It reflects an abiding and ambitious optimism. We believe deeply that we can act smartly and boldly, that we can compete and win, that we can meet the great challenges of our time, and that we can deliver for all of our people here in the United States.
And while it’s still very early, we have some evidence of that. This includes the strongest post-pandemic recovery of any advanced economy in the world. There’s more work to do, but inflation has come down. And contrary to the predictions that the PRC would overtake the U.S. in GDP either in this decade or the next, since President Biden took office, the United States has more than doubled our lead. And last year, the United States attracted more than five times more inbound foreign direct investment than the next highest country.
We are once again demonstrating our capacity for resilience and reinvention, and others are noticing. The EU’s Draghi report, published last month, mirrors key aspects of our strategy.
Now, as we continue to implement this vision, we will need to stay rigorous. We will need, for example, to be bold enough to make the needed investments without veering into unproductive subsidies that crowd-out the private sector or unduly compete with our partners.
We’re clear-eyed that our policies will involve choices and trade-offs. That’s the nature of policy. But to paraphrase Sartre, not to choose is also a choice, and the trade-offs only get worse the longer we leave our challenges unchecked.
Pointing out that it’s challenging to strike the right balance is not an argument to be satisfied with the status quo.
We have tried to start making real a new positive-sum vision, and we have tried to start proving out its value. But we still have our work cut out for us.
So I’d actually like to end today with a few questions of my own, where our answers will determine our shared success:
First, will we sustain the political will here at home to make the investments in our own national strength that will be required of us in the years ahead?
Strategic investments like these need to be a bipartisan priority, and I have to believe that we’ll rise to the occasion, that we won’t needlessly give up America’s position of economic and technological leadership because we can no longer generate the political consensus to invest in ourselves.
There is more we can do now on a bipartisan basis.
For example, Congress still hasn’t appropriated the science part of CHIPS and Science, even while the PRC is increasing its science and technology budget by 10 percent year on year.
Now, whether we’re talking about investments in fundamental research, or grants and loans for firms developing critical technologies, we also have to update our approach to risk. Some research paths are dead ends. Some startups won’t survive. Our innovation base and our private sector are the envy of the world because they take risks. The art of managing risk for the sake of innovation is critical to successful geostrategic competition.
So, we need to nurture a national comfort with, to paraphrase FDR, bold and persistent experimentation. And when an investment falls short, as it will, we need to maintain our bipartisan will, dust ourselves off, and keep moving forward. To put it bluntly, our competitors hope we’re not capable of that. We need to prove them wrong. We need to make patient, strategic investments in our capacity to compete, and we need to ensure fiscal sustainability in order to keep making those investments over the long term.
The second question: Will we allocate sufficient resources for investments that are needed globally?
Last year, here at Brookings, I talked about the need to go from billions to trillions in investment to help emerging and developing countries tackle modern challenges, including massively accelerating the speed and scale of the clean energy transition.
We need a Marshall Plan-style effort, investing in partners around the world and supporting homegrown U.S. innovation in growing markets like storage, nuclear, and geothermal energy.
Now, trillions may sound lofty and unachievable, but there is a very clear path to get there without requiring anywhere near that level of taxpayer dollars, and that path is renewed American leadership and investment in international institutions.
For example, at the G20 this fall, we’re spearheading an effort that calls for the international financial institutions, the major creditors in the private sector, to step up their relief for countries facing high debt service burdens so they too can invest in their future.
Or consider the World Bank and the IMF. We’ve been leading the charge to make these institutions bigger and more effective, to fully utilize their balance sheets and be more responsive to the developing and emerging economies they serve. That has already unlocked hundreds of billions of dollars in new lending capacity, at no cost to the United States. And we can generate further investment on the scale required with very modest U.S. public investments and legislative fixes. That depends on Congress taking action.
For example, our administration requested $750 million — million — from Congress to boost the World Bank’s lending capacity by over $36 billion, which, if matched by our partners, could generate over $100 billion in new resources. This would allow the World Bank to deploy $200 for every $1 the taxpayers provide.
We’ve asked Congress to approve investments in a new trust fund at the IMF to help developing countries build resilience and sustainability. Through a U.S. investment in the tens of millions, we could enable tens of billions in new IMF lending.
And outside the World Bank and the IMF, we’re asking Congress to increase funding for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, which we launched at the G7 a couple of years ago.
This partnership catalyzes and concentrates investment in key corridors, including Africa and Asia, to close the infrastructure gap in developing countries. It strengthens countries’ economic growth. It strengthens America’s supply chains and global trusted technology vendors. And it strengthens our partnerships in critical regions.
The private sector has been enthusiastic. Together with them and our G7 partners, we’ve already mobilized tens of billions of dollars, and we can lever that up and scale that up in the years ahead with help on a bipartisan basis from the Congress.
We need to focus on the big picture. Holding back small sums of money has the effect of pulling back large sums from the developing world — which also, by the way, effectively cedes the field to other countries like the PRC. There are low-cost, commonsense solutions on the table, steps that should not be the ceiling of our ambitions, but the floor. And we need Congress to provide us the authorities and the seed funding to take those steps now.
Finally, will we empower our agencies and develop new muscle to meet this moment?
Simply put, we need to ensure that we have the resources and the capabilities in the U.S. government to implement this economic vision over the long haul. This starts by significantly strengthening our bilateral tools, answering a critique that China has a checkbook and the U.S. has a checklist.
Next year, the United States is going to face a critical test of whether our country is up to the task. The DFC, the Ex-Im Bank, and AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, are all up for renewal by Congress. This provides a once-in-a-decade chance for America to strengthen some of its most important tools of economic statecraft.
And think about how they can work better with the high-leverage multilateral institutions I just mentioned. The DFC, for example, is one of our most effective instruments to mobilize private sector investments in developing countries.
But the DFC is too small compared to the scope of investment needed, and it lacks tools our partners want, like the ability to deploy more equity as well as debt, and it’s often unable to capitalize on fast-moving investment opportunities. So, we put forward a proposal to expand the DFC’s toolkit and make it bigger, faster, nimbler.
Another gap we need to bridge is to make sure we attract, retain, and empower top-tier talent with expertise in priority areas.
We’re asking Congress to approve the resources we’ve requested for the Commerce’s Bureau of Industry Security, Treasury’s Office of Investment Security, the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
If Congress is serious about America competing and winning, we need to be able to draw on America’s very best.
Let me close with this:
Since the end of World War Two, the United States has stood for a fair and open international economy; for the power of global connection to fuel innovation; for the power of trade and investment done right to create good jobs; for the power, as Tocqueville put it, of interest rightly understood.
Our task ahead is to harness that power to take on the realities of today’s geopolitical moment in a way that will not only preserve America’s enduring strengths, but extend them for generations to come. It will take more conversations like this one and iteration after iteration to forge a new consensus and perfect a new set of policies and capabilities to match the moment.
I hope it’s a project we can all work on together. We can’t afford not to.
So, thank you. And I look forward to continuing the conversation, including hearing some of your questions this morning.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI China: China to boost manufacturing industry’s green development

Source: China State Council Information Office

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will formulate an action plan for green and low-carbon development of the manufacturing industry, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The move aims to promote comprehensive green transformation in economic and social development, Tao Qing, spokesperson of the MIIT, told a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

The MIIT will also continue to promote research, development, innovation and industrialization of key technologies in the fields of integrated circuits, industrial software, artificial intelligence and satellite internet, and cultivate and develop emerging industries and future-oriented industries, said Tao.

The ministry will expedite the cultivation of leading enterprises in the industrial ecosystem and improve the whole-cycle cultivation system for small and medium-sized enterprises that feature specialization, refinement, uniqueness and innovation.

The spokesperson also highlighted establishing a national system for nurturing unicorn enterprises — and nurturing a group of quality enterprises specializing in digital economy.

Zhao Zhiguo, the MIIT’s chief engineer, said at the same press conference that the ministry will cultivate and promote the low-altitude economy, accelerating the development of low-altitude logistics, urban and intercity air transportation, and the low-altitude cultural and tourism industries.

MIL OSI China News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI China: High-tech zones collaborate to boost AI industry innovation

Source: China State Council Information Office

Visitors watch an AI-powered orthopedic surgical robot during the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 13, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Eleven major high-tech zones in China have jointly established a collaborative network to promote innovation in the country’s AI industry, China Science Daily has reported.

A conference on the establishment of this network held early this week in Beijing revealed that the newly-founded network features 11 major high-tech zones nationwide, including Beijing’s Zhongguancun, also dubbed China’s “Silicon Valley,” and those in the cities of Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Qingdao, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xi’an, according to the report published on Tuesday.

Wu Jiaxi, deputy director of the planning department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, expressed hope that the collaborative innovation network would cultivate fertile ground for AI innovation in China — via an open and inclusive approach.

High-tech zones are the core carriers and major hubs for AI development in China, and they have become a significant force in AI innovation, said Wu.

He also emphasized the importance of building a community for AI innovation and development through shared benefits, as well as deepening the domestic AI industry layout through an innovation-driven model.

During the conference, network participants announced the Zhongguancun Initiative, which aims to accelerate the development of AI technologies in areas such as chips, algorithms and models.

The Zhongguancun Initiative also seeks to establish a comprehensive innovation and entrepreneurship service system for the entire AI industry chain and to build mechanisms for the exchange of technology, industry, capital and talent.

The initiative encourages the establishment of open AI platforms to maximize the sharing of AI development achievements and seeks the active participation of high-tech zones in the formulation of international and national standards.

Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of strengthening data security and privacy protection, as well as providing regular supervision and regulatory services for AI platform companies, to ensure the traceability and reliability of AI technologies.

MIL OSI China News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI China: Dubai Chambers sees opportunities for mutual Sino-Middle Eastern growth

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

Chinese companies have made significant economic contributions to the Middle East region’s economy across a variety of sectors and are believed to continue to play an essential role in the region’s future development, said Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers.

“The increasing two-way investments between the two markets reflect the synergies created by China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which unlock significant opportunities for mutual growth,” said Lootah in an interview with China Daily.

Lootah added that both markets emphasize building a knowledge-based economy and that key areas such as technology, renewable energy, logistics, healthcare and infrastructure are poised for steady growth and will serve as important areas for mutual development and cooperation.

According to Dubai Chambers’ data, China has emerged as Dubai’s biggest trading partner, with non-oil trade between the two sides reaching $67.8 billion in 2023.

In addition, the total number of Chinese companies registered as active members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce stood at 5,480 at the end of August, which increased 41 percent between 2022 and 2023, the chamber’s data said.

“These companies have played a significant role in industries such as technology, real estate, manufacturing, and logistics, driving local job creation and economic diversification,” Lootah said.

He made the remarks during the just-concluded SuperBridge Summit 2024 in Dubai this month, which taps the increasingly important Middle East market to emerge as a new economic powerhouse.

“China and the Middle East, both as developing economies, have a deep understanding of each other’s economic development situations and have accumulated extensive experience across various industries, which can be mutually beneficial and help businesses to grow more effectively on both sides,” said Vanessa Xu, co-founder of SuperBridge Council, the event’s organizer.

“The rapid development and substantial demand in the Middle East for emerging sectors, such as the digital economy, e-commerce, new energy, aerospace and biomedicine, also present broad opportunities for Chinese companies,” Xu said.

Lootah also said he believes one of the most important cooperation sectors for Dubai and China is digital transformation.

“China has emerged as a leader in advanced technologies, and we share its strong commitment to innovation. We are keen to deepen cooperation in sectors including artificial intelligence, the internet of things and blockchain,” he said.

Lootah added that collaboration between the two sides will create opportunities for partnerships in digital infrastructure and smart city projects, as well as bring Dubai closer to achieving the D33 agenda target of generating an annual economic contribution of 100 billion UAE dirhams ($27.2 billion) from digital transformation projects.

The Middle East market also boasts other advantages such as its geographic position linking global markets, and the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries have some of the highest per capita GDPs in the world, reflecting a high level of economic development and a promising consumer market, Xu said.

For example, with its Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, Saudi Arabia presents significant market potential, but entering the market comes with high barriers, favoring companies that have already established business models and strong localization capabilities, Xu said.

“While the economy is largely driven by oil, the private sector remains relatively underdeveloped, so the landscape especially provides opportunities for foreign companies to engage in partnerships with local governments, state-owned enterprises and banks,” she added.

In contrast, the UAE has made greater strides in terms of business environment and openness, Xu said. According to the World Bank’s 2024 business environment report, the UAE ranks third in the Arab world and 25th globally, underscoring the country’s ongoing regulatory improvements and the ease of starting and operating businesses there.

“When considering which market to enter, Chinese companies should assess the different regional development priorities alongside their own core strengths and strategic needs,” Xu said.

MIL OSI China News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI China: Researchers use AI algorithm to reveal hidden RNA viruses

Source: China State Council Information Office 2

This year’s Nobel Prize results signify that artificial intelligence (AI) technology is not only leading trends in computer science, but also has a growing impact in disciplines such as biology and chemistry. It offers scientists a new research approach: using AI to unlock the secrets of nature.
One of the latest examples comes from virology. An international research team used AI technology to discover hundreds of thousands of RNA viruses from global ecosystems, showing the immense potential of AI algorithms in virus discovery and paving new paths for virology.
A team of researchers from Sun Yat-sen University School of Medicine, as well as Zhejiang University, Guangzhou University, the University of Sydney and other institutions carried out the study, reporting the discovery of 180 RNA virus supergroups and over 160,000 global RNA virus species.
The study, which was published recently in the journal Cell, is the largest RNA virus study to date, significantly expanding the knowledge about global RNA viruses.
New AI algorithm
Viruses are an essential component of Earth’s ecosystems and closely related to human health. However, the number of known virus species is still quite limited. Scientists can use gene sequencing technology to compare the similarity of unknown viruses with known viral nucleic acid sequences, thereby identifying new viruses.
However, this method relies on the existing knowledge of viruses. When studying RNA viruses, which are highly divergent, numerous and prone to mutation, the method of sequence homology comparison couldn’t work well anymore.
The researchers have proposed a new solution using AI technology. According to Shi Mang from Sun Yat-sen University School of Medicine, who is also one of the corresponding authors of the research paper, the AI algorithm models can uncover viruses that were previously overlooked or not even known.
“During epidemics, the speed and accuracy of AI technology can help scientists quickly pinpoint potential pathogens,” Shi said.
He led the team to use a core algorithm dubbed LucaProt, a deep-learning Transformer model for the study. After extensive learning of viral and non-viral genomic sequences, it can autonomously form a set of criteria for virus identification to find viral sequences from large RNA sequencing datasets.
New RNA virus species
According to the study, LucaProt demonstrated high accuracy and specificity, with a false positive rate of 0.014 percent and a false negative rate of 1.72 percent.
The team conducted viral search on 10,487 RNA sequencing data from global biological environmental samples, and discovered over 510,000 viral genomes representing more than 160,000 potential viral species and 180 supergroups of RNA viruses.
Among them, 23 supergroups could not be identified by traditional sequence homology methods. They can be referred to as the “dark matter” of the viral community.
The study found that these viruses are distributed across various ecological environments on Earth. The highest viral diversity is found in leaf litter, wetlands, freshwater, and wastewater environments. Considerable virus diversity and abundance are also found in extreme environments such as antarctic sediments, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, activated sludge, and saline-alkali wastelands.
According to Hou Xin, the first author of the paper, these viruses include not only pathogens that infect humans but also those that exist in the environment and infect various organisms. They can infect a variety of animals, plants, single-celled protists, fungi and bacteria.
“A deeper understanding of viruses in the environment can help us better study the workings of the entire ecosystem. Moreover, we can use this method to discover viruses closely related to human diseases for the surveillance and early warning of emerging diseases,” Hou said.
“The traditional classification system has become inadequate for the new viruses, whose diversity far exceeds human imagination. What we see now is just the tip of the iceberg,” Shi said.
New tool for more studies
It is a model specifically designed for discovering RNA viruses, but it also integrates the ability to recognize protein sequences and implicit structural information, and can be used to identify protein functions.
According to the study, the LucaProt model helped researchers identify genomic structures beyond previous virus knowledge, revealing the flexibility of RNA virus genomic evolution.
It also revealed a variety of viral functional proteins, especially those related to bacteria, indicating that there are more types of RNA bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria, to be explored.
The research team has open-sourced the model and shared it with scientists worldwide online.
Li Zhaorong from Apsara Lab of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, another corresponding author, believed that AI is gradually changing the way scientists tackle various scientific challenges.
“This model is becoming a cutting-edge tool in virus identification and is also being applied to other types of protein identification and discovery of functions,” Li said.
Xu Jianguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the success of LucaProt marks a breakthrough for AI algorithms in virus discovery. In the future, AI is expected to become a major tool in microbiology and can be applied to predict the pathogenicity of viruses to humans.

MIL OSI China News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by SITI at Asia Health Innovation Summit of StartmeupHK Festival 2024 (English only)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the Asia Health Innovation Summit of StartmeupHK Festival 2024 today (October 24):

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is my pleasure to speak at the Asia Health Innovation Summit, one of the highlights in the five-day StartmeupHK Festival. First of all, thank you for InvestHK and Brinc for bringing us an unparalleled platform to address the pressing health challenges and to push the boundaries of what is possible in life and health technology.

Hong Kong is pressing ahead to become an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre, as well as a health and medical innovation hub. With the rapid advancement of technology, we have been entering unchartered grounds in the life and health field. With five world top-100 universities, two world top-40 medical schools, eight State Key Laboratories and 16 InnoHK research centres which are life and health-related, Hong Kong has world-class research and development (R&D) capability in life and health technology. Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading fundraising hubs for biotechnology companies, and our vibrant start-up scene was ranked first in Asia among the world’s top-100 emerging ecosystems according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024.

To enhance the local I&T ecosystem, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been actively promoting interactive development of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. To further promote upstream basic R&D, we will launch a $6 billion worth of subsidy programme to provide funding subsidies for local universities to set up cross-institutional and multidisciplinary life and health technology research institute(s) in Hong Kong. We have also earmarked $3 billion for the implementation of the Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme to accelerate cross-disciplinary researches in various frontier technology fields such as clinical medicine and health as well as gene and biotechnology spearheaded by the eight local UGC (University Grants Committee)-funded universities and renowned scholars from around the world.

Furthermore, we have launched the $10 billion worth of Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+) last year, to fund research teams from universities with good potential to become successful start-ups to transform and commercialise their outstanding R&D outcomes. Investors here with us today and around the world are welcome to collaborate with the universities in Hong Kong and invest in their RAISe+ projects.

To promote downstream industry development, further to the $10 billion worth of New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme launched last month, the Chief Executive has announced in his 2024 Policy Address last week to set up another $10-billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund to form a fund-of-funds to channel more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology. We will also redeploy $1.5 billion under the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund to set up funds jointly with the market, on a matching basis, investing in start-ups of strategic industries to further enhance Hong Kong’s start-up ecosystem. By pooling together government resources and market investment, we hope to provide greater momentum to our burgeoning life and health technology industry.

By giving Hong Kong’s unique advantages full play, we are confident in pooling together global innovation resources to accelerate the development of life and health technology, constructing a more comprehensive and globally competitive I&T industry chain through concerted efforts. We envision a future where the technology seamlessly integrates with healthcare to improve quality of life for all. I look forward to many more collaborations with our neighbouring Asian cities on this front.

Thank you and have a great day.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s message on United Nations Day [scroll down for French version]

Source: United Nations secretary general

Download the video: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads2.unmultimedia.org/public/video/evergr…

The United Nations was built by the world, for the world.

Since 1945, it has been the place for countries to unite behind global solutions to global problems.

Solutions that ease tensions, build bridges and forge peace.

Solutions to eradicate poverty, spur sustainable development, and stand up for the most vulnerable.

Solutions that deliver lifesaving relief to people living through conflicts, violence, economic hardship, and climate disasters.

Solutions that level the scales of justice and equality for women and girls.

Solutions that tackle issues that were unimaginable in 1945 — climate change, digital technology, artificial intelligence, and outer space.

In September, the General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.

Together, these milestone agreements will help ensure that the United Nations system adapts, reforms and rejuvenates, so it is fit for the changes and challenges around us and delivers solutions for all.

But our work will always be rooted in the timeless values and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and in the dignity and human rights of every person.

In today’s troubled world, hope is not enough.

Hope requires determined action and multilateral solutions for peace, shared prosperity and a thriving planet.

Hope requires all countries working as one.

Hope requires the United Nations.

On United Nations Day, I call on all countries to keep this beacon for the world, and its ideals, shining.

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L’ONU a été créée par le monde, pour le monde.

Depuis 1945, elle permet aux pays de faire cause commune pour trouver des solutions mondiales à des problèmes mondiaux.

Des solutions pour apaiser les tensions, jeter des ponts et bâtir la paix.

Des solutions pour éliminer la pauvreté, stimuler le développement durable et défendre les plus vulnérables.

Des solutions pour apporter une aide vitale aux personnes aux prises avec des conflits, des violences, des difficultés économiques et des catastrophes climatiques.

Des solutions pour offrir les mêmes chances aux femmes et aux filles et ainsi assurer l’égalité et la justice.

Des solutions pour aborder des questions inimaginables en 1945 : les changements climatiques, le numérique, l’intelligence artificielle et l’espace extra-atmosphérique.

En septembre, l’Assemblée générale a adopté le Pacte pour l’avenir, le Pacte numérique mondial et la Déclaration sur les générations futures.

Grâce à ces accords historiques, le système des Nations Unies pourra s’adapter, se réformer et se rajeunir, rester en phase avec les évolutions et les enjeux du monde qui nous entoure et apporter des solutions pour toutes et tous.

Notre action restera cependant ancrée dans les valeurs et les principes intemporels de la Charte des Nations Unies et du droit international, et dans la dignité et les droits humains de chaque personne.

Dans notre monde en proie à la tourmente, l’espoir ne suffit pas.

L’espoir passe par des mesures fermes et des solutions multilatérales en faveur de la paix, d’une prospérité partagée et d’une planète florissante.

L’espoir passe par une coopération entre tous les pays.

L’espoir passe par l’ONU.

À l’occasion de la Journée des Nations Unies, je demande à tous les pays d’entretenir cette flamme qui guide le monde, et de défendre ses idéaux.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by SITI at Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2024 (English only)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2024 today (October 24):Simon (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Mr Simon Chan), Hendrick (Chairman of the Cyberport Investors Network Steering Group and Chairman of the Committee of the Artificial Intelligence Subsidy Scheme, Mr Hendrick Sin), Duncan (Legislative Council Member, Mr Duncan Chiu), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. It is my great pleasure to join you at this year’s Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF). True to its name, CVCF has been “connecting visionaries and cultivating the future”. It gathers the brightest minds from the innovation and technology (I&T) and the venture fund worlds, to brainstorm fresh ideas and approaches on how to support our start-ups in generating more breakthroughs and new solutions. I&T is the pivotal force to unlock new pathways for economic growth and societal advancement of our country and Hong Kong. At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) held in July this year, the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization also placed emphasis on Chinese modernisation by supporting technological innovation and developing new quality productive forces. This resonates with our theme today, “Innovation Challenger: Building New Venture Visions”, highlighting the indispensable role of venture financing to our I&T development. Cyberport epitomises the importance of venture capital to start-up development. The Cyberport community has attracted over $41 billion of investment, with startups securing more than $3 billion of funding last year alone. The Cyberport Investors Network, which comprises over 200 investment units including venture capital funds, private equity funds and family offices, has been a booming powerhouse, driving over $2.59 billion investment for start-ups over years. Our work does not stop there. To inject impetus into our I&T ecosystem, the Chief Executive announced a series of new and exciting I&T initiatives in his Policy Address last week. Let me share with you some of the key highlights. We will set up a $10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund to channel more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance, including but not limited to artificial intelligence, robotics and smart devices. We will also optimise the existing Innovation and Technology Venture Fund by redeploying $1.5 billion to set up funds jointly with the market on a matching basis to invest in Hong Kong’s start-up ecosystem. Besides, we will also launch the Pilot I&T Accelerator Scheme which aims to attract professional start-up service providers with proven track records from local and outside Hong Kong to set up accelerator bases in Hong Kong, thereby fostering the robust growth of start-ups. The close collaboration among the Government, industry, academia, research and investment sectors is the cornerstone of our I&T development which is poised to reach new heights. Let us join hands in turning a new chapter in the ever-evolving technology realm. In closing, may I take this opportunity to express my thanks to each and every one of you who brings so much food for thought to Cyberport and the dynamic technology landscape of Hong Kong. I wish everyone here today a most fulfilling exchange. Thank you very much.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 25, 2025

MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s message on United Nations Day [scroll down for French version]

Source: United Nations – English

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