Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 19, 2024 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Jeffrey Tengel - CEO
Mark Ruggiero - CFO & Head of Consumer Lending

Conference Call Participants

Mark Fitzgibbon - Piper Sandler
Laurie Hunsicker - Seaport Research
Steve Moss - Raymond James
Christopher O'Connell - KBW

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the Independent Bancorp Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions] After today’s remarks, there will be an opportunity to ask question. [Operator Instructions]

Before proceeding, please note that during today's call today, we will be making forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those – from these statements due to a number of factors, including those described in our earnings release and other SEC filings. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any such statements.

In addition, some of our discussion today may include references of certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information about these non-GAAP measures, including reconciliation to GAAP measures, may be found in our earnings release and other SEC filings. These SEC filings can be accessed via the Investor Relations section of our website. Finally, please note that this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Jeff Tengel, CEO. Please go ahead, sir.

Jeffrey Tengel

Thanks, Cole, and good morning, and thanks for joining us today. I'm accompanied this morning by CFO and Head of Consumer Lending, Mark Ruggiero. Our second quarter performance continues to demonstrate the resilience of our franchise in a difficult environment and is a testament to our long-term proven operating model as a customer-focused community bank. Mark will take you through the details in a few minutes after I share some thoughts.

While the current higher for longer interest rate sentiment clearly creates a challenging environment, not only for Rockland Trust, but for the entire industry, we continue to definitely manage this uncertain environment as we have through countless other macro challenges over the years. We remain focused on a number of key strategic priorities, all centered around protecting short-term earnings, while positioning the bank for earnings growth when the overall environment improves.

One of those priorities is actively managing our commercial real estate portfolio with particular emphasis on our office portfolio while working to create a more diversified loan portfolio. We are pleased to see a reduction in our CRE concentration at the end of the second quarter. We'll continue to drive this percentage down through normal amortization and the exit of transactional business. By exiting transactional business, we will free up capacity to continue to support our legacy commercial real estate relationships.