Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) Q3 2024 Earnings Conference Call October 17, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Jennifer Demba - Head of IR
Kevin Blair - Chairman, President and CEO
Jamie Gregory - CFO
Bob Derrick - Chief Credit Officer

Conference Call Participants

Brandon King - Truist
Jared Shaw - Barclays
Timur Braziler - Wells Fargo
Ebrahim Poonawala - Bank of America
Chris Marinac - Janney Montgomery Scott
Tony Elian - JP Morgan
Samuel Varga - UBS
Stephen Scouten - Piper Sandler
Michael Rose - Raymond James
Gary Tenner - D.A. Davidson
Catherine Mealor - KBW
Russell Gunther - Stephens

Operator

Good morning. And welcome to the Synovus Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call [Operator Instructions]. Please note this event is being recorded.

I'll now turn the call over to Jennifer Demba, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Jennifer Demba

Thank you, and good morning. During today's call, we will reference the slides and press release that are available within the Investor Relations section of our Web site, synovus.com. Kevin Blair, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will begin the call. He will be followed by Jamie Gregory, Chief Financial Officer, and we will be available to answer your questions at the end of the call. Our comments include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and the actual results could vary materially. We list these factors that might cause results to differ materially in our press release and in our SEC filings, which are available on our Web site. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements because of new information, early developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. During the call, we will reference non-GAAP financial measures related to the company's performance. You may see the reconciliation of these measures in the appendix to our presentation. And now Kevin Blair will provide an overview of the quarter.

Kevin Blair

Thank you, Jennifer. Good morning. And welcome to our third quarter 2024 earnings call. Before I begin our call, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the profound impact of Hurricane Helene and Milton on our community. The devastation has been a mess, affecting countless lives and businesses. However, in the face of such adversity, we have witnessed incredible resilience and solidarity. Our communities are coming together, determined to recover and rebuild stronger than ever. At Synovus, we are committed to supporting these efforts and playing an active role in the recovery process. Together, we will overcome these challenges and build a brighter future. Now let's review third quarter results. Synovus reported GAAP earnings per share of $1.18, which included an $8.7 million Visa valuation adjustment. We reported adjusted diluted EPS of $1.23, which increased 6% sequentially, primarily driven by stronger net interest income, coupled with lower provision for credit losses and stable adjusted noninterest expense. The most notable financial headlines for the quarter included a sequentially higher net interest margin year-over-year adjusted revenue growth of over 2%, driven by a 15% jump in adjusted noninterest revenue coupled with an adjusted noninterest expense decline of 1%. Finally, our net charge-offs improved again in the third quarter, down to 25 basis points and our liquidity and capital positions remained quite strong. Synovus continues to demonstrate progress in various key initiatives. We are steadily attracting talent in various client facing and corporate services roles. Noninterest revenue growth remained strong and lending pipelines and production are returning to more elevated levels. Lastly, I'm extremely pleased with the continued progress we are delivering in strengthening our balance sheet, which positions us well as we close out 2024 and pivot towards a more constructive growth environment in 2025.