Investors and analysts will be interested in hearing about the economic trends that banks are seeing in their particular markets, and if the war in Iran and the resulting impact on gas prices is having a negative impact on asset quality and loan demand..
Mid quarter updates provided by large banks indicated they were seeing solid loan demand and loan growth. There will be interest in which areas of lending are seeing the strongest demand and how payoffs are trending. Along with loan growth in the first quarter, investors and analysts will be interested in hearing how loan pipelines are trending and how that is impacting expectations for the level of loan growth in 2026, and which areas of lending are expected to drive most of the loan growth.
Many banks were able to successfully reduce deposit costs in the fourth quarter, so there will be interest in seeing if they have continued to reduce rates and to what extent that has impacted deposit flows and deposit growth. There will be interest in hearing about the competitive environment in markets and if some banks are still being aggressive in pricing to win deposits. There will also be interest in seeing if some banks saw the usual seasonal outflows that they typically experience in the first quarter.
Many banks saw expansion in their net interest margins in the fourth quarter due to a combination of being able to reduce deposit costs and new loans coming on the books at higher rates than the loans that paid off. There will be interest in seeing if that trend continued in the first quarter, as well as how banks are expecting their net interest margin to trend based on the current expectations for Fed rate cuts.
There will be interest in seeing the trends in asset quality, and if there are negative trends in certain categories of the loan portfolio. There will also be interest in how banks expect asset quality to trend over the rest of the year based on the performance of the loans in the first quarter and the economic conditions they are seeing in their markets.
Investors will be interested in getting an update on priorities for capital utilization, including if M&A and stock buybacks are becoming a greater possibility. M&A activity has continued during the first quarter with a number of transactions being announced. Also, with the war in Iran causing bank stocks to decline, there will be interest in seeing if banks are using this opportunity to be more active in share repurchase programs.
Based on the trends experienced in the first quarter and the economic conditions in particular markets, investors and analysts will be interested in seeing if banks have made any updates to the guidance they previously provided for expected loan and deposit growth, NIM trends, fee income, expenses, and asset quality in 2026. In addition, for banks in markets where M&A transactions are occurring, investors and analysts will be interested in hearing if they believe they will have opportunities to capitalize on the disruption caused by the M&A to add new customers and banking talent.
If you would like to discuss any of these themes or learn more about banking communications, please contact us.