HWC · Hancock Whitney Corporation - 6

Hancock Whitney's first quarter 2026 results were significantly impacted by a $98.6 million pretax loss from a securities portfolio restructuring, which reduced reported EPS by $0.95. Excluding this item, adjusted EPS of $1.52 showed a slight improvement from the prior quarter's $1.49. The company's core profitability was supported by net interest income growth, with NIM expanding 7 basis points to 3.55% due to higher securities yields and lower funding costs, partially offset by lower loan yields. Management highlighted the strategic nature of the bond portfolio restructuring, noting it involved selling $1.5 billion in bonds at 2.49% yield and reinvesting $1.4 billion at 4.35% yield, with an expected earn-back period of 50 months and projected annual EPS benefit of $0.23. Loan growth remained modest at $33 million linked-quarter, while deposits declined $198 million, primarily in public funds and time deposits. Asset quality showed mixed trends with criticized commercial loans decreasing but nonaccrual loans increasing to $113.3 million. The company maintained solid capital levels while returning capital to shareholders through a 1.4 million share repurchase and an 11% dividend increase to $0.50 per share. Management expects mid-single digit loan growth and low-single digit deposit growth for full year 2026.