Exhibit 99.1

Contact:

Jeffrey J. Carfora, SEVP and CFO

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation

T: 908-719-4308

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR RESULTS AND

ANNOUNCES A 5% STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

Bedminster, N.J. – February 1, 2021 – Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select Market: PGC) (the “Company”) announces its fourth quarter and full year 2020 results.

This earnings release should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Q4 2020 Investor Update (and Supplemental Financial Information), a copy of which is available on our website at www.pgbank.com and via a current report on Form 8-K on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.  

The Company recorded total revenue of $189.36 million, net income of $26.19 million and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) of $1.37 for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $174.97 million, $47.43 million and $2.44, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The main driver of the decrease in net income and EPS for the 2020 twelve-month period was a $32.40 million provision for loan losses due to the current environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to increased qualitative loss factors when calculating the allowance for loan losses. This $32.40 million compared to a $4.00 million provision for the 2019 twelve-month period.   

The 2020 twelve-month period included increased net interest income and noninterest income. The increase in net interest income was due principally to earnings from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The increase in noninterest income also benefitted from gain on sale of PPP loans and increases in wealth management income (primarily due to the acquisition of Point View Wealth Management acquired in September 2019) and mortgage banking income. These increases were partially offset by increased operating expenses (due in part to the previous mentioned firm acquired in September 2019, prepayment of FHLB advances, valuation allowance for a loan held for sale, the closure of one retail branch and consolidation of two private banking locations).

The 2020 twelve-month period also included a tax benefit of $3.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2020 caused by the changes in the treatment of tax net operating losses (“NOL”) under the provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.  

For the quarter ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded total revenue of $46.14 million, net income of $3.03 million and EPS of $0.16, compared to $46.44 million, $12.23 million and $0.64, respectively, for the same three-month period last year.

The 2020 quarter included increased net interest income, due in part to earnings from the PPP, but also due to increased other interest-earnings assets.  Noninterest income also increased due to increases in wealth management income and mortgage banking income.  These increases were partially offset by increased operating expenses (due in part to the previous mentioned prepayment of FHLB advances ($4.78 million), valuation allowance for loan held for sale ($4.43 million) and consolidation of two private banking offices ($210,000), and an increase in the provision for loan and lease losses to $2.35 million due to the current environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to a $1.95 million provision for loan and lease losses for the 2019 quarter.   

On January 28, 2021, the Company authorized the repurchase of up to 948,735 shares, or approximately 5% of its outstanding shares, through March 31, 2022. Purchases will be conducted in accordance with the limitations set forth in the SEC’s Rule 10b-18.  

1

---

Douglas L. Kennedy, President and CEO, said, “Our capital is strong and believe that purchasing our Company’s stock is an opportunity for us to effectively manage our excess capital, while taking advantage of the Company’s discounted valuation relative to peers.”

Mr. Kennedy also said, “As noted in previous quarters, during 2020 we generally allowed our commercial and business clients to have their loan deferred for a six-month period. As of June 30, 2020, our deferrals stood at $914 million. As of September 30, 2020, deferrals were $828 million. As of December 31, 2020, our deferrals were $74 million (or 1.7% of the loan portfolio).”

For more information about the Company’s loan deferrals, including a breakdown by loan type and industry, as well as detail concerning our loan exposure to industries, please see the Q4 2020 Investor Update (and Supplemental Financial Information).

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The following tables summarize specified financial measures for the periods shown.

Year over Year Comparison

 

 

2

---

December 2020 Quarter Compared to Prior Year Quarter

 

  

December 2020 Quarter Compared to Linked Quarter

3

---

 

 

 

The Company’s near-term priorities include:

 

Other select highlights for the quarter included:

4

---

SUPPLEMENTAL QUARTERLY DETAILS:

 

Wealth Management Business

In the December 2020 quarter, the Bank’s wealth management business generated $10.79 million in fee income, compared to $10.12 million for the December 2019 quarter, and $10.12 million for the September 2020 quarter.

The market value of the Company’s AUM/AUA increased from $7.6 billion at September 30, 2020 to a record $8.8 billion at December 31, 2020.

In the December 2020 quarter the Company completed the lift out of teams from Lucas Capital Management and Noyes Capital Management which combined added approximately $400 million in AUM/AUA.

John P. Babcock, President of the Peapack Private Wealth Management division, said “2020 new business, new client acquisition and client retention were all strong and aided by favorable market action in the second half of the year, most notably in the quarter ended December 31, 2020.  2020 full year gross inflows totaled over $600 million”. Babcock went on to note, “We continue to look to grow our wealth business organically and through selective acquisition.  At year-end 2020, we combined two of our acquired RIAs – Lassus Wherley Associates and Point View Wealth Management into the Peapack Private bank entity and we continue to make significant progress on our infrastructure consolidation including launching our new trading platform and a new CRM system, as well as adding more resources to our financial planning team.”

Loans / Commercial Banking

Total loans of $4.40 billion at December 31, 2020 (including PPP loans of $196 million) were relatively flat when compared to the December 31, 2019 balance, and declined $54 million from $4.46 billion at September 30, 2020, as paydown and payoff activity remains robust. Excluding PPP loan originations of $596 million, 2020 origination levels of approximately $885 million were less than 2019’s level of $1.3 billion, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Total C&I loans (including $196 million of PPP loans) at December 31, 2020 were $1.98 billion.  This reflected net growth of $199 million when compared to $1.78 billion at December 31, 2019. Excluding the $196 million of PPP loans at December 31, 2020, total C&I loans remained relatively flat in 2020 despite paydowns of several large lines of credit, as well as the Company’s workout and asset recovery efforts, including the workout and recovery of several nonaccrual and/or classified credits during the latter part of 2020.

Although the Bank sold $355 million of PPP loans in the third quarter of 2020 (at a gain of $7.4 million), as of December 31, 2020, the Bank still held $196 million of PPP loans (almost all of which exceed $2.0 million in original principal amount) with approximately $1.2 million of net deferred fees which will be recognized into income over the remaining portion of the original two-year maturity of the loan or as forgiven or repaid.

The Company maintains a well-diversified loan portfolio, by loan type and by industry concentration, as detailed in the Q4 2020 Investor Update (and Supplemental Financial Information).

Mr. Kennedy noted, “Our commercial pipelines going into the new year are strong. Further, and as I noted in prior periods, our Corporate Advisory business, which gives us the capability to engage in high level strategic debt, capital and valuation analysis, enables us to provide a unique boutique level of service, giving us a competitive advantage over many of our peers. Our Corporate Advisory pipelines are also strong.”

Funding / Liquidity / Interest Rate Risk Management

The Company actively manages its deposit base to reduce reliance on wholesale sourced deposits, volatility, and/or operational risk.  Total deposits at December 31, 2020 were $4.82 billion reflecting an increase of $575 million when compared to $4.24 billion at December 31, 2019. Noninterest bearing demand deposits increased $304 million,

5

---

interest bearing demand increased $339 million, brokered deposits declined $70 million, and higher costing CDs declined $119 million.  Mr. Kennedy noted, “Of our total deposits, only 17% are not covered by FDIC insurance, reinforcing the “core” nature of our deposit base.”

For the quarter ended December 31, 2020, the Company’s balance sheet liquidity (investments, interest-earning deposits and cash) totaled $1.3 billion (or 22% of assets).  In addition to the $1.3 billion of balance sheet liquidity, the Company also had approximately $1.8 billion of secured funding available from the Federal Home Loan Bank. Additionally, the Company also had $988 million of secured funding available from the Federal Reserve Discount Window. As noted previously, during the fourth quarter of 2020, the Bank prepaid $105 million of FHLB advances with an average rate in excess of 3%.

Mr. Kennedy noted, “As a commercial bank, a large portion of our loans reprice when the Fed changes rates. The 150-basis point reduction in target Fed Funds near the end of the first quarter of 2020 reduced the Company’s yield earned on assets. However, we were able and continue to strategically reprice our deposits over time to offset much of that decline. Further, when interest rate rise, our net interest income will improve. Our current modeling indicates that net interest income would improve 8.5% with an immediate 100 basis points rise in rates.”

Net Interest Income (NII)/Net Interest Margin (NIM)

 

As shown above, the Company’s reported NIM increased 5 basis points compared to the linked quarter, while core NIM increased 6 basis points compared to the linked quarter. The Bank was able to strategically price down its cost of funds by 7 basis points during the December 2020 quarter.

Future net interest income will be benefitted by the repricing of the Company’s time certificates of deposit (“CDs”). Over the next 12-months, approximately $460 million of CDs with an average rate of approximately 1.18% will mature.

Other Noninterest Income (other than Wealth Management fee income)

Noninterest income from Capital Markets activities (loan level back-to-back swap activities, the SBA lending and sale program, and mortgage banking income) totaled $1.85 million for the December 2020 quarter compared to

6

---

$1.03 million for the September 2020 quarter and $3.73 million for the December 2019 quarter.  The December 2020 and September 2020 quarters reflected increased mortgage banking activity due to greater refinance activity in the current low rate environment. The higher mortgage banking activity was offset by a significant decrease in loan level back-to-back swap activities, as there has been, and will continue to be, minimal activity for such in the current environment.  

Operating Expenses

The Company’s total operating expenses were $39.25 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, compared to $28.46 million for the September 2020 quarter and $26.70 million for the December 2019 quarter.  The December 2020 quarter included the prepayment of FHLB advances ($4.8 million), a valuation allowance on a loan held for sale ($4.4 million) and consolidation of two private banking offices ($210,000).  FDIC insurance expense increased to $665,000 in the December 2020 quarter from $605,000 in the September 2020 quarter and the Company recorded none in the December 2019 quarter.  The increase in FDIC expense in 2020 quarter was due to average asset growth. There was no FDIC insurance expense in the December 2019 quarter due to credits applied which were available to the banking industry in general. The 2020 periods also included reduced deferral of expenses directly related to loan originations when compared to 2019 periods, due to reduced 2020 loan origination levels as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Mr. Kennedy noted, “While we continue to manage expenses closely and prudently, we will invest in digital enhancements to improve the client experience and grow and expand our core wealth management and commercial banking businesses, including lift-outs, strategic hires, and wealth M&A.”

Income Taxes

 

The effective tax rate for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was 33.29%, as compared to 27.75% for the September 2020 quarter and 31.23% for the December 2019 quarter. A tax return to book adjustment recorded in the December 2020 quarter, coupled with reduced pretax income in the that quarter, increased the December 2020 effective tax rate by approximately 5%.    

 

During the first quarter of 2020, the Company recorded a $3.34 million tax benefit, principally due to a $3.2 million Federal income tax benefit that resulted from a tax NOL carryback. The Company had a $23 million operating loss for tax purposes in 2018 (when the Federal tax rate was 21%) resulting from accelerated tax depreciation. Under the CARES Act, the Company was allowed to carry this NOL back to a period when the Federal tax rate was 35%, generating a permanent tax benefit.  

 

Asset Quality / Provision for Loan and Lease Losses

 

For further details, see the Q4 2020 Investor Update (and Supplemental Financial Information).

Nonperforming assets at December 31, 2020 (which does not include troubled debt restructured loans that are performing in accordance with their terms) were $11.5 million, or 0.19% of total assets, up slightly from $8.7 million, or 0.15% of total assets, at September 30, 2020 and down significantly from $28.9 million, or 0.56% of total assets, at December 31, 2019.  Total loans past due 30 through 89 days and still accruing were $5.1 million at December 31, 2020 (of which $4.7 million made their past due payments in January), compared to $6.6 million at September 30, 2020 and $1.9 million at December 31, 2019.  During the third and fourth quarter of 2020, the Company’s asset recovery and workout efforts reduced nonperforming and classified assets.    

For the quarter ended December 31, 2020, the Company’s provision for loan and lease losses was $2.35 million compared to $5.15 million for the September 2020 quarter and $1.95 million for the December 2019 quarter. The increased provision for loan and lease losses in the 2020 quarters when compared to the 2019 quarter reflect the current environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to increased qualitative loss factors when calculating the allowance for loan losses. The Company’s provision for loan and lease losses (and its allowance for loan and lease losses) also reflect, among other things, the Company’s assessment of asset quality metrics, net loan decline, net charge-offs/recoveries, and the composition of the loan portfolio.

At December 31, 2020, the allowance for loan and lease losses was $67.31 million (1.53% of total loans), compared to $66.15 million at September 30, 2020 (1.48% of total loans), and $43.68 million at December 31, 2019 (0.99% of total loans).  

7

---

The Company plans to adopt CECL effective January 1, 2021 and does not expect its Day One CECL adjustment to be material.

Capital

The Company’s capital position during the December 2020 quarter was benefitted by net income of $3.03 million.

The Company’s and Bank’s capital ratios at December 31, 2020 all remain strong.  Such ratios remain well above regulatory well capitalized standards.

As previously noted, and as previously announced, in the fourth quarter of 2020 the Company successfully completed a private placement of $100 million in fixed-to floating rate subordinated notes due 2030 at a rate of 3.5%. Such funds benefitted the Company’s Regulatory Tier 2 Capital. The proceeds raised will be used for general corporate purposes, which will include stock repurchases and could potentially include redemption of the Company’s existing 6% subordinated debt and acquisitions of wealth management firms.

The Company employs quarterly capital stress testing run under multiple scenarios, including a no growth, severely adverse case. In such case as of September 30, 2020, the Bank remains well capitalized over a two-year stress period. With a Pandemic stress overlay on this case, the Bank still remains well capitalized over the two-year stress period. For further details, see the Q4 2020 Investor Update (and Supplemental Financial Information).

As previously announced on January 28, 2021, the Company declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per share payable on February 26, 2021 to shareholders of record on February 11, 2021.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation is a New Jersey bank holding company with total assets of $5.9 billion and AUM/AUA administration of $8.8 billion as of December 31, 2020.  Founded in 1921, Peapack-Gladstone Bank is a commercial bank that provides innovative wealth management, commercial and retail solutions, including residential lending and online platforms, to businesses and consumers.  Peapack Private, the bank’s wealth management division, offers comprehensive financial, tax, fiduciary and investment advice and solutions, to individuals, families, privately-held businesses, family offices and not-for-profit organizations, which help them to establish, maintain and expand their legacy.  Together, Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Peapack Private offer an unparalleled commitment to client service.  Visit www.pgbank.com and www.peapackprivate.com for more information.

The foregoing may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements are not historical facts and include expressions about management’s confidence and strategies and management’s expectations about new and existing programs and products, investments, relationships, opportunities and market conditions.  These statements may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as “expect,” “look,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may” or similar statements or variations of such terms.  Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements.  Factors that may cause results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

8

---

 

Further, given its ongoing and dynamic nature, it is difficult to predict the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business. The extent of such impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain, including when the coronavirus can be controlled and abated and when and whether the gradual reopening of businesses will result in a meaningful increase in economic activity. As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse local and national economic consequences, we could be subject to any of the following risks, any of which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations:

 

9

---

A discussion of these and other factors that could affect our results is included in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.  We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

(Tables to follow)

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

(Dollars in Thousands, except share data)

(Unaudited)

10

---

 

 

11

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

(Dollars in Thousands, except share data)

(Unaudited)

12

---

 

13

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CONDITION

(Dollars in Thousands)

(Unaudited)

14

---

 

15

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA

(Dollars in Thousands)

(Unaudited)

16

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA

(Dollars in Thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

17

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

LOANS CLOSED

(Dollars in Thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

18

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET

UNAUDITED

THREE MONTHS ENDED

(Tax-Equivalent Basis, Dollars in Thousands)

19

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET

UNAUDITED

THREE MONTHS ENDED

(Tax-Equivalent Basis, Dollars in Thousands)

 

 

20

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET

UNAUDITED

TWELVE MONTHS ENDED

(Tax-Equivalent Basis, Dollars in Thousands)

 

21

---

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES RECONCILIATION

Tangible book value per share and tangible equity as a percentage of tangible assets at period end are non-GAAP financial measures derived from GAAP-based amounts.  We calculate tangible equity and tangible assets by excluding the balance of intangible assets from shareholders’ equity and total assets, respectively.  We calculate tangible book value per share by dividing tangible equity by period end common shares outstanding, as compared to book value per common share, which we calculate by dividing shareholders’ equity by period end common shares outstanding.  We calculate tangible equity as a percentage of tangible assets at period end by dividing tangible equity by tangible assets at period end.  We believe that this is consistent with the treatment by bank regulatory agencies, which exclude intangible assets from the calculation of risk-based capital ratios.

The efficiency ratio is a non-GAAP measure of expense control relative to recurring revenue.  We calculate the efficiency ratio by dividing total noninterest expenses, excluding ORE provision, as determined under GAAP, by net interest income and total noninterest income as determined under GAAP, but excluding net gains/(losses) on loans held for sale at lower of cost or fair value and excluding net gains on securities from this calculation, which we refer to below as recurring revenue.  We believe that this provides one reasonable measure of core expenses relative to core revenue.

We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide information that is important to investors and that is useful in understanding our financial position, results and ratios.  Our management internally assesses our performance based, in part, on these measures.  However, these non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and are not a substitute for an analysis based on GAAP measures.  As other companies may use different calculations for these measures, this presentation may not be comparable to other similarly titles measures reported by other companies.  A reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures of tangible common equity, tangible book value per share and efficiency ratio to the underlying GAAP numbers is set forth below.

Non-GAAP Financial Reconciliation

(Dollars in thousands, except share data)

 

 

22

---

 

 

 

 

23