Q3 2023 Byline Bancorp Inc Earnings Call

Participants

Alberto J. Paracchini; President & Director; Byline Bancorp, Inc.

Brooks O. Rennie; Head of IR; Byline Bancorp, Inc.

Mark Fucinato; Executive VP & Chief Credit Officer; Byline Bancorp, Inc.

Roberto R. Herencia; Executive Chairman of the Board & CEO; Byline Bancorp, Inc.

Thomas J. Bell; Executive VP, Treasurer & CFO; Byline Bancorp, Inc.

Brian Joseph Martin; Director of Banks and Thrifts; Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division

Damon Paul DelMonte; MD; Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division

Nathan James Race; Director & Senior Research Analyst; Piper Sandler & Co., Research Division

Terence James McEvoy; MD & Research Analyst; Stephens Inc., Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the Byline Bancorp Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. My name is Adam, and I will be your conference operator today. (Operator Instructions) Please note the conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to introduce Brooks Rennie, Head of Investor Relations for Byline Bancorp, to begin the conference call.

Brooks O. Rennie

Thank you, Adam. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for the Byline Bancorp Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. In accordance with the Regulation FD, this call is being recorded and is available via webcast on our Investor Relations website, along with our earnings release and the corresponding presentation slides.
During the course of the call today, management may make certain statements that constitute projections or other forward-looking statements regarding the future events or the future financial performance of the company. We caution that such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. The company's risk factors are disclosed and discussed in its SEC filings.
In addition, our remarks may reference non-GAAP measures, which are intended to supplement, but not substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliation for these numbers can be found within the appendix of the earnings release. For additional information about risks and uncertainties please see the forward-looking statement and non-GAAP financial measures disclosures in the earnings release.
I would now like to turn the conference call over to Alberto Paracchini, President of Byline Bancorp.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Thank you, Brooks. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the call this morning to go over our third quarter results. With me on the call are Roberto Herencia, our Chairman and CEO; Tom Bell, our CFO; and Mark Fucinato, our Chief Credit Officer.
Before we get into the results for the quarter, I'd like to pass the call on to Roberto for -- to comment on a few items.

Roberto R. Herencia

Thank you, Alberto, and good morning to all. We had another strong quarter and are delighted to have welcomed our Inland colleagues and shareholders after a successful core system conversion and integration in the third quarter. Speaking about welcoming, it is important to call out the addition of two very accomplished individuals to our Board. You have seen their buyers, so I won't go into those details.
Pamela Stewart joined us as part of -- at the close of the Inland merger in early July. We did not know Pam other than through our selection and evaluation process at the Board level. But we can tell you that in just a few months that we've been working with her, we're just delighted with her contributions, and we know we've made a great selection there.
Carlos Ruiz Sacristan joined the Board in early October. We have known Carlos for many years, and more importantly, he knows us very well. Carlos is the identical twin brother of the late Jaime Ruiz Sacristan, who was one of our founding shareholders and served on our Board.
The addition of these 2 individuals keeps in line with our commitment to building diverse, high-performing teams at all levels that reflect our core values of diversity and inclusion, and we believe these make us stronger. In an environment where [Mr. Market] has elected to punish the banking sector, our performance and execution has been excellent. We saw nothing mixed this quarter, other than Mr. Market being significantly disconnected from our strong fundamentals, as Alberto and the team will cover.
We have been posting top quartile numbers in several important metrics. In this quarter, some of those metrics moved even higher or into the top quartile. But these are just numbers. And what really matters to us, people, strategy and long-term shareholder value.
We feel uniquely positioned, especially because of the uncertainty in the economy. We have created a place where the best lenders want to work and grow in a market handling us disruption opportunities. In addition, we have strategic pathways for inorganic value creation such as the Inland merger that you just saw.
On top of that, we have a very special group of long-only long-term shareholders, which provide us the runway for this value creation story to unfold for years to come, and I want to highlight for years to come.
I think this is easy and [crisped] enough for analysts and Mr. Market to grasp. It connects us to the future. You can use quarters as signposts, but understand that this is much more than that.
Alberto, I'd like to turn it back to you.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Great. Thank you, Roberto. In terms -- and moving on to the agenda, I'll start with some comments and highlights for the quarter. Tom will follow and cover the financial results in detail, and then I'll come back and wrap up at the end before we open the call up for questions. As a reminder, the deck we're using for today's call is on our website, so please refer to the disclaimer at the front.
Starting on Slide 3 of the deck. The third quarter was not only a strong quarter financially for the company, but also a very productive one. During the quarter, we closed the Inland merger on July 1, successfully completed the systems conversion in mid-August and wrapped up the integration project by quarter end.
The merger added roughly $1 billion in deposits, $800 million in loans and 10 branches located primarily in attractive west and northwest suburbs of Chicago. I'd like to welcome all former Inland customers, employees and stockholders to Byline.
Lastly, I'd like to thank all of our colleagues who played a critical role in making the conversion and integration projects as success.
We reported net income of $28 million or $0.65 per share on revenue of $105 million. These results include the impact of merger-related charges taken in connection with the Inland transaction. Excluding the impact of these, net income was $33 million or $0.77 per diluted share. These figures represent new benchmarks for the company since our IPO, with increases of 5% and 40% on a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year basis, respectively.
Profitability and return metrics were also strong with an ROA of 130 basis points and an ROTCE of 16.15%. Adjusting for merger-related charges, ROA was 153 basis points and ROTCE just under 19%. Our pre-tax pre-provision income hit a record $46.9 million, which translates to a pre-tax preparation ROA of 216 basis points or 246 basis points, one excluding merger-related charges.
Total revenue was $105 million, up $14 million for the quarter and 30% year-on-year. Growth in the quarter was driven by a $16 million or 21% increase in net interest income, stemming from higher loan balances. Non-interest income declined largely due to a negative fair value mark on our servicing asset despite increased gain on sale revenue.
Expenses inclusive of all merger-related charges were $58 million for the quarter, up 17%. Excluding charges, operating expenses remain well managed at $51 million, marking a 6.8% increase from the prior quarter.
Operating expenses relative to assets came in at 235 basis points, excluding charges, representing a 25 basis point improvement from the prior quarter and a 21 basis point improvement year-on-year. The margin remained strong at 446 basis points, which includes approximately 50 basis points of loan accretion income coming from the transaction. Excluding acquisition accounting, the margin came in as expected at just over 400 basis points.
As an aside, I'd like to point you to additional disclosures we added in the appendix related to loan accretion income on Slide 18 and updated slides on Pages 15 and 16 on our office exposure inclusive of Inland. Lastly, our efficiency ratio stood at 53.7% or 47.3% adjusted, which represents a 4 and 7 percentage point improvement over the prior quarter and year, respectively.
Moving on to the balance sheet. Loans increased by approximately $1 billion and stood at $6.6 billion as of quarter end. The increase was primarily due to the Inland transaction, notwithstanding. Excluding the impact, we still saw growth in the portfolio of approximately $216 million or 4% on a linked quarter basis. This marked the 10th consecutive quarter of loan growth for the company.
Business development activity remained healthy, driven by our commercial and leasing businesses. Our government-guaranteed lending business also had a good quarter, with commitments closed totaling $113 million. Deposits as of quarter end stood at $7 billion, up $1 billion largely due to the transaction. Adjusting for that, deposits increased by $74.4 million or 5.8% on a linked quarter basis.
Asset quality, inclusive now of the Inland portfolio, remained stable for the quarter. Credit costs came in at $9 million, inclusive of net charge-offs of $5.4 million and the reserve build of $2.6 million. The allowance for credit losses ended the quarter at 1.6% of total loans.
Liquidity and capital remained ample and strong with a CET1 ratio of 10.1% and total capital of 13.2%. TCE ended the quarter at 8.18%, which is within our targeted operating range of 8% to 9%. Moving forward, our capital priorities remain unchanged.
And with that, I'd like to pass the call over to Tom, who will provide you with more detail on our results.

Thomas J. Bell

Thank you, Alberto, and good morning, everyone. Starting with our loan and lease portfolio on Slide 4. Total loans and leases were $6.6 billion at September 30, an increase of $1 billion from the prior quarter. Inland contributed approximately $800 million in total loans. Notwithstanding, we saw increases across all of our major lending areas with the strongest growth coming from commercial and leasing teams.
Net of loans sold, we originated $311 million during the quarter and payoffs were lower than we expected at $185 million compared to $256 million in the second quarter. Looking ahead, we expect loan and lease growth to be in the low to mid-single digits for the remainder of the year.
Turning to Slide 5. Our government-guaranteed lending business finished the quarter with $113 million in closed loan commitments, which was lower than the second quarter. At September 30, the On balance sheet SBA 7(a) exposure was relatively unchanged, and we saw an uptick in the USDA business. Our allowance for credit losses as a percentage of the unguaranteed loan balances was 8.1% as of quarter end, lower as a result of loan upgrades and payoffs.
Turning to Slide 6. Total deposits increased to $7 billion at September 30. Deposits grew $74.4 million or 5.8% annualized from the end of the prior quarter. DDAs as a percentage of total deposits was 28% compared to 30% from the prior quarter. The change in mix was primarily driven by a lower DDA percentage on the assumed deposit portfolio.
Commercial deposits represent 48% of total deposits and accounts for 77% of noninterest-bearing deposits. Our deposit cost for the quarter came in at 213 basis points, an increase of 43 basis points from the prior quarter, which was primarily driven by higher rates on money market accounts and time deposits. On a cycle-to-date basis, deposit betas, both for total deposits and interest-bearing deposits stood at 39% and 55%, respectively.
Turning to Slide 7. Net interest income was $92.5 million for Q3, up 21% from the prior quarter, primarily due to the merger, organic loan and lease growth and higher yields offset by increased interest expense. Our net interest margin was 4.46%, up 14 basis points from the prior quarter, stemming primarily from the merger.
Accretion income on acquired loans contributed 50 basis points to the margin in the third quarter, up from 3 basis points in the last quarter. Earning asset yields increased a healthy 50 basis points driven by higher loan yields. Going forward, given the higher-than-expected accretion in Q3, we estimate net interest income of $85 million to $87 million for Q4.
Turning to Slide 8. Noninterest income stood at $12.4 million in the third quarter, down $1.9 million linked quarter, primarily driven by a $3.6 million negative fair value mark on our loan servicing asset due to higher discount rates and increased prepayments, which was partially offset by an increase of $769,000 in net gain on sale of loans due to higher volumes.
Sales of government-guaranteed loans increased $16 million in the third quarter compared to Q2. The net average premium was 8% for Q3, lower than the prior quarter, primarily due to changes in the mix of loans sold and tight market conditions. Assuming we avoid a government shutdown in November, we are forecasting gain on sale income in the $5.5 million range for Q4.
Turning to Slide 9. Our noninterest expense came in at $58 million for the third quarter, up $8.6 million from the prior quarter, primarily due to the impact of the Inland acquisition. On an adjusted basis, our net interest expense stood at $51.2 million, $2 million below our Q3 guidance of $53 million to $55 million.
We continue to remain disciplined on our expense management, and we are on track to meet projected cost savings. With one-time merger cost behind us, our noninterest expense guidance is unchanged at $53 million to $55 million per quarter. Expenses are well managed, and we believe we have the right balance of investing versus spending to achieve our strategic goals.
Turning to Slide 10. The allowance for credit losses at the end of Q3 was $105.7 million, up 14% from the end of the prior quarter. The increase includes an adjustment of $10.6 million for purchase credit deteriorated loans, PCD and a $2.7 million provision for acquired non-PCD loans. In total, for the quarter, we recorded a $9 million provision for credit losses compared to a $6 million in Q2.
Net charge-offs were $5.4 million in the third quarter compared to $4.3 million in the previous quarter. NPLs to total loans and leases increased 79 basis points in Q3 from 69 basis points in Q2. The increase in NPLs was attributed entirely to loans assumed as part of the merger. NPAs to total assets increased to 60 basis points in Q3 from 54 basis points in Q2. And total delinquencies were $36.9 million on September 30, a $27 million increase linked quarter. The increase was primarily due to the merger, which contributed approximately half of the delinquency increase.
Turning to Slide 11. We ended the quarter with approximately $429 million in cash and $1.2 billion in securities, which represents roughly 19% of total assets. Our available borrowing capacity stood at $1.7 billion, and our uninsured deposit ratio stood at 26.1%, which remains well below all peer bank averages. Total security yields increased a healthy 39 basis points to 2.48% from Q2.
Turning to Slide 12. Our CET1 came in at 10.1% and our TCE ratio stood at 8.2% and remains within our targeted TCE range. Going forward, we are focused on executing our strategy, and we expect our capital levels to grow given our earnings outlook. With that, Alberto, back to you.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Thank you, Tom. So to wrap up, on Slide 13, you have a summary of our strategy, which has remained consistent and continues to work very well for us. We were pleased with another quarter of strong results, and notwithstanding the significant sources of uncertainty present in the environment, remain optimistic about our ability to continue to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace and deliver results for both our customers and stockholders.
With that, operator, let's open the call up for questions.

Question and Answer Session

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from Damon DelMonte from KBW.

Damon Paul DelMonte

Just to start off with a question on the margin. So the reported margin, I think it was like 4.47%, and you guys had noted there was around 50 basis points of benefit from the merger accounting there. And you did provide a table in the slide deck with expected accretable yield going forward. So do we basically just take out the $10.3 million this quarter to get to a core number of like $397 million, and then if we kind of layer on the expected accretable yield, we can kind of back into the core margin for next quarter to get to the guided NII. Is that fair, Tom? So kind of basically -- I guess what I'm trying to get at is, it sounds like the core margin is trending lower from third quarter to fourth quarter.

Thomas J. Bell

I think that's generally accurate. I think -- you have to remember that there's a number of repricing things going on. And I think that you would see the margin stable to maybe slightly up just given we have balance sheet hedges. And we have the SBC (technical difficulty) priced another 25 basis points higher in Q4. So I would say flat to slightly up.

Alberto J. Paracchini

I think the construct -- to add to what Tom was saying, Damon, I think the construct is correct. I think you're thinking about it the same way. Just one word of caution with accretion. That's our best guess. Obviously, as -- it's going to fluctuate. In some cases, we may see that accretion to par be faster. I think you saw some of that this quarter. But that's our best estimate at this point in time. Just know that it can vary plus or minus some percentage on a quarter in, quarter out basis.
The second point to just add to what Tom said is, I think what you're seeing, absent another increase in rates or call it a significant change in short-term market rates is, I think the margin, the -- call it the core margin, so to speak, is kind of reached a trough, so to speak. So just plus or minus.
I mean we -- it's impossible to predict these things within a basis point or 2, but just plus or minus. Just know that it could bounce around a little bit. But generally speaking, what we're seeing is probably relatively flat kind of core number with the accretion number on top. Hope that helps.

Damon Paul DelMonte

It does. Yes. And then with regards to the expenses, Tom, I think you said that the guide for next quarter is in the $53 million to $55 million range. Is that correct?

Thomas J. Bell

Yes.

Damon Paul DelMonte

So if we were to kind of back out the merger charges in the quarter and I think --

Thomas J. Bell

Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go ahead, Damon. It goes beyond…

Damon Paul DelMonte

We were kind of…—

Thomas J. Bell

(inaudible) quarter.

Damon Paul DelMonte

It goes beyond the fourth quarter. Okay. But if we kind of back out the kind of the nonrecurring, non-operating stuff here in this quarter, we're kind of in the $51 million range. Is that fair?

Thomas J. Bell

That's -- Yes.

Damon Paul DelMonte

So kind of -- I guess, what's the transition from this quarter's level up to that $53 million to $55 million? Are there just inflationary expenses that are causing them to kind of go higher? Or are there may be some one-time savings this quarter that don't recur in the coming quarters?

Thomas J. Bell

I mean there's a little of the -- we don't expect many acquisition costs, merger-related costs in Q4. We think we're done. And then there's obviously some employees that work through the conversion, so to speak, that are no longer here. So there'll be some saves there. But we are dealing with inflationary pressures. And we think given the projects and the things we want to continue to invest in the business, we're trying to find some other [offices], but we're trying to manage to the lower end of the range.

Alberto J. Paracchini

And, I think, to add to what Tom said -- And I think the point that he said kind of like in between is like -- I think that guide goes beyond the quarter. Just think of that also kind of going into 2024. So if you kind of take the -- call it, the run rate adjusted for charges and you take that run rate on the guide with that range, I think what you're seeing there is probably just an uptake into next year that -- I mean, I'm sure you can kind of do the back of the envelope there. But that's just inflation and probably just also incorporate some of the growth that we're seeing into next year.

Damon Paul DelMonte

And I guess just lastly, kind of broader -- speaking on credit. Any updated thoughts on particular areas of your footprint or the portfolio where you might be seeing some softening or you're keeping a more watchful eye?

Thomas J. Bell

Other than the office space, obviously, we haven't seen any trends in the other asset classes that we currently have in the portfolio. We're spending a lot of time being vigilant in doing our portfolio reviews. We're focused on solutions when we do have problems. And our business units have been very good about staying in touch with their customers and looking for any signs of any problems.

Operator

The next question comes from Terry McEvoy from Stephens Inc.

Terence James McEvoy

Thanks for the appendix slide, it's very, very helpful. I don't have to ask Tom the accretion question. So thanks for that. Maybe just stepping out of the model a little bit. You've got -- we're hearing larger players in Chicago are shrinking or deemphasizing certain areas. So are you getting more incoming calls from lenders? And how are you thinking about kind of playing more offense, given some of the changes in the competitive landscape that I'm hearing about?

Alberto J. Paracchini

I think probably, Terry, in general terms, it's -- what we're seeing is a lot of the so-called risk-weighted asset [diet] that some of the larger players are kind of going through. A lot of what we're seeing is, initially, those seem to be very much on transactional-driven business. So not necessarily -- we're not necessarily -- we're not in a lot of those businesses. We -- As you well know, we don't have a significant consumer business. We're not in the mortgage space. So we're not really kind of seeing opportunities to kind of pick up where others maybe that are more capital constrained are looking to lighten up on risk-weighted assets.
We're more focused on opportunities where it's relationship driven. What we are seeing though in the market is more and more, particularly some of the larger players, looking to participate or syndicate transactions and actually be willing to offer more of the relationship to others in order to entice them to participate. And that's a mark change from what we had seen in the past.
But again, it's not necessarily something that we are -- it's not necessarily something that we do on a day-to-day basis. I would say we just are really, really focused on the entire relationship, building relationships and focusing on customer dislocation as a result of mergers and transactions that have happened here in the past.
So to answer your question directly, yes, we're seeing some of it, not necessarily in areas where we really would be looking to capitalize on.

Terence James McEvoy

And then as a follow-up question. I don't think anybody should be surprised on Page 17, the office portfolio metrics with NPLs, delinquencies criticized higher in the quarter. So I guess my question is, if I go back to Slide 16, are there any other areas within CRE, retail or senior housing where you have maybe an upward migration in some of those credit stats, but just not to the degree that we're seeing in office? Or are those portfolios still performing -- I guess, the trends are relatively stable?

Mark Fucinato

The -- we haven't seen that in terms of any trends in the other asset classes. We don't have a lot of senior housing or health care. We did -- we do come across, one, from the Inland transition that we're looking at it's upsize. But other than that, we just haven't seen any real kind of trend of any increases in the other asset classes. The office has been our focus for quite some time in our legacy book and obviously in the book that came over from Inland.
So we're working on those. We've been focused on solutions for those. And we spent a lot of time confirming our risk ratings since we got the Inland portfolio and that we're going to continue to approach it that way. But I have not seen any other breaks in the asset classes for commercial real estate.

Operator

The next question comes from Nathan Race from Piper Sandler.

Nathan James Race

Going back to the margin discussion on a core basis. Curious kind of what that contemplates in terms of the size of the earning asset base in the fourth quarter? Obviously, cash balances were higher, end of period borrowings were also up in the quarter. It looks like you were able to sell down a portion of the Inland Securities portfolio. So just curious how you guys are thinking about those dynamics in terms of maybe deleveraging the balance sheet in the fourth quarter, just given some of those dynamics between the securities and the overnight funds?

Thomas J. Bell

Thanks for the question. Yes, I mean, our cash position was slightly elevated at the end of the quarter. I mean, that's not something we would normally maintain. As we mentioned in prior meetings, we weren't investing securities, cash flows. And so we're back on board with doing that now just given where rates are and our asset sensitivity. I think we were still mindful of if rates decline, the impact to us from an NII perspective. So you'll see some of that cash move into securities throughout the next quarter here. And then we'll plan on continuing to reinvest cash flows as we move forward. But the cash position was just timing at quarter end, for the most part being elevated.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Yes, Nate. And to add to that, I mean, Tom gave guidance as far as kind of what we're anticipating as far as loan growth is concerned. One just caveat with that, we anticipate that we are going to see, not necessarily runoff that would cost deleveraging, but it's going to be probably a remixing of the portfolio as we have run off -- primarily stemming from the transaction. We'll look to reinvest that over time.
So you may see our cash position at times just go up because we've got payoffs, and those payoffs, we're anticipating we'll get those redeployed over the course of time in our different portfolios. So there's always a little bit of remixing that will take place, and we anticipate we'll see some of that probably starting next quarter, but certainly more into 2024.

Nathan James Race

But in terms of kind of the overnight borrowings that were at -- in the quarter, do you expect those balances to come down over the next couple of quarters? Or is it just contingent on loan growth, the success and (inaudible)?

Thomas J. Bell

No, I mean, we normally would not hold that high of a balance. And again, if we went to the home loan bank to borrow the money, it [sat] at the Fed. So it was kind of a neutral P&L trade for us. So if you see the other borrowings increase, you really could assume that the other borrowings would decline as the cash position declined.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Yes. It's kind of like a -- given we're where rates -- given the rates that you get paid on reserves at the Fed, I mean, I think what Tom said, you might just want to just net those 2 numbers out and look at a net number, because the financial impact of that is going to be pretty negligible. So -- but to just keep that in mind.

Nathan James Race

And just kind of thinking about the balance sheet growth trajectory in the next year. I think Tom alluded to kind of low to mid-single-digit loan growth for the fourth quarter. Curious in terms of how the pipeline looks and kind of the prospects going into next year? Relative to Terry's question around some of the competitive dynamics in Chicago, curious how you guys are thinking about overall growth in loans and core deposits in 2024?

Alberto J. Paracchini

I think I would kind of refer to what -- the guidance that Tom gave at this point. I mean, pipelines are healthy. Activity is, I mean, generally speaking, solid. I mean there are some areas, notably real estate. I mean, real estate is no surprise, as you would expect, slower given it's probably the most interest rate sense of this sector of our portfolio. So you have lower activity both on the origination side and on the payoff side. So we're anticipating no change there. We're anticipating that will continue into 2024.
We're also anticipating the point that we just made right before in terms of some remixing within the portfolio. I mean we'll pay attention to what kind of like our core origination rates are. But just know that in some cases, we will get payoffs, we won't renew loans, we'll get the cash and then we'll redeploy that within the portfolio. So you don't necessarily will see net loan growth, so to speak, but it's just being -- it's just assets being replaced by originations into our core businesses.
But to answer your question, I mean, obviously, we had -- I think, the number -- the GDP number yesterday kind of explains and points to the fact that the economy has remained pretty healthy. We tend to be more cautious. Our view is more cautious. There's a lot of uncertainty out there, and we're tending to want to have a more cautious view of that. But so far, pipelines remain healthy, particularly on the commercial side.
Our government-guaranteed lending business is a bit slower compared to years passed, but they're seeing a fair number of opportunities. So that remains, I think, okay, given the rate environment. Our leasing business has shown really, really good growth over the past year. Some of that is a catch-up from supply chain issues that were happening earlier as people had put orders for equipment, but just couldn't get the equipment and therefore, that kind of delayed. So we're catching up with that, which is helping in terms of growth.
But all in all, I think the guidance provided, Nate, should give you a good picture in terms of kind of what we're seeing at this point in time.

Nathan James Race

Yes. And if I could just ask lastly on credit quality. Obviously, some continued normalization charge-offs this quarter. Curious how much of that was driven by SBC, and just generally kind of what you're seeing in SBC credit quality these days? I think that's just increasingly a topic of concern across investors just given the rate shocks that have impacted.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Yes. I mean -- so, 2 comments, and I'll let Mark jump in, but 2 comments generally speaking. I mean all of the charge-offs that we saw this quarter -- just think about -- it's just basically taking charges against reserves that we established in prior periods. So it's just a realization of the asset got worked out, and essentially, we just took the charge accordingly. And that's just normal course of business.
I don't think SBC was any different this past quarter as far as charge-offs. That portfolio -- as we stated in prior calls, that portfolio has behaved fairly well above expectations given the environment. Borrowers there have, I think, prepared and anticipated for rate increases and have absorbed those, I think, probably looking back better than we anticipated. Mark?

Mark Fucinato

Yes, I agree, Alberto. I would call it really steady. The -- Our SBA teams are very focused and looking at their portfolio. They've actually stepped up their portfolio management monitoring in the last couple of quarters. But it has been really steady. We haven't seen any big jump in any one area for their book either as of where we are today. The rate increases concern me because all those small business owners are dealing with that reality. But so far, it's been pretty consistent.

Nathan James Race

If I could just squeeze one last one in on just kind of how you guys are thinking about the reserve trajectory from here? It sounds like growth is understandably slowing on the lending side of things. You guys are [obviously] still operating from a position of strength relative to peers in terms of where your reserve stacked up. But I guess just absent significant macro deterioration within the CECL framework, how you guys are kind of thinking about the trajectory of the reserve going forward?

Alberto J. Paracchini

A couple of things. I mean the macro trajectory is certainly important. But other factors that we -- that are -- kind of we see in the environment -- I mean, as I said earlier, there's a fair amount of uncertainty in the environment. To give you an example, certainly, everybody knows and everybody is paying attention to office. But really any other areas were -- maybe it's not necessarily something that we are seeing, but it's something that's happening in the environment and not yet reflected in your historical or in your forecast. We can obviously use factors to adjust for that. So just keep that in mind.
Second, I think just -- I think you nailed in terms of kind of how we think about provisioning and the reserve. Just keep 2 things in mind. One is any -- you obviously are going to see a higher reserve overall with growth in the portfolio. So that's one thing.
And then the other thing, obviously, we have loans that -- where we took marks on as a result of the Inland transaction. We are active in wanting to move those loans out. So you may see charge-offs related to that come through. We will make sure to basically show those separate so that you guys are aware of what we're doing there.
But in the course of the year, we will look to workout out of situations that have been identified. So you may see an uptick in charge-offs on any given quarter related to that. But outside of that, it's -- I think it's consistent with what -- the guidance that we provided in the past.

Operator

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Brian Martin from Janney Brian.

Brian Joseph Martin

So maybe just one quick question on -- maybe I think it was Tom that talked about the SBA, or Alberto. Just -- it sounds like maybe the revenues are down a little bit in the quarter -- next quarter. Is that more a function of -- it sounded like the margins [were] holding up. I mean, is that maybe just a little less sale activity? Or kind of how are you're thinking broadly about that decline? What's driving a little bit lower outlook for next quarter?

Alberto J. Paracchini

For next quarter, I mean, obviously, there's -- the government shutdown is a risk for one thing as a caveat. I mean we're -- borrowers are -- interest rates are high, so borrowers that will qualify, right, they have to be a little bit stronger just given the rate environment and the loan yields that they're going to have. And then just given the mix and the appetite out there right now, we just think the market is not giving us the same premiums that we were getting before. And as a result, we've just kind of given a little bit lower guidance here.

Brian Joseph Martin

So kind of a combination of both volume and pricing is in the conservative…?

Thomas J. Bell

Yes. I mean there's always -- again, things can pick up. I mean pipeline looks pretty decent right now, but it's a little bit slower just as we speak.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Yes. Just keep in mind, Brian, it's hard to do on -- and we actually don't manage the business that way. It's hard to do this on a quarter-by-quarter basis. So just try to look at it more kind of like over a 12-month period just because -- like, for example, this quarter, the third quarter, we just had a different mix in the assets that we sold compared to the second quarter.
So that mix of assets -- to give you an example, if we have -- on any given quarter, if we have more USDA than we had the prior quarter or less USDA, that may impact. Those loans command a significantly higher premium relative to SBA because they have certain characteristics in them, that -- you don't have certain protections for investors that gives them the incentive to be able to pay more for those assets. And that can impact on any given quarter. The mix changes. We sell more 10-year relative to 15-year, 20-year. That also has implications. So just keep that in mind. The mix on any given quarter is going to -- can potentially impact margins and dollars as well.

Mark Fucinato

I think the last thing I would say too is, fully funded loans, it matters, right? So some loans are in the pipeline but haven't fully funded. So that means we can't really go out and sell them in the marketplace. So it's just a timing delay, as Alberto mentioned. We can't specifically hit 1 quarter for a number. If it doesn't fund and sell this quarter, it will fund and sell next quarter.

Brian Joseph Martin

Yes. And if I -- I apologize if I was leading -- it was going lower. I just didn't understand it. I just was trying to understand radar volume, and if there was something you guys were thinking about more so than another? But I understand the annual look as you guys are suggesting. So I appreciate that.
As far as the -- maybe one for Mark, just on the -- maybe you mentioned this, if I missed it, but just where the criticized and classified levels are with the quarter close? I mean, were they -- I thought you said the delinquencies were up, maybe I missed that or -- criticized and classifieds, were they up in the quarter with the transaction?

Mark Fucinato

They were up, I would say, slightly in the quarter. Our criticized actually came down a little bit because we had a resolution of a large criticized asset during the quarter. But yes, the transition of some of the Inland credits, which, again, we knew which credits were coming in, they were going to be criticized or classified, resulted in an increase. Yes.

Brian Joseph Martin

So an increase in just to criticized or is it both?

Thomas J. Bell

It was -- criticized was slightly down because of a resolution of a Byline legacy criticized asset. I would say classified was pretty well just a slight increase, but the NPL increase overall wasn't that much different from where we were in the previous quarter. In other words, we did have some resolutions of our criticized and classified assets and NPLs from the Byline book. But obviously, we had increases come back in from the Inland book.

Brian Joseph Martin

And then maybe just one, as far as what the loans repricing, what level of loans do you guys have on a fixed rate basis and are repricing maybe over the next 12 to 18 months? Can you give some color on that? And just kind of what new origination yields are? Maybe that's in the deck and I missed it up, if I can look at (inaudible) business [there]?

Thomas J. Bell

So, let's -- maybe come back to you…

Alberto J. Paracchini

We can follow up if you have it…

Thomas J. Bell

No. Maybe we can follow up with you, but I mean it's -- we're asset sensitive. The loan mix is kind of 50-ish percent fixed floating. I would say that the average life is 3 years, so 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3. But I guess, with Inland now it's 42% fixed. And then it just really depends on -- as Alberto mentioned, right, if some of the Inland portfolio pays off, then that's going to get repriced or if it refinances. But we're still primarily [asset] floating rate.

Alberto J. Paracchini

But just as a rule of thumb, Brian, to kind of -- so that you can -- as you think through this, if you take what Tom just said, if you -- 42% is fixed. I mean these are not a 30-year or 15-year residential mortgages. These are essentially kind of like 3.5-year assets. So just assume that, that 42% is effectively repricing over the course of a 3.5-year life. And that kind of just gives you a sense of kind of how much of that fixed rate portfolio we're going to get to see being repriced on a yearly basis. I mean it doesn't deviate too far from that.

Brian Joseph Martin

And just the last one was on M&A, given with this one being done -- I know it's quick to turn the page. But just as far as what opportunities you're seeing today? And maybe you talked about the inorganic opportunities that are out there, but how does the outlook look on the M&A side as far as, I guess, activity or just calls you guys are having today even if -- seems like the merger mass is obviously a little bit more difficult to get some things done today, but…?

Alberto J. Paracchini

Yes. I think we remain open to that. I think you hit the nail. I think you hit the nail on the head though. I think the channel, the math for transactions is challenging given the -- for some folks that would be potential sellers. The issue is just the amount of capital that remains after you factor in the interest rate marks, both on the loan portfolio and on the investment portfolio. That's -- I mean, to be completely transparent, that's the biggest impediment today.

Operator

I will now turn the call back to Mr. Alberto Paracchini for any closing remarks.

Alberto J. Paracchini

Yes. Thank you, operator, and thank you all for joining the call today and for your interest in Byline. And we look forward to speaking to you again in early 2024, and Happy Halloween to all of you. Thank you.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you very much for your attendance. You may now disconnect your lines.