Operator: Good morning, and welcome to the Bridgewater Bancshares 2026 third quarter earnings call. My name is Betsy, and I will be your conference operator today. All participants have been placed in a listen-only mode. After Bridgewater's opening remarks, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question, please press star then 1 on your touch-tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then 2. Please note that today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to introduce Justin Horstman, Vice President of Investor Relations, to begin the conference call. Please go ahead.
Justin Horstman: Thank you, Betsy, and good morning, everyone. Joining me on today's call are Jerry Baack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Joe Chybowski, President and Chief Financial Officer, Nick Place, Chief Banking Officer, and Katie Morrell, Chief Credit Officer. In just a few moments, we will provide an overview of our 2026 third quarter financial results. We will be referencing a slide presentation that is available on the investor relations section of Bridgewater's website, investors.bridgewaterbankmn.com. Following our opening remarks, we will open the call for questions.
Justin Horstman: During today's presentation, we may make projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We caution that such statements are predictions and that actual results may differ materially. Please see the forward-looking statement disclosure in the slide presentation and our 2026 third quarter earnings release for more information about risks and uncertainties which may affect us.
Justin Horstman: The information we will provide today is as of and for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, and we undertake no duty to update the information. We may also disclose non-GAAP financial measures during this call. We believe certain non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the related GAAP measures, provide meaningful information to investors to help them understand the company's operating performance and trends and to facilitate comparisons with the performance of our peers. We caution that these disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP. Please see our slide presentation and 2026 third quarter earnings release for reconciliations of non-GAAP disclosures to the comparable GAAP measures. I would now like to turn the call over to Bridgewater's Chairman and CEO, Jerry Baack.
Jerry Baack: Thank you, Justin, and thank you for joining us this morning. In Q3, disciplined execution of a thoughtful strategy resulted in an incredibly strong quarter. Growth and profitability were objectives, and both proved to be highlights. While we have always had the ability to generate robust loan growth, we have become more focused on creating balance sheet growth that prioritizes optimizing profitability. This strategy has never been more evident than it is now. Earlier in the year, we saw loan competition increasing with silly pricing that we weren't willing to stretch for. In addition, we knew that historically, core deposit growth was seasonal and typically slower during H1. In response, we strategically slowed our pace of loan growth to the mid-single-digit range, accommodating for these trends.
Jerry Baack: As we expected, core deposit growth returned in H2 with annualized growth of nearly 20%. This came not only from seasonality but from our new client relationships we have grown across the bank. This allowed us to accelerate loan growth during the past quarter to over 7% annualized, with loan and core deposit growth now in line on a year-to-date basis. This is a great example of how we are leveraging data, our market knowledge, balance sheet, and understanding of our client base to strategically and efficiently drive the growth and profitability of the bank. Overall, this translated into a record total revenue and pre-provision net revenue in Q3. Combine this with a decline in non-interest expense, and we were able to move our efficiency ratio below 50% for the first time since Q1 2023.
Jerry Baack: Another significant contributor to earnings was the continued growth in net interest income, as ongoing loan repricing drove 2 more basis points of net interest margin expansion of Q3. Looking ahead, we know we are entering a new rates up-cycle environment, which Joe will speak to shortly. We believe our balance sheet is better positioned for this environment than it has been in the past, as we have been proactively growing the variable rate mix of the loan portfolio. Our strong asset quality trends also remain a positive part of the story.
Jerry Baack: As we have shared in recent quarters, we're working through 2 loans that we hope to resolve in the near term. Katie will provide more details on this later, but aside from those, we are very pleased with our loan portfolio as non-performing assets remain well below peer levels and positive classified asset trends continue.
Jerry Baack: On slide 5, we will show Bridgewater's long track record of consistently growing tangible book value in excess of peers. This has been the case since before we went public in 2018 and even more recently since 2021. On a year-over-year basis, we have grown tangible book value at a 9.4% pace. Delivering shareholder value is key at Bridgewater. Overall, Q3 was a very good quarter for Bridgewater. I'm thrilled with the momentum we have created, and I'm optimistic of the outlook for the remainder of 2026 and beyond. The team is incredibly strong and knows how to execute on the strategies we have in place. With that, I'll turn it over to Joe.
Joe Chybowski: Thanks, Jerry. Slide 5 highlights one of the key themes of the quarter, our improving profitability. This included record pre-provision net revenue, which was up 36% year-over-year, as well as continued improvements in return on assets and return on average tangible common equity. Much of this profitability momentum continues to be driven by strong revenue growth, which was up 20% year-over-year. The revenue growth came from both net interest income, which I will talk more about on the next slide, as well as solid non-interest income growth driven by higher letter of credit fees.
Joe Chybowski: Swap fees were a bit lighter in Q3, as swap pricing dynamics are less favorable in the current rate environment. Turning to slide 6, net interest income growth of 22% annualized in Q3 once again came from both higher average earning assets, up 16% annualized and net interest margin expansion.
Joe Chybowski: As expected, the pace of net interest margin expansion slowed from Q2 but was still up 2 basis points to 3.09% as the loan portfolio continued to reprice higher while deposit costs remained relatively stable. Overall, margin expansion has exceeded our expectations as we originally didn't expect to hit 3% until Q4 of this year. Essentially operating above 3% for the majority of the year has been a boost to our overall profitability. Looking closer at the net interest margin drivers on slide 7, loan yields were up another 5 basis points to 5.96% as the portfolio continued to reprice higher with average new production yields in Q3 in the mid-sixes. While loan yields moved higher, deposit costs of 2.78% remained relatively stable for the third consecutive quarter.
Joe Chybowski: The question now is what happens to the net interest margin going forward, given the recent rate hike and potential for more going forward. The most important thing to know is that we are better positioned today for a rates up-cycle environment than we have been in the past. Over the past couple of years, we have been proactively increasing the mix of variable rate loans on the balance sheet to create additional repricing opportunities and be more rates neutral. Today, variable rate loans make up 26% of the portfolio, up from 15% just two years ago. This means we now have $1.2 billion of variable rate loans, which offsets much of the $1.6 billion of deposits directly tied to short-term rates.
Joe Chybowski: While we expect Fed rate hikes to push deposit costs higher across the sector, we also expect our loans to continue to reprice higher, and not just from the higher variable rate mix, but also because of the ongoing back-book repricing. We have $697 million of fixed rate loans scheduled to mature over the next 12 months at a weighted average yield of 5.70% and another $105 million of adjustable rate loans repricing or maturing at 4.23%. With these lower yields running off the books and new originations going on the books at higher yields, we have further repricing upside ahead of us. Given this loan repricing, we expect our net interest margin to hold relatively stable over the near term despite the recent rate hike. This also assumes another rate hike in December and two more in H1 2027.
Joe Chybowski: This demonstrates how much better we are positioned today, considering the margin compression we saw during the last rates up-cycle. With continued loan growth and margin stability, we are well-positioned for ongoing net interest income growth in the quarters ahead. Turning to slide 8, we have always operated the business in a highly efficient manner given our branch-light model and CRE focus. With the recent revenue momentum I just talked about, coupled with well-controlled expenses in Q3, our efficiency ratio once again dropped below 50% for the first time since Q1 2023. After pulling forward some expense early in the year due to M&A related talent acquisition opportunities, we expected to be able to hold Q3 expenses in line with Q2. However, we outperformed this as expenses came in even lower.
Joe Chybowski: Looking ahead to Q4, we would expect non-interest expense to return to that Q2 level. Overall, lower expenses in Q3 translated to increased operating leverage given our strong revenue growth. We have a proven track record of being able to manage expenses effectively, and we expect to be able to continue to do this going forward while still investing in the business with a focus on driving further positive operating leverage. With that, I will turn it over to Nick.
Nick Place: Thanks, Joe. Turning to slide 9, I think the biggest highlight of the quarter for us was the $165 million or 20% annualized core deposit growth we generated. Over the past couple of years, we have developed a much better understanding of our core deposit flows and seasonality. While growth was more muted in H1, we expected it to return in H2, and that is exactly what we saw. The growth was not just seasonality. We have made key hires within our treasury management team, taken advantage of marketplace disruption, and brought in deposits from new client relationships. This has also helped improve our overall deposit mix as non-interest-bearing deposits increased $63 million, while higher cost broker deposits declined $96 million.
Nick Place: A lot of credit goes out to our treasury team for providing such a high level of insight into our asset and liability management and making sure our bankers know what we need from a funding standpoint to support our growth. We are seeing this translate to better relationship margins and increased profitability for the bank. As we have demonstrated, we have the ability to grow loans as much as we want, but it is really the core deposits that are the governor, and we were very pleased with what we saw in Q3. Given the core deposit growth, we generated stronger loan growth in Q3 with balances up 7.2% annualized, as you can see on slide 10. We have made it clear that we want to grow the loan portfolio in line with core deposits over time.
Nick Place: On a year-to-date basis, loan balances are up 6.1% annualized, while core deposits are up 6.4%. This demonstrates disciplined execution from our teams as we focus on generating profitable growth across the bank. As we think about the loan growth outlook from here, core deposits will continue to be a governor, but there are other factors as well, including the interest rate environment, which we expect to have an impact on both origination and payoff activity.
Nick Place: Looking at slide 11, new loan production was stronger in Q3, with increased loan originations and advances more than offsetting the elevated levels of payoffs. We are still seeing strong loan demand across our verticals. With interest rates moving higher, we are starting to see fewer deals penciling out as we remain disciplined on pricing. We anticipate new origination activity could slow a bit from here.
Nick Place: However, on the other side, higher rates mean that payoff activity could slow as well. Overall, we expect near-term loan growth in the mid-single digit range as we navigate this higher rate environment and continue to emphasize profitable growth. Turning to slide 12, the majority of the loan growth we saw in Q3 came from the construction, non-owner-occupied CRE, and C&I portfolios. Multifamily balances declined during the quarter due to some elevated payoff and refinance activity in that portfolio. Overall, our affordable housing vertical continues to play a big role in our growth story, accounting for about half of the growth we saw across the construction and C&I portfolios. As you can see on slide 13, we remain focused on growing our presence in the affordable housing space, which has resulted in 20% year-over-year growth.
Nick Place: Affordable housing made up over 25% of our loan growth in Q3 and currently makes up 16% of the total loan book today. These loans tend to be higher yielding than traditional multifamily or CRE loans given their complexity and also tend to come with higher levels of compensating deposit balances. This is a high barrier to entry vertical, where we have established a differentiated level of expertise within the various parts of the transactions we tend to support. Our growing client base is strong as we work with several of the largest affordable housing developers across the country. As a result, we see a lot of growth runway both locally and nationally within this segment. With that, I'll turn it over to Katie.
Katie Morrell: Thanks, Nick. As Jerry mentioned earlier, our asset quality profile remains strong. Starting on slide 14, our watch and special mention loans continued to decline during the quarter and are now down approximately 50% from year-end 2025 and represent just 0.5% of total loans. Substandard loan levels have also improved year over year and have remained stable over the last several quarters. We view these credit migration trends as an important leading indicator of overall portfolio health, and their continued improvement reflects both the strength of our underwriting discipline and our proactive approach to portfolio risk management.
Katie Morrell: Turning to slide 15, our non-performing assets declined modestly from last quarter, ending the period at 37 basis points and remaining well below peer levels. As we have discussed over the past couple of quarters, our non-performing assets remain concentrated in two larger relationships. The first is a $10 million mixed-use multifamily property that moved to non-accrual last quarter.
Katie Morrell: We previously had a million-dollar specific reserve on this loan. However, as we advanced our workout strategy and moved towards a near-term sale of the asset, we ended up taking a $2.4 million charge-off during Q3. This charge-off was the primary driver of the uptick in annualized net charge-offs this quarter to 0.21%. The second larger NPA is the $8.6 million central business district office loan that has been on non-accrual since Q1 2025. During Q3, we further increased the specific reserve on this loan to $5.3 million, reflecting our latest assessment of the underlying collateral value.
Katie Morrell: We are still working toward a resolution of this asset as quickly as possible, and we would expect that some portion of the existing reserve could ultimately migrate to charge-offs as we execute on this strategy. Given the additional specific reserve and stronger loan growth, we booked a higher provision in Q3. However, our total allowance actually decreased a couple of basis points to 1.28%. We believe the allowance appropriately reflects the risk profile of a portfolio, including the specific reserves associated with these two larger relationships and our constructive outlook on the broader loan portfolio. Looking ahead, we expect provision expense to be a bit higher in Q4 than it was in Q3 as we continue working toward resolution of these credits while supporting expected loan growth.
Katie Morrell: We are also watching closely for signs of weakness related to economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and repricing risk related to the rise in interest rates. We implemented a very effective process during the last rates up-cycle to proactively engage with clients well in advance of any repricing, and this process remains ongoing today. So far, these conversations are going well, and we have not identified any systemic issues. Overall, we remain confident in the quality of our portfolio, the strength of our underwriting and our borrowers, and our ability to navigate the remaining problem assets. I will now turn it back over to Joe.
Joe Chybowski: Thanks, Katie. Slide 16 highlights our stable capital position, which continues to be supported by our retained earnings. Notably, our CET1 ratio has increased 55 basis points year-over-year to 9.63%. We did not repurchase any shares in Q3. Turning to slide 17, I will recap our near-term expectations. On the loan side, we expect mid-single-digit growth. Of course, this will continue to be dependent on our core deposit momentum over time, as well as the uncertainty around interest rates and the impact that has on our new originations and payoffs. We expect the net interest margin to hold relatively stable at current levels over the near term, even assuming an additional rate hike in December and two more in early 2027.
Joe Chybowski: This is driven by our balance sheet being better positioned today than it was during the last cycle, with more loan repricing opportunities offsetting higher deposit costs. After a better-than-expected expense quarter, we look for Q4 non-interest expense to be similar to Q2 levels. We also expect provision expense in Q4 to increase from what we saw in Q3, given our loan growth and continued progress on resolving our two larger non-performing assets. I will now turn it back over to Jerry.
Jerry Baack: Thanks, Joe. Before we open up for questions, I want to provide a quick update on our 2026 strategic priorities. Profitable growth is where we have been focused, and we believe it is having an impact. Aligning loan and core deposit growth has allowed us to drive net interest margin expansion while we continue to capture market share. Not only are we adding clients, but we also added 17 talented individuals to our team as a result of the M&A disruption. Nick spoke of the momentum we have seen in the affordable housing space, with balances up 17% annualized year to date. Finally, we have advanced on to the execution phase of our AI strategy focused on responsibly enabling our teams to achieve efficiencies across the organization.
Jerry Baack: This includes establishing oversight, security, and risk frameworks, pushing out tools to our teams, and leveraging partnerships to help operationalize use case and workflows. We are still early in the process, but the benefits are becoming apparent. With that, we will open it up for questions.
Operator: As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star then one on your touch tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question today comes from Jeff Rulis with D.A. Davidson. Please go ahead.
Jeff Rulis: Thanks. Good morning.
Jerry Baack: Good morning.
Jeff Rulis: Just a question on the. I know Nick and Katie had talked about the impact of higher rates on both demand and hoping to get a little more detail on that if you could, particularly if we get one or two more hikes. Just if you could touch on the demand expectations as well as, Katie, I don't know, walk through some of those maturity repricing schedules should we get another one or two hikes. Thanks.
Nick Place: Hey, Jeff. This is Nick. I think in the real near term, the recent rates up move will impact our loan origination activity slightly. I think there's always some sort of delayed momentum that will continue to push some transactions over the finish line here in Q4 that were well underway in Q3. Long term, I think it's really just dependent on what happens in the belly of the curve there. We're up quite a bit since the beginning of the year, and our borrowers are pretty resilient on working through what that does to their capital stacks.
Nick Place: But over the course of time, that will cause more and more transactions to not pencil out. I think what we saw in the last rates up move is that impact to loan origination activity was certainly offset by the refinance and payoff activity. Where there's a headwind on the new origination side, there's a bit of a tailwind on the payoff side.
Nick Place: So we still feel really good about our loan demand overall. Our affordable housing segment, as we talked about, is contributing to a larger and larger percentage of the growth every quarter. And there's seemingly more avenues to plug those holes in capital stacks on those transactions than there is maybe in market rate deals. So we expect to continue to see a lot of opportunity within that space, even in this higher rate environment. So we still feel good about it, but we're certainly watching what those rates are doing as it relates to deals sort of spinning out of our pipeline.
Katie Morrell: As far as, Jeff, this is Katie. So as far as repricing credit risk is concerned, like I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we haven't really stopped our repricing analysis process over the last couple of years. So feeling good about that, especially as we go through covenant testing and looking ahead 12 months out if there's a repricing event, how does that look for property performance? So I think we do have a really good handle on any of the specific loans that would be affected and have action plans in place. So while these rate hikes are going to make performance more challenging in some instances, I don't think we have any big surprises.
Jeff Rulis: Appreciate it. Thanks. And maybe just one back to the margin, Joe. We kind of got to this goal quicker than you thought. I guess the bigger picture, 3 or 4 years ago, the margin was at 350. Just want to kind of feel that out of sort of a terminal level. I know we're near term and then longer term, but the ability to grind higher on the margin and you said the balance sheet has changed. Just any more detail about expectations, maybe a little route on the margin to kind of frame up how you maybe get back to the mid 3s or not would be helpful.
Joe Chybowski: Yeah. Jeff, this is Joe. I think high level, we've been really pleased with the margin, as you said, and you highlighted the performance this year and ultimately the conviction that we feel to have margin stability going into a potentially higher kind of rates up-cycle. I think you're always reminded of 90 days ago we had Fed funds probabilities with a cut in December and a 430 10-year. We fast-forward 90 days and we not only got a hike, we have three more hikes anticipated, and we have a 530 10-year. I think a lot has obviously changed over the last 90 days. That being said, I think, like I said, we're really pleased and encouraged with the durability and stability of the margin.
Joe Chybowski: I think to your point, a lot of that's been work over the last couple of years of really reorienting the portfolio on the loan side to be more variable rate to really match with the variable rate deposit book. I also think just the duration of the loan portfolio has shortened as well almost 12 months from kind of the peak in 2022. I think there's been a lot of work there to really be more balanced and then to be able to kind of weather both rates up and rates down.
Joe Chybowski: I think the dynamics of just the incremental loans that come on relative to the incremental cost of funds, I think that also gives us optimism to your point on if loans come on the books today in the mid sixes, as we said with upside potential, given where rates have gone and incremental cost of funds come on in the mid threes, I think the margin itself, we feel good about the stability that can take place. Ideally the back book loan repricing that continues throughout 2027 gives us potential upside. I think those are the dynamics, the puts and takes. But generally I think we're really pleased with where we're at and especially in light of what's transpired over the last 90 days.
Jeff Rulis: I appreciate it. Thanks. I'll step back.
Operator: The next question comes from Brendan Nosal with Hovde. Please go ahead.
Brendan Nosal: Hey, good morning everybody. Thanks for taking the questions.
Joe Chybowski: Hey, Brendan.
Brendan Nosal: Maybe starting off here on capital. Good quarter for growth. Bit of AOCI drag, although not as much as most. If I look at your tangible capital ratio, down from 8.6 to 8.15 or so. Does that kind of change the likelihood of you tapping the ATM versus 3 months ago as you look forward towards mid-single-digit growth? Or do you think you can generate enough capital internally for the time being, where you are still kind of reserving optionality but not leaning one way or the other, ATM versus buyback?
Joe Chybowski: The latter part of your question, Brendan, I think is the way to put it. I think--
Brendan Nosal: Okay
Joe Chybowski: --as we have said, optionality is always our goal. I think while TCE is down quarter over quarter, I do think when we think about the growth prospects of the company and how we think about the loan growth to Nick's comments, we certainly feel like we can self-generate the capital to support the growth. And then also have the optionality on both sides, given the buyback and given the ATM. So I think nothing changes from that perspective.
Brendan Nosal: Okay, perfect. Maybe kind of circling to growth. 6% annualized growth so far this year, both for core funding and for loans. Calling for mid-single digit growth in the near term. Does that kind of feel like the new steady state for you guys, just in terms of how fast you can grow core funding which is a strong pace and then that just happens to be the pace we should be, on average, looking for loan growth from here?
Nick Place: Hey, Brendan, this is Nick. Yeah, I feel like, especially in this current interest rate environment, that feels like the right run rate for us. To the extent that we get more accommodating fiscal policy, that could allow us to potentially grow at a faster pace. But with what we're seeing today and what we're seeing in the market for opportunities, we're trying not to grow just for the sake of growth. I think we're trying to be really disciplined about growing as profitably as we can. And that's kind of where we're landing in that sort of mid-single digit on both sides.
Brendan Nosal: Yep, makes sense. Okay. Thanks for taking the questions.
Nick Place: Thanks.
Operator: The next question comes from Nathan Race with Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.
Nathan Race: Hey, guys. Good morning. Thanks for taking the questions.
Nick Place: Good day.
Nathan Race: Going back to the last discussion topic around growth on the right side of the balance sheet. Obviously, really impressive core deposit gathering in the quarter. I am just curious to what extent you guys have visibility into kind of the core deposit gathering pipeline and to what extent continued success on that front can maybe help wind down some of the higher cost funding that is maturing over the course of Q4 and into 2027.
Nick Place: Yeah. Hey, Nathan. It is Nick. Yeah, we feel really good about what we saw in Q3 and frankly, how we are positioned on a go-forward basis. We have been able to pick up really amazing talent in the market on the treasury management side of things. We picked up great commercial bankers in market. Our affordable housing vertical continues to build both loan opportunities and core deposit opportunities. We have been really pleased with what that team has been able to do to gather core deposits outside of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul market, through new relationships that are national affordable housing developers.
Nick Place: So, we feel really good about our prospects to continue to grow core deposits. As we talked about earlier in the prepared remarks, we have done a lot of time to really evaluate and understand our deposit flows and our balance sheets. We do tend to see more core deposits build in the back half of the year. There is always some tailwind for us there. I do not want to take away from the great work that the teams are doing to not only bring in new relationships but expand existing ones, and take advantage of the opportunity in front of us.
Nick Place: The core deposits will continue to be the governor for us as we think about loan growth. Our teams are doing a phenomenal job to build a really strong pipeline of new relationships and new deposits. You mentioned brokered and that sort of wholesale funding side, that is always going to be a part of the equation for us as we think about managing our overall liabilities. It is a really stable funding source. There is optionality within that portfolio that we cannot get elsewhere. We are trying to be disciplined about our growth and to allow us optionality to reduce those over time. It will always be part of the story.
Nathan Race: Got it. That is helpful, Nick. I am just curious on the payoff front. Any sense in terms of what inning you are in terms of maybe some of the lower yielding commercial real estate loans originated four or five years ago when rates were lower, kind of nearing the end and maybe payoffs are going to be less of a headwind as we can see in the chart on slide 11 in the deck?
Nick Place: Yeah. It has been a pretty dynamic environment over the last 90 days. I think conversations that we have with clients around what they were expecting to do with their property 90 days ago. There is maybe more certainty of them either refinancing to an agency type debt on a piece of a multi-family property, or just selling the property just because interest rates were attractive enough for a new buyer.
Nick Place: Some of those clients are now reevaluating if that makes sense, just given pricing guidance that they are getting from brokers on what they could get in a sale, given the rates up-cycle move. I think the nice thing, and Katie mentioned this, these clients have had a lot more time to think about and plan for this repricing than clients in 2023 that saw really rapid rates up-cycle move and that they were not expecting.
Nick Place: We feel good about the ability to work through any of those credit issues. I think our clients are much more prepared today, even if they do have to sit and let the loan reprice or we provide extensions on those credits and the deal doesn't pay off. They just feel better about that, the prospects for that transaction than some of the conversations we were having in 2023.
Nathan Race: Okay, got it. If I could just sneak in one more confirmation for Joe. I think you alluded to kind of incremental cost of deposits coming in the door are 3.5% today. Just want to confirm that that's kind of what you're seeing here, or at least what happened in Q3. Then where do you see that going over the next few quarters if we do get additional rate hikes just based on some of the competitive dynamics in the Twin Cities?
Joe Chybowski: Yeah, I think that's a decent estimate, Nathan Race. I think when we couple commercial relationships with a non-interest-bearing deposit with a more actively managed money market, I think that's kind of how we think about the incremental cost of funds. I do think that the leading indicator of deposit competition locally is always the short-term CD market, primarily credit union driven. I think we have seen some marketing related to that. I think that's part of how we think about deposit cost competition potentially picking up just on the short end of the curve. But to Nick Place's point, we feel really good about the ability to continue to grow whole commercial relationships that are not just chasing the highest rate.
Nathan Race: Okay, great. I appreciate all the color. Thanks, guys.
Operator: As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star then one to join the question queue. The next question comes from Brandon Rud with Stephens. Please go ahead.
Brandon Rud: Morning. Thanks for taking my questions.
Joe Chybowski: Brandon.
Brandon Rud: If I could start just one on the expenses in Q3 and kind of expectations for Q4. I guess, what drove the outperformance here in Q3, and then what is going to contribute to the step-up as we look towards Q4 here?
Joe Chybowski: Hey, Brandon, it is Joe. Yeah, I think when we talk about expenses on a quarter-over-quarter basis, we never try to get too in the weeds on one category versus the other, but more just think about generally a full year. I think our priorities continue to be investing in people and technology. As Jerry mentioned, Nick mentioned, we felt like we have had tremendous success attracting top talent in the market, and we are always going to prioritize that. I also think the technology investments we have made certainly continue to bear fruit and pay off and allow our people to be more efficient. I think those are the priorities.
Joe Chybowski: I think when we think about expense growth on a go-forward basis, not quarter-over-quarter, but over a long term, the range of NIE to average assets is always a decent way to think about it. But ultimately, I think we're most focused on the continued positive operating leverage that we saw here quarter-over-quarter to see 20% year-over-year revenue growth, 10% year-over-year expense growth. That's certainly a dynamic that we continue to prioritize and are confident we'll continue to see as we head into 2027.
Brandon Rud: Got it. Okay. Thank you for that. Then I think maybe I heard this wrong. Katie, did you say that the provision here in Q4 may be a bit higher than Q3? If so, should we interpret that as maybe incremental charge-offs in Q4, or would that be to fill the reserve and kind of see a step-up in the ACL ratio?
Katie Morrell: Yeah, Brandon, that was the comment in the prepared remarks that we expect Q4 to be a bit higher than we saw in Q3. Obviously, this is an elevated level from our historical run rate, but we're actively working through these non-performing assets. So we're just working through them as quickly as possible, and we do anticipate that some of those reserves that we're holding on those loans could migrate to charge-offs. Then couple that with the expected loan growth in Q4, we see that the provision would be slightly elevated.
Brandon Rud: Got it. Okay. Thank you. Maybe if I could squeeze one more in. I think the security yield this last quarter was just over 5%. I guess thanks for the comments on the loan repricing side of things. I guess how much opportunity is left on the securities repricing side as well that could maybe help the NIM over the medium term?
Joe Chybowski: Yeah, Brandon, this is Joe. I think ultimately, the increase in the securities yield is less about portfolio roll-off and repricing and more about just incremental purchases. I think with the move up in rates, we certainly saw real opportunities to add to the portfolio, specifically in the tax-exempt municipal space. That certainly drove higher interest income. It also drove a lower tax rate here in Q3 relative to Q2. I think we will continue to be opportunistic in the investment portfolio as we kind of balance loan growth, core deposit growth, and then ultimately securities purchases. I will say the environment with the move in rates up, securities can be a real alternative just given levels that you can add today in really high-quality credits.
Brandon Rud: Okay. Thanks for taking my questions.
Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Jerry Baack for any closing remarks.
Jerry Baack: Thanks, everyone, for joining our call today. We are very excited here at Bridgewater about our profitability outlook and our growth outlook and very well-positioned to finish 2026 strong and optimistic about 2027. I want to say thanks again to our phenomenal team members here at Bridgewater. Everybody have a great day. Thank you.
Operator: The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
