Huntington Bancshares Inc Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Jon Arfstrom - Rbc Capital Markets - Analyst : Nice job. First question is on the loan growth outlook. Can you talk a little bit more about the pipeline? Zach, you mentioned you felt like growth is still accelerating and I guess not just curious about the expansion-driven markets, but more about the core trends, what you're seeing and you feel like that's still accelerating?.

Question: Jon Arfstrom - Rbc Capital Markets - Analyst : Okay. Perfect. I appreciate that. And then maybe Brendan or Steve, can you talk a little bit more about what you're seeing from a credit quality point of view. There's obviously a lot of fear and uncertainty out there. Your numbers look very clean, but anything you're watching more closely and curious how you feel about credit in general. Stephen Steinour - Huntington Bancshares Inc - Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington and President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington Bank Jon, we've had just -- this is Steve. We've had a really exceptional year in terms of credit performance and our outlook would suggest that's going to continue. Everything we see at this point would suggest that's the case. We -- there have been some issues with different companies and impacting different lenders. We've fortunately not had any issues. I traced that back, we put an aggregate moderate to over risk appetites in place 15 years ago. You've seen our reporting on the consumer side, how tight it is. We're essentially that tight on the commercial side as well. The policies, the front-end guidance, the active portfolio management the other controls, the disciplines, the diversification all have -- will help us at some point will be downturn, but will help us significantly. And again, you've seen that in the stress tests that have been done over the years as well. So we're optimistic about loan growth going forward, as Zach said a minute ago, and we're confident in our ability to manage the risks. We're not seeing anything at this point that concerns us.

Question: Manan Gosalia - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Just as a follow-up to the last question. Just given the recent headlines around alleged fraud, double pledging of collateral, can you talk about the safeguards that you implemented got against that?

Question: Manan Gosalia - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Great. And can you talk a little bit more about the NDFI book, what's in there and how we should think about the risk around that book?

Question: Christopher McGratty - Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc - Analyst : There we go. Sorry about that. Zach, when we think about operating leverage comments, the $250 million or so, I guess, medium term, how do you see this trending given the balance of synergies and investments to become larger? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 17, 2025 / 1:00PM, HBAN.OQ - Q3 2025 Huntington Bancshares Inc Earnings Call

Question: Christopher McGratty - Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc - Analyst : All right. Very helpful. And then maybe, Steve, on the strategic question, right? You've got a lot of momentum in your business. I think you've got a stock that people want to own. Can you just speak to the M&A conversations that might be happening as you kind of close the Veritex deal? Stephen Steinour - Huntington Bancshares Inc - Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington and President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington Bank Chris, I was waiting for that one. Thank you for the question. We've done 3 combinations in 15 years. We've invested a lot in the last three years in the organic growth of the businesses, the Carolinas, the specialty businesses, Texas expansion, including the combination with Veritex. And we have a lot on our plate that will drive organic growth. That is -- that has been and continues to be our primary focus. We're extraordinarily pleased and confident of what we have before us and Veritex excited to be closing Monday. This past Monday through Wednesday, our Board was in Texas meeting with our new colleagues. Brant Standridge has gotten us into a great position for an accelerated start with Malcolm Holland and team and I think we've got a lot to go after. So those are the priorities. We -- again, we've had 3 combinations in 15 years. At some point, there'll be something else. But our focus is driving the organic growth of the company. And we -- I'm going to preempt the potential another question. We were not involved in Comerica. We are focused on driving organic growth for the company.

Question: Steven Alexopoulos - TD Cowen - Analyst : Wanted to start -- so Steve, you're one of the very few regional bank CEOs, which have been in the seat since GFC. And even though you feel good about your credit book, you know as well as anybody, this is an industry where a few banks can take down the rest. I mean your stock is now down double digit over the past month. Steve, are you concerned that there are more credit quality issues out there lingering in the industry? Stephen Steinour - Huntington Bancshares Inc - Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington and President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington Bank Steven, I suspect there are isolated issues that are in the industry. But I think on the whole, the industry has derisked since the GFC. And that's part of what you're seeing with the rapid rise in shadow banking system or NDFI, whatever you would call it. I think the banks are in a much better position today, particularly those that are broadly diversified and most of us are. Certainly, we are. And again, we've managed with this aggregate moderate to low-risk appetite in place. You've seen 15 years of consumer quarterly reporting, it's incredibly tight. And I think the industry is -- there'll be some episodic moments and some one-offs, but I think the industry is in very good shape. And I'm obviously aware of Jamie's position comments this week, but I don't see it broadly affecting the industry. And many of those who reported are suggesting the consumer is in relatively good shape. We certainly are not seeing forward indicators in terms of delinquency or other measures. Sorry for the long-winded answer. Go ahead, Steven.

Question: Ebrahim Poonawala - BofA Securities - Analyst : Zach, just following up on the deposit growth. I think the question I had was as we think about this deposit pricing competition and where you're able to grow these deposits both from a market standpoint and price standpoint, just speak to the competitive landscape. And I think where I'm going with this is as we think about the balance sheet growth outlook from here incrementally, is that accretive to where the net interest margin is today or dilutive?

Question: Ebrahim Poonawala - BofA Securities - Analyst : Understood. And one, just on loan growth. Sorry if you addressed this. Steve, you talked about the bonus depreciation seasonally, equipment finance lending, it's a strong quarter for Huntington. I'm just wondering, has the tax bill related sort of stimulus flowing through where clients are now beginning to make those investments? And is that driving increased lending demand as we go into 2026? Stephen Steinour - Huntington Bancshares Inc - Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington and President, Chief Executive Officer of Huntington Bank Ebrahim, we are -- we typically have a very good fourth quarter for asset finance. The activity is firming up now and will be in line with our expectations. I don't think this will be a record year. Part of that is because of tariffs having some impact on the imported components and then some delays that occurred earlier in the year and just ordering that they can't get physical delivery now in the fourth quarter, but this is a good quarter, and I think it sets up next year to be a very good year.