OceanFirst Financial Corp 2024年度报告

OceanFirst takes great pridein the connections we make.We connect individuals,businesses and communitieswith essential capital andresources. We connectour team members withopportunities for professionalgrowth. For our stockholders,we connect our strategic visionwith strong performance toenhance value. 2024FinancialSummary$11.4$11.72021$13.1$13.5$13.4 OceanFirst is sharply focused on deliveringconsistent growth and profitability, maintainingexpense and credit discipline, and continuingto build connections to a prosperous future. Joseph J. Lebel IIIPresident andChief Operating OfficerChristopher D. MaherChairman of the Board andChief Executive Officer Dear FellowStockholders: For more than 100 years, OceanFirst has taken great pridein the strong connections we make. We connect individualsand businesses with the capital and resources to reach theirfinancial goals. We connect our communities with the servicesand support they need to thrive. We connect our teammembers with opportunities for professional growth. For ourstockholders, we connect our strategic vision with strongperformance to enhance value. Cash DividendsPer Common Share As 2024 began, the regional bank sector experienced thesecond significant shock in two years – a crisis at New YorkCommunity Bank that brought the liquidity crisis of 2023 backinto the forefront. The specter of the 2023 issues at SilvergateBank, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republicloomed over the markets again. While the episode at NewYork Community was resolved with a $1 billion capital infusionon March 11th, questions about the regional bank modelpersisted, especially in regard to all regional banks operatingin the greater New York City metropolitan area. In response,for the second time in two years, we prudently decided todefer growth plans and focus on protecting the balancesheet and your investment in our Company. This strategywas motivated by a desire to prepare for possible adverseevents, and to reinforce investor and customer confidence. Efforts to protect the balance sheet were very successful,as evidenced by the Company earning an investment graderating by Moody’s in November 2024 and another yearof stellar credit performance. Earnings remained stablewhile the Bank set aside additional funds to build loanloss reserves, and net charge-offs to average total loanstotaled just 2 basis points, or 0.02%, for the year. At thesame time, credit risk indicators, such as delinquencies andthe level of criticized and classified assets, remained wellbelow pre-pandemic averages and are among the lowestin our peer group. This conservatism served the Companywell, supporting growth in tangible book value per share to$18.98.Your Company is on very solid footing. We made a number ofstrategic investmentsduring the year toexpand OceanFirst’ssolutions forcustomers—and ourcapacity for growth. However, the decision to defer growth negatively impactedearnings momentum. Beginning in the fourth quarter, theCompany shifted its posture to achieve a level of growth andperformance designed to improve earnings momentum in2025 and beyond. There are two important aspects of thisstrategy. First, the inverted yield curve that persisted for overtwo years has finally broken, producing a rate environment thatwill help improve net interest margins over time. Net interestincome, our primary source of revenue, increased in the fourthquarter of 2024 and is positioned for additional growth in 2025.Second, recruiting efforts escalated late in the year to attractthe seasoned commercial bankers that drive our growth. As ofthis writing, the Bank has hired 31 bankers to drive the depositand loan growth needed to improve earnings. We expect thesenew bankers to be immediately productive, although it may takea few quarters for their efforts to produce net income growth.Significantly, our loan pipeline at 2024 year-end was a strong$306.7 million. In addition, the Company invested in two acquisitions in thesecond half of 2024, Garden State Home Loan and SpringGarden Capital, which are described on page 6. Our effortsin late 2024 should produce higher growth rates in 2025, akey driver of financial performance over the long-term.Total Stockholders’Equity($ in billions)Tangible Book ValuePer Common Share At a time when persistent inflation, elevated interest rates,and changing policy priorities have contributed to anuncertain economic and business environment, OceanFirstremains sharply focused on delivering consistent growth andprofitability, maintaining expense and credit discipline, andcontinuing to build connections to a prosperous future.$1.522021$1.59$1.66$1.70$14.98$15.932021$17.08$18.35 Reflecting our strong financial condition, OceanFirstFinancial Corp. and our OceanFirst Bank subsidiaryreceived first-time Investment Grade ratings from Moody’sRatings—a distinction achieved by only 1% of all US banks.The Company and the Bank have had Investment Graderatings from Kroll Bond Rating Agency since