Sterling Bancorp announces results for the first quarter of 2020. Higher provision for credit losses resulted in diluted income per share available to common stockholders of $0.06 (as reported) and a loss of $0.02 (as adjusted).

Key Performance Highlights for the Three Months ended March 31, 2020 vs. March 31, 2019

• Proactively working with clients to provide support and relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Modified $1.1 billion in loans (5.1% of total portfolio) for consumer and commercial clients through April 22, 2020.
  • Provided $400 thousand in commitments to our Charitable Foundation to support local charities.
  • Received over 2,000 applications for total funding of $650 million under the SBA Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”).
• Modified our operations to promote social distancing and stay-at-home orders through reduced financial center hours and remote working for the majority of our colleagues.
• Pretax pre-provision net revenue was $144.4 million, an increase of 3.1% relative to the same period a year ago.
• Total commercial loans were $19.4 billion, an increase of 13.7% over a year ago.
• Total deposits were $22.6 billion at a weighted average cost of 81 basis points. Spot cost of total deposits at quarter end was 64 basis points.
• Cost of total funding liabilities was 0.98%. Spot cost of total funding liabilities at quarter end was 0.81%.
• Net interest margin declined 32 basis points in the first quarter of 2020 compared to a year ago; accretion income on acquired loans was $10.7 million, a decrease of $14.9 million or 21 basis points on our net interest margin.
• ACL - loans increased to 1.50% of portfolio loans at March 31, 2020.
• Provision for credit losses - loans was $136.6 million and $129.6 million greater than net-charge offs for the quarter.
• Net charge-offs on loans were $7.0 million, or 13 basis points annualized.
• Capital levels remain strong with tangible common equity to tangible assets of 8.74% and Tier 1 leverage ratio of 9.41%.
• Common shares outstanding at March 31, 2020 of 194.5 million, a decrease of 4.0 million in the first quarter of 2020.
• Declared dividend per common share of $0.07.

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MONTEBELLO, N.Y., April 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL) (the “Company”), the parent company of Sterling National Bank (the “Bank”), today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Net income available to common stockholders for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 was $12.2 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to net income available to common stockholders of $104.7 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, for the linked quarter ended December 31, 2019, and net income available to common stockholders of $99.4 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

President’s Comments
Jack Kopnisky, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for our industry and caused substantial disruption to the global economy and the communities we serve. We began 2020 continuing to focus on executing our strategy of building a high performing regional bank that delivers superior service and value to middle market commercial and consumer clients. We are confident that our sound financial condition and response to this rapidly changing environment will allow us to emerge and continue our trajectory of growth and profitability.

“Our highest priority has been to implement our contingency plans to ensure the health and safety of our colleagues and clients, while continuing to provide our clients access to our full suite of banking services and products. Although we reduced our financial center operating hours, over 85% of our financial centers have remained open. We modified workplace access to promote social distancing and stay-at-home mandates, with over 1,000 of our employees working remotely. We are supporting our colleagues through special bonus compensation, increasing wages for in-office employees, increasing paid time-off and re-opening health insurance enrollment options.

“We are also providing relief to our clients and our communities. In the first quarter of 2020, we provided $400 thousand to the Sterling National Bank Charitable Foundation for grants and donations to various local charities. We are participating in the PPP, having received over 2,000 loan applications for $650 million in total funding requests. Through our relationship-based, single point of contact operating model, we have remained in close contact with our clients, providing working capital relief under various payment deferral programs on $1.1 billion of loan balances.

“On an adjusted basis, we incurred a net loss available to common stockholders of $3.1 million and an adjusted loss per share of two cents for the quarter. We adopted the CECL accounting standard on January 1, 2020, and our provision for credit losses was $138.3 million, which included the impact of the economic deterioration related to the COVID-19 pandemic in our forecast assumptions. As of March 31, 2020, our allowance for credit losses stood at 1.50% of total loans.

“We generated solid growth in our businesses, with total deposits of $22.6 billion and core deposit growth of $155.6 million over the linked quarter. Our loans to deposits ratio was 96.2% at quarter end. Our cost of total deposits declined eight basis points relative to the prior quarter. We anticipate the current interest rate environment and our pricing strategies will meaningfully reduce the cost of our funding liabilities, as our spot cost at quarter end was 0.81% relative to an average cost of 0.98% during the quarter.  Our commercial loan portfolio grew $412.2 million over the fourth quarter of 2019, or 8.7% on an annualized basis. Most of this growth was related to new client relationships in our commercial and industrial and commercial real estate portfolios.

“Our pretax pre-provision net revenue was $144.4 million, an increase of 3.1% over a year ago. Our net interest margin and net interest income were pressured by the significant decrease in interest rates. Our tax equivalent net interest margin excluding accretion income on acquired loans was 3.05%, and our reported tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.21%. Our net interest income was $211.8 million, which was down from $228.3 million in the linked quarter, due to a decrease in accretion income on acquired loans of $8.8 million and a decrease in yields on our floating rate loans. We anticipate that the lagged repricing of our deposits and other funding liabilities should generate stability in net interest margin.

“Our adjusted non-interest expenses were $106.3 million, an increase of $745 thousand over the linked quarter which was mainly due to seasonal fluctuations in compensation and benefits and an increase in professional fees associated with strategic initiatives and a legal settlement.  Our reported efficiency ratio was 44.3% and our adjusted operating efficiency ratio was 42.4%. Given the current operating environment and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the greater New York metropolitan area, we anticipate our operating expenses may increase temporarily in the second quarter of 2020.

“We have a strong capital position, as our tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio remained at 8.74% and our Tier 1 leverage ratio was 9.41%. The company repurchased 4,900,759 shares in the quarter; however, we have decided to temporarily suspend our share repurchase activity until the long-term impact of the pandemic becomes more clear. We declared our regular dividend of $0.07 on our common stock, payable on May 22, 2020 to holders of record as of May 8, 2020.

“Finally, I would like to thank our clients, shareholders, and colleagues, and in particular recognize our colleagues that operate and maintain our financial centers, call centers, and other essential operations, all of whom have exhibited extraordinary resilience through these events. The dedication and hard work of our colleagues will position us well to emerge from this as a better company.”

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Reconciliation of GAAP Results to Adjusted Results (non-GAAP)
The Company’s GAAP net income available to common stockholders of $12.2 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2020, included the following items:

• a pre-tax gain of $8.4 million on the sale of available for sale securities;
• a net pre-tax loss of $744 thousand related to early redemption of Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) borrowings and repurchase of senior notes assumed in the merger (the “Astoria Merger”) with Astoria Financial Corporation (“Astoria”);
• the pre-tax amortization of non-compete agreements and acquired customer list intangible assets of $172 thousand; and
• a net operating loss (“NOL”) income tax carryback benefit of $9.8 million.

Excluding the impact of these items, adjusted net loss available to common stockholders was $3.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2020. For purposes of calculating our adjusted results, we use our estimated annual effective income tax rate for 2020 of 17.5%.

Non-GAAP financial measures include references to the terms “adjusted” or “excluding”. See the reconciliation of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures beginning on page 18.

Net Interest Income and Margin

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First quarter 2020 compared with first quarter 2019
Net interest income was $211.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, a decrease of $23.7 million compared to the first quarter of 2019. This was mainly due to a decrease in the yield on interest earning assets as yields on floating rate loans have declined with market rates of interest, and accretion income on acquired loans decreased by $14.9 million. Other key components of changes were the following:

• The yield on loans was 4.47% compared to 5.17% for the three months ended March 31, 2019. The decrease in yield on loans was mainly due to the decline in accretion income on acquired loans, which was $10.7 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $25.6 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease in yield on loans was also due to the decline in market interest rates.
• The tax equivalent yield on investment securities was 2.96% compared to 2.99% for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Average investment securities were $5.0 billion, or 18.7%, of average total interest earning assets for the first quarter of 2020 compared to $6.3 billion, or 23.1%, of average total interest earning assets for the first quarter of 2019. The decline  was mainly due to the balance sheet transition strategy we executed in 2019.
• In the first quarter of 2020, average cash balances were $489.7 million compared to $332.0 million in the first quarter of 2019. We maintained higher cash balances in the first quarter of 2020 mainly due to higher than expected municipal deposit inflows.
• The tax equivalent yield on interest earning assets decreased 51 basis points to 4.13%.
• The cost of total deposits was 81 basis points for the first quarter of 2020 compared to 88 basis points for the same period a year ago.
• The cost of borrowings was 2.49% for the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2.53% for the same period a year ago. The decrease was mainly due to the maturity and repayment of higher cost FHLB borrowings.
• The total cost of interest bearing liabilities was 1.19% for the first quarter of 2020 compared to 1.39% for the same period a year ago.
• Average interest bearing deposits increased by $1.3 billion due to growth from our commercial banking teams and on-line channels, and as a result average borrowings decreased $1.9 billion compared to the first quarter of 2019.
• Total interest expense decreased by $12.1 million compared to the first quarter of 2019, due to the change in liability mix and decrease in market rates of interest.

The tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.21% for the first quarter of 2020 compared to 3.54% for the first quarter of 2019. The decrease was mainly due to the decrease in accretion income on acquired loans and changes in market rates of interest. Excluding accretion income, tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.05% for the first quarter of 2020 compared to 3.16% for the first quarter of 2019.

First quarter 2020 compared with linked quarter ended December 31, 2019
Net interest income decreased $16.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 compared to the linked quarter. The decrease was mainly due to a decrease in accretion income on acquired loans. Other key components of the changes were the following:

• The yield on loans was 4.47% compared to 4.84% for the linked quarter. The decrease in the yield on loans was mainly due to the decline in market interest rates and the repricing of our floating rate loans. Accretion income on acquired loans decreased $8.8 million to $10.7 million for the first quarter of 2020 compared to $19.5 million in the linked quarter.
• The average balance of commercial loans increased by $346.6 million and the average balance of residential mortgage loans declined by $132.0 million.
• The tax equivalent yield on investment securities was 2.96% compared to 2.89% for the linked quarter. The increase in yield was mainly due to sales of lower yielding securities in the linked quarter.
• The tax equivalent yield on interest earning assets was 4.13% compared to 4.41% in the linked quarter.
• The cost of total deposits decreased eight basis points to 81 basis points, mainly due to improving conditions in our deposit markets and our deposit pricing strategies.
• The total cost of borrowings increased 11 basis points to 2.49%, mainly due to the issuance of our subordinated notes in December 2019. We expect a portion of the proceeds will be used to redeem the senior notes we assumed in the Astoria Merger that mature in June 2020, which is expected to reduce our total borrowings cost.
• Average interest bearing deposits increased by $418.6 million and average borrowings decreased by $309.5 million relative to the linked quarter. The increase in average deposits was due to growth in on-line deposits of $170.4 million, growth in municipal deposits of $168.0 million, growth of wholesale deposits of $86.3 million and growth of $28.1 million in commercial and consumer deposits.

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• Total interest expense decreased $5.5 million from the linked quarter due to the change in funding mix and decrease in market rates of interest.

The tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.21% in the quarter, compared to 3.42% in the linked quarter. Excluding accretion income on acquired loans, tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.05% compared to 3.13% in the linked quarter.

Non-interest Income

First quarter 2020 compared with first quarter 2019
Adjusted non-interest income increased $14.4 million in the first quarter of 2020 to $38.9 million, compared to $24.5 million in the same quarter last year. The change was mainly due to an increase in loan commissions and fees and net gain from securities called prior to maturity. The increase in loan commissions and fees was mainly due to income received on operating leases that were acquired in the Santander equipment portfolio transaction in the fourth quarter of 2019, and gain on sale of small business equipment finance loans.  In the first quarter of 2020, securities totaling $139.8 million were called, generating a gain of $4.9 million compared to our carrying value.

In the first quarter of 2020, we realized a gain of $8.4 million on the sale of available for sale securities compared to a $13.2 million loss in the year earlier period. In the first quarter of 2019, we sold securities as part of our strategy of repositioning our balance sheet and interest earning assets to a more optimal mix. In the first quarter of 2020, we sold available for sale securities to fund commercial loan growth. We will continue to manage our securities balances to our longer-term target of 15% of earning assets over time.

In the first quarter of 2019, we sold $1.3 billion of residential mortgage loans and realized a gain of $8.3 million.

First quarter 2020 compared with linked quarter ended December 31, 2019
Adjusted non-interest income increased approximately $6.2 million from $32.7 million in the linked quarter to $38.9 million in the first quarter of 2020. The increase was due to the net gain from securities called prior to maturity and an increase in loan commissions and fees. Loan commissions and loan fees increased by $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2020, due to the same factors discussed above.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, we incurred professional and administrative fees associated with the termination of the Astoria defined benefit pension plan which reduced income by $280 thousand.

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Non-interest Expense

First quarter 2020 compared with first quarter 2019
Total non-interest expense decreased $0.3 million relative to the first quarter of 2019. Key components of the change in non-interest expense between the periods were the following:

• Compensation and benefits decreased $1.1 million, mainly due to a decline in total FTEs between the periods. Total FTEs declined to 1,639 from 1,855, which was mainly due to our ongoing financial center consolidation strategy following the Astoria Merger. This was partially offset by the hiring of commercial bankers, business development officers, information technology, and risk management personnel.
• Occupancy and office operations expense decreased $1.3 million, mainly due to the consolidation of financial centers and other back-office locations. We consolidated 20 financial centers in the past twelve months.
• Information technology expense declined $657 thousand, mainly due to a decrease in data processing expenses.
• In the first quarter of 2019, we incurred a charge for asset write-downs, systems integration, retention and severance of $3.3 million in connection with our acquisition of equipment finance and asset-based lending portfolios from Woodforest National Bank. This expense did not recur in the first quarter of 2020.
• Other expenses increased $6.2 million to $23.2 million, which was mainly due to depreciation expense of $3.5 million recorded on operating leases acquired in the fourth quarter of 2019. The balance of the increase was mainly due to higher marketing expense associated with our deposit gathering strategies and higher professional fees associated with loan collection matters.

First quarter 2020 compared with linked quarter ended December 31, 2019
Total non-interest expense decreased $0.7 million to $114.7 million in the first quarter of 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we recorded a charge for asset write-downs, systems integration, retention and severance of $5.1 million related to the equipment finance loan portfolio acquisition from Santander. Excluding the charge, non-interest expense increased $4.4 million in the first quarter compared to the linked quarter. Key components of the change in non-interest expense were the following:

• Compensation and benefits increased $2.4 million to $54.9 million in the first quarter of 2020. The increase was mainly due to payroll taxes and benefit plan contributions, which are usually higher in the first quarter of the year compared to other quarters.
• The increase in other expenses was associated with higher net costs related to retirement plans assumed in prior mergers and depreciation expense recorded on operating leases.

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We anticipate that our operating expense may be impacted temporarily in the second quarter of 2020 due to COVID-19, which may result in higher compensation and benefits and costs associated with maintaining and operating our financial center locations.

Taxes
We recorded an income tax benefit of $8.0 million in the first quarter of 2020. The components of income tax benefit included income tax expense at our estimated effective tax rate for 2020 of 17.5% and discrete items as follows:

• Income tax expense of $1.1 million; 
• Based on provisions under the CARES Act, we recorded an NOL carryback that resulted in a net income tax benefit of $9.8 million.
• We recorded income tax expense of $723 thousand due to vesting of stock-based compensation.

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2019, we recorded income tax expense at an estimated effective income tax rate of 20.7% and 21.9%, respectively. 

Key Balance Sheet Highlights as of March 31, 2020

Highlights in balance sheet items as of March 31, 2020 were the following:

• C&I loans (which include traditional C&I, asset-based lending, payroll finance, warehouse lending, factored receivables, equipment financing and public sector finance loans) represented 39.1% of total portfolio loans; commercial real estate loans (which include multi-family loans) represented 47.9% of total portfolio loans; consumer and residential mortgage loans combined represented 10.6% of total portfolio loans; and ADC loans represented 2.4% of total portfolio loans, respectively. At March 31, 2019, C&I loans represented 36.5%; commercial real estate loans represented 47.8%; consumer and residential mortgage loans combined represented 14.2%; and ADC loans represented 1.5% of total portfolio loans, respectively. We continued making progress towards our goal of a loan mix comprised of 45% for each of C&I and commercial real estate loans and 10% other loans.
• Total commercial loans, which include all C&I loans, commercial real estate and ADC loans, increased by $412.2 million over the linked quarter and $2.3 billion since March 31, 2019. Traditional C&I loans increased $390.8 million in the linked quarter, which included draw downs on revolving lines of credit. Equipment finance loans declined $133.0 million in the first quarter of 2020, mainly due to a loan sale of $95.2 million of small business loans. The growth at March 31, 2020 compared to March 31, 2019 was mainly from loans originated by our commercial banking teams, and included the equipment finance portfolio acquired from Santander.

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• ADC loans increased $57.4 million over the linked quarter and $233.8 million since March 31, 2019. The increases were mainly related to construction loans associated with our investments in affordable housing tax credits.
• Residential mortgage loans held in our loan portfolio were $2.1 billion at March 31, 2020, a decline of $132.6 million from the linked quarter and a decline of $471.8 million from the same period a year ago. The declines were mainly due to  repayments.
• The balance of BOLI increased by $2.8 million relative to the prior quarter and was $616.6 million at March 31, 2020. BOLI declined $40.9 million in 2019, mainly due to the partial redemption of $60.5 million of legacy Astoria BOLI assets related to the BOLI restructuring executed in the third quarter of 2019.
• Core deposits at March 31, 2020 were $20.7 billion and increased $155.6 million compared to December 31, 2019, and increased $543.3 million compared to March 31, 2019. The growth was mainly due to successful commercial and digital deposit gathering efforts and seasonal municipal deposits.
• Total deposits at March 31, 2020 increased $139.6 million compared to December 31, 2019, and total deposits increased $1.3 billion compared to March 31, 2019.
• Municipal deposits at March 31, 2020 were $2.1 billion, an increase of $103.2 million relative to December 31, 2019. The increase was associated with tax collections by local municipalities.
• Investment securities decreased by $458.3 million from December 31, 2019 and $1.3 billion from March 31, 2019, and represented 17.2% of earning assets at March 31, 2020. In 2019, we sold securities to fund commercial loan growth including loan portfolio acquisitions. We also sold securities to reduce the proportion of lower yielding assets as a percentage of total assets. In the first quarter of 2020, we sold $400.2 million of lower yielding available for sale securities and realized a gain of $8.4 million. In addition, $139.8 million of securities were called prior to maturity and resulted in a gain of $4.9 million.
• Total borrowings at March 31, 2020 were $2.6 billion, a decrease of $287.3 million relative to December 31, 2019 and $1.0 billion relative to March 31, 2019. The sale of securities and deposit inflows allowed us to reduce borrowings.

Credit Quality

Our ACL balance includes the provision for credit losses and transition adjustment recorded related to the adoption of CECL. Provision for credit losses was $138.3 million, which included $1.7 million for held to maturity securities. Provision for credit losses on portfolio loans was $136.6 million, which was $129.6 million greater than net charge-offs for the period. The provision for credit losses was based on our reasonable and supportable forecasts of future macroeconomic scenarios used in the estimation of expected credit losses, which was significantly impacted by the occurrence of COVID-19.

Net charge-offs of $7.0 million mainly included charge-offs on smaller balance equipment finance loans and the work-out of two asset-based lending relationships and one commercial real estate relationship. Net charge-offs were 13 basis points of total loans on an annualized basis.

ACL - loans increased to $326.4 million, or 1.50% of total portfolio loans and 128.6% of non-performing loans, at March 31, 2020.

Non-performing loans increased by $74.6 million to $253.8 million at March 31, 2020 compared to the linked quarter. The increase was mainly due to relationships in asset-based lending, CRE, ADC and small business equipment finance loans. Loans 30 to 89 days past due increased by $16.9 million.

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In connection with implementing the CECL accounting standard, we established an ACL on held to maturity (“HTM”) securities of $796 thousand which was increased to $2.5 million at March 31, 2020, which is applied to our corporate, state and municipal securities. Upon implementing the CECL accounting standard we also increased our ACL for loan commitments to $6.7 million.  

Capital

Total stockholders’ equity decreased $107.7 million to $4.4 billion as of March 31, 2020 compared to December 31, 2019. For the first quarter of 2020, net income available to common stockholders of $12.2 million was offset by a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income of $27.4 million, common dividends of $13.8 million, preferred dividends of $2.2 million, common stock repurchases of $81.0 million and the day one effect of the adoption of the CECL accounting standard of $54.3 million. 

We elected the five-year transition provision effective March 31, 2020 to delay for two years the full impact of CECL on regulatory capital, followed by a three-year transition period. The March 31, 2020 fully implemented ratio data reflects the full impact of CECL and excludes the benefits of phase-ins. 

Total goodwill and other intangible assets were $1.8 billion at March 31, 2020, a decrease of $4.2 million compared to December 31, 2019, which was due to amortization.

Basic and diluted weighted average common shares outstanding declined relative to the linked quarter by approximately 3.4 million shares and were 196.3 million shares and 196.7 million shares, respectively. Total common shares outstanding at March 31, 2020 were approximately 194.5 million. In the first quarter of 2020, we repurchased 4,900,759 shares of common stock at a weighted average price of $16.53 per share. We also granted 1,181,673 shares under our stock-based compensation plans in the quarter.

Tangible book value per common share was $12.83 at March 31, 2020, which represented an increase of 7.7% compared to  a year ago.

Conference Call Information
Sterling Bancorp will host a teleconference and webcast on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 8:00 AM Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s results. Analysts, investors and interested parties are invited to listen to the webcast and view accompanying slides on the Company’s website at www.sterlingbancorp.com or by dialing (800) 239-9838, Conference ID #1395665. A replay of the teleconference can be accessed through the Company’s website.

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About Sterling Bancorp
Sterling Bancorp, whose principal subsidiary is Sterling National Bank, specializes in the delivery of services and solutions to business owners, their families and consumers within the communities it serves through teams of dedicated and experienced relationship managers. Sterling National Bank offers a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services. For more information, visit the Sterling Bancorp website at www.sterlingbancorp.com.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release may contain “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may concern Sterling Bancorp’s current expectations about its future results,revenues, expenses, tax rates, capital and liquidity levels and ratios, asset levels, asset quality, financial position,  plans, operations and prospects. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks, , including the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which include, but are not limited to, the federal, state and local government actions and reactions to COVID-19, the health of our staff and that of our clients, the continuity of our, our clients’ and our third party providers’ operations, the increased likelihood of cyber and payment fraud risk, the continued ability of our borrowers to repay their loans throughout and following the pandemic, the potential decline in collateral values resulting from COVID-19 and its effects, and the resulting impact upon our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and our outlook, including the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which include, but are not limited to, the  federal, state and local government actions and reactions to COVID-19,  the health of our staff and that of our clients, the continuity of our clients’ and our third party providers’ operations, the increased likelihood of cyber and payment fraud risk, the continued ability of our borrowers to repay their loans throughout and following the pandemic, the potential decline in collateral values resulting from COVID-19 and its effects, and the resulting impact upon our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and our outlook as well as the following: business disruption; a failure to grow revenues faster than we grow expenses; a deterioration in general economic conditions, either nationally, internationally, or in our market areas, including extended declines in the real estate market and constrained financial markets; inflation; the effects of, and changes in, trade; changes in asset quality and credit risk; introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives; capital management activities; customer disintermediation; and the success of Sterling Bancorp in managing those risks. Other factors that could cause Sterling Bancorp’s actual results to differ from those indicated in forward-looking statements are included in the “Risk Factors” section of Sterling Bancorp’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.

Financial information contained in this release should be considered to be an estimate pending the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2020. While the Company is not aware of any need to revise the results disclosed in this release, accounting literature may require information received by management between the date of this release and the filing of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to be reflected in the results of the fiscal period, even though the new information was received by management subsequent to the date of this release.

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