May 5, 2023
To Customers of American National,
As a community bank CEO, my commitment has always been to regularly communicate with our customers, employees, and shareholders. They are the groups that make up our three-legged stool, all equally important to our success. I feel it is necessary to give you an update in light of recent events in the banking industry.
Please understand there is a big difference between larger regional banks making headlines and community banks like American National. These other banks are mostly non-traditional banks with very different risk appetites. In contrast, American National is a traditional community bank and we follow a much more conservative playbook. Throughout our 114-year history, our conservative approach has allowed us to weather many economic challenges while steadily growing. Adhering to an approach that prioritizes the bank’s safety and soundness before growth and profits allows us to be in a position of strength.
To demonstrate the stability of American National, I will highlight the following operational and financial metrics:
- We are a community bank with a diverse and tenured customer base. Our offices are exclusively in the two best states to do business, states that are home to a variety of businesses and consumers. We bank everyone from growing families and micro businesses to mid-size companies eliminating any significant concentrations of a certain industry or niche in our portfolio.
- Our balance sheet is positioned well for an economic downturn. We have solid liquidity and capital. Further, we have a diverse deposit base with many core deposits that are less sensitive to changes in rates. On the lending side, we have a strong portfolio with impeccable credit quality and at March 31, 2023 had .06% of non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets.
- We have access to substantial liquidity. American National has multiple liquidity sources available – both on-balance sheet and off. This includes cash, unencumbered securities, and borrowing options. This liquidity access provides the ability to fund loan growth and meet the potential demand from deposit customers. Our liquidity currently represents 1.40x coverage of all uninsured deposits.
- We are well capitalized. Capital is critical to all banks and American National’s capital levels have always far exceeded the regulatory definition of well-capitalized institutions.
- Our loan portfolio and bond portfolio are short in duration. Compared to most banks of our size, we have a much shorter duration of both our investment and loan portfolios. The longer term portfolios were the catalyst for many of the recent bank failures and by keeping our duration short, we significantly reduce interest rate risk and liquidity risk.
In summary, the banks making news are not like us. They are primarily focused on much larger markets and not focused on the same communities we proudly serve. They have concentrated deposits including a significant amount of uninsured deposits; a longer duration in their investments and loans resulting in significant interest rate risk; and a very leveraged capital base in which to fall back on.
Please be assured we have always operated and will continue to operate a very strong, conservative community bank.
As a community bank, our entire team is always available to serve you. Don’t hesitate to contact your local banker with any questions or concerns. All of our Executive Leaders and Market Presidents contact information can be found on our website. And if you would ever like to speak to me, you can find my contact information below including my cell phone number.
We all appreciate your business and the confidence you place in us.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey V. Haley
President & CEO
American National Bank & Trust Company
haleyj@amnb.com
434.773.2259 office
434.250.2773 mobile