Signature Bank Provides Status Update on Positive Loan Deferral Trends

Bank Reports Significant Reduction in Deferrals to $2.6 Billion or 5.8 Percent of Loans

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Signature Bank (Nasdaq: SBNY), a New York-based full-service commercial bank, announced today a status update on loan deferrals within its $45.5 billion portfolio. The Bank is seeing positive trends as an increasing number of loans exit deferment.

As of September 15, 2020, 69 percent of the first round of loan deferrals have returned to regular payment status. Principal and Interest (P&I) deferrals significantly decreased to $2.6 billion or 5.8 percent of the Bank’s total loan portfolio. Furthermore, an additional two percent of the loan book is currently comprised of modified interest-only payments. The substantial decrease is a result of the Bank’s abilities to work closely with its clients toward reasonable resolutions.

“We are encouraged by the positive trends we are seeing across our loan portfolio as a number of loans have resumed regular payment status. At the onset of COVID-19, Signature Bank was accommodative to our clients and fairly liberal with regard to forbearance in our first round of deferrals, given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic. The experienced, multigenerational nature of our client base, coupled with the resiliency of the metropolitan New York marketplace, have enabled them to weather the storm and resume their payments,” said Joseph J. DePaolo, Signature Bank President and Chief Executive Officer.

“As a client-centric bank, we have always been focused – first and foremost – on meeting the needs of our borrowers through highly personalized service and care. These extraordinary times are no exception to our commitment to our clients as we remain prudent in assisting them in whatever ways feasible to help them succeed,” DePaolo concluded.

		P&I Deferrals (as of 9/15/2020)
($ in millions)	Portfolio Balance 6/30/2020	Loans in 1st 90 Day Deferral Period	Loans in 2nd 90 Day Deferral Period	Total Deferrals	% of Loan Category
Residential	15,215	98	342	440	2.9%
Retail	5,628	156	927	1,083	19.2%
Office	4,026	23	535	558	13.9%
Other	2,210	61	193	254	11.5%
Total CRE	27,079	338	1,997	2,335	8.6%
FB, VC, ABL	8,353	-	-	-	-
Signature Financial	4,712	46	120	166	3.5%
Traditional C&I	2,520	107	26	133	5.3%
Total C&I	15,585	153	146	299	1.9%
PPP Loans	1,962	-	-	-	-
Other Loans, premiums, deferred fees, and costs	859	-	-	-	-
Total Portfolio	45,485	491	2,143	2,634	5.8%

Signature Bank reported total loan modifications due to COVID-19 of $9.24 billion or 20 percent, as of July 31, 2020, in its latest Form 10-Q.

About Signature Bank

Signature Bank, member FDIC, is a New York-based full-service commercial bank with 35 private client offices throughout the New York metropolitan area including Connecticut as well as in California and Charlotte, N.C. The Bank’s growing network of private client banking teams serves the needs of privately owned businesses, their owners and senior managers.

Signature Bank’s specialty finance subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC, provides equipment finance and leasing. Signature Securities Group Corporation, a wholly owned Bank subsidiary, is a licensed broker-dealer, investment adviser and member FINRA/SIPC, offering investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services.

Signature Bank’s revolutionary blockchain-based digital payments platform, Signet™, allows the Bank’s commercial clients to make real-time payments in U.S. dollars, 24/7/365, safely and securely, without transaction fees. Signature Bank is the first FDIC-insured bank to launch a blockchain-based digital payments platform, and Signet is the first such platform to be approved for use by the NYS Department of Financial Services.

Since commencing operations in May 2001, the Bank has grown to $60.35 billion in assets, $45.49 billion in loans, $50.23 billion in deposits, $4.86 billion in equity capital and $3.66 billion in other assets under management as of June 30, 2020. Signature Bank's Tier 1 and risk-based capital ratios are above the levels required to be considered well capitalized.

Signature Bank is one of the top 40 largest banks in the U.S., based on deposits (S&P Global Market Intelligence). The Bank recently earned several third-party recognitions, including: appeared on Forbes' Best Banks in America list for the 10th consecutive year in 2020; and, named number one in the Business Bank, Private Bank and Business Escrow Services categories by the New York Law Journal in the publication’s annual “Best of” survey for 2019, earning it a place in its Hall of Fame (awarded to companies that have ranked in the “Best of” survey for at least three of the past four years). The Bank also ranked second nationally in the Business Bank, Private Banking Services and Business Escrow Service categories of both the 2019 and 2020 National Law Journal’s “Best of” survey.

For more information, please visit https://www.signatureny.com/.

This press release and oral statements made from time to time by our representatives contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on those statements because they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our future results, interest rates and the interest rate environment, loan and deposit growth, loan performance, operations, new private client teams and other hires, new office openings, our business strategy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on each of the foregoing and on our business overall. These statements often include words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," “potential,” “opportunity,” “could,” “project,” “seek,” “target”, “goal”, “should,” “will,” “would,” "plan," "estimate" or other similar expressions. As you consider forward-looking statements, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us or in our control. These factors include but are not limited to: (i) prevailing economic conditions; (ii) changes in interest rates, loan demand, real estate values and competition, any of which can materially affect origination levels and gain on sale results in our business, as well as other aspects of our financial performance, including earnings on interest-bearing assets; (iii) the level of defaults, losses and prepayments on loans made by us, whether held in portfolio or sold in the whole loan secondary markets, which can materially affect charge-off levels and required credit loss reserve levels; (iv) changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (v) changes in the banking and other financial services regulatory environment, (vi) our ability to maintain the continuity, integrity, security and safety of our operations and (vii) competition for qualified personnel and desirable office locations. All of these factors are subject to additional uncertainty in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having an unprecedented impact on all aspects of our operations, the financial services industry and the economy as a whole. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, if a change occurs or our beliefs, assumptions and expectations were incorrect, our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Additional risks are described in our quarterly and annual reports filed with the FDIC. You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made by Signature Bank speak only as of the date on which they were made.

New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and we cannot predict these events or how they may affect the Bank. Signature Bank has no duty to, and does not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements after the date on which they are made. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this release or elsewhere might not reflect actual results.