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AMERANT Amerant Reports Third Quarter 2021 Net Income of $ 17.0 Million , Diluted Earnings Per Share of $ 0.45 October 20 , 2021 Continued Improvement in All Key Performance Metrics Over Prior Quarters CORAL GABLES , Fla . , Oct. 20 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Amerant Bancorp Inc. ( NASDAQ : AMTB and AMTBB ) ( the " Company " or " Amerant " ) today reported net income attributable to the Company of $ 17.0 million in the third quarter of 2021 , or $ 0.45 per diluted share , an increase compared to net income attributable to the Company of $ 16.0 million , or $ 0.42 per diluted share , in the second quarter of 2021 and net income attributable to the Company of $ 1.7 million , or $ 0.04 per diluted share , in the third quarter of 2020. Pre - provision net revenue ( " PPNR " ) 1 was $ 17.5 million in the third quarter of 2021 , an increase from $ 15.4 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and a decrease from $ 20.1 million in the third quarter of 2020. Core pre - provision net revenue ( " Core PPNR " ) was $ 18.3 million in the third quarter of 2021 , an increase from $ 16.9 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and an increase from $ 13.4 million in the third quarter of 2020 . 1 Annualized return on assets ( " ROA " ) and return on equity ( " ROE " ) were 0.90 % and 8.38 % , respectively , in the third quarter of 2021 , compared to 0.83 % and 8.11 % , respectively , in the second quarter of 2021 , and 0.08 % and 0.81 % , respectively , in the third quarter of 2020 . Jerry Plush , vice chairman , president and CEO said , " We are pleased to report continued improvement in our operating results , which reflects the focus our team has placed on achieving the key priorities we set out during our first quarter 2021 earnings call . We have more opportunities in process that , when implemented , will further improve future operating results . The positive momentum we have is evident and we will continue to strive to achieve the high - performance standards we believe we can attain . " Summary Results Results of the third quarter ended September 30 , 2021 were as follows : • Net income was $ 17.0 million in the third quarter of 2021 , up 6.7 % from $ 16.0 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and up 900.7 % from $ 1.7 million in the third quarter of 2020. Core net income¹ was $ 17.7 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $ 17.2 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and compared to core net loss¹ of $ 3.6 million in the third quarter of 2020 . • Net Interest Income ( " NII " ) was $ 51.8 million , up 3.7 % from $ 50.0 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and up 14.3 % from $ 45.3 million in the third quarter of 2020. Net interest margin ( " NIM " ) was 2.94 % in the third quarter of 2021 , up 13 basis points from 2.81 % in the second quarter of 2021 and up 55 basis points from 2.39 % in the third quarter of 2020 . • Released $ 5.0 million from the allowance for loan losses ( " ALL " ) during the third and second quarters of 2021 , compared to a provision of $ 18.0 million recorded in the third quarter of 2020. The ratio of allowance for loan losses to total loans held for investment was 1.59 % as of September 30 , 2021 , down from 1.86 % as of June 30 , 2021 and down from 1.97 % as of September 30 , 2020. The ratio of net charge - offs to average total loans in the third quarter of 2021 was 1.16 % compared to 0.12 % in the second quarter of 2021 and 1.41 % in the third quarter of 2020 . • Noninterest income was $ 13.4 million in the third quarter of 2021 , down 14.6 % from $ 15.7 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and down 33.8 % from $ 20.3 million in the third quarter of 2020 , as the third quarter of 2020 included higher net gains on sale of securities . • Noninterest expense was $ 48.4 million , down 5.3 % from $ 51.1 million in the second quarter of 2021 , and up 6.4 % from $ 45.5 million in the third quarter of 2020 . • The efficiency ratio was 74.2 % in the third quarter of 2021 , compared to 77.8 % in the second quarter of 2021 , and 69.3 % for the third quarter of 2020. Core efficiency ratio¹ was 72.95 % in the third quarter of 2021 , compared to 74.45 % in the second quarter of 2021 , and 76.53 % for the third quarter of 2020 . • Total loans , which include loans held for sale , were $ 5.5 billion at the close of the third quarter of 2021 , down $ 129.6 million , or 2.3 % , compared to the close of the second quarter of 2021. Total deposits were $ 5.6 billion at the close of the third quarter of 2021 , slightly down $ 48.5 million , or 0.9 % , compared to the close of the second quarter of 2021 . • Stockholders ' book value per common share attributable to the Company increased to $ 21.68 at September 30 , 2021 , compared to $ 21.27 at June 30 , 2021. Tangible book value per common share ( TBV " ) ¹ increased to $ 21.08 as of September 30 , 2021 , compared to $ 20.67 at June 30 , 2021 . Credit Quality The ALL was $ 83.4 million at the close of the third quarter of 2021 , compared to $ 104.2 million at the close of the second quarter of 2021 , and $ 116.8 million at the close of the third quarter of 2020. The Company released $ 5.0 million from the ALL in both the third and second quarters of 2021 , compared to a provision of $ 18.0 million recorded in the third quarter of 2020. The ALL release during the third quarter of 2021 was primarily attributed to ( i ) a release of approximately $ 2 million as a result of upgrades , payoffs and pay downs of non - performing loans and special mention loans , and ( ii ) a release of approximately $ 3 million due