Metropolitan Bank profit reaches $32.4 million as earnings per share beat estimates

Key Facts

Metropolitan Bank Holding reported net income of $32.4 million for the third quarter of 2026, according to its earnings release issued on October 20. Earnings per share were $2.58, beating analysts' expectations, according to Investing's coverage of the company's results. Analysts had expected earnings of $2.38 per share, putting the difference between the actual result and the estimate at $0.20. Revenue totaled $100.56 million during the period, according to the website, also exceeding the consensus estimate of $97.05 million. This came as net interest income rose 26.3% year on year, according to the bank's statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Net interest income totaled $97.6 million in the third quarter, alongside a widening in the margin from both the previous quarter and a year earlier. Net interest margin rose to 4.36%, compared with 4.08% in the second quarter and 3.88% in the corresponding period a year earlier, according to the earnings release. Management estimated the margin, adjusted for the impact of prepayment penalties and recognition of deferred fees, at "approximately 4.20% to 4.25%," according to Investing's coverage of the earnings call. The adjustments discussed by management included these two items when presenting its adjusted margin estimate during the discussion of quarterly performance. The bank's total cost of funds was 250 basis points during the period, according to the official earnings disclosure.

On the balance sheet, total deposits stood at $8.3 billion at the end of September, according to the bank's third-quarter statement. Total loans stood at $7.5 billion at the end of the same period, with the deposit base exceeding the loan balance. Nonperforming loans accounted for 0.95% of total loans at quarter-end, according to the filing with the U.S. regulator. The allowance for credit losses stood at $64.2 million on the same date, among the figures the bank disclosed on the quality of its loan portfolio. These results followed a quarter in which the bank incurred a provision for credit losses of $13.3 million, primarily related to a commercial and industrial loan in a non-core segment of the portfolio.

For the quarterly comparison, the bank's net income had totaled $19.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, according to its earnings disclosure for that period. Noninterest expenses in that quarter were $51.8 million, according to the company's previous statement. Those expenses fell to $49.5 million in the third quarter, according to the latest financial results disclosure. The bank had included $3.3 million in items within second-quarter expenses that it described in its statement as "discrete noninterest expense items." The decline in expenses between the two periods coincided with an increase in quarterly profit, after the previous period's results were affected by those items and the credit loss provision.

For the annual comparison, net income in the third quarter of 2025 was about $7.1 million, according to the earnings release for the corresponding period. Earnings in that period were affected by a provision for credit losses of $23.9 million, according to the bank's disclosure at the time. This included an $18.7 million provision for a commercial real estate lending relationship tied to multifamily properties. The bank said that lending relationship was outside its core market and was the main driver of the provision expense in the corresponding period. In reaction to the latest results, the bank's shares rose 3.04% to $91.58 in after-hours trading, according to Investing's coverage of the earnings call.

Alongside the earnings announcement, Metropolitan Bank Holding raised the quarterly cash dividend on its common stock to $0.40 per share, according to a separate disclosure. The previous quarterly dividend was $0.35 per share, according to the statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The disclosure described the decision as "an increase of $0.05" from the previous dividend on the company's common stock. The company set the close of business on October 30, 2026, as the record date for shareholders eligible for the next cash dividend. The dividend is scheduled to be paid on November 10, 2026, to common shareholders of record on that date, according to the timetable announced by the company.