ATLANTA, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) (the "Company") today reported net income of $125.0 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared with $19.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. The increase in net income is primarily attributable to a reduction in provision for credit losses of $69.6 million and an increase in mortgage banking activity for the quarter of $63.2 million. The Company reported adjusted net income of $115.7 million, or $1.66 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared with $39.2 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the same period in 2020. Adjusted net income excludes after-tax merger and conversion charges, servicing right valuation adjustments, certain legal expenses, gain on bank owned life insurance ("BOLI") proceeds, (gain)/loss on sale of bank premises and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commenting on the Company's results, Palmer Proctor, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased with our first quarter results, where we saw solid loan growth, increases in core deposits, stable credit, robust fees and continued momentum in our banking division efficiency initiatives. An improving economy, which resulted in a reversal of provision expense and a recovery of previous MSR (mortgage servicing right) impairment, along with the tremendous core earnings power of Ameris, resulted in tangible book value growth of 6.7% this quarter. Our teammates have continued to remain focused on our key initiatives of superior and innovative customer service, which delivers top-in-class financial results. We are excited about the opportunities we see in our markets and the strength that we have going into the remainder of 2021."

Significant items from the Company's results for the first quarter of 2021 include the following:

Net income of $125.0 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, compared with $94.3 million, or $1.36 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2020
Growth in tangible book value of 6.7%, or $1.58 per share, to $25.27 at March 31, 2021, compared with $23.69 at December 31, 2020
Growth in total revenue of $7.4 million, or 2.7%, compared with the fourth quarter of 2020
Adjusted return on average assets of 2.26%, compared with 2.04% in the fourth quarter of 2020
Mortgage production remained strong and retail mortgage pipeline ended $326.7 million higher than at December 31, 2020
Adjusted efficiency ratio of 54.62%, compared with 52.67% in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 59.87% in the first quarter of 2020
Net interest margin of 3.57%, compared with 3.64% in the fourth quarter of 2020
Continued growth in noninterest bearing deposits representing 38.07% of total deposits, up from 36.27% at December 31, 2020 and 30.53% a year ago
Annualized net charge-offs of 0.12% of average total loans

Following is a summary of the adjustments between reported net income and adjusted net income:

Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation
	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)	2021			2020
Net income available to common shareholders	$	124,962		$	19,322

Adjustment items:
Merger and conversion charges	—			540
Servicing right impairment (recovery)	(10,639)			22,165
Gain on BOLI proceeds	(603)			—
Expenses related to SEC and DOJ investigation	—			1,443
Natural disaster and pandemic charges (Note 1)	—			548
(Gain) loss on sale of premises	(264)			470
Tax effect of adjustment items (Note 2)	2,290			(5,283)
After-tax adjustment items	(9,216)			19,883
Adjusted net income	$	115,746		$	39,205

Reported net income per diluted share	$	1.79		$	0.28
Adjusted net income per diluted share	$	1.66		$	0.56

Reported return on average assets	2.44		%	0.43		%
Adjusted return on average assets	2.26		%	0.87		%

Reported return on average common equity	18.80		%	3.16		%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity	27.66		%	10.98		%

Note 1: Pandemic charges include "thank you" pay for certain employees, additional sanitizing expenses at our locations, protective equipment for our employees and branch locations, and additional equipment required to support our remote workforce.
Note 2: A portion of the merger and conversion charges for 1Q20 are nondeductible for tax purposes.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis for the first quarter of 2021 totaled $166.2 million, compared with $164.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 and $149.0 million for the first quarter of 2020. The Company's net interest margin was 3.57% for the first quarter of 2021, down from 3.64% reported for the fourth quarter of 2020 and 3.70% reported for the first quarter of 2020. The decrease in net interest margin in the current quarter is attributable to excess liquidity held on the balance sheet, as the average balance in interest-bearing deposits in banks increased materially during the quarter. The yield on earning assets declined 13 basis points due to this excess liquidity, and the decline was partially offset by improvement in the cost of interest-bearing liabilities of 9 basis points during the quarter. Accretion income for the first quarter of 2021 increased to $6.1 million, compared with $4.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, and decreased from $6.6 million for the first quarter of 2020. The increase in accretion income for the first quarter is primarily attributable to increased payoffs of acquired loans during the first quarter of 2021.

Yields on loans increased to 4.53% during the first quarter of 2021, compared with 4.41% for the fourth quarter of 2020, and decreased from 5.02% reported for the first quarter of 2020. Contributing to interest income on loans for the first quarter of 2021 was $9.2 million related to accelerated fee income on Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loan forgiveness, compared with $6.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Loan production in the banking division during the first quarter of 2021 was $600.6 million, with weighted average yields of 3.80%, compared with $785.0 million and 3.86%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2020, but was below pre-pandemic levels seen in the first quarter last year of $918.4 million and 4.55%, respectively. Loan production in the lines of business (including retail mortgage, warehouse lending, SBA and premium finance) amounted to an additional $7.5 billion during the first quarter of 2021, with weighted average yields of 3.15%, compared with $7.7 billion and 3.25%, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2020 and $4.0 billion and 4.15%, respectively, during the first quarter of 2020. Loan production yields in the lines of business were negatively impacted 11 basis points during the first quarter of 2021 by originations of PPP loans in our SBA division.

Interest expense during the first quarter of 2021 decreased to $13.0 million, compared with $15.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and $34.8 million in the first quarter of 2020. The Company's total cost of funds moved six basis points lower to 0.30% in the first quarter of 2021 as compared with the fourth quarter of 2020. Deposit costs also decreased six basis points during the first quarter of 2021 to 0.16%, compared with 0.22% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Costs of interest-bearing deposits decreased during the quarter from 0.34% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 0.25% in the first quarter of 2021.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income increased $5.8 million, or 5.2%, in the first quarter of 2021 to $118.0 million, compared with $112.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily as a result of increased mortgage banking activity and other noninterest income, as further discussed below.

Mortgage banking activity increased $3.3 million, or 3.5%, to $98.5 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with $95.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. This increase was the result of a recovery of previously recorded servicing right impairment, partially offset by a decrease in gain on sale of loans. Gain on sale spreads decreased to 3.95% in the first quarter of 2021 from 4.34% for the fourth quarter of 2020. Total production in the retail mortgage division decreased to $2.64 billion in the first quarter of 2021, compared with $2.81 billion for the fourth quarter of 2020. Mortgage banking activity was positively impacted during the first quarter of 2021 by a $9.7 million servicing right recovery, compared with an impairment of $9.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The retail mortgage open pipeline was $2.33 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2021, compared with $2.00 billion at December 31, 2020.

Service charge revenue decreased $636,000, or 5.5%, to $10.8 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with $11.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, resulting from a decrease in volume. Other noninterest income increased $3.1 million, or 69.3%, in the first quarter of 2021 to $7.7 million, compared with $4.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, primarily as a result of a SBA servicing right recovery of $906,000 in the first quarter of 2021, compared with an impairment of $355,000 for the fourth quarter of 2020, a gain on BOLI proceeds of $603,000 and an increase in gain on sale of loans of $765,000.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased $2.3 million, or 1.5%, to $148.8 million during the first quarter of 2021, compared with $151.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. During the first quarter of 2021, the Company recorded a net gain of $264,000 related to sale of premises. During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company recorded $258,000 in charges to earnings related to certain legal expenses and natural disaster and pandemic charges, partially offset by a gain on sale of premises. Excluding these charges, adjusted expenses decreased approximately $1.8 million, or 1.2%, to $149.1 million in the first quarter of 2021, from $150.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The majority of this decrease is attributable to a $765,000 expense related to the final termination of the remaining loss-share agreements with the FDIC and a $1.0 million donation to the Ameris Bank Foundation recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020. The adjusted efficiency ratio was 54.62% in the first quarter of 2021, compared with 52.67% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Income Tax Expense

The Company's effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2021 was 23.2%, compared with 25.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The decreased rate for the first quarter of 2021 was primarily a result of a large return to provision adjustment made when the Company filed its 2019 income tax returns in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Balance Sheet Trends

Total assets at March 31, 2021 were $21.43 billion, compared with $20.44 billion at December 31, 2020. Total loans, including loans held for sale, were $16.11 billion at March 31, 2021, compared with $15.65 billion at December 31, 2020. Total loans held for investment were $14.60 billion at March 31, 2021, compared with $14.48 billion at December 31, 2020, an increase of $118.9 million, or 0.8%. Loan production in the banking division during the first quarter of 2021 was down 23% from the fourth quarter of 2020 and 35% from the first quarter of 2020.

At March 31, 2021, total deposits amounted to $17.88 billion, or 97.0% of total funding, compared with $16.96 billion and 96.8%, respectively, at December 31, 2020. At March 31, 2021, noninterest-bearing deposit accounts were $6.80 billion, or 38.1% of total deposits, compared with $6.15 billion, or 36.3% of total deposits, at December 31, 2020. Non-rate sensitive deposits (including noninterest-bearing, NOW and savings) totaled $10.99 billion at March 31, 2021, compared with $10.23 billion at December 31, 2020. These funds represented 61.5% of the Company's total deposits at March 31, 2021, compared with 60.3% at the end of 2020.

Shareholders' equity at March 31, 2021 totaled $2.76 billion, an increase of $110.5 million, or 4.2%, from December 31, 2020. The increase in shareholders' equity was primarily the result of earnings of $125.0 million during the first quarter of 2021, partially offset by dividends declared. Tangible book value per share was $25.27 at March 31, 2021, compared with $23.69 at December 31, 2020. Tangible common equity as a percentage of tangible assets was 8.62% at March 31, 2021, compared with 8.47% at the end of 2020.

Credit Quality

Credit quality remains strong in the Company. During the first quarter of 2021, the Company recorded a provision for credit losses reversal of $28.6 million, compared with a provision reversal of $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. This decrease in provision was primarily attributable to improvements in forecast economic conditions, particularly levels of unemployment, home prices and commercial real estate prices, compared with forecast conditions during the fourth quarter of 2020. The positive impact of the improved economic forecast was partially offset, however, by growth in adverse qualitative factors in our commercial real estate and consumer installment portfolios. The Company has been prudently working with borrowers to support their credit needs during the challenging economic conditions and monitoring the level of modifications on an ongoing basis, such that loans remaining on deferral at the end of the first quarter of 2021 equaled approximately 1.9% of total loans, down from approximately 2.9% and 19.0% of total loans at the end of the fourth and second quarters of 2020, respectively. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets decreased by eight basis points to 0.40% during the quarter. The net charge-off ratio was 12 basis points for the first quarter of 2021, compared with 70 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 14 basis points in the first quarter of 2020.

Conference Call

The Company will host a teleconference at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, April 23, 2021, to discuss the Company's results and answer appropriate questions. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-877-504-1190 (or 1-855-669-9657 for participants in Canada and 1-412-902-6630 for other international participants). The conference ID name is Ameris Bancorp ABCB. A replay of the call will be available one hour after the end of the conference call until May 7, 2021. To listen to the replay, dial 1-877-344-7529 (or 1-855-669-9658 for participants in Canada and 1-412-317-0088 for other international participants). The conference replay access code is 10153876. The conference call replay and the financial information discussed will also be available on the Investor Relations page of the Ameris Bank website at ir.amerisbank.com.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company's banking subsidiary, Ameris Bank, had 165 locations in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina at the end of the most recent quarter.

This news release contains certain performance measures determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). The Company's management uses these non-GAAP measures in its analysis of the Company's performance. These measures are useful when evaluating the underlying performance and efficiency of the Company's operations and balance sheet. The Company's management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations, enhance comparability of results with prior periods and demonstrate the effects of significant gains and charges in the current period. The Company's management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate the Company's financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the Company's underlying performance. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by federal securities laws, including, among other forward-looking statements, certain plans, expectations and goals. Words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "will," "should," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "continue" and "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, as well as similar expressions, are meant to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current expectations and are provided to assist in the understanding of potential future performance. Such forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such statements, including, without limitation, the following: general competitive, economic, unemployment, political and market conditions and fluctuations, including real estate market conditions, and the effects of such conditions and fluctuations on the creditworthiness of borrowers; collateral values, asset recovery values and the value of investment securities; movements in interest rates and their impacts on net interest margin; expectations on credit quality and performance; legislative and regulatory changes; changes in U.S. government monetary and fiscal policy; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general economy, our customers and the allowance for loan losses; the benefits that may be realized by our customers from government assistance programs and regulatory actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; the potential impact of the proposed phase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") or other changes involving LIBOR; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; the cost savings and any revenue synergies expected to result from acquisition transactions, which may not be fully realized within the expected timeframes if at all; the success and timing of other business strategies; our outlook and long-term goals for future growth; and natural disasters, geopolitical events, acts of war or terrorism or other hostilities, public health crises and other catastrophic events beyond our control. For a discussion of some of the other risks and other factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and its subsequently filed periodic reports and other filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Financial Highlights	Table 1
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)	2021			2020			2020			2020			2020
EARNINGS
Net income	$	124,962		$	94,285		$	116,145		$	32,236		$	19,322
Adjusted net income	$	115,746		$	101,995		$	116,879		$	42,423		$	39,205

COMMON SHARE DATA
Earnings per share available to common shareholders
Basic	$	1.80		$	1.36		$	1.68		$	0.47		$	0.28
Diluted	$	1.79		$	1.36		$	1.67		$	0.47		$	0.28
Adjusted diluted EPS	$	1.66		$	1.47		$	1.69		$	0.61		$	0.56
Cash dividends per share	$	0.15		$	0.15		$	0.15		$	0.15		$	0.15
Book value per share (period end)	$	39.56		$	38.07		$	36.91		$	35.42		$	35.10
Tangible book value per share (period end)	$	25.27		$	23.69		$	22.46		$	20.90		$	20.44
Weighted average number of shares
Basic	69,391,734			69,252,307			69,230,667			69,191,778			69,247,661
Diluted	69,740,860			69,493,105			69,346,141			69,292,972			69,502,022
Period end number of shares	69,713,426			69,541,481			69,490,546			69,462,782			69,441,274
Market data
High intraday price	$	57.81		$	39.53		$	27.81		$	29.82		$	43.79
Low intraday price	$	36.60		$	22.37		$	19.91		$	17.12		$	17.89
Period end closing price	$	52.51		$	38.07		$	22.78		$	23.59		$	23.76
Average daily volume	460,744			394,641			359,059			470,151			461,692

PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets	2.44		%	1.89		%	2.33		%	0.67		%	0.43		%
Adjusted return on average assets	2.26		%	2.04		%	2.35		%	0.89		%	0.87		%
Return on average common equity	18.80		%	14.30		%	18.27		%	5.23		%	3.16		%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity	27.66		%	25.04		%	30.53		%	11.66		%	10.98		%
Earning asset yield (TE)	3.85		%	3.98		%	4.02		%	4.32		%	4.56		%
Total cost of funds	0.30		%	0.36		%	0.41		%	0.52		%	0.91		%
Net interest margin (TE)	3.57		%	3.64		%	3.64		%	3.83		%	3.70		%
Noninterest income excluding securities transactions, as a percent of total revenue (TE)	39.71		%	38.37		%	46.72		%	39.35		%	22.83		%
Efficiency ratio	52.59		%	54.83		%	47.80		%	54.70		%	68.23		%
Adjusted efficiency ratio (TE)	54.62		%	52.67		%	47.34		%	51.08		%	59.87		%

CAPITAL ADEQUACY (period end)
Shareholders' equity to assets	12.87		%	12.95		%	12.90		%	12.38		%	13.37		%
Tangible common equity to tangible assets	8.62		%	8.47		%	8.27		%	7.70		%	8.25		%

EQUITY TO ASSETS RECONCILIATION
Tangible common equity to tangible assets	8.62		%	8.47		%	8.27		%	7.70		%	8.25		%
Effect of goodwill and other intangibles	4.25		%	4.48		%	4.63		%	4.68		%	5.12		%
Equity to assets (GAAP)	12.87		%	12.95		%	12.90		%	12.38		%	13.37		%

OTHER DATA (period end)
Full time equivalent employees
Banking Division	1,815			1,816			1,807			1,832			1,865
Retail Mortgage Division	765			748			734			692			689
Warehouse Lending Division	12			12			11			9			9
SBA Division	29			24			33			42			44
Premium Finance Division	70			71			71			70			72
Total Ameris Bancorp FTE headcount	2,691			2,671			2,656			2,645			2,679

Assets per Banking Division FTE	$	11,806		$	11,255		$	10,998		$	10,848		$	9,772
Branch locations	165			164			170			170			170
Deposits per branch location	$	108,339		$	103,401		$	94,493		$	91,705		$	81,439

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Income Statement	Table 2
	Three Months Ended
	Mar		Dec		Sep		Jun		Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)	2021		2020		2020		2020		2020
Interest income
Interest and fees on loans	$	171,157	$	171,971	$	172,351	$	175,345	$	171,242
Interest on taxable securities	6,118		6,398		7,259		9,347		10,082
Interest on nontaxable securities	141		150		159		157		157
Interest on deposits in other banks	522		252		153		123		1,211
Interest on federal funds sold	12		12		12		46		76
Total interest income	177,950		178,783		179,934		185,018		182,768

Interest expense
Interest on deposits	6,798		8,870		11,822		14,273		24,102
Interest on other borrowings	6,175		6,457		5,574		6,931		10,721
Total interest expense	12,973		15,327		17,396		21,204		34,823

Net interest income	164,977		163,456		162,538		163,814		147,945

Provision for loan losses	(16,579)		(6,700)		26,692		68,449		37,047
Provision for unfunded commitments	(11,839)		5,481		(10,131)		19,712		4,000
Provision for other credit losses	(173)		(291)		1,121		—		—
Provision for credit losses	(28,591)		(1,510)		17,682		88,161		41,047
Net interest income after provision for credit losses	193,568		164,966		144,856		75,653		106,898

Noninterest income
Service charges on deposits accounts	10,829		11,465		10,914		9,922		11,844
Mortgage banking activity	98,486		95,192		138,627		104,925		35,333
Other service charges, commissions and fees	1,016		965		1,039		949		961
Gain (loss) on securities	(12)		—		—		14		(9)
Other noninterest income	7,654		4,521		8,438		5,150		6,250
Total noninterest income	117,973		112,143		159,018		120,960		54,379

Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits	95,985		92,466		96,698		95,168		75,946
Occupancy and equipment expenses	11,781		12,709		13,805		13,807		12,028
Data processing and telecommunications expenses	11,884		11,323		12,226		10,514		11,954
Credit resolution related expenses⁽¹⁾	547		1,156		802		950		2,198
Advertising and marketing expenses	1,431		3,267		966		1,455		2,358
Amortization of intangible assets	4,126		4,190		4,190		5,601		5,631
Merger and conversion charges	—		—		(44)		895		540
Other noninterest expenses	23,044		26,005		25,049		27,378		27,398
Total noninterest expense	148,798		151,116		153,692		155,768		138,053

Income before income tax expense	162,743		125,993		150,182		40,845		23,224
Income tax expense	37,781		31,708		34,037		8,609		3,902
Net income	$	124,962	$	94,285	$	116,145	$	32,236	$	19,322

Diluted earnings per common share	$	1.79	$	1.36	$	1.67	$	0.47	$	0.28

(1) Includes expenses associated with problem loans and OREO, as well as OREO losses and writedowns.

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Period End Balance Sheet	Table 3
	Three Months Ended
	Mar		Dec		Sep		Jun		Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2021		2020		2020		2020		2020
Assets
Cash and due from banks	$	224,159	$	203,349	$	257,026	$	292,899	$	255,312
Federal funds sold and interest-bearing deposits in banks	2,534,969		1,913,957		494,765		428,560		396,844
Time deposits in other banks	249		249		249		249		249
Investment securities available for sale, at fair value	859,652		982,879		1,117,436		1,238,896		1,353,040
Other investments	27,620		28,202		47,329		76,453		81,754
Loans held for sale, at fair value	1,509,528		1,167,659		1,414,889		1,736,397		1,398,229

Loans, net of unearned income	14,599,805		14,480,925		14,943,593		14,503,157		13,094,106
Allowance for credit losses	(178,570)		(199,422)		(231,924)		(208,793)		(149,524)
Loans, net	14,421,235		14,281,503		14,711,669		14,294,364		12,944,582

Other real estate owned	8,841		11,880		17,969		23,563		21,027
Premises and equipment, net	231,550		222,890		231,278		230,118		231,347
Goodwill	928,005		928,005		928,005		928,005		931,947
Other intangible assets, net	67,848		71,974		76,164		80,354		85,955
Cash value of bank owned life insurance	176,575		176,467		175,605		175,011		176,239
Deferred income taxes, net	22,367		33,314		53,039		56,306		24,196
Other assets	414,529		416,310		348,428		311,454		323,827
Total assets	$	21,427,127	$	20,438,638	$	19,873,851	$	19,872,629	$	18,224,548

Liabilities
Deposits
Noninterest-bearing	$	6,804,776	$	6,151,070	$	5,909,316	$	5,595,868	$	4,226,253
Interest-bearing	11,071,097		10,806,753		10,154,490		9,993,950		9,618,365
Total deposits	17,875,873		16,957,823		16,063,806		15,589,818		13,844,618
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	9,320		11,641		9,103		12,879		15,160
Other borrowings	425,231		425,155		875,255		1,418,336		1,543,371
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures	124,833		124,345		123,860		123,375		122,890
FDIC loss-share payable, net	—		—		19,476		18,903		18,111
Other liabilities	234,274		272,586		217,668		249,188		243,248
Total liabilities	18,669,531		17,791,550		17,309,168		17,412,499		15,787,398

Shareholders' Equity
Preferred stock	—		—		—		—		—
Common stock	71,954		71,754		71,703		71,674		71,652
Capital stock	1,917,990		1,913,285		1,911,031		1,909,839		1,908,721
Retained earnings	785,984		671,510		587,657		481,948		460,153
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax	26,090		33,505		37,252		39,613		39,551
Treasury stock	(44,422)		(42,966)		(42,960)		(42,944)		(42,927)
Total shareholders' equity	2,757,596		2,647,088		2,564,683		2,460,130		2,437,150
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$	21,427,127	$	20,438,638	$	19,873,851	$	19,872,629	$	18,224,548

Other Data
Earning assets	$	19,531,823	$	18,573,871	$	18,018,261	$	17,983,712	$	16,324,222
Intangible assets	995,853		999,979		1,004,169		1,008,359		1,017,902
Interest-bearing liabilities	11,630,481		11,367,894		11,162,708		11,548,540		11,299,786
Average assets	20,734,414		19,876,338		19,810,084		19,222,181		18,056,445
Average common shareholders' equity	2,695,005		2,622,942		2,529,471		2,478,373		2,456,617

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Asset Quality Information	Table 4
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2021			2020			2020			2020			2020
Allowance for Credit Losses
Balance at beginning of period	$	233,105		$	260,417		$	246,295		$	167,315		$	39,266

CECL adoption impact on allowance for loan losses	—			—			—			—			78,661
CECL adoption impact on allowance for unfunded commitments	—			—			—			—			12,714
Total CECL adoption impact	—			—			—			—			91,375

Provision for loan losses	(16,579)			(6,700)			26,692			68,449			37,047
Provision for unfunded commitments	(11,839)			5,481			(10,131)			19,712			4,000
Provision for other credit losses	(173)			(291)			1,121			—			—
Provision for credit losses	(28,591)			(1,510)			17,682			88,161			41,047

Charge-offs	7,574			29,094			7,370			11,282			6,718
Recoveries	3,301			3,292			3,810			2,101			2,345
Net charge-offs	4,273			25,802			3,560			9,181			4,373

Ending balance	$	200,241		$	233,105		$	260,417		$	246,295		$	167,315

Allowance for loan losses	$	178,570		$	199,422		$	231,924		$	208,793		$	149,524
Allowance for unfunded commitments	21,014			32,853			27,372			37,502			17,791
Allowance for other credit losses	657			830			1,121			—			—
Total allowance for credit losses	$	200,241		$	233,105		$	260,417		$	246,295		$	167,315

Net Charge-off Information
Charge-offs
Commercial, financial and agricultural	$	2,370		$	5,960		$	1,715		$	486		$	2,486
Consumer installment	1,448			2,861			677			962			1,142
Indirect automobile	829			658			697			1,016			1,231
Premium Finance	1,343			2,240			1,158			1,904			831
Real estate - construction and development	26			—			9			74			—
Real estate - commercial and farmland	1,395			17,284			2,977			6,315			928
Real estate - residential	163			91			137			525			100
Total charge-offs	7,574			29,094			7,370			11,282			6,718

Recoveries
Commercial, financial and agricultural	727			754			470			303			362
Consumer installment	356			480			516			436			321
Indirect automobile	700			637			317			359			344
Premium Finance	1,122			605			1,224			676			684
Real estate - construction and development	167			125			182			168			342
Real estate - commercial and farmland	41			439			904			21			85
Real estate - residential	188			252			197			138			207
Total recoveries	3,301			3,292			3,810			2,101			2,345

Net charge-offs	$	4,273		$	25,802		$	3,560		$	9,181		$	4,373

Non-Performing Assets
Nonaccrual loans	$	71,189		$	76,457		$	138,163		$	77,745		$	77,866
Other real estate owned	8,841			11,880			17,969			23,563			21,027
Repossessed assets	840			544			258			1,348			783
Accruing loans delinquent 90 days or more	5,097			8,326			7,003			15,126			11,974
Total non-performing assets	$	85,967		$	97,207		$	163,393		$	117,782		$	111,650

Asset Quality Ratios
Non-performing assets as a percent of total assets	0.40		%	0.48		%	0.82		%	0.59		%	0.61		%
Net charge-offs as a percent of average loans (annualized)	0.12		%	0.70		%	0.10		%	0.27		%	0.14		%

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Loan Information	Table 5
	Mar		Dec		Sep		Jun		Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2021		2020		2020		2020		2020
Loans by Type
Commercial, financial and agricultural	$	1,611,029	$	1,627,477	$	1,879,788	$	1,839,921	$	827,392
Consumer installment	257,097		306,995		450,810		575,782		520,592
Indirect automobile	482,637		580,083		682,396		739,543		937,736
Mortgage warehouse	880,216		916,353		995,942		748,853		547,328
Municipal	659,228		659,403		725,669		731,508		749,633
Premium Finance	706,379		687,841		710,890		690,584		661,845
Real estate - construction and development	1,533,234		1,606,710		1,628,255		1,641,744		1,628,367
Real estate - commercial and farmland	5,616,826		5,300,006		5,116,252		4,804,420		4,516,451
Real estate - residential	2,853,159		2,796,057		2,753,591		2,730,802		2,704,762
Total loans	$	14,599,805	$	14,480,925	$	14,943,593	$	14,503,157	$	13,094,106

Troubled Debt Restructurings
Accruing troubled debt restructurings
Commercial, financial and agricultural	$	930	$	521	$	459	$	591	$	575
Consumer installment	27		32		36		42		4
Indirect automobile	1,931		2,277		2,689		—		—
Mortgage warehouse	—		—		—		—		—
Municipal	—		—		—		—		—
Premium Finance	—		—		—		—		159
Real estate - construction and development	501		506		510		919		925
Real estate - commercial and farmland	59,398		36,707		56,417		5,252		5,587
Real estate - residential	33,324		38,800		28,777		30,253		22,775
Total accruing troubled debt restructurings	$	96,111	$	78,843	$	88,888	$	37,057	$	30,025
Nonaccrual troubled debt restructurings
Commercial, financial and agricultural	$	854	$	849	$	1,002	$	1,034	$	334
Consumer installment	53		56		64		67		105
Indirect automobile	321		461		482		—		—
Mortgage warehouse	—		—		—		—		—
Municipal	—		—		—		—		—
Premium Finance	—		—		—		—		—
Real estate - construction and development	706		707		709		307		289
Real estate - commercial and farmland	2,233		1,401		19,942		1,878		2,415
Real estate - residential	2,818		2,671		4,477		2,231		3,078
Total nonaccrual troubled debt restructurings	$	6,985	$	6,145	$	26,676	$	5,517	$	6,221
Total troubled debt restructurings	$	103,096	$	84,988	$	115,564	$	42,574	$	36,246

Loans by Risk Grade
Grade 1 - Prime credit	$	1,381,205	$	1,368,661	$	1,845,900	$	1,789,709	$	774,956
Grade 2 - Strong credit	893,387		869,581		838,267		801,273		785,770
Grade 3 - Good credit	6,805,583		6,624,154		6,189,269		5,784,754		5,772,834
Grade 4 - Satisfactory credit	4,507,148		4,794,672		4,989,617		5,643,133		4,353,733
Grade 5 - Fair credit	616,896		452,350		643,502		212,667		1,131,128
Grade 6 - Other assets especially mentioned	135,213		108,541		151,501		108,704		106,885
Grade 7 - Substandard	260,369		262,947		285,537		162,917		168,561
Grade 8 - Doubtful	—		19		—		—		239
Grade 9 - Loss	4		—		—		—		—
Total loans	$	14,599,805	$	14,480,925	$	14,943,593	$	14,503,157	$	13,094,106

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Average Balances	Table 6
	Three Months Ended
	Mar		Dec		Sep		Jun		Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2021		2020		2020		2020		2020
Earning Assets
Federal funds sold	$	20,000	$	20,000	$	20,004	$	24,265	$	27,380
Interest-bearing deposits in banks	2,145,403		879,481		467,188		398,284		419,260
Time deposits in other banks	249		249		249		249		249
Investment securities - taxable	910,834		1,024,335		1,160,585		1,281,980		1,359,651
Investment securities - nontaxable	19,225		20,112		21,619		21,576		22,839
Other investments	27,516		31,552		64,656		79,143		73,972
Loans held for sale	1,284,821		1,281,762		1,507,481		1,614,080		1,587,131
Loans	14,453,975		14,752,664		14,688,317		13,915,406		12,712,997
Total Earning Assets	$	18,862,023	$	18,010,155	$	17,930,099	$	17,334,983	$	16,203,479

Deposits
Noninterest-bearing deposits	$	6,412,268	$	5,970,672	$	5,782,163	$	5,061,578	$	4,080,920
NOW accounts	3,182,245		2,968,596		2,718,315		2,441,305		2,287,947
MMDA	4,761,279		4,534,243		4,273,899		4,221,906		4,004,644
Savings accounts	823,039		793,414		749,314		692,382		643,422
Retail CDs	2,066,410		2,109,600		2,274,150		2,471,134		2,624,209
Brokered CDs	1,000		1,140		1,933		2,043		61,190
Total Deposits	17,246,241		16,377,665		15,799,774		14,890,348		13,702,332
Non-Deposit Funding
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	9,284		9,929		10,483		12,452		15,637
FHLB advances	48,951		127,797		799,034		1,212,537		1,267,303
Other borrowings	376,260		376,295		272,443		269,300		269,454
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures	124,574		124,091		123,604		123,120		127,731
Total Non-Deposit Funding	559,069		638,112		1,205,564		1,617,409		1,680,125
Total Funding	$	17,805,310	$	17,015,777	$	17,005,338	$	16,507,757	$	15,382,457

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Interest Income and Interest Expense (TE)	Table 7
	Three Months Ended
	Mar		Dec		Sep		Jun		Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2021		2020		2020		2020		2020
Interest Income
Federal funds sold	$	12	$	13	$	13	$	45	$	76
Interest-bearing deposits in banks	521		251		152		122		1,210
Time deposits in other banks	1		1		1		1		1
Investment securities - taxable	6,118		6,398		7,260		9,346		10,082
Investment securities - nontaxable (TE)	178		190		202		198		199
Loans held for sale	10,827		9,705		10,365		14,053		13,637
Loans (TE)	161,473		163,532		163,352		162,617		158,636
Total Earning Assets	$	179,130	$	180,090	$	181,345	$	186,382	$	183,841

Accretion income (included above)	$	6,127	$	4,688	$	6,525	$	9,576	$	6,562

Interest Expense
Interest-Bearing Deposits
NOW accounts	$	926	$	1,091	$	1,394	$	1,265	$	2,774
MMDA	1,998		2,326		2,823		3,764		9,748
Savings accounts	124		143		112		94		210
Retail CDs	3,744		5,301		7,484		9,136		11,064
Brokered CDs	6		9		9		14		306
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits	6,798		8,870		11,822		14,273		24,102
Non-Deposit Funding
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	7		8		9		25		40
FHLB advances	192		245		661		1,686		5,109
Other borrowings	4,638		4,635		3,558		3,487		3,511
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures	1,338		1,569		1,346		1,733		2,061
Total Non-Deposit Funding	6,175		6,457		5,574		6,931		10,721
Total Interest-Bearing Funding	$	12,973	$	15,327	$	17,396	$	21,204	$	34,823

Net Interest Income (TE)	$	166,157	$	164,763	$	163,949	$	165,178	$	149,018

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Yields⁽¹⁾	Table 8
	Three Months Ended
	Mar		Dec		Sep		Jun		Mar
	2021		2020		2020		2020		2020
Earning Assets
Federal funds sold	0.24	%	0.26	%	0.26	%	0.75	%	1.12	%
Interest-bearing deposits in banks	0.10	%	0.11	%	0.13	%	0.12	%	1.16	%
Time deposits in other banks	1.63	%	1.60	%	1.60	%	1.62	%	1.62	%
Investment securities - taxable	2.72	%	2.48	%	2.49	%	2.93	%	2.98	%
Investment securities - nontaxable (TE)	3.75	%	3.76	%	3.72	%	3.69	%	3.50	%
Loans held for sale	3.42	%	3.01	%	2.74	%	3.50	%	3.46	%
Loans (TE)	4.53	%	4.41	%	4.42	%	4.70	%	5.02	%
Total Earning Assets	3.85	%	3.98	%	4.02	%	4.32	%	4.56	%

Interest-Bearing Deposits
NOW accounts	0.12	%	0.15	%	0.20	%	0.21	%	0.49	%
MMDA	0.17	%	0.20	%	0.26	%	0.36	%	0.98	%
Savings accounts	0.06	%	0.07	%	0.06	%	0.05	%	0.13	%
Retail CDs	0.73	%	1.00	%	1.31	%	1.49	%	1.70	%
Brokered CDs	2.43	%	3.14	%	1.85	%	2.76	%	2.01	%
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits	0.25	%	0.34	%	0.47	%	0.58	%	1.01	%
Non-Deposit Funding
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase	0.31	%	0.32	%	0.34	%	0.81	%	1.03	%
FHLB advances	1.59	%	0.76	%	0.33	%	0.56	%	1.62	%
Other borrowings	5.00	%	4.90	%	5.20	%	5.21	%	5.24	%
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures	4.36	%	5.03	%	4.33	%	5.66	%	6.49	%
Total Non-Deposit Funding	4.48	%	4.03	%	1.84	%	1.72	%	2.57	%
Total Interest-Bearing Liabilities	0.46	%	0.55	%	0.62	%	0.75	%	1.24	%

Net Interest Spread	3.39	%	3.43	%	3.40	%	3.57	%	3.32	%

Net Interest Margin⁽²⁾	3.57	%	3.64	%	3.64	%	3.83	%	3.70	%

Total Cost of Funds⁽³⁾	0.30	%	0.36	%	0.41	%	0.52	%	0.91	%

(1) Interest and average rates are calculated on a tax-equivalent basis using an effective tax rate of 21%.
(2) Rate calculated based on average earning assets.
(3) Rate calculated based on total average funding including noninterest-bearing deposits.

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

Adjusted Net Income	Table 9A
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)	2021			2020			2020			2020			2020
Net income available to common shareholders	$	124,962		$	94,285		$	116,145		$	32,236		$	19,322

Adjustment items:
Merger and conversion charges	—			—			(44)			895			540
Restructuring charges	—			—			50			1,463			—
Servicing right impairment (recovery)	(10,639)			9,501			412			7,989			22,165
Gain on BOLI proceeds	(603)			—			(103)			(845)			—
Expenses related to SEC and DOJ Investigation	—			53			268			1,294			1,443
Natural disaster and pandemic charges (Note 1)	—			235			470			2,043			548
(Gain) loss on sale of premises	(264)			(30)			(97)			281			470
Tax effect of adjustment items (Note 2)	2,290			(2,049)			(222)			(2,933)			(5,283)
After tax adjustment items	(9,216)			7,710			734			10,187			19,883
Adjusted net income	$	115,746		$	101,995		$	116,879		$	42,423		$	39,205

Weighted average number of shares - diluted	69,740,860			69,493,105			69,346,141			69,292,972			69,502,022
Net income per diluted share	$	1.79		$	1.36		$	1.67		$	0.47		$	0.28
Adjusted net income per diluted share	$	1.66		$	1.47		$	1.69		$	0.61		$	0.56

Average assets	$	20,734,414		$	19,876,338		$	19,810,084		$	19,222,181		$	18,056,445
Return on average assets	2.44		%	1.89		%	2.33		%	0.67		%	0.43		%
Adjusted return on average assets	2.26		%	2.04		%	2.35		%	0.89		%	0.87		%

Average common equity	$	2,695,005		$	2,622,942		$	2,529,471		$	2,478,373		$	2,456,617
Average tangible common equity	$	1,696,946		$	1,620,742		$	1,523,066		$	1,462,871		$	1,436,108
Return on average common equity	18.80		%	14.30		%	18.27		%	5.23		%	3.16		%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity	27.66		%	25.04		%	30.53		%	11.66		%	10.98		%

Note 1: Pandemic charges include "thank you" pay for certain employees, additional sanitizing expenses at our locations, protective equipment for our employees and branch locations, and additional equipment required to support our remote workforce.

Note 2: A portion of the merger and conversion charges for 1Q20 are nondeductible for tax purposes.

AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES

Non-GAAP Reconciliations (continued)

Adjusted Efficiency Ratio (TE)	Table 9B
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands)	2021			2020			2020			2020			2020
Adjusted Noninterest Expense
Total noninterest expense	$	148,798		$	151,116		$	153,692		$	155,768		$	138,053
Adjustment items:
Merger and conversion charges	—			—			44			(895)			(540)
Restructuring charges	—			—			(50)			(1,463)			—
Expenses related to SEC and DOJ Investigation	—			(53)			(268)			(1,294)			(1,443)
Natural disaster and pandemic charges	—			(235)			(470)			(2,043)			(548)
Gain (loss) on sale of premises	264			30			97			(281)			(470)
Adjusted noninterest expense	$	149,062		$	150,858		$	153,045		$	149,792		$	135,052

Total Revenue
Net interest income	$	164,977		$	163,456		$	162,538		$	163,814		$	147,945
Noninterest income	117,973			112,143			159,018			120,960			54,379
Total revenue	$	282,950		$	275,599		$	321,556		$	284,774		$	202,324

Adjusted Total Revenue
Net interest income (TE)	$	166,157		$	164,763		$	163,949		$	165,178		$	149,018
Noninterest income	117,973			112,143			159,018			120,960			54,379
Total revenue (TE)	284,130			276,906			322,967			286,138			203,397
Adjustment items:
(Gain) loss on securities	12			—			—			(14)			9
Gain on BOLI proceeds	(603)			—			(103)			(845)			—
Servicing right impairment (recovery)	(10,639)			9,501			412			7,989			22,165
Adjusted total revenue (TE)	$	272,900		$	286,407		$	323,276		$	293,268		$	225,571

Efficiency ratio	52.59		%	54.83		%	47.80		%	54.70		%	68.23		%
Adjusted efficiency ratio (TE)	54.62		%	52.67		%	47.34		%	51.08		%	59.87		%

Tangible Book Value Per Share	Table 9C
	Three Months Ended
	Mar			Dec			Sep			Jun			Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)	2021			2020			2020			2020			2020
Total shareholders' equity	$	2,757,596		$	2,647,088		$	2,564,683		$	2,460,130		$	2,437,150
Less:
Goodwill	928,005

Ameris Bancorp Announces Financial Results For First Quarter 2021