Customers Bancorp Q3 net income hits $78.4 million as deposits reach record

Customers Bancorp (NYSE: CUBI) reported third quarter 2026 net income available to common shareholders of $78.4 million, or $2.25 per diluted share. The company posted a return on average assets of 1.16% and a return on average common equity of 14.0%. Total deposits reached a period end record of $22.6 billion, while total loans climbed to a record $18.5 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Sam Sidhu attributed the performance to the scaling of artificial intelligence and automation initiatives. The bank completed a pilot for a new deposit onboarding process that allows commercial accounts to be opened in minutes rather than days. Sidhu noted that the company doubled the number of AI agents deployed during the quarter, with cumulative estimated hours saved reaching 76,000, a nearly 65% increase. Management estimates these efforts have unlocked over $15 million in annualized capacity from positions not backfilled.

Balance sheet growth was driven by commercial lending and deposit inflows. C&I loans and leases increased by $592 million, or 6.8%, quarter-over-quarter to $9.3 billion. Within that segment, corporate banking loans and leases rose by $690 million, or 9.7%, to $7.8 billion. Non-interest bearing deposits grew by $295 million to a record $7.2 billion, representing 31.9% of total deposits. New commercial banking teams hired since the second quarter of 2023 added approximately $415 million in deposits during the third quarter, with 28% of that growth coming from non-interest bearing accounts.

Net interest income increased by $15 million, or 7.6%, to $208 million in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. The efficiency ratio improved to 47.2% from 50.6% in the prior quarter, a decline of approximately 340 basis points. Asset quality metrics remained stable, with the non-performing asset ratio at 0.29% of total assets and reserve levels at 322% of total non-performing loans as of September 30, 2026.

The bank’s investment securities portfolio totaled $4.2 billion at the end of the third quarter, an increase of $915 million from June 30, 2026. This growth was primarily driven by purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations. The available-for-sale debt securities portfolio had a spot yield of 5.08% and an effective duration of approximately 2.8 years, with about 42% classified as variable rate and approximately 84% rated AAA.

Regulatory capital ratios as of September 30, 2026, were estimated at a tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio of 8.0% and a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.6%. The company repurchased 492,178 shares of common stock during the quarter. For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, revenue grew by 19%, core earnings rose by 21%, and book value per share increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2025.