Sterling Bancorp, the parent company of Sterling National Bank, announced it has completed two loan portfolio sales including the remaining balance of its small business commercial transportation loans and the majority of its residential mortgage non-performing loans.

CEO Jack Kopnisky commented, “With the actions we are announcing today, we continue to emphasize our intent to proactively address the impact of the pandemic on our business and loan portfolio. The two loan portfolio sales include assets that did not meet our risk-adjusted return targets and were not core to our strategy of providing superior lending products and services to middle market commercial clients. Accelerating the disposition of these assets will allow us to better allocate our capital and human resources to other areas of our business that are in-line with our strategy and have higher prospects for growth and profitability.”

In two separate transactions, the company sold $106.1 million in equipment finance loans, which represented the remaining balance of its small business commercial transportation loans, and residential mortgage non-performing loans with a carrying value of $57.6 million. In aggregate, the loan sales included a total of $84.5 million in non-performing loans and resulted in net charge-offs of $55.1 million. The company does not anticipate the sales will have a material impact in the third quarter of 2020 on its provision for loan losses or allowance for credit losses requirements, as the majority of the charge-offs incurred in connection with the transactions had been previously recorded in its allowance for credit losses.

The company also provided an update on loan deferrals, which were $704 million and represented 3.2% of total portfolio loans. Kopnisky said, "While the early effects of the pandemic led many companies to defer payments under the guidance of the CARES Act, the businesses and operations of many of our commercial clients have been resilient through these difficult economic conditions. Also, while several industry sectors continue to experience meaningful challenges specific to the pandemic, we are encouraged by the decrease of 59 percent in total loan deferrals relative to June 30, 2020. We will continue to pursue mutually beneficial solutions and assist our clients as they operate their businesses through the pandemic.”