Republic Bancorp Posts 12% Q3 Net Income Gain

Republic Bancorp Reports a 12% Increase in Third Quarter Net Income

Republic Bancorp, Inc. (“Republic” or the “Company”) reported third quarter 2025 net income and Diluted Earnings per Class A Common Share (“Diluted EPS”) of $29.7 million and $1.52 per share, representing increases of 12% and 11%, over the $26.5 million and $1.37 per share reported for the third quarter of 2024. As a result, the Company achieved a return on average assets (“ROA”) and a return on average equity (“ROE”) of 1.69% and 10.91% for the third quarter of 2025.

Logan Pichel, President & CEO of Republic Bank & Trust Company commented, “We delivered another strong quarter, fueled by a 15% increase in Core Bank net income, underscoring the continued momentum of our strategy and the dedication of our entire team. Our Core Bank, which includes our Traditional Bank and Warehouse Lending operations, represents approximately 94% of the Company’s total assets. Our disciplined approach to pricing across the Core Bank balance sheet continued to generate significant Net Interest Margin (“NIM”) expansion – from 3.53% in the third quarter of 2024, to 3.78% in the third quarter of 2025. On a Total Company basis, NIM expanded 16 basis points from 4.49% in the third quarter of 2024 to 4.65% in the third quarter of 2025. With Total Company interest-earning assets of $6.26 billion, each additional basis point of margin expansion contributes meaningfully to our net interest income.

Our balance sheet liquidity remained strong at quarter-end and continued to gain strength during the quarter. Overall, deposits grew by $21 million from June 30, 2025 to September 30, 2025, while the total Company loan portfolio declined slightly by $92 million for the quarter. Within our Traditional Bank, total loans declined $24 million from June 30, 2025 to $4.56 billion as of September 30, 2025, consistent with our ongoing focus on pricing discipline. Steadily moderating our loan-to-deposit ratio to enhance flexibility for key strategic decisions has been a key focus of the Company over the past several quarters.

In addition to our solid Core Bank net income growth, credit quality remained solid at the Core Bank. The Core Bank’s net charge-offs to average loans was 0.02% for the third quarter, while period-end nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.42% and period-end delinquent loans to total loans ended at 0.21%.

In addition to our strong third quarter performance, we are also proud that we recently received two distinguished accolades highlighting our Company’s performance. In September, we were ranked among Bank Director’s Top 25 publicly traded banks based on profitability, capital adequacy, and credit quality. The analysis included all 300 publicly traded banks in the U.S. with assets greater than $2 billion utilizing year-end 2024 data. In August, we were awarded the 2024 Raymond James Community Bankers Cup, which honors the top 10% of community banks across the U.S. with assets between $500 million and $10 billion based on various profitability, operational efficiency, and balance sheet metrics. These recognitions are a powerful testament to the results of our Company’s mission to enable our associates, customers, communities, and shareholders to thrive,” Pichel concluded.

The following table highlights Republic’s key metrics for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025, and 2024. Additional financial details, including segment-level data, are provided in the financial supplement to this release. The attached digital version of this release includes the financial supplement as an appendix. The financial supplement may also be found as Exhibit 99.2 of the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 17, 2025.

                               
                               
 Total Company Financial Performance HighlightsTotal Company Financial Performance Highlights
  Three Months Ended Sep. 30, $ %  Nine Months Ended Sep. 30, $ % 
(dollars in thousands, except per share data) 2025 2024 Change Change  2025 2024 Change Change 
                               
Income Before Income Tax Expense $37,762  $33,849  $3,913 12%  $138,114  $104,653  $33,461 32% 
Net Income  29,744   26,543   3,201 12    108,496   82,355   26,141 32  
Diluted EPS  1.52   1.37   0.15 11    5.55   4.24   1.31 31  
Return on Average Assets (“ROA”)  1.69%  1.58%  NA 7    2.03%  1.60%  NA 27  
Return on Average Equity (“ROE”)  10.91   10.88   NA 0    13.77   11.53   NA 19  
                               
NA – Not applicable

Results of Operations for the Third Quarter of 2025 Compared to the Third Quarter of 2024

Core Bank(1)

Net income for the Core Bank was $19.8 million for the third quarter of 2025, a $2.7 million, or 15%, increase over the $17.2 million earned for the third quarter of 2024. As discussed in more detail below, a solid increase in net interest income, combined with lower credit loss provisioning, was partially offset by lower noninterest income and higher noninterest expenses.

Net Interest Income Core Bank net interest income was $61.2 million for the third quarter of 2025, a $6.6 million, or 12%, increase over the $54.6 million achieved during the third quarter of 2024. The rise in net interest income for the quarter was driven by a notable increase in the Core Bank’s NIM. Overall, the Core Bank’s NIM rose from 3.53% during the third quarter of 2024 to 3.78% during the third quarter of 2025, benefiting from a meaningful decrease in the Core Bank’s cost of deposits.

Significant items of note impacting the Core Bank’s expansion in net interest income and NIM between the third quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2024 were as follows:

Interest-Earning Assets

  • Average outstanding Warehouse balances increased $47 million, or 9%, from $528 million during the third quarter of 2024 to $575 million for the third quarter of 2025, while the weighted-average yield declined 102 basis points to 7.02%. Average committed Warehouse lines increased from $940 million to $1.06 billion during the same periods, as average usage rates for Warehouse lines fluctuated from 56% during the third quarter of 2024 to 54% for the third quarter of 2025.
     
    While Traditional Bank average loans declined slightly from $4.58 billion during the third quarter of 2024 to $4.57 billion during the third quarter of 2025, the weighted-average yield expanded 8 basis points to 5.71% during the third quarter of 2025.
  • Core Bank average interest-earning cash was $477 million with a weighted-average yield of 4.40% during the third quarter of 2025 compared to $458 million with a weighted-average yield of 5.36% for the third quarter of 2024. In addition, average investments totaled $806 million with a weighted-average yield of 4.07% during the third quarter of 2025 compared to $593 million with a weighted-average yield of 3.20% for the third quarter of 2024. In general, throughout the past several months, the Company has deployed a higher percentage of its excess cash into longer-term investment securities that provided more attractive yields than overnight interest-earning cash options.

Funding Liabilities (Deposits and Borrowings)

  • As it relates to the Core Bank’s decrease in interest expense and cost of interest-bearing liabilities:
    • The weighted-average cost of total interest-bearing deposits decreased from 2.77% during the third quarter of 2024 to 2.32% for the third quarter of 2025, while average interest-bearing deposit balances grew $260 million, or 7%, for the same periods. Included within this growth in interest-bearing deposits was a $277 million net increase in the average balances for business and consumer money market accounts, which generally pay premium rates. The increase in money market balances was partially offset by a $74 million decrease in average transaction accounts and a $38 million decrease in the average balance of third-party listing service deposits.
  • Average noninterest-bearing deposits decreased $27 million from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025, as premium-rate interest-bearing checking and savings deposits continued to be a more attractive alternative for consumer and business clients.

The following tables present by reportable segment the overall changes in the Core Bank’s net interest income, net interest margin, as well as average and period-end loan balances:

                       
                       
  Net Interest Income  Net Interest Margin 
(dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Sep. 30,     Three Months Ended Sep. 30,    
Reportable Segment 2025  2024 Change  2025 2024 Change 
                       
Traditional Banking $57,424  $51,023 $6,401  3.89% 3.61%  0.28% 
Warehouse Lending  3,805   3,580  225  2.62  2.70   (0.08)  
Total Core Bank $61,229  $54,603 $6,626  3.78  3.53   0.25  
                       
                           
                           
  Average Loan Balances  Period-End Loan Balances 
(dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Sep. 30,     Sep. 30,  Sep. 30,   
Reportable Segment  2025  2024 $ Change % Change   2025  2024 $ Change % Change 
            
Traditional Banking $4,569,970 $4,579,371 $(9,401) (0)%  $4,558,306 $4,566,896 $(8,590) (0)% 
Warehouse Lending  575,273  528,363  46,910 9    609,826  595,163  14,663 2  
Total Core Bank $5,145,243 $5,107,734 $37,509 1   $5,168,132 $5,162,059 $6,073 0  
                           

Provision for Expected Credit Losses – The Core Bank’s Provision(2) was a net credit of $479,000 for the third quarter of 2025 compared to a net charge of $1.6 million for the third quarter of 2024.

The net credit of $479,000 for the third quarter of 2025 was driven by the following:

  • The Traditional Bank recorded a net credit to the Provision of $325,000 during the third quarter of 2025 related primarily to minimal net charge-offs and a $24 million reduction in loan balances.
  • Warehouse recorded a net credit to the Provision of $154,000 resulting from general formula reserves applied to a $62 million decline in the outstanding Warehouse period-end balances at the end of the quarter.

As a percentage of total loans, the Core Bank’s Allowance(2) decreased 2 basis points from September 30, 2024, to September 30, 2025. The table below provides a view of the Company’s percentage of Allowance-to-total-loans by reportable segment.

                            
                            
  As of Sep. 30, 2025  As of Sep. 30, 2024  Year-over-Year Change 
(dollars in thousands)       Allowance        Allowance  Allowance   
Reportable Segment Gross Loans Allowance to Loans  Gross Loans Allowance to Loans  to Loans % Change 
       
Traditional Bank $4,558,306 $58,4791.28% $4,566,896 $59,5491.30% (0.02)%(2)% 
Warehouse Lending  609,826  1,522 0.25    595,163  1,486 0.25       
Total Core Bank  5,168,132  60,001 1.16    5,162,059  61,035 1.18   (0.02)  (2)  
                            
Tax Refund Solutions  292  1 0.34    302  1 0.33   0.01  3  
Republic Credit Solutions  112,950  19,863 17.59    134,556  21,122 15.70   1.89  12  
Total Republic Processing Group  113,242  19,864 17.54    134,858  21,123 15.66   1.88  12  
              
Total Company $5,281,374 $79,8651.51% $5,296,917 $82,1581.55% (0.04)%(3)% 
                            
                               
  Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans Roll-Forward
  Three Months Ended September 30,
  2025 2024
(dollars in thousands) Beginning    Charge-   Ending Beginning    Charge-   Ending
Reportable Segment Balance Provision offs Recoveries Balance Balance Provision offs Recoveries Balance
                               
Traditional Bank $59,055 $(325) $(332) $81 $58,479 $59,865 $1,488 $(2,308) $504 $59,549
Warehouse Lending  1,676  (154)      1,522  1,370  116      1,486
Total Core Bank  60,731  (479)  (332)  81  60,001  61,235  1,604  (2,308)  504  61,035
                               
Tax Refund Solutions    (1,467)    1,468  1    (2,310)    2,311  1
Republic Credit Solutions  21,029  3,969  (5,504)  369  19,863  19,452  6,365  (5,022)  327  21,122
Total Republic Processing Group  21,029  2,502  (5,504)  1,837  19,864  19,452  4,055  (5,022)  2,638  21,123
                               
Total Company $81,760 $2,023 $(5,836) $1,918 $79,865 $80,687 $5,659 $(7,330) $3,142 $82,158
                               

The table below presents the Core Bank’s credit quality metrics:

           
           
 Quarters Ended:Years Ended:
 Sep. 30, Sep. 30, Dec. 31,Dec. 31,Dec. 31,
Core Banking Credit Quality Ratios2025 2024 202420232022
           
Nonperforming loans to total loans0.42%0.38%0.44%0.39%0.37%
           
Nonperforming assets to total loans (including OREO)0.44 0.40 0.46 0.41 0.40 
           
Delinquent loans* to total loans0.21 0.19 0.20 0.16 0.14 
           
Net charge-offs to average loans0.02 0.14 0.05 0.01 0.00 
(Quarterly rates annualized)          
           
OREO = Other Real Estate Owned
*Loans 30-days-or-more past due at the time the second contractual payment is past due.

Noninterest Income – Core Bank noninterest income decreased by $571,000 from $11.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 to $10.5 million for the third quarter of 2025. Other noninterest income decreased $481,000 from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025. During the third quarter of 2024, the Company recorded $610,000 of annual volume incentives from MasterCard. The Company’s 2025 annual volume incentives from MasterCard are currently expected to be finalized and received during the fourth quarter of 2025.

Noninterest Expense – The Core Bank’s noninterest expenses were $47.1 million for the third quarter of 2025, an increase of $5.0 million over the third quarter of 2024. Notable line-item variances within the noninterest expense category included:

  • Salaries and employee benefits increased by a combined $1.9 million, or 8%, driven primarily by a $737,000 increase in health insurance claims and a $559,000 increase in estimated bonus-related expenses. The larger estimated bonus-related expenses for the third quarter of 2025 were due to a larger expected bonus payout for 2025 based on the Company’s strong operating results through the first nine months of the year.
  • Technology expenses increased $1.1 million, or 18%, over the third quarter of 2024. The increase in technology expenses was related to the following:
    • Core system operating expenses rose, as the Company operates on a month-to-month contract basis with its current provider, while it works toward a conversion to a new core system provider in the fourth quarter. Under a month-to-month contract situation with its current Core System provider, the Company pays a 25% premium above its previous contractual run rate.
    • The Company also incurred additional expenses for expanded data storage, enhanced security and new ancillary systems, including additional costs resulting from the transition to a new call center management system.
  • Marketing expenses rose $972,000 due to additional costs associated with a new branding campaign, which began during the second quarter of 2025. The new branding campaign and overall marketing expenses near current levels are expected to continue into the foreseeable future.

Republic Processing Group(3)

RPG reported net income of $9.9 million for the third quarter of 2025, a $548,000, or 6%, increase over the $9.4 million reported for the third quarter of 2024. Notable net income fluctuations for the quarter within RPG’s operating segments were as follows:

Tax Refund Solutions

TRS recorded net income of $459,000 during the third quarter of 2025 compared to net income of $919,000 for the third quarter of 2024. The decrease in TRS net income for the quarter was driven primarily by a $843,000 decrease in recoveries of prior period charge-offs for Refund Advances (“RAs”) as the paydowns of RAs during the first six months of 2025 were notably better than the paydowns of RAs during the first six months of 2024. The better paydown experience during the first six months of 2025 has led to fewer recovery opportunities during the second half of 2025 as compared to the second half of 2024.

Republic Payment Solutions

Net income at RPS was $2.2 million for the third quarter of 2025, a $72,000 increase from the third quarter of 2024. The increase in net income at RPS was primarily the result of the favorable impact of no revenue-share being recorded during the third quarter of 2025 compared to $1.3 million recorded during the third quarter of 2024. Partially offsetting the positive benefit of the change in revenue share, RPS earned a lower yield for average prepaid program balances driven by a decrease in the Federal Funds Target Rate over the past twelve months.

Republic Credit Solutions

Net income at RCS increased $936,000, or 15% from $6.3 million for the third quarter of 2024 to $7.2 million for the third quarter of 2025. The increase in RCS net income was primarily due to growth in profitability of two of its Line-of-Credit (“LOC”) products, which had a combined increase in net income of $843,000 from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025.

The rise in the combined net income for these two LOC products was primarily driven by a period-to-period decrease in their combined Provision expense, as a combined quarterly loan balance decline drove a $1.2 million decrease in their formula loan loss reserves for the third quarter of 2025. Conversely an increase in their combined quarterly loan balances for these two LOC products during the third quarter of 2024 drove a $1.7 million increase in their formula loan loss reserves for that period.

The rise in the combined net income for these two LOC products related to their lower Provision expense was partially offset by a decrease in their net interest income and program fees resulting from a decline in their loan balances during the third quarter of 2025.

Republic Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) is the parent company of Republic Bank & Trust Company (the “Bank”). The Bank currently has 47 banking centers in communities within five metropolitan statistical areas (“MSAs”) across five states: 22 banking centers located within the Louisville MSA in Louisville, Prospect, Shelbyville, and Shepherdsville in Kentucky, and Floyds Knobs, Jeffersonville, and New Albany in Indiana; six banking centers within the Lexington MSA in Georgetown and Lexington in Kentucky; eight banking centers within the Cincinnati MSA in Cincinnati and West Chester in Ohio, and Bellevue, Covington, Crestview Hills, and Florence in Kentucky; seven banking centers within the Tampa MSA in Largo, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, Seminole, and Tampa in Florida; and four banking centers within the Nashville MSA in Franklin, Murfreesboro, Nashville and Spring Hill, Tennessee. In addition, Republic Bank Finance has one loan production office in St. Louis, Missouri. The Bank offers online banking at www.republicbank.com. The Company is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and as of September 30, 2025, had approximately $7.01 billion in total assets. The Company’s Class A Common Stock is listed under the symbol “RBCAA” on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.