Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) reported lower second-quarter 2026 earnings as elevated credit costs and continued balance-sheet repositioning weighed on results, while the company’s new chief executive outlined priorities focused on asset quality, deposits, operating performance and capital.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based bank holding company posted net income of $6.9 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared with $14.7 million in the previous quarter, Chief Financial Officer Eric Newell said on the company’s earnings call. Newell said the decline “primarily reflects elevated provision expense, a smaller interest-earning asset base, continued resolutions associated with addressing problem assets and strengthening the overall health of the balance sheet.”
“Investors are looking for results, not promises,” Curley said. “You’ll judge us by what we do, not what we say, and that’s exactly how we intend to earn your confidence.”
Asset quality remains central focus
Management repeatedly emphasized that troubled credits have been identified and are being actively managed. Newell said the company’s approach is to “recognize problems early, reserve adequately, pursue resolution, and maximize recovery.”
Credit metrics improved in several areas during the quarter. Eagle’s commercial real estate concentration ratio declined to 268% at quarter-end from 295% in the prior quarter, moving further below the 300% threshold. Its acquisition, development and construction concentration ratio ended the quarter at 66%.
Criticized and classified assets, including substandard, special mention and held-for-sale loans, fell by about $34.5 million during the quarter to $759.6 million at June 30, compared with $794.1 million at March 31. Newell said those balances have declined more than 30% from their peak in the third quarter of 2025. As a percentage of Tier 1 capital and allowance for credit losses, criticized and classified assets declined to 58.1% at quarter-end, compared with 65.7% at year-end 2025.
The company reported approximately $216 million of downgrade activity during the quarter, including $102 million tied to multifamily loans. Newell said three loans represented all of the multifamily downgrade activity, including $35 million that paid off after quarter-end. The remaining two loans, totaling $64 million, are undergoing restructuring, with “no future losses anticipated,” he said.
Nonperforming loans declined to $111.1 million, or 1.68% of total loans. Provision for credit losses totaled $21.4 million, and net charge-offs were $47.9 million. Newell said the provision was tied to disposition activity during the quarter, while $18.5 million of charge-offs were associated with loans transferred from held for investment to held for sale.
The allowance for credit losses ended the quarter at $121.1 million, or 1.83% of total loans. Newell said about $40 million of reserves were allocated specifically to the bank’s income-producing office portfolio.
Curley said he has personally visited almost all special mention and substandard relationships greater than $7 million, along with several larger watch relationships. “What I found was not a portfolio full of surprises,” he said. “I found a portfolio with known issues, active resolution plans, and teams focused on executing against them.”
Balance sheet and funding strategy
Eagle continued to reduce its commercial real estate exposure. Newell said CRE loans declined by $1.7 billion year-over-year, while deposits associated with that portfolio fell by only $152 million. That improved the CRE portfolio deposit funding ratio to 36%, up from 27% a year earlier.
Period-end deposits declined $406.4 million from the prior quarter, driven mainly by lower savings, money market and brokered time deposits. Brokered deposits fell $301.5 million as Eagle reduced reliance on higher-cost wholesale funding. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased to $1.56 billion, up 5.2% from the prior quarter.
Net interest income declined $1.3 million to $62.4 million, reflecting CRE payoffs and a smaller average earning-asset base, partially offset by improved funding mix. Net interest margin expanded five basis points to 2.52%.
Curley said one of his major priorities is improving the bank’s funding profile and building relationship-based core deposits before returning to stronger loan growth. “Too often, banks start by growing loans and then figuring out how to fund them,” he said. “We’ll take the opposite approach.”
Operating performance improves despite credit costs
Pre-provision net revenue increased $1.4 million from the prior quarter to $29.1 million. Noninterest expense declined $4.7 million to $44 million, mainly because of lower FDIC insurance expense tied to improved risk and performance metrics and reduced expenses related to loan dispositions. The efficiency ratio improved to 60.2% from 63.8% in the prior quarter.
Newell said year-to-date pre-provision net revenue to average assets was about 109 basis points, an improvement from 2025 and a step toward the company’s intermediate target of roughly 150 basis points.
For 2026, management revised its outlook for average deposits, average loans and average earning assets to reflect first-half reductions, but Newell said the revisions do not assume continued declines in the second half. The bank narrowed its net interest margin outlook to 2.6% to 2.7% and improved its noninterest expense outlook to a decline of 7% to 11% year-over-year. Eagle continues to expect noninterest income growth of 15% to 25% for the year.
C&I growth remains a bright spot
Management pointed to commercial and industrial lending as an area of momentum. Newell said C&I loans increased 24% year-over-year, with diversified production and strong credit quality.
Evelyn Lee, chief C&I lending officer, said the bank has benefited from its reputation in the Washington metropolitan area and from hiring experienced bankers. Looking ahead, she said normalized C&I growth would likely be in the “high single digits, low double digits.”
Lee said the C&I strategy is focused on new primary relationships rather than participations, with treasury management growth serving as an indicator of deeper client relationships. She said typical C&I relationships are generally between $5 million and $10 million in exposure, while new production can range from about $7 million to $15 million or $20 million.
In commercial real estate, Ryan Riel, chief real estate lending officer, said the bank expects to stabilize balances in the second half of 2026 but does not expect growth before year-end. Curley added that the company aims to “arrest the decline in the balance sheet” in the back half of the year and return to a growth footing in 2027.
Capital and turnaround priorities
Curley said capital is another area under review, though he did not provide specific targets or potential actions. He described capital as “a strategic asset” and said the company is evaluating capital levels, flexibility and ways to create long-term shareholder value.
He also said Eagle is recruiting a new chief credit officer and beginning the search for a chief human resources officer following a planned retirement. The bank plans to continue investing in technology, processes and capabilities while remaining disciplined on expenses.
Asked by analysts about the most immediate opportunity at Eagle, Curley said the key task is stopping the balance-sheet decline. “I’ve never seen a bank shrink to greatness,” he said. He added that the company has opportunities to resume disciplined CRE lending, expand business banking and improve branch productivity.
Curley closed the call by saying his objective is not to remake the company, but to strengthen it. “My objective isn’t to create a different EagleBank,” he said. “It’s to build a stronger EagleBank.”
About Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN)
Eagle Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for EagleBank, a commercial bank headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Since its founding in 1998, the company has focused on serving businesses and consumers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. EagleBank operates a network of full-service branches and commercial banking centers, providing personalized financial solutions to corporate, nonprofit, real estate and individual clients.
The company’s product portfolio includes commercial real estate lending, construction and land development financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, commercial and industrial credit facilities, and residential mortgage loans.
