Amerant's Venezuelan Deposit Engine Accelerates, Lifting the Bank Over $10B
The Venezuela Deposit Engine
Amerant Bancorp's second-quarter results were defined by a singular, company-specific catalyst: a surge in international deposits, led by Venezuela. Management quantified the move:
This inflow is not merely volume; it is quality. As Carlos lafigliola noted, these are “operating deposits tied to essential industries” — Carlos lafigliola, President and Chief Executive Officer · 2026-07-24 and, crucially, low-cost. The cost of total deposits fell to 2.21% from 2.31% in Q1, and the bank's International deposit franchise is now the primary driver of the deposit base, with total deposits reaching $8.4B, up 5.2% sequentially.Venezuelan deposits increasing close to $500 million from the first quarter and contributing significantly to the total international deposit growth.
This is not a new theme management had hinted at for two quarters, but it has now moved from narrative to numbers. In the prior Q4 call, lafigliola described Venezuela as “a great opportunity that we cannot size as of now” — Carlos Iafigliola, Senior Executive Vice President and Interim CEO · 2026-01-23. That sizing has become concrete, and the impact is visible in the balance sheet. The bank crossed the $10B asset threshold, a milestone that management had deliberately stepped back from earlier. On the Q1 call, CFO Sharymar Calderón had said: “we continue to plan to cross the $10 billion threshold” — Sharymar Yepez, Chief Financial Officer · 2026-04-24. Now, they are committed to staying above it with a stronger, lower-cost funding base.
Credit and Cost: The Other Levers
Beyond deposits, the bank is executing a deliberate turnaround across credit and expenses. The credit initiative remains the top priority. In Q2, management revised credit policies, tightened underwriting, and accelerated exits of criticized credits. As a result, non-performing loans fell 2.8% to $171M, and classified and special mention loans also declined. The bank is shifting its portfolio toward a more granular, credit box focus, with the new sweet spot for loan size around $30M. This is a continuation of the strategy outlined in prior calls, but the execution is now showing in the numbers.
On expenses, management identified additional cost-savings initiatives expected to materialize in Q4, supporting the path toward a 60% efficiency ratio. “we identified additional cost-savings initiatives that are expected to materialize in the fourth quarter” — Carlos lafigliola, President and Chief Executive Officer · 2026-07-24. The efficiency ratio improved slightly to 68.37%, and the bank reiterated its goal of reaching roughly 1% ROA by year-end. Net interest margin guidance of 3.50% for the remainder of 2026 embeds the expectation that lower-cost deposits will offset continued yield compression on new loans.
The market has taken notice. The stock is up 20.5% over the last 90 days, trading around tangible book value of $22.78, and management repurchased 690,000 shares at $23.29, signaling confidence. The growth in lower cost deposits is the structural tailwind that should continue to support the balance sheet.
With a strengthened capital position — CET1 at 11.94% — and a clear strategy, Amerant appears to be turning the corner. The next few quarters will test whether the Venezuelan deposit flow is durable and whether the bank can deploy it into high-quality, granular loans without sacrificing yield discipline. As lafigliola put it, “we have a durable franchise, a clear strategic vision, and a disciplined execution plan” — Carlos lafigliola, President and Chief Executive Officer · 2026-07-24. The positioning is improving, but the real proof will be in the earnings trajectory.