WARSAW, N.Y., Oct. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI) (the "Company," "we" or "us") today reported financial and operational results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, reflecting strong performance by subsidiaries Five Star Bank (the "Bank") and Courier Capital, LLC ("Courier Capital"), including healthy loan and deposit growth and sustained profitability.

Third Quarter 2026 Highlights and Key Developments

• Total loans grew 2.2% from the end of the linked quarter and 5.8% from September 30, 2025, to reach $4.86 billion at September 30, 2026, driven by robust commercial lending.
• Total deposits increased 3.3% quarter-over-quarter and 2.2% year-over-year to $5.47 billion at September 30, 2026. Growth was broad-based across all deposit categories, led by seasonal support in public deposits.
• Net interest income reached a new quarterly high of $54.3 million and net interest margin of 3.70% was stable with the linked quarter and up 5 basis points from the year-ago quarter.
• Investment advisory income, the Company's leading contributor of noninterest income, increased 1.7% and 10.6% from the linked and year-ago quarters, respectively.
• The efficiency ratio remained below 57% for the quarter, reflecting the Company's focus on sustained profitability.
• The Company's strong capital position enabled the repurchase of 185,833 shares of common stock at an average price of $40.92 per share during the quarter.
  
  

"Our third quarter results underscore the strength of our relationship-driven business model and our unwavering commitment to disciplined execution," said President and Chief Executive Officer Martin K. Birmingham. "Our commercial franchise continues to be the primary driver of loan growth and was supported by increases in consumer indirect and residential mortgage lending during the third quarter. While our quarterly net charge-off ratio was up from lower-than-typical levels in the linked and year-ago quarters, it remains within our full-year guidance. At the same time, the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans decreased by 3 basis points. Overall, we remain focused on credit-disciplined loan production in our core Upstate New York markets."

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer W. Jack Plants II added, "Third quarter performance benefited from continued growth in average earning assets and effective balance sheet management, supporting a 3.70% net interest margin and a nearly 5% increase in net interest income from the prior year period. Our balance sheet remains a source of strength, reflected in a tangible common equity ratio⁽¹⁾ of 8.40%, a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 11.36%, and a return on average tangible common equity⁽¹⁾ of 13.75%. These strong capital levels provide us flexibility to support loan growth and thoughtful investments in our business, while continuing to return capital to shareholders through share buybacks, as we did during the third quarter with the repurchase of 185,833 shares."

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income was $54.3 million, up $930 thousand from the linked quarter and up $2.5 million from the third quarter of 2025. Net interest margin of 3.70% was consistent with the linked quarter and up 5 basis points from the year-ago quarter, driven by lower interest-bearing liability costs.

• Average interest-earning assets of $5.84 billion were up $51.6 million from the second quarter of 2026 and up $180.7 million from the third quarter of 2025. The linked quarter variance reflected a $114.5 million increase in average loans, partially offset by decreases in the average balances of investment securities of $61.6 million and Federal Reserve interest-earning cash of $1.2 million. The year-over-year variance reflected a $228.2 million increase in the average balance of loans, partially offset by a $43.2 million decrease in the average balance of investment securities and a $4.3 million decrease in the average balance of Federal Reserve interest-earning cash. The average yield on interest-earning assets was 5.79% in the third quarter of 2026, compared to 5.76% in the second quarter of 2026, and 5.93% in the third quarter of 2025.
• Average interest-bearing liabilities of $4.57 billion were up $13.8 million from the second quarter of 2026 and up $135.5 million from the third quarter of 2025. The linked quarter variance was primarily due to increases in the average balances of time, savings and money market deposits, partially offset by decreases in average interest-bearing demand deposits and short-term borrowings, while average long-term borrowings were flat. The year-over-year variance reflected increases in the average balances of savings and money market deposits, time deposits, short-term borrowings and interest-bearing demand deposits, partially offset by a decrease in average long-term borrowings. The average cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 2.67%, reflecting an increase of 6 basis points from the linked quarter and a decrease of 25 basis points from the year-ago quarter.
  
  

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income was $10.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, versus $11.0 million in the second quarter of 2026 and $12.1 million in the third quarter of 2025. The linked quarter variance was primarily driven by decreased income from derivative instruments, net, or swap fees, along with greater losses on investments in limited partnerships. The aforementioned lower level of swap fees and loss on limited partnerships were also contributors to the year-over-year variance. Detail on other select categories with notable variances follows:

• Investment advisory income of $3.3 million was up from both the linked and year-ago quarters, reflecting both new business and market performance.
• A loss on investments in limited partnerships, which are primarily small business investment companies, of $274 thousand was recognized in the third quarter of 2026, compared to a loss of $140 thousand and a gain of $223 thousand in the linked and year-ago quarters, respectively. Income from these investments, which we account for under the equity method, fluctuates based on the maturity and performance of the underlying investments.
• Income from derivative instruments, net, which is based on the number and value of interest rate swap transactions executed during the quarter, of $106 thousand was down from $518 thousand and $847 thousand in the linked and year-ago quarters, respectively.
• A net gain on investment securities of $703 thousand was recorded in the third quarter of 2025. There was no gain or loss recorded in the second or third quarters of 2026.
• Other noninterest income of $1.2 million was relatively flat with the linked quarter and down from the year-ago quarter, driven by a variety of factors.
  
  

Noninterest Expense and Income Taxes

Noninterest expense was $36.8 million in the third quarter of 2026, compared to $35.6 million in the second quarter of 2026 and $35.9 million in the third quarter of 2025. Detail on select categories with notable variances follows:

• Salaries and employee benefits expense was $489 thousand higher than the second quarter of 2026, primarily driven by an increase in health insurance benefit expense, and $1.1 million higher than the third quarter of 2025, reflecting a combination of factors, including annual merit increases, higher incentive compensation and investments in personnel.
• Professional services expense was $212 thousand higher than the linked quarter, driven in part by the timing of typical external audit-related expenses. The $213 thousand decrease year-over-year was driven by lower other professional and consulting expenses.
  
  

Income tax expense was $4.1 million for the third quarter of 2026, compared to $4.4 million in the second quarter of 2026 and $4.8 million in the third quarter of 2025. Income tax expense reflects federal and state tax benefits that the Company recognized related to tax credit investments placed in service and/or amortized during each period, as outlined above.

• The effective tax rate, which was 16.9% for the third quarter of 2026, fluctuates on a quarterly basis primarily due to the level of pre-tax earnings or loss and may differ from statutory rates due to interest income from tax-exempt securities, earnings on COLI, the tax impact of restricted stock award vesting, and the impact of tax credit investments.
  
  

Balance Sheet Composition and Liquidity

Total loans of $4.86 billion at September 30, 2026 were up $102.9 million from the end of the linked quarter and up $265.4 million from September 30, 2025.

• Strong commercial lending activity in the Bank's Western and Central New York markets drove both the linked quarter and year-over-year growth.
  
  

Total deposits were $5.47 billion at September 30, 2026, up $175.5 million from June 30, 2026, and up $117.1 million from September 30, 2025.

• The linked quarter variance was primarily due to seasonally higher public deposit balances, but reflected growth across all deposit types. The year-over-year increase reflected higher nonpublic, reciprocal and brokered deposits, partially offset by a modest decrease in public deposits. Public deposits represented 22% of total deposits at September 30, 2026, 22% at June 30, 2026, and 23% at September 30, 2025.
  
  

The Company maintains liquidity, both on and off-balance sheet, to meet customer demand. As outlined in the table above, at September 30, 2026, the Company had approximately $1.17 billion in available liquidity, excluding brokered deposit capacity, in addition to cash and cash equivalents of $102.9 million and available unsecured lines of credit totaling $155.0 million.

Capital Strength and Shareholder Returns

The Company's regulatory capital ratios at September 30, 2026 continued to exceed all regulatory capital requirements to be considered well capitalized.

Shareholders' equity was $619.0 million at September 30, 2026, compared to $643.4 million at June 30, 2026, and $621.7 million at September 30, 2025. The decline was primarily the result of an increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with unrealized losses in the available for sale securities portfolio, which was driven by the increase in interest rates, as well as stock repurchases during the third quarter of 2026, partially offset by net income, net of dividends, retained.

The Company declared a common stock dividend of $0.32 per common share in the third quarter of 2026, consistent with the linked quarter and reflecting an increase of $0.01, or 3.2%, over the year-ago quarter, returning 32% of third quarter net income to common shareholders.

During the third quarter of 2026, the Company repurchased 185,833 shares of common stock at an average price of $40.92 per share. As of September 30, 2026, 320,480 shares remained available under the repurchase program that was approved in September 2025 and which does not have an expiration date.

Credit Quality

The Company has remained strategically focused on the importance of credit discipline, allocating resources to credit and risk management functions as the loan portfolio has grown.

• Non-performing loans were $38.5 million, or 0.79% of total loans, at September 30, 2026, a modest decrease from the linked quarter. The increase from one year prior primarily reflects one well-collateralized commercial business loan that moved to nonaccrual status in the first quarter of 2026, offset in part by the partial charge-off of a previously disclosed nonaccrual commercial business relationship for which a specific reserve was in place.
• Provision for credit losses was $3.9 million in the third quarter of 2026 and was driven by a combination of factors, including loan growth and fluctuation in the balance of unfunded commitments. The provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments, which is included in the provision for credit losses as required by the current expected credit loss standard, totaled a credit of $663 thousand in the third quarter of 2026, compared to a credit of $1.0 million in the second quarter of 2026 and a provision of $671 thousand in the third quarter of 2025.
  
  

Subsequent Events

The Company is required, under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), to evaluate subsequent events through the filing of its consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 on Form 10-Q. As a result, the Company will continue to evaluate the impact of any subsequent events on critical accounting assumptions and estimates made as of September 30, 2026, and will adjust amounts preliminarily reported, if necessary, in its Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

Conference Call

The Company will host an earnings conference call and audio webcast on October 30, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be hosted by Martin K. Birmingham, President and Chief Executive Officer, and W. Jack Plants II, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Within the United States, participants may access the call by dialing 1-877-425-9470 and requesting the “Financial Institutions, Inc. Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call.” A live webcast will also be available at https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1776786&tp_key=90ac35b0c7 in listen-only mode. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company’s IR website, www.FISI-Investors.com, for at least 30 days.

About Financial Institutions, Inc.

Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI) is a financial holding company with approximately $6.5 billion in assets offering banking and wealth management products and services. Its Five Star Bank subsidiary provides consumer and commercial banking and lending services to individuals, municipalities and businesses through banking locations spanning Western and Central New York and a commercial loan production office serving the Mid-Atlantic region. Its Courier Capital, LLC subsidiary offers customized investment management, consulting and retirement plan services to individuals, businesses, institutions, foundations and retirement plans. Learn more at FISI-Investors.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

In addition to results presented in accordance with GAAP, this press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures is included in Appendix A to this document.

The Company believes that providing certain non-GAAP financial measures provides investors with information useful in understanding our financial performance, performance trends and financial position. Our management uses these measures for internal planning and forecasting purposes and we believe that our presentation and discussion, together with the accompanying reconciliations, allows investors, security analysts and other interested parties to view our performance and the factors and trends affecting our business in a manner similar to management. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP measures, and we strongly encourage investors to review our consolidated financial statements in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate the Company. Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not uniformly applied and are not audited. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements as defined by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve significant risks and uncertainties. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "focus," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "preliminary," "should," "target" or "will." Statements herein are based on certain assumptions and analyses by the Company and factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in or implied by such statements for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: changes in interest rates; inflation; tariffs; changes in deposit flows and the cost and availability of funds; fraudulent deposit activity; the Company’s ability to implement its strategic plan, including by expanding its commercial lending footprint and integrating its acquisitions; whether the Company experiences greater credit losses than expected; whether the Company experiences breaches of its, or third party, information systems; the attitudes and preferences of the Company's customers; legal and regulatory proceedings and related matters, including any action described in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, could adversely affect it and the banking industry in general; the competitive environment; fluctuations in the fair value of securities in its investment portfolio; changes in the regulatory environment and the Company's compliance with regulatory requirements; general economic and credit market conditions nationally and regionally; and macroeconomic volatility related to global political unrest. Consequently, all forward-looking statements made herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and the cautionary language and risk factors included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed with the SEC. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this press release.

_{⁽¹⁾ See Appendix A — Reconciliation to Non-GAAP Financial Measures for the computation of this non-GAAP financial measure.
⁽²⁾ Calculated on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a Federal income tax rate of 21%.}