Third Coast Sees 3.80% Q4 Margin as Great Plains Deal Window Reaches April 1

Third Coast Bancshares Chief Financial Officer John McWhorter put the bank’s fourth-quarter net interest margin at 3.80% and gave a best-guess Feb. 1-April 1, 2027, window for closing its Great Plains deal.

McWhorter made both estimates during a Thursday, Oct. 22, call. “I think 3.80% is a pretty good number for the fourth quarter,” he said, adding that he hoped the bank would exceed it. The estimate would be above the 3.70% margin for the quarter ended Sept. 30, but below the 3.83% margin in Q2 and 4.10% a year earlier. McWhorter said the third-quarter margin would have been 3.74% without accelerated accretion.

Third Coast’s third-quarter results included $19 million in net income and 93 cents in diluted earnings per share. Excluding $3.2 million in acquisition-related expenses, adjusted net income was $21.6 million, or $1.06 per diluted share. The adjusted figures are non-GAAP.

The closing window spans two calendar quarters. Third Coast’s earlier target was to close the Great Plains acquisition in the first quarter of 2027, but McWhorter’s best-guess range runs through April 1, which falls outside Q1. He said the companies had not set an exact closing date. Both sides still need shareholder approval, and the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

The companies signed the all-stock agreement Oct. 6 and announced it Oct. 7. The transaction’s approximate $239.6 million value is based on Third Coast’s closing share price on Oct. 6. The companies expect their combined business to have about $9 billion in assets.

Great Plains Bancshares is the parent company of Great Plains National Bank, whose 23-branch franchise spans Oklahoma and Texas. Third Coast Bank, a subsidiary of Third Coast Bancshares, operated 20 branches across Texas’ four largest metropolitan areas. The deal would expand Third Coast’s Dallas presence and establish its entry into Oklahoma.