Amerant Bancorp Inc. (AMTB)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis is designed to provide a better understanding of various factors related to Amerant Bancorp Inc.’s (the “Company,” “Amerant,” “our” or “we”) results of operations and financial condition and its subsidiaries, including its principal subsidiary, Amerant Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”). Amerant Investments, Inc., a securities broker-dealer (“Amerant Investments”) is an operating subsidiary of the Bank. For an update on the strategic focus of our mortgage business and Amerant Mortgage, LLC, a mortgage lending company domiciled in Florida (“Amerant Mortgage”), see “Amerant Mortgage and Elant Bank & Trust Updates” below.

This discussion is intended to supplement and highlight information contained in the accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and related footnotes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Form 10-Q”), as well as the information contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 filed on February 27, 2026 (the “2025 Form 10-K”).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Various of the statements made in this Form 10-Q, including information incorporated herein by reference to other documents, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of, and subject to, the protections of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions and future performance and condition and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause the actual results, performance, achievements, or financial condition of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance, achievements, or financial condition expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You should not expect us to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should be read together with the “Risk Factors” included in the 2025 Form 10-K, in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2026 filed on May 1, 2026, and in our other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through our use of words such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “seek,” “should,” “indicate,” “would,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “consider”, “expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “point to,” “project,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “goals,” “outlooks,” “modeled”, “dedicated”, “create” and other similar words and expressions of the future. These forward-looking statements may not be realized due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation:

•Liquidity risks could affect our operations and jeopardize our financial condition and certain funding sources could increase our interest rate expense;

•We may not be able to develop and maintain a strong core deposit base or other low-cost funding sources;

•We may elect or be compelled to seek additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed or on acceptable terms;

•Our ability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries could affect our liquidity and our ability to pay dividends;

•Our profitability is subject to interest rate risk;

•Our allowance for credit losses may prove inadequate;

•Our concentration of CRE loans could result in increased loan losses;

•Many of our loans are to commercial borrowers, which have unique risks compared to other types of loans;

•Our valuation of securities in our investment securities portfolio are subjective and, if changed, we could recognize losses that could materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition;

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•Nonperforming and similar assets take significant time to resolve and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows;

•We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with lending activities;

•Increased exposure to residential mortgage assets may heighten sensitivity to interest rate changes, housing market conditions, and secondary market liquidity;

•Many of our major systems depend on and are operated by third-party vendors, and any systems failures or interruptions could adversely affect our operations and the services we provide to our customers;

•Our information systems are exposed to cybersecurity threats and may experience interruptions and security breaches that could adversely affect our business and reputation;

•Our strategic plan and growth strategy may not be achieved as quickly or as fully as we seek;

•Defaults by or deteriorating asset quality of other financial institutions could adversely affect us;

•New lines of business, new products or services, and technological advancements may subject us to additional risks;

•We are susceptible to operational risks in general and fraudulent risk in particular;

•Conditions or developments in Venezuela could adversely affect our operations;

•We are subject to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, risks, many of which are outside of our control, that could harm our reputation, our business, operations, financial condition, and/or the price of our common stock;

•We may be unable to attract and retain key people to support our business;

•Severe weather, natural disasters, global pandemics, acts of war or terrorism, theft, civil unrest, government expropriation or other external events could have significant effects on our business;

•Any failure to protect the confidentiality of customer information could adversely affect our reputation and subject us to financial sanctions and other costs that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows;

•We could be required to write down our goodwill or other intangible assets;

•We have a net deferred tax asset that may or may not be fully realized;

•We may incur losses due to minority investments in fintech and specialty finance companies;

•We are subject to risks associated with sub-leasing portions of our corporate headquarters building;

•Our success depends on our ability to compete effectively in highly competitive markets;

•Potential gaps in our risk management policies and internal audit procedures may leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our business;

•Any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could impair the reliability of our financial statements, which in turn could harm our business, impair investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and our access to the capital markets and cause the price of our common stock to decline and subject us to regulatory penalties;

•Changes in accounting standards could materially impact our financial statements;

•Material and negative developments adversely impacting the financial services industry at large and causing volatility in financial markets and the economy may have materially adverse effects on our liquidity, business, financial condition and results of operations;

•Our business may be adversely affected by economic conditions in general and by conditions in the financial markets;

•We are subject to extensive regulation that could limit or restrict our activities and adversely affect our earnings;

•Changes in federal, state or local tax laws, or audits from tax authorities, could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows;

•Litigation and regulatory investigations are increasingly common in our businesses and may result in significant financial losses and/or harm to our reputation;

•We are subject to capital adequacy and liquidity standards, and if we fail to meet these standards, whether due to losses, growth opportunities or an inability to raise additional capital or otherwise, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows would be adversely affected;

•Increases in FDIC deposit insurance premiums and assessments could adversely affect our financial condition;

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•Federal banking agencies periodically conduct examinations of our business, including our compliance with laws and regulations, and our failure to comply with any regulatory actions, if any, could adversely impact us;

•The Federal Reserve may require us to commit capital resources to support the Bank;

•We may face higher risks of noncompliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations than other financial institutions;

•Failures to comply with the fair lending laws, CFPB regulations or the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, could adversely affect us;

•Our principal shareholders and management own a significant percentage of our shares of voting common stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to shareholder approval;

•The rights of our common shareholders are subordinate to the holders of any debt securities that we have issued or may issue from time to time;

•The stock price of financial institutions, like Amerant, may fluctuate significantly;

•We can issue additional equity securities, which would lead to dilution of our issued and outstanding Class A common stock;

•Certain provisions of our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, Florida law, and U.S. banking laws could have anti-takeover effects;

•We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt, including the Subordinated Notes and the Debentures;

•We are a holding company with limited operations and depend on our subsidiaries for the funds required to make payments of principal and interest on the Subordinated Notes and the Debentures;

•We may incur a substantial level of debt that could materially adversely affect our ability to generate sufficient cash to fulfill our obligations under the Subordinated Notes and the Debentures; and

•The other factors and information included in the 2025 Form 10-K and other filings that we make with the SEC under the Exchange Act and Securities Act. See “Risk Factors” in the 2025 Form 10-K, and in the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.

The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with the other cautionary statements included in the 2025 Form 10-K. Because of these risks and other uncertainties, our actual future financial condition, results, performance or achievements, or industry results, may be materially different from the results indicated by the forward-looking statements in this Form 10-Q. In addition, our past results of operations are not necessarily indicative of our future results of operations. You should not rely on any forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.

All written or oral forward-looking statements that are made by us or are attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, together with those risks and uncertainties described in “Risk Factors” in the 2025 Form 10-K, in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2026 filed on May 1, 2026, and in our other filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s website www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update, revise or correct any forward-looking sta

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Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, including but not limited to those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K, may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements.

The emphasis of this discussion will be on changes in the year ended December 31, 2025 with respect to 2024. See our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for additional details on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations in 2024 and changes in the Company’s financial condition and results of operations from 2023 to 2024.

Overview

Our Company

We are a bank holding company headquartered in Coral Gables, FL. We provide individuals and businesses a comprehensive array of deposit, credit, investment, wealth management, retail banking, mortgage services, and fiduciary services. We serve customers in our United States markets and select international customers. These services are offered through our main subsidiary, Amerant Bank, which is also headquartered in Coral Gables, FL, as well as our other subsidiary, Amerant Investments. Fiduciary, investment, wealth management and mortgage lending services are provided by the Bank and the Bank’s securities broker-dealer, Amerant Investments. The Bank’s primary markets are South Florida, where we are headquartered and operate 21 banking centers in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties; and Tampa, Florida where we have a regional headquarters office and currently operate two banking centers. See “Item1. Business” for recent developments.

Amerant Mortgage is a subsidiary of the Bank. In April 2025, considering its strategic decision to focus on Florida, the Company announced it would transition its mortgage business from a national mortgage originator model to in-footprint focused approach, emphasizing mortgage lending that supports the Company’s retail and private banking customers. Since April 2025, the Company progressively reduced the mortgage-focused FTE count from 77 FTEs to 3 at the close of 2025. In addition, in January 2026, loans owned by the Bank and sub-serviced by a third party have been transferred into the Bank’s core platform, and remaining existing vendor contracts are expected to be terminated or modified. The Company expects to complete winding down Amerant Mortgage in the first half of 2026.

The Cayman Bank is a subsidiary of the Bank. The Company is executing a plan for the dissolution of the Cayman Bank and, as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Cayman Bank no longer had any trust relationships, many of which were transferred to the Bank. The dissolution of the Cayman Bank, is expected to be completed in 2026, once regulatory approval from the applicable regulatory agency is received.

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Primary Factors Used to Evaluate Our Business

Results of Operations. In addition to net income or loss, the primary factors we use to evaluate and manage our results of operations include net interest income, noninterest income and expenses, and indicators of financial performance including return on assets (“ROA”) and return on equity (“ROE”). We also use certain non-GAAP financial measures in the internal evaluation and management of our businesses.

Net Interest Income. Net interest income represents interest income less interest expense. We generate interest income from interest, dividends and fees received on interest-earning assets, including loans and investment securities we own. We incur interest expense from interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities, including interest-bearing deposits, and borrowings such as advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (“FHLB”) and other borrowings such as repurchase agreements, notes, debentures and other funding sources we may have from time to time. Net interest income typically is the most significant contributor to our revenues and net income. To evaluate net interest income, we measure and monitor: (i) yields on our loans and other interest-earning assets; (ii) the costs of our deposits and other funding sources; (iii) our net interest spread; (iv) our net interest margin, or NIM; and (v) our provisions for credit losses. Net interest spread is the difference between rates earned on interest-earning assets and rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities. NIM is calculated by dividing net interest income for the period by average interest-earning assets during that same period. Because noninterest-bearing sources of funds, such as noninterest-bearing deposits and stockholders’ equity, also fund interest-earning assets, NIM includes the benefit of these noninterest-bearing sources of funds. Non-refundable loan origination fees, net of direct costs of originating loans, as well as premiums or discounts paid on loan purchases, are deferred and recognized over the life of the related loan as an adjustment to interest income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Changes in market interest rates and the interest we earn on interest-earning assets, or which we pay on interest-bearing liabilities, as well as the volumes and the types of interest-earning assets, interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing liabilities and stockholders’ equity, usually have the largest impact on periodic changes in our net interest spread, NIM and net interest income. We measure net interest income before and after the provision for credit losses.

Noninterest Income. Noninterest income consists of, among other revenue streams: (i) service fees on deposit accounts; (ii) income from brokerage, advisory and fiduciary activities; (iii) benefits from and changes in cash surrender value of bank-owned life insurance, or BOLI, policies; (iv) card and trade finance servicing fees; (v) securities gains or losses; (vi) net gains and losses on early extinguishment of FHLB advances, which we may execute from time to time as part of asset/liability management activities; (vii) income from derivative transactions with customers; (viii) derivative gains or losses; and (ix) other noninterest income which includes mortgage banking revenue and gains or losses on the sale of loans originated for investment. See “Item 1. Business” for more details.

Our income from service fees on deposit accounts is primarily affected by the volume, growth and mix of deposits we hold, as well as the volume of transactions initiated by customers (e.g., wire transfers). These are affected by prevailing market pricing of deposit services, interest rates, our marketing efforts and other factors.

Our income from brokerage, advisory and fiduciary activities consists of brokerage commissions related to our customers’ trading volume, fiduciary and investment advisory fees generally based on a percentage of the average value of assets under management and custody (“AUM”), and account administrative services and ancillary fees during the contractual period.

Income from changes in the cash surrender value of our BOLI policies represents the amounts that may be realized under the contracts with the insurance carriers, which are nontaxable. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company restructured certain of its BOLI contracts, by surrendering existing lower-yielding policies and reinvesting the proceeds in higher-yielding policies. This transaction increased income from this source beginning in 2024.

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Table of Contents

Interchange fees, other fees and revenue sharing are recognized when earned. Trade finance servicing fees, which primarily include commissions on letters of credit, are generally recognized over the service period on a straight line basis. Card servicing fees include credit and debit card interchange fees and other fees. We have also entered into referral arrangements with recognized U.S.-based card issuers, which permit us to serve our customers and earn referral fees and share interchange revenue without exposure to credit risk. In 2024, the Company discontinued one of these arrangements which served international customers, primarily. This is expected to cause a decrease in this revenue source prospectively.

Our gains and losses on sales of securities are derived from sales from our securities portfolio and are primarily dependent on changes in U.S. Treasury interest rates and asset liability management activities. Generally, as U.S. Treasury rates increase, our securities portfolio decreases in market value, and as U.S. Treasury rates decrease, our securities portfolio increases in value. We also recognize unrealized gains or losses on changes in the valuation of trading securities and marketable equity securities not held for trading.

Our fee income generated on customer interest rate swaps and other loan level derivatives are primarily dependent on volume of transactions completed with customers and are included in noninterest income.

Derivatives unrealized net gains and derivatives unrealized net losses are primarily derived from changes in market value of uncovered interest rate caps with clients.

Other noninterest income includes mortgage banking income/loss generated through our mortgage banking operation comprised of Amerant Mortgage through the early part of the fourth quarter of 2025, and later through the Bank, and consists of gain on sale of loans, gain on loans market valuation, other fees and smaller sources of income. Mortgage banking income was $0.7 million and $6.9 million in 2025 and 2024, respectively. Other income in 2025 includes approximately $3.4 million of net gain on sale of loans originated for investment.

Non-core noninterest income items include other non-core noninterest income which include the effect of items such as derivative losses, securities gains and losses, gains on sale of loans previously originated for investment , amongst other items non-recurrent in nature. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information on non-core noninterest income items.

Noninterest Expense. Noninterest expenses generally increase as our business grows and whenever necessary to implement or enhance policies and procedures for regulatory compliance, and other purposes.

Noninterest expense consists of: (i) salaries and employee benefits; (ii) occupancy and equipment expenses; (iii) professional and other services fees; (iv) loan-level derivative expenses; (v) FDIC deposit and business insurance assessments and premiums; (vi) telecommunication and data processing expenses; (vii) depreciation and amortization; (viii) advertising and marketing expenses; (ix) other real estate and repossessed assets, net; (x) losses on sale of assets; (xi) contract termination costs; and (xii) other operating expenses.

Salaries and employee benefits include compensation (including severance expenses which we generally consider non-routine), employee benefits and employer tax expenses for our personnel. Salaries and employee benefits are partially offset by costs directly related to the origination of loans, which are deferred and amortized over the life of the related loans as adjustments to interest income in accordance with GAAP.

Occupancy expenses consists of lease expense on our leased properties, including right-of-use or ROU asset impairment charges, and other occupancy-related expenses. Equipment expense includes furniture, fixtures and equipment-related expenses. Rental income associated with subleasing portions of the Company’s headquarters building and the subleasing of th

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