Mvb Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF) executives highlighted the company’s growth strategy, funding profile, and technology investments during a presentation at the Virtual Investor Conference’s Annual Banking Conference, emphasizing what they described as an improving operating environment for fintech-focused banks and expanding operating leverage driven by automation and AI.
Business overview and positioning
President and CEO Larry Mazza described MVB as a “fintech bank” with an operating mix that includes payment services, banking-as-a-service (BaaS), and a specialty digital gaming vertical alongside a traditional community banking footprint in West Virginia and Virginia.
Growth engines: BaaS, payments, gaming, and core banking
Mazza outlined what he called MVB’s “big five growth vehicles”:
- Banking-as-a-Service, which he said serves six million clients, with Credit Karma as the largest client by number of accounts
- Fintech sponsorship lending
- Digital gaming, where he cited relationships with DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM, and said MVB has 43 digital gaming clients
- Payments, including work with Worldpay, Fiserv, and PayPal
- Core lending and deposits in its traditional markets
In discussing business development, Mazza said MVB’s pipeline included 55 clients and referenced 10 clients in testing and implementation that he said were expected to close “in the near future” and contribute revenue and deposits.
Technology investments and AI-driven efficiency
Mazza and CFO Mike Sumbs both emphasized investments in compliance, data infrastructure, and automation. Mazza said the bank implemented Snowflake in 2024 to create a “clean database,” added riskCanvas as part of its AI-related efforts, and built an internal AI team of six engineers focused on what he called “operational excellence.” He also said 150 employees use Anthropic’s Claude nearly every day.
Sumbs said the number of personnel focused on risk and compliance peaked at 160 in the second quarter of 2024 and has since declined to 111, which he attributed largely to leveraging AI and automation tools. Mazza added that management expected the figure to reach 90 by the end of the second quarter.
Mazza also discussed the company’s prior development of “Victor,” an API- and compliance- and ledger-driven payments product built over roughly four and a half years. He said MVB later sold Victor to Jack Henry after receiving an acquisition offer, while continuing to use the platform and maintain a partnership involving revenue sharing and cross-selling into MVB’s client base.
Capital allocation, capital levels, and shareholder returns
Sumbs detailed the company’s capital allocation framework across four areas: organic growth and platform investment (including technology and AI), balance sheet optimization and liquidity management, strategic M&A (including non-bank technology acquisitions and partnerships), and shareholder returns.
He said MVB is “very well capitalized,” citing tangible common equity “just over 10%” and a community bank leverage ratio “slightly over 11%,” with a 9% target under the community bank leverage framework. Sumbs also said tangible book value per share was $26.17 as of the end of 2025, representing a 9.5% compounded annual growth rate since 2019, and that the company has paid $3.85 in common dividends over that period.
On capital returns, Sumbs said MVB pays a common dividend of $0.17 per share per quarter. He also said the company repurchased 10.2 million shares in 2025, which he characterized as roughly 4% of outstanding shares, and that a $10 million repurchase authorization remains in place.
Financial performance and balance sheet trends
Sumbs said the fourth quarter was strong, noting 16 basis points of net interest margin expansion to 3.71%, supported by what he described as a strong funding base with 40% non-interest-bearing deposits. He added that payment card and service charge income increased more than 19% during the quarter.
He also described deposit trends, saying MVB has a relatively even split between fintech deposits and core deposits, with diversification across verticals and no major concentrations. Sumbs said the bank has worked to reduce certificates of deposit and highlighted that approximately $350 million of CDs would reprice during 2026 at a weighted average rate of 4.32%, which he said could help reduce funding costs.
On lending, Sumbs said total loans grew about 12% in 2025, rising from $2.1 billion to roughly $2.35 billion. He described the portfolio as diversified, with approximately 39% commercial real estate, 25% residential, and 20% commercial small business, and said office exposure was just under 3%. He added that asset quality has been historically strong and said he felt good about non-performing loans and asset quality overall.
During Q&A, Mazza said management believes regulatory challenges in fintech banking created significant headwinds over the prior three years, but argued the environment has shifted and that MVB has built infrastructure—citing $22 million spent over three years—to support compliance and onboarding at scale. Executives also discussed growth opportunities tied to gaming and “predictive markets,” and said key metrics to watch in 2026 include non-interest income growth, margin improvement tied to loan growth and deposit repricing, and holding non-interest expense flat as earnings per share expands.
About Mvb Financial (NASDAQ:MVBF)
MVB Financial Corp is a bank holding company based in Fairmont, West Virginia, serving individuals and businesses through its subsidiary, MVB Bank, Inc The company operates under a “Local First Banking” philosophy, emphasizing personalized service across its branch network. Its core business activities include deposit-taking, commercial lending, residential mortgage origination, and wealth management services.
On the deposit side, MVB Bank offers a range of products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.
