Company: WSBC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-030795
Chunk: 193

Company: WESBANCO INC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 193
---
    6,019

    7,091

    (1,072
    )

    (15.1
    )

    Communications

    4,718

    5,325

    (607
    )

    (11.4
    )

    Other real estate owned and foreclosure expenses

    266

    349

    (83
    )

    (23.8
    )

    Postage, supplies and other

    30,115

    27,629

    2,486

    9.0

    Total non-interest expense
     
    $
    401,871

    $
    390,002

    $
    11,869

    3.0

Non-interest expense in 2024, excluding restructuring and merger-related expenses, increased $9.3 million or 2.4% compared to 2023. The primary drivers of this increase were higher equipment and software costs, FDIC insurance, professional fees, and postage, supplies and other expenses. These increases were slightly offset by decreases in employee benefits, marketing, amortization of intangible assets, and ATM and electronic banking and interchange expenses. Restructuring and merger-related expenses were $6.4 million in 2024 and $3.8 million in 2023, and are described in more detail below.

Salaries and wages increased by $0.6 million or 0.3% in 2024 as compared to 2023, due to increased bonus expense, mid-year merit increases and lower deferred contra loan origination costs, and were slightly offset by lower salaries expense, stock compensation expense and commission expense.  Full time equivalent employees decreased due to efficiency improvements associated with the branch staffing models as well as the continuation of the branch optimization plans.

Employee benefits expense decreased by $0.8 million or 1.6% in 2024 as compared to 2023, due to decreases in health insurance expense and other benefit expenses, which were driven by lower staffing levels, and were slightly offset by increases in deferred compensation expense.   

Equipment and software costs increased $4.6 million or 12.6% in 2024 compared to 2023, due to continuous improvements in technology and communication infrastructure, including the prior year ATM upgrades, which were phased in throughout 2023, general inflationary cost increases for existing service agreements and increased usage of digital banking services. 

FDIC insurance increased $2.0 million