The making of a record quarter

This piece is presented by MetaBank.

Meta Financial Group Inc., the holding company for MetaBank, broke records with its second-quarter earnings. The company almost doubled its previous high for quarterly earnings, increasing from $17.8 million to $32.1 million compared to the second quarter of 2016.

We sat down with CEO Tyler Haahr to learn about how this financial technology, or fintech, company accomplished such an achievement.

Tyler Haahr

How does this performance compare to your expectations?

It’s great to see results like this directly correlated to the hard work of our employees. We’ve done four acquisitions in the past 2 1/2 years. Our employees have really stepped up as we’ve quickly evolved as a company. Our growth and success speaks to the strength and vision of our leadership team and the dedication of our employees.

How is Meta a different company today than it was a year ago?

We have acquired two more companies in order to gain a stronger position in the tax space. We’ve always been involved in the tax industry, but nearly half of our revenue stream now comes from tax.

Why is the tax space a good fit for you?

Three out of our four last acquisitions have been in the tax industry: Refund Advantage, EPS Financial and SCS. These acquisitions really positioned us to form strong relationships with the major players in the tax-preparation business, such as Jackson Hewitt, H&R Block and Liberty Tax. We also partner with several smaller, independent tax-preparation offices.

We look at tax as being very synergistic with our other business services. We’re able to provide startup loans to tax-preparation offices as well as refund advance loans to taxpayer customers. We also issue prepaid cards as a fast and safe alternative to checks for customers to receive their tax refund.

What kind of tax products do you offer?

We offer refund transfers, which allows consumers to pay their tax-preparation fees with their tax refund. We also offer refund advance loans. We partnered with Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block to create a refund advance loan product that is interest-free to the consumer. We are paid by the tax preparers, and they use the product as a marketing tool to get traffic and repeat business into their offices. We also have had the opportunity to leverage our prepaid card business by working with tax preparers to offer prepaid cards as an option for consumers to receive their refunds. This method can be faster and more secure than a check. It’s also more convenient for those customers who do not have a traditional banking account.

Were there any other elements that contributed to the record quarter?

Card-fee income was up 43 percent this quarter compared to the same quarter in 2016. Our retail bank loans increased 24 percent and our premium finance loan growth is up 54 percent, compared with March 31, 2016. And our average noninterest bearing deposits grew 13 percent for the quarter, compared to the same period in 2016.

What are your expectations for the rest of the fiscal year?

I feel good about our prospects for the rest of the year. Our second quarter will be the biggest because of our tax business. We have integrated our new acquisitions well, and we’re positioned for growth. Our Q2 release continues to tell the story of our momentum and that we can look forward to significant future growth.

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The making of a record quarter

Meta Financial Group Inc., the holding company for MetaBank, broke records with its second quarter earnings. Hear from CEO Tyler Haahr about how the company did it.

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