Allegiance Bancshares, Inc.

Good day, and thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Q4 2021 Allegiance Bank Shares, Inc. Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone. Please be advised that this call is being recorded. If you require any further assistance, please press star 0. And I would now like to hand the conference over to your host today, Courtney Theroux, Chief Accounting Officer. You may begin.

Thank you, operator, and thank you to all who have joined our call today. This morning's earnings call will be led by Steve Retzlaff, CEO of the company, Ray Vitulli, President of the company, and CEO of Allegiance Bank, Paul Egge, Executive Vice President and CFO, Okon Akin, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of the company and President of Allegiance Bank, and Shanna Cuzzle, Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Before we begin, I need to remind everyone that some of the remarks made today constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. We intend all such statements to be covered by the Safe Harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Act. Also note that if we give guidance about future results, that guidance is only a reflection of management's beliefs at the time the statement is made and such beliefs are subject to change. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement except as may be required by law. Please see the last page of the text in this morning's earnings release, which is available on our website at allegiancebank.com, or additional information about the risk factors associated with forward-looking statements. We also have provided an investor presentation on our website. Although it is not being used as a guide for today's comments, it is available for review at this time. At the conclusion of our remarks, we will open the line and allow time for questions. I now turn the call over to our CEO, Steve Resloff.

Thank you, Courtney, and good morning, everyone who is participating with us on today's call. We thank you for your time and interest. You know, the impressive themes from the third quarter of 2021 continued their march into the fourth quarter, forcing me to sound a little redundant, but in a good way, as our net income of $21.6 million, or $1.06 per polluted share, was the result of both strong core performance, but also the beneficial contribution from further PPP fee income recognition and a prudent but significant increase in investments due to continued liquidity expansions. For the full year, we set new records all over the place, record earnings of $4.01 per share and new highs in key balance sheet components and footings such as securities, core loans, deposits, capital, and total assets. Our shareholders should not only celebrate the higher earnings, but we have also declared another increase in the dividends being paid. We're not only a bigger bank, we're getting better every day. In 2021, we originated a record level of new loans, which As it was predominantly granular, represented a courageous effort by all of our bankers in the field. We grew our core loans in the fourth quarter at an annualized rate of 7.5%. Our asset quality statistics are even better than before, highlighted by fewer non-accrual loans and zero ORE at year end. With a continued strong allowance for credit loss position, this resulted in a higher NPA coverage ratio. Despite uncertainties going into 2021, we just did not experience very much in the way of net charge loss for the year, which I believe can be attributed not only to continued solid underwriting, but also a well-conceived and executed pandemic assistance program. Great work by our special assets team and a Houston regional economy that is more resilient than people sometimes realize. It is not always easy to be succinct when you want to fully describe something so that others who are not seeing it firsthand can gain a full appreciation. Ray and Paul are about to provide the details, which represent clearly impressive results in a strong balance sheet position. I want to lean into our excitement for what is being accomplished in addition to the numbers. As you know, we announced a merger of equals during the quarter with CBTX, Inc., The announcement was the result of a year-long work between our executive team members and our respective boards. Since announcement, our joint integration team has been formed, conversations between functional departments are becoming frequent, and people are getting to know, and in many cases, getting reacquainted with one another. While change is often referenced as a risk factor, And it is real, our two teams are rapidly adopting a unified approach as they collaborate and take on the responsibility of putting these two organizations together. I could not be more pleased by how a strong sense of one team, one future is being formed. This is clearly an exciting time at Allegiance as we continue to embrace our quickly expanding role as the premier community bank headquartered in our region. As such, I am proud of our financial and volunteer commitment to local outreach as we continue to support our community. Highlighting just two of many, we recommitted to support the Houston Food Bank in 2022, which, for those of you unfamiliar, the Houston Food Bank is the largest food bank in the country and is able to deliver annually well over 150 million pounds of food to our region through 1,800 distribution partners, which not only rescues those with food insecurities, but can also serve to supplement rising expenses for financially challenged families. We have also been deeply involved with the formation and funding of a banking program at Texas Southern University, one of the nation's largest historically black universities, with the vision that TSU will fill the educational need for those students interested in pursuing a career in banking. With that, I'll turn it over to Ray for a more detailed review of our operational results, followed by Paul, who will cover our financial results. Thanks, Steve.