ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.

Hello and welcome to the Connect One Bancorp Incorporated third quarter 2023 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, again press the star 1. I will now turn the conference over to Sia Vanzia, Chief Brand and Innovation Officer. Please go ahead.

Good morning and welcome to today's conference call to review Connect One's results for the third quarter of 2023 and to update you on recent developments. On today's conference call will be Frank Sorrentino, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Bill Burns, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. I'd also like to caution you that we may make forward-looking statements during today's conference call that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations are detailed in our SEC filings. The forward-looking statements included in this conference call are only made as of the date of this call, and the company is not obligated to publicly update or revise them. In addition, certain terms used in this call are non-GAAP financial measures, reconciliations of which are provided in the company's earnings release and accompanying tables or schedules, which have been filed today on Form 8K with the SEC and may be also accessed through the company's website. I will now turn the call over to Frank Sorrentino. Frank, please go ahead.

Thank you, Sia, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today as we discuss Connect One's recent quarterly performance. Before we take your questions, I'll review some of the challenges and opportunities that we're seeing while Bill will review our third quarter in more detail. With that said, let's jump right to the point. While we're proud of our determination to serve our clients in this challenging time, it has been a difficult operating environment. Our operating results remain solid. However, these are not the financial results we're accustomed to. We remain confident that we will return to our historical level of profitability based on the strength of our franchise. We understand that putting our clients first and putting our people first has a short-term cost in this difficult environment. We also understand that continuing to make investments in our talent, technology, and systems at this time is a choice we make. Nonetheless, as we collectively navigate near-term headwinds Connect One remains resilient and committed to maintaining and, in fact, improving our business model. Importantly, we have the financial strength, balance sheet, and capital structure to support this, with both strong liquidity and a fortified tangible common equity position. We also continue to generate a sound operating profit, which, when coupled with our solid capital levels, provides us with the flexibility to repurchase shares, pay dividends, invest in infrastructure and grow prudently. We're seizing opportunities to strengthen our teams by adding high performing talent across the organization. And we made some notable hires this quarter. This includes the appointment of a leading financial services executive as chief strategic operations officer, and the addition of a seasoned technology executive as chief digital office officer to further leverage technological innovations. At the same time, We remain one of the industry's most efficient banks nationwide as we continue to optimize operations, staff count, and our footprint. Demonstrating the diligent execution of our operating model, we continue to support the needs of our clients and build opportunities in new markets and new verticals. To that end, our teams in South Florida and Long Island continue to build momentum as they capture market share. Operationally, we continue to expand through digital enhancements, including Mantle's omnichannel deposit origination platform, Bowfly's franchise referral and lending marketplace, and our SBA lending platform. Turning to credit, Connect One's credit metrics remain stable and sound. We have a high-quality client base, and during the third quarter, delinquencies and non-accruals remained low, reflecting prudent underwriting, strong portfolio oversight, and a resilient economy. Regarding our CRE portfolio, our Manhattan office exposure is less than one-half of 1% of total loans, and our entire New York City office exposure is less than 1% of total loans. Our office exposure in New Jersey is less than 4%, which includes high-tenancy special services and multi-use buildings. And looking at our multifamily, as we've emphasized before, our Manhattan portfolio is less than 2.5% of total loans and only 5.5% in the other four New York boroughs. We're predominantly focused in purchase money loans within suburban and commuter-oriented areas in New Jersey. So to wrap things up, we remain very optimistic and committed to building Connect One's highly valuable franchise. We believe that the actions we've taken over the past 12 to 18 months position the company for sustainable, profitable, and rewarding growth going forward. With that, I'll turn it over to Bill for the details.