ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.

Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Connect One Bancorp, Inc. first quarter 2025 earnings call. All points 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 followed with the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press part one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Siavanshah, 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 first quarter of 2025 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 filing. 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 also be found 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 our call today. I'm pleased with Connect One's performance to start the year, reflecting the disciplined execution of our operating strategies. as well as a continued commitment to our client-first culture and relationship banking model. Some highlights from the quarter include a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in net income available to common shareholders. Our net interest margin expanded again this quarter. Tangible book value per share continues to build ahead of our planned merger, with First of Long Island increasing by about 4% since the transaction was announced. Additionally, credit quality trends remain stable, and our balance sheet remains well positioned. Looking ahead, this positive momentum will continue, reflecting both Connect One's standalone progress and the benefits of our pending merger with First of Long Island. Bill will walk us through some additional details shortly. Regarding our lending, while our portfolio contracted slightly on a point-to-point basis during the first quarter, primarily due to elevated payoff activity within the commercial real estate segment, Our loan pipeline remains robust as we continue to see healthy demand from our clients. Turning to deposits, while as of demand deposit balances declined since year end, our average demand deposits actually increased sequentially. This anomaly was due to temporary client inflows occurring at the end of last year. As you've heard me emphasize before, supporting our clients is Connect One's top priority, an approach that has consistently proven effective. and has enabled us to expand our banking relationships, grow in the number of verticals, and expand into new markets. Shifting to credit quality, trends remain solid, reflecting proactive portfolio management, our longstanding high credit standards, our track record of avoiding riskier subsegments, and the success we've had last year actively managing non-relationship loans off our balance sheet. Next, we're moving forward towards finalizing our planned merger with First of Long Island. I'm excited about the opportunity to serve their distinguished client base with the resources and product set of our combined institution. Our proactive engagement with First of Long Island clients has been very productive. These interactions have provided valuable insights and opportunities to deepen these relationships. We're already seeing new business materialize on Long Island. We've already identified opportunities to leverage our South Florida footprint to support First of Long Island clients, whose similar to Connect One's client base have a business presence in Florida. Integration planning efforts are well underway, and we're seeing strong early synergies already emerge, fueled by a collaborative team mindset. Transaction remains on track to close during the second quarter as we wait for final regulatory approval, which is expected shortly. At Connect One, we remain highly optimistic about the path ahead for our clients, our team, and our shareholders. Shifting to the economic environment, while there's still a number of unknowns, Connect One has a proven track record of adjusting to and navigating market uncertainties. We remain confident in our business strategy and proven ability to execute. Importantly, for the vast majority of our clients, we believe any effect of the tariff policy will be narrow in scope and not widespread. With all that said, I'll turn it over to Bill.