Columbia Banking System, Inc.

a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. At this time, I would like to introduce Jackie Bolin, Director of Investor Relations, to begin the conference call. You may begin.

Thank you, Tawanda. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us as we review our fourth quarter results. The earnings released in corresponding presentation are available on our website at columbiabankingsystem.com. During today's call, we will make forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of federal securities law. For a list of factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, please refer to the disclosures contained within our SEC filings. We will also reference non-GAAP financial measures, and I encourage you to review the non-GAAP reconciliations provided in our earnings materials. I will now hand the call over to Columbia's Chair, CEO, and President, Clint Stein.

Thank you, Jackie. Good afternoon, everyone. The fourth quarter marked a strong end to a tremendous year for Columbia. We continued to advance our strategic priorities while delivering solid operating performance and consistent, repeatable financial results. During 2025, we announced and closed our strategic acquisition of Pacific Premier Bank. As I've stated many times, PAC Premier was the missing puzzle piece to complete our Western footprint. The acquisition bolstered our position as the preeminent regional bank in the Northwest and improved our competitive position in other key Western markets, most notably Southern California, where we now hold a top 10 deposit market share position. We remain on track for another seamless systems conversion this quarter, supported by our highly experienced team of associates, meticulous planning, and successful integration activity to date. I'm very pleased with the cultural integration I have witnessed over the past several months as well. Our new team members from PAC Premier continue to impress with their unrelenting focus on taking care of customers while adapting to Columbia's products, policies, and processes. We also contributed to our operational momentum through de novo growth, opening new locations in Arizona, Colorado, California, and Oregon during 2025. These investments reflect our commitment to expanding our presence throughout our entire footprint. We have planned for continued targeted de novo activity in 2026 with investments funded by resources set aside from our 2024 expense initiative and other efficiency opportunities. Turning to the fourth quarter, Columbia's operating results were once again consistent and repeatable, underscoring our focus on operational enhancement and top quartile, and in some cases top decile, performance. Fourth quarter operating PPNR was up 27% from the third quarter, as our focus on profitability and balance sheet optimization was enhanced by the full quarter run rate of PAC Premier. We are already seeing that momentum carry into 2026 with the continued realization of deal-related cost savings and healthy customer pipelines across each of our business units and geographies. Our teams remain focused on the activities that drive business with new and existing customers. Our ongoing balance sheet management strategies are enhancing the quality of our earnings and driving strong internal capital generation. Our disciplined approach to balance sheet management encompasses our prudent credit underwriting and proactive portfolio monitoring. Our fourth quarter metrics highlight our strong credit profile, which remained stable throughout 2025 as we were untouched by external events that negatively impacted some of our peer banks. Looking forward to 2026 and beyond, we will continue to prioritize profitability over growth just for the sake of growth. Our priorities have not changed. We remain focused on optimizing performance, driving new business growth, supporting the evolving needs of existing customers, and consistently delivering superior financial results for our shareholders. Our bankers have worked tirelessly to generate consistent, repeatable earnings for eight consecutive quarters. Consistency has long been a historical trend for Columbia, and we expect that trend to continue as we go forward. I want to thank our associates for another incredible year. Your dedication and passion to be the best drive our success, but I couldn't be more excited about the opportunities ahead. Together, we are building a stronger, more dynamic Columbia, one that delivers lasting value for our customers, communities, and shareholders. We'll now turn the call over to Ivan.