Columbia Banking System, Inc.

Hello, and welcome to Columbia Banking Systems' first quarter 2026 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 1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jackie Bolin, Investor Relations Director, to begin the call. You may begin.

Thank you, DeeDee. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us as we review our first quarter results. The earnings released and 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 the 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. We'll now hand the call over to Columbia's Chair, Chief Executive Officer, and President Clint Stein.

Thank you, Jackie. Good afternoon, everyone. Our first quarter results reflected continued execution against the same core priorities we have previously outlined, delivering consistent, repeatable results, optimizing our balance sheet, and returning excess capital to shareholders. We also completed the PAC Premier Systems conversion and consolidated nine branches during the quarter, putting us on track for full realization of all acquisition-related cost savings by the end of this quarter. I want to thank our highly experienced team of associates for their months of meticulous planning and the seamless execution of this key integration milestone. Our operating results for the first quarter reflect the continuation of momentum established late last year, as solid CNI production offset a decline in below-market-rate transactional loan balance. We also reduced our reliance on wholesale funding as customer deposit balances expanded despite seasonal pressure typical during the first quarter. The resulting mixed shift in both assets and liabilities fortifies and positions our balance sheet for sustained attractive returns over time. Our bankers' proven ability to generate balanced relationship-centric growth in deposits, loans, and quality fee income is driving sustainable earnings growth. We do not need to produce net balance sheet growth to achieve our EPS and ROTCE objectives. Columbia's cost-conscious culture further enhances our top quartile profitability profile. Beyond savings associated with the PAC Premier acquisition, our expense base reflects continuous fine-tuning. We remain disciplined in identifying offsets that create reinvestment dollars for initiatives that drive revenue and enhance efficiency. AI is becoming an important tool for driving efficiency across Columbia. During our Pacific Premier Core systems conversion, we used AI to automate work that traditionally would be completed manually. Historically time consuming conversion tasks such as reviewing and validating thousands of data fields were automated and completed in a fraction of the time historically required. Instead of relying on manual checks and custom coding, AI helped us move faster and reduce complexity, which shortened review timelines and improved execution. More broadly, AI is helping our technology teams work more efficiently. It allows our developers to move faster, test changes more quickly, and write software that is more secure. The result is higher productivity and better outcomes without adding incremental resources. We also enhanced our customer support experience with an AI-powered virtual assistant. Our ratio of human calls to AI-powered agent chats moved from two to one in favor of humans to three to one in favor of AI agents, as many routine administrative questions are now handled by the virtual assistant. Macroeconomic headlines continue to dominate the industry narrative, often driving outsized stock price reactions and unilaterally treating all banks as the same. We are not all the same, and Columbia's fundamentals warrant differentiation. Over my tenure at Columbia Bank, we have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to withstand industry stress as we consistently turn disruption into opportunity. During the global financial crisis, Columbia delivered strong credit performance while leveraging FDIC-assisted transactions to grow and strengthen our franchise. Since then, we've continued to expand our customer base through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Our best in class, low cost core deposit franchise consistently ranks in the top quartile when measured on both cost and mix of non-interest bearing balances. More recently, we successfully navigated the banking sector volatility of March 2023. Again, another point in time where many regional banks were treated as one. Our Columbia team navigated this volatility without a discernible adverse impact to our business, while simultaneously executing a successful systems conversion just three weeks after closing the Umpqua acquisition. Our credit fundamentals remain sound. Our office portfolio continues to perform. The modest uptick in our CRE exposure, which is attributable to acquired portfolios, continues to decline. Turning to another closely watched area, our NDFI exposure is minimal, well below peer averages and underwritten with the same conservative and consistent rigor we apply across our broader loan portfolio. Our first quarter results mark the beginning of our third consecutive year of stable operational performance and strong organic capital creation. Given our current capital position and strong forward outlook, we increased our pace of buybacks during the first quarter returning $200 million to our shareholders, underscoring our belief that the best investment we can make at this time is in the stock of our own company. Looking forward, we will continue to execute on our established priorities, optimizing performance, driving new business growth, supporting the evolving needs of existing customers, and consistently delivering superior returns to our shareholders. I'll now turn the call over to Ivan.