Eastern Bankshares, Inc.

Hello and welcome to the Eastern Bank Shares Inc. second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Today's call will include forelooking statements, including statements about Eastern's future financial and operating results, outlook, business strategies and plans, as well as other opportunities and potential risks that management foresees. Such forelooking statements reflect management's Current estimates are believed and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or the timing of events to differ materially from the views expressed today. More information about such risks and uncertainties is set forth on the caption for looking statements in the earnings press release as well as in the risk factors section and other disclosure in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forelooking statements made during this call represent management views and estimates. As of today, the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. During the call, the company will also discuss both GAAP and certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of GAAP to the non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the company's earnings press release. which can be found at investor.easternbank.com. Please note this event is being recorded. All lines are in place on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star, followed by the number two. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Bob Rivers. Excellent. Executive Chair and Chair of the Board, please go ahead.

Thank you, Julie, and welcome everyone to our second quarter earnings poll. With me today is Eastern's new CEO, Dennis Sheehan, as well as Jim Fitzgerald, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. It's been a very busy time for us here at Eastern, and I have a number of topics to cover before turning it over to Dennis and Jim. Overall, we are pleased with our second quarter results. As you know, the operating environment remained challenging in the second quarter, with higher rates continuing to modestly compress our net interest margin and some continued credit challenges, particularly in the office market. We have worked our way through these challenges and maintain a fortress balance sheet to continue to be there for our customers while producing strong results. Although our overall earnings in the second quarter were lower than we would like them to be long term, We're pleased that we continue to meet these short-term challenges and are extremely well positioned for the future. We're delighted to announce that we closed our merger with Cambridge Trust on July 12th and successfully converted all banking customers that weekend. We are pleased overall with the customer transition and to report that we've been operating very smoothly since we opened for business on July 15th as a combined institution. This transaction completes a series of important milestones dating back to last spring, with our securities repositioning in the first quarter, the sale of Eastern Insurance Group in the fourth quarter, and the completion of the Cambridge Merchant this month. The securities sale addressed certain challenges with the balance sheet caused by rapidly rising interest rates and resulting funding pressures. The sale of Eastern Insurance monetized and undervalued assets for our shareholder and created a significant gain and capital increase. And the Cambridge merger provides us with the strategic position we need to continue to excel in our core markets and the earnings accretion to be a top tier financial performer. To accomplish all of these in just five quarters is a testament to the strength of our underlying franchise and the talent and hard work of all of our employees. And we believe our best days are still ahead of us due to the strategic benefits of the Cambridge merger. We now have the fourth largest deposit market share in the Boston MSA and are very close to being in the top three. We are the largest bank-owned investment advisor in Massachusetts and number 10 overall. With over $25 billion in assets, we are the largest independent bank headquartered in Boston and increasingly Boston's hometown bank. Marked by a local understanding, accessibility, and engagement that sets us apart from larger banks headquartered in other states, and in some cases, other countries. There are many things that comprise Eastern's secret sauce, starting with our people, our culture, and our deep and extensive community engagement. But one of the most critical ingredients is that we live, work, and raise our families here, just like our customers. In addition, our partnership with Cambridge Trust is highly complimentary. with the strengths of the two organizations creating a better, stronger company than either would have been on its own. We think there is great opportunity to continue to grow in our market, and the platform we've created will give us what we need to continue to be very successful in the long term. We are very excited to be continuing to use the Cambridge Trust brand for our wealth management and private banking businesses. We are confident that with the conversion of our banking systems now completed and the integration of our wealth management systems scheduled for later this year, the full power of the franchise will be clear beginning in the fourth quarter and throughout 2025. Although this call is focused on our results pre-Cambridge, I'm very happy to share that Dennis Sheehan has joined our executive team as our CEO. In addition to Dennis, three other executives from Cambridge have joined our executive team, bringing us additional expertise in wealth management, private banking, and marketing, which coupled with the talents of our 300 new colleagues joining us from Cambridge Trust will strengthen us going forward. In addition, please join me in congratulating Quincy Miller, who officially adds Chief Operating Officer to his titles of Vice Chair and President. At this point, I'd like to introduce Dennis, and turn it over to him to make a few remarks.

Thank you, Bob, and good morning, everyone. On behalf of the Cambridge Trust Board and myself, I'd like to thank Bob, the Eastern Board, and the entire Eastern team for all their support throughout the process. As you know, mergers and conversions are a long and challenging process, and we are very happy with how successful the transition was and the attention and care we were able to collectively provide our customers. I especially want to thank my Cambridge Trust colleagues for all their hard work and effort during this time of uncertainty for all of them. Now that we have the bank conversion completed, we all look forward to getting back on offense and focusing on growth opportunities in all business lines and in realizing the synergies and potential of the combination and I am very confident we can do that. We operate in a very dynamic market, and our market position and franchise provide us great opportunities in both banking and wealth management that we look to capitalize on. Thank you, and I'll now turn it back to you, Bob.