Eastern Bankshares, Inc.

Turned Bankshare Inc. first quarter 2025 earnings and announced merger with Harbor One Corp conference call. Currently, all participants' lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Please note this event is being recorded for replay purposes. Today's call will include forward-looking statements. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statement involves risk, and uncertainties and is not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. These factors are described in forward-looking statements in the company's earnings press release and most recent 10-K file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements made during this call represent management's views and estimates as of today, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements because of new information or future events. During the call, the company will also discuss both GAAP and certain non-GAAP financial measures. For reconciliations, please refer to the company's earnings press release, which can be found at investor.easternbank.com. I'd now like to turn the call over to Bob Rivers. Eastern Executive Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors.

Thank you, Chloe. And good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining our call today. With me is our CEO, Dennis Sheehan, and our CFO, David Rosado. Yesterday, we reported our first quarter earnings and announced we entered into a definitive merger agreement with HarborOne Bancorp, a $5.7 billion bank headquartered in Brockton, Massachusetts. As you noticed, we posted two presentations, one on the proposed merger and the other is our standard earnings presentation. On today's call, we will review both our first quarter results and the announced merger. We are pleased with our solid first quarter performance, which included a successful and well-executed investment portfolio repositioning that will further enhance our financial results. We continue to return capital to our shareholders. with a repurchase of $48.7 million worth of shares during the quarter and announced an 8% increase to the quarterly dividend. We are very excited about the partnership with HarborOne, which bolsters our already strong and longstanding presence in Greater Boston. Joining together allows us to become a $30-plus billion bank, further solidifying Eastern as the largest bank headquartered in Massachusetts. with leading commercial, small business, consumer, wealth, and private banking offerings. This merger also represents Eastern's expansion in Rhode Island, providing an opportunity for growth in a neighboring state while strengthening our market presence south of Boston. There is tremendous synergy between the Harbor One and Eastern cultures. Both of us are committed to cultivating trusted relationships with commercial customers and small businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, and individuals and families by providing banking solutions tailored to client needs. We are both deeply committed to strengthening the communities where we work and live and to providing our clients, our colleagues, with professional growth opportunity. Like Eastern, HarborOne is recognized as one of the most charitable companies in Massachusetts.

will have more to say about the transaction however before doing so dennis and david are going to walk you through our first quarter results and with that i'll hand it over to dennis thank you bob our first quarter performance marked a solid start to the year and there were positive trends in many areas of the business operating earnings of 67.5 million dollars benefited from a 33 basis point expansion link quarter in the net interest margin and continued improvement in the operating efficiency ratio to 53.7% due to higher revenues and lower expenses. These results generated further improvement in profitability metrics. Operating return on average tangible common equity increased 40 basis points link quarter to 11.7% An operating return on average assets was up three basis points to 1.09%. The lending environment remains tempered as economic uncertainty and ongoing changes in trade policies weigh on customer sentiment and loan demand. While we cannot control external factors, we will continue to control what we can, such as making strategic investments for long-term growth, maintaining underwriting disciplines, and partnering with our customers. We will continue to be opportunistic in adding growth-oriented talent in key lines of business. This was evidenced by the recent expansion of our franchise lending group with the arrival of two seasoned leaders who bring extensive expertise to this business. Actions such as these help drive 3% annualized loan growth in the quarter, primarily due to higher C&I balances. While loan growth was slightly ahead of our expectations, and we are well positioned to serve customers when loan demand strengthens, we remain cautious in our outlook for the remainder of the year. As we continue to capitalize on synergies from the Cambridge merger, we are particularly pleased with the deepening alignment between our wealth management and banking businesses. We are generating strong momentum in wealth management. The Cambridge Trust brand and our extensive capabilities continue to resonate with customers. We are confident in our ability to generate sustainable wealth management growth over time and create value, especially during periods of uncertainty when clients are more likely to seek professional advice. Assets under management increased to $8.4 billion due to net client flows partially offset by market performance. Net client flows did benefit from a large short-term inflow, which will reverse in the second quarter. Credit trends were positive. Non-performing loans and net charge-offs meaningfully improved compared to the prior quarter, reflecting the quality of our underwriting and proactive risk management approach, which allows us to address issues prudently and quickly. Looking ahead, our loan portfolios are well-positioned and we were encouraged about credit trends as we closely monitor evolving economic conditions and policies that could impact business and communities in the markets we serve. David, I'll hand it over to you to review our first quarter financials.