Eagle Bancorp, Inc.

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Eagle Bank Corp, Inc.'s second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are on the 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 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker, Eric Newell, Chief Financial Officer of Eagle Bancorp. Please go ahead.

Good morning. This is Eric Newell, Chief Financial Officer of Eagle Bancorp. Before we begin the presentation, I would like to remind everyone that some of the comments made during the call are forward-looking statements. We cannot make any promises about future performance and caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Our Form 10-K for the fiscal year 2025 and current reports on Form 8K, including the earnings presentation slides, identify important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made this morning, which speak only as of today. Eagle Bancorp does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or developments unless required by law. This morning's commentary will also include non-GAAP financial information. The earnings release, which is posted in the investor relations section of our website and filed with SEC, contains reconciliations of this information to the most directly comparable GAAP information. Our periodic reports are available from the company online on our website or on the SEC's website. With me today is our new president and CEO, Steve Curley, are chief lending officers, Ryan Riel and Evelyn Lee, for commercial real estate and CNI, respectively. I would now like to turn it over to Steve.

Thank you, Eric, and good morning, everyone. Before I start the quarter, let me say how honored I am to join Eagle as its new president and CEO. This is a franchise built over decades through strong client relationships, deep community ties, and an exceptional and seasoned team of bankers. Well, I've only been with Eagle for three weeks. I spent that time meeting and talking with employees, customers, shareholders, while conducting an intensive review of the business. Those conversations have reinforced what attracted me to Eagle in the first place, a strong franchise, talented people, and significant potential. My immediate priorities are clear. Maintain disciplined execution, preserve our culture, and make decisions grounded in a thorough understanding of our franchise, our markets and our best opportunities. Investors are looking for results, not promises. You'll judge us by what we do, not what we say, and that's exactly how we intend to earn your confidence. With that, let me turn to the four priorities receiving my greatest attention. First is asset quality. The issues within the portfolio have been identified, are well understood and are being actively managed. Addressing them transparently is essential. It builds confidence in our financial reporting and gives investors greater clarity into the strength of the franchise. Our objective here is simple, maximize recoveries and minimize loss. We will continue to take a disciplined asset-by-asset approach to problem credits, reducing uncertainty around our future credit performance. Consistency will be key to strengthening investor confidence. To support that effort, we're recruiting a new chief credit officer, an important leadership role that will help shape the future of our credit organization. In the meantime, we've benefited from the experience and guidance of Bill Perotti and Dan Callahan, who have been working closely with the bank since last fall. The team has made meaningful progress over the last 18 months. and I see additional opportunities to strengthen credit oversight, portfolio management and risk discipline. We're also beginning the search for our next chief human resource officer following a planned retirement. As I look at the organization, it is critical we strengthen our bench. We need to bring in new expertise where appropriate while also developing and advancing the strong team already in place. At the same time, We will continue to invest in technology, processes, and capabilities that can help us better serve customers. Our second priority is improving our funding profile and deposit base. Too often, banks start by growing loans and then figuring out how to fund them. We will take the opposite approach, build relationship-based core deposits and create the capacity to support disciplined loan growth. We are not managing the bank with the objective of shrinking. Our objective is to build a stronger funding franchise, improve asset quality, and position Eagle to deliver responsible growth. The sequencing matters, but growth remains part of this bank's future. We operate in one of the most attractive banking markets in the country. The Washington metropolitan region offers significant opportunities to deepen customer relationships generate core operating deposits and support high quality lending activity. We're going to make the most out of our position in Washington and win new customers and grow valuable deposit franchise. Our third priority is improving operating performance. That means generating stronger returns from the investments we make across the organization. An important part of that effort is expanding our business banking capabilities and increasing branch productivity. While our branches successfully serve our long-term customer relationships, they have the potential to be an engine for core deposit and business banking growth. We'll remain disciplined on expenses while continuing to invest where we see attractive long-term returns. The fourth area receiving my attention is capital. One of the strengths of this franchise is its capital position. and I recognize that capital allocation is an important topic for shareholders and investors. As part of my broader review of the bank, I am evaluating our capital framework, including how we think about capital levels, capital flexibility, and the best ways to create long-term shareholder value. While it is too early to discuss specific capital targets or potential capital actions, we are approaching this topic thoughtfully and deliberately. Capital is a strategic asset, and we want to ensure we are deploying it in a manner that supports both the safety and soundness of the bank, as well as the long-term interests of our shareholders. As we make progress in asset quality, funding, operating performance, and our capital framework, our longer-term strategic direction will come into sharper focus. Eagle already has a strategy, and we've been executing against it. My responsibility is to build on that work Evaluate where we're making progress, identify areas where we can improve, and determine where adjustments may enhance our ability to create long-term value. Over the coming months, I'll continue to learn the organization, the market, and opportunities available to us. In the meantime, I'm going to focus on execution. As we demonstrate progress, will provide additional perspective on our long-term priorities, our capital objectives, and our vision for creating sustainable shareholder value. I'm optimistic about the future. We have strong franchise, a dedicated team here at Eagle, a valuable market position, and clear priorities. I look forward to updating you on our progress. With that, I'll turn it back over to Eric to review the quarter.