First Citizens BancShares, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the first Citizens BancShares third 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 need to press star one on your telephone. If you require operator assistance during the program, please press star then zero. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to introduce you to the host of this conference call, Ms. Deanna Hart, Head of Investor Relations. Deanna, you may now begin.

Good morning and welcome to First Citizens third quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me on today's call are Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank Holding and Chief Financial Officer Craig Nix. They will provide third quarter business and financial updates referencing our earnings call presentation, which you can find on our investor relations website. Before we begin, please note that our comments will include forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. We assume no obligation to update such statements. Information regarding these risks is outlined on page 3 of the presentation. We will also reference non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in Section 5 of the presentation. Finally, First Citizens is not responsible for and does not guarantee the accuracy of earnings transcripts provided by third parties. With that, I will now turn it over to Frank.

Thank you, Deanna. Good morning and welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I'll begin with a summary of our third quarter performance before turning it over to Craig Nix to review our financial results and fourth quarter outlook in more detail. Earnings exceeded our expectations during the quarter. Strong performance was headlined by high quality sequential top line growth, underscoring the strength of our franchise and core client relationships. and our disciplined focus on delivering long-term shareholder value. We generated adjusted net income of $652 million and adjusted earnings per share of $55.37, driving an ROE of 12.24% and an ROA of 1.08%. These solid results were fueled by accelerated loan and deposit growth, highly resilient credit metrics, expense discipline, and systematic balance sheet optimization. Loan growth remained strong during the quarter due to high-quality client activity across both the commercial and general bank segments. Loans were up $6.2 billion over the linked quarter, spearheaded by our premier fund banking business. Concurrently, our deposit channels delivered another standout quarter of expansion, growing by $11.8 billion on a period-end basis and $8.0 billion on an average basis. These deposit inflows reflect healthy client liquidity and the power of our diversified multi-channel funding sources, which reliably anchored our asset growth. Deposit balances directly benefited from the successful integration of the BMO branch acquisition onboarding approximately $4.9 billion in high quality deposits. This transaction efficiently scales our branch network across 11 states, adding scale alongside First Citizen's well-established footprint and driving enhanced liquidity. Beyond our robust balance sheet expansion, heightened client engagement and strong momentum across our innovation and fund banking businesses drove solid, high-quality increases We also continue to deliver on our balance sheet optimization initiative. During this quarter, we returned $600 million to shareholders through share repurchases, successfully achieving our target operating range for CET1 capital. This deliberate capital management strategy underscores our financial strength and enhances our long-term capital efficiency. Furthermore, our strong liquidity position enabled us to prepay an additional $8 billion of the FDIC purchase money note during the quarter, followed by another $1.5 billion in October. Since commencing these prepayments in the fourth quarter of 2025, we have systematically retired approximately 47% of the total balance, representing $17 billion in debt reduction in a year's time. Our solid performance this quarter reinforces a core message we have consistently communicated. First Citizens is structurally resilient, Not dependent on any single business line, interest rate cycle, or macroeconomic variable. Instead, our diversified earnings profile leverages highly complementary business segments that reliably generate stable, sustainable growth across diverse operating environments. As we look forward to the conclusion of 2026, our strategic priorities remain clear and measurable, deepening core client relationships, driving operating efficiencies, and maximizing long-term shareholder value. Backed by highly favorable credit trends, rigorous expense discipline, balance sheet velocity, and robust client momentum, We are exceptionally well positioned moving forward. I am incredibly proud of the execution our team has demonstrated this year, and I have the utmost confidence in the growth trajectory ahead of us. With that, I'll turn it over to Craig to walk us through our third quarter financial metrics and our updated outlook for the remainder of the year. Craig?