First Financial Bancorp.

Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the first financial bankrupt first quarter 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. All lights have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Scott Crowley, Corporate Controller. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Kate. Morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us on today's conference call to discuss First Financial Bancorp's first quarter financial results. Participating on today's call will be Archie Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Anderson, Chief Financial Officer, and Bill O'Hara, Chief Credit Officer. Both the press release we issued yesterday and the accompanying slide presentation are available on our website at www.bankatfirst.com under the investor relations section. We'll make reference to the slides contained in the accompanying presentation during today's call. Additionally, please refer to the forward-looking statement disclosure contained in the first quarter 2026 earnings release, as well as our SEC filings for a full discussion of the company's risk factors. The information we will provide today is accurate as of March 31st, 2026,

we will not be updating any forward-looking statements or reflect facts or circumstances after this call and i'll turn the call over rg brown uh thanks scott good morning everyone and thank you for joining us on today's call yesterday afternoon we announced our first quarter results and i'm very pleased with our overall performance the first quarter was a busy one as we closed the bank financial acquisition completed the conversion of westfield bank and wrapped up the sale of the bank financial multi-family loan portfolio Adjusted earnings per share were 77 cents with an adjusted return on assets of 1.45% and an adjusted return on tangible common equity of 19.2%. Adjusted earnings per share increased 22% compared to the first quarter of last year driven by robust net interest margin and strong fee income. Our net interest margin was resilient despite the Fed Fund's rate cut in December as the expected decline in loan yields was offset by a similar decline and deposit costs. Assuming no short-term rate reductions by the Fed, we expect the margin to remain stable in the near term. Loan balances increased slightly for the quarter due to the bank financial acquisition. Excluding the bank financial portfolio, loans declined for the quarter as seasonally strong loan production was offset by extended payoff pressure in the ICRE portfolio. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, originations increased approximately 45%, and excluding Westfield and Bank Financial, originations were up by over 25%. Our expectation for loan growth for 2026 has not materially changed. Loan pipelines are very healthy, and we expect strong production in the second quarter. We also expect payoff activity in ICRE to approach more normal levels, leading to solid loan growth in the second quarter. Adjusted fee income was strong for the quarter. Historically, fee income significantly dips early in the year. However, we successfully combated this trend in the first quarter. Adjusted non-interest income was $75.6 million, which was 24% higher than in the first quarter of 2025, and only a slight decline from the linked quarter. These results were driven by record wealth management income, strong client derivative income, and record leasing business income. Additionally, expenses were well controlled during the quarter with total non-interest expenses coming in well below our expectations and acquisition-related cost savings exceeding our initial estimates. Net charge-offs were 35 basis points of total loans and were impacted by one large commercial relationship. Other asset quality indicators were stable with non-performing assets slightly declining from the linked quarter to 44 basis points. While there's certainly more uncertainty in the economy due to the impact of the war in Iran, our current expectations are for asset quality to gradually improve throughout the year, similar to our performance in 2025. Capital ratios are strong and continue to climb in the first quarter. All regulatory ratios were well in excess of regulatory minimums, and the tangible common equity increased 7.9%. Tangible look value per share was $16.15, which was a 2.6% increase over the linked quarter, and a 9% increase compared to the first quarter of 2025. Tangible value was at approximately the same level as the third quarter of 2025, just prior to the Westfield Bank acquisition. This month, the Board of Directors authorized a $5 million share repurchase plan, replacing the plan we had in place through 2025, and we are evaluating opportunities to employ buybacks as part of our overall capital planning. I'd like to take a minute and discuss our recent acquisitions. During the quarter, we successfully completed the conversion of Westfield Bank. And then for the quarter, Westfield deposit and loan balances were stable. We maintained high associate retention, and we have achieved the financial results that we expected from the transaction to date. We're happy with the quality of the bank we acquired and with the talented team that has joined us. We also completed the purchase of Bank Financial on January 1st and plan to convert systems in early June. remain excited about the opportunities in the Chicago market, and continue to see growth potential from this transaction. Now I'll turn the call over to Jamie to discuss these results in greater detail. And after Jamie, I'll wrap up with some additional forward-looking commentary and closing remarks.