Financial Institutions, Inc.

Good day and welcome to the Financial Institutions, Inc. Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Since you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note, today's event is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Shelley Moran, Director of Investment and External Communications. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Thank you for joining us for today's call. Providing prepared comments will be President and CEO Marty Birmingham and CFO Jack Plants. Chief Community Banking Officer Justin Bigham and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis Mike Grover will join us for Q&A. Today's prepared comments and Q&A will include forward-looking statements. Extra results may differ materially from forward-looking statements We'll also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures intended to supplement and not substitute for comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these measures to GAAP financial measures were provided in Earnings Release, filed as an exhibit to a Form 8-K. Please note that this column includes information that may only be accurate as of today's date, July 30th, 2021. I'll now turn the call over to President and CEO Marty Birmingham.

Thank you, Shelley. Good morning and welcome to our second quarter 2021 earnings call. It was another strong quarter for our company. Net income of $20.2 million or $1.25 per diluted share was the second highest in company history. That income was down slightly from the first quarter's $20.7 million, or $1.27 per share, and significantly higher than second quarter 2020 net income of $11.1 million, or $0.67 per share. We once again benefited from a positive provision in the quarter, experienced growth in our wealth management and insurance businesses, and continued to contain expenses despite critical investments being made in technology and people. Pre-tax, pre-provision income for the quarter was $21 million, a $3.1 million decrease from the first quarter of 2021, and a $3.7 million increase from the second quarter of 2020. I want to thank my fellow associates for the dedication in serving our clients across all business lines. They are delivering strong outcomes for our customers, communities, and shareholders. It was an eventful and successful quarter for our retail branch team. During the month of June, we opened two new five-star bank branches in the city of Buffalo. Buffalo has long been a focus for company growth. With these openings, we have grown our presence in the greater Buffalo area to six branches. While still early, both branches have received warm welcomes in their respective neighborhoods. The new branches are located in areas undergoing significant redevelopment and revitalization, and we look forward to contributing to the positive momentum. We also look forward to delivering our unique style of community banking to our new neighbors. On Monday, we are relocating our existing five-star bank branch in the city of Elmira. The new branch in a newly constructed building is about 1,600 feet from the existing branch. This relocation is exciting for our Elmira customers and our associates and will result in a more efficient footprint and annual cost savings for the company. All three new branches are designed to serve as financial solution centers with no teller lines and no barriers between associates and customers. They feature a blend of technology, including interactive teller machines, as well as the comfort of working directly with our certified personal bankers. The new design requires less staff and provides a cost-effective, lower square footage approach to aligning services with shifting customer needs and preferences. This includes advancements in financial technology that enable consumers to bank from virtually anywhere, anytime. The new branch openings and Elmira branch relocation are a continuation of our retail branch evolution. You will recall that in 2020, we consolidated 11 branches in suburban communities with overlapping areas into five full-service financial solution centers and closed one additional branch. We have a fundamental responsibility to our customers and communities to adapt our approach as market conditions change, influencing our brand strategy. I'll now turn the call over to Jack so he can provide additional details on results and guidance. Jack?