HomeStreet, Inc.

to the Home Street fourth quarter 2021 earnings call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing star then zero on your telephone keypad. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mark Mason, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President. Please go ahead.

Hello, and thank you for joining us for our 2021 fourth quarter and full year earnings call. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that our detailed earnings release and an accompanying investor presentation were filed with the SEC on Form 8K yesterday. and are available on our website at ir.homestreet.com under the news and events link. An additional recording and a transcript of this call will be available at the same address following our call. Please note that during our call today, we will make certain predictive statements that reflect our current views and expectations about the company's performance and financial results. These are likely forward-looking statements that are made subject to the Safe Harbor statements included in yesterday's earnings release, our investor deck, and the risk factors disclosed in our other public filings. Additionally, reconciliations to non-GAAP measures referred to on our call today can be found in our earnings release and investor deck available on our website. Joining me today is our Chief Financial Officer, John Mitchell. John will briefly discuss our financial results, and then I'd like to give an update on our results of operations and our outlook going forward. John?

Thank you, Mark. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. In the fourth quarter of 2021, our net income was $29 million, or $1.43 per share, as compared to net income of $27 million, or $1.31 per share in the third quarter of 2021. For the full year 2021, our net income was $115 million, or $5.46 per share, a record for the company. For the fourth quarter of 2021, our annualized return on average tangible equity was 17%. Our annualized return on average assets was 1.59%. And our efficiency ratio was 62.2%. For the full year 2021, our return on average tangible equity was 16.8%. Our return on average assets was 1.58%. And our efficiency ratio was 61.9%. Our net interest income in the fourth quarter was slightly lower than the third quarter due to a $2.1 million decrease in interest income derived from the PPP loans, which was substantially offset by higher levels of non-PPP loans. PPP loans caused our net interest margin to be higher by three basis points in the quarter. Excluding the impact of PPP loans, our net interest margin in the fourth quarter of 2021 was consistent with our net interest margin in the third quarter of 2021. As of December 31st, 2021, outstanding PPP loans were only $38 million with deferred fees of $1 million. As a result of the continued favorable performance of our loan portfolio and the improving outlook of the impact of COVID-19 on our loan portfolio, we recorded a $6 million recovery of our allowance for credit losses in the fourth quarter of 2021. As we continue to have more clarity of the minimal impact COVID is having on our loan portfolio, and with projected improvements in our economies, changes in the composition of our loan portfolio to higher credit quality assets, and barring negative developments affecting our loan portfolio, we expect to recover additional amounts of our allowance for credit losses in future periods. Our ratio of non-performing assets to total assets improved to 18 basis points. Our ratio of ACL to total loans with 88 basis points. The $4.3 million increase in non-interest income in the fourth quarter of 2021 as compared to the third quarter was primarily due to a $2.6 million increase in net gain on loan origination and sales activities due to a 2.73% gain realized on the sale of $244 million of permanent multifamily loans in the fourth quarter. which was partially offset by a lower volume of single-family mortgage rate locks, and an increase in other non-interest income, which was due primarily to a $0.6 million gain on sale of REO in the fourth quarter. The $2.0 million increase in non-interest expenses in the fourth quarter of 2021, as compared to the third quarter, was primarily due to higher general administrative and other costs, partially offset by lower compensation and benefit costs. The lower level of compensation and benefit costs reflect a $1 million reversal of previously accrued medical benefits related to the positive experience in our self-insured medical program. Legal costs, which are included in general and administrative and other costs, were $2.5 million higher in the fourth quarter of 2021 as compared to the third quarter due to costs incurred on certain legal matters. During the fourth quarter of 2021, We repurchased 2% of our outstanding common stock and an average price of $51.17 per share, and declared and paid a dividend of 25 cents per share. Since the beginning of 2021, we have repurchased 9% of our outstanding common stock. This is in addition to the 12% and 9% repurchased in 2019 and 2020, respectively. I will now turn the call over to Mark.