Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc.

Greetings and welcome to the Spirit of Texas Bank Shares first quarter 2021 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mr. Jerry Goleman, Chief Operating Officer. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for the Spirit of Texas Bank Shares conference call and webcast to review 2021 first quarter results. With me today is Mr. Dean Bass, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. David McGuire, President and Chief Lending Officer, and Ms. Allison Johnson, Chief Financial Officer. Following my opening remarks, we will provide a high-level review and commentary on the financial details of the first quarter before opening the call for Q&A. I'd now like to cover a few housekeeping items. There will be a replay of today's call, and it will be available by webcast on our website at www.sotb.com. There will also be a telephonic replay available until April 29, 2021, and more information on how to access these replay features was included in yesterday's release. Please note that the information reported on this call speaks only as of today, April 22, 2021, and therefore you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay, listing, or transcript reading. In addition, the comments made by management during the conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management. However, various risks, uncertainties, and contingencies could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in the statements made by management. The listener or reader is encouraged to read the company's annual report, Form 10-K, filed with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2020, to understand certain of those risks, uncertainties, and contingencies. The comments today will also include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Additional details and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in yesterday's earnings release, which can be found on the Spirit of Texas website. Now I'd like to turn the call over to our chairman and CEO, Mr. Dean Bass. Dean?

Thank you, Jerry, and good morning, everyone. Welcome. We are pleased to announce another solid quarter performance. Texas is open for business, and the economy is picking up steam. During the quarter, we have seen a significant number of Texans receive the vaccine. An end to the mandatory mask requirement and businesses across the state allowed to operate at full capacity. As a result, we have seen an increase in economic activity across the state, and we anticipate a quicker recovery than many parts of the country. During the quarter, we reported strong net income of over $10 million, with fully diluted EPS of 58 cents. and a return on average assets of 1.32% annualized. Our provision expense has returned to pre-pandemic levels consistent with the improvement in all economic indicators within Texas. The current allowance balance appears adequate based on our insight, experience, and assessment model. Credit quality has improved, and loans and active deferral periods are not significant in either number or balance. The net interest margin has been adjusted in response to the global pandemic and has stabilized with our measures taken to deploy excess liquidity and remove inefficient leverage. We are pleased to now turn our gaze to future growth, both organically and through strategic partnerships. The first quarter has always been a slower quarter with respect to loan growth. And as we review our pipeline and funding projections for the remainder of the year, we are confident in our quarterly and annual loan growth projections. We will never chase loan growth at the expense of our underwriting guidelines, but we are excited about the opportunities that are currently expected to materialize in the next few quarters. As always, we are diligently looking for strategic partners who can assist us with growing the bank with meaningful impact. Now I'll turn the call over to David to discuss the loan portfolio and asset quality. David.