Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc.

Greetings and welcome to the Spirit of Texas Bank Shares 2021 Third Quarter 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, Jerry Goldman, 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 Share's conference call and webcast to review 2021 third 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 third 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 November 4, 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, October 28, 2021, and therefore you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay listening 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. Welcome. I am extremely pleased to announce a strong performance for Q3. Our goal has always been to service the vibrant markets in which we operate. The engine that drives community banking is the demand for quality loans. Our strategy has always been to retain talented bankers in high growth markets and capitalize on opportunities as they arise. While the past 18 months have been extremely challenging for the banking industry, we are now experiencing the loan demand that will drive organic loan growth and profitability higher in the coming quarters. During the third quarter, loans grew an impressive 12% annualized when excluding the impact of PPP loans. We anticipate these trends to continue and expect to have an exceptional fourth quarter with respect to loan growth. In addition to strong loan growth during the quarter, we earned net income of $10.5 million, representing fully diluted EPS of $0.59 and a return on average assets of 1.33% annualized. We also increased our quarterly dividend from $0.09 per share to $0.12 per share and have maintained our net interest margin near 4% despite market pressures with respect to rates. I continue to be extremely impressed with the resilience and commitment of our talented bankers who drive successful results quarter after quarter. We are well positioned to meet the needs of our community with respect to loan demand and are truly excited to see successful projects that our borrowers will bring to the community in the coming quarters. Now I'll turn the call over to David to discuss the loan portfolio and asset quality. David.