Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Greetings, and welcome to Zion Bank Corp's first quarter earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A 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. Please note that this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Andrea Christofferson. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, Julian, and good evening, everyone. Welcome to our conference call to discuss Zions Bank Corporation's first quarter 2026 results. My name is Andrea Christofferson, Director of Investor Relations. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that during this call, we will make forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially. We encourage you to review the forward-looking statements and non-GAAP disclosures in our press release and on slide two of today's presentation. which apply equally to statements made during this call. A copy of the earnings release and presentation are available at sciencebankcorporation.com. For our agenda today, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Harris Simmons will provide opening remarks. Following Harris's comments, Chief Financial Officer Ryan Richards will review our financial results and outlook. Also with us today are Scott McClain, President and Chief Operating Officer, Derek Stewart, Chief Credit Officer, and Chris Kiriakakis, Chief Risk Officer. After our prepared remarks, we will hold a question and answer session. This call is scheduled for one hour. I will now turn the time over to Harris.

Thanks very much, Andrea, and good evening, everyone. We're reasonably pleased with our performance and financial results for the first quarter, which reflect meaningful year-over-year improvement and continued progress against our long-term strategic priorities. Our capital markets division continues to be an important driver of fee income growth. Since launching the business in 2020, we've invested heavily in talent, technology, and product capabilities, expanding our presence across investment banking, sales and trading, and real estate capital markets. In late March, we announced an agreement with Basis Investment Group to acquire their Fannie and Freddie lending programs, related mortgage servicing rights, and an experienced team supporting those platforms. Subject to regulatory and customary closing approvals, we expect this transaction will meaningfully enhance our ability to serve commercial real estate clients across the Western United States and beyond, and to further strengthen our capital markets franchise. We continue to invest in our consumer and small business franchises. Following the launch of our new Gold Account consumer deposit product in the second half of 2025, we recently introduced its companion offering for small business customers. Branded as, quote, beyond the business, quote, we began piloting the product in Colorado and Arizona late in the quarter, and it's expected to roll out more broadly across our affiliate banks later this quarter. This tiered checking solution is designed to support clients as they grow from basic banking needs to more complex cash flow and money movement capabilities. Our focus on small business is also reflected in continued momentum in SBA lending, where we now rank 11th nationally in SBA 7A loan approvals during the first half of the SBA's fiscal year. Shifting now to the financial results for the quarter, slide three presents certain first quarter results versus the prior quarter and prior year. First quarter results reflected typical seasonal expense patterns, while revenue and profitability improved meaningfully relative to the prior year period. Net earnings were $232 million, or $1.56 per diluted share, up 37% from a year ago, driven by revenue growth, a lower provision for credit losses, and a lower effective tax rate. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, earnings declined 11%, primarily reflecting lower revenue, including the impact of two fewer days in the period, and significantly lower securities gains, as well as seasonal compensation expenses. The net interest margin was 3.27%, down four basis points from the prior quarter, reflecting lower earning asset yields and a decline in average demand deposits, partially offset by improved funding costs. Average loans grew 2.4% on an annualized basis, led by commercial lending. While average customer deposits showed a modest seasonal decline, period end customer deposits grew $1.3 billion, or 1.8% from year end. Credit losses were very modest at three basis points annualized of average loans. On slide four, diluted earnings per share were $1.56, down from $1.76 in the prior quarter and up from $1.13 a year ago. As a reminder, the year-ago quarter included an $0.11 per share headwind related to the revaluation of deferred tax assets due to newly enacted state tax legislation. There were no notable items in the first quarter with an impact greater than $0.05 per share. As shown on slide five, adjusted pre-provision net revenue was $301 million, declined 9% from the prior quarter, reflecting some of the items noted earlier, including a slightly lower day count adjusted tax equivalent net interest income. Pre-provision net revenue increased 13% versus the year-ago quarter on improved revenue and positive operating leverage. With that overview, I'll turn the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Ryan Richards, to walk through the quarter in more detail and to walk through our outlook. Ryan?