Ameris Bancorp

Good day and welcome to the Ameris Band Corp first quarter 2024 conference call. All participants will be in a listen only mode. Should 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 this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Nicole Stokes, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Great. Thank you, Danielle. And thank you to all who have joined our call today. During the call, we will be referencing the press release and the financial highlights that are available on the investor relations section of our website at amerisbank.com. I'm joined today by Palmer Proctor, our CEO, and Doug Strange, our Chief Credit Officer. Palmer will begin with some opening general comments, and then I will discuss the details of our financial results before we open up for Q&A. But before we begin, I'll remind you that our comments may include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The actual results could vary materially. We list some of the factors that might cause results to differ in our press release and in our SEC filings, which are available on our website. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, early developments, or otherwise, except as required by law. Also during the call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures in reference to the company's performance. You can see our reconciliation of these measures and GAAP financial measures in the appendix to our presentation. And with that, I'll turn it over to Palmer for opening comments.

Thank you, Nicole. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate you taking the time to join our call today. On our last earnings call, I reminded everyone how we spent 2023 strengthening our balance sheet to prepare ourselves for 2024 with a healthy margin strong capital, and increased reserves. In the first quarter of 2024, results were evidence of those efforts. Excluding the cyclical and special items, we continue to operate at a 2% PPNR ROA. Our discipline in creating diversification in both the loan and deposit franchise, as well as our revenue streams, has us well positioned. We grew deposits this quarter by 5.6% annualized, and over $46 million of that deposit growth was in non-interest bearing. This supported our loan growth of 6.5% annualized while maintaining the same loan-to-deposit ratio and an above-peer net interest margin of 351 for the quarter. Our balance sheet remained strong with a healthy reserve for credit losses. During the first quarter, we recorded a $21 million provision for credit losses, bringing our coverage ratio up to 155 of loans and 325% of portfolio NPAs. Once again, this provisioning was growth- and model-driven. and not related to credit deterioration. I'm very pleased with our capital position. We grew tangible book this quarter by over 10.5% annualized to end the quarter at $34.52 per share. Our TCE ratio is well over our stated goal of 9%, now coming in at 9.71%. And when I look out for the remainder of 2024, I remain encouraged as we continue to benefit from several things. First, obviously a solid core deposit base, a healthy margin, a diversified revenue stream, strong capital and liquidity positions, which certainly provides us with a lot of the optionality we keep talking about for economic changes that may occur, a well-capitalized balance sheet with a healthy allowance. And when you add that in with a proven culture of expense control and seasoned bankers and and top southeastern markets, that's really what helps drive our optimism. I'm going to stop there now and turn it over to Cole to discuss our financial results in more detail.