Ameris Bancorp

Good day and welcome to the Ameris Bancorp second quarter conference call. All participants will be in 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 a touch tone phone. 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.

Thank you, Alan, 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. 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 development, 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 for our presentation. And with that, I'll turn it over to Palmer for opening comments.

Thank you, Nicole, and good morning, everyone. I appreciate you taking the time to join our call today. I'm very pleased with the outstanding second quarter financial performance we reported yesterday. as well as our strong year-to-date metrics. I really want to highlight three major successes for the quarter. First, we grew deposits by $446 million, or over 8%, while reducing broker deposits at the same time. Second, we grew earning assets by over 14%. And last but not least, we did all of this while expanding our margin. These three components are reflective of a franchise that continues to show discipline and focus on growing long-term shareholder value, our top-tier core profitability, the strength of our balance sheet, and our strong southeastern markets is really what sets us apart. For the second quarter, we reported net income of over $90 million, or $1.32 per diluted share. This represents an ROA of 141 and a PPNR ROA of over 2.25%. Our margin expanded to 358 this quarter, and our net interest income increased by over $10 million for the quarter. Our strong balance sheet includes a diversified loan portfolio with healthy reserves funded by strong core deposits. Loans grew over $392 million, with approximately 46% of that growth in cyclical mortgage warehouse lines. As I said earlier, to fund the loan growth, we grew core deposits over $446 million and without increasing broker deposits. We improved our CRE concentration to capital ratio down to 274%, and our allowance for credit losses represents a healthy 160 coverage ratio. Capital remains strong in the bank with tangible book value increasing to $35.79 per share, and our TCE ratio is 972 at the end of the quarter. Ameris continues to be located, as you know, in some of the most attractive markets nationwide, with our five-state southeastern footprint expected to grow at approximately 1.7 times the national average. These robust markets continue to give us the opportunity to grow organically at industry-leading levels, which is evidenced by the second quarter's annualized growth of approximately 7% to 8% in both loans and core deposits. Given our growth and success over the years, we also moved the listing of our shares to the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, July 23rd, We like the exchange's reputation for listing well-established companies and believe our listing helps to elevate our presence in the marketplace. Before I turn it over to Nicole for more details on the financials, I want to summarize why I remain positive on our future and our ability to return shareholder value. First, we remain focused on growing tangible book value, which is evidenced by our over 14% annualized growth rate and tangible book value per share this quarter. Next, we have core profitability with an average above-peer PP&R ROA of over 2%. Our strong balance sheet is well-capitalized with diversified earning assets in the strongest markets in the Southeast. We have a healthy allowance for credit losses to absorb potential economic challenges. If you look at our funding base, it's very granular and above average level of non-interest-bearing deposits. And we have a proven culture of expense control. All of these components, along with our focus on discipline, are what drive our optimism for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025. I'll stop there and turn it over to Nicole to discuss our financial results in more detail.