Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.

Good morning and welcome to Benkshire Hills Bancorp conference call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please sign up 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 telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star and two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to David Gonti. Please go ahead, David.

Thank you. Good morning and thank you for joining this discussion of third quarter results. Our news release is available on the investor relations section of our website. berkshirebank.com and will be furnished to the SEC. Supplemental investor information is also provided in an information presentation at our website at ir.berkshirebank.com and we will refer to this in our remarks. Our remarks will include forward-looking statements and actual results could differ materially from those statements for detail on related factors please see our earnings release and most recent SEC reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. In addition, certain non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed on this conference call. References to non-GAAP measures are only provided to assist you in understanding our results and performance trends and should not be relied on as financial measures of actual results or future projections. A comparison and reconciliation to GAAP measures is included in our news release. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Acting CEO, Sean Gray.

Thank you, Dave. Good morning, everyone. And thank you for joining us today for our third quarter earnings call. With me this morning is Jamie Moses, our CFO. And for Q&A, we'll be joined by George Vachgalupo, our commercial banking leader, George Amilis, Chief Credit Officer, and Greg Lindemuth, Chief Risk Officer. Let me start by saying that since our last earnings release, we have been focused on driving stronger financial performance. Our measure of core pre-tax, pre-provision revenue increased by 30% quarter over quarter due to higher revenue and lower expenses. The efficiency ratio improved to 65% from 71%, and our capital and liquidity metrics continued to strengthen. Additionally, we made great progress in moving our loan customers back towards normal payment schedules as business operations were normalizing in our market. While we have been taking these immediate steps, we have also been moving forward with developing our 21st Century Community Bank. As a result of the team we've cultivated and the technology that we've already invested in, we have the capacity to respond to the accelerated changes in customer preferences and shifting workplace dynamics. We have introduced an industry-leading digital account opening experience and enhanced our customer experience by upgrading our call center and rolling out our e-signature platform. We're also developing strategic initiatives that rationalize our real estate footprint at both the branch and corporate level with the goal of improved profitability in 2021. I'm grateful for the dedication of the whole team in serving the shifting needs of our markets during the pandemic while strengthening our company and our culture. At this time of leadership transition, I want to assure you that the executive team and board are working closely together towards our larger corporate objectives. We understand that actions matter and we are committed to taking the necessary steps. Our markets were active in the third quarter as the economies in most of our regions were reopened with some continuing restrictions in certain activities. General transaction volumes moved back towards normal with digital channel usage remaining elevated. Commercial credit demand remains subdued as forward business planning continues to face uncertainties. Our PPP loans remained unchanged as banks and customers waiting for clarification of loan forgiveness rules. I want to focus at this time on a credit quality update. We have some slides in our investor presentation with updated credit information. Our lending teams, which have reported to me for several years, continue to work actively with our credit and risk team to assess and manage the portfolio. We're being proactive in our credit administration, and as a result, we have a comprehensive understanding of our pandemic credit risk. Our traditional loan performance metrics remained in line in the third quarter, including delinquencies, non-accruals, and charge-offs. We disclosed reductions in our COVID loan payment deferrals in September. Our investor presentation shows that these deferrals remain on a downward trend. We have narrowed the commercial industries that we view as COVID-sensitive, and these account for the preponderance of the loan modifications that we are reporting. Our loan loss provisions decline from the elevated levels in the first half of the year, and we are comfortable that we're properly reserved for pandemic-related loan losses based on the current outlook for public health and economic activity. We maintain a disciplined credit process and strive for strong communications with our customers. The decline in loan outstanding this year has reflected cautious loan demand from customers, along with higher customer liquidity and accelerated prepayments. Our regional teams are well positioned to respond to qualifying credit needs in our community, and we have strong capital and funding sources to be a preferred credit provider with structures and pricing that are appropriate to this environment. Our teams remain dedicated to serving our markets, and I have full confidence that we are well-positioned to maintain this service with prudent decision-making as we go forward. At this point, I'll ask Jamie to comment further on some of our financial metrics. Jamie?