Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc.

If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Dario Hernandez, Corporate Counsel. You may begin.

Thank you, Jean, and good afternoon, everyone. Yesterday, we issued our earnings release presentation, which is available on the investor relations page of our website, BeaconFinancialCorporation.com. and as a file at the SEC. This afternoon's call will be hosted by Paul Perl and Carl Carlson. During the question and answer session, they will be joined by Mark Meiklejohn, Chief Credit Officer. This call may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, and business of Beacon Financial Corporation. Please refer to page two of our earnings presentation for our forward-looking statement disclaimer. Also, please refer to our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contain risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Any references made during this presentation to non-GAAP measures are only made to assist you in understanding Beacon Financial's results and performance trends and should not be relied on as financial measures of actual results or future predictions. For a comparison and reconciliation to GAAP earnings, please see our earnings release. At this time, I'd please introduce Shekin Financial's President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Perl.

Thanks, Dario. And good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our first earnings call as Beacon Financial Corp. Let me start by welcoming the Brookline and Berkshire stockholders, employees, and customers to the new Beacon Financial Corporation, the holding company for Beacon Bank & Trust. This powerful combination between our two great legacy organizations will help position us as a leading Northeast financial institution that provides enhanced service capabilities for our clients, performance for our shareholders, and resources for our communities. On September 1st, the merger and consolidation of the bank charters was completed. However, until we finalize our core system integration in the first quarter of next year, We will continue to conduct business as Brookline Bank, Berkshire Bank, Bank Rhode Island, and PCSB Bank, operating as divisions of Beacon. We will formally introduce our Beacon Bank brand to the market over the next few months as we get closer to finalizing our system integrations. The Beacon Bank name represents guidance, strength, and the promise of stability, the core principles the legacy institutions have upheld for generations. With the combined strengths of Berkshire and Brookline, Beacon can help customers make financial decisions with clarity and confidence. The integration is moving ahead as expected. Our priority remains ensuring our customers and communities continue to experience the outstanding service and support our banks are known for, which is driven by the attitude and expertise of our employees and supported by our six regional presidents. I want to thank all of our Beacon Bank employees for their hard work on this integration, their continued superior service to our customers, and a commitment to ensuring a smooth transition. Beacon Financial finished the quarter with $23 billion in assets, $19 billion in deposits, and $18 billion in loans, with third quarter operating earnings of approximately $38.5 million, or 44 cents per share before merger expenses and special charges. We're already beginning to see the rationale for the merger play out with the addition of BrookShare's lower-cost deposit base combined with Brookline's higher growth markets, creating opportunities to deepen relationships with clients. I'm particularly pleased with our strong retention of client-facing talent through this and the excitement amongst the team. And I'm optimistic to see this excitement and energy translated to even more robust results. I will now turn you over to Carl, who will review the company's third quarter.