Colony Bankcorp, Inc.

Thank you. Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference over to Brenda Collins, Communications Manager. You may begin.

Thanks, Karla. Before we get started, I would like to go through our standard disclosures. Certain statements we make on this call could be constituted as forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Current and prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance All of which are available on our website. I would also like to add that during our call today, we will reference our second quarter earnings release and investor presentation, which were both filed yesterday, so please have those available to reference. I'll call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Heath Fountain.

Thanks, Brantley, and thank you to everyone for joining our second quarter earnings call today. We are pleased to report continued improvement in our financial performance for the quarter and I'm proud of our team members for all the work they are doing to help us achieve our objectives. A major highlight from the quarter was the announcement of our partnership with First Reliance Bank. Integration planning is already well underway with both management teams working closely together to ensure we remain on track for a legal close in the fourth quarter. On the regulatory front, our merger applications have been submitted and we expect to file the S-4 in the near future. The second quarter also marked our first full period of performance following the successful TC federal systems conversion and customer integration in Q1. Our expectation was to achieve a 1.20% operating ROA after fully realizing our targeted cost savings and we were able to hit that 1.20% operating ROA this quarter. We believe this puts us in a good position to improve on that operating ROA going forward. Operating net income increased over $1.5 million from last quarter. The primary drivers of the increase were continued margin expansion, improved operating non-interest income, as well as decreased operating non-interest expense. Loan growth during the quarter was about 8.5% annualized as we saw an increase in production compared to the first quarter. This brings us up to 7% annualized loan growth year-to-date. The weighted average pricing on new and renewed loans remains steady, actually increasing slightly from the first quarter as we keep pricing discipline a priority. I'm proud of our team's efforts on pricing, which is one of the key factors that drives our continued margin growth. The lending environment is competitive and a rising rate outlook has resulted in some softening pipeline. While we previously expected loan growth to track towards the lower end of our 8% to 12% target, our commitment to disciplined pricing and strong underwriting standards means near-term growth could land slightly below our 8% threshold. We believe in the short term that achieving our financial objectives is important. and achieving organic growth near the low end of our range helps us achieve our long-term financial goals rather than growing in a way that puts pressure on our financial performance or diminishes the strength of our balance sheet. We saw a slight decline in total deposits this quarter. While this is a normal seasonal trend for us, deposit landscape across our footprint does remain competitive. We have managed to maintain a steady cost of funds and our team members continue to focus on building deposit-first relationships with a focus on operating accounts and primary consumer account relationships. Operating non-interest income increased by about $950,000 from the first quarter, which was led by increased revenue from many of our business lines. and operating non-interest expense declined more than $500,000. Our SPSL division had improvement on a pre-tax basis as shown on slide 19. However, we still have a lot of opportunity for more improvement and expect that to start to show over the next few quarters. In addition to finding the right partners to grow with through M&A, organic growth is also a key part of our long-term strategy. We operate in some of the best markets in the Southeast and will continue to focus on growth across our existing footprint. Our upcoming merger with First Reliance will add even more markets that are ideally suited for organic growth. During the quarter, we added several experienced bankers to our team that will help us continue our focus on organic growth. In our Columbus market, we added Colby Carden as a private banker. In our Douglas market, we added Lee Taylor as market president. In our Savannah market, we added Phillip Anderson as market president. And in our Jacksonville MSA, we've recently added Jeff Udy as regional president with a focus on building core customer relationships in the suburban growth markets west of Jacksonville. These additions represent our commitment to organic growth by building core relationships in existing markets and further expand our market share. As we work towards reaching our M&A milestones with First Reliance over the next several quarters, our focus remains both on a seamless integration and driving organic growth across our core footprint. The First Reliance team is incredibly excited about our partnership. They see the clear value in what we can build together, and their leadership is fully energized by the operational scale and broader opportunities the combined company brings to both our customers and our team members. With that, I'll turn it over to Derek to go over the financials in more detail.