Glacier Bancorp, Inc.

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Glacier Bancorp fourth quarter earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Randy Chesler, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

Good morning and thank you for joining us today. With me here in Kalispell is Ron Cofer, our Chief Financial Officer, Byron Pollin, our Treasurer, and Tom Dolan, our Chief Credit Administrator. I'd like to point out that the discussion today is subject to the same forward-looking considerations outlined starting on page 14 of our press release, and we encourage you to review this section. Overall, the Glacier team delivered a very strong fourth quarter and full year performance. The positive trend of margin expansion driven by increasing interest income and lower deposit costs continued in the fourth quarter. Credit performance remains very good, and we believe we are very well positioned for a strong 2025. Diluted earnings per share for the current quarter was 54 cents per share, an increase of 20% from the prior quarter diluted earnings per share of 45 cents and an increase of 10% from the prior year fourth quarter diluted earnings per share. Net income was $61.8 million for the current quarter, an increase of $10.7 million or 21% from the prior quarter net income of $51.1 million, and an increase of $7.4 million or 14% from the prior year fourth quarter net income. The net interest margin as a percentage of earning assets on a tax equivalent basis for the current quarter was 2.97%, an increase of 14 basis points from the prior quarter net interest margin of 2.83%, and an increase of 41 basis points from the prior year fourth quarter net interest margin. net interest income was 191 million for the current quarter an increase of 11.2 million or 6% from the prior quarter net interest income of 180 million and an increase of 25 million or 15% from the prior year fourth quarter net interest income. The loan portfolio. of $17.3 billion increased $81 million or 2% annualized during the current quarter. The loan yield of 5.72% in the current quarter increased three basis points from the prior quarter loan yield of 5.69% and increased 38 basis points from the prior year fourth quarter loan yield. Total deposits of $20.5 billion at the end of the year 2024 decreased $168 million or 1% from the prior quarter and increased $618 million or 3% from the prior year end. Non-interest bearing deposits represented 30% of total deposits which remains unchanged from the prior year end. The total core deposit cost, including non-interest bearing deposits, of 1.29% in the current quarter decreased eight basis points from the prior quarter total core deposit cost of 1.37%. The total cost of funding also including non-interest-bearing deposits, of 1.71% in the current quarter, decreased eight basis points from the prior quarter, total cost of funding of 1.79%. Non-interest expense was $141 million for the current quarter, a decrease of 3.7 million, or 3% from the prior quarter. Non-interest income for the current quarter totaled $31.5 million, which was a decrease of $3.2 million or 9% over the prior quarter and an increase of $684,000 or 2% over the prior year fourth quarter. Gain on sale of residential loans of $3.9 million for the current quarter decreased 970 2000 or 20% compared to the prior quarter and increased 1.7 million or 76% from the prior year fourth quarter. Our credit portfolio continues to perform at near record levels with no material negative trends emerging. Tangible stockholders equity of 2.1 billion at December 31, 2024 decreased 17.4 million or 1% compared to the prior quarter and increased 118 million or 6% compared to the prior year. On November 20, 2024, the company's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 33 cents per share paid in December. The dividend was the company's 159th consecutive regular dividend. The Glacier team has done an excellent job taking care of our customers while growing the business organically and welcoming our new acquisitions. In 2024, we closed and converted two transactions during the year. Our purchase of the Rocky Mountain branches in Montana and the acquisition of Wheatland Bank in eastern Washington, totaling approximately $1.2 billion in assets. And last week, we announced the proposed acquisition of Bank of Idaho, a $1.3 billion bank with locations in eastern Idaho, Boise, and eastern Washington. This is a great transaction for Glacier because it strategically expands our presence in several high growth markets where we already have a presence. Financially, the transaction is very attractive, reflective of our disciplined approach to M&A with minimal tangible book value dilution, immediate accretion, conservative cost savings assumptions, and a pay-to-trade ratio of only 76%. Bank of Idaho has a solid record of high performance, and this was a negotiated transaction between Glacier and Bank of Idaho. So that ends my formal remarks, and I'd now like to open the line for any questions that our analysts may have.

As a reminder, To ask a question, please press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. And our first question comes from Jeff Rulis with DA Davidson. Your line is open.