Synovus Financial Corp.

Good morning and welcome to the syllabus second quarter 2024 earning school. All participants will be in listen only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing 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 touchtone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to Jennifer Demba, Head of Investors Relations. Jennifer, please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning. During today's call, we will reference the slides and press release that are available within the Investor Relations section of our website, synovus.com. Kevin Blair, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer will begin the call. He will be followed by Jamie Gregory, Chief Financial Officer, and we will be available to answer your questions at the end of the call. Our comments include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the actual results could vary materially. We list these factors that might cause results to differ materially 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 because of new information, early developments, or otherwise, except as may be required by law. During the call, we will reference non-GAAP financial measures related to the company's performance. You may see the reconciliation of these measures in the appendix to our presentation. And now, Kevin Blair will provide an overview of the quarter.

Thank you, Jennifer. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our second quarter 2024 earnings call. Synovus reported a loss of 16 cents in the second quarter of 2024, which included a previously announced $257 million loss from the recent securities repositioning that was executed as a result of the capital benefits derived from our risk-weighted asset optimization exercise. However, adjusted earnings per share were $1.16 compared to 79 cents in the first quarter, while adjusted pre-provision net revenue rose 20% from the prior quarter to $262 million. Adjusted revenue and earnings inflected higher in the second quarter. Net interest income increased 4% from the prior quarter on 16 basis points of sequential NIM expansion. Also, adjusted non-interest revenue jumped 9% sequentially, while adjusted non-interest expense declined 5%. Moreover, our net charge-offs and non-performing loans declined meaningfully this quarter, and our liquidity and capital positions remain as strong as they've been in several years. Our success and positive momentum are a direct result of the work of our talented team members. We are also making progress in key initiatives and in further strengthening our value proposition for our clients. We continue to attract talent in the expansion of our commercial and wealth lines of business. Our retail analytics platform has translated into a better client experience and is delivering 60% increase in new revenue resulting from the insights and leads generated. Our focus on the business owner wealth strategy is delivering a 52% conversion rate on qualified referrals. Our growth in the current pipelines remain robust in treasury and payment solutions. Our efforts to reduce fraud and operating losses have proven fruitful with year-to-date expenses down 11%. And lastly, we saw a significant improvement in credit costs this quarter. In fact, our community bank line of business ended the quarter and year-to-date in a net recovery position. So our progress is broad-based and truly a team effort. In addition, as we've discussed in recent quarters, our focus remains firmly on execution while reducing uncertainty and performance associated with the net interest margin and credit cost. The second quarter results reflect our progress towards these goals. Now let's turn to slide three for the highlights.