Synovus Financial Corp.

Good morning and a welcome to the Synovus first quarter 2025 earnings call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal 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 touchtone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. The call today will be limited to approximately one hour. Please note this event is being recorded. I'll now turn the call over to Jennifer Denver, Senior Director, Investor Relations. 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. Chairman, President, and CEO Kevin Blair will begin the call. He will be followed by Jamie Gregory, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and they will be available to answer your questions at the end of the call. Our comments include forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risk 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. Last night, we were pleased to release strong first quarter 2025 results. Synovus reported gap in adjusted earnings per share of $1.30. Adjusted earnings per share increased 4% from the fourth quarter and jumped 65% year over year. Excluding the FDIC special assessment, adjusted earnings per share rose 53%. Year-over-year growth was driven primarily by net interest margin expansion, lower provision for credit losses, and disciplined expense management. Also, funded loan production was the highest since fourth quarter 2022, leading to loan growth of $40 million in the quarter. Net charge-offs declined to 20 basis points along with broad-based credit metric improvement while our adjusted return on tangible equity increased to 17.6%. Our first quarter commercial client survey conducted over the last month revealed that there was an increase in negative sentiment with 17% of our clients expecting business activity to decline over the next 12 months, up from 10% last quarter. This correlates with the response in which 20% of our clients felt increased tariffs would have a meaningful impact on their respective businesses. However, 41% of our clients who responded noted that they believe business activity will increase over the next 12 months, which was unchanged from our survey last quarter. As the quarter progressed, borrowers and investors grew more cautious amid concerns surrounding the sustainability of consumer spending and the potential impact of higher tariffs and federal government agency layoffs on economic growth. While the impacts of these events on the economic and interest rate environment remain uncertain, We have strong confidence in our path forward and in the health and resilience of our balance sheet. In recent years, Synovus has diversified its business mix and client base, increased capital levels and balance sheet liquidity, and enhanced our enterprise and credit risk management resources and practices. We are maintaining close communication and dialogue with our clients and are well positioned to provide support and advice as they potentially face a more challenging economic environment. Our proactive balance sheet management and business model actions over the past two years, coupled with our growth-oriented initiatives, position Synovus well for strong long-term revenue, earnings, and tangible book value growth, as well as top quartile operating metrics. In the short term, we are focused on mitigating risks that come from an economic slowdown while continuing to seize the opportunities where we have the greatest right to win. We are committed to ensuring clarity and confidence in the actions we take and winning as a collective team. Before I turn it over to Jamie, I want to welcome our chief credit officer, Ann Fortner, to her first earnings call. In Ann's 17 years with Synovus, she has served in various roles, including executive director of credit risk management and leading credit for the wholesale bank. Ann has significant credit industry experience and has excelled in roles of increasing responsibility, positioning her well to assume this critical leadership position. Now Jamie will review our first quarter results in greater detail. Jamie?