Stellar Bancorp, Inc.

Thank you for standing by. My name is Rebecca and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Stellar Bank Q2 earnings release conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. 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 will now turn the call over to Courtney Theriault. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and thank you to all who have joined our call today. Good morning. Our team would like to welcome you to our earnings call for the second quarter of 2025. This morning's earnings call will be led by our CEO, Bob Franklin. and CFO, Paul Eckes. Also in attendance today are Steve Redsloff, Executive Chairman of the company, Ray Vitulli, President of the company and CEO of the bank, and Joe West, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of the bank. Before we begin, I need to remind everyone that some of the remarks made today constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. We intend all such statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Act. Also note that if we give guidance about future results, that guidance is only a reflection of management's beliefs at the time the statement is made, and such beliefs are subject to change. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement except as may be required by law. Please see the last page of the text in this morning's earnings release, which is available on our website at ir.steller.bank. for additional information about the risk factors associated with forward-looking statements. At the conclusion of our remarks, we will open the line and allow time for questions. I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Bob Franklin.

Good morning, and welcome to the Stellar Bancorp second quarter earnings call. We are pleased to share our results for the quarter, evidencing the great work our team has performed toward our goals for growth. In the first quarter, we described how we thought the year would play out. with our loan volume stabilizing with payoffs in the second quarter, giving us momentum for growth in the third and fourth quarters. Our pipeline is healthy and continues to support growth. We are seeing great results from our business development efforts with new loan originations nearly doubling in the second quarter when compared to the first. This is the highest level since 2022, and we believe it marks the return to organic growth. In these efforts, we continue to be supported by the resilient Texas marketplace, which provides Stellar Bank with great opportunities. Our markets have seen M&A activity pick up, as many in the country focus on business-friendly states. With this consolidation comes some disruption, and we anticipate potential for both customer acquisition and talent as a result. Our foundation is our great balance sheet, exhibiting strong capital and liquidity and highlighting our commitment to core funding. These attributes provide us with a good net interest margin and plenty of optionality in the marketplace. A tribute to our disciplined approach around relationship banking. We continue to focus on expanding existing relationships and building new ones. Our strategy is clear, continue to build Stellar into the bank of choice in our markets for small business leaders. We are a community bank, and we understand that our commitment to relationship banking is what will drive long-term value for our shareholders. And with that, I'm going to turn the call over to Paul Legge for further color on the court.