Stellar Bancorp, Inc.

Good morning. My name is Audra, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Stellar Bank third quarter earnings call. Today's conference is being recorded. 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 the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Courtney Theriault, Chief Accounting Officer. 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 third quarter of 2025. This morning's earnings call will be led by our CEO, Bob Franklin, and CFO, Paul Iggy. Also in attendance today are Steve Reitzloff, 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 Investigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. We intend all such statements to be covered by the same type of provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Act. Also note that if we give guidance about future results, that guidance is only reflection of management's belief at the time the statement is made and 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.stellar.net for additional information about the risk factors associated with forward-looking statements. At the conclusion of our remarks, we'll open the line and allow time for questions. I will now turn the call over to our CEO, Bob Franklin.

Thank you, Courtney. Good morning and welcome to the Stellar Bancorp third quarter earnings call. I'm pleased to report that we delivered solid results, including increasing our net interest income and our net interest margin. Our balance sheet expansion was driven primarily by deposit growth, reflecting our bankers' emphasis on getting the full client relationship. Credit quality has found its way back into the headlines. While we experienced some charge-offs in the quarter, they were spread over several small credits, most of which were already identified and appropriately reserved. We feel comfortable at our present level of reserve based on our portfolio and the markets that we serve. We have little exposure to non-originated credits and only have three shared national credits, all with longstanding and additional business ties to the bank. Overall, credit trends remain favorable and our market stable. Paul will provide more detail on our expenses during the quarter, including some one-time expenses and some increased advertising spend. As we continue to strengthen our capital position, we have repurchased shares and we have paid down $30 million of our subordinated debt just after quarter end. Our well-capitalized position gives us valuable flexibility and we remain committed to deploying capital in ways to enhance our shareholder value. We are focused on growing our company. We believe that if we continue to be disciplined in building quality assets, protecting margins, and focusing on full balance relationships, we will drive long-term value for our shareholders. Now I'll turn the call over to Paul Egge, our CFO, for more content.