"Banner Corporation" Q2 2026 Earnings Call - Loan Growth Accelerates to 10% Annualized While Margin Expands

Jordan, Conference Operator: Thank you for standing by. My name is Jordan, I’ll be your conference operator today. At this time, I’d like to welcome everyone to the Banner Corporation Second Quarter 2026 conference call and webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker’s remarks, there’ll be a question-and-answer session. If you’d like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you’d like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Mark Grescovich, President and CEO of Banner Corporation.

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Jordan. Good morning, everyone. I would also like to welcome you to the second quarter 2026 earnings call for Banner Corporation. Joining me on the call today is Rob Butterfield, Banner Corporation’s Chief Financial Officer, Jill Rice, our Chief Credit Officer, and Rich Arnold, our Head of Investor Relations. Rich, would you please read our forward-looking safe harbor statement?

Rich Arnold, Head of Investor Relations, Banner Corporation: Sure, Mark. Good morning. Our presentation today discusses Banner’s business outlook and will include forward-looking statements. Statements include descriptions of management’s plans, objectives or goals for future operations, products or services, forecasts of financial or other performance measures, and statements about Banner’s general outlook for economic and other conditions. We also may make other forward-looking statements in the question-and-answer period following management’s discussion. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed today. Information on the risk factors that could cause actual results to differ are available from the earnings press release that was released yesterday and a recently filed Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31st, 2026. Forward-looking statements are effective only as of the day they are made. Banner assumes no obligation to update information concerning its expectations. Mark?

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Rich. As is customary, today we will cover four primary items with you. First, I will provide you high-level comments on Banner’s second quarter 2026 performance. Second, the actions Banner continues to take to support all of our stakeholders, including our Banner team, our clients, our communities, and our shareholders. Third, Jill Rice will provide comments on the current status of our loan portfolio. Finally, Rob Butterfield will provide more detail on our operating performance for the quarter, as well as comments on our balance sheet. Before I get started, I want to thank all of my 2,000 colleagues in our company who are working extremely hard to assist our clients and our communities. Banner has lived our core values, summed up as doing the right thing, for the past 135 years.

Our overarching goal continues to be to do the right thing for our clients, our communities, our colleagues, our company, and our shareholders, and to provide a consistent and reliable source of commerce and capital through all economic cycles and change events. I am pleased to report again to you that is exactly what we continue to do. I am very proud of the entire Banner team that are living our core values. Now, let me turn to an overview of our performance. As announced, Banner Corporation reported a net profit available to common shareholders of $48.9 million, or $1.43 per diluted share for the quarter ended June 30th, 2026. This compares to a net profit to common shareholders of $1.31 per share for the second quarter of 2025.

Our strategy to maintain a moderate risk profile and the investments we have made and continue to make in order to improve our operating performance have positioned the company well for the future. Rob will discuss these items in more detail shortly. The strength of our balance sheet, coupled with a strong reputation we maintain in our markets, will allow us to manage through the current market uncertainty. To illustrate the core earnings power of Banner, I would direct your attention to pre-tax pre-provision earnings, excluding gains and losses on the sale of securities, changes in fair value of financial instruments, merger and acquisition-related expenses, and building and lease exit costs. Our second quarter 2026 core earnings were $64.4 million compared to $62.5 million for the second quarter of 2025.

Banner’s second quarter 2026 revenue from core operations was $172 million compared to $163 million for the second quarter of 2025, an increase of nearly 6%. We continue to benefit from a strong core deposit base that has proved to be resilient and loyal to Banner, a very good net interest margin, and core expense control. Overall, this resulted in a return on average assets of 1.2% for the second quarter of 2026. Once again, our core performance reflects continued execution on our super community bank strategy That is growing new client relationships, maintaining our core funding position, promoting client loyalty and advocacy through our responsive service model, and demonstrating our safety and soundness through all economic cycles and change events. To that point, our core deposits continue to represent 89% of total deposits.

Reflective of this performance, coupled with our strong regulatory capital ratios and the fact we increased our tangible common equity per share by 11% from the same period last year, we announced a core dividend of $0.52 per common share. Earlier this month, we released our 2025 corporate responsibility report. Banner has always been committed to do the right thing in support of our clients, the many communities that we serve, and our colleagues. The accomplishments highlighted in this report are meant to reflect the deep connection we have with all of our stakeholders and our commitment to creating positive change in the communities we serve. Finally, I’m pleased to say that we continue to receive marketplace recognition and validation of our business model and our value proposition.

Banner was again named one of America’s 100 best banks, as well as one of the best banks in the world by Forbes. Newsweek named Banner one of the most trustworthy companies both in America and the world again this year. Just recently named Banner one of the best regional banks in the country. Additionally, our company was certified by Great Place to Work and S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked Banner’s financial performance among the top 50 public banks with more than $10 billion in assets. Also, the Kroll Bond Rating Agency affirmed all of Banner’s investment-grade debt and deposit ratings. As we have noted previously, Banner Bank again received an outstanding CRA rating. Let me now turn the call over to Jill to discuss trends in our loan portfolio and her comments on Banner’s credit quality. Jill?

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Mark, and good morning, everyone. As detailed in our press release, loan originations were strong again this quarter. We reported solid loan growth across multiple product lines. Banner’s credit metrics remained stable. Delinquent loans declined five basis points to 0.51% of total loans when compared to the linked quarter and compared to 0.41% as of June 30th, 2025. Adversely classified assets also declined quarter-over-quarter, down $16.5 million. Represent 1.82% of total loans, a 19 basis point decrease when compared to March 31st. Non-performing assets increased by $8.9 million, the result of a single condo construction project moving to non-accrual. In spite of this increase, total non-performing assets represent a modest 0.36% of total assets. Non-performing loans total $54.8 million, the majority of which are one to four family or other consumer-related credits that often involve protracted resolution timelines.

REO balances declined by $500,000 quarter-over-quarter. Total $5.7 million. The net provision for credit losses on the quarter was $3.8 million, including a $1.6 million provision for credit losses loans and a $2.2 million provision for unfunded loan commitments. Loan losses in the quarter were modest, totaling $577,000. Were offset in part by recoveries totaling $476,000. The provision was largely driven by loan growth. Was partially offset by changes in portfolio mix and positive risk rating migrations. The loan loss reserve remains strong, providing coverage of 1.35% of total loans, which compares to 1.37% as of both the linked quarter and as of June 30th, 2025. Loan originations increased 45% when compared to the linked quarter, with commercial originations up 85%, construction up 73%, and consumer up 55% respectively. Both commercial and commercial real estate pipelines continue to be strong.

Loan outstandings grew by $287 million in the quarter, or nearly 10% on an annualized basis, in spite of continued commercial real estate, and to a lesser extent, C&I loan payoffs experienced in the quarter. The primary drivers of loan growth in the quarter were C&I, up $152 million, consumer loans up $62 million, and owner-occupied real estate up $54 million. The growth in both C&I lending and owner-occupied real estate was a mix of both new and expanded small business relationships as well as several new middle market commercial relationships spread across the footprint. The growth in the consumer portfolio was driven largely by the generation of new home equity lines of credit resulting from a successful marketing campaign with a smaller contribution from utilization of existing facilities.

Consistent with owner-occupied commercial real estate, growth in the non-owner occupied balances reflects our success in developing new middle market relationships while deepening existing client relationships. Notably, this quarter’s growth was materially tempered by multiple loan payoffs associated with real estate sales and refinancing activity into the secondary market. The increase in multifamily real estate loan balances was driven primarily by the conversion of several affordable housing projects upon completion of construction. Residential construction loans continue to represent approximately 5% of the total loan portfolio. Across all business lines, the overall construction portfolio remains well-balanced at 14% of total loans, reflecting our measured approach to managing construction-related exposure. The completed for sale 1 to 4 family construction projects average days on market again increased modestly this quarter, given the current elevated interest rate environment. However, completed and unsold inventory levels remain within historical norms and are considered manageable.

We continue to closely monitor sales velocity, particularly within the higher-end product segment, given ongoing economic uncertainty. Last quarter, I noted the economic uncertainty resulting from persistent inflation, a higher for longer interest rate environment, and heightened geopolitical tensions. While these headwinds continue, Banner’s super community bank delivery model and disciplined credit culture have enabled us to strengthen existing relationships, grow new business, and maintain our moderate risk profile. Supported by a strong balance sheet, robust capital levels, and a solid allowance for credit losses, we remain well-positioned to navigate the current environment and capitalize on future opportunities. With that, I will hand the microphone over to Rob for his comments. Rob?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Jill. We reported $1.43 per diluted share for the second quarter, compared to $1.60 per diluted share for the prior quarter. The decrease in earnings per share compared to the prior quarter was primarily driven by a higher provision for credit losses, lower non-interest income, and higher non-interest expense, partially offset by stronger net interest income. Core pre-tax, pre-provision income increased $1.9 million, or 3%, compared to the second quarter of last year. Our performance metrics remain solid as we reported a return on average tangible common equity of 12.27% and a return on average assets of 1.20% for the current quarter. As Jill previously mentioned, loan balances increased $287 million during the quarter, or nearly 10% on an annualized basis, reflecting continued client demand across our markets. The loan-to-deposit ratio ended the quarter at 87%, which provides us with strong liquidity and funding flexibility.

Total security balances decreased $34 million during the quarter due to a slight decline in fair value, partially offset by purchases exceeding portfolio cash flows. Deposits decreased $51 million during the quarter due to normal seasonal activities as clients use deposit balances to make tax payments. Core deposits decreased $59 million and ended the quarter at 89% of total deposits. Certificates of deposits increased $8 million during the quarter. Total borrowings increased $319 million during the quarter as FHLB advances were temporarily used to fund loan growth and the seasonal deposit outflows. The tangible common equity to asset ratio increased to 10.02%. Total shareholders’ equity increased $33 million during the quarter to approximately $2 billion. Net interest income increased $3.6 million from the prior quarter due to a combination of a two basis point increase in the tax equivalent net interest margin and average earning assets increasing $129 million.

The increase in average earning assets was driven by average loan balances increase of $158 million, partially offset by a decline in interest-bearing cash. The tax equivalent net interest margin was 4.13% compared to 4.11% in the prior quarter. The increase in net interest margin was due to an increase in the yield on earning assets due to loan yields increasing 2 basis points and the continued improvement in the earning asset mix. The average rate on new loan production for the current quarter was 6.53%, compared to 6.69% for the prior quarter. The increase in the earning asset yield was partially offset by an increase in funding costs as FHLB advances were used to temporarily fund loan growth and seasonal deposit outflows. Deposit costs decreased 2 basis points from the prior quarter due to further repricing in the CD book.

Non-interest-bearing deposits ended the quarter at 33% of total deposits, same as the previous quarter. Total non-interest income decreased $939,000 from the prior quarter. The decrease was primarily due to the prior quarter having a $1.7 million increase in the valuation of financial instruments carried at fair value, and the current quarter having lower gain on loan sale income. These decreases were partially offset by the prior quarter having a loss on the sale of securities and the current quarter having higher service fee income. Total non-interest expense increased $5.4 million from the prior quarter. As I noted last quarter, the expenses in the first quarter were lower than typical as some expenses expected to be incurred in the first quarter were delayed until the second quarter.

Software expense was $1.8 million higher, which included $924,000 of non-recurring expense related to the write-off of the previous commercial loan origination system, which was recently replaced. Marketing expense was $1.3 million higher due to the timing of advertising campaigns. Salary expense was $800,000 higher due to normal annual salary increases being completed at the end of the first quarter, and legal expenses were $764,000 higher due to various legal matters. In addition, the current quarter included $238,000 of M&A expense related to the Bank of the Pacific acquisition. Our capital and liquidity positions remain strong and continue to support our clients, communities, and future growth opportunities. This concludes my prepared comments. Now I will turn it back to Mark. Mark?

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Jill and Rob, for your comments. That concludes our prepared remarks today. Jordan, we will now open the call and welcome questions.

Jordan, Conference Operator: Your first question comes from the line of Matthew Clark from Piper Sandler. Your line is now live.

Matthew Clark, Analyst, Piper Sandler: Hey. Good morning, everyone.

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Morning, Matthew.

Matthew Clark, Analyst, Piper Sandler: Just on the loan yields, wondered what the weighted average rate was on new loans. I may have missed it in your prepared comments. Then what’s your outlook on loan yields in general, knowing that you still have some back book repricing, but also wanting to consider the competitive pricing and rate environment?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Thanks for that question, Matthew. This is Rob. The average yield on new loan production for the quarter was 6.53%. We’ve been seeing some back book repricing there. We’ve been seeing new loans come on at higher yields. We’ve also seen that slowing over time. This most recent quarter, it was two basis points increase in overall loan yields. The pace of that increase is slowing at this time. Going forward, I would expect probably through the end of the year, we might see one to two basis points of increase quarter-over-quarter. It is slowing at this point.

Matthew Clark, Analyst, Piper Sandler: Thank you. Similar question on the deposit side. If you had the spot rate on deposits at the end of the quarter on June 30, maybe the monthly NIM margin in the month of June and your thoughts on deposit costs going forward, assuming the Fed’s on hold.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Deposit costs were relatively flat throughout the quarter. The 133 basis points was pretty close to what we saw throughout the quarter. NIM was fairly flat as well. What I would say is earlier in the quarter, we had a higher reliance on FHLB advances, NIM was a bit lower, then it did increase a bit as we moved through the quarter. Just as far as what we’re looking at from a go-forward standpoint, we’ve been benefiting from the CD book repricing, that’s the benefit that you saw, the two basis points decline in deposit costs was the CD book repricing. The CD book has pretty much fully repriced at this point, and I wouldn’t expect any further repricing in the CD book until we start to see some Fed action, which really isn’t forecasted for the foreseeable future.

I’m expecting deposit costs to remain relatively flat. The only other thing I’ll add is we have started to see CD specials in our marketplace. We have started to see those increase. This most recent quarter, we did increase the advertised rate that we were advertising as well. If anything, I would say it’s holding deposit costs flat is going to be the goal at this point.

Matthew Clark, Analyst, Piper Sandler: Last one from me, just on expenses. A little heavier than expected, even if you strip out the software write-off on the merger costs. Maybe speak to your thoughts on the run rate going forward, whether or not we might see some relief and what you’re doing on the technology side. What did you get rid of? What are you investing in? That would be helpful. Thank you.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Sure. Yeah. As I mentioned last quarter, the Q1 expenses were lower than expected due to the timing of certain expenses that were expected to incur in the first quarter got delayed into the second quarter. As I talked about, IT expenses were up about half of that, $1 million of that was the write-off of the old commercial loan origination system that was recently replaced. We’re also seeing additional modules and seeing the new loan origination system continue to go live. We’re seeing some expense increase there. Just some of the marketing campaigns that we had, we didn’t have anything that went really live in the first quarter. Really, the second quarter was basically two quarters worth of marketing expense that you saw there.

I think if you’re looking for kind of a run rate at this point, if you back out the loan origination system, write off the old one, the M&A expense for the quarter, that’s going to get you pretty close. Expenses are always going to bounce around $1 million or $2 million quarter to quarter just because of timing-type items. I think you probably saw Q1 was a bit low, Q2 was a bit high just from timing-type items. We continue to see the loan and deposit origination system. We continue to see the benefits of that. The benefits aren’t only from an efficiency expense standpoint, but I think what you saw also is you saw an increase in loan originations, and we’re starting to see the pull-through and the timing on how quickly we can get loans through the pipeline.

We’re benefiting from that standpoint because of that investment we made in that new loan origination system.

Matthew Clark, Analyst, Piper Sandler: Great. Thanks again.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Matthew.

Jordan, Conference Operator: The next question comes from the line of Jeff Rulis from D.A. Davidson. Your line is now live.

Ryan Peyton, Analyst, D.A. Davidson: Good morning. This is Ryan Peyton on for Jeff Rulis.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Right.

Ryan Peyton, Analyst, D.A. Davidson: Starting off, a strong loan growth this quarter. Last quarter, we saw elevated payoffs. I just wanted to gauge those dynamics this quarter and the pace of expected net loan growth through the remainder of the year.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Yeah, Ryan, this is Jill. This quarter, as I alluded to in my comments, we did still have the commercial real estate payoffs and more, a little bit unexpected, increased elevated C&I payoffs due to business sales and other transactions, asset sales. What I would say is that in spite of that, we continue to have meaningful unfunded construction projects underway. The pipelines continue to rebuild and are strong. Even looking at history as the driver, third quarter will probably come down a little bit in originations and loan growth, yet we still expect to end the full year at that mid-single digit growth rate. CRE payoffs are slowing, they’re not done.

Ryan Peyton, Analyst, D.A. Davidson: Got it. Thanks. Now on the deposit side, how would you characterize the competition there? Are customers looking for higher rates with maybe some rate hike anticipations?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Ryan, I wouldn’t necessarily say that the expectation of rate hikes are there. I would say just as I mentioned earlier, we’re starting to see some pressure on the CD pricing. We haven’t seen that necessarily cross over into the core products at this point. We consider exception pricing for various clients as we look at things always. We haven’t necessarily seen an increase in the level of exception pricing at this point for our core products.

Ryan Peyton, Analyst, D.A. Davidson: Got it. Last for me, with a California peer takeout announced recently, how do you view that in terms of any potential market share gains or competition for deals in that area?

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Hi, Ryan, this is Mark. I think it was a great transaction. Obviously, that is a very good and well-run bank that has a great reputation. Anytime there’s some type of system conversion, there’s opportunity for us. Maybe they’ll be distracted with integration. It’s a well-run bank, and we’re just going to continue along with our organic model. I think you can see by the numbers that we’re doing pretty well in California. I think we’re just going to continue that, and if opportunities present themselves, we’ll take advantage of it.

Ryan Peyton, Analyst, D.A. Davidson: Okay. Thanks. I’ll step back.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Thanks, Ryan.

Jordan, Conference Operator: The next question comes from the line of Kelly Motta from KBW. Your line is now live.

Megan Lynch, Analyst, KBW: Hi, this is Megan Lynch on for Kelly Motta. Thanks for taking my question.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Good morning, Megan.

Megan Lynch, Analyst, KBW: Good morning. Thinking about capital return and your priorities here, how are you thinking about doing this alongside the Pacific deal, and what are your priorities going forward near term? What about buybacks? Any more color on timing of that?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: This is Rob. Thanks for the question. We put any alternative capital actions outside of the core dividend on hold until we get the Bank of the Pacific deal closed. Assuming the right market conditions exist, it doesn’t necessarily change the total number of shares that we’re going to repurchase for the year. It just kind of pushes out the timing of those at this time. We’re really waiting for the Bank of the Pacific transaction to close before we do anything.

Megan Lynch, Analyst, KBW: Okay, got it. On the Pacific deal, is timing still for third quarter close? How is it going in general in terms of the progress of the acquisition?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: The timing hasn’t changed. We expect it to close here in the third quarter. I would say as far as getting all the required approvals and by everyone, everything’s on track at this point. We feel really good about it. Nothing’s changed since we announced the deal.

Megan Lynch, Analyst, KBW: Awesome. Thank you. That’s it.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: All right. Thank you.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Megan.

Jordan, Conference Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Liesch from StoneX Group. Your line is live.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Hey, good morning, everyone.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Morning, Andrew.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Morning. Just a question on the margin. FHLB balances. Have you seen the deposit growth kind of rebuild here this quarter? How should we look at the balance sheet makeup on the funding side here for this quarter?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Yeah, I think as we moved through the second quarter, we saw the FHLB balances grow as we moved through the first half of the quarter. We started to see the deposit balances come back in as we moved through the end of it. I would say at this point, it’s just normal seasonality. Assuming we see that normal deposit growth that we would expect in the third quarter, which is typically our strongest quarter from a deposit growth standpoint, we’d expect those FHLB advances to continue to come down as we move through the quarter.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Got it. From what I’m hearing on the go-to-deposit side, maybe not too much benefit like you’ve seen going forward, maybe you get some benefit here with the wholesale funding flowing up. Maybe we see a couple basis points of margin expansion?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Yeah, I think that’s right. I still think we’re going to get a little bit on the loan repricing, call it a basis point or two, and then in the third quarter, we should see funding costs come down just because of the mix change there with additional deposits coming in, lower FHLB advances. A couple basis points of margin expansion in the third quarter. Beyond that, it’s going to be tougher as you move past the third quarter, just because I’m thinking funding costs are going to level out and you might see a little bit on the loan side, but again, that pace is continuing to slow.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Got it. Just on the new software and the old software that you wrote down, what does the new system do that you didn’t have before?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: I think primarily it just creates a lot of efficiencies in the sense that there was a lot of back office processes that continued to be fairly manual. It really automates a lot of the processes and allows the time it takes a deal to get through the system from start to finish. It slows or increases that timing.

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: This is Mark. Let me just add.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Yeah

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: there were two separate systems, right, that we had running. We had a consumer system. Actually, three. We had a consumer system, small business, and a commercial. It helps refine all of that into one particular operating system. It does streamline the operations.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Got it. It sounds like this was something you’ve been wanting to do for quite some time, but now you felt the timing was right and you had the good technology?

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: I think that’s correct. I think we’ve been wanting to do it for a while, but as you know, we had a few bank acquisitions that we were combining, and we didn’t want to disrupt our market performance and our organic growth during those integrations. The timing was perfect for us to do this.

Andrew Liesch, Analyst, StoneX Group: Got it. Makes sense. All right, thanks. I’ll step back.

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Andrew.

Jordan, Conference Operator: Your next question comes from the line of David Feaster from Raymond James. Your line is live.

Evan, Analyst, Raymond James: Hey, good morning, guys. This is actually Evan on for David Feaster.

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Morning, Evan.

Evan, Analyst, Raymond James: Morning. Just wanted to maybe switch back to the growth side. Origination trends were really encouraging, and loan growth was seemingly pretty broad-based. You also touched on the resiliency of customers in your marketplace. I’m just curious whether you believe this was a function of improving demand as customers get more used to the operating environment, or is it rather just getting more out of your producers? Maybe more broadly, where are you seeing the most opportunities to drive loan growth today, whether geographically or by industry? Thanks.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: As to the first part of the question, it really was both. It’s new client acquisition, it’s our new relationship managers really hitting the street and bringing in business, and just expansion of existing relationships. I’d say we’re hitting on all cylinders this quarter, and I would expect that to continue given the way the pipelines are continuing to build. If you look back over the last three quarters, originations have been pretty healthy in each of those quarters. They take time to actually end up being funded loan balances. I feel really good about it. As to the geographies, it was broad based. I went looking for the pockets of where we were finding these loans, and it was up and down the West Coast, across the mountains into Eastern Washington.

We don’t have an industry or a particular geography that is doing all of the work for us.

Evan, Analyst, Raymond James: That’s really helpful. Maybe just sticking on growth and with the Pacific deal, it’s good to hear that’s going well. I know it brings a very strong core deposit base, and it’s very complimentary on the funding side, I’m just curious if you’re also seeing opportunities on the lending side in terms of their bankers being able to bank larger credits or if there’s any verticals that they had that you’re excited to be able to expand on. Thanks.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Certainly their bankers will have a much greater upside in terms of growing their relationships with their existing clients and actually bringing on new clients in their markets that they couldn’t bank given their much smaller hold limits at that institution. I don’t want to speak for them, but I think they’re pretty excited about their opportunities as they come into Banner. We’re excited as well, I should say. It’s great for both of us.

Evan, Analyst, Raymond James: That’s great to hear. Last one from me, just on the credit side, I saw the increase in non-performing, there was also positive migration in substandard. Just curious what you’re seeing in terms of broad credit trends, and then maybe if you have any more detail on that condo loan that migrated and expectations for resolution or recovery on that. Thanks.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: It was a small condo project in the California market. Ultimately, I don’t expect it to be sitting in non-performing for very long. It experienced significant delays from the outset. I see a medium-term resolution to that. The biggest area of non-performing assets, they’re one to four-family residential. They’re home equity lines of credit. It’s an average loan size of under $500,000 in that specific segment. What am I watching most closely? It’s the consumer segment, mortgage, home equity, all of that has been impacted by this higher rate environment for this elongated time period and the strain that they’re experiencing.

Evan, Analyst, Raymond James: That’s really helpful. I’ll step back, congratulations on the quarter.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Evan.

Jordan, Conference Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Terrell from Stephens Inc. Your line is now live.

Andrew Terrell, Analyst, Stephens Inc: Hey, good morning.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Morning, Andrew.

Andrew Terrell, Analyst, Stephens Inc: Hey. I was hoping maybe to start just with Jill, and apologies if I missed it. It sounds like after a strong second quarter on loan growth, it sounds like the pipeline and the kind of underlying trends going into the back half of the year are still pretty strong. I was hoping you could just maybe quantify, to the extent you can, just where the pipeline sits, whether year-on-year or quarter-on-quarter, kind of the sequential changes, just to give us a sense for trends into the back half of the year.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: I don’t have those numbers off the top of my head, Andrew. I just know that as we’ve pulled them through into fundings, things are coming in behind them. I can’t compare this quarter to last quarter what’s sitting in the pipeline. I just know that they remain full and continue to end up being closings, originations, and then ultimately funded balances.

Andrew Terrell, Analyst, Stephens Inc: Okay. Fair enough. We’re tracking towards that mid-singles on the loan growth for this year. I know it sounds like deposits should pick up seasonally here in the third quarter, do you think core deposit growth can kind of keep pace with that mid-singles loan growth? Any early indications on how deposits are tracking here in the third quarter?

Rob Butterfield, Chief Financial Officer, Banner Corporation: Hey, Andrew. It’s Rob. Yeah. Our expectation is that deposit growth would keep up with the pace of loan growth. We’re a core-funded bank. That’s what we are. That’s what we expect to maintain. I’d just say we’re just seeing normal seasonality right now.

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Let me just add, Andrew.

Andrew Terrell, Analyst, Stephens Inc: Okay

Jill Rice, Chief Credit Officer, Banner Corporation: Again. Let me add to that. Recall the Bank of the Pacific Financial Corporation transaction is going to add some fantastic core deposits to us. They’re a very well-run bank with a strong core deposit base that’s going to be very helpful for us.

Andrew Terrell, Analyst, Stephens Inc: Yep. Certainly. If I could just sneak one more in, Mark. It feels like the environment for deals has really started picking up some. You guys are obviously working through Pacific now, and as you referenced, great deposit forward acquisition for you guys. A little bit on the smaller side, I’m curious if that changes your opinion on interest in further M&A, potentially more near term. Just maybe characterize your interest going forward.

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Yes. Look, I think the Bank of the Pacific transaction, that combination is going to be fantastic. They’re a great company to work with. The integration I expect to go very smoothly, and it should go according to schedule. That transaction would not preclude us from doing something else, we’re going to continue to be opportunistic. Obviously, with our strong capital levels and good core earnings power, I think we’ll continue to be a great partner. As you know, there’s a bit of scarcity on the West Coast now. We’re going to have an opportunity, I think, to really benefit from our balance sheet to be able to do continued non-organic growth opportunities. I feel very good about that.

Jordan, Conference Operator: That concludes the question and answer session. I would like to turn the call back over to Mark Grescovich for closing remarks.

Mark Grescovich, President and CEO, Banner Corporation: Thank you, Jordan. As I stated, we’re very proud of the Banner team and our second quarter 2026 solid operating performance. Thank you for your interest in Banner and for joining our call today. We look forward to reporting our results to you again in the future. Thank you very much for your attention, and everyone have a wonderful day.

Jordan, Conference Operator: This concludes today’s meeting. You may now disconnect.