Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Q2 2022 Earnings Conference Call July 21, 2022 2:00 PM ET

Company Participants

Clint Stein - President & Chief Executive Officer

Aaron Deer - Chief Financial Officer

Chris Merrywell - Chief Operating Officer

Andy McDonald - Chief Credit Officer

Conference Call Participants

David Feaster - Raymond James

Matthew Clark - Piper Sandler

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Columbia Banking System's Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later we’ll conduct a question-and-answer session. Instruction will be given at that time. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder this conference is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the call over to your host Clint Stein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Banking System. Please go ahead.

Clint Stein

Thank you Victor. Welcome and good morning everyone and thank you for joining us on today's call as we review our second quarter results. The earnings release and accompanying investor presentation are available at columbiabank.com. Our associates continue to remain focused on delivering favorable outcomes for each of our stakeholders and their efforts are reflected in our outstanding results for the second quarter.

Net income of $58.8 million was the best quarter in our 29-year history. Our solid operating fundamentals were propelled by exceptional loan growth and underpinned by the strength of our stable core deposit base. We continue to see our investments in people and systems pay off in terms of production capabilities. Our bankers are working hard every day to deepen and expand relationships with our clients by providing products solutions and industry-specific expertise. These activities support our clients' goals, which in turn supports the economic health of communities across our entire footprint. Preparation for our combination with Umpqua Holdings is progressing as teams from both companies eagerly await regulatory approval.

On the call with me today are Aaron Deer our Chief Financial Officer; Chris Merrywell our Chief Operating Officer; and Andy McDonald our Chief Credit Officer. Following our prepared remarks we'll open the line for questions.

Before turning the call over to Aaron, I need to remind you that we may make forward-looking statements during the call. For further information on forward-looking comments please refer to either our earnings release or website or our SEC filings. Aaron?

Aaron Deer

Thank you Clint and good morning everyone. Pretax pre-provision income rose by $11.2 million on a linked quarter basis to $78.7 million. The increase was driven by a combination of rising interest income, higher non-interest income and lower operating expenses most notably with declines in merger-related costs and compensation and benefit costs including the impact of some onetime items I'll discuss in a moment.