Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Q3 2022 Earnings Conference Call October 28, 2022 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Bob Rivers - Chairman and CEO

Jim Fitzgerald - Chief Administrative Officer and CFO

Conference Call Participants

Mark Fitzgibbon - Piper Sandler

Damon DelMonte - KBW

Laurie Hunsicker - Compass Point Research

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Eastern Bankshares, Inc. Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call.

Today's call will include forward-looking statements, including statements about Eastern's future financial and operating results, outlook, business strategies and plans, as well as other opportunities and potential risks that management foresees. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current estimates or beliefs and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or the timing of events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Listeners are referred to the disclosures set forth under the caption forward-looking statements in the earnings press release, as well as the risk factors and other disclosures contained in the company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for more information about such risks and uncertainties.

Any forward-looking statements made during this call represent management's views and estimates only as of today. While the company may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so even if management's views or estimates change, and you should not rely on such statements as representing management's views due as of any date subsequent to today.

During the call, the company will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP figures, please refer to the company's earnings press release, which can be found at the investor.easternbank.com. Please note, this event 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. [Operator Instructions].

I'd now like to turn the call over to Bob Rivers, Chair and CEO.

Bob Rivers

Thank you, Michelle. Good morning, everyone and thank you for joining our third quarter earnings call. Joining me today is Jim Fitzgerald, our Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Our performance continued to be strong, demonstrated continued improvement in a number of key measures. Operating net income in the third quarter was 49% higher than the comparable prior year quarter, a new record, driven by our highest ever quarterly revenue, which increased 34% year-over-year. As a result, Eastern's return on assets continue to improve, as did the efficiency ratio, which declined eight percentage points from a year ago.