Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call April 29, 2022 9:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Bob Rivers - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Jim Fitzgerald - Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Conference Call Participants
Janet Lee - JP Morgan
Mark Fitzgibbon - Piper Sandler
Damon DelMonte - KBW
Laurie Hunsicker - Compass Point
Operator
Hello and welcome to Eastern Bankshares, Inc. First 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 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 investor.easternbank.com.
Please note this event is being recorded. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you.
I would now like to turn the call over to Bob Rivers, Chairman and CEO. Please go ahead, sir.
Bob Rivers
Great, thank you, Patricia. Good morning everyone, and thank you for joining our first quarter earnings call. With me today is Jim Fitzgerald, our Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
Our first quarter results were strong as we began to realize the benefits of the acquisition of Century Bank, and other investments we've made to grow our business and solidify our position as the leading community bank in Greater Boston. Our operating earnings in the first quarter were 23% higher than the same period a year ago. And we believe we are well-positioned to benefit from higher interest rates in the quarters ahead. Although organic commercial loan growth was slower than prior quarters, we believe that our pipelines are strong and that we are still on track for high single-digit growth in these portfolios in 2022.