FB Financial Corp (FBK)

ITEM 2 – Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations

The following is a discussion of our financial condition as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, and our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, and should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, that was filed with the SEC on February 26, 2026, and with the accompanying unaudited notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements set forth in this Report.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained in this Report that are not historical in nature may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future plans, results, strategies, and expectations, including expectations around changing economic markets. These statements can generally be identified by the use of the words and phrases “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “goal,” “plan,” “potential,” “estimate,” “project,” “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “target,” “aim,” “predict,” “continue,” “seek,” and other variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based upon management’s current expectations, estimates, and projections, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond the Company’s control. The inclusion of these forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that such expectations, estimates, and projections will be achieved. Accordingly, the Company cautions shareholders and investors that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, (1) current and future economic conditions, including the effects of inflation, interest rate fluctuations, changes in the economy or global supply chain, supply-demand imbalances affecting local real estate prices, and high unemployment rates in the local or regional economies in which the Company operates and/or the US economy generally, (2) changes or the lack of changes in government interest rate policies and the associated impact on the Company’s business, net interest margin, and mortgage operations, (3) increased competition for deposits, (4) changes in the quality or composition of the Company’s loan or investment portfolios, including adverse developments in borrower industries or in the repayment ability of individual borrowers or issuers of investment securities, or the impact of interest rates on the value of our investment securities portfolio, (5) any deterioration in commercial real estate market fundamentals, (6) the Company’s ability to identify potential candidates for, consummate, and achieve synergies from acquisitions, including risks that cost savings and other synergies from completed or future mergers may not be realized (or may be less than or delayed from expectations), challenges in integrating acquired businesses, disruptions to customer, employee, or other relationships, diversion of management attention, and the ability to effectively manage larger or more complex operations post-transaction; (7) the Company’s ability to manage any unexpected outflows of uninsured deposits and avoid selling investment securities or other assets at an unfavorable time or at a loss, (8) the Company’s ability to successfully execute its various business strategies, (9) changes in state and federal legislation, regulations or policies applicable to banks and other financial service providers, including legislative developments, (10) the effectiveness of the Company’s controls and procedures to detect, prevent, mitigate and otherwise manage the risk of fraud or misconduct by internal or external parties, including attempted physical-security and cybersecurity attacks, denial-of-service attacks, hacking, phishing, social-engineering attacks, malware intrusion, data-corruption attempts, system breaches, identity theft, ransomware attacks, environmental conditions, and intentional acts of destruction, (11) the Company’s dependence on information technology systems of third party service providers and the risk of systems failures, interruptions, or breaches of security, (12) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes, (13) concentrations of credit or deposit exposure, (14) the impact of natural disasters, pandemics, acts of war or terrorism, or other catastrophic events, (15) events giving rise to international or regional political instability, including the broader impacts of such events on financial markets and/or global macroeconomic environments, and/or (16) general competitive, economic, political, and market conditions. Further information regarding the Company and factors which could affect the forward-looking statements contained herein can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and in any of the Company’s subsequent filings with the SEC. Many of these factors are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, shareholders and investors should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this Report, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

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New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict their occurrence or how they will affect the Company.

The Company qualifies all forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

Critical accounting policies

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and general practices within the banking industry. Within our financial statements, certain financial information contains approximate measurements of financial effects of transactions and impacts at the consolidated balance sheet dates and our results of operations for the reporting periods. We monitor the status of proposed and newly issued accounting standards to evaluate the impact on our financial condition and results of operations. Our accounting policies, including the impact of any newly issued accounting standards if applicable, are discussed in further detail in Note 1, “Basis of presentation and summary of significant accounting policies,” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

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Financial highlights

The following table presents certain selected historical consolidated statements of income and balance sheets data and key performance indicators and other measures as of the dates or for the periods indicated. Our historical results for any prior period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.

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[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

ITEM 7 — Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overall Objective

The following is a discussion of our financial condition at December 31, 2025 and 2024, and our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, and should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein. The purpose of this discussion is to focus on information about our financial condition and results of operations which is not otherwise apparent from our consolidated financial statements. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and are based on certain assumptions that we believe are reasonable but may prove to be inaccurate. Certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those set forth in the “Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements” and “Risk Factors” sections of this Annual Report, may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected results discussed in the forward-looking statements appearing in this discussion and analysis. We assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements. Discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 are included in the respective sections within “Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our Annual Report filed on Form 10-K with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Overview

We are a financial holding company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. We operate primarily through our wholly-owned subsidiary bank, FirstBank, and its subsidiaries. FirstBank provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services to clients in select markets in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina. As of December 31, 2025, our footprint included 90 full-service branches serving markets across Tennessee, including Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Jackson in addition to Bowling Green, Kentucky, Columbus and Newnan, Georgia and Birmingham, Anniston, Huntsville, and Auburn, Alabama. Additionally, our banking services extend to community markets throughout our footprint. FirstBank also provides retail mortgage banking services utilizing its bank branch network and mortgage banking offices strategically located throughout the southeastern United States. As of December 31, 2025, we had total assets of $16.30 billion, loans held for investment of $12.38 billion, total deposits of $13.91 billion, and total shareholders’ equity of $1.95 billion.

We operate through two segments, Banking and Mortgage. We generate most of our revenue in our Banking segment from interest on loans and investments, loan-related fees, trust and investment services and deposit-related fees. Our primary source of funding for our loans is customer deposits, however we have other sources of funds including unsecured credit lines, brokered CDs, and other borrowings. We generate most of our revenue in our Mortgage segment from origination fees and gains on sales in the secondary mortgage loan market, as well as from mortgage servicing revenues.

Developments in 2025

Mergers and acquisitions

Southern States Bancshares, Inc.

On July 1, 2025, the Company completed its merger with Southern States Bancshares, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southern States Bank, with FB Financial Corporation continuing as the surviving entity. This merger strengthens the Company’s presence in existing markets, such as Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama, while expanding the Company’s footprint further into Alabama and Georgia. The Company acquired total assets of $2.83 billion, total loans of $2.27 billion and assumed total deposits of $2.47 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, each outstanding share of Southern States common stock was converted into the right to receive 0.80 shares of the Company’s stock. Additionally, fractional shares and outstanding stock options were settled in cash. As a result, total consideration paid was $368.4 million based on the Company’s closing stock price of $45.30 per share on June 30, 2025. The merger resulted in additional goodwill of $107.8 million being recorded based on preliminary fair value estimates of total net assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction.

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Key factors affecting our business

Interest rates

Net interest income is the largest contributor to our net income and is the difference between the interest and fees earned on interest-earning assets (primarily loans, investment securities and interest-bearing deposits with other financial institutions) and the interest expense incurred in connection with interest-bearing liabilities (primarily deposits and borrowings). The level of net interest income is primarily a function of the average balance of interest-earning assets, the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities and the spread between the contractual yield on such assets and the contractual cost of such liabilities. These factors are influenced by both the pricing and mix of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities which, in turn, are impacted by external factors such as local economic conditions, competition for loans and deposits, the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve and market interest rates.

The cost of our deposits and short-term wholesale borrowings is largely based on short-term interest rates, which are primarily driven by the Federal Reserve’s actions. The yields generated by our loans and securities are typically driven by short-term and long-term interest rates, which are market driven and are, at times, heavily influenced by the Federal Reserve’s actions. The level of net interest income is therefore influenced by movements in such interest rates and the pace at which such movements occur.

Interest rates decreased throughout the year ended December 31, 2025. Volatile interest rates could have significant adverse effects on the earnings, financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

For additional information regarding our interest rate risks factors and management, see “Business: Risk management: Liquidity and interest rate risk management” and “Risk factors: Risks related to our business.”

Credit trends

We focus on originating quality loans and have established loan approval policies and procedures to assist us in upholding the overall credit quality of our loan portfolio. However, credit trends in the markets in which we operate and in our loan portfolio can materially impact our financial condition and performance and are primarily driven by the economic conditions in our markets.

During 2025, our percentage of total nonperforming loans to loans HFI increased to 0.97% as of December 31, 2025, from 0.87% as of December 31, 2024. Our classified loans decreased incrementally to 1.10% of loans HFI as of December 31, 2025, compared to 1.15% as of December 31, 2024. Our nonperforming assets as of December 31, 2025 were $158.1 million, or 0.97% of total assets compared to $121.9 million, or 0.93% of assets as of December 31, 2024.

Our provisions for credit losses resulted in an expense of $43.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $12.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. For the year ended December 31, 2025, our provision for credit losses was comprised of $33.2 million of provision for credit losses on loans HFI and $10.1 million related to credit losses on unfunded commitments. The current period expense is the result of a $28.4 million initial provision related to Southern States acquired loans HFI and unfunded commitments and regular changes in loan balances and forecasts inputs. See further discussion under the subheading “Provision for credit losses.”

For additional information regarding credit quality risk factors for our Company, see “Item 1. Business: Risk management: Credit risk management” and “Item 1A. Risk factors: Credit Risks.”

Competition

Our profitability and growth are affected by the highly competitive nature of the financial services industry. We compete with commercial banks, savings banks, credit unions, non-bank financial services companies, online mortgage providers, internet banks and other financial institutions operating within the areas we serve, particularly with national and regional banks that often have more resources than we do to invest in growth and technology and community banks with strong local ties, all of which target the same clients we do. We have seen increased competitive pressures on deposit rates. Continued deposit pricing pressure may continue to affect our financial results in the future.

For additional information, see “Item 1. Business: Our markets,” “Business: Competition” and “Item 1A. Risk factors: Risks related to our business.”

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Regulatory trends and changes in laws

We are subject to extensive regulation and supervision, which continue to evolve as the legal and regulatory framework governing our operations continues to change. The current operating environment also has heightened supervisory expectations in areas such as consumer compliance, BSA and anti-money laundering compliance, risk management and internal audit.

As described further under “Business: Supervision and regulation,” we are subject to a variety of laws and regulations, including the Dodd-Frank Act. See also “Item 1A. Risk factors: Legal, regulatory and compliance risk.”

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Financial highlights

The following table presents certain selected historical consolidated income statement data and key indicators as of the dates or for the years indicated. Our historical results for any prior period are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.

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(1)Non-GAAP financial measure; See “GAAP reconciliation and management explanation of non-GAAP financial measures” and non-GAAP reconciliations herein.

(2)Includes $28.1 million, $31.4 million and $21.2 million of optional rights to repurchase GNMA loans that meet certain defined delinquency criteria as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

GAAP reconciliation and management explanation of non-GAAP financial measures

We identify certain financial measures discussed in this Report as being “non-GAAP financial measures.” The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this Report are adjusted efficiency ratio (tax-equivalent basis), tangible book value per common share, tangible common equity to tangible assets and return on average tangible common equity.

In accordance with the SEC’s rules, we classify a financial measure as being a non-GAAP financial measure if that financial measure excludes or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding or including amounts, that are included or excluded, as the case may be, in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP as in effect from time to time in the United States in our consolidated statements of income, balance sheets or statements of cash flows.

The non-GAAP financial measures that we discuss in this Report should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable or other financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the manner in which we calculate the non-GAAP financial measures that we discuss in our selected historical consolidated financial data may differ from that of other companies reporting measures with similar names. You should understand how such other banking organizations calculate their financial measures similar or with names similar to the non-GAAP financial measures we have discussed in our selected historical consolidated financial data when comparing such non-GAAP financial measures. The following reconciliation tables provide a more detailed analysis of these, and reconciliation for, each of non-GAAP financial measures.

Adjusted efficiency ratio (tax-equivalent basis)

The adjusted efficiency ratio (tax-equivalent basis) is a non-GAAP measure that excludes certain gains (losses), merger and offering-related expenses and other selected items. Our management uses this measure in its analysis of our performance. Our management believes this measure provides a greater understanding of ongoing operations and enhances comparability of results with prior periods, as well as demonstrates the effects of significant gains and charges. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is the efficiency ratio.

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The following table presents, as of the dates set forth below, a reconciliation of our adjusted efficiency ratio (tax-equivalent basis) to our efficiency ratio:

Tangible book value per common share and tangible common equity to tangible assets

Tangible book value per common share and tangible common equity to tangible assets are non-GAAP measures that exclude the impact of goodwill and other intangibles used by the Company’s management to evaluate capital adequacy. Because intangible assets such as goodwill and other intangibles vary extensively from company to company, we believe that the presentation of this information allows investors to more easily compare the Company’s capital position to other companies. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is book value per common share and our total shareholders’ equity to total assets.

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The following table presents, as of the dates set forth below, tangible common equity compared with total shareholders’ equity, tangible book value per common share compared with our book value per common share and common equity to tangible assets compared to total shareholders’ equity to total assets:

Return on average tangible common equity

Return on average tangible common equity is a non-GAAP measure that uses average shareholders’ equity and excludes the impact of goodwill and other intangibles. This measurement is used by the Company’s management to provide a depiction of the Company's profitability without being impacted by its intangible assets, as intangible assets are not directly managed to generate earnings. The following table presents, as of the dates set forth below, reconciliations of total average tangible common equity to average shareholders' equity and return on average tangible common equity to return on average shareholders’ equity:

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Overview of recent financial performance

Year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024

Our net income increased during the year ended December 31, 2025 to $122.6 million from $116.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Diluted earnings per common share was $2.45 and $2.48 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our net income represented a return on average assets of 0.84% and 0.91% for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and a return on average equity of 6.90% and 7.71% for the same periods. Our ratio of return on average tangible common equity for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was 8.40% and 9.24%, respectively. See “GAAP reconciliation and management explanation of non-GAAP financial measures” in this Report for a discussion of tangible common equity and return on average tangible common equity.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, net interest income increased to $516.1 million compared with $416.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2024. Our net interest margin, on a tax-equivalent basis, increased to 3.81% for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to 3.51% for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in net interest income and net interest margin, on a tax-equivalent basis, reflects a $109.1 million increase in interest income, partially offset by a $8.8 million increase in interest expense.

Provision for credit losses on loans HFI and unfunded loan commitments was $43.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared $12.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 primarily due to the initial provision for credit losses on acquired loans and unfunded commitments from the Southern States merger of $28.4 million, along with changes in loan balances and forecast assumptions. Refer to Note 2, “Mergers and acquisitions” in this Report for further discussion around the merger with Southern States.

Noninterest income for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $4.8 million to $43.9 million, up from $39.1 million for prior year period. The increase in noninterest income was driven by a $5.8 million increase in mortgage banking income, a $2.1 million increase in investment services and trust income and a $1.9 million increase in service charges on deposits. The increase was partially offset by a $60.5 million net loss on investment securities primarily related to the sale of $266.9 million of AFS securities compared to a $56.4 million net loss on investment securities primarily related to the sale of $526.4 million of AFS securities for the year ended December 31, 2024. Refer to the section “Other earning assets” for additional information on the sale of the AFS securities.

Noninterest expense increased to $378.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared with $296.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in noninterest expense was driven by a $33.9 million increase in salaries, commissions and employee benefits due to increased headcount resulting from the Southern States merger, combined with increase in performance-based compensation driven by improvement in the Company’s performance metrics, $23.8 million in merger and integration costs associated with our merger with Southern States and an increase in other noninterest expense of $16.3 million due to increases in franchise tax expense, technology and platform fees, and modest increases across a range of other expense categories.

Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $15.9 million compared to $30.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The change reflects the income tax effect of a $60.5 million loss on sale of AFS debt securities, as well as a one-time gross tax benefit of $10.7 million due to the expiration of the statute of limitations with respect to an amended income tax return and the associated interest for the year ended December 31, 2025. Income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2024, included the income tax effect of a $56.4 million loss on sale of AFS debt securities.

Year ended December 31, 2024 compared to year ended December 31, 2023

Our net income decreased during the year ended December 31, 2024 to $116.1 million from $120.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Diluted earnings per common share was $2.48 and $2.57 for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our net income represented a return on average assets of 0.91% and 0.95% for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and a return on average equity of 7.71% and 8.74% for the same periods. Our ratio of return on average tangible common equity for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was 9.24% and 10.7%, respectively. See “GAAP reconciliation and management explanation of non-GAAP financial measures” in this Report for a discussion of tangible common equity and return on average tangible common equity.

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During the year ended December 31, 2024, net interest income increased to $416.5 million compared with $407.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2023. Our net interest margin, on a tax-equivalent basis, increased to 3.51% for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to 3.44% for the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in net interest margin was primarily driven by higher yields on interest-earning assets, particularly loans and taxable investment securities. This increase was partially offset by the cost of interest-bearing liabilities, primarily from money market and customer deposits.

Provision for credit losses on loans HFI and unfunded loan commitments was $12.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to $2.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily due to a reversal of provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments of $2.7 million compared to $14.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Noninterest income for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $31.5 million to $39.1 million, down from $70.5 million for prior year period. The decrease in noninterest income was driven by a $56.4 million net loss on investment securities related to the sale of $526.4 million of AFS securities compared to a $14.0 million net loss on investment securities primarily related to the sale of $100.5 million of AFS securities for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease was partially offset by a $2.9 million increase in investment services and trust income, a $2.1 million increase in BOLI income resulting from proceeds from payment of death benefits, and a $1.9 million increase in equity investments income. Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2023, a $2.1 million loss was recorded associated with the change in fair value of the commercial loans held for sale portfolio that was exited during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Noninterest expense decreased to $296.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared with $324.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in noninterest expense is due to decreases in salaries, commissions and employee benefits of $19.6 million primarily related to the Company’s efficiency and scalability initiatives and updated methodology of deferrals for loan fees and loan origination expenses. Additionally, the decrease is reflective of decreases in occupancy, advertising, legal and professional expenses and franchise tax expense.

Business segment highlights

We operate our business in two business segments: Banking and Mortgage. See Note 1, “Basis of presentation and summary of significant accounting policies” and Note 19 “Segment reporting” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements for a description of these business segments.

Banking

Income before taxes from the Banking segment decreased for the year ended December 31, 2025 to $134.9 million, compared to $143.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net interest income increased by $95.3 million to $506.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $410.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. Provisions for credit losses on loans HFI and unfunded loan commitments resulted in $37.6 million of provision expense during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $12.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was driven by the initial provision for credit losses on acquired loans and unfunded commitments from the Southern States merger of $28.4 million. The Banking segment recorded a noninterest loss of $8.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to a loss of $8.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2024. This decrease includes a net loss on investment securities of $60.5 million associated with the sale of $266.9 million AFS debt securities during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared with a net loss on investment securities of $56.4 million primarily related to the sale of $526.4 million of AFS debt securities for the year ended December 31, 2024. Noninterest expense increased to $324.8 million for year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $246.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 due to increases in salaries and benefits, merger and integration costs associated with the Southern States merger, advertising, franchise tax expense, technology and platform fees and modest increases across a range of other expense categories.

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Mortgage

Activity in our Mortgage segment resulted in income before income taxes of $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net interest income was $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Provisions for credit losses on loans HFI and unfunded loan commitments resulted in $5.6 million of provision expense during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to a reversal of $0.3 million of provision expense during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in provisions for credit losses was due to a change in the CECL loss estimation methodology, which notably impacted reserves on our 100% financed 1-to-4 mortgage portfolio, as well as a notable change in forecasts associated with home prices which impacted mortgage reserves more broadly. Mortgage banking income increased $5.8 million to $52.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $46.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The components of mortgage banking income for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were as follows:

Noninterest expense for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 was $53.5 million and $50.4 million, respectively. This increase is reflective of an increase in commissions associated with mortgage loan volume.

Results of operations

Throughout the following discussion of our operating results, we present our net interest income, net interest margin and core efficiency ratio on a fully tax-equivalent basis. The fully tax-equivalent basis adjusts for the tax-favored status of net interest income from certain qualifying loans and investments.

Our tax-exempt income is converted to a tax-equivalent basis by adjusting for the combined federal and blended state statutory income tax rate of 26.06% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023.

Net interest income

Net interest income is the principle component of our earnings and represents the difference, or spread, between interest and fee income generated from earning assets and the interest expense paid on deposits and borrowed funds. Net interest income and margin are shaped by fluctuations in interest rates as well as changes in volume and mix of earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, the U.S. Treasury yield curve continued its path toward normalization, with steepening in the intermediate and longer‑term sectors of the curve as the Federal Reserve reduced short‑term interest rates by a total of 75 basis points over the course of the year, and longer‑term yields remained elevated due to ongoing inflation concerns and fiscal conditions. This compares to the year ended December 31, 2024, when the curve was just beginning to normalize following late‑year short‑term rate cuts and an uptick in longer‑term yields. The Federal Funds Target Rate range was 3.50% - 3.75% and 4.25% - 4.50% as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.

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Year ended December 31, 2025 compared to the year ended December 31, 2024

Net interest income increased $100.3 million to $519.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to $419.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net interest margin was 3.81% for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to 3.51% for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net interest income was broadly driven by higher average balances of loans held for investment resulting from the Southern States merger.

Interest income was $837.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $728.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $109.1 million. The increase in interest income was primarily attributable to loans HFI, which increased $101.9 million to $724.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $622.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was driven by higher average balances of loans held for investment resulting from the Southern States merger, partially offset by a lower overall yield on those loans due to declining interest rates. The yield on loans HFI decreased 6 basis points to 6.58% for the year ended December 31, 2025 from 6.64% for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The components of our loan yield for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 were as follows:

Accretion on purchased loans contributed 10 basis points to the NIM for the year ended December 31, 2025 as a result of the recent merger. There was no impact of accretion on purchased loans to the NIM for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Interest income on investment securities was the next largest contributor to the overall change in interest income, increasing $7.1 million to $63.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 from $56.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was driven by higher yields on investment securities stemming from previous portfolio restructuring transactions. The yield on investment securities was 3.97% and 3.39% for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, an increase of 58 basis points.

Interest expense was $317.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $8.8 million as compared to $309.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was driven by higher average interest‑bearing deposit balances resulting from the recent merger, mostly offset by declines in the rates paid on interest‑bearing deposits and other borrowed funds.

Interest expense on interest-bearing deposit accounts totaled $309.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $12.9 million from the prior year, largely due to increases in average balances across most deposit categories, particularly money market deposits. Lower rates paid across these categories partially offset this increase. The growth in average balances was attributable to the recent merger and to a lesser extent recent customer deposit campaigns, which increased deposit balances while reducing deposit costs. The average rate paid on interest-bearing deposits was 3.09% for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to 3.49% for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Interest expense recognized on other borrowings decreased $4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 due to the repayment of the Bank Term Funding Program which was paid off during the third quarter of 2024.

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Average balance and interest yield/rate analysis

The table below shows the average balances, income and expense and yield and rates of each of our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities on a tax equivalent basis, if applicable, for the periods indicated.

(1)Average balances of nonaccrual loans and overdrafts are included in average loan balances.

(2)Interest income includes the effects of taxable-equivalent adjustments using the combined federal and blended state statutory income tax rate to increase tax-exempt interest income to a tax-

equivalent basis. to increase tax-exempt interest income to a tax-equivalent basis. The net tax-equivalent adjustment amounts included in income were $3.3 million, $2.6 million, and $3.3 million for

years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

(3)Includes average net unrealized losses on investment securities available for sale of $94.0 million, $166.1 million, and $231.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

(4)Includes average of optional rights to repurchase government guaranteed GNMA mortgage loans previously sold that meet certain defined delinquency criteria of $25.2 million, $24.6 million, and $21.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

(5)The NIM is calculated by dividing annualized net interest income, on a tax-equivalent basis, by average total earning assets.

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Yield/rate and volume analysis

The tables below present the components of the changes in net interest income for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. For each major category of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, information is provided with respect to changes due to average volume and changes due to interest rates, with the changes in both volume and interest rates allocated to these two categories based on the proportionate absolute changes in each category.

(1)Average loans are presented gross, including nonaccrual loans and overdrafts.

(2)Interest income includes the effects of the tax-equivalent adjustments to increase tax-exempt interest income to a tax-equivalent basis. The net taxable-equivalent adjustment amounts included was $3.3 million and $2.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

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(1)Average loans are presented gross, including nonaccrual loans and overdrafts.

(2)Interest income includes the effects of the tax-equivalent adjustments to increase tax-exempt interest income to a tax-equivalent basis. The net taxable-equivalent adjustment amounts included was $2.6 million and $3.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Provision for credit losses

The provision for credit losses charged to operating expense is an amount which, in the judgment of management, is necessary to maintain the allowance for credit losses at an appropriate level under the current expected credit loss model. The determination of the amount of the allowance is complex and involves a high degree of judgment and subjectivity.

Our allowance for credit losses calculation as of December 31, 2025 resulted from management’s best estimate of losses over the life of loans and unfunded commitments in our portfolio in accordance with the CECL approach.

Beginning with June 30, 2025, we began to utilize the discounted cash flow estimation technique, adjusted for current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts, to estimate the expected credit losses of its loan segments, except consumer and other loans, which utilized the weighted average remaining maturity loss rate technique. We determined that the use of the updated estimate techniques and related inputs and assumptions enhances the transparency, accuracy and relevance of information relating to the allowance for credit losses through the application of data and calculations more clearly calibrated to our historical experience, the nature of our loan portfolio and unfunded commitments, and expectations for future economic conditions and corresponding expected credit losses.

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These changes represent a change in accounting estimate under ASC 250, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections”, and, accordingly, is applied prospectively in the period of change and did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements. See “Note 1, “Basis of presentation and summary of significant accounting policies” in this Report for further discussion on the change in estimate.

The discounted cash flow was calibrated using a regression analysis that relates one or more economic variables to our historical default rates and selected peer banks for each loan segment. We determined that national unemployment, national housing price index, national commercial real estate index and prime rates were the key economic variables that were most correlated to our historical loss performance and our peer banks. Reasonable and supportable forecasts of these economic indicators are utilized within the discounted cash flow to estimate expected credit losses for each loan segment. Current and forecast economic conditions, including those affecting these and other economic variables or macroeconomic conditions, such as global conflicts or tariffs, may continue to lead to increased volatility in our calculated level of allowance for credit losses.

Prior to the changes described above, our estimates for credit losses calculation utilized lifetime loss rate model and included economic forecasts for unemployment, gross domestic product, as well as other macroeconomic events which may impact our loan portfolio. Refer to Note 1, “Basis of presentation and summary of significant accounting policies” in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, for a detailed discussion regarding ACL methodology.

We recognized a provision for credit losses on loans HFI for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 of $33.2 million and $14.7 million, respectively. The current period provision on loans HFI was driven by a $25.1 million initial provision on acquired non-PCD loans HFI from the Southern States merger and regular changes in loan balances and forecast inputs offset by a $6.8 million reduction from the impact of the change in the CECL loss estimation methodology. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the provision on loans HFI is due to growth in loan balances for most loan categories, an increase in net charge-offs and slight deterioration in economic forecasts offset by significant decreases in construction lending.

We recorded a provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments of $10.1 million and a reversal of $2.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the increase in provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments was due largely to the $6.5 million impact of the change in the CECL loss estimation methodology combined with $3.2 million for the initial provision on acquired unfunded commitments associated with the Southern States merger. The reversal of provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily due to management’s concentrated effort to reduce unfunded loan commitments during the period.

During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, it was determined that all AFS debt securities that experienced a decline in fair value below amortized cost basis were due to noncredit-related factors. Therefore, there was no provision for credit losses recognized on AFS debt securities during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.

Noninterest income

The following table sets forth the components of noninterest income for the periods indicated:

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Year ended December 31, 2025 compared to year ended December 31, 2024

Noninterest income amounted to $43.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $4.8 million, as compared to income of $39.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in total noninterest income was driven by increases in mortgage banking income, investment services and trust income and service charges on deposits offset by the net loss from investment securities and decreases in other income.

Mortgage banking income includes origination fees, gains and losses on the sale of mortgage loans, changes in fair value of mortgage loans and related derivatives, as well as mortgage servicing income, which includes the change in fair value of MSRs and related derivatives. Mortgage banking income was $52.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $5.8 million compared to the prior period. The increase includes an increase from gains on sale and related fair value changes of $5.0 million to $38.7 million in the current period compared to $33.7 million in the prior period. This was impacted by the increase in interest rate lock volume of $196.7 million, or 13.5% during the current period over the same period in the prior year.

Investment services and trust income is comprised of wealth management fees and trust and insurance income. This caption increased $2.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 to $16.3 million as compared to $14.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. This growth was driven primarily by higher fees resulting from increased assets under management in existing accounts, supported by favorable market conditions.

Service charges on deposit accounts include overdraft fees, account analysis fees and other customer transaction-related service charges. Service charges on deposit accounts increased $1.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 to $15.1 million as compared to $13.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to the increase in deposit accounts from the Southern States merger.

ATM and interchange fees represent income related to customers' utilization of their debit cards and interchange income. ATM and interchange fees were $12.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $11.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Net loss from investment securities was $60.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $56.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The net loss from investment securities during the year ended December 31, 2025 was the result of management's election to sell $266.9 million of AFS debt securities compared to $526.4 million of AFS debt securities sold during the prior year period. Refer to the section “Other earning assets” for additional information on the sale of the AFS debt securities.

Net loss on sales or write-downs of premises and equipment, other real estate owned and other assets increased $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The increase was driven by a $2.3 million impairment charge on two decommissioned facilities recognized during the year ended December 31, 2024, offset by a $1.0 million increase in losses on sales and write downs of other real estate owned and other assets during the year ended December 31, 2025.

Other income is comprised of income recognized that does not typically fit into other income categories and includes components such as BOLI income, swap fees, and equity investments income. Other income decreased $2.5 million to $9.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to $12.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. This decrease was primarily driven by a $2.3 million loss associated with an equity method investment during the year ended December 31, 2025.

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Noninterest expense

The following table sets forth the components of noninterest expense for the periods indicated:

Year ended December 31, 2025 compared to year ended December 31, 2024

Noninterest expense increased by $81.3 million, or 27.4%, during the year ended December 31, 2025 to $378.2 million as compared to $296.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in noninterest expense was attributable to increases in salaries and employee benefits, merger and integration costs associated with the Southern States merger and other noninterest expense.

Salaries, commissions and employee benefits expense is comprised of salaries and wages in addition to other employee benefit costs and represents the largest component of noninterest expense. Salaries, commissions and employee benefits expense increased $33.9 million, or 18.4%, to $217.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 as compared to $183.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. This change was driven by increases in the salaries and benefit costs due to increased headcount resulting from the Southern States merger, combined with an increase in performance-based compensation driven by improvement in the Company’s performance metrics.

Occupancy and equipment expense includes occupancy, depreciation and equipment expense. Occupancy and equipment expense of $28.1 million and $26.3 million was recognized for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024. The increase was driven by the expansion of our branch network in connection with the Southern States merger.

Merger and integration costs include costs associated with the merger, integration and conversion of business combinations. Merger and integration costs were $23.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 associated with the merger with Southern States. These costs primarily include legal and professional fees, severance and other employee-related costs, and costs associated with branch consolidation, conversion and integration activities.

Data processing is comprised of all third-party core operating systems and processing charges as well as payroll processing. Data processing fees were $9.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $9.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Advertising includes expenses related to sponsorships, advertising, marketing, customer relations and business development and public relations. During the year ended December 31, 2025, advertising expense increased $2.6 million to $9.6 million compared to $7.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily attributable to customer marketing campaigns during year ended December 31, 2025 combined with favorable, volume based marketing rebate activity recorded in the prior year period.

Legal and professional fees represent fees incurred for the various support functions, which includes legal, consulting, outsourcing and other professional related fees. Legal and professional fees were $8.1 million and $7.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Amortization of core deposit and other intangibles was $5.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was primarily due to $3.0 million of amortization associated with the core deposit intangible assumed with the merger of Southern States.

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Other noninterest expense increased $16.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2025 to $75.8 million compared to $59.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase was attributable to a $4.7 million increase in franchise tax expense, a $2.4 million increase of technology and platform fees and modest increases across a range of other expense categories, including software license and maintenance fees, card transaction fees, contributions and dues, servicing fees and other operating expenses.

Efficiency ratio

The efficiency ratio is one measure of productivity in the banking industry. This ratio is calculated to measure the cost of generating one dollar of revenue. That is, the ratio is designed to reflect the percentage of one dollar which must be expended to generate that dollar of revenue. We calculate this ratio by dividing noninterest expense by the sum of net interest income and noninterest income. For an adjusted efficiency ratio, we exclude certain gains, losses and expenses we do not consider core to our business.

Our efficiency ratio was 67.5% and 65.2% for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our adjusted efficiency ratio, on a tax-equivalent basis, was 56.4% and 57.3% for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. See “GAAP reconciliation and management explanation of non-GAAP financial measures” in this Report for a discussion of the adjusted efficiency ratio.

Income taxes

Income tax expense was $15.9 million and $30.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. This represents effective tax rates of 11.5% and 20.9% for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The primary differences between the effective tax rates and the enacted federal statutory rate was primarily driven by a one‑time gross tax benefit of $10.7 million related to the expiration of the statute of limitations associated with an amended income tax return and related interest, as well as interest income on tax refunds and tax‑exempt municipal interest income, net of interest disallowance. These favorable impacts were partially offset by applicable state income taxes and certain non‑deductible expenses, including limitations under Section 162(m) limitations.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, income tax expense also reflects the income tax effect of a $60.5 million loss on sale of AFS debt securities. For the year ended December 31, 2024, income tax expense included the income tax effect of loss on sale of AFS debt securities of $56.4 million. Refer to Note 13 “Income taxes” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding our income tax expense and effective tax rates.

Financial condition

The following discussion of our financial condition compares balances as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.

Loan portfolio

The following table sets forth the balance and associated percentage of each class of financing receivable in our loan portfolio as of the dates indicated:

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Our loans HFI portfolio is our most significant earning asset, comprising 76.0% and 73.0% of our total assets at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our strategy is to grow our loan portfolio by originating quality commercial and consumer type loans that comply with our credit policies and that produce revenues consistent with our financial objectives. Our overall lending approach is primarily focused on providing credit to our customers directly in the markets we serve. However, we also participate in loan syndications and participations from other banks (collectively, “participated loans”). As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, loans HFI included approximately $433.2 million and $177.6 million, respectively, related to participated loans.

We also sell loan participations to unaffiliated third-parties as part of our credit risk management and balance sheet management strategy. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, we sold $24.3 million and $25.3 million loan participations, respectively. All loans, whether or not we act as a participant, are underwritten to the same standards as all other loans we originate. We believe our loan portfolio is well-balanced, which provides us with the opportunity to grow while monitoring our loan concentrations.

Loan concentrations are considered to exist when there are amounts loaned to a number of borrowers engaged in similar activities that would cause them to be similarly impacted by economic or other conditions. Our lending activity is heavily concentrated in the geographic market areas we serve, with the highest concentration in Tennessee. This geographic concentration subjects our loan portfolio to the general economic conditions within the state. The risks created by this concentration have been considered by management in the determination of the appropriateness of the allowance for credit losses on loans HFI. As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, there were no concentrations of loans exceeding 10% of total loans other than our geographic exposure to Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, as well as the categories of loans disclosed in the table above. We believe our loan portfolio is diversified relative to industry concentrations across the various loan portfolio categories. For additional details related to the concentrations within our loan portfolio, refer to the industry classification and collateral property type concentration tables detailed later in this section.

Banking regulators have established guidelines of less than 100% of Tier 1 capital plus allowance for credit losses in construction lending and less than 300% of Tier 1 capital plus allowance for credit losses in commercial real estate lending that management monitors as part of the risk management process. The construction concentration ratio is a percentage of the outstanding construction and land development loans to total Tier 1 capital plus allowance for credit losses. The commercial real estate concentration ratio is a percentage of the outstanding balance of non-owner occupied commercial real estate, multifamily, and construction and land development loans to Tier 1 capital plus allowance for credit losses. Management strives to operate within the thresholds set forth above. When our ratios are in excess of one or both of these guidelines, banking regulators generally require an increased level of monitoring in these lending areas by management.

The table below shows concentration ratios for the Bank and Company as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.

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As part of our lending policy and risk management activities, we track lending exposure of commercial and industrial and owner-occupied commercial real estate by industry classification (as defined by the North American Industry Classification System) and type to determine potential risks associated with industry concentrations, and if any risk issues could lead to additional credit loss exposure. The table below provides a summary of our commercial and industrial and owner-occupied commercial real estate portfolios by industry classification.

(1) Nonperforming loans are those on which the accrual of interest has stopped, as well as loans that are contractually 90 or more days past due on which interest continues to accrue.

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Additionally, we track our lending exposure of non-owner occupied commercial real estate and construction by collateral property type to determine potential risks associated with collateral types, and if any risk issues could lead to additional credit loss exposure. The table below provides a summary of our non-owner occupied commercial real estate and construction loan portfolios by collateral property type.