Camden National Corporation Aktie

Good day and welcome to Camden National Corporation's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Marina Toft, and I will be your operator for today's call. [Operator Instructions]

I will now turn the call over to Renée Smyth, Executive Vice President, Chief Experience and Marketing Officer.

Welcome to Camden National Corporation's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. With me today are Simon Griffiths, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mike Archer, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Before we begin, please note that today's remarks include forward-looking statements, and actual results could differ materially from what we discuss on the call. You can find cautionary language about these statements in our second quarter 2026 earnings release issued this morning and in our other SEC filings. All of these materials and public filings are available on our investor relations website at camdennational.bank. Camden National Corporation trades on NASDAQ under the symbol CAC.

We'll also refer to non-GAAP financial measures during the call. These measures provide additional insight into our performance, and reconciliations to GAAP are included in today's earnings release.

With that, I'll turn it over to Simon.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you, Renée. Earlier this morning, we reported record quarterly net income of $23 million and record diluted earnings per share of $1.35 for the second quarter. Both net income and diluted EPS increased 5% from the first quarter, underscoring the earnings power we are building across the franchise.

Our performance was broad-based. We delivered loan growth, expanded our committed loan pipeline, improved net interest margin, and generated strong fee income growth. Through the first 6 months of the year, we produced record net income of $44.9 million and diluted EPS of $2.64, reflecting focused execution across our core businesses. These results demonstrate that our strategy is working. We are growing the franchise with purpose and investing in capabilities that strengthen our competitive position and improve how we serve our customers and communities.

Our performance is also reflected in national recognition and customer trust. So far this year, Camden National Bank was named to Time Magazine's list of America's Best Companies, and recognized by Forbes as one of America's Best Banks. These achievements reflect our financial discipline, customer focus, continued momentum, and long-term stability.

We entered the second half of the year with a resilient balance sheet. Total assets were $7 billion at quarter end. Credit quality metrics remained strong. Capital levels remained well above regulatory requirements. And tangible book value per share grew 7% since year-end.

On the lending side, loans increased 1% during the quarter, or 3% on an annualized basis, led by growth in home equity and commercial loans. HELOC balances increased 23% year-over-year, supported by added depth among our HELOC lenders, as well as by significant technology and process improvements, which have reduced average funding time to 14 days.

Forward-looking indicators are also encouraging. Our committed loan pipeline increased 45% from the prior quarter to $185.7 million, reflecting healthy customer demand, stronger banker productivity, and the benefit of recent additions to our commercial banking team. Since year-end, we have added 4 experienced commercial bankers to our team, and we remain optimistic that we'll be able to continue to selectively add proven talent.

We remain encouraged by the pipeline while expecting Q3 loan growth to remain measured. We recently announced the appointment of Kate Brunelle as Chief Credit Officer. Kate joins Camden National's leadership team with more than 2 decades of banking experience, including senior credit leadership roles at TD Bank. Ryan Smith, with 14 years at Camden National and prior experience serving as both Chief Credit Officer and Director of Commercial Banking, will return to leading Commercial Banking. And Barbara Raths will lead and expand our treasury management and government banking services, drawing on significant experience in Corporate Treasury. That added capacity is helping us strengthen relationships with small and mid-market businesses and expand our role as a primary banking partner for lending and treasury management solutions.

On deposits, we continue to optimize our funding mix by reducing broker deposits and certificate of deposits while maintaining stable core customer deposits. Total deposits were $5.6 billion at quarter end, and our loan-to-deposit ratio was 90%.

Our focus remains on durable relationship deposits supported by service, convenience, and thoughtful pricing, rather than rate-driven volume. We are expanding financial advisory services to support customers through more stages of their financial lives and diversify revenue. Assets under administration across our wealth and brokerage businesses totaled $2.6 billion at quarter end, up 13% from the prior year, reinforcing the opportunity to broaden advisory relationships and build a more balanced earnings profile over time.

Our AI-enabled transformation is gaining momentum, with multiple use cases now in production and digital enhancements tied to measurable business outcomes. These tools are helping us build a more efficient, responsive organization. From our recently refreshed website to new digital products, we are making banking easier for customers while creating more capacity for higher-value interactions.

In short, we are executing well and making measurable progress across the company. Our teams are focused on sustaining high-quality growth and creating long-term value for our shareholders, customers, employees, and communities.

With that strategic overview, I'll turn it over to Mike to walk through the financial results in more detail.

Thanks, Simon, and good afternoon, everyone. As noted, we reported record net income for the second quarter of $23 million, or $1.35 per diluted share. Profitability metrics remain strong again this quarter, with a return on average assets of 1.33%, return on average tangible equity of 18.47%, and a non-GAAP efficiency ratio of 53.2%. Revenues are up 5% on a linked-quarter basis, and we continue to manage operating expenses closely while continuing to invest in our franchise, driving strong pretax, pre-provision net revenue growth during the quarter of 5%.

Net interest income totaled $52.9 million, up 1% on a linked-quarter basis. Net interest margin increased by 2 basis points quarter-over-quarter to 3.26% for the second quarter, primarily reflecting lower funding costs. Over the same period, core net interest margin, which excludes net fair value mark accretion income, increased 5 basis points to 2.97%, aligning with the top of our guidance range provided last quarter.

Net fair value mark accretion income was $4 million for the second quarter, down $335,000 from the first quarter. We continue to focus on improving our core net interest margin, and we are currently estimating additional expansion in the third quarter for approximately 5 to 10 basis points, driven by normal seasonal deposit inflows that support a more favorable funding mix and the ongoing reinvestment of lower-yielding assets into current market rates.

Noninterest income totaled $14.5 million, an increase of $2.5 million, or 21% from the first quarter. The improvement was broad-based across all fee income categories as we continue to see nice momentum across our complementary business lines. Investment appreciation that was driven by market performance and death benefits within BOLI income totaling $491,000 contributed to our noninterest income this quarter. We are currently estimating a range for noninterest income for the third quarter of $13.5 million to $14 million.

Turning to expenses. Noninterest expense totaled $37.4 million, up 5% from the first quarter. The increase was primarily attributable to annual salary increases, the timing of our annual director equity award grant and the annual recognition event for top-performing sales team members. We are currently estimating a range for noninterest expense for the third quarter at $37 million to $38 million.

On credit, our loan portfolio remained sound. Nonperforming loans were 24 basis points of total loans. Past due loans were 15 basis points of total loans. And net charge-offs were 4 basis points of average loans on an annualized basis. Provision expense was $710,000, up from $553,000 in the first quarter, reflecting loan growth. The allowance for credit losses on loans was 0.91% of total loans at quarter end, and the ACL coverage ratio was 3.8x non-performing loans.

Capital levels continue to expand nicely, driven by strong and growing earnings and balanced returns for our shareholders through the first 6 months of 2026. Our regulatory capital levels remain well above regulatory requirements at quarter end. Tangible book value per share increased 3% during the second quarter to $31.64 at June 30, 2026. For the first 6 months of 2026, we returned 41% of our first-half net income to shareholders in the form of cash dividends and share repurchases. Year-to-date, we repurchased 85,131 shares at a weighted average price of $46.55 per share under our share repurchase program.

Overall, the quarter reflected solid linked-quarter revenue growth, disciplined expense management, strong credit metrics and continued capital accretion. That concludes our prepared remarks. I'll turn it back to the operator.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Stephen Moss with Raymond James.

Maybe just starting off on the margin expansion here. Mike, you mentioned deposit inflows, but then you also mentioned lower-yielding assets repricing. Just kind of curious, what are you seeing for cash flows from the loan portfolio or security portfolio over the next 6 months? And just to think about that repricing dynamic.

Yes, it's a great question, Steve. On the investment side, we internally model it right around $35 million a quarter, I believe, right in that neighborhood. And then on the loan side, we have another, call it, $170 million, $180 million, I believe. In total, we're trading around $200 million in total.

Okay. And that's for -- $170 million, $180 million on the loans per quarter?

Yes.

Okay. Got it. And so just to pick up the roll-on, roll-off rate as we think about things, I'm assuming loan pricing is probably in the low to mid-6s by picking up the 150 to 200 basis points?

Yes, that's right. We're currently originating loans right in that low 6s to 6.5% range, if you will on average.

Okay. Okay. Got it. And then in terms of, good to see the pipeline here is strong. I guess just kind of curious in terms of 3Q loan growth to be measured here. Just kind of curious, what are the factors driving that, just given a good pipeline here?

Yes. Thanks, Steve. I mean, I think certainly commercial activity has been strong, and we're seeing sort of across the geography, nice momentum. Certainly, home equity has been a significant growth engine for us. And I talked about in my remarks, not just we've expanded the sales team, but we've also improved and focused a lot on the customer experience with funding of 14 days. So I think there's a lot of momentum there, and that's certainly proving to be a really strong business. We're having a strong resi year as well, which is positive.

So I think overall, we're seeing a nice balanced story on the loan growth side, which I think is positive and certainly a reflection of our strategy and focus in this area.

Okay. And that dovetails nicely with my next question. Just on the fee income here, you guys were having good trends on debit card, year-over-year, service charges on deposit is up quite a bit year-over-year. I know you guys have been definitely -- I know you've talked about for a while, improving the customer activity and being more efficient and productive. It sounds like from your guidance, like you think this is more sustainable. It's kind of curious just what component maybe was from price increases versus new customers? Or any color you can shed on those dynamics there?

Yes, I'll start, Stephen, and Mike can add some additional. I would say just generally across the fee income, it was a balanced story for us. We saw nice momentum across wealth management, which we talked about, certainly brokerage, debit card, deposit-related fees, mortgage banking, I think all played a role. And certainly, that's a key area of focus for us. We've particularly been investing a lot of time and effort in a couple of key areas, certainly on the wealth side, building out and continue the momentum we have in the brokerage business. That's a sort of steady growth focus that we've had. We're also looking to expand the wealth offering. And certainly, obviously, New Hampshire offices, a lot of opportunities there.

On the debit side, we've put a lot of focus into our digital, into our convenience, into our customer. We just released a new online portal, which I think is fantastic and getting really great and unusual customers, and I think that's a key part of attracting new customers, which obviously directly drives the debit income for us. So it's a multitude of pieces. I think these things are kind of moving in concert and continuing to strengthen the debit side -- the fee income side of our business is certainly a key focus.

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Breese with Stephens Inc.

Mike, I appreciate the margin outlook and some of the data on where new loan yields are coming in. Just curious, as we think about kind of the fixed asset repricing and the roll-on, roll-off, particularly loan yields, when do you stop seeing the pronounced benefits to the NIM? Is that late '27, '28 or longer for you all?

I mean, I think there's a lot of caveats to that answer there, Matt. I think it depends on a lot of things, certainly yield curve and so forth. I mean, I would say at least for now we see it. I mean, certainly through 2026, we certainly could see benefit of investments and continuing to, I think one real opportunity for us is just our investment book being able to bring that down over time and frankly help fund some of the loan growth. That's a real opportunity.

And I think specifically to your question on the loans, I wouldn't say we're sitting here thinking that far out in terms of '27, '28 and what that's going to look like. But I think we think on the loan yield side and we just continue to see it tick up 2 to 3 basis points. That's something we've seen pretty consistently on a core basis. And I think that's generally our outlook here over the next few quarters.

Yes, I would just add to that, Matt. I think overall, the team has had tremendous focus and discipline around building the yield with just the kind of core fundamentals. We focused a lot on the primacy. We've talked about in previous calls with you, just really attracting broad relationships. We're leaning into treasury and other services that really kind of push into C&I lending, which I think certainly come with stronger deposits. Business banking is a focus for us as well. So that's another area that I think can continue to manage deposit costs.

So I think these are sort of fundamental underlying. I think Mike's point, obviously, there's a lot of other pieces that kind of move and can shape the outlook into '27, '28. But certainly it's a core focus of the management team. And we see this as a really important part of our growth strategy and continuing to move that forward at whatever speed, obviously, we're able to do.

Mike, just looking at fee income, was there like a BOLI death penalty gain this quarter within that line item? I just want to make sure I have everything in a row there.

Yes, good question. The short answer is yes. I would say that was a smaller part of the real kind of tick up, if you will, in the BOLI income this past quarter. We do have some BOLI income where the underlying securities are more driven by the equity markets. That's something we picked up along with the Northway acquisition back in '25. So there is a level of, I'll call it, more volatility in that number. And I would even say that when we think about fee income guidance, if you will, looking how to quarter out, that really plays into it because that's one of the unknowns certainly is what's going to happen with those equity securities.

And so if you're wondering why -- a little bit, why we're at $14.5 million and why taking down to $13.5 million to $14 million is largely in part that BOLI income that you're referencing, which was about $0.5 million in incremental revenues this quarter -- this past quarter.

That incremental revenue $500,000 or so, how much of that was death penalty?

I think it was right around $50,000, plus or minus $50,000. It wasn't overly significant.

Okay, so the majority of this is core?

Yes. Core, yes. I'd say core, but it's, unrealized gains, losses kind of pushing through that.

Got it, okay. Simon, maybe one for you just on M&A and conversations and how things are going on that front, whether or not Camden is ready to go on that front. It's been sluggish, kind of year-to-date in the Northeast Mid-Atlantic M&A-wise, and I'm curious if you're seeing that on your end, conversation-wise.

Yes, thanks, Matt. Just before remarking on that piece, I would just say I continue to feel really good about the Northway integration and the value that that's driving to the franchise. We're just seeing across the board just tremendous engagement and leadership from Oscar and James and the team out there and just feel really good about that and the opportunity that, that presents us. And I know Ryan is putting a lot of focus on continuing to grow the commercial side out there as well. So that's all been very, very positive.

I think on the sort of look-forward front, as we've talked about, continue to see -- be open to opportunities. And I think it always comes down to the right fit, certainly the contiguous market and really finding the right partner. And as you said, things have been certainly a little bit slower in the last 6, 12 months, but certainly have a positive outlook that if the right deal is there, we're a tremendous partner. And we've demonstrated execution discipline and the ability to get the job done. So I think should the right opportunity come along, I think we're well positioned. But, feeling very good about our organic growth strategy. So, there's no pressure from us from a timing perspective.

[Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Cardenas with Brean Capital.

Just a quick follow-up on the M&A question. Given your desire to continue to build fee income, what's your appetite for nonbank acquisitions?

Yes, I think that we're open to looking at the right opportunity. And certainly on that fee income side, there could be a couple of ideas in that space that could be interesting. But generally the pricing on that -- those pieces are pretty high. So yes, I wouldn't say it's a primary consideration. We certainly will, and are open and have conversations with different entities. But I would say generally that's not something that's been really prevalent in terms of obviously a lot of competition, particularly on the wealth side. So it's not something we've spent a lot of time on.

Okay. And then just a reminder for me in terms of optimal size of institution you would look to acquire? What's kind of that size range?

Yes, I think these things come along as they come along. We are conscious, of course, of crossing potentially at some point the $10 billion mark and the income implications of that. But, I look at it sort of from just focusing on the fundamentals of the business, making sure that there's really -- there's there for the -- there's a there, there if you like for the acquisition and partnership is there, the culture is there, the synergy is there. And we've talked about the contiguous markets as well.

So I think it's really making sure we have the right fit and then obviously driving the revenue growth and really getting the leverage out of the transaction that really makes sense for investors. So I think -- and obviously our teams as well.

So it's getting those pieces right, and then I think at some point, we would cross potentially that $10 billion mark. And then from there, there is obviously scale and getting sort of the $12 billion, $13 billion, $14 billion certainly has some advantages from a revenue perspective. So we look at those pieces, but like everything, these things aren't always planned and can't be planned perfectly. But I think we're in a really, as I said earlier, great position and we're just focused on our organic strategy, focused on growth, focused on doing the basics really well and driving just top-line growth through our existing franchise and businesses, and just see tremendous opportunity for that in all of our markets and some of the markets that obviously are relatively new to us in sort of New Hampshire and other areas. So lots of positives on the organic growth front as well.

As we have no further questions, this concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Simon Griffiths for any closing remarks.

Thank you for your time today and your continued interest in Camden National Corporation. We are pleased with the progress we made in the second quarter and remain focused on executing with discipline, investing in growth, and delivering long-term value for our shareholders, customers, employees, and communities. And we continue to appreciate your support. Have a great day.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

Good day, and welcome to Camden National Corporation's First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Lucas, and I will be your operator for today's call. [Operator Instructions]

I will now turn the call over to Renee Smyth, Executive Vice President, Chief Experience and Marketing Officer. Go ahead, Renee.

Welcome to Camden National Corporation's First Quarter 2026 Conference Call. Joining us this afternoon are members of Camden National Corporation's executive team, Simon Griffiths, President and CEO; and Mike Archer, Executive Vice President and CFO.

Please note that today's presentation contains forward-looking statements, and actual results could differ materially from what is discussed on today's call. Cautionary language regarding these forward-looking statements is included in our first quarter 2026 earnings release issued this morning and in other reports we file with the SEC. All of these materials and public filings are available on our Investor Relations website at camdennational.bank. Camden National Corporation trades on NASDAQ under the symbol CAC.

In addition, today's presentations include a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures. Any references to non-GAAP financial measures are intended to provide meaningful insights and are reconciled with GAAP in our earnings release, which is also available on our Investor Relations website.

I am pleased to introduce our host, President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Griffiths.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you, Renee. Earlier this morning, we reported strong first quarter results with net income of $21.9 million and earnings per share of $1.29. Excluding noncore acquisition-related items from last year, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS increased 39% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026.

We are pleased that these results. We're near our record earnings reported last quarter, reflecting the continued value generated by the Northway Financial acquisition and ongoing organic financial improvements across the franchise. Despite macroeconomic headwinds and the seasonal softening we typically experience in the first quarter, these results demonstrate continued progress against our strategic priorities of growing the franchise, operating with discipline, and adapting our capabilities to better serve our customers and communities.

Our balance sheet remains a source of strength, supported by strong and building capital levels, reserves that we believe are [ probably ] aligned with loan quality and solid liquidity. We continue to maintain regulatory capital well in excess of required levels and internal targets, with our tangible common equity ratio increasing to 7.64% at quarter's end. Our disciplined credit approach continues to deliver strong asset quality with past-due loans and nonperforming assets remaining at very low levels in the first quarter. Although loan growth was tempered this quarter, due primarily to typical seasonality within our markets, we saw continued growth in our home equity loan portfolio, which increased $10.6 million during the quarter.

We're encouraged by the continued strengthening of our commercial team with recent key hires already making meaningful contributions. Our production pipeline reflects healthy customer demand across our markets, even as quarterly balances are impacted by payoffs and seasonality. As we head into the spring and summer months, loan pipelines continue to build, reinforced by the talent added to our commercial and retail teams.

As we build commercial capacity, we are deepening engagement with small and middle market businesses and positioning Camden National as a primary banking partner for a full suite of lending and treasury management solutions.

Our deposit base reached $5.6 billion at March 31, representing a 1% increase from the prior quarter. Given the cyclical nature of our deposit flows, we are pleased with this level of growth in the first quarter as it reflects our continued success with our high-yield savings accounts and recent wins by our commercial and treasury management teams.

We are focused on relationship deposits, attracting deposits through service, convenience and disciplined pricing. Our goal is to build long-term customer relationships, not simply pursue rate-driven volume. At the same time, we remain disciplined towards stewards of our capital. And with strong capital levels, we are focused on balancing reinvestment in the franchise with returning capital to shareholders, including through our recently announced share repurchase program and regular cash dividend.

We continue to advance our digital strategy by equipping our bankers with practical time-saving tools. Our internally developed AI platform, Camden IQ, anchors our AI initiatives, which operate within an established government's framework designed to drive productivity while remaining aligned with our moderate risk profile and value-driven, people-centered culture.

Recently, we launched Prep IQ, which delivers a real-time integrated view of customer information across platforms, enabling more informed and productive conversations. Loan IQ, another internally developed tool, further enhances efficiency by streamlining access to loan policy and supporting faster, more consistent decision-making.

We're encouraged by the rapid adoption and early benefits of these tools. Expanded use of automation continues to improve efficiency and redeploy capacity toward higher-value customer interactions, supporting our disciplined approach to expense management.

Overall, our first quarter performance reflects the effectiveness of our strategy: maintaining a resilient balance sheet, driving high-quality growth and staying relentlessly focused on delivering value for our customers, communities and shareholders. We believe we are well positioned for the remainder of 2026.

With that, I'll hand over to Mike to provide additional financial details for the quarter.

Good afternoon. As Simon noted, we had a strong start to the year, delivering solid earnings for the first quarter. And importantly, our financial operating metrics continue to trend favorably, including a reported return on average assets of 1.28%, a return on average tangible equity of 18. 17%, and a non-GAAP efficiency ratio of 53.21%. We continue to be focused on growing the franchise and delivering shareholder value.

For the first quarter, we reported a net interest margin of 3.24%, which was up 20 basis points year-over-year and down 5 basis points from the previous quarter. The decrease on a linked-quarter basis was driven by lower fair value mark accretion income of $956,000. Our underlying core net interest margin remained stable at 2.92% between periods. As we move into the second quarter, we anticipate net interest margin expansion of 2 to 5 basis points on a core basis. Our current interest rate outlook calls for slower and more gradual net interest margin expansion throughout 2026 as the likelihood of further Fed rate cuts has decreased.

Noninterest income fell on a linked-quarter basis, largely due to normal seasonality across many of our fee income categories, including debit card, mortgage banking and swap fee income.

Despite market volatility, assets under administration across our wealth and brokerage business remained essentially flat during the first quarter and were $2.4 billion at March 31. We continue to be focused on growing our wealth channels, and we are pleased to see AUA grow 11% year-over-year and quarterly revenues continuing to grow. As we move into the second quarter, we anticipate noninterest income to rebound to approximately $13 million.

On the expense front, noninterest expenses totaled $35.7 million in the first quarter, down 3% from the previous quarter. For the second quarter, we anticipate our expense base to normalize as we benefited from the true-up of our incentive accrual bond payout in the first quarter. And as in prior years, our annual merit cycle and other seasonal costs will be recognized in the second quarter. We are currently estimating noninterest expense of approximately $37.5 million for the second quarter.

Our credit quality across our loan portfolio continued to be very strong at March 31. Nonperforming loans were just 22 basis points of total loans and past due loans were just 6 basis points of total loans. Net charge-offs for the quarter totaled $506,000 or 4 basis points of average loans annualized, and were the driver of our first quarter provision expense of $553,000.

Our allowance for credit losses on March 31 was 92 basis points, compared to 91 basis points at year-end. Given the strength of our loan portfolio and our overall loan mix, we continue to believe we are appropriately reserved at this level as evidenced by a 4.2x coverage ratio of nonperforming loans at quarter-end.

Lastly, I wanted to note that our capital continues to rebuild following our acquisition of Northway Financial last year, supporting both balance sheet strength and ongoing capital returns to shareholders. During the first quarter of 2026, our tangible book value per share grew 3% to $30.58 at March 31, which included the repurchase of just over 33,000 shares during the quarter. Through regular cash dividends and share repurchases, the company returned $8.6 million in capital to shareholders.

This concludes our comments. We'll now open up the call for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Damon DelMonte from KBW.

I hope everybody is doing well today. First question, Mike, just wanted to talk a little bit about the margin. Got your comments there about 2 to 5 basis points of core expansion. Could you just talk about some of the dynamics behind that? Is that more on the liability side or is that kind of going to be driven by the expected rebound in loan growth as we progress through the year?

Damon, yes, good question. Yes, primarily on the liability side, as we get into some of the seasonal months, we anticipate some continued benefit there just from normal deposit flows, if you will. We also, as CDs continue to reprice, there will be some benefits there as that continues to roll.

And then I would just say on the derivative front as well, as we get into the back half, we'll start to see some benefit there. Some of our derivatives start to roll off. We do on the asset side, I'd say albeit at a slower pace, new loan volume, certainly, there's an opportunity for us to continue to squeak out some basis points, if you will, just on the earning asset yield.

And I would just lastly add there too, Damon, that I think strategically, one of the things that we're focused on is just redeploying our investment cash flow where we can, one, to optimize certainly funding, but ideally to just fund loan growth on a go-forward basis. So lots of pieces there, but I think that kind of summarizes it.

Got it. Okay. That's helpful. And then from the fair value accretion standpoint, I think it was like $4.5 million or so this quarter. Is that right? And if so, like kind of what's your outlook going forward?

Yes. No, good question. So overall, I think we're about $4.3 million for the quarter. I would still say $4.5 million, maybe a little bit north of that is still a pretty good run rate estimate for us for now.

Okay. Great. And then with regards to the loan growth and the outlook there, Simon, heard the call-out on the home equity line doing quite well. Can you just talk about some of the other expectations on the commercial side, CRE and C&I and kind of what are some of the key factors behind that, driving that outlook? .

Yes, David. And I think overall, we see -- continue to see strength across our business. Obviously, there's a lot of macroeconomic uncertainty out there, but I think the underlying continues to be positive. We certainly see on the commercial side, we see some nice momentum, and certainly some businesses wanting to get out and invest. And obviously, as we start to get into the spring, summer months, that obviously kind of comes into focus as they're getting investments, making investments ready for the summer. We see nice momentum around the resi business as well. We talked about home equity, which I think is strong, and continue to see nice momentum on that business as well.

So I think overall, it's a positive outlook. And we talked a little bit about in our script around some of the additions we're making, some of the strengthening of the team that we've made in the New Hampshire market, that also is strong. I was out with them a couple of weeks ago. I'm really excited by the opportunities we're starting to see in the southern New Hampshire market and the strength of the team there. And I think all these pieces together definitely lead to a positive outlook.

So would you kind of expect to get sort of like low to mid-single digit on a full year basis? Is that a reasonable assumption? .

Yes. That feels reasonable. Obviously, this year, lots going on. But I think where we sit right now, I think low sort of single-digit, low mid-single-digit seems a good range.

Your next question comes from Steve Moss from Raymond James.

Maybe just starting here on -- or following up on the new hires in New Hampshire. Just kind of curious the type of talent you're seeing and the opportunity you guys are seeing to hire, and any thoughts on maybe the potential expenses beyond the second quarter if there's maybe more incremental adds?

Steve, thanks for the question. Yes, we continue to be extremely disciplined, as we've talked about in previous calls with you. Our focus is really on self-funding, reinvesting, providing -- finding efficiencies across our business. So we don't see a material impact to the expense side. Some of those hires are certainly replacing existing positions. We see opportunities, obviously, with some of the southern end markets. There's been a lot of disruption, some M&A, and so we're picking up some great hires from some of those pieces.

And I think honestly, they're very attractive to the Camden story. I think they see the opportunity here. We've got a lot of ambition to continue to grow. We've obviously got the Northway acquisition, which I think has provided a great platform. And we're continuing to invest. So we're seeing that opportunity and I think continued at a steady, measured pace, continue to make those investments throughout this year and into next.

Okay. I appreciate that color. And then just maybe in terms of -- I hear your comments on the home equity and resi stuff. Kind of curious on the commercial loan pipeline, where are you guys seeing pricing these days and what you are expecting there?

Steve, it's Mike. Yes, I mean, I would say, overall, what we're seeing is, I would say, on average, deals kind of in that 6% to low sixes on average. I mean certainly, there's sort of a premium, if you will, for just credit quality these days and certainly aggressive and just market. But we, as we think about loan growth, we certainly want to maintain our discipline there. And that's kind of who we are and who we've been and continue to be. But overall, I would say just on a weighted basis, it's probably closer to 6% at this point or a little bit higher. .

Okay. Appreciate the color there. And maybe just one last one on M&A here. You've integrated the Northway deal, Simon, and done a good job with it. Maybe just updated thoughts on talks and what you're thinking on the deal front here these days?

Yes, I think on the -- you just broke up a little bit there, Steve. But I think you said costs, update on the costs. Is that correct?

No. On M&A activity and just the thoughts around deal activity post -- now that you've integrated Northway, you're doing -- you've been doing well here with the transaction. Just kind of curious where M&A discussions are and just updated thoughts there.

Overall, M&A. Yes, we -- I mean, just to continue to recap. I mean, I think Northway obviously went very, very well. We're very proud of the work there. I was out of New Hampshire last week or so, and just seeing just a lot of energy from our clients, from our customers. Really proud of the New Hampshire teams and the way we're really sort of getting some traction in the market and excited to be part of the Camden franchise.

I think on a look-forward, Steve, we continue to -- look, we've said publicly, we're certainly interested in opportunities, but it has to be the right opportunities for Camden. We feel like we've got tremendous opportunities on the organic growth front. We're seeing great capital rebuild. We're seeing this has been highly accretive from an income perspective and lots of opportunities there.

So we don't feel pressure to make a deal, but we're certainly looking. We've talked about contiguous markets as sticking to our DNA as an organization. And really organizations with a similar sort of footprint and feel and look to Camden National Bank and a culture that really would assimilate well.

So we're certainly open to those opportunities, but not getting pressure and certainly not going to overreach at the same time. So it's a balanced approach, a thoughtful approach and one where we're going to continue to obviously really focus on the core business and driving the performance and continuing that path with top quartile returns.

Your next question comes from the line of Matthew Breese from Stephens.

Mike, I wanted to drill into your comment on margin expansion being driven by the liability side. Could you just provide a little bit more color on the areas where you see the most potential for improvement? And one thing I was just focusing on was the cost of CDs, the 3.17% seems like a pretty low starting point to begin with. What else -- where else do you see the opportunities?

Yes. I mean I think, Matt, as you know, certainly, as we think about second quarter and beyond, I mean part of the opportunity for us is just the remix of our deposit base as we get into the spring/summer season. Generally speaking, I would say, call it, late May, into June, we start to really see some of the seasonal deposits come in. So we fully anticipate that to be the case again this year. No reason to believe that wouldn't be the case. So we certainly see opportunity there.

And we also have -- as I mentioned, we have some derivatives. I don't know the number off the top of my head here, that are rolling off. But some of those have served us really well over the last few years just given the Fed position today, are a little bit under water. So as we think about opportunity there, there continues to be some opportunity.

I think overall, as you think about the funding base, we do think that there's probably that 2 to 5 basis points is where we can see some margin expansion here in the second quarter. And I think we're -- we feel pretty good that as we continue even with the Fed holding as they are, that as we get to the back half of the year, there could be an opportunity where we start approaching 3% on a margin -- core margin basis. So we do see core margin expansion here over the next few quarters.

Great. And then for loan growth this quarter, how much of what we saw or a bit of the sluggishness on the loan growth front, how much of that was seasonality? How much of that do you think was competition? We've heard a lot about prepays and prepayment. And what gives you the confidence, maybe some color on the pipeline, that will get back into that low to mid-single-digit range for the remainder of the year?

Yes. No, I think -- I mean, we're seeing pipelines building that. I mean I think that gives us confidence, I think, just on a year-over-year basis, we're seeing it. I think as Simon had mentioned in his comments, we really added some strong talent just across the New Hampshire franchise and really being -- really just activate that this year.

It's an incredible opportunity for the organization. At the same time, we've made some nice adds just to our main franchise in some of our markets that we've been in for quite some time, and we see some upside there. Certainly, on the retail franchise, we've had a nice strategy that we're executing on. We continue to add bankers in that space as well, that are out selling residential mortgages. Home equity has been really strong for us and small business.

So I think as we think about our opportunity for low to mid-single-digit growth here on the loan front, I think the reality is, yes, the first quarter is normally sluggish for us. I think we're starting to see the pipelines build. And generally speaking, the back half of the year is kind of where we start to see it typically play out, if you will. But again, all signs point to that at this point. So we still feel like that's a pretty good range estimate.

Got it. Okay. And then 2 others for me. One, just focusing on the resi loan category. What's the current breakdown between loans being sold into the secondary market versus held for balance sheet at this point? And when do we start to see that portfolio -- is that a growth category for you or more one that we should think about as stable?

Yes. I would say overall, Matt, we're generally plus or minus 50-50, in that neighborhood. Certainly, quarter-to-quarter, it will could move a little bit. But generally speaking, that's kind of how we're thinking about it.

I think overall, for the resi portfolio, I would say we're definitely thinking about probably slower growth and more relationship-based growth, is what I would say, less just transactional, just in thinking about how we want to position our loan portfolio and balance sheet over time. Certainly, I wouldn't say our expectation is it's flat. But certainly, I don't think it's also growing at the mid-single digit level as the expectation.

Okay. And then last one for me is just, historically, I don't know if I remember Camden being much of a prolific repurchaser of your own stock. You talked a little bit about that in your opening comments. To what extent might that fit in on a go-forward basis? How much in the way of share repurchases should we be thinking about?

Yes, it's a good question. I would say that we're kind of -- I mean, we kind of talk internally about one of our challenges, kind of jokingly, is we generate lots of capital and we have to put it to work, Matt. So I think just in terms of organic growth that we're focused on, positioning our capital level so we can be opportunistic as that occurs, as well as deploying in terms of share repurchase and dividend, I think that's going to play into the mix.

I would say on the share repurchase front, again, I wouldn't -- I don't think I could sit here and quote a number of what we're targeting, but it will continue to be opportunistic. The shares that we did buy over this past quarter, let's say we saw different in our share price. And for us, given the valuation of that, that made sense. So I would envision that we continue to play that out a little bit over the coming quarters. But again, I think it will depend in large part on our share price.

Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Cardenas from Brean Capital.

Maybe if you could give me a little bit of color on competitive factors, both on the loan side and the deposit side, whether they've become more intense or less intense and if competition is rational.

Yes. Daniel, appreciate the question. Yes, I would say, overall, we definitely felt a pickup in competition over the last 3, 6 months. Having said all that, I think there's still plenty of room out there when we can demonstrate the tremendous value we can bring around our products, around our value of our people, conversations, advice, treasury and other capabilities. So I think it's certainly opportunities are to be had, but there's definitely a feeling that there's been a pickup in pressure and focus on assets over the last, let's say, 6 months or so, and that certainly showed up a little bit of the pricing pressure that we've talked about.

Having said all that, as I say, I do see lots of positives for the particularly New Hampshire and the main markets. You're seeing customers wanting to get out and invest, see great opportunities. And we're having lots of active combinations and seeing that kind of sharpen our pipelines, which is certainly in a good position, I think, heading into the second quarter.

So overall, we feel well positioned. I think we're -- the talent we're bringing in as well gives us an added kind of a little bit of a tailwind there and I think gives us momentum. So looking forward to the second quarter and the rest of the year.

Okay. And then I mean, what are your customers telling you in terms of the current economic environment? Are they becoming perhaps a little bit more cautious? Or is it more business as usual?

I would say it's a mixed picture. I would say, definitely, consumer spend remains steady. Have a stable outlook in terms of the consumer, which obviously impacts a lot of our businesses. I'd say business investment is certainly measured, but at a positive pace. I was at a business in the mid-coast recently, and they're looking to expand [indiscernible] expansion, certainly on the front foot. I think we're seeing that across clients.

I think there's certainly some pockets of particular strength, Daniel, certainly areas like [indiscernible] a couple of other areas just given demographics and other kind of pieces that we see, certainly some momentum there. We don't see AI spend showing up with our customers. It's really on core capabilities, core infrastructure, capital spend that really is where the focus is.

And it's a tight labor market. So that's certainly still a factor that plays in the main market, New Hampshire market. So I think overall, it's a mixed picture. Certainly, when we talk to some of our tourism-related, hotel-related kind of areas, they see a certainly decent start, good start to the year in terms of bookings and their outlook for the summer months. How that plays out, obviously, with fuel costs and other factors is going to be an interesting play. But certainly, Maine does well. It's a steady. When there's these macroeconomic pressures or other factors, Maine is always steady down the middle of the fairway. We don't see the highs of the highs and we don't see the lows of the low. So we see that sort of solid kind of middle ground and stability. And I think that's going to show up well this year, particularly given obviously, some of those macroeconomic concerns that are out there right now.

So overall, a bit of a mixed picture, but generally, I think quite favorable, and I think look -- sets us up for a good year.

Excellent. All right. And then, what are line utilization rates looking like right now on your commercial portfolio? And then how does that compare to, say, 6 months or so ago?

Sorry, Daniel. So did you say the commercial utilization? .

Yes.

Yes. I think -- so we're kind of in that 35%, 40% neighborhood, and generally speaking, I know you didn't ask, but the same on the home equity front as well.

Okay. Last question for me, just as I think about fee income growth in 2026, I know Q1 can be a little seasonally soft. But is a mid-single-digit type of growth on a year-over-year basis an achievable objective on the fee income side?

Yes. Yes, I think that's fair, Daniel.

I was just going to add that we have a, I think, strong wealth strategy. Obviously, there's a lot of moving parts in the fee income, and there's -- obviously, the consumer fee income is a key part of that. But just generally, we're investing in that business, both in the CFC business and the wealth business. We added a couple of key hires last year, and that's certainly building out some important markets for us.

And we're seeing some nice growth. We see, particularly on the CFC side, our brokerage business, we saw some very nice growth last year, and that momentum, I think, will continue this year. And then the wealth business as well, seeing some high single-digit growth there, certainly in the first quarter and some good momentum.

So I think overall, it's a business that is going to add, of course, we have the resi business as well, which is a real core strength of Camden. So those pieces. And then we see some nice fees coming out of the commercial business as well on the swap front.

So I think overall, it was a little bit of a soft start to the year. But certainly, as we get into the second, third, fourth quarter, I think we can see some momentum from there moving forward.

As we have no further questions, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Simon Griffiths for any closing remarks.

Thank you for your time today and your continued interest in Camden National Corporation. We truly appreciate your support. Have a great day.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

Good day, and welcome to Camden National Corporation's Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Elliot, and I'll be your operator for today's call. [Operator Instructions] I'll now turn the call over to Renee Smyth, Executive Vice President, Chief Experience and Marketing Officer.

Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome to Camden National Corporation's Conference Call for the Fourth Quarter of 2025 joining us this afternoon are members of Camden National Corporation's executive team, Simon Griffiths, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mike Archer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please note that today's presentation contains forward-looking statements, and actual results could differ materially from what is discussed on today's call. Cautionary language regarding these forward-looking statements is included in our fourth quarter 2025 earnings release issued this morning and other reports we file with the SEC.

All of these materials and public filings are available on our Investor Relations website at camdennational.bank. Camden National Corporation trades on NASDAQ under the symbol CAC. In addition, today's presentation includes a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures. Any references to non-GAAP financial measures are intended to provide meaningful insights and are reconciled with GAAP in our earnings release, which is also available on our Investor Relations website.

I am pleased to introduce our host, President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Griffiths.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you,. Today marks another meaningful milestone in Camden National's continued momentum and stronger financial performance. Earlier this morning, we reported fourth quarter earnings of $22.6 million, representing yet another record-setting achievement for the organization. This strong finish to the year reflects a 6% increase in earnings from the prior quarter, underscoring the consistent execution and discipline across our teams. We are pleased that several key financial performance indicators continue to trend positively this quarter, including 13 basis points of net interest margin expansion over the prior quarter to 3.29% and a non-GAAP efficiency ratio below 52% and a return on average assets of 1.3%. These results underscore the durability of our operating model validate management's effective assimilation of the Northway franchise and reaffirm our focus on consistent, high-quality performance supported by sustainable growth and disciplined execution.

With the benefits from Northway Financial acquisition now fully delivering, we are pleased to report that we are ahead of our strategic and financial objectives in several areas. As we move into 2026, we are accelerating organic growth through a broader commercial footprint in our southern markets, continued expansion of retail products and digital capabilities across the franchise and deeper leverage of the strength of our wealth and brokerage franchise.

We had great success in 2025 across our wealth and brokerage divisions, highlighted by 15% organic growth of assets under administration to $2.4 billion at December 31, 2025. Looking ahead, we see significant opportunity to deepen existing customer relationships through advice-led interactions and the continued expansion of treasury management solutions across our footprint. Our balance sheet remains a source of strength for our company. As of December 31, 2025, our regulatory capital levels were above our internal target levels. Our loan loss reserve was 91 basis points of total loans and reflects the quality of our loan portfolio and liquidity position continues to be solid.

Loans grew organically by 2% for the year, demonstrating our continued emphasis on profitable expansion supported by strategic talent investments. We remain bullish on home equity lending and saw strong performance in this category throughout the year, highlighted by 6% growth in the quarter and 18% organic growth for the year. While total loans were down 1% for the fourth quarter, our overall production levels for the third quarter and fourth quarters were comparable. This quarter's decrease was driven by higher loan payoffs and prepayments muting an otherwise strong quarter of production.

As of year-end, our credit metrics remain strong, underscoring the quality of our underwriting and disciplined risk management approach. Nonperforming assets as of December 31, 2025, were 10 basis points of total assets, and total past due loans were 16 basis points of total loans. Our credit teams continue to proactively address issues as they arise. During the fourth quarter, we had the opportunity to complete a short sale on a commercial real estate office loan that have been designated as classified for nearly 2 years.

After a comprehensive assessment, we determined that entering into a short sale arrangement was the most prudent and proactive steps to limit our future exposure and further strengthen our credit profile. The transaction closed late in the fourth quarter, resulting in a $3 million charge-off and an 88% recovery of the loan balance. We remain confident in the overall health of our well-diversified portfolio. We continue to advance our digital strategy to attract and retain highly engaged customers. This quarter, we introduced family wallet, and no fee parent-controlled youth banking platform that helps families build healthy financial habits within Camden National Bank, trusted brand and integrated digital environment.

Family Wallet enhances our broader digital suite, including Roundup savings, which now reflects nearly 1 million transactions with users saving on average $103 each since its implementation earlier this year. These investments contributed to a 19% year-over-year increase in digital engagement among customers under the age of 45, as measured by monthly logins. We are actively managing operating expenses by accelerating enterprise adoption of our automation platform. Through the use of over 143 bots, we have processed more than 5 million tasks since implementation several years ago, freeing up capacity and allowing our teams to focus on higher value customer interactions.

Our performance this year coincided with our 150th anniversary, speaks to the effectiveness of our strategy, maintaining a resilient balance sheet, driving high-quality growth and staying relentlessly focused on delivering value for our customers, communities and shareholders. We believe we are well positioned as we look ahead to 2026. And of course, none of this would be possible without the dedication of our experienced and caring colleagues across Camden National. Their hard work, commitment to our customers and communities and collaboration with 1 another, brings these results to life. Strengthening our franchise and delivering meaningful value to shareholders. With that, I'll hand over to Mike to provide additional financial details for the quarter.

Thank you, Simon, and good afternoon, everyone. We are very pleased with our finish to the year, reporting net income of $22.6 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.33 for the fourth quarter. Net income of $65.2 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.84 for the year ended December 31, 2025. In the second half of 2025, we began to see the earnings power of Camden National following the acquisition of Northway at the start of the year and the execution of our cost takeout initiatives during the first half of 2025.

Our financial performance in the fourth quarter resulted in strong profitability metrics including a return on average assets of 1.28%, a return on average tangible equity of 19.06% and an efficiency ratio of 51.69%. Given the strong performance, we've been able to rebuild capital used in the Northway acquisition at a pace that exceeded our initial projections. In the fourth quarter, we again saw strong revenue growth, up 4% over the third quarter. Net interest income increased 5% between quarters, driven by a 13 basis point expansion in net interest margin to 3.29% in the fourth quarter. Funding costs between quarters decreased 11 basis points to 1.79% in the fourth quarter as we've been able to successfully manage deposit costs following the most recent Fed rate cuts.

Additional drivers of net interest income growth between quarters were average loan growth of 1% and average deposit growth of 2% and higher fair value mark accretion of $735,000, which was driven by elevated payoffs on acquired loans. In the fourth quarter, we saw a nice momentum in deposits which were up 2% since September 30. Our growth in savings balances driven by our high-yield savings product continues to be a great story for us, increasing 5% during the fourth quarter and 28% organically for the year.

Interest checking balances were also up 11% in the fourth quarter compared to last quarter, primarily driven by seasonal municipal deposit flows. We anticipate our first quarter of 2026 deposit balances will be relatively flat with the fourth quarter despite normal seasonality in our deposit base during the winter months, given the impact of recent deposit relationship wins across our sales teams.

Noninterest income for the fourth quarter totaled $14.1 million, and it was fairly flat quarter-over-quarter. However, it's worth noting a change in revenue makeup between quarters. Our fourth quarter noninterest income included our annual Visa bonus incentive, which totaled $979,000 this year and elevated fees earned on back-to-back loan swap and which totaled $594,000 in the fourth quarter. Given seasonality considerations and normalization of certain fees, we currently estimate noninterest income will range from $12 million to $13 million for the first quarter of 2026.

Reported noninterest expense for the fourth quarter was $36.9 million, which was an increase over last quarter as anticipated. The increase reflects continued investment in the franchise strong performance across our revenue lines, seasonality in our expense base, including year-end performance incentive true-ups and healthcare costs and other corporate matters. We currently estimate our first quarter operating expenses will range from $36 million to $37 million.

For the fourth quarter, we reported a provision for credit losses of $3 million, driven by the single charge-off Simon mentioned earlier. As of December 31, our loan loss reserve totaled $45.3 million, which was 91 basis points of total loans and was 6.4x nonperforming loans. We continue to believe we have sufficient loan loss reserves set aside given the strength and historical performance of our loan portfolio, its diversification and our credit trends at year-end. Lastly, I wanted to note that in early January, we announced a new share repurchase program that gives us the ability to repurchase up to 840 -- excuse me, 850,000 shares of the company's common stock or approximately 5% of shares currently outstanding. This concludes our comments. We'll now open up the call for questions.

[Operator Instructions] first question comes from Steve Moss with Raymond James.

Maybe just starting with -- maybe just starting with the margin here, my -- nice pickup quarter-over-quarter, pretty much as you expected. Just kind of curious where are deposit costs trending here for the Fed rate cuts and kind of how much more expansion are you thinking here going forward?

Yes. Great question, Steve. So I think as we're thinking about this, I think for the first quarter, we've got some different dynamics in play here. I would say overall, to answer your question directly, we're kind of in a couple of basis points here for the first quarter of core margin expansion. We have generally some seasonality in deposit flows. So there will be a level of remix there that would otherwise see, which is pretty customary for us. On the funding cost side, we do see that continued improvement there, I would say, in the neighborhood of 7 to 10 basis points potentially for the quarter. That said, I think we'll also see some yield compression just given some of the pricing characteristics that didn't occur in December with the latest Fed rate cut.

But overall, we're expecting a couple of basis points, plus or minus for the first quarter. And just to be clear, that is on an upward basis. I think just long term, Steve, as we look out, we continue to see favorable margin expansion. I would just say bearing any additional Fed rate cuts will probably be a bit slower than what we -- certainly than what we saw this last quarter but we continue to see potential upside here.

Okay. Great. And then on the loan growth front, I hear you Simon in terms of the payoffs here. It looks like they were late in the quarter. Just kind of curious how the pipeline is and kind of like how you think about dynamic with payoffs here just as kind of rates of generally -- or spreads generally come in over the last quarter or so.

Yes. Thanks for the question, Steve. I think just generally, we continue to see a decent pipeline residential pipeline is just over $83 million. Commercial pipeline is just over $77 million, which certainly is solid for January and puts us in good -- really good footing for the rest of the year. We expect loan growth this quarter, as Mike indicated, to be sort of flat to up 2%. But certainly, as we get into the rest of the year, we see a pickup in that April, May time frame and certainly mid mid-single digits is certainly our outlook. We did see a slight uptick in prepaid towards the end of the quarter. And I think certainly in the rate environment, there's the potential that, that sort of sustains -- but generally, we feel very positive in terms of loan growth. We're seeing a really nice pickup in the southern end of our market.

New Hampshire continues to be a place of strength for us. We continue to build out our teams. We continue to put a lot of resources training and other pieces into those markets and see a lot of opportunity there and really fruition of the partnership with Northway integration with Northwest. So very, very strong on to.

Okay. Great. And then just on capital with the buyback here. Just kind of curious how you guys are thinking about deploying that or using that authorization? .

Yes. I would say our focus right now continues just to be to return capital, continue to build, but certainly, we'll be opportunistic on leveraging the repurchase program but I think our initial prior is continuing to build capital there and position ourselves for whatever the future may hold, but I would say organic growth is the first priority. And from there. Steve, it really is a bit more opportunistic, if you will. .

Okay. Great. I appreciate all the color here next quarter.

We now turn to Damon DelMonte with KBW.

Just wanted circle back on the fair value accretion that you mentioned, Mike, this quarter. Do you have the dollar amount of what that accretion was? .

Yes. In total, it was $5.3 million, I believe, for the quarter .

And and I know you noted that it was somewhat accelerated because of some payoffs, but what would be a good range to model on a schedule basis.

Yes. I mean, I guess like internally, Damon, we're more in that, call it, 4.5%, maybe 4 quarters. I think to the extent that, of course, if prepays accelerate, it could creep up like we saw it. But I think on a base perspective, that's pretty solid. .

Okay. That's helpful. And then with regards to the outlook for loan growth, it sounds like the pipelines are pretty healthy. Do you guys intend to try to make any commercial hires this year or any team of lenders? Do you feel that you're pretty adequately staffed for the foreseeable future? .

Yes, Damon. We certainly continue to look for talent, particularly in the key markets. We've had a couple of really nice hires recently. And we're finding people are attracted to the Camden story and continue to build out and deepen the bench of those teams. We've also elevated a couple of folks internally within the Portland market and just starting to push into some different segments. So really, that whole focus is really on growth and building expertise.

As also, I've talked about in previous calls, just this opportunity to connect commercial into other businesses. We're seeing some great partnership across the wealth franchise is starting to really bring the Camden team to bear, and I think that's a really important focus for us.

Okay. Great. And then just lastly, as we try to think about the provision. I heard the comments on the comfort level with the reserve. But if you look at the last couple of quarters of 2025, the provision was kind of a net $3 million range. Do you think that was just necessitated by addressing particular credit issues that came up? Or do you feel like that a little bit kind of higher level of charge-offs is kind of a normalization of the credit cycle and we should factor in a little bit more in provision?

That's a great question. I think the $3 million that we saw is more necessitated by some of the credits over the last few quarters there. And as we piloted, certainly one-offs from our perspective there. I think right now, I would say, overall, we feel pretty good around the 90, 91 basis points on a [indiscernible] Ratio, Damon. So I would stick there. And I think we begin to see net charge-offs start to normalize more to things we're accustomed to from here. .

We now turn to Daniel Cardenas with Janney Montgomery Scott. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

As you guys think about deposit growth in 2026. Do you think it's going to be able to keep up with expectations for growth on the lending front I know there's a little bit of room on your loan-to-deposit ratio, but how are you guys thinking about overall deposit growth in the coming year?

Yes. Thanks, Daniel. Appreciate the question. We continue to feel -- we're putting a lot of resources and focus on deposit growth from a number of fronts and feel very good about how attracting clients move into primacy and really focus on primary relationships. We see low to mid-single-digit growth this year. We saw as we talked earlier in the recorded remarks, some very nice growth on high-yield savings. So lots of opportunity there. So we certainly feel there is plenty of opportunity. We like the southern markets where we see growth in households and lots of opportunities for us to leverage our digital franchise and capabilities. And I think that will really kind of leads us to a positive outlook on our deposit growth this year.

Excellent. Good. And then as I think about operating expenses kind of on a year-over-year basis kind of low single-digit type of growth. Is that a good way to think about the outlook for 2026?

Dan, I guess what I would say, I think, for more of an annual outlook, if you will. I think from an efficiency ratio, we have my phrase it as I think that mid-50s is probably a good spot and normal for us. Certainly, we've been tracking a little bit lower. But I would think in kind of mid-50s as we reinvest in the franchise is a decent spot for us. .

And just to add to that, Dan, I just would add that balance investments and continue to invest is certainly, but doing it through a lot of self-funding a lot of discipline. I think that theme -- we've been focused on that. I think we're continuing to leverage some of the automation that we talked about on the call, opportunities to be more efficient and then reinvesting that in growth and building out our teams, whether it's on the commercial side or the wealth side really is the sort of philosophy of the team. And I think that's showing the results and certainly very prudent and a great way to manage the resources Camden National Bank.

Excellent. And then last question for me is how should I think about your tax rate on a go-forward basis. You've kind of been in that 20%, 21% level here over the last 2 quarters. Is that kind of a reasonable assumption for you guys? .

I think we'll sneak up a little bit. I think we'll be a little bit higher from an effective tax rate perspective. We've had some tax credit benefits that we had this year that won't be occurring at least as of now from a forecast perspective and '26. So I think we'll see that maybe sneak up 1%. .

[Operator Instructions] we now turn to Matthew Breese with Stephens.

A lot of my math answered, but maybe a few. The first 1 is just in regards to the -- I think you said it was an office commercial real estate charge-off that has been classified for a couple of years. Would just love a little bit of story there. Why was it on classified for a couple of years? And then when it came to the actual exit, how was pricing relative to where you underwrote it and relative to your expectations? Does it give you any sort of confidence or reemerging confidence in kind of commercial real estate pricing here? Just curious. .

Yes. Let me take that question. So we had a borrower as we talked about. We've been expressing some fatigue with an underperforming property that was in a stressed asset class and that obviously being office -- the loan tied to this property had a special mention and classified loan for us for nearly 2 years. So he's certainly been in that situation for a while with the reserve on our books of $1 million. So during the quarter, we had an opportunity to discuss it out with a few potential buyers in the property, and we were successful in negotiating a deal that provided 88% recovery on the loan, which was, I think, a good outcome for us. There still is some softness in the Boston market. And I think this certainly was an opportune moment to take a decisive approach and really put our credit on an even stronger footing. When you step back from this, office is -- we have a very well-balanced portfolio and office represents 3.7% of the entire portfolio and is an extremely good condition we have 35 loans over $1 million and all are pass rated with positive and acceptable debt service coverage.

We've got good occupancy and very good LTVs overall. So we feell -- continue to feel good about that segment for us. Our criticized and classified asset levels remain very solid against historical norms, so we feel very good there as well. So on the pricing, we certainly obviously had a lot of discussion as a team. And I think the pricing represented a good balance of risk for us to get this to a stronger footing, given some of the -- I think there's some softness you still do see in the office space, but generally, I think that's a trending positive. So it was a balanced decision.

I think I would just footnote the comments with as a management leadership team, I think we tend to continue to be very proactive. I think we see opportunities like this and just take a decisive view on the situations like this, and I think it really sets us up for an even continued momentum and a very strong year at -- across both the credit front and across our loan growth that we were talking about earlier.

Great. I appreciate all that. Michael, maybe just on some of the deposit items. Thinking about what could reprice lower? What is the new blended cost of CDs, including some of the promotional items? And as you think about what's repricing over the next couple of quarters, what might we see your time deposit, your cost of time deposits kind of ratchet down to?

Yes. I think over the next 3 months, essentially, about 40% of our CDs are repricing. And I think those are at a blended rate at right around 3.35 in that neighborhood. So we certainly see some continued opportunity there based on our current CD pricing. And I'd also say Matt over the next 12 months, it's nearly, I think, really around 95% that's repricing. So I think that's 1 of the levers as we look forward and think about the continued upside for us, particularly with knock on wood and maybe some -- a couple of Fed rate cuts here in the future. we see some continued opportunity there and optimism as we think about our funding costs and just overall margin from here. .

Is that the current rate or the rate on which they'll come back on the books is estimated at [ $3.35 ]?

Sorry. That's the rate they're currently on our books at and I believe our current rate is well slower than that of ahead. It depends on different tiers and so forth. But I would say it's kind of 3% in that neighborhood. .

Sorry, I just going to say at I think the only thing I would add is just we continue to be focused on relationship pricing there. we're not chasing certainly hot money. That's not relationship price on the -- from a CD perspective or otherwise. We'll also where we need to. We'll we'll do exceptions. We'll make sure we retain that relationship, just thinking about the overall deposit and loan makeup of that customer. So we'll be -- we're certainly being thoughtful about this as we think about overall total deposits and our balance sheet. .

Got it. Is there anything significant on the securities front maturing or repricing this year? It still looks like you're about 150 bps below market rates on securities?

No, I don't think there's anything significant per se. I mean our cash flow continues to be pretty steady. I think it's in the neighborhood $10 million, $11 million, call it, a month we'll continue to see that and expect that, and that'll continue to run off. I think the ideal opportunity for there is just to continue to be able to take those cash flows and put it into higher earning assets and certainly, the ideal situation would be loan growth.

And then last one, I would just love to hear about M&A conversations and activity and maybe frame for us what you would be interested in and a target, both in terms of sizing and geography. .

Yes. I think Matt, I appreciate the question. And I think it's very much a continued path for us, very focused on organic growth and really leveraging the opportunity that New Hampshire and North West providing us, and I think there's lots of runway there to continue to grow and accelerate growth in that market. On the M&A side, we continue to be opportunistic. I mean it needs to be the right deal. We certainly look at contiguous markets. I think that sort of fit is really important to us. What we really liked about Northway is the template that business fell very similar to our own very strong and similar credit kind of mindset, similar sort of geography and really was allowing us to put the overlay of some of our digital capabilities and our treasury capabilities onto that franchise.

And so I think we'd be looking for something similar to that. Obviously, the number of pieces on the chess board are getting fewer. So I think we have to continue to look, but we're certainly very comfortable the opportunities around organic growth. But if the right opportunity came along, I think we certainly would certainly be interested.

I know your footprint in your market stretch is into Northern Massachusetts. Would you consider a deal in Boston at this point? Or is that market still a bit too far?

I think that's stretching the envelope I know Boston very well, obviously, with my time, 10 or so years down there. I mean it's certainly a great market, but it's certainly a very different footprint to our own, never say never, Matt, but I think that certainly doesn't feel within our sort of sweet spot, if you like, but you need to have to look at everything on an individual case-by-case basis. .

And we have no further questions. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Simon Griffiths for any closing remarks.

Well, thank you for your time today and continued interest in Camden National Corporation. We truly appreciate your support. Have a great rest of your day.

Conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

Good day, and welcome to Camden National Corporation's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Elliot, and I'll be your operator for today's call. [Operator Instructions]

I'll now turn the call over to Renee Smyth, Executive Vice President, Chief Experience and Marketing Officer.

Thank you, and good afternoon, and welcome to Camden National Corporation's conference call for the third quarter of 2025. Joining us this afternoon are members of Camden National Corporation's executive team, Simon Griffiths, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mike Archer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Please note that today's presentation contains forward-looking statements, and actual results could differ materially from what is discussed on today's call. Cautionary language regarding these forward-looking statements is included in our third quarter 2025 earnings release issued this morning and in other reports we file with the SEC. All of these materials and public filings are available on our Investor Relations website at camdennational.bank. Camden National Corporation trades on NASDAQ under the symbol CAC.

In addition, today's presentation includes a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures. Any references to non-GAAP financial measures are intended to provide meaningful insights and are reconciled with GAAP in our earnings release which is also available on our Investor Relations website.

I am pleased to introduce our host, President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Griffiths.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you, Renee. Today represents a pivotal moment in Camden National's continued growth and success. Earlier today, we announced record third quarter earnings of $21.2 million, setting a new high watermark for the organization. This achievement represents a 51% increase in earnings over the previous quarter. Equally important, pretax pre-provision income for the third quarter rose 19% over the prior quarter signaling the momentum across our franchise. This significant achievement underscores the strength of our successful execution of the Northway financial integration strategy. Following our acquisition Northway that we closed earlier this year on January 2 and the value of our expanded capabilities made possible by the dedication of our team and the continued trust of our customers and shareholders.

Our strong quarterly earnings continue to support the rebuilding of capital levels following the Northway acquisition, while enhancing long-term shareholder value. This progress is reflected in our tangible common equity ratio which grew 32 basis points in the third quarter to 7.09% and a 6% increase in tangible book value in the quarter, reaching $28.42 per share as of September 30. We are well positioned for continued tangible book value accretion through core earnings and a disciplined capital deployment strategy focused on dividends.

Several key performance indicators continued to trend positively this quarter. Our net interest margin expanded by 10 basis points to 3.16%. Our non-GAAP efficiency ratio improved to 52.5% and we reported a return on average tangible equity of 19.1% for the third quarter. These results reaffirm our commitment to delivering top-tier financial performance driven by sustainable growth and operational excellence.

We delivered robust annualized loan growth of 4% this quarter, reflecting our continued commitment to profitable organic expansion and strategic investments and talent acquisition. Our scale, combined with deep local expertise in the communities we serve remains a key competitive advantage, enabling us to build lasting relationships and unlock new business opportunities.

Our committed loan pipeline was robust as of September 30, totaling $116 million and our customers continue to demonstrate resilience despite broader economic uncertainties.

In the third quarter, average core deposits grew 2%, reflecting the benefit of seasonal deposit inflows and continued customer confidence and franchise strength. During the third quarter, saving deposit balances grew 5%, continuing the momentum from recent quarters. This product continues to be a strong vehicle for development of new and growth of existing customer relationships.

Credit trends remain strong, underscoring the quality of our underwriting and vigilant risk management approach. We continue to address issues swiftly and prudently as reflected in key credit metrics, including a 14 basis point decrease in nonperforming assets in the third quarter to just 12 basis points of total assets at September 30.

Last quarter, we proactively disclosed and reserved $6 million for a syndicated loan participation, involving a telecommunication services company that entered bankruptcy. In the third quarter of 2025, we charged off $10.7 million of the $12.2 million carrying value of this loan. We remain confident in the overall health of our well-diversified loan portfolio.

We sustained strong momentum in our noninterest income this quarter, with assets under management and administration reaching a record high of $2.4 billion. Fiduciary and brokerage fee income for the nine months ending September 30, 2025, grew organically by 16% year-over-year, reflecting strong client engagement and demand for our trusted advisory services. Summer mortgage activity was robust, contributing to another solid quarter of mortgage banking income.

We continue to identify meaningful opportunities to deepen relationships within our existing customer base particularly as we focus on advice-driven engagement and expand treasury management services into the New Hampshire market. Our innovation agenda and strategic investments are focused on attracting and retaining a digitally engaged customer base. Since launching our enhanced digital account opening platform in January of this year, we have seen a 131% increase in consumer accounts originated digitally. We continue to introduce tools like Roundup savings and digital financial literacy resources, digital engagement among customers under 45 has grown 11% year-over-year, measured by monthly logins.

We are also advancing automation across the enterprise to drive operational excellence and elevate service delivery. With over 143 bots in production we have processed more than 5 million items, saving over 74,000 cumulative hours since implementation, freeing up capacity to focus on high-value customer interactions. Our deep community routes continue to drive customer loyalty and long-term growth.

To mark our 150th anniversary, we hosted a half-day community well-being day in September, closing offices to support volunteerism across the region. While the 600 employees contributed over 1,900 hours across 65 nonprofit organizations, in addition to their annual paid volunteer time.

Our record-breaking third quarter performance energizes us as we look ahead. These outstanding results reflect the dedication of nearly 700 teammates and our unwavering commitment to serving our customers and executing our strategy. The momentum we have built positions us well to carry the success through the remainder of 2025 and beyond. With a strong foundation and a focused approach, we remain confident in our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes and create meaningful long-term value for our shareholders.

And with that, I'd like to hand over to Mike to provide some financial highlights regarding the quarter.

Thank you, Simon, and good afternoon, everyone. We are very pleased with our third quarter 2025 financial results as they signify the earnings power, the future potential of Camden National. Having completed the acquisition of Northway Financial and successfully executed the integration and cost takeout plans.

For the third quarter, we reported net income of $21.2 million, diluted earnings per share of $1.25 both representing increases of 51% over the second quarter of 2025. On a non-GAAP basis, pretax pre-provision income reached $29.5 million for the third quarter, an increase of 19% over the prior quarter.

Strong revenue growth for the third quarter of 5% on a linked quarter basis, coupled with continued expense discipline and achievement of synergies from the Northway acquisition, resulted in improvement across several key financial metrics, including a return on average assets of 1.21% and a non-GAAP return on average tangible equity just over 19% for the quarter. Average loan growth of 1% and net interest margin expansion of 10 basis points during the third quarter -- or excuse me, expansion of 10 basis points, grew to 3.16% in the third quarter, fueled our net interest income growth of 4% between quarters. Our asset yield increased 4 basis points during the third quarter to 4.98% driven by steady repricing and origination of new assets and the current interest rate environment. At the same time, our funding costs improved by 6 basis points during the quarter to 1.9% driven by seasonal deposit market flows as average deposits increased 2% during the third quarter. relieving pressure on more costly borrowings. With a liability sensitive interest rate risk position, we are well positioned for future Fed rate cuts.

We continue to see favorable momentum in noninterest income revenue reaching $14.1 million in the third quarter, an increase of 8% over the second quarter. Included within noninterest income this quarter was a net gain of $675,000 from the sale of two non-branch properties. Adjusting for this nonrecurring net gain, noninterest income grew 3% on a linked quarter basis totaled $13.5 million.

Reported noninterest expense for the third quarter was $35.9 million. Our third quarter operating expenses reflect our expected cost savings and synergies from the Northway acquisition. As we look forward, we are estimating fourth quarter noninterest expense of $36 million to $36.5 million.

For the third quarter of 2025, we reported a provision for credit losses of $3 million, down from $6.9 million in the previous quarter. As Simon noted in his comments, we recorded a charge-off of $10.7 million during the third quarter for the syndication loan we previously disclosed last quarter. At June 30, we carried a specific reserve of $6 million on this loan and upon charge-off, we recognized an additional provision expense of $4.7 million this quarter. This additional provision expense was partially offset by changes in our macroeconomic outlook and a decrease in our committed unfunded loan pipeline during the quarter. As of September 30, the allowance totaled $45.5 million and covered 5.5x total nonperforming loans. As shown in our earnings release, our credit quality metrics at quarter end remained solid.

This concludes our comments. I will now open the call up for questions.

[Operator Instructions] First question comes from Steve Moss with Raymond James.

Maybe just start on loan growth here, Simon. Good quarter for commercial real estate growth, and I hear you, Simon, in terms of the pipeline being robust. Just kind of curious, where is loan pricing? And kind of are you seeing a pickup in activity and maybe more opportunities in your markets these days?

Yes. Thanks for the question, Steve. I'd say, overall, we have seen some nice momentum in a number of our businesses, commercial, certainly small business and home equity, which is up about 54% year-over-year. Certainly part of that story is coming out of the New Hampshire market, and that's something we've been talking about now. It's a tremendous market. We've got some great stakeholders, and we've made some recent hires in the market.

On the pricing front, certainly been some softening in the last 60, 90 days. They're still holding up fairly strong. So I think this is a nice opportunity. We probably see a little bit of softening of loan volumes in the back fourth quarter compared to sort of what we saw in the third quarter, but still lots of good momentum and really pleased with some of those businesses and how they're performing.

Okay. Great. And then in terms of the margin here, good step-up as expected, that is obviously cut in September here, probably getting another rate cut tomorrow. Just kind of curious as to how you guys are thinking about the margin going forward and some of the dynamics you have for assets repricing higher here?

Sure, Steve. Yes -- so we are well positioned certainly for the Fed rate cuts and in our base model, we do have that cut in tomorrow and one in for December, certainly from there, of course, depends on the yield curve kind of where we go. But I think in our base model, where we have margin expansion, up 5, 10 basis points next quarter, a lot of that coming from the cost of funds side of the house, would you think -- probably some of the -- on the asset side, the expansion probably will start to slow down on what we call a little more flattish as we continue to put new loans on at higher rates, but that's being offset a little bit by just the repricing down of some of the variable rate loans. So it's really, I think, for least amount of base model for now, we're thinking how all that benefits from the cost of funds.

Okay. Appreciate that color. And so as we think about each rates, I kind of realize the one in December is kind of late and obviously the September 1 was late for this quarter. Is it roughly kind of like, I guess, 5 to 7 basis points per rate cut kind of how to think about it?

Yes, I think we had -- we were modeling somewhere around 3 to 4 annualized. But yes, I think that's kind of not hard.

Got it. Okay. And then in terms of just the activity, Simon, you mentioned hiring in New Hampshire. Just kind of curious how many people you've hired? How you're thinking about investment? I realize that we're heading into the fourth quarter planning season for next year, but just color around that and kind of how you're thinking about expenses for next year.

Yes, thanks. And I think that's been a key message from us and a focus as a management team really just disciplined expense management. And obviously, they're very pleased with the efficiency ratio coming in at just under 55%. And I think reflects how we think about expenses and reinvesting and self-funding a lot of those investments. We have invested in a couple of commercial bankers, continue to build out the team, fill in key areas, also looking from a home equity perspective and a mortgage perspective to continue to make sure we cover the market and make investments where they make sense. And I think that continues in a steady pace next year. I think it's something that we just continue to want to keep building on, but be very strategic in those investments. And as I say, make sure we continue to be disciplined in our approach.

We now turn to Damon DelMonte with KBW.

I hope you're doing well. Just wanted to circle back on the expense question. I think, Mike, you said your guide for next quarter is like $36 million to $36.5 million. Just kind of wondering what some of the dynamics are in the step-up on a quarter-over-quarter basis. And as you look across '26, do you think kind of the 3% to 4% annual growth rate is reasonable?

Yes. Thanks, Damon, for the question. Yes. So good question there. As we think about the fourth quarter, I think there's some stuff on the people side of the house just in terms of some incentives and how the year shakes out, Damon, that we're thinking that some of our operating expenses could tick up a notch. Also as part of just the acquisition of Northway, they just had a legacy contract with an individual there that there's some accounting for that has to be done at year-end. So I wouldn't call that necessarily a recurring expense per se is directly tied to the performance of the BOLI asset, which has done very well this year. And so there's some additional expense that we were anticipating could run through in the fourth quarter. So really, it's those two factors are the primary drivers for kind of our outlook currently for the fourth quarter.

As we think about going into next year, I would just say we're still certainly in the planning phase, but as Simon just mentioned that, that efficiency ratio and paying particular attention to that, trying to manage to mid-50s-ish, something in that space is kind of where we want to be. So we'll continue to do that as we think about our outlook for expenses.

Got you. Great. I appreciate that color. And then with regards to the margin, I appreciate the commentary around the core margin there. As you think about like the fair value accretion that gets run through each quarter, do you see that kind of slowing down or tailing off here in the fourth quarter and as we go through '26? Or does it kind of stay elevated like we've seen in the last couple of quarters?

I mean I think it's pretty -- $4.5 million to $5 million is a pretty good number for us all in honestly. Certainly, for next quarter. I think if it becomes a bit of a refi boom or at the long end comes down a little bit more, we could see that potentially accelerate in '26. We're not certainly not baking that into our base model, if you will. But I think that $4.5 million to $5 million is a pretty solid run rate for us, at least for now.

Okay. Great. And then I guess just lastly, with the charge-off, obviously, you released some reserves there, you're down to 91 basis points. Just kind of wondering how you think about that level when you consider the outlook for growth and that kind of being offset by the healthy credit quality overall. I mean do you think you kind of keep it in this low 90 range? Or do you think you need to kind of build it back up a bit?

Yes. Thanks, Damon. We feel very comfortable about in that range. I think it represents our confidence in the underlying portfolio. And this is -- we've certainly felt very good about the overall credit this year in terms of the portfolio that we have and the -- we have a very strongly diversified portfolio. And I think that leads us to feeling good about the ACL and the current kind of guided range.

We now turn to Matthew Breese with Stephens.

Just a related question. It feels like you cleaned up the problem syndicated credit this quarter. And I guess I'm curious, is that provision that we saw more indicative of what you expect going forward? And are we back to more or less kind of normal course of business for Camden from a credit perspective overall from here?

Yes. I might answer that, Matt, just in terms of -- I think that low 90s, 91 knew kind of that space, plus or minus a basis point or two, I think it's a good spot for us. I think we feel comfortable there. So certainly, with loan growth, of course, more provision will be had. But I think overall, I mean, I think that's a good proxy of where it would be. That 91 basis points, if you were to go back and look at that compared to where we were at year-end pre-acquisition, a few basis points higher. I think it reflects a similar macroeconomic outlook for us right now and I would say, based on just kind of our current thinking, I think it's a pretty fair spot as we know the world can turn pretty fast. But I think right now, that's kind of what we're thinking.

Got it. Okay. And then what is the blended rate, the blended loan yields on the pipeline? And I heard your comments, Mike, loud and clear on the NIM, but it feels like if we get a few more rate cuts which seems like it's on the table. It feels like there's structurally more tailwinds to the NIM beyond the next 6 to 9 days, it just feels like some positive loan yield repricing and then room to reprice deposits a bit lower. So I would feel net-net, like a year from now, the NIM is a bit higher, but I wanted to hear your thoughts on that.

Yes, I think that's fair, Matt. I mean I think for the 5 to 10 basis points for next quarter, I mean, I think that's a pretty good range for us. I mean, certainly, I think there's some opportunity there where we could outperform that as well. Thus far in the cycle, we've been pretty aggressive on pricing down some of the deposits and funding. I think as we even gear up for tomorrow, internal discussions around that are just changing. We want to be certainly thoughtful in terms of the customer base and trying to balance that with growth in deposits as well. So I think as we continue on this path and I want to say on the way up, we're a low 40s beta, I would say, on the way down, at least right now, we're probably inching a little bit higher than that. And I think we could settle in 35% to 40% when it's all said and done, is kind of how we're thinking about it. Yes. Really just trying to [indiscernible] that. I think from here, we probably -- maybe we don't move as staff, but certainly, our full expectation is to move and get that funding benefit.

Got it. Okay. And then just two other ones for me. I was hoping you could help us out with kind of early reads on loan growth for 2026. And then within that, Simon, you pointed this out, but consumer and home equity, even though it's a smaller portfolio has been growing nicely. Maybe some thoughts there? And to what extent we might see that type of growth continue?

Yes. Thanks, Matt. I mean certainly, loan growth, as I talked about earlier. I think fourth quarter flat up to 2%, feels about the right sort of guide and then sort of mid-single digits, mid I think, is sort of where we're heading next year. Obviously, with a lot of that opportunity I talked about earlier, certainly in our New Hampshire market. And certainly, I said residential has been very strong for us as well as home equity, commercial, small business. They're certainly areas that have nice momentum. The home equity business, I think it's just a great relationship product for us. I think we really like the opportunity there to really connect and deepen relationships. We've also expanded the number of stakeholders that are able to originate home equities. That's been a big opening up of that door.

So I certainly think this year has been exceptional growth, I mean up 54%, but it may not be as high as that. There's certainly, I think, forward momentum from here. And a lot of that growth actually on the home equity side is in the main market. So I think some of that opportunity next year could be in the New Hampshire market. And certainly, that would continue that forward trajectory.

Great. And then just last one is on fee income for next year. It feels like we've hit an inflection point on a couple of areas, brokerage and insurance being one, but then also service charges have been up nicely. To what extent might we see some of these positive trends continue into next year?

Yes. We're really proud of the fee income growth, particularly in the CFC side of our business, the brokerage side of the business, I mean, up 15%. And certainly, overall, 11% organic growth in assets under management, which is great, and we talked about hitting $2.4 billion. So that momentum is really positive.

We continue to invest in those businesses. I think it's just a tremendous opportunity. And also in the wealth business. We've mentioned, I think, on the last call, we've added a couple of folks into that business and there's opportunities down the road to potentially expand into the New Hampshire market as well on the wealth side. So we do have brokerage, coverage but not modest wealth coverage.

So I think those are areas that I think make a lot of sense for us. and really connecting and partnering those businesses into the commercial business, the mortgage business and really creating that full relationship opportunity. So I think it's a business we're going just love the sort of current growth trajectory and just keep investing in it. But through that lens of self-funding and having that eye to our efficiency, which is, as you know, as a management team, really important to us.

As we have no further questions, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Simon Griffiths for any final remarks.

Thank you for your time today and continued interest in Canada National Corporation. We truly appreciate your support throughout the year and wish you a productive close to the year and a restful holiday season. Take care, everyone.

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.