Eastern Bankshares, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Strong Performance Highlighted by Organic Growth and Capital Return

• Net income and operating net income of $111.0 million, or $0.51 per diluted share.
• Return on average assets of 1.41% and return on average tangible common equity of 15.7%.
• Period-end loans grew 1.1% linked quarter, driven by solid CRE and C&I lending results.
• Wealth assets under administration increased to $11.6 billion, including $10.8 billion of assets under management, and benefited from positive net flows and market appreciation.
• Non-performing loans declined $24.6 million linked quarter to $84.8 million or 0.36% of total loans.
• Returned $89.1 million in capital to shareholders, including $56.7 million in share repurchases.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EBC), the holding company of Eastern Bank, today announced its third quarter 2026 financial results.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

“We are pleased with our third quarter performance, which reflects disciplined execution on our priorities of growing organically and returning capital to shareholders,” said Denis Sheahan, Chief Executive Officer. “CRE and C&I lending drove solid total loan growth, while CRE payoffs continued to be a headwind, despite moderating from the second quarter. Commercial loan pipelines remain strong, although the pace of closings has been somewhat slower than anticipated as some clients take a more measured approach to investment decisions amid interest rate uncertainty. Overall, customers remain resilient and business activity continues to generate demand for financing. On the funding side, period-end deposits grew modestly despite seasonal municipal outflows. While competition remains elevated, we are committed to gathering core deposits to support our growth strategy. Wealth Management further increased assets under management and administration, and our comprehensive, team-based approach continues to differentiate us. While we are in the early stages of capitalizing on the full potential of our Wealth Management business, we are generating meaningful momentum, and are encouraged about its long-term outlook.”

“Looking forward, we remain focused on fundamentals and delivering strong, sustainable results. Our breadth of products and services, long-standing customer relationships, and steadfast commitment to the communities we serve reinforce Eastern’s standing as a premier bank in Greater Boston, and position us well to create value for shareholders.”

David Rosato, Chief Financial Officer, added, “Our third quarter financial results were strong, highlighted by record operating income of $111.0 million, or $0.51 on a per share basis, and a return on average tangible common equity of 15.7%. We continued to generate positive operating leverage, due to higher net interest income driven by balance sheet growth and well-controlled expenses, resulting in an operating efficiency ratio of 47.5%. Net interest margin declined 4 basis points linked quarter, as higher earning asset yields were more than offset by increased deposit costs. Credit quality remains excellent as evidenced by a third consecutive quarterly reduction in non-performing loans following the HarborOne merger, and total net charge-offs to average total loans of 9 basis points, down from 17 basis points in the second quarter. In addition, consistent with our commitment to rightsize our capital levels, we returned $89.1 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends during the quarter.”

NET INTEREST INCOME

Net interest income was $257.9 million, an increase of $5.9 million from the second quarter.

• Net interest income included net discount accretion of $19.0 million, compared to $19.7 million in the prior quarter. Net discount accretion contributed 26 basis points to the net interest margin on an FTE basis, compared to 28 basis points in the prior quarter.
• The net interest margin on an FTE basis decreased 4 basis points to 3.62%, due to increased funding costs partially offset by higher earning asset yields.
• The yield on total interest-earning assets was up 2 basis points to 5.07%, due to higher loan and securities yields.
• The cost of total interest-bearing liabilities increased 8 basis points to 2.09%, due to higher deposit costs.

NONINTEREST INCOME

Noninterest income was $48.7 million, a decrease of $8.9 million from the second quarter. The prior quarter included a non-operating loss of $0.3 million.

On an operating basis, noninterest income decreased $9.2 million, primarily driven by the following:

• Income from investments for employee retirement benefits decreased $6.3 million to $0.6 million due to weaker equity market performance. The unfavorable impact to noninterest income was partially offset by a $2.5 million decrease in related benefit costs reported in noninterest expense.
• Miscellaneous income and fees decreased $3.1 million to $6.6 million, primarily due to gains on the sale of commercial loans in the second quarter that did not recur in the third quarter.
• Investment advisory fees decreased $0.3 million to $19.4 million, as growth in assets under management revenues was more than offset by lower tax preparation fees, which are seasonally higher in the second quarter.

These decreases in operating noninterest income were partially offset by increases of $0.4 million in both mortgage banking income and card income.

NONINTEREST EXPENSE

Noninterest expense was $159.7 million, a decrease of $8.3 million from the second quarter. The current quarter did not include any non-operating costs, compared to $1.6 million in the prior quarter.

On an operating basis, noninterest expense decreased $6.7 million, primarily driven by the following:

• Salaries and employee benefits decreased $2.2 million to $94.8 million, primarily driven by lower costs related to employee retirement benefits.
• Occupancy and equipment decreased $1.9 million to $11.4 million, primarily reflecting lower maintenance and depreciation costs.
• Professional services decreased $1.8 million to $3.9 million, primarily due to shareholder advisory fees in the second quarter that did not recur in the third quarter.
• Other operating expense decreased $1.9 million to $6.3 million, primarily driven by a release of unfunded commitment reserves.

These improvements in operating noninterest expense were partially offset by a $1.0 million increase in FDIC insurance costs.

BALANCE SHEET

Total assets were $31,700 million at September 30, 2026, an increase of $558 million from June 30, 2026.

• Loans totaled $23,974 million, an increase of $261 million, or 1.1%, primarily due to solid Commercial Real Estate and Commercial & Industrial lending results.
• Securities were $4,778 million, a decrease of $34 million.
• Cash and equivalents were $547 million, an increase of $291 million.

Deposits totaled $26,017 million, an increase of $98 million or 0.4%, despite seasonal municipal outflows.

Book value per share and tangible book value per share ended the quarter at $18.56 and $12.96, respectively, compared to $18.72 and $13.13 at June 30, 2026.

Please refer to Appendix D for a roll-forward of tangible shareholders’ equity.

ASSET QUALITY

Non-performing loans (NPLs) improved for the third consecutive quarter following the HarborOne merger. NPLs totaled $84.8 million, or 0.36% of total loans for the current quarter, compared to $109.4 million, or 0.47% of total loans, at June 30, 2026.

Total net charge-offs were $5.2 million, or 0.09% of average total loans, compared to $9.8 million, or 0.17% of average total loans in the prior quarter.

Provision for loan losses totaled $6.8 million, consistent with the prior quarter.

The allowance for loan losses was $327.2 million, or 1.39% of total loans, compared to $325.4 million, or 1.40% of total loans, at June 30, 2026. The increase in the allowance for loan losses was due to loan portfolio growth.

DIVIDENDS AND SHARE REPURCHASES

The Company repurchased 2.6 million shares of common stock during the third quarter at a weighted average price of $22.11, for an aggregate purchase price of $56.7 million. As of quarter-end, 10.1 million shares remained in the current share repurchase program, which expires on December 31, 2027. The Company also paid $32.4 million in cash dividends during the third quarter.

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, which will be payable on December 21, 2026 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 7, 2026.

CONFERENCE CALL AND PRESENTATION INFORMATION

A conference call and webcast covering Eastern’s third quarter 2026 earnings will be held on Friday, October 23, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To join by telephone, participants can call the toll-free dial-in number (833) 461-5787 from within North America and reference conference ID 207219744. The conference call will be simultaneously webcast. Participants may join the webcast on the Company’s Investor Relations website at investor.easternbank.com. A presentation providing additional information for the quarter is also available at investor.easternbank.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on this site.

ABOUT EASTERN BANKSHARES, INC.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. is the holding company for Eastern Bank. Founded in 1818, Eastern Bank is Greater Boston’s leading local bank with more than 125 branch locations serving communities in eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. As of September 30, 2026, Eastern had approximately $31.7 billion in assets. Eastern provides a full range of banking and wealth management solutions for consumers and businesses of all sizes including through its Cambridge Trust Wealth Management and Private Banking Divisions, which include the largest bank-owned independent investment adviser in Massachusetts with $10.8 billion in assets under management. Eastern takes pride in its advocacy and community support that includes more than $240 million in charitable giving since 1994. An inclusive company, Eastern is comprised of deeply committed professionals who value relationships with their customers, colleagues and communities. For investor information, visit investor.easternbank.com.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

*Denotes a non-GAAP financial measure used in the press release.

The Company presents certain non-GAAP financial measures that management uses to evaluate performance and trends in the Company's core business. These measures exclude selected items that management believes are not indicative of core operating performance, including, as applicable, (i) gains and losses on sales of securities available for sale, net, (ii) gains and losses on the sale of other assets, (iii) impairment charges on tax credit investments and associated tax credit benefits, (iv) other real estate owned gains (losses), (v) merger and acquisition expenses, (vi) certain discrete tax items, and (vii) expenses associated with staffing reorganization. Additionally, certain measures, including the operating efficiency ratio, also further exclude the effect of amortization of intangible assets. The Company also presents tangible capital measures, including tangible shareholders' equity, average tangible shareholders' equity, tangible book value per share, and related ratios, which exclude goodwill and other intangible assets.

Management believes these non-GAAP measures provide investors with additional insight into underlying operating performance, trends, and capital strength that may, to some extent, be obscured by inclusion of such items in the corresponding GAAP financial measures. Management also uses these measures to compare results across reporting periods on a consistent basis, in internal planning and budgeting, and in assessing performance for certain incentive compensation determinations. These measures should be considered supplemental to, and not a substitute for, GAAP results. Because non-GAAP measures are not standardized, they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are provided in Appendices A-D.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding the Company's future financial performance, business strategies, operating results, growth opportunities, merger integration activities, and other plans, objectives, expectations, and intentions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “plan,” “potential,” “estimate,” “project,” “believe,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “target”, “outlook” and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, changes in economic conditions, interest rates, inflation, liquidity, credit quality, customer behavior, competition, regulatory and legislative developments, cybersecurity and operational risks, merger integration risks, the realization of anticipated merger benefits, changes in deposit pricing, funding mix, and the resulting effect on the Company's net interest margin, deposit outflows or increased reliance on wholesale funding, the concentration of the Company's loan portfolio in commercial real estate, potential impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, changes in securities markets, natural disasters, pandemics, and other factors described in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive, and other factors not presently known to the Company or that the Company currently deems immaterial could also cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them except as required by law.

Investor Contact
Andrew Hersom
Eastern Bankshares, Inc.
a.hersom@easternbank.com
617-897-1177

Media Contact
Andrea Goodman
Eastern Bank
a.goodman@easternbank.com
781-598-7847