Michael Mettee

“I'll start my comments with the balance sheet. As in the prior quarter, we delivered strong loan and deposit growth with both increasing at high single-digit annualized rates.”

“I'll begin my comments this quarter with the balance sheet. This quarter's results reflect the growth and momentum that we highlighted the last quarter with annualized loan growth of 11.6% and annualized deposit growth of 7.7%.”

“Although these growth levels fell at the lower end of our internal expectations, the underlying activity and pipeline trends give us confidence that we are positioned to execute on the core fundamentals Chris outlined and drive improved results as the year progresses.”

“I'll pick up right where Chris left off. Over the past year, we've laid a solid foundation that positions us to accelerate into a period of significant opportunity.”

“As Chris mentioned, our teams have been busy blocking and tackling on things that come with a merger close and conversion cycle, while also managing our core businesses at First Bank.”