Here are 1-3 brief analogies to describe Eastern Bankshares (EBC):

• It's like a regional Bank of America for Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.
• Think of it as a diversified regional financial institution like PNC Financial Services for New England, but also operating a dedicated insurance agency.

• Deposit Accounts: Provides a range of deposit products including checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts for retail, commercial, and small business customers.
• Commercial & Small Business Loans: Offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate and construction loans, and small business loans.
• Consumer & Residential Loans: Provides residential real estate loans, home equity lines of credit, and various other consumer loans like auto and personal loans.
• Cash Management & Business Services: Delivers services such as cash management, merchant services, escrow express, and international banking for businesses and institutions.
• Wealth Management & Trust Services: Offers financial planning, portfolio management, wealth management, private banking, and fiduciary products and services.
• Insurance Products: Provides various insurance products through its insurance agency business segment.

Major Customers of Eastern Bankshares (EBC)

Eastern Bankshares primarily serves three categories of customers:

1. Retail Customers: These are individual customers who utilize a range of banking products and services including checking and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, residential real estate loans, home equity lines of credit, and various other consumer loans such as automobile, home improvement, and personal loans. They also access financial planning, portfolio management, wealth management, and private banking services.
2. Commercial Customers: This category includes larger businesses that require commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate and construction loans, cash reserves, cash management, international banking, and specialized products and services for not-for-profit and healthcare organizations, as well as government banking services.
3. Small Business Customers: This group comprises small businesses that leverage services like small business loans, cash management, merchant services, business telephone banking, and other tailored banking solutions to support their operations.

• Visa (V)
• Mastercard (MA)

Denis K. Sheahan, Chief Executive Officer, Eastern Bankshares, Inc. and Eastern Bank
Denis Sheahan was appointed Chief Executive Officer in July 2024. He previously served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Trust Company and Cambridge Bancorp from 2015 until its merger with Eastern in 2024. Prior to joining Cambridge Trust Company in April 2015, Mr. Sheahan spent 19 years at Independent Bank Corp. and Rockland Trust, where he held roles as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Before his time at Rockland Trust, he was Vice President of Finance for BayBanks, Inc.

David Rosato, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Eastern Bankshares, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer, Eastern Bank
David Rosato was appointed Chief Financial Officer effective August 1, 2024. He brings over 35 years of experience in community and regional banking. Most recently, he served as CFO of Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Berkshire Bank. He also spent over 15 years at People's United Financial, Inc., including nine years as Senior Executive Vice President and CFO, where he gained extensive M&A experience, including the multi-billion dollar sale of People's United to M&T Bank. Earlier in his career, he was Senior Vice President & Treasurer at Webster Financial Corp. and Senior Vice President, Asset/Liability Manager at M&T Bank Corp.

Robert F. Rivers, Executive Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors, Eastern Bankshares, Inc. and Eastern Bank
Robert F. Rivers, a 40-year community banker who started his career as a teller, is the Executive Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. and Eastern Bank. He joined Eastern Bank in 2006, rising through the ranks to Vice Chairman and Chief Banking Officer, President (2007), Chief Operating Officer (2012), and served as CEO from January 2017 to July 2024. Under his leadership, Eastern executed a record mutual-to-stock IPO, doubled its assets, and integrated Century Bank and Cambridge Trust. He also co-founded Eastern's innovation hub, Eastern Labs.

Quincy L. Miller, President and Chief Operating Officer, Eastern Bankshares, Inc. and Vice Chair, President and Chief Operating Officer, Eastern Bank
Quincy L. Miller joined Eastern in 2016 and currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer. He has 29 years of experience in the banking sector. Before joining Eastern, Mr. Miller was the President of Citizens Bank, Massachusetts, and President of its Business Banking division. He began his career in consumer banking at M&T Bank in New York City in 1997.

1. Credit Risk, particularly Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Exposure

2. Interest Rate and Liquidity Risk

3. Cybersecurity and Operational Risk

Clear emerging threats for Eastern Bankshares include the rise of digital-only banks (neobanks) and specialized financial technology (fintech) companies that offer banking products and services with lower overhead and superior digital experiences, directly challenging EBC's traditional branch-based model and potentially eroding its customer base. Additionally, large technology companies increasingly entering financial services by offering payment solutions, credit, and digital wallets pose a threat by leveraging their vast customer bases and integrated ecosystems to disintermediate traditional banks from customer relationships for key financial transactions.

Banking Business

• Commercial Banking:
  • In Rhode Island, the commercial banking industry is projected to reach $8.3 billion in 2026.
  • In Massachusetts, the commercial banking industry has been growing at an average annual rate of 7.0% from 2020 to 2025.
  • In New Hampshire, banks originated $40 billion in loans in 2024.
• Small Business Lending:
  • In New Hampshire, small business lending amounted to $619 million in 2024.
  • Eastern Bank was the top lender for SBA 7(a) loans in Massachusetts for the 17th consecutive year, originating approximately $43.5 million in SBA 7(a) loans in 2025. The broader U.S. small business loan market was valued at $245.39 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $349.64 billion by 2033.
• Deposits:
  • In Massachusetts, Eastern Bank had approximately $20.53 billion in deposits in 2025.
  • In New Hampshire, banks held $47.7 billion in deposits.
  • In Rhode Island, Citizens Bank, the largest bank in the state, held $14.89 billion in deposits.
• Residential Real Estate Loans (Mortgages):
  • The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is forecast to see total dollar volume for purchase and refinance originations grow from $27.2 billion in 2023 to $46.1 billion in 2026.
  • In New Hampshire, $4.3 billion in new home loans were booked in 2024.

Insurance Agency Business

• Homeowners Insurance:
  • Across the six New England states, homeowners insurers wrote more than $8.4 billion in Direct Written Premiums in 2024. Massachusetts accounted for approximately $3.76 billion of this total, Rhode Island for $688 million, and New Hampshire for $660.8 million.
• Commercial Auto Insurance:
  • In New Hampshire, the total premium written statewide for commercial auto insurance increased from $209 million in 2023 to $233 million in 2024.
• General Liability Insurance:
  • In New Hampshire, premiums written statewide for general liability insurance increased from $342 million in 2023 to $364 million in 2024.

Trust and Investment Products and Services (Wealth Management)

• Eastern Bank's Cambridge Trust Wealth Management division managed approximately $8.3 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2024, and approximately $8.7 billion as of June 30, 2025. However, specific addressable market sizes for wealth management services within Eastern Bank's operating regions (eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and Rhode Island) are not available from the provided information. Global wealth management market figures are available (e.g., $1.8 trillion in 2023, projected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2028), but these are too broad to be considered addressable markets for Eastern Bankshares.

• Organic Loan Growth: Eastern Bankshares projects sustained organic loan growth, with a forecast of 3-5% for 2026. This growth is anticipated to be driven by its commercial lending segment, including commercial and industrial (C&I) and commercial real estate (CRE) originations, which saw a 6% increase in the legacy commercial portfolio year-over-year in 2025. The company emphasizes a relationship-based lending approach in its core New England markets.
• Net Interest Income (NII) and Net Interest Margin (NIM) Expansion: The company expects net interest income to be between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion in 2026, with a projected full-year tax-equivalent net interest margin (NIM) of 3.65-3.75%. This follows a 10% increase in NII from 2023 to 2024, characterized by a 12-basis-point expansion in the NIM. Recent trends show NIM expanding to 3.59% in Q2 2025 and 4.72%, attributed to higher asset yields and reduced funding costs.
• Wealth Management Growth: Eastern Bankshares is focusing on expanding its wealth management business, which has demonstrated strong performance. Wealth assets under management reached a record high of $10.1 billion in Q4 2025, primarily fueled by market appreciation and positive net client inflows. Wealth fees contributed approximately 40% of operating non-interest income in Q4 2025, and improved collaboration between its banking and wealth divisions is expected to further support this growth.
• Integration Benefits from Recent Mergers: While the company is pivoting away from *new* acquisitions, the successful integration of its merger with HarborOne Bank (completed in 2025) and the pending merger with Cambridge Bancorp (expected to close early in Q2 2024) are significant drivers. These mergers strengthen Eastern Bankshares' market presence in key areas like the Greater Boston, Eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island markets, bolster its commercial lending platform, and contribute to record wealth management assets. The integration is expected to generate cost synergies and drive enhanced revenue.

Capital Allocation Decisions (Last 3-5 Years)

Share Repurchases

• Eastern Bankshares authorized a share repurchase program of up to 11.9 million shares, representing not more than 5% of shares outstanding after its merger with HarborOne, with the program expiring on October 31, 2026.
• In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company repurchased 3.1 million shares for $55.4 million, utilizing 26% of the authorization announced in October.
• As of January 22, 2026, an additional 635,000 shares had been repurchased for $12.3 million, leaving 8.1 million shares remaining in the existing authorization.

Share Issuance

• Eastern Bankshares had 236 million shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 11.8% from the prior quarter, which coincided with the completion of the HarborOne merger.

Outbound Investments

• On November 1, 2025, Eastern Bankshares completed its merger with HarborOne Bancorp, adding approximately $5.5 billion in assets, $4.5 billion in loans, and $4.3 billion in deposits.
• In mid-2024 (July 2024), the company completed a $528 million acquisition of Cambridge Trust (CATC), which added over $25.0 billion in total assets and $8.4 billion in Wealth Management Assets Under Management and Administration.
• In 2023, Eastern Bankshares sold its insurance business for $510 million to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.