United Community Banks, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Earnings

GREENVILLE, S.C., Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE: UCB) (United) today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, which included 9.8% annualized core loan growth, 8.0% annualized core customer deposit growth, and a stable margin following six consecutive quarters of margin expansion.

Chairman and CEO Lynn Harton stated, “Our third quarter results reflect key strategic actions that simplify our balance sheet, reduce risk, and strengthen future operating performance. We completed the acquisition of Peach State Bank on August 1, the sale of our Navitas equipment finance business on September 1, and the restructuring of our investment portfolio in early September. The restructuring shortened duration and significantly improved the yield on our portfolio. At the same time, we achieved high single-digit growth in both core loans and customer deposits in the quarter, reflecting strong momentum resulting from our investment in hiring top talent. New loan production exceeded $1 billion for the second consecutive quarter. The strategies executed in the third quarter position us very well for the future, as demonstrated by improvements in operating return on assets, return on tangible common equity, and operating efficiency ratio.”

In the third quarter, United sold its Navitas equipment finance business for $2.0 billion in cash proceeds, a 7% premium to par. Following the sale, $2.2 billion in held-to-maturity securities were reclassified to available-for-sale designation and long-dated, low yielding securities with an amortized cost basis of $2.5 billion were subsequently sold. The securities repositioning resulted in $2.1 billion of cash proceeds, which, together with the $2.0 billion of Navitas sale proceeds, were redeployed into higher-yielding securities and used to pay down borrowings. Additionally, United completed the acquisition of Peach State Bancshares in the third quarter, increasing density in a dynamic growth market through a complementary, low-risk transaction.

Harton continued, “The actions completed in the third quarter allow us to focus on growing the core banking business within our outstanding Southeast footprint. We believe these actions, including our strong liquidity and capital, position us well for long-term success.”

Third Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights:

Year to Date 2026 Financial Highlights:

Additional details about the previously announced strategic actions taken in the third quarter are available under “Events and Presentations” in the “News and Events” section of the Investor Relations page on the company's website, ucbi.com, or directly at https://ir.ucbi.com/events/event-details/strategic-initiatives-conference-call.

Conference Call

United will hold a conference call on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the contents of this press release and to share business highlights for the quarter. Participants can pre-register for the conference call by navigating to https://dpregister.com/sreg/10209322/1040c6adc70. Those without internet access or unable to pre-register may dial in by calling 1-844-676-1337. The conference call also will be webcast and may be accessed by selecting “Events and Presentations” under “News and Events” within the Investor Relations section of the company's website, ucbi.com.

About United Community Banks, Inc.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE: UCB) is the financial holding company for United Community Bank (United Community), a top-100 U.S. financial institution committed to building stronger communities and improving the financial health and well-being of its customers. United Community offers a full range of banking, mortgage and wealth management services. As of September 30, 2026, United had $28.9 billion in assets and operated 202 offices across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company also manages a nationally recognized SBA lending franchise, extending its reach to businesses across the country. United Community is the most awarded bank in the Southeast for Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction by J.D. Power, earning more awards than any other bank in the region, including recognition in 12 of the last 17 years. The company has also been named one of the “Best Banks to Work For” by American Banker for nine consecutive years. In commercial banking, United Community earned multiple 2026 Greenwich Best Bank awards for Small Business Banking. Forbes has consistently named United Community among the World’s Best and America’s Best Banks. Learn more at ucbi.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release, including the accompanying financial statement tables, contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. This financial information includes certain operating performance measures, which exclude merger-related and other charges that are not considered part of recurring operations, such as “noninterest income – operating”, “total revenue – operating”, “noninterest expense - operating”, “provision for credit losses – operating”, “operating net income,” “pre-tax, pre-provision income,” “operating net income per diluted common share,” “operating earnings per share,” “tangible book value per common share,” “operating return on common equity,” “operating return on tangible common equity,” “operating return on assets,” “return on assets - pre-tax, pre-provision - operating,” “return on assets - pre-tax, pre-provision,” “operating efficiency ratio,” and “tangible common equity to tangible assets.” These non-GAAP measures are included because United believes they may provide useful supplemental information for evaluating United’s underlying performance trends. These measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative to or substitute for, measures determined in accordance with GAAP, and are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP measures that may be presented by other companies. To the extent applicable, reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable measures as reported in accordance with GAAP are included with the accompanying financial statement tables.

Caution About Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “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. In general, forward-looking statements usually may be identified through use of words such as “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue” and “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and represent management’s beliefs, based upon information available at the time the statements are made, with regard to the matters addressed; they are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that change over time and could cause actual results or financial condition to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to general competitive, economic, political, regulatory and market conditions. Further information regarding additional factors which could affect the forward-looking statements contained in this press release can be found in the cautionary language included under the headings “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in United’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and other documents subsequently filed by United with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Many of these factors are beyond United’s ability to control or predict. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, shareholders and investors should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this communication, and United undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for United to predict their occurrence or how they will affect United.

United qualifies all forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

For more information:

Tom Speir

Chief Financial Officer

(864) 240-6208

Investor_Relations@ucbi.com