Columbia Banking’s net interest margin rises to 4.11% as operating earnings per share reach $0.82
Key Facts
On October 22, 2026, Columbia Banking System reported net income of $220 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.78 for the third quarter, while operating net income was $229 million and operating diluted earnings per share were $0.82. Operating earnings per share were above analysts’ estimate of $0.77, and revenue of $695 million also topped the consensus estimate of $687.5 million, according to Investing.com. The company also reported that net interest margin rose to 4.11%, a key measure of lending income relative to funding costs. The board voted the same day to authorize a new repurchase of up to $1.2 billion in common stock. The disclosure combines improved bank income with a capital allocation to shareholders, while leaving actual purchases to the board’s discretion.
Net interest margin increased 18 basis points from the second quarter, which the company attributed to higher yields on loans and investment securities and lower funding costs. It said customer deposits replaced higher-cost funding sources, reducing the burden on net interest income. Deposits rose to $52.740 billion on September 30, from $52.056 billion on June 30. By contrast, loans and leases declined to $46.915 billion from $47.166 billion at the end of June. These movements show deposits increasing alongside a slight decline in loan and lease balances, while the margin improvement was supported by yields and funding costs, according to the company.
The provision for credit losses was $33 million in the third quarter, compared with $27 million in the second quarter and $70 million in the third quarter of 2025. Annualized net charge-offs fell to 0.24% of average loans and leases, from 0.25% in the previous quarter. The company also reported an adjusted operating efficiency ratio of 51.34%, compared with a generally accepted accounting principles efficiency ratio of 53.08%. The figures refer to different measures, so the company reported the adjusted ratio alongside its reported counterpart. These indicators provide a picture of quarterly operating expenses and credit quality, with charge-offs edging down from the previous period.
The new authorization does not require Columbia Banking to buy a set number of shares and has no expiration date; the board may suspend, terminate or amend the plan. The board had ended the previous plan after repurchasing 23.3 million shares at an average price of $29.88 per share between November 2025 and September 30, 2026, representing 7.8% of shares outstanding on September 30, 2025. In the third quarter alone, the company repurchased 6.5 million shares at an average price of $30.65, equal to 2.3% of common shares outstanding. The chief executive said the company had returned more than $1 billion to shareholders over the previous year through dividends and repurchases. He added that the new authorization reflected the company’s confidence in its strategy and expectation that it would continue to generate excess capital.
COLB shares closed at $30.86 on October 23, 2026, according to EL7 data. In discussing its second-quarter results, the company said commercial loan balances continued to grow at the time, and the chief executive said this reflected the strength of customer relationships and their confidence. In a disclosure for that quarter, it also said the systems conversion and integration of 9 branches associated with the Pacific Premier acquisition had been completed during the first quarter of 2026. It said regulatory changes and cost-saving synergies were nearly complete by June 30. The acquisition closed on August 31, 2025, so the integration work falls under ongoing operational execution rather than a future step announced in the third-quarter results.