Great Southern Bancorp : 35th Annual Meeting of Stockholders Presenter Scripts

35th Annual Meeting of Stockholders (Virtual)

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

10 a.m. CDT

Presenter Scripts

Presenters: Joe Turner, Kelly Polonus, Rex Copeland, John Bugh, and Kris Conley

Kelly Polonus - Chief Communications and Marketing Officer

• SLIDE: Title

Good morning. Thank you for joining us for the Great Southern Bancorp, Inc., virtual Annual Meeting of Stockholders. We appreciate your interest and support of our Company. We are ready to get started. It's my pleasure to introduce President and CEO Joe Turner.

• SLIDE: Joe Turner

Joe Turner - President and CEO

Thank you, Kelly. Hello, and welcome to our annual meeting. I'm pleased to be here representing our more than 1,100 Great Southern associates to report on our Company's performance and activities in 2023 and for the first quarter of 2024.

Before we get started with our presentation, I want to recognize our Board of Directors. Each of our directors brings their own unique background and expertise, which contributes to our Company's continued success. We appreciate their continued guidance, engagement and support. I'll introduce each Board member who is also joining us virtually.

• SLIDE: William Turner

William Turner. In April, Bill Turner celebrated his 50th anniversary with Great Southern. Joining the company in 1974 as the president, and now serving as the chairman of the board, Bill has been a driving force behind the Company's success for five decades. We extend our congratulations to Bill on this momentous milestone and we thank him for his exemplary leadership and service.

• SLIDE: Kevin Ausburn

Kevin Ausburn. Kevin is the Chairman and CEO of SMC Packaging Group and was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2017.

• SLIDE: Julie Brown

Julie Brown. Julie is an Attorney with Carnahan Evans, P.C. and was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2002.

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• SLIDE: Thomas Carlson

Tom Carlson. Tom is the President of Mid America Management, Inc. and was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2001.

• SLIDE: Amelia Counts

Amy Counts. We were delighted to welcome Amy to the Board of Directors in December 2023. She is the Regional Vice President of Sales at Wise F&I. Based in St. Louis, she brings a wealth of professional experience, as well as a deep understanding of the St. Louis metro area, a key market for Great Southern.

• SLIDE: Steve Edwards

Steve Edwards. Steve is the retired former President and CEO of CoxHealth and was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2022.

• SLIDE: Debra Hart

Debbie Hart. Debbie is an Attorney, and the Owner of Housing Plus, LLC and Sustainable Housing Solutions. She was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2017.

• SLIDE: Doug Pitt

Doug Pitt. Doug is the Owner of Pitt Technology Group, LLC and Pitt Development Group, LLC, as well as the Founder of Care to Learn. He was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2015.

• SLIDE: Earl Steinert

Earl Steinert. Earl is a CPA and Co-owner of EAS Investment Enterprises Inc. He was appointed a Director of Great Southern Bancorp and Great Southern Bank in 2004.

• SLIDE: In Memoriam

It is with sadness that we share that Larry D. Frazier, a valued member of the Board of Directors, passed away last year. Great Southern benefited from Mr. Frazier's knowledge, insight, and trusted guidance for more than 40 years. He is greatly missed.

• SLIDE: Speakers

Joining me today are four of my colleagues - Chief Financial Officer Rex Copeland, Chief Lending Officer John Bugh, Chief Retail Banking Officer Kris Conley, and Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Kelly Polonus. After my brief comments, I'll turn the meeting over for their presentations.

As I said earlier, I'm pleased to be here representing all of our Great Southern associates, who are committed to building long-term relationships with our customers, communities, and each other.

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• SLIDE: 3/31/24 Snapshot

This slide provides a snapshot of the size and scope of Great Southern at the end of the first quarter of 2024. We are proud of the footprint that we've built through the decades. We also fully appreciate that our continued success depends on our ability to attract, retain and grow customer relationships.

• SLIDE: Core Values

As we navigate the ever-evolving banking landscape that demands agility, innovation, and responsiveness, we are steadfast in operating under our core values. At Great Southern, our success stems from our steadfast commitment to integrity, respect, and teamwork - values that have anchored us throughout the past century.

Our associates bring those values to life each day. Their unwavering dedication and resilience have been the driving force behind our continued success. I am deeply grateful for their contributions. Even in the face of uncertainty like we had in 2023 and now heading into 2024, their passion and effort propel us forward.

Our leadership has always prioritized positioning Great Southern for long-term success over short-term gains, recognizing that economic cycles present unique opportunities. By maintaining robust capital reserves and ample liquidity, we are strategically positioned to capitalize on market opportunities as they arise, including favorable conditions for stock repurchases, as we did in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.

Our approach is centered on enhancing stockholder value through thoughtful capital deployment and strategic initiatives, leveraging our core strengths - our dedicated team, resilient culture, service excellence, conservative practices, and strong financial standing. This deliberate approach underscores our commitment to maximizing long-term stockholder returns while mitigating short-term risks, particularly during this phase of the economic cycle.

• SLIDE: Rex Copeland

I will now turn the meeting over to Rex Copeland, who will discuss our financial results.

Rex Copeland - Chief Financial Officer

Good morning. Our financial performance in 2023 unfolded amid challenging economic dynamics. Heading into 2023, we anticipated that the Federal Open Market Committee would continue to increase the fed funds rate. In the first half of 2023, the Federal Reserve continued its periodic rate adjustments, with the last rate hike to date in July 2023. These higher rates have led to mounting pressures on deposit pricing and subdued loan demand industry-wide.

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• SLIDE: Key trends

This slide summarizes our growth trends in assets, loans and deposits for the past five years and first quarter of 2024.

The Company's total assets grew to about $5.8 billion at the end of 2023 and were relatively steady at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

As expected, loan growth was muted in 2023 and so far in 2024. Total loans experienced a modest increase of $82.8 million (1.8%) in 2023, primarily fueled by growth in other residential (multi-family) loans and commercial business loans, offset by a decrease in construction loans and one-to-four-family residential loans. In the first quarter of 2024, total outstanding loans decreased $3.4 million (0.1%), mainly due to reductions in commercial business loans and commercial real estate loans, offset by an increase in multi- family loans. In 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, a lot of the loan activity centered around funding construction loans and then moving completed construction projects into their ultimate categories of multi- family and commercial real estate.

Amidst significant deposit competition, we experienced deposit growth of about $37 million in 2023. We also saw growth of about $52 million in the first quarter of 2024. Besides higher deposits costs for both non-maturity deposit accounts and time deposits during these periods, we also experienced a change in deposit mix with more deposits moving to interest-bearing products from non-interest-bearing checking accounts due to higher rate alternatives. Non-interest-bearing checking balances decreased $168 million and $19 million in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, respectively, with these balances falling back toward the pre-pandemic trend line. We also supplement our deposit mix by utilizing brokered deposits of varying maturity terms and fixed or variable interest rates.

• SLIDE: Profitability

In 2023, the company reported earnings of $67.8 million, or $5.61 per diluted common share. While this represented a decrease from the previous year's earnings of $75.9 million ($6.02 per diluted common share), the company's management successfully navigated operating headwinds, including increasing deposit costs, intense deposit competition, lower loan demand and higher non-interest expenses to sustain profitability.

For the first quarter of 2024, despite continued pressures from deposit costs and competitive market conditions, Great Southern delivered earnings of $13.4 million ($1.13 per diluted common share). These results marked a decline from $20.5 million in the same period in 2023, for primarily the same reasons as I previously described.

In terms of profitability metrics, while the Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (ROATCE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) declined compared to the previous year, Great Southern remains focused on optimizing its capital efficiency and operational performance.

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• SLIDE: Core Net Interest Margin

This slide presents our loan yield, cost of funds and core net interest margin. Net interest margin was 3.57% in the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 3.80% in the year ended December 31, 2022, a decrease of 23 basis points. The margin contraction primarily resulted from increasing interest rates on all deposit types due to higher market interest rates and increased competition for deposits, along with the negative impact of two interest rate swaps which were entered into in 2022 but didn't start settlements until May 2023.

Net interest margin was 3.32% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.30% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Another interest rate swap contractually terminated at the end of February 2024. This swap reduced interest income by about $950,000 monthly in the first two months of 2024 and will no longer have any impact in future periods.

• SLIDE: Liquidity Sources

Liquidity management is obviously a critical component of managing a banking entity. The Company maintains a diverse deposit base across various customer segments and geographies. The proportion of uninsured deposits relative to total deposits remained stable, providing a reliable funding source. At March 31, 2024, our uninsured deposits were reported as 35%, but were 15% of our total deposits excluding internal subsidiary accounts. Our liquidity position remains strong, supported by a range of funding sources. At the end of March 2024, secured borrowing lines were available at the Federal Home Loan Bank and Federal Reserve Bank, totaling $1.23 billion and $392 million, respectively. Additionally, the Company held unpledged securities with a market value of $345 million, which could be utilized as collateral for additional borrowing capacity, if necessary. Management believes these liquidity sources provide ample coverage to meet financial obligations and support borrowers' credit needs.

• SLIDE: Capital

This slide examines our common stockholder's equity and book value per outstanding share from 2014 through March 31, 2024. It also highlights our current regulatory capital ratios, which consistently surpass well-capitalized thresholds.

Maintaining strong capital is a priority for our Company. In the banking industry, institutions with solid capital foundations can effectively seize emerging opportunities. Our tangible common equity capital levels consistently outpace industry averages, reflecting our dedication to prudent capital management strategies, particularly crucial in today's economic climate.

In 2023, the Company's total stockholders' equity and common stockholders' equity reached $571.8 million, translating to a book value of $48.44 per common share. This represented a $38.7 million increase from the prior year, driven by a solid net income of $67.8 million, partially offset by $23.3 million of common stock purchases and $19.1 million of dividends declared during the year.

During the first quarter of 2024, total stockholders' equity decreased $6.6 million, to $565.2 million, with a book value per common share of $48.31. Net income of $13.4 million was partially offset by $5.8 million of common stock purchases and $4.7 million of dividends declared. Additionally, total equity declined $10.0 million due to increased unrealized losses in the Company's available-for-sale investment securities and interest rate swaps as market interest rates increased significantly in the first quarter of 2024.

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• SLIDE: Tangible Common Equity

This slide provides a historical view of our tangible common equity, or TCE, and TCE ratio since 2019. TCE is a measure of a company's total capital, less intangible assets and preferred stock, which is used to evaluate a financial institution's ability to handle potential losses. It offers a more stable and consistent measure of financial strength across different market conditions. The TCE ratio, represented by the orange line, measures tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets.

The decline in 2022 was largely attributed to the Company's purchase of a significant amount of its common stock and significant declines in the value of the Company's investment securities and interest rate swaps due to increases in market interest rates. In 2023, the Company's TCE ratio continued to strengthen, reaching 9.7% at December 31, 2023. As of March 31, 2024, the Company's TCE ratio was 9.6%. This ratio is still considered to be at a high level by industry standards and an example of our strong financial position.

• SLIDE: Quarterly Cash Dividends and Special Dividends

As shareholders of Great Southern, we recognize the significance of dividends as a crucial component of our common stock's total return performance. Since 1989, through varying business cycles, Great Southern has consistently paid quarterly cash dividends to our common shareholders. These dividend declarations are carefully approved by our Board of Directors, considering factors such as quarterly earnings, strategic priorities, and the capital requirements of the Company.

In 2023, we declared a total regular cash dividend of $1.60 per common share. During the first quarter of 2024, we declared a regular cash dividend of $0.40 per common share.

• SLIDE: Stockholder Value

Enhancing long-term shareholder value remains a core priority for us. Two key avenues to enhance shareholder value are regular quarterly cash dividends and stock repurchases when market conditions are favorable. This slide offers a retrospective view back to 2019, detailing our net income, dividends distributed to shareholders, and the costs associated with repurchasing our common stock. Also, the blue line represents outstanding shares, which decreased by over 2.5 million shares, or about 18%, during this timeframe.

Since May 1990, the Company has engaged in various buyback programs aimed at enhancing shareholder value. Our decisions regarding stock repurchases are guided by management's belief in their contribution to overall shareholder growth, considering factors like market availability, share price, and the anticipated impact on earnings per share and capital. Notably, we continued our active stock repurchase program in 2023, acquiring approximately 450,000 shares at an average price of $51.38 per share. During the first quarter of 2024, the Company repurchased approximately 112,000 shares at an average price of $51.44 per share.

• SLIDE: John Bugh

That concludes my remarks. It's now my pleasure to turn the meeting over to Chief Lending Officer John Bugh.

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John Bugh - Chief Lending Officer

Thanks, Rex.

Today, I'd like to provide an overview of Great Southern's loan portfolio. Despite evolving market conditions and interest rate fluctuations, our loan portfolio has remained resilient and well-diversified. In reviewing our loan portfolio for 2023, it's important to note that we experienced a reduction in loan activity, particularly in certain segments, due to lower demand amidst ongoing interest rate increases. This trend was anticipated, and we took proactive measures in late 2022 to adjust our lending strategies accordingly.

As Rex mentioned earlier, at the end of 2023, we saw our total outstanding loans, excluding mortgage loans held for sale, increase by $82.8 million, or 1.8%, from $4.51 billion at the end of 2022 to $4.59 billion at the end of 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, total outstanding loans decreased slightly by $3.4 million.

• SLIDE: Loan Portfolio

This slide provides an overview of our loan portfolio as of the end of the first quarter of 2024, categorized by loan type and geographic distribution. As you can see, our pipeline of loan commitments and unfunded lines experienced a slight uptick, reaching $1.2 billion, with a significant portion of $680 million attributed to the unfunded segment of construction loans. Despite market fluctuations, our pipeline remains robust and demonstrates resilience, reflecting our strategic approach to lending and risk management.

As interest rates continue to stabilize, we are cautiously optimistic about increased demand for loans in 2024. Looking ahead, we remain committed to maintaining our disciplined approach to lending while actively monitoring market trends. By staying agile and responsive, we aim to capitalize on emerging opportunities and drive sustainable growth in the coming year.

• SLIDE: Loan Production Offices

In February 2024, we made the difficult decision to close our loan production office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as part of our ongoing evaluation of resource allocation and market dynamics. While we were pleased with the operations in Tulsa since its opening in 2014, we determined that reallocating these resources to other strategic areas would better serve our overall objectives. We continue to serve our Tulsa clients through other relationship managers within the Company.

Our commitment to optimizing our operational footprint ensures that we align our resources with areas of greatest opportunity and growth potential. We continue to operate seven commercial lending offices strategically located in attractive commercial lending markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Omaha, Phoenix, and Charlotte.

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• SLIDE: Asset Quality Trends

Our approach to managing asset quality underscores the importance of proactive risk assessment and responsive credit provisioning. We acknowledge the impact of changes in loan portfolio composition, economic conditions, and borrower-specific circumstances on non-performing asset levels, which may fluctuate over time. Despite the challenges that could be posed by certain loan relationships from time to time, we remain focused on maintaining prudent credit risk management practices to safeguard our financial strength and support sustained value creation for our stakeholders.

This slide provides an overview of our asset quality trends since 2019. Overall, our credit quality metrics remain strong. We did have an uptick in non-performing assets at the end of 2023 and during the first quarter of 2024.

In 2023, our non-performing assets increased to $11.8 million, representing just 2 tenths of 1% of total assets compared to $3.7 million at the end of 2022. This increase was primarily driven by a single loan relationship collateralized by an office building in Missouri. As of the first quarter of 2024, non-performing assets ticked up to $21.3 million, or 0.37% of total assets, which was related to one loan relationship in the multi-family loan category.

Our allowance for credit losses remains robust at the end of the first quarter 2024 at 1.4% of total loans, providing adequate coverage based on our assessments of loan portfolio quality and prevailing economic conditions.

As we reflect on the current banking environment, it's important to revisit a topic we addressed last year regarding commercial real estate (CRE), specifically in the office sector, which continues to get headlines in the banking industry. Similar to our previous discussions, I want to provide information about our office portfolio. For our Company, the office sector represents a modest proportion of our total outstanding loan portfolio, comprising about 5% of our loans and approximately 14% of our commercial real estate portfolio, consisting of around 136 loans. Geographically, a significant portion of this portfolio is located in Missouri, primarily in St. Louis and Springfield, with the rest distributed across our franchise footprint.

Our office loans are characterized by moderate-sized properties and are not large office park developments. As of the end of March, our overall office segment was performing well and supported by strong equity and sponsors.

For more information about our loan portfolio, we file quarterly loan portfolio presentations that are available on our investor relations site under the presentations link.

• SLIDE: Kris Conley

And with that, I will hand the meeting over to Kris Conley, our Chief Retail Banking Officer.

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Kris Conley - Chief Retail Banking Officer

Thank you, John.

• SLIDE: Deposit Mix

I want to emphasize the critical role of maintaining a diverse deposit mix within our banking operations. Our deposit base, comprised of non-interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and other instruments, plays a pivotal role in providing stability to our funding structure and reducing dependency on any single funding source. This mix not only helps mitigate risk during economic fluctuations but also supports lower funding costs and enhances our ability to manage interest rate risk effectively by adjusting deposit rates in response to market conditions. Our uninsured deposits account for approximately 15% of our total deposits-well below industry averages of around 40-50%.

• SLIDE: Banking Center Network

Our Banking Centers continue to be a source of stability for the Bank. While our digital services offer our customers ease of access and the ability to bank when and how they prefer, physical locations remain a key contact point. Our customers view our Banking Center Associates as a trusted support system whether they want to open a new deposit account, explore lending options, or bolster their financial knowledge. This dedication to service underscores our commitment to unchanging values, providing stability and reliability.

Our approach to optimizing our banking center network involves routine analysis of customer behavior and market dynamics. By evaluating performance metrics, we gain valuable insights that inform strategic decisions about investing resources in existing offices and opening new locations based on demand. While consolidations can be challenging, they are driven by our dedication to providing meaningful and personalized support to our customers.

In October of 2023, we notified customers that we would be consolidating our Parkcrest banking center into our Republic Road location just a few miles to the west in Springfield, Missouri. As with many of our consolidations, this decision was based on customer traffic and the location's proximity to a nearby banking center. Associates from the consolidated office were transferred to open positions at other nearby locations.

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• SLIDE: ITMs

Since its anticipated opening in September of 2023, the Great Southern Express Center has emerged as an innovative addition to our banking services in Springfield. This state-of-the-art facility features a modern four-lanedrive-up center equipped with interactive teller machine, or ITM, technology, designed to provide customers with a convenient and personalized banking experience. Utilizing ITMs, customers can complete many of the same services that can be completed in a traditional banking center, including check cashing down to the penny and personalized assistance through real-time video interactions. The Great Southern Express Center offers extended ITM availability, with services accessible from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week. This extended availability ensures that customers have greater flexibility in accomplishing their banking needs at their convenience.

Embracing this forward-thinking banking model, we have committed significant resources to the success of the Great Southern Express. We've expanded our team of ITM tellers to enhance service availability and cater to evolving customer needs. We're pleased with the progress and engagement at the Great Southern Express Center. Since its opening in September 2023, our ITM tellers have processed nearly 6,000 transactions through March 2024, with a steady or growing monthly transaction volume.

To further promote the advantages of our ITM services, we host monthly events called Express+ Days at the Great Southern Express Center. During these events, our associates are onsite to guide customers in utilizing ITM features and offer special treats as tokens of appreciation. These Express+ Days have been well-received by our customers, providing an opportunity to foster stronger connections with customers and the surrounding community while demonstrating the value of our banking solutions.

Building on the success of the Great Southern Express Center, we are excited to expand our ITM offerings across our entire footprint. In 2024 alone, we have already introduced ITMs in six new markets. This expansion brings our total number of ITM locations to 16.

As we refine and expand our ITM offerings, we are excited to further engage with our customers and communities through this approach to modern banking convenience. As opportunities arise, we will continue to add ITMs throughout our markets, providing modern banking solutions for customer convenience and efficiency.

• SLIDE: Kelly Polonus

That concludes my remarks. I will now hand it over to our Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, Kelly Polonus.

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