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INCOME TAXES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
The provision for income taxes is comprised of the following components:
 Years Ended December 31
 202520242023
 (Dollars in thousands)
Current expense
Federal$46,155 $47,830 $51,771 
State14,176 17,816 21,123 
Total current expense60,331 65,646 72,894 
Deferred expense (benefit)
Federal(1,748)(7,671)1,336 
State(1,535)(2,929)1,402 
Total deferred expense (benefit)(3,283)(10,600)2,738 
Total expense$57,048 $55,046 $75,632 

The difference between the statutory federal income tax rate and the effective income tax rate reported for the last three years is detailed below:
 Years Ended December 31
 202520242023
 (Dollars in thousands)
Computed statutory federal income tax provision$55,056 21.00 %$51,897 21.00 %$66,178 21.00 %
State and local income tax, net of federal income tax benefit10,420 3.97 %12,143 4.91 %17,992 5.71 %
Tax Credits
Low income housing tax credits(3,594)(1.37)%(4,496)(1.82)%(3,740)(1.19)%
Other(27)(0.01)%— — %(76)(0.02)%
Nontaxable or nondeductible items
Tax-exempt interest, net of disallowance(3,716)(1.42)%(3,653)(1.48)%(3,508)(1.11)%
Other(1,716)(0.65)%(1,629)(0.66)%(2,260)(0.72)%
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits(942)(0.36)%(1,215)(0.49)%(655)(0.21)%
Other adjustments1,567 0.60 %1,999 0.81 %1,701 0.54 %
Effective income tax rate$57,048 21.76 %$55,046 22.27 %$75,632 24.00 %
    
The tax-effected components of the net deferred tax asset at December 31 of the years presented were as follows:
20252024
 (Dollars in thousands)
Deferred tax assets
Allowance for credit losses$51,939 $46,372 
Accrued expenses not deducted for tax purposes16,517 17,720 
Basis difference on loans42,703 1,612 
Basis differences on acquired securities15,852 — 
Derivatives fair value adjustment2,164 5,304 
Employee and director equity compensation5,268 1,930 
Foreign Tax Credit Carryforward89 89 
Net operating loss carry-forward1,002 627 
Net unrealized loss on securities available for sale11,607 23,795 
Operating lease liability20,707 15,471 
State purchased credits15,638 21,448 
Other541 621 
Gross deferred tax assets$184,027 $134,989 
Valuation allowance (1)
(485)(531)
Total deferred tax assets net of valuation allowance$183,542 $134,458 
Deferred tax liabilities
Core deposit and other intangibles$34,622 $1,453 
Deferred loan fees, net11,226 8,080 
Fixed assets9,741 14,747 
Goodwill11,690 11,476 
Prepaid pension3,137 7,260 
Right of use asset20,107 14,921 
Other1,592 1,868 
Gross deferred tax liabilities$92,115 $59,805 
Total net deferred tax asset$91,427 $74,653 
(1)Deferred tax assets are to be reduced by a valuation allowance if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The realization of the tax benefit depends upon the existence of sufficient taxable income in future periods.
Uncertainty in Income Taxes

The Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction as well as in various states.  The Company is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax examinations by tax authorities for the 2022 through 2024 tax years including any related income tax filings from its recent acquisitions.  The Company believes that its income tax returns have been filed based upon applicable statutes, regulations and case law in effect at the time of filing, however, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and /or state jurisdictions could disagree with the Company’s interpretation upon examination. The Company accounts for uncertainties in income taxes by providing a tax reserve for certain positions. The following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits:
(Dollars in thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2022$2,720 
Reduction of tax positions for prior years(959)
Balance at December 31, 2023$1,761 
Reduction of tax positions for prior years(999)
Balance at December 31, 2024$762 
Reduction of tax positions for prior years(762)
Balance at December 31, 2025$— 

Increases to the Company’s unrealized tax positions occur as a result of accruing for any unrecognized tax benefit, as well as the accrual of interest and penalties related to prior year positions. Decreases in the Company’s unrealized tax positions occur as a result of the statute of limitation lapsing on prior year positions and/or settlements relating to outstanding positions. At December 31, 2025, there were no indirect federal benefit of state tax positions, included in the balances noted in the table above, and there were approximately $160,000, and $343,000 at December 31, 2024, and 2023, respectively.

The following table summarizes the changes in accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions for the periods presented:
As of December 31
202520242023
(Dollars in thousands)
Beginning Balance$383 $689 $585 
Expense (benefit) recognized in provision for income taxes(314)(306)104 
Ending Balance$69 $383 $689 
The following table presents cash paid, net of refunds, for federal, state, and foreign income taxes for the periods presented:
Years Ended December 31
202520242023
(Dollars in thousands)
Cash Paid for Federal Income Taxes$26,000 $38,000 $33,081 
Cash Paid for State Income Taxes
Massachusetts(1)
6,896 10,710 10,045 
Other (2)
1,887 2,369 580 
State subtotal8,783 13,079 10,625 
Total Cash Paid for Income Taxes$34,783 $51,079 $43,706 

(1)Amounts shown above exclude $7.9 million, $8.2 million, and $7.9 million in purchased Massachusetts state credits for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively. These credits represent pre-payments of Massachusetts state taxes.
(2)The amount of income taxes paid during the year does not meet the 5% disaggregation threshold.