INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2025

The provision for income taxes is comprised of the following components:


	Years Ended December 31
	2025		2024		2023
	(Dollars in thousands)
Current expense
Federal	$	46,155	$	47,830	$	51,771
State	14,176		17,816		21,123
Total current expense	60,331		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

Schedule of Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

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
	2025				2024				2023
	(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 benefit	10,420		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 adjustments	1,567		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	%

Schedule of Net Deferred Tax Asset

The tax-effected components of the net deferred tax asset at December 31 of the years presented were as follows:


	2025		2024
	(Dollars in thousands)
Deferred tax assets

Allowance for credit losses	$	51,939	$	46,372
Accrued expenses not deducted for tax purposes	16,517		17,720
Basis difference on loans	42,703		1,612
Basis differences on acquired securities	15,852		—

Derivatives fair value adjustment	2,164		5,304
Employee and director equity compensation	5,268		1,930

Foreign Tax Credit Carryforward	89		89
Net operating loss carry-forward	1,002		627
Net unrealized loss on securities available for sale	11,607		23,795
Operating lease liability	20,707		15,471
State purchased credits	15,638		21,448

Other	541		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, net	11,226		8,080

Fixed assets	9,741		14,747
Goodwill	11,690		11,476

Prepaid pension	3,137		7,260
Right of use asset	20,107		14,921
Other	1,592		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.

Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

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	$	—

Schedule of changes in accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions

The following table summarizes the changes in accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions for the periods presented:


	As of December 31
	2025		2024		2023
	(Dollars in thousands)
Beginning Balance	$	383	$	689	$	585
Expense (benefit) recognized in provision for income taxes	(314)		(306)		104

Ending Balance	$	69	$	383	$	689

Schedule of Cash Flow, Supplemental Disclosures

The following table presents cash paid, net of refunds, for federal, state, and foreign income taxes for the periods presented:


	Years Ended December 31
	2025		2024		2023
	(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 subtotal	8,783		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