stockrowWhat it does
Columbia Banking System is a financial holding company whose principal subsidiary, Columbia Bank, provides banking and other financial services to businesses, institutions and individuals. Clint E. Stein is its chair, chief executive officer and president.
The bank accepts deposits, makes loans and leases equipment. Its business lending includes lines of credit, term loans, commercial property loans, construction financing and equipment financing. FinPac, a subsidiary of the bank, leases commercial equipment. For individuals, Columbia offers mortgages, home equity lines, personal loans and vehicle loans.
Businesses can also use Columbia for payments and cash management. These services include electronic transfers, wire payments, card services, fraud prevention and tools for collecting and managing payments. The bank offers merchant services with a strategic partner.
Columbia’s wealth management division provides financial planning, investments, trust services, insurance and private banking to individuals, families and businesses. Customers can use branches, mobile banking applications and the bank’s website to access products.
Columbia Bank is an Oregon state-chartered commercial bank, and its deposits are insured in whole or in part by the FDIC. The company and its subsidiaries are subject to state and federal regulation and regular examinations.
How it makes money
Columbia earns interest on loans and other interest-earning assets and pays interest on deposits and other funding. The difference is net interest income. Its branch system helps fund lending by attracting consumer and business deposits. Deposit offerings include non-interest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. Rates on interest-bearing accounts are set by management with reference to competitive conditions and the bank’s funding objectives.
The bank also earns fees from accounts, cards, payments, wealth management and trust services. Some of these services are provided as part of an ongoing banking relationship. Columbia sells many residential real estate loans it originates into the secondary market and retains servicing on most of those loans.
In 2025, net interest income was $2.0 billion and non-interest income was $298 million; in the first quarter of 2026, noninterest income was $83 million on a GAAP basis.
Net interest income increased in 2025, reflecting a larger average balance sheet after the Pacific Premier acquisition, lower interest expense and a shift in funding mix. The 2025 net interest margin, on a tax-equivalent basis, was 3.83%. Non-interest income included gains from fair value adjustments and hedging activity.
Columbia is replacing some lower-rate transactional loans as they run off with relationship-based lending. The company expects commercial loan growth to offset contraction in the transactional portfolio, leaving the balance sheet relatively stable.
| Product or service | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card-based Fees | $58.0 million | 32.8% | 1.75% |
| Account Service Fees | $57.0 million | 32.2% | 23.9% |
| Financial services and trust revenue | $35.0 million | 19.8% | 75.0% |
| Transaction-based and overdraft service charges | $27.0 million | 15.3% | 3.85% |
Customers and how it sells
Columbia serves corporate and institutional customers, small businesses and individuals. Its strategy is to serve businesses alongside their owners, executives and employees, as well as residents of the communities in its markets. Commercial customers can obtain lending, deposits, treasury management and payments services; consumers can use deposit accounts, mortgages and other loans. Wealth services are available to individuals, families and businesses.
The majority of Columbia Bank’s loans and deposits are in its service areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Its market area also includes Texas, where it expanded through a homeowners association office following the Pacific Premier acquisition.
Customers can access products through branches, mobile applications and the bank’s website. Business digital banking also offers authenticated chat and co-browsing with a representative. Columbia uses its branch network to serve both business and consumer depositors and to support its lending activities.
The company employed 6,005 people as of December 31, 2025, predominantly full-time. Its workforce includes customer-facing employees in branches, commercial banking and wealth services, as well as technology, finance, risk and other support staff.
Suppliers and costs
Columbia’s funding costs include interest paid on deposits and borrowings. Interest-bearing deposit rates reflect competitive conditions and the bank’s objectives for attracting particular types of deposits. Columbia also uses wholesale funding sources, including brokered deposits and borrowings, alongside customer deposits.
Non-interest expenses include salaries and employee benefits, occupancy costs, merger and restructuring expenses, and other operating costs. Non-interest expense was $1.4 billion in 2025, compared with $1.1 billion in 2024. The increase included $148 million in merger and restructuring expense and a $55 million accrual for a legal settlement, as well as expenses from four months of combined operations following the Pacific Premier acquisition.
In the first quarter of 2026, operating noninterest expense was $369 million. Excluding intangible amortization of $41 million, the quarter’s $328 million run rate benefited from earlier cost savings and some planned investments moving into the second quarter. Columbia also faces costs to monitor and comply with banking regulations and relies on third-party service providers for some operations.
- Revenue$3.2B
- Cost of revenue−$913.0M
- Selling, general and administrative−$1.3B
- Other operating costs−$127.0M
- Operating income$876.0M
Competitive position
Columbia competes for deposits, loans, leases and fee-generating services in its geographic markets. Its competitors include national and regional banks, community banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, fintechs and online financial service providers. No individual competitors are named in the supplied company information.
Major national banks generally hold top deposit market-share positions in Columbia’s markets. Credit unions compete for banking customers and can offer deposit and loan rates influenced by their tax and regulatory treatment. Online providers can offer lending and other financial services without offices in Columbia’s service area.
Columbia seeks to compete through customer relationships, service and a range of commercial and consumer products. Its strategy brings commercial banking, consumer banking and wealth management teams together around customer relationships. It also uses branches and digital channels to deliver services.
Our reading: Columbia’s branch network and deposit presence provide a meaningful local advantage, particularly in established markets, but national banks and non-bank providers limit its ability to rely on geography alone. Our reading: Offering lending, deposits, payments and wealth services can support customer relationships, although the evidence does not establish how difficult it is for customers to move those relationships elsewhere.
Growth opportunities
Columbia seeks growth in loans, deposits and fee income by developing broader banking relationships. It targets businesses of different sizes and their owners and employees, while also serving consumers. The company uses its branches and digital channels to deliver products and seeks to expand revenue while controlling expenses.
The acquisition of Pacific Premier, completed on August 31, 2025, accelerated Columbia’s Southern California expansion and increased its presence in other western markets. The acquisition added $11.4 billion in loans and $14.5 billion of deposits. Columbia completed the Pacific Premier systems conversion and consolidated nine branches during the first quarter of 2026.
As of March 31, Columbia had achieved $102 million of its $127 million in targeted acquisition synergies, although the savings were not fully reflected in the first-quarter run rate. The company expects to realize all acquisition-related cost savings by June 30.
Columbia is also replacing some transactional loans with commercial and other relationship-based lending. It expects the balance sheet to remain relatively stable as commercial loan growth offsets contraction in the transactional portfolio. The company plans investments in bankers and expansion in markets including Colorado, Utah and Nevada, and is looking to expand wealth management in Southern California.
- $1.3BFY2021
- $1.3BFY2022
- $2.7BFY2023
- $3.0BFY2024
- $3.2BFY2025
Structural risks
- Credit and economic conditions: Deterioration in Columbia’s markets could increase loan losses, reduce collateral values and affect deposits. Real estate-related loan concentrations are among the company’s identified risks. In the first quarter of 2026, an agricultural customer relationship contributed to higher net charge-offs and nonperforming assets.
- Interest rates and funding: Changes in interest rates can reduce net interest income and affect asset yields, valuations and funding sources. Deposit pricing pressure or customer behavior can cause deposit balances to fluctuate, while more costly borrowings can increase funding expense.
- Acquisition integration: Combining Columbia and Pacific Premier could be more difficult, costly or time-consuming than expected, and anticipated benefits may not be fully realized or may take longer than planned.
- Technology and third parties: A failure or breach of Columbia’s systems or those of service providers, including a cyberattack, could disrupt business, expose confidential information, damage its reputation and cause losses.
- Regulation and compliance: Changes in banking laws, regulatory requirements or enforcement could increase expenses or restrict growth. Regulatory limits on dividends from the bank can also affect the holding company’s access to funds.
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: Columbia is a relationship-focused regional bank whose earnings depend principally on lending and deposit funding, with payments and wealth services adding fee income (item1, item7). Its western footprint and acquisition give it more markets and customers, while credit quality, deposit costs and delivery of acquisition savings remain important exposures (item1, item1a, item7, call_prepared).