Eastern Bankshares, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation (the “Company”), is a bank holding company. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Eastern Bank (the “Bank”) and Eastern Insurance Group LLC (“Eastern Insurance Group”), the Company provides a variety of banking services, trust and investment services, and insurance services, through its full-service bank branches and insurance offices, located primarily in Easterneastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Eastern Insurance Group LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank.

The activities of the Company are subject to the regulatory supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”). The activities of the Bank are subject to the regulatory supervision of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Company and the activities of the Bank and Eastern Insurance Groupits subsidiaries are also subject to various Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island business, banking and bankinginsurance regulations.

The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) as set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and its Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) as well as the rules and interpretive releases of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the authority of federal securities laws.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiaries and entities in which it holds a controlling financial interest through being the primary beneficiary or through holding a majority of the voting interest. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period’s presentation.

The accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of March 31,June 30, 2022, the consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income and of changes in shareholders’ equity for the three and six months ended March 31,June 30, 2022 and 2021 and statementstatements of cash flows for the threesix months ended March 31,June 30, 2022 and 2021 are unaudited. The consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of that date. The interim consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes should be read in conjunction with the annual consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes contained within the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (“2021 Form 10-K”), as filed with the SEC. In the opinion of management, the Company’s consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the results of operations for the periods presented. The results for the three and six months ended March 31,June 30, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2022, any other interim periods, or any future year or period.

The following describes the Company’s use of estimates as well as relevant accounting pronouncements that were recently issued but not yet adopted as of March 31,June 30, 2022 and those that were adopted during the threesix months ended March 31,June 30, 2022. For a full discussion of significant accounting policies, refer to the notesNotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included within the Company’s 2021 Form 10-K.

In preparing the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheets and income and expenses for the periods reported. Actual results could differ from those estimates based on changing conditions, including economic conditions and future events. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to change relate to the determination of the allowance for credit losses, valuation and fair value measurements, the liabilities for benefit obligations (particularly pensions), the provision for income taxes and impairment of goodwill and other intangibles.

The adoption of the ASUs 2016-13, 2018-19 and 2019-11 resulted in changes in the Company’s accounting policies and estimates as it relates to available for sale securities, held to maturity securities, loans receivable and off-balance sheet commitments to lend. The following describes the changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies from December 31, 2021, that resulted from the adoption of the ASUs described above:

ASU 2016-13 made targeted changes to ASC 320 to eliminate the concept of “other than temporary” from the impairment loss estimation model for available for sale (“AFS”) securities. A summary of the changes made by the Company to the existing impairment model (previously referred to as the “OTTI” impairment model) as a result of adoption of ASU 2016-13 is as follows:

The Company’s AFS securities are carried at fair value. For AFS securities in an unrealized loss position, management will first evaluate whether there is intent to sell a security, or if it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell a security prior to anticipated recovery of its amortized cost basis. If either of these criteria are met, the Company will record a write-down of the security’s amortized cost basis to fair value through income. For those AFS securities which do not meet the intent or requirement to sell criteria, management will evaluate whether the decline in fair value is a result of credit related matters or other factors. In performing this assessment, management considers the creditworthiness of the issuer including whether the security is guaranteed by the U.S. federal government or other government agency, the extent to which fair value is less than amortized cost, and changes in credit rating during the period, among other factors. If this assessment indicates the existence of credit losses, the security will be written down to fair value, as determined by a discounted cash flow analysis. To the extent the estimated cash flows do not support the amortized cost, the deficiency is considered to be due to credit loss and is recognized in earnings.

Changes in the allowance for credit losses are recorded as a provision for (or reversal of) credit loss expense. Losses are charged against the allowance when the security is determined to be uncollectible, or when either of the aforementioned criteria surrounding intent or requirement to sell have been met. On January 1, 2022, the date on which the Company adopted ASU 2016-13, no allowance for credit losses was recorded for AFS securities.

ASU 2016-13 indicates that a loan should be measured for impairment individually if that loan shares no similar risk characteristics with other loans. For the Company, loans which have been identified as those to be individually assessed for impairment under CECL include loans that do not share similar risk characteristics with other loans in the corresponding reserve segment. Characteristics of loans meeting this definition may include, but isare not limited to:

Management considers a loan to be collateral-dependent when foreclosure of the underlying collateral is probable. In addition, in accordance with ASU 2016-13, the Company elected to apply the collateral-dependent practical expedient whereby the Company measures expected credit losses using the fair value of the collateral, less any estimated costs to sell, when foreclosure is not probable but repayment of the loan is expected to be provided substantially through the operation or sale of the collateral, and the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty.

In cases where a borrower experiences financial difficulties and the Company makes certain concessionary modifications to contractual terms, the loan is classified as a TDR. Modifications may include adjustments to interest rates, extensions of maturity, consumer loans where the borrower’s obligations have been effectively discharged through Chapter 7 bankruptcy and the borrower has not reaffirmed the debt to the Company, and other actions intended to minimize economic loss and avoid foreclosure or repossession of collateral. Prior to the Company’s adoption of ASU 2016-13, all TDR loans were subject to a specific review for impairment loss each period beginning in the period in which the modification was executed. Subsequent to the adoption of ASU 2016-13, management identifies loans as TDR loans when it has a reasonable expectation that it will execute a TDR modification with a borrower. In addition, subsequent to adoption of ASU 2016-13, management estimates expected credit losses on a collective basis if a group of TDR loans share similar risk characteristics. If a TDR loan’s risk characteristics are not similar to those of any of the Company’s other TDR loans, expected credit losses on the TDR loan are measured individually. The impairment analysis discounts the present value of the anticipated cash flows by the loan’s contractual rate of interest in effect prior to the loan’s modification or the fair value of collateral if the loan is collateral dependent. The amount of credit loss, if any, is recorded as a specific loss allocation to each individual loan or as a loss allocation to the pool of loans, for those loans for which credit loss is measured on a collective basis, in the allowance for credit losses. Any commercial (commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial construction, and business banking loans) or residential loan that has been classified as a TDR and which subsequently defaults is reviewed to determine if the loan should be deemed collateral-dependent. In such an instance, any shortfall between the value of the collateral and the book value of the loan is determined by measuring the recorded investment in the loan against the fair value of the collateral less costs to sell.

The Company’s policy is to retain any restructured loan, which is on non-accrual status prior to being modified, on non-accrual status for approximately six months subsequent to being modified before the Company considers its return to accrual status. If the restructured loan is on accrual status prior to being modified, the Company reviews it to determine if the modified loan should remain on accrual status.

As described above, the Company applied the prospective transition approach with respect to PCD assets upon adoption of ASU 2016-13. Under this approach, loans previously determined to be PCI loans are considered to be PCD loans as of January 1, 2022. PCD loans are acquired individual loans (or acquired groups of loans with similar risk characteristics) that, as of the date of acquisition, have experienced a more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination, as determined by the Company’s assessment. A PCD loan is recorded at its purchase price plus the allowance for loan losses expected at the time of acquisition, or “gross up” of the amortized cost basis, if any. Changes in the current estimate of the allowance for loan losses subsequent to acquisition from the estimated allowance previously recorded are recognized in the income statement as provision for credit losses or reversal of provision for credit losses in subsequent periods as they arise. A purchased loan that does not qualify as a PCD asset is accounted for similar to the Company’s method of accounting for originated assets, whereby an allowance for loan losses is recognized with a corresponding increase to the income statement provision for loan losses. Evidence that purchased loans, measured at amortized cost, have more-than-insignificant deterioration in credit quality since origination and, therefore meet the PCD definition, may include past-due status, non-accrual status, risk rating and other standard indicators (i.e., TDRs, charge-offs, bankruptcy).

Through December 31, 2021, the allowance for loan losses represented management’s best estimate of incurred probable losses in the Company’s loan portfolios based upon management’s assessment of various factors, including the risk characteristics of its loan portfolio, current economic conditions, and trends in loan delinquencies and charge-offs. The Company’s methodology for determining the qualitative component through December 31, 2021 included an assessment of factors affecting the determination of incurred losses in the loan portfolio. Such factors included trends in economic conditions, loan growth, credit underwriting policy exceptions, regulatory and audit findings, and peer comparisons, among others. Upon adoption of ASU 2016-13, effective January 1, 2022, the Company changed its reserve methodology to estimate expected credit losses over the contractual life of loans and leases.

The allowance for credit losses, or ACL, is established to provide for the Company’s current estimate of expected lifetime credit losses on loans measured at amortized cost and unfunded lending commitments at the balance sheet date and is established through a provision for credit losses charged to net income. Credit losses are charged directly to the ACL. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the ACL. Commercial and residential loans are charged-off in the period in which they are deemed uncollectible. Delinquent loans in these product types are subject to ongoing review and analysis to determine if a charge-off in the current period is appropriate. For consumer finance loans, policies and procedures exist that require charge-off consideration upon a certain triggering event depending on the product type. Charge-off triggers include: 120 days delinquent for automobile, home equity, and other consumer loans with the exception of cash reserve loans for which the trigger is 150 days delinquent; death of the borrower; or Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In addition to those events, the charge-off determination includes other loan quality indicators, such as collateral position and adequacy or the presence of other repayment sources.

The ACL is evaluated on a regular basis by management. Management uses a methodology to systematically estimate the amount of expected lifetime losses in the portfolio. Expected lifetime losses are estimated on a collective basis for loans sharing similar risk characteristics and are determined using a quantitative model combined with an assessment of certain qualitative factors designed to address forecast risk and model risk inherent in the quantitative model output. For commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial construction and business banking portfolios, the quantitative model uses a loan rating system which is comprised of management’s determination of a financial asset’s probability of default (“PD”), loss given default (“LGD”) and exposure at default (“EAD”), which are derived from historical loss experience and other factors. For residential real estate, consumer home equity and other consumer portfolios, the Company’s quantitative model uses historical loss experience.

The quantitative model estimates expected credit losses using loan level data over the estimated life of the exposure, considering the effect of prepayments. Economic forecasts are incorporated into the estimate over a reasonable and supportable forecast period, beyond which is a reversion to the Company’s historical loss average. Management has determined that a reasonable and supportable forecast period of eight quarters, and a straight-line reversion period of four quarters, are appropriate forecast periods for purposes of estimating expected credit losses. As described above, quantitative model results are adjusted for risk factors not considered within the model but which are relevant in estimating the expected credit losses within the loan portfolio. The qualitative risk factors impacting the expected risk of loss within the loan portfolio include the following:

Loans that do not share similar risk characteristics with any pools of assets are subject to individual evaluation and are removed from the collectively assessed pools. For loans that are individually evaluated, the Company uses either a discounted cash flow (“DCF”) approach or, for loans deemed to be collateral dependent or when foreclosure is probable, a fair value of collateral approach.

Accrued interest receivable amounts are excluded from balances of loans held at amortized cost and are included within other assets on the consolidated balance sheet. Management has elected not to measure an allowance for credit losses on these amounts as the Company employs a timely write-off policy. Consistent with the Company's policy for non-accrual loans, accrued interest receivable is typically written off when loans reach 90 days past due and are placed on non-accrual status.

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. Such financial instruments are recorded in the financial statements when they become payable. The credit risk associated with these commitments is evaluated in a manner similar to the reserving method for loans receivable previously described. The reserve for unfunded lending commitments is included in other liabilities in the balance sheet.

Additionally, various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of the Company’s examination process, periodically assess the appropriateness of the allowance for credit losses and may require the Company to increase its allowance for loan losses or recognize further loan charge-offs, in accordance with GAAP.