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Columbia Banking Fee Income Growth After Pacific Premier Deal
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Key Takeaways
COLB is using the Pacific Premier acquisition to expand fee platforms and deepen customer ties.
COLB treasury & commercial card fees rise in 2025, cards, financial services, and trust accounts 34% of fees.
COLB logged 1,200 cross-sell referrals, though merger costs and a 2026 system conversion may delay fee gains.
Columbia Banking System (COLB - Free Report) is emerging from the Pacific Premier acquisition with a clearer strategy to increase the contribution of fee income in its earnings mix. Management is focusing on expanding product offerings, strengthening referral networks, and using relationship-driven deposit gathering to deepen customer engagement.
In the near term, the key question for investors is less about headline margin fluctuations and more about whether the bank can continue building stable, recurring fee revenue while integration efforts are still underway.
COLB’s Fee Mix Is Becoming More Material
Non-interest income is becoming a larger part of the story because more lines are contributing at the same time. In 2025, treasury management and commercial card fees grew versus the prior year, while financial services and trust and international banking revenues expanded notably.
The mix is also shifting in a way that highlights recurring customer activity. As of Dec. 31, 2025, card fees, financial services and trust made up nearly 34% of total non-interest income. That concentration matters because it ties revenue to customer usage and relationship depth, not just to loan balances or funding spreads.
The Pacific Premier transaction did more than expanding footprint. It added specific fee platforms that widen what Columbia can offer existing customers and bring to newly acquired relationships. It broadened wallet-share opportunities by extending Columbia’s reach into specialized workflows where clients value convenience and continuity. Early signs show the cross-sell strategy is working. Since closing of acquisition, COLB has generated over 1,200 cross-sell referrals, indicating strong coordination across business lines and creating a base for future fee growth as customers adopt additional services.
Deposit gathering is part of the same effort. De novo branches and targeted campaigns brought in meaningful deposit inflows through mid-October, often alongside new service adoption, another path to higher fees as relationships deepen.
Treasury management and commercial card fees tend to be more durable because they are embedded in a client’s day-to-day operations. Both categories expanded in 2025, and once businesses rely on a bank for payments, cash management, and card programs, switching providers becomes more disruptive than simply shifting deposits or refinancing credit.
This operational integration creates meaningful “stickiness,” which can help stabilize performance as interest rate conditions change. While net interest income still drives the bulk of revenue, a larger base of core fees can make results more consistent across cycles by linking revenue to service usage and relationship depth rather than pricing alone.
Columbia Banking Risks That Could Slow Fee Momentum
The upside is real, but the timing can still be uneven. Integration is creating expense pressure, and that can delay the operating leverage investors want to see. Non-interest expenses have been volatile, with a sharp rise in the fourth quarter of 2025 tied to merger and restructuring costs and one month of combined operations.
Management expects operating expenses, excluding core deposit intangible amortization, to be $330 million to $340 million per quarter for the next several quarters. The Pacific Premier system conversion is planned for the first quarter of 2026, with a normalized expense run rate by the third quarter of 2026 as cost savings fully materialize. Any slippage in systems conversion, client retention, or execution pace could push out fee-growth realization.
Over the past six months, shares of Columbia Banking have gained 3.6%, against the industry’s decline of 6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
COLB Peer Context
Among Columbia Banking Western peers, East West Bancorp (EWBC - Free Report) and Western Alliance (WAL - Free Report) each has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
EWBC is a Pasadena-based commercial bank with more than 110 locations across the U.S. and Asia, often cited for cross-border and relationship banking depth in Western markets. WAL, headquartered in Phoenix, operates full-service business banking divisions in Arizona, California and Nevada, alongside specialized national units, offering a helpful read-through on Western deposit and C&I dynamics.
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Columbia Banking Fee Income Growth After Pacific Premier Deal
Key Takeaways
Columbia Banking System (COLB - Free Report) is emerging from the Pacific Premier acquisition with a clearer strategy to increase the contribution of fee income in its earnings mix. Management is focusing on expanding product offerings, strengthening referral networks, and using relationship-driven deposit gathering to deepen customer engagement.
In the near term, the key question for investors is less about headline margin fluctuations and more about whether the bank can continue building stable, recurring fee revenue while integration efforts are still underway.
COLB’s Fee Mix Is Becoming More Material
Non-interest income is becoming a larger part of the story because more lines are contributing at the same time. In 2025, treasury management and commercial card fees grew versus the prior year, while financial services and trust and international banking revenues expanded notably.
The mix is also shifting in a way that highlights recurring customer activity. As of Dec. 31, 2025, card fees, financial services and trust made up nearly 34% of total non-interest income. That concentration matters because it ties revenue to customer usage and relationship depth, not just to loan balances or funding spreads.
The Pacific Premier transaction did more than expanding footprint. It added specific fee platforms that widen what Columbia can offer existing customers and bring to newly acquired relationships. It broadened wallet-share opportunities by extending Columbia’s reach into specialized workflows where clients value convenience and continuity. Early signs show the cross-sell strategy is working. Since closing of acquisition, COLB has generated over 1,200 cross-sell referrals, indicating strong coordination across business lines and creating a base for future fee growth as customers adopt additional services.
Deposit gathering is part of the same effort. De novo branches and targeted campaigns brought in meaningful deposit inflows through mid-October, often alongside new service adoption, another path to higher fees as relationships deepen.
Treasury management and commercial card fees tend to be more durable because they are embedded in a client’s day-to-day operations. Both categories expanded in 2025, and once businesses rely on a bank for payments, cash management, and card programs, switching providers becomes more disruptive than simply shifting deposits or refinancing credit.
This operational integration creates meaningful “stickiness,” which can help stabilize performance as interest rate conditions change. While net interest income still drives the bulk of revenue, a larger base of core fees can make results more consistent across cycles by linking revenue to service usage and relationship depth rather than pricing alone.
Columbia Banking Risks That Could Slow Fee Momentum
The upside is real, but the timing can still be uneven. Integration is creating expense pressure, and that can delay the operating leverage investors want to see. Non-interest expenses have been volatile, with a sharp rise in the fourth quarter of 2025 tied to merger and restructuring costs and one month of combined operations.
Management expects operating expenses, excluding core deposit intangible amortization, to be $330 million to $340 million per quarter for the next several quarters. The Pacific Premier system conversion is planned for the first quarter of 2026, with a normalized expense run rate by the third quarter of 2026 as cost savings fully materialize. Any slippage in systems conversion, client retention, or execution pace could push out fee-growth realization.
Columbia Banking’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance
COLB carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Over the past six months, shares of Columbia Banking have gained 3.6%, against the industry’s decline of 6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
COLB Peer Context
Among Columbia Banking Western peers, East West Bancorp (EWBC - Free Report) and Western Alliance (WAL - Free Report) each has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
EWBC is a Pasadena-based commercial bank with more than 110 locations across the U.S. and Asia, often cited for cross-border and relationship banking depth in Western markets. WAL, headquartered in Phoenix, operates full-service business banking divisions in Arizona, California and Nevada, alongside specialized national units, offering a helpful read-through on Western deposit and C&I dynamics.