BANNER CORP

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of

Banner Corporation and Subsidiaries

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial condition of Banner Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

Basis for Opinions

The Company’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures to respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Critical Audit Matter

As described in Notes 1 and 4 to the consolidated financial statements, the balance of the Company’s consolidated allowance for credit losses – loans, was $155.5 million at December 31, 2024. The allowance for credit losses – loans is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of loans held for investment to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on such financial assets. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The allowance for credit losses – loans is maintained at a level sufficient to provide for expected credit losses based on evaluating historical credit loss experience and making adjustments to historical loss information for differences in the specific risk characteristics in the current loan portfolio. Management considers qualitative and environmental factors for each loan category to adjust for differences between the historical periods used to calculate historical loss rates and expected conditions over the remaining lives of the loans in the portfolio. These factors include, among others, changes in the size and composition of the loan portfolio, differences in underwriting standards, delinquency rates, and economic conditions.

We identified the estimation of qualitative and environmental factors used in the allowance for credit losses – loans as a critical audit matter. The qualitative and environmental factors are used to estimate credit losses related to matters that are not captured in the historical loss rates and are based on management’s evaluation of available internal and external data. Auditing management’s judgments regarding the qualitative and environmental factors applied to the allowance for credit losses - loans involved especially challenging and subjective auditor judgment when performing audit procedures and evaluating the results of those procedures.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. Our audit procedures related to the critical audit matter included the following, among others:

•Testing the design, implementation, and operating effectiveness of controls relating to management’s calculation of the allowance for credit losses – loans, including controls over the identification and assessment of the qualitative and environmental factors used.

•Obtaining management’s analysis and supporting documentation related to the qualitative and environmental factors and testing whether the environmental and qualitative factors used in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses – loans are supported by the analysis provided by management.

•Testing the appropriateness of the methodology and assumptions used in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses – loans, testing completeness and accuracy of the data used in the calculation, testing estimation and application of the environmental and qualitative factors determined by management and used in the calculation, and recalculating the balance of allowance for credit losses – loans.

/s/ Moss Adams LLP

Portland, Oregon

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2004.