Welcome to the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders for the First Busey Corporation. Please note no one attending via the webcast or telephone is permitted to use any audio or video recording device. We will now turn the meeting over to Van Dukeman, Chairman, President, and CEO of First Busey Corporation.
Good morning, and welcome to the 46th First Busey Corporation Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Speaking on behalf of myself, the First Busey executive team, and board of directors, we sincerely thank you for being loyal First Busey stockholders. We always look forward to discussing the progress of our company during our annual meeting, and we appreciate the continued support of our board, fellow leaders, committed associates, and loyal clients and stockholders. Before we move to the business at hand, there are a few housekeeping items related to today's virtual meeting. Stockholders who have already voted by internet, phone, or mail need not vote again online at this meeting. If you have not yet voted or wish to revoke your previously submitted proxy, click the Vote Here button at the bottom of your screen.
The Inspector of Elections for this meeting is Charles Zaid with American Election Services, and your appointed proxies are John Powers and Chris Chan. If you would like to ask a question, please submit your question in the text box at the bottom of your screen. We have reserved time after the adjournment of the meeting to address any questions that are not directly related to today's proposals. First Busey's executive leadership team and directors are in attendance at this meeting today. Also in attendance virtually are representatives of the company's independent auditing firm, RSM US LLP, and from Barack Ferrazzano, Busey's SEC and corporate counsel. We are grateful for the dedicated service of our management team and partners. Thank you all. We will now conduct the formal portion of First Busey's annual meeting.
Let me direct your attention to the agenda slide, as well as the rules of conduct and forward-looking statements for today's meeting, which can be found under the Meeting Materials section on your screen. John Powers, our corporate secretary, will act as the secretary of this meeting. John has advised me that a quorum is present at the meeting, so I declare this a properly constituted meeting, duly organized and ready for business. We chose to use the notice and access method to notify stockholders of the 2026 annual meeting, which means that unless directed to, we did not mail paper sets of annual proxy materials. Instead, we furnished our proxy statement, 2025 annual report, and proxy card to stockholders over the internet while providing a notice in the mail containing instructions on how to access the proxy materials online.
We believe that this process provides stockholders with a convenient and quick way to access the proxy materials and vote while allowing us to conserve natural resources and reduce the cost of printing and distributing the proxy materials. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on March 27th, 2026 were entitled to notice of and can vote at the 2026 annual meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof. That concludes the necessary formalities. Now to the proposals.
The items of business to be considered at this meeting include to elect 12 directors to hold office until the 2027 annual meeting of stockholders, or until their successors are elected and have qualified, to approve in a non-binding advisory vote the compensation of our named executive officers as described in the accompanying proxy statement, which is referred to as a say-on-pay proposal, to approve the First Busey Corporation Second Amended 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, and to ratify the appointment of RSM US LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending 12/31/2026. We will now address stockholder questions related to the proposals presented. If you haven't done so already, please enter your question into the text box at the bottom of your screen. We have not received any questions regarding the business before this meeting.
If you have not previously voted your shares, please submit your vote on each matter by clicking the Vote Here button on your screen. Voting will close momentarily. I now declare the polls closed on all matters before stockholders. That concludes the voting on the proposals to be considered at this meeting. I will now present the preliminary results of the voting on these matters. As of the record date, First Busey Corporation had 85,504,477 shares of common stock outstanding and eligible to vote at the annual meeting. We have proxies representing 66,218,204 shares, or 77.44% of shares outstanding at First Busey Corporation as of the record date. All the nominees have been elected as directors of the company, and the other proposals have been approved. That completes the formal business items on today's agenda, and I declare that this meeting is adjourned.
Before we conclude, I would like to share a few remarks about First Busey. For a more in-depth review of all accomplishment throughout 2025 and the first quarter of this year, please see our annual report, our Q1 earnings release, and the investor presentation on First Busey's website. Looking back on 2025 and through the first quarter of 2026, it truly has been a transformational period for our organization. In 2025, First Busey Corporation completed the largest M&A transaction in its company's history with the acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares in March, followed by the successful integration of CrossFirst Bank with and into Busey Bank in late June. Fully integrated and operating as one, we now proudly serve clients from 80 locations across 10 states, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Florida.
Led by a highly experienced management team, board of directors, and more than 1,800 dedicated associates. As of the first quarter of 2026, the franchise has total assets of $18 billion, total deposits of $14.7 billion, total loans of $13.5 billion, and wealth management assets under care of $15.6 billion. We are well-positioned to prepare to capitalize on the many financial and strategic opportunities the partnership provides to transform the future of our organization with organic growth, to our regional operating model a top priority. Strong non-interest income from our fee-based businesses continues to add distinctive revenue diversification and is a hallmark of our company. In 2025, our adjusted non-interest income represented 22% of our operating revenue, placing us above median when compared to our peer group. Our strong capital levels, coupled with our earnings, have allowed us to provide a steady return to stockholders through dividends and share repurchase.
With an uninterrupted history of paying dividends to common stockholders since the bank holding company was organized in 1980, throughout 2025, Busey paid quarterly dividends of $0.25 per share on its outstanding shares of common stock. In January of 2026, the quarterly dividend was raised by 4% to $0.26 per common share outstanding. Further, the solid momentum we built through 2025 continued through the first quarter of this year, with highlights including Busey posting strong profitability in the first quarter of 2026 with an adjusted return on assets of greater than 1.4%, a return on tangible common equity of greater than 14%, and an efficiency ratio less than 55%, compared to an adjusted ROA of 1.09%, an adjusted ROTCE of 11.25%, and an efficiency ratio of nearly 59% in the first quarter of 2025.
The net interest margin continued an upward trajectory, up six basis points quarter-over-quarter and up 61 basis points year-over-year as the company continues to demonstrate disciplined loan pricing and strong deposit control. Busey Wealth Management continues to excel with assets under care of $15.6 billion as of March 31, 2026. Net AUC inflows across our footprint helped to soften the impacts from the lower markets during that quarter. Q1 2026 Wealth Management segment revenue of $19.5 million was a new quarterly record supported by typical seasonally high Ag Services revenue and follows the fiscal 2025 Wealth Management segment revenue of $70.2 million being the highest in company history. Busey share repurchase plan remains active. We repurchased 2.6 million shares during the first quarter of 2026, approximately 3% of outstanding common shares.
Since embarking on our share repurchase initiative in March of 2025, we have repurchased over 6% of total common shares that were outstanding. With 2025 complete, we look to the remainder of 2026 and beyond with excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead. While we remain cognizant of evolving industry trends, economic conditions, and geopolitical impacts, we remain acutely focused on the path we've charted, preserving balance sheet strength and sustaining profitability and growth. At this time, we will do our best to address any relevant questions that have been submitted. If there are any others, please submit your questions at the bottom of your screen now. We have not received any questions, so I will close the meeting with a few comments.
At Busey, we have a deep-rooted belief and a proven conservative banking approach built through nearly 160 years of disciplined growth and prudent expense credit and risk management. The core tenets of our philosophy will not change now or into the future. Deepening Busey's client base, improving business operation, leveraging innovative and transformative technology, and developing and retaining the best and brightest directors, leaders, associates will continue to guide our vision and strategic initiatives. By remaining true to our beliefs, we can pursue our business objectives, capitalize on new opportunities, and support our vision as a premier regional provider of differentiated and comprehensive banking and wealth management solutions, one that delivers attractive profitability to shareholders while preserving the core tenets of a fortress balance sheet and strong corporate culture.
We are grateful for the opportunity to earn the business of our exceptional clients every day, which can only be achieved through the contributions of our talented directors, leaders, and associates, and the continued support of you, our loyal stockholders. It is with sincere appreciation that I thank you valued stockholders for your sustained support and commitment to our organization. This concludes today's meeting. Have a great day.