Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of GBank Financial Holdings, Inc. I will be your operator for today's meeting. During today's Annual Meeting, all parties will remain in a listen-only mode. As a reminder, the Annual Meeting is being recorded. We appreciate you joining the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. With me here today are Edward M. Nigro, our Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated future results. All comments expressed or implied made during the Annual Meeting are subject to those safe harbor statements.
Any forward-looking statements made during the Annual Meeting are made only as of today's date, and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements except as required by law. I would now like to turn the call over to Edward Nigro, our Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Edward Nigro will be presiding over this Annual Meeting as the Chairman of the Meeting.
Good afternoon. I am Ed Nigro, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GBank Financial Holdings and GBank. On behalf of the entire GBank team, it's my pleasure and honor to welcome our stockholders, directors, employees, invited guests to the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Will the meeting please come to order? I would now like to recognize each of our GBank Financial Holdings directors. First, our board directors. Todd Nigro, Vice Chairman. Lee Finley, Director and member of our Audit Committee, Charles W. Griege, Jr., Director and member of our Audit Committee, Gaming FinTech and Committee Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Timothy Herbs, Director and member of our Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. William Hornbuckle, Director and Chairman of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Kathryn Lever. , Director and Chair of our Audit Committee.
James Sims, Director and Chair of our Gaming FinTech Committee, and member of our Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Michael Voinovich, Director and Chairman of our Compensation Committee, and member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Gaming FinTech Committee. As you can see, our directors are engaged, and they provide dedicated leadership, oversight, and wisdom to our company. I also want to recognize our executive VPs of GBank. They do a great deal of heavy lifting throughout the year. Tara Campbell, our Chief Executive Officer, Nancy DeCou, our Chief SBA Officer, Jason Amos, our new Chief Technology Officer. Scot Levine, our Chief Risk Officer. David North, who used to be our Deputy Director, is now our new Chief Credit Officer. Hilary Sledge-Sarnor, our General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, is also new.
Jeff Wicker, who is on medical leave, is our Chief Financial Officer, and I would be remiss if I didn't thank Olivia Kelly, our Financial Reporting Director, who has stepped in and done some very heavy lifting for us these last two weeks. Thank you, Olivia. I would like to thank our management team and employees again for their continued daily efforts. I also want to recognize several important advisors, Marilyn Kim and William Wong of Greenberg Traurig, our outside legal counsel, and Dean Apostolopoulos of RSM, our independent registered public accounting firm. Thank you, and thank you for all your contributions. The Board of Directors has designated Hilary R. Sledge-Sarnor, our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, to also act as the Secretary of the annual meeting.
In addition, the Board of Directors has designated Hilary to act as the Inspector of Elections at the annual meeting and to report on the results of the votes which have been tabulated. I'd like to ask our operator to provide an overview of the voting procedures and rules of conduct of the annual meeting.
Moving on to the business portion of the Annual Meeting. The GBFH Board set March 16, 2026 as the record date for voting at this Annual Meeting. Only persons who were stockholders of GBank Financial Holdings, Inc. on March 16, 2026 are entitled to vote at this Annual Meeting. The proxy statement for this Annual Meeting was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2026. On or about March 31, 2026, the company caused to be mailed to each stockholder a notice of this meeting, along with the proxy statement and proxy card. In order to ensure the orderly and businesslike progression of the meeting, I would ask that you please follow the rules of conduct for this meeting, which are available on www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/gbfh2026.
As described in the proxy statement, stockholders were encouraged and permitted to submit written questions to the company via email by 5:00 P.M. Pacific Time on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. We would ask that stockholders who have not delivered a proxy and who would like to vote do so now by voting electronically during this Annual Meeting by joining the virtual meeting and logging in using their assigned control number and following the instructions for voting on the virtual meeting website. We would like to emphasize that if you have already voted by returning your proxy card to us, there is no need to vote now. I would now like to turn the call back over to Edward Nigro.
Thank you. Before we begin the business portion of the Annual Meeting, I'd like to share a few thoughts about the past year and our company. I actually appreciate any opportunity I get to speak about GBank Financial Holdings and GBank, particularly to those who have joined us recently as shareholders following our Nasdaq listing and our inclusion in the Russell 2000. Just over a year ago, we began publicly trading, an important milestone, but also a continuation of a journey that began in 2007. In that year, the principles that guided the foundation or the founding rather of Bank of George, our original name, remain intact today. From the outset, we made a deliberate decision that we would be different. We limited ownership concentration. No investor, including myself, would exceed 10%.
We built a diversified, highly engaged Board with deep expertise across key industries, development, legal, finance, construction, healthcare, retail, and of course, gaming as we were birthed in Nevada as a Nevada state-chartered bank and gaming is our number one industry. Our Board has provided not just governance, but real strategic value and accountability. We opened GBank with 180 shareholders, not like any other de novo. Many of these original investors and almost all the board members remain with us today. That continuity matters. It helped us navigate the financial crisis, a global pandemic, and evolving markets. It helped us emerge as a stronger, more differentiated institution. Today, GBank continues not as a typical bank. We are a high-performing commercial and SBA bank, one of the top SBA lenders in the U.S.
We ranked 11th last year and ninth year to date in the entire country for SBA originations. At the same time, we're building a payments and technology platform focused on the gaming industry. We operate in 40 states, employ 188 people across 26 states, and manage $1.4 billion in an on-balance sheet asset basis and $2.5 billion including our off-balance sheet SBA loan portfolio. Our 2025 results reflect disciplined execution. Net income was $20.9 million, up 12% over the prior year. We originated $576 million in government-guaranteed loans, a record, and sold $354 million of those loans generating $12.3 million in gain on sale, also a record. Deposits grew to $1.1 billion, up 22% in the one year.
Our first quarter of 2026 saw continued growth with $208.1 million in new loans originated in the first quarter alone. That was compared to $126 million in the fourth quarter. Of course, we all remember the government shutdown. Our balance sheet loans now exceed $1 billion. It's really a historic milestone for us. All during these events, we also made meaningful progress in our Gaming FinTech business. We strengthened our technical capabilities to support scale. Credit card transaction volume increased mostly in our gaming transactions from $73 million in 2024 to $420 million in 2025. We expanded our platform through partnerships with BoltBetz and Bankroll and moved into the slot payment solutions.
In the first quarter of 2026, we developed a new prepaid gaming card which we expect to launch in the third quarter, and we expect to continue development of our collateral secured credit card products. We believe this business will become an increasingly important driver of deposits, fee income, and long-term growth. However, we will always be focused on disciplined growth, strong risk management, and delivering sustainable returns to our shareholders. I wanna thank you not only for 2007, but for being here today and being part of what comes next. I would now like to ask Hilary, as Inspector of Elections of the Annual Meeting, to report on whether a quorum is present.
Thank you, Ed. There are present by means of remote communication or by proxy at this Annual Meeting the holders of at least 10,367,165 shares, or 72.81% of the total number of outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at this Annual Meeting. As such, I can confirm that a quorum is present at this Annual Meeting for all purposes in accordance with the company's bylaws.
Thank you, Hilary. Because proper notice has been given and a quorum is present, this Annual Meeting has been properly convened. The 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders was held on August 1st, 2025. I'd like to make a motion to waive the reading of the minutes of the 2025 Annual Stockholders Meeting. Can I get a second?
Second.
Motion thank you. We have three proposals on the agenda today. Information concerning these three proposals were contained in our proxy statements furnished in connection with this meeting. The 1st proposal is to elect three Class 1 directors, each for a three-year term to hold office until 2029 annual meeting of the stockholders and until their respective successors are elected and qualified, or until their resignation or removal from office. The Board of Directors has nominated for election the following persons: A. Lee Finley, Charles W. Griege, Jr., and William J. Hornbuckle. No other nominations of candidates for election to our Board of Directors as a Class 1 director has been submitted in accordance with the procedures required under our bylaws. The second proposal.
The second proposal is to ratify the appointment of RSM as the independent registered public accounting firm for the company for the year ending December 31, 2026. The third proposal is to approve the adoption of our new 2026 Incentive Compensation Plan. I'd like to make a motion to vote for the approval of the three proposals to be considered at the Annual Meeting. Can I have a second?
Second, Ed.
Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, if you've not voted and wish to do so, please vote now. If you have already submitted a proxy, you do not need to submit another vote. We will now address any questions from stockholders regarding the items being voted on at this annual meeting. I see no questions. It appears there are no questions related to the proposals. Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare the polls are now closed. It appears the votes for the proposals have been tabulated. I would like to ask Hilary, as Inspector of Elections of the annual meeting, to report the preliminary re-results on the vote.
Thank you, Ed. A preliminary tabulation has been completed, and I can report at this time that of the 8,028,388 shares voted by means of remote communication or by proxy at this annual meeting for Proposal 1, not less than 7,711,319 shares, or approximately 96.05%, have been voted in favor of the total slate of Class One directors to serve for a three-year term until our 2029 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their respective successors or assigns are duly elected or qualified, or until their resignation or removal from office.
Thank you, Hilary. Based on this result, I'm pleased to announce that the plurality of votes cast by the shares entitled to vote in the election of the Class 1 directors at this Annual Meeting have voted for the election of A. Lee Finley, Charles W. Griege, Jr., and William J. Hornbuckle to serve as Class 1 directors of the company until our 2029 Annual Meeting of the stockholders and until their respective successor or successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal from office. Hilary, would you please now report on the results of the vote of the second proposal?
A preliminary tabulation has been completed, and I can report at this time that of the 10,367,155 shares voted by means of remote communication or by proxy at this Annual Meeting for Proposal 2, not less than 10,313,681 shares, or approximately 99.48%, have been voted to ratify the appointment of RSM US LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for our company for the year ending December 31, 2026.
Thank you, Hillary. Based on this result, I declare that the appointment of RSM as the independent registered public accounting firm of our company for the year ending December 31, 2026, has been ratified by at least a majority of the shares entitled to vote and represented by means of remote communication or by proxy at the annual meeting. Hillary, would you please now report on the results of the vote of the third proposal?
Thank you, Ed. A preliminary tabulation has been completed. I can report at this time that of the 7,959,541 shares voted by means of remote communication or by proxy at this annual meeting for Proposal 3, not less than 7,238,330 shares, or approximately 90.93% have been voted to approve the adoption of the 2026 Incentive Compensation Plan.
Thank you. Based on this result, I declare that the adoption of our new 2026 Incentive Compensation Plan has been approved by at least a majority of the shares entitled to vote and represented by means of remote communication or by proxy at the annual meeting. We will report the final vote results on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC within four business days from today's meeting. No other business is presented in accordance with the procedures required under our bylaws for our consideration at this Annual Meeting. Accordingly, the formal part of the 2026 meeting is now declared adjourned. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for your attendance at this Annual Meeting of GBank Financial Holdings, Inc.
This concludes the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders for GBank Financial Holdings, Inc. Thank you for your attendance.