ccne-20251231
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
F O R M 10-K
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
or
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number 001-39472
CNB FINANCIAL CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
1 South Second Street
P.O. Box 42
Clearfield, Pennsylvania16830
(Address of principal executive office)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (814) 765-9621
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, no par value CCNE The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☐ Yes ☒No
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes ☒No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒Yes☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒Yes☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer,"; "smaller reporting company,"; and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large Accelerated Filer ☐ Accelerated Filer ☒
Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b).☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the last sales price quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 30, 2025, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately: $458,483,840
The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of March 11, 2026: 29,635,224 shares
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on April 21, 2026 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Number
PART I.
ITEM 1. Business 1
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors 12
ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 22
ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity 23
ITEM 2. Properties 24
ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings 24
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 24
PART II.
ITEM 6. Reserved 26
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 56
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 57
ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures 135
ITEM 9B. Other Information 136
ITEM 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 136
PART III.
ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 136
ITEM 11. Executive Compensation 137
ITEM 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 137
PART IV.
ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 138
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PART I.
The disclosures set forth in this item are qualified by Item 1A. Risk Factors and the section captioned "Forward-Looking Statements and Factors that Could Affect Future Results" in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this report and other cautionary statements set forth elsewhere in this report.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
CNB Financial Corporation (the "Corporation") is a financial holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the "BHC Act"). It was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1983 for the purpose of engaging in the business of a financial holding company. On April 26, 1984, the Corporation acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of County National Bank, a national banking chartered institution. In December 2006, County National Bank changed its name to CNB Bank (the "Bank") and became a state bank chartered in Pennsylvania and subject to regulation by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In October 2013, the Corporation acquired FC Banc Corp. and its subsidiary, The Farmers Citizens Bank. In July 2016, the Corporation acquired Lake National Bank, and in July 2020, the Corporation acquired Bank of Akron.
On July 23, 2025, the Corporation completed its previously announced acquisition of ESSA Bancorp, Inc. ("ESSA") and its subsidiary bank, ESSA Bank & Trust Company ("ESSA Bank"), pursuant to the definitive merger agreement (the "Merger Agreement") dated as of January 9, 2025. The Corporation’s acquisition of ESSA was an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, ESSA merged with and into the Corporation, with the Corporation as the surviving entity, and immediately thereafter, ESSA Bank merged with and into the Bank, with the Bank as the surviving bank. Banking offices of ESSA Bank operate under the trade name ESSA Bank, a division of CNB Bank.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, each outstanding share of ESSA common stock was converted into the right to receive 0.8547 shares of the Corporation’s common stock. The total consideration paid to ESSA shareholders was approximately $202.6 million, comprised of approximately 8,359,430 shares of the Corporation's common stock, valued at approximately $202.5 million based on the July 23, 2025 closing price of $24.23 per share of the Corporation's common stock, and $21 thousand in cash in lieu of fractional shares. The ESSA acquisition has extended CNB Bank’s branch network into the Northeastern Region including the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania through the addition of ESSA’s 20 community offices.
In addition to the Bank, the Corporation has four other subsidiaries. CNB Securities Corporation is incorporated in Delaware and currently maintains investments in debt and equity securities. CNB Insurance Agency, incorporated in Pennsylvania, provides for the sale of nonproprietary annuities and other insurance products. CNB Risk Management, Inc. is a Delaware-based captive insurance company which insures against certain risks unique to the operations of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and for which insurance may not be currently available or economically feasible in today's insurance marketplace. Holiday Financial Services Corporation ("Holiday"), incorporated in Pennsylvania, offers small balance unsecured loans and secured loans, primarily collateralized by automobiles and equipment, to borrowers with higher risk characteristics and currently has nine offices within the Corporation’s market area.
CNB Bank
The Bank was originally chartered as a national bank in 1934 and is now a Pennsylvania-chartered bank. The CNB Bank franchise operates nineteen full-service branch locations in Central and North Central Pennsylvania.
ERIEBANK, a division of the Bank, began operations in 2005. In July 2016, the Corporation acquired Lake National Bank, which operated two full-service branches in Mentor, Ohio, approximately 20 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. The Bank continues to operate one of these branch locations within its ERIEBANK franchise, with the other location ceasing operations in August 2020. In December 2021, the Corporation opened a full-service branch in Cleveland, Ohio. The Bank currently operates fourteen full-service branch locations within its ERIEBANK franchise, a division of the Bank, with its headquarters in Erie, Pennsylvania.
In October 2013, the Corporation acquired FC Banc Corp. and its subsidiary, The Farmers Citizens Bank. The Bank currently operates seven full-service branch locations as FCBank, a division of the Bank, with its headquarters in Worthington, Ohio.
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In 2016, the Bank received regulatory approval to conduct business in the State of New York as BankOnBuffalo, a division of the Bank. In July 2020, the Corporation acquired Bank of Akron, with its branch locations operating with BankOnBuffalo. The Bank currently operates twelve full-service branch locations, one mobile branch and two drive-up office as BankOnBuffalo, a division of the Bank, with its headquarters in Buffalo, New York.
In 2021, the Bank received regulatory approval to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Virginia as Ridge View Bank, a division of the Bank. The Bank currently operates three full-serve branch locations and one loan production office in Southwest Virginia.
In 2023, the Bank launched Impressia Bank, a full-service banking division dedicated to the professional and financial development and advancement of women business owners and women leaders. This women-focused commercial bank operates within the existing geographic footprint of each of CNB Bank’s other divisions and also has an online presence.
In 2025, the Corporation acquired ESSA Bancorp, Inc., and its subsidiary, ESSA Bank & Trust Company. The Bank currently operates twenty full-service branch locations as ESSA Bank, a division of the Bank, with its headquarters in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
The Bank had one loan production office, two drive-up office, one mobile office, and 75 full-service branch offices located in various communities in its market area at December 31, 2025. The CNB Bank franchise's primary market areas are the Pennsylvania counties of Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Indiana, Jefferson, and McKean. ERIEBANK, a division of the Bank, operates in the Pennsylvania counties of Crawford, Erie, and Warren and in the Ohio counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain. FCBank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Ohio counties of Crawford, Delaware, Franklin, Knox, Marion, Morrow and Richland. BankOnBuffalo, a division of the Bank, operates in the New York counties of Erie, Niagara, and Ontario. Ridge View Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Virginia counties of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, New River Valley, and Roanoke. ESSA Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Pennsylvania counties of Delaware, Chester, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, and Northampton. Impressia Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Bank’s primary market areas.
The Bank is a full-service bank engaging in a full range of banking activities and services for individual, business, governmental and institutional customers. These activities and services principally include checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; real estate, commercial, industrial, residential and consumer loans; and a variety of other specialized financial services. The Bank’s Private Client Solutions division offers a full range of client services, including private banking and wealth and asset management.
Competition
The financial services industry in the Corporation’s service area continues to be extremely competitive, both among commercial banks and with other financial service providers such as consumer finance companies, thrifts, investment firms, mutual funds, and credit unions. The increased competition has resulted from changes in legal and regulatory guidelines as well as from economic conditions. Mortgage banking firms, leasing companies, financial affiliates of industrial companies, brokerage firms, retirement fund management firms, and even government agencies provide additional competition for loans and other financial services. Some of the financial service providers operating in the Corporation’s market area operate on a large-scale regional or national basis and possess greater resources than those of the Corporation. The Corporation is generally competitive with all competing financial institutions in its service area with respect to interest rates paid on time and savings deposits, service charges on deposit accounts, and interest rates charged on loans.
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Supervision and Regulation
The Corporation is a bank holding company that has elected financial holding company status, and the Bank is a Pennsylvania state‐chartered bank. The Corporation is subject to the oversight and regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Federal Reserve Board") and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities under the Bank Holding Company Act ("BHC Act"). Prior to February 12, 2026, the Bank was a Pennsylvania state‐chartered, non‐member bank supervised by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") as its primary federal regulator. Effective February 12, 2026, the Bank became a member bank of the Federal Reserve System, and its primary federal regulator is now the Federal Reserve Board. Therefore, the Bank remains a Pennsylvania state-chartered bank and continues to be subject to oversight by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, but it is now a member bank with the Federal Reserve Board as its primary federal regulator, instead of the FDIC. The Corporation and the Bank are also subject to various requirements and restrictions under federal and state law, such as requirements to maintain reserves against deposits, restrictions on the types, amounts and terms and conditions of loans that may be granted, and limitations on the types of investments that may be made and the types of services that may be offered. Various consumer financial protection laws and regulations also affect the operation of the Bank and, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") is authorized to write additional rules on consumer financial products and services which could affect the operations of the Bank and Holiday. In addition to the impact of regulation, commercial banks are significantly affected by the actions of the Federal Reserve Board, including actions taken with respect to interest rates, as the Federal Reserve Board attempts to control the money supply and credit availability in the U.S. in order to influence the economy.
The following summary sets forth certain of the material elements of the regulatory framework applicable to bank holding companies and their subsidiaries and provides certain specific information about us and our subsidiaries. It does not describe all of the provisions of the statutes, regulations and policies that are identified. To the extent that the following information describes statutory and regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by express reference to each of the particular statutory and regulatory provisions. A change in applicable statutes, regulations or regulatory policy may have a material effect on our business.
Bank Holding Company Regulation
As a bank holding company that controls a Pennsylvania state-chartered bank, the Corporation is subject to regulation and examination by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and the Federal Reserve Board. We are required to file with the Federal Reserve Board an annual report and such additional information and submissions as the Federal Reserve Board may require pursuant to the BHC Act and applicable regulations. For instance, the BHC Act requires each bank holding company to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve Board before it may acquire substantially all the assets of any bank, or before it may acquire ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank if, after such acquisition, it would own or control, directly or indirectly, more than five percent of any class of voting shares of such bank. Such a transaction may also require approval of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities.
Pursuant to provisions of the BHC Act and regulations promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board thereunder, the Corporation may only engage in, or own companies that engage in, activities deemed by the Federal Reserve Board to be permissible for bank holding companies or financial holding companies. Activities permissible for bank holding companies include those that are so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. Activities for financial holding companies include those that are "so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto" as well as certain additional activities deemed "financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity" or complementary to a financial activity and that do not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of the banking organization or the financial system.
The Corporation must obtain permission from or provide notice to the Federal Reserve Board prior to engaging in most new business activities.
Regulation of CNB Bank
Federal and state banking laws and regulations govern, among other things, the scope of a bank’s business, the investments a bank may make, the reserves against deposits a bank must maintain, the loans a bank makes and collateral it takes, the activities of a bank with respect to mergers and acquisitions, the establishment of branches, management practices, and numerous other aspects of banking operations.
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Source of Strength Doctrine
Under Section 616 of the Dodd-Frank Act, a bank holding company is required to serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary banks and may not conduct its operations in an unsafe or unsound manner. In addition, it is the Federal Reserve Board’s policy that a bank holding company must also serve as a source of managerial strength to its subsidiary banks, and a bank holding company should stand ready to use available resources to provide adequate capital funds to its subsidiary banks during periods of financial stress or adversity and should maintain the financial flexibility and capital-raising capacity to obtain additional resources for assisting its subsidiary banks. A bank holding company’s failure to meet its obligations to serve as a source of strength to its subsidiary banks will generally be considered by the Federal Reserve Board to be an unsafe and unsound banking practice, a violation of the Federal Reserve Board regulations, or both. This doctrine is commonly known as the "source of strength" doctrine.
Identity Theft
The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s Red Flags Rule requires financial institutions with covered accounts (e.g., consumer bank accounts and loans) to develop, implement, and administer an identity theft prevention program. This program must include reasonable policies and procedures to detect suspicious patterns or practices that indicate the possibility of identity theft, such as inconsistencies in personal information or changes in account activity.
Capital Adequacy
The Capital Rules adopted in 2013 by the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") generally implement the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s capital framework, referred to as Basel III, for strengthening international capital standards. The Capital Rules revised the definitions and components of regulatory capital, increased risk-based capital requirements, and made selected changes to the calculation of risk-weighted assets. The risk-weighting categories in the Capital Rules are standardized and include a risk-sensitive number of categories, depending on the nature of the assets, generally ranging from 0% for U.S. government and agency securities to 600% for certain equity exposures, and resulting in higher risk weights for a variety of assets.
The Capital Rules: (i) include "Common Equity Tier 1" ("CET1") and a related regulatory capital ratio of CET1 to risk-weighted assets; (ii) specify that Tier 1 capital consists of CET1 and "Additional Tier 1 capital" instruments meeting certain revised requirements; (iii) mandate that most deductions/adjustments to regulatory capital measures be made to CET1 and not to the other components of capital; and (iv) expand the scope of the deductions from and adjustments to capital as compared to existing regulations. Under the Capital Rules, for most banking organizations, including the Corporation, the most common form of Additional Tier 1 capital is non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, and the most common forms of Tier 2 capital are subordinated notes and a portion of the allocation for allowance for credit losses, in each case, subject to the Capital Rules’ specific requirements.
Pursuant to the Capital Rules, the minimum capital ratios are as follows:
•4.5% CET1 to risk-weighted assets;
•6.0% Tier 1 capital (that is, CET1 plus Additional Tier 1 capital) to risk-weighted assets;
•8.0% Total capital (that is, Tier 1 capital plus Tier 2 capital) to risk-weighted assets; and
•4.0% Tier 1 capital to average consolidated assets as reported on consolidated financial statements (called "leverage ratio").
The Capital Rules also include a "capital conservation buffer," composed entirely of CET1, in addition to these minimum risk-weighted asset ratios (which are each of the first three ratios described above, but not the leverage ratio). The capital conservation buffer is designed to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. Banking institutions that do not hold the requisite capital conservation buffer will face constraints on dividends, capital instrument repurchases, interest payments on capital instruments and discretionary bonus payments based on the amount of the shortfall. Thus, the capital standards applicable to the Corporation include an additional capital conservation buffer of 2.5% of CET1, effectively resulting in minimum ratios inclusive of the capital conservation buffer of (i) CET1 to risk-weighted assets of at least 7%, (ii) Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 8.5%, and (iii) total capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 10.5%.
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The Capital Rules provide for a number of deductions from and adjustments to CET1. These include, for example, the requirement that mortgage servicing assets, deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences that could not be realized through net operating loss carrybacks, and significant investments in non-consolidated financial entities be deducted from CET1 above certain thresholds. In July 2019, the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC adopted a final rule intended to simplify the Capital Rules described above for non-advanced approaches rule institutions, including provisions related to these deductions and adjustments. Institutions were required to implement the provisions of the simplification rule by April 1, 2020.
The Capital Rules also permit most banking organizations to retain, through a one-time permanent election, the capital treatment that existed before the 2013 Capital Rules were issued for accumulated other comprehensive income. The Corporation made the one-time permanent election to retain the previous capital treatment for accumulated other comprehensive income.
The Capital Rules also preclude certain hybrid securities, such as trust preferred securities, from inclusion in bank holding companies’ Tier 1 capital, although bank holding companies that had total consolidated assets of less than $15 billion at December 31, 2009 may include trust preferred securities issued prior to May 19, 2010 as a component of Tier 1 capital.
In September 2019, the OCC, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC adopted a final rule that is intended to further simplify the Capital Rules for depository institutions and their holding companies that have less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, such as us, if such institutions meet certain qualifying criteria. This final rule became effective on January 1, 2020. Under this final rule, if we meet the qualifying criteria, including having a leverage ratio (equal to Tier 1 capital divided by average total consolidated assets) greater than 9%, we will be eligible to opt into the community bank leverage ratio framework. If we opt into this framework, we will be considered to have satisfied the generally applicable risk-based and leverage capital requirements in the Capital Rules (as modified pursuant to the simplification rule) and will be considered to have met the well-capitalized ratio requirements for Prompt Corrective Action ("PCA") purposes. To date, we have not opted in to this community bank leverage ratio framework.
Dividend Restrictions
The Corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from the Bank. Declaration and payment of cash dividends by the Corporation depends upon cash dividend payments to the Corporation by the Bank, which is our primary source of revenue and cash flow.
As a Pennsylvania state-chartered bank, the Bank is subject to regulatory restrictions on the payment and amounts of dividends under the Pennsylvania Banking Code. Further, the ability of banking subsidiaries to pay dividends is also subject to their profitability, financial condition, capital expenditures and other cash flow requirements.
The payment of dividends by the Bank and the Corporation may also be affected by other factors, such as the requirement to maintain adequate capital above regulatory requirements. The federal banking agencies have indicated that paying dividends that deplete a depository institution’s capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice. A depository institution may not pay any dividend if payment would cause it to become undercapitalized or if it already is undercapitalized. Moreover, the federal banking agencies have issued policy statements that provide that bank holding companies and insured banks should generally only pay dividends out of current operating earnings. Federal banking regulators have the authority to prohibit banks and bank holding companies from paying a dividend if the regulators deem such payment to be an unsafe or unsound practice.
Prompt Corrective Action and Safety and Soundness
Under applicable PCA statutes and regulations, depository institutions are placed into one of five capital categories, ranging from "well capitalized" to "critically undercapitalized." The PCA statute and regulations provide for progressively more stringent supervisory measures as an insured depository institution’s capital category declines. An institution that is not well capitalized is generally prohibited from accepting brokered deposits and offering interest rates on deposits higher than the prevailing rate in its market. An undercapitalized depository institution must submit an acceptable restoration plan to the appropriate federal banking agency. One requisite element of such a plan is that the institution’s parent holding company must guarantee compliance by the institution with the plan, subject to certain limitations.
At December 31, 2025, the Bank qualified as "well capitalized" under applicable regulatory capital standards.
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Bank holding companies and insured depository institutions may also be subject to potential enforcement actions of varying levels of severity by the federal banking agencies for unsafe or unsound practices in conducting their business, or for violation of any law, rule, regulation, condition imposed in writing by the agency, or term of a written agreement with the agency. In more serious cases, enforcement actions may include the issuance of directives to increase capital; the issuance of formal and informal agreements; the imposition of civil monetary penalties; the issuance of a cease and desist order that can be judicially enforced; the issuance of removal and prohibition orders against officers, directors, and other institution affiliated parties; the termination of the insured depository institution’s deposit insurance; the appointment of a conservator or receiver for the insured depository institution; and the enforcement of such actions through injunctions or restraining orders based upon a judicial determination that the FDIC, as receiver, would be harmed if such equitable relief was not granted.
On May 30, 2023, ESSA Bank entered into a consent order with the United States of America, as approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 23-cv-2065l (the "ESSA Consent Order") to resolve allegations of violations of the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act within the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical area. The ESSA Consent Order required ESSA Bank to, among other things, (i) invest a minimum of $2.92 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase credit opportunities to residents of majority-Black and Hispanic census tracts in ESSA Bank’s lending area, and (ii) devote a minimum of $125,000 on community partnerships and $250,000 toward advertising, outreach, consumer financial education, and credit counseling focused on majority-Black and Hispanic census tracts within ESSA Bank’s lending area. In addition, ESSA Bank was required to continue to maintain the positions of the two new mortgage loan officers hired pursuant to the ESSA Consent Order in its existing branches in West Philadelphia and its full-time Community Development Officer position to oversee these efforts throughout the term of the ESSA Bank Consent Order. As required by the terms of the ESSA Consent Order, the Bank, as the resulting institution in the merger with ESSA Bank, agreed to and assumed all obligations under the ESSA Consent Order in connection with the merger.
Community Reinvestment Act
Under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 ("CRA"), the Bank’s primary federal regulator is required to assess the Bank’s record in meeting the credit needs of the communities it serves, including low‐ and moderate‐income neighborhoods. Because the Bank became a member bank of the Federal Reserve System effective February 12, 2026, the Federal Reserve Board is now the Bank’s primary federal regulator for CRA purposes. CRA performance evaluations are considered in evaluating applications for such things as mergers, acquisitions, and applications to open branches. The Bank received a CRA rating of "Satisfactory" at its most recent CRA exam. The federal banking agencies—the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC—issued substantially updated CRA regulations in October 2023, with technical amendments in March 2024. However, in July 2025, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a proposal to rescind the CRA regulations issued in October 2023 and replace them with the prior CRA regulations, with certain technical amendments. The federal banking agencies continue to apply the prior CRA regulations, and not the regulations issued in October 2023, in the interim as the October 2023 regulations are subject to legal action and have not taken effect.
Restrictions on Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders
The Bank is subject to the restrictions of Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and the implementing Regulation W. The Bank's "affiliates" for purposes of these sections include, among other potential entities, the Corporation and its direct subsidiaries. Section 23A requires that loans or extensions of credit by the Bank to an affiliate, purchases by the Bank of securities issued by an affiliate, purchases by the Bank of assets from an affiliate (except as may be exempted by order or regulation), the Bank’s acceptance of securities or debt obligations issued by an affiliate as collateral for a loan or extension of the credit to a third party, the Bank’s acceptance of a guarantee or letter of credit on behalf of an affiliate, a transaction with an affiliate involving the borrowing or lending of securities to the extent the transaction causes the Bank to have credit exposure to the affiliate, and a derivative transaction with an affiliate, to the extent the Bank will have credit exposure to the affiliate (collectively, "Covered Transactions") be on terms and conditions consistent with safe and sound banking practices. Section 23A also imposes various qualitative and quantitative requirements and restrictions on Covered Transactions and imposes collateralization and other requirements on certain of these transactions. Section 23B requires that all Covered Transactions and certain other transactions, including the sale of securities or other assets by the Bank to an affiliate and the payment of money or the furnishing of services by the Bank to an affiliate, be on terms comparable to those prevailing for similar transactions with nonaffiliates.
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The Bank is also subject to Sections 22(g) and 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act, and the implementation of Regulation O issued by the Federal Reserve Board. These provisions impose limitations on loans and extensions of credit by the Bank to its and its affiliates' executive officers, directors and principal shareholders and their related interests. The limitations restrict the terms and aggregate amount of such transactions. Regulation O also imposes certain recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Deposit Insurance and Premiums
The deposits of the Bank are insured up to applicable limits per insured depositor by the FDIC. The standard maximum deposit insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured depository institution, per ownership category, in accordance with applicable FDIC regulations.
The FDIC uses a risk-based assessment system that imposes insurance premiums based on a risk matrix that takes into account the bank’s capital level and supervisory rating. The base for insurance assessments is the average consolidated total assets less tangible equity capital of a financial institution. Assessment rates are calculated using formulas that take into account the risk of the institution being assessed.
In November 2023, the FDIC announced a special assessment on all insured depository institutions with more than $5 billion in total assets, including the Bank, in order to recover the loss to the DIF associated with protecting uninsured depositors following the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The special assessment was originally intended to be collected over an eight-quarter collection period, beginning with the first quarterly assessment period of 2024. The FDIC announced in August 2025 that the collection period will be extended for at least one more quarter. This extension of the collection period reflects the adjustment needed given changes to the loss estimates or changes in the amounts collected by the FDIC as compared to estimates. The assessment base for the special assessment is equal to an insured depository institution’s ("IDI’s") estimated uninsured deposits reported as of December 31, 2022, adjusted to exclude the first $5 billion, applicable either to the IDI, if an IDI is not a subsidiary of a holding company, or at the banking organization level, to the extent that an IDI is part of a holding company with one or more subsidiary IDIs.
Financial Privacy and Data Security
The Corporation is subject to federal laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and certain state laws containing consumer privacy protection provisions. These provisions limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose nonpublic information about consumers to affiliated and non-affiliated third parties and limit the reuse of certain consumer information received from non-affiliated financial institutions. These provisions require notice of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain nonpublic personal information to affiliates or non-affiliated third parties by means of opt-out or opt-in authorizations.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires that financial institutions implement comprehensive written information security programs that include administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect consumer information. Federal banking agencies have also adopted guidelines for establishing information security standards and programs to protect such information. Further, pursuant to interpretive guidance issued under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and certain state laws, financial institutions are required to notify customers of security breaches that result in unauthorized access to their nonpublic personal information.
Incentive Compensation
The Dodd-Frank Act requires the federal banking agencies and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") to establish joint regulations or guidelines prohibiting incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities, including the Corporation and the Bank, with at least $1 billion in total consolidated assets that encourage inappropriate risks by providing an executive officer, employee, director or principal shareholder with excessive compensation, fees, or benefits that could lead to material financial loss to the entity. The federal banking agencies and the SEC proposed such regulations in 2016, and issued re-proposed regulations in substantially the same form in May 2024, which have not been finalized. If the regulations are adopted in the form proposed or a similar form, they will restrict the manner in which executive compensation is structured.
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USA PATRIOT Act
Under Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act, all financial institutions are required to take certain measures to identify their customers, prevent money laundering, monitor customer transactions, and report suspicious activity to U.S. law enforcement agencies. Financial institutions also are required to respond to requests for information from federal banking agencies and law enforcement agencies. Information sharing among financial institutions for the above purposes is encouraged by an exemption granted to complying financial institutions from the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and other privacy laws. Financial institutions that hold correspondent accounts for foreign banks or provide private banking services to foreign individuals are required to take measures to avoid dealing with certain foreign individuals or entities, including foreign banks with profiles that raise money laundering concerns, and are prohibited from dealing with foreign "shell banks" and persons from jurisdictions of particular concern. The primary federal banking agencies and the Secretary of the Treasury have adopted regulations to implement several of these provisions. All financial institutions also are required to establish internal anti-money laundering programs. The effectiveness of a financial institution in combating money laundering activities is a factor to be considered in any application submitted by the financial institution under the Bank Merger Act. The Bank has in place a Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act compliance program and engages in very few transactions of any kind with foreign financial institutions or foreign persons.
Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulation
The United States government has imposed economic sanctions that affect transactions with designated foreign countries, nationals, and others. These are typically known as the "OFAC" rules based on their administration by the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Office of Foreign Assets Control-administered sanctions targeting countries take many different forms. Generally, they contain one or more of the following elements: (i) restrictions on trade with or investment in a sanctioned country, including prohibitions against direct or indirect imports from and exports to a sanctioned country and prohibitions on U.S. persons engaging in financial transactions relating to making investments in, or providing investment-related advice or assistance to, a sanctioned country; and (ii) a blocking of assets in which the government or specially designated nationals of the sanctioned country have an interest, by prohibiting transfers of property subject to U.S. jurisdiction (including property in the possession or control of U.S. persons). Blocked assets (property and bank deposits) cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off, or transferred in any manner without a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences.
Other Federal Laws and Regulations
State usury and other credit laws limit the amount of interest and various other charges collected or contracted by a bank on loans. The Bank is also subject to lending limits on loans to one borrower and regulatory guidance on concentrations of credit. The Bank’s loans and other products and services are also subject to numerous federal and state consumer financial protection laws, including, but not limited to, the following:
•Truth-In-Lending Act, which governs disclosures of credit terms to consumer borrowers;
•Truth-in-Savings Act, which governs disclosures of the terms of deposit accounts to consumers;
•Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, requiring financial institutions to provide information to regulators to enable determinations as to whether financial institutions are fulfilling their obligations to meet the home lending needs of the communities they serve and not discriminating in their lending practices;
•Equal Credit Opportunity Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex or other prohibited factors in extending credit;
•Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which imposes requirements relating to real estate settlements, including requiring lenders to disclose certain information regarding the nature and cost of real estate settlement services;
•Fair Credit Reporting Act, covering numerous areas relating to certain types of consumer information and identity theft;
•Privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and related regulations, which require that financial institutions provide privacy policies to consumers, to allow customers to "opt out" of certain sharing of their nonpublic personal information, and to safeguard sensitive and confidential customer information;
•Electronic Funds Transfer Act, which is a consumer protection law regarding electronic fund transfers; and
•Numerous other federal and state laws and regulations, including those related to consumer protection and bank operations.
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Governmental Policies
Our earnings are significantly affected by the monetary and fiscal policies of governmental authorities, including the Federal Reserve Board. Among the instruments of monetary policy used by the Federal Reserve Board to implement these objectives are open-market operations in U.S. Government securities and federal funds, changes in the discount rate on member bank borrowings and changes in reserve requirements against member bank deposits. These instruments of monetary policy are used in varying combinations to influence the overall level of bank loans, investments and deposits, and the interest rates charged on loans and paid for deposits. The Federal Reserve Board frequently uses these instruments of monetary policy, especially its open-market operations and the discount rate, to influence the level of interest rates and to affect the strength of the economy, the level of inflation or the price of the dollar in foreign exchange markets. The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve Board have had a significant effect on the operating results of banking institutions in the past and are expected to continue to do so in the future. It is not possible to predict the nature of future changes in monetary and fiscal policies, or the effect which they may have on our business and earnings.
Other Legislative Initiatives
Proposals may be introduced in the United States Congress, in the Pennsylvania Legislature, and/or by various bank regulatory authorities that could alter the powers of, and restrictions on, different types of banking organizations and which could restructure part or all of the existing regulatory framework for banks, bank and financial holding companies and other providers of financial services. Moreover, other bills may be introduced in Congress which would further regulate, deregulate or restructure the financial services industry, including proposals to substantially reform the regulatory framework. It is not possible to predict whether any such proposals will be enacted into law or, even if enacted, what effect such action may have on our business and earnings.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2025, the Corporation had a total of 950 employees, of which 917 were full time and 33 were part time.
The Corporation respects and values the responsibilities of the Corporation to act with integrity in a number of community-focused areas, including being reasonably environmentally considerate, and avoiding discrimination of any investors, customers, or employees by promoting a company culture that reflects of the communities the Corporation serves. The Corporation emphasizes relevant governance principles and compliance considerations in strategic planning, human capital management and leadership development (which includes recruiting and retaining employees), and vendor management, as relationships with third parties represent critical connections to and extensions of the values, operating principles, and the commitment to legal and regulatory compliance of the Corporation and the Board of Directors.
Strategic Planning and Related Training
The Corporation has established a formal Strategic Plan, the framework of which has, as its foundation, the core values and principles that have been fundamental to the Corporation’s long-term success. These attributes include respect, integrity, accountability, leadership, professionalism, collaboration, client-focused, innovation, inclusion, and volunteerism. In establishing these core values and principles as the foundation upon which all other strategic objectives are anchored, the Corporation seeks to further develop and sustain a corporate culture with sensitivity to the entirety of the Corporation’s business and demographic footprint and environment in which it operates. The differences among the Corporation's Board of Directors and employees, and its customers and community members, are respected and embraced to drive innovative products, services, and solutions that effectively meet the variety of needs among the Corporation’s broad group of stakeholders.
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Human Capital Management and Leadership Development
The Corporation firmly believes in the importance of succession planning and, as such, has in place a formal succession planning process for all named executive officers, members of the executive management team, and regional presidents. The succession plan was successfully utilized in 2024 after the resignation of a named executive officer, resulting in a seamless transition of related areas of responsibility to other members of the Senior Management within the Corporation. A critical factor of the Corporation’s succession plan is the training and development of its management team to create a strong internal pipeline of talent to produce the future leaders of the Corporation. The Corporation’s succession planning process is further strengthened by the Corporation's presence in diversified markets that lead to opportunities to attract and retain talent with broad-based skills and experiences.
The Corporation is dedicated to recognizing the unique contribution of each employee and is committed to supporting a workplace that understands, accepts and values the similarities and differences between individuals. The Corporation’s key human capital management objectives are to recruit, hire, develop and promote a deeply and broadly experienced employee team that collectively translates into an exceptional workforce committed to fostering, promoting, preserving, and reflecting the entire spectrum of the Corporation’s communities and culture, while successfully executing the Corporation’s business strategies and exemplifying its corporate values. To support these objectives, the Corporation’s Employee Experience processes and programs are designed and operated to:
•Attract and develop talented employees, specifically skilled for their position, from across the spectrum of professional experience, life experience, socio-economic background, and geographic representation;
•Prepare all members of the Corporation's team for critical roles and leadership positions both now and the future, in serving as employees and valuable community members;
•Reward and support employees fairly and without discrimination based on successful performance and through competitive pay and benefit programs;
•Enhance the Corporation’s culture through efforts to better understand, foster, promote, and preserve a culture in alignment with the Corporation's core values; and
•Evolve and invest in technology, tools, and resources to better support employees of varying skills and backgrounds at work.
To monitor changes in the Corporation's employee and management groups relative to both composition and growth, the Corporation uses, among other tools, recurring management and employee surveys, profile analyses, third-party compensation surveys, and summaries of year-over-year changes to the pools of employees and management within the Corporation's various banking divisions and the Corporation as a whole, and utilizes the results to track progress and improve the effectiveness of the Corporation’s leadership development and workforce profile and personnel management practices.
The Corporation offers a robust range of training programs tailored to meet the needs of employees across all levels and departments. Through the CNB Academy, the Corporation’s learning management system, the Corporation delivers targeted learning solutions that empower employees to excel in their roles while advancing their professional growth. The Corporation’s training programs are designed to support a culture of continuous learning and career progression. From foundational skills in client interactions to advanced leadership development, employees are equipped with the tools and knowledge to succeed in their current roles and prepare for future opportunities. Career-focused programs like the Mentoring Program, Career Path Planning, and Rising Professionals enable employees to map and achieve their long-term aspirations. By aligning training programs with strategic planning, the Corporation ensures employees are empowered to deliver exceptional service and contribute to organizational success. Through the Corporation’s integrated approach, it builds a resilient, innovative workforce that is prepared to adapt to industry challenges and opportunities while upholding the core values that define its institution.
A critical measure is the opportunity for individuals from all professional and demographic backgrounds to advance into senior leadership positions. These leaders have a greater ability to drive innovation and change and provide the Corporation with financial services expertise to ensure the Corporation benefits from the active engagement and perspectives of all groups within its workforce and communities.
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Community Involvement and Social Impacts
The Corporation serves as a cornerstone institution of both financial support and community service in the markets in which it serves. The Corporation is committed to strengthening these communities through the active volunteering of its employees. The Corporation’s employees actively participate in their local communities through volunteer activities in education, economic development, human and health services, and community reinvestment. During 2025, the Corporation’s employees collectively reported service of 32,421 hours in voluntary support to 1,374 organizations, with 74% of employees actively participating. Additionally, there were approximately $1.4 million in donations, from both the Corporation and employees through internal fundraising efforts, to community organizations and events within the communities the Corporation serves. To encourage employees to give back to their communities, the Corporation's Volunteer Time Off Program, which provides employees with up to 16 hours of paid time off annually to volunteer for nonprofit organizations and local causes that may need volunteer assistance during typical weekday business hours. In 2025, the program was met with tremendous enthusiasm, with employees dedicating a collective total of 3,446 hours to volunteer service across the communities the Corporation serves. Importantly, employees contributed over nine times additional volunteering hours of their own time beyond those hours covered by the Volunteer Time Off Program. From participating in local food drives to mentoring youth and supporting nonprofit initiatives, the program has helped strengthen the Corporation’s ties to its communities while fostering a culture of service among its team members. This initiative reflects the Corporation’s core values of giving back and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
The Corporation also promotes economic development through investments in community‐strengthening initiatives, such as affordable housing and revitalization efforts. In 2024, the Corporation invested in two new projects that demonstrate its commitment in this area. Located in a distressed section of downtown Rochester, New York, the Corporation supported a project to rehabilitate four historic commercial buildings into a mixed‐use community with four commercial spaces and eleven residential apartments through a combination of debt financing of $9.6 million and an equity investment of $4.1 million in historic tax credits generated by the project. The commercial space will be available at affordable rents to generate economic and small‐business opportunities, particularly marketed toward local and minority/women‐owned business enterprises. Additionally, in Parma, Ohio, the Corporation provided debt financing of $5.5 million and made an equity investment of $4.2 million in low‐income housing tax credits to support a project to rehabilitate a low‐income senior housing facility with 63 units. The project includes extensive improvements to make the facility more energy‐efficient and to increase the number of units that are handicap accessible.
The Corporation remains deeply committed to promoting financial well‐being within its communities. Through a variety of initiatives, the Corporation aims to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to achieve financial wellness. In 2025, the Corporation continued to expand its Financial Wellness Center, offering a robust series of free, publicly available online trainings that cover a wide range of basic finance topics, from budgeting basics to retirement planning. The series was expanded to support the financial education of small business owners and added personal finance courses on emergency savings, additional budgeting resources, and lowering debt. In 2025, the Corporation partnered with ten schools to host five financial reality fairs for middle school and high school students, providing hands‐on experiences to help them understand budgeting, saving, and preparing for unexpected expenses. In addition, the Small Business Essentials Fair was created and deployed to support small business owners to ensure they have the financial and educational resources for success. To support a broader financial education outreach, virtual lunch‐and‐learn sessions were offered on topics focusing on basic financial education, protecting seniors from fraud, and cybersecurity. These initiatives are a sample of the robust financial education programs that the Corporation offered in 2025 and reflect the Corporation’s dedication to fostering a financially informed and resilient community.
The Corporation continued to focus on increasing its outreach to those who have been traditionally underserved by the financial institution industry. Examples of some the Corporation’s key recent initiatives are outlined below.
•Introduced in 2025, CNB Bank’s Open Your Door Program is designed to help more individuals and families achieve the goal of homeownership. This program provides meaningful financial advantages, including low down payment options, flexible underwriting criteria, no private mortgage insurance requirements, waived processing and application fees, and a no‐closing‐cost option, all aimed at reducing barriers for qualified buyers. These features make the program a valuable resource for expanding access to affordable housing throughout the Corporation's footprint.
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•CNB Bank partners with GreenPath Financial Wellness, a national nonprofit with more than 60 years of experience providing trusted financial counseling and debt management support. Through this partnership, customers gain free access to certified financial counselors, personalized budgeting assistance, and expert guidance for managing credit card debt, housing challenges, and long‐term financial goals. GreenPath’s NFCC and HUD‐certified counselors offer confidential, one‐on‐one support to help individuals reduce financial stress, improve financial stability, and take control of their financial future.
•In 2025, CNB Bank's new financial education center and community banking office opened in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. Located on Parade Street, this location provides financial education and accessible banking to underserved communities, promoting economic empowerment, and narrowing the wealth gap. This location was the first bank to open on Parade Street in over a decade.
•Launched in May 2023, Impressia Bank is CNB Bank’s sixth division and is dedicated to empowering women business owners and leaders. Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, with additional team members located in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Impressia Bank provides specialized services such as SBA and grant advisory services, wealth management, and private banking. Impressia’s mission is to close the gender funding gap and advance economic empowerment for women by offering innovative financial solutions, mentorship, and leadership development opportunities.
•BankOnBuffalo’s BankOnWheels initiative enhances financial inclusion by delivering banking services to underserved communities. By addressing disparities in access to financial resources, BankOnWheels empowers individuals and communities to fully participate in the economy. The first of its kind operated by any financial institution in Western New York, BankOnWheels is a full-service, yet fully mobile bank branch, which will enable the Bank to deliver essential banking services to communities with little or no access to such services today. The BankOnWheels rotates between four locations in the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, which are located in communities underserved by banks.
•In May 2023, CNB Bank launched the At Ease Program, tailored to meet the unique financial needs of veterans, active-duty service members, and their families. This program offers specialized benefits, including waived fees, free financial tools, and mobile banking services, reflecting the Corporation's commitment to honoring and supporting the military community.
Available Information
The Corporation makes available free of charge on its website (www.cnbbank.bank) its Annual Report on Form 10-K, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as practicable after it electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. Information on the Corporation’s website is not incorporated by reference into this report.
Shareholders may obtain a copy of the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K free of charge by writing to: CNB Financial Corporation, 1 South Second Street, PO Box 42, Clearfield, PA 16830, Attn: Shareholder Relations.
The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about electronic filers such as the Corporation. The site is available at http://www.sec.gov.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations are subject to various risks inherent in its business. The material risks and uncertainties that management believes affect the Corporation are described below. If any of these risks actually occur, the Corporation’s business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. The following risks together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be considered.
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Economic Risks
Economic conditions could adversely affect our business and financial results.
The Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations are impacted by global markets and economic conditions over which the Corporation has no control. Periods of high inflation since the start of 2021 have led to increased costs for businesses and consumers. In addition, international trade disputes, including threatened or implemented tariffs imposed by the U.S. and threatened or implemented tariffs imposed by foreign countries in retaliation, could result in further inflationary pressures that impact costs. An economic downturn or recession, including deterioration in the economic conditions in the U.S., or a slowing or stalled recovery therefrom, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Poor economic conditions have in the past adversely affected, and may in the future affect, the demand for the Corporation’s products, the creditworthiness of the Corporation’s borrowers and the value of the Corporation’s investment securities and other interest-earning assets. In particular, the Corporation may face the following risks in connection with the economic or market environment:
•The Corporation’s and the Bank’s ability to borrow from other financial institutions or to access the debt or equity capital markets on favorable terms or at all could be adversely affected by disruptions in the capital markets or other events, including actions by rating agencies and deteriorating investor expectations.
•The Corporation faces increased regulation of the banking and financial services industry. Compliance with such regulation may increase its costs and limit its ability to pursue business opportunities.
•Market developments may affect customer confidence levels and may cause increases in loan delinquencies and default rates, which management expects would adversely impact the Bank’s charge-offs and provision for credit losses.
•Market developments may adversely affect the Bank’s securities portfolio by causing other-than-temporary-impairments, prompting write-downs and securities losses.
•Competition in the banking and financial services industry could intensify as a result of the consolidation of financial services companies in connection with current market conditions.
The Corporation may not be able to meet its cash flow needs on a timely basis at a reasonable cost, and the Corporation’s cost of funds for banking operations may significantly increase as a result of general economic conditions, interest rates and competitive pressures.
Liquidity is the ability to meet cash flow obligations as they come due and cash flow needs on a timely basis and at a reasonable cost. The liquidity of the Bank is used to make loans and to repay deposit and borrowing liabilities as they become due, or are demanded by customers and creditors. Many factors affect the Bank’s ability to meet liquidity needs, including variations in the markets served by its network of offices, its mix of assets and liabilities, reputation and standing in the marketplace, and general economic conditions.
The Bank’s primary source of funding is customer deposits, gathered throughout its network of banking offices. Periodically, the Corporation utilizes term borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank (the "FHLB") of Pittsburgh, of which the Bank is a member, and other lenders to meet funding obligations. In addition, the Bank also maintains borrowing capacity with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (the "Federal Reserve Bank"). The Bank’s securities and loan portfolios provide a source of contingent liquidity that could be accessed in a reasonable time period through sales.
Significant changes in general economic conditions, market interest rates, competitive pressures or otherwise, could cause the Bank’s deposits to decrease relative to overall banking operations, and it would have to rely more heavily on brokered funds and borrowings in the future, which are typically more expensive than deposits.
The Corporation's management and Board of Directors, through the Asset/Liability Committee (the "ALCO"), monitor liquidity and the ALCO establishes and monitors acceptable liquidity ranges. The Bank actively manages its liquidity position through target ratios. Continual monitoring of these ratios, both historical and through forecasts under multiple rate scenarios, allows the Bank to employ strategies necessary to maintain adequate liquidity.
Changes in economic conditions, including consumer savings habits and availability of or access to capital, could potentially have a significant impact on the Bank’s liquidity position, which in turn could materially impact the Corporation’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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Credit and Interest Rate Risks
The Bank’s allowance for credit losses may not be adequate to cover loan losses which could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
A significant source of risk for the Corporation arises from the possibility that losses will be sustained because borrowers, guarantors and related parties may fail to perform in accordance with the terms of their loan agreements. Most loans originated by the Bank are secured, but some loans are unsecured based upon management’s evaluation of the creditworthiness of the borrowers. With respect to secured loans, the collateral securing the repayment of these loans principally includes a wide variety of real estate, and to a lesser extent commercial and personal property, either of which may be insufficient to cover the obligations owed under such loans.
Collateral values and the financial performance of borrowers may be adversely affected by changes in prevailing economic, environmental and other conditions, including declines in the value of real estate, changes in interest rates and debt service levels, changes in oil and gas prices, changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government, widespread disease, terrorist activity, environmental contamination and other external events, which are beyond the control of the Bank. In addition, collateral appraisals that are out of date or that do not meet industry recognized standards might create the impression that a loan is adequately collateralized when in fact it is not. Although the Bank may acquire any real estate or other assets that secure defaulted loans through foreclosures or other similar remedies, the amounts owed under the defaulted loans may exceed the value of the assets acquired.
The allowance for credit losses is subject to a formal analysis by the Credit Administration and Finance Departments of the Corporation. Following the issuance by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") of Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-13, "Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments," the Corporation adjusted its loan allowance methodology to reflect the new standard, which requires periodic estimates of lifetime expected credit losses on financial assets and categorizes expected credit losses as allowances for credit losses under the current expected credit loss ("CECL") methodology. The Corporation measures expected credit losses of financial assets on a collective (pool) basis, when the financial assets share similar risk characteristics. Depending on the nature of the pool of financial assets with similar risk characteristics, the models utilized by the Corporation to estimate expected credit losses include a discounted cash flow ("DCF") model that discounts instrument-level contractual cash flows, adjusted for prepayments and curtailments, incorporating loss expectations, and a weighted average remaining maturity model which contemplates expected losses at a pool-level, utilizing historic loss information. The Corporation's models for estimating the allowance for credit losses consider available relevant information about the collectability of cash flows, including information about past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts.
The Bank monitors delinquencies and losses on a monthly basis. The Bank has adopted underwriting and credit monitoring policies and procedures, including the review of borrower financial statements and collateral appraisals, which management believes are appropriate to mitigate the risk of loss by assessing the likelihood of borrower nonperformance and the value of available collateral. The Bank also manages credit risk by diversifying its loan portfolio. An ongoing independent review, subsequent to management’s review, of individual credits is performed by an independent loan review function, which reports to the Loan Committee of the Corporation’s Board of Directors.
The determination of the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses inherently involves a high degree of subjectivity and requires the Corporation to make significant estimates of current credit risks and future trends, all of which may undergo material changes. Although management believes that the processes in place for assessing the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses are robust, such policies and procedures have limitations, including judgment errors in management’s risk analysis, and may not prevent unexpected losses in the future. Moreover, the CECL methodology may create more volatility in the level of our allowance for credit losses from quarter to quarter as changes in the level of allowance for credit losses will be dependent upon, among other things, macroeconomic forecasts and conditions, loan portfolio volumes and credit quality. These factors could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
Interest rate volatility could significantly reduce the Corporation’s profitability.
The Corporation’s earnings largely depend on the relationship between the yield on its earning assets, primarily loans and investment securities, and the cost of funds, primarily deposits and borrowings. This relationship, commonly known as the net interest margin, is susceptible to significant fluctuation and is affected by economic and competitive factors that influence the yields and rates, and the volume and mix of the Bank’s interest earning assets and interest bearing liabilities.
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Interest rate risk can be defined as the sensitivity of net interest income and of the market value of financial instruments to the direction and frequency of changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk arises from the imbalance in the re-pricing, maturity, and/or cash flow characteristics of assets and liabilities. The Corporation is subject to interest rate risk to the degree that its interest bearing liabilities re-price or mature more slowly or more rapidly or on a different basis than its interest earning assets. Changes in interest rates, including those due to federal monetary policy, will affect the levels of income and expense recorded on a large portion of the Bank’s assets and liabilities, and fluctuations in interest rates will impact the market value of all interest sensitive assets. Significant fluctuations in interest rates could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.
Interest rates remain elevated compared to recent years and may increase. As interest rates rise, we experience competitive pressures to increase the rates we pay on deposits, which may decrease our net interest income. Furthermore, elevated interest rates increase our cost of new debt or preferred capital.
The Bank’s interest rate risk measurement and management techniques incorporate the re-pricing and cash flow attributes of its balance sheet and off-balance sheet instruments as they relate to current and potential changes in interest rates. The level of interest rate risk, measured in terms of the potential future effect on earnings, is determined through the use of static gap analysis and earnings simulation modeling under multiple interest rate scenarios. Management’s objectives are to measure, monitor, and develop strategies in response to the interest rate risk profile inherent in the Bank’s balance sheet in order to preserve the sensitivity of net interest income to actual or potential changes in interest rates. For further information on risk relating to interest rates, refer to Part I, Item 7a, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk," herein.
The Corporation’s investment securities portfolio is subject to credit risk, market risk, and liquidity risk, and declines in value in its investment securities portfolio may require it to record impairment charges that could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations and financial condition.
The Corporation’s investment securities portfolio has risks beyond its control that can significantly influence the portfolio’s fair value. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in interest rates, changes in prepayment speeds, changes in general economic conditions, rating agency downgrades of the securities, defaults of the issuers of the securities and market liquidity. Any change in current accounting principles or interpretations of these principles could impact the Corporation’s assessment of fair value and thus its determination of other-than-temporary impairment of the securities in its investment securities portfolio.
The Bank may be required to record other-than-temporary impairment charges on its investment securities if they suffer declines in value that are considered other-than-temporary. Numerous factors, including collateral deterioration underlying certain private label mortgage-backed securities, lack of liquidity for re-sales of certain investment securities, absence of reliable pricing information for certain investment securities, adverse changes in business climate, adverse actions by regulators, or unanticipated changes in the competitive environment could negatively affect the Bank’s securities portfolio in future periods. An other-than-temporary impairment charge could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s results of operations and financial condition.
A substantial decline in the value of the Bank’s FHLB common stock may adversely affect the Corporation’s results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
As a requirement of membership in the FHLB of Pittsburgh, the Bank must own a minimum required amount of FHLB stock, calculated periodically based primarily on its level of borrowings from the FHLB. Borrowings from the FHLB represent the Bank’s primary source of short-term and long-term wholesale funding.
In an extreme situation, it is possible that the capitalization of an FHLB, including the FHLB of Pittsburgh, could be substantially diminished or reduced to zero. Consequently, given that there is no trading market for the Bank’s FHLB common stock, the Corporation’s management believes that there is a risk that the Corporation’s investment could be deemed impaired at some time in the future. If this occurs, it may adversely affect the Corporation’s results of operations and financial condition.
If the capitalization of the FHLB of Pittsburgh is substantially diminished, the Bank’s liquidity may be adversely impacted if it is not able to obtain alternative sources of funding.
There are 11 FHLB banks, including the FHLB of Pittsburgh, in the FHLB system. The 11 FHLB banks are jointly liable for the consolidated obligations of the FHLB system. To the extent that one FHLB bank cannot meet its obligations to pay its share of the system’s debt, other FHLB banks can be called upon to make the payment. The Corporation cannot assure you, however, that the FHLB system will be able to meet these obligations.
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The Bank could be held responsible for environmental liabilities relating to properties acquired through foreclosure, resulting in significant financial loss.
In the event the Bank forecloses on a defaulted commercial or residential mortgage loan to recover its investment, it may be subject to environmental liabilities in connection with the underlying real property, which could significantly exceed the value of the real property. Although the Bank exercises due diligence to discover potential environmental liabilities prior to acquiring any property through foreclosure, hazardous substances or wastes, contaminants, pollutants, or their sources may be discovered on properties during its ownership or after a sale to a third party. The Corporation cannot assure you that the Bank would not incur full recourse liability for the entire cost of any removal and cleanup on an acquired property, that the cost of removal and cleanup would not exceed the value of the property, or that the Bank could recover any of the costs from any third party. Losses arising from environmental liabilities could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.
Risks Related to an Investment in the Corporation’s Securities
Some provisions contained in the Corporation’s articles of incorporation and its bylaws and under Pennsylvania law could deter a takeover attempt or delay changes in control or management of the Corporation.
Certain anti-takeover provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988, as amended, apply to Pennsylvania registered corporations (e.g., publicly traded companies) including, but not limited to, those relating to (1) control share acquisitions, (2) disgorgement of profits by certain controlling persons, (3) business combination transactions with interested shareholders, and (4) the rights of shareholders to demand fair value for their stock following a control transaction. Pennsylvania law permits corporations to opt-out of these anti-takeover provisions, but the Corporation has not done so. Such provisions could have the effect of deterring takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of the Corporation. Additionally, such provisions could limit the price that some investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of the Corporation’s common stock.
For example, the Corporation’s amended and restated articles of incorporation require the affirmative vote of 66% of the outstanding shares entitled to vote to effect a business combination. In addition, the Corporation’s amended and restated articles of incorporation, subject to the limitations prescribed in such articles and subject to limitations prescribed by Pennsylvania law, authorize the Corporation’s Board of Directors, from time to time by resolution and without further shareholder action, to provide for the issuance of shares of preferred stock, in one or more series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and other rights of the shares and to fix the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof. As a result of its broad discretion with respect to the creation and issuance of preferred stock without shareholder approval, the Corporation's Board of Directors could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of common stock and, by issuing shares of preferred stock with certain voting, conversion and/or redemption rights, could discourage any attempt to obtain control of the Corporation.
The Corporation’s bylaws, as amended and restated, provide for the division of the Corporation’s Board of Directors into three classes of directors, with each serving staggered terms.
Any of the foregoing provisions may have the effect of deterring takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of the Corporation.
The price of the Corporation’s common stock may fluctuate significantly, and this may make it difficult for you to resell shares of common stock owned by you at times or at prices you find attractive.
The price of the Corporation’s common stock on the Global Select Market of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ") constantly changes. The Corporation expects that the market price of its common stock will continue to fluctuate, and the Corporation cannot give you any assurances regarding any trends in the market prices for its common stock.
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The Corporation’s stock price may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are beyond its control. These factors include the Corporation’s:
•past and future dividend practice;
•financial condition, performance, creditworthiness, and prospects;
•quarterly variations in the Corporation’s operating results or the quality of the Corporation’s assets;
•operating results that vary from the expectations of management, securities analysts, and investors;
•changes in expectations as to the Corporation’s future financial performance;
•announcements of innovations, new products, strategic developments, significant contracts, acquisitions, and other material events by the Corporation or its competitors;
•the operating and securities price performance of other companies that investors believe are comparable to the Corporation;
•future sales of the Corporation’s equity or equity-related securities;
•the credit, mortgage and housing markets, the markets for securities relating to mortgages or housing, and developments with respect to financial institutions generally; and
•instability in global financial markets and global economies and general market conditions, such as interest or foreign exchange rates, stock, commodity or real estate valuations or volatility, budget deficits or sovereign debt level concerns and other geopolitical, regulatory or judicial events.
The Corporation’s ability to pay dividends is limited by law and regulations.
The future declaration of dividends by the Corporation’s Board of Directors will depend on a number of factors, including capital requirements, regulatory limitations, the Corporation’s operating results and financial condition and general economic conditions. As a bank holding company, the Corporation’s principal assets and sources of income are derived from the Bank and, as a result, the Corporation’s ability to pay dividends depends primarily on the receipt of dividends from the Bank. Dividend payments from the Bank are subject to legal and regulatory limitations, generally based on retained earnings, imposed by bank regulatory agencies. The ability of the Bank to pay dividends is also subject to financial condition, regulatory capital requirements, capital expenditures, and other cash flow requirements. The Corporation cannot assure you that the Bank will be able to pay dividends to the Corporation in the future. If the Corporation were unable to receive dividends from the Bank, it would materially and adversely affect the Corporation’s liquidity and its ability to service its debt, pay its other obligations, or pay cash dividends on its common stock. The Corporation may decide to limit the payment of dividends to its stockholders even when the Corporation has the legal ability to pay them in order to retain earnings for use in the Corporation’s business.
Operational and Strategic Risks
The Bank’s loans are principally concentrated in certain areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Virginia, and adverse economic conditions in those markets could adversely affect the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Corporation’s success is dependent to a significant extent upon general economic conditions in the United States and, in particular, the local economies in Central, Northeast and Northwest Pennsylvania, Central and Northeast Ohio, Western New York and Southwest Virginia - the primary markets served by the Bank. The Bank is particularly exposed to real estate and economic factors in these geographic areas, as most of its loan portfolio is concentrated among borrowers in these markets. Furthermore, because a substantial portion of the Bank’s loan portfolio is secured by real estate in these areas, the value of the associated collateral is also subject to regional real estate market conditions.
The Bank is not immune to negative consequences arising from overall economic weakness and, in particular, a sharp downturn in the local real estate markets served by the Bank. While the Bank’s loan portfolio has not shown significant signs of credit quality deterioration despite continued challenges in the U.S. economy, we cannot assure you that no deterioration will occur. An economic recession in the markets served by the Bank, and the nation as a whole, could negatively impact household and corporate incomes. This impact could lead to decreased loan demand and increase the number of borrowers who fail to pay the Bank interest or principal on their loans, and accordingly, could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.
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Severe weather, flooding and other effects of climate change and other natural disasters, such as earthquakes, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Our branch locations and our customers’ properties may be adversely impacted by flooding, wildfires, prolonged periods of extreme temperature, high winds and other effects of severe weather conditions that may be caused or exacerbated by climate change. These events can force property closures, result in property damage and/or result in delays in expansion, development or renovation of our properties and those of our customers. Even if these events do not directly impact our properties or our customers’ properties, they may impact us and our customers through increased insurance, energy or other costs. In addition, changes in laws or regulations, including federal, state or city laws, relating to climate change could result in increased capital expenditures to improve the energy efficiency of our branch locations and/or our customers’ properties. We also face investor-related climate risks. Investors are increasingly taking into account environmental, social, and governance factors, including climate risks, in determining whether to invest in companies. Our reputation and investor relationships could be damaged as a result of our involvement with activities perceived to be causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change.
The Corporation depends on the accuracy and completeness of information about customers and counterparties.
In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with customers and counterparties, we rely on information furnished to us by or on behalf of customers and counterparties, including financial statements and other financial information. We also rely on representations of customers and counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information and, with respect to financial statements, on reports of independent auditors. For example, in deciding whether to extend credit to clients, we may assume that a customer's audited financial statements conform to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and present fairly, in all material respects, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the customer. Our earnings are significantly affected by our ability to properly originate, underwrite and service loans. Our financial condition, results of operations and capital could be negatively impacted to the extent we incorrectly assess the creditworthiness of our borrowers, fail to detect or respond to deterioration in asset quality in a timely manner, or rely on financial statements that do not comply with GAAP or are materially misleading.
The risks presented by acquisitions could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Any acquisitions will be accompanied by the risks commonly encountered in acquisitions including, among other things: our ability to realize anticipated cost savings and avoid unanticipated costs relating to the merger, the difficulty of integrating operations and personnel, the potential disruption of our or the acquired company’s ongoing business, the inability of our management to maximize our financial and strategic position, the inability to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies, and the impairment of relationships with the acquired company’s employees and customers as a result of changes in ownership and management. These risks may prevent the Corporation from fully realizing the anticipated benefits of an acquisition or cause the realization of such benefits to take longer than expected.
Strong competition within the Corporation’s markets and technological change may have a material adverse impact on its profitability.
The Corporation competes with an ever-increasing array of financial service providers. As noted above, as a financial holding company and state-chartered financial institution, respectively, the Corporation and the Bank are subject to extensive regulation and supervision, including, in many cases, regulations that limit the type and scope of activities. The non-bank financial service providers that compete with the Corporation and the Bank may not be subject to such extensive regulation, supervision, and tax burden. Competition from nationwide banks, as well as local institutions, is strong in the Corporation’s markets.
The financial services industry is undergoing rapid technological change, and technological advances, including those related to artificial intelligence ("AI"), are likely to intensify competition. In addition to improving customer services, effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to reduce costs. Accordingly, the Corporation’s future success will depend in part on its ability to address customer needs by using technology. The Corporation cannot assure you that it will be able to successfully take advantage of technological changes or advances or develop and market new technology driven products and services to its customers. Failure to keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity.
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Many regional, national, and international competitors have far greater assets and capitalization than the Corporation has and greater resources to invest in technology and access to capital markets and can consequently offer a broader array of financial services than the Corporation can. We cannot assure you that we will continue to be able to compete effectively with other financial institutions in the future. Developments increasing the nature or level of competition could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity. For further information on competition, refer to Part I, Item 1, "Competition," herein.
The soundness of other financial institutions with which the Corporation does business could adversely affect the Corporation’s business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our ability to engage in routine funding transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Financial institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, investment or other relationships. The Corporation routinely executes transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry such as commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks and other institutional clients for a range of transactions including loan participations, derivatives, and hedging transactions. In addition, the Corporation invests in securities or loans originated or issued by financial institutions or supported by the loans they originate. As a result, defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, one or more financial institutions, or the financial industry generally, have led to, or could in the future lead to, market-wide liquidity problems and could lead to losses or defaults by us or other institutions. Many of these transactions expose the Corporation to credit or investment risk in the event of default by the Corporation’s counterparty. In addition, the Corporation’s credit risk may be exacerbated if the collateral it holds cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or other exposure to the Corporation. The Corporation could incur losses to its securities portfolio as a result of these issues. These types of losses may have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, financial condition or results of operation.
The Corporation’s operations may be adversely affected if its external vendors do not perform as expected or if its access to third-party services is interrupted.
The Corporation relies on certain external vendors to provide products and services necessary to maintain the day-to-day operations of the Corporation. Some of the products and services provided by vendors include key components of our business infrastructure including data processing and storage and internet connections and network access, among other products and services. Accordingly, the Corporation’s operations are exposed to the risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements or under service level agreements. The failure of an external vendor to perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements or under service level agreements, because of changes in the vendor’s organizational structure, financial condition, support for existing products and services or strategic focus or for any other reason, could disrupt the Corporation’s operations. If we are unable to find alternative sources for our vendors’ services and products quickly and cost-effectively, the failures of our vendors could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s business and, in turn, the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, our information technology and telecommunications systems interface with and depend on third-party systems, and we could experience service denials if demand for such services exceeds capacity, or such third-party systems fail or experience interruptions. If sustained or repeated, a system failure or service denial could result in a deterioration of our ability to process new and renewal loans, gather deposits and provide customer service, compromise our ability to operate effectively, damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business and subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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A failure in or breach of the Corporation’s or any of its subsidiaries’ information technology network and systems, or those of third party vendors and other service providers, including as a result of cyber attacks, could disrupt the Corporation’s or any of its subsidiaries’ businesses, result in the unauthorized disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, damage its reputation, increase its costs, and/or cause losses.
The Corporation, primarily through the Bank, depends on its information technology networks and systems to continuously process, record and monitor a large number of customer transactions and to process, transmit and store proprietary and confidential information, including personal information of employees and customers. Accordingly, the Corporation’s and its subsidiaries’ information technology networks and systems must continue to be safeguarded and monitored for potential failures, vulnerabilities, disruptions and breakdowns. We face cybersecurity threats, including system, network or internet failures, cyber attacks, ransomware and other malware, social engineering, phishing schemes and workforce member error, negligence, or fraud. Although the Corporation has business continuity plans and other safeguards in place, any such cybersecurity incident, including those impacting personal information, could result in customer attrition, regulatory fines, penalties or intervention, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs, any of which could materially adversely affect the Corporation’s results of operations or financial condition. Further, adoption of AI tools by us or by third parties may pose new cybersecurity challenges. Threat actors may use AI tools to automate and enhance cybersecurity attacks against us. We use software and platforms designed to detect such cybersecurity threats, including AI-based tools, but these threats could become more sophisticated and harder to detect and counteract, which may pose significant risks to our data security and systems.
In addition, significant disruptions of our third party vendors’ and/or service providers’ security systems or infrastructure, or other similar data security incidents, could adversely affect our business operations and/or result in the loss, misappropriation, and/or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, regulated personal or confidential information, which could harm our business. While we may be entitled to damages if our third-party service providers fail to satisfy their security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award.
Given the evolving nature of security threats and evolving safeguards, there can be no assurance that any preventive, protective, or remedial data security measures that we or our third-party service providers implement are or will be adequate to detect or prevent all cybersecurity incidents. The Corporation continues to enhance its data security systems, technology platforms, employee education and risk management processes, in an effort to underpin its business strategy as well as in response to the evolving threat landscape and any incidents we experience. In connection with these efforts, we have incurred costs and expect to incur additional costs as we continue to enhance our data security infrastructure and take further steps to prevent unauthorized access to our systems and the data we maintain. In addition, any actual or perceived failure by the Corporation or our vendors or business partners to comply with our privacy, confidentiality, or data security-related legal or other obligations to third parties may result in claims by third parties that we have breached our privacy- or confidentiality-related obligations, which could materially and adversely affect our business and prospects.
The Corporation’s risk and exposure to these matters, including future "phishing" attempts like the 2020 incident, which was disclosed in the Corporation's Annual Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, remain heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of these threats, our plans to continue to implement our Internet banking and mobile banking channel strategies and develop additional remote connectivity solutions to serve our customers when and how they want to be served. As a result, cybersecurity and the continued development and enhancement of the Corporation’s controls, processes and practices designed to protect its and its subsidiaries systems, computers, software, data and networks from attack, damage or unauthorized access remain a priority for the Corporation. As cyber threats continue to evolve, the Corporation may be required to expend further significant resources to continue to modify or enhance its protective measures or to investigate and remediate future information security vulnerabilities.
Additionally, while we have implemented security measures that we believe are appropriate, a regulator could deem our security measures not to be appropriate given the lack of prescriptive measures in certain data protection laws. Furthermore, increased regulation of data collection, use and retention practices, including self-regulation and industry standards, changes in existing laws and regulations, enactment of new laws and regulations, increased enforcement activity, and changes in interpretation of laws, could increase our cost of compliance and operation, limit our ability to grow our business or otherwise harm the Corporation.
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While we have purchased cybersecurity insurance, there are no assurances that the coverage would be adequate in relation to any incurred losses. Moreover, as cyber attacks increase in frequency and magnitude, we may be unable to obtain cybersecurity insurance in amounts and on terms we view as adequate for our operations. Further information relating to cybersecurity risk management is discussed in Item 1C. "Cybersecurity" of this report.
A pandemic and measures intended to prevent its spread, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.
A pandemic could negatively impact the global economy, disrupt financial markets and international trade, and result in varying unemployment levels, all of which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition. In response to pandemic outbreaks, governments and other authorities around the world, including federal, state and local authorities in the United States, have imposed, and may in the future impose measures intended to mitigate its spread, including restrictions on freedom of movement and business operations such as issuing guidelines, travel bans, border closings, business closures and quarantine orders.
Our business and financial performance could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by terrorist activities, international hostilities or domestic civil unrest.
Neither the occurrence nor the potential impact of geopolitical instabilities, terrorist activities, international hostilities or other extraordinary events beyond the Corporation’s control can be predicted. However, these occurrences could adversely impact us, for example, by preventing us from conducting our business in the ordinary course. Also, their impact on our borrowers, depositors, other customers, suppliers or other counterparties could result in indirect adverse effects on us. Other indirect adverse consequences from these occurrences could result from impacts to the financial markets, the economy in general or in any region, or key parts of the infrastructure (such as the power grid) on which we and our customers rely. These types of indirect effects, whether specific to our counterparties or more generally applicable, could lead, for example, to an increase in delinquencies, bankruptcies or defaults that could result in the Corporation experiencing higher levels of nonperforming assets, net charge-offs and provisions for credit losses. They could also cause a reduction in demand for lending or other services that we provide.
Our use of AI could expose us to various risks.
We have begun to utilize AI technologies in various aspects of our business, including internal training material creation. AI technologies are susceptible to errors and other malfunctions which could lead to operational challenges and reputational risks. In addition, we may be subject to increasing regulations related to our use of AI, including regulations related to privacy, data security, and intellectual property rights, which could expose us to legal risks.
Risks Related to Legal and Compliance Matters
The Corporation is subject to extensive government regulation and supervision, which may affect its ability to conduct its business and may negatively impact its financial results.
The Corporation, primarily through the Bank and its non-bank subsidiary, is subject to extensive federal and state regulation and supervision. Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors’ funds, the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund and the safety and soundness of the banking system as a whole, not stockholders. These regulations affect the Corporation’s lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, dividend policy and growth, among other things. Congress and federal regulatory agencies continually review banking laws, regulations and policies for possible changes. Furthermore, political and policy goals of elected officials may change over time, which could impact the rulemaking, supervision, examination and enforcement priorities of federal banking agencies. Changes to statutes, regulations or regulatory policies, including changes in interpretation or implementation of statutes, regulations or policies, could affect the Corporation in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could subject it to additional costs, limit the types of financial services and products the Corporation may offer, and/or limit the pricing it may charge on certain banking services, among other things.
Failure to comply with laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act and USA Patriot Act, regulations or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, restrictions, civil money penalties and/or reputation damage, which could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations and/or cause the Corporation to lose its financial holding company status. While the Corporation has policies and procedures designed to prevent any such violations, there can be no assurance that such violations will not occur.
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As a result of our merger with ESSA, the Bank agreed to and assumed all obligations under the ESSA Consent Order. We could incur unanticipated costs and expenses to achieve compliance with the ESSA Consent Order. Actions taken to achieve compliance with the ESSA Consent Order may affect our business or financial performance and may require us to reallocate resources away from existing business or to undertake significant changes to our business, operations, products and services and risk management practices. In addition, although the ESSA Consent Order resolved all claims by the United States of America against ESSA Bank, we could be subject to other enforcement actions relating to the alleged violations resolved by the ESSA Consent Order.
See the section captioned "Supervision and Regulation" in Part I, Item 1 of this report for further information.
Federal and state governments could pass legislation responsive to current credit conditions which could cause the Corporation to experience higher credit losses.
The Corporation could experience higher credit losses because of federal or state legislation or regulatory action that reduces the amount the Bank’s borrowers are otherwise contractually required to pay under existing loan contracts. Also, the Corporation could experience higher credit losses because of federal or state legislation or regulatory action that limits the Bank’s ability to foreclose on property or other collateral or makes foreclosure less economically feasible. The Corporation cannot assure you that future legislation will not significantly and adversely impact its ability to collect on its current loans or foreclose on collateral.
General Risk Factors
The Corporation relies on its management and other key personnel, and the loss of any of them may adversely affect its operations.
The Corporation is and will continue to be dependent upon the services of its executive management team. In addition, it will continue to depend on its ability to retain and recruit key client relationship managers. The unexpected loss of services of any key management personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have an adverse effect on its business and financial condition.
The Corporation's risk management framework may not be effective in mitigating risk and loss.
The Corporation maintains an enterprise risk management program that is designed to identify, quantify, monitor, report, and control the risks that it faces. These risks include, but are not limited to: strategic, interest-rate, credit, liquidity, operations, pricing, reputation, compliance, litigation, and cybersecurity. While the Corporation assesses and improves this program on an ongoing basis, there can be no assurance that its approach and framework for risk management and related controls will effectively mitigate all risk and limit losses in its business. If conditions or circumstances arise that expose flaws or gaps in the Corporation's risk-management program, or if its controls break down, the Corporation's results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
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ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
The Corporation maintains robust processes for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats. The Corporation’s cybersecurity program is based on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council ("FFIEC") framework which tailors the National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST") Cybersecurity Framework to be more financial services focused. The risk of cybersecurity threats is integrated into the Corporation’s Enterprise Risk Management ("ERM") program, led by the Corporation’s Chief Risk Officer. The ERM program includes an annual risk prioritization process to identify key enterprise risks. Each key risk is assigned a risk owner to establish action plans and implement risk mitigation strategies. The Corporation’s cybersecurity threat risk action plan is managed at the enterprise level by the Chief Information Technology & Security Officer (the "CITSO"), the VP of Information Technology, and the VP of Information Security. Risk owners regularly monitor cybersecurity risks and the evolving threat landscape and review and update the cybersecurity threat risk action plan in response to newly identified threats or risk mitigation actions. To oversee and identify cybersecurity threat risks on a day-to-day basis, including from third party service providers, the Corporation maintains a third-party security operations center with round-the-clock monitoring, and the CITSO receives regular reports on industry activity. Management also assesses the cybersecurity proficiency of potential third-party suppliers before utilizing their services. The assessment identifies cybersecurity-related risks and makes recommendations to enhance the security of all new computing services. Management reassesses all suppliers on a regular interval.
The Corporation maintains a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan (the "CSIRP"), which establishes an organizational framework and guidelines intended to facilitate an effective response and handling of cybersecurity incidents that could jeopardize the availability, integrity, or confidentiality of the Corporation’s assets. Pursuant to the CSIRP and its escalation protocols, designated personnel are responsible for assessing the severity of the incident and associated threat, containing the threat, remediating the threat, including recovery of data and access to systems, analyzing the reporting and disclosure obligations associated with the incident, and performing post-incident analysis and program improvements. While the particular personnel assigned to an incident response team will depend on the particular facts and circumstances, the CITSO and the VP of Information Security primarily lead these efforts.
The Corporation works closely with its internal auditors to assess, identify, and manage cybersecurity risks. In addition, the Corporation engages with third party cybersecurity specialists to provide an independent assessment of the Corporation’s cybersecurity programs and to prepare a 3-year plan to maintain compliance and operational excellence. Management periodically reviews the 3-year plan and modifies it in response to changes in the threat landscape or otherwise as needed.As of December 31, 2025, the Corporation has not experienced any known instances of material cybersecurity threats, including known third party provider incidents, during any of the prior three fiscal years that have materially affected the business strategy, results of operations or financial condition of the Corporation. However, there can be no assurance that the Corporation’s security efforts and measures or those of our third-party providers will be effective or that attempted security incidents or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. In addition, although the Corporation maintains cybersecurity insurance to provide some coverage for certain risks arising out of data and network breaches, there can be no assurance that the Corporation’ cybersecurity insurance coverage will be sufficient in the event of a cyber attack. See "Item 1A. Risk Factors" above for more information.
Governance
The Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the assessment and management of enterprise-level risks that may impact the Corporation. The Audit Committee has primary responsibility for overseeing risk management, including oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats. The boards of directors of the Corporation and the Bank have also established an IT Committee, consisting of at least three independent directors, along with non-voting members from management, including the President and CEO, the Chief Financial Officer, the CITSO, the SVP of Operations, the VP of Information Technology, and the VP of Information Security. The IT Committee assists the boards of directors of the Corporation and CNB Bank in fulfilling their respective governance responsibilities for CNB’s information technology and related data security infrastructure under relevant regulatory safety and soundness requirements. Management, including the CITSO, reports on cybersecurity matters regularly to the Board, primarily through the Audit Committee and IT Committee, including an annual report regarding specific risks and mitigation efforts within the Bank and a 3-year cybersecurity threat assessment conducted by third party experts. Management provides benchmarking information and updates on key operational and compliance metrics to the Board of Directors. In addition, cybersecurity training is provided to the full Board of Directors to educate directors on the current cyber threat environment and measures companies can take to mitigate risk and impact of cyber attacks. Several members of the Board of Directors, including the Chairperson of the Audit Committee, also have cybersecurity experience.
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As described above, management is actively involved in assessing and managing the Bank’s material cybersecurity risks. The Corporation's incident response plan provides clear communication protocols, including with respect to members of senior management, which may include the CEO, the CFO, the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee and external legal counsel. In addition, the incident response plan considers communications and reporting to customers, regulators and law enforcement.
The CITSO, who reports directly to the CEO, is responsible for the oversight of the Corporation’s IT operation, including the cybersecurity program, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology and Security and a Master of Science in Information Security and Assurance. He also holds 20 industry recognized Technology and Security certifications. The VP of Information Security reports directly to the CITSO and has responsibility for leadership of the Bank’s cybersecurity program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science, as well as several industry recognized information security certifications. The VP of Information Technology reports directly to the CITSO and has responsibility for leadership of the Bank’s Information Technology program. He holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology and has worked in the technology field for 30 years with 18 of those years in a financial institution in various technology management, security, and audit roles.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
The headquarters of the Corporation and the Bank are located at 1 South Second Street, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, in a building owned by the Corporation. The Bank operates 75 full-service offices at December 31, 2025. Of these 75 offices, 39 are owned and 35 are leased from independent owners and one is leased from the Corporation. Holiday has six full-service offices, of which five are leased from independent owners and one is leased from the Corporation. The CNB Bank franchise's primary market areas are the Pennsylvania counties of Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Indiana, Jefferson, and McKean. ERIEBANK, a division of the Bank, operates in the Pennsylvania counties of Crawford, Erie, and Warren and in the Ohio counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain. FCBank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Ohio counties of Crawford, Delaware, Franklin, Knox, Marion, Morrow and Richland. BankOnBuffalo, a division of the Bank, operates in the New York counties of Erie, Niagara, and Ontario. Ridge View Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Virginia counties of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, Montgomery, and Roanoke. ESSA Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Pennsylvania counties of Delaware, Chester, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, and Northampton. Impressia Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Bank’s primary market areas. There are no encumbrances on the offices owned and the rental expense on the leased property is immaterial in relation to operating expenses. The initial lease terms range from one to twenty years.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
There are no material pending legal proceedings to which the Corporation or any of its subsidiaries is a party, or of which any of their properties is the subject, except ordinary routine proceedings which are incidental to the business.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
None.
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PART II.
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is traded on the Global Select Market of NASDAQ under the symbol "CCNE." As of December 31, 2025, the number of shareholders of record of the Corporation’s common stock was 14,185.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table provides information with respect to any purchase of shares of the Corporation’s common stock made by or on behalf of the Corporation for the quarter ended December 31, 2025.
(1) The Company's 2024 Common Share Repurchase Program expired on May 14, 2025. On June 23, 2025, the Corporation received acknowledgement from the Federal Reserve Bank of the Corporation's 2025 Common Share Repurchase Program (the "Plan"). The Corporation's Board of Directors previously approved the Plan, subject to the Federal Reserve Bank's response, authorizing the repurchase from time to time by the Corporation of up to 500,000 shares of the Corporation's common stock, no par value per share, provided that the aggregate purchase price of shares of common stock repurchased does not exceed $15,000,000. Pursuant to the Plan, repurchases of common stock, if any, are authorized to be made during the period beginning on June 23, 2025 (the date on which the Corporation received acknowledgement from the Federal Reserve Bank) through and including June 10, 2026, through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or in such other manner as will comply with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder, subject to compliance with any material agreement to which the Corporation is a party. Depending on market conditions and other factors, these repurchases may be commenced or suspended without prior notice. As of December 31, 2025, there were 500,000 shares remaining for repurchase under the Plan
Additionally, during the quarter ended December 31, 2025, certain employees surrendered shares of common stock owned by them to satisfy their statutory minimum U.S. federal and state tax obligations associated with the vesting of shares of restricted common stock issued under the CNB Financial Corporation 2025 Omnibus Incentive Plan.
Dividends Restrictions
The Corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from the Bank. Declaration and payment of cash dividends by the Corporation depends upon cash dividend payments to the Corporation by the Bank, which is our primary source of revenue and cash flow.
As a Pennsylvania state-chartered bank, the Bank is subject to regulatory restrictions on the payment and amounts of dividends under the Pennsylvania Banking Code. Further, the ability of banking subsidiaries to pay dividends is also subject to their profitability, financial condition, capital expenditures and other cash flow requirements.
The payment of dividends by the Bank and the Corporation may also be affected by other factors, such as the requirement to maintain adequate capital above regulatory requirements. The federal banking agencies have indicated that paying dividends that deplete a depository institution’s capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice. A depository institution may not pay any dividend if payment would cause it to become undercapitalized or if it already is undercapitalized. Moreover, the federal banking agencies have issued policy statements that provide that bank holding companies and insured banks should generally only pay dividends out of current operating earnings. Federal banking regulators have the authority to prohibit banks and bank holding companies from paying a dividend if the regulators deem such payment to be an unsafe or unsound practice.
The amount and timing of dividends is subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and depends upon business conditions and regulatory requirements. The Board of Directors has the discretion to change the dividend at any time for any reason. The Board of Directors presently intends to continue the policy of paying quarterly cash dividends. The amount of any future dividends will depend on economic and market conditions, the Corporation's financial condition and operating results and other factors, including applicable government regulations and policies.
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Share Return Performance
Set forth below is a chart comparing the Corporation’s cumulative return to stockholders against the cumulative return of the NASDAQ Composite Index and a peer group index of banking organizations for the five-year period commencing December 31, 2020 and ending December 31, 2025.
CNB Financial Corporation
Period Ending
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence
© 2026
ITEM 6. RESERVED
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is presented to provide insight into management’s assessment of financial results and should be read in conjunction with the following parts of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: Part I, Item 1 "Business," Part II, Item 7A, "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk," and Part II, Item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data." This section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K generally discusses 2025 and 2024 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2025 and 2024. Discussions of 2023 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2024 and 2023 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7 of the Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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Dollar amounts in tables are stated in thousands, except for per share amounts.
Forward-Looking Statements and Factors that Could Affect Future Results
The information below includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to CNB’s financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, future performance and business. These forward-looking statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors (some of which are beyond CNB’s control). Forward-looking statements often include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "plans," "targets," "potentially," "probably," "projects," "outlook" or similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would" and "could." CNB’s actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements, which are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance.
Such known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the statements, include, but are not limited to, (i) adverse changes or conditions in capital and financial markets, including actual or potential stresses in the banking industry; (ii) changes in interest rates; (iii) the credit risks of lending activities, including our ability to estimate credit losses and the allowance for credit losses, as well as the effects of changes in the level of, and trends in, loan delinquencies and write-offs; (iv) effectiveness of our data security controls in the face of cyber attacks and any reputational risks following a cybersecurity incident; (v) changes in general business, industry or economic conditions or competition; (vi) changes in any applicable law, rule, regulation, policy, guideline or practice governing or affecting financial holding companies and their subsidiaries or with respect to tax or accounting principles or otherwise; (vii) adverse economic effects from international trade disputes, including threatened or implemented tariffs imposed by the U.S. and threatened or implemented tariffs imposed by foreign countries in retaliation, or similar events impacting economic activity; (viii) higher than expected costs or other difficulties related to integration of combined or merged businesses; (ix) the effects of business combinations and other acquisition transactions, including the inability to realize our l and investment portfolios; (x) changes in the quality or composition of our loan and investment portfolios; (xi) adequacy of loan loss reserves; (xii) increased competition; (xiii) loss of certain key officers; (xiv) deposit attrition; (xv) rapidly changing technology; (xvi) unanticipated regulatory or judicial proceedings and liabilities and other costs; (xvii) changes in the cost of funds, demand for loan products or demand for financial services; and (xviii) other economic, competitive, governmental or technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. Such developments could have an adverse impact on CNB's financial position and results of operations.
The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions. Any forward-looking statement made herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. CNB undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed might not occur and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
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Overview
The Corporation is a financial holding company registered under the BHC Act. It was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1983 for the purpose of engaging in the business of a financial holding company. The Corporation’s subsidiary, the Bank, provides financial services to individuals and businesses. The CNB Bank franchise's primary market areas are the Pennsylvania counties of Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Indiana, Jefferson, and McKean. ERIEBANK, a division of the Bank, operates in the Pennsylvania counties of Crawford, Erie, and Warren and in the Ohio counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain. FCBank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Ohio counties of Crawford, Delaware, Franklin, Knox, Marion, Morrow, and Richland. BankOnBuffalo, a division of the Bank, operates in the New York counties of Erie, Niagara, and Ontario. Ridge View Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Virginia counties of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, New River Valley, and Roanoke. ESSA Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Pennsylvania counties of Delaware, Chester, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, and Northampton. Impressia Bank, a division of the Bank, operates in the Bank’s primary market areas. Although the Corporation’s strategies, through the Bank, are executed based on the divisions discussed above, the Bank is a single Pennsylvania-chartered bank whereby all divisions of the Bank conduct their business on a doing business as basis.
In addition to the Bank, the Corporation has four other subsidiaries. CNB Securities Corporation is incorporated in Delaware and currently maintains investments in debt and equity securities. CNB Insurance Agency, incorporated in Pennsylvania, provides for the sale of nonproprietary annuities and other insurance products. CNB Risk Management, Inc., incorporated in Delaware, is a captive insurance company that insures against certain risks unique to the operations of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and for which insurance may not be currently available or economically feasible in today's insurance marketplace. Holiday, incorporated in Pennsylvania, offers small balance unsecured loans and secured loans, primarily collateralized by automobiles and equipment, to borrowers with higher risk characteristics.
Merger with ESSA Bancorp, Inc.
On July 23, 2025, the Corporation completed its previously announced acquisition of ESSA and its subsidiary bank, ESSA Bank, pursuant to the Merger Agreement. The Corporation’s acquisition of ESSA was an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, ESSA merged with and into the Corporation, with the Corporation as the surviving entity, and immediately thereafter, ESSA Bank merged with and into the Bank, with the Bank as the surviving bank. Banking offices of ESSA Bank operate under the trade name ESSA Bank, a division of CNB Bank.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, each outstanding share of ESSA common stock was converted into the right to receive 0.8547 shares of the Corporation’s common stock. The total consideration paid to ESSA shareholders was approximately $202.6 million, comprised of approximately 8,359,430 shares of the Corporation's common stock, valued at approximately $202.5 million based on the July 23, 2025 closing price of $24.23 per share of the Corporation's common stock, and $21 thousand in cash in lieu of fractional shares.
Non-GAAP Financial Information
This report contains references to financial measures that are not defined in GAAP. Management uses non-GAAP financial information in its analysis of the Corporation’s performance. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations, enhance comparability of results of operations with prior periods and show the effects of significant gains and charges in the periods presented. The Corporation’s management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP measures to analyze the Corporation’s financial performance without the impact of unusual items or events that may obscure trends in the Corporation’s underlying performance. This non-GAAP data should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP, and is not a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results. Limitations associated with non-GAAP financial measures include the risks that persons might disagree as to the appropriateness of items included in these measures and that different companies might calculate these measures differently.
Non-GAAP measures reflected within the discussion below also include adjusted calculations to exclude after-tax merger and integration costs ("merger transaction related expenses") related to the Corporation’s acquisition of ESSA.
Non-GAAP measures reflected within the discussion below include:
•Tangible book value per common share;
•Tangible common equity/tangible assets;
•Adjusted net income available to common shareholders;
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•Adjusted earnings per share;
•Merger transaction related expenses, net of tax;
•Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent basis) and Net interest margin excluding purchase accounting loan accretion (fully tax equivalent basis);
•Efficiency ratio (fully tax equivalent basis) and Adjusted efficiency ratio (fully tax equivalent basis);
•Pre-provision net revenue ("PPNR") and Adjusted PPNR; and
•Return on average tangible common equity and Adjusted return on average tangible common equity.
A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided below in the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section.
Primary Factors Used To Evaluate Performance
Management considers return on average assets, return on average equity, return on average tangible common equity, earnings per common share, tangible book value per common share, asset quality, net interest margin, and other metrics as key measures of the financial performance of the Corporation. The interest rate environment will continue to play an important role in the future earnings of the Corporation. To address the challenging interest rate and competitive environments, the Corporation continues to evaluate, develop and implement strategies necessary to support its ongoing financial performance objectives and future growth goals. Additionally, management frequently evaluates the potential impact of economic and geopolitical events that may have an impact on the credit risk profile of its customers and develops proactive strategies to mitigate such potential impacts on the Corporation’s loan portfolio.
Financial Condition
The following table presents ending balances, growth, and the percentage change of certain measures of our financial condition for specified years (dollars in millions):
2025Balance 2024Balance $ Changevs. prioryear % Changevs. prioryear
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $527.9 million at December 31, 2025, including $441.5 million held at the Federal Reserve, compared to $443.0 million at December 31, 2024. These excess funds, when combined with collective contingent liquidity resources of $6.7 billion including (i) available borrowing capacity from the FHLB and the Federal Reserve, and (ii) available unused commitments from brokered deposit sources and other third-party funding channels, including previously established lines of credit from correspondent banks, result in total available liquidity sources for the Corporation as of December 31, 2025 to be approximately 5.4 times the estimated amount of adjusted uninsured deposit balances.
Management believes the liquidity needs of the Corporation are satisfied primarily by the current balance of cash and cash equivalents, customer and brokered deposits, FHLB financing, the portions of the securities and loan portfolios that mature within one year, and other third-party funding channels. The Corporation expects that these sources of funds will enable it to meet cash obligations and off-balance sheet commitments as they come due. In addition to the above noted liquidity sources, the Corporation maintains access to the Federal Reserve discount window.
Securities
AFS debt securities and equity securities totaled $595.2 million and $479.0 million at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Investments classified as held-to-maturity ("HTM") securities totaled $242.1 million and $306.1 million at December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
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The Corporation’s objective is to maintain the investment securities portfolio at an appropriate level to balance the earnings and liquidity provided by the portfolio. Note 3, "Securities," to the consolidated financial statements provides more detail concerning the composition of the Corporation’s securities portfolio and the process for evaluating securities for impairment.
The following table summarizes the maturity distribution schedule with corresponding weighted-average yields of AFS debt securities as of December 31, 2025. Weighted-average yields have been computed on a fully taxable-equivalent basis using a tax rate of 21%. Mortgage-backed securities are included in maturity categories based on their stated maturity date.
$ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield
The following table summarizes the maturity distribution schedule with corresponding weighted-average yields of HTM debt securities as of December 31, 2025.
$ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield $ Amt. Yield
The following table summarizes the weighted average modified duration of AFS debt securities as of December 31, 2025.
Weighted Average Modified Duration (in Years)
U.S. Government Sponsored Entities 5.91
State and Political Subdivisions 4.34
Residential and multi-family mortgage 4.33
Corporate notes and bonds 3.78
The following table summarizes the weighted average modified duration of HTM debt securities as of December 31, 2025.
Weighted Average Modified Duration (in Years)
U.S. Government Sponsored Entities 1.76
Residential and multi-family mortgage 4.79
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The portfolio contains no holdings of a single issuer that exceeds 10% of shareholders’ equity other than U.S. government sponsored entities.
The Corporation generally purchases debt securities over time and does not attempt to "time" its transactions, which allows for more efficient management of fluctuations in the interest rate environment. The Corporation's strategy given the current environment is to focus on lower risk securities and shorter durations that complement the current portfolio investment ladder, coupled with consistent reinvestment of cash flows to replace lower earning assets.
The Corporation monitors the earnings performance and the effectiveness of the liquidity of the securities portfolio on a regular basis through meetings of the ALCO. The ALCO also reviews and manages interest rate risk for the Corporation. Through active balance sheet management and analysis of the securities portfolio, a sufficient level of liquidity is maintained to satisfy depositor requirements and various credit needs of our customers.
Loans Receivable
Note 4, "Loans Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses," to the consolidated financial statements provides more detail concerning the loan portfolio of the Corporation.
At December 31, 2025, loans totaled $6.4 billion, excluding $70.8 million of syndicated loans. Excluding $1.7 billion in loans, net of estimated purchase accounting fair value adjustments, acquired in the ESSA acquisition, organic loan growth for the full year was $218.8 million, or an increase of 4.83%, compared to December 31, 2024. The full-year increase in loans as of December 31, 2025, compared to December 31, 2024, was primarily driven by growth in the Ridge View Bank, BankOnBuffalo, and legacy CNB Bank and ERIEBANK markets and loan activity in CNB Bank's Private Banking division.
At December 31, 2025, the syndicated loan portfolio totaled $70.8 million, or 1.09% of total loans, compared to $79.9 million, or 1.73% of total loans, at December 31, 2024. The decrease in syndicated lending balances of $9.1 million compared to December 31, 2024 reflects net scheduled amortization and prepayments of credits in excess of added holdings, with no recorded charge-offs in the syndicated portfolio in 2025. The Corporation continues to focus on evaluating the level and composition of its syndicated loan portfolio to ensure it continues to provide strong credit quality, profitable use of excess liquidity, and a complement to the Corporation’s loan growth from its in-market customer relationships.
Loan Origination/Risk Management
The Corporation has certain lending policies and procedures in place that are designed to maximize loan income within an acceptable level of risk. Management reviews and approves these policies and procedures on a regular basis. A reporting system supplements the review process by providing management with frequent reports related to loan production, loan quality, concentrations of credit, loan delinquencies and nonperforming, and potential problem loans. Diversification in the loan portfolio is a means of managing risk associated with fluctuations in economic conditions. The Corporation has not underwritten any hybrid loans, payment option loans, or low documentation/no documentation loans. Variable rate loans are generally underwritten at the fully indexed rate. Loan underwriting policies and procedures have not changed materially between any periods presented. As discussed more fully above, syndicated loan purchases are underwritten utilizing the same process as the Corporation’s originated loans.
The Corporation continues to explore the credit and reputational risks associated with climate change and their potential impact on the foregoing, while closely monitoring regulatory developments on climate risk. This includes, among other things, researching and developing a formalized approach to considering climate change related risks in the Corporation's underwriting processes. This approach will be impacted, in part, by the accessibility and reliability of both customer climate risk data and climate risk data in general. One of the objectives of these efforts is to enable the Corporation to better understand the climate change related risks associated with the Corporation's customers' business activities and to be able to monitor their response to those risks and their ultimate impact on the Corporation's customers.
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Loan Portfolio Profile
As part of its lending policy and risk management activities, the Corporation tracks lending exposure by industry classification and type to determine potential risks associated with industry concentrations, and to identify any concentration risk issues that could lead to additional credit loss exposure. An important and recurring part of this process involves the Corporation’s continued measurement and evaluation of its exposure to the office, hospitality, and multifamily industries within its commercial real estate portfolio. Even given the Corporation’s historically sound underwriting protocols and high credit quality standards for borrowers in the commercial real estate industry segments, the Corporation monitors numerous relevant sensitivity elements, including occupancy, loan-to-value, absorption and cap rates, debt service coverage and covenant compliance, and developer/lessor financial strength both in the project and globally. At December 31, 2025, the Corporation had the following key metrics related to its office, hospitality and multifamily portfolios with such metrics including the impact on the respective portfolios of loans acquired during the third quarter of 2025 from the ESSA acquisition:
•Commercial office loans
◦There were 147 outstanding loans, totaling $150.4 million, or 2.32% of total loans outstanding;
◦There were no nonaccrual commercial office loans;
◦There were three past-due commercial office loans that totaled $2.3 million, or 1.54% of the total office loans outstanding; and
◦The average outstanding balance per commercial office loan was $1.0 million.
•Commercial hospitality loans
◦There were 153 outstanding loans, totaling $320.6 million, or 4.94% of total loans outstanding;
◦There were no nonaccrual commercial hospitality loans;
◦There were no past-due commercial hospitality loans; and
◦The average outstanding balance per commercial hospitality loan was $2.1 million.
•Commercial multifamily loans
◦There were 375 outstanding loans, totaling $601.4 million, or 9.26% of total loans outstanding;
◦There were two nonaccrual commercial multifamily loans that totaled $799 thousand, or 0.13% of total multifamily loans outstanding;
◦There was one past-due commercial multifamily loan that totaled $645 thousand, or 0.11% of total multifamily loans outstanding; and
◦The average outstanding balance per commercial multifamily loan was $1.6 million.
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The following table summarizes the geographic region (based upon metropolitan statistical areas) in which the commercial office, hospitality and multifamily loans were originated as of December 31, 2025:
Commercial Office
Geographic Region:
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA 8.67
Cincinnati, OH 7.25
Erie-Meadville, PA 3.99
All other geographical regions 35.35
Total Commercial Office 100.00 %
Commercial Hospitality
Geographic Region:
Cleveland, OH 9.40
Erie-Meadville, PA 5.98
All other geographical regions 34.79
Total Commercial Hospitality 100.00 %
Commercial Multifamily
Geographic Region:
Cleveland, OH 24.03 %
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA 16.59
Philadelphia, PA 10.22
All other geographical regions 20.61
Total Commercial Multifamily 100.00 %
The Corporation had no commercial office, hospitality or multifamily loan relationships considered by the banking regulators to be high volatility commercial real estate ("HVCRE") credits. No credits acquired from ESSA were considered HVCRE.
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Maturities and Sensitivities of Loans Receivable to Changes in Interest Rate
The following table presents the maturity distribution of the Corporation's loans receivable at December 31, 2025. The table also presents the portion of loans receivable that have fixed interest rates or variable interest rates that fluctuate over the life of the loans in accordance with changes in an interest rate index.
Loans Receivable with Fixed Interest Rate
Agricultural production and other loans to farmers 39 37 — 7 83
Loans to depository institutions — — — — —
Other revolving credit plans 5 3 6 1 15
Credit cards — — — — —
Overdrafts — — — — —
Loans Receivable with Variable or Floating Interest Rate
Agricultural production and other loans to farmers 686 426 4,794 — 5,906
Loans to depository institutions — 2,439 — — 2,439
Automobile — — — — —
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Loan Concentration
At December 31, 2025, no industry concentration existed which exceeded 10% of the total loan portfolio.
Loan Quality