CVBF US Equity☆

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

In the course of conducting our business operations, we are exposed to a variety of risks. Some of these risks are inherent in the financial services industry and others are more specific to our own business. Together with the other information on the risks we face and our management of risk contained in this Annual Report, the following presents the most significant risks of which we are currently aware that may affect us. Events or circumstances arising from one or more of these risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects and the value and price of our common stock could decline. The risks identified below are not intended to be a comprehensive list of all risks we face, and additional risks that we may currently view as not material may also impair our business operations, financial condition and operating results.

Credit Risks

Our allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to cover actual losses.

A significant source of risk arises from the possibility that we could sustain losses because borrowers, guarantors, and related parties may fail to perform in accordance with the terms of their loans and leases. The underwriting and credit monitoring policies and procedures that we have adopted to address this risk may not prevent unexpected losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We maintain an allowance for credit losses to provide for loan and lease defaults and non-performance, which also includes increases for new loan growth. While we believe that our allowance for credit losses is appropriate to cover currently expected losses, we cannot assure you that we will not increase the allowance for credit losses in the future or that our regulators will not require us to increase this allowance.

We may be required to make additional provisions for credit losses and charge-off additional loans in the future, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded $2 million in provision for credit losses. During 2023, we experienced charge-offs of $405,000 and recoveries of $130,000, resulting in net charge-offs of $275,000. We have a significant amount of real estate loans, therefore, decreases in real estate values could adversely affect the value of property used as collateral for our loans. As of December 31, 2023, we had $6.78 billion in commercial real estate loans, $66.7 million in construction loans, and $269.9 million in single-family residential mortgages. Low interest rates through the pandemic caused real estate values in general to increase materially due to low cost of funding with inflationary upward pressures on cash flow. There is no assurance that recent rental rate increases across any segment of the real estate property classes is sustainable with reasonable possibility of moderate decline to stabilization. Capitalization Rates used to determine value have increased due to overall cost of capital causing some downward pressure on real estate values. These issues could affect the ability of our loan customers to refinance or service their debts, including those customers whose loans are secured by commercial or residential real estate. This, in turn, could result in loan charge-offs and provisions for credit losses in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, net income and capital.

Our dairy & livestock and agribusiness lending presents unique credit risks.

As of December 31, 2023, approximately 4.7% of our total gross loan portfolio was comprised of dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans. As of December 31, 2023, we had $412.9 million in dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans, including $374.9 million in dairy & livestock loans and $38.0 million in agribusiness loans. Repayment of dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans depends primarily on the successful raising and feeding of livestock or planting and harvest of crops and marketing the harvested commodity (including milk production). Collateral securing these loans may be illiquid. In addition, the limited purpose of some agricultural-related collateral affects credit risk because such collateral may have limited or no other uses to support values when loan repayment problems emerge. Our dairy & livestock and agribusiness lending staff have specific technical expertise that we depend on to mitigate our lending risks for these loans and we may have difficulty retaining or replacing such individuals. Many external factors can impact our agricultural borrowers’ ability to repay their loans, including the effects of inflation, adverse weather conditions, water issues, commodity price volatility (i.e. milk prices), diseases, land values, production costs, changing government regulations and subsidy programs, changing tax treatment, technological changes, labor market shortages/increased wages, and changes in consumers’ preferences, over which our borrowers may have no control. These factors, as well as recent volatility in certain commodity prices, including milk prices, could adversely impact the ability of those to whom we have made dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans to perform under the terms of their borrowing arrangements with us, which in turn could result in credit losses and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Our loan portfolio is predominantly secured by real estate in California and thus we have a higher degree of risk from a downturn in our real estate markets.

A renewed downturn in our real estate markets could hurt our business because most of our loans are secured by real estate. Real estate values and real estate markets are generally affected by changes in national, regional or local economic conditions, fluctuations in interest rates and the availability of loans to potential purchasers, changes in tax laws and other governmental statutes, regulations and policies, and acts of nature, such as earthquakes, prolonged drought and disasters particular to California. A substantial amount of our real estate collateral is located in the state of California. If real estate values, including values of land held for development, should again start to decline, the value of real estate collateral securing our loans could be significantly reduced. Our ability to recover on defaulted loans by foreclosing and selling the real estate collateral would then be diminished and we would be more likely to suffer losses on defaulted loans. Commercial real estate loans typically involve large balances to single borrowers or a group of related borrowers. Since payments on these loans are often dependent on the successful operation or management of the properties, as well as the business and financial condition of the borrower(s), repayment of such loans may be subject to adverse conditions in the real estate market, adverse economic conditions or changes in applicable government regulations.

Additional risks associated with our real estate construction loan portfolio include failure of developers and/or contractors to complete construction on a timely basis or at all, market deterioration during construction, cost overruns and failure to sell or lease the security underlying the construction loans so as to generate the cash flow anticipated by our borrower.

A decline in the economy may cause renewed declines in real estate values and increases in unemployment, which may result in higher than expected loan delinquencies or problem assets, a decline in demand for our products and services, or a lack of growth or decrease in deposits, which may cause us to incur losses, adversely affect our capital or hurt our business.

Our commercial real estate loan portfolio exposes us to risks that may be greater than the risks related to our other loans.

Federal and state banking regulators are examining commercial real estate lending activity with heightened scrutiny and may require banks with higher levels of commercial real estate loans to implement more stringent underwriting, internal controls, risk management policies and portfolio stress testing, as well as possibly higher levels of allowances for losses and capital levels as a result of commercial real estate lending growth and exposures. Because a significant portion of our loan portfolio is comprised of commercial real estate loans, the banking regulators may require us to maintain higher levels of capital than we would otherwise be expected to maintain, which could limit our ability to leverage our capital and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We are exposed to risk of environmental liabilities with respect to properties to which we take title.

In the course of our business, we may foreclose and take title to real estate, and could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these properties. While we will take steps to mitigate this risk, we may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs incurred by these parties in connection with environmental contamination, or we may be required to investigate or clean-up hazardous or toxic substances, or chemical releases at one or more properties. The costs associated with investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. In addition, while there are certain statutory protections afforded lenders who take title to property through foreclosure on a loan, if we are the owner or former owner of a contaminated site, we may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. If we become subject to significant environmental liabilities, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be adversely affected.

Liquidity and Interest Rate Risks

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our financial condition.

Liquidity is essential to our business. An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of investment securities, loans and other sources could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry in general. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity due to a market downturn or adverse regulatory action against us. Our ability to acquire deposits or borrow could also be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as the effects of inflation, rising interest rates, a

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severe disruption of the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry as a whole. Many if not all of these same factors could also significantly raise the cost of deposits to our Company and/or to the banking industry in general. This in turn could negatively affect our ability to attract deposits generally and the amount of interest we pay on our interest-bearing liabilities, which could have an adverse impact on our interest rate spread and profitability.

Negative developments affecting the banking industry could adversely impact our liquidity.

High-profile bank failures in 2023 generated significant market volatility among publicly traded bank holding companies and, in particular, regional community banks like the Bank. These market developments negatively impacted customer confidence in the safety and soundness of smaller regional and community banks. As a result, customers may choose to maintain deposits with larger more systemically important financial institutions or invest in higher yielding and higher-rated short-term fixed income securities, all of which could materially adversely impact the Bank’s liquidity, loan funding capacity, net interest margin, capital and results of operations. While the Bank currently has access to substantial borrowing capacity from the Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank and credit facilities established with larger banks, there can be no assurance that customer confidence in regional banks and the banking system more broadly will be fully restored or that potential liquidity concerns will recede or that such access will continue unimpaired.

The actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions could affect our ability to engage in routine funding transactions.

Financial service institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty or other relationships. We have exposure to different industries and counterparties, and execute transactions with various counterparties in the financial industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, mutual funds, and other institutional clients. Defaults by financial services institutions, even rumors or questions about one or more financial institutions or the financial services industry in general, could lead to market wide liquidity problems and further, could lead to losses or defaults by the Company or other institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of the applicable counterparty or client. In addition, our credit risk may increase when the collateral held by us cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure due to us. Any such losses could materially and adversely affect our consolidated financial statements.

We may not be able to maintain a strong core deposit base or other low-cost funding sources.

We depend on checking, savings and money market deposit account balances and other forms of customer deposits as our primary source of funding for our lending activities. Future growth in our banking business will largely depend on our ability to maintain and grow a strong deposit base. There is no assurance that we will be able to grow and maintain our deposit base. Deposit balances can decrease when customers perceive alternative investments, such as the stock market, bond market or real estate, as providing a better risk/return tradeoff. If customers move money out of bank deposits and into investments (or similar deposit products at other institutions that may provide a higher rate of return), we could lose a relatively low cost source of funds, increasing our funding costs and reducing our net interest income and net income. Additionally, any such loss of funds could result in lower loan originations, which could adversely impact our growth strategy.

Our business is subject to interest rate risk and variations in interest rates may negatively affect our financial performance.

A substantial portion of our income is derived from the differential or “spread” between the interest earned on loans, securities and other interest-earning assets, and the interest paid on deposits, borrowings and other interest-bearing liabilities. Because of the differences in the maturities and repricing characteristics of our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, changes in interest rates do not produce equivalent changes in interest income earned on interest-earning assets and interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities. At December 31, 2023, our balance sheet was positioned with an asset sensitive bias over both a one and two-year horizon assuming no balance sheet growth, and as a result, our net interest margin tends to expand in a rising interest rate environment and decrease in a declining interest rate environment. Accordingly, fluctuations in interest rates could adversely affect our interest rate spread and, in turn, our profitability. Loan origination volumes may be affected by changes in market interest rates. In addition, in rising interest rate environments, loan repayment rates may decline and in falling interest rate environments, loan repayment rates may increase. Rising interest rates may also cause a decline in principal payments, while a decline in interest rates may accelerate principal payments for a significant portion of our investment securities. In a rising interest rate environment, we may need to accelerate the pace of rate increases on our deposit accounts as compared to the pace of future increases in short-term market rates and our customers could move their

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deposits with us to institutions that pay higher interest rates on deposits accounts. Accordingly, changes in levels of market interest rates could materially and adversely affect our net interest spread, asset quality, levels of deposits, as well as loan origination and prepayment volume.

Elevated interest rates have decreased the market value of the Company’s available for sale and held-to-maturity securities and loan portfolios, and the Company would realize losses if it were required to sell such securities or loans to meet liquidity needs.

As a result of inflationary pressures that resulted in rapid increases in interest rates initiated by the Federal Reserve over the last year, the mark-to-market values of previously purchased fixed income securities have declined significantly. At December 31, 2023, the total carrying value of our securities portfolio was $5.42 billion, of which $2.96 billion was available-for-sale and $2.46 billion was held-to-maturity. The aggregate pre-tax net unrealized loss in our AFS securities was $449.8 million at December 31, 2023. Based on estimated fair values, the aggregate pre-tax net unrealized loss in our HTM securities was approximately $381.7 million at December 31, 2023. In addition, the fair value of many of our loans, which have interest rates that are fixed until maturity or reset on a future date, has been negatively impacted by the increase in interest rates from the time these loans were originated

While the Company does not currently intend to sell these securities or loans, if the Company were required to sell such securities or loans to meet liquidity needs, it could incur losses, which could impair the Company’s capital, financial condition, and results of operations, thereby negatively impacting our profitability. While the Company has taken actions to maximize its funding sources, there is no guarantee that such actions will be successful or sufficient in the event of sudden liquidity needs. Furthermore, while the Federal Reserve Board established the Bank Term Funding Program (available until March 11, 2024) to eligible depository institutions secured by U.S. treasuries, agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, and other qualifying assets as collateral at par, to mitigate the risk of potential losses on the sale of such instruments, there is no guarantee that this program or the Company's other borrowing facilities will be effective in addressing the Company's liquidity needs as they arise.

Hedging against interest rate exposure may adversely affect our earnings.

On occasion we have employed various financial risk methodologies that limit, or “hedge,” the adverse effects of rising or decreasing interest rates on our loan portfolios, investment securities and short-term liabilities. We also engage in hedging strategies with respect to arrangements where our customers swap floating interest rate obligations for fixed interest rate obligations, or vice versa. Our hedging activity varies based on the level and volatility of interest rates and other changing market conditions. There are no perfect hedging strategies, and interest rate hedging may fail to protect us from loss. Moreover, hedging activities could result in losses if the event against which we hedge does not occur. Additionally, interest rate hedging could fail to protect us or adversely affect us because, among other things:

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Available interest rate hedging may not correspond directly with the interest rate risk for which protection is sought;

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The duration of the hedge may not match the duration of the related asset or liability;

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The party owing money in the hedging transaction may default on its obligation to pay;

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The credit quality of the party owing money on the hedge may be downgraded to such an extent that it impairs our ability to sell or assign our side of the hedging transaction;

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The value of derivatives used for hedging may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with accounting rules to reflect changes in fair value; and/or

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Downward adjustments, or “mark-to-market” losses, would reduce our stockholders’ equity.

Operational Risks

We face risks related to our operational, technological and organizational infrastructure.

Our ability to grow and compete, including to develop and deliver new products that meet the needs of our existing customers and attract new ones, is dependent on our ability to build or acquire the necessary operational and technological infrastructure and to manage the cost of that infrastructure as we expand. Our ability to run our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations is also dependent on that infrastructure. Operational risk can manifest itself in many ways, such as errors related to failed or inadequate processes, faulty or disabled computer systems, fraud by employees or outside persons and exposure to external events, and we are dependent on our operational infrastructure to help manage these risks. In addition, we are heavily dependent on the strength and capability of our technology systems, which we use both to

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interface with our customers and to manage our internal financial records and other systems. Any shortcomings in our technology systems subjects us to risk of misconduct by our employees that may go undetected.

We monitor our operational and technological capabilities and make modifications and improvements when we believe it will be cost effective to do so. We may build and maintain these capabilities ourselves, or we may outsource some of these functions to third parties. If we experience difficulties, fail to comply with banking regulations or keep up with increasingly sophisticated technologies, our operations could be interrupted. If an interruption were to continue for a significant period of time, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected, perhaps materially. Even if we are able to replace them, it may be at a higher cost to us, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to manage our growth may adversely affect our performance.

Our financial performance and profitability depend on our ability to manage past and possible future growth. Past and future acquisitions and our continued organic growth may present operating, integration, regulatory, management and other issues that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Acquisitions are and have been a key element of our growth strategy. Certain events may arise after our acquisition of a financial institution or business, or we may learn of certain facts, events or circumstances after the completion of an acquisition, that may affect our financial condition or performance or subject us to risk of loss. These events include, but are not limited to: our success in integrating the operations, retaining key employees and customers, achieving anticipated synergies, meeting expectations and otherwise realizing the anticipated benefits of the acquisition; litigation resulting from circumstances occurring at the acquired entity prior to the date of acquisition; loan downgrades and credit loss provisions resulting from underwriting of certain acquired loans determined not to meet our credit standards; personnel changes that cause instability within a department; delays in implementing new policies or procedures or the failure to apply new policies or procedures; and other events relating to the performance of our business. In addition, if we determine that the value of an acquired business had decreased and that the related goodwill was impaired, an impairment of goodwill charge to earnings would be recognized. Acquisitions involve inherent uncertainty and we cannot determine all potential events, facts and circumstances that could result in loss or increased costs or give assurances that our due diligence or mitigation efforts will be sufficient to protect against any such loss or increased costs.

Furthermore, failure to realize the expected revenue increases, cost savings, increases in geographic or product presence, and/or other projected benefits from an acquisition could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The occurrence of fraudulent activity, breaches or failures of our information security controls or cybersecurity-related incidents to either our information systems or information systems provided by third party vendors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As a financial institution, we are susceptible to fraudulent activity, information security breaches and other cybersecurity-related incidents and attacks that may be committed against us, our customers or key vendors and business partners, which in turn may result in financial losses or increased costs to us, our customers, or our key vendors and business partners, disclosure or misuse of our information or our customer information, theft or misappropriation of assets (including bank or customer funds), privacy breaches against us or our customers, litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, and damage to our reputation. The U.S. government has warned financial institutions of the potential increase in the frequency and severity of malicious cyber-attacks and other activities involving critical infrastructure, specifically including the financial sector, and has encouraged the banking sector to enhance cyber-defenses, and these risks have increased in connection with the current conflicts involving Ukraine and Russia in Europe and Israel and Hamas in the Middle East. While CBB has taken measures to protect its own and customer funds and confidential information against cyber-attacks, as well as other malicious activities, there can be no assurance that such measures will be successful in thwarting such attacks and activities.

Information pertaining to us and our clients is maintained, and transactions are executed, such as our online banking or core systems on the networks and systems of ours, our clients and certain of our third party providers. The secure maintenance and transmission of confidential information, as well as execution of transactions over these systems, are essential to protect us and our clients against fraud and security breaches and to maintain our clients’ confidence. In addition, increases in criminal activity levels and sophistication, advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries, vulnerabilities in third-party technologies (including browsers and operating systems) or other developments could result in a compromise or breach of the technology, processes and controls that we use to prevent fraudulent transactions and to protect data about us, our clients and underlying transactions, as well as the technology used by our clients to access our systems. Although we

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continue to invest in systems and processes that are designed to detect and prevent security breaches and cyber-attacks and periodically test our security, our inability to anticipate, or failure to adequately mitigate, breaches of security could result in: losses to us or our clients; our loss of business and/or clients; damage to our reputation; the incurrence of additional expenses; disruption to our business; our inability to grow our online services or other businesses; additional regulatory scrutiny or penalties; or our exposure to civil litigation and possible financial liability — any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

More generally, continued publicized information concerning security and cyber-related problems could inhibit the use or growth of electronic or web-based applications or solutions as a means of conducting commercial transactions for us and other financial institutions. Such publicity may also cause damage to our reputation as a financial institution. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business is exposed to the risk of changes in technology.

The rapid pace of technology changes and the impact of such changes on financial services generally and on our Company specifically could impact our cost structure and our competitive position with our customers. Such developments include the rapid movement by customers and some competitor financial institutions to web-based services, mobile banking and cloud computing. Our failure or inability to anticipate, plan for or implement technology change could adversely affect our competitive position, financial condition and profitability.

Our controls and procedures could fail or be circumvented.

Management regularly reviews and updates our internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures and corporate governance policies and procedures. Any system of controls, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and on the conduct of individuals, and can provide only reasonable, but not absolute, assurances of the effectiveness of these systems and controls, and that the objectives of these controls have been met. Any failure or circumvention of our controls and procedures, and any failure to comply with regulations related to controls and procedures could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures could adversely affect our ability to report our financial condition and results of operations accurately and on a timely basis.

A failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures could adversely affect our ability to report our financial results accurately and on a timely basis, which could result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reporting or adversely affect our access to sources of liquidity. Furthermore, because of the inherent limitations of any system of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls and fraud, even effective internal controls may not prevent or detect all misstatements.

We rely on communications, information, operating and financial control systems technology from third-party service providers, and we may suffer an interruption in those systems.

We rely heavily on third-party service providers for much of our communications, information, operating and financial control systems technology, including our internet banking services and data processing systems. Any failure or interruption of these services or systems or breaches in the security of these systems could result in failures or interruptions to serve our customers, including deposit, servicing and/or loan origination systems. The occurrence of any failures or interruptions may require us to identify alternative sources of such services, which may result in increased costs or other consequences that in turn could have an adverse effect on our business, including damage to the Bank’s reputation.

We are dependent on key personnel and the loss of one or more of those key personnel may materially and adversely affect our prospects.

Competition for qualified employees and personnel in the banking industry is intense and there are a limited number of qualified persons with knowledge of, and experience in, the California community banking industry. The process of recruiting personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our strategies is often lengthy. In addition, legislation and regulations which impose restrictions on executive compensation may make it more difficult for us to retain and recruit key personnel. Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to attract and retain qualified management, loan origination, finance, administrative, risk management, marketing and technical personnel and upon the continued contributions of our management and personnel. In particular, our success has been and continues to be highly

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dependent upon the abilities of key executives, including our President and Chief Executive Officer, and certain other key employees.

If our enterprise risk management framework is not effective at mitigating risk and loss to us, we could suffer unexpected losses and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Our enterprise risk management framework seeks to achieve an appropriate balance between risk and return, which is critical to optimizing shareholder value. We have established processes and procedures intended to identify, measure, monitor, report and analyze the types of risk to which we are subject, including credit, liquidity, operational, regulatory, compliance and reputational risks. However, as with any risk management framework, there are inherent limitations to our risk management strategies as there may exist, or develop in the future, risks that we have not appropriately managed, anticipated or identified. If our risk management framework proves ineffective, we could suffer unexpected losses and our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Changes in stock market prices could reduce fee income from our brokerage, asset management and investment advisory businesses.

We earn wealth management fee income for managing assets for our clients and also providing brokerage and investment advisory services. Because investment management and advisory fees are often based on the value of assets under management, a fall in the market prices of those assets could reduce our fee income. Changes in stock market prices could affect the trading activity of investors, reducing commissions and other fees we earn from our brokerage business.

Our accounting estimates and risk management processes rely on analytical and forecasting models.

The processes we use to estimate our expected credit losses and to measure the fair value of financial instruments, as well as the processes used to estimate the effects of changing interest rates and other market measures on our financial condition and results of operations, depends upon the use of analytical and forecasting models. These models reflect assumptions that may not be accurate, particularly in times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances. Even if these assumptions are adequate, the models may prove to be inadequate or inaccurate because of other flaws in their design or their implementation. If the models we use for interest rate risk and asset-liability management are inadequate, we may incur increased or unexpected losses upon changes in market interest rates or other market measures. If the models we use for determining our expected credit losses are inadequate, the allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to support future charge-offs. If the models we use to measure the fair value of financial instruments are inadequate, the fair value of such financial instruments may fluctuate unexpectedly or may not accurately reflect what we could realize upon sale or settlement of such financial instruments. Any such failure in our analytical or forecasting models could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our decisions regarding the fair value of assets acquired could be different than initially estimated, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects.

In business combinations, we acquire significant portfolios of loans that are marked to their estimated fair value. The fluctuations in national, regional and local economic conditions, including those related to local residential, commercial real estate and construction markets, may increase the level of charge-offs or the allowance for credit losses in the loan portfolio that we acquire and correspondingly reduce our net income. These fluctuations are not predictable, cannot be controlled and may have a material adverse impact on our operations and financial condition, even if other favorable events occur.

If the goodwill that we recorded in connection with business acquisitions becomes impaired, it could require charges to earnings, which would have a negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Goodwill resulting from business combinations represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net assets of the businesses we acquired. Goodwill has an indefinite useful life and is not amortized, however, it is tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently, if events and circumstances exist that indicate that the carrying value of the asset might be impaired, including as a result of a decline in our stock price and market capitalization below our stated book value. We determine impairment by comparing the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. Estimates of fair value are determined based on a complex model using, among other things, discounted cash flows, the fair value of our Company as determined by our stock price, and peer company comparisons. Adverse events in the banking sector have caused market volatility and declines in the stock market prices for many community and regional banks, including the Company’s, resulting in a recent decline in the Company’s market capitalization. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. Any such adjustments are reflected in our results of

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operations in the periods in which they become known. There can be no assurance that our future evaluations of goodwill will not result in findings of impairment and related write-downs, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Strategic and External Risks

Changes in economic, market and political conditions can adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.

Our success depends, to a certain extent, upon local, national and global economic and political conditions, as well as governmental monetary policies. Conditions such as an economic recession, rising unemployment, changes in interest rates, money supply, inflationary prices and other factors beyond our control may adversely affect our asset quality, deposit levels loan demand, ability to manage costs associated with employees and vendors and, therefore, our earnings. We are presently subject to macroeconomic and interest rate risk due to domestic and global economic instability that has resulted in higher inflation than the United States has experienced in more than 40 years and resulted in increases to prevailing interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) raised the target range for the federal funds rate to 5.25% to 5.50% in 2023, resulting in a cumulative increase of 5.25% from March of 2022. These recent increases in prevailing interest rates and the expectation that interest rates may stay elevated are likely to impact both our customers and many aspects of our business.

In addition, we may face the following risks in connection with any downward turn in the economy or sustained period of higher or lower interest rates or higher inflation rates:

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Higher interest rates will not only impact the interest we receive on loans and investment securities and the amount of interest we pay our depositors, but also could also impact our ability to grow loans and deposits;

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Rising interest rates, higher commodity prices, and an overall slowdown in economic growth could also impact the fair value of our assets and adversely impact our asset quality;

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The process we use to estimate losses inherent in our credit exposure requires difficult, subjective and complex judgments, including forecasts of economic conditions and how these economic conditions might impair the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans. The level of uncertainty concerning economic conditions may adversely affect the accuracy of our estimates which may, in turn, impact the reliability of the process;

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The Company’s commercial, residential and consumer borrowers may be unable to make timely repayments of their loans, or the decrease in value of real estate collateral securing the payment of such loans could result in significant credit losses, increasing delinquencies, foreclosures and customer bankruptcies, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operating results;

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A sustained environment in which the U.S. Treasury yield curve is inverted could cause net interest margins to compress, as the majority of our funding sources are impacted by short-term rates, while much of our earning assets are impacted by longer term interest rates

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The value of the portfolio of investment securities that we hold may be adversely affected by increasing interest rates and defaults by debtors;

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Further disruptions in the capital markets or other events, including actions by rating agencies and deteriorating investor expectations, may result in changes in applicable rates of interest, difficulty in accessing capital or an inability to borrow on favorable terms or at all from other financial institutions; and

Although the Company and the Bank currently exceed the minimum capital ratio requirements to be deemed “well-capitalized” for regulatory purposes and have not suffered any significant liquidity issues as a result of these types of events, the cost and availability of funds may be adversely affected by illiquid credit markets and the demand for our products and services may decline if we experience slower than expected economic growth or higher rates of unemployment. In view of the concentration of our operations and the collateral securing our loan portfolio in Central and Southern California, we may be particularly susceptible to adverse economic conditions in the state of California, where our business is concentrated. In addition, adverse economic conditions may exacerbate our exposure to credit risk and adversely affect the ability of borrowers to perform, and thereby, adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition, results or operations and profitability.

Our earnings are significantly affected by the fiscal and monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies.

The policies of the Federal Reserve impact us significantly. Its policies directly and indirectly influence the rate of interest earned on loans and paid on borrowings and interest-bearing deposits and can also affect the value of financial instruments we hold. Changes in those policies are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Federal Reserve policies can also affect our borrowers, potentially increasing the risk that they may fail to repay their loans. As an example, monetary

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tightening and increases in the federal funds rate by the Federal Reserve could adversely affect our borrowers’ earnings and ability to repay their loans, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the Federal Reserve’s recent actions to reduce its own balance sheet of government and mortgage-backed securities could impact the credit markets and thus prevailing interest rates.

Future legislation, regulatory reform or policy changes could have a material effect on our business and results of operations.

New legislation, regulatory reform or policy changes, including financial services regulatory reform, enforcement priorities, antitrust and merger review policies, and increased infrastructure spending, could adversely impact our business. At this time, we cannot predict the scope or nature of these changes or assess what the overall effect of such potential changes could be on our results of operations or cash flows.

We face strong competition from financial services companies and other companies that offer banking services.

We conduct most of our operations in the state of California. The banking and financial services businesses in the state of California are highly competitive and increased competition in our primary market areas may adversely impact the level of our loans and deposits. Ultimately, we may not be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors. These competitors include other banks many of which are larger than us and have greater resources. We also face competition from other types of financial institutions, including savings and loan associations, finance companies, brokerage firms, insurance companies, credit unions, mortgage companies and other financial intermediaries. In addition, we face competition from certain non-traditional entities, including “FinTech” companies which specialize in the provision of technology-based financial services, such as payment processing and lending marketplaces, and which may offer or be perceived to offer more responsive or currently desirable financial products and services.

Consumers may decide not to use banks to complete their financial transactions.

Technology and other changes are allowing parties to complete financial transactions through alternative methods that historically have involved banks. For example, consumers can now maintain funds that would have historically been held as bank deposits in brokerage accounts, mutual funds or general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards. Consumers can also complete transactions, such as paying bills and/or transferring funds directly without the assistance of banks. The process of eliminating banks as intermediaries, known as “disintermediation,” could result in the loss of fee income, as well as the loss of customer deposits and the related income generated from those deposits. The loss of these revenue streams and the lower cost of deposits as a source of funds could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Potential downgrades of U.S. government securities by one or more of the credit ratings agencies could have a material adverse effect on our operations, earnings, and financial condition.

A possible future downgrade of the sovereign credit ratings of the U.S. government and a decline in the perceived creditworthiness of U.S. government-related obligations could impact our ability to obtain funding that is collateralized by affected instruments, as well as affect the pricing of that funding when it is available. A downgrade may also adversely affect the market value of such instruments. We cannot predict if, when or how any changes to the credit ratings or perceived creditworthiness of these organizations will affect economic conditions. Among other things, a downgrade in the U.S. government’s credit rating could adversely impact the value of our securities portfolio and may trigger requirements that we post additional collateral for trades relative to these securities. A downgrade of the sovereign credit ratings of the U.S. government or the credit ratings of related institutions, agencies or instruments would significantly exacerbate the other risks to which we are subject and any related adverse effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Climate change and climate change regulation could have a material adverse effect on us and our customers.

Our business, as well as the operations and activities of certain of our banking customers, could be negatively impacted by climate change. Climate change presents multi-faceted risks, including operational risk from the physical effects of climate events on our bank and our customers’ facilities and other assets, credit risk from borrowers with significant exposure to climate risk, particularly our customers in the dairy and agricultural sectors, transition risks associated with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy, and possible reputational risk from stakeholder concerns about our practices and business relationships with clients who operate in carbon-intensive industries.

Additionally, federal and state banking regulators and supervisory authorities, investors, and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as important in helping to address the risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased scrutiny regarding the

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disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending and investment activities, including in the context of stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Ongoing legislative or regulatory uncertainties and changes regarding climate risk management and practices may result in higher regulatory, compliance, credit, and reputational risks and costs, particularly in our home state of California.

There are residual and ongoing risks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although many of the initial adverse effects the COVID-19 pandemic on economic conditions, employment, financial markets and supply chains had abated by the end of 2023, there are lingering and residual negative impacts of the pandemic, including, among other things, reduced values for certain types of commercial real estate properties, due to the continuing prevalence of remote work by employees and changes in consumer shopping preferences, supply chain-induced inflation that has declined but to levels higher than recent historical norms, and higher than anticipated levels of government indebtedness due to emergency support programs enacted during the height of the pandemic. The extent to which the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as our regulatory capital and liquidity ratios, will depend on future developments, which are uncertain and cannot be predicted, including whether post-pandemic inflation rates continue to decline, the effectiveness, distribution and uptake rates of vaccines, boosters and medical treatments designed to ameliorate more infectious variants of the original COVID-19 virus, and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to continuing aftereffects of the pandemic.

Legal, Regulatory, Compliance and Reputational Risks

We are subject to extensive government regulation that could limit or restrict our activities, which, in turn, may hamper our ability to increase our assets and earnings.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by federal, state and local governmental authorities, including the FDIC, FRB, DFPI and CFPB, and we are subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing requirements and restrictions on part or all of our operations. Similarly, the lending, credit and deposit products we offer are subject to broad oversight and regulation. Because our business is highly regulated, the laws, rules, regulations and supervisory guidance and policies applicable to us are subject to regular modification and change. Perennially, various laws, rules and regulations are proposed, which, if adopted, could impact our operations by making compliance much more difficult or expensive, restricting our ability to originate or sell loans or further restricting the amount of interest or other charges or fees earned on loans or other products. Current and future federal and state legal and regulatory requirements, restrictions and regulations, including those imposed under Dodd-Frank, those relating to climate-related disclosure, corporate governance, and those adopted to facilitate data privacy or consumer protection, may adversely impact our profitability and may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, may require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make any changes required by the legislation and accompanying rules, and may make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified executive officers and employees. The implementation of certain final Dodd-Frank rules is delayed or phased in over several years; therefore, as yet we cannot definitively assess what may be the short or longer term specific or aggregate effect of the full implementation of Dodd-Frank on us.

Any enhanced regulatory examination scrutiny or new regulatory requirements arising from recent events in the banking industry could increase the Company’s expenses and affect the Company’s operations and acquisition opportunities.

Recent adverse events in the banking industry, including the significant bank failures that occurred in 2023, could result in increased regulatory scrutiny in the course of routine examinations and otherwise, and new regulations directed towards regional banks, designed to address the recent negative developments in the banking industry. These potential regulatory reactions could increase the Company’s costs of doing business, lead to an increased risk of regulatory oversight actions or restrictions, result in decreased regulatory support for merger and acquisition activity, and reduce our profitability. Among other things, there may be an increased focus by both regulators and investors on deposit composition, levels of uninsured deposits, embedded interest rate risk on bank balance sheets, and bank risk management programs generally. As a primarily commercial bank, the Bank has a relatively higher percentage of uninsured deposits compared to larger national banks or smaller community banks with a stronger focus on retail deposits. As a result, the Bank could face increased scrutiny or be viewed as higher risk by regulators and the investor community.

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We face a risk of noncompliance and enforcement action with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.

The Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and other laws and regulations require financial institutions, among other duties, to institute and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and file suspicious activity and currency transaction reports as appropriate. The federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of those requirements and has recently engaged in coordinated enforcement efforts with the individual federal banking regulators, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service. We are also subject to scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If our policies, procedures and systems are deemed deficient, we would be subject to liability, including fines and regulatory actions, which may include restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory approvals to proceed with certain aspects of our business plan. Failure to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing could also have serious reputational consequences for us. Any of these results could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The impact of current capital rules may materially affect our operations.

We are subject to stringent capital requirements. These current capital rules may adversely affect our ability to pay dividends, or require us to reduce business levels or raise capital, including in ways that may adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Any future regulatory capital requirements may similarly adversely affect us.

Under the current capital standards, if our Common Equity Tier 1 Capital does not include the required “capital conservation buffer,” we will be prohibited from paying dividends to our shareholders. The capital conservation buffer requirement, which is measured in addition to the minimum Common Equity Tier 1 capital of 4.5%, is now 2.5%. Additionally, under the capital standards, if our Common Equity Tier 1 Capital does not include the “capital conservation buffer,” we will also be prohibited from paying discretionary bonuses to our executive employees. This may affect our ability to attract or retain employees, or alter the nature of the compensation arrangements that we may enter into with them.

Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations from regulators, customers, investors, and other stakeholders with respect to our environmental, social and governance practices may impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks.

Many companies are facing increasing scrutiny from regulators, customers, investors, and other stakeholders related to their environmental, social and governance ("ESG") practices and disclosures. Investor advocacy groups, investment funds and influential investors are also increasingly focused on these practices, especially as they relate to the environment, health and safety, diversity, labor conditions and human rights. Increased ESG-related compliance costs for us as well as among our suppliers, vendors and various other parties within our supply chain could result in increases to our overall operational costs. Failure to adapt to or comply with regulatory requirements or investor or stakeholder expectations and standards could negatively impact our reputation, ability to do business with certain partners, access to capital, and our stock price. Both recently adopted and pending government regulations, including recently adopted regulations in California, will result in new or more stringent forms of ESG oversight and expanding mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence, and disclosure.

Managing reputational risk is important to attracting and maintaining customers, investors and employees.

Threats to our reputation can come from many sources, including adverse sentiment about financial institutions generally, unethical practices, employee mistakes, misconduct or fraud, failure to deliver minimum standards of service, failure of any product or service offered by us to meet our customers’ expectations, compliance deficiencies, privacy or information security breaches, government investigations, litigation, and questionable or fraudulent activities of our employees or customers. We have policies and procedures in place to protect our reputation and promote ethical conduct, but these policies and procedures may not be fully effective. Negative publicity regarding our business, employees, or customers, with or without merit, may result in the loss of customers, investors and employees, costly litigation, a decline in revenues and increased governmental scrutiny and regulation.

We depend on the accuracy and completeness of information provided by customers and counterparties.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with customers and counterparties, we may rely on information furnished to us by, or on behalf of, customers and counterparties, including financial statements and other financial information. We also may rely on representations of customers and counterparties as to the accuracy and

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completeness of that information. In deciding whether to extend credit, we may rely upon our customers’ representations that their financial statements are accurate. We also may rely on customer representations and certifications, or other audit or accountants’ reports, with respect to the business and financial condition of our commercial clients. Our financial condition, results of operations, financial reporting and reputation could be materially adversely affected if we rely on materially misleading, false, inaccurate or fraudulent information.

We are subject to legal and litigation risk which could adversely affect us.

Because our Company is extensively regulated by a variety of federal and state agencies, and because we are subject to a wide range of business, consumer and employment laws and regulations at the federal, state and local levels, we are at risk of governmental investigations and lawsuits as well as claims and litigation from private parties. We are from time to time involved in disputes with and claims from investors, customers, bankruptcy trustees, government agencies, vendors, employees and other business parties, and such disputes and claims may result in investigations, litigation or settlements, any one of which or in the aggregate could have an adverse impact on the Company’s operating flexibility, employee relations, financial condition or results of operations, as a result of the costs of any judgment, the terms of any settlement and/or the expenses incurred in defending the applicable claim.

We are unable, at this time, to estimate our potential liability in these matters, but we may be required to pay judgments, settlements or other penalties and incur other costs and expenses in connection with any one or more of these investigations or lawsuits, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, responding to requests for information in connection with discovery demanded by a government agency or private plaintiffs in any of these lawsuits may be costly and divert internal resources away from managing our business. See Item 3 — Legal Proceedings below.

We may be subject to customer claims and government or legal actions pertaining to our ability to safeguard our customers’ information and the performance of our fiduciary responsibilities. Whether or not such customer claims and legal actions are founded or unfounded, if such claims and legal actions are not resolved in a manner favorable to us, they may result in significant financial liability and/or adversely affect the market perception of us and our products and services, as well as impact customer demand for those products and services. Any financial liability or reputation damage could have a material adverse effect on our business, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Associated with our Common Stock

The price of our common stock may be volatile or may decline.

The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate widely as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside our control. In addition, the stock market is subject to fluctuations in its share prices and trading volumes that affect the market prices of the shares of many companies. These specific and broad market fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Among the factors that could affect our stock price are:

•

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our operating results and financial condition;

•

changes in liquidity, revenue or earnings estimates or publication of research reports and recommendations by financial analysts;

•

credit events or losses;

•

failure to meet analysts’ revenue or earnings estimates;

•

speculation in the press or investment community;

•

strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;

•

actions or trades by institutional shareholders or other large shareholders;

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our capital position;

•

fluctuations in the stock price and operating results of our competitors;

•

actions by hedge funds, short term investors, activist shareholders or shareholder representative organizations;

•

general market conditions and, in particular, developments relating to the financial services industry and interest rates;

•

proposed or adopted regulatory changes or developments;

•

anticipated or pending investigations, proceedings or litigation that involve or affect the Company and/or the Bank;

•

fraud losses or data or privacy breaches; or

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•

domestic and international economic factors, whether related or unrelated to the Company’s performance.

The market price of our common stock and the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. The trading price of the shares of our common stock and the value of our other securities will depend on many factors, which may change from time to time, including, without limitation, our financial condition, performance, creditworthiness and prospects, future sales of our equity or equity related securities, and other factors identified above in “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”. A significant decline in our stock price could result in substantial losses for individual shareholders and could lead to costly and disruptive securities litigation. Extensive sales by large shareholders could also exert sustained downward pressure on our stock price.

An investment in our common stock is not an insured deposit.

Our common stock is not a bank deposit and, therefore, is not insured against loss by the FDIC, any other deposit insurance fund or by any other public or private entity. Investment in our common stock is inherently risky for the reasons described in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this report and is subject to the same market forces that affect the price of common stock in any company. As a result, if you acquire our common stock, you could lose some or all of your investment.

Our common stock is subordinate to our existing and future indebtedness and preferred stock.

Shares of our common stock are equity interests and do not constitute indebtedness. As such, our common stock ranks junior to all our customer deposits and indebtedness, whether now existing or hereafter incurred, and other non-equity claims on us, with respect to assets available to satisfy claims. Additionally, holders of common stock are subject to the prior liquidation rights of the holders of any outstanding debt we have now or may issue in the future and may be subject to the prior dividend and liquidation rights of any series of preferred stock we may issue in the future.

Anti-takeover provisions and federal law may limit the ability of another party to acquire us, which could cause our stock price to decline.

Various provisions of our articles of incorporation and by-laws and certain other actions we have taken could delay or prevent a third-party from acquiring us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders. The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, and the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978, as amended, together with federal regulations, require that, depending on the particular circumstances, regulatory approval and/or appropriate regulatory filings may be required from either or all the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the DFPI prior to any person or entity acquiring “control” (as defined in the applicable regulations) of a state non-member bank, such as the Bank. These provisions may prevent a merger or acquisition that would be attractive to shareholders and could limit the price investors would be willing to pay in the future for our common stock.

We could reduce or discontinue the payment of dividends on our common stock.

The ability of the Bank to pay dividends to the Company and of the Company to pay dividends to our shareholders is limited by applicable federal and California law and regulations. If the Bank is unable to meet regulatory requirements to pay dividends or make other distributions to CVB, CVB will be unable to pay dividends to its shareholders. In addition, our Board of Directors could decide in the future to reduce or discontinue the payment of cash dividends on our common stock in its sole discretion. See “Business — Regulation and Supervision” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Cash Flow.”

Other Risks

We may face other risks.

From time to time, we detail other risks with respect to our business and/or financial results in our filings with the SEC. For further discussion on additional areas of risk, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None

ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY

Cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and effective every day, and they are increasingly targeting financial institutions. All companies utilizing technology are subject to threats and potential breaches of their cybersecurity programs. Any significant disruption in or unauthorized access to our computer systems or those of third parties that we utilize in our operations, including those relating to cybersecurity or arising from cyber-attacks, could result in a loss or degradation of service, unauthorized access, disclosure or destruction of data, including customer and bank information. To mitigate the threat to our business, we take a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity risk management and make securing the data customers and other stakeholders entrust to us a top priority. Our board of directors (the “Board”), through our Audit Committee, and our management, are actively involved in the oversight of our cybersecurity risk management program.

As described in more detail below, we have established policies, standards, processes and practices for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats. We have devoted significant financial and personnel resources to implement and maintain security measures to meet regulatory requirements and customer expectations, and we intend to continue to make significant investments to maintain the security of our data and cybersecurity infrastructure. There can be no guarantee that our policies, standards, processes, and procedures, and cyber security safeguards will be sufficient to protect against all possible threats and properly followed in every instance, or that those policies and procedures will be effective. Although our Risk Factors include further detail about the material cybersecurity risks we face, we believe that risks from prior cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any previous cybersecurity incidents, have not materially affected our business to date. We can provide no assurance that there will not be incidents in the future or that they will not materially affect us, including our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition.

Risk Management and Strategy

Our policies, standards, processes and practices for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats are integrated into our overall risk management program and are based on applicable banking regulations, including the Interagency Guidelines Establishing Information Security Standards (“Interagency Guidelines”), and the Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT2). Our cybersecurity program in particular focuses on the following key areas:

Process

Our cybersecurity risks are identified and addressed through a cross-functional approach that includes coordination through our Corporate Information Security Committee, which includes senior managers in our information security, information technology, operations, risk, compliance and privacy departments or functions. Key security, operations, risk, compliance and privacy stakeholders meet regularly to develop strategies for preserving the confidentiality, integrity and availability of Company and customer information, identifying, preventing and mitigating cybersecurity threats, and effectively responding to cybersecurity incidents. We maintain controls and procedures that are designed to ensure prompt escalation of certain cybersecurity incidents so that decisions regarding public disclosure and reporting of such incidents can be made by management and our Board in a timely manner.

Risk Assessment

At least annually, we conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment that takes into account information from internal stakeholders, known information security vulnerabilities, and information from external sources (e.g., reported security incidents that have impacted other companies, industry trends, and evaluations by third parties and consultants). The results of the assessment are used to drive alignment on, and prioritization of, initiatives to enhance our security controls, make recommendations to improve processes, and inform a broader enterprise-level risk assessment that is presented to our Board, Audit Committee and members of management.

Technical Safeguards

We regularly assess and deploy technical safeguards designed to protect our information systems from cybersecurity threats. Such safeguards are regularly evaluated and improved based on vulnerability assessments, cybersecurity threat intelligence and incident response experience.

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Incident Response, Recovery Planning and Disclosure

Our Bank is subject to the Interagency Guidelines, as noted above, and our Company is subject to the SEC’s Rules on Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy, Governance, and Incident Disclosure by Public Companies adopted in July 2023. In accordance with these rules and regulations, we have sought to establish comprehensive incident response and recovery plans, and we continue to regularly test and evaluate the effectiveness of those plans. Our incident response and recovery plans address — and guide our employees, management and the Board on — our planned response to a cybersecurity incident. With respect to the potential disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents, we have designated our management Financial Review and Disclosure Committee as the proper forum to address such issues. Members of Financial Review and Disclosure Committee include the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer (“COO”), Chief Risk Officer (“CRO”), and the Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”).

Third-Party Risk Management

We have implemented controls designed to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats associated with our use of third-party service providers, in the manner and to the extent required by our bank regulators and applicable regulations. Such third-party providers are subject to security risk assessments at the time of onboarding, and contract renewal. We use a variety of inputs in such risk assessments, including information supplied by such third-party providers and other industry sources. In addition, we require our third-party providers to meet appropriate security requirements, controls and responsibilities and to investigate and report on security incidents that have impacted their operations, as appropriate.

Education and Awareness

Our policies require each of our employees to participate in our data security efforts. We regularly remind employees of the importance of handling and protecting customer and employee data, including through annual privacy and security training to enhance employee awareness of how to detect and respond to cybersecurity threats. We also conduct regular phishing email exercises and training to test employees of security practices to mitigate this threat.

External Assessments

Our cybersecurity policies, standards, processes and practices are periodically assessed by third parties and internal and external auditors. These assessments include a variety of activities including information security maturity assessments, audits and independent reviews of our information security control environment and operating effectiveness. The results of significant assessments are reported to senior management and our Board through its Audit Committee. Cybersecurity processes are adjusted based on the information provided from these assessments.

Governance

Board Oversight

Our Board, through its Audit Committee, oversees the management of our cybersecurity program led by our CISO. The Audit Committee receives regular reports from management about the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity threats and incidents, including material security risks and information security vulnerabilities. Specifically, the Audit Committee receives regular updates from our CISO on cybersecurity risk resulting from risk assessments, progress of risk reduction initiatives, external auditor feedback, and any relevant internal and industry cybersecurity incidents.

Management’s Responsibility

The Bank's cybersecurity program is managed by our CISO, who reports to the Audit Committee. Management’s Corporate Information Security Committee (the “Security Committee”), led by our CISO, is a governance body that drives alignment on security decisions across multiple departments and functional areas within the Bank, while monitoring and managing Cyber risks to minimize exposure to the Bank. Members of the Security Committee include the Chief Information Officer (“CIO”), the CRO, and the COO. The Security Committee oversees processes for assessing, identifying, and managing material risks from cybersecurity threats. The Security Committee meets at least quarterly to review cybersecurity performance metrics, identify cybersecurity risks, and assess the status of approved cybersecurity enhancements. The Security Committee also considers and makes recommendations on cybersecurity policies and procedures, service requirements, and risk mitigation strategies.

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Our CISO has more than 20 years of Information Technology and Information Security experience in financial services including two other regional banks. He holds an undergraduate and master’s degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. Our CIO has 24 years of Information Technology (IT) experience and 17 years of experience in the financial services industry. Our CRO has more than 32 years of experience in Banking and over 14 years of experience in risk management, compliance, and BSA. Our COO is a seasoned bank operations executive with experience in loan servicing and documentation, cash management services, payment operations, information technology, vendor management, and treasury services.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The principal executive offices of the Company and the Bank are located in Ontario, California, and are owned by the Company.

As of December 31, 2023, the Bank occupied a total of 65 premises consisting of (i) 62 Banking Centers (“Centers”) of which one Center is located at our Corporate Headquarters in Ontario California, and (ii) three operation and technology centers. We own 14 of these locations and the remaining properties are leased under various agreements with expiration dates ranging from 2024 through 2030. All properties are located in Southern and Central California.

For additional information concerning properties, see Note 8 — Premises and Equipment of the Notes to the consolidated financial statements included in this report. See “Item 8 — Financial Statements and Supplemental Data.”

ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Company and its subsidiaries are parties to various lawsuits and threatened lawsuits in the course of business. From time to time, such lawsuits and threatened lawsuits may include, but are not limited to, actions involving securities litigation, employment matters, wage-hour and labor law claims, consumer claims, regulatory compliance claims, data privacy claims, lender liability claims, bankruptcy-related claims and negligence claims, some of which may be styled as “class action” or representative cases. Some of these lawsuits may be similar in nature to other lawsuits pending against the Company’s competitors. For additional information concerning legal proceedings, see Note 13 Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to the consolidated financial statements included in this report.

For lawsuits where the Company has determined that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable, a liability representing the best estimate of the Company’s financial exposure based on known facts has been recorded in accordance with FASB guidance over loss contingencies (ASC 450). However, as a result of inherent uncertainties in judicial interpretation and application of a myriad of laws and regulations applicable to the Company’s business, and the unique, complex factual issues presented in any given lawsuit, the Company often cannot determine the probability of loss or estimate the amount of damages which a plaintiff might successfully prove if the Company were found to be liable. For lawsuits or threatened lawsuits where a claim has been asserted or the Company has determined that it is probable that a claim will be asserted, and there is a reasonable possibility that the outcome will be unfavorable, the Company will disclose the existence of the loss contingency, even if the Company is not able to make an estimate of the possible loss or range of possible loss with respect to the action or potential action in question, unless the Company believes that the nature, potential magnitude or potential timing (if known) of the loss contingency is not reasonably likely to be material to the Company’s liquidity, consolidated financial position, and/or results of operations.

Our accruals and disclosures for loss contingencies are reviewed quarterly and adjusted as additional information becomes available. We disclose a loss contingency and/or the amount accrued if we believe it is reasonably likely to be material or if we believe such disclosure is necessary for our financial statements to not be misleading. If we determine that an exposure to loss exists in excess of an amount previously accrued or disclosed, we assess whether there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss, or additional loss, may have been incurred, and we adjust our accruals and disclosures accordingly.

We do not presently believe that the ultimate resolution of any lawsuits currently pending against the Company will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows. The outcome of litigation and other legal and regulatory matters is inherently uncertain, however, and it is possible that one or more of the legal matters currently pending or threatened against the Company could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

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ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5.MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

CVB’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select National Market under the symbol “CVBF.” CVB had approximately 139,374,072 shares of common stock outstanding with 1,916 registered shareholders of record as of February 9, 2024.

For information on the statutory and regulatory limitations on the ability of the Company to pay dividends to its shareholders and on the Bank to pay dividends to CVB, see “Item 1. Business-Regulation and Supervision — Dividends” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Cash Flow.”

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On February 1, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a program to repurchase up to 10,000,000 shares of CVB common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, at times and at prices considered appropriate by us, depending upon prevailing market conditions and other corporate and legal considerations ("2022 Repurchase Program"). We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock during the quarter ended December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, an aggregate of 4,300,059 shares remained available for repurchase under our 2022 Repurchase Program. The only shares repurchased during the fourth quarter of 2023 were shares repurchased pursuant to net settlement by employees in satisfaction of income tax withholding obligations incurred through the vesting of Company stock awards.

(1)

Shares repurchased pursuant to net settlement by employees in satisfaction of income tax withholding obligations incurred through the vesting of Company stock awards.

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The following Performance Graph and related information shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such filing.

The following graph compares the yearly percentage change in CVB’s cumulative total shareholder return (stock price appreciation plus reinvested dividends) on common stock to (i) the cumulative total return of the Nasdaq Composite Index; and (ii) the Keefe, Bruyette and Woods (“KBW”) Nasdaq Regional Banking Index (“KRX”) (comprised of 50 banks and bank holding companies headquartered throughout the country) which the Company uses as the Company's peers for performance and compensatory purposes. The graph assumes an initial investment of $100 on December 31, 2017, and reinvestment of dividends through December 31, 2023. Points on the graph represent the performance as of the last business day of each of the years indicated. The graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.

ASSUMES $100 INVESTED ON DECEMBER 31, 2018

ASSUMES DIVIDEND REINVESTED

FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2023

Source: Research Data Group, Inc., www.researchdatagroup.com

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ITEM 6. RESERVED

ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion provides information about the results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, and capital resources of CVB Financial Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary. This information is intended to facilitate the understanding and assessment of significant changes and trends related to our financial condition and the results of our operations. This discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes presented elsewhere in this report.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Critical accounting policies are defined as those that are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties, and are essential to understanding Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. The following is a summary of the more judgmental and complex accounting estimates and principles. In each area, we have identified the variables most important in the estimation process. We have used the best information available to make the necessary estimates to value the related assets and liabilities. Actual performance that differs from our estimates and future changes in the key variables could change future valuations and impact the results of operations.

Allowance for Credit Losses (“ACL”) — Our allowance for credit losses is based upon lifetime loss rate models developed from an estimation framework that uses historical lifetime loss experiences to derive loss rates at a collective pool level. We measure the expected credit losses on a collective (pooled) basis for those loans that share similar risk characteristics. We have three collective loan pools: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, and Consumer. Our ACL amounts are largely driven by portfolio characteristics, including loss history and various risk attributes, and the economic outlook for certain macroeconomic variables. Risk attributes for commercial real estate loans include Original Loan to Value ratios ("OLTV"), origination year, loan seasoning, and macroeconomic variables that include GDP growth, commercial real estate price index and unemployment rate. Risk attributes for commercial and industrial loans include internal risk ratings, borrower industry sector, loan credit spreads and macroeconomic variables that include unemployment rate and BBB spread. The macroeconomic variables for Consumer include unemployment rate and GDP. The Commercial Real Estate methodology is applied over commercial real estate loans, a portion of construction loans, and a portion of SBA loans. The Commercial and Industrial methodology is applied over a substantial portion of the Company’s commercial and industrial loans, all dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans, municipal lease receivables, as well as the remaining portion of SBA loans (excluding Paycheck Protection Program loans). The Consumer methodology is applied to SFR mortgage loans, consumer loans, as well as the remaining construction loans. In addition to determining the quantitative life of loan loss rate to be applied against the amortized cost basis of the portfolio segments, management reviews current conditions and forecasts to determine whether adjustments are needed to ensure that the life of loan loss rates reflect both the current state of the portfolio, and expectations for macroeconomic changes. Our methodology for assessing the appropriateness of the allowance is reviewed on a regular basis and considers overall risks in the Bank’s loan portfolio.

For a full discussion of our methodology of assessing the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses, see “Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation — Risk Management” and Note 3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 6 — Loans and Lease Finance Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses of our consolidated financial statements presented elsewhere in this report.

Business Combinations — The Company applies the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations. Under the acquisition method, the acquiring entity in a business combination recognizes the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their acquisition date fair values. Management utilizes prevailing valuation techniques appropriate for the asset or liability being measured in determining these fair values. These fair values are estimates and are subject to adjustment for up to one year after the acquisition date or when additional information relative to the closing date fair values becomes available and such information is considered final, whichever is earlier. Any excess of the purchase price over amounts allocated to assets acquired, including identifiable intangible assets, and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. Where amounts

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allocated to assets acquired and liabilities assumed is greater than the purchase price, a bargain purchase gain would be recognized. Acquisition related costs are expensed as incurred.

Valuation and Recoverability of Goodwill — Goodwill represented $765.8 million of our $16.02 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2023. The Company has one reportable segment. Goodwill has an indefinite useful life and is not amortized, but is tested for impairment at least annually, or more frequently, if events and circumstances exist that indicate that a goodwill impairment test should be performed. Such events and circumstances may include among others, a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the general business climate, significant decline in our stock price and market capitalization, unanticipated competition, the testing for recoverability of a significant asset group within the reporting unit, and an adverse action or assessment by a regulating body. Any adverse change in these factors could have a significant impact on the recoverability of goodwill and could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Based on the results of our annual goodwill impairment test, we determined that no goodwill impairment charges were required as our single reportable segment’s fair value exceeded its carrying amount. As of December 31, 2023, we determined there were no events or circumstances which would more likely than not reduce the fair value of our reportable segment below its carrying amount. Note 3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of our consolidated financial statements presented elsewhere in this report

For complete discussion and disclosure of other accounting policies see Note 3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Company’s consolidated financial statements presented elsewhere in this report.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements but Not Adopted as of December 31, 2023

Standard Description Adoption Timing Impact on Financial Statements

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OVERVIEW

For the year ended December 31, 2023, we reported net earnings of $221.4 million, compared with $235.4 million for 2022, a $14.0 million, or 5.94%, decrease from the prior year. Diluted earnings per share of $1.59 for 2023, decreased by $0.08, or 4.8%, when compared to $1.67 for 2022. Net income was negatively impacted by a $9.2 million expense accrual for the FDIC’s final rule that implements a special assessment (Special FDIC Assessment) that will be collected over eight quarters beginning in 2024. Net earnings of $221.4 million produced a return on average equity (“ROAE”) of 11.03%, a return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”) of 18.48% and a return on average assets (“ROAA”) of 1.35%. Our net interest margin, tax equivalent (“NIM”), was 3.31% for 2023, while our efficiency ratio was 42.0%.

Net interest income of $488.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, decreased $17.5 million, or 3.47%, compared to the same period of 2022. Interest income grew by $91.7 million, or 17.81%, in 2023, offset by a $109.2 million increase in interest expense year-over-year. Cost of funds for 2023 increased by 77 basis points over 2022, while the earning asset yield grew by 74 basis points. Average earning assets declined by $610.4 million year-over-year.

Noninterest expense increased from $216.6 million in 2022 to $229.9 million in 2023. The $13.3 million increase in noninterest expense included a $12.2 million increase in regulatory assessment expense, including the $9.2 million Special FDIC assessment.

At December 31, 2023, total assets of $16.02 billion decreased by $455.5 million, or 2.76%, from total assets of $16.48 billion at December 31, 2022. Interest-earning assets of $14.46 billion at December 31, 2023 decreased by $509.5 million, or 3.40%, when compared with $14.97 billion at December 31, 2022. The decrease in interest-earning assets was primarily due to a $388.8 million decrease in investment securities and a $174.5 million decrease in total loans, partially offset by an increase of $64.7 million in interest-earning balances due from the Federal Reserve.

Total investment securities were $5.42 billion at December 31, 2023, a decrease of $388.8 million, or 6.69%, from $5.81 billion at December 31, 2022, primarily due to repayments and maturities. At December 31, 2023, investment securities held-to-maturity (“HTM”) totaled $2.46 billion. At December 31, 2023, investment securities AFS totaled $2.96 billion, inclusive of a pre-tax net unrealized loss of $449.8 million. AFS securities decreased by $299.1 million, or 9.19%, from $3.26 billion December 31, 2022, net of a $50.3 million decrease in the pre-tax unrealized loss. Our tax equivalent yield on our investment portfolio grew from 2.03% for 2022 to 2.52% for 2023. The 49 basis point increase in the yield on investment securities from the prior year was impacted by the positive spread generated from fair-value hedging of certain AFS securities, in which the Company receives daily SOFR and pays a weighted average fixed cost of approximately 3.8%.

In June 2023, fair value hedging transactions were executed in which $1 billion notional pay-fixed interest rate swaps were consummated with maturities ranging from four to five years, wherein the Company pays a weighted average fixed rate of approximately 3.8% and receives daily SOFR. The fair value of these instruments totaled $6.9 million and were reflected as a liability at December 31, 2023. These instruments generated interest income of $8.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. Refer to Note 19 – Derivative Financial Instruments of the notes to the consolidated financial statements of this report for additional information.

Total loans and leases, at amortized cost, of $8.90 billion at December 31, 2023, decreased by $174.5 million, or 1.92%, from $9.08 billion at December 31, 2022. After adjusting for PPP loans, which declined by $6.4 million, our core loans decreased by $168.1 million, or 1.85% from December 31, 2022. Loan growth continues to be impacted by a slowdown in loan demand with our new loan production decreasing throughout the second half of 2023. The $168.1 million decreases included $100.4 million in commercial real estate loans, $21.5 million in construction loans, $20.7 million in dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans, $20.3 million in SBA loans, $7.5 million in municipal lease financings, and $22.7 million in consumer and other loans. Commercial and industrial loans increased by $21.2 million although line utilization decreased from 33% to 29%. Our loan yields were 5.04% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 4.49% for 2022. This 55 basis point increase in our loan yields year-over-year was the result of recent increases in interest rates, highlighted by the 525 basis point increase in the Fed Funds rate since the end of the first quarter of 2022.

The allowance for credit losses totaled $86.8 million at December 31, 2023, compared to $85.1 million at December 31, 2022. At December 31, 2023, ACL as a percentage of total loans and leases outstanding was 0.98%. This compares to 0.94% at December 31, 2022. The changes in our allowance over the last few quarters have been primarily due to changes in our economic forecast. Our economic forecast continues to be a blend of multiple forecasts produced by Moody’s. The resulting economic forecast reflects a modest decline in GDP for the first three quarters of 2024, with a return to positive GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2024. GDP is forecasted to increase by 0.92% in 2025, before reaching a more robust growth rate of 2.6% in 2026. Commercial Real Estate values are forecasted to continue their decline until reaching their lowest level in the third quarter 2024. Unemployment is forecasted to rise in 2024 and throughout 2025.

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Unemployment is forecasted to exceed 5% in 2024 and then peak at 5.7% in the first quarter of 2025. The unemployment rate forecast then declines to less than 5% in the third quarter of 2026.

Since March of 2022 to December of 2023, the Federal Reserve has increased the Federal Funds rate by 525 basis points to the target range of 5.25% to 5.50%. In comparison to the rising Federal Funds rate, our average cost of deposits has increased from three basis points for the first quarter of 2022 to 62 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2023. The change in market interest rates that has resulted from the Federal Reserve's monetary policies has impacted the availability of higher interest rates on short-term alternatives to deposits, such as money market mutual funds and treasury notes. These higher yielding alternatives, as well as overall inflationary increases on spending, have impacted our deposit levels over the last year. On January 31, 2024, the Federal Reserve announced that they would maintain the overnight Fed Funds rate at the current range of 5.25% to 5.50% noting that, despite an easing in the inflation rate over the past year, they do not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until they have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward their goal of 2%.

Noninterest-bearing deposits were $7.21 billion at December 31, 2023, a decrease of $958.2 million, or 11.74% when compared to $8.16 billion at December 31, 2022. At December 31, 2023, noninterest-bearing deposits were 63.03% of total deposits, compared to 63.60% at December 31, 2022.

Interest-bearing deposits were $4.23 billion at December 31, 2023, a decrease of $444.4 million, or 9.51%, when compared to $4.67 billion at December 31, 2022. Customer repurchase agreements totaled $271.6 million at December 31, 2023, compared to $565.4 million at December 31, 2022. Our average cost of total deposits including customer repurchase agreements for 2023 was 0.41%, compared to 0.05% for 2022.

Overall, we have experienced a decline in deposit levels due to higher cash outflows on customer accounts resulting from inflationary pressures, as well as the impact of higher interest rates that has led to deposits moving to higher yielding alternatives, such as money market funds and short-term treasury notes. These higher interest rates resulting from the Federal Reserve’s significant increase in the federal funds rate over the last year have continued to impact deposit levels, including approximately $800 million of funds on deposit at the end of 2022 that were transferred from the Bank’s balance sheet by customers to be invested by CitizensTrust in higher yielding instruments such as United States treasury notes or bonds.

At December 31, 2023, total borrowings of $2.07 billion consisted of $1.91 billion of one-year advances from the Federal Reserve’s Bank Term Funding Program ("BTFP"), at a weighted average cost of 4.78% and $160 million of short-term Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") advances, at an average cost of approximately 5.7%. Borrowings increased $1.08 billion from $995.0 million at December 31, 2022. These higher cost short-term borrowings and an increase in the cost of deposits and customer repurchase agreements from five basis points for the year ended December 31, 2022 to 41 basis points for 2023, increased our cost of funds by 77 basis points to 0.83% for the year ended December 31 2023.

The Company’s total equity was $2.08 billion at December 31, 2023. This represented an overall increase of $129.5 million from total equity of $1.95 billion at December 31, 2022. Increases to equity included $221.4 million in net earnings and a $31.2 million increase in other comprehensive income, that were partially offset by $111.6 million in cash dividends. We engaged in no stock repurchases during the second, third and fourth quarters of 2023, compared to the first quarter of 2023, when we repurchased 791,800 shares of common stock, at an average repurchase price of $23.43, totaling $18.5 million. The Company's 2022 10b5-1 stock repurchase plan expired on March 2, 2023. Our tangible book value per share at December 31, 2023 was $9.31.

Our capital ratios under the revised capital framework referred to as Basel III remain well-above regulatory requirements. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s Tier 1 leverage capital ratio totaled 10.27%, our common equity Tier 1 ratio totaled 14.65%, our Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio totaled 14.65%, and our total risk-based capital ratio totaled 15.50%. We did not elect to phase in the impact of CECL on regulatory capital, as allowed under the interim final rule of the FDIC and other U.S. banking agencies. Refer to our Analysis of Financial Condition — Capital Resources.

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Acquisition Related

On January 7, 2022, the Company completed the merger transaction whereby Suncrest Bank (“Suncrest”), headquartered in Visalia, California, merged with and into the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Citizens Business Bank (“Citizens”), in accordance with the terms and conditions of that certain Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger (“Merger Agreement”), dated as of July 27, 2021, by and among the Company, the Bank and Suncrest, in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $237 million in aggregate, or $18.63 per Suncrest share based on CVB Financial Corp.’s closing stock price of $22.87 on January 7, 2022. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company issued approximately 8.6 million shares of Company common stock and approximately $39.6 million in aggregate cash consideration, including cash paid out in settlement of outstanding incentive stock option awards at Suncrest.

At close, the total fair value of assets acquired approximated $1.38 billion in total assets, including $329.0 million of cash and cash equivalents, net of cash paid, $131.1 million of investment securities, and $765.9 million in net loans. The acquired loans were recorded at fair value, which reflected a net discount of 1.5% for the entire loan portfolio. Approximately 30% of the acquired loans are considered PCD loans. An allowance for credit loss of $8.6 million was established for these PCD loans at acquisition. In addition, the acquired PCD loans were further discounted by almost 2% to adjust them to fair value. Non-PCD loans were valued at a total premium of 0.3%, net of a credit discount of 1.5%. We recorded a loan loss provision to establish a day one allowance for credit losses of $4.9 million on the non-PCD loans.

Suncrest had seven branch locations and two loan production offices in California’s Central Valley and the Sacramento area, which opened as Citizens Business Bank locations on January 10, 2022. The integration of Suncrest, including the conversion of core systems in the first quarter of 2022, was completed with the consolidation of two banking centers during the second quarter of 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred non-recurring merger related expenses associated with the Suncrest acquisition of $6.0 million.

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Financial Performance

Variance

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

Earnings per common share:

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Return on Average Tangible Common Equity Reconciliations (Non-GAAP)

The return on average tangible common equity is a non-GAAP disclosure. The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures to provide supplemental information regarding the Company’s performance. The following is a reconciliation of net income, adjusted for tax-effected amortization of intangibles, to net income computed in accordance with GAAP; a reconciliation of average tangible common equity to the Company’s average stockholders’ equity computed in accordance with GAAP; as well as a calculation of return on average tangible common equity.

Year Ended December 31,

(Dollars in thousands)

Return on average tangible common equity 18.48 % 18.85 % 15.93 %

(1)

Tax effected at respective statutory rates.

Net Interest Income

The principal component of our earnings is net interest income, which is the difference between the interest and fees earned on loans, investments and interest earning cash (interest-earning assets) and the interest paid on deposits and borrowed funds (interest-bearing liabilities). Net interest margin is net interest income as a percentage of average interest-earning assets for the period. The level of interest rates and the volume and mix of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities impact net interest income and net interest margin. The net interest spread is the yield on average interest-earning assets minus the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest margin and net interest spread are included on a tax equivalent (TE) basis by adjusting interest income utilizing the federal statutory tax rates of 21% in effect for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. Our net interest income, interest spread, and net interest margin are sensitive to general business and economic conditions. These conditions include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, monetary policy, and the strength of the global, national and state economies, in general, and more specifically, the local economies in which we conduct business. Our ability to manage net interest income during changing interest rate environments will have a significant impact on our overall performance. We manage net interest income through affecting changes in the mix of interest-earning assets as well as the mix of interest-bearing liabilities, changes in the level of interest-bearing liabilities in proportion to interest-earning assets, the growth and maturity of earning assets, and derivative financial instruments. See Item 7 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Asset/Liability and Market Risk Management — Interest Rate Sensitivity Management included herein.

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The tables below present the interest rate spread, net interest margin and the composition of average interest-earning assets and average interest-bearing liabilities by category for the periods indicated, including the changes in average balance, composition, and average yield/rate between these respective periods.

Interest-Earning Assets and Interest-Bearing Liabilities

Year Ended December 31,

(Dollars in thousands)

INTEREST-EARNING ASSETS

Investment securities (1)

Available-for-sale securities:

Held-to-maturity securities:

INTEREST-BEARING LIABILITIES

Net interest spread - tax equivalent 2.26 % 3.20 % 2.90 %

Net interest margin - tax equivalent 3.31 % 3.30 % 2.97 %

(1)

Includes tax equivalent (TE) adjustments utilizing a federal statutory rate of 21% in effect for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. The non-TE rates for total investment securities was 2.48%, 2.00% and 1.53% for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(2)

Includes loan fees of $3.1 million, $8.1 million and $27.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Prepayment penalty fees of $2.5 million, $6.9 million and $9.0 million are included in interest income for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(3)

Includes interest-bearing demand and money market accounts.

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The following table presents a comparison of interest income and interest expense resulting from changes in the volumes and rates on average interest-earning assets and average interest-bearing liabilities for the periods indicated. Changes in interest income or expense attributable to volume changes are calculated by multiplying the change in volume by the initial average interest rate. The change in interest income or expense attributable to changes in interest rates is calculated by multiplying the change in interest rate by the initial volume. The changes attributable to interest rate and volume changes are calculated by multiplying the change in rate times the change in volume and reflect an adjustment for the number of days as appropriate.

Rate and Volume Analysis for Changes in Interest Income, Interest Expense and Net Interest Income

Comparison of Year Ended December 31,

Volume Rate Rate/Volume Total Volume Rate Rate/Volume Total

(Dollars in thousands)

Interest income:

Available-for-sale securities:

Tax-advantaged investment securities (46 ) 16 (1 ) (31 ) (69 ) 37 (4 ) (36 )

Held-to-maturity securities:

Interest expense:

2023 Compared to 2022

Net interest income, before provision for credit losses of $488.0 million for 2023 decreased $17.5 million, or 3.47%, compared to $505.5 million for 2022. Interest income grew by $91.7 million, or 17.81% in 2023, offset by a $109.2 million increase in interest expense year-over-year. Cost of funds for 2023 increased by 77 basis points over 2022, while the earning asset yield grew by 74 basis points. Interest-earning assets decreased on average by $610.4 million, or 3.95%, from $15.44 billion for 2022 to $14.83 billion for 2023. Our net interest margin (TE) was 3.31% for2023, compared to 3.30% for 2022.

Total interest income for 2023 of $606.3 million grew by $91.7 million, or 17.81%, when compared to 2022. Compared to 2022, average interest-earning assets decreased $610.4 million and the yield on interest-earning assets increased by 74 basis point from 3.36% for 2022 to 4.10% for 2023. The $610.4 million year-over-year decrease in earning assets resulted from a $471.9 million decrease in average earning balances due from the Federal Reserve and a decline of $360.1 million in average investment securities, offset by $216.5 million of growth in average loans. The 74 basis point increase in the earning asset yield over 2022 resulted from a 55 basis point increase in loan yields, from 4.49% for 2022 to 5.04% for 2023, as well as a change in the mix of earning assets. Average loans as a percentage of earning assets grew from 56.20% for 2022 to 59.97% for 2023. Average investments as a percentage of earning assets decreased to 37.63% for 2023 from 38.47% for 2022. The tax-equivalent yield on investment securities was 2.52% for 2023, compared to 2.03% for 2022.

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Total interest income and fees on loans for 2023 of $448.3 million increased $59.1 million, or 15.19%, when compared to 2022. This increase in income was partly due to growth in average loans of $216.5 million, as well as higher loan yields. Loan yields were 5.04% for 2023, compared to 4.49% for 2022. Discount accretion on acquired loans decreased by $4.0 million and interest and fee income from PPP loans declined by $5.4 million compared to 2022. After excluding discount accretion and the impact from PPP loans, our loan yields grew by 63 basis points compared to 2022. Loan yields grew year-over-year, as rising interest rates contributed to an increase in yields on loans indexed to the Prime rate or other short-term indexes, as well as higher rates from newly originated loans.

In general, we stop accruing interest on a loan after its principal or interest becomes 90 days or more past due. When a loan is placed on nonaccrual, all interest previously accrued but not collected is charged against earnings. There was no interest income that was accrued and not reversed on nonaccrual loans at December 31, 2023 and 2022. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had $21.3 million and $4.9 million of nonaccrual loans, respectively.

Interest income from investment securities was $138.3 million for 2023, a $20.8 million, or 17.66%, increase from $117.6 million for 2022. This increase was driven by a 49 basis point increase in the yield on securities, compared to 2022. This 49 basis point increase in the yield on investment securities from the prior year period was impacted by the positive spread generated from the pay-fixed swaps we entered into at the end of the second quarter of 2023. The positive carry on these fair value hedges resulted in approximately $8.2 million of interest income associated with these interest rate swaps. Excluding the impact of these swaps, 2023 investment yields increased by 33 basis points from 2022. Average investment securities declined by $360.1 million from 2022.

Interest expense of $118.3 million for 2023 increased $109.2 million, compared to $9.2 million for 2022. Total cost of funds for 2023 was 0.83%, compared with 0.06% for 2022. This 77 basis point increase in cost of funds was the result of the increase in the cost of interest-bearing deposits and the addition of $1.35 billion of borrowings, on average, for 2023, at an average cost of 4.88%. Average interest-bearing deposits declined by $580.5 million when compared 2022. The average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities increased by 168 basis points, to 1.84% for 2023 from 0.16% for 2022. Likewise, the rate on interest-bearing deposits for 2023 increased by 98 basis points from 2022. Noninterest bearing deposits continued to be greater than 60% of total deposits in 2023. Average noninterest-bearing deposits were 62.66% of our total deposits for 2023, compared to 62.85% for 2022.

2022 Compared to 2021

Net interest income, before provision for (recapture of) credit losses of $505.5 million for 2022 increased $91.0 million, or 21.94%, compared to $414.6 million for 2021. Interest-earning assets grew on average by $1.34 billion, or 9.54%, from $14.10 billion for 2021 to $15.44 billion for 2022. Our net interest margin (TE) was 3.30% for 2022, compared to 2.97% for 2021. The 33 basis point increase in our net interest margin was primarily the result of a 34 basis point increase in earning asset yield, while maintaining our very low cost of funds that increased from five basis points for 2021 to six basis for 2022, during a period of time when the Federal Reserve increased short-term interest rates by 425 basis points.

Total interest income for 2022 of $514.7 million grew by $94.0 million, or 22.36%, when compared to 2021. The increase in interest income was due to a combination of growth in average interest-earning assets of $1.34 billion and a 34 basis point expansion of the earning asset yield, from 3.02% for 2021 to 3.36% for 2022. The $1.34 billion increase in average earning assets for 2022 benefited from the acquisition of $775 million of loans from Suncrest at the beginning of the year, as well as core loan growth, which excluding Suncrest and the $538.3 million decline in average PPP loans was $374.7 million, and a $1.88 billion increase in the average size of our investment portfolio. The 34 basis point increase in the earning asset yield was due to a 47 basis point increase in security yields, a seven basis point increase in loan yields, and impacted by the change in the composition of average earning assets, with the investment portfolio growing from 28.79% to 38.47% of average earnings assets, while funds held at the Federal Reserve on average declined from 13.64% to 5.15% for 2022, compared to 2021. Average loans as a percentage of earning assets declined from 57.22% for 2021 to 56.20% for 2022. Throughout 2022, we deployed some of the excess liquidity previously held on deposit at the Federal Reserve into additional investment securities by purchasing approximately $1.76 billion in securities.

Total interest income and fees on loans for 2022 of $389.2 million increased $32.6 million, or 9.14% when compared to 2021. The increase in interest income and fees on loans was primarily due to a $610.9 million increase in average loans, which included approximately $775 million in loans acquired from Suncrest on January 7, 2022. Average loans grew by approximately $374.7 million, when Suncrest and the $538.3 million decrease in average PPP loans are excluded. Loan yields were 4.49% for 2022, compared to 4.42% for 2021. Interest and fee income from PPP loans declined by $25.0 million from $30.5 million for 2021. Discount accretion on acquired loans decreased by $4.4 million compared to 2021. After excluding discount accretion, nonaccrual interest income and the impact from PPP loans, our ("core") loan yields grew by 17

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basis points compared to 2021. Our core loan yields grew throughout 2022, as rising interest rates contributed to an increase from 4.08% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 4.42% for the third quarter of 2022 and 4.67% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

There was no interest income that was accrued and not reversed on nonaccrual loans at December 31, 2022 and 2021. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had $4.9 million and $6.9 million of nonaccrual loans, respectively.

Interest income from investment securities was $117.6 million for 2022, a $57.1 million, or 94.47%, increase from $60.4 million for 2021. Investment income growth resulted from higher levels of investment securities as a result of purchases of investment securities primarily funded by our funds on deposit at the Federal Reserve, which declined from $1.64 billion at the end of 2021 to $45.2 million at December 31, 2022. As our excess liquidity held at the Federal Reserve was invested into higher yielding investments, our balance at the Federal Reserve averaged $795.8 million for 2022, compared to $1.92 billion for 2021. Investment securities were $5.94 billion on average in 2022, a $1.88 billion increase compared to 2021. During 2022, we purchased approximately $1.76 billion in investment securities, with expected non-TE weighted average yield of approximately 2.94%. Overall, the tax-equivalent yield on securities grew from 1.56% in 2021 to 2.03% in 2022.

Interest expense of $9.2 million for 2022 increased $3.1 million, or 50.58%, compared to $6.1 million for 2021. Although short-term interest rates were 425 basis points higher by the end of 2022 in comparison to the end of the prior year, the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities increased by four basis points, to 0.16% for 2022 from 0.12% for 2021. As interest-bearing deposit costs only increased by one basis point, this four basis point increase was the result of overnight borrowings during the fourth quarter of 2022. Average interest-bearing liabilities were $589.9 million higher for 2022 when compared to 2021. On average, noninterest-bearing deposits were 62.85% of our total deposits for 2022, compared to 62.83% for 2021. Our overall cost of funds increased by one basis point compared to 2021, partially due to growth in average noninterest-bearing deposits of $1.02 billion, compared to the increase in average interest-bearing deposits of $600.0 million. Due to recent increases in market rates, we experienced some pressure to increase deposit rates, as reflected in our interest-bearing deposit costs increasing from 13 basis points in the third quarter to 22 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Provision for (Recapture of) Credit Losses

The provision for (recapture of) credit losses is a charge to earnings to maintain the allowance for credit losses at a level consistent with management’s assessment of expected lifetime losses in the loan portfolio as of the balance sheet date.

We recorded provision for credit losses of $2.0 million in 2023, and experienced credit charge-offs of $405,000 and total recoveries of $130,000, resulting in net charge-offs of $275,000. The year-to-date provision for credit losses of $2.0 million was the result of an overall increase in projected loss rates from 0.94% at the end of 2022 to 0.98% at December 31, 2023. For 2022, we recorded $10.6 million in provision for credit losses in 2022, and experienced credit charge-offs of $197,000 and total recoveries of $1.1 million, resulting in net recoveries of $893,000. The modest changes in projected loss rates continue to be driven primarily by economic forecast changes to various macroeconomic variables such as GDP growth, commercial real estate values and the rate of unemployment. Refer to the discussion of “Allowance for Credit Losses” in Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained herein for discussion concerning observed changes in the credit quality of various components of our loan portfolio as well as changes and refinements to our methodology.

No assurance can be given that economic conditions which affect the Company’s service areas or other circumstances will or will not be reflected in future changes in the level of our allowance for credit losses and the resulting provision or recapture of provision for credit losses. The process to estimate the allowance for credit losses requires considerable judgment and our economic forecasts may continue to vary due to the uncertainty of the future impact from the recent rise in interest rates, geopolitical events in Europe, and global inflation will have on future interest rates, unemployment, the overall economy and resulting impact on our customers. See “Allowance for Credit Losses” under Analysis of Financial Condition herein.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income includes income derived from financial services offered to our customers, such as CitizensTrust, merchant processing and card services, international banking, and other business services. Also included in noninterest income are service charges and fees, primarily from deposit accounts, gains (net of losses) from the disposition of investment securities, loans, other real estate owned, and fixed assets, and other revenues not included as interest on earning assets.

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The following table sets forth the various components of noninterest income for the periods presented.

Variance

(Dollars in thousands)

Noninterest income:

Gain on sale of other investments 2,575 — — 2,575 — — 0.00 %

2023 Compared to 2022

The $9.3 million increase in noninterest income included $2.6 million in gain from an equity fund distribution related to a CRA investment, while 2022 included a $2.4 million net gain on the sale of one of our properties. Service charges on deposit accounts decreased by $1.2 million, or 5.44% from the year ended December 31, 2022. Trust management fees increased by $1.0 million, or 9.01% compared to 2022. Income from Bank-Owned Life Insurance ("BOLI") increased by $7.4 million from the prior year, primarily due to approximately $6.5 million net increase in cash surrender value resulting from the surrender and redeployment of various BOLI policies at the end 2023, which offset the tax expense impact of the taxable gains generated from the surrendered policies.

Service fees on deposits include analysis fees, NSF fees, as well as other deposit fees. For 2023, service fees on deposits declined by approximately $1.2 million, when compared to 2022. More than half of this decline was due to lower NSF fee income in 2023.

Trust and Investment Services represents our CitizensTrust group. The CitizensTrust group is made up of wealth management and investment services. They provide a variety of services, which include asset management, financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning, private and corporate trustee services, and probate services. Investment Services provides self-directed brokerage, 401(k) plans, mutual funds, insurance and other non-insured investment products. At December 31, 2023, CitizensTrust had approximately $4.0 billion in assets under management and administration, including $2.81 billion in assets under management. CitizensTrust generated fees of $12.6 million for 2023, compared to $11.5 million for 2022. The increase in fees in 2023 included both the impact on market values of changes in equity and fixed income markets but also increased flows of funds from customers, including liquidity management of funds formerly on deposit with the Bank.

The Bank’s investment in BOLI includes life insurance policies generally acquired through acquisitions or the purchase of life insurance by the Bank on a select group of employees to fund deferred compensation plans. The Bank is the owner and beneficiary of these policies. BOLI is recorded as an asset at its cash surrender value. Increases in the cash value of these policies, as well as insurance proceeds received, are recorded in noninterest income and are not subject to income tax, as long as they are held for the life of the covered parties. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company partially restructured its BOLI assets by surrendering various policies valued at approximately $68 million, resulting in a write-down of asset values of more than $4 million and additional income tax expense and penalties of more than $6 million. This combined restructuring charge was offset by increases of approximately $10 million to the cash surrender value resulting from the purchase of $109 million of new policies during the quarter, reflecting a net increase to noninterest income of $6.5 million and additional tax expense of approximately $6.5 million. The new policies will have an initial crediting rate that is approximately 300 basis points higher than the policies that we surrendered. Separate account BOLI policies that fund deferred compensation increased in value in 2023, compared to declines in value in 2022, due to the overall performance of the selected investments within these policies. Income from our BOLI policies for 2023 also included $935,000 of death benefits that exceeded cash surrender values, compared to $3.6 million of death benefits for 2022.

The Bank has entered into interest rate swap agreements with our customers to manage our interest rate risk and enters into identical offsetting swaps with a counterparty. The changes in the fair value of these non-hedged swaps primarily

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offset each other resulting in swap fee income. Generally speaking, our volume of back-to-back interest rate swaps is impacted by the level and shape of the yield curve and the Bank's management of interest rate risk. Swap fee income was higher than 2022, primarily due to LIBOR indexed swaps that were converted to term SOFR in 2023 generating fee income of approximately $620,000. We executed on swap agreements related to new loan originations with a notional amount totaling $1.0 million for 2023. There were no executed swap agreements related to new loan originations for 2022. Refer to Note 19 — Derivative Financial Instruments of the notes to the consolidated financial statements of this report for additional information.

2022 Compared to 2021

The $2.6 million increase in noninterest income included an increase of $4.2 million, or 24.66%, in service charges on deposit accounts, $2.4 million in net gain on the sale of one of our properties, and a $2.1 million gain from a distribution related to one of our CRA investments. Income from BOLI declined by $3.1 million from the prior year, as we incurred a $2.7 million decline in the market value of separate account life insurance policies that are used to fund our deferred compensation liabilities. Offsetting the $2.1 million gain on a CRA investment, 2022 also included a $1.1 million decrease in certain CRA investments due to valuation changes. Noninterest income for 2021 included $1.2 million net gain on the sale of three OREO properties and $890,000 for recovery of an acquired loan charged off prior to a previous acquisition.

At December 31, 2022, CitizensTrust had approximately $2.9 billion in assets under management and administration, including $1.92 billion in assets under management. CitizensTrust generated fees of $11.5 million for 2022, which were nearly flat compared to $11.6 million for 2021. Market conditions have continued to negatively impact assets under management and trust fee income. Additionally, a large trust relationship with more than $800 million in assets was transitioned to a financial institution outside of California. The transition was completed by the end of 2022, with the impact on fee income expected to be reflected in 2023. Offsetting this transfer of assets and the impact of the market on our assets under management and administration, was the growth in managed assets from $350 million of our customer deposits that are now being managed by CitizensTrust in various liquidity strategies.

Income from our BOLI policies for 2022 included $3.6 million of death benefits that exceeded cash surrender values, compared to $3.9 million of death benefits for 2021.

Swap fee income decreased $382,000 compared to 2021, as there were no executed swap agreements related to new loan originations for 2022. There were no executed swap agreements related to new loan originations for 2022, compared to $25.3 million for 2021. The volume of interest rate swaps can be impacted by competitive factors, as well as the current and forecasted interest rate environment.

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Noninterest Expense

The following table summarizes the various components of noninterest expense for the periods presented.

Variance

(Dollars in thousands)

Noninterest expense:

Noninterest expense to average assets 1.41 % 1.28 % 1.24 %

(1)

Noninterest expense divided by net interest income before provision for credit losses plus noninterest income.

Our ability to control noninterest expenses in relation to asset growth can be measured in terms of total noninterest expenses as a percentage of average assets. Noninterest expense as a percentage of average assets was 1.41% for 2023, compared to 1.28% for 2022 and 1.24% for 2021, respectively. This ratio was negatively impacted by a $9.2 million expense accrual for the FDIC Special Assessment that will be collected over eight quarters starting in 2024. The ratio was negatively impacted in 2022 as a result of $6 million of acquisition expense associated with Suncrest. The increase in this ratio from 2022 to 2023, also reflects the impact of inflationary pressures on staff related expenses, which grew by 5.77%. The increase in this ratio for 2022 compared with 2021 reflects the impact of inflationary pressures on staff related expenses and expense growth associated with Suncrest.

Our ability to control noninterest expenses in relation to the level of total revenue (net interest income before provision for credit losses plus noninterest income) can be measured by the efficiency ratio and indicates the percentage of net revenue that is used to cover expenses. The efficiency ratio was 42.00% for 2023, compared to 38.98% for 2022 and 41.09% for 2021. The increase in the efficiency ratio in 2023 was primarily due to increased regulatory assessment expense, including the FDIC Special Assessment, and inflationary pressures on staff related expenses.

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2023 Compared to 2022

Noninterest expense of $229.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $13.3 million higher than 2022. Year-over-year increases included $12.2 million in regulatory assessments, including the $9.2 million FDIC special assessment, and $7.6 million in salaries and employee benefits, primarily due to inflationary pressures on salaries and benefits and a $2.9 million decline in the contra expense for deferred origination costs due to fewer loan originations. Marketing and promotion expense increased over 2022 by approximately $460,000, as these expenses returned to pre-pandemic levels. As we continue to invest in new technology, software expense increased by $548,000, or 4.06%. The increase in technology costs demonstrates our commitment to improving efficiencies and providing an excellent customer experience. These increases were partially offset by a $6.0 million decrease in acquisition expense. The year-over-year decrease also included a $500,000 recapture of provision for unfunded loan commitments recorded in 2023.

2022 Compared to 2021

Noninterest expense of $216.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $26.8 million higher than 2021. The year-over-year increase included a $13.7 million increase in salaries and employee benefits, which included additional compensation related expenses for the newly hired and former Suncrest associates. Occupancy and equipment increased by $3.0 million due to the addition of seven banking centers resulting from the acquisition of Suncrest, two of which were subsequently consolidated by the end of the second quarter of 2022. Acquisition expense related to the merger of Suncrest was $6.0 million for 2022, compared with $962,000 for 2021. The increase in software expense of $1.9 million, included costs associated with the continued use of Suncrest's legacy banking systems, prior to conversions, as well as continued investments in technology. A $1.7 million increase in marketing and promotion expense for 2022 was primarily due to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on marketing and promotional events in 2021. Professional service expense grew by $1.4 million, including increased costs for legal and employee recruiting of $854,000. The year-over-year increase also included a $1.0 million recapture of provision for unfunded loan commitments recorded in 2021.

Income Taxes

The Company’s effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2023 was 29.80%, compared with 28.30% and 28.60% for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. During the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, our effective tax rate was impacted by more than $6 million in combined income tax expense and penalties resulting from the surrender of various BOLI policies. Our estimated annual effective tax rate also varies depending upon the level of tax-advantaged income from municipal securities and BOLI as well as available tax credits. Refer to Note 10 — Income Taxes of the notes to consolidated financial statements for more information.

The effective tax rates are below the nominal combined Federal and State tax rate as a result of tax-advantaged income from certain municipal security investments, municipal loans and leases and BOLI, as well as available tax credits for each period.

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ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

Total assets of $16.02 billion at December 31, 2023 decreased by $455.5 million, or 2.76%, from total assets of $16.48 billion at December 31, 2022. Interest-earning assets of $14.46 billion at December 31, 2023, decreased by $509.5 million, or 3.40%, when compared with $14.97 billion at December 31, 2022. The decrease in interest-earning assets was primarily due to a $388.8 million decrease in investment securities and a $174.5 million decrease in total loans, partially offset by an increase of $64.7 million in interest-earning balances due from the Federal Reserve and a $53.2 million increase in the cash surrender value of BOLI.

Total liabilities were $13.94 billion at December 31, 2023, a decrease of $585.0 million, or 4.03%, from total liabilities of $14.53 billion at December 31, 2022. Total deposits declined by $1.4 billion, or 10.93%. Higher interest rates that have resulted from the Federal Reserve’s significant increase in the federal funds rate over the last two years has continued to impact deposit levels, including approximately $800 million of funds on deposit at the end of 2022 that our customers transferred from the Bank's balance sheet to CitizensTrust for investment in higher yielding securities such as treasury notes. The velocity of deposit movements to our CitizensTrust slowed in the fourth quarter of 2023, as approximately $60 million was transferred in the quarter. Short-term borrowings increased by $1.08 billion from December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, total short-term borrowings, consisted of $1.91 billion of one-year advances from the Federal Reserve’s Bank Term Funding Program, at a cost of 4.78% and $160 million of short-term Federal Home Loan Bank advances, at an average cost of approximately 5.7%. The BTFP advances as of December 31, 2023 include maturities of approximately $700 million in May and $1.2 billion in December of 2024.

Total equity increased $129.5 million to $2.08 billion at December 31, 2023, compared to total equity of $1.95 billion at December 31, 2022. Increases to equity included $221.4 million in net earnings and a $31.2 million increase in other comprehensive income, that were partially offset by $111.6 million in cash dividends. We engaged in no stock repurchases during the second, third and fourth quarters of 2023. In the first quarter of 2023, we repurchased 791,800 shares of common stock, at an average repurchase price of $23.43, totaling $18.5 million. The Company's 2022 10b5-1 stock repurchase plan expired on March 2, 2023 and no new plan has been put in place since that time.

Investment Securities and BOLI

The Company maintains a portfolio of investment securities to provide interest income and to serve as a source of liquidity for its ongoing operations. We continued to shrink our investment portfolio. At December 31, 2023, total investment securities were $5.42 billion. This represented a decrease of $388.8 million, or 6.69%, from total investment securities of $5.81 billion at December 31, 2022. The overall decrease in investment securities was primarily due to a $299.1 million decline in our AFS securities. At December 31, 2023, our AFS investment securities totaled $2.96 billion, inclusive of a pre-tax net unrealized loss of $449.8 million. The after-tax unrealized loss reported in AOCI on AFS investment securities was $316.8 million. The changes in the net unrealized holding loss resulted primarily from fluctuations in market interest rates. At December 31, 2023, total HTM investment securities of $2.46 billion declined by $89.7 million from December 31, 2022. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, repayments/maturities of investment securities totaled $450.3 million and $661.5 million, respectively. The Company purchased additional investment securities totaling $48.4 million and $1.8 billion for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. There were no investment securities sold during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

At December 31, 2023, the Company had $308.7 million of BOLI. The $53.2 million increase in the value of BOLI, when compared to December 31, 2022, was primarily due to a restructuring of the Company’s life insurance policies, including a $4.5 million write-down in value on surrender policies that was offset by an $10.9 million enhancement to cash surrender values, as well as additional policy purchases totaling $41 million. This restructuring is expected to increase future returns on our BOLI policies resulting in additional non-taxable noninterest income in future years.

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The tables below set forth our investment securities AFS and HTM portfolio by type for the dates presented.

December 31,

Fair Value Percent Fair Value Percent

(Dollars in thousands)

Investment securities available-for-sale

Government agency/GSE $ 32,253 1.09 % $ — —

December 31,

AmortizedCost Percent AmortizedCost Percent

(Dollars in thousands)

Investment securities held-to-maturity

The distribution of the AFS and HTM portfolios by estimated average life consist of the following as of the date presented.

(Dollars in thousands)

Investment securities available-for-sale:

Weighted average yield:

Government agency/GSE 5.40 % — — — 5.40 %

Other securities 2.33 % — — — 2.33 %

(1)

The weighted average yield for the portfolio is based on projected duration and is not tax-equivalent. The tax-equivalent yield at December 31, 2023 was 3.18%.

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(Dollars in thousands)

Investment securities held-to-maturity:

Weighted average yield:

Government agency/GSE — — 1.54 % 1.92 % 1.81 %

(1)

The weighted average yield for the portfolio is based on projected duration and is not tax-equivalent. The tax equivalent yield at December 31, 2023 was 3.35%.

The maturity of each security category is defined as the contractual maturity except for the categories of mortgage-backed securities and CMO/REMIC whose maturities are defined as the estimated average life. The final maturity of mortgage-backed securities and CMO/REMIC will differ from their contractual maturities because the underlying mortgages have the right to repay such obligations without penalty. The speed at which the underlying mortgages repay is influenced by many factors, one of which is interest rates. Mortgages tend to repay faster as interest rates fall and slower as interest rate rise. This will either shorten or extend the estimated average life. Also, the yield on mortgage-backed securities and CMO/REMIC are affected by the speed at which the underlying mortgages repay. This is caused by the change in the amount of amortization of premiums or accretion of discounts of each security as repayments increase or decrease. The Company obtains the estimated average life of each security from independent third parties.

The weighted-average yield on the total investment portfolio at December 31, 2023 was 2.16% with a weighted-average life of 6.7 years. This compares to a weighted-average yield of 2.13% at December 31, 2022 with a weighted-average life of 6.9 years. The weighted average life is the average number of years that each dollar of unpaid principal due remains outstanding. Average life is computed as the weighted-average time to the receipt of all future cash flows, using as the weights the dollar amounts of the principal pay-downs.

Approximately 91% of the securities in the total investment portfolio, at December 31, 2023, are issued by the U.S. government or U.S. government-sponsored enterprises, with the implied guarantee of payment of principal and interest. The remaining securities are predominately AA or better general-obligation municipal bonds. As of December 31, 2023, approximately $31.4 million in U.S. government agency bonds are callable. The Agency CMO/REMIC are backed by agency-pooled collateral. Municipal bonds, which represented approximately 9% of the total investment portfolio, are predominately AA or higher rated securities.

The Company held investment securities in excess of 10% of shareholders’ equity from the following issuers as of the dates presented.

December 31,

Book Value Market Value Book Value Market Value

(Dollars in thousands)

Major issuer:

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Municipal securities held by the Company are issued by various states and their various local municipalities. The following tables present municipal securities by the top holdings by state as of the dates presented.

AmortizedCost Percent ofTotal Fair Value Percent ofTotal

(Dollars in thousands)

Municipal Securities available-for-sale:

Municipal Securities held-to-maturity:

AmortizedCost Percent ofTotal Fair Value Percent ofTotal

(Dollars in thousands)

Municipal Securities available-for-sale:

Municipal Securities held-to-maturity:

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The following tables present the Company’s available-for-sale investment securities, by investment category, in an unrealized loss position for which an allowance for credit losses has not been recorded as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.

Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or Longer Total

(Dollars in thousands)

Investment securities available-for-sale:

Government agency/GSE $ — $ — $ — $ — $ — $ —

Investment securities held-to-maturity:

Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or Longer Total

(Dollars in thousands)

Investment securities available-for-sale:

Investment securities held-to-maturity:

Once it is determined that a credit loss has occurred, an allowance for credit losses is established on our available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities. Management determined that credit losses did not exist for securities in an unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Refer to Note 5 – Investment Securities of the notes to the consolidated financial statements of this report for additional information on our investment securities portfolio.

Loans

Total loans and leases, at amortized cost, of $8.90 billion at December 31, 2023, decreased by $174.5 million, or 1.92%, from $9.08 billion at December 31, 2022. Loan growth continues to be impacted by a slowdown in loan demand. After adjusting for PPP loans, which declined by $6.4 million, our core loans decreased by $168.1 million, or 1.85%, from December 31, 2022. The $168.1 million decreases included $100.4 million in commercial real estate loans, $21.5 million in construction loans, $20.7 million in dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans, $20.3 million in SBA loans, $7.5 million in municipal lease financings, and $22.7 million in consumer and other loans, partially offset by an increase of $21.2 million in commercial and industrial loans, although line utilization decreased from 33% to 29% at December 31, 2023.

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Total loans, at amortized cost, comprised 61.58% of our total earning assets as of December 31, 2023. The following table presents our loan portfolio by type as of the dates presented.

Distribution of Loan Portfolio by Type

December 31,

(Dollars in thousands)

Less: Deferred loan fees, net (1) — — — — (3,742 )

(1)

Beginning with June 30, 2019, PCI loans were accounted for and combined with Non-PCI loans and were reflected in total loans and lease finance receivables.

(2)

Beginning with March 31, 2020, gross loans are presented net of deferred loan fees (at amortized cost) by respective class of financing receivables.

As of December 31, 2023, $497.7 million, or 7.34% of the total commercial real estate loans included loans secured by farmland, compared to $517.8 million, or 7.52%, at December 31, 2022. The loans secured by farmland included $122.4 million for loans secured by dairy & livestock land and $375.3 million for loans secured by agricultural land at December 31, 2023, compared to $140.5 million for loans secured by dairy & livestock land and $377.3 million for loans secured by agricultural land at December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans of $412.9 million were comprised of $374.9 million for dairy & livestock loans and $38.0 million for agribusiness loans, compared to $388.5 million of dairy & livestock loans and $45.1 million for agribusiness loans at December 31, 2022.

Real estate loans are loans secured by conforming trust deeds on real property, including property under construction, land development, commercial property and single-family and multi-family residences. Our real estate loans are comprised of industrial, office, retail, medical, single family residences, multi-family residences, and farmland. Consumer loans include installment loans to consumers as well as home equity loans, auto and equipment leases and other loans secured by junior liens on real property. Municipal lease finance receivables are leases to municipalities. Dairy & livestock and agribusiness loans are loans to finance the operating needs of wholesale dairy farm operations, cattle feeders, livestock raisers and farmers.