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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 001-31940
F.N.B. CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
626 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 800-555-5455
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of Exchange on which Registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share FNB New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large Accelerated Filer ☒ Accelerated Filer ☐
Non-accelerated Filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging Growth Company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s outstanding voting common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2024, determined using a per share closing price on that date of $13.68, as quoted on the New York Stock Exchange, was $4,736,749,576. In determining this aggregate market value, the registrant has assumed that all of its directors and executive officers are affiliates. Such assumption shall not be deemed to be conclusive for any other purpose.
As of January 31, 2025, the registrant had outstanding 359,717,581 shares of common stock.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of F.N.B. Corporation’s definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A for the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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INDEX
PAGE
Glossary of Acronyms and Terms
PART I
Item 1. Business. 3
Item 1A. Risk Factors. 19
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments. 32
Item 1C. Cybersecurity. 32
Item 2. Properties. 34
Item 3. Legal Proceedings. 35
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures. 35
PART II
Item 6. [Reserved] 36
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk. 74
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. 75
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. 161
Item 9B. Other Information. 161
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. 162
Item 11. Executive Compensation. 162
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services. 163
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules. 163
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Glossary of Acronyms and Terms
Acronym Description Acronym Description
ACL Allowance for credit losses FTC Federal Trade Commission
AFS Available for sale FTE Fully taxable equivalent
ALCO Asset/Liability Committee FVO Fair value option
ASC Accounting Standards Codification GLB Act Gramm-Leach Bliley Act of 1999
ASU Accounting Standards Update HTM Held to maturity
AULC Allowance for unfunded loan commitments Howard Howard Bancorp, Inc.
BOLI Bank owned life insurance HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development
CECL Current expected credit losses IRLC Interest rate lock commitment
CET1 Common equity tier 1 LCR Liquidity Coverage Ratio
CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Bureau LGD Loss given default
CRA Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 LIHTC Low income housing tax credit
DIF Deposit Insurance Fund MBS Mortgage-backed securities
DTA Deferred tax asset MSRs Mortgage servicing rights
DTL Deferred tax liability NYSE New York Stock Exchange
ECOA Equal Credit Opportunity Act OCI Other comprehensive income
EVE Economic value of equity OREO Other real estate owned
FASB Financial Accounting Standards Board PCD Purchase credit deteriorated
FDI Act Federal Deposit Insurance Act Penn-Ohio Penn-Ohio Life Insurance Company
FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation RRR Reference rate reform
FHLB Federal Home Loan Bank SBA Small Business Administration
FICO Fair Isaac Corporation SEC Securities and Exchange Commission
FNB F.N.B. Corporation TILA Truth in Lending Act
FNBIA F.N.B. Investment Advisors, Inc. TPS Trust preferred securities
FNBPA First National Bank of Pennsylvania Union UB Bancorp
FNIA First National Insurance Agency, LLC U.S. United States of America
FNTC First National Trust Company UST U.S. Department of the Treasury
FOMC Federal Open Market Committee VIE Variable interest entity
FRB Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem
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PART I
Forward-Looking Statements: From time to time F.N.B. Corporation has made and may continue to make written or oral forward-looking statements with respect to our outlook or expectations for earnings, revenues, expenses, capital and liquidity levels, asset quality or other future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations, or the impact of legal, regulatory or supervisory matters on our business operations or performance. This Annual Report on Form 10-K (the Report) also includes forward-looking statements. See Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information in Item 7 of this Report.
The terms “FNB,” “the Corporation,” “we,” “us” and “our” throughout this Report mean F.N.B. Corporation and its subsidiaries, when appropriate.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
We are a Pennsylvania corporation, a bank holding company and a financial holding company. We are incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and through our subsidiaries, we have been in business since 1864. Our headquarters is located at 626 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219. As a diversified financial services holding company, FNB, through our subsidiaries, provides a full range of financial services, principally to consumers, corporations, governments and small- to medium-sized businesses in our market areas through our subsidiary network, which is led by our largest subsidiary, FNBPA. Our business strategy focuses primarily on providing quality, consumer- and commercial-based financial services adapted to the needs of each of the markets we serve. We seek to maintain our community orientation by providing local management with certain autonomy in decision making, enabling them to respond to customer requests more quickly and to concentrate on efficiently delivering products and services within their market areas. However, we have centralized operations, support and risk functions (e.g. loan operations, treasury and enterprise risk management). The centralization of these processes enables us to maintain consistent quality of these functions and to achieve certain economies of scale.
As of December 31, 2024, we have three reportable business segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance. Our remaining operations are described in Other. As of December 31, 2024, we have 349 Community Banking branches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, D.C. and Virginia.
As of December 31, 2024, we had total assets of nearly $49 billion, loans of $34 billion and deposits of $37 billion. See Item 7, MD&A, and Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this Report.
Internet Information
Our website is at www.fnbcorporation.com and information regarding FNB and investor relations is located under the heading "About Us." We use our website to distribute company information, including as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. We generally post and make accessible before or promptly following the first time we use financially-related press releases, including earnings releases and supplemental financial information, various SEC filings, including annual, quarterly and current reports and proxy statements, presentation materials associated with earnings and other investor calls or events on our corporate website. Under some circumstances, the information may be relevant to investors but be directed to customers, in which case it may be accessed directly through our website's home page rather than “About Us-Investor Information.” Investors should monitor the Investor Relations portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls and webcasts. For earnings and other conference calls or events, we generally include in our posted materials a cautionary statement regarding forward-looking and non-GAAP financial information, and we provide GAAP reconciliations when we provide non-GAAP financial information. Such GAAP reconciliations may be in materials for the applicable presentations, in materials for prior presentations or in our annual, quarterly or current reports.
Information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this document and should not be considered part of this Report.
Securities and Exchange Commission Reports and Corporate Governance Information
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and, in accordance with the Exchange Act, we file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other
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information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are also available on the "About Us" portion of our website under the heading Investor Information (accessible by clicking on the SEC Filings link) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish them to, the SEC and at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Also, under the "About Us" portion of our website under the heading "Investor Information" you can click on Corporate Governance to view the following: (i) our Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics; (ii) our Corporate Governance Guidelines; (iii) the charter of each active committee of our Board of Directors; and (iv) our Policy With Respect to Related Person Transactions. We also intend to disclose any amendments to our Code of Conduct and waivers of our Code of Conduct required to be disclosed by the rules of the SEC and the NYSE on the Investor Information portion of our website. All of these corporate governance materials are also available free of charge in print to shareholders who request them in writing to: F.N.B. Corporation, Attention: Office of the Corporate Secretary, 626 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219.
Business Segments
In addition to the following information relating to our business segments, more detailed information is contained in Note 24, “Business Segments” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report. As of December 31, 2024, we had three reportable business segments, with the largest being the Community Banking segment which consists of a regional bank serving seven states and the District of Columbia. The Wealth Management segment consists of a federally chartered trust company, a registered investment advisor and a subsidiary that offers broker-dealer services through a third-party networking arrangement with a non-affiliated licensed broker-dealer entity. The Insurance segment consists of an insurance agency and a reinsurer.
Community Banking
Our Community Banking segment consists of FNBPA, which offers commercial and consumer banking services. Commercial banking solutions include corporate banking, small business banking, investment real estate financing, business credit, capital markets and lease financing. Consumer banking products and services include deposit products, mortgage lending, consumer lending and a complete suite of mobile and online banking services. Additionally, Bank Capital Services, LLC, a subsidiary of FNBPA, offers commercial loans and leases to customers in need of new or used equipment. As of December 31, 2024, our Community Banking segment operated in seven states and the District of Columbia. Our branch network spans several major metropolitan areas including: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point) in North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The goals of the Community Banking segment are to generate high-quality, profitable revenue growth through increased business with our current customers, attract new customer relationships through FNBPA’s current branches and expand into new and existing markets through de novo branch openings and the establishment of loan production offices. We consider the Community Banking segment an important source of revenue opportunity through the cross-selling of products and services offered by our other business segments.
The lending philosophy of the Community Banking segment is to establish high-quality customer relationships, while minimizing credit losses by following strict credit approval standards (which include independent analysis of realizable collateral value), diversifying our loan portfolio by industry, geography, product and borrower, and conducting ongoing review and management of the loan portfolio. Commercial loans are generally made to established businesses within the geographic market areas served by the Community Banking segment.
The Community Banking segment maintains formal policies that establish underwriting standards and processes. Our commercial loan policy requires, among other things, that commercial loans be underwritten to document the borrower’s financial capacity to support the cash flow required to repay the loan. The commercial loan policy also contains additional guidelines and requirements applicable to specific loan products or lines of business. Consumer loan products are designed to meet the diverse credit needs of consumers in our markets for personal and household purposes. Our consumer loan policies and procedures require prospective borrowers to provide appropriate and accurate financial information that will assist our loan underwriting personnel in making credit decisions. Specific information requirements vary based on loan type, risk profile and secondary investor requirements, where applicable.
No material portion of the loans or deposits of the Community Banking segment has been obtained from a single customer or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s loans or deposits or a small group of customers’ loans or deposits by the Community Banking segment would not have a material adverse effect on the Community Banking segment specifically
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or on FNB generally. The substantial majority of the loans and deposits have been generated within the geographic market areas in which the Community Banking segment operates.
Wealth Management
Our Wealth Management segment delivers wealth management services to individuals, corporations and retirement funds, including existing customers of the Community Banking segment, located primarily within our geographic markets.
Our Wealth Management operations are conducted through three subsidiaries of FNBPA. FNTC provides a broad range of personal and corporate fiduciary services, including the administration of decedent and trust estates. As of December 31, 2024, the fair value of trust assets under management was approximately $9.5 billion. FNTC is required to maintain certain minimum capitalization levels in accordance with regulatory requirements. FNTC periodically measures its capital position to ensure all minimum capitalization levels are maintained.
Our Wealth Management segment also includes two other subsidiaries. First National Investment Services Company, LLC offers a broad array of investment products and services for customers of the Wealth Management segment through a networking relationship with a third-party licensed brokerage firm. FNBIA, an investment advisor registered with the SEC, offers customers of the Wealth Management segment comprehensive investment programs featuring mutual funds, annuities, stocks and bonds.
No material portion of the business of the Wealth Management segment has been obtained from a single customer or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s business or the business of a small group of customers by the Wealth Management segment would not have a material adverse effect on the Wealth Management segment specifically or on FNB generally.
Our registered investment adviser subsidiary is subject to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and related rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC. Our investment adviser subsidiary is also subject to additional regulation by states and local jurisdictions. The SEC has active enforcement functions that oversee investment advisers and can bring actions that result in fines, restitution, a limitation on permitted activities, disqualification to continue to conduct certain activities and an inability to rely on certain favorable exemptions. Certain types of infractions and violations also can affect our ability to expeditiously issue new securities into the capital markets.
Insurance
Our Insurance segment operates principally through FNIA, which is a subsidiary of FNB. FNIA is a full-service insurance brokerage agency offering numerous lines of commercial and personal insurance through major carriers to businesses and individuals primarily within FNB’s geographic markets. The goals of FNIA are to grow revenue through cross-selling to existing clients of the Community Banking segment and to gain new clients through its own channels.
Our Insurance segment also includes a reinsurance subsidiary, Penn-Ohio. Penn-Ohio is not actively underwriting new policies. Additionally, FNBPA owns a direct subsidiary, First National Corporation, which offers title insurance products.
No material portion of the business of the Insurance segment has been obtained from a single customer or small group of customers, and the loss of any one customer’s business or the business of a small group of customers by the Insurance segment would not have a material adverse effect on the Insurance segment specifically or on FNB generally.
Other
We also operate other non-banking subsidiaries which are not considered to be reportable segments of FNB. F.N.B. Capital Corporation, LLC is a merchant banking subsidiary offering mezzanine financing options for small- to medium-sized businesses that need financial assistance beyond the parameters of typical commercial bank lending products. Waubank Securities LLC is a limited broker-dealer subsidiary which passively participates in corporate and municipal underwritings. In addition, we have four companies that issued TPS to third-party investors: F.N.B. Statutory Trust II, Yadkin Valley Statutory Trust I, FNB Financial Services Capital Trust I and Patapsco Statutory Trust I, the last three of which were assumed in acquisitions. FNB Financial Services, Inc. and FNB Consumer Financial Services, Inc. are subsidiaries of FNB and are the general partner and limited partner, respectively, of FNB Financial Services, LP, a company established to issue, administer and repay subordinated notes. The proceeds received from these subordinated note issuances are a general funding source for FNB. Certain financial information concerning these subsidiaries, along with the parent company and intercompany eliminations, are
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included in the “Parent and Other” category in Note 24, “Business Segments” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, which is included in Item 8 of this Report.
Market Area and Competition
We operate in seven states and the District of Columbia. Our market coverage spans several major metropolitan areas including: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and the Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point) in North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.
We compete for loans, deposits and financial services business with a large number of bank and non-bank financial institutions and other lenders engaged in the business of extending credit, including financial technology companies and marketplace lenders. Competition for loans comes principally from commercial banks, savings banks, mortgage banking companies, credit unions, insurance companies and other financial services companies. The most direct competition for deposits comes from commercial banks, savings banks and credit unions. Competition for deposits also comes from non-depository competitors such as financial technology companies, mutual funds, securities and brokerage firms, government financial investments and insurance companies. In providing wealth and asset management services, as well as insurance brokerage services, our subsidiaries compete with many other financial services firms, brokerage firms, mutual fund complexes, investment management firms, trust and fiduciary service providers and insurance agencies. Competition for loans and deposits depends on a number of factors, including, among others, customer service, quality and range of products and services offered, price, reputation, interest rates on loans and deposits and lending limits. Also, our ability to continue to compete effectively depends in large part on retaining and motivating our employees and attracting new employees, while effectively managing compensation and other expenses, especially given recent inflationary wage pressures.
The ability to deploy and use technology effectively is an important competitive factor in the financial services industry. Technology is not only important with respect to the delivery of financial services, risk management, regulatory compliance and security of customer information, but also in processing information. FNB and each of our subsidiaries continually make technological investments to remain competitive in the financial services industry. FNBPA has executed several initiatives that have integrated and streamlined its physical branch and e-delivery channels, including a growing fleet of ATMs with video TellerChat capabilities. Our flagship digital technology is eStore®, our proprietary online, mobile and in-branch platform where customers can shop and apply for deposit and loan products, access financial education and schedule appointments. FNBPA has enhanced eStore with our one-of-a-kind, universal eStore Common Application, which customers can use to apply for almost all of our products and services simultaneously. These select examples, coupled with our investment in data science and analytics, contribute to our ability to efficiently grow and expand customer relationships.
Human Capital
We are committed to attracting, retaining and developing exceptional talent who reflect the communities we serve.
FNB’s leadership team has made long-standing investments in a competitive compensation and benefits program that promotes work-life balance, financial and mental health, and overall well-being. The comprehensive package includes robust development resources that encourage advancement and increased representation at all levels of the Company, furthering our strategic focus on building and sustaining a strong workforce. Through our comprehensive approach, we have created an inclusive environment that fosters collaboration, innovation and a passion to win, all of which translate to strong performance and a rewarding employee experience.
In 2024, we received more than 80 awards recognizing our financial performance, outstanding culture, community commitments, leadership and innovative technology, including national, regional and industry-specific recognition from Energage, an independent research firm, based entirely on feedback from our own team. As part of its award program, Energage highlighted FNB’s cultural excellence in categories such as innovation, leadership, work-life flexibility, compensation and benefits, professional development, and employee appreciation and well-being. Additionally, our commitment to providing an inclusive, employee-centric workplace was further celebrated by various national media outlets, including an appearance on Newsweek’s lists of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity, LGBTQ+, Veterans and Parents and Families.
FNB has also repeatedly been named to JUST Capital’s prestigious annual list of companies that demonstrate just business behavior based on our performance in categories that matter most to the American public and is, in part, an assessment of our employee practices relative to benefits, income inequality and employee opportunity.
As of December 31, 2024, FNB and our subsidiaries had 4,104 full-time and 176 part-time employees.
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Recruitment.We are committed to identifying and attracting the best qualified job candidates by cultivating and fostering mutually beneficial partnerships with job and recruiting centers, colleges and universities and other organizations. We use internally created digital marketing developed algorithms and data tools to increase job posting visibility within a broad range of job boards. We have committed to creating a strong and growing internship program to funnel high potential talent into our Development Programs within FNB to help with career growth. We continue to build succession and are devoted to following the Fair Hiring Practices Act and Fair Chance Act.
Employee Development. We focus resources on programs to develop leaders and promote internal advancement within the organization. This includes mentoring and coaching programs, succession planning reviews, and leadership development programs, administered by our dedicated learning and development team to further develop the talent that our recruitment efforts have attracted. In addition, we offer tuition reimbursement for employees seeking post-secondary education, including college and graduate school.
Engagement. We regularly seek feedback from our employees and in 2024 participated in several regional Top Workplace surveys. Our outstanding scores continue to help us achieve external recognition as an employer of choice.
Compensation. Our compensation philosophy is to maintain a program that supports our mission and values. The compensation program is a management tool that, when aligned with an effective communication plan, is designed to support, reinforce, and align our values, business strategy, and operational and financial needs with our strategic goals.
We believe that compensation programs, through competitive base salary, short-term incentive plans, and long-term incentive plans, are essential for setting performance expectations, improving service quality and productivity, and recognizing contributions to our success, while also avoiding incentivizing undue risk to our financial condition.
Our executive compensation program is overseen by the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors, in collaboration with a leading independent compensation advisory firm. In addition, the oversight and review of our company-wide compensation philosophy and programs are conducted by the Management Compensation Committee. This team, chaired by FNB’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, regularly meets to promote compensation programs that are fair and equitable, to achieve a performance-driven work culture that generates company growth and to reward employees for focusing on customer needs, while avoiding inappropriate conduct regarding our clients, and demonstrating appropriate risk management behaviors.
Values & Training. We strive to maintain sound financial practices and governance processes through a commitment to ethical behavior, a solid reputation and a firm record of compliance and stability that these strengths create, both within our Corporation and for our customers. Employees complete quarterly and annual training, including regarding regulatory and compliance requirements and ethical standards, to maintain and increase knowledge of standards required of the financial services industry. Additionally, we provide employees various avenues to confidentially and anonymously report perceived unethical behavior without repercussions to them, such as FNB’s Ethics Hotline. We encourage employees to report any issues that could result in financial or reputational harm to us.
Wellness. Our commitment to the personal and professional well-being of each employee extends beyond a competitive compensation and benefits package. Innovative employee-friendly programs and policies designed to help team members maintain a healthy, meaningful work/life balance by providing resources to support mental, physical and financial health are offered and regularly expanded. This includes parental and caregiver leave, monetary employer contributions to employee Health Savings Accounts, adoption assistance and back-up child-care programs built to provide employees with the financial support and time away from work that they need to focus on their new family members.
Safety. Employee and customer safety remain paramount concerns for us. We demonstrate this commitment to each group through varying initiatives and procedures to ensure that employees and customers alike leave our spaces as safely as they came. We provide our employees detailed information and training explaining the safety features of our locations, evacuation routes and emergency procedures processes. The recent opening of our new state of the art headquarters building prioritizes employee safety in a facility that is fully ADA compliant, has full security access controls and closely manages and monitors guests and visitors entering our space. As a response to the health and safety risks exposed during the COVID-19 outbreak our new headquarters building features HVAC systems that are specifically designed to mitigate risks from airborne pathogens using state of the art filtration, Air Handling and Ionization indoor air systems. The new headquarters was certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED, the world’s most widely used green building rating system, provides a framework for energy-efficient, sustainable design, construction and operations. Projects achieve certification by following prerequisites and earning credits related to green building, with the aim to protect resources and enhance individual human health and community quality of life, among other goals.
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Information About Our Executive Officers
The name, age and principal occupation for each of our executive officers as of January 31, 2025 are set forth below:
Name Age Principal Occupation
Vincent J. Delie, Jr. 60 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Vincent J. Calabrese, Jr. 62 Chief Financial Officer
Gary L. Guerrieri 64 Chief Credit Officer
David B. Mitchell, II 67 Chief Wholesale Banking Officer
Barry C. Robinson 61 Chief Consumer Banking Officer
James G. Orie 66 Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
James L. Dutey 51 Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer
There are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors, and there is no arrangement or understanding between any of the above executive officers and any other person pursuant to which he was selected as an officer. The executive officers are elected by our Board of Directors, subject in certain cases to the terms of an employment agreement between the officer and us.
Government Supervision and Regulation
The following summary sets forth certain material elements of the regulatory framework applicable to FNB, FNBPA and our other subsidiaries and affiliates. To the extent that the following information describes statutory and regulatory provisions or governmental policies, such descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the statutes, regulations and policies referenced herein.
The financial services industry is subject to extensive regulatory oversight and, in particular, bank holding companies, banks and their affiliates (depending upon charter and business activities) are subject to supervision, regulation and examination by the FRB, OCC, FDIC, CFPB, SEC, FINRA and various state regulatory agencies. Also, FNB is subject to the rules of the NYSE for listed companies. The statutory and regulatory framework that governs FNB and our affiliates is generally intended to protect depositors and customers, the federal DIF, the U.S. banking and financial system, and financial markets as a whole, rather than our shareholders.
Political, economic, and industry events and other factors may influence changes to the banking laws, regulations and policies by the U.S. Congress, state legislatures and federal and state regulatory agencies. In addition to laws and regulations, state and federal bank regulatory agencies may issue policy statements, interpretive letters and similar written guidance, which sometimes materially changes regulatory expectations. Any change in the statutes, regulations or regulatory policies applicable to us, including changes in their interpretation, expectations or implementation, could have a material effect on our business or organization. (See discussion under Risk Factors - caption “We could be adversely affected by changes in the law, especially changes in the regulation of the banking industry”).
To this end, based on the recent issuance of certain executive orders by the President of the United States, it may not be clear for a period of time as to what the priorities of the three prudential banking agencies, the OCC, FRB and FDIC, may be with respect to their respective supervisory and enforcement matters for banks and bank holding companies. An executive order requires independent agencies, including the FRB and FDIC to submit to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) major orders proposed by these agencies. OMB would also write "performance standards and management objectives" to the heads of independent agencies, review and adjust their budgets, including the FRB (excluding its monetary policy) and FDIC. As a result, it may take longer for the prudential banking agencies to establish their supervisory and enforcement priorities and develop and adopt new rules and regulations. Another executive order requires agency heads to determine whether ongoing enforcement of any regulations identified in their regulatory review is compliant with law and policy of the Trump Administration. This executive order also provides that to preserve resources and ensure lawful enforcement, agency heads, in consultation with the Director of the OMB, shall, on a case-by-case basis and as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, then direct the termination of all such enforcement proceedings that do not comply with the Constitution, laws, or the policy of the Trump Administration.
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Both the scope of the laws and regulations, as well as expectations regarding risk management, and the intensity of the supervision to which we are subject have increased in recent years in response to the financial crisis, as well as other factors such as technological and market changes. Regulatory enforcement and fines have also significantly increased across the banking and financial services sector. Many of these changes have occurred as a result of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act and adoption of implementing regulations, most of which are now in place.
General
FNB is a legal entity separate and distinct from our subsidiaries. FNB is regulated as a bank holding company under the BHC Act, as amended, which generally restricts bank holding companies from engaging in business activities other than the business of banking and certain closely related activities. FNB elected to become a financial holding company under the BHC Act and, as such, may engage in a broader range of financial and related activities. The ability to elect and maintain status as a financial holding company is subject to certain conditions, including that a bank holding company be “well-capitalized” and “well-managed.” As a bank holding company, FNB is subject to regulation, inspection, examination and supervision by the FRB, which is the “umbrella” regulator of a bank holding company’s consolidated operations. In addition, a bank holding company’s operating entities, including its subsidiary broker-dealers, investment managers, investment advisory companies, insurance companies and banks, as applicable, are subject to the jurisdiction of various federal and state “functional” regulators and self-regulatory organizations, such as FINRA.
Our subsidiary bank, FNBPA, and FNBPA’s subsidiary trust company, FNTC, are organized as national banking associations, which are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the OCC, which is a bureau of the UST. FNBPA is also subject to certain regulatory requirements of the CFPB, the FDIC, the FRB and other federal and state regulatory agencies, including but not limited to, requirements to maintain reserves against deposits, capital requirements, limitations regarding dividends, restrictions on the types and amounts of loans that may be granted and the interest that may be charged on loans, affiliate transactions, CRA, consumer compliance and anti-discrimination laws and unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices prohibitions, monitoring obligations under the federal bank secrecy act and anti-money laundering requirements, limitations on the types of investments that may be made, cybersecurity and consumer privacy requirements, activities that may be engaged in and types of services that may be offered. We and our subsidiaries are subject to examination by various federal and state regulators, which involves periodic examinations and supervisory inquiries, the results of which are not publicly available and can impact the conduct and growth of our businesses. These examinations consider not only safety and soundness principles, but also compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
As a regulated banking organization, FNB’s relationships and good standing with our regulators are of fundamental importance to the continuation and growth of our businesses. The FRB, OCC, FDIC, CFPB and SEC have broad enforcement powers and authority to approve, deny or refuse to act upon applications or notices of FNB or our subsidiaries to open new or close existing offices, conduct new activities, acquire or divest businesses or assets or reconfigure existing operations. Unsatisfactory examination ratings, capital ratios below well-capitalized levels, and regulatory concerns regarding management, controls, assets, operations or other factors can all potentially result in the loss of financial holding company status, practical limitations on the ability of a bank or bank (or financial) holding company to engage in new activities, grow, acquire new businesses, repurchase its stock or pay dividends or continue to conduct existing activities. In addition, if we or our subsidiaries fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we may be subject to civil monetary penalties, imposition of cease and desist orders or other written directives, removal of management and, in certain cases, criminal penalties imposed by our regulators.
The following discussion highlights some of the more significant regulatory requirements that govern our operations, but does not purport to be complete or to describe all of the laws and regulations that apply to us and our subsidiaries.
Capital Adequacy Requirements
The FRB, the OCC, and the FDIC have adopted risk-based and leverage capital requirements that apply to banks and bank holding companies. In general, subject to certain exceptions as discussed further below, minimum capital standards established under the agencies’ risk-based capital regulations include a CET1 capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of 4.5 percent, a Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of 6.0 percent, a total capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of 8.0 percent, and a leverage ratio of Tier 1 capital to adjusted average total assets of 4.0 percent. In determining the amount of risk-weighted assets for purposes of calculating risk-based capital ratios, all assets, including certain off-balance sheet assets (for example, recourse obligations, direct credit substitutes and residual interests) are multiplied by a risk-weight factor assigned by the regulations based on the risks believed inherent in the type of asset. Higher levels of capital are required for asset categories believed to present greater risk. CET1 capital is generally defined as common shareholders’ equity and retained earnings. Tier 1 capital is generally defined as CET1 and additional Tier 1 capital, which includes certain noncumulative perpetual preferred stock and related surplus and minority interests in equity accounts of consolidated subsidiaries. Total capital is defined as Tier 1 capital and Tier
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2 capital, which is comprised of capital instruments and related surplus, meeting specified requirements, and may include cumulative preferred stock and long-term perpetual preferred stock, mandatory convertible securities, intermediate preferred stock and subordinated debt. Also included in Tier 2 capital is the allowance for loan losses limited to a maximum of 1.25 percent of risk-weighted assets. Calculation of all types of regulatory capital is subject to deductions and adjustments specified in the regulations.
In addition to establishing the minimum regulatory capital requirements, the capital regulations limit capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments to management if the institution does not hold a capital conservation buffer consisting of 2.5% of CET1 capital to risk-weighted assets above the amount necessary to meet its minimum risk-based capital requirements.
In assessing an institution’s capital adequacy, the OCC takes into consideration not only these numeric factors, but qualitative factors as well, and has the authority to establish higher capital requirements for individual institutions where deemed necessary.
Management believes that as of December 31, 2024, FNB and FNBPA meet all capital adequacy requirements including the capital conservation buffer.
In August 2020, the federal banking agencies issued a final rule providing banking institutions that had adopted the CECL accounting standard in the 2020 calendar year with the option to delay for two years the estimated impact of CECL on regulatory capital, followed by a three-year transition period to phase out the aggregate amount of the capital benefit provided during the initial two-year delay (i.e., a five-year transition in total). In connection with its adoption of CECL on January 1, 2020, FNB elected to utilize the five-year CECL transition, which concluded as of December 31, 2024.
Prompt Corrective Action
FDICIA, among other things, classifies IDIs into five capital categories (well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized) and requires the respective federal regulatory agencies to implement systems for “prompt corrective action” for IDIs that do not meet minimum capital requirements within such categories. FDICIA imposes progressively more restrictive constraints on operations, management and capital distributions, depending on the category in which an institution is classified. Failure to meet the capital guidelines could also subject a banking institution to capital-raising requirements, restrictions on its business and a variety of enforcement remedies, including the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, and in certain circumstances the appointment of a conservator or receiver. An “undercapitalized” bank must develop a capital restoration plan and its parent holding company must guarantee that bank’s compliance with the plan. The liability of the parent holding company under any such guarantee is limited to the lesser of 5% of the bank’s assets at the time it became “undercapitalized” or the amount needed to comply with the plan. Furthermore, in the event of the bankruptcy of the parent holding company, the obligation under such guarantee would take priority over the parent’s general unsecured creditors. In addition, FDICIA requires the various regulatory agencies to prescribe certain non-capital standards for safety and soundness relating generally to operations and management, asset quality and executive compensation and permits regulatory action against an IDI that does not meet such standards.
The various regulatory agencies have adopted substantially similar regulations that define the five capital categories identified by FDICIA, using the CET1, Tier 1 risk-based capital, total risk-based capital, and leverage capital ratios as the relevant capital measures. Under the regulations, a “well-capitalized” institution must have a CET1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6.5%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.0%, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10.0% and a leverage ratio of at least 5.0% and not be subject to a capital directive order. Under these guidelines, FNBPA was considered well-capitalized as of December 31, 2024.
Dividend Restrictions
Our primary source of funds for cash distributions to our shareholders, and funds used to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness, is dividends received from FNBPA. FNBPA is subject to federal laws and regulations governing its ability to pay dividends to FNB, including requirements to maintain capital above regulatory minimums. Under federal law, the amount of dividends that a national bank, such as FNBPA, may pay in a calendar year is generally limited to the amount of its net income for the current year combined with its retained net income for the two preceding years. In addition to dividends from FNBPA, other sources of parent company liquidity for FNB include cash, short-term investments and issuance of debt instruments, as well as dividends and loan repayments from other subsidiaries.
In addition, the ability of FNB and FNBPA to pay dividends may be affected by the various minimum capital requirements and prompt corrective action standards previously described in the “Capital Adequacy Requirements” and “Prompt Corrective
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Action” discussions herein. Additionally, the right of FNB, our shareholders and our creditors to participate in any distribution of the assets or earnings of our subsidiaries is further subject to the prior claims of creditors of the respective subsidiaries.
Expansion and Acquisitions
The BHC Act requires a bank or financial holding company to obtain the prior approval of the FRB before:
•the company may acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank, if after such acquisition the bank holding company will directly or indirectly own or control more than 5% of any class of voting securities of the institution;
•any of the company’s subsidiaries, other than a bank, may acquire all or substantially all of the assets of any bank; or
•the company may merge or consolidate with any other bank or financial holding company.
The BHC Act further requires the FRB to consider the competitive impact of the transaction, the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the bank holding companies and banks concerned and the convenience and needs of the community to be served, including the applicant’s record of performance under the CRA. The FRB is also required to take into account in evaluating such a transaction the effectiveness of the parties in combating money laundering activities. Provisions of the FDI Act known as the Bank Merger Act impose similar approval standards for an IDI to merge with another IDI.
On September 17, 2024, the OCC finalized a new Policy Statement Regarding Statutory Factors Under the Bank Merger Act (the Policy Statement), which outlines factors that the OCC will consider when evaluating a proposed bank merger transaction. Under the Policy Statement, the OCC is unlikely to find that the statutory factors under the Bank Merger Act are consistent with approval if, among other things, the acquirer has open or pending enforcement actions unless the applicant has adequately addressed or remediated the underlying supervisory concerns. Additionally, the Policy Statement provides that an application that is more likely to be approved expeditiously generally features a number of indicators, including that the resulting institution will have total assets of less than $50 billion. Also on September 17, 2024, the DOJ withdrew its 1995 Bank Merger Guidelines and announced that it will instead evaluate the competitive impact of bank mergers using its 2023 Merger Guidelines that the DOJ applies to mergers in all industries. Compared to the 1995 Bank Merger Guidelines, the 2023 Merger Guidelines set forth more stringent concentration limits and add several largely qualitative bases on which the DOJ may challenge a merger. While the effect of these changes for particular transactions remains unclear, both the Policy Statement and the change in the DOJ’s bank merger antitrust policy may make it more difficult and/or costly for us to obtain regulatory approval for an acquisition or may otherwise result in more onerous conditions to obtain approval for an acquisition.
The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (Interstate Banking Act) generally permits bank holding companies to acquire banks in any state and preempts all state laws restricting the ownership by a holding company of banks in more than one state. A bank is subject to any state requirement that the bank has been organized and operating in for a minimum period of time and the requirement that the bank holding company, after the proposed transaction, controls no more than 10% of the total amount of deposits of IDIs in the U.S. and no more than 30% or such lesser or greater amount set by the state law of such deposits in that state. The Interstate Banking Act also permits:
•a bank to merge with an out-of-state bank and convert any offices into branches of the resulting bank;
•a bank to acquire branches from an out-of-state bank; and
•a bank to establish and operate de novo interstate branches whenever the host state permits de novo branching of its own state-chartered banks.
Bank and financial holding companies and banks seeking to engage in mergers authorized by the Interstate Banking Act must be at least adequately capitalized as of the date that the application is filed, and the resulting institution must be well-capitalized and well-managed upon consummation of the transaction.
Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, national and state-chartered banks may open an initial branch in a state other than its home state (e.g., a host state) by establishing a de novobranch at any location in such host state at which a bank chartered in such host state could establish a branch. Applications by a national bank to establish such branches must be filed with the OCC.
The Change in Bank Control Act prohibits a person, entity or group of persons or entities acting in concert, from acquiring “control” of a bank holding company or bank unless the FRB has been given prior notice and has not objected to the transaction. Under current FRB regulations, the acquisition of 10% or more (but less than 25%) of the voting stock of a
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corporation would, under the circumstances set forth in the regulations, create a rebuttable presumption of acquisition of control of the corporation.
Financial Holding Company Status and Activities
Under the BHC Act, an eligible bank holding company may elect to be a “financial holding company” and thereafter may engage in a range of activities that are financial in nature and that are not otherwise permissible for banks and bank holding companies. FNB is a financial holding company under the BHC Act.
For a bank holding company to be eligible to elect financial holding company status and to engage in additional activities and investments under such authority, all of its subsidiary U.S. depository institutions must be “well-capitalized” and “well-managed” and must have received a “Satisfactory” or better rating on its most recent CRA review. If, after becoming a financial holding company, the company’s subsidiary depository institutions fail to remain “well-capitalized” and “well-managed,” the company must enter into an agreement with the FRB to comply with all applicable capital and management requirements. If the company does not return to compliance within 180 days, the FRB may order the company to divest its subsidiary banks or the company may discontinue or divest investments in companies engaged in activities permissible only for a bank holding company that has elected to be treated as a financial holding company.
Source of Strength
According to the Dodd-Frank Act and FRB policy, a financial or bank holding company is expected to act as a source of financial strength to each of its subsidiary banks and to commit resources to support each such subsidiary. This support may be required at times when the parent holding company may not be able to provide such support. Consistent with the “source of strength” policy, the FRB has stated that, as a matter of prudent banking, a bank or financial holding company generally should not maintain a rate of cash dividends unless its net income has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends and the prospective rate of earnings retention appears to be consistent with our capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition.
Dodd-Frank Act
Deposit Insurance. The FDI Act requires FNBPA to pay deposit insurance assessments. The FDIC assessment base against which an IDI’s deposit insurance premiums paid to the FDIC’s DIF are calculated as the IDI’s average consolidated total assets less its average tangible equity. Various other regulatory factors included in an FDIC assessment scorecard also affect an IDI’s assessment rate.
Deposit insurance assessments are also affected by the minimum reserve ratio with respect to the DIF. The Dodd-Frank Act increased the DIF’s minimum reserve ratio to 1.35% of the estimated amount of total insured deposits.
In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act eliminated the requirement for the FDIC to pay dividends to depository institutions when the reserve ratio exceeds certain thresholds. The FDIC may pay dividends to depository institutions when the reserve ratio exceeds 1.5%, but the FDIC has sole discretion to determine whether to suspend or limit the declaration or payment of dividends from the DIF. The FDIC has set the target designated reserve ratio at 2% since 2010. Assessment rates, which declined for all banks when the reserve ratio first surpassed 1.15% in the third quarter of 2016, increased for all insurance depository institutions by 2 basis points in the first quarter of 2023. The increase in assessment rate schedules is intended to increase the likelihood that the reserve ratio of the DIF reaches the statutory minimum of 1.35 % by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2028. Assessment rates will remain in effect unless and until the reserve ratio meets or exceeds 2%. The reserve ratio was 1.28% as of December 31, 2024.
In addition, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) disallows the deduction of FDIC deposit insurance premium payments for banking organizations with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more. For banks with less than $50 billion in total consolidated assets, such as FNBPA, the premium deduction is phased-out based on the proportion of the bank’s assets exceeding $10 billion.
The FDIC issued a final rule in November 2023 to implement a special assessment on banks with over $5 billion in total assets to recover the loss to the DIF associated with protecting uninsured depositors following the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank during the first quarter of 2023. The special assessment rate was 13.44 basis points and will be paid over eight initial quarters beginning in June 2024. FNBPA recognized the entire initial special assessment expense of $29.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The special assessment is not considered an FDIC premium under the TCJA and therefore is tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. The FDIC retained the ability to extend the special assessment collection period or impose a one-time shortfall special assessment if the amount collected by the special assessment does not meet the final loss
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amounts of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank after the termination of the receiverships. During 2024, the FDIC revised its loss estimate and projected that the special assessment would be collected for an additional two quarters beyond its initial eight-quarter collection period. As a result, FNBPA recognized an additional special assessment charge of $5.2 million in 2024.
Brokered Deposits. Section 29 of the FDI Act and FDIC regulations issued thereunder limit the ability of an IDI, such as FNBPA, to accept, renew or roll over brokered deposits unless the IDI is well-capitalized under the “prompt corrective action” framework described below, or unless it is adequately capitalized and obtains a waiver from the FDIC. In addition, IDIs that are less than well-capitalized are subject to restrictions on the interest rates that they may pay on deposits. The characterization of deposits as “brokered” may result in the imposition of higher deposit insurance assessments on such deposits. FDIC regulations and guidance define the term “deposit broker” and related terms. For example, FDIC regulations implementing the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act include a limited exception to status as brokered deposits for reciprocal deposits for IDIs that are well-managed and well-capitalized (or adequately capitalized and have obtained a waiver from the FDIC, as mentioned above). Under the limited exception, qualified IDIs are able to exclude from treatment as “brokered” deposits up to $5 billion or 20% of the institution’s total liabilities in reciprocal deposits (which is defined as deposits received by a financial institution through a deposit placement network with the same maturity (if any) in the same aggregate amount as deposits placed by the institution in other network member banks).
Transactions with Affiliates. Pursuant to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, as implemented by Regulation W, banks are subject to restrictions that limit certain types of transactions between banks and their affiliates. In general, banks are subject to quantitative and qualitative limits on extensions of credit, purchases of assets and certain other transactions involving affiliates. Also, transactions between banks and their non-bank affiliates are required to be on arm's-length terms and consistent with safe and sound banking practices.
Transactions with Insiders. Banks are subject to restrictions that limit their lending to insiders. The Dodd-Frank Act also places restrictions on certain asset sales to and from an insider of an IDI, including requirements that such sales be on market terms and, in certain circumstances, receive the approval of the IDI’s board of directors.
Lending Limits. Federal banking law limits a national bank’s ability to extend credit to one person or group of related persons to an amount that does not exceed certain thresholds.
Volcker Rule. Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act (known as the Volcker Rule) generally prohibits, subject to certain exceptions, IDIs and their affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading or having certain ownership interests in and relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds, which are referred to as “covered funds.” The Volcker Rule’s implementing regulations also require certain regulated entities to establish an internal compliance program that is consistent with the extent to which those entities engage in activities covered by the Volcker Rule.
Debit Card Interchange Fees.The FRB, pursuant to its authority under the Dodd-Frank Act, has implemented rules regarding interchange fees charged for electronic debit transactions by payment card issuers having assets over $10 billion, adopting a per-transaction interchange cap base of $0.21 plus 0.05% of the transaction total (and an additional one cent to account for fraud protection costs). In October 2023, the FRB proposed to lower the base component of regulated debit from 21 cents to 14.4 cents. In addition, the ad valorem component would decline to 4 basis points, from its current rate of 5 basis points. However, the fraud-prevention adjustment would increase from 1.0 cents to 1.3 cents. The maximum permissible interchange fee for a $50 debit card transaction would be 17.7 cents under the proposal, down from 24.5 cents under the current rule.The FRB has also proposed that the interchange rate cap will be automatically updated every two years based on the data collected from issuers.
Resolution Planning
On June 20, 2024, the FDIC released a final rule that requires covered IDIs to develop and submit detailed plans demonstrating how they could be resolved in an orderly and timely manner in the event of receivership. IDIs with total assets of $100 billion or more are required to submit full resolution plans, and IDIs with total assets of $50 billion or more, but less than $100 billion are required to submit more limited informational filings. Under the final rule, if the FDIC deemed a resolution plan or informational filing not credible and the IDI failed to resubmit a credible plan, the IDI could become subject to an enforcement action. FNBPA currently has total consolidated assets of less than $50 billion and is not currently subject to the final rule. However, by imposing additional costs on IDIs with $50 billion or more in total consolidated assets, the final rule reduces the benefits of growth beyond that size for a bank that has less than $50 billion in total consolidated assets, such as FNBPA.
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Community Reinvestment Act and Fair Lending
The CRA requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their entire market areas consistent with safe and sound banking practices. Under the CRA, each depository institution is periodically evaluated and rated on its performance meeting the credit needs of its market areas by, among other things, providing credit to and investments in low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. An institution’s CRA rating can be reduced if the reviewing agency finds evidence of discriminatory or other illegal credit practices. In order for a financial holding company to commence any new activity permitted by the BHC Act, or to acquire any company engaged in any new activity permitted by the BHC Act, each IDI subsidiary of the financial holding company must have received a rating of at least “Satisfactory” in its most recent examination under the CRA. Furthermore, federal banking regulators take into account CRA ratings when considering acquisitions of control and new activities. In its most recent CRA examination, FNBPA received an “Outstanding” rating.
On October 24, 2023, the federal banking agencies issued a joint final rule that makes extensive amendments to the regulations that implement the CRA. The agencies’ stated goal in issuing the Final Rule was to “strengthen and modernize” the CRA regulations. Under the new requirements, FNB would be subject to new performance tests that could make it difficult to achieve a “Satisfactory” or “Outstanding” rating. The final rule also would establish new standardized metrics and quantitative standards for evaluating banks’ CRA performance under various performance tests. The new requirements would include an extensive overhaul of the current data collection, calculations and reporting under the existing CRA rule and would require additional costs to come into compliance. Industry organizations have challenged the final rule in court, and on March 29, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted an injunction and stay of the final rule. The final outcome of such challenge is uncertain.
Fair lending laws prohibit discrimination in the provision of banking services, and the enforcement of these laws has been an increasing focus for the OCC, DOJ, CFPB, HUD, and other regulators. Fair lending laws include the ECOA and the Fair Housing Act, which outlaw discrimination in credit and residential real estate transactions on the basis of prohibited factors including, among others, race, color, national origin, gender, and religion. A lender may be liable for policies that result in a disparate treatment of or have a disparate impact on a protected class of applicants or borrowers. If a pattern or practice of lending discrimination is alleged by a regulator, then that agency may refer the matter to the DOJ for investigation.
In October 2021, the DOJ announced an initiative to combat redlining through utilization of its fair lending prosecutorial authority and has announced the settlement of a number of bank investigations concerning redlining and other violations of the fair lending laws, including a February 5, 2024 announcement that Yadkin Bank (Yadkin) and its successor by merger, FNBPA, reached a settlement with the DOJ and the State of North Carolina to resolve their fair lending allegations related to the assessment of mortgage lending activities during a five-year period in the Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina majority Black and Hispanic census tracts (MBHCTs) that began prior to Yadkin’s merger with FNBPA in March 2017. The DOJ investigation encompassed mortgage lending activity by both Yadkin prior to the acquisition and FNBPA in the early years following its entry into the North Carolina markets. Although FNBPA denies the DOJ’s allegations, FNBPA cooperated fully to reach a settlement agreement in this inherited matter as a good faith effort to avoid prolonged litigation. FNBPA is required to have a fair lending program that is of sufficient scope to monitor fair lending and that appropriately remediates issues which were identified during the DOJ investigation as well as add additional branches and increase marketing and mortgage and home equity loan subsidies in these MBHCTs. Specifically, pursuant to the settlement agreement, FNBPA will invest a minimum of $11.75 million in a mortgage loan subsidy fund over a five-year period, leveraging its previously announced commitment to underserved communities across its footprint, including those located in the Charlotte and Winston-Salem markets. FNBPA has also agreed to spend approximately $1.75 million over the five-year period on community partnerships, advertising, community outreach and consumer education. FNBPA has also agreed to open three new branch offices in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, with two in Charlotte and one in Winston Salem, North Carolina. FNBPA believes the terms of the settlement agreement are consistent with its broad focus on promoting equity and economic prosperity in the markets that it serves. The settlement does not include any civil money penalties against FNBPA.
Consumer Protection Statutes and Regulations
FNBPA is subject to various federal consumer protection laws and regulations including the TILA, Truth in Savings Act, ECOA, Fair Housing Act, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder by the CFPB and the federal banking agencies, as well as certain state consumer protection requirements. Among other things, these laws and regulations:
•require banks to disclose credit terms in meaningful and consistent ways;
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•prohibit discrimination against an applicant in any consumer or business credit transaction;
•prohibit discrimination in housing-related lending activities;
•require banks to collect and report applicant and borrower data regarding loans for home purchases or improvement projects;
•require lenders to provide borrowers with more detailed information regarding the nature and cost of real estate settlements;
•prohibit certain lending practices and limit escrow account amounts with respect to real estate transactions;
•prescribe possible penalties for violations of the requirements of consumer protection statutes and regulations;
•require prescribed consumer disclosures and the adoption of error resolution procedures and other consumer protection protocols with respect to electronic fund transfers; and
•prohibit unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices in connection with consumer loans, the collection of debt, and the provision of other consumer financial products and services, including identifying risks associated with certain overdraft practices.
We have incurred and may in the future incur additional costs in complying with the above-identified consumer requirements. In addition, there is continued uncertainty about the CFPB’s priorities and how they will change under the Trump Administration. For example, in February 2025, the Acting Director of the CFPB instructed agency staff to pause most activity, including supervision and enforcement. While it is presently unclear when and to what extent the CFPB will resume its activities, other governmental authorities, including state attorneys general or banking regulators, may seek to increase their regulation, supervision, and enforcement of providers of consumer financial products and services in response to changes at the CFPB. Moreover, changes at the CFPB may lead to federal legislative efforts to alter the framework for consumer financial services regulation.
Financial Privacy
In accordance with the GLB Act, federal banking regulators adopted rules that limit the ability of banks, financial institutions and third parties that are not financial institutions but that receive non-public personal information from non-affiliated banks and financial institutions to disclose non-public information about consumers to non-affiliated third parties. These limitations require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to a non-affiliated third party. The privacy provisions of the GLB Act affect how consumer information is transmitted through diversified financial companies and conveyed to outside vendors.
Cybersecurity
The federal banking agencies have adopted guidelines for establishing information security standards and cybersecurity programs for implementing safeguards under the supervision of a banking organization’s board of directors. These guidelines, along with related regulatory materials, increasingly focus on risk management, processes related to information technology and operational resiliency, and the use of third parties in the provision of financial services. The OCC as part of its bank supervision operational plan has prioritized review of national banks' information security, data protection and third-party risk management, including the extent to which national banks are positioned to assess the evolving cyber-threat environment and maintain resilient defenses against such threats.
Under a November 2021 interagency rule, banking organizations are required to notify their primary federal regulator as soon as possible and no later than 36 hours after the discovery of a "computer security incident" that rises to the level of a "notification incident" within the meaning attributed to those terms. Banks' non-affiliated service providers are required to notify any affected bank to or on behalf of which the service provider provides services "as soon as possible" after determining that it has experienced an incident that materially disrupts or degrades, or is reasonably likely to materially disrupt or degrade, covered services provided to such bank for as much as four hours.
The Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act of 2022 (SACA) requires enhanced disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management strategy, governance and incident reporting, with the aim of standardizing cybersecurity processes and disclosure requirements. SACA requires critical infrastructure companies, such as financial institutions, to report "substantial cyber-incidents" and all ransom payments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The definition of a "covered cyber-incident" will be determined by CISA rulemaking, but SACA provides that, at a minimum, an incident must be reported if it: (1) leads to "substantial loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability" of an
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information system or network or a "serious impact on the safety and resiliency of operational systems and processes"; (2) causes a "disruption of business or industrial operations, including due to a denial of service attack, ransomware attack, or exploitation of a zero day vulnerability" against an information system or network, or an operational technology system or process; or (3) involves "unauthorized access or disruption of business or industrial operations" due to a "compromise of a cloud service provider, managed service provider, or other third-party data hosting provider or by a supply chain compromise". In addition, in July 2023, the SEC issued a final rule that requires disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents, as well as cybersecurity risk management, strategy and governance.
Anti-Money Laundering Initiatives and the USA PATRIOT Act
A major focus of governmental policy on financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), which amended the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), substantially broadened the scope of U.S. anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. The UST and federal banking agencies have issued a number of regulations that apply various requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act to financial institutions such as FNBPA. These regulations require financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to verify the identity of their customers. These regulations include express requirements regarding risk-based procedures for conducting ongoing customer due diligence. Such procedures require banks to take appropriate steps to understand the nature and purpose of customer relationships. In addition, absent an applicable exclusion, banks must identify and verify the identity of the beneficial owners of all legal entity customers at the time a new account is established. The failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal, including criminal law enforcement, and reputational consequences for the institution.
On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which enacted the most significant overhaul of the BSA and related anti-money laundering laws since the USA PATRIOT Act. Notable amendments include: (i) significant changes to the collection of beneficial ownership information and the establishment of a beneficial ownership registry maintained by the UST’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN); (ii) enhanced whistleblower provisions; (iii) increased penalties for violations of the BSA; (iv) improvements to existing information-sharing provisions that permit financial institutions to share information relating to suspicious activity reports with certain foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates; and (v) expanded duties and powers of FinCEN.
Office of Foreign Assets Control Regulation
The U.S. has instituted economic sanctions which affect transactions with designated foreign countries, nationals and others. These are sometimes known as the “OFAC rules” because they are administered by the UST Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The OFAC-administered sanctions target countries in various ways. Generally, however, they contain one or more of the following elements: (i) restrictions on trade with or investment in a sanctioned country, including prohibitions against direct or indirect imports from and exports to a sanctioned country, and prohibitions on “U.S. persons” engaging in financial transactions which relate to investments in, or providing investment-related advice or assistance to, a sanctioned country; and (ii) a blocking of assets in which the government or specially designated nationals of the sanctioned country have an interest, by prohibiting transfers of property subject to U.S. jurisdiction (including property in the possession or control of U.S. persons). Blocked assets (such as property and bank deposits) cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off or transferred in any manner without a license from OFAC. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences.
Incentive Compensation
The Dodd-Frank Act requires the federal bank regulators and the SEC to establish joint regulations or guidelines prohibiting incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities, including us and FNBPA, having at least $1 billion in total assets that encourage inappropriate risks by providing an executive officer, employee, director or principal shareholder with excessive compensation, fees, or benefits or that could lead to material financial loss to the entity. In addition, these regulators must establish regulations or guidelines requiring enhanced disclosure to regulators of incentive-based compensation arrangements.
In June 2010, the FRB and FDIC issued comprehensive final guidance on incentive compensation policies intended to ensure that the incentive compensation policies of banking organizations do not undermine the safety and soundness of such organizations by encouraging excessive risk-taking. This guidance, which covers all employees that have the ability to materially affect the risk profile of an organization, either individually or as part of a group, is based upon the key principles
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that a banking organization’s incentive compensation arrangements should (i) provide incentives that appropriately balance risk and financial results in a manner that does not encourage employees to expose their organizations to imprudent risk, (ii) be compatible with effective controls and risk management, and (iii) be supported by strong corporate governance, including active and effective oversight by the organization’s board of directors.
During the second quarter of 2016, the U.S. financial regulators, including the FRB and the SEC, proposed revised rules on incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities having at least $1 billion in total assets. In May 2024, certain of these U.S. financial regulators re-proposed the same regulatory text with a request for public comment on alternative approaches to certain regulatory provisions under consideration by the regulators. These proposed rules have not been finalized.
The FRB will review, as part of the regular, risk-focused examination process, the incentive compensation arrangements of banking organizations, such as us, that are not “large, complex banking organizations.” These reviews will be tailored to each organization based on the scope and complexity of the organization’s activities and the prevalence of incentive compensation arrangements. The findings of the supervisory initiatives will be included in reports of examination. Deficiencies will be incorporated into the organization’s supervisory ratings, which can affect the organization’s ability to make acquisitions and take other actions. Enforcement actions may be taken against a banking organization if its incentive compensation arrangements or related risk management control or governance processes pose a risk to the organization’s safety and soundness and the organization is not taking prompt and effective measures to correct the deficiencies.
In October 2023, the NYSE adopted a rule as required by the SEC’s 2022 rulemaking that requires listed companies to adopt policies mandating the recovery or “clawback” of excess incentive-based compensation earned by a current or former executive officer during the three fiscal years preceding a required accounting restatement, including to correct an error that would result in a material misstatement if the error were corrected in the current period or left uncorrected in the current period. The excess compensation would be based on the amount the executive officer would have received had the incentive-based compensation been determined using the restated financials. We timely adopted an executive compensation clawback policy in order to comply with this regulation and the listing standards of the NYSE, and a copy of the policy is filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report.
Investment Advisers Act
FNBIA is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Investment Advisers Act) and as such is supervised by the SEC. The Investment Advisers Act imposes numerous obligations on registered investment advisers, including record-keeping, operational and marketing requirements, disclosure obligations and prohibitions on fraudulent activities. The SEC is authorized to institute proceedings and impose sanctions for violations of the Investment Advisers Act, ranging from fines and censure to termination of an investment adviser’s registration. Investment advisers also are subject to certain state securities laws and regulations. Noncompliance with the Investment Advisers Act or other federal and state securities laws and regulations could result in investigations, sanctions, disgorgement, fines and reputation damage.
Standard of Care
Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC adopted a package of rule-makings and interpretations related to the provision of advice by broker-dealers and investment advisers, including Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS. Among other things, Regulation Best Interest requires a broker-dealer to act in the best interest of a retail client when making a recommendation to that client of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities. Form CRS requires that broker-dealers and investment advisers provide retail investors with a brief summary document containing simple, easy-to-understand information about the nature of the relationship between the parties. Our implementation of these regulations resulted in the review and modification of certain of our policies and procedures and associated supervisory and compliance controls, as well as the implementation of additional client disclosures, which included us providing related education and training to financial advisors. Various states have also proposed, or adopted, laws and regulations seeking to impose new standards of conduct on broker-dealers that may differ from the SEC's regulations, which may lead to additional implementation costs.
In April 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule significantly expanding the definition of “investment advice fiduciary” under ERISA, as amended. In related rulemakings, the DOL also finalized amendments to several class prohibited transaction exemptions (PTE), which exempt certain compensation arrangements that would otherwise be prohibited. In July 2024, two federal district courts separately issued nationwide stays of the effective date of the final rule and PTE amendments pending consideration of the merits. We are monitoring the legal activity while continuing to evaluate the impact these new rules could have on our business. If the rules become effective as promulgated, we expect compliance will require us to alter certain of our business practices and impose additional costs.
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Insurance Agencies
FNIA is subject to licensing requirements and extensive regulation under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the various states in which FNIA conducts its insurance agency business. These laws and regulations are primarily for the protection of policyholders. In all jurisdictions, the applicable laws and regulations are subject to amendment or interpretation by regulatory authorities. Generally, those authorities are vested with relatively broad discretion to grant, renew and revoke licenses and approvals and to implement regulations. Licenses may be denied or revoked for various reasons, including for regulatory violations or upon conviction for certain crimes. Possible sanctions that may be imposed for violation of regulations include the suspension of individual employees, limitations on engaging in a particular business for a specified period of time, revocation of licenses, censures and fines.
Penn-Ohio is subject to examination by the Arizona Department of Insurance. Representatives of the Arizona Department of Insurance periodically determine whether Penn-Ohio has maintained required reserves, established adequate deposits under a reinsurance agreement and complied with reporting requirements under the applicable Arizona statutes.
Heightened Standards for Risk Management Governance
The OCC’s Heightened Standards establish guidelines for the governance and risk management practices of OCC-regulated institutions with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or greater. These Heightened Standards require covered banks to establish and adhere to a written governance framework in order to manage and control their risk-taking activities, provide standards for covered banks’ boards of directors to oversee the risk governance framework, and describe the appropriate risk management roles and responsibilities of front line units, independent risk management, and internal audit functions. FNBPA currently has total consolidated assets of $48.4 billion and is currently preparing to meet the requirements of Heightened Standards. Establishing this framework comes with additional costs on OCC-regulated institutions with $50 billion or more in total consolidated assets.
Monetary Policy
The operations of FNB and our subsidiaries are affected not only by general economic conditions, but also by the policies of various regulatory authorities and the current Presidential Administration. In particular, the FRB regulates monetary policy and interest rates in order to influence general economic conditions. These policies have a significant influence on overall growth and distribution of loans, investments and deposits and affect interest rates charged on loans or paid for deposits. Throughout 2022 and 2023, the FRB raised the target range for the federal funds rate in an effort to curb inflation. From September 2024 to December 2024, the FOMC lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 100 basis points to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%. FRB monetary policies have had a significant effect on the operating results of all financial institutions in the past and may continue to do so in the future.
In view of changing conditions in the national economy and in money markets, as well as the effect of credit policies by monetary and fiscal authorities, including the FRB, it is difficult to predict the impact of possible future changes in interest rates, deposit levels and loan demand, or their effect on our business and earnings or on the financial condition of our various customers (see discussion under Risk Factors - caption “We could be adversely affected by changes in the law, especially changes in the regulation of the banking industry”).
Available Information
We make available through our website at www.fnbcorporation.com, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K (and amendments to any of the foregoing) as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this document and should not be considered part of this Report. Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “FNB”.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
We are subject to numerous risks, many of which are inherent to our business. For information about how our risk oversight and management process operates, see Item 7 of this Report, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Risk Management.” The following discussion highlights certain material risks that, based on the information currently known to us, could affect us and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. You should carefully consider each of the following risks and all the other information set forth in this Report. If any of the following risks and uncertainties develop into actual events or if the circumstances described in the risks and uncertainties occur or continue to occur, these events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, competitive position or reputation, including by materially increasing expenses or decreasing revenues, which could result in material losses or a decrease in earnings. These events could also have a negative effect on the trading price of our securities.
In addition, the risks and uncertainties we face involve certain factors that are subject to change, and are not limited to those described below. This discussion is intended to highlight risks that we believe are important factors to consider when evaluating our business and an investment in our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business.
1. Credit Risk
Our results of operations are significantly affected by the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans.
Lending money is an essential part of the banking business. However, for various reasons, borrowers do not always repay their loans. The risk of non-payment is affected by credit risks of a particular borrower, changes in economic conditions that impact certain geographic markets or industries, fluctuations in interest rates on adjustable-rate loans, the duration of the loan, and in the case of a collateralized loan, uncertainties as to the future value of the collateral.
Generally, commercial loans and leases present a greater risk of non-payment by a borrower than other types of loans. They typically involve larger loan balances and are particularly sensitive to economic conditions. The borrower’s ability to repay usually depends on the successful operation of its business and income stream. Some of our commercial borrowers have multiple loans outstanding with us, which means that an adverse development with respect to one loan or one credit relationship can expose us to a significantly greater risk of loss. In the case of commercial and industrial loans, collateral often consists of accounts receivable, inventory, property and equipment, which may not yield substantial recovery of principal losses incurred, and is susceptible to deterioration, declining valuations, or other losses in advance of liquidation of such collateral. Consumer loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and thus are more likely to be affected by adverse personal circumstances. Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws may limit the amount that can be recovered on these loans. For additional information, see Item 7 of this Report, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Lending Activity.”
Our mortgage banking profitability could be significantly reduced if we are not able to originate and resell a high volume of mortgage loans.
Mortgage banking is generally considered a volatile source of income because it depends largely on the volume of loans we originate and sell in the secondary market. If our originations of mortgage loans decrease, resulting in fewer loans that are available to be sold to investors, this would result in a decrease in mortgage revenues and a corresponding decrease in non-interest income.
•Mortgage loan production levels are sensitive to changes in economic conditions and activity, strengths or weaknesses in the housing market, changes in FRB monetary policies, interest rate fluctuations and the availability of an active secondary market or originations that could shift to adjustable-rate products which may be held in the portfolio. Generally, any sustained period of decreased economic activity or higher interest rates could reduce demand for mortgage loans and refinancings, while, conversely, any sustained period of increased economic activity and decreasing interest rates could increase the demand for mortgage loans and loan repayments. In addition, our results of operations are affected by the amount of non-interest expense associated with mortgage banking activities, such as salaries, commissions and employee benefits, occupancy, equipment and data processing expense and other operating costs. During periods of reduced loan demand, our results of operations may be adversely affected to the extent that we are unable to reduce expenses commensurate with the decline in loan originations.
•Future changes to our eligibility to participate in the programs offered by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and other secondary purchasers, or the loan criteria of the GSEs and other secondary purchasers could also result in a lower volume of corresponding loan originations and sales.
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•The estimates of revenues produced by the models we use to assess the impact of interest rates on mortgage-related revenues are dependent on estimates and assumptions of future loan demand, prepayment speeds and other factors which may differ from actual subsequent experience.
Our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected if we must further increase our provision for credit losses or if our ACL is not sufficient to absorb actual losses.
There is no precise method of predicting loan losses. Our ACL may not be sufficient to absorb actual loan losses that we experience. Excess loan losses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
The level of the ACL incorporates the judgment and estimates of our management regarding the amount and timing of future cash flows, current fair value of the underlying collateral and other qualitative risk factors that may affect our loan portfolio. Determination of the allowance is inherently subjective and is based on factors that are susceptible to significant change. Continuing deterioration in economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding existing loans, suspected fraud, identification of additional problem loans and other factors, both within and outside of our control, may require an increase in the ACL. In addition, bank regulatory agencies periodically review our ACL and may require an increase in the provision for credit losses or the recognition of additional loan charge-offs, based on judgments different from those of our management. In addition, if charge-offs in future periods exceed the ACL, we will need additional provisions to increase the ACL. Any increases in the ACL will result in a decrease in net income and capital and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. For additional discussion relating to this matter, refer to Item 7 of this Report, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Allowance for Credit Losses."
2. Market Risk
Our business and financial performance is impacted significantly by market interest rates and changes in those rates. The monetary, tax and other policies of governmental agencies, including the UST and the FRB, have a direct impact on interest rates and overall financial market performance over which we have no control and which may not be able to be predicted with reasonable accuracy.
As a result of the high percentage of our assets and liabilities that are in the form of interest-bearing or interest-related instruments, changes in interest rates, in the shape of the yield curve or in spreads between different market interest rates can have a material effect on our business, profitability and the value of our financial assets and liabilities. Such scenarios may include the following:
•changes in interest rates or interest rate spreads can affect the difference between the interest earned on assets and the interest paid on liabilities, which impacts FNBPA’s overall net interest income and profitability;
•such changes can affect the ability of borrowers to meet obligations under variable or adjustable-rate loans and other debt instruments and can, in turn, affect our loss rates on those assets;
•such changes may decrease the demand for interest rate-based products or services, including bank loans and deposit products and the subordinated notes offered by our subsidiary, FNB Financial Services, LP;
•such changes can affect our ability to hedge various forms of market and interest rate risks and may decrease the profitability or increase the risk associated with such hedges; and
•movements in interest rates affect mortgage repayment speeds and could result in impairments of mortgage servicing assets or otherwise affect the profitability of such assets.
The monetary, tax and other policies of the U.S. Government and its agencies also have a significant impact on interest rates and overall financial market performance. The FRB regulates the national supply of bank credit and certain interest rates through the implementation of certain monetary policies and actions. Due to elevated levels of inflation and corresponding pressure to raise interest rates, the FRB announced in January 2022 that it would be slowing the pace of its bond purchasing and increasing the target range for the federal funds rate over time, which it did from March 2022 to July 2023. The FOMC began cutting the target federal funds rate in September 2024, most recently to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, as announced in its FOMC policy statement issued on December 18, 2024. Economists are projecting that the target funds rate will likely decline further in small periodic increments, however the timing, extent, and frequency of such reductions remain uncertain.
Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and investments and the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but such changes could also affect (i) our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits; (ii) the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities; and (iii) the average duration of our mortgage portfolio and other interest-earning assets. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings decrease at a slower rate than the interest rates received on loans and other investments, or vice versa, our net interest income, and therefore earnings, could be adversely affected. Earnings could also be adversely affected if the interest rates received on loans and other
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investments fall more quickly than the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. A reduction in interest rates could result in unanticipated or adverse changes in depositor behavior, which could negatively affect our broader asset and liability management strategy. Interest rate risk may also result from timing differences in the maturity and re-pricing characteristics of assets and liabilities, changes in the shape of the yield curve, hedging activity and the potential exercise of explicit or embedded options.
Our interest rate risk modeling techniques and assumptions may not fully predict or capture the impact of actual or future interest rate changes on our balance sheet. Any substantial, unexpected, or prolonged change in market interest rates, or if the assumptions used for our models are substantially different than actual events, could result in material adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations, and any related economic downturn, especially domestically and in the regions in which we operate, may adversely affect our asset quality, deposit levels, loan demand and results of operations.
Changes in interest rates could reduce the value of our AFS securities holdings which would increase our accumulated other comprehensive loss and thereby negatively impact shareholders’ equity.
We maintain an investment portfolio consisting of various high-quality liquid fixed-income securities. The total carrying value of the AFS securities portfolio as of December 31, 2024 was $3.5 billion with an estimated duration of approximately 2.9 years. The nature of fixed-income securities is such that changes in market interest rates impact the value of these assets. Based on the duration of our AFS securities portfolio, a one percent increase or decrease in market rates is projected to positively or negatively impact the market value of the AFS securities portfolio by approximately $100 million. Increases or decreases in market interest rates are expected to further increase or decrease our AOCI (loss) and thereby decrease or increase shareholders’ equity. Further, the FRB and the OCC may consider increases in AOCI when evaluating our regulatory capital position, although current capital regulations permit AOCI to be excluded from capital for institutions of our size.
3. Liquidity Risk
Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and meet our obligations as they become due.
Our ability to implement our business strategy will depend on our liquidity and ability to obtain funding for loan originations, working capital and other general purposes. Liquidity is needed to fund various obligations, including credit commitments to borrowers, mortgage and other loan originations, withdrawals by depositors, repayment of borrowings, dividends to shareholders, operating expenses and capital expenditures. Liquidity risk is the potential that we will be unable to meet our obligations as they come due, capitalize on growth opportunities as they arise, or pay regular dividends on our common stock because of illiquid assets or an inability to obtain satisfactory funding. Our preferred sources for funding are deposits and customer repurchase agreements, which are low cost and stable sources of funding for us. We compete with commercial banks, savings banks and credit unions, as well as numerous non-depository competitors for deposits and customer repurchase agreements. If a significant portion of our deposits were to be withdrawn within a short period of time or if we are unable to attract and maintain sufficient levels of deposits and customer repurchase agreements to fund our loan growth and liquidity objectives, we may be subject to paying higher funding costs by raising interest rates that are paid on deposits and customer repurchase agreements or cause us to source funds from third-party providers which may be higher cost funding, impacting our net interest margin and overall profitability. Additionally, our ability to attract depositors during a time of actual or perceived distress or instability in the marketplace may be limited. Because our AFS investment securities lose value when interest rates rise, after-tax proceeds resulting from the sale of such assets may be diminished during periods when interest rates are elevated. However, the sale of all or a material portion of our securities portfolio to increase liquidity in the face of withdrawals would cause the realization of significant losses that would, in turn, reduce our regulatory capital position.
The proportion of our deposit account balances that exceed FDIC insurance limits may expose FNBPA to enhanced liquidity risk in times of financial distress.
In the wake of the failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB), Signature Bank (SBNY) and First Republic Bank (FRC), which the FDIC concluded were generated by, in significant part, a high volume of uninsured deposits, many large depositors across the industry have withdrawn deposits in excess of applicable deposit insurance limits and deposited these funds in other financial institutions. In many instances, depositors moved these funds into money market mutual funds or other similar securities accounts in an effort to diversify the risk of further bank failure(s).
Uninsured deposits historically have been viewed by the FDIC as less stable than insured deposits. The federal banking agencies, including the FDIC and OCC, issued an interagency policy statement in July 2023, noting that banks should maintain actionable contingency funding plans that take into account a range of possible stress scenarios, assess the stability of their funding and maintain a broad range of funding sources, ensure that collateral is available for borrowing, and review and revise contingency funding plans periodically and more frequently as market conditions and strategic initiatives change.
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If a significant portion of our deposits were to be withdrawn within a short period of time such that additional sources of funding would be required to meet withdrawal demands, we may be unable to obtain funding at favorable terms, which may have an adverse effect on our net interest margin. Moreover, obtaining adequate funding to meet our deposit obligations may be more challenging during periods of elevated prevailing interest rates, such as the present period. Our ability to attract depositors during a time of actual or perceived distress or instability in the marketplace may be limited. Further, interest rates paid for borrowings generally exceed the interest rates paid on deposits. This spread may be exacerbated by higher prevailing interest rates. In addition, because our AFS investment securities lose value when interest rates rise, after-tax proceeds resulting from the sale of such assets may be diminished during periods when interest rates are elevated. Under such circumstances, we may be required to access funding from sources such as the FRB’s discount window in order to manage our liquidity risk.
We are dependent on dividends from our subsidiaries to meet our financial obligations and pay dividends to shareholders.
We are a holding company and conduct almost all our operations through our subsidiaries. We do not have any significant assets other than cash and the stock of our subsidiaries. Accordingly, we depend on dividends from our subsidiaries, in particular FNBPA, to meet our financial obligations and to pay dividends to shareholders. Our right to participate in any distribution of earnings or assets of our subsidiaries is subject to the prior claims of creditors of such subsidiaries. Under federal law, the amount of dividends that a national bank, such as FNBPA, may pay in a calendar year is generally limited to the amount of our net income for the current year combined with our retained net income for the two preceding years. Likewise, our state incorporated entities are subject to state laws governing dividend practices and payments.
Regulatory authorities may restrict our ability to pay dividends on, and make repurchases of, our common stock.
Dividends on our common stock will be payable only if, when and as authorized and declared by our Board of Directors; however, our ability to pay dividends and make stock repurchases may be limited due to banking laws and regulations and limitations imposed by our banking regulators (including the OCC limiting dividends from FNBPA). In certain circumstances, we will not be able to make a capital distribution unless the FRB approves such distribution, including if the dividend could not be fully funded by our net income over the last four quarters (net of dividends paid), our prospective rate of earnings retention appears inconsistent with our capital needs, asset quality, and overall financial condition, or we will not be able to continue meeting the minimum required capital ratios. As a bank holding company, we also are required to consult with the FRB before increasing dividends or redeeming or repurchasing capital instruments. Additionally, the FRB could prohibit or limit our payment of dividends if it determines that payment of the dividend would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice. There can be no assurance that we will declare and pay any dividends or repurchase any shares of our common stock in the future.
We have outstanding securities senior to common stock which could limit our ability to pay dividends on our common stock.
We have outstanding TPS that are senior to our common stock and could adversely affect our ability to declare or pay dividends or distributions on our common stock. The terms of the TPS prohibit us from declaring or paying dividends or making distributions on our junior capital stock, including the common stock, or purchasing, acquiring, or making a liquidation payment on any junior capital stock, if: (1) an event of default has occurred and is continuing under the junior subordinated debentures underlying the TPS, (2) we are in default with respect to a guarantee payment under the guarantee of the related TPS, or (3) we have given notice of our election to defer interest payments, but the related deferral period has not yet commenced or a deferral period is continuing. If we experience a material deterioration in our financial condition, liquidity, capital, results of operations or risk profile, our regulators may not permit us to make future payments on our TPS, which would also prevent us from paying any dividends on our common stock.
Our growth may require us to raise additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed.
We are required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations (see Item 1 of this Report, “Business – Government Supervision and Regulation”). As a financial holding company, we seek to maintain capital sufficient to meet the “well-capitalized” standard set by regulators. While we anticipate that our current capital resources will satisfy our capital requirements for the foreseeable future, we may in the future need to raise additional capital to support current operations or continued growth.
The availability of additional capital or financing will depend on a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including market conditions, credit availability, our credit ratings and credit capacity, marketability of our capital stock, and the possibility that lenders and investors could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects if we incur large credit losses or if the level of business activity decreases due to economic conditions. As such, we may be forced to delay raising capital, issue shorter-term securities than desired or bear an unattractive cost of capital, which could decrease profitability, significantly reduce financial flexibility and adversely affect our ability to grow organically or through acquisitions. In addition, if we decide to raise additional equity capital, it could be dilutive to our existing shareholders.
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4. Reputation Risk
Our key assets include our brand and reputation and our business may be affected by how we are perceived by the public.
Our brand and our reputation are our key assets. Our ability to attract and retain banking, insurance, wealth management and corporate clients and employees is highly dependent upon external perceptions of our culture, level of service, security, trustworthiness, business practices and financial condition. Negative perceptions or publicity regarding these matters could damage our reputation among existing customers and corporate clients and employees, which could make it difficult for us to attract new clients and employees and retain existing ones. Adverse developments with respect to our financial services activities, the financial services industry or sociopolitical events and circumstances may also, by association, negatively impact our reputation, or result in greater regulatory or legislative scrutiny or litigation against us. Although we monitor developments for areas of potential risk to our reputation and brand, negative perceptions or publicity could materially and adversely affect our revenues and profitability.
Increasing, complex, evolving and conflicting regulatory, stakeholder, and other third-party expectations on ESG and DEI matters could adversely affect our reputation, our access to capital and the market price of our securities.
We are subject to a variety of risks arising from environmental, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) matters, which include, among other things, climate change, human capital, and human rights. Risks arising from such matters may adversely affect, among other things, our reputation and the market price of our securities.
While we engage in various initiatives to help manage our sustainability and governance profile and respond to stakeholder expectations, which continue to evolve, such initiatives can be costly and may not have the desired effect. Moreover, stakeholder expectations are not uniform, and both opponents and proponents of various ESG- and DEI-related matters have increasingly resulted in a range of activism to advocate for their positions.
In addition to the potential for broader "anti-ESG/DEI" policies and laws, on January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order requiring all federal agencies to terminate any policies, programs, mandates, guidance, regulations, and other actions and orders establishing DEI-based preferences, and to enforce federal civil rights laws to combat such preferences, mandates, policies, programs and activities of entities operating in the private sector. Further, the Executive Order directs federal agencies to take appropriate action to discourage private sector DEI-based initiatives. While the enforceability of the Executive Order and the steps that various federal agencies may take in response to it are uncertain at this time, the Executive Order signals a material shift in federal DEI policy that reasonably can be expected to have implications for the private sector, including the banking industry. In this regard, any scrutiny by federal government authorities of our human capital and strategic businesses practices, or those of the banking sector generally, may have a material adverse effect on us. Please refer to Item 1 – “Business – Human Capital.”
Navigating varying expectations of policymakers and other stakeholders has inherent costs, and any failure to successfully navigate such expectations may expose us to negative publicity, shareholder activism, and litigation or other engagement from pro- and anti-ESG/DEI stakeholders, as well as the potential for civil investigations and enforcement by federal governmental authorities. We could be required to incur significant costs responding to any such activity and our relationships and reputation with our existing and prospective customers and third parties with which we do business could be affected as well. This could have an adverse effect on our ability to attract and retain customers and employees and could have a negative impact on the market price for our securities. Certain of our customers, suppliers, or other stakeholders are also subject to such expectations and risks, which may result in additional or augmented risks to us.
5. Operational Risk
Our failure to continue to recruit and retain qualified banking professionals could adversely affect our ability to compete successfully and affect our profitability.
Our continued success and future growth depend heavily on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled, diverse and motivated banking professionals. We compete against many institutions with greater financial resources both within our industry and in other industries to attract these qualified individuals. Our failure to recruit and retain adequate talent could reduce our ability to compete successfully and adversely affect our business and profitability.
The financial soundness of other financial institutions may adversely affect FNB, FNBPA and other affiliates.
Financial institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty and other relationships. FNB, FNBPA and our affiliates are exposed to many different industries and counterparties and they routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks and other institutional clients. Many of these types of transactions expose FNB, FNBPA and our affiliates to credit risk in the event of default of the
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counterparty or client. In addition, FNBPA and our affiliates’ credit risks may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices that are not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure that we are due.
Changes and instability in economic conditions and financial markets, including a contraction of economic activity, could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our financial performance depends, to a certain extent, upon global, domestic and local economic and political conditions, as well as governmental monetary policies. Conditions such as changes in interest rates, money supply, levels of employment and other factors beyond our control may have a negative impact on economic activity. Any contraction of economic activity, including an economic recession or an inflationary environment, may adversely affect our asset quality, deposit levels and loan demand and, therefore, our earnings. In particular, interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including global, domestic and local economic conditions and the policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies and, specifically, the FRB.
Adverse economic developments, specifically including inflation-related impacts, may have a negative effect on the ability of our borrowers to make timely repayments of their loans or to finance future home purchases. According to the FRB’s November 2024 Financial Stability Report, aggregate commercial real estate (CRE) prices measured in inflation-adjusted terms were little changed over the prior six months of the report, with the pace of prior declines appearing to have slowed broadly across CRE sectors. This Financial Stability Report notes that these prices still may not fully reflect the deterioration in CRE market prices because, rather than realizing losses, many owners wait for more favorable conditions to put their properties on the market. The report also notes that the strains on the office sector resulting from an ongoing post-pandemic adjustment have continued to mount. However, the outlook for CRE remains dependent on the broader economic environment and, specifically, how major subsectors respond to a rising interest rate environment and higher prices for commodities, goods and services. In addition, this Financial Stability Report notes that residential real estate values have continued to increase over the prior six months from the report from prices that were already elevated relative to historical standards. The report suggests that valuations in housing markets remained stretched. In any case, credit performance over the medium-and long-term is susceptible to economic and market forces and therefore forecasts remain uncertain, with some degree of instability in the CRE markets expected in the coming quarters as loans are refinanced in markets with higher vacancy rates under current economic conditions. Instability and uncertainty in the commercial and residential real estate markets, as well as in the broader commercial and retail credit markets, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges and uncertainties affecting the stability of regions and countries around the globe could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For instance, in response to the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S. has imposed significant financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain Russian organizations and individuals, with similar actions being taken by the European Union, the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions. The Russian invasion and subsequent sanctions had and could continue to have certain negative impacts on global and regional financial markets and economic conditions. In addition, the attacks by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, Israel’s response and a potential broader armed conflict in the Middle East are likely to continue impacting the global economy, including that of the U.S. and have added to concerns of a widening conflict in the Middle East. In particular, oil and gas prices have become increasingly volatile in the aftermath of the attacks on Israel and may be adversely affected by actions taken by the Ukraine related to Russian-supplied natural gas to the European Union. Each of the developments described above, or any combination of them, could adversely affect our businesses, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business could be adversely affected by difficult economic conditions in the regions in which we operate.
We operate in seven states and the District of Columbia. Most of our customers are individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses that are dependent upon their regional economies. The economic conditions in these local markets may be different from, and in some instances worse than, economic conditions in the U.S. as a whole. Challenging macroeconomic, recessionary and employment conditions in the market areas we serve could result in the following consequences, among others, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations: demand for our loans, deposits and services may decline; loan delinquencies, problem assets, foreclosures and charge-offs may increase; weak economic conditions could limit the demand for loans by creditworthy borrowers, limiting our capacity to leverage our retail deposits and maintain our net interest income; collateral for our loans may decline in value; and the amount of our low-cost or non-interest-bearing deposits may decrease.
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The banking and financial services industry continually encounters technological change, especially in the systems that are used to deliver products to, and execute transactions on behalf of, customers. If we fail to continue to invest in technological improvements as they become appropriate or necessary, our ability to compete effectively could be severely impaired.
The banking and financial services industry continually undergoes technological changes, with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services, including recent and rapid developments in artificial intelligence. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better compete for and serve customers and reduce costs. Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to address customer needs by using secure technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our larger competitors have greater resources to invest in technological improvements, and we may not effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or do so as quickly as our competitors. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the banking and financial services industry could negatively affect our revenue and profitability.
In addition, transactions utilizing digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and other similar assets, have increased over the course of the last several years. Certain characteristics of digital asset transactions, including their speed and anonymity are appealing to certain consumers notwithstanding the various risks posed by such transactions. Accordingly, digital asset service providers - which, at present are not subject to the same extensive regulation as banking organizations and other financial institutions - have become active competitors for our customers' banking business. 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.
An interruption in or breach in security of our information systems, or other cybersecurity risks, could result in a loss of customer business, increased compliance and remediation costs, civil litigation or governmental regulatory action, and have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
As part of our business, we collect, process and retain sensitive and confidential client and customer information in both paper and electronic form and rely heavily on communications and information systems for these functions. This information includes non-public, personally-identifiable information that is protected under applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Additionally, certain of these data processing functions are not handled by us directly, but are outsourced to third-party providers. We have experienced cyber-attacks in the past, none of which have had a material impact on our business or operations, and expect to continue to be the target of cyber-attacks. Our current facilities and systems, as well as those of our third-party service providers, may be vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism and other physical security threats, computer viruses or compromises, ransomware attacks, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors or other similar events. While we have policies, procedures and practices designed to prevent or limit the effect of the failure, interruption, or security breach of our communications and information systems, we cannot completely ensure that any such failures, interruptions, or security breaches will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of our confidential business, employee or customer information, whether originating with us, our vendors or retail businesses, could severely damage our reputation, expose us to the risks of civil litigation and liability, require the payment of regulatory fines or penalties or undertaking of costly remediation efforts with respect to third parties affected by a security breach, disrupt our operations, and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The cost of our day-to-day cybersecurity monitoring and protection systems and controls may increase over time. We may also need to expend substantial resources to comply with the data security breach notification requirements adopted by banking regulators and the states, which have varying levels of individual, consumer, regulatory or law enforcement notification and remediation requirements in certain circumstances in the event of a security breach.
Cybersecurity risks continue to grow and, as a result, the cyber-resilience of banking organizations is of increased importance to federal and state banking agencies and other regulators. New or revised laws and regulations may significantly impact our current and planned privacy, data protection and information security-related practices, the collection, use, sharing, retention and safeguarding of consumer and employee information, and current or planned business activities. Compliance with current, proposed, or future privacy, data protection and information security laws to which we are subject could result in higher compliance and technology costs and could restrict our ability to provide certain products and services, which could materially and adversely affect our profitability.
As technology advances, the ability and speed to initiate transactions and access data has also become more widely distributed among mobile devices, personal computers, automated teller machines, remote deposit capture sites and similar access points, some of which are not controlled or secured by us. It is possible that we could have exposure to liability and suffer losses as a result of a security breach or cyber-attack that occurred through no fault of ours. Although we maintain specific “cyber” insurance coverage, the amount or form of coverage may not be adequate in any particular case. As cyber threats continue to
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evolve and increase, we may be required to spend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective and preventative measures or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities.
Our day-to-day operations rely heavily on the proper functioning of products, information systems and services provided by third-party, external vendors.
We rely on certain external vendors to provide products, information systems and services necessary, including our core processing system, to maintain our day-to-day operations. These third parties provide key components of our business operations such as data processing, recording and monitoring transactions, online banking interfaces and services, Internet connections and network access. Any complications caused by these third parties, including those resulting from disruptions in communication services provided by a vendor, failure of a vendor to handle current or higher volumes, cyber-attacks and security breaches at a vendor (including zero-day attacks associated with vulnerabilities in third-party software that were not previously known), failure of a vendor to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to conform to our internal controls and risk management procedures, and failure of a vendor to provide services for any reason or poor performance of services, could adversely affect our ability to deliver products and services to our customers and otherwise conduct our business.
There may be risks resulting from the extensive use of models in our business.
We rely on quantitative models to measure risks and to estimate certain financial values. Models may be used in such processes as determining the pricing of various products, developing presentations made to market analysts and others, creating loans and extending credit, measuring interest rate and other market risks, predicting losses, assessing capital adequacy, developing strategic planning initiatives, capital stress testing and calculating regulatory capital levels, as well as to estimate the value of financial instruments and balance sheet items. Poorly designed or implemented models, present the risk that our business decisions based on information incorporating models, will be adversely affected due to the inadequacy of such information. Also, information we provide to the public or to our regulators based on poorly designed or implemented models could be inaccurate or misleading. Certain decisions that regulators make, including those related to capital distributions and dividends to our shareholders, could be adversely affected due to the regulator’s perception that the quality of the models used to generate our relevant information is insufficient.
Our asset valuations may include methodologies, estimations and assumptions that are subject to differing interpretations which, along with market factors such as volatility in one or more markets or industries, could result in changes to asset valuations that may materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.
We must use estimates, assumptions and judgments when assets are measured and reported at fair value. Assets carried at fair value inherently result in a higher degree of financial statement volatility. Because the assets are carried at fair value, a decline in their value may cause us to incur losses even if the assets in question present minimal risk. Fair values and information used to record valuation adjustments for certain assets and liabilities are based on quoted market prices and/or other observable inputs provided by independent third-party resources, when available. When such third-party information is not available, we estimate fair value primarily by using cash flow and other financial modeling techniques utilizing assumptions such as credit quality, liquidity, interest rates and other relevant inputs. Changes in underlying factors or assumptions in any of the areas underlying these estimates could materially impact our future financial condition and results of operations.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, excessive rainfall, droughts or other adverse weather events, and public health emergencies could negatively affect the local economies in the markets of our footprint, or disrupt our operations in those markets, which could have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.
The economy of the markets in our footprint is affected, from time to time, by adverse weather events and other disruptions, including as a result of public health issues. We cannot predict whether, or to what extent, damage caused by future weather conditions or other disruptions will affect our operations, customers or the economies in our markets. Weather events could cause a disruption in our day-to-day business activities in branches within our markets, a decline in loan originations, destruction or decline in the value of properties securing our loans, or an increase in the risks of delinquencies, foreclosures, and loan losses. Even if a weather event does not cause any physical damage in our markets, it could affect the market value of property within our footprint, particularly agricultural interests, which are highly sensitive to excessive rainfall or droughts.
We grow our business in part by acquiring other banks and financial services businesses from time to time. Acquisitions present a number of risks and uncertainties related both to the acquisition transactions themselves and to the integration of the acquired businesses with us after closing.
Acquisitions of other banks and financial services companies or of financial assets and deposits and other liabilities present risks and uncertainties to us in addition to those presented by the nature of the business acquired, which may materially and adversely affect our results of operations. Our ability to analyze the risks presented by prospective acquisitions, as well as our
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ability to prepare in advance of closing for integration, may be limited to the extent that we cannot gather necessary or desirable information with respect to the business we are acquiring. We may also make certain assumptions related to an acquisition that may prove to be inaccurate that limit the anticipated benefits (such as cost savings from synergies or strategic gains or be able to offer enhanced product sets) or make the acquisition more expensive or take longer to complete and integrate than anticipated. Prior to closing an acquisition, prospective acquisition targets are also subject to their own risks that we cannot manage or control.
Our ability to complete an acquisition may be dependent on regulatory agencies with responsibilities for reviewing or approving the transaction, which could delay, restrictively condition or result in denial of an acquisition, or otherwise limit the benefits of the acquisition. Changes in regulatory rules or standards or the application of those rules or standards, or future regulatory initiatives designed to mitigate risk or promote competition may also limit our ability to complete an acquisition (see discussion under Government Supervision and Regulation, Expansion and Acquisitions). Further, once an acquisition is completed, it may be difficult for us to integrate the acquired business with our operations and we may not see the anticipated benefits of any such acquisition.
6. Legal and Compliance Risk
We could be adversely affected by changes in the law, especially changes in the regulation of the banking industry.
We operate in a highly regulated environment and our businesses are subject to supervision, regulation, enforcement and prosecution by numerous governmental agencies, including at the federal and state levels. Regulations are generally intended to provide protection for depositors, borrowers and other customers, as well as the stability of the financial services industry, rather than for investors in our securities. We are subject to changes in federal and state law, regulations, governmental policies, agency supervisory and enforcement policies and priorities, and tax laws and accounting principles. Changes in regulations or the regulatory environment could adversely affect the banking and financial services industry as a whole and could limit our growth and returns to investors by restricting such activities as the payment of dividends and stock repurchases, balance sheet growth, investments, loans and interest rates, assessments of fees, such as overdraft and interchange fees, the provision of securities, insurance, brokerage or trust services, mergers with or acquisitions of other institutions or branches, the types of deposit and non-deposit activities in which our subsidiaries may engage, and offering of new products and services.
Under regulatory capital adequacy guidelines and other regulatory requirements, FNB and FNBPA must meet guidelines subject to qualitative judgments by regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors. On July 27, 2023, the federal banking agencies, including the OCC, issued a proposed rule to implement the final components of the Basel III Capital Rules. Among other things, the proposed rule would substantially change the existing calculation of risk-weighted assets and require banking organizations to use revised models for such calculations. While the proposed rule would not apply to FNB or FNBPA directly based upon our current asset size, many of the principles included in this proposed rulemaking could result in increased supervisory expectations and closer regulatory scrutiny for institutions that experience substantial growth. The federal banking agencies are likely to substantially revise and re-propose this rule which may result in changes to capital and liquidity requirements that are currently applicable to us. Changes to present capital and liquidity requirements could restrict our activities and require us to maintain additional capital. Compliance with heightened capital standards may reduce our ability to generate or originate revenue-producing assets and thereby restrict revenue generation from banking and non-banking operations. If we fail to meet these minimum capital guidelines and other regulatory requirements, our financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.
In response to several large bank failures in the spring of 2023, the federal banking agencies have engaged in rulemaking that could increase compliance costs should we grow in excess of $50 billion in assets, including the FDIC adopting resolution planning requirements for IDIs with $50 billion or more in assets.
We are subject to supervision and examination by U.S. government authorities and may become subject to investigations, enforcement actions, fines, and other adverse effects.
The federal banking agencies, including the OCC, FRB and CFPB, as well as the DOJ, have in recent years adopted a more aggressive enforcement posture in line with general enforcement priorities - specifically with respect to consumer protection issues and anti-discrimination lending laws. These government agencies have expressed a heightened interest in fair lending and loan servicing, mortgage loan origination and servicing, bank and financial institution sales practices, management of consumer accounts and the charging of overdraft and various other fees, fair credit reporting, predatory lending, debt collection, and meaningful disclosure of credit and savings terms, among others, and perform periodic reviews, examinations, and investigations in these areas. An adverse finding or outcome of any such review, examination, or investigation that involves an assertion of regulatory noncompliance, or a violation of law could result in possible fines, penalties, restitution, or other forms of remediation that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or reputation.
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Fiscal challenges facing the U.S. government could negatively impact financial markets which in turn could have an adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.
A U.S. government debt default, threatened or wide-spread perception of a potential debt default, or downgrade of the sovereign credit ratings of the U.S. by credit rating agencies, could have an adverse impact on financial markets, interest rates and economic conditions in the U.S. and worldwide, which could have an adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.
Federal budget deficit concerns and the potential for political conflict over legislation to fund U.S. government operations and raise the U.S. government's debt limit may increase the possibility of a default by the U.S. government on its debt obligations, related credit-rating downgrades, or an economic recession in the U.S. Many of our investment securities are issued by the U.S. government and government agencies and sponsored enterprises. As a result of uncertain domestic political conditions, including potential future federal government shutdowns, possible reductions in federal government spending, and the possibility of the federal government defaulting on its obligations for a period of time, investments in financial instruments issued or guaranteed by the federal government pose liquidity risks. A further downgrade, or a downgrade by other rating agencies, as well as sovereign debt issues facing the governments of other countries, could have a material adverse impact on financial markets and economic conditions in the U.S. and worldwide, which could adversely impact us.
In addition to affecting the price and liquidity of U.S. government securities, a government default or threat of default could disrupt the market for or affect the pricing of repurchase agreements in U.S. government securities (Repos), a type of secured financing transaction used by many financial institutions, including FNBPA, to manage short-term funding needs, invest short-term cash balances and manage inventories of government securities. Overnight rates on Repo transactions are used by the FRB to calculate SOFR. A disruption in the Repo markets could affect interest rates paid on SOFR-benchmarked loans and payments on swaps and other financial contracts that use SOFR as a benchmark rate.
A debt default or further downgrades to the U.S. government’s sovereign credit rating or its perceived creditworthiness could also adversely affect the ability of the U.S. government to support the financial stability of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHLBs, with which we do business, obtains financing, engages with for sales of mortgages, and in whose securities we invest.
Our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by changes in accounting policies, standards and interpretations.
The FASB, regulatory agencies and other bodies that establish accounting standards periodically change the financial accounting and reporting standards governing the preparation of our financial statements. Additionally, those bodies that establish and interpret the accounting standards (such as the FASB, SEC and banking regulators) may change prior interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. Changes resulting from these new standards may result in materially different financial results and may require that we change how we process, analyze and report financial information and that we change financial reporting controls.
Our overdraft protection programs and corresponding revenue may be impacted by new federal regulatory requirements or scrutiny or industry trends regarding such practices.
Members of Congress and the leadership of the OCC, FDIC and CFPB have expressed a heightened interest in bank overdraft protection programs. The CFPB has used its supervision process to obtain additional information about financial institutions’ overdraft practices and has indicated that it intends to pursue enforcement actions against financial institutions, and their executives, that oversee overdraft practices that are deemed to be unlawful. The CFPB also has published guidance containing instructions for financial institutions to avoid the imposition of unlawful overdraft fees. On December 12, 2024, the CFPB finalized a rule that narrows an existing exemption from the TILA (Regulation Z) for the extension of overdraft credit, thereby subjecting overdraft credit to disclosure and other regulatory compliance obligations. The final rule is scheduled to take effect in October 2025, but a lawsuit against the CFPB may delay the rule’s implementation.