ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
OVERVIEW
Net income in 2023 was $93.8 million, down 9.7%, from $103.8 million in 2022. Net income for 2022 was 8.4% higher than $95.7 million in 2021.
Diluted net income per common share was $3.65 in 2023, $4.04 in 2022 and $3.74 in 2021. Return on average total assets was 1.45% in 2023, versus 1.62% in 2022 and 1.56% in 2021. Return on average total equity was 15.93% in 2023, versus 17.40% in 2022 and 14.19% in 2021. The dividend payout ratio, with respect to diluted earnings per share, was 50.41% in 2023, versus 39.60% in 2022 and 36.36% in 2021. The average equity to average assets ratio was 9.11% in 2023, compared to 9.28% in 2022 and 10.96% in 2021.
Net income in 2023 was negatively impacted by a $20.5 million increase in noninterest expense and a $5.9 million decrease in net interest income. Offsetting these decreases were an $8.0 million increase in noninterest income and a $3.5 million decrease in provision for credit losses.
On June 30, 2023, the Company discovered that it had been the victim of an international wire fraud resulting in a loss of $18.1 million. During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company recognized $6.3 million in insurance and loss recoveries associated with the wire fraud loss. During 2023, the total impact of the wire fraud loss to income before income tax expense was $10.4 million, net of recoveries and adjustments to salaries and benefits expense, or $7.8 million net of tax, and $0.30 diluted earnings per common share.
Core operational profitability, a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes the impact of the wire fraud loss and related insurance and loss recoveries as well as adjustments to the Company's salaries and employee benefits expense, was $101.6 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $2.2 million, or 2.2%, from the full year 2022. Core operational diluted earnings per common share, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, was $3.95, also a decrease of 2.2%, from the full year 2022.
Net income in 2022 was positively impacted by a $24.8 million increase in net interest income. Offsetting the positive impact of net interest income were an $8.3 million increase in provision for credit losses, a $5.9 million increase in noninterest expense and a $2.9 million decrease in noninterest income.
Total assets were $6.524 billion as of December 31, 2023 versus $6.432 billion as of December 31, 2022, an increase of $91.7 million or 1.4%. Balance sheet expansion in 2023 was driven by loan growth of $206.1 million, or 4.4%. Offsetting the increase in loan growth was a decrease in investments securities of $132.1 million, or 10.1%. Balance sheet expansion in 2023 was funded by an increase in deposits of $259.9 million, or 4.8%, and was offset by a decrease in borrowings of $247.0 million.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Certain of the Company’s accounting policies are important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition, since they require management to make difficult, complex or subjective judgments, some of which may relate to matters that are inherently uncertain. Estimates associated with these policies are susceptible to material changes as a result of changes in facts and circumstances. Some of the facts and circumstances which could affect these judgments include changes in interest rates, in the performance of the economy or in the financial condition of borrowers. Management believes that its critical accounting policies include determining the allowance for credit losses.
Allowance for Credit Losses
The Company maintains an allowance for credit losses to provide for expected credit losses. Losses are charged against the allowance when management believes that the principal is uncollectible. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. Allocations of the allowance are made for specific loans and for pools of similar types of loans, although the entire allowance is available for any loan that, in management’s judgment, should be charged against the allowance. A provision for credit losses is taken based on management’s ongoing evaluation of the appropriate allowance balance. A formal evaluation of the adequacy of the credit loss allowance is conducted monthly. The ultimate recovery of all loans is susceptible to future market factors beyond the Company’s control.
The level of credit loss provision is influenced by growth in the overall loan portfolio, emerging market risk, emerging concentration risk, commercial loan focus and large credit concentration, new industry lending activity, general economic
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conditions and historical loss analysis. In addition, management gives consideration to changes in the facts and circumstances of watch list credits, which includes the security position of the borrower, in determining the appropriate level of the credit loss provision. Furthermore, management’s overall view on credit quality is a factor in the determination of the provision.
The determination of the appropriate allowance is inherently subjective, as it requires significant estimates by management. The Company has an established process to determine the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses that generally includes consideration of changes in the nature and volume of the loan portfolio and overall portfolio quality, along with current and forecasted economic conditions that may affect borrowers’ ability to repay. Consideration is not limited to these factors although they represent the most commonly cited factors. To determine the specific allocation levels for individual credits, management considers the current valuation of collateral and the amounts and timing of expected future cash flows as the primary measures. Management also considers trends in adversely classified loans based upon an ongoing review of those credits. With respect to pools of similar loans, an appropriate level of general allowance is determined by portfolio segment using a probability of default-loss given default (“PD/LGD”) model, subject to a floor. A default can be triggered by one of several different asset quality factors, including past due status, nonaccrual status, material modification to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty or if the loan has had a charge off. This PD is then combined with a LGD derived from historical charge off data to construct a default rate. This loss rate is then supplemented with adjustments for reasonable and supportable forecasts of relevant economic indicators, particularly the unemployment rate forecast from the Federal Open Market Committee’s Summary of Economic Projections, and other environmental factors based on the risks present for each portfolio segment. These environmental factors include consideration of the following: levels of, and trends in, delinquencies and nonperforming loans; trends in volume and terms of loans; changes in collateral strength; effects of any changes in risk selection and underwriting standards; other changes in lending policies, procedure, and practices; experience, ability, and depth of lending management and other relevant staff; national and local economic trends and conditions; industry conditions; and effects of changes in credit concentrations. It is also possible that these factors could include social, political, economic, and terrorist events or activities. All of these factors are subject to change, which may be significant. As a result of this detailed process, the allowance results in two forms of allocations, specific and general. These two components represent the total allowance for credit losses deemed adequate to cover expected losses inherent in the loan portfolio.
Commercial loans are subject to a dual standardized grading process administered by the credit administration function. These grade assignments are performed independent of each other and a consensus is reached by credit administration and the loan officer. Specific allowances are established in cases where management has identified significant conditions or circumstances related to an individual credit that indicate it should be evaluated on an individual basis. Considerations with respect to specific allocations for these individual credits include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) the sufficiency of the customer’s cash flow or net worth to repay the loan; (b) the adequacy of the discounted value of collateral relative to the loan balance; (c) whether the loan has been criticized in a regulatory examination; (d) whether the loan is nonperforming; (e) any other reasons the ultimate collectability of the loan may be in question; or (f) any unique loan characteristics that require special monitoring.
Allocations are also applied to categories of loans considered not to be individually analyzed, but for which the rate of loss is expected to be consistent with or greater than historical averages. Such allocations are based on past loss experience and information about specific borrower situations and estimated collateral values. These general pooled loan allocations are performed for portfolio segments of commercial and industrial; commercial real estate, multi-family, and construction; agri-business and agricultural; other commercial loans; and consumer 1-4 family mortgage and other consumer loans. General allocations of the allowance are determined by a historical loss rate based on the calculation of each pool’s probability of default-loss given default, subject to a floor. The length of the historical period for each pool is based on the average life of the pool. The historical loss rates are supplemented with consideration of economic conditions and portfolio trends.
Due to the imprecise nature of estimating the allowance for credit losses, the Company’s allowance for credit losses includes an unallocated component. The unallocated component of the allowance for credit losses incorporates the Company’s judgmental determination of potential expected losses that may not be fully reflected in other allocations. As a practical expedient, the Company has elected to state accrued interest separately from loan principal balances on the consolidated balance sheet. Additionally, when a loan is placed on non-accrual, interest payments are reversed through interest income.
For off balance sheet credit exposures outlined in the ASU at 326-20-30-11, it is the Company’s position that nearly all of the unfunded amounts on lines of credit are unconditionally cancellable, and therefore not subject to having a liability recorded.
The allowance is inherently uncertain as it represents the Company’s expectation of the future collectability of loans in its portfolio; actual collections may be greater than or less than expectations. Actual collections may be impacted by wider economic conditions such as changes in the competitive environment or in the levels of business investment or consumer
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spending, or by the quality of borrowers’ management teams and the success of their strategy execution. Borrowers’ ability to repay may also change due to the effects of government monetary or fiscal policy, which could affect the level of demand for borrowers’ products or services.
The Company’s allowance for credit losses is subject to changes in the inputs to the model, including the following: the number of delinquent loans, nonaccrual loans, material modification due to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty, or charge offs; the levels of charge offs and recoveries; projected unemployment rates and other economic indicators; the Company’s collateral position on adversely classified loans; or management’s qualitative judgment of the implication of trends in its loan portfolio or in the broader economy.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
The Company's net income in 2023 decreased $10.1 million, or 9.7%, as a result of an increase in noninterest expense of $20.5 million, or 18.6%, and a decrease in net interest income of $5.9 million, or 2.9%. Noninterest income increased $8.0 million, or 19.1%. Provision for credit losses decreased $3.5 million, or 37.6%.
The increases to noninterest expense and noninterest income were primarily driven by the wire fraud loss that occurred during the second quarter of 2023 and related insurance and loss recoveries and adjustments to salaries and benefits expense recorded by the Company as a result of the loss. The wire fraud loss of $18.1 million was the primary driver of the increase to noninterest expense. Insurance and loss recoveries associated with the event of $6.3 million were recorded as noninterest income during the fourth quarter of 2023. Salaries and employee benefits expense was reduced by $1.4 million as a result of adjustments to the Company's long term incentive accrual due to the negative impact of the loss on the Company's net income for the year.
Core operational profitability, a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes the impact of the wire fraud loss and related insurance and loss recoveries and adjustments to the Company's salaries and employee benefits expense, was $101.6 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $2.2 million, or 2.2%, from the full year 2022. Core operational diluted earnings per common share, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, was $3.95, also a decrease of 2.2%, from the full year 2022.
The Company's net interest income was negatively impacted in 2023 by increased funding costs, primarily driven by deposit repricing as deposit rates adjusted to the higher interest rate environment as a result of tightened monetary policy by the Federal Reserve. The rise in deposit costs combined with a shift in deposit mix from noninterest bearing deposits to interest bearing deposits were the primary drivers behind the 2.9% decrease in net interest income during 2023.
Asset quality metrics remained stable with watch list loans as a percentage of total loans remaining near historic lows at 3.72% at December 31, 2023, as compared to 3.42% at December 31, 2022. The provision for credit losses decreased $3.5 million, or 37.6%. The near-term outlook includes plans for continued loan growth, disciplined credit philosophy, continued investments in human capital and technological innovations and enhancements, and targeted expansion of our branch network in the Indianapolis market with two new offices planned in the next 24 months.
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Selected income statement information for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 is presented in the following table.
Income Statement Summary:
Other Data:
Net charge offs to average loans 0.13 0.10 0.09
(1)Non-GAAP financial measure. Calculated by excluding the wire fraud loss and related insurance and loss recoveries and adjustments to salary and benefits. Management believes this is an important measure because meaningful to understanding the company’s core business performance for these periods. See reconciliation on the following pages.
(2)Noninterest expense (c)/(Net interest income (a) plus Noninterest income (b)).
(3)Non-GAAP financial measure. Calculated by subtracting intangible assets, net of deferred tax, from total assets and total equity. Management believes this is an important measure because it is useful for planning and forecasting purposes. See reconciliation on the following pages.
(4)Non-GAAP financial measure. Calculated by removing the fair market value adjustment impact of the available-for-sale investment securities portfolio included in accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI") from tangible equity and tangible assets. Management believes this is an important measure because it provides better comparability to periods preceding the recent significant rise in prevailing interest rates. See reconciliation on the following pages.
(5)Non-GAAP financial measure. Calculated by subtracting the impact PPP loans had on average earnings assets, loan interest income, average interest bearing liabilities, and interest expense. Management believes this is an important measure because it provides for better comparability to subsequent periods, given the expectation that PPP represented a limited governmental intervention in the lending market, designed to support small businesses through the pandemic, its low fixed interest rate of 1.0% and because the accretion of net loan fee income can be accelerated upon borrower forgiveness and repayment by the SBA. See reconciliation on the following pages.
(6)Non-GAAP financial measure. Pretax pre-provision earnings is calculated by adding net interest income to noninterest income and subtracting noninterest expense. Management believes this is an important measure because it may enable investors to identify the trends in the Company's earnings exclusive of the effects of tax and provision expense, which may vary significantly from period to period. See reconciliation on the following pages.
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The Company believes that providing non-GAAP financial measures provides investors with information useful to understanding the company's financial performance. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided below.
The impact of the wire fraud loss, insurance and loss recoveries and adjustments to salaries and benefits is presented below. Management considers these measures of core financial performance to be meaningful to understanding the Company’s business performance for these periods.
Year Ended
Plus: Salaries and Employee Benefits 1,397 0 0
Adjusted Core Impact:
Total Adjusted Core Impact 10,361 0 0
Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 3.65 $ 4.04 $ 3.74
Impact of Wire Fraud Loss, Net of Recoveries 0.30 0.00 0.00
Core Operational Diluted Earnings Per Common Share $ 3.95 $ 4.04 $ 3.74
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Year Ended
Plus: Deferred Tax Assets Related to Goodwill 1,167 1,167 1,176
Plus: Deferred Tax Assets Related to Goodwill 1,167 1,167 1,176
Tangible Common Equity/Tangible Assets 9.91 % 8.79 % 10.70 %
Adjusted Tangible Common Equity/Adjusted Tangible Assets 11.99 11.38 10.47
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The impact of the Paycheck Protection Program on Net Interest Margin FTE for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 is presented below (dollars in thousands). The impact of the Paycheck Protection Program on Net Interest Margin FTE for the year ended December 31, 2023 is excluded as the Program had an immaterial impact on average earning assets, interest income and cost of funds during the period.
Year Ended
Less: Average Balance of PPP Loans (7,942) (237,951)
Adjusted Earning Asset Yield, net of PPP Impact 4.00 % 3.21 %
Less: Average Balance of PPP Loans (7,942) (237,951)
Less: PPP Cost of Funds (20) (595)
Adjusted Cost of Funds, net of PPP Impact 0.60 % 0.26 %
Net Interest Margin FTE, net of PPP Impact 3.40 % 2.95 %
Net Income
Net income was $93.8 million in 2023, a decrease of $10.1 million, or 9.7%, versus net income of $103.8 million in 2022. The decrease in net income from 2022 to 2023 was driven by an increase in noninterest expense of $20.5 million, or 18.6% and a decrease in net interest income of $5.9 million, or 2.9%. Offsetting these decreases was an increase in noninterest expense of $8.0 million, or 19.1%, and a decrease in the provision for credit losses of $3.5 million, or 37.6%.
The increases to noninterest expense and noninterest income were a result of the wire fraud loss and related insurance and loss recoveries and adjustments to salaries and employee benefits expense recorded by the Company during 2023. The wire fraud loss, which occurred during the second quarter of 2023, was $18.1 million and was the primary driver of the increase to noninterest expense. Insurance and loss recoveries associated with the event of $6.3 million were recorded as noninterest income during the fourth quarter of 2023. Salaries and employee benefits expense was reduced by $1.4 million as a result of adjustments to the Company's long term incentive accrual due to the negative impact of the loss on the Company's net income for the year.
Core operational profitability, a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes the impact of the wire fraud loss and related insurance and loss recoveries as well as adjustments to the Company's salaries and employee benefits expense, was $101.6 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, a decrease of $2.2 million, or 2.2%, from the comparable period of 2022. Core operational diluted earnings per common share, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, was $3.95, also a decrease of 2.2%, from the comparable period of 2022.
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Net income was $103.8 million in 2022, an increase of $8.1 million, or 8.4%, versus net income of $95.7 million in 2021. The increase in net income from 2021 to 2022 was primarily due to an increase in net interest income of $24.8 million, or 13.9%, and an increase in the provision for credit losses of $8.3 million, or 770.5%. Noninterest expense increased $5.9 million, or 5.7%, and noninterest income decreased $2.9 million, or 6.4%. Net interest income for 2022 included $772,000 in PPP interest and fee income, compared to $14.9 million for 2021. The increase in provision expense for 2022 was driven primarily by the downgrade of a single commercial relationship, with the remaining increase attributable to loan growth.
Net Interest Income
The following table presents a three-year average balance sheet and, for each major asset and liability category, its related interest income and yield or its expense and rate for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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THREE YEAR AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET AND NET INTEREST ANALYSIS
Earning Assets
Loans:
Investments: (3)
Nonearning Assets
Interest Bearing Liabilities
Time deposits:
Noninterest Bearing Liabilities
Interest Margin Recap
(1)Loan fees are included as taxable loan interest income. Net loan fees attributable to PPP loans were $10,000, $692,000 and $12.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
(2)Nonaccrual loans are included in the average balance of taxable loans.
(3)Tax exempt income was converted to a fully taxable equivalent basis at a 21 percent tax rate. The tax equivalent rate for tax exempt loans and tax exempt securities acquired after January 1, 1983 included the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (“TEFRA”) adjustment applicable to nondeductible interest expenses. Taxable equivalent basis adjustments were $5.3 million, $5.6 million and $3.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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The following table shows fluctuations in net interest income attributable to changes in the average balances of assets and liabilities and the yields earned or rates paid for the years ended December 31.
NET INTEREST INCOME – RATE/VOLUME ANALYSIS (fully tax equivalent basis, dollars in thousands)
Attributable to Total Change Attributable to Total Change
Volume Rate Volume Rate
Interest Income (2)
Loans:
Investments:
Interest Expense
Time deposits:
Long-term borrowings and
(1)The earning assets and interest bearing liabilities used to calculate interest differentials are based on average daily balances for 2023, 2022 and 2021. The changes in net interest income are created by changes in interest rates and changes in the volumes of loans, investments, deposits and borrowings. In the table above, changes attributable to volume are computed using the change in volume from the prior year multiplied by the previous year’s rate, and changes attributable to rate are computed using the change in rate from the prior year multiplied by the previous year’s volume. The change in interest or expense due to both rate and volume has been allocated between factors in proportion to the relationship of the absolute dollar amounts of the change in each.
(2)Tax exempt income was converted to a fully taxable equivalent basis at a 21 percent tax rate. The tax equivalent rate for tax exempt loans and tax exempt securities acquired after January 1, 1983 included the TEFRA adjustment applicable to nondeductible interest expense.
Net interest income decreased by $5.9 million to $197.0 million in 2023 compared to $202.9 million in 2022, primarily as a result of increased funding costs. Total interest expense increased $109.6 million, or 298.7%. Of this increase, deposit interest expense increased $101.5 million, or 279.8%, as a result of increased rates paid for customer deposits and a shift in deposit mix from noninterest bearing deposits to interest bearing deposits. Funding costs for deposits increased 183 basis points to 2.46% during 2023, a 290.5% increase compared to 0.63% during 2022. Average noninterest bearing deposits decreased $367.5 million, or 19.9%, to $1.48 billion for 2023 as compared to $1.84 billion for 2022. Average interest bearing deposits increased $254.3 million, or 6.6%, to $4.13 billion for 2023 as compared to $3.87 billion for 2022. Contributing further to the increased funding costs was an increase in borrowings expense of $8.0 million, as a result of increased average short-term borrowings to meet the Company's funding needs. Average wholesale funding reliance remained low at 2.90% as of December 31, 2023 compared to 0.70% at December 31, 2022.
Investment securities interest income decreased $4.1 million, or 12.3%, and contributed to the decline in net interest income during 2023. The decrease in investment securities income was driven by a decrease in average securities balances of $247.6 million, or 17.3%, during 2023 as a result of available-for-sale investment securities sales of $105.2 million, maturities, calls and paydowns of $71.8 million, and offset by purchases of CRA securities of $7.2 million. Realized losses of $25,000
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were recognized on the securities sales during 2023. The yield on average investment securities increased 15 basis points to 2.86% for 2023, as compared to 2.71% for 2022, partially offsetting the impact of the decrease in securities average balances.
An increase in loans interest income offset the negative impacts to net interest income, increasing $104.3 million, or 51.2%, to $308.0 million during 2023 compared to $203.7 million during 2022. The increase in average loans was driven by loan growth during the period as average loan balances increased $386.5 million, or 8.7%, from $4.43 billion during 2022 to $4.81 billion during 2023. An increase in loan yields of 181 basis points, or 39.3%, from 4.61% for 2022 to 6.42% for 2023 as a result of continued Federal Reserve tightening during 2023 and loan repricing opportunities.
As a result of these effects, net interest margin decreased 9 basis points to 3.31% in 2023 versus 3.40% in 2022. Net interest margin increased to 3.40% in 2022 from 3.07% in 2021, driven by the dramatic tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve during 2022 and 2023 and deposit repricing to reflect the increased rate environment that lagged into 2023. Additionally, net interest margin during the year ended December 31, 2022 was positively impacted by the recognition of nonaccrual interest resulting from the interest recovery of two nonaccrual commercial borrowers during the fourth quarter of 2022. The interest recovery was from two loans placed on nonaccrual status in 2009 and 2021. The $1.9 million of nonaccrual interest income was recognized into loan interest income and contributed 3 basis points to the Company's net interest margin during 2022.
The utilization of commercial and retail lines of credit decreased to 39% at December 31, 2023, down from 42% at December 31, 2022 and 2021. However, available lines of credit have increased by $124.0 million to $4.786 billion at December 31, 2023 compared to $4.662 billion at December 31, 2022, or 2.7% growth. The decrease in line usage is attributable to the conservative approach commercial and industrial borrowers continue to take since the pandemic, due to continued elevated levels of average commercial demand deposits relative to pre-pandemic levels.
Provision for Credit Losses
The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $5.9 million in 2023 compared to $9.4 million in 2022 and $1.1 million in 2021. Provision expense during 2023 was driven primarily by increases in the qualitative and environmental risk factors for certain segments of the Company's loan portfolio that could be impacted by higher borrowing costs and potential economic weakness in the Company's markets. The remainder of expense was driven by growth in the loan portfolio during the year. The Company’s allowance for credit losses as of December 31, 2023 was $72.0 million compared to $72.6 million as of December 31, 2022 and $67.8 million as of December 31, 2021. The allowance for credit losses represented 1.46% of total loans as of December 31, 2023 versus 1.54% at December 31, 2022 and 1.58% at December 31, 2021. The company’s credit loss reserve to total loans, excluding PPP loans, which are guaranteed by the United States SBA and have not been allocated for within the allowance for credit losses, was 1.59% at December 31, 2021. The impact of PPP loans had an immaterial impact on the allowance coverage ratio at December 31, 2023 and 2022. Net charge offs of $6.5 million, or 0.13%, and $4.5 million, or 0.10% of average loans, were recorded in 2023 and 2022, respectively. The charge offs for 2023 and 2022 resulted primarily from the deterioration of a single commercial credit. Management believes the charge offs related to this credit were an isolated instance as a result of negative impacts caused by unique circumstances from the pandemic and are not reflective of deteriorating trends in the loan portfolio. The Company’s management continues to monitor the adequacy of the provision based on loan levels, asset quality, economic conditions including the impact of the increased interest rate environment, inflation levels, and other factors that may influence the assessment of the collectability of loans.
The Company adopted CECL on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the standard resulted in a day one impact to the allowance for credit losses of $9.1 million, with an offset, net of taxes, to stockholders' equity.
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Noninterest Income
The following table presents changes in the components of noninterest income for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
% Change From Prior Year
Noninterest income to total revenue 20.2 % 17.1 % 20.1 %
Noninterest income was $49.9 million in 2023 versus $41.9 million in 2022, an increase of $8.0 million, or 19.1%. Adjusted core noninterest income, which excludes the net wire fraud loss, was $43.6 million in 2023, an increase of $1.7 million, or 4.1% compared to 2022. Wealth advisory fees increased by 5.1%, or $444,000, during 2023, from $8.6 million to $9.1 million reflecting continued growth in the business and improving equity market valuations. Service charges on deposit accounts decreased by 7.1%, or $822,000, during 2023 from $11.6 million to $10.8 million due primarily to an increase to earnings allowances on business checking accounts and reduced overdraft and other deposit fees. Loan and service fees declined by 3.8%, or $464,000, during 2023 primarily due to a decline in interchange revenue due to reduced volume and spend per debit card as compared to higher trends during the pandemic. Merchant fee income improved by 2.6%, or $91,000, during 2023.
Other income increased $7.3 million, or 387.8%, due primarily to insurance and loss recoveries of $6.3 million that were recognized during the fourth quarter of 2023. Bank owned life insurance increased $2.7 million, or 625.2%, from improved performance for the Company's variable life insurance policies, which track with the performance of the equity markets. The purchase of traditional bank owned life policies in December 2022 contributed further to the increase in bank owned life insurance income. These increases were offset by decreases to mortgage banking income of $887,000, or 140.1%, and a decrease in investment brokerage fees of $503,000, or 21.7%.
Noninterest income was $41.9 million in 2022 versus $44.7 million in 2021, a decrease of $2.9 million, or 6.4%. Market value declines impacted the overall decrease in noninterest income. Bank owned life insurance income for the year ended December 31, 2022 decreased by $2.0 million, primarily due to declines in the market value of variable life insurance policies that are tied to the equity markets. A reduction of market value of $950,000 was recorded during 2022 compared to market value gains of $1.1 million for 2021. The valuation changes to the variable life insurance policies are offset by similar changes to the deferred compensation expense that is recognized in salary and employee benefits. Excluding the impact of the variable life insurance policy market value changes, noninterest income was $42.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $43.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decline of $840,000, or 2.1%. In addition, other income decreased $851,000, mortgage banking income decreased by $785,000, gains on securities sales decreased by $776,000 and interest rate swap fee income decreased by $456,000. Notably, fee-based noninterest income increased by a cumulative $2.0 million primarily due to volume, including improvements in service charges on deposit accounts of $987,000, or 9.3%, merchant and interchange fee income of $537,000, or 17.8%, investment brokerage fees of $343,000, or 17.4%, and loan and service fees of $292,000, or 2.4%. Wealth advisory fees declined by $114,000, or 1.3%, and were negatively impacted by market value declines of 8.0% in trust assets from $2.5 billion at December 31, 2021 to $2.3 billion at December 31, 2022.
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Noninterest Expense
The following table presents changes in the components of noninterest expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
% Change From Prior Year
Noninterest expense increased by $20.5 million, or 18.6%, for 2023 from $110.2 million to $130.7 million. The increase to noninterest expense during the year was driven by an $18.1 million wire fraud loss that occurred during the second quarter of 2023. Contributing to the increase in noninterest expense during 2023 was an increase to professional fees expense of $2.1 million, or 32.4%, an increase to FDIC insurance and other regulatory fees of $1.4 million, or 68.2%, from increased assessments due to a blanket increase to the assessment rate used by the FDIC to calculate premiums. Data processing fees and supplies expense increased $1.2 million, or 9.2%. Offsetting these increases was a decrease in other expense of $2.4 million, or 18.0%, driven by reduced accruals related to ongoing litigation matters. Adjusted core noninterest expense, a non-GAAP measure, which excludes the impact of the wire fraud loss and corresponding adjustments to salaries and employee benefits, was $114.0 million during 2023, an increase of $3.8 million, or 3.5%, compared to 2022.
Noninterest expense increased by $5.9 million, or 5.7%, for 2022, to $110.2 million compared to $104.3 million for 2021. The increase was due primarily to an increase of $4.2 million in other expense caused by accruals for ongoing legal matters of $3.5 million. See "Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" for additional details regarding loss contingencies. Corporate and business development expense increased $936,000, or 22.0%, driven by increased corporate development spending, advertising expense and charitable and foundation contributions, including contributions associated with the Company's sesquicentennial celebration. Salaries and benefits expense increased $648,000, or 1.1%. Offsetting these increases was a decrease in professional fees of $581,000, or 8.2%, due to a decrease in legal expense incurred during the year. FDIC insurance and other regulatory fee expense decreased by $243,000, or 10.8%, due to declining deposits and reduced total assets of the Company.
Income Taxes
The Company recognized income tax expense in 2023 of $16.6 million, compared to $21.3 million in 2022 and $21.7 million in 2021. The effective tax rate was 15.0% in 2023, compared to 17.1% in 2022 and 18.5% in 2021. The effective tax rate declined due to negative impact of the wire fraud loss and related effects on net income, which lowered income tax expense by $2.6 million for 2023. Additionally, changes to the Indiana Financial Institution Tax rate to 4.9% in 2023, 5.0% in 2022 and 5.5% in 2021, as well as tax-free interest income from municipal securities and loans during 2023 contributed to the decreased effective tax rate. For a detailed analysis of the Company’s income taxes see "Note 12 – Income Taxes".
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CERTAIN STATISTICAL DISCLOSURES BY BANK HOLDING COMPANIES
We are required to provide certain statistical disclosures as a bank holding company under the SEC's Industry Guide 3. The following table provides certain of those disclosures.
Year ended December 31,
Return on average assets is computed by dividing net income by average assets for each indicated fiscal year. Average assets is computed by adding total assets as of each date during the indicated fiscal year and dividing by the number of days in the fiscal year.
Return on average total equity is computed by dividing net income by average equity for each indicated fiscal year. Average equity is computed by adding the total equity attributable to the Company as of each date during the indicated fiscal year and dividing by the number of days in the fiscal year.
Average equity to average assets is computed by dividing average equity by average assets for each indicated fiscal year, as calculated in accordance with the previous explanation.
Dividend payout ratio is computed by dividing dividends declared per common share by earnings per diluted common share for each indicated fiscal year. The dividend payout ratio increased to 50.4% for 2023 as compared to prior periods due to the wire fraud loss and its negative impact to net income.
Refer to the "Financial Condition - Loan Portfolio", "Financial Condition - Sources of Funds" and "Risk Management - Loan Portfolio" sections of this MD&A and to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for the other required statistical disclosures.
FINANCIAL CONDITION
Overview
Total assets of the Company were $6.524 billion as of December 31, 2023, an increase of $91.7 million, or 1.4%, when compared to $6.432 billion as of December 31, 2022. Total loans outstanding increased by $206.1 million, or 4.4%, to $4.917 billion at December 31, 2023 from $4.710 billion at December 31, 2022. Total deposits increased $259.9 million, from $5.461 billion at December 31, 2022, to $5.721 billion at December 31, 2023, driven by increased commercial and public funds deposits and offset by net retail outflows.
Total cash and equivalents increased $21.5 million, to $151.8 million at December 31, 2023 from $130.3 million at December 31, 2022. Total investment securities decreased by $132.1 million, to $1.182 billion at December 31, 2023 from $1.314 billion at December 31, 2022. The decrease was attributable to a decrease in available-for-sale securities, which decreased by $133.8 million, primarily as a result of investment sales of $105.2 million and maturities, calls and paydowns of $71.8 million, and offset by purchases of $7.2 million and improvement in fair market valuations of $40.7 million. Losses of $25,000 were realized from the sale of available-for-sale securities in 2023. Total borrowings decreased at December 31, 2023, as a result of the liquidity provided by increased levels of deposits at period end and cash inflows from the investment securities portfolio. Total borrowings decreased by $247.0 million to $50.0 million at December 31, 2023 compared to $297.0 million at December 31, 2022.
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Uses of Funds
Investment Portfolio
At year end 2023, 2022 and 2021, there were no holdings of securities of any one issuer, other than the U.S. government, government agencies and government sponsored agencies, in an amount greater than 10% of stockholders’ equity. See "Note 2 – Securities" for more information on these investments.
Purchases of securities available-for-sale totaled $7.2 million in 2023, $315.3 million in 2022 and $835.0 million in 2021. Growth of the investment portfolio during 2021 and 2022 served to provide an earning asset alternative for excess balance sheet liquidity stemming from increased levels of liquidity provided by government stimulus programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the recent Federal Reserve monetary tightening cycle starting in March of 2022, the Company deployed $250 million of excess liquidity to the investment securities portfolio during 2022 and $652 million in 2021 to preserve net interest margin. Investment securities represented 18.1% of total assets on December 31, 2023 compared to 20.4% on December 31, 2022 and 21.3% on December 31, 2021. Management expects the investment securities portfolio as a percentage of assets to decrease over time and return to historical levels of approximately 12%-14% during 2014 to 2020 as the proceeds from paydowns and maturities of these investment securities provide liquidity to fund future loan growth.
On April 1, 2022, the Company elected to transfer $151.4 million in net book value of municipal bonds from the available-for-sale securities portfolio to held-to-maturity as an overall balance sheet management strategy. The fair value of these securities transferred was $127.0 million.
Securities sales totaled $105.2 million in 2023, $25.3 million in 2022 and $14.0 million in 2021. Paydowns from prepayments and scheduled payments of $56.2 million, $98.8 million and $113.1 million were received in 2023, 2022 and 2021, and the amortization of premiums, net of the accretion of discounts, was $4.9 million, $6.3 million and $5.0 million, respectively. Maturities and calls of securities totaled $13.6 million, $9.3 million and $24.7 million in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. No provision for allowance for credit loss was recorded in connection with the investment securities portfolio in 2023, 2022 or 2021. The investment portfolio is managed to provide for an appropriate balance between liquidity, credit risk and investment return and to limit the Company’s exposure to risk to an acceptable level. The longer duration of the investment security portfolio serves to balance the shorter duration of the loan portfolio.
The weighted average yields and maturity distribution for the securities portfolio at December 31, 2023, were as follows:
The Company does not trade or invest in or sponsor certain unregistered investment companies defined as hedge funds and private equity funds in the Volcker Rule.
Real Estate Mortgage Loans Held-For-Sale
Real estate mortgages held-for-sale increased by $801,000 to $1.2 million at December 31, 2023 from $357,000 at December 31, 2022 as a result of fluctuations in secondary market sales activity. This asset category is subject to a high degree of variability depending on, among other things, recent mortgage loan rates and the quantity and timing of loan sales into the secondary market. The Company generally sells almost all of the conforming mortgage loans it originates in the secondary market. Proceeds from sales totaled $8.0 million in 2023, $36.5 million in 2022 and $126.4 million in 2021.
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Loan Portfolio
The loan portfolio by class as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 was as follows:
Commercial and industrial loans:
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans:
Agri-business and agricultural loans:
Consumer 1-4 family mortgage loans:
Residential construction and land development loans 8,421 19,249 11,921
The ratio of loans to total loans by portfolio segment as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 was as follows:
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans 49.54 46.23 45.56
Agri-business and agricultural loans 7.90 9.17 10.39
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In 2023, net loan balances increased by $206.8 million to $4.845 billion, and excludes approximately $8.6 million in loans originated for sale. In 2022, net loan balances increased by $417.7 million to $4.638 billion, and excluded approximately $28.7 million in loans originated for sale. In 2021, net loan balances decreased by $367.7 million to $4.220 billion, and excluded approximately $119.4 million in loans originated for sale.
The mix of The Company's loan portfolio consists primarily of commercial loans, and the Bank's lending focus is on the commercial sector of the Lake City Bank footprint. Owner occupied commercial real estate loans represent in many instances the buildings and factories of our commercial and industrial borrowers. Commercial and industrial loans together with owner occupied commercial real estate loans represented 45.7% and 47.8% of total loans as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company has limited exposure to commercial office space borrowers, all of which are located in the Bank's Indiana markets. Loans totaling $71.2 million for this sector represented 1.5% of total loans at December 31, 2023. Loans to the agriculture and agri-business sector of our Indiana footprint represent a significant loan segment of the overall loan portfolio. This loan segment is well diversified with loans to corn, soybean, poultry, dairy, swine, beef and egg growers.
The residential construction and land development loans class included construction loans totaling $1.0 million and $12.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. Increases in consumer loans during 2023 resulted from an increased focus on indirect lending to consumers and the introduction of a new adjustable rate mortgage product. The Bank generally sells conforming mortgage loans, which it originates locally, into the secondary market. These loans generally represent mortgage loans that are made to clients with long-term or substantial relationships with the Bank on terms consistent with secondary market requirements. The loan classifications are based on the nature of the loans as of the loan origination date. There were no foreign loans included in the loan portfolio for the periods presented.
Repricing opportunities of the loan portfolio occur either according to predetermined float rate indices, adjustable rate schedules included in the related loan agreements or upon maturity of each principal payment. The following table indicates the scheduled maturities of the loan portfolio as of December 31, 2023:
At maturity, credits are reviewed and, if renewed, are renewed at rates and conditions that prevail at the time of maturity.
Based upon the table above, all loans due after one year which have a predetermined interest rate and loans due after one year which have floating or adjustable interest rates as of December 31, 2023 amounted to $2.290 billion and $1.188 billion, respectively.
Bank Owned Life Insurance
Bank owned life insurance increased by $707,000 to $109.1 million at December 31, 2023 and by $10.8 million to $108.4 million at December 31, 2022 from $97.7 million at December 31, 2021. The increase during 2023 was primarily due to increased income from traditional policies purchased in December 2022 and from improved market performance of the Bank's variable bank owned life insurance policies which track with the performance of the equity markets. The increase during 2022 was primarily due to the purchase of life insurance policies on officers of the Bank. Bank owned life insurance investment income is used as an offset to the cost of life insurance purchased by the Bank as a benefit for bank officers.
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Sources of Funds
The average daily deposits and borrowings together with the average rates paid on those deposits and borrowings for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are summarized in the following table:
(dollars in thousands) Balance Rate Balance Rate Balance Rate 2023 2022
Savings and transaction accounts:
Time deposits:
Time deposits as of December 31, 2023 will mature as follows:
(dollars in thousands) $100,000or more $100,000 or less Total % of Total
Deposits
Deposits by portfolio segment for December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are presented below:
Total deposits increased by $259.9 million to $5.721 billion, at December 31, 2023 compared to $5.461 billion at December 31, 2022. The increase in deposits was attributable to increases in commercial and public fund deposits. Commercial deposits increased $141.2 million, or 6.8% and represented 38.9% and 38.2% of total deposits at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Public fund deposits increased $133.1 million, or 9.3% and represented 27.3% and 26.1% of total deposits at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Additionally, brokered deposits increased $125.4 million, and represented 2.4% and 0.3% of total deposits at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Retail deposits decreased $139.8 million, or 7.2%, and represented 31.4% and 35.4% of deposits at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decline in retail deposits represents a continued utilization of retail deposits from peak savings levels during 2021.
Total deposits decreased by $274.8 million to $5.461 billion, at December 31, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021. The decrease in deposits was attributable to a decrease in core deposits. Total deposit contraction was led by a decrease of $243.7 million, or 11.2%, in retail deposits. In addition, commercial deposits decreased $176.3 million, or 7.8%, while public funds deposits increased by $145.2 million, or 11.3%. The decrease in deposits during 2022 reflects the normalization of excess
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liquidity in our customer's deposit accounts and occurred primarily during the fourth quarter of 2022. Rising inflation is considered a contributor to the decline in deposits during 2022 after the surge in deposits experienced during 2020 and 2021 from PPP funding and COVID-related stimulus programs.
As previously noted, 27.3% of the Company’s deposit base is attributable to public fund entities which consist primarily of customers in the Company’s geographic footprint. A majority of public fund balances represent customers with operating accounts at the Bank. The public fund segment is a stable source of deposit funding and a focus in the treasury management area due to their business needs. A shift in funding away from public fund deposits could require the Company to execute alternative funding plans under the Contingency Funding Plan discussed in further detail under “Liquidity Risk”.
FHLB Advances and OtherBorrowings
During 2023, average total short-term borrowings increased by $160.3 million to $166.8 million. Ending balances of short-term and miscellaneous borrowings decreased to $50.0 million at December 31, 2023 compared to $297.0 million at December 31, 2022. Average total long-term borrowings decreased by $32.1 million to zero, as no long-term FHLB advances were outstanding during 2023.
During 2022, average total short-term borrowings increased by $6.2 million to $6.6 million, as the Company's excess liquidity position normalized after experiencing a reduction in cash and short-term investments. Ending balances of short-term and miscellaneous borrowings increased to $297.0 million at December 31, 2022, from zero at December 31, 2021. Average total long-term borrowings decreased by $42.9 million to $32.1 million, due to the repayment of an outstanding long-term advance during the second quarter of 2022.
Capital
The Company believes that a strong, appropriately managed capital position is critical to support continued growth of loans and earnings. Capital is used primarily to fund continued organic loan growth and to support dividends to shareholders. The Company had a total risk-based capital ratio of 15.47%, a Tier I risk-based capital ratio of 14.21% and a common Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 14.21% as of December 31, 2023. These ratios met or exceeded the Federal Reserve Bank’s “well-capitalized” minimums of 10.0%, 8.0% and 6.5%, respectively. The Company also had a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 11.82% and a tangible equity ratio of 9.91%. When excluding the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on tangible common equity, the Company's adjusted tangible common equity to adjusted tangible assets was 11.99%. See "Note 15 – Capital Requirements and Restrictions on Retained Earnings" for more information.
The ability to maintain these ratios is a function of the balance between net income and a prudent dividend policy. Total stockholders’ equity increased by 14.2% to $649.8 million as of December 31, 2023 from $568.9 million as of December 31, 2022. The Company earned $93.8 million in 2023 and $103.8 million in 2022. The Company declared cash dividends of $1.84 per share in 2023, which decreased equity by $47.1 million. The Company declared cash dividends of $1.60 per share in 2022, which decreased equity by $40.9 million. Total stockholder's equity has been impacted by declines in the market value of the Company's available-for-sale investment securities portfolio. The market value decline, resulting from higher interest rate environment, has generated unrealized losses in the available-for-sale portfolio. Unrealized losses from the available-for-sale investment securities portfolio are recorded, net of tax, in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the statement of stockholders' equity. Improvements in the fair value of available-for-sale securities and net defined pension plan gains positively impacted equity by $33.7 million in 2023 compared to a decrease of $205.0 million in 2022. The impact to equity due to other comprehensive income (loss) is not included in regulatory capital.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Overview
The Company, with the oversight of the Corporate Risk Committee of the board of directors, has developed a company-wide risk management program intended to help identify, manage and mitigate the various business risks it faces. Following is a discussion addressing the risks identified as most significant to the Company – Credit, Liquidity, Interest Rate and Market Risk. Item 7A. includes additional discussion about market risk.
Credit Risk
Credit risk represents the risk of loss arising from an obligor’s inability or failure to meet contractual payment or performance terms. Our primary credit risks result from lending and to a lesser extent, investment activities.
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Investment Portfolio
The Company’s investment portfolio consists of U.S. treasuries, government agencies and municipal bonds subject to an investment security policy that is approved annually by the board of directors. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s investment in U.S government sponsored mortgage-backed securities represented approximately 38% of total investment securities fair value consisting of mortgage pools issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities are each guaranteed by their respective agencies as to principal and interest. All mortgage securities purchased by the Company in 2023 were within risk tolerances for price, prepayment, extension and original life risk characteristics contained in the Company’s investment policy. As of December 31, 2023, all mortgage-backed securities were performing in a manner consistent with management’s expectations at time of purchase. Municipal securities represent 52% of total investment securities fair value as of December 31, 2023 and were rated investment grade at the time of purchase and continue to be rated investment grade. The Company uses analytics provided by its third party portfolio advisor to evaluate and monitor credit risk for all investments on a quarterly basis. Based upon these analytics as of December 31, 2023, the securities in the combined available-for-sale and held-to-maturity portfolios had an effective duration of approximately 6.5 years. The analysis indicated a negative 18.1% change in market value in the event of a 300 basis point upward, instantaneous rate shock and an approximate positive 6.5% change in market value in the event of a 100 basis point downward, instantaneous rate shock.
Loan Portfolio
The Company has a high percentage of commercial and commercial real estate loans extended to businesses with a broad range of revenue and within a wide variety of industries. Traditionally, this type of lending may have more credit risk than other types of lending because of the size and diversity of the credits. The Company manages this risk by utilizing conservative credit structures, adjusting its pricing to the perceived risk of each individual credit, diversifying the portfolio by customer, product, industry and market area and by obtaining personal loan guarantees.
There were no loan concentrations within industries, which exceeded ten percent of total loans, except commercial real estate. Commercial real estate was $2.438 billion, or 49.5%, of total loans at December 31, 2023. The owner occupied commercial real estate portfolio generally represents the financing of factories and operational facilities for the Bank's commercial and industrial borrowers. The Company’s in-house lending limit is $40.0 million. Manufacturing loans are included in the commercial and industrial loans total and are well diversified by industry. Agri-business and agricultural loans represent 7.9% of total loans as of December 31, 2023 and are not concentrated to any agricultural sector. Substantially all of the Bank’s commercial, industrial, agricultural real estate mortgage, real estate construction mortgage and consumer loans are made within its geographic market areas and to diverse industries. When segmenting the Bank's loan portfolio by North American Industry Classification System code as of December 31, 2023, the largest segments are multifamily housing, agriculture, industrial warehouses and the recreational vehicle industry which represented 11%, 9%, 4% and 4% of total loans, respectively.
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The following is a summary of nonperforming loans on an amortized cost basis as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Commercial and industrial loans
Past due accruing loans (90 days or more) 0 1
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans
Past due accruing loans (90 days or more) 0 0
Agri-business and agricultural loans
Past due accruing loans (90 days or more) 0 0
Subtotal nonperforming loans 100 145
Other commercial loans
Past due accruing loans (90 days or more) 0 0
Nonaccrual loans 0 0
Subtotal nonperforming loans 0 0
Consumer 1-4 family mortgage loans
Past due accruing loans (90 days or more) 27 122
Subtotal nonperforming loans 858 603
Other consumer loans
Past due accruing loans (90 days or more) 0 0
Subtotal nonperforming loans 112 209
Ratio:
Nonperforming loans to total loans 0.32 % 0.36 %
Nonperforming assets of the Company include nonperforming loans (as indicated above), nonaccrual investments, other real estate owned and repossessions, the total of which amounted to $16.1 million and $17.2 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Nonperforming loans remained stable at 0.3% of total loans at December 31, 2023 compared to 0.4% at December 31, 2022. Nonperforming loans decreased by $1.4 million during 2023, due to the net activity of charge offs, paydowns and upgrades. One commercial relationship placed on nonaccrual during 2023 subsequently received a modification to loan terms due to financial difficulty experienced by the borrower.
Loans for which the borrower appears to be unable or unwilling to repay its debt in full or on time, and the collateral is insufficient to cover all principal and accrued interest, will be reclassified as nonperforming to the extent they are unsecured, on or before the date when the loan becomes 90 days delinquent, with the exception of small dollar other consumer loans which are not placed on nonaccrual status since these loans are charged-off when they have been delinquent from 90 to 180 days, and when the related collateral, if any, is not sufficient to offset the indebtedness. When a loan is classified as a nonaccrual loan, interest on the loan is no longer accrued, all unpaid accrued interest is reversed and interest income is subsequently recorded only to the extent cash payments are received. Accrual status is resumed when all contractually due payments are brought current and future payments are reasonably assured.
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A loan is individually analyzed when full payment under the original loan terms is not expected. Reserves are evaluated in total for smaller-balance loans of similar nature not in nonaccrual status such as residential mortgage, consumer, and credit card loans, and on an individual loan basis for other loans including material modifications made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty. If a loan is individually analyzed, a portion of the allowance may be allocated so that the loan is reported, net, at the present value of estimated future cash flow or at the fair value of collateral if repayment is expected solely from the collateral.
Total nonperforming loans were $15.7 million, or 0.32% of total loans, at December 31, 2023 versus $17.1 million, or 0.36% of total loans, at December 31, 2022. There were 33 relationships totaling $16.1 million classified as individually analyzed as of December 31, 2023 versus 39 relationships totaling $31.3 million at the end of 2022. The decrease in individually analyzed loans during 2023 resulted primarily from the payoff of two large commercial relationships and the partial charge off of another commercial relationship. Paydowns and upgrades of other individually analyzed loans further contributed to the decrease for individually analyzed loans for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Loans renegotiated as modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty are those loans for which the Company modifies the terms of loans for borrowers experiencing financial distress by providing the following forms of relief: forgiveness of loan principal, extension of repayment terms, reduction of interest rate or an other than insignificant payment delay. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, there were three loans to three financially distressed commercial borrowers with balances totaling $4.4 million at December 31, 2023 that received such modifications. The Company has no material commitments to lend additional funds to these borrowers. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, no loan modifications were made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.
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The following is a summary of the credit loss experience for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Loans charged-off:
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans 0 597 70
Agri-business and agricultural loans 0 0 0
Other commercial loans 0 0 0
Recoveries of loans previously charged-off:
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans 322 277 14
Agri-business and agricultural loans 0 0 320
Other commercial loans 0 0 0
Provision for credit loss charged to expense 5,850 9,375 1,077
Ratios:
Net charge offs (recoveries) to average daily loans outstanding:
Commercial and industrial loans 0.13 % 0.09 % 0.09 %
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans (0.01) 0.01 0.00
Agri-business and agricultural loans 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total ratio of net charge offs (recoveries) 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.09 %
Allowance for credit losses on loans to:
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The following is a summary of the allocation for credit losses as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Allocated allowance for credit losses:
Commercial real estate and multi-family residential loans 31,335 27,394
Agri-business and agricultural loans 4,150 4,429
Total allocated allowance for credit losses 71,600 72,052
Unallocated allowance for credit losses 372 554
Total allowance for credit losses $ 71,972 $ 72,606
At December 31, 2023, the allowance for credit losses was 1.46% of total loans outstanding, versus 1.54% of total loans outstanding at December 31, 2022. Management believes the allowance for credit losses is at a level commensurate with the overall risk exposure of the loan portfolio. The process of identifying expected credit losses is a subjective process. Therefore, the Company maintains a general allowance to cover expected credit losses within the entire portfolio. The methodology management uses to determine the adequacy of the credit loss reserve includes the considerations below.
Loans are charged against the allowance for credit losses when management believes that the principal is uncollectible. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. The allowance is an amount that management believes will be adequate for expected credit losses relating to specifically identified loans based on an evaluation of the loans by management, as well as other expected credit losses inherent in the loan portfolio. The evaluations take into consideration such factors as changes in the nature and volume of the loan portfolio, overall portfolio quality, review of specific problem loans, and current and forecasted economic conditions that may affect the borrower’s ability to repay. Management also considers trends in adversely classified loans based upon a monthly review of those credits. An appropriate level of qualitative and environmental allowance is determined after considering the following factors: changes in the nature and volume of the loan portfolio, overall portfolio quality, changes in collateral strength and current economic conditions that may affect the borrowers’ ability to repay. Consideration is not limited to these factors although they represent the most commonly cited factors. Federal regulations require insured institutions to classify their own assets on a regular basis. The regulations provide for three categories of classified loans: Substandard, Doubtful and Loss. The regulations also contain a Special Mention category. Special Mention is defined as loans that do not currently expose an insured institution to a sufficient degree of risk to warrant classification as Substandard, Doubtful or Loss but do possess credit deficiencies or potential weaknesses deserving management’s close attention. The Company’s policy is to establish a specific allowance for credit losses for any assets where management has identified conditions or circumstances that indicate an asset is nonperforming. If an asset or portion thereof is classified as loss, the Company’s policy is to either establish specific allocations for credit losses in the amount of 100% of the portion of the asset classified loss or charge off such amount.
At December 31, 2023, on the basis of management’s review of the loan portfolio, the Company had68credits totaling $183.1 million on the classified loan list versus 58 credits totaling $161.0 million on December 31, 2022. These amounts represent outstanding balances, excluding deferred fees and costs. While the increase in classified loans during 2023 raises concern for the potential for an economic slowdown in the Company's Indiana footprint, it has not translated to broader loan quality issues in the portfolio as the ratio of watch list loans as a percentage of total loans remains near historic lows and was accompanied by a reduction in nonperforming loans during 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $143.6 million of assets classified as Special Mention, $39.4 million classified as Substandard, $0 classified as Doubtful and $0 classified as Loss as compared to $115.7 million, $45.3 million, $0 and $0, respectively, at December 31, 2022. The balances reported in "Note 4 – Allowance for Credit Losses and Credit Quality" include deferred fees and costs.
Included in the classified loan amounts above for December 31, 2023 were loans receiving modifications due to financial difficulty experienced by the borrower during the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 for three commercial loans to three commercial borrowers totaling $4.4 million million with total allocations of $2.3 million. There were no loan modifications made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty during the twelve months ended December 31, 2022.
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Allowance estimates are developed by management taking into account actual loss experience, subject to a floor, adjusted for current economic conditions and a reasonably supportable forecast period. The Company has regular discussions regarding this methodology with regulatory authorities. Allowance estimates are considered a prudent measurement of the risk in the Company's loan portfolio based upon loan segment. In accordance with accounting guidance, the allowance is based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectibility of the reported amounts. For a more thorough discussion of the allowance for credit losses methodology see the "Critical Accounting Policies" section of this Item 2.
The allowance for credit losses decreased 0.9%, or $634,000, from $72.6 million at December 31, 2022 to $72.0 million at December 31, 2023 due primarily to net charge offs of $6.5 million and offset by provision expense of $5.9 million recorded during 2023. Pooled loan allocations increased $5.6 million from $58.2 million at December 31, 2022 to $63.8 million at December 31, 2023. The unallocated component of the allowance for credit losses was $372,000 at December 31, 2023, which decreased from $554,000 reported at December 31, 2022. The unallocated component of the allowance for credit losses incorporates the Company’s judgmental determination of expected losses that may not be fully reflected in other allocations.
The Company has experienced organic growth in total loans over the last several years with an increase in gross loans of $206.5 million, or 4.4%, from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2023. This growth is primarily concentrated in the commercial loan portfolio, which can result in overall asset quality being influenced by a small number of credits. Management has historically considered growth and portfolio composition when determining credit loss allocations. Management believes that it is prudent to continue to provide for credit losses in a manner consistent with its historical approach due to the loan growth described above and current economic conditions.
Watch list loans increased $22.1 million to $183.1 million as of December 31, 2023, compared to $161.0 million at December 31, 2022, or an increase of 13.7%. Watch list loans represent 3.7% of total loans at December 31, 2023 compared to a historical low of 3.4% at December 31, 2022. PPP loans outstanding of $1.3 million and $1.5 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, had an immaterial impact on these asset quality ratios. The increase in watch list loans resulted primarily from downgraded credits of approximately $112.4 million and offset by upgrades of approximately $55.8 million in addition to paydowns to watch list credits. The Company's continued growth strategy promotes diversification among industries as well as continued focus on the enforcement of a disciplined credit culture and a conservative posture in loan work-out situations.
Liquidity Risk
Liquidity risk arises from the possibility that the Company may not be able to satisfy current or future financial commitments or may become unduly reliant on alternative funding sources. Liquidity is monitored and closely managed by the ALCO Committee.
Management maintains a liquidity position that it believes will adequately provide funding for loan demand and deposit run-off that may occur in the normal course of business. The liquidity structure is expressly detailed in the Company’s Contingency Funding Plan, which is discussed below. The Company relies on a number of different sources in order to meet these potential liquidity demands. The primary sources are increases in deposit accounts and cash flows from loan payments and the securities portfolio. The cash flow from the securities portfolio is expected to provide approximately $103.9 million of potential contingent funding in 2024.
The Bank had total available sources of liquidity totaling $3.4 billion at December 31, 2023 compared to $3.0 billion at December 31, 2022. The Company has approval of $3.593 billion in secondary funding sources available as of December 31, 2023, of which $185.4 million was utilized. The Company had $325.0 million of availability in federal funds lines with eleven correspondent banks, of which none was drawn on as of December 31, 2023. The Company has board of directors approval to borrow up to $800.0 million at the FHLB, but given the Company’s current collateral structure and outstanding borrowings as of December 31, 2023, the Company could have only borrowed up to $574.9 million under this authority. The Company has additional collateral that could be pledged to the FHLB of $8.4 million as of December 31, 2023 to generate additional liquidity. Further, the Company had available capacity at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago of up to $1.259 billion given its current collateral structure at the Federal Reserve Bank discount window program and the terms of that facility at December 31, 2023, with no balances outstanding at December 31, 2023. During 2023 the Company also became eligible to borrow funds under the Federal Reserve Bank's Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP); available capacity secured by pledged eligible investment securities was $150.5 million with no outstanding balance at December 31, 2023. The BTFP is scheduled to expire in March 2024. The Company also has established relationships in the brokered time deposit and brokered money market sectors, as well as the IntraFi Network CDARS One-Way Buy program, to access these funds when desired with settlement of funds in one to two weeks’ time. Additionally, the Bank has entered agreements with IntraFi Network relative to their Insured
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Cash Sweep One-Way Buy program. As of December 31, 2023, the total amount available to the Bank via this program was $100.0 million, of which $10.0 million was drawn. The Bank is also a member of the American Financial Exchange (AFX) where overnight fed funds purchased can be obtained from other banks on the exchange that have approved the Bank for an unsecured, overnight line. These funds are only available if the approving banks have an ‘offer’ out to sell that day. As of December 31, 2023, the total amount approved for the Bank via AFX banks was $319.0 million and none was outstanding at year end.
The Company had 90% of its securities in the available-for-sale portfolio at December 31, 2023, allowing the Company extensive flexibility to sell securities to meet funding demands. The remaining portion of investments securities were designated as held-to-maturity. Management believes the majority of the securities in investment portfolio are of high quality and marketable. Approximately 48% of this portfolio is comprised of U.S. government agency securities or mortgage-backed securities directly or indirectly backed by the U.S. government. At December 31, 2023, 92% of municipal securities owned by the Company were AAA or AA rated with a diversified geography of state issuer. In addition, the Company has historically sold the majority of its originated mortgage loans on the secondary market to reduce interest rate risk and to create an additional source of funding.
The Company has a formalized Contingency Funding Plan (“CFP”). The Board and management recognize the importance of liquidity during times of normal operations and in times of stress. The CFP was developed to ensure that the multiple liquidity sources available to the Company are readily available. All liquidity sources are tested annually. The CFP specifically considers liquidity at the Bank and the Company level. The CFP identifies the potential funding sources at the Bank level, which includes the FHLB, the Federal Reserve Bank, brokered deposits, one-way buy products via the IntraFi Network (CDARS and ICS) and Federal Funds. The CFP also addresses the Bank’s ability to liquidate its securities portfolio or other liquid assets. The CFP funding sources at the holding company level include a holding company committed line of credit, as well as the ability to transfer securities from the investment subsidiary of the Bank to the Company. The Company’s committed line of credit has availability up to $30.0 million, of which $0 was drawn upon as of December 31, 2023.
Further, the CFP identifies CFP team members and expressly details their respective roles. Potential risk scenarios are identified and the plan includes multiple scenarios, including short-term and long-term funding crisis situations. Under the long-term funding crisis, two additional scenarios are identified: a moderate risk scenario and a highly stressed scenario. The CFP details the responsibilities and the actions to be taken by the CFP team under each scenario. Quarterly reports to management and the Board under the CFP include an early warning indicator matrix and pro forma cash flows for the various scenarios.
The following table discloses information on the maturity of the Company’s contractual long-term obligations as of December 31, 2023.
Payments Due by Period
(dollars in thousands) Total One year or less 2-3 years 4-5 years After 5 years
During the normal course of business, the Company becomes a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in order to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments include commitments to make loans and open-ended revolving lines of credit. The Company follows the same credit policy (including requiring collateral, if deemed appropriate) to make such commitments as it follows for those loans that are recorded in its financial statements.
The Company’s exposure to credit losses in the event of nonperformance is represented by the contractual amount of the commitments. Management does not expect any significant losses as a result of these commitments. Off-balance sheet transactions are more fully discussed in "Note 17 – Commitments, Off-Balance Sheet Risks and Contingencies".
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The following table discloses information on the maturity of the Company’s commitments.
Amount of Commitment Expiration Per Period
(dollars in thousands) Total Amount Committed One year or less Over one year
Interest Rate Risk
Interest rate risk is the risk that the estimated fair value of the Company’s assets, liabilities and derivative financial instruments will decline as a result of changes in interest rates or financial market volatility, or that net income will be significantly reduced by interest rate changes.
Interest rate risk represents the Company’s primary market risk exposure. The Company does not have material exposure to foreign currency exchange risk and does not maintain a trading portfolio. The Corporate Risk Committee of the Board annually reviews and approves the ALCO policy and the Derivatives and Hedging policy used to manage interest rate risk. These policies set guidelines for balance sheet structure, which are designed to protect the Company from the impact that interest rate changes could have on net income, but it does not necessarily indicate the effect on future net interest income. Generally, the Bank is asset sensitive due to the impact of the variable rate commercial loan portfolio on the Bank's sensitivity to market rates. During 2023, asset sensitivity declined due to a shift to short-term interest bearing deposit accounts such as money market accounts. As a result, the Company expects net interest margin to remain stable in the first 25-50 basis points potential declines in the federal funds rate due to a more neutral posture for balance sheet sensitivity. Deposit re-pricing in a declining interest rate environment is expected to exceed past easing cylces. Earnings can also be affected by the monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government and its agencies, particularly the Federal Reserve Board.
During 2023 the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) increased the target federal funds rate a total of 100 basis points, following an increase of 425 basis points in 2022. Rate increases were implemented during the first half of 2023 at the January, March, May and July FOMC meetings. The combined effect of these actions increased the target federal funds rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%. The FOMC statement released for the meeting in December 2023 recognized that inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated and confirmed that the FOMC remains highly attentive to inflation risks. The updated economic projections released at the December meeting project the median federal funds rate decreasing to 4.6% in 2024 (lowering of the target federal funds rate by 75 basis points), with continued easing to 3.6% in 2025. Additionally, the longer run median forecast for the federal funds rate was left unchanged at 2.50%. The combined result of the increase in the yield on earning assets, which was more than offset by an increase in the cost of funds due to increased competition for deposits experienced during 2023, led to a decrease in net interest margin from 3.40% for 2022 to 3.31% for 2023. The Company’s yield on earning assets increased 170 basis points during 2023 as assets repriced at higher rates primarily due to the FOMC rate increases during both 2022 and 2023 and a higher yield curve for the majority of 2023 as when compared to 2022. The commercial loan portfolio represents 89% of the total loan portfolio. Approximately 64% of the commercial loan portfolio are variable rate loans which are primarily indexed to Prime, One Month Term SOFR and FHLB indices. The increase in earning asset yields was offset by an increase in the Company's funding costs, as depositors sought higher interest bearing deposit products and competition for deposits increased throughout the industry. The rate paid on deposit accounts and purchased funds increased 179 basis points for 2023. The realized increase in the rate paid on deposit accounts and purchased funds was magnified by a decrease in the average balance of non-interest bearing demand deposit accounts for 2023 verses 2022, primarily in commercial deposit accounts. The Company anticipates that cost of funds could continue to rise in 2024 if market competition for deposits continues and if noninterest bearing deposits continue to shift to interest-bearing deposit products.
Future changes in the net interest margin will be dependent upon multiple factors including further actions by the FOMC during 2024 in response to inflation, economic conditions and geopolitical concerns, the results of any of the administration’s changes to economic policy and laws, competitive pressures in the various markets served, and changes in the structure of the balance sheet as a result of changes in customer demands for products and services. In general, we expect loans to reprice quicker than deposits in a rising and falling rate environment as quantified in the sensitivity to market rates table in Item 7A.
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The effects of price changes and inflation can vary substantially for most financial institutions. While management believes that inflation affects the growth of total assets, it believes that it is difficult to assess the overall impact. Management believes this to be the case due to the fact that generally neither the timing nor the magnitude of the inflationary changes in the consumer price index (“CPI”) coincides with changes in interest rates. The price of one or more of the components of the CPI may fluctuate considerably and thereby influence the overall CPI without having a corresponding effect on interest rates or upon the cost of those goods and services normally purchased by the Company. In years of high inflation and high interest rates, intermediate and long-term interest rates tend to increase, thereby adversely impacting the market values of investment securities, mortgage loans and other long-term fixed rate loans. In addition, higher short-term interest rates caused by inflation tend to increase the cost of funds. In other years, the reverse situation may occur.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Market Risk
The Company’s primary market risk exposure is interest rate risk. The Company does not have a material exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk and does not maintain a trading portfolio.
The following table provides information regarding the Company’s financial instruments that are sensitive to changes in interest rates. For loans, securities and liabilities with contractual maturities, the table presents principal cash flows and related weighted-average interest rates by contractual maturities, as well as the Company’s assumptions relative to the impact of interest-rate fluctuations on the prepayment of certain commercial, residential and home equity loans and mortgage-backed securities. Core deposits such as noninterest bearing deposits, interest bearing checking, savings and money market deposits that have no contractual maturity, are shown based on management’s judgment and historical experience that indicates some portion of the balances are retained over time. Weighted-average variable rates are based upon rates existing at the reporting date.
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Principal/Notional Amount Maturing in:
Rate sensitive assets:
Variable interest rate securities $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
Rate sensitive liabilities:
Variable interest rate borrowings $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
Cumulative rate sensitivity ratio
The Company utilizes computer modeling software to measure interest rate risk and to stress test the balance sheet under a wide variety of interest rate scenarios. The model quantifies the income impact of changes in customer preference for products, basis risk between the assets and the liabilities that support them and the risk inherent in different yield curves as well as other factors. The ALCO committee reviews these possible outcomes and makes loan, investment and deposit decisions that maintain reasonable balance sheet structure in light of potential interest rate movements. It is the objective of the Company to monitor and manage risk exposure to net interest income caused by changes in interest rates. It is the goal of the Company’s asset/liability function to provide optimum and stable net interest income. To accomplish this, management uses two asset liability tools: GAP/Interest Rate Sensitivity Reports and Net Interest Income Simulation Modeling, which are constructed, presented and monitored quarterly. Management believes that the Company’s liquidity and interest sensitivity position at December 31, 2023, remained adequate to meet the Company’s primary goal of achieving optimum interest margins while
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avoiding undue interest rate risk. The Company places a greater level of credence in net interest income simulation modeling. The GAP/Interest Rate Sensitivity Report is believed by the Company’s management to have two major shortfalls. The GAP/Interest Rate Sensitivity Report fails to precisely gauge how often an interest rate sensitive product reprices, nor is it able to measure the magnitude of potential future rate movements. Although management does not consider GAP ratios in planning, the information can be used in a general fashion to look at asset and liability mismatches. The Company’s cumulative repricing GAP ratio as of December 31, 2023 for the next 12 months using a scenario in which interest rates remained unchanged was a negative 13.78% of earning assets.
Net interest income simulation modeling, or earnings-at-risk, measures the sensitivity of net interest income to various interest rate movements. Interest rate risk modeling is supported by liquidity risk modeling. The Company’s asset liability process monitors simulated net interest income under three separate interest rate scenarios; base, rising and falling. Estimated net interest income for each scenario is calculated over a twelve-month horizon. The immediate and parallel changes to the base case scenario used in the model are presented below. The interest rate scenarios are used for analytical purposes and do not necessarily represent management’s view of future market movements. Rather, these are intended to provide a measure of the degree of volatility interest rate movements may introduce into the earnings of the Company.
The base scenario is highly dependent on numerous assumptions embedded in the model. While the base sensitivity analysis incorporates management’s best estimate of interest rate and balance sheet dynamics under various market rate movements, the actual behavior and resulting earnings impact will likely differ from that projected. For certain assets, the base simulation model captures the expected prepayment behavior under changing interest rate environments. Assumptions and methodologies regarding the interest rate or balance behavior of indeterminate maturity core deposit products, such as savings, money market, NOW and demand deposits reflect management’s best estimate of expected future behavior.
Results for the base, falling 300 basis points, falling 200 basis points, falling 100 basis points, falling 50 basis points, falling 25 basis points, rising 25 basis points, rising 50 basis points, rising 100 basis points, rising 200 basis points, and rising 300 basis points interest rate scenarios are listed below based upon the Company’s rate sensitive assets and liabilities at December 31, 2023. The net interest income shown represents cumulative net interest income over a twelve-month time horizon.
For more information on the Company’s interest rate sensitivity see the Interest Rate Risk discussion in Item 7A. above.
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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Lakeland Financial Corporation
Warsaw, Indiana
Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Lakeland Financial Corporation (the "Company") as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income (loss), changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework: (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework: (2013) issued by COSO.
Change in Accounting Principle
As discussed in Note 4 to the financial statements, the Company has changed its method of accounting for credit losses effective January 1, 2021 due to the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification No. 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (“ASC 326”). The Company adopted the new credit loss standard using the modified retrospective method such that prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with previously applicable generally accepted accounting principles.
Basis for Opinions
The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
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Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Allowance for Credit Losses (ACL) – Qualitative Adjustments
As described in Notes 1 and 4 to the consolidated financial statements and referred to in the change in accounting principle explanatory paragraph above, the Company adopted ASC 326 as of January 1, 2021, which among other things, required the Company to recognize expected credit losses over the contractual lives of financial asset carried at amortized costs, including loans receivables, utilizing the Current Expected Credit Losses (“CECL”) methodology. As of December 31, 2023, the ACL balance was $71,972,000. Estimates of expected credit losses are based on relevant information about current conditions, past events, and reasonable and supportable forward-looking forecasts regarding collectability of the reported amounts. The Company utilized a Probability of Default/ Loss Given Default model derived from historical charge-off data to construct a loss rate for each identified loan segment. The loss rates, subject to a floor, are then adjusted, for reasonable and supportable forecasts of relevant economic indicators as well as other environmental factors based on the risks present for each portfolio segment. The environmental factors (“qualitative adjustments”) include consideration of economic conditions and portfolio trends.
We have identified auditing the qualitative adjustments as a critical audit matter as management’s determination of the qualitative adjustments used in the ACL is subjective and involves significant management judgments; and our audit procedures related to the qualitative adjustments involved a high degree of auditor judgment and required significant audit effort, including the need to involve more experienced audit personnel.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
•Testing the effectiveness of controls over the qualitative adjustments used in the ACL calculation including controls addressing the:
◦Significant assumptions and judgments applied in the development of the qualitative adjustments.
◦Mathematical accuracy of the qualitative adjustments applied to the loan segments in the ACL calculation.
•Substantively testing management's determination of the qualitative adjustments used in the ACL estimate, including:
◦Testing management’s process for developing the qualitative adjustments, which included assessing the relevance and reliability of data used to develop the qualitative adjustments, including evaluating their judgments and assumptions for reasonableness. Among other procedures, our evaluation considered evidence from internal and external sources.
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◦Analytically evaluating the qualitative adjustments for directional consistency, testing for reasonableness, and obtaining evidence for significant changes.
◦Testing the mathematical accuracy of the qualitative adjustments applied to the loan segments in the ACL calculation.
/s/ Crowe LLP
Crowe LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1983.
South Bend, Indiana
February 21, 2024
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CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands, except share data)
ASSETS
Real estate mortgage loans held-for-sale 1,158 357
Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Bank Stock 21,420 15,795
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
LIABILITIES
Federal Funds purchased 0 22,000
Commitments, off-balance sheet risks and contingencies (Notes 1 and 17)
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Common stock: 90,000,000 shares authorized, no par value
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (155,195) (188,923)
Noncontrolling interest 89 89
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (in thousands, except share and per share data)
NET INTEREST INCOME
Interest and fees on loans
Interest and dividends on securities
Interest on borrowings
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR
NONINTEREST INCOME
Net securities gains (losses) (25) 21 797
NONINTEREST EXPENSE
BASIC EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE $ 3.67 $ 4.07 $ 3.76
DILUTED EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE $ 3.65 $ 4.04 $ 3.74
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (in thousands)
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Change in available-for-sale and transferred securities:
Defined benefit pension plans:
Net gain (loss) on defined benefit pension plans (13) 115 390
Amortization of net actuarial loss 59 144 242
Net gain on activity during the period 46 259 632
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (in thousands, except share and per share data)
Accumulated
Other Total
Common Stock Retained Comprehensive Treasury Stockholders’ Noncontrolling Total
Shares Amount Earnings Income (Loss) Stock Equity Interest Equity
Treasury shares purchased under deferred directors' plan (8,820) 559 (559) 0 0
Treasury shares purchased under deferred directors’ plan (7,641) 579 (579) 0 0
Treasury shares purchased under deferred directors’ plan (10,073) 575 (575) 0 0
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands)
Cash flows from operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
Net loss on sale and write down of other real estate owned 0 96 67
Amortization of loan servicing rights 0 757 2,282
Net change in loan servicing rights valuation allowance 540 (715) 0
Loans originated for sale, including participations (8,601) (28,666) (119,439)
Net (gain) loss on sale of premises and equipment 3 7 43
Gain on life insurance (131) 0 (415)
Tax benefit of stock award issuances (718) (514) (330)
Net change:
Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from sales of land, premises and equipment 13 6 8
Purchases of land, premises and equipment (5,991) (4,821) (6,167)
Proceeds from redemption of Federal Home Loan Bank stock 0 932 0
Purchases of Federal Home Loan Bank stock (5,625) (2,955) 0
Proceeds from sales of other real estate owned 0 0 946
Proceeds from life insurance 0 0 943
Cash flows from financing activities:
Payments on short-term FHLB borrowings (275,000) 0 0
Payments on long-term FHLB borrowings 0 (75,000) 0
Proceeds from long-term FHLB borrowings 0 0 0
Preferred dividends paid (13) (13) (13)
Payments related to equity incentive plan (3,135) (1,780) (1,914)
Cash paid during the year for:
Supplemental non-cash disclosures:
Loans transferred to other real estate owned 284 0 893
Property transferred to held-for-sale 0 0 0
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease liabilities 0 1,612 0
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
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NOTE 1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Nature of Operations and Principles of Consolidation:
The consolidated financial statements include Lakeland Financial Corporation (the “Holding Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Lake City Bank (the “Bank”), referred to as (the "Company"). On December 18, 2006, LCB Investments II, Inc. was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank incorporated in Nevada to manage a portion of the Bank’s investment portfolio beginning in 2007. On December 21, 2006, LCB Funding, Inc., a real estate investment trust incorporated in Maryland, was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of LCB Investments II, Inc. On December 28, 2012, LCB Risk Management, Inc., a captive insurance company incorporated in Nevada, was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Holding Company. LCB Risk Management, Inc. was dissolved as a corporate entity on December 18, 2023. All assets of the subsidiary were distributed to the Holding Company upon decommissioning. All intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation.
The Company provides financial services through the Bank, a full-service commercial bank with 53 branch offices in fifteen counties in Northern and Central Indiana. The Company provides commercial, retail, trust and investment services to its customers. Commercial products include commercial loans and technology-driven solutions to meet commercial customers’ treasury management needs such as mobile business banking and online treasury management services. Retail banking clients are provided a wide array of traditional retail banking services, including lending, deposit and investment services. Retail lending programs are focused on mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit and traditional retail installment loans. Retail customers utilize the Lake City Bank Digital application to access and transact banking transactions. The Company provides credit card services to retail and commercial customers through its retail card program and merchant processing activity. The Company provides wealth advisory and trust clients with traditional personal and corporate trust services. The Company also provides retail brokerage services, including an array of financial and investment products such as annuities and life insurance. Other financial instruments, which represent potential concentrations of credit risk, include deposit accounts in other financial institutions.
Use of Estimates:
To prepare financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), management makes estimates and assumptions based on available information. These estimates and assumptions affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and the disclosures provided and future results could differ.
Cash Flows:
Cash and cash equivalents include cash, demand deposits in other financial institutions and short-term investments and certificates of deposit with maturities of 90 days or less. Cash flows are reported net for customer loan and deposit transactions, and certain short-term borrowings.
Securities:
Securities are classified as available-for-sale when they might be sold before maturity. Securities available-for-sale are carried at fair value, with unrealized holding gains and losses reported in other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax. Securities are classified as held-to-maturity and carried at amortized cost when management has the positive intent and ability to hold them to maturity.
Purchase premiums or discounts are recognized in interest income using the interest method over the terms of the securities or over estimated lives for mortgage-backed securities. Gains and losses on sales are based on the amortized cost of the security sold and recorded on the trade date.
For securities in an unrealized loss position, management considers the extent and duration of the unrealized loss, and the financial condition and near-term prospects of the issuer. Management also assesses whether it intends to sell, or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell, a security in an unrealized loss position before recovery of its amortized cost basis. If either of the criteria regarding intent or requirement to sell is met, the entire difference between amortized cost and fair value is recognized as impairment through earnings. For debt securities that do not meet the aforementioned criteria, the Company evaluates whether the decline in fair value has resulted from credit losses or other factors. In making this assessment, management considers the extent to which fair value is less than amortized cost, nature of the security, the underlying collateral, and the financial condition of the issuer, among other factors. If this assessment indicates a credit loss exists, the present value of cash flows expected to be collected from the security are compared to the amortized cost basis of the security. If the present
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NOTE 1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)
value of cash flows expected to be collected is less than the amortized cost basis, a credit loss exists and a valuation allowance for securities losses is recorded for the credit loss, limited by the amount that the fair value is less than the amortized cost basis. Any impairment that has not been recorded through a valuation allowance for securities losses is recognized in other comprehensive income (loss).
Changes in the valuation allowance for securities losses are recorded as a component of credit loss expense. Losses are charged against the valuation allowance for securities losses when management believes the uncollectibility of the security is confirmed or when either criteria regarding intent or requirement to sell is met.
A portion of the municipal bond portfolio is classified as held-to-maturity. The Company measures expected credit losses on investment securities held-to-maturity on a collective basis by major security type with each type sharing similar risk characteristics and considers historical credit loss information that is adjusted for current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The Company considers (1) issuer bond ratings, (2) historical loss rates for given bond ratings, (3) the financial condition of the issuer, and (4) whether issuers continue to make timely principal and interest payments under the contractual terms of the securities. Historical loss rates associated with securities having similar grades as those in the Company's portfolio have been insignificant. After completing this assessment, the Company determined any credit losses as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 were not material to the consolidated financial statements.
Real Estate Mortgage Loans Held-for-Sale:
Loans held-for-sale are reported at the lower of cost or fair value on an aggregate basis. Net unrealized losses, if any, are recorded as a valuation allowance and charged to earnings.
Loan sales occur on the delivery date agreed to in the relevant commitment agreement. The Company retains servicing on the majority of loans sold. The carrying value of loans sold is reduced by the amount allocated to the servicing right. The gain or loss on the sale of loans is the difference between the carrying value of the loans sold and the funds received from the sale.
Loans:
Loans that management has the intent and ability to hold for the foreseeable future or until maturity or payoff are reported at the principal balance outstanding, net of unearned interest, deferred loan fees and costs, and an allowance for credit losses.
Interest income is reported on the interest method and includes amortization of net deferred loan fees and costs over the loan term. All classes of commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multi-family residential, agri-business and agricultural, other commercial and consumer 1-4 family mortgage loans for which collateral is insufficient to cover all principal and accrued interest are reclassified as nonaccrual loans, on or before the date when the loan becomes 90 days delinquent. When a loan is classified as a nonaccrual loan, interest on the loan is no longer accrued, all unpaid accrued interest is reversed and interest income is subsequently recorded on the cash-basis or cost-recovery method. Accrual status is resumed when all contractually due payments are brought current and future payments are reasonably assured. Other consumer loans are not placed on a nonaccrual status since these loans are charged-off when they have been delinquent from 90 to 180 days, and when the related collateral, if any, is not sufficient to offset the indebtedness. Nonaccrual loans and loans past due 90 days still on accrual include both smaller balance homogeneous loans that are collectively evaluated and individually analyzed loans.
The recorded investment in loans is the loan balance net of unamortized deferred loan fees and costs. The total amount of loans accrued interest as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $21.5 million and $18.4 million.
Allowance for Credit Losses:
The allowance for credit losses is a valuation allowance to provide for expected credit losses. Losses are charged against the allowance when management believes that the principal is uncollectible. Subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. Allocations of the allowance are made for specific loans and for pools of similar types of loans, although the entire allowance is available for any loan that, in management's judgment, should be charged against the allowance. A provision for credit losses is taken based on management's ongoing evaluation of the appropriate allowance balance. A formal evaluation of the adequacy of the credit loss allowance is conducted monthly. The ultimate recovery of all loans is susceptible to future market factors beyond the Company's control.
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The determination of the appropriate allowance is inherently subjective, as it requires significant estimates by management. The Company has an established process to determine the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses that generally includes consideration of changes in the nature and volume of the loan portfolio and overall portfolio quality, along with current and forecasted economic conditions that may affect borrowers' ability to repay. Consideration is not limited to these factors although they represent the most commonly cited factors. To determine the specific allocation levels for individual credits, management considers the current valuation of collateral and the amounts and timing of expected future cash flows as the primary measures. Management also considers trends in adversely classified loans based upon an ongoing review of those credits. With respect to pools of similar loans, an appropriate level of general allowance is determined by portfolio segment using a probability of default-loss given default ("PD/LGD") model, subject to a floor. A default can be triggered by one of several different asset quality factors, including past due status, nonaccrual status, material modification to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty or if the loan has had a charge off. This PD is then combined with a LGD derived from historical charge off data to construct a loss rate. This loss rate is then supplemented with adjustments for reasonable and supportable forecasts of relevant economic indicators, particularly the unemployment rate forecast from the Federal Open Market Committee's Summary of Economic Projections, as well as portfolio trends based on the risks present for each portfolio segment. These environmental factors include consideration of portfolio trends and conditions; industry conditions; and effects of changes in credit concentrations. It is also possible that these factors could include social, political, economic, and terrorist events or activities. All of these factors are susceptible to change, which may be significant. As a result of this detailed process, the allowance results in two forms of allocations, specific and general. These two components represent the total allowance for credit losses deemed adequate to cover expected losses within the loan portfolio.
Commercial loans are subject to a dual standardized grading process administered by the credit administration function. These grade assignments are performed independent of each other, and a consensus is reached by credit administration and the loan officer. Specific allowances are established in cases where management has identified significant conditions or circumstances related to an individual credit that indicate it should be evaluated on an individual basis. Considerations with respect to specific allocations for these individual credits include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) the sufficiency of the customer's cash flow or net worth to repay the loan; (b) the adequacy of the discounted value of collateral relative to the loan balance; (c) whether the loan has been criticized in a regulatory examination; (d) whether the loan is nonperforming; (e) any other reasons the ultimate collectability of the loan may be in question; or (f) any unique loan characteristics that require special monitoring.
Allocations are also applied to categories of loans considered not to be individually analyzed, but for which the rate of loss is expected to be consistent with or greater than historical averages. Such allocations are based on past loss experience and information about specific borrower situations and estimated collateral values. These general pooled loan allocations are performed for portfolio segments of commercial and industrial; commercial real estate, multi-family, and construction; agri-business and agricultural; other commercial loans; and consumer 1-4 family mortgage and other consumer loans. General allocations of the allowance are determined by a historical loss rate based on the calculation of each pool's probability of default-loss given default, subject to a floor. The length of the historical period for each pool is based on the average life of the pool. The historical loss rates are all supplemented with consideration of economic conditions and portfolio trends. The risk characteristics of each of the identified portfolio segments are as follows:
Commercial and Industrial - Borrowers may be subject to industry conditions including decreases in product demand; increase in material or other production costs that cannot be immediately recaptured in the sales or distribution cycle; interest rate increases that could have an adverse impact on profitability; non-payment of credit that has been extended under normal vendor terms for goods sold or services; and interruption related to the importing or exporting of production materials or sold products.
Commercial Real Estate and Multi-Family Residential - Borrowers may be subject to potential adverse market conditions that cause a decrease in market value or lease rates; the potential for environmental impairment from events occurring on subject or neighboring properties; and obsolescence in location or function. Multi-family residential is also subject to adverse market conditions associated with a change in governmental or personal funding sources for tenants; over supply of units in a specific region; a shift in population; and reputational risks. Construction and land development risks include slower absorption than anticipated on speculative projects; deterioration in market conditions that may impact a project's value; unforeseen costs not considered in the original construction budget; or any other factors that may impact the completion or success of the project.
Agri-business and Agricultural - Borrowers may be subject to adverse market or weather conditions including changes in local or foreign demand; lower yields than anticipated; political or other impact on storage, distribution or use; foreign trade policies including tariffs; and exposure to increasing commodity prices which result in higher production, distribution or exporting costs.
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Other Commercial - Borrowers may be subject to an interruption in the flow of funds to states and other political subdivisions for the purpose of debt repayments on loans held by the Bank.
Consumer 1-4 Family Mortgage - Borrowers may be subject to adverse employment conditions in the local economy leading to increased default rates; decreased market values from oversupply in a geographic area; and impact to the borrowers' ability to maintain payments in the event of incremental rate increases on adjustable rate mortgages.
Other Consumer - Borrowers may be subject to adverse employment conditions in the local economy which may lead to higher default rates; and decreases in the value of underlying collateral.
A loan is individually analyzed for specific allocation when, based on current information and events, it is probable that the Company will be unable to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. Allocations are analyzed individually or in total for smaller-balance loans of similar nature such as all classes of consumer 1-4 family and other consumer loans, and individually for all classes of commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multi-family, agribusiness and agricultural and other commercial loans. The Company analyzes commercial loans individually by classifying the loans as to credit risk. This analysis is performed on a quarterly basis for Special Mention, Substandard and Doubtful grade loans and annually on Pass grade loans over $250,000. Factors considered by management in determining individual evaluation include payment status, collateral value and the probability of collecting scheduled principal and interest payments when due. Loans that experience insignificant payment delays and payment shortfalls generally are not classified as individually evaluated. Management determines the significance of payment delays and payment shortfalls on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration all of the circumstances surrounding the loan and the borrower, including the length of the delay, the reasons for the delay, the borrower’s prior payment record, and the amount of the shortfall in relation to the principal and interest owed. If a loan is individually evaluated, a portion of the allowance may be allocated so that the loan is reported, net, at the present value of estimated future cash flows using the loan’s existing rate or at the fair value of collateral less anticipated costs to sell. All classes of commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, agribusiness and agricultural, other commercial, consumer 1-4 family mortgage loans and other consumer loans that become delinquent beyond 90 days are analyzed and a charge off is taken when it is determined that the underlying collateral, if any, is not sufficient to offset the indebtedness.
Loans, for which the terms have been modified for borrowers experiencing financial difficulties and a concession has been granted that could materially change the Company's expected future cash flows, are classified as individually evaluated and may be either accruing or non-accruing. Modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulties on nonaccrual status follow the same policy as described above for other loans. Individual evaluation for modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty is measured at the present value of estimated future cash flows using the loan’s effective rate at inception or at discounted collateral value for collateral dependent loans.
Due to the imprecise nature of estimating the allowance for credit losses, the Company's allowance for credit losses includes an immaterial unallocated component. The unallocated component of the allowance for credit losses incorporates the Company's judgmental determination of potential expected losses that may not be fully reflected in other allocations. As a practical expedient, the Company has elected to disclose accrued interest separately from loan principal balances on the consolidated balance sheet. Additionally, when a loan is placed on non-accrual, interest payments are reversed through interest income.
For off balance sheet credit exposures outlined in the ASC at 326-20-30-11, it is the Company's position that nearly all of the unfunded amounts on lines of credit are unconditionally cancellable, and therefore not subject to having a liability recorded.
Investments in Limited Partnerships:
The Company enters into and invests in limited partnerships in order to invest in affordable housing projects to support Community Reinvestment Act activities and secondarily to obtain available tax benefits. The Company also invests in Small Business Investment Company Program funds and a technology consortium fund. The Company is a limited partner in these investments and, as such, the Company is not involved in the management or operation of such investments. These investments are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method of accounting, the Company records its share of the partnership’s earnings or losses in its income statement and adjusts the carrying amount of the investments on the consolidated balance sheet. These investments are evaluated for impairment when events indicate the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The investments recorded at December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $13.0 million and $12.2 million, respectively and are included with other assets in the consolidated balance sheet. The Company also has a commitment to fund an additional
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$2.8 million at December 31, 2023 in six of the limited partnerships compared to $3.9 million in six of the limited partnerships at December 31, 2022, which is included with other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.
Foreclosed Assets:
Assets acquired through loan foreclosure are initially recorded at fair value less costs to sell when acquired, establishing a new cost basis. These assets are subsequently accounted for at lower of cost or fair value less estimated costs to sell. If fair value declines, a valuation allowance is recorded through expense. Costs incurred after acquisition are expensed. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the balance of other real estate owned was $384,000 and $100,000, respectively, and is included with other assets on the consolidated balance sheet.
Land, Premises and Equipment, Net:
Land is carried at cost. Premises and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed on the straight-line method over the useful lives of the assets. Premises and improvements assets have useful lives between 5 and 40 years. Equipment and furniture assets have useful lives between 3 and 7 years.
Loan Servicing Rights:
Servicing rights are recognized separately when they are acquired through sales of loans. When mortgage loans are sold, servicing rights are initially recorded at fair value with the income statement effect recorded in mortgage banking income. Fair value is based on a valuation model that calculates the present value of estimated future net servicing income. All classes of servicing assets are subsequently measured using the amortization method which requires servicing rights to be amortized into noninterest income in proportion to, and over the period of, the estimated future net servicing income of the underlying loans. The amortization of servicing rights is netted against mortgage banking income. Servicing fees were $1.2 million for the years ended 2023, 2022 and 2021. Late fees and ancillary fees related to loan servicing are not material.
Servicing rights are evaluated for impairment based upon the fair value of the rights as compared to carrying amount. Impairment is determined by stratifying rights into groupings based on predominant risk characteristics, such as loan type, term and interest rate. Any impairment of a grouping is reported as a valuation allowance, to the extent that fair value is less than the carrying amount. If the Company later determines that all or a portion of the impairment no longer exists for a particular grouping, a reduction of the allowance may be recorded as an increase to income. Changes in the valuation allowance are reported with mortgage banking income on the income statement. The fair values of servicing rights are subject to significant fluctuations as a result of changes in estimated and actual prepayment speeds and default rates and losses.
The carrying value of mortgage servicing rights, which is included with other assets in the consolidated balance sheet, was $2.2 million and $2.7 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Mortgage loans serviced for others are not included in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The unpaid principal balances of these loans were $333.1 million and $364.3 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Custodial escrow balances maintained in connection with serviced loans were $1.5 million and $1.7 million at year end 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Servicing fee income (loss), which is included in loan and service fees on the income statement, is recorded for fees earned for servicing loans. Fees earned for servicing loans are based on a contractual percentage of the outstanding principal amount of the loan and are recorded as income when earned.
Transfers of Financial Assets:
Transfers of financial assets are accounted for as sales, when control over the assets has been relinquished. Control over transferred assets is deemed to be surrendered when the assets have been isolated from the Company, the transferee obtains the right (free of conditions that constrain it from taking advantage of that right) to pledge or exchange the transferred assets and the Company does not maintain effective control over the transferred assets through an agreement to repurchase them before their maturity.
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Mortgage Banking Derivatives:
Commitments to fund mortgage loans (interest rate locks) to be sold into the secondary market and forward commitments for the future delivery of these mortgage loans are accounted for as free-standing derivatives. Fair values of these mortgage derivatives are estimated based on changes in mortgage interest rates from the date the interest on the loan is locked. The Company enters into forward commitments for the future delivery of mortgage loans when interest rate locks are entered into, in order to hedge the change in interest rates resulting from its commitments to fund the loans. Changes in fair values of these derivatives are included in mortgage banking income.
Interest Rate Swap Derivatives:
The Company offers a derivative product to certain creditworthy commercial banking customers. This product allows the commercial banking customers to enter into an agreement with the Company to swap a variable rate loan to a fixed rate. These derivative products are designed to reduce, eliminate or modify the borrower’s interest rate exposure. The extension of credit incurred in connection with these derivative products is subject to the same approval and underwriting standards as traditional credit products. The Company limits its risk exposure by simultaneously entering into a similar, offsetting swap agreement with a separate, well-capitalized and highly rated counterparty previously approved by the Company’s Asset Liability Committee. By using these interest rate swap arrangements, the Company is also better insulated from the interest rate risk associated with underwriting fixed-rate loans and is better able to meet customer demand for fixed rate loans. These derivative contracts are not designated against specific assets or liabilities and, therefore, do not qualify for hedge accounting. The derivatives are recorded as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in non-interest income for both the commercial banking customer swaps and the related offsetting swaps. The fair value of the derivative instruments incorporates a consideration of credit risk (in accordance with ASC 820), resulting in some potential volatility in earnings each period. Cash flow activity is recorded through other assets and other liabilities.
The notional amount of the combined interest rate swaps with customers and counterparties at December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $826.4 million and $760.5 million, respectively. The fair value of the interest rate swap asset was $27.2 million and $36.9 million and the fair value of the interest rate swap liability was $27.2 million and $36.9 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Bank Owned Life Insurance:
At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company owned $104.8 million and $102.5 million, respectively, of life insurance policies on certain officers to provide a life insurance benefit for these officers. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company also owned $4.3 million and $5.9 million, respectively, of variable life insurance on certain officers related to a deferred compensation plan. Bank owned life insurance is recorded at the amount that can be realized under the insurance contract at the balance sheet date, i.e., the cash surrender value adjusted for other changes or other amounts due that are probable at settlement.
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets:
All goodwill on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet resulted from business combinations prior to January 1, 2009 and represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of acquired tangible assets and liabilities and identifiable intangible assets. Goodwill is not amortized, but assessed at least annually for impairment and any such impairment would be recognized in the period identified.
FHLB and Federal Reserve Bank Stock:
FHLB and Federal Reserve Bank stock are carried at cost in other assets, classified as a restricted security and are periodically evaluated for impairment based on ultimate recoverability of par value. Both cash and stock dividends are reported as income.
Long-term Assets:
Premises and equipment, and other long-term assets are reviewed for impairment when events indicate their carrying amount may not be recoverable from future undiscounted cash flows. If impaired, the assets are recorded at fair value. There was no such impairment identified for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Benefit Plans:
The Company has a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan, which covered substantially all employees until the plan was frozen effective April 1, 2000. Funding of the plan equals or exceeds the minimum funding requirement determined by the actuary. Pension expense is the net of interest cost, return on plan assets and amortization of gains and losses not immediately recognized. Benefits are based on years of service and compensation levels.
The Company maintains a 401(k) profit sharing plan for all employees meeting certain age and service requirements. The Company contributions are based upon the percentage of budgeted net income earned during the year.
An employee deferred compensation plan is available to certain employees with returns based on investments in mutual funds.
The Company maintains a directors’ deferred compensation plan. Effective January 1, 2003, the directors’ deferred compensation plan was amended to restrict the deferral to be in stock only and deferred directors’ fees are included in equity. The Company acquires shares on the open market and records such shares as treasury stock.
Revenue Recognition:
All of the Company’s revenue from contracts with customers in the scope of ASC 606 is recognized within noninterest income. The following is a description of principal activities from which we generate revenue. Revenues are recognized as the Company satisfies its obligations with our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for those services.
Wealth advisory fees
The Company provides wealth advisory services to its customers and earns fees from its contracts with trust customers to manage assets for investment and/or to transact on their accounts. These fees are primarily earned over time as the Company provides the contracted monthly, quarterly, or annual services and are generally assessed based on a tiered scale of the market value of assets under management (AUM) at month-end. Fees that are transaction based, including trade execution services, are recognized at the point in time that the transaction is executed. Other related services, such as escrow accounts that are based on a fixed schedule, are recognized when the services are rendered.
Investment brokerage services
The Company provides investment brokerage services through a full service brokerage and investment and advisory firm, Cetera Investment Services LLC (“Cetera”). The Company receives commissions from Cetera on a monthly basis based upon customer activity for the month. The fees are recognized monthly and a receivable is recorded until commissions are generally paid by the 5th business day of the following month. Because the Company (i) acts as an agent in arranging the relationship between the customer and the Cetera and (ii) does not control the services to the customers, investment brokerage service fees are presented net of Cetera’s related costs.
Service charges on deposit accounts
The Company earns fees from its deposit customers for transaction-based, account maintenance, and overdraft services. Transaction-based fees, which include services such as ATM use fees, stop payment charges, statement rendering, and ACH fees, are recognized at the time the transaction is executed as that is the point in time the Company fulfills the customer’s request. Account maintenance fees, which relate primarily to monthly maintenance, are earned over the course of a month, representing the period over which the Company satisfies the performance obligation. Overdraft fees are recognized at the point in time that the overdraft occurs. Service charges on deposits are withdrawn from the customer’s balance.
Interchange income
The Company provides the ability to transact on certain deposit accounts through the use of debit cards by outsourcing the services through third party service providers. Performance obligations are met on a transactional basis and income is recognized monthly based on transaction type and volume. Under the accounting standards in effect in the prior period, revenue was previously recognized net of the third party’s costs. Under ASC 606, fees from interchange income related to its customers use of debit cards will be reported gross in loan and service fees under noninterest income. The cost of using third party providers for these interchange services are reported in data processing fees and supplies under noninterest expense.
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Gain on sale of other real estate owned ("OREO") financed by seller
On occasion, the Company underwrites a loan to purchase property owned by the Company. Under ASC 606, the Company assesses whether the buyer is committed to perform their obligations under the contract and whether collectability of the transaction price is probable. Once these criteria are met, the OREO asset is derecognized and the gain or loss on sale is recorded upon the transfer of control of the property to the buyer. In determining the gain or loss on the sale, the Company adjusts the transaction price and related gain (loss) on sale if a significant financing component is present.
Debit card incentive rebates
The Company receives incentive rebates based on debit card transaction volume. Performance obligations are met on a transactional basis and income is recognized monthly based on transaction volume. Under ASC 606, these rebates related to debit card transaction volume are reported as a contra expense in data processing fees and supplies under noninterest expense.
Stock Based Compensation:
Compensation cost is recognized for stock options and restricted stock awards issued to employees, based on the fair value of these awards at the date of grant. A Black-Scholes model is utilized to estimate the fair value of stock options, while the market price of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant adjusted for the present value of expected dividends is used for restricted stock awards. Compensation cost is recognized over the required service period, generally defined as the vesting period. Certain of the restricted stock awards are performance based, as more fully discussed in Note 14 – Stock Based Compensation.
Income Taxes:
Annual consolidated federal and state income tax returns are filed by the Company. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined using the liability (or balance sheet) method. Income tax expense is recorded based on the amount of taxes due on its tax return plus net deferred taxes computed based upon the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between carrying amounts and tax basis of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance, if needed, reduces deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
A tax position is recognized as a benefit only if it is “more likely than not” that the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination being presumed to occur. The amount recognized is the largest amount of tax benefit that is more likely of being realized on examination than not. For tax positions not meeting the “more likely than not” test, no tax benefit is recorded.
The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.
Off-Balance Sheet Financial Instruments:
Financial instruments include credit instruments, such as commitments to make loans and standby letters of credit, issued to meet customer financing needs. The face amount for these items represents the exposure to loss, before considering customer collateral or ability to repay. Such financial instruments are recorded when they are funded. The fair value of standby letters of credit is recorded as a liability during the commitment period.
Earnings Per Common Share:
Basic earnings per common share is net income divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per common share includes the dilutive effect of additional potential common shares issuable under stock options, restricted stock awards and warrants. Earnings and dividends per share are restated for all stock splits and dividends through the date of issue of the financial statements. The common shares included in treasury stock for 2023 and 2022 were 473,120 and 475,902 shares, respectively. Common stock that has been purchased under the directors’ deferred compensation plan, described above, is included in the treasury stock total and represented 184,019 and 186,801 shares of treasury stock as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Because these shares are held in trust for the participants,
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they are treated as outstanding when computing the weighted-average common shares outstanding for the calculation of both basic and diluted earnings per share. Treasury stock is carried at cost using the treasury stock method.
Comprehensive Income (Loss):
Comprehensive income (loss) consists of net income and other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) includes unrealized gains and losses on securities available-for-sale, reclassification adjustments for securities transferred to held-to-maturity, reclassification adjustments for gains on the sale of available-for-sale securities and changes in the funded status of the pension plan, which are also recognized as separate components of equity.
Loss Contingencies:
Loss contingencies, including claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business, are recorded as liabilities when the likelihood of loss is probable and an amount or range of loss can be reasonably estimated.
The Bank discovered potentially fraudulent activity by a former treasury management client involving multiple banks. The former client subsequently filed several related bankruptcy cases, captioned In re Interlogic Outsourcing, Inc., et al., which are pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. On April 27, 2021, the bankruptcy court entered an order approving an amended plan of liquidation, which was filed by the former client, other debtors and bankruptcy plan proponents, and approving the consolidation of the assets in the aforementioned cases under the Khan IOI Consolidated Estate Trust. On August 9, 2021, the liquidating trustee for the bankruptcy estates filed a complaint against the Bank and the Company, and agreed to stay prosecution of the action through August 31, 2022. The original complaint focused on a series of business transactions among the client, related entities and the Bank, which the liquidating trustee alleged are voidable under applicable federal bankruptcy and state law. The complaint also addressed treatment of the Bank's claims filed in the bankruptcy cases.
On August 31, 2022, the trustee filed his amended complaint against the former client, the Bank, the Company, four officers of the Bank and one independent director of the Bank. The amended complaint alleges that the former client engaged in a check kiting scheme involving multiple banks. The amended complaint alleges that a series of business transactions among the client, his related entities and the Bank are voidable under applicable bankruptcy and state laws. The amended complaint also alleges that the Bank, the Company and the five individual bank representatives who are named as defendants violated various federal and state laws in assisting the former client in his check kiting scheme. On October 26, 2022, the trustee filed his second amended complaint which was virtually identical to his amended complaint. On January 5, 2023, the Bank, the Company and the five individual bank representatives filed motions to dismiss the second amended complaint. On May 30, 2023, the court issued its decision granting the defendants' motion to dismiss in part and denying it in part. The court dismissed all claims against the Company and the Bank's independent director. The court dismissed several of the claims against the defendants but granted the trustee the right to file an amended complaint. On June 20, 2023, the trustee filed his third amended complaint. The trustee alleges many of the same claims that were alleged in the second amended complaint. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the third amended complaint on July 25, 2023. The trustee subsequently filed a response to this motion. On November 26, 2023, the court issued its decision granting the defendants' motion to dismiss in part and denying it in part, with pre-trial discovery scheduled to start in early 2024 for all claims not dismissed by the court in its November ruling. Based on current information, we have determined that a material loss is neither probable nor estimable at this time, and the Bank and the four individual Bank representatives who remain as defendants intend to vigorously defend themselves against all allegations asserted in this amended complaint.
Restrictions on Cash:
The Federal Reserve Bank eliminated the reserve requirement for all depository institutions in March of 2020. Therefore, the Company was not required to have cash on hand or on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank to meet regulatory reserve and clearing requirements at December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Dividend Restriction:
Banking regulations require maintaining certain capital levels and may limit the dividends paid by the Bank to the Company or by the Company to its stockholders. These restrictions currently pose no practical limit on the ability of the Bank or Company to pay dividends at historical levels.
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Fair Value of Financial Instruments:
Fair values of financial instruments are estimated using relevant market information and other assumptions, as more fully disclosed in Note 5 - Fair Value. Fair value estimates involve uncertainties and matters of significant judgment regarding interest rates, credit risk, prepayments and other factors, especially in the absence of broad markets for particular items. Changes in assumptions or in market conditions could significantly affect the estimates.
Operating Segments:
The Company’s chief decision-makers monitor and evaluate financial performance on a Company-wide basis. All of the Company’s financial service operations are similar and considered by management to be aggregated into one reportable operating segment. While the Company has assigned certain management responsibilities by region and business-line, the Company’s chief decision-makers monitor and evaluate financial performance on a Company-wide basis. The majority of the Company’s revenue is from the business of banking and the Company’s assigned regions have similar economic characteristics, products, services and customers. Accordingly, all of the Company’s operations are considered by management to be aggregated in one reportable operating segment.
Adoption of New Accounting Standards: