Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A Risk Factors
The following risk factors are in addition to the risks described in the Company’s Form 10-K under Item 1A, “Risk Factors” for its year ended December 31, 2019 and in its subsequent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The effects of the events and circumstances described in the following risk factors may have heightened several of the risks contained in our Form 10-K.
Our Business, Results of Operations, and Financial Condition Have Been, and Will Likely Continue to be, Adversely Affected by the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, which has spread globally including in the United States. On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency. The pandemic has caused significant economic disruption and many states and local governments have continued to order non-essential businesses to close or scale back services. The extent to which the pandemic impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak, its severity, actions to contain the virus including the timing and deployment of a successful vaccine, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume, particularly in California. As a result, we are subject to the following risks, which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, capital position and liquidity:
• The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted global supply chains, created significant volatility and disruption in financial markets and equity market valuations, and increased unemployment levels. This may lead to an increase in loan delinquencies, problem assets and foreclosures, which may increase loan losses, particularly if businesses remain closed, the impact on the global economy worsens, or more customers draw on their lines of credit or seek additional loans to help finance their businesses. Additionally, the expiration of the payment relief provided under Section 4013 of the CARES Act may result in loan delinquencies and impairments that could increase the provision for loan losses.
• Collateral securing our loans may decline in value, which could increase credit losses in our loan portfolio and necessitate increases in the allowance for loan losses.
• The commercial real estate ("CRE") loan market and CRE loan demand could be adversely affected longer-term by the pandemic due to structural changes relating to remote work trends or migration outside of metropolitan areas. These trends could increase vacancy rates and reduce commercial real estate values. As of September 30, 2020, using regulatory definitions in the CRE Concentration Guidance, our concentration in investor-owned commercial real estate loans as a percentage of capital was 323%, compared to 330% at December 31, 2019.
• Demand for our products and services may decline, and deposit balances may decrease making it difficult to grow assets and income.
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• The decline in the target federal funds rate has decreased yields on our assets that exceed the decline in our cost of interest-bearing liabilities. A prolonged low interest rate environment could continue to compress our net interest margin.
• Net interest margin in future periods may be significantly impacted by the accretion of the remaining $6.5 million in net deferred PPP loan origination fees and costs, which is influenced by, among other things, the timing of SBA loan forgiveness.
• The future adoption of the CECL standard, which is highly dependent on unemployment rate forecasts over the life of our loans, could significantly increase the allowance for credit losses and decrease net income.
• The continued market turmoil could reduce our wealth management and trust services revenue.
• Our business operations may be disrupted if significant portions of our workforce are unable to work effectively because of illness, quarantines, government actions, and other restrictions in connection with the pandemic.
• Our borrowers' actual payment performance may be worse than anticipated as the payment deferrals related to the COVID-19 pandemic expire, and we may experience potential adverse impact from loan modifications and payment deferrals despite their implementation consistent with recent regulatory guidance. While over 90% of the payment relief loans have resumed or are scheduled to resume normal payments, we have no assurance that these borrowers will not require additional payment relief in the future due to the continued impact of the pandemic.
Recent government actions to provide substantial financial support to businesses (e.g., Paycheck Protection Program) could partially mitigate the financial impact to us and our borrowers. However, the success of these measures is unknown and they may not be sufficient to mitigate fully the negative impact of the ongoing pandemic. In addition, the stalled Congressional support for an additional relief package and results of the presidential election could exacerbate the negative effects of the pandemic, the impact of which cannot be quantified at this time.
Our Traditional Service Delivery Channels may be Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic
In light of the external COVID-19 threat, the Board of Directors and senior management are continuously monitoring the situation, providing frequent communications, and making adjustments and accommodations for both external clients and our employees. All branches remain open to serve our customers and local communities, with modified hours and strict social distancing protocols in place as well as limits on the number of customers allowed in a branch at one time. Our customers have been encouraged to utilize alternative banking options including ATM, digital and telephone banking. Further, many employees are working remotely, and travel as well as face-to-face meeting restrictions are in effect. In addition, given the increasing risk of cybersecurity incidents during the pandemic, we have enhanced our cybersecurity protocols. If the pandemic worsens or lasts for an extended period of time, to protect the health of the Bank’s workforce and our customers, we may need to enact further precautionary measures to help minimize the risks to our employees and customers, thus potentially altering our service delivery channels and operations over a prolonged period. These changes to our traditional service delivery channels may negatively impact our customers' experience of banking with us, and therefore negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
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