Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The Corporation’s business is subject to many risks and uncertainties. Although the Corporation seeks ways to manage these risks and develop programs to control those that management can control, the Corporation ultimately cannot predict the extent to which these risks and uncertainties could affect the Corporation's results. Actual results may differ materially from management's expectations. The following discussion sets forth what the Corporation currently believes could be the most significant factors of which it is currently aware that could affect the Corporation's business, results of operations or financial condition. You should consider all of the following risks together with all of the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risks Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak could adversely affect the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant economic dislocation in the United States, resulting in an unprecedented slow-down in economic activity. Various state governments and federal agencies have required lenders to provide forbearance and other relief to borrowers (e.g., waiving late payment and other fees). The federal banking agencies have encouraged financial institutions to prudently work with affected borrowers and legislation provided relief from reporting loan classifications due to modifications related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Certain industries have been particularly hard-hit, including the travel and hospitality industry, the restaurant industry and the retail industry. Finally, the spread of the coronavirus has caused us to modify our business practices, including employee travel, employee work locations, and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences. We have many employees working remotely and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers and business partners.
Given the ongoing and dynamic nature of the circumstances, it is difficult to predict the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our business. The extent of such impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain, including when the coronavirus can be fully controlled and abated. As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse local and national economic consequences, we could be subject to any of the following risks, any of which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations:
• demand for our products and services may decline, making it difficult to grow assets and income;
• loan delinquencies, problem assets, and foreclosures may increase, resulting in increased charges and reduced income;
• collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline in value, which could cause credit losses to increase;
• our allowance for credit losses may have to be increased if borrowers experience financial difficulties beyond forbearance periods, which will adversely affect our net income;
• the net worth and liquidity of loan guarantors may decline, impairing their ability to honor commitments to us;
• a material decrease in net income or a net loss over several quarters could result in a decrease in the rate of our quarterly cash dividend;
• our wealth management revenues may decline with continuing market turmoil;
• our cyber security risks are increased as the result of an increase in the number of employees working remotely;
• a prolonged weakness in economic conditions resulting in a reduction of future projected earnings could result in our recording a valuation allowance against our current outstanding deferred tax assets;
• the occurrence of what management would deem to be a triggering event that could, under certain circumstances, cause management to perform impairment testing on our goodwill or core deposit and customer relationships intangibles that could result in an impairment charge being recorded for that period, that would adversely impact our results of operations and the ability of the Bank to pay dividends to us;
• we rely on third party vendors for certain services and the unavailability of a critical service due to the COVID-19 outbreak could have an adverse effect on us; and
• FDIC premiums may increase if the agency experience additional resolution costs.
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Moreover, our future success and profitability substantially depends on the management skills of our executive officers and directors, many of whom have held officer and director positions with us for many years. The unanticipated loss or unavailability of key employees due to the outbreak could harm our ability to operate our business or execute our business strategy. We may not be successful in finding and integrating suitable successors in the event of key employee loss or unavailability.
Any one or a combination of the factors identified above could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations and prospects.
Risks Related to Lending
Economic conditions may adversely affect the Corporation’s financial performance.
The Corporation's businesses and results of operation are affected by the financial markets and general economic conditions in the United States, and particularly to adverse conditions in New York and Pennsylvania. Key economic factors affecting the Corporation include the level and volatility of short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, home prices, unemployment and under-employment levels, bankruptcies, household income, consumer spending, fluctuations in both debt and equity capital markets and currencies, liquidity of the financial markets, the availability and the cost of capital and credit, investor sentiment, confidence in the financial markets, and the sustainability of economic growth. The deterioration of any of these conditions could adversely affect the Corporation's consumer and commercial businesses, its securities and derivatives portfolios, its level of charge-offs and provision for credit losses, the carrying value of the Corporation's deferred tax assets, its capital levels and liquidity, and the Corporation's results of operations.
A decline or prolonged weakness in business and economic conditions generally or specifically in the principal markets in which the Corporation does business could have one or more of the following adverse effects on the Corporation’s business:
i. a decrease in the demand for loans and other products and services;
ii. a decrease in the value of the Corporation’s loans or other assets secured by consumer or commercial real estate;
iii. an impairment of certain of the Corporation’s intangible assets, such as goodwill; and
iv. an increase in the number of borrowers and counter-parties who become delinquent, file for protection under bankruptcy laws or default on their loans or other obligations to the Corporation.
Additionally, in light of economic conditions, the Corporation’s ability to assess the creditworthiness of its customers may be impaired if the models and approaches that it uses to select, manage and underwrite loans become less predictive of future behaviors. Further, competition in the Corporation’s industry may intensify as a result of consolidation of financial services companies in response to adverse market conditions and the Corporation may face increased regulatory scrutiny, which may increase its costs and limit its ability to pursue business opportunities.
Commercial real estate and business loans increase the Corporation’s exposure to credit risks.
The FRB and the other federal bank regulatory agencies have promulgated joint guidance on sound risk management practices for financial institutions with concentrations in commercial real estate lending. Under the guidance, a financial institution that, like us, is actively involved in commercial real estate lending should perform a risk assessment to identify concentrations. The purpose of the guidance is to assist banks in developing risk management practices and capital levels commensurate with the level and nature of real estate concentrations. Management employs heightened risk management practices including board and management oversight and strategic planning, development of underwriting standards, risk assessment and monitoring through market analysis and stress testing on commercial real estate loans and real estate concentrations.
At December 31, 2021, the Corporation’s portfolio of commercial real estate and business loans totaled $1.060 billion or 69.8% of total loans. The Corporation plans to continue to emphasize the origination of these types of loans, which generally expose the Corporation to a greater risk of nonpayment and loss than residential real estate or consumer loans because repayment of commercial real estate and business loans often depends on the successful operation and income stream of the borrower’s business. Additionally, such loans typically involve larger loan balances to single borrowers or groups of related borrowers compared to residential real estate and consumer loans. Also, some of the Corporation’s borrowers have more than one commercial loan outstanding. Consequently, an adverse development with respect to one loan or one credit relationship can expose the Corporation to a significantly greater risk of loss compared to an adverse development with respect to residential real estate and consumer loans. In some instances, the Corporation has originated unsecured commercial loans with certain high net worth individuals who have personally guaranteed such loans. This type of commercial loan has an increased risk of loss if the Corporation is unable to collect repayment through legal action due to personal bankruptcy or other financial limitations of the borrower. The Corporation targets its business lending and marketing strategy towards small to medium-sized businesses. These small to medium-sized businesses generally have fewer financial resources in terms of capital or borrowing capacity than larger entities. If general economic conditions negatively impact these businesses, the Corporation’s results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
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Loan participations may have a higher risk of loss than loans the Bank originates because the Bank is not the lead lender and has limited control over credit monitoring.
The Corporation occasionally purchases commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loan participations secured by properties outside its market area in which the Bank is not the lead lender. The Corporation has purchased loan participations secured by various types of collateral such as real estate, equipment and other business assets located primarily in New York, and Pennsylvania. Loan participations may have a higher risk of loss than loans the Bank originates because we rely on the lead lender to monitor the performance of the loan. Moreover, our decisions regarding the classification of a loan participation and loan loss provisions associated with a loan participation are made in part based upon information provided by the lead lender. A lead lender also may not monitor a participation loan in the same manner as we would for loans that the Bank originates. At December 31, 2021, loan participation balances where the Bank is not the lead lender totaled $123.5 million, or 8.14% of our loan portfolio. At December 31, 2021, commercial and industrial loan participations outside our market area totaled $11.7 million, or 4.54% of the commercial and industrial loan portfolio and commercial real estate loan participations outside our market area totaled $0.3 million, or 0.03% of the commercial real estate loan portfolio. If the Bank’s underwriting of these participation loans is not sufficient, our non-performing loans may increase and our earnings may decrease.
We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with lending activities.
A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real estate, and we could become subject to environmental liabilities with respect to one or more of these properties. During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing defaulted loans. In doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous conditions or toxic substances are found on these properties, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage, civil fines and criminal penalties regardless of when the hazardous conditions or toxic substances first affected any particular property. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses to address unknown liabilities and may materially reduce the affected property’s value or limit our ability to use or sell the affected property. In addition, future laws or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws may increase our exposure to environmental liability. Although we have policies and procedures to perform an environmental review before initiating any foreclosure action on nonresidential real property, these reviews may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on us.
The Corporation's portfolio of indirect automobile lending exposes it to increased credit risks.
At December 31, 2021, $118.6 million, or 7.8% of our total loan portfolio, consisted of automobile loans, primarily originated through automobile dealers for the purchase of new or used automobiles. The Corporation serves customers that cover a range of creditworthiness and the required terms and rates are reflective of those risk profiles. Automobile loans are inherently risky as they are often secured by assets that may be difficult to locate and can depreciate rapidly. In some cases, repossessed collateral for a defaulted automobile loan may not provide an adequate source of repayment for the outstanding loan and the remaining deficiency may not warrant further substantial collection efforts against the borrower. Automobile loan collections depend on the borrower's continuing financial stability, and therefore, are more likely to be adversely affected by job loss, divorce, illness, or personal bankruptcy. Additional risk elements associated with indirect lending include the limited personal contact with the borrower as a result of indirect lending through non-bank channels, namely automobile dealers.
The allowance for loan losses may prove to be insufficient to absorb losses in the loan portfolio.
The Corporation’s customers may not repay their loans according to the original terms, and the collateral securing the payment of those loans may be insufficient to pay any remaining loan balance. Hence, the Corporation may experience significant loan losses, which could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's operating results. Management makes various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of its loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of its borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of loans. In determining the amount of the allowance for loan losses, management relies on loan quality reviews, past loss experience, and an evaluation of economic conditions, among other factors. If these assumptions prove to be incorrect, the allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in the Corporation’s loan portfolio, resulting in additions to the allowance. Material additions to the allowance would materially decrease net income.
The Corporation’s emphasis on the origination of commercial loans is one of the more significant factors in evaluating its allowance for loan losses. As the Corporation continues to increase the amount of these loans, additional or increased provisions for loan losses may be necessary, which could result in a decrease in earnings.
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The Financial Accounting Standards Board has adopted a new accounting standard that will be effective for the Bank beginning on January 1, 2023. This standard, referred to as Current Expected Credit Loss, or CECL, will require financial institutions to determine periodic estimates of lifetime expected credit losses on loans, and recognize the expected credit losses as allowances for loan losses. This will change the current method of establishing allowances for loan losses that are probable, which may require us to increase our allowance for loan losses, and increase the data we would need to collect and review to determine the appropriate level of our allowance for loan losses.
Bank regulators periodically review the Corporation’s allowance for loan losses and may require the Corporation to increase its provision for loan losses or loan charge-offs. Any increase in the allowance for loan losses or loan charge-offs as required by these regulatory authorities could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's results of operations and/or financial condition. In addition, any future credit deterioration, including as a result of COVID-19, could require us to increase our allowance for loan losses in the future.
The foreclosure process may adversely impact the Bank’s recoveries on non-performing loans.
The Judicial foreclosure process is protracted, which delays our ability to resolve non-performing loans through the sale of the underlying collateral. The longer timelines were the result of the economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, additional consumer protection initiatives related to the foreclosure process, increased documentary requirements and judicial scrutiny, and, both voluntary and mandatory programs under which lenders may consider loan modifications or other alternatives to foreclosure. These reasons, historical issues at the largest mortgage loan servicers, and the legal and regulatory responses have impacted the foreclosure process and completion time of foreclosures for residential mortgage lenders. This may result in a material adverse effect on collateral values and the Corporation’s ability to minimize its losses.
The Corporation is subject to risks and losses resulting from fraudulent activities that could adversely impact its financial performance and results of operations.
As a bank, we are susceptible to fraudulent activity that may be committed against us or our clients, which may result in financial losses or increased costs to us or our clients, disclosure or misuse of our information or our client information, misappropriation of assets, privacy breaches against our clients, litigation or damage to our reputation. We are subject to fraud and compliance risk, including but not limited to, in connection with the origination of loans, ACH transactions, wire transactions, ATM transactions, checking transactions, and debit cards that we have issued to our customers and through our online banking portals. We have experienced losses due to apparent fraud.
The Bank owns a participating interest totaling $4.2 million in an approximately $36.0 million commercial credit facility on which the borrower defaulted due to fraudulent activity. On April 23, 2020 the Corporation received payment of $461,309 from the lead bank related to its obligation under the participation agreements. The Bank continues to pursue recovery of the remaining $3.7 million and accumulated expenses as a result of purchasing the participation interest. While the Corporation believes this recent incident was an isolated occurrence, there can be no assurance that such losses will not occur again or that such acts will be detected in a timely manner. We maintain a system of internal controls and insurance coverage to mitigate against such risks, including data processing system failures and errors, and customer fraud. If our internal controls fail to prevent or detect any such occurrence, or if any resulting loss is not insured or exceeds applicable insurance limits, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Liquidity
Our funding sources may prove insufficient to replace deposits at maturity and support our future growth.
We must maintain sufficient funds to respond to the needs of depositors and borrowers. As a part of our liquidity management, we use a number of funding sources in addition to core deposit growth and repayments and maturities of loans and investments. As we continue to grow, we are likely to become more dependent on these sources, which include Federal Home Loan Bank advances, proceeds from the sale of loans, federal funds purchased and brokered certificates of deposit. Adverse operating results or changes in industry conditions could lead to difficulty or an inability to access these additional funding sources. Our financial flexibility will be severely constrained if we are unable to maintain our access to funding or if adequate financing is not available to accommodate future growth at acceptable interest rates. If we are required to rely more heavily on more expensive funding sources to support future growth, our revenues may not increase proportionately to cover our costs. In this case, our operating margins and profitability would be adversely affected.
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Risks Related to Changes in Interest Rates
Changes in interest rates could adversely affect the Corporation’s results of operations and financial condition.
The Corporation’s results of operations and financial condition are significantly affected by changes in interest rates. The Corporation's financial results depend substantially on net interest income, which is the difference between the interest income that it earns on interest-earning assets and the interest expense paid on interest-bearing liabilities. If the Corporation’s interest- bearing liabilities mature or reprice more quickly than its interest-earning assets in a given period as a result of increasing interest rates, net interest income may decrease. Likewise, net interest income may decrease if interest-earning assets mature or reprice more quickly than interest-bearing liabilities in a given period as a result of decreasing interest rates. The Corporation has taken steps to mitigate this risk, such as holding fewer longer-term residential mortgages, as well as investing excess funds in shorter-term investments. In recent years the FRB’s policy has been to maintain interest rates at historically low levels through its targeted federal funds rate and the purchase of mortgage-backed securities. On March, 16, 2022 the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25%, partially in response to increasing inflation. This is expected to be one of potentially several rates increases by the FRB within the upcoming year.
Changes in interest rates also affect the fair value of the Corporation’s interest-earning assets and, in particular, its investment securities available for sale. Generally, the fair value of investment securities fluctuates inversely with changes in interest rates. Decreases in the fair value of investment securities available for sale, therefore, could have an adverse effect on its shareholders’ equity or earnings if the decrease in fair value is deemed to be other than temporary.
Changes in interest rates may also affect the average life of loans and mortgage-related securities. Increases in interest rates may decrease loan demand and make it more difficult for borrowers to repay adjustable rate loans. Additionally, decreases in interest rates can result in increased prepayments of loans and mortgage-related securities, as borrowers refinance to reduce borrowing costs. Under these circumstances, the Corporation is subject to reinvestment risk to the extent that it is unable to reinvest the cash received from such prepayments at rates that are comparable to the rates on its existing loans and securities.
Municipal deposits are generally more sensitive to interest rates and may require competitive rates at placement and subsequent rollover dates, which may make it more difficult for the Bank to attract and retain public and municipal deposits. Additionally, when municipal deposits exceed FDIC coverage, any amounts not insured under the FDIC must be properly secured through a pledge of eligible securities. The requirement that the Bank collateralize municipal deposits above FDIC insurance may have an adverse effect on the Corporation's liquidity.
A continuation of the historically low interest rate environment and the possibility that the Corporation may access higher-cost funds to support its loan growth and operations may adversely affect its net interest income and profitability.
In recent years the FRB’s policy has been to maintain interest rates at historically low levels through its targeted federal funds rate and the purchase of mortgage-backed securities. The Corporation’s ability to reduce its interest expense may be limited at current interest rate levels while the average yield on its interest-earning assets may continue to decrease, and its interest expense may increase as the Corporation seeks access to non-core funding sources or increases deposit rates to fund operations. A continuation of a low interest rate environment or an increase in cost of funds may adversely affect the Corporation’s net interest margin and net interest income, which would have an adverse effect on profitability.
Risks Related to Competition
Strong competition within the Corporation's industry and market area could limit its growth and profitability.
The Corporation faces substantial competition in all phases of its operations from a variety of different competitors. Future growth and success will depend on the ability to compete effectively in this highly competitive environment. The Corporation competes for deposits, loans and other financial services with a variety of banks, thrifts, credit unions and other financial institutions as well as other entities, which provide financial services. Some of the financial institutions and financial services organizations with which the Corporation competes with are not subject to the same degree of regulation as the Corporation. Many competitors have been in business for many years, have established customer bases, are larger, and have substantially higher lending limits. The financial services industry is also likely to become more competitive as further technological advances enable more companies to provide financial services. These technological advances may diminish the importance of depository institutions and other financial intermediaries in the transfer of funds between parties.
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The Corporation may not be able to attract and retain skilled people.
The Corporation's success depends, in large part, on its ability to attract and retain key people. Competition for the best people in most activities in which the Corporation engages can be intense and it may not be able to hire people or to retain them. A key component of employee retention is providing a fair compensation base combined with the opportunity for additional compensation for above average performance. In this regard, the Corporation uses a stock-based compensation program that aligns the interest of the Corporation's executives and senior managers with the interests of the Corporation, and its shareholders.
The Corporation's compensation practices are designed to be competitive and comparable to those of its peers, however, the unexpected loss of services of one or more of the Corporation's key personnel could have a material adverse impact on the business because it would lose the employees’ skills, knowledge of the market, and years of industry experience and may have difficulty promptly finding qualified replacement personnel.
Risks Related to Business Strategy
The Corporation’s growth strategy may not prove to be successful and its market value and profitability may suffer.
As part of the Corporation's strategy for continued growth, it may open additional branches. In 2021, the Corporation opened a new full-service branch in Clarence, New York. New branches do not initially contribute to operating profits due to the impact of overhead expenses and the start-up phase of generating loans and deposits. To the extent that additional branches are opened, the Corporation may experience the effects of higher operating expenses relative to operating income from the new operations, which may have an adverse effect on the Corporation's levels of net income, return on average equity and return on average assets.
In addition, the Corporation may acquire banks and related businesses that it believes provide a strategic fit with its business, such as the 2011 acquisition of FOFC and the 2013 acquisition of six branches from Bank of America. To the extent that the Corporation grows through acquisitions, it cannot provide assurance that such strategic decisions will be accretive to earnings.
The risks presented by acquisitions could adversely affect the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations.
The business strategy of the Corporation has included and may continue to include growth through acquisition from time to time. Any future acquisitions will be accompanied by the risks commonly encountered in acquisitions. These risks may include, among other things: its ability to realize anticipated cost savings, the difficulty of integrating operations and personnel, the loss of key employees, the potential disruption of its or the acquired company’s ongoing business in such a way that could result in decreased revenues, the inability of its management to maximize its financial and strategic position, the inability to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies, and the impairment of relationships with the acquired company’s employees and customers as a result of changes in ownership and management.
Risks Related to Laws and Regulations
The Corporation operates in a highly regulated environment and may be adversely affected by changes in laws and regulations.
Currently, the Corporation and its subsidiaries are subject to extensive regulation, supervision, and examination by regulatory authorities. For example, the FRB regulates the Corporation, the FRB, the FDIC and the NYSDFS regulate the Bank, and CRM is regulated by the Nevada Division of Insurance. Such regulators govern the activities in which the Corporation and its subsidiaries may engage. These regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the imposition of restrictions on the operation of a bank, the classification of assets by a bank, and the adequacy of a bank’s allowance for loan losses. Any change in such regulation and oversight, whether in the form of regulatory policy, regulations, or legislation, could have a material impact on the Corporation and its operations. The Corporation believes that it is in substantial compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations. As the Corporation's business is highly regulated, the laws, rules and applicable regulations are subject to regular modification and change. There can be no assurance that proposed laws, rules and regulations, or any other law, rule or regulation, will not be adopted in the future, which could make compliance more difficult or expensive or otherwise adversely affect the Corporation's business, financial condition or prospects.
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Monetary policies and regulations of the Federal Reserve Board could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition to being affected by general economic conditions, our earnings and growth are affected by the policies of the FRB. An important function of the FRB is to regulate the money supply and credit conditions. Among the instruments used by the FRB to implement these objectives are open market purchases and sales of U.S. government securities, adjustments of the discount rate and changes in banks’ reserve requirements against bank deposits. These instruments are used in varying combinations to influence overall economic growth and the distribution of credit, bank loans, investments and deposits. Their use also affects interest rates charged on loans or paid on deposits.
The monetary policies and regulations of the FRB have had a significant effect on the operating results of financial institutions in the past and are expected to continue to do so in the future. The effects of such policies upon our business, financial condition and results of operations cannot be predicted.
Uncertainty surrounding the future of LIBOR (London Interbank Offer Rate) may affect the fair value and return on the Corporation's financial instruments that use LIBOR as a reference rate.
The Corporation holds assets, liabilities, and derivatives that are indexed to the various tenors of LIBOR including but not limited to the one-month LIBOR, three-month LIBOR, one-year LIBOR, and the ten-year constant maturing swap rate. The LIBOR yield curve is also utilized in the fair value calculation of many of these instruments. The reform of major interest benchmarks led to the announcement of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, the regulator of the LIBOR index, that LIBOR would not be supported in its current form after the end of 2021. The Corporation believes the U.S. financial sector will maintain an orderly and smooth transition to new interest rate benchmarks of which the Corporation will evaluate and adopt if appropriate. While in the U.S., the Alternative Rates Committee of the FRB and Federal Reserve Bank of New York have identified the SOFR as an alternative U.S. dollar reference interest rate, it is too early to predict the financial impact this rate index replacement may have, if at all.
We are subject to the Community Reinvestment Act and fair lending laws, and alleged failure to comply with fair lending laws has led to material penalties.
The Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and other fair lending laws and regulations impose nondiscriminatory lending requirements on financial institutions. A successful regulatory challenge to an institution’s performance under the CRA or fair lending laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including the required payment of damages and civil money penalties, injunctive relief, imposition of restrictions on mergers and acquisitions activity and restrictions on expansion. On June 24, 2021, the Bank and the New York State Department of Financial Services agreed to the settlement provisions set forth in a Consent Order pertaining to alleged violations of New York’s Fair Lending Law and the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act relating to the Bank’s indirect automobile lending program. The Bank agreed to pay restitution to impacted borrowers of $53,000 and a civil monetary penalty of $350,000 to the New York State Department of Financial Services. The Bank is analyzing 2020 and 2021 individual lending and additional restitution to impacted borrowers may be owed. Private parties may also have the ability to challenge an institution’s performance under fair lending laws in private class action litigation. Such actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Non-compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, or other laws and regulations could result in fines or sanctions.
The USA PATRIOT and Bank Secrecy Acts require financial institutions to develop programs to prevent financial institutions from being used for money laundering and terrorist activities. If such activities are detected, financial institutions are obligated to file suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These rules require financial institutions to establish procedures for identifying and verifying the identity of customers seeking to open new financial accounts. Failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines or sanctions. In recent years, several banking institutions have received large fines for non-compliance with these laws and regulations. While we have developed policies and procedures designed to assist in compliance with these laws and regulations, these policies and procedures may not be effective in preventing violations of these laws and regulations.
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The Corporation may be required to raise additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed, or it may only be available on unacceptable terms, which could adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.
The Bank is required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support its operations. The Corporation may at some point need to raise additional capital to support the Bank’s continued growth or be required by regulators to increase its capital resources. The Corporation’s ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on conditions in the capital markets at that time, which are outside of its control, and on its financial performance. Accordingly, the Corporation may not be able to raise additional capital, if needed, on terms acceptable to it. If the Corporation cannot raise additional capital when needed, its ability to further expand the Bank’s operations and pursue its growth strategy could be materially impaired and its financial condition and liquidity could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if the Corporation is unable to raise additional capital when required by bank regulators, it may be subject to adverse regulatory action.
Changes in tax rates could adversely affect the Corporation's results of operations and financial condition.
The Corporation is subject to the income tax laws of the United States, its states, and municipalities. The income tax laws of the jurisdictions in which the Corporation operates are complex and subject to different interpretations by the taxpayer and the relevant government taxing authorities. In establishing a provision for income tax expense, the Corporation must make judgments and interpretations about the application of these inherently complex tax laws to its business activities, as well as the timing of when certain items may affect taxable income.
The provision for income taxes is composed of current and deferred taxes. Deferred taxes arise from differences between assets and liabilities measured for financial reporting versus income tax return purposes. Deferred tax assets are recognized if, in the Corporation's judgment, their realizability is determined to be more likely than not. The Corporation performs regular reviews to ascertain the realizability of its deferred tax assets. These reviews include the Corporation's estimates and assumptions regarding future taxable income, which incorporates various tax planning strategies.
Risks Related to Operational Matters
The Corporation's controls and procedures may fail or be circumvented, which may result in a material adverse effect on its business.
Management regularly reviews and updates its internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies and procedures. Any system of controls, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met.
Our risk management framework may not be effective in mitigating risk and reducing the potential for significant losses.
Our risk management framework is designed to minimize risk and loss to us. We seek to identify, measure, monitor, report and control our exposure to risk, including strategic, market, liquidity, compliance and operational risks. While we use a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and mitigation techniques, these techniques are inherently limited because they cannot anticipate the existence or future development of currently unanticipated or unknown risks. Recent economic conditions and heightened legislative and regulatory scrutiny of the financial services industry, among other developments, have increased our level of risk. Accordingly, we could suffer losses as a result of our failure to properly anticipate and manage these risks.
We face significant operational risks because the financial services business involves a high volume of transactions.
We operate in diverse markets and rely on the ability of our employees and systems to process a high number of transactions. Operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from our operations, including but not limited to, the risk of fraud by employees or persons outside our company, the execution of unauthorized transactions by employees, errors relating to transaction processing and technology, breaches of our internal control systems and compliance requirements, and business continuation and disaster recovery. Insurance coverage may not be available for such losses, or where available, such losses may exceed insurance limits. This risk of loss also includes the potential legal actions that could arise as a result of operational deficiencies or as a result of non-compliance with applicable regulatory standards or customer attrition due to potential negative publicity. In the event of a breakdown in our internal control systems, improper operation of systems or improper employee actions, we could suffer financial loss, face regulatory action, and/or suffer damage to our reputation.
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The Corporation continually encounters technological change and the failure to understand and adapt to these changes could adversely affect its business.
The banking industry is undergoing rapid technological changes with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. Technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for "non-banks" to offer traditional bank products and services using innovative technological platforms such as Fintech and Blockchain. These "digital banks" may be able to achieve economies of scale and offer better pricing for banking products and services than the Corporation can. The Corporation's future success will depend, in part, on the ability to address the needs of customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands for convenience as well as to create additional efficiencies in operations. Many competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements. There can be no assurance that the Corporation will be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing such products and services to customers. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation's business and, in turn, its financial condition and results of operations.
Systems failures or breaches of our network security could subject us to increased operating costs as well as litigation and other liabilities.
Our operations depend upon our ability to protect our computer systems and network infrastructure against damage from physical theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or a similar catastrophic event, as well as from security breaches, denial of service attacks, viruses, worms and other disruptive problems caused by hackers. Any damage or failure that causes an interruption in our operations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Computer break-ins, phishing and other disruptions could also jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted through our computer systems and network infrastructure, which may result in significant liability to us and may cause existing and potential customers to refrain from doing business with us. Although we, with the help of third-party service providers, intend to continue to implement security technology and establish operational procedures designed to prevent such damage, our security measures may not be successful. In addition, advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other developments could result in a compromise or breach of the algorithms we and our third-party service providers use to encrypt and protect customer transaction data. A failure of such security measures could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
It is possible that we could incur significant costs associated with a breach of our computer systems. While we have cyber liability insurance, there are limitations on coverage. Furthermore, cyber incidents carry a greater risk of injury to our reputation. Finally, depending on the type of incident, banking regulators can impose restrictions on our business and consumer laws may require reimbursement of customer losses.
Risks Related to Accounting Matters
The Corporation's accounting policies and estimates are critical to how the Corporation reports its financial condition and results of operations, and any changes to such accounting policies and estimates could materially affect how the Corporation reports its financial condition and results of operations.
Management has identified certain accounting policies as being critical because they require management’s judgment to ascertain the valuations of assets, liabilities, commitments and contingencies. A variety of factors could affect the ultimate value that is obtained either when earning income, recognizing an expense, recovering an asset, valuing an asset or liability or reducing a liability. The Corporation has established detailed policies and control procedures that are intended to ensure that these critical accounting estimates and judgments are well controlled and applied consistently. In addition, these policies and procedures are intended to ensure that the process for changing methodologies occurs in an appropriate manner. Because of the uncertainty surrounding its judgments and the estimates pertaining to these matters, actual outcomes may be materially different from amounts previously estimated. For example, because of the inherent uncertainty of estimates, management cannot provide any assurance that the Bank will not significantly increase its allowance for loan losses if actual losses are more than the amount reserved. Any increase in its allowance for loan losses or loan charge-offs could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the Corporation cannot guarantee that it will not be required to adjust accounting policies or restate prior financial statements.
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Further, from time to time, the FASB and SEC change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of the Corporation's financial statements. These changes can be hard to predict and can materially impact how the Corporation records and reports its financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, the Corporation could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in its restating prior period financial statements or otherwise adversely affecting its financial condition or results of operations.
Specifically, in June of 2016, FASB issued a new accounting standard, ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326 ) that will substantially change the accounting for credit losses under GAAP. Under GAAP's current standards, credit losses are not reflected in the Corporation's financial statements until it is probable that the credit losses has been incurred. This methodology has the effect of delaying the recognition of credit losses on loans. Under the new credit loss standard, the allowance for credit losses will be an estimate of the "expected" credit losses on loans. The new credit loss standard may have a negative impact on the reporting of results of operations and financial condition of the Corporation. The amendments in this ASU are effective for the Corporation beginning on January 1, 2023.
The Corporation holds certain intangible assets that could be classified as impaired in the future. If these assets are considered to be either partially or fully impaired in the future, its earnings and the book values of these assets would decrease.
The Corporation is required to test its goodwill for impairment on a periodic basis. The impairment testing process considers a variety of factors, including the current market price of its common stock, the estimated net present value of its assets and liabilities, and information concerning the terminal valuation of similarly situated insured depository institutions. If an impairment determination is made in a future reporting period, its earnings and the book value of goodwill would be reduced by the amount of the impairment. If an impairment loss is recorded, it will have little or no impact on the tangible book value of the Corporation's common shares or its regulatory capital levels, but such an impairment loss could significantly restrict the Bank from paying a dividend to the Corporation.
Financial counterparties expose the Corporation to risks.
The Corporation has increased its use of derivative financial instruments, primarily interest rate swaps, which exposes it to financial and contractual risks with counterparty banks. The Corporation maintains correspondent bank relationships, manages certain loan participations, engages in securities transactions, and engages in other activities with financial counterparties that are customary to its industry. Financial risks are inherent in these counterparty relationships.
Risks Related to Wealth Management
Involvement in wealth management creates risks associated with the industry.
The Corporation’s wealth management operations present special risks not borne by institutions that focus exclusively on other traditional retail and commercial banking products. For example, the investment advisory industry is subject to fluctuations in the stock market that may have a significant adverse effect on transaction fees, client activity and client investment portfolio gains and losses. Also, additional or modified regulations may adversely affect our wealth management operations. In addition, our wealth management operations are dependent on a small number of established financial advisors, whose departure could result in the loss of a significant number of client accounts. A significant decline in fees and commissions or trading losses suffered in the investment portfolio could adversely affect our income and potentially require the contribution of additional capital to support our operations.
There may be claims and litigation pertaining to fiduciary responsibility.
From time to time as part of the Corporation’s normal course of business, customers make claims and take legal action against the Corporation based on its actions or inactions related to the fiduciary responsibilities of the Wealth Management Group segment. If such claims and legal actions are not resolved in a manner favorable to the Corporation, they may result in financial liability and/or adversely affect the market perception of the Corporation and its products and services. This may also impact customer demand for the Corporation’s products and services. Any financial liability or reputation damage could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s business, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations.
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General Business Risk Factors
Severe weather and other natural disasters can affect the Corporation’s business.
The Corporation's main office and its branch offices can be affected by natural disasters such as severe storms and flooding. These kinds of events could interrupt the Corporation's operations, particularly its ability to deliver deposit and other retail banking services to its customers and as a result, the Corporation's business could suffer serious harm. While the Corporation maintains adequate insurance against property and casualty losses arising from most natural disasters, and it has successfully overcome the challenges caused by past flooding in Central New York, there can be no assurance that it will be as successful if and when disasters occur.
Additionally, global markets may be adversely affected by natural disasters, the emergence of widespread health emergencies or pandemics, cyber-attacks or campaigns, military conflict such as the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism or other geopolitical events. Global market disruptions may affect our business liquidity. Also, any sudden or prolonged market downturn in the U.S. or abroad, as a result of the above factors or otherwise could result in a decline in revenue and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, including capital and liquidity levels.
Inflation can have an adverse impact on our business and on our customers.
Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. Recently, there have been market indicators of a pronounced rise in inflation and the FRB has indicated its intention to raise certain benchmark interest rates in an effort to combat inflation. As inflation increases, the value of our investment securities, particularly those with longer maturities, would decrease, although this effect can be less pronounced for floating rate instruments. In addition, inflation increases the cost of goods and services we use in our business operations, such as electricity and other utilities, which increases our non-interest expenses. Furthermore, our customers are also affected by inflation and the rising costs of goods and services used in their households and businesses, which could have a negative impact their ability to repay their loans with us.
Risks Relating to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The Corporation’s common stock is not heavily traded, and the stock price may fluctuate significantly.
The Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “CHMG.” Certain brokers currently make a market in the common stock, but such transactions are infrequent and the volume of shares traded is relatively small. Management cannot predict whether these or other brokers will continue to make a market in our common stock. Prices on stock that is not heavily traded, such as our common stock, can be more volatile than heavily traded stock. Factors such as our financial results, the introduction of new products and services by us or our competitors, publicity regarding the banking industry, and various other factors affecting the banking industry may have a significant impact on the market price of the shares of the common stock. Management also cannot predict the extent to which an active public market for our common stock will develop or be sustained in the future. Accordingly, shareholders may not be able to sell their shares of our common stock at the volumes, prices, or times that they desire.
The Corporation is a holding company and depends on its subsidiaries for dividends, distributions and other payments.
The Corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from the Bank and other subsidiaries. Its principal source of cash flow, including cash flow to pay dividends to its shareholders, is dividends from the Bank. There are statutory and regulatory limitations on the payment of dividends by the Bank to the Corporation, as well as by the Corporation to its shareholders. FRB regulations affect the ability of the Bank to pay dividends and other distributions and to make loans to the Corporation. If the Bank is unable to make dividend payments to the Corporation and sufficient capital is not otherwise available, the Corporation may not be able to make dividend payments to its common shareholders.
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Provisions of the Corporation's certificate of incorporation, bylaws, as well as New York law and certain banking laws, could delay or prevent a takeover of the Corporation by a third party.
Provisions of the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws, New York law, and state and federal banking laws, including regulatory approval requirements, could delay, defer or prevent a third party from acquiring the Corporation, despite the possible benefit to the Corporation’s shareholders, or otherwise adversely affect the market price of the Corporation’s common stock. These provisions include: a two-thirds affirmative vote of all outstanding shares of Corporation stock for certain business combinations; a supermajority shareholder vote of 75% of outstanding stock for business combinations involving 10% shareholders; the election of directors to staggered terms of three years; and advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the Corporation’s Board of Directors and for proposing matters that shareholders may act on at a shareholder meeting. In addition, the Corporation is subject to New York law, which among other things prohibits the Corporation from engaging in a business combination with any interested shareholder for a period of five years from the date the person became an interested shareholder unless certain conditions are met. These provisions may discourage potential takeover attempts, discouraging bids for the Corporation’s common stock at a premium over market price or adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of the Corporation’s common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for shareholders to elect directors other than candidates nominated by the Board of Directors.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.