EAGLE FINANCIAL SERVICES INC 10-K

Item 1A. Risk Factors The Company is subject to many risks that could adversely affect its future financial condition and performance and, therefore, the market value of its securities. The risk factors applicable to the Company include, but are not limited to the following: Credit Risks The Company’s concentration in loans secured by real estate may increase its credit losses, which would negatively affect our financial results. At December 31, 2021, loans secured by real estate totaled $754.8 million and represented 76.57% of the Company’s loan portfolio, net of net deferred loan costs and premiums. If we experience adverse changes in the local real estate market or in the local or national economy, borrowers’ ability to pay these loans may be impaired, which could impact the Company’s financial performance. The Company attempts to limit its exposure to this risk by applying good underwriting practices at origination, evaluating the appraisals used to establish property values, and routinely monitoring the financial condition of borrowers. If the value of real estate serving as collateral for the loan portfolio were to continue to decline materially, a significant part of the loan portfolio could become under-collateralized. If the loans that are secured by real estate become troubled when real estate market conditions are declining or have declined, in the event of foreclosure, the Company may not be able to realize the amount of collateral that was anticipated at the time of originating the loan. In that event, the Company might have to increase the provision for loan losses, which could have a material adverse effect on its operating results and financial condition. An inadequate allowance for loan losses would reduce our earnings. Our earnings are significantly affected by our ability to properly originate, underwrite and service loans. We maintain an allowance for loan losses based upon many factors, including the following: • actual loan loss history; • nature, terms, and volume of the loan portfolio; • the amount and trends of problems loans and non-performing loans; • the effect of changes in the local real estate market on collateral values; • the legal and regulatory environment; • lending policies and procedures; • credit administrations and lending staff; • concentrations of credit; • the loan review function; • the effect of current economic conditions on a borrower’s ability to pay; and • other factors deemed relevant by management. These determinations are based upon estimates that are inherently subjective, and their accuracy depends on the outcome of future events; therefore, realized losses may differ from current estimates. Changes in economic, operating, and other conditions, including changes in interest rates, which are generally beyond our control, could increase actual loan losses significantly. As a result, actual losses could exceed our current allowance estimate. We cannot provide assurance that our allowance for loan losses is sufficient to cover actual loan losses should such losses differ significantly from the current estimates. 13 COVID-19 Pandemic Risks The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures intended to prevent its spread may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operations; the extent of such impacts are highly uncertain and difficult to predict. Global health and economic concerns relating to the COVID-19 outbreak and government actions taken to reduce the spread of the virus have had a material adverse impact on the macroeconomic environment, and the outbreak has significantly increased economic uncertainty. The pandemic has resulted in federal, state and local authorities, including those who govern the markets in which we operate, implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus. These measures, including shelter in place orders and business limitations and shutdowns, contributed to rising unemployment and negatively impacted consumer and business spending during 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely impacted and is likely to continue to adversely impact our workforce and operations and the operations of our customers and business partners. While the spread of COVID-19 decreased substantially throughout the spring and summer of 2021 and restrictive measures taken by governments, businesses and individuals were lifted or eased, the spread of new, more transmissible variants has resulted in continued economic disruption and uncertainty, interest rate and monetary policy impacts, and trade and supply chain disruption. New developments as a consequence of the pandemic could cause adverse effects on the Company due to a number of operational factors impacting it or its customers or business partners, including but not limited to: • credit losses resulting from financial stress experienced by our borrowers, especially those operating in industries most hard hit by government measures to contain the spread of the virus; • operational failures, disruptions or inefficiencies due to changes in our normal business practices necessitated by our internal measures to protect our employees and government-mandated measures intended to slow the spread of the virus; • possible business disruptions experienced by our vendors and business partners in carrying out work that supports our operations; • decreased demand for our products and services due to economic uncertainty, volatile market conditions and temporary business closures; • any financial liability, credit losses, litigation costs or reputational damage resulting from our origination of PPP loans; and • heightened levels of cyber and payment fraud, as cyber criminals try to take advantage of the disruption and increased online activity brought about by the pandemic. The extent to which the pandemic impacts our business, liquidity, financial condition and operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to, its duration and severity, the actions to contain it or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. In addition, the rapidly changing and unprecedented nature of COVID-19 heightens the inherent uncertainty of forecasting future economic conditions and their impact on our loan portfolio, thereby increasing the risk that the assumptions, judgments and estimates used to determine the allowance for loan losses and other estimates are incorrect. Further, our loan deferral program could delay or make it difficult to identify the extent of asset quality deterioration during the deferral period. As a result of these and other conditions, the ultimate impact of the pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change, and we cannot predict the full extent of the impacts on our business, our operations or the global economy as a whole. 14 Technology Risks The Company’s operations may be adversely affected by cyber security risks. In the ordinary course of business, the Company collects and stores sensitive data, including proprietary business information and personally identifiable information of its customers and employees in systems and on networks. The secure processing, maintenance, and use of this information is critical to the Company's operations and business strategy. In addition, the Company relies heavily on communications and information systems to conduct its business. Any failure, interruption, or breach in security or operational integrity of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in the Company's customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan, and other systems. The Company has invested in accepted technologies, and continually reviews processes and practices that are designed to protect its networks, computers, and data from damage or unauthorized access. To date, the Company has not experienced a significant compromise, significant data loss or any material financial losses related to cybersecurity attacks, but the Company’s systems and those of its customers and third-party service providers are under constant threat and it is possible that the Company could experience a significant event in the future. Risks and exposures related to cybersecurity attacks are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future due to the rapidly evolving nature and sophistication of these threats, as well as due to the expanding use of Internet banking, mobile banking and other technology-based products and services by the Company and its customers. The Company’s computer systems and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. A breach of any kind could compromise systems and the information stored there could be accessed, damaged, or disclosed. A breach in security or other failure could result in legal claims, regulatory penalties, disruption in operations, increased expenses, loss of customers and business partners, and damage to the Company’s reputation, which could adversely affect its business and financial condition. Furthermore, as cyber threats continue to evolve and increase, the Company may be required to expend significant additional financial and operational resources to modify or enhance its protective measures, or to investigate and remediate any identified information security vulnerabilities. Failure to keep pace with technological change could adversely affect our business. The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions and other firms to better serve customers and to reduce costs. The pace of these technological changes has increased in the “Fintech” environment, in which industry changing products and services are often introduced and adopted, including innovative ways that customers can make payments, access products, and manage accounts. Our future success depends, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements. We may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services, which could entail significant time, resources and additional risk to develop or adopt, or be successful in marketing these products and services to our customers. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse impact on our business and, in turn, our financial condition and results of operations. Liquidity and Interest Rate Risks The Company’s success depends upon its ability to manage interest rate risk. The profitability of the Company depends significantly on its net interest income, which is the difference between the interest earned on loans, securities and other interest-earning assets, and the interest paid on deposits and borrowings. Changes in interest rates will affect the rates earned on securities and loans and rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. While the Company believes that its current interest rate exposure does not present any significant negative exposure to interest rate changes, it cannot eliminate its exposure to interest rate risk because the factors which cause interest rate risk are beyond the Company’s control. These factors include competition, federal economic, monetary and fiscal policies, and general economic conditions. 15 The Company will be required to transition from the use of the London Inter Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) index in the future . The Company has certain variable-rate loans indexed to LIBOR to calculate the loan interest rate. The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, has previously announced that the continued availability of the LIBOR on the current basis is not guaranteed after 2021. In November 2020, the administrator of LIBOR announced it will consult on its intention to extend the retirement date of certain offered rates whereby the publication of the one week and two month LIBOR offered rates will cease after December 31, 2021; but, the publication of the remaining LIBOR offered rates will continue until June 30, 2023. Regulators, industry groups, and certain committees (e.g., the Alternative Reference Rates Committee) have, among other things, published recommended fall-back language for LIBOR-linked financial instruments, identified recommended alternatives for certain LIBOR rates (e.g., SOFR, as the recommended alternative to U.S. Dollar LIBOR), and proposed implementations of the recommended alternatives in floating rate instruments. At this time, it is not possible predict whether these specific recommendations and proposals will be broadly accepted, whether they will continue to evolve, and what the effect of any such alternatives may be on the value of LIBOR-based variable-rate loans, as well as LIBOR-based securities, subordinated notes, trust preferred securities, or other securities or financial arrangements. The transition to alternative reference rate for new contracts, or the implementation of a substitute index or indices for the calculation of interest rates under the Company’s existing loan agreements with borrowers or other financial arrangements, could change the Company’s market risk profile, interest margin, interest spread and pricing models, may cause the Company to incur significant expenses in effecting the transition, may result in reduced loan balances if borrowers do not accept a substitute index or indices, and may result in disputes or litigation with customers or other counter-parties over the appropriateness or comparability to LIBOR of the substitute index or indices, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations. Market Risks The Company’s success depends upon its ability to compete effectively in the banking industry. The Company’s banking subsidiary faces competition from banks and other financial institutions, including savings and loan associations, savings banks, finance companies and credit unions for deposits, loans and other financial services in our market area. Certain divisions within the banking subsidiary face competition from wealth management and investment brokerage firms. A number of these banks and other financial institutions are significantly larger and have substantially greater access to capital and other resources, as well as larger lending limits and branch systems, and offer a wider array of banking services. In addition, the Company faces competition from market place lenders and other financial technology firms, which may provide competitive services quickly and in innovative ways and may have fewer regulatory constraints and lower cost structures. This competition may reduce or limit our margins and our market share and may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. The Company could be adversely affected by economic conditions in its market area. The Company’s branches are located in the counties of Clarke, Frederick and Loudoun, the towns of Purcellville, Leesburg and Ashburn, and the City of Winchester. Because our lending is concentrated in this market, we will be affected by the general economic conditions in these areas. Changes in the economy may influence the growth rate of our loans and deposits, the quality of the loan portfolio and loan and deposit pricing. A decline in general economic conditions caused by inflation, recession, unemployment or other factors beyond our control would impact the demand for banking products and services generally, which could negatively affect our financial condition and performance. The soundness of other financial institutions could adversely affect us. Our ability to engage in routine funding transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Financial services institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty or other relationships. We have exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and we routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial industry. As a result, defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, one or more financial services institutions, or the financial services industry generally, have led to market-wide liquidity problems and could lead to losses or defaults by us or by other institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty or client. In addition, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the financial instrument exposure due us. There is no assurance that any such losses would not materially and adversely affect our results of operations. 16 Operational Risks Our exposure to operational risk may adversely affect our business. We are exposed to many types of operational risk, including reputational risk, legal and compliance risk, the risk of fraud or theft by employees or outsiders, unauthorized transactions by employees or operational errors, including clerical or record-keeping errors or those resulting from faulty or disabled computer or telecommunications systems. Reputational risk, or the risk to our earnings and capital from negative public opinion, could result from our actual alleged conduct in any number of activities, including lending practices, corporate governance, regulatory compliance or the occurrence of any of the events or instances mentioned below, or from actions taken by government regulators or community organizations in response to that conduct. Negative public opinion could also result from adverse news or publicity that impairs the reputation of the financial services industry generally. Further, if any of our financial, accounting, or other data processing systems fail or have other significant shortcomings, we could be adversely affected. We depend on internal systems and outsourced technology to support these data storage and processing operations. Our inability to use or access these information systems at critical points in time could unfavorably impact the timeliness and efficiency of our business operations. We could be adversely affected if one of our employees causes a significant operational break-down or failure, either as a result of human error or where an individual purposefully sabotages or fraudulently manipulates our operations or systems. We are also at risk of the impact of natural disasters, terrorism and international hostilities on our systems or for the effects of outages or other failures involving power or communications systems operated by others. If any of the foregoing risks materialize, it could have a material adverse affect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company may not be able to successfully manage its growth or implement its growth strategy, which may adversely affect results of operations and financial condition. A key component of the Company’s business strategy is to continue to grow and expand. The Company’s ability to grow and expand depends upon its ability to open new branch locations, attract new deposits to the existing and new branch locations, and identify attractive loan and investment opportunities. The Company may not be able to implement its growth strategy if it is unable to identify attractive markets or branch locations. Once identified, successfully managing growth will depend on integrating the new branch locations while maintaining adequate capital, cost controls and asset quality. As this growth strategy is implemented, the Company will incur construction costs and increased personnel, occupancy and other operating expenses. Because these costs are incurred before new deposits and loans are generated, adding new branch locations will initially decrease earnings, despite efficient execution of this strategy. In addition, the Company could experience difficulties expanding into new markets or product lines. The Company’s lack of history and familiarity with those markets, clients and lines of business may lead to unexpected challenges or difficulties that inhibit its success and adversely affect the Company’s results of operations. Severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, geopolitical instability, public health issues, and other external events could significantly impact the Company's business. Severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, geopolitical instability, public health issues, and other adverse external events could have a significant impact on the Company's ability to conduct business. In addition, such events could affect the stability of the Company’s deposit base, cause economic or market uncertainty, negatively impact consumer confidence, impair the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans, impair the value of collateral securing loans, cause significant property damage, result in loss of revenue, and/or cause the Company to incur additional expenses. The Company is also at risk of the impact of natural disasters, terrorism, and international hostilities on its systems and from the effects of cyberattacks, outages or other failures involving power or communications systems operated by others, which may give rise to disruption of service to customers and to financial loss or liability. The occurrence of any such events in the future and the economic impact from such events could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations. 17 The Company relies heavily on its senior management team and the unexpected loss of key officers could adversely affect operations. The Company believes that its growth and success depends heavily upon the skills of its senior management team. The Company also depends on the experience of its subsidiary’s officers and on their relationships with the customers they serve. The loss of one or more of these officers could disrupt the Company’s operations and impair its ability to implement its business strategy, which could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and performance. Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Risks Government measures to regulate the financial industry, including the Dodd-Frank Act, subject us to increased regulation and could adversely affect us. As a financial institution, we are heavily regulated at the state and federal levels. These laws and regulations are generally intended to benefit consumers, borrowers and depositors, but not investors. Our success depends on our ability to maintain compliance with existing and new laws and regulations. As a result of the financial crisis and related global economic downturn that began in 2007, we have faced, and expect to continue to face, increased public and legislative scrutiny as well as stricter and more comprehensive regulation of our financial services practices. The Dodd-Frank Act includes significant changes in the financial regulatory landscape and has increased our operations and compliance costs in the short-term. Future legislation, regulation and government policy, which are beyond our control, may change rapidly and unpredictably and could affect the banking industry as a whole, including our business and results of operations, in ways that are difficult to predict. With the Biden administration, a Democratic controlled Congress, and changes in leadership at federal agencies such as the CFPB, we expect that financial institutions will remain heavily regulated in the near future and that additional laws or regulations may be adopted further regulating specific banking practices. As a result of the provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act and other current or future laws and regulations applicable to the Bank, we could experience additional costs, as well as limitations on the products and services we offer and on our ability to efficiently pursue business opportunities, which may adversely affect our businesses, financial condition or results of operations. The Bank is subject to stringent capital and liquidity requirements as a result of the Basel III regulatory capital reforms and the Dodd-Frank Act. The Bank is subject to capital adequacy guidelines and other regulatory requirements specifying minimum amounts and types of capital which it must maintain. From time to time, regulators implement changes to these regulatory capital adequacy guidelines. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the federal banking agencies have established stricter capital requirements and leverage limits for banks and bank holding companies that are based on the Basel III regulatory capital reforms. The Basel III Capital Rules require banking organizations to maintain significantly more capital and adopted more demanding regulatory capital risk weightings and calculations. While the recently passed Economic Growth Act requires that federal banking regulators establish a simplified leverage capital framework for smaller banks, these more stringent capital requirements could, among other things, limit banking operations and activities, and growth of loan portfolios, in order to focus on retention of earnings to improve capital levels. The Bank believes that it maintains sufficient levels of Tier 1 and Common Equity Tier 1 capital to comply with the Basel III Final rules. However, if the Bank fails to meet these minimum capital guidelines and/or other regulatory requirements, the Bank could be subject to regulatory restrictions, including limitations on paying dividends to the holding company for shareholder dividends and share repurchases and paying discretionary bonuses, or experience other adverse consequences that could cause its financial condition to be materially and adversely affected. In addition, there can be no assurance that our methodology for assessing our asset quality will succeed in properly identifying impaired loans or calculating an appropriate loan loss allowance. We could sustain losses if we incorrectly assess the creditworthiness of our borrowers or fail to detect or respond to deterioration in asset quality in a timely manner. If our assumptions and judgments prove to be incorrect and the allowance for loan losses is inadequate to absorb losses, or if bank regulatory authorities require us to increase the allowance for loan losses as a part of their examination process, our earnings and capital could be significantly and adversely affected. 18 Changes in accounting standards could impact reported earnings and capital. The authorities that promulgate accounting standards, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”), the SEC, and other regulatory authorities, periodically change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. These changes are difficult to predict and can materially impact how the Company records and reports its financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, the Company could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the restatement of financial statements for prior periods. Such changes could also impact the capital levels of the Bank, or require the Company to incur additional personnel or technology costs. Most notably, new guidance on the calculation of credit reserves using current expected credit losses, referred to as CECL, was finalized in June 2016. The standard will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2023. To implement the new standard, the Company has and will incur costs related to data collection and documentation, technology and training. Although the Company is currently unable to reasonably estimate the impact of the new standard on its financial statements, adoption of the new standard could necessitate, among other things, higher loan loss reserve levels, and the Company expects to recognize a one-time cumulative effect adjustment to the allowance for loan losses and opening retained earnings as of the beginning of the quarter in which the standard is effective. If the Company is required to materially increase the level of the allowance for loan losses or incurs additional expenses to determine the appropriate level of the allowance for loan losses, such changes could adversely affect the Company’s capital levels, financial condition and results of operations. Increasing scrutiny and evolving expectations from customers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices may impose additional costs on the Company or expose it to new or additional risks. Companies are facing increasing scrutiny from customers, regulators, investors, and other stakeholders related to ESG practices and disclosure. Investor advocacy groups, investment funds, and influential investors are also increasingly focused on these practices, especially as they relate to climate risk, hiring practices, the diversity of the work force, and racial and social justice issues. Increased ESG related compliance costs could result in increases to the Company’s overall operational costs. Failure to adapt to or comply with regulatory requirements or investor or stakeholder expectations and standards could negatively impact the Company’s reputation, ability to do business with certain partners, and the Company’s stock price. New government regulations could also result in new or more stringent forms of ESG oversight and expanding mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence, and disclosure. Climate change and related legislative and regulatory initiatives may result in operational changes and expenditures that could significantly impact the Company’s business. The current and anticipated effects of climate change are creating an increasing level of concern for the state of the global environment. As a result, political and social attention to the issue of climate change has increased. Federal and state legislatures and regulatory agencies have continued to propose and advance numerous legislative and regulatory initiatives seeking to mitigate the effects of climate change. The federal banking agencies have emphasized that climate-related risks are faced by banking organizations of all types and sizes and are in the process of enhancing supervisory expectations regarding banks’ risk management practices. In December 2021, the OCC published proposed principles for climate risk management by banking organizations with more than $100 billion in assets. The OCC also has appointed its first ever Climate Change Risk Officer and established an internal climate risk implementation committee in order to assist with these initiatives and to support the agency’s efforts to enhance its supervision of climate change risk management. Similar and even more expansive initiatives are expected, including potentially increasing supervisory expectations with respect to banks’ risk management practices, accounting for the effects of climate change in stress testing scenarios and systemic risk assessments, revising expectations for credit portfolio concentrations based on climate-related factors and encouraging investment by banks in climate-related initiatives and lending to communities disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. To the extent that these initiatives lead to the promulgation of new regulations or supervisory guidance applicable to the Company, the Company would likely experience increased compliance costs and other compliance-related risks. 19 The lack of empirical data surrounding the credit and other financial risks posed by climate change render it impossible to predict how specifically climate change may impact the Company’s financial condition and results of operations; however, the physical effects of climate change may also directly impact the Company. Specifically, unpredictable and more frequent weather disasters may adversely impact the value of real property securing the loans in the Bank’s loan portfolio. Additionally, if insurance obtained by borrowers is insufficient to cover any losses sustained to the collateral, or if insurance coverage is otherwise unavailable to borrowers, the collateral securing loans may be negatively impacted by climate change, which could impact the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Further, the effects of climate change may negatively impact regional and local economic activity, which could lead to an adverse effect on customers and impact the communities in which the Company operates. Overall, climate change, its effects and the resulting, unknown impact could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Risks Relating to Our Securities There can be no assurances concerning continuing dividend payments. Our common stockholders are only entitled to receive the dividends declared by our Board of Directors. Although we have historically paid quarterly dividends on our common stock, there can be no assurances that we will be able to continue to pay regular quarterly dividends or an annual stock dividend or that any dividends we do declare will be in any particular amount. The primary source of money to pay our cash dividends comes from dividends paid to the Company by the Bank. The Bank’s ability to pay dividends to the Company is subject to, among other things, its earnings, financial condition and applicable regulations, which in some instances limit the amount that may be paid as dividends. In addition, the Company and the Bank are required to maintain a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital on top of minimum risk-weighted asset ratios to pay dividends without additional restrictions. There is a limited trading market for our common shares, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid for them. Although our common shares are listed for trading under the symbol “EFSI,” the trading in our common shares has substantially less liquidity than many other publicly traded companies. A public trading market having the desired characteristics of depth, liquidity and orderliness depends on the presence in the market of willing buyers and sellers of our common shares at any given time. This presence depends on the individual decisions of investors and general economic and market conditions over which we have no control. We cannot assure you that volume of trading in our common shares will increase in the future. The stock market can be volatile, and fluctuations in our operating results and other factors could cause our stock price to decline. The stock market has experienced, and may continue to experience, fluctuations that significantly impact the market prices of securities issued by many companies. Market fluctuations could adversely affect our stock price. These fluctuations have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations, as well as general economic, systemic, political and market conditions, such as recessions, loss of investor confidence, interest rate changes, tariffs, government shutdowns, Brexit, or international currency fluctuations, may negatively affect the market price of our common stock. Moreover, our operating results may fluctuate and vary from period to period due to the risk factors set forth herein. As a result, period-to-period comparisons should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our stock price could fluctuate significantly in response to our quarterly or annual results, annual projections, and the impact of these risk factors on our operating results or financial position. 20 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments None.