Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, stockholders or prospective investors should carefully consider the following risk factors:
Risks Relating to General Economic Conditions
A downturn in general economic or business conditions, nationally or in markets where our business is concentrated, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our success depends upon the business activity, population, employment rates, income levels, deposits and real estate activity in our markets in northern and central Indiana. Although our customers’ business and financial interests may extend well beyond these market areas, adverse economic conditions that affect these market areas could reduce our growth rate, diminish the ability of our customers to repay their loans to us, decrease the value of any collateral securing our loans and generally adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, because of our geographic concentration, we are less able than other regional or national financial institutions to diversify our credit risks across multiple markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic, including the spread of new variants, has had and may continue to have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations, and could have an adverse impact on our financial condition or capital levels, any of which could be material.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant economic impact on the communities in which we operate, our borrowers and depositors, and the national economy generally. Even as efforts to contain the pandemic, including vaccinations, have made progress and some restrictions have relaxed, new variants of the virus have and may continue to have significant economic effects. The impact of these variants cannot be predicted. As a result, we expect the impact of COVID-19 could continue to be volatile, and last for a significant and indeterminate period. These developments could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and capital levels, the amounts of which cannot be determined and could be material. In particular, certain of our borrowers and depositors are in or have exposure to industries, such as hotel and accommodations, entertainment and recreation and full-service restaurants, which have been significantly adversely affected by the pandemic and its effects on the economy. Additionally, supply chain constraints and labor availability is adversely impacting our manufacturing clients. See "Note 25 - COVID-19 and Current Economic Conditions" for additional information.
Continued elevated levels of inflation could adversely impact our business and results of operations.
The United States has recently experienced elevated levels of inflation, with the consumer price index climbing approximately 7.0% in 2021. Continued levels of inflation could have complex effects on our business and results of operations, some of which could be materially adverse. For example, if interest rates were to rise in response to, or as a result of, elevated levels of inflation, the value of our securities portfolio would be negatively impacted. In addition, while we generally expect any inflation-related increases in our interest expense to be offset by increases in our interest revenue, inflation-driven increases in our levels of non-interest expense could negatively impact our results of operations. Continued elevated levels of inflation could also cause increased volatility and uncertainty in the business environment, which could adversely affect loan demand and our clients' ability to repay indebtedness. It is also possible that governmental responses to the current inflation environment could adversely affect our business, such as changes to monetary and fiscal policy that are too strict, or the imposition or threatened imposition of price controls. The duration and severity of the current inflationary period cannot be estimated with precision.
Labor shortages and failure to attract and retain qualified employees could negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A number of factors may adversely affect the labor force available to us or increase labor costs, including high employment levels, decreased labor force size and participation rates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded unemployment benefits offered in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and other government actions. Although we have not experienced any material labor shortage to date, we have recently observed an overall tightening and increasingly competitive local labor market. As of December 31, 2021, Indiana's unemployment rate was 2.7%. A sustained labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our employee base could lead to increased costs, such as increased compensation expense to attract and retain employees.
In addition, if we are unable to hire and retain employees capable of performing at a high-level, or if mitigation measures we may take to respond to a decrease in labor availability have unintended negative effects, our business could be
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adversely affected. An overall labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, increased turnover or labor inflation, caused by COVID-19 or as a result of general macroeconomic factors, could have a material adverse impact on our operations, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows.
Interest rate shifts may reduce net interest income and otherwise negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.
Shifts in short-term interest rates may reduce net interest income, which is the principal component of our earnings. Net interest income is the difference between the amounts received by us on our interest bearing assets and the interest paid by us on our interest bearing liabilities. When interest rates rise, as is expected to happen in 2022, the rate of interest we pay on our liabilities may rise more quickly than the rate of interest that we receive on our interest bearing assets, which may cause our profits to decrease. Conversely, when interest rates fall our interest bearing assets reprice more quickly than our interest bearing liabilities, given our asset-sensitive balance sheet, which may cause our net interest income to decrease. The impact on earnings is more adverse when the slope of the yield curve flattens, i.e. when short-term interest rates increase more than corresponding changes in long-term interest rates or when long-term interest rates decrease more than corresponding changes in short-term interest rates.
Interest rate increases often result in larger payment requirements for our borrowers, which increases the potential for default. At the same time, the marketability of any underlying assets securing a loan may be adversely affected by any reduced demand resulting from higher interest rates. In a declining interest rate environment, there may be an increase in prepayments on the loans as borrowers refinance their mortgages at lower rates.
Changes in interest rates also can affect the value of loans, securities and other assets. An increase in interest rates that adversely affects the ability of borrowers to pay the principal or interest on loans may lead to an increase in nonperforming assets and a reduction of income recognized, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows. Thus, an increase in the amount of nonperforming assets would have an adverse impact on net interest income.
Risks Relating to Our Business
If we do not effectively manage our credit risk, we may experience increased levels of nonperforming loans, charge offs and delinquencies, which could require further increases in our provision for credit losses.
There are risks inherent in making any loan, including risks inherent in dealing with individual borrowers, risks of nonpayment, risks resulting from uncertainties as to the future value of collateral and risks resulting from changes in economic and industry conditions. In general, these risks have increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted business trends that we evaluate when making credit decisions, and changed the short- and long-term outlook for businesses and individuals in our markets. We cannot assure you that our loan application approval procedures, use of loan concentration limits, credit monitoring, use of independent reviews of outstanding loans or other procedures will reduce these credit risks. If the overall economic climate in the United States, generally, and our market areas, specifically, does not perform in the manner we expect, or even if it does, our borrowers may experience difficulties in repaying their loans, and the level of nonperforming loans, charge-offs and delinquencies could rise and require increases in the provision for credit losses, which would cause our net income and return on equity to decrease.
If our allowance for credit losses is not sufficient to absorb losses that may occur in our loan portfolio, our financial condition and liquidity could suffer.
We establish our allowance for credit losses and maintain it at a level considered adequate by management to absorb expected credit losses within the portfolio. Allocations of the allowance are made for specific loans and for pools of similar types of loans, although the entire allowance is available for any loan that, in management's judgment, should be charged against the allowance. Additions to the allowance for credit losses, which are charged to earnings through the provision for credit losses, are determined based on a variety of factors, including an analysis of the loan portfolio, historical loss experience and an evaluation of current economic conditions in our market areas. The actual amount of credit losses is affected by changes in economic, operating and other conditions within our markets, which may be beyond our control, and such losses may exceed current estimates.
At December 31, 2021, our allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.58% and as a percentage of total nonperforming loans was 449%. Because of the nature of our loan portfolio and our concentration in commercial and industrial loans, which tend to be larger loans, the movement of a small number of loans to nonperforming status can have a significant impact on these ratios. Although a formal evaluation of the adequacy of the credit loss allowance is conducted
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monthly, we cannot predict credit losses with certainty and we cannot provide assurance that our allowance for credit losses will prove sufficient to cover actual credit losses in the future. Credit losses in excess of our reserves may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Commercial and industrial loans make up a significant portion of our loan portfolio.
Commercial and industrial loans were $1.389 billion, or approximately 32% of our total loan portfolio, as of December 31, 2021. Commercial and industrial loans are often larger and involve greater risks than other types of lending. Because payments on such loans are often dependent on the successful operation of the borrower involved, repayment of such loans is o ften more sensitive than other types of loans to adverse conditions in the general economy. For example, decreased economic activity, labor availability shortages and supply chain constraints as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected commercial and industrial loans, and we expect this trend to continue for certain portions of our loan portfolio, depending on the strength and speed of economic recovery and other factors.
Our commercial and industrial loans are primarily made based on the identified cash flow of the borrower and secondarily on the underlying collateral provided by the borrower. Most often, this collateral is accounts receivable, inventory, machinery or real estate. Whenever practical, we require a personal guarantee on commercial and industrial loans. Credit support provided by the borrower for most of these loans and the probability of repayment is based on the liquidation of the pledged collateral and enforcement of a personal guarantee, if any exists. As a result, in the case of loans secured by accounts receivable, the availability of funds for the repayment of these loans may be substantially dependent on the ability of the borrower to collect amounts due from its customers. The collateral securing other loans may depreciate over time, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based on the success of the business. Due to the larger average size of each commercial loan as compared with other loans such as residential loans, as well as collateral that is generally less readily-marketable, losses incurred on a small number of commercial loans could adversely affect our business, results of operations and growth prospects. Historically, the Bank's largest charge offs have been in this segment of the loan portfolio.
Our loan portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, which involve risks specific to real estate value.
Commercial real estate loans were $1.955 billion, or approximately 46% of our total loan portfolio as of December 31, 2021. The market value of real estate can fluctuate significantly in a short period of time as a result of market conditions in the geographic area in which the real estate is located, and, as a general matter, some of these values have been significantly and negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although a significant portion of such loans are secured by real estate as a secondary form of collateral, these developments and any future adverse developments affecting real estate values in one or more of our markets could increase the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio. Additionally, real estate lending typically involves higher loan principal amounts and the repayment of the loans generally is dependent, in large part, on sufficient income from the properties securing the loans to cover operating expenses and debt service. Economic events or governmental regulations outside of the control of the borrower or lender could negatively impact the future cash flow and market values of the affected properties.
If the loans that are collateralized by real estate become troubled and the value of the real estate has been significantly impaired, then we may not be able to recover the full contractual amount of principal and interest that we anticipated at the time of originating the loan, which could cause us to increase our provision for credit losses and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
Our loan portfolio has a notable concentration in agri-business, which has a higher level of uncontrolled risk.
Our agri-business loans, which totaled $445.8 million, or approximately 10% of our total loan portfolio as of December 31, 2021, are subject to risks outside of our or the borrower’s control. These risks, specific to the agricultural industry, include decreases in livestock and crop prices, increases in labor and input prices, increase in stockpiles of agricultural commodities, the strength of the U.S. dollar, the potential impact of tariffs on commodities and the nature of climate and weather conditions. To the extent these or other factors affect the performance or financial condition of our agri-business borrowers, our results of operations and financial performance could suffer.
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Our consumer loans generally have a higher degree of risk of default than our other loans.
At December 31, 2021, consumer loans totaled $82.8 million, or 2% of our total loan portfolio. Consumer loans typically have shorter terms and lower balances with higher yields as compared to commercial loans, but generally carry higher risks of default. Consumer loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and thus are more likely to be affected by adverse personal circumstances. Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws, including bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount which can be recovered on these loans.
Nonperforming assets take significant time to resolve and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and could result in further losses in the future.
Our nonperforming assets adversely affect our net income in various ways. We do not record interest income on nonaccrual loans or other real estate owned, which adversely affects our net income and returns on assets and equity, increases our loan administration costs and adversely affects our efficiency ratio. When we take collateral in foreclosure and similar proceedings, we are required to mark the collateral to its current fair market value at the time of transfer, which may result in a loss. These nonperforming loans and other real estate owned also increase our risk profile and our regulatory capital requirements may increase in light of such risks. The resolution of nonperforming assets requires significant time commitments from management and can be detrimental to the performance of their other responsibilities. If we experience increases in nonperforming loans and other nonperforming assets, our net interest income and provision expense may be negatively impacted and our loan administration costs could increase, each of which could have an adverse effect on our net income and related ratios, such as return on assets and equity.
Liquidity risks could affect operations and jeopardize our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Liquidity is essential to our business. An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of loans and other sources could have a substantial, negative effect on our liquidity. Our primary sources of funds consist of deposits, cash from operations and investment maturities and sales. Additional liquidity is provided by brokered deposits, CD Option of IntraFi Network Deposits (“CD Option”, formerly known as CDARS), American Financial Exchange overnight borrowings, IntraFi Network’s insured cash sweep program, as well as our ability to borrow from federal funds lines at correspondent banks, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Home Loan Bank (the “FHLB”). Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our activities or on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us directly or the financial services industry or economy in general, such as disruptions in the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry. In addition, increased competition with the largest banks and Fintechs for retail deposits may impact our ability to raise funds through deposits and could have a negative effect on our liquidity.
During the last recession, the financial services industry and the credit markets generally were materially and adversely affected by significant declines in asset values and historically depressed levels of liquidity. The liquidity issues were also particularly acute for regional and community banks, as many of the larger financial institutions curtailed their lending to regional and community banks to reduce their exposure to the risks of other banks. In addition, many of the larger correspondent lenders reduced or even eliminated federal funds lines for their correspondent customers. Furthermore, regional and community banks generally have less access to the capital markets than national and super-regional banks because of their smaller size and limited analyst coverage. Any decline in available funding could adversely impact our ability to originate loans, invest in securities, meet our expenses, pay dividends to our stockholders, or fulfill obligations such as repaying our borrowings or meeting deposit withdrawal demands, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Any action or steps to change coverages or eliminate Indiana’s Public Deposit Insurance Fund could require us to find alternative, higher-cost funding sources to replace public fund deposits or to provide for collateralization of these deposits.
At December 31, 2021 , appro ximately 22% of our deposits are concentrated in public funds from a small number of municipalities and government agencies located in the Bank’s geographic footprint. A shift in funding away from public fund deposits would impact liquidity availability and could increase our cost of funds, as the alternate funding sources, such as brokered certificates of deposit, can be higher-cost, are less favorable deposits and could require additional collateral to be pledged. The inability to maintain these public funds on deposit could result in a material adverse effect on the Bank’s liquidity and could materially impact our ability to grow and remain profitable.
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Declines in asset values may result in impairment charges and adversely affect the value of our investments, financial performance and capital.
We maintain an investment portfolio that includes, but is not limited to, mortgage-backed securities and municipal securities. The market value of investments may be affected by factors other than the underlying performance of the servicer of the securities or the mortgages underlying the securities, such as ratings downgrades, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial condition of state and local governments, adverse changes in the business climate and a lack of liquidity in the secondary market for certain investment securities. On a quarterly basis, we evaluate investments and other assets for credit and other impairment indicators. We may be required to record additional credit reserve charges if our investments suffer a decline in fair value that has resulted from credit losses or other factors. If we determine that a significant reserve is needed, we would be required to charge against earnings the credit-related portion, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the periods in which the write-offs occur.
We may be adversely impacted by the discontinuance of LIBOR as a short-term interest rate utilized for loans and other financing agreements.
In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (the authority that regulates LIBOR) announced it intends to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. In March 2021, the ICE Benchmark Administration, which administers LIBOR, announced that it would stop publishing all LIBOR tenors by June 30, 2023. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee ("ARRC") has proposed that the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") is the rate that represents best practice as the alternative to USD-LIBOR for use in derivatives and other financial contracts that are currently indexed to USD-LIBOR. ARRC has proposed a paced market transition plan to SOFR from USD-LIBOR and organizations are continuing to work on industry wide and company-specific transition plans as it relates to derivatives and cash markets exposed to USD-LIBOR. The Company has material contracts that are indexed to USD-LIBOR and is monitoring this activity and evaluating the related risks. This includes identifying outstanding USD-LIBOR-based loans without ARRC recommended fallback language, internal training and education, and working with our core provider to ensure proper integration once an alternative reference is implemented. The Company has formed a cross-functional project team to lead the transition from LIBOR to adoption of alternative reference rates which include Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), American Interbank Offered Rate ( "Ameribor"), and Bloomberg Short-Term Bank Yield Index ("BSBY"). Management is monitoring ARRC publications for best practices as the Company transitions legacy LIBOR loans by the June 30, 2023 deadline.
Risks Relating to Our Corporate Strategy
We may need to raise additional capital in the future to achieve our growth plans, but that capital may not be available when it is needed.
We are required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations. Accordingly, we may need to raise additional capital to support our future growth plans. Our ability to raise additional capital depends on conditions in the capital markets, economic conditions and a number of other factors, including investor perceptions regarding the banking industry, market conditions and governmental activities, and on our financial condition and performance. Accordingly, we cannot make assurances of our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, on terms acceptable to us. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, our financial condition and our ability to further expand our operations through internal growth or acquisitions could be materially impaired.
We may experience difficulties in managing our growth, and our growth strategy involves risks that may negatively impact our net income.
In addition to our continuing expansion in Indianapolis and larger cities in Northern Indiana, we may expand into additional communities or attempt to strengthen our position in our current markets through opportunistic acquisitions of all or part of other financial institutions, or by opening new branches in or within two hours of our contiguous geographic footprint. To the extent that we undertake acquisitions or new branch openings, we are likely to experience the effects of higher operating expenses relative to operating income from the new operations, which may have an adverse effect on our levels of reported net income, return on average equity and return on average assets. Other effects of engaging in such growth strategies may include potential diversion of our management’s time and attention and general disruption to our business.
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To the extent that we grow through acquisitions and branch openings, we cannot assure that we will be able to adequately and profitably manage this growth. Acquiring other banks and businesses will involve similar risks to those commonly associated with branching but may also involve additional risks, including:
• potential exposure to unknown or contingent liabilities of banks and businesses we acquire;
• exposure to potential asset quality issues of the acquired bank or related business;
• difficulty and expense of integrating the operations and personnel of banks and businesses we acquire; and
• the possible loss of key employees and customers of the banks and businesses we acquire.
We face intense competition in all phases of our business from other banks, financial institutions and nonbank financial service providers.
The banking and financial services business in our market is highly competitive. Our competitors include large national, regional and local community banks, credit unions, Fintech and nonbank financial service providers, securities and brokerage companies, mortgage companies, insurance companies, finance companies, money market mutual funds and farm credit services. Many of these competitors are not subject to the same operating costs or regulatory restrictions as we are and are able to provide customers with a feasible alternative to traditional banking services.
Increased competition in our market may also result in a decrease in the amounts of our loans and deposits, reduced spreads between loan rates and deposit rates or loan terms that are more favorable to the borrower. Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our ability to grow and remain profitable. If increased competition causes us to significantly discount the interest rates we offer on loans or increase the amount we pay on deposits, our net interest income could be adversely impacted. If increased competition causes us to relax our underwriting standards, we could be exposed to higher losses from lending activities. Moreover, we rely on deposits to be a low-cost source of funding, and a loss in our deposit base could cause us to incur higher funding costs.
The financial services industry is constantly undergoing rapid technological changes with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. We invest from time to time in investment funds that seek to promote the development of such new and emerging financial technologies.
Additionally, many of our competitors are much larger in total assets and capitalization, have greater access to capital markets, possess larger lending limits and offer a broader range of financial services than we can offer.
Attractive acquisition opportunities may not be available to us in the future.
We expect that other banking and financial service companies, many of which have significantly greater resources than us, will compete with us in acquiring other financial institutions if we pursue such acquisitions. This competition could increase prices for potential acquisitions that we believe are attractive. Also, acquisitions are subject to various regulatory approvals. If we fail to receive the appropriate regulatory approvals, we will not be able to consummate an acquisition that we believe is in our best interests. Among other things, our regulators consider our capital, liquidity, profitability, regulatory compliance and levels of goodwill and intangibles when considering acquisition and expansion proposals. Any acquisition could be dilutive to our earnings and stockholders’ equity per share of our common stock.
Risks Relating to Regulation, Tax and Accounting
We may be materially and adversely affected by the highly regulated environment in which we operate.
We are subject to extensive federal and state regulation, supervision and examination. A more detailed description of the primary federal and state banking laws and regulations that affect us is contained in the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K captioned “Supervision and Regulation.” Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors’ funds, FDIC funds, customers and the banking system as a whole, rather than our shareholders. These regulations affect our lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, dividend policy and growth, among other things.
As a bank holding company, we are subject to extensive regulation and supervision and undergo periodic examinations by our regulators, who have extensive discretion and authority to prevent or remedy unsafe or unsound practices or violations of law by banks and bank holding companies. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil monetary penalties and/or damage to our reputation, which could have a material adverse
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effect on us. Although we have policies and procedures designed to mitigate the risk of any such violations, there can be no assurance that such violations will not occur.
The laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies and interpretations governing us are constantly evolving and may change significantly over time. For example, on July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law, which significantly changed the regulation of financial institutions and the financial services industry. The Dodd-Frank Act, together with the regulations to be developed thereunder, includes provisions affecting large and small financial institutions alike, including several provisions that affect how community banks, thrifts and small bank and thrift holding companies will be regulated. In addition, the Federal Reserve, in recent years, has adopted numerous new regulations addressing banks’ overdraft and mortgage lending practices. Further, the CFPB has broad powers to supervise and enforce consumer protection laws, and additional consumer protection legislation and regulatory activity is anticipated in the near future.
In addition, in July 2013, the U.S. federal banking authorities approved the implementation of the Basel III Rule, defined previously. The Basel III Rule is applicable to all U.S. banks that are subject to minimum capital requirements as well as to bank and saving and loan holding companies, other than “small bank holding companies” (generally bank holding companies with consolidated assets of less than $3 billion).
These provisions, as well as any other aspects of current or proposed regulatory or legislative changes to laws applicable to the financial industry, may impact the profitability of our business activities and may change certain of our business practices, including our ability to offer new products, obtain financing, attract deposits, make loans and achieve satisfactory interest spreads and could expose us to additional costs, including increased compliance costs. Although we are currently compliant with the Basel III Rule, these changes also may require us to invest significant management attention and resources to make any necessary changes to operations in order to comply and could therefore also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Monetary policies and regulations of the Federal Reserve 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 Federal Reserve. An important function of the Federal Reserve is to regulate the money supply and credit conditions. Among the instruments used by the Federal Reserve to implement these objectives are open market operations in U.S. government securities, adjustments of the discount rate and changes in 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. Declining federal funds rate lowers short-term rates and the interest earned from floating rate loans. The bank may not be able to lower deposit rates fast enough to offset the effect of declining short-term rates on loan interest income.
The monetary policies and regulations of the Federal Reserve have had a significant effect on the operating results of commercial banks 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.
We may be adversely affected by changes in U.S. tax laws and regulations.
Any change in federal or state tax laws or regulations, including any increase in the federal corporate income tax rate from the current level of 21%, could negatively affect our business and results of operations, including as a result of our income tax expense and any impact to the profitability of our loan customers.
We are required to maintain capital to meet regulatory requirements, and, if we fail to maintain sufficient capital, whether due to losses, an inability to raise additional capital or otherwise, our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, as well as our ability to maintain regulatory compliance, would be adversely affected.
The Company, on a consolidated basis, and the Bank, on a stand-alone basis, must meet certain regulatory capital requirements and maintain sufficient liquidity. We face significant capital and other regulatory requirements as a financial institution, which were heightened with the implementation of the Basel III Rule and the phase-in of capital conservation buffer requirement. Our ability to raise additional capital depends on conditions in the capital markets, economic conditions and a number of other factors, including investor perceptions regarding the banking industry, market conditions and governmental activities and on our financial condition and performance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to raise additional capital if needed or on terms acceptable to us. If we fail to maintain capital to meet regulatory requirements, our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.
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We may be subject to a higher consolidated effective tax rate if there is a change in tax laws relating to LCB Investments II, Inc. or if LCB Funding, Inc. fails to qualify as a real estate investment trust.
The Bank holds certain investment securities in its wholly owned subsidiary LCB Investments II, Inc., which is incorporated in Nevada. Pursuant to the State of Indiana’s current tax laws and regulations, we are not subject to Indiana income tax for income earned through that subsidiary. If there are changes in Indiana’s tax laws or interpretations thereof requiring us to pay state taxes for income generated by LCB Investments II, Inc., the resulting tax consequences could increase our effective tax rate or cause us to have a tax liability for prior years.
The Bank also holds certain commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans and other loans in a real estate investment trust through LCB Investments II, Inc., which is incorporated in Maryland. Qualification as a real estate investment trust involves application of specific provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to various asset tests. If LCB Funding, Inc. fails to meet any of the required provisions for real estate investment trusts, it could no longer qualify as a real estate investment trust and the resulting tax consequences would increase our effective tax rate or cause us to have a tax liability for prior years.
Our accounting policies and methods are the basis for how we prepare our consolidated financial statements and how we report our financial condition and results of operations, and they require management to make estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. Our management must exercise judgment in selecting and applying many of these accounting policies and methods in order to ensure they comply with GAAP and reflect management’s judgment as to the most appropriate manner in which to record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, management must select the accounting policy or method to apply from two or more alternatives, any of which might be reasonable under the circumstances. The application of that chosen accounting policy or method might result in the Company reporting different amounts than would have been reported under a different alternative. If management’s estimates or assumptions are incorrect, the Company may experience material losses.
Management has identified one accounting policy as being “critical” to the presentation of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations because they require management to make particularly subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because of the likelihood that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. This critical accounting policy relates to the allowance for credit losses. Because of the inherent uncertainty of this estimate, no assurance can be given that the application of alternative policies or methods might not result in the reporting of a different amount of the allowance for credit losses and, accordingly, net income.
From time to time, the FASB and the SEC change the financial accounting and reporting standards or the interpretation of those standards that govern the preparation of our external financial statements. These changes are beyond our control, can be difficult to predict and could materially impact how we report our financial condition and results of operations. Changes in these standards are continuously occurring, and given the current economic environment, more drastic changes may occur. The implementation of such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may experience increases to, and volatility in, the balance of the allowance for credit losses and related provision expense due to the adoption of the CECL methodology.
We adopted CECL, effective as of January 1, 2021, following the delayed adoption period permitted by the CARES Act and extended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The CECL methodology differs substantially from the incurred loss methodology previously used in that it is forward-looking, requiring measurement to occur when a financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and periodically thereafter. These measurements require significant use of management judgments as well as forward-looking information and forecasts. Any failure of these judgments or forecasts to be correct could negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.
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Risks Relating to our Operations
Our ability to attract and retain management and key personnel and any damage to our reputation may affect future growth and earnings.
Much of our success and growth has been influenced strongly by our ability to attract and retain management experienced in banking and financial services and familiar with the communities in our market areas. Our ability to retain the executive officers, management teams, branch managers and loan officers at the Bank will continue to be important to the successful implementation of our strategy. It is also critical, as we grow, to be able to attract and retain qualified additional management and loan officers with the appropriate level of experience and knowledge about our market areas to implement our community-based operating strategy. The unexpected loss of services of any key management personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, our business depends on earning and maintaining the trust of our customers and communities. Harm to our reputation could arise from numerous sources, including employee misconduct, compliance failures, litigation or our failure to deliver appropriate levels of service. If any events or circumstances occur which could undermine our reputation, there can be no assurance that the additional costs and expenses we may incur as a result would not have an adverse impact on our business.
We have a continuing need to adapt to technological change and we may not have the resources to effectively implement new technology.
The financial services industry is constantly undergoing rapid technological changes with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. In addition to better serving customers, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to reduce costs. Our future success will depend 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 for convenience as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations as we continue to grow and expand our market areas. Many of our larger competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in technological improvements. As a result, they may be able to offer additional or superior products to those that we will be able to offer, which would put us at a competitive disadvantage. Accordingly, we cannot provide assurances that we will be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing such products and services to our customers.
The Company’s information systems may experience an interruption or breach in security and cyber-attacks, all of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business.
The Company relies heavily on internal and outsourced technologies, communications, and information systems to conduct its business. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Company collects, processes and retains sensitive and confidential information regarding our customers. As the Company’s reliance on technology has increased, so have the potential risks of a technology-related operation interruption (such as disruptions in the Company’s core provider, general ledger, deposit, loan, digital banking or other systems) or the occurrence of a cyber-attack (such as unauthorized access to the Company’s systems). These risks have increased for all financial institutions as new technologies, the use of the Internet and telecommunications technologies (including mobile devices) to conduct financial and other business transactions and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, perpetrators of fraud, hackers, terrorists and others have increased. In addition to cyber-attacks or other security breaches involving the theft of sensitive and confidential information, hackers recently have engaged in attacks against financial institutions, particularly denial of service attacks, which are designed to disrupt key business services, such as customer-facing web sites and social engineering attacks that could influence an employee of the Company to click on a link that downloads malware or ransomware to the Company’s system. The Company is not able to anticipate or implement effective preventive measures against all security breaches of these types, especially because the techniques used change frequently and because attacks can originate from a wide variety of sources. In addition, it is possible that we may not be able to detect security breaches on a timely basis, or at all, which could increase the costs and risks associated with any such breach.
The Company also faces risks related to cyber-attacks and other security breaches in connection with credit card and debit card transactions that typically involve the transmission of sensitive information regarding the Company’s customers through various third parties, including merchant acquiring banks, payment processors, payment card networks and its processors. Some of these parties have in the past been the target of security breaches and cyber-attacks, and because the transactions involve third parties and environments such as the point of sale that the Company does not control or secure, future security breaches or cyber-attacks affecting any of these third parties could impact the Company through no fault of its own, and in some cases it may have exposure and suffer losses for breaches or attacks relating to them. In addition, the Company
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offers its customers protection against fraud and certain losses for unauthorized use of debit cards in order to stay competitive with other financial institutions. Offering such protection exposes the Company to losses that could adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. Further cyber-attacks or other breaches in the future, whether affecting the Company or others, could intensify consumer concern and regulatory focus and result in reduced use of payment cards and increased costs, all of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business. To the extent we are involved in any future cyber-attacks or other breaches, the Company’s reputation could be affected, which could also have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations.
We are subject to certain operational risks, including, but not limited to, customer or employee fraud and data processing system failures and errors.
Employee errors and misconduct could subject us to financial losses or regulatory sanctions and seriously harm our reputation. Misconduct by our employees could include hiding their own unauthorized activities from us, improper or unauthorized activities on behalf of our customers or improper use of confidential information. It is not always possible to prevent employee errors and misconduct, and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity may not be effective in all cases. Employee errors could also subject us to financial claims for negligence, among others.
In addi tion, as a bank, we are susceptible to fraudulent activity that may be committed against us, third parties 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. Such fraudulent activity may take many forms, including check fraud, electronic fraud, wire fraud, phishing, social engineering and other dishonest acts. For example, as previously disclosed, in the third quarter of 2019, the Bank discovered potentially fraudulent activity by a former treasury management client involving multiple banks. In the context of resulting bankruptcy proceedings involving the former client, the liquidating trustee has filed a complaint against the Bank, focused on a series of business transactions among the former client, related entities and the Bank. See "Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" for additional information.
We maintain a system of internal controls and insurance coverage to mitigate operational risks, including data processing system failures and errors, cyber-attacks, and customer or employee fraud. Should our internal controls fail to prevent or detect an occurrence, or if any resulting loss is not insured or exceeds applicable insurance limits, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
We have no unresolved SEC staff comments.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
The Company is headquartered in the main office building of the Bank at 202 E. Center Street, Warsaw, Indiana 46580. The Company operates in 57 locations, 51 of which are owned by the Bank and six of which are leased from third parties.
None of the Company’s real property assets are the subject of any material encumbrances.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
There are no material pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business of the Company, to which Lakeland Financial or the Bank is a party or to which any of their property is subject.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.