Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk represents the risk of loss due to changes in market values of assets and liabilities. We incur market risk in the normal course of business through exposures to market interest rates, equity prices, and credit spreads. We have identified interest rate risk as our primary source of market risk. Our primary business activities include gathering retail deposits, non-brokered rateboard time deposits, brokered CDs, and funding from the FHLB and other smaller facilities, which are used to invest in cash and loans. These activities involve interest rate risk, which arises from factors such as timing and volume differences in the repricing of our rate-sensitive assets and liabilities, changes in credit spreads, fluctuations in the general level of market interest rates, and shifts in the shape and level of market yield curves. Changes in interest rates can affect our current and prospective earnings, through volatility in our net interest income and the level of other interest rate-sensitive revenues and operating expenses. Interest rate fluctuations can also influence the underlying economic value of our assets, liabilities and off-balance sheet items. This is driven by the fact that the present values of future cash flows, and potentially the cash flows themselves, may change when interest rates materially move up or down depending on the economic environment.
Interest rate risk is generally considered a significant market risk for financial institutions. The Bank’s ALCO establishes broad policy limits with respect to interest rate risk. We have established a system for monitoring our net interest rate sensitivity positions. Our ALCO meets monthly to monitor the level of interest rate risk sensitivity to ensure compliance with the risk and policy limits. Effective management of interest rate risk begins with understanding the dynamic characteristics of assets and liabilities and determining the appropriate interest rate risk posture given business forecasts, management objectives, market expectations, and policy constraints. However, it is important to note that despite these measures, significant changes in interest rates could potentially impact our earnings, liquidity and capital positions.
An asset sensitive position refers to a balance sheet position in which an increase in short-term interest rates is expected to generate higher net interest income, as rates earned on our interest-earning assets would reprice upward more quickly than rates paid on our interest-bearing liabilities, thus expanding our net interest margin. Conversely, a liability sensitive position refers to a balance sheet position in which an increase in short-term interest rates is expected to generate lower net interest income, as rates paid on our interest- bearing liabilities would reprice upward more quickly than rates earned on our interest-earning assets, thus compressing our net interest margin.
We use interest rate risk models and rate shock simulations to assess the interest rate risk (“IRR”) sensitivity of net interest income and the economic value of equity (“EVE”) over a variety of parallel and non-parallel rate scenarios. A number of assumptions are used to calculate the impact of interest rate fluctuations on our net interest income, including asset prepayment speeds, non-maturity deposit price sensitivity, and decay rates. Due to the inherent use of estimates and assumptions in the model, our actual results may, and most likely will, differ from our simulated results. Any key model or input changes are reported to ALCO monthly. Management engages a third-party to review its IRR assumptions on an annual basis. Key findings are presented to ALCO.
Potential changes to our net interest income in hypothetical rising and declining rate scenarios are calculated as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 and are presented in the table below:
(Shock in basis points) Net Interest Income
Sensitivity
12 Month Projection
-200 -100 +100 +200
December 31, 2024 -8.91 % -4.35 % 5.24 % 10.36 %
December 31, 2023 -2.49 % -1.89 % 1.87 % 3.23 %
We also model the impact of interest rate changes on our EVE. We base the modeling of EVE on interest rate shocks as shocks are considered more appropriate for EVE, which accelerates future interest rate risk into current capital via a present value calculation of all future cash flows from our Bank’s existing inventory of assets and liabilities. The results from our EVE modeling reflect only assets and liabilities that exist on our balance sheet in that period, and do not incorporate the large increases to noninterest income we generate when industry residential loan originations are significantly higher, such as in 2020 and 2021. The results of the model are presented in the table below:
(Shock in basis points) Economic Value of Equity Sensitivity
-200 -100 +100 +200
December 31, 2024 2.13 % 2.53 % -1.88 % -4.30 %
December 31, 2023 5.90% 4.70% -5.60% -11.90%
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