NEW PEOPLES BANKSHARES INC 10-K

Item 1. Business General New Peoples Bankshares, Inc. (New Peoples, the Company, we, us or our) is a Virginia financial holding company headquartered in Honaker, Virginia. Our business is conducted primarily through New Peoples Bank, Inc., a Virginia banking corporation (the Bank). The Bank has a division doing business as New Peoples Financial Services which offers investment services through its broker-dealer relationship with Infinex Investments, Inc. NPB Insurance Services, Inc. (NPB Insurance) is a subsidiary of the Bank and generates revenue through the referral of insurance services. The Bank, headquartered in Honaker, Virginia, offers a range of banking and related financial services focused primarily on serving individuals, small to medium size businesses, and the professional community. We strive to serve the banking needs of our customers while developing personal, hometown relationships with them. Our board of directors believes that marketing customized banking services enables us to establish a niche in the financial services marketplace where we do business. We provide professionals and small and medium size businesses in our market area with responsive and technologically enabled banking services. These services include loans that are priced on a deposit relationship basis, easy access to our decision makers, and quick and innovative action necessary to meet a customer’s banking needs. Our capitalization and lending limit enable us to satisfy the credit needs of a large portion of the targeted market segment. When a customer needs a loan that exceeds our lending limit, we try to find other financial institutions to participate in the loan with us. Our History The Bank was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia on December 9, 1997 and began operations on October 28, 1998. On September 27, 2001, the shareholders of the Bank approved a plan of reorganization under which they exchanged their shares of Bank common stock for shares of New Peoples common stock. On November 30, 2001, the reorganization was completed and the Bank became New Peoples’ wholly-owned subsidiary. In June 2003, New Peoples formed two new wholly-owned subsidiaries, NPB Financial Services, Inc. (renamed NPB Insurance Services, Inc. in June 2012) and NPB Web Services, Inc., an inactive web design and hosting company. The Bank, through its division New Peoples Financial Services, offers fixed and variable annuities, fee-based asset management and other investment products through a broker/dealer relationship with Infinex Investments, Inc. In July 2004, NPB Capital Trust I was formed by New Peoples to issue $11.3 million in trust preferred securities. In September 2006, NPB Capital Trust 2 was formed by New Peoples to issue $5.2 million in trust preferred securities. On June 7, 2017, NPB Insurance Services, Inc. purchased a 39% membership interest in Lonesome Pine Title Agency, LLC, which provides title insurance. Another member of the agency is a related party to the Company. Branch Locations In addition to our headquarters in Honaker, Virginia we have 19 full-service branches located in three states: Virginia - Abingdon, Big Stone Gap, Bluefield, Bristol (2), Castlewood, Chilhowie, Clintwood, Gate City, Grundy, Haysi, Lebanon, Pounding Mill, Tazewell and Wise; West Virginia - Princeton (2); and Tennessee – Kingsport. Additionally, we have a loan production office in Boone, North Carolina; and a former loan production office in Jonesborough, Tennessee which is currently being used as a hub to meet prospective loan customers. Renovations to a building we purchased in Bristol, Virginia in 2019, were suspended in 2020 due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We resumed these renovations in January 2021 and opened this new office in the fourth quarter of 2021. We believe this expansion fits our stated objective of expanding our presence in the Tri-Cities market area. The Bristol location is within the business district and is allowing us to provide retail consumer, commercial banking and financial services within Bristol and the surrounding area. 4 Our Market Areas Our primary market area consists of southwestern Virginia, southern West Virginia, northeastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina. Specifically, we operate in the southwestern Virginia counties of Russell, Scott, Washington, Tazewell, Buchanan, Dickenson, Wise, and Smyth; in the southern West Virginia county of Mercer and the northeastern Tennessee county of Sullivan (collectively, the “Tri-State Area”). In North Carolina, our loan production office is in the county of Watauga. The close proximity and mobile nature of individuals and businesses in adjoining counties and nearby cities in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina place these markets within our Bank’s targeted trade area, as well. Accessibility to Interstates I-77, I-81, I-26, I-64, I40 and I-75, as well as major state and U.S. highways including US 19, US 23, US 58, US 460 and US 421, make the area an ideal location for businesses to serve markets in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest. The area is strategically located midway between Atlanta-Pittsburgh, Charlotte-Cincinnati, and Richmond-Louisville, and is within a day’s drive of more than half of the U.S. population. A regional airport located in Bristol, Tennessee serves the area with commercial flights to and from major cities in the United States. Commercial rail service providers include CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railways. The Tri-State Area has a diversified economy supported by natural resources, which include coal, natural gas, limestone, and timber; agriculture; healthcare; education; technology; manufacturing and services industries. Predominantly, the market is comprised of locally owned and operated small businesses. Considerable investments in high-technology communications, high-speed broadband network and infrastructure have been made which has opened the area to large technology companies and future business development potential for new and existing businesses. Businesses are taking advantage of the low cost of doing business, training opportunities, available workforce and an exceptional quality of life experience for employers and employees alike. Internet Site Our internet banking site can be accessed at www.newpeoples.bank . The site includes a customer service area that contains branch and Interactive Teller Machine (ITM) locations, product descriptions and current interest rates offered on deposit accounts. Customers with internet access can apply for loans, open deposit accounts online, access account balances, make transfers between accounts, enter stop payment orders, order checks, and use an optional bill paying service. Available Information We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. Our SEC filings are filed electronically and are available to the public online at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. We also provide a link to our filings on the SEC website, free of charge, through our internet website https://newpeoples.bank/Bankshares-About-Us under "Investor Relations." Information on the websites of the Company and the Bank is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this report or any other filings the Company makes with the SEC. COVID-19 Pandemic The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has adversely impacted and continues to impact certain industries in which the Company's customers operate and may have impaired their ability to fulfill their outstanding obligations due to continued financial distress. The spread of COVID-19 has caused unprecedented uncertainty, volatility and disruption in the U.S. and global economy at large. The Company’s business is dependent upon the willingness and ability of our employees and customers to conduct banking and other financial transactions. With the easing of restrictions during the latter part of 2020 and into 2021, and the availability and distribution of vaccines, the U.S. economy has begun to improve as consumer and business spending has rebounded in recent months. However, the lasting effects are uncertain as government aid programs and stimulus packages taper, and the ultimate long-term impact of the business shutdowns that occurred as a result of COVID-19 remains uncertain in many sectors of the economy, such as the travel, hospitality and entertainment industries. This may cause business sectors that have had better recoveries not to be able to maintain those recoveries in the long term. Although the Company has business continuity plans and other safeguards in place, there is no assurance that such plans and safeguards will continue to be effective 5 To help address the impact of the pandemic the Bord of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) lowered the federal funds target rate to a range of between zero and 0.25% during the first quarter of 2020. Throughout 2021, the Federal Reserve maintained the targeted federal funds rate at these in response to the pandemic related risks to the economy. The Company’s earnings and related cash flows are largely dependent upon net interest income, representing the difference between interest income received on interest-earnings assets, primarily loans and securities, and the interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities, primarily customer deposits and borrowed funds. As a result of the significant decline in interest rates and prepayments on higher yielding existing loans, the yield on the total loan portfolio has decreased. Additionally, with significant cash inflows realized from a growth in deposits and the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, the current yields on funds reinvested into the purchase of securities are lower than existing portfolio yields. However, the fees arising from the PPP loan program have mitigated some of this decline during 2020 and 2021. As economic conditions have started to improve, the Federal Reserve has begun to shift its focus to limiting the inflationary and other potentially adverse effects of the expiration of government aid programs and stimulus packages. Since the Company's balance sheet is asset sensitive and rate sensitive assets reprice more quickly than rate sensitive liabilities, margin compression may be somewhat mitigated during 2022 in the event that the Federal Reserve begins to raise rates. The U.S. government also enacted certain fiscal stimulus measures in several phases to assist in counteracting the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic. On March 6, 2020, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act was enacted to authorize funding for research and development of vaccines and to allocate money to state and local governments for response and containment measures. On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was put in place to provide for paid sick/medical leave, no-cost coverage for testing, expanded unemployment benefits and additional funding to states for the ongoing economic consequences of the pandemic. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. Among other measures, the CARES Act provided $349 billion for the PPP administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to assist qualified small businesses with certain operational expenses, certain credits for individuals and their dependents against their 2020 personal income tax and expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits. This legislation was later amended on April 24, 2020, by the PPP and Healthcare Enhancement Act which provided an additional $310 billion of funding for PPP loans. Certain provisions within the CARES Act encourage financial institutions to practice prudent efforts to work with borrowers impacted by the pandemic. Under these provisions, loan modifications deemed to be COVID-19 related would not be considered a troubled debt restructuring (TDR) if the loan was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019 and the deferral was executed between March 1, 2020 and the earlier of 60 days after the date of the termination of the COVID-19 national emergency or December 31, 2020. This provision was extended, and expired on January 1, 2022 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The banking regulators issued a similar guidance, which also clarified that a COVID-19 related modification should not be considered a TDR if the borrower was current on payments at the time the underlying loan modification program was implemented and if the modification is considered to be short-term. The Company implemented a short-term modification program to provide relief to consumer and commercial customers following the guidelines of these provisions. Most modifications fall into the 90 to 180-day range with deferred principal and interest due and payable on the maturity date of the existing loans. Specific detail describing these modifications made in relation to the CARES Act can be found in the Loans and Troubled Debt Restructurings discussions in Notes 6 and 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Following the enactment of these provisions, in December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was enacted to provide additional economic stimulus to individuals and businesses in response to the extended economic distress caused by the pandemic. This included additional stimulus payments to individuals and their dependents, and extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, $284 billion of additional funds for a second round of PPP loans and a new simplified forgiveness procedure for PPP loans of $150,000 or less. The Bank was a lender for the initial SBA program and closed 665 PPP loans totaling $44.5 million. During the second round of PPP funding, the Bank closed an additional 568 loans, totaling $25.3 million. As the pandemic entered its second year, the Company continued practices implemented at the outset of the pandemic to support the safety and well-being of the employees, customers and shareholders including the following measures: · The pandemic response team continued to meet regularly to address the various aspects of the pandemic and formulate the Bank’s response to pandemic-related issues that impact customers, employees and the communities we serve. 6 · The 2021 annual shareholder meeting was held virtually, as will the 2022 meeting. · Non-essential travel and large external gatherings continued to be restricted and mandatory quarantine periods and testing remained in place for anyone that had known exposure to COVID-19. · Remote-access availability continued to enable, where possible, work at home or alternate locations, in order to segregate employees in operational areas to mitigate possible spread of illness to an entire department. · Drive-thru services, along with the use of ITMs, internet banking and mobile banking services were encouraged, during periods where lobby services were temporarily discontinued. Full lobby services were reinstituted in late 2021. As the COVID-19 virus mutated, waves of new global infections impacted our local communities, with hospitalizations and deaths reaching and exceeding levels experienced during the initial spread of the virus. As with much of the country, a sharp decrease in infections and hospitalizations has been experienced since the beginning of March, 2022. While we cannot rule out another wave of infections from a new variant of the virus, it does appear that there is a sense of normalcy returning to the country that should allow for a return to a more business as usual function of our operations. Banking Services General . We accept deposits, make consumer and commercial loans, issue drafts, and provide other services customarily offered by a commercial bank, such as business and personal checking and savings accounts, walk-up tellers, drive-in windows, and 24-hour interactive teller machines. The Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System and its deposits are insured under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (the FDIA) to the maximum limit. Loans. Generally, we offer a full range of short-to-medium term commercial, 1-4 family residential mortgages and personal loans. Commercial loans include both secured and unsecured loans for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion (including acquisition of real estate and improvements) and purchase of equipment and machinery. Consumer loans may include secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, personal investments and other purposes. Our lending activities are subject to a variety of lending limits imposed by state law. While differing limits may apply in certain circumstances based on the type of loan or the nature of the borrower (including the borrower’s relationship to the Bank), the Bank generally is subject to a loans-to-one-borrower limit of an amount equal to 15% of its capital and surplus plus the allowance for loan losses. The Bank voluntarily may choose to impose a policy limit on loans to a single borrower that is less than the legal lending limit. We obtain short-to-medium term commercial and personal loans through direct solicitation of business owners and continued business from existing customers. Completed loan applications are reviewed by our loan officers. As part of the application process, information is obtained concerning the income, financial condition, employment and credit history of the applicant. If commercial real estate is involved, information is also obtained concerning cash flow after debt service. Loan quality is analyzed based on the Bank’s experience and its credit underwriting guidelines. Commercial Loans . We make commercial loans to qualified businesses in our market area. Our commercial lending consists primarily of commercial and industrial loans to finance accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment. Commercial business loans generally have a higher degree of risk than residential mortgage loans, but have commensurately higher yields. Residential mortgage loans are generally made on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from employment and other income and are secured by real estate whose value tends to be easily ascertainable. In contrast, commercial business loans typically are made on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from cash flow from its business and are secured by business assets, such as commercial real estate, accounts receivable, equipment and inventory. As a result, the availability of funds for the repayment of commercial business loans may be substantially dependent on the success of the business itself. In 2020 and 2021, commercial loans also include PPP loans that were made to assist small businesses and non-profit organizations during the pandemic to cover payroll costs and other permitted expenses. These loans are fully guaranteed by the SBA. Further, the collateral for commercial business loans may depreciate over time and cannot be appraised with as much precision as residential real estate. To manage these risks, our underwriting guidelines generally require us to secure commercial loans with both the assets of the borrowing business and other additional collateral and guarantees that may be available. In addition, we actively monitor certain measures of the borrower, including advance rate, cash flow, collateral value and other appropriate credit factors. 7 Residential Mortgage Loans . Our residential mortgage loans consist of residential first and second mortgage loans, residential construction loans, home equity lines of credit and term loans secured by first and second mortgages on the residences of borrowers for home improvements, education and other personal expenditures. We make mortgage loans with a variety of terms, including fixed and floating or variable rates and a variety of maturities. Under our underwriting guidelines, residential mortgage loans are generally made on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from employment and other income and are secured by real estate whose value tends to be easily ascertainable. These loans are made consistent with our appraisal policies and real estate lending policies, which detail maximum loan-to-value ratios and maturities. Construction Loans . Construction lending entails significant additional risks compared to residential mortgage lending. Construction loans often involve larger loan balances concentrated with single borrowers or groups of related borrowers. Construction loans also involve additional risks attributable to the fact that loan funds are advanced upon the security of property under construction, which is of uncertain value prior to the completion of construction. Thus, it is more difficult to evaluate the total loan funds required to complete a project and related loan-to-value ratios accurately. To minimize the risks associated with construction lending, loan-to-value limitations for residential, multi-family and non-residential construction loans are in place. These are in addition to the usual credit analyses of borrowers. Management feels that the loan-to-value ratios help to minimize the risk of loss and to compensate for normal fluctuations in the real estate market. Maturities for construction loans generally range from 4 to 12 months for residential property and from 6 to 18 months for non-residential and multi-family properties. Consumer Loans . Our consumer loans consist primarily of installment loans to individuals for personal, family and household purposes. The specific types of consumer loans that we make include home improvement loans, debt consolidation loans and general consumer lending. Consumer loans entail greater risk than residential mortgage loans, particularly in the case of consumer loans that are unsecured, such as lines of credit, or secured by rapidly depreciating assets such as automobiles. In such cases, any repossessed collateral for a defaulted consumer loan may not provide an adequate source of repayment of the outstanding loan balance due to the greater likelihood of damage, loss or depreciation. The remaining deficiency often does not warrant further substantial collection efforts against the borrower. In addition, consumer loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and thus are more likely to be adversely affected by job loss, divorce, illness or personal bankruptcy. Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws, including federal and state bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount which can be recovered on such loans. A borrower may also be able to assert against the Bank as an assignee any claims and defenses that it has against the seller of the underlying collateral. Our underwriting policy for consumer loans seeks to limit risk and minimize losses, primarily through a careful analysis of the borrower’s creditworthiness. In evaluating consumer loans, we require our lending officers to review the borrower’s level and stability of income, past credit history and the impact of these factors on the ability of the borrower to repay the loan in a timely manner. In addition, we maintain an appropriate margin between the loan amount and collateral value. Deposits. We offer a variety of deposit products for both individual and business customers. These include demand deposit, interest-bearing demand deposit, savings deposit, money market, health savings and individual retirement (IRA) deposit accounts. In addition, we offer certificates of deposit with terms ranging from 7 days to 60 months, including IRAs with terms ranging from 12 months to 60 months. Investment Services. We offer a variety of investment services for both individual and business customers. These services include fixed income products, variable annuities, mutual funds, indexed certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, long term care insurance, employee group benefit plans, college savings plans, financial planning, managed money accounts, and estate planning. We offer these services through our broker-dealer relationship with Infinex Investments, Inc. Other Bank Services . Other bank services include safe deposit boxes, cashier’s checks, certain cash management services, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks and automatic drafts for various accounts. We offer ITM and debit card services that can be used by our customers throughout our service area and other regions. We also offer consumer and commercial VISA credit card services. Electronic banking services include debit cards, internet banking, telephone banking, mobile banking, remote deposit capture; merchant transaction processing and wire transfers. We do not presently anticipate obtaining trust powers, but we are able to provide similar services through our affiliation with Infinex Investments, Inc. Additionally, we have initiated programs of differentiator presentations focusing on such issues as financial literacy and elder abuse. We believe that these types of programs assist our local communities and highlight the skills of our financial service providers. 8 Competition The financial services business is highly competitive. We compete as a financial intermediary with other commercial banks, credit unions, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, securities brokerage firms, insurance companies, money market mutual funds and other financial institutions operating in the southwestern Virginia, southern West Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina market areas and elsewhere, including online financial services providers. Our market area is a highly competitive, highly branched banking market. Competition in the market area for loans to small businesses and professionals, the Bank’s target market, is intense, and pricing is important. Many of our larger competitors have substantially greater resources and lending limits than we have. They offer certain services, such as extensive and established branch networks and trust services that we do not provide or do not expect to provide in the near future. Moreover, larger institutions operating in the market area have access to borrowed funds at lower costs than are available to us. Prior to the pandemic, deposit competition among institutions in our market area also was strong, resulting in the possibility of our paying above-market rates to attract or retain deposits. As the pandemic wanes, and funds received into our customers’ deposit accounts from PPP loans and stimulus payments are drawn down, we anticipate more intense deposit competition to return. While pricing is important, our principal method of countering the competition is service. As a community banking organization, we strive to serve the banking needs of our customers while developing personal, hometown relationships with them. Additionally, we worked to implement and enhance digital banking services prior to the onset of the pandemic. As a result, we provide a significant amount of service and a range of products through multiple channels at reasonable fees. According to a market share report prepared by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC), as of June 30, 2021, the most recent date for which market share information is available, the Bank’s deposits as a percentage of total deposits in its major market areas were as follows: County or City % of Market Scott County, VA 34.19% Dickenson County, VA 33.93% Russell County, VA 25.99% Buchanan County, VA 11.57% Wise County, VA 10.01% Tazewell County, VA 9.15% Mercer County, WV 5.98% Washington County, VA 5.32% Smyth County, VA 4.02% City of Bristol, VA 3.65% City of Kingsport, TN 2.43% Employees As of December 31, 2021, we had 205 total employees, of which 198 were full-time employees. None of our employees is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and we consider relations with employees to be excellent. Supervision and Regulation General. As a financial holding company, we are subject to regulation under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (BHCA), and the examination and reporting requirements of the Federal Reserve. We are also subject to the provisions of the Code of Virginia governing bank holding companies. As a state-chartered commercial bank, the Bank is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Financial Institutions (BFI). As a member of the Federal Reserve System, the Bank is also subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve. Other federal and state laws, including various consumer protection and compliance laws, also govern the activities of the Bank. 9 The following description summarizes the most significant federal and state laws applicable to New Peoples and its subsidiaries. To the extent that statutory or regulatory provisions are described, the description is qualified in its entirety by reference to that particular statutory or regulatory provision. The Bank Holding Company Act. Under the BHCA, the Federal Reserve examines New Peoples periodically. New Peoples is also required to file periodic reports and provide any additional information that the Federal Reserve may require. Activities at the bank holding company level are generally limited to: • banking, managing or controlling banks; • furnishing services to or performing services for its subsidiaries; and • engaging in other activities that the Federal Reserve has determined by regulation or order to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident to these activities. Thus, the activities we can engage in are restricted as a matter of law. With some limited exceptions, the BHCA requires every bank holding company to obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before: • acquiring substantially all the assets of any bank; • acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank if after such acquisition it would own or control more than 5% of the voting shares of such bank (unless it already owns or controls the majority of such shares); or • merging or consolidating with another bank holding company. As a result, our ability to engage in certain strategic activities is conditioned on regulatory approval. In addition, and subject to some exceptions, the BHCA and the Change in Bank Control Act require Federal Reserve approval prior to any person or company acquiring “control” of a bank holding company as defined in the statutes and regulations. These requirements make it more difficult for control of our company to change or for us to acquire substantial investments. Financial Holding Company. As of March 4, 2016, the Company elected to become qualified as a financial holding company (FHC). The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) created this category of bank holding companies. FHC’s may directly or indirectly through subsidiaries engage in financial activities and activities “incidental” or “complementary” to financial activities. Generally, an FHC need not give prior notice of such activities, but must notify the Federal Reserve within 30 days after an event. The BHCA provides a long list of “financial” activities that may be engaged in by FHCs such as underwriting, brokering or selling insurance; providing financial or investment advice or underwriting, dealing in or making a market in securities. There are other potential “financial” activities in which the Federal Reserve is permitted to designate as permitted financial or incidental to financial activities. We do not currently undertake activities specifically permitted to us as an FHC that are not otherwise permissible for bank holding companies not qualified as FHCs. Bureau of Financial Institutions (BFI). As a bank holding company registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia State Corporation Commission’s BFI, we must provide the BFI with information concerning our financial condition, operations and management, among other reports required by the BFI. New Peoples is also examined by the BFI in addition to its Federal Reserve examinations. Similar to the BHCA, the Code of Virginia requires that the BFI approve the acquisition of direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any Virginia bank or bank holding company like us. 10 Payment of Dividends. New Peoples is a separate legal entity that derives the majority of its revenues from dividends paid to it by its subsidiaries. The Bank is subject to laws and regulations that limit the amount of dividends it can pay. In addition, both New Peoples and the Bank are subject to various regulatory restrictions relating to the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain capital at or above regulatory minimums. Banking regulators have indicated that banking organizations should generally pay dividends only if the organization’s net income available to common shareholders over the past year has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends and the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. The FDIC has the general authority to limit the dividends paid by FDIC insured banks if the FDIC deems the payment to be an unsafe and unsound practice. The FDIC has indicated that paying dividends that deplete a bank’s capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsound and unsafe banking practice. Capital Adequacy. The federal banking regulators have issued substantially similar capital requirements applicable to all banks and bank holding companies. In addition, those regulators may from time to time require that a banking organization maintain capital above the minimum levels because of its financial condition or actual or anticipated growth. The Company meets the eligibility criteria to be considered a small bank holding company in accordance with the Federal Reserve’s Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement issued in February, 2015 and does not report consolidated regulatory capital. With respect to the Bank, the “prompt corrective action” regulations pursuant to Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) are set forth in the following table: Total Risk Tier 1 Risk CET1 Risk Based Capital Based Capital Based Capital Leverage Ratio Ratio Ratio Ratio Well Capitalized ≥ 10% ≥ 8% ≥ 6.5% ≥ 5% Adequately Capitalized ≥ 8% ≥ 6% ≥ 4.5% ≥ 4% Undercapitalized < 8% < 6% < 4.5% < 4% Significantly Undercapitalized < 6% < 4% < 3% < 3% Critically Undercapitalized Tangible equity to total assets ≤ 2% The FDIA requires the federal banking regulators to take “prompt corrective action” if a depository institution does not meet minimum capital requirements as set forth above. Generally, a receiver or conservator for a bank that is “critically undercapitalized” must be appointed within specific time frames. The regulations also provide that a capital restoration plan must be filed within 45 days of the date a bank is deemed to have received notice that it is “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” or “critically undercapitalized.” Any holding company for a bank required to submit a capital restoration plan must guarantee the lesser of (i) an amount equal to 5% of the bank’s assets at the time it was notified or deemed to be undercapitalized by a regulator, or (ii) the amount necessary to restore the bank to adequately capitalized status. This guarantee remains in place until the bank is notified that it has maintained adequately capitalized status for specified time periods. Additional measures with respect to undercapitalized institutions include a prohibition on capital distributions, growth limits and restrictions on activities. The Bank is also subject to the rules implementing the Basel III capital framework and certain related provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the Dodd-Frank Act). The final rules established minimum capital ratios plus a “capital conservation buffer” designed to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. The phase-in of the capital conservation buffer requirement began on January 1, 2016, at 0.625% of risk-weighted assets, increasing by the same amount each year until it was fully implemented at 2.5% on January 1, 2019. The final provisions for banks with $250 billion or less in total assets, such as the Bank, are set forth in the following table: Minimum Leverage Ratio 4.00% Minimum CET1 Risk Based Capital Ratio 4.50% Capital Conservation Buffer (1) 2.50% Minimum Tier CET1 Risk Based Capital Ratio with Capital Conservation Buffer 7.00% Minimum Tier 1 Risk Based Capital Ratio 6.00% Minimum Tier 1 Risk Based Capital Ratio with Capital Conservation Buffer 8.50% Minimum Total Risk Based Capital Ratio 8.00% Minimum Total Risk Based Capital Ratio with Capital Conservation Buffer 10.50% 11 (1) The capital conservation buffer must be maintained in order for a banking organization to avoid being subject to limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments, and discretionary bonus payments to executive officers. The final rules include comprehensive guidance with respect to the measurement of risk-weighted assets. For residential mortgages, Basel III retains the risk-weights contained in the prior capital rules, which assign a risk-weight of 50% to most first-lien exposures and 100% to other residential mortgage exposures. The final rule increased the risk-weights associated with certain on-balance sheet assets, such as high volatility commercial real estate loans, and loans that are more than 90 days past due or in nonaccrual status. Capital requirements also increased for certain off-balance sheet exposures including, for example, loan commitments with an original maturity of one year or less. Under the final rules, certain banking organizations, including the Company and the Bank, were permitted to make a one-time election to continue the prior treatment of excluding from regulatory capital most accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) components, including amounts relating to unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale debt securities and amounts attributable to defined benefit post-retirement plans. Institutions that elected to exclude most AOCI components from regulatory capital under Basel III will be able to avoid volatility that would otherwise be caused by things such as the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on the fair value of available-for-sale debt securities. The Company and the Bank elected to exclude AOCI components from regulatory capital under Basel III. Failure to meet capital guidelines could subject a bank to a variety of enforcement remedies, including issuance of a capital directive, the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, a prohibition on taking brokered deposits and certain other restrictions on its business. As described below, the FDIC can impose substantial additional restrictions upon FDIC-insured depository institutions that fail to meet applicable capital requirements as set forth above. On September 17, 2019, the federal banking regulators jointly issued a final rule required by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Reform and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA) that permits qualifying banks and bank holding companies that have less than $10 billion in consolidated assets, such as New Peoples and the Bank, to elect to be subject to a 9% leverage ratio that would be applied using less complex leverage calculations (commonly referred to as the community bank leverage ratio or CBLR). Under the rule, which became effective on January 1, 2020, banks and bank holding companies that opt into the CBLR framework and maintain a CBLR of greater than 9% are not subject to other risk-based and leverage capital requirements under the Basel III rules and would be deemed to have met the well capitalized ratio requirements under the “prompt corrective action” framework. The CARES Act directed federal banking agencies to adopt interim final rules to lower the threshold under the CBLR from 9% to 8% and to provide a reasonable grace period for a community bank that falls below the threshold to regain compliance, in each case until the earlier of the termination date of the national emergency or December 31, 2020. In April 2020, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued two interim final rules implementing this directive. One interim final rule provided that, as of the second quarter 2020, banking organizations with leverage ratios of 8% or greater (and that meet the other existing qualifying criteria) could elect to use the CBLR framework. It also established a two-quarter grace period for qualifying community banking organizations whose leverage ratios fall below the 8% CBLR requirement, so long as the banking organization maintains a leverage ratio of 7% or greater. The second interim final rule provided a transition from the temporary 8% CBLR requirement to a 9% CBLR requirement. It established a minimum CBLR of 8% for the second through fourth quarters of 2020, 8.5% for 2021, and 9% thereafter, and maintained a two-quarter grace period for qualifying community banking organizations whose leverage ratios fall no more than 100 basis points below the applicable CBLR requirement. We have not adopted the CBLR framework. For further detail on capital and capital ratios, see discussion contained in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” sections “Capital Resources” and “Liquidity,” and in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” “Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes,” Note 21, “Capital.” Other Safety and Soundness Regulations . There are a number of obligations and restrictions imposed on banks and financial or bank holding companies and their bank subsidiaries by federal law and regulatory policy that are designed to reduce potential loss exposure to the depositors of such depository institutions and to the FDIC insurance funds in the event that the depository institution is insolvent or is in danger of becoming insolvent. For example, the Federal Reserve requires a bank or financial or bank holding company to serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary depository institutions and to commit resources to support such institutions in circumstances where it might not do so otherwise. These requirements can restrict the ability of bank holding companies to deploy their capital as they otherwise might. Interstate Banking and Branching. Banks in Virginia may branch without geographic restriction. Current federal law authorizes interstate acquisitions of banks and bank holding companies without geographic limitation. Bank holding companies may acquire banks in any state without regard to state law except for state laws requiring a minimum time a bank must be in existence to be acquired. The Code of Virginia generally permits out of state bank holding companies or banks to acquire Virginia banks or bank holding companies subject to regulatory approval. These laws have the effect of increasing competition in banking markets. 12 Monetary Policy. The commercial banking business is affected not only by general economic conditions but also by the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policies 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. In view of unsettled conditions in the national and international political environment, economy and money markets, as well as governmental fiscal and monetary policies, their impact on interest rates, deposit levels, loan demand or the business and earnings of the Bank is unpredictable. Federal Reserve System. Depository institutions that maintain transaction accounts or nonpersonal time deposits are subject to reserve requirements. These reserve requirements are subject to adjustment by the Federal Reserve. Because required reserves must be maintained in the form of vault cash or in a non-interest-bearing account at, or on behalf of, a Federal Reserve Bank, the effect of the reserve requirement is to reduce the amount of the institution’s interest-earning assets. Transactions with Affiliates. Transactions between banks and their affiliates are governed by Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act. These provisions restrict the amount of, and provide conditions with respect to, loans, investments, transfers of assets and other transactions between New Peoples and the Bank. Loans to Insiders. The Bank is subject to rules on the amount, terms and risks associated with loans to executive officers, directors, principal shareholders and their related interests. Community Reinvestment Act. Under the Community Reinvestment Act, depository institutions have an affirmative obligation to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas, including low and moderate-income areas, consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The Community Reinvestment Act emphasizes the delivery of bank products and services through branch locations in a bank’s market areas and requires banks to keep data reflecting their efforts to assist in its community’s credit needs. Depository institutions are periodically examined for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act and are assigned ratings in this regard. Banking regulators consider a depository institution’s Community Reinvestment Act rating when reviewing applications to establish new branches, undertake new lines of business, and/or acquire part or all of another depository institution. An unsatisfactory rating can significantly delay or even prohibit regulatory approval of a proposed transaction by a bank holding company or its depository institution subsidiaries. A bank holding company will not be permitted to become a financial holding company and no new activities authorized under the GLBA (see below) may be commenced by a holding company or by a bank financial subsidiary if any of its bank subsidiaries received less than a “Satisfactory” rating in its latest Community Reinvestment Act examination. The Bank received a rating of “Satisfactory” at its last Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluation, as of July 22, 2019. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. The GLBA covers a broad range of issues, including a repeal of most of the restrictions on affiliations among depository institutions, securities firms and insurance companies. For example, the GLBA permits unrestricted affiliations between banks and securities firms. It also permits bank holding companies to elect to become FHCs, which can engage in a broad range of financial services as described above. In order to become an FHC, a bank holding company and all of its affiliated depository institutions must be well-capitalized, well-managed and have at least a satisfactory Community Reinvestment Act rating. On March 4, 2016 the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond approved New Peoples’ election to become an FHC. The GLBA also provides that the states continue to have the authority to regulate insurance activities, but prohibits the states, in most instances, from preventing or significantly interfering with the ability of a bank, directly or through an affiliate, to engage in insurance sales, solicitations or cross-marketing activities. Anti-Money Laundering Legislation . New Peoples is subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering laws and regulations, including the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. Among other things, these laws and regulations require New Peoples to take steps to prevent the use of New Peoples for facilitating the flow of illegal or illicit money, to report large currency transactions, and to file suspicious activity reports. The Company is also required to carry out a comprehensive anti-money laundering compliance program. Violations can result in substantial civil and criminal sanctions. In addition, provisions of the USA Patriot Act require the federal bank regulatory agencies to consider the effectiveness of a financial institution’s anti-money laundering activities when reviewing bank mergers and bank holding company acquisitions. 13 Privacy and Fair Credit Reporting. Financial institutions, such as the Bank, are required to disclose their privacy policies to customers and consumers and require that such customers or consumers be given a choice (through an opt-out notice) to forbid the sharing of nonpublic personal information about them with nonaffiliated third persons. The Bank also requires business partners with whom it shares such information to assure the Bank that they have adequate security safeguards and to abide by the redisclosure and reuse provisions of applicable law. In addition to adopting federal requirements regarding privacy, individual states are authorized to enact more stringent laws relating to the use of customer information. To date, Virginia has not done so. These privacy laws create compliance obligations and potential liability for the Bank. Mortgage Banking Regulation. The Bank is subject to rules and regulations related to mortgage loans that, among other things, establish standards for loan origination, prohibit discrimination, provide for inspections and appraisals of property, require credit reports on prospective borrowers, in some cases restrict certain loan features and fix maximum interest rates and fees, require the disclosure of certain basic information to mortgagors concerning credit and settlement costs, limit payment for settlement services to the reasonable value of the services rendered and require the maintenance and disclosure of information regarding the disposition of mortgage applications based on race, gender, geographical distribution and income level. The Bank is also subject to rules and regulations that require the collection and reporting of significant amounts of information with respect to mortgage loans and borrowers. The Bank’s mortgage origination activities are subject to the Federal Reserve’s Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act. Certain provisions of Regulation Z require creditors to make a reasonable and good faith determination based on verified and documented information that a consumer applying for a mortgage loan has a reasonable ability to repay the loan according to its terms. To the extent that we make mortgage loans, we are required to comply with these rules, subject to available exceptions. Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) is intended to increase corporate responsibility, provide enhanced penalties for accounting and auditing improprieties by publicly traded companies and to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities law. The changes required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its implementing regulations are intended to allow shareholders to monitor the performance of companies and their directors more easily and effectively. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act generally applies to all domestic companies, such as New Peoples, that file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act includes significant additional disclosure requirements and expanded corporate governance rules and the SEC has adopted extensive additional disclosures, corporate governance provisions and other related rules pursuant to it. New Peoples has expended, and will continue to expend, considerable time and money in complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Bank’s deposits are insured by the Deposit insurance Fund, as administered by the FDIC, to the maximum amount permitted by law, which is $250,000 per depositor. The FDIC uses a “financial ratios method” based on “CAMELS” composite ratings to determine deposit insurance assessment rates for small established institutions with less than $10 billion in assets, such as the Bank. The CAMELS rating system is a supervisory rating system designed to take into account and reflect all financial and operational risks that a bank may face, including capital adequacy, asset quality, management capability, earnings, liquidity and sensitivity to market risk (CAMELS). CAMELS composite ratings set a maximum assessment for banks rated CAMELS 1 and 2, and set minimum assessments for lower rated institutions. In 2021 and 2020, the Company recorded expense of $266 thousand and $393 thousand, respectively, for FDIC insurance premiums. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law on July 21, 2010. Its wide-ranging provisions affect all federal financial regulatory agencies and nearly every aspect of the American financial services industry. Among the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that directly impacted the Company was the creation of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has the ability to write rules for consumer protections governing all financial institutions. All consumer protection responsibility formerly handled by other banking regulators is consolidated in the CFPB. It also oversees the enforcement of all federal laws intended to ensure fair access to credit. For smaller financial institutions, such as the Company and the Bank, the CFPB coordinates its examination activities through their primary regulators. The Dodd-Frank Act contains provisions designed to reform mortgage lending, which includes the requirement of additional disclosures for consumer mortgages. The EGRRCPA modified a number of these requirements, including, for smaller institutions (under $10 billion in total assets) that qualify, a safe harbor for compliance with the “ability to pay” requirements for consumer mortgage loans. The CFPB has implemented mortgage lending regulations to carry out its mandate. In addition, the Federal Reserve has issued rules limiting the fees charged to merchants by credit card companies for debit card transactions. The result of these rules is to limit the amount of interchange fee income available explicitly to larger banks and indirectly to us. The Dodd-Frank Act also contains provisions that affect corporate governance and executive compensation. 14 The Dodd-Frank Act has had, and may in the future have, a material impact on New Peoples’ operations, particularly through increased compliance costs resulting from new and possible future consumer and fair lending regulations. Any future changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may affect the profitability of business activities, require changes to certain business practices, impose more stringent regulatory requirements or otherwise adversely affect the business and financial condition of New Peoples and the Bank. These changes may also require New Peoples to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make necessary changes to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2018. The EGRRCPA, which became effective in May 2018, amended provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and other statutes administered by banking regulators. Among these amendments are provisions exempting insured depository institutions (and their parent companies) with less than $10 billion in consolidated assets and meeting certain other asset and liabilities trading tests from the Volker Rule, which prohibits banks from conducting certain investment activities with their own accounts. The EGRRCPA required the regulators to promulgate rules establishing the new CBLR, as described above. The Act increased the asset threshold from $1 billion to $3 billion for financial institutions to qualify for a less burdensome 18-month on-site examination schedule. The EGRRCPA made numerous other changes in regulatory requirements based on the size and complexity of financial institutions, particularly benefiting smaller institutions like the Company. Cyber Security. Federal regulators expect that financial institutions design multiple layers of security controls to establish lines of defense and to ensure that their risk management processes also address the risk posed by compromised customer credentials, including security measures to reliably authenticate customers accessing internet-based services of the financial institution. Additionally, a financial institution’s management is expected to maintain sufficient business continuity planning processes to ensure the rapid recovery, resumption and maintenance of the institution’s operations after a cyber-attack involving destructive malware. A financial institution is expected to maintain appropriate processes to enable recovery of data and business operations and address rebuilding network capabilities and restoring data if the institution or any of its critical service providers fall victim to this type of cyber-attack. If the Company fails to observe the regulatory guidance, it could be subject to various regulatory sanctions, including financial penalties. Federal bank regulators recently issued a joint rule establishing computer-security incident notification requirements for banking organizations and their bank service providers, which takes effect on April 1, 2022, with full compliance extended to May 1, 2022. The rule requires a banking organization to notify its primary federal regulator of any significant computer-security incident as soon as possible and no later than 36 hours after the banking organization determines that a cyber incident has occurred. In addition, the final rule requires a bank service provider to notify affected banking organization customers as soon as possible when the provider determines that it has experienced a computer-security incident that has materially affected or is reasonably likely to materially affect banking organization customers for four or more hours. The rule defines computer-security incident as an occurrence that results in actual harm to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system or the information that the system processes, stores, or transmits. Limitations on Incentive Compensation. The federal bank regulatory agencies have issued comprehensive final guidance on incentive compensation policies intended to ensure that the incentive compensation policies of financial institutions do not undermine the safety and soundness of such institutions by encouraging excessive risk-taking. The Interagency Guidance on Sound Incentive Compensation Policies, which covers all employees that have the ability to materially affect the risk profile of financial institutions, either individually or as part of a group, is based upon the key principles that a financial institution’s incentive compensation arrangements should (i) provide incentives that do not encourage risk-taking beyond the institution’s ability to effectively identify and manage risks, (ii) be compatible with effective internal controls and risk management, and (iii) be supported by strong corporate governance, including active and effective oversight by the financial institution’s board of directors. The Federal Reserve will review, as part of the regular, risk-focused examination process, the incentive compensation arrangements of financial institutions, such as the Company and the Bank, that are not “large, complex banking organizations.” These reviews will be tailored to each financial institution based on the scope and complexity of the institution’s activities and the prevalence of incentive compensation arrangements. The findings of the supervisory initiatives will be included in reports of examination. Deficiencies will be incorporated into the institution’s supervisory ratings, which can affect the institution’s ability to make acquisitions and take other actions. Enforcement actions may be taken against a financial institution if its incentive compensation arrangements or related risk-management control or governance processes pose a risk to the institution’s safety and soundness, and the financial institution is not taking prompt and effective measures to correct the deficiencies. At December 31, 2021, the Company and the Bank have not been made aware of any instances of noncompliance with this guidance. 15 Other Laws. Banks and other depository institutions also are subject to other numerous consumer-oriented laws and regulations. These laws, which include the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and the Fair Housing Act, require compliance by depository institutions with various disclosure and consumer information handling requirements. These and other similar laws result in significant costs and create potential liability for financial institutions, including the imposition of regulatory penalties for inadequate compliance. Future Regulatory Uncertainty. Because federal and state regulation of financial institutions changes regularly and is the subject of constant legislative debate, New Peoples cannot forecast how regulation of financial institutions may change in the future and impact its operations. New Peoples fully expects that the financial institution industry will remain heavily regulated notwithstanding the regulatory relief that has been recently adopted. Item 1A. Risk Factors Not required. Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments Not applicable.