Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
The disclosure below supplements the risk factors previously disclosed under “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS” of Part I of Peoples’ 2022 Form 10-K. These risk factors are not the only risks Peoples faces. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to management or that management currently deems to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect Peoples’ business, financial condition and/or operating results. In the first six months of 2023, management identified the following additional risk factors:
Business Operations Risks
• Peoples could experience an unexpected inability to obtain needed liquidity which could adversely affect our business, profitability, and viability as a going concern.
Liquidity measures the ability to meet current and future cash flow needs as they become due. The liquidity of a financial institution reflects its ability to meet loan requests, to accommodate possible outflows in deposits, and to take advantage of interest rate market opportunities and is essential to a financial institution’s business. The ability of a financial institution to meet its current financial obligations is a function of its balance sheet structure, its ability to liquidate assets, and its access to alternative sources of funds. The bank failures in 2023 exemplify the potential serious results of the unexpected inability of insured depository institutions to obtain needed liquidity to satisfy deposit withdrawal requests, including how quickly such requests can accelerate once uninsured depositors lose confidence in an institution's ability to satisfy its obligations to depositors. Peoples seeks to ensure its funding needs
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are met by maintaining a level of liquidity through asset and liability management. If Peoples becomes unable to obtain funds when needed, it could have a material adverse effect on Peoples' business, financial condition, and results of operations.
General Risks
• The impact of larger or similar-sized financial institutions encountering problems may adversely affect Peoples' business, earnings and financial condition.
Peoples is exposed to the risk that when a peer financial institution experiences financial difficulties, there could be an adverse impact on the regional banking industry and the business environment in which Peoples operates. The recent bank failures of Silicon Valley Bank in California, Signature Bank in New York, and First Republic Bank in California during the first and second quarters of 2023 have caused a degree of panic and uncertainty in the investor community and among bank customers generally. While Peoples does not believe that the circumstances of these three banks' failures are indicators of broader issues with the banking system, the failures may reduce customer confidence, affect sources of funding and liquidity, increase regulatory requirements and costs, adversely affect financial markets and/or have a negative reputational ramification for the banking industry, including Peoples. Peoples will continue to monitor the ongoing events concerning these three banks as well as any future potential bank failures and volatility within the banking industry generally, together with any responsive measures taken by the banking regulators to mitigate or manage potential turmoil in the banking industry.
• Peoples may experience one or more security breaches through one or more technological systems.
Information security risks have increased due to the sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists and other external parties and the use of online, telephone, and mobile banking channels by clients. Any compromise to Peoples' information security could impair Peoples' reputation and deter Peoples' clients from using banking services. Information security breaches can also disrupt the operation of information systems on which Peoples and its customers depend, adversely affecting business operations. Such events can result in costly remediation measures and litigation or governmental investigation and responding to security breaches can place unanticipated demands on the time and attention of management. Peoples relies on security systems to provide the protection and authentication necessary to secure transmission of data against damage by theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or similar catastrophic event, as well as from security breaches, ransomware, denial of service attacks, viruses, worms, and other disruptive problems caused by hackers. Computer break-ins, phishing and other disruptions of customer or vendor systems could also jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted through Peoples' computer systems and network infrastructure.
Peoples associates also confront the risk of being compromised by emails sent by perpetrators posing as company executives or vendors in order to dupe Peoples' personnel into sending large sums of money to accounts controlled by the perpetrators. Peoples requires all employees to complete annual information security awareness training to increase their awareness of these risks and to engage them in mitigation efforts. If these precautions are not sufficient to protect Peoples' systems from data breaches or compromises, Peoples' reputation and business could be adversely affected.
Peoples depends on the services of a variety of third-party vendors to meet data processing and communication needs, and Peoples has contracted with third parties to run their proprietary software on Peoples' behalf. While Peoples performs reviews of security controls instituted by the vendor in accordance with industry standards and institutes Peoples' own internal security controls, Peoples relies on continued maintenance of the controls by the outside party to safeguard customer data.
Additionally, Peoples issues debit cards which are susceptible to compromise at the point of sale via the physical terminal through which transactions are processed and by other means of hacking. The security and integrity of these transactions are dependent upon the retailers’ vigilance and willingness to invest in technology and upgrades. Issuing debit cards to Peoples' clients exposes it to potential losses which, in the event of a data breach at one or more major retailers may adversely affect Peoples' business, financial condition, and results of operations.
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