Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There are certain risks and uncertainties in our business that could cause Park's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. In “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS” of Part I of Park’s 2022 Form 10-K, we included a detailed discussion of our risk factors. In the first quarter of 2023, we identified one additional risk factor and updated an existing risk factor, described below. All of these risk factors should be read carefully in connection with evaluating Park's business and in connection with the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Any of the risks described in Park's 2022 Form 10-K or in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results and the actual outcome of matters as to which forward-looking statements are made. These are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results.
The impact of larger or similar-sized financial institutions encountering problems may adversely affect Park's business, earnings and financial condition.
Park 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 Park 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 Park 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 financial services industry, including Park. Park will continue to monitor the ongoing events concerning these three banks as well as any future potential bank failures and volatility within the financial services industry generally, together with any responsive measures taken by the banking regulators to mitigate or manage potential turmoil in the financial services industry.
We may become subject to additional requirements and restrictions imposed by the DOJ.
On February 28, 2023, Park National Bank reached an agreement with the DOJ to increase the efforts of Park National Bank to promote home lending in the Columbus, Ohio market. The agreement, which is reflected in the consent order filed on February 28, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division (the “DOJ Consent Order”) and approved on March 2, 2023 by that Court, serves to voluntarily resolve all claims of the U.S. alleging that Park National Bank’s mortgage lending practices within the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
In accordance with the terms of the DOJ Consent Order, Park National Bank will invest a minimum of $7.75 million over five years in a loan subsidy fund to increase credit opportunities for home mortgage loans, home improvement loans, home refinance loans and home equity loans and lines of credit for consumers applying for loans in majority-minority census tracts ("MMCTs") in Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Morrow and Perry counties in Ohio (the “Columbus Lending Area”). Park National Bank will also devote a minimum of $500,000 over five years toward one or more community development partnership programs that provide services to residents of MMCTs in the Columbus Lending Area related to credit, financial education, homeownership and foreclosure prevention; and at least $750,000 over five years toward advertising, community outreach, consumer financial education and credit counseling in the Columbus Lending Area. Park National Bank will also establish one new mortgage loan production office and one new full-service branch in MMCTs in the Columbus Lending Area and hire four lenders, one of whom will be Spanish-speaking, focused on serving these communities. In addition, Park National
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Bank will continue to maintain, throughout the term of the DOJ Consent Order, Park National Bank’s full-time Director of Community Home Lending and Development position, who will oversee Park National Bank’s lending in MMCTs in the Columbus Lending Area.
Park is committed to investing at least $9.0 million over five years and will record the related expenses incurred in the
period in which the associated activities occur.
Although Park and Park National Bank are committed to full compliance with the DOJ Consent Order, achieving such compliance will require significant management attention from Park and may cause Park to incur unanticipated costs and expenses. Actions taken to achieve compliance with the DOJ Consent Order may affect Park’s financial performance and may require us to reallocate resources away from existing businesses or to undertake significant changes to our businesses, operations, products and services, and risk management practices. In addition, Park and Park National Bank could be subject to other enforcement actions relating to the alleged violations resolved by the DOJ Consent Order
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.