Richmond Mutual Bancorporation, Inc. 10-K

Item 1A. Risk Factors An investment in our common stock is not an insured deposit and is subject to risks inherent in our business. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information included and incorporated by reference in this report. In addition to the risks and uncertainties described below, other risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, capital levels, cash flows, liquidity, results of operations and prospects. The market price of our common stock could decline significantly due to any of these identified or other risks, and you could lose some or all of your investment. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. This report is qualified in its entirety by these risk factors. Risks Related to Macroeconomic Conditions The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way we conduct business which may adversely impact our financial results and those of our customers. The ultimate impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities in response to the pandemic. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has caused major economic disruption and volatility in the financial markets both in the United States and globally. In our market areas, stay-at-home orders, social distancing and travel restrictions, and similar orders imposed across the United States to restrict the spread of COVID-19, resulted in significant business and operational disruptions, including business closures, supply chain disruptions, and significant layoffs and furloughs. While the stay-at-home orders have terminated or been phased-out along with reopening of businesses in certain markets, many localities in which we operate still apply capacity restrictions and health and safety recommendations that encourage continued social distancing and working remotely, limiting the ability of businesses to return to pre-pandemic levels of activity. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes to our business operations during the current year and could continue to result in changes to operations in future periods. Heightened cybersecurity, information security and operational risks may result from these work from-home arrangements. Depending on the severity and length of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is impossible to predict, we could experience significant disruptions in our business operations if key personnel or a significant number of employees were to become unavailable due to the effects of, and restrictions resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as decreased demand for our products and services. To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted some of our business and consumer borrowers’ ability to make their loan payments. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to negatively affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted and many of which are outside of our control, including the scope and duration of the pandemic, the emergence of new variants, the effectiveness of our business continuity and response plans, the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic on our employees, customers, clients, counterparties and service providers, as well as other market participants, and actions taken, or that may yet be taken, or inaction, by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic. Should the pandemic continue for a more extended period or worsen, we may face additional circumstances such as significant draws on credit lines should customers seek to increase liquidity. Furthermore, should the pandemic continue, we may experience increased rates of employee illness or unavailability, and may experience challenges recruiting new employees. Any disruption to our ability to deliver financial products or services to, or interact with, our clients and customers could result in losses or increased operational costs, regulatory fines, penalties and other sanctions, or harm our reputation. We 31 are also subject to litigation and reputational risk arising from our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The length of the pandemic and the efficacy of the measures being put in place to address it are unknown as efforts to combat the virus have been complicated by viral variants and uneven access to, and acceptance and effectiveness of, vaccines globally. To the extent the pandemic adversely affects our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this report. A worsening of economic conditions in our market area could reduce demand for our products and services and/or result in increases in our level of non-performing loans, which could adversely affect our operations, financial condition and earnings. Local economic conditions have a significant impact on the ability of our borrowers to repay loans and the value of the collateral securing loans. A deterioration in economic conditions could have the following consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations: • demand for our products and services may decline; • loan delinquencies, problem assets and foreclosures may increase; • collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline in value, thereby reducing customers’ future borrowing power, and reducing the value of assets and collateral associated with existing loans; and • the net worth and liquidity of loan guarantors may decline, impairing their ability to honor commitments to us. Moreover, a significant decline in general local, regional or national economic conditions caused by inflation, recession, severe weather, natural disasters, widespread disease or pandemics, acts of terrorism, an outbreak of hostilities or other international or domestic calamities, unemployment or other factors beyond our control could further impact these local economic conditions and could further negatively affect the financial results of our banking operations. In addition, deflationary pressures, while possibly lowering our operating costs, could have a significant negative effect on our borrowers, especially our business borrowers, and the values of underlying collateral securing loans, which could negatively affect our financial performance. Future changes in interest rates could reduce our profits and affect the value of our assets and liabilities . Net income is the amount by which net interest income and non-interest income exceed non-interest expense, the provision for loan and lease losses and taxes. Net interest income makes up a majority of our net income and is based on the difference between the interest income we earn on interest-earning assets, such as loans and securities, and the interest expense we pay on interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings. The yields we earn on our assets and the rates we pay on our liabilities are generally fixed for a contractual period of time. Like many financial institutions, our liabilities generally have shorter contractual maturities than our assets. This imbalance can create significant earnings volatility because market interest rates change over time. In addition, changes in interest rates can affect the average life of loans and mortgage-backed and related securities. In a period of rising interest rates, the interest income we earn on our assets may not increase as rapidly as the interest we pay on our liabilities. A decline in interest rates results in increased prepayments of loans and mortgage-backed and related securities as borrowers refinance their debt to reduce their borrowing costs. This creates reinvestment risk, which is the risk that we may not be able to reinvest prepayments at rates that are comparable to the rates we earned on the prepaid loans or securities. Furthermore, an inverted interest rate yield curve, where short-term interest rates (which are usually the rates at which financial institutions borrow funds) are higher than long-term interest rates (which are usually the rates at which financial institutions lend funds for fixed-rate loans) can reduce a financial institution’s net interest margin and create financial risk for financial institutions that originate longer-term, fixed-rate mortgage loans. At December 31, 2021, 43.6% of our loan and lease portfolio consisted of fixed-rate loans and leases. Any substantial prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Changes in the level of interest rates also may negatively affect the value of our assets and liabilities and ultimately affect our earnings. 32 Risks Related to Our Business We have a substantial amount of commercial and multi-family real estate and commercial and industrial loans, and intend to continue to increase originations of these types of loans. These loans involve credit risks that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. At December 31, 2021, our commercial real estate, multi-family real estate and commercial and industrial loans totaled $468.3 million, or 55.4% of our total loans and leases. While these types of loans are potentially more profitable than residential mortgage loans, they are generally more sensitive to regional and local economic conditions, making loss levels more difficult to predict. These loans also generally have relatively large balances to single borrowers or related groups of borrowers. Given their larger balances and the complexity of the underlying collateral, commercial and multi-family real estate and commercial and industrial loans generally have more risk than the one- to four-family residential real estate loans we originate. Because the repayment of these types of loans depends on the successful management and operation of the borrower’s properties or related businesses, repayment can be affected by factors outside the borrower's control, such as adverse conditions in the real estate market or the economy, disruptions in supply chains, or change in government regulations. In recent years, commercial real estate markets have been experiencing substantial growth, and increased competitive pressures have contributed significantly to historically low capitalization rates and rising property values. Furthermore, commercial real estate markets have been particularly impacted by the economic disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has also been a catalyst for the evolution of various remote work options which could impact the long-term performance of some types of office properties within our commercial real estate portfolio. Accordingly, the federal banking regulatory agencies have expressed concerns about weaknesses in the current commercial real estate market. Further, unlike residential mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans may be secured by collateral other than real estate, such as inventory and accounts receivable, the value of which may depreciate over time, may be more difficult to appraise or liquidate and may be more susceptible to fluctuation in value at default. Failures in our risk management policies, procedures and controls could adversely affect our ability to manage this portfolio going forward and could result in an increased rate of delinquencies in, and increased losses from, this portfolio, which, accordingly, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our portfolio of loans with a higher risk of loss is increasing and the unseasoned nature of our commercial loan portfolio may result in errors in judging its collectability, which may lead to additional provisions for loan losses or charge-offs, which would hurt our profits. Our commercial loan portfolio, which includes commercial and multi-family real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans and construction loans, has increased to $562.0 million, or 66.4% of total loans and leases, at December 31, 2021 from $226.9 million, or 48.5% of total loans and leases, at December 31, 2016. A large portion of our commercial loan portfolio is unseasoned, meaning they were originated recently. Our limited experience with these borrowers does not provide us with a significant payment history pattern with which to judge future collectability. Further, these loans have not been subjected to unfavorable economic conditions. As a result, it is difficult to predict the future performance of this part of our loan portfolio. These loans may have delinquency or charge-off levels above our historical experience, which could adversely affect our future performance. If our allowance for loan and lease losses is not sufficient to cover actual losses, our earnings could decrease. We periodically review our allowance for loan and lease losses for adequacy considering economic conditions and trends, collateral values and credit quality indicators, including past charge-off experience and levels of past due loans and nonperforming assets. We cannot be certain that our allowance for loan and lease losses will be adequate over time to cover credit losses in our portfolio because of unanticipated adverse changes in the economy, market conditions or events adversely affecting specific customers, industries or markets, and changes in borrower behaviors. Differences between our actual experience and assumptions and the effectiveness of our models may adversely affect our business, financial condition, including liquidity and capital, and results of operations. Changes in the valuation of our securities portfolio could hurt our profits and reduce our capital levels. Our securities portfolio may be impacted by fluctuations in market value, potentially reducing accumulated other comprehensive income and/or earnings. Fluctuations in market value may be caused by changes in market interest rates, lower market prices for securities and limited investor demand. Management evaluates securities for other-than-temporary impairment on a quarterly basis, with more frequent evaluation for selected issues. In analyzing a debt issuer’s financial condition, management considers whether the securities are issued by the federal government or its agencies, whether downgrades by 33 bond rating agencies have occurred, industry analysts’ reports and, to a lesser extent given the relatively insignificant levels of depreciation in our debt portfolio, spread differentials between the effective rates on instruments in the portfolio compared to risk-free rates. In analyzing an equity issuer’s financial condition, management considers industry analysts’ reports, financial performance and projected target prices of investment analysts within a one-year time frame. If this evaluation shows impairment to the actual or projected cash flows associated with one or more securities, a potential loss to earnings may occur. Changes in interest rates can also have an adverse effect on our financial condition, as our available-for-sale securities are reported at their estimated fair value, and therefore are impacted by fluctuations in interest rates. We increase or decrease our stockholders’ equity by the amount of change in the estimated fair value of the available-for-sale securities, net of taxes. Declines in market value could result in other-than-temporary impairments of these assets, which would lead to accounting charges that could have a material adverse effect on our net income and capital levels. As of December 31, 2021, we had no securities that were deemed impaired. A tightening of credit markets and liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our financial condition. Liquidity is essential to our business. A tightening of the credit markets and the inability to obtain adequate funding to replace deposits and fund continued loan growth may affect asset growth, our earnings capability and capital levels negatively. We rely on a number of different sources in order to meet our potential liquidity demands. Our primary sources of liquidity are increases in deposit accounts, including brokered deposits, as well as cash flows from loan payments and our securities portfolio. Borrowings, especially from the Federal Home Loan Bank and repurchase agreements, also provide us with a source of funds to meet liquidity demands. 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 access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities or on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically, or the financial services industry or economy in general. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include adverse regulatory action against us or a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of a downturn in the markets in which our loans are concentrated. Our ability to borrow also could be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a disruption in the financial markets, negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry or deterioration in credit markets. We use estimates in determining the fair value of certain assets, such as mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”). If our estimates prove to be incorrect, we may be required to write down the value of these assets which could adversely affect our earnings. We sell a portion of our one- to four-family loans in the secondary market. We generally retain the right to service these loans through First Bank Richmond. At December 31, 2021, the book value of our MSRs was $1.6 million. We use a financial model that uses, wherever possible, quoted market prices to value our MSRs. This model is complex and also uses assumptions related to interest and discount rates, prepayment speeds, delinquency and foreclosure rates and ancillary fee income. Valuations are highly dependent upon the reasonableness of our assumptions and the predictability of the relationships that drive the results of the model. The primary risk associated with MSRs is that they will lose a substantial portion of their value as a result of higher than anticipated prepayments occasioned by declining interest rates. Conversely, these assets generally increase in value in a rising interest rate environment to the extent that prepayments are slower than anticipated. If prepayment speeds increase more than estimated, or delinquency and default levels are higher than anticipated, we may be required to write down the value of our MSRs which could have a material adverse effect on our net income and capital levels. We obtain independent valuations quarterly to determine if impairment in the asset exists. If our investment in the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis becomes impaired, our earnings and stockholders’ equity could decrease. At December 31, 2021, we owned $10.0 million in Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) of Indianapolis stock. We are required to own this stock to be a member of and to obtain advances from the FHLB of Indianapolis. This stock is not marketable and can only be redeemed by the FHLB of Indianapolis. The most recent stock buyback initiated by the FHLB of Indianapolis was in 2015. The FHLB of Indianapolis’ financial condition is linked, in part, to the eleven other members of the FHLB System and to accounting rules and asset quality risks that could materially lower their capital, which would cause our FHLB of Indianapolis stock to be deemed impaired, resulting in a decrease in our earnings and assets. Our size makes it more difficult for us to compete. Our asset size makes it more difficult to compete with other financial institutions that are larger and can more easily afford to invest in the marketing and technologies needed to attract and retain customers. Because our principal source of 34 income is the net interest income we earn on our loans and investments after deducting interest paid on deposits and other sources of funds, our ability to generate the revenues needed to cover our expenses and finance such investments is limited by the size of our loan and investment portfolios. Accordingly, we are not always able to offer new products and services as quickly as our competitors. Our lower earnings may also make it more difficult to offer competitive salaries and benefits. In addition, our smaller customer base may make it difficult to generate meaningful non-interest income from such activities as securities brokerage or the sale of insurance products. Finally, as a smaller institution, we are disproportionately affected by the continually increasing costs of compliance with new banking and other regulations. As a community bank, maintaining our reputation in our market area is critical to the success of our business, and the failure to do so may materially adversely affect our performance. We are a community bank, and our reputation is one of the most valuable components of our business. A key component of our business strategy is to rely on our reputation for customer service and knowledge of local markets to expand our presence by capturing new business opportunities from existing and prospective customers in our current market and contiguous areas. As such, we strive to conduct our business in a manner that enhances our reputation. This is done, in part, by recruiting, hiring and retaining employees who share our core values of being an integral part of the communities we serve, delivering superior service to our customers and caring about our customers and associates. We operate in many different financial service businesses and rely on the ability of our employees and systems to process a significant number of transactions. Operational risk is the risk of loss from operations, including fraud by employees or outside persons, employees’ execution of incorrect or unauthorized transactions, data processing and technology errors or hacking and breaches of internal control systems. If our reputation is negatively affected by the actions of our employees, by our inability to conduct our operations in a manner that is appealing to current or prospective customers, or otherwise, our business and, therefore, our operating results may be materially adversely affected. We face significant operational risks because the financial services business involves a high volume of transactions and because of our reliance on technology. Our business requires us to collect, process, transmit and store significant amounts of confidential information regarding our customers, employees and our own business, operations, plans and business strategies. Our operational and security systems infrastructure, including our computer systems, data management and internal processes, as well as those of third parties, are integral to our performance. Our operational risks include the risk of malfeasance by employees or persons outside our company, errors relating to transaction processing and technology, systems failures or interruptions, breaches of our internal control systems and compliance requirements, and business continuation and disaster recovery. Insurance coverage may not be available for such losses, or where available, such losses may exceed insurance limits. This risk of loss also includes the potential legal actions that could arise as a result of operational deficiencies or as a result of non-compliance with applicable regulatory standards or customer attrition due to potential negative publicity. In the event of a breakdown in our internal control systems, improper operation of systems or improper employee actions, or a breach of our security systems, including if confidential or proprietary information were to be mishandled, misused or lost, we could suffer financial loss, face regulatory action, civil litigation and/or suffer damage to our reputation. Although we have not experienced any material technology failures, cyber-attacks or other information or security breaches, or material losses related to any such events to date, there can be no assurance that we will not suffer such events, losses or other consequences in the future. Our risk and exposure to these matters remain heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of these threats and our role as a provider of financial services, our continuous transmission of sensitive information to, and storage of such information by, third parties, including our vendors and regulators, the outsourcing of some of our business operations, threats of cyber-terrorism, and system and customer account updates and conversions. As a result, cyber-security and the continued development and enhancement of our controls, processes and practices designed to protect our systems, computers, software, data and networks from attack, damage or unauthorized access remain a priority. Our Information Systems May Experience Failure, Interruption Or Breach in Security. In the ordinary course of business, we rely on electronic communications and information systems to conduct our operations and to store sensitive data. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in significant disruption to our operations. Information security breaches and cybersecurity-related incidents include, but are not limited to, attempts to access information, including customer and company information, malicious code, computer viruses and denial of service attacks that could result in unauthorized access, theft, misuse, loss, release or destruction of data (including confidential customer information), account takeovers, unavailability of service or other events. These types of threats may derive from human error, fraud or malice on the part of external or internal parties, or may result from accidental technological failure. Our technologies, systems, networks and software have been and continue to be subject to cybersecurity threats and attacks. Any 35 failures related to upgrades and maintenance of our technology and information systems could further increase our information and system security risk. Our increased use of cloud and other technologies, such as remote work technologies, also increase our risk of being subject to a cyber attack. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber attack or cyber intrusion, has increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Our customers, employees and third parties that we do business with have been, and will continue to be, targeted by parties using fraudulent e-mails and other communications in attempts to misappropriate passwords, bank account information or other personal information or to introduce viruses or other malware programs to our information systems, the information systems of our merchants or third-party service providers and/or our customers' personal devices, which are beyond our security control systems. Though we endeavor to mitigate these threats through product improvements, use of encryption and authentication technology and customer and employee education, such cyber attacks against us, our merchants, our third-party service providers and our customers remain a serious issue and have been successful in the past. Although we make significant efforts to maintain the security and integrity of our information systems and have implemented various measures to manage the risks of a security breach or disruption, there can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Even well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable to attempted security breaches or disruptions because the techniques used in such attempts are constantly evolving and generally are not recognized until launched against a a target, and in some cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures, and thus it is virtually impossible for us to entirely mitigate this risk. Furthermore, in the event of a cyber attack, we may be delayed in identifying or responding to the attack, which could increase the negative impact of the cyber attack on our own business, financial condition and results of operations. While we maintain specific "cyber" insurance coverage, which would apply in the event of various breach scenarios, the amount of coverage may not be adequate in any particular case. Furthermore, because cyber threat scenarios are inherently difficult to predict and can take many forms, some breaches may not be covered under our cyber insurance coverage. A security breach or other significant disruption of our information systems or those related to our customers, merchants or our third-party vendors, including as a result of cyber attacks, could (i) disrupt the proper functioning of our networks and systems and therefore our operations and/or those of our customers; (ii) result in the unauthorized access to, and destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information of ours or our customers; (iii) result in a violation of applicable privacy, data breach and other laws, subjecting us to additional regulatory scrutiny and exposing us to civil litigation, enforcement actions, governmental fines and possible financial liability; (iv) require significant management attention and resources to remedy the damages that result; or (v) harm our reputation or cause a decrease in the number of customers that choose to do business with us. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our Operations Rely On Certain External Vendors We rely on certain external vendors to provide products and services necessary to maintain our day-to-day operations. These third-party vendors are sources of operational and informational security risks to us, including risks associated with operational errors, information system failures, interruptions or breaches and unauthorized disclosures of sensitive or confidential client or customer information. If these vendors encounter any of these issues, or if we have difficulty communicating with them, we could be exposed to disruption of operations, loss of service or connectivity to customers, reputational damage, and litigation risk that could have a material adverse effect on our business and, in turn, our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our operations are exposed to risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements. Although we have selected these external vendors carefully, we do not control their actions. The failure of an external vendor to perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements, because of changes in the vendor's organizational structure, financial condition, support for existing products and services or strategic focus or for any other reason, could be disruptive to our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, and in turn, our financial condition and results of operations. Replacing these external vendors could also entail significant delay and expense. We will be required to transition from the use of the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") in the future. We have certain FHLB advances and loans indexed to LIBOR to calculate the interest rate. The continued availability of the LIBOR index is not guaranteed after 2023. We cannot predict whether and to what extent banks will continue to provide LIBOR submissions to the administrator of LIBOR or whether any additional reforms to LIBOR may be enacted. At this time, 36 no consensus exists as to what rate or rates may become acceptable alternatives to LIBOR (with the exception of overnight repurchase agreements, which are expected to be based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR). The language in our LIBOR-based contracts and financial instruments has developed over time and may have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. If a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments may give the calculation agent discretion over the substitute index or indices for the calculation of interest rates to be selected. The implementation of a substitute index or indices for the calculation of interest rates under our loan agreements with our borrowers may result in our incurring significant expenses in effecting the transition, may result in reduced loan balances if borrowers do not accept the substitute index or indices, and may result in disputes or litigation with customers over the appropriateness or comparability to LIBOR of the substitute index or indices, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations. We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with lending activities or properties we own. A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real estate, and we could become subject to environmental liabilities with respect to one or more of these properties, or with respect to properties that we own in operating our business. During the ordinary course of business, we may foreclose on and take title to properties securing defaulted loans. In doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous conditions or toxic substances are found on these properties, we may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage, civil fines and criminal penalties regardless of when the hazardous conditions or toxic substances first affected any particular property. Environmental laws may require us to incur substantial expenses to address unknown liabilities and may materially reduce the affected property’s value or limit our ability to use or sell the affected property. In addition, future laws or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws may increase our exposure to environmental liability. Our policies, which require us to perform an environmental review before initiating any foreclosure action on non-residential real property, may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on us. Regulatory and Accounting Related Risks We operate in a highly regulated environment and may be adversely affected by changes in federal and state laws and regulations that could increase our costs of operations. The banking industry is extensively regulated. Federal banking regulations are designed primarily to protect the deposit insurance funds and consumers, not to benefit a company's shareholders. These regulations may sometimes impose significant limitations on our operations. These regulations, along with the currently existing tax, accounting, securities, insurance, and monetary laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations control the methods by which financial institutions conduct business, implement strategic initiatives and tax compliance, and govern financial reporting and disclosures. These laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations are constantly evolving and may change significantly over time. Any new regulations or legislation, change in existing regulation or oversight, whether a change in regulatory policy or a change in a regulator's interpretation of a law or regulation, could have a material impact on our operations, increase our costs of regulatory compliance and of doing business and adversely affect our profitability. Further, our failure to comply with laws, regulations or policies could result in civil or criminal sanctions and money penalties by state and federal agencies, and/or reputation damage, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See "Part I, Item 1. Business - How We Are Regulated." for more information about the regulations to which we are subject. Changes in laws and regulations and the cost of regulatory compliance with new laws and regulations may adversely affect our operations and/or increase our costs of operations. First Bank Richmond is subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by the FDIC and the IDFI, and Richmond Mutual Bancorporation is subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve Board. Such regulation and supervision govern the activities in which an institution and its holding company may engage and are intended primarily for the protection of the federal deposit insurance fund and the depositors of First Bank Richmond, rather than for our stockholders. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the imposition of restrictions on our operations, the classification of our assets and determination of the level of our allowance for loan and lease losses. These regulations, along with existing tax, accounting, securities, insurance and monetary laws, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations, control the methods by which financial institutions conduct business, implement strategic initiatives and tax compliance, and govern financial reporting and disclosures. Any change in such regulation and oversight, whether in the form of regulatory policy, regulations, legislation or supervisory action, may have a material impact on our operations. Further, changes in accounting standards can be both difficult to predict and involve 37 judgment and discretion in their interpretation by us and our independent accounting firm. These changes could materially impact, potentially even retroactively, how we report our financial condition and results of operations. We are subject to an extensive body of accounting rules and best practices. Periodic changes to such rules may change the treatment and recognition of critical financial line items and affect our profitability. The nature of our business makes us sensitive to the large body of accounting rules in the United States. From time to time, the governing bodies that oversee changes to accounting rules and reporting requirements may release new guidance for the preparation of our financial statements. These changes can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some instances, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in the restatement of prior period financial statements. Changes which have been approved for future implementation, or which are currently proposed or expected to be proposed or adopted include requirements that we calculate the allowance for loan and lease losses on the basis of the current expected credit losses over the lifetime of our loans, referred to as the CECL model, which is expected to be applicable to us, as an emerging growth company, beginning in 2023. CECL adoption will have broad impact on our financial statements, which will affect key profitability and solvency measures, including, but not limited to higher loan loss reserve levels and related deferred tax assets. Increased reserve levels also may lead to a reduction in capital levels. Any such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Under the CECL model, banks will be required to present certain financial assets carried at amortized cost, such as loans held for investment and held-to-maturity debt securities, at the net amount expected to be collected. The measurement of expected credit losses is to be based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. This measurement will take place at the time the financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and periodically thereafter. This differs significantly from the “incurred loss” model required under current GAAP, which delays recognition until it is probable a loss has been incurred. The forward-looking modeling required by CECL relies on a number of macroeconomic variables. Unexpected changes to such indicators between periods could potentially result in greater earnings volatility from period to period. Our reserves may need to be adjusted in response to not only to our actual experience, but also to external factors. If we are required to materially increase the level of the allowance for loan and lease losses for any reason, such increase could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. An additional impact of CECL will be the asymmetry in accounting between loan related income, which will continue to be recognized on a periodic basis based on the effective interest method, and the related credit losses, which will be recognized up front at origination. This will make periods of loan expansion seem less profitable due to the immediate recognition of expected credit losses. Periods of stable or declining loan levels will look comparatively more profitable as the income trickles in for loans, where losses had been previously recognized. We are evaluating the impact the CECL accounting model will have on our accounting, but expect to recognize a one-time cumulative-effect adjustment to the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the new standard is effective. We cannot yet determine the magnitude of any such one-time cumulative adjustment or of the overall impact of the new standard on our financial condition or results of operations. The federal banking regulators, including the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC, have adopted a rule that gives a banking organization the option to phase in over a three-year period the day-one adverse effects of CECL on its regulatory capital. Other Risks The capital we raised in our recent initial public offering may negatively impact our return on equity until we can fully implement our business plan. This could negatively affect the trading price of our shares of common stock. Net income divided by average equity, known as “return on equity,” is a ratio many investors use to compare the performance of a financial institution to its peers. Although we anticipate increasing net interest income using proceeds of the offering, our return on equity will be reduced by the capital raised in our recent offering, higher expenses from the costs of being a public company, and added expenses associated with our adoption of an employee stock ownership plan and equity incentive plan. Until we can implement our business plan and increase our net interest income through investment of the proceeds of the offering, we expect our return on equity to remain relatively low compared to our peer group, which may reduce the value of our shares. We may elect or be compelled to seek additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed or on terms acceptable to us. 38 We are required by federal regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations. We believe the net proceeds of our recent initial public offering will be sufficient to permit us to maintain regulatory compliance for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, we may elect to raise more capital to support our business or to finance acquisitions, if any, or we may otherwise elect or be required to raise additional capital in the future. Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on conditions in the capital markets, economic conditions and a number of other factors, many of which are outside our control, and on our financial performance. We cannot assure you of our ability to raise additional capital if needed or on terms acceptable to us. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, or if the terms of such a capital raise are not advantageous, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and prospects. There may be future sales of additional common stock or preferred stock or other dilution of our equity, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. We are not restricted from issuing additional common stock or preferred stock, including any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock or preferred stock or any substantially similar securities. The market value of our common stock could decline as a result of sales by us of a large number of shares of common stock or preferred stock or similar securities in the market or the perception that such sales could occur. Our board of directors is authorized to allow us to issue additional common stock, as well as classes or series of preferred stock, generally without any action on the part of the stockholders. In addition, the board has the power, generally without stockholder approval, to set the terms of any such classes or series of preferred stock that may be issued, including voting rights, dividend rights and preferences over the common stock with respect to dividends or upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our business and other terms. If we issue additional preferred stock in the future that has a preference over the common stock with respect to the payment of dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, or if we issue additional preferred stock with voting rights that dilute the voting power of the common stock, the rights of holders of the common stock or the market value of the common stock could be adversely affected. Our contribution to the charitable foundation may not be tax deductible, which could reduce our profits. We may not have sufficient profits to be able to fully use the tax deduction from our contribution to our recently established charitable foundation. Under the Internal Revenue Code, an entity is permitted to deduct up to 10% of its taxable income (generally income before federal income taxes and charitable contributions expense) in any one year for charitable contributions. Any contribution in excess of the 10% limit may be deducted for federal income tax purposes over each of the five years following the year in which the charitable contribution is made. Accordingly, a charitable contribution could, if necessary, be deducted over a six-year period and expires thereafter. There are no assurances that we will have sufficient profits in the future to be able to fully use the tax deduction from our contribution to the charitable foundation. You may not receive dividends on our common stock. Holders of our common stock are only entitled to receive such dividends as our board of directors may declare out of funds legally available for such payments. The declaration and payment of future cash dividends will be subject to, among other things, regulatory restrictions, our then current and projected consolidated operating results, financial condition, tax considerations, future growth plans, general economic conditions, and other factors our board of directors deems relevant. Richmond Mutual Bancorporation will depend primarily upon the proceeds it retained from the offering as well as earnings of First Bank Richmond to provide funds to pay dividends on our common stock. The payment of dividends by First Bank Richmond also is subject to certain regulatory restrictions. Federal law generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distributions (including payment of a dividend) to its parent holding company if the depository institution would thereafter be or continue to be undercapitalized, and dividends by a depository institution are subject to additional limitations. As a result, any payment of dividends in the future by Richmond Mutual Bancorporation may depend on First Bank Richmond’s ability to satisfy these regulatory restrictions and its earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors. Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments Not applicable.