Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
General
Renasant Corporation, a Mississippi corporation incorporated in 1982, owns and operates Renasant Bank, a Mississippi banking corporation with operations throughout the Southeast as well as offering factoring and asset-based lending on a nationwide basis. Renasant Bank, in turn, owns and operates Renasant Insurance, Inc., a Mississippi corporation with operations in Mississippi, Park Place Capital Corporation, a Tennessee corporation with operations across our footprint, and Continental Republic Capital, LLC (doing business as “Republic Business Credit”), a Louisiana limited liability company with nationwide operations. In this Annual Report, Renasant Bank is sometimes referred to as the “Bank,” while Renasant Insurance, Inc. is referred to as “Renasant Insurance,” Park Place Capital Corporation is referred to as “Park Place Capital,” and Continental Republic Capital, LLC is referred to as “Republic Business Credit.”
Our vision is to be the financial services advisor and provider of choice in each community we serve. With this vision in mind, management has organized the branch banks into community banks using a franchise concept. The franchise approach empowers community bank presidents to execute their own business plans in order to achieve our vision. Specific performance measurement tools are available to assist these presidents in determining the success of their plan implementation. A few of the ratios used in measuring the success of their business plan include:
— return on average assets — net interest margin and spread
— the efficiency ratio — fee income shown as a percentage of loans and deposits
— loan and deposit growth — the volume and cost of deposits
— net charge-offs to average loans — the percentage of loans past due and nonaccruing
While we have preserved decision-making at a local level, we have centralized our legal, accounting, investment, risk management, loan review, human resources, audit and data processing/operations functions. The centralization of these functions enables us to maintain consistent quality and achieve certain economies of scale.
Our vision is further validated through our core values which include: (1) employees are our greatest assets, (2) quality is not negotiable and (3) clients’ trust is foremost. Centered on these values was the development of our strategic plan, which focuses on attracting high quality, organic loan growth and increasing our noninterest income, improving our operating efficiency and enhancing our technological capabilities, remaining opportunistic, and achieving financial performance targets. We believe that the successful implementation of our strategic plan will promote the satisfaction and development of our employees, clients and shareholders.
Members of our Board of Directors also serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Bank (which has a broader membership than the Company board). Responsibility for the management of the Bank remains with the Board of Directors and officers of the Bank; however, management services rendered by the Company to the Bank are intended to supplement internal management and expand the scope of banking services normally offered by the Bank.
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Operations
The Company has three reportable segments: a Community Banks segment, an Insurance segment and a Wealth Management segment. We do not have any foreign operations.
Operations of Community Banks
Substantially all of our business activities are conducted through, and substantially all of our assets and revenues are derived from, the operations of our community banks, which offer a complete range of banking and financial services to individuals and to businesses of all sizes. As described in more detail below, these services include business and personal loans, interim construction loans, specialty commercial lending, factoring and asset-based lending, treasury management services and checking and savings accounts, as well as safe deposit boxes and night depository facilities. Automated teller machines are located throughout our market area, and we have interactive teller machines in many of our urban markets. Our Online and Mobile Banking products and our call center also provide 24-hour banking services.
As of December 31, 2023, we had 181 banking, lending and mortgage offices located throughout our markets in the Southeast, while our subsidiary Republic Business Credit had four stand-alone offices in California, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas. Customers may also conduct many banking transactions, such as opening deposit accounts and applying for certain types of loans, through our Online and Mobile Banking Products.
Lending Activities . Income generated by our lending activities, in the form of interest income, loan-related fees, and income from the sale and servicing of mortgage loans, comprises a substantial portion of our revenue, accounting for approximately 82.8%, 75.1% and 78.7% of our total gross revenues in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. (Total gross revenues consist of interest income on a fully taxable equivalent basis and noninterest income.) Our lending philosophy is to minimize credit losses by following strict credit approval standards, diversifying our loan portfolio by both type and geography and conducting ongoing review and management of the loan portfolio. Loans are originated through either our commercial lending groups or personal bankers depending on the relationship and type of service or product desired. Our commercial lending group provides banking services to corporations or other business customers and originates loans for general corporate purposes, such as financing for commercial and industrial projects or income producing commercial real estate. Also included in our commercial lending group are experienced lenders within our specialty lines of business, which consist of our asset-based lending, Small Business Administration lending, healthcare, factoring, and equipment lease financing banking groups. Our personal banking group provides small consumer installment loans, residential real estate loans, lines of credit and construction financing and originates conventional first and second mortgages.
The following is a general description of each of the principal types of loans in our loan portfolio, the relative credit risk of each type of loan and the steps we take to reduce such risk. Our loans are primarily generated within the market areas where our offices are located.
— Commercial, Financial and Agricultural Loans . Commercial, financial and agricultural loans (referred to as “C&I loans”), which accounted for approximately 15.15% of our total loans at December 31, 2023, are customarily granted to established local business customers in our market area on a fully collateralized basis to meet their credit needs. The terms and loan structure are dependent on the collateral and strength of the borrower. Loan-to-value ratios typically range from 50% to 85%, depending on the type of collateral. Terms are typically short term in nature and are commensurate with the secondary source of repayment that serves as our collateral.
Although C&I loans may be collateralized by equipment or other business assets, including receivables, the repayment of this type of loan depends primarily on the creditworthiness and projected cash flow of the borrower (and any guarantors). Thus, the chief considerations when assessing the risk of a C&I loan are the local business borrower’s ability to sell its products/services, thereby generating sufficient operating revenue to repay us under the agreed upon terms and conditions, and the general business conditions of the local economy or other market that the business serves. The liquidation of collateral is considered a secondary source of repayment. Another source of repayment are guarantors of the loan, if any. To manage these risks, the Bank’s policy is to secure its C&I loans with both the assets of the borrowing business and any other collateral and guarantees that may be available. In addition, we actively monitor certain financial measures of the borrower, including advance rate, cash flow, collateral value and other appropriate credit factors. We use C&I loan credit scoring models for smaller-size loans.
The Company’s factoring receivables are categorized as C&I loans. In assessing the risk associated with this type of loan, management considers the ability of the client’s account customer, rather than the client itself, to repay the Company.
— Real Estate – 1-4 Family Mortgage . We are active in the real estate – 1-4 family mortgage area (referred to as “residential real estate loans”), with approximately 27.85% of our total loans at December 31, 2023, being residential real estate loans. In addition, in 2023, we originated for sale on the secondary market approximately $2.1 billion in residential real estate loans
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through our Mortgage division. We offer both first and second mortgages on residential real estate. Loans secured by residential real estate in which the property is the principal residence of the borrower are referred to as “primary” 1-4 family mortgages. Loans secured by residential real estate in which the property is rented to tenants or is not otherwise the principal residence of the borrower are referred to as “rental/investment” 1-4 family mortgages. We also offer loans for the preparation of residential real property prior to construction (referred to as “residential land development loans”). In addition, we offer home equity loans or lines of credit and term loans secured by first and second mortgages on the residences of borrowers who elect to use the accumulated equity in their homes for purchases, refinances, home improvements, education and other personal expenditures. Both fixed and variable rate loans are offered with competitive terms and fees. Originations of residential real estate loans are generated through retail efforts in our branches or originations by or referrals from our Mortgage division or online by our retail mortgage originators. We attempt to minimize the risk associated with residential real estate loans by strictly scrutinizing the financial condition of the borrower; typically, we also limit the maximum loan-to-value ratio. With respect to second lien home equity loans or lines of credit, which inherently carry a higher risk of loss upon default, we limit our exposure by limiting these types of loans to borrowers with higher credit scores.
We retain residential real estate loans in our portfolio when the Bank has sufficient liquidity to fund the needs of established customers and when rates are favorable to retain the loans. Retained portfolio loans are made primarily through the Bank’s variable-rate mortgage product offerings.
As noted above, we also originate residential real estate loans with the intention of selling them in the secondary market to third party private investors or directly to government sponsored entities. In addition to the origination channels mentioned above, mortgage loans held for sale are also originated through wholesale relationships where we purchase loans from smaller banks, credit unions and brokerage shops. When these loans are sold, we either release or retain the related servicing rights, depending on a number of factors, such as the pricing of such loans in the secondary market, fluctuations in interest rates that would impact the profitability of the loans and other market-related conditions. Residential real estate originations to be sold are sold either on a “best efforts” basis or under a “mandatory delivery” sales agreement. Under a “best efforts” sales agreement, residential real estate originations are locked in at a contractual rate with third party private investors or directly with government sponsored agencies, and we are obligated to sell the mortgages to such investors only if the mortgages are closed and funded. The risk we assume is conditioned upon loan underwriting and market conditions in the national mortgage market. Under a “mandatory delivery” sales agreement, the Company commits to deliver a certain principal amount of mortgage loans to an investor at a specified price and delivery date. Penalties are paid to the investor if we fail to satisfy the contract. The Company does not actively market or originate subprime mortgage loans.
— Real Estate – Commercial Mortgage . Our real estate – commercial mortgage loans (“commercial real estate loans”) represented approximately 44.43% of our total loans at December 31, 2023. Included in this portfolio are loans in which the owner develops a property with the intention of locating its business there. These loans are referred to as “owner-occupied” commercial real estate loans. Payments on these loans are dependent on the successful development and management of the business as well as the borrower’s ability to generate sufficient operating revenue to repay the loan. The Bank mitigates the risk that our estimate of value will prove to be inaccurate by having sufficient sources of secondary repayment as well as guarantor support. In some instances, in addition to our mortgage on the underlying real estate of the business, our commercial real estate loans are secured by other non-real estate collateral, such as equipment or other assets used in the business.
In addition to owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, we offer loans in which the owner develops a property where the source of repayment of the loan will come from the sale or lease of the developed property, for example, retail shopping centers, hotels and storage facilities. These loans are referred to as “non-owner occupied” commercial real estate loans. We also offer commercial real estate loans to developers of commercial properties for purposes of site acquisition and preparation and other development prior to actual construction (referred to as “commercial land development loans”). Non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans and commercial land development loans are dependent on the successful completion of the project and may be affected by adverse conditions in the real estate market or the economy as a whole.
We seek to minimize risks relating to all commercial real estate loans by limiting the maximum loan-to-value ratio and strictly scrutinizing the financial condition of the borrower, the quality of the collateral, the management of the property securing the loan and, where applicable, the financial strength of the tenant occupying the property. Loans are usually structured either to fully amortize over the term of the loan or to balloon after the third year or fifth year of the loan, typically with an amortization period not to exceed 20 years. We also actively monitor such financial measures as advance rate, cash flow, collateral value and other appropriate credit factors. We generally obtain loan guarantees from financially capable parties to the transaction based on a review of the guarantor’s financial statements.
— Real Estate – Construction . Our real estate – construction loans (“construction loans”) represented approximately 10.79% of our total loans at December 31, 2023. Our construction loan portfolio consists of loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties and commercial projects. Maturities for construction loans generally range from
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six to 12 months for residential property and from 24 to 36 months for non-residential and multi-family properties. Similar to non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans, the source of repayment of a construction loan comes from the sale or lease of newly-constructed property, although often construction loans are repaid with the proceeds of a commercial real estate loan that we make to the owner or lessor of the newly-constructed property.
Construction lending entails significant additional risks compared to residential real estate or commercial real estate lending, including the risk that loan funds are advanced upon the security of the property under construction, which is of uncertain value prior to the completion of construction. The risk is to evaluate accurately the total loan funds required to complete a project and to ensure proper loan-to-value ratios during the construction phase. We address the risks associated with construction lending in a number of ways. As a threshold matter, we generally limit loan-to-value and loan-to-cost ratios to regulatory guidance of 85% of when-completed appraised values for owner-occupied and investor-owned residential or commercial properties, with the exception of those loans with clearly definable risk mitigants. We monitor draw requests either internally or with the assistance of a third party, creating an additional safeguard that ensures advances are in line with project budgets.
— Installment Loans to Individuals . Installment loans to individuals (or “consumer loans”), which represented approximately 0.84% of our total loans at December 31, 2023, are granted to individuals for the purchase of personal goods. Loss or decline of income by the borrower due to unplanned occurrences represents the primary risk of default to us. In the event of default, a shortfall in the value of the collateral may pose a loss to us in this loan category. Before making a consumer loan, we assess the applicant’s credit history and ability to meet existing and proposed debt obligations. Although the applicant’s creditworthiness is the primary consideration, the underwriting process also includes a comparison of the value of the collateral, if any, to the proposed loan amount. We obtain a lien against the collateral securing the loan and hold title until the loan is repaid in full.
— Equipment Financing and Leasing. Equipment financing loans (or “lease financing loans”), which represented approximately 0.94% of our total loans at December 31, 2023, are granted to provide capital to businesses for commercial equipment needs. These loans are generally granted for periods ranging between two and five years at fixed rates of interest. Loss or decline of income by the borrower due to unplanned occurrences represents the primary risk of default to us. In the event of default, a shortfall in the value of the collateral may pose a loss to us in this loan category. We obtain a lien against the collateral securing the loan and hold title (if applicable) until the loan is repaid in full. Transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, material handling, printing and construction are the industries that typically obtain lease financing. In addition, we offer a product tailored to qualified not-for-profit customers that provides real estate financing at tax-exempt rates.
Addressing Aggregate Lending Risks. In addition to the steps described above to mitigate the risks posed by any individual loan relationship, management has implemented a structure that proactively monitors the risk to the Company presented by the Bank’s loan portfolio as a whole. First, we purposefully manage the loan portfolio to avoid excessive concentrations in any particular loan category, industry or geographic region. Our goal is to structure the loan portfolio so that it is well balanced among C&I loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans and consumer loans and other lending categories while taking into account current market risks and lending opportunities. Construction and land development loans are allocated between the commercial real estate and residential real estate categories based on the property securing the loan. With respect to construction and land development loans in particular, management monitors whether the allocation of these loans across geography and asset type heightens the general risk associated with these types of loans. We also monitor concentrations in our construction and land development loans based on regulatory guidelines promulgated by banking regulators, which involves evaluating the aggregate value of these loans as a percentage of our risk-based capital (this is referred to as the “100/300 Test” and is discussed in more detail under the “Supervision and Regulation” heading below) as well as monitoring loans considered to be high volatility commercial real estate. A further discussion of the risk reduction policies and procedures applicable to our lending activities can be found in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, under the heading “Risk Management – Credit Risk and Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans and Unfunded Commitments.”
Investment Activities . We acquire investment securities to provide a source for meeting our liquidity needs, to generate investment returns and to supply securities to be used in collateralizing certain deposits and other types of borrowings. We primarily acquire mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations issued by government-sponsored entities such as FNMA, FHLMC and GNMA (colloquially known as “Fannie Mae,” “Freddie Mac” and “Ginnie Mae,” respectively) as well as municipal securities. Generally, cash flows from maturities and calls of our investment securities that are not used to fund loan growth or repay debt are reinvested in investment securities. We also hold investments in corporate debt and pooled trust preferred securities. At December 31, 2023, the Company’s investment securities included both available for sale and held to maturity classifications.
Investment income generated by our investment activities, both taxable and tax-exempt, accounted for approximately 1.1%, 7.9% and 5.1% of our total gross revenues in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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Deposit Services . We offer a broad range of deposit services and products to our consumer and commercial clients. Through our community branch networks, we offer consumer checking accounts with free online and mobile banking, which includes bill pay and transfer features, remote deposit capture, peer-to-peer payment, interest bearing checking, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts and health savings accounts.
For our commercial clients, we offer competitive checking and savings services and a suite of treasury management products, including remote deposit capture, account reconciliation, electronic statements, fraud protection via positive pay, ACH origination and wire transfer, lockbox services, overnight investment sweep options, enhanced business Internet banking and mobile banking.
Fees generated through the deposit services we offer accounted for approximately 5.7%, 7.6% and 7.2% of our total gross revenues in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Excluding brokered deposits, the deposits held by the Bank have been primarily generated within the market areas where our branches are located.
Operations of Wealth Management
Our Wealth Management segment operates through two divisions: Trust and Financial Services. The Trust division, which is housed in the Bank’s trust department, offers a wide variety of fiduciary and custodial services, including investment advisory, accounting and administrative services (acting as trustee or in other capacities) for qualified retirement and other employee benefit plans, IRAs, personal trusts and estates. Our fees for managing these accounts are based on changes in market values of the assets under management in the account, with the amount of the fee depending on services we provide and the type of account.
The Financial Services division, which primarily operates through Park Place Capital (although the Bank’s trust department maintains some legacy financial service operations), offers specialized products and services to our customers. These products and services include fixed and variable annuities, mutual funds and stocks, some of which are offered through a third party provider. Park Place Capital also provides administrative and compliance services for certain mutual funds.
For 2023, the Wealth Management segment generated total revenue of $25.3 million, or 2.8% of the Company’s total gross revenues. Wealth Management operations are headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, but our products and services are available to customers in all of our markets through our community banks.
Operations of Insurance
Renasant Insurance is a full-service insurance agency offering all lines of commercial and personal insurance through major carriers. For 2023, Renasant Insurance generated total revenue of $14.2 million, or 1.5% of the Company’s total gross revenues, and operated eight offices throughout north and north central Mississippi.
Competition
Community Banks
Vigorous competition exists in all major product and geographic areas in which we conduct banking business. We compete through the Bank for available loans and deposits and the provision of other financial services (such as treasury management) with state, regional and national banks as well as savings and loan associations, credit unions, finance companies, mortgage companies, insurance companies, brokerage firms and investment companies in all of our service areas. All of these numerous institutions compete in the delivery of products and services through availability, quality and pricing, and many of our competitors are larger and have substantially greater resources than we do, including higher total assets and capitalization, larger technology and marketing budgets and a broader offering of financial services.
Wealth Management
Our Wealth Management segment competes with other banks, brokerage firms, financial advisers and trust companies, which provide one or more of the services and products that we offer. Our wealth management operations compete on the basis of available product lines, rates and fees, as well as reputation and professional expertise. No particular company or group of companies dominates this industry in our markets.
Insurance
We encounter strong competition in the markets in which we conduct insurance operations. Through our insurance subsidiary, we compete with independent insurance agencies and agencies affiliated with other banks and/or insurance carriers. All of these
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agencies compete in the delivery of personal and commercial product lines. There is no dominant insurance agency in our markets.
Supervision and Regulation
General
The U.S. banking industry is highly regulated under federal and state law. We are a bank holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”). As a result, we are subject to supervision, regulation and examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). The Bank is a commercial bank chartered under the laws of the State of Mississippi; it is not a member of the Federal Reserve System. As a Mississippi non-member bank, the Bank is subject to supervision, regulation and examination by the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance (the “DBCF”), as the chartering entity of the Bank, and by the FDIC, as the insurer of the Bank’s deposits. As an institution with more than $10 billion in assets, we are subject to examination by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) for compliance with federal consumer protection laws. Finally, as a publicly-traded company, the Company must comply with federal securities laws administered by the SEC as well as the listing rules of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”). As a result of this extensive system of supervision and regulation, the growth and earnings performance of the Company and the Bank are affected not only by management decisions and general and local economic conditions, but also by the statutes, rules, regulations and policies administered by the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the DBCF, the CFPB, the SEC and other federal and state regulatory authorities with jurisdiction over our operations.
The bank regulatory scheme has two primary goals: to maintain a safe and sound banking system and to facilitate the conduct of sound monetary policy. This scheme, including the laws and regulations administered by the CFPB, also seeks to ensure broad, non-discriminatory access to financial services on fair and reasonable terms. This comprehensive system of supervision and regulation is intended primarily for the protection of the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund, bank depositors, consumers and the public in general, rather than our shareholders or creditors. To this end, federal and state banking laws and regulations govern, among other things, the types of activities in which we and the Bank may engage, the terms and conditions of our products and services and the manner in which we offer our products and services, permissible investments, the level of reserves that the Bank must maintain against deposits, minimum equity capital levels, the nature and amount of collateral required for loans, maximum interest rates that can be charged, the manner and amount of the dividends that may be paid, and corporate activities regarding mergers, acquisitions and the establishment of branch offices. The federal securities laws are designed to protect investors, maintain the integrity and efficiency of the securities trading markets and facilitate capital formation. These goals are accomplished through rules that restrict the type of activities we can engage in with respect to our publicly-traded securities and through a disclosure regime requiring us to disclose a significant amount of information on an annual, quarterly and current basis.
The description below summarizes certain elements of the regulatory framework applicable to us and the Bank. This summary is not, however, intended to describe all laws, regulations and policies applicable to us and the Bank, and the description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the statutes, regulations, policies, interpretative letters and other written guidance that are described below. Further, the following discussion addresses the regulatory framework as in effect as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Legislation and regulatory action to implement new laws and regulations and to revise existing federal and Mississippi banking, consumer protection, securities and other applicable laws and regulations, sometimes in a substantial manner, are continually under consideration by the U.S. Congress, state legislatures and federal and state regulatory agencies. Accordingly, the following discussion must be read in light of the enactment of any new federal or state banking laws or regulations or any amendment or repeal of existing laws or regulations, or any change in the policies of the regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over the Company’s operations, after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Supervision and Regulation of Renasant Corporation
General . As a bank holding company registered under the BHC Act, we are subject to the regulation and supervision applicable to bank holding companies by the Federal Reserve. The BHC Act and other federal laws subject bank holding companies to particular restrictions on the types of activities in which they may engage and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities, including regulatory enforcement actions for violations of laws and regulations or engaging in unsafe and unsound banking practices. The Federal Reserve’s jurisdiction also extends to any company that we directly or indirectly control, such as any non-bank subsidiaries and other companies in which we own a controlling investment.
Scope of Permissible Activities . Under the BHC Act, we are prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in activities other than those of banking, managing or controlling banks or furnishing services to or performing services for the Bank and from acquiring a direct or indirect interest in or control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any company that is not a bank or financial holding company. The principal exception to this prohibition is that we may engage, directly or indirectly (including through the ownership of shares of another company), in certain activities that the Federal Reserve has found to be so closely
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related to banking or managing and controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. In making determinations whether activities are closely related to banking or managing banks, the Federal Reserve must consider whether the performance of such activities by a bank holding company or its subsidiaries can reasonably be expected to produce benefits to the public, such as greater convenience, increased competition or gains in efficiency of resources, and whether such public benefits outweigh the risks of possible adverse effects, such as decreased or unfair competition, conflicts of interest or unsound banking practices. Currently-permitted activities include, among others, operating a mortgage, finance, credit card or factoring company; providing certain data processing, storage and transmission services; acting as an investment or financial advisor; acting as an insurance agent for certain types of credit-related insurance; leasing personal or real property on a non-operating basis; and providing certain stock brokerage services.
Pursuant to the amendment to the BHC Act effected by the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (commonly referred to as the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, or the “GLBA”), a bank holding company whose subsidiary deposit institutions are “well capitalized” and “well managed” may elect to become a “financial holding company” and thereby engage without prior Federal Reserve approval in certain banking and non-banking activities that are deemed to be financial in nature or incidental to financial activity. These “financial in nature” activities include securities underwriting, dealing and market making; organizing, sponsoring and managing mutual funds; insurance underwriting and agency activities; merchant banking activities; and other activities that the Federal Reserve has determined to be closely related to banking. No regulatory approval is required for a financial holding company to acquire a company, other than a bank or savings association, engaged in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to activities that are financial in nature, as determined by the Federal Reserve. We have not elected to become a financial holding company.
A dominant theme of the GLBA is functional regulation of financial services, with the primary regulator of the Company or its subsidiaries being the agency that traditionally regulates the activity in which the Company or its subsidiaries wish to engage. For example, the SEC regulates bank holding company securities transactions, and the various banking regulators oversee our banking activities.
Capital Adequacy Guidelines . The Federal Reserve has adopted risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies. The risk-based capital guidelines are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banks and bank holding companies, to factor off-balance sheet exposure into the assessment of capital adequacy, to minimize disincentives for holding liquid, low-risk assets and to achieve greater consistency in the evaluation of the capital adequacy of major banking organizations worldwide. Under these guidelines, assets and off-balance sheet items are assigned to broad risk categories, each with appropriate weights. The resulting capital ratios represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance sheet items. In addition to the risk-based capital guidelines, the Federal Reserve has adopted a minimum Tier 1 capital (leverage) ratio, under which a bank holding company must maintain a minimum level of Tier 1 capital to average total consolidated assets of at least 4%.
The capital requirements applicable to the Company are substantially similar to those imposed on the Bank under FDIC regulations, described below under the heading “Supervision and Regulation of Renasant Bank - Capital Adequacy Guidelines.”
Payment of Dividends; Source of Strength . Under Federal Reserve policy, in general a bank holding company should pay dividends only when (1) its net income available to shareholders over the last four quarters (net of dividends paid) has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends, (2) the prospective rate of earnings retention appears to be consistent with the capital needs and overall current and prospective financial condition of the bank holding company and its subsidiaries and (3) the bank holding company will continue to meet minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratios after giving effect to the dividend.
The Federal Reserve provided guidance on the criteria it uses to evaluate a bank holding company’s request to pay dividends in an aggregate amount that will exceed the company’s earnings for the period in which the dividends will be paid. For purposes of this analysis, “dividend” includes not only dividends on preferred and common equity but also dividends on debt underlying trust preferred securities and other Tier 1 capital instruments. The criteria evaluates whether the holding company (1) has net income over the past four quarters sufficient to fully fund the proposed dividend (taking into account prior dividends paid during this period), (2) is considering stock repurchases or redemptions in the quarter, (3) does not have a concentration in commercial real estate and (4) is in good supervisory condition, based on its overall condition and its asset quality risk. A holding company not meeting these criteria will require more in-depth consultations with the Federal Reserve.
In addition, a bank holding company is required to serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary bank(s). This means that we are expected to use available resources to provide adequate financial resources to the Bank, including during periods of financial stress or adversity, and to maintain the financial flexibility and capital-raising capacity to obtain additional resources for assisting the Bank where necessary. In addition, any capital loans that we make to the Bank are subordinate in right of payment to deposits and to certain other indebtedness of the Bank. In the event of our bankruptcy, any commitment by us to a
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federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of the Bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to a priority of payment.
Acquisitions by Bank Holding Companies . The BHC Act requires every bank holding company to obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve (subject to waiver under certain circumstances) before it acquires all or substantially all of the assets of any bank, merges or consolidates with another bank holding company or acquires ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank if after such acquisition it would own or control, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of the voting shares of such bank. The Federal Reserve will not approve any acquisition, merger or consolidation that would have a substantially anti-competitive effect, unless the anti-competitive impact of the proposed transaction is clearly outweighed by a greater public interest in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served. The Federal Reserve also considers capital adequacy and other financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the companies and the banks concerned, together with the convenience and needs of the community to be served and the record of the bank holding company and its subsidiary bank(s) in combating money laundering activities. Finally, in order to acquire a bank located outside its home state, a bank holding company and its subsidiary institutions must be “well capitalized” and “well managed.” In addition, as detailed under the heading “Scope of Permissible Activities” above, we cannot acquire direct or indirect control of more than 5% of the voting shares of a company engaged in non-banking activities.
Control Acquisitions . Federal and state laws, including the BHC Act and the Change in Bank Control Act, also impose prior notice or approval requirements and ongoing regulatory requirements on any investor that seeks to acquire direct or indirect “control” of an FDIC-insured depository institution or bank holding company. “Control” of a depository institution is a facts and circumstances analysis, but generally an investor is deemed to control a depository institution or other company if the investor owns or controls 25% or more of any class of voting securities. For ownership or control at less than the 25% level, there are multiple factors that contribute to whether “control” will be presumed to exist, which depend on the ownership level of the depository institution or bank holding company’s voting securities. These presumptions are rebuttable.
Anti-Tying Restrictions . Bank holding companies and their affiliates are prohibited from tying the provision of certain services, such as extensions of credit, to other nonbanking services offered by a bank holding company or its affiliates.
Status as a Public Company . As a publicly-traded company, Renasant Corporation is also subject to laws, rules and regulations, as well as the standards of self-regulatory organizations, relating to corporate governance, financial reporting and public disclosure, and auditor independence, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), SEC rules and regulations and NYSE listing rules. We incur significant expense in, and devote substantial management time and attention to, complying with these laws, regulations and standards, which are subject to varying interpretations, amendment or outright repeal. We are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance, financial reporting and public disclosure, and management continually monitors changes in laws, rules and regulations, as well as best practices, in this area to ensure that we fulfill this commitment.
Supervision and Regulation of Renasant Bank
General . As a Mississippi-chartered bank, the Bank is subject to the regulation and supervision of the DBCF. As an FDIC-insured institution that is not a member of the Federal Reserve, the Bank is subject to the regulation and supervision of the FDIC. The regulations of the FDIC and the DBCF affect virtually all of the Bank’s activities, including the minimum levels of capital required, the ability to pay dividends, mergers and acquisitions, borrowing and the ability to expand through new branches or acquisitions and various other matters. Finally, having more than $10 billion in assets, our compliance with federal consumer protection laws is subject to examination by the CFPB.
Insurance of Deposits . The deposits of the Bank are insured through the Deposit Insurance Fund (the “DIF”) up to $250,000 for most accounts. The FDIC administers the DIF, and the FDIC must by law maintain the DIF at an amount equal to a specified percentage of the estimated annual insured deposits or assessment base. The minimum designated reserve ratio of the DIF is 1.35% of total insured deposits, but the FDIC is authorized to designate a reserve ratio above the statutory minimum. The FDIC must offset the effect of this increase for banks with assets less than $10 billion, meaning that banks above such asset threshold, such as the Bank, will bear the cost of the increase.
To fund the DIF, FDIC-insured banks are required to pay deposit insurance assessments to the FDIC on a quarterly basis. An institution’s assessment is based on its average consolidated total assets less its average tangible equity during the assessment period. For banks like Renasant Bank, with assets in excess of $10 billion, the assessment rate is based on both our risk classification and certain forward-looking measures. An institution’s risk classification is assigned based on its capital levels and the level of supervisory concern that the institution poses to the regulators. The higher an institution’s risk classification, the higher its assessment rate (on the assumption that such institutions pose a greater risk of loss to the DIF). In addition, the FDIC can impose special assessments in certain instances. Also, we are subject to a surcharge designed to increase the DIF to specified levels.
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The FDIC may terminate the deposit insurance of any insured depository institution, including the Bank, if it determines after a hearing that the institution has engaged or is engaging in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations or has violated any applicable law, regulation, order or any condition imposed by an agreement with the FDIC. For an institution with no tangible capital, deposit insurance may be temporarily suspended during the hearing process for the permanent termination of insurance. If the FDIC terminates an institution’s deposit insurance, accounts insured at the time of the termination, less withdrawals, will continue to be insured for a period of six months to two years, as determined by the FDIC. We are not aware of any existing circumstances that would result in termination of the Bank’s deposit insurance.
Interstate Banking and Branching . Under federal and Mississippi law, the Bank may establish additional branch offices within Mississippi, subject to the approval of the DBCF, and the Bank can also establish additional branch offices outside Mississippi, subject to prior regulatory approval, so long as the laws of the state where the branch will be located would permit a state bank chartered in that state to establish a branch. Finally, the Bank may also establish offices in other states by merging with banks or by purchasing branches and related assets of banks in other states, subject to certain restrictions.
Dividends . The restrictions and guidelines with respect to the Company’s payment of dividends are described above. As a practical matter, for so long as our operations chiefly consist of the operation of the Bank, the Bank will remain our source of dividend payments. Accordingly, our ability to pay dividends depends upon the Bank’s earnings and financial condition.
The ability of the Bank to pay dividends is restricted by federal and state laws, regulations and policies. Under Mississippi law, a Mississippi bank may not pay dividends unless its earned surplus is in excess of three times capital stock. A Mississippi bank with earned surplus in excess of three times capital stock may pay a dividend, subject to the approval of the DBCF. In addition, the FDIC also has the authority to prohibit the Bank from engaging in business practices that the FDIC considers to be unsafe or unsound, which, depending on the financial condition of the Bank, could include the payment of dividends. Federal Reserve regulations also limit the amount the Bank may loan to the Company unless such loans are collateralized by specific obligations. Accordingly, the approval of the DBCF is required prior to the Bank paying dividends to the Company, and under certain circumstances the approval of the FDIC may be required.
Capital Adequacy Guidelines . The FDIC has promulgated risk-based capital guidelines similar to, and with the same underlying purposes as, those established by the Federal Reserve with respect to bank holding companies. Under those guidelines, assets and off-balance sheet items are assigned to broad risk categories, each with appropriate weights. The resulting capital ratios represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance sheet items.
Capital requirements for insured depository institutions are countercyclical, such that capital requirements increase in times of economic expansion and decrease in times of economic contraction.
- Current Guidelines . Under the current risk-based capital adequacy guidelines, we are required to maintain (1) a ratio of common equity Tier 1 capital (“CET1”) to total risk-weighted assets of not less than 4.5%; (2) a minimum leverage capital ratio of 4%; (3) a minimum Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6%; and (4) a minimum total risk-based capital ratio of 8%. CET1 generally consists of common stock, retained earnings, accumulated other comprehensive income and certain minority interests, less certain adjustments and deductions. In addition, we must maintain a “capital conservation buffer,” which is a specified amount of CET1 capital in addition to the amount necessary to meet minimum risk-based capital requirements. The capital conservation buffer is designed to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. If our ratio of CET1 to risk-weighted capital is below the capital conservation buffer, we will face restrictions on our ability to pay dividends, repurchase our outstanding stock and make certain discretionary bonus payments. The required capital conservation buffer is 2.5% of CET1 to risk-weighted assets in addition to the amount necessary to meet minimum risk-based capital requirements.
In addition, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rules for calculating risk-weighted assets have been revised in recent years to enhance risk sensitivity and to incorporate certain international capital standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. These revisions affect the calculation of the denominator of a banking organization’s risk-based capital ratios to reflect the higher-risk nature of certain types of loans.
For example, residential mortgages are risk-weighted between 35% and 200%, depending on the mortgage’s loan-to-value ratio and whether the mortgage falls into one of two categories based on eight criteria that include the term, use of negative amortization and balloon payments, certain rate increases and documented and verified borrower income, while a 150% risk weight applies to both certain high volatility commercial real estate acquisition, development and construction loans as well as non-residential mortgage loans 90 days past due or on nonaccrual status. Also, “hybrid” capital items like trust preferred securities no longer enjoy Tier 1 capital treatment, subject to various grandfathering rules. We and the Bank meet all minimum capital requirements as currently in effect, and our grandfathered trust preferred securities qualify for Tier 1 capital treatment.
For a detailed discussion of the Company’s capital ratios, see Note 20, “Regulatory Matters,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, in this report.
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- Prompt Corrective Action . Under Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (the “FDIA”), each federal banking agency is required to implement a system of prompt corrective action for institutions that it regulates. The federal banking agencies (including the FDIC) have adopted substantially similar regulations to implement this mandate. Under current regulations, a bank is (1) “well capitalized” if it has total risk-based capital of 10% or more, has a Tier 1 risk-based ratio of 8% or more, has a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.5%, has a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 5% or more and is not subject to any order or final capital directive to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure, (2) “adequately capitalized” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 8% or more, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6% or more, a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5% and a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 4% or more (3% under certain circumstances) and does not meet the definition of “well capitalized,” (3) “undercapitalized” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 8%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio that is less than 6%, a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio that is less than 4.5% or a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio that is less than 4%, (4) “significantly undercapitalized” if it has a total risk-based ratio that is less than 6%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio that is less than 4%, a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of less than 3% or a Tier 1 leverage capital ratio that is less than 3%, and (5) “critically undercapitalized” if it has a ratio of tangible equity to total assets that is equal to or less than 2%.
The capital classification of a bank affects the frequency of regulatory examinations, the bank’s ability to engage in certain activities and the deposit insurance premiums paid by the bank. In addition, federal banking regulators must take various mandatory supervisory actions, and may take other discretionary actions, with respect to institutions in the three undercapitalized categories. The severity of the action depends upon the capital category in which the institution is placed. An institution that is categorized as undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized or critically undercapitalized is required to submit an acceptable capital restoration plan to its appropriate federal banking agency. An undercapitalized institution also is generally prohibited from increasing its average total assets, making acquisitions, establishing any branches or engaging in any new line of business, except under an accepted capital restoration plan or with FDIC approval. Generally, banking regulators must appoint a receiver or conservator for an institution that is critically undercapitalized.
Section 38 of the FDIA and related regulations also specify circumstances under which the FDIC may reclassify a well-capitalized bank as adequately capitalized and may require an adequately capitalized bank or an undercapitalized bank to comply with supervisory actions as if it were in the next lower category (except that the FDIC may not reclassify a significantly undercapitalized bank as critically undercapitalized).
The provisions discussed above, as well as any other aspects of current or proposed regulatory or legislative changes to laws applicable to the financial industry, may impact the profitability of our business activities and may change certain of our business practices, including the ability to offer new products, obtain financing, attract deposits, make loans, and achieve satisfactory interest spreads, and could expose us to additional costs, including increased compliance costs. These changes also may require us to invest significant management attention and resources to make any necessary changes to operations in order to comply, and could therefore also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Interchange Fees . Under Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act (often referred to as the “Durbin Amendment”), the Federal Reserve established standards for assessing whether the interchange fees, or “swipe” fees, that banks charge for processing electronic payment transactions are “reasonable and proportional” to the costs incurred by issuers for processing such transactions. Under the Federal Reserve’s current rules, the maximum permissible interchange fee is no more than 21 cents plus 5 basis points of the transaction value for many types of debit interchange transactions. A debit card issuer may also recover one cent per transaction for fraud prevention purposes if the issuer develops and implements policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve certain fraud-prevention standards. The Federal Reserve also has rules governing routing and exclusivity that require issuers to offer two unaffiliated networks for routing transactions on each debit or prepaid product.
Activities and Investments of Insured State-Chartered Banks . Section 24 of the FDIA generally limits the activities and equity investments of FDIC-insured, state-chartered banks to those that are permissible for national banks. Under regulations dealing with equity investments, an insured state bank generally may not directly or indirectly acquire or retain any equity investment of a type, or in an amount, that is not permissible for a national bank. An insured state bank is not prohibited from, among other things, taking the following actions:
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- acquiring or retaining a majority interest in a subsidiary;
- investing as a limited partner in a partnership the sole purpose of which is direct or indirect investment in the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of a qualified housing project, provided that such limited partnership investments may not exceed 2% of the bank’s total assets;
- acquiring up to 10% of the voting stock of a company that solely provides or reinsures directors’, trustees’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage or bankers’ blanket bond group insurance coverage for insured depository institutions; and
- acquiring or retaining the voting shares of a depository institution if certain requirements are met.
Under FDIC regulations, insured banks engaging in impermissible activities, or banks that wish to engage in otherwise impermissible activities, may seek approval from the FDIC to continue or commence such activities, as the case may be. The FDIC will not approve such an application if the bank does not meet its minimum capital requirements or the proposed activities present a significant risk to the deposit insurance fund.
100/300 Test . In response to rapid growth in commercial real estate (“CRE”) loan concentrations and observed weaknesses in risk management practices at some financial institutions, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published Joint Guidance on Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound Risk Management Practices (which we refer to as the “CRE guidance”). The CRE guidance is intended to promote sound risk management practices and appropriate levels of capital to enable institutions to engage in CRE lending in a safe and sound manner. Federal banking regulators use certain criteria to identify financial institutions that are potentially exposed to significant CRE concentration risk. Among other things, an institution will be deemed to potentially have significant CRE concentration risk exposure if, based on its call report, either (1) total loans classified as acquisition, development and construction (“ADC”) loans represent 100% or more of the institution’s total capital or (2) total CRE loans, which consists of ADC and non-owner occupied CRE loans as defined in the CRE guidance, represent 300% or more the institution’s total capital, where the balance of the institution’s CRE loan portfolio has increased by 50% or more during the prior 36 months. The foregoing criteria are commonly referred to as the 100/300 Test. As of December 31, 2023, our ADC loans represented 83% of our total bank level capital, and our total CRE loans represented 281% of our Bank level capital.
Safety and Soundness . The federal banking agencies, including the FDIC, have implemented rules and guidelines concerning standards for safety and soundness required pursuant to Section 39 of the FDIA. In general, the standards relate to operational and managerial matters, asset quality and earnings and compensation. The operational and managerial standards cover (1) internal controls and information systems, (2) internal audit systems, (3) loan documentation, (4) credit underwriting, (5) interest rate exposure, (6) asset growth and (7) compensation, fees and benefits. Under the asset quality and earnings standards, the Bank must establish and maintain systems to identify problem assets and prevent deterioration in those assets and to evaluate and monitor earnings and ensure that earnings are sufficient to maintain adequate capital reserves. The compensation standard states that compensation will be considered excessive if it is unreasonable or disproportionate to the services actually performed by the individual being compensated.
If an insured state-chartered bank fails to meet any of the standards promulgated by regulation, then such institution will be required to submit a plan to the FDIC specifying the steps it will take to correct the deficiency. In the event that an insured state-chartered bank fails to submit or fails in any material respect to implement a compliance plan within the time allowed by the federal banking agency, Section 39 of the FDIA provides that the FDIC must order the institution to correct the deficiency. The FDIC may also (1) restrict asset growth; (2) require the bank to increase its ratio of tangible equity to assets; (3) restrict the rates of interest that the bank may pay; or (4) take any other action that would better carry out the purpose of prompt corrective action. We believe that the Bank has been and will continue to be in compliance with each of these standards.
Consumer Protection . We are subject to a broad array of federal and state laws designed to ensure that we offer our products and services in a non-discriminatory manner and to protect consumers in connection with our lending and deposit-taking activities. These statutes include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, and, in some cases, their respective state law counterparts. The CFPB has broad regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority over our offering and provision of consumer financial products and services under these laws. Among other things, the CFPB is responsible for enforcing the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices in connection with any transaction with a consumer for a consumer financial products or services, or the offering of a consumer financial product or service.
Relating to mortgage lending in particular, the CFPB issued regulations governing the ability to repay, qualified mortgages, mortgage servicing, appraisals and compensation of mortgage lenders. These regulations limit the type of mortgage products that the Bank can offer; they also affect our ability to enforce delinquent mortgage loans. The CFPB has also issued rules
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integrating the required disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.
We have established numerous controls and procedures designed to ensure that we fully comply with all other consumer protection laws, both federal and state, as they are currently interpreted (which interpretations are subject to change by the CFPB). These controls and procedures are tested regularly to ensure they are accurate and are working properly. In addition, our employees undergo at least annual training to ensure that they remain aware of consumer protection laws and the activities mandated, or prohibited, thereunder.
Community Reinvestment Act . Under the Community Reinvestment Act (the “CRA”), the FDIC assesses the Bank’s record in meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The FDIC’s assessment is taken into account when evaluating any application we submit for, among other things, approval of the acquisition or establishment of a branch or other deposit facility, an office relocation, a merger or the acquisition of shares of capital stock of another financial institution. Under the CRA, institutions are assigned a rating of “outstanding,” “satisfactory,” “needs to improve,” or “unsatisfactory.” The Bank has undertaken significant actions to comply with the CRA, and it received a “satisfactory” rating by the FDIC with respect to its CRA compliance in its most recent assessment.
Financial Privacy Requirements . Federal law and regulations limit a financial institution’s ability to share a customer’s financial information with unaffiliated third parties and contain extensive protections for a customer’s private information. Specifically, these provisions require all financial institutions offering financial products or services to retail customers to provide such customers with the financial institution’s privacy policy at the beginning of the relationship and annually thereafter. Further, such customers must be given the opportunity to “opt out” of the sharing of personal financial information with unaffiliated third parties. The sharing of information for marketing purposes is also subject to limitations. In addition to law and regulation at the federal level, a number of states - some of which we have loan or deposit customers in - have enacted broad statutes governing the use of an individual’s personal information. These statutes typically encompass a broader scope of personal information than the financial information covered by federal privacy laws and regulations, and the statutes generally place more stringent restrictions on the ability of a third party to disclose, share or otherwise use an individual’s personal information than exist under federal law and regulations. Many of these states’ privacy laws and regulations impose severe penalties for violations.
The Bank has adopted a privacy policy and implemented procedures governing the use and disclosure of personal financial information for both customers and non-customers. We believe our policy and procedures currently comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and we continually monitor federal and state laws, as well as changes in the nature and scope of our operations, so that any necessary changes in our privacy policy and procedures can be enacted in a timely manner.
Anti-Money Laundering . Federal anti-money laundering rules impose various requirements on financial institutions intended to prevent the use of the U.S. financial system to fund terrorist activities or other criminal activity. These provisions include a requirement that financial institutions operating in the United States have anti-money laundering compliance programs, due diligence policies and controls to ensure the detection and reporting of money laundering. Such compliance programs supplement existing compliance requirements, also applicable to financial institutions, under the Bank Secrecy Act and the Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations. The Bank has established policies and procedures to ensure compliance with federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations.
The Volcker Rule . The Federal Reserve and the other federal banking regulators as well as the SEC each adopted a rule, commonly referred to as the “Volcker Rule,” implementing Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Generally speaking, the Volcker rule prohibits a bank and its affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading and from acquiring or retaining ownership interests in, sponsoring, or having relationships with certain “covered funds,” including certain hedge funds and private equity funds. The Volcker Rule does not impact any of our current activities, but it does limit the scope of permissible activities in which we might engage in the future.
Supervision and Regulation of our Wealth Management and Insurance Operations
Our Wealth Management and Insurance operations are subject to licensing requirements and regulation under the laws of the United States and the states in which they operate. The laws and regulations are primarily for the benefit of clients. In all jurisdictions, the applicable laws and regulations are subject to amendment by regulatory authorities. Generally, such authorities are vested with relatively broad discretion to grant, renew and revoke licenses and approvals and to implement regulations. Licenses may be denied or revoked for various reasons, including the violation of such regulations, conviction of crimes and the like. Other possible sanctions which may be imposed for violation of regulations include suspension of individual employees, limitations on engaging in a particular business for a specified period of time, censures and fines.
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Monetary Policy and Economic Controls
We and the Bank are affected by the policies of regulatory authorities, including the Federal Reserve. An important function of the Federal Reserve is to regulate the national supply of bank credit in order to stabilize prices. Among the instruments of monetary policy used by the Federal Reserve to implement these objectives are open market operations in U.S. Government securities and changes in the discount rate on bank borrowings. These instruments are used in varying degrees to influence overall growth of bank loans, investments and deposits and may also affect interest rates charged on loans or paid for deposits.
The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve have had a significant effect on the operating results of commercial banks in the past and are expected to do so in the future. In view of changing conditions in the national economy and in the various money markets, as well as the effect of actions by monetary and fiscal authorities including the Federal Reserve, the effect on our, and the Bank’s, future business and earnings cannot be predicted with accuracy.
Sources and Availability of Funds
The funds essential to our, and the Bank’s, business consist primarily of funds derived from customer deposits, loan repayments, cash flows from our investment securities, securities sold under repurchase agreements, Federal Home Loan Bank advances and subordinated notes. The availability of such funds is primarily dependent upon the economic policies of the federal government, the economy in general and the general credit market for loans. Additional information about our funding sources can be found under the heading “Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in this report.
Human Capital Resources
The Company’s employees are the key to its success and represent our greatest asset. The Company’s strategic approach to human capital includes (1) attracting, developing and retaining a diverse and talented workforce, (2) providing opportunities for learning, development and advancement within the Company, (3) offering a competitive suite of compensation and benefits, (4) investing in the financial health of our employees, and (5) obtaining employee feedback. As of December 31, 2023, we employed more than 2,300 people throughout all of our segments on a full-time equivalent basis primarily within the Bank (inclusive of employees in our Community Banks and Wealth Management segments, such as employees of Bank subsidiaries Park Place Capital and Republic Business Credit). Renasant Insurance employed 63 individuals. At December 31, 2023, 14 employees of the Bank served as officers of the Company in addition to their positions with the Bank.
To measure our employees’ overall satisfaction with their job and their experience working for the Company, we surveyed employees at the end of 2023. The participation rate was over 90%, and the survey results generally affirmed that our employees were satisfied with overall working conditions at the Company.
The Company’s Social Responsibility Diversity and Inclusion Committee (referred to as the “SRDI Committee”), consisting of four permanent members and four rotating members, and one ex-officio member, continued its momentum in 2023. The SRDI Committee implemented and communicated key initiatives of the Company’s long-range equality, diversity and inclusion (“EDI”) strategic plan, which plan has five key areas of focus: (1) education and communication, (2) diversity in the workforce, (3) inclusion in the workplace, (4) vendor/supplier diversity and (5) a commitment to ongoing evaluation of each of the previous components. The Company has launched an EDI education series and developed an internal resource page to reinforce education and to provide a platform for employees to learn about one another. The Company is committed to advancing its EDI strategic plan through ongoing internal and external initiatives.
Through its Organizational Development department led by our Chief Experience Officer, the Company provides opportunities for employees to engage in personalized learning and development experiences, including new employee orientation, role-based training programs, technical and enterprise-wide systems trainings, mentoring programs, and leadership development. The intent underlying these programs is to build individual capabilities while supporting the career aspirations of our employees and meeting business objectives. These experiences are delivered through various learning channels including classroom, virtual, on-the-job, and online training. The Company also supports its employees through external continuing education relevant to the operations of the Company and encourages participation in professional organizations. In alignment with the Company’s vision, mission, values, and behaviors and in an effort to retain high performing employees, the Company conducts employee feedback surveys regularly and seeks to engage, reward, and recognize employees through strategic programming and initiatives.
In addition to professional development, the Company provides bank-paid and voluntary benefits to eligible employees. Several of the benefits include wellness benefits to encourage healthier lifestyles and promote self-care. In addition to health, dental and vision benefits, the Company provides paid parental leave for the birth, adoption or placement of a child through foster care. We also pay employees for community service work (subject to a cap on the number of paid hours). We also have an employee
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assistance program, which is a Bank-paid benefit available to all employees and immediate family members for mental health, behavioral, stress management, and other personal care needs.
Available Information
We file and furnish annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Our Internet address is www.renasant.com, and the Bank’s Internet address is www.renasantbank.com. We make available on the Company’s website, at the “SEC Filings” link, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.
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