Item 1. Business
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Background
The disclosures set forth in this item are qualified by Item 1A. Risk Factors and the section captioned “Forward-Looking Statements” in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of this report and other cautionary statements set forth elsewhere in this report.
Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “TCBI” or the “Company”), a Delaware corporation organized in 1996, is the parent of Texas Capital Bank, National Association (the “Bank”). The Company is a registered bank holding company and has elected to be a financial holding company.
The Bank is headquartered in Dallas, with primary banking offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, the five largest metropolitan areas of Texas. Substantially all of our business activities are conducted through the Bank. We have focused on organic growth, maintenance of credit quality and recruiting and retaining experienced bankers with strong personal and professional relationships in their communities.
We serve the needs of commercial businesses and successful professionals and entrepreneurs located in Texas as well as operate several lines of business that serve a regional or national clientele of commercial borrowers. We are primarily a secured lender, with the majority of our loans held for investment, excluding mortgage finance loans and other national lines of business, being made to businesses headquartered or with operations in Texas. Our national lines of business provide specialized lending products to businesses throughout the United States. We have benefitted from the success of our business model since inception, producing strong loan and deposit growth and favorable loss experience amidst a challenging environment for banking nationally.
On December 9, 2019, the Company and Independent Bank Group, Inc. ("IBTX") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement"), pursuant to which, on the terms and subject to the conditions therein, the Company would be merged with and into IBTX. On May 22, 2020, the Company and IBTX entered into an agreement pursuant to which the parties mutually agreed to terminate the Merger Agreement. Neither party paid a termination fee in connection with the termination of the Merger Agreement.
On January 25, 2021, Robert C. Holmes began his tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the Company. Larry Helm, who served as Executive Chairman of the board of directors and President and CEO of the Company from May 25, 2020, through January 24, 2021, will continue as Executive Chair of the board of directors for up to 90 days after the start of Mr. Holmes' tenure to facilitate a smooth transition of responsibilities, after which he will return to his previous role as Non-Executive Chair of the board of directors.
Growth History
We have grown substantially in both size and profitability since our formation. In 2020, we continued to experience growth in most of our key areas of business, however we did experience a decline in certain loan portfolios as we strategically reduced certain portfolios. The table below sets forth data regarding our key areas of business for the past five years.
December 31,
(in thousands) 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Loans held for sale $ 283,165 $ 2,577,134 $ 1,969,474 $ 1,011,004 968,929
Loans held for investment, mortgage finance 9,079,409 8,169,849 5,877,524 5,308,160 4,497,338
Loans held for investment, net 15,351,451 16,476,413 16,690,550 15,366,252 13,001,011
Assets 37,726,096 32,548,069 28,257,767 25,075,645 21,697,134
Demand deposits 12,740,947 9,438,459 7,317,161 7,812,660 7,994,201
Total deposits 30,996,589 26,478,593 20,606,113 19,123,180 17,016,831
Stockholders’ equity 2,871,224 2,801,321 2,480,308 2,190,072 1,997,890
The following table provides information about our loans held for investment ("LHI") portfolio by type of loan for the past five years:
December 31,
(in thousands) 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Commercial $ 8,861,580 $ 9,133,444 $ 9,117,546 $ 8,373,398 $ 6,622,078
Energy 766,217 1,425,309 1,631,371 1,130,000 889,583
Mortgage finance 9,079,409 8,169,849 5,877,524 5,308,160 4,497,338
Real estate 5,794,624 6,008,040 6,050,083 5,960,785 5,560,909
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The Texas Market
Our business is concentrated in Texas. The Texas market for banking services is highly competitive. We compete with national, regional and local bank holding companies and commercial banks. Texas’ largest banking organizations are headquartered outside of Texas and are controlled by out-of-state organizations. We also compete with other providers of financial services, such as non-bank lenders, commercial finance and leasing companies, consumer finance companies, financial technology, or fintech, companies, securities firms, insurance companies, full service brokerage firms and discount brokerage firms, credit unions and savings and loan associations. We believe that many middle market companies and successful professionals and entrepreneurs are interested in banking with a company headquartered in, and with decision-making authority based in, Texas and with established Texas bankers who have the expertise to act as trusted advisors to customers with regard to their banking needs.
Our banking centers in our target markets are served by experienced bankers with lending expertise in the specific industries found in their market areas and established community ties. We believe our Bank can offer customers more responsive and personalized service than our competitors. By providing effective service to these customers, we believe we will be able to establish long-term relationships and provide multiple products to our customers, thereby enhancing our profitability.
National Lines of Business
While the Texas market continues to be central to the growth and success of our company, we have developed several lines of business that offer specialized loan and deposit products to businesses regionally and throughout the nation, including mortgage finance, mortgage correspondent aggregation, homebuilder finance, insurance premium finance, lender finance, asset-based lending and escrow services. We believe these business lines help us mitigate our geographic concentration risk in Texas. We continue to seek opportunities to develop additional lines of business that leverage our capabilities and are consistent with our business strategy. Most recently, we launched Bask Bank, an all-digital branch of our Bank that offers depositors American Airlines AAdvantage® miles instead of interest.
Business Strategy
Drawing on the business and community ties of our management and their banking experience, our strategy has been to grow an independent bank that has focused primarily on middle market business customers and successful professionals and entrepreneurs in each of the five major metropolitan markets of Texas as well as our national lines of business. To achieve this, we employ the following strategies:
• offering a premier and differentiated banking experience to middle market businesses and successful professionals and entrepreneurs who value a broad relationship with our Bank;
• growing our loan and deposit base in our existing markets by hiring additional experienced bankers in our different lines of business;
• developing lines of business that leverage our strengths and complement our existing lines of business;
• continuing our emphasis on credit policy to maintain credit quality consistent with long-term objectives;
• leveraging our existing infrastructure with improvements in technology and processes to gain efficiencies to support a larger volume of business;
• maintaining effective internal approval processes for capital and operating expenditures;
• continuing our extensive use of outsourcing to provide cost-effective and more efficient operational support and service levels consistent with large-bank operations; and
• extending our reach within our target markets and lines of business through service innovation and service excellence.
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Products and Services
We offer a variety of loan, deposit account and other financial products and services to our customers.
Business Customers. We offer a full range of products and services oriented to the needs of our business customers, including:
• commercial loans for general corporate purposes, including financing for working capital, internal growth, acquisitions and financing for business insurance premiums;
• real estate term and construction loans;
• mortgage warehouse lending;
• mortgage correspondent aggregation;
• equipment finance and leasing;
• treasury management services, including online banking and debit and credit card services;
• escrow services; and
• letters of credit.
Individual Customers. We also provide complete banking services for our individual customers, including:
• personal wealth management and trust services;
• certificates of deposit ("CDs") and individual retirement accounts ("IRAs");
• interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts;
• traditional money market and savings accounts;
• loans, both secured and unsecured;
• online and mobile banking; and
• Bask Bank, an all-digital branch offering depositors American Airlines AAdvantage® miles instead of interest.
Lending Activities
We target our lending to middle market businesses and successful professionals and entrepreneurs that meet our credit standards. The credit standards are set by our standing Credit Policy Committee with the assistance of our Bank’s Chief Credit Officer, who is charged with ensuring that credit standards are met by loans in our portfolio. Our Credit Policy Committee is comprised of senior Bank officers including our Bank's Chief Risk Officer, our Bank’s Chief Credit Officer and other Bank officers as deemed appropriate, and is subject to oversight by the Risk Committee of the Company's board of directors. We believe we maintain an appropriately diversified loan portfolio. Credit policies and underwriting guidelines are tailored to address the unique risks associated with each industry represented in the portfolio.
Our credit standards for commercial borrowers are based on numerous criteria with respect to the borrower, including historical and projected financial information, strength of management, acceptable collateral and associated advance rates, and market conditions and trends in the borrower’s industry. In addition, prospective loans are analyzed based on current industry concentrations in our loan portfolio to prevent an unacceptable concentration of loans in any particular industry. We believe our credit standards are consistent with achieving our business objectives in the markets we serve and are an important part of our risk mitigation strategy. We believe that our Bank is differentiated from its competitors by its focus on and targeted marketing to our core customers and by its ability to tailor its products to the individual needs of our customers.
We generally extend variable rate loans in which the interest rate fluctuates with a specified reference rate such as the United States prime rate or the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and frequently provide for a minimum floor rate. Our use of variable rate loans is designed to protect us from risks associated with interest rate fluctuations since the rates of interest earned will automatically reflect such fluctuations. In 2017, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority announced that it would no longer compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. The administrator of LIBOR has proposed to extend publication of the most commonly used U.S. Dollar LIBOR settings to June 30, 2023, and to cease publishing other LIBOR settings on December 31, 2021. The U.S. federal banking agencies have issued guidance strongly encouraging banking organizations to cease using U.S. dollar LIBOR as a reference rate in new contracts as soon as practicable and in any event by December 31, 2021. It is not possible to know whether LIBOR will continue to be viewed as an acceptable market benchmark, what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives to LIBOR or what the effect of any such changes in views or alternatives may have on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. The full impact of alternatives to LIBOR on the valuations, pricing and operation of our financial instruments is not yet known; however, the primary instruments that may be impacted include loans, securities, borrowings and derivatives indexed to LIBOR that mature after December 31, 2021. We have established a working group, consisting of key stakeholders from throughout the Bank, to monitor developments relating to LIBOR uncertainty and changes and to guide our Bank's response. This team is currently working to ensure that our technology systems are prepared for the transition, our loan documents that reference LIBOR-based rates have been
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appropriately amended to reference other methods of interest rate determination and internal and external stakeholders are apprised of the transition.
Deposit Products
We offer a variety of deposit products and services to our customers with terms, including interest rates, which are competitive with other banks. Our business deposit products include commercial checking accounts, lockbox accounts, cash concentration accounts and other treasury management services, including online banking. Our treasury management online system offers information services, wire transfer initiation, ACH initiation, account transfer and service integration. Our consumer deposit products include checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. We also allow our consumer deposit customers to access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and perform other account functions through online and mobile banking.
Wealth Management and Trust
Our wealth management and trust services include wealth strategy, financial planning, investment management, personal trust and estate services, custodial services, retirement accounts and related services. Our investment management professionals work with our clients to define objectives, goals and strategies for their investment portfolios. We assist the customer with the selection of an investment manager and work with the client to tailor the investment program accordingly. We also offer retirement products such as individual retirement accounts and administrative services for retirement vehicles such as pension and profit sharing plans. Our wealth management and trust services are primarily focused on serving the needs of our banking clients and depend on close cooperation and support between our banking relationship managers and our investment management professionals.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Overview. In March 2020, the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The spread of COVID-19 has created a global public health crisis that has resulted in unprecedented uncertainty, volatility and disruption in financial markets and in governmental, commercial and consumer activity in the United States and globally, including the markets that we serve. Governmental responses to the pandemic have included orders to close businesses not deemed essential and directing individuals to restrict their movements, observe social distancing and shelter in place. These actions, together with responses to the pandemic by businesses and individuals, have resulted in rapid decreases in commercial and consumer activity, temporary, and some permanent, closures of many businesses that have led to a loss of revenues and a rapid increase in unemployment, material decreases in oil and gas prices and in business valuations, disrupted global supply chains, market downturns and volatility, changes in consumer behavior related to pandemic fears, related emergency response legislation and an expectation that Federal Reserve policy will maintain a low interest rate environment for the foreseeable future. Although financial markets have rebounded from significant declines that occurred earlier in the pandemic and global economic conditions showed signs of improvement beginning during the second quarter of 2020, many of the effects that arose or became more pronounced after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have persisted through the end of the year. These changes have had and are likely to continue to have a significant adverse effect on the markets in which we conduct our business and the demand for our products and services. See “Risk Factors—Other Risks Affecting our Business—The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely affecting us and our customers, employees and third-party service providers, and the adverse impacts on our business, financial position, operations and prospects have been and are expected to continue to be significant.”
Legislative Developments . On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was signed into law. It contained substantial tax and spending provisions intended to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act included the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), a nearly $350 billion program designed to aid small- and medium-sized businesses through federally guaranteed loans distributed through banks. These loans were intended to guarantee eight weeks of payroll and other costs to help those businesses remain viable and allow their workers to pay their bills. The initial $350 billion program was supplemented in late April 2020 with $310 billion in additional funding. On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (the “new Act”) was signed into law, and made significant changes to the PPP to provide additional relief for small businesses. The new Act increased flexibility for small businesses that have been unable to rehire employees due to lack of employee availability, or have been unable to operate as normal due to COVID-19 related restrictions, extended the period that businesses have to use PPP funds to qualify for loan forgiveness to 24 weeks, up from 8 weeks under the original rules, and relaxed the requirements that loan recipients must adhere to in order to qualify for loan forgiveness. In addition, the new Act extended the payment deferral period for PPP loans until the date when the amount of loan forgiveness is determined and remitted to the lender. For PPP recipients who do not apply for forgiveness, the loan deferral period is 10 months after the applicable forgiveness period ends. On July 4, 2020, Congress enacted a new law to extend the deadline for applying for a PPP loan to August 8, 2020. The program was re-opened on January 11, 2021 with updated guidance outlining program changes to enhance its effectiveness and accessibility. This round of the PPP will serve
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new borrowers, as well as allow certain existing PPP borrowers to apply for a second draw PPP Loan and make a request to modify their first draw PPP loan.
We have partnered with a web-based commercial and SBA lending software provider to manage the origination, processing, closing and monitoring of SBA loans and have set up the Texas Capital Bank SBA PPP Loan Portal to provide borrowers the ability to apply and qualify for PPP loans. As of December 31, 2020, we had funded $717.5 million in PPP loans. Those loans have an outstanding balance of $617.5 million as of December 31, 2020.
We also implemented a short-term loan modification program in late March 2020 to provide temporary payment relief to borrowers who meet the program’s qualifications. This program allows for a deferral of payments for 90 days, which we may extend for an additional 90 days, for a maximum of 180 days on a cumulative basis. The deferred payments along with interest accrued during the deferral period are due and payable on the maturity date of the existing loan. Through December 31, 2020, we granted temporary modifications on 483 loans with a total outstanding loan balance of $1.3 billion, resulting in the deferral of $7.7 million in interest payments. As of December 31, 2020, 48 loans with a total outstanding balance of $90.2 million remain on deferral, of which $50.7 million have been granted a second deferral.
See Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for additional information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to our financial statements and results of operations, as well as our business operations.
Human Capital
Our goal is to attract, develop, retain and plan for succession of key talent and executives to achieve strategic objectives. We are continually investing in our workforce to further emphasize diversity and inclusion and to foster our employees' growth and career development. As part of our commitment to address diversity, equity and inclusion ("DEI") we have launched a DEI Council, chaired by our CEO.
At December 31, 2020, we had 1,619 employees, nearly all of whom are full-time and of which approximately 50% were female and 40% were minorities. Due to our significant Texas-based operations and branch-lite network, the majority of our employees are based in Texas.
We offer a comprehensive benefits program to our employees and design our compensation programs to attract, retain and motivate employees, as well as to align with Company performance.
None of our employees is represented by a collective bargaining agreement and we consider our relations with our employees to be good.
Regulation and Supervision
General . We and our Bank are subject to extensive federal and state laws and regulations that impose specific requirements on us and provide regulatory oversight of virtually all aspects of our operations. These laws and regulations generally are intended for the protection of the Bank's depositors, the Deposit Insurance Fund ("DIF") of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") and the stability of the U.S. banking system as a whole, rather than for the protection of our stockholders and creditors.
The following discussion summarizes certain laws, regulations and policies to which we and our Bank are subject. It does not address all applicable laws, regulations and policies that affect us currently or might affect us in the future. This discussion is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full texts of the laws, regulations and policies described.
The Company’s activities are governed by the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”). We are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Federal Reserve") pursuant to the BHCA. We file quarterly reports and other information with the Federal Reserve. As a public company, we also file reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and are subject to its regulatory authority, as well as the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to our securities, financial reporting and certain governance matters. Because our securities are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market ("Nasdaq"), and we are subject to Nasdaq's rules for listed companies, including rules relating to corporate governance.
Our Bank is organized as a national banking association under the National Bank Act, and is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”), the FDIC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) as well as being subject to regulation by certain other federal and state agencies. The OCC has primary supervisory responsibility for our Bank and performs a continuous program of examinations concerning safety and soundness, the quality of management and oversight by our board of directors, information technology and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Our Bank also files quarterly reports of condition and income with the FDIC, which provides insurance for certain of our Bank’s deposits.
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Bank Holding Company Regulation . The BHCA limits our business to banking, managing or controlling banks and other activities that the Federal Reserve has determined to be closely related to banking. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, as amended (the "GLB Act"), allows bank holding companies meeting certain management, capital and Community Reinvestment Act standards to elect to be treated as financial holding company that may offer customers a more comprehensive array of financial products and services. We have elected to register with the Federal Reserve as a financial holding company. This authorizes us to engage in any activity that is either (i) financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity, as determined by the Federal Reserve, or (ii) complementary to a financial activity, so long as the activity does not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of our Bank or the financial system generally, as determined by the Federal Reserve. Examples of non-banking activities that are financial in nature include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance underwriting, providing investment and financial advice, leasing personal property and making merchant banking investments.
We are not at this time exercising the powers authorized for a financial holding company at the parent company level.
We, through our Bank, engage in traditional banking activities that are deemed financial in nature. In order for us to undertake new activities permitted by the BHCA, we and our Bank must be considered "well capitalized" (as defined below) and well managed, our Bank must have received a rating of at least "satisfactory" in its most recent examination under the Community Reinvestment Act and we must notify the Federal Reserve within thirty days of engaging in the new activity. We do not currently expect to engage in any non-banking activities at the holding company level.
Under Federal Reserve policy, now codified by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), we are expected to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to our Bank and commit resources to its support. Such support may be required even at times when, absent this Federal Reserve policy, a holding company may not be in a financial position, or otherwise inclined, to provide such resources. We could in certain circumstances be required to guarantee the capital plan of our Bank if it became undercapitalized.
It is the policy of the Federal Reserve that financial holding companies may pay cash dividends on common stock only out of income available over the past year and only if prospective earnings retention is consistent with the organization’s expected future needs and financial condition. The policy provides that financial holding companies may not pay cash dividends in an amount that would undermine the holding company’s ability to serve as a source of strength to its banking subsidiary.
With certain limited exceptions, the BHCA and the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978, as amended (the "CIBC Act"), together with regulations promulgated thereunder, prohibit a person or company or a group of persons deemed to be “acting in concert” from, directly or indirectly, acquiring more than 10% (5% if the acquirer is a bank holding company) of any class of our voting stock or obtaining the ability to control in any manner the election of a majority of our directors or otherwise direct the management or policies of our company without prior notice or application to and the approval of the Federal Reserve.
If, in the opinion of the applicable federal bank regulatory authorities, a depository institution or holding company is engaged in or is about to engage in an unsafe or unsound practice (which could include the payment of dividends or repurchase or redemptions of securities), such authority may require, generally after notice and hearing, that such institution or holding company cease and desist such practice. The federal banking agencies have indicated that paying dividends that deplete a depository institution’s or holding company’s capital base to an inadequate level would be such an unsafe or unsound banking practice. Moreover, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC have issued policy statements providing that financial holding companies and insured depository institutions generally should only pay dividends out of current operating earnings and only if the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the entity's current and expected future capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. Federal Reserve regulations require that the Company provide prior notice to or obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve for declaring or paying dividends that exceed its earnings for the relevant period and redemptions or repurchases of its equity securities, and prohibit such actions if they would deplete the Company's capital or impair its ability to serve as a source of strength for our Bank.
Regulation of Our Bank by the OCC. National banks the size of our Bank are subject to continuous regulation, supervision and examination by the OCC. The OCC regulates or monitors all areas of a national bank’s operations, including security devices and procedures, adequacy of capitalization and loss reserves, accounting treatment and impact on capital determinations, loans, investments, borrowings, deposits, liquidity, mergers, issuances of securities, payment of dividends, interest rate risk management, establishment of branches, corporate reorganizations, maintenance of books and records, and adequacy of staff training to carry on safe and sound lending and deposit gathering practices. The OCC requires national banks to maintain specified capital ratios and imposes limitations on their aggregate investment in real estate, bank premises and furniture and fixtures. National banks are required by the OCC to file quarterly reports of their financial condition and results of operations and to obtain an annual audit of their financial statements in compliance with minimum standards and procedures prescribed by the OCC.
Regulation of Our Bank by the CFPB . The CFPB has regulation, supervision and examination authority over our Bank with respect to substantially all federal statutes and regulations protecting the interests of consumers of financial services, including but not limited to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Home
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Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act and the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and their respective related regulations. Penalties for violating these laws and regulations could subject our Bank to lawsuits and administrative penalties, including civil monetary penalties, payments to affected consumers and orders to halt or materially change our consumer banking activities. The CFPB has broad authority to pursue enforcement actions, including investigations, civil actions and cease and desist proceedings, and can refer civil and criminal findings to the Department of Justice for prosecution. The Bank is also subject to other federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations that, among other things, prohibit unfair, deceptive and abusive, corrupt or fraudulent business practices, untrue or misleading advertising and unfair competition.
Capital Adequacy Requirements. Federal banking regulators have adopted a system using certain risk-based capital guidelines to evaluate the capital adequacy of banks and bank holding companies that is based upon the 1988 capital accord of the Bank for International Settlements’ Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”), a committee of central banks and bank regulators from the major industrialized countries that coordinates international standards for bank regulation. Under the guidelines, specific categories of assets and off-balance-sheet activities such as letters of credit are assigned risk weights, based generally on the perceived credit or other risks associated with the asset. Off-balance-sheet activities are assigned a credit conversion factor based on the perceived likelihood that they will become on-balance-sheet assets. These risk weights are multiplied by corresponding asset balances to determine a “risk weighted” asset base, which is then measured against various forms of capital to produce capital ratios.
An organization’s capital is classified in one of two tiers, Core Capital, or Tier 1, and Supplementary Capital, or Tier 2. Tier 1 capital includes common stock, retained earnings, qualifying non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, minority interests in the equity of consolidated subsidiaries, a limited amount of qualifying trust preferred securities and qualifying cumulative perpetual preferred stock at the holding company level, less goodwill and most intangible assets. Tier 2 capital includes perpetual preferred stock and trust preferred securities not meeting the Tier 1 definition, mandatory convertible debt securities, subordinated debt, and allowances for loan and lease losses. Each category is subject to a number of regulatory definitional and qualifying requirements.
The Basel Committee in 2010 released a set of international recommendations for strengthening the regulation, supervision and risk management of banking organizations, known as Basel III. In July 2013, the Federal Reserve published final rules for the adoption of the Basel III regulatory capital framework (the “Basel III Capital Rules”). The Basel III Capital Rules became effective for us on January 1, 2015, with certain transition provisions phasing in over a period that ended on January 1, 2019.
The Basel III Capital Rules, among other things, (i) specify a capital measure called “Common Equity Tier 1” (“CET1”), (ii) specify that Tier 1 capital consists of CET1 and “Additional Tier 1 capital” instruments meeting specified requirements, (iii) require that most deductions/adjustments to regulatory capital measures be made to CET1 and not to the other components of capital and (iv) define the scope of the deductions/adjustments to the capital measures. Our Series A 6.5% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock constitutes Additional Tier 1 capital and our subordinated notes constitute Tier 2 capital.
The Basel III Capital Rules set the risk-based capital requirement and the total risk-based capital requirement to a minimum of 6.0% and 8.0%, respectively, each plus a 2.5% capital conservation buffer composed entirely of CET1, producing targeted ratios of 8.5% and 10.5%, respectively, which were fully phased-in as of January 1, 2019 and for subsequent years. The leverage ratio requirement under the Basel III Capital Rules, calculated as the ratio of Tier 1 capital to average assets, is 4.0%. In order to be well capitalized under the rules now in effect, our Bank must maintain CET1, Tier 1 and total capital ratios that are equal to or greater than 7.0%, 8.5% and 10.5%, respectively, and a leverage ratio equal to or greater than 5.0%. See “ Selected Consolidated Financial Data - Capital and Liquidity Ratios. ”
Additionally, the Basel III Capital Rules specify a capital conservation buffer with respect to each of the CET1, Tier 1 and total capital to risk-weighted assets ratios, which provides for capital levels that exceed the minimum risk-based capital adequacy requirements. The 2.5% capital conservation buffer was implemented over a three year phase-in period that began on January 1, 2016 and concluded on January 1, 2019. A financial institution with a conservation buffer of less than the required amount is subject to limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments and stock repurchases, and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers.
We have met the capital adequacy requirements under the Basel III Capital Rules on a fully phased-in basis since we commenced filing of the applicable reports with the FDIC and OCC. As of December 31, 2020 our Bank's CET1 ratio was 9.48% and its total risk-based capital ratio was 11.67% and, as a result, it is currently classified as "well capitalized" for purposes of the OCC's prompt corrective action regulations.
Because we had less than $15 billion in total consolidated assets as of December 31, 2009, we are allowed to continue to classify our trust preferred securities, all of which were issued prior to May 19, 2010, as Tier 1 capital. As a non-advanced approaches banking organization, we have elected to exclude the effects of certain accumulated other comprehensive income ("AOCI") items included in stockholders’ equity for the determination of regulatory capital and capital ratios under the Basel III Capital Rules.
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In November 2017, the federal banking regulators issued a final rule to extend certain transition periods related to the regulatory capital treatment under the capital rules for certain items (including certain deferred tax assets, mortgage servicing rights, investments in non-consolidated financial entities and minority interest limitations) until January 1, 2020 when final rules to simplify the regulatory treatment of those items took effect. The relief provided under the final rule applies to banking organizations that are not subject to the advanced approaches framework, such as the Company and the Bank.
In December 2017, the Basel Committee published the last version of the Basel III regulatory reforms, which are commonly referred to as “Basel IV.” The Basel IV standards, which will be generally effective on January 1, 2022, revise, among other things the Basel Committee’s standardized approach for credit risk and provide a new standardized approach for operational risk capital. Under the current U.S. capital rules, operational risk capital requirements and a capital floor apply only to banking organizations that are subject to the advanced approaches framework. The impact of the Basel IV standards on us and our Bank will depend on the manner in which it is implemented by the federal banking regulators.
In February 2019, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a final rule (the “2019 CECL Rule”) that revised certain capital regulations to account for changes to credit loss accounting under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). The 2019 CECL Rule included a transition option that allows banking organizations to phase in, over a three-year period, the day-one adverse effects of adopting the new accounting standard related to the measurement of current expected credit losses (“CECL”) on their regulatory capital ratios (three-year transition option). In March 2020, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued an interim final rule that maintains the three-year transition option of the 2019 CECL Rule and also provides banking organizations that were required under GAAP to implement CECL before the end of 2020 the option to delay for two years an estimate of the effect of CECL on regulatory capital, relative to the incurred loss methodology’s effect on regulatory capital, followed by a three-year transition period (five-year transition option). We adopted CECL on January 1, 2020 and have elected to utilize the five-year transition option.
Regulators may change capital and liquidity requirements, including previous interpretations of practices related to risk weights, which could require an increase to the allocation of capital to assets held by our Bank. Regulators could also require us to make retroactive adjustments to financial statements to reflect such changes. A regulatory capital ratio or category may not constitute an accurate representation of the Bank’s overall financial condition or prospects. Our regulatory capital status is addressed in more detail under the heading “ Liquidity and Capital Resources ” within Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and in Note 13 - Regulatory Restrictions in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (the “FDICIA”) established a system of prompt corrective action regulations and policies to resolve the problems of undercapitalized insured depository institutions. Under this system, insured depository institutions are ranked in one of five capital categories as described below. Regulators are required to take mandatory supervisory actions and are authorized to take other discretionary actions of increasing severity with respect to insured depository institutions in the three undercapitalized categories. The five capital categories for insured depository institutions under the prompt corrective action regulations consist of:
• Well capitalized - equals or exceeds a 10% total risk-based capital ratio, 8% Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio, and 5% leverage ratio and is not subject to any written agreement, order or directive requiring it to maintain a specific level for any capital measure;
• Adequately capitalized - equals or exceeds an 8% total risk-based capital ratio, 6% Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio, and 4% leverage ratio;
• Undercapitalized - total risk-based capital ratio of less than 8%, or a Tier 1 risk-based ratio of less than 6%, or a leverage ratio of less than 4%;
• Significantly undercapitalized - total risk-based capital ratio of less than 6%, or a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4%, or a leverage ratio of less than 3%; and
• Critically undercapitalized - a ratio of tangible equity to total assets equal to or less than 2%.
The prompt corrective action regulations provide that an institution may be downgraded to the next lower category if its regulator determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing or response, that the institution is in an unsafe or unsound condition or has received and not corrected a less-than-satisfactory rating for any of the categories of asset quality, management, earnings or liquidity in its most recent examination.
Federal bank regulatory agencies are required to implement arrangements for prompt corrective action for institutions failing to meet minimum requirements to be at least adequately capitalized. FDICIA imposes an increasingly stringent array of restrictions, requirements and prohibitions as an organization’s capital levels deteriorate. A bank rated "adequately capitalized" or below may not accept, renew or roll over brokered deposits unless it receives a waiver from the FCIC. A "significantly undercapitalized" institution is subject to mandated capital raising activities, restrictions on interest rates paid and transactions with affiliates, removal of management and other restrictions. The OCC has only very limited discretion in dealing with a
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"critically undercapitalized" institution and generally must appoint a receiver or conservator (the FDIC) if the capital deficiency is not corrected promptly.
Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended (the “FDIA”), “critically undercapitalized” banks may not, beginning 60 days after becoming critically undercapitalized, make any payment of principal or interest on their subordinated debt (subject to certain limited exceptions). In addition, under Section 18(i) of the FDIA, banks are required to obtain the advance consent of the FDIC to retire any part of their subordinated notes. Under the FDIA, a bank may not pay interest on its subordinated notes if such interest is required to be paid only out of net profits, or distribute any of its capital assets, while it remains in default on any assessment due to the FDIC.
In December 2020, the FDIC issued a final rule that is designed to bring the brokered deposits regulations in line with modern deposit taking methods and generally reduces the amount of deposits that would be classified as brokered, which most directly affects banks rated as “adequately capitalized” or “undercapitalized”. The final rule will become effective on April 1, 2021, with an extended compliance date of January 1, 2022.
Federal bank regulators may set capital requirements for a particular banking organization that are higher than the minimum ratios when circumstances warrant. Federal Reserve and OCC guidelines provide that banking organizations experiencing significant growth or making acquisitions will be expected to maintain strong capital positions substantially above the minimum supervisory levels, without significant reliance on intangible assets. Concentration of credit risks, interest rate risk (imbalances in rates, maturities or sensitivities) and risks arising from non-traditional activities, as well as an institution’s ability to manage these risks, are important factors taken into account by regulatory agencies in assessing an organization’s overall capital adequacy.
The OCC and the Federal Reserve also use a leverage ratio as an additional tool to evaluate the capital adequacy of banking organizations. The leverage ratio is a company’s Tier 1 capital divided by its average total consolidated assets. A minimum leverage ratio of 3.0% is required for banks and bank holding companies that either have the highest supervisory rating or have implemented the appropriate federal regulatory authority’s risk-adjusted measure for market risk. All other banks and bank holding companies are required to maintain a minimum leverage ratio of 4.0%, unless a different minimum is specified by an appropriate regulatory authority. In order to be considered well capitalized the leverage ratio must be at least 5.0%.
As of December 31, 2020, our Bank’s leverage ratio was 7.36% and, as a result, it is currently classified as “well capitalized” for purposes of the OCC’s prompt corrective action regulations.
The risk-based and leverage capital ratios established by federal banking regulators are minimum supervisory ratios generally applicable to banking organizations that meet specified criteria, assuming that they otherwise have received the highest regulatory ratings in their most recent examinations. Banking organizations not meeting these criteria are expected to operate with capital positions in excess of the minimum ratios. Regulators can, from time to time, change their policies or interpretations of banking practices to require changes in risk weights assigned to our Bank's assets or changes in the factors considered in order to evaluate capital adequacy, which may require our Bank to obtain additional capital to support existing asset levels or future growth or reduce asset balances in order to meet minimum acceptable capital ratios.
Liquidity Requirements . U.S. bank regulators in September 2014 issued a final rule implementing the Basel III liquidity framework for certain U.S. banks - generally those having more than $50 billion of assets or whose primary federal banking regulator determines compliance with the liquidity framework is appropriate based on the organization's size, level of complexity, risk profile, scope of operations, U.S. or non-U.S. affiliations or risk to the financial system. One of the liquidity tests included in the new rule, referred to as the liquidity coverage ratio (“LCR”), is designed to ensure that a banking entity maintains an adequate level of unencumbered high-quality liquid assets equal to the entity’s expected net cash outflow for a 30-day time horizon (or, if greater, 25% of its expected total cash outflow) under an acute liquidity stress scenario.
The other test, referred to as the net stable funding ratio (“NSFR”), is designed to promote more medium- and long-term funding of the assets and activities of banking entities over a one-year time horizon. These requirements encourage the covered banking entities to increase their holdings of U.S. Treasury securities and other sovereign debt as a component of assets, and also to increase the use of long-term debt as a funding source.
While the LCR and NSFR tests are not currently applicable to our Bank, and the proposed rules would increase substantially the $50 billion asset threshold, other relevant measures of liquidity are monitored by management and are reported to our board of directors. Regulators may change capital and liquidity requirements, including previous interpretations of practices related to risk weights, which could require an increase in liquid assets or in the necessary capital to support the assets held by our Bank. Regulators could also require us to make retroactive adjustments to financial statements and reported capital ratios to reflect such changes.
Stress Testing . Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and regulations published by the Federal Reserve and OCC, we were required to conduct an annual “stress test” of capital and consolidated earnings and losses under a base case and two severely adverse stress scenarios provided by bank regulatory agencies during the years 2016 to 2018. In response to this requirement we
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developed dedicated staffing, economic models, policies and procedures to implement stress testing on an annual basis, the results of which were furnished to regulators and published on our website, as well as conducting stress tests for internal use based upon economic scenarios we developed. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (the “Regulatory Relief Act”), which amended portions of the Dodd-Frank Act, was enacted in 2018 and subsequently adopted, terminating our stress testing requirements. However, we have continued to perform certain stress tests internally and have incorporated the economic models and information developed through our stress testing program into our risk management and business, capital and liquidity planning activities, which are subject to continuing regulatory oversight.
Privacy and Data Security. The financial privacy provisions of the GLB Act generally prohibit financial institutions, including our Bank, from disclosing non-public personal financial information about customers to non-affiliated third parties unless customers have the opportunity to “opt out” of the disclosure and have not elected to do so. Our Bank is required to comply with state laws regarding consumer privacy if they are more protective than the GLB Act.
In October 2016, the federal banking regulators jointly issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on enhanced cyber risk management standards that are intended to increase the operational resilience of large and interconnected entities under their supervision. If established, the enhanced cyber risk management standards would be designed to help reduce the potential impact of a cyber-attack or other cyber-related failure on the financial system. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking addresses five categories of cyber standards: (1) cyber risk governance; (2) cyber risk management; (3) internal dependency management; (4) external dependency management; and (5) incident response, cyber resilience and situational awareness. In May 2019,the Federal Reserve announced that it would revisit the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the future. In December 2020, the federal banking agencies issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require banking organizations to notify their primary federal regulator within 36 hours of becoming aware of a "computer-security incident" or a "notification incident." The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also would require specific and immediate notifications by bank service providers that become aware of similar incidents.
In February 2018, the SEC published interpretive guidance to assist public companies in preparing disclosures about cybersecurity risks and incidents. These SEC guidelines, and any other regulatory guidance, are in addition to notification and disclosure requirements under state and federal banking law and regulations.
Privacy and data security areas are expected to receive increased attention at the federal level. An increasing number of state laws and regulations have been enacted in recent years to implement privacy and cybersecurity standards and regulations, including data breach notification and data privacy requirements. Recently, several states have adopted regulations requiring certain financial institutions to implement cybersecurity programs that meet specified requirements. In addition, other nations in which our customers do business, such as the European Union, have adopted similar requirements. This trend of activity is expected to continue to expand, requiring continual monitoring of developments in the states and nations in which our customers are located and ongoing investments in our information systems and compliance capabilities.
Community Reinvestment Act. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (the “CRA”) requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas consistent with safe and sound banking practice. Under the CRA, each depository institution is required to help meet the credit needs of its market areas by, among other things, providing credit, making investments and providing community development services to low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. Depository institutions are periodically examined for compliance with the CRA and are assigned one of four ratings. Our Bank is subject to examination by the OCC. In order for a financial holding company to commence new activity permitted by the BHCA, each insured depository institution subsidiary of the financial holding company must have received a rating of at least “satisfactory” in its most recent examination under the CRA. Our Bank's strategic focus on serving commercial customers in regional and national markets from a limited number of branches makes it more challenging for us to satisfy CRA requirements as compared to banks of comparable size that focus on providing retail banking services in markets where they maintain a network of full-service branches.
In December 2019, the OCC and the FDIC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to (i) clarify which activities qualify for CRA credit; (ii) update where activities count for CRA credit; (iii) create a more transparent and objective method for measuring CRA performance; and (iv) provide for more transparent, consistent, and timely CRA-related data collection, recordkeeping, and reporting. In May 2020, the OCC issued its final CRA rule, effective October 1, 2020. The FDIC has not finalized the revisions to its CRA rule.
The USA Patriot Act, the International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act and the Bank Secrecy Act. A major focus of U.S. government policy regarding financial institutions in recent years has been combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal payments. The USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and penalties, specifically related to the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, and expanded the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. government in this area. Regulations issued under these laws impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and other suspicious activity and to verify the identity of their customers and apply additional scrutiny to customers considered
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to present greater than normal risk. Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal, reputational and financial consequences for the institution. Because of the significance of regulatory emphasis on these requirements, we have expended, and expect to continue to expend, significant staffing, technology and financial resources to maintain programs designed to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and an effective audit function for testing our compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act on an ongoing basis.
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AMLA”), which amends the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (“BSA”), was enacted in January 2021. The AMLA is intended to be a comprehensive reform and modernization to U.S. bank secrecy and anti-money laundering laws. Among other things, it codifies a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering compliance for financial institutions; requires the development of standards for evaluating technology and internal processes for BSA compliance; expands enforcement- and investigation-related authority, including increasing available sanctions for certain BSA violations and instituting BSA whistleblower incentives and protections.
Office of Foreign Assets Control . The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) is responsible for administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions against specified foreign parties, including countries and regimes, foreign individuals and other foreign organizations and entities. OFAC publishes lists of prohibited parties that are regularly consulted by our Bank in the conduct of its business in order to assure compliance. We are responsible for, among other things, blocking accounts of, and transactions with, prohibited parties identified by OFAC, avoiding unlicensed trade and financial transactions with such parties and reporting blocked transactions after their occurrence. Failure to comply with OFAC requirements could have serious legal, financial and reputational consequences for our Bank.
Safe and Sound Banking Practices; Enforcement . Banks and bank holding companies are prohibited from engaging in unsafe and unsound banking practices. Bank regulators have broad authority to prohibit and penalize activities of bank holding companies and their subsidiaries which represent unsafe and unsound banking practices or which constitute violations of laws, regulations or written directives of or agreements with regulators. Regulators have considerable discretion in identifying what they deem to be unsafe and unsound practices and in pursuing enforcement actions in response to them.
The FDIA requires federal bank regulatory agencies to prescribe, by regulation or guideline, operational and managerial standards for all insured depository institutions that relate to, among other things: (i) internal controls, information systems and audit systems; (ii) loan documentation; (iii) credit underwriting; (iv) interest rate exposure; (v) asset growth and quality; and (vi) compensation and benefits. Federal banking agencies have adopted regulations and Interagency Guidelines Prescribing Standards for Safety and Soundness to implement these requirements, which regulators use to identify and address problems at insured depository institutions before capital becomes impaired. If a regulator determines that a bank fails to meet any standards prescribed by the guidelines, the bank may be required to submit an acceptable plan to achieve compliance, and agree to specific deadlines for the submission to and review by the regulator of reports confirming progress in implementing the safety and soundness compliance plan. Failure to implement such a plan may result in an enforcement action against the bank.
Enforcement actions against us, our Bank and our officers and directors may include the issuance of a written directive, the issuance of a cease-and-desist order that can be judicially enforced, the imposition of civil money penalties, the issuance of directives to increase capital, the issuance of formal and informal agreements, the issuance of removal and prohibition orders against officers or other institution-affiliated parties, the imposition of restrictions and sanctions under prompt corrective action regulations, the termination of deposit insurance (in the case of our Bank) and the appointment of a conservator or receiver for our Bank. Civil money penalties can be as high as $1.0 million for each day a violation continues.
Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders. Our Bank is subject to Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended (the "FRA") which places limits on, among other covered transactions, the amount of loans or extensions of credit to affiliates that may be made by our Bank. Extensions of credit to affiliates must be adequately collateralized by specified amounts and types of collateral. Section 23A also limits the amount of loans or advances made by our Bank to third party borrowers that are collateralized by our or our subsidiaries' respective securities or obligations. Our Bank is also subject to Section 23B of the FRA, which, among other things, prohibits an institution from engaging in transactions with affiliates unless the transactions are on terms substantially the same, or at least as favorable to such institution or its subsidiaries, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with non-affiliates.
We are subject to restrictions on extensions of credit to insiders (namely executive officers, directors, and 10% stockholders) and their related interests. These restrictions are contained in the FRA and Federal Reserve Regulation O and apply to all insured institutions as well as their subsidiaries and holding companies. These restrictions include limits on loans to any individual insider and such insider's related interests and certain conditions that must be met before such loans can be made. There is also an aggregate limitation on all loans to insiders and their related interests, which cannot exceed the institution’s total unimpaired capital and surplus, unless the FDIC determines that a lesser amount is appropriate. Insiders are subject to enforcement actions for knowingly accepting loans in violation of applicable restrictions. Additional restrictions on transactions with affiliates and insiders are discussed in the Dodd-Frank Act section below.
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Restrictions on Payment of Dividends by Our Bank. The sole source of funding of our parent company financial obligations has consisted of proceeds of capital markets transactions and cash payments from our Bank for debt service and dividend payments with respect to our preferred stock issued to us by the Bank. We may in the future seek to rely upon receipt of dividends paid by our Bank to meet our financial obligations. Our Bank is subject to statutory dividend restrictions. Under such restrictions, national banks may not, without the prior approval of the OCC, declare dividends in excess of the sum of the current year’s net profits plus the retained net profits from the prior two years, less any required transfers to surplus. The Basel III Capital Rules further limit the amount of dividends that may be paid by our Bank. In addition, under the FDICIA, our Bank may not pay any dividend if it is undercapitalized or if payment would cause it to become undercapitalized.
Limits on Compensation . The Federal Reserve, OCC and FDIC in 2010 issued comprehensive final guidance on incentive compensation policies for executive management of banks and bank holding companies. This guidance was intended to ensure that the incentive compensation policies of banking organizations do not undermine their safety and soundness by encouraging excessive risk-taking. The objective of the guidance is to assure that incentive compensation arrangements (i) provide incentives that do not encourage excessive risk-taking, (ii) are compatible with effective internal controls and risk management and (iii) are supported by strong corporate governance, including oversight by the board of directors. In 2016, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the SEC proposed rules that would, depending upon the assets of the institution, directly regulate incentive compensation arrangements and would require enhanced oversight and recordkeeping. As of December 31, 2020, these rules have not been implemented.
Deposit Insurance. Our Bank’s deposits are insured through the DIF, which is administered by the FDIC, up to limits established by applicable law, currently $250,000 per depositor. The FDIC determines quarterly deposit insurance assessments consisting of a percentage of an assessment base equal to our Bank’s average consolidated total assets less average tangible equity capital and the assignment of one of four risk categories based on supervisory evaluations, regulatory capital levels and certain other factors. The FDIC has the discretion to adjust an institution’s risk rating and may terminate its insurance of deposits upon a finding that the institution engaged or is engaging in unsafe and unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations, or violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC or written agreement entered into with the FDIC. The FDIC may also prohibit any FDIC-insured institution from engaging in any activity it determines to pose a serious risk to the DIF.
For 2020, minimum and maximum assessment rates (inclusive of possible adjustments) for institutions the size of our Bank ranged from 1.5 to 40 basis points. As a “large” institution for purposes of determining FDIC insurance assessments, our Bank was until December 31, 2018, subject to additional surcharges to rebuild the DIF to a reserve ratio (DIF balance divided by total insured deposits) equal to 1.35%.
The Dodd-Frank Act. The Dodd-Frank Act became law in 2010 and has had a broad impact on the financial services industry, imposing significant regulatory and compliance changes. A significant volume of financial services regulations required by the Dodd-Frank Act have not yet been finalized by banking regulators, Congress continues to consider legislation that would make significant changes to the law and courts are addressing significant litigation arising under the Act, making it difficult to predict the ultimate effect of the Dodd-Frank Act on our business. The following discussion provides a brief summary of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that may have an effect on us.
The Dodd-Frank Act significantly reduces the ability of national banks to rely upon federal preemption of state consumer financial laws and permits states to adopt consumer protection laws and standards that are more stringent than those adopted at the federal level and, in certain circumstances, permits state attorneys general to enforce compliance with both the state and federal laws and regulations. Although the OCC, as the primary regulator of national banks, has the ability to make preemption determinations where certain conditions are met, the broad rollback of federal preemption has the potential to create a patchwork of federal and state compliance obligations and enforcement. This may result in significant state regulatory requirements applicable to us and certain of our lending activities, with potentially significant changes in our operations and increases in our compliance costs.
The Dodd-Frank Act generally enhances the restrictions on transactions with affiliates under Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, including an expansion of the definition of “covered transactions” and an increase in the amount of time for which collateral requirements regarding covered credit transactions must be satisfied. Insider transaction limitations are expanded through the strengthening of restrictions on loans to insiders and the expansion of the types of transactions subject to the various limits, including derivatives transactions, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements and securities lending or borrowing transactions. Restrictions are also placed on certain asset sales to and from an insider to an institution, including requirements that such sales be on market terms and, in certain circumstances, approved by the institution’s board of directors.
The Dodd-Frank Act increases the risk of “secondary actor liability” for lenders that provide financing or other services to customers offering financial products or services to consumers, as our Bank does in our mortgage finance, mortgage correspondent aggregation and lender finance lines of business. The Dodd-Frank Act can impose liability on a service provider for knowingly or recklessly providing substantial assistance to a customer found to have engaged in unfair, deceptive or abusive
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practices that injure a consumer. This exposure contributes to increased compliance and other costs in connection with the administration of credit extended to entities engaged in providing financial products and services to consumers.
The Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, impose upon us more stringent compliance, capital, liquidity and leverage requirements or otherwise adversely affect our business. These developments may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make changes to our business as necessary to comply with new and changing statutory and regulatory requirements.
The Volcker Rule . The Dodd-Frank Act amended the BHCA to require the federal financial regulatory agencies to adopt rules that prohibit banks and their affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading in designated types of financial instruments and from investing in and sponsoring certain hedge funds and private equity funds. The Volcker Rule has not had a material effect on our operations since we do not engage in the businesses prohibited by the Volcker Rule. Unanticipated effects of the Volcker Rule’s provisions or future interpretations may have an adverse effect on our business or services provided to our Bank by other financial institutions.
Future Legislation and Regulation . Laws, regulations and policies are continually under review by Congress and state legislatures and federal and state regulatory agencies. In addition to the specific legislation and regulations described above, future legislation and regulations or changes to existing statutes, regulations or regulatory policies applicable to us and our subsidiaries may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in adverse and unpredictable ways and increase our reporting requirements and compliance costs. The substance or impact of pending or future legislation or regulation, or the application thereof, cannot be predicted.
Available Information
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, we are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information that we file electronically with the SEC.
We make available, free of charge through our website, our reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Additionally, we have adopted and posted on our website a code of business conduct that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. The address for our website is www.texascapitalbank.com. Any amendments to, or waivers from, our code of business conduct applicable to our executive officers will be posted on our website within four days of such amendment or waiver. We will provide a printed copy of any of the aforementioned documents to any requesting stockholder.