Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.
There have been no material changes in the risk factors from those disclosed in the Corporation’s 2019 Form 10-K filed for December 31, 2019.
In addition to the risk factors disclosed in these reports and registration statements, you should note the following additional risk factor:
The recent global coronavirus pandemic is likely to impact the financial condition and earnings prospects of the Corporation.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, was reported in Wuhan, China. The coronavirus has since spread rapidly to many other countries, including the United States, and the World Health Organization formally declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic in March 2020. In response, federal and many state governments have implemented “stay at home” orders restricting the operations of businesses and the activities of individuals. These orders and other effects of the coronavirus pandemic have had significant and widespread effects on the macroeconomic environment, leading to lower interest rates, depressed market valuations, heightened unemployment, heightened volatility in the financial, commodities and other markets, and significant disruption in banking and other financial activity in the areas in which the Corporation operates. The pandemic has also had a significant economic impact on a broad range of industries in which the customers of the Corporation operate. If the effects of the outbreak are prolonged or result in a lengthy recession, the risk factors set forth in the Corporation's Form 10-K could be exacerbated.
The coronavirus pandemic has created heightened credit risk. The financial performance of the Corporation is dependent upon the ability of borrowers to repay their loans and the value of the collateral supporting loans. The outbreak has caused and is likely to cause significant disruption in the business of our customers. Continued unfavorable market conditions and uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic may result in a deterioration in the credit quality of borrowers, an increase in the number of loan delinquencies, defaults and charge-offs, additional provisions for loan losses, adverse asset values of the collateral securing loans and an overall material adverse effect on the quality of the loan portfolio of the Corporation. Various state governments and federal agencies are requiring lenders to provide forbearance and other relief to borrowers. These regulatory programs and governmental policy, including the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in which the Corporation is participating, may impact the Corporation’s ability to resolve credit delinquencies as well as create heightened litigation risk and risk of holding PPP loans at unfavorable interest rates.
In addition, following the coronavirus outbreak, market interest rates have declined significantly to historic lows. The reductions in interest rates, and continued fluctuations in the interest rate environment as a result of changes in monetary policies of the Federal Reserve Board, including in connection with efforts to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, could have significant adverse effects on the yields received by the Corporation on its earning assets and otherwise compress the Corporation’s net interest margin which is an important component of the Corporation’s earnings. Continued volatility in interest rates could have a significant adverse effect on the Corporation’s earnings, financial condition and results of operations.
The spread of the coronavirus has caused the Corporation to change its business operations, including adopting a “drive thru banking” model at branch facilities and implementation of a work from home model for non-branch personnel. These changes may have detrimental impacts on the Corporation’s business due to reduced effectiveness of operations, unavailability of personnel, and increased cybersecurity risks related to the use of remote technology. The change in business operations and continued market uncertainty could also have a detrimental effect on the Corporation’s relationship with its customers as well as reduce demand for loans and other products and services offered by the Corporation upon which it relies to drive growth.
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The extent to which the coronavirus pandemic impacts our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the actions required to contain and treat it, reactions by companies, clients, investors, governmental entities and financial, commodities and other markets to such actions, and the effect of the pandemic on short- and long-term general economic conditions, among other factors. There can be no assurance that efforts by the Corporation to address the adverse impacts of the coronavirus will be effective. If the significant effects of the outbreak are prolonged and if the Corporation is unable to recover from this business disruption on a timely basis, the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations may be significantly adversely affected.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.