Item 1.  BUSINESS

General

S&T Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated on March 17, 1983 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a bank holding company and is registered with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Reserve Board, under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, or the BHCA, as a bank holding company and a financial holding company. S&T Bancorp, Inc. has three direct wholly-owned subsidiaries, S&T Bank, 9th Street Holdings, Inc. and STBA Capital Trust I, and also owns a 50 percent interest in Commonwealth Trust Credit Life Insurance Company, or CTCLIC. When used in this Report, “S&T”, “we”, “us” or “our” may refer to S&T Bancorp, Inc. individually, S&T Bancorp, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, or certain of S&T Bancorp, Inc.’s subsidiaries or affiliates, depending on the context. As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately $7.3 billion in assets, $5.9 billion in loans, $5.7 billion in deposits and $935.8 million in shareholders’ equity.

S&T Bank is a full service bank, providing services to its customers through locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. S&T Bank deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, to the maximum extent provided by law. S&T Bank has three wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: S&T Insurance Group, LLC, S&T Bancholdings, Inc. and Stewart Capital Advisors, LLC. Effective January 1, 2018, S&T Insurance Group, LLC, sold a majority interest in its previously wholly-owned subsidiary S&T-Evergreen Insurance, LLC.

Prior to 2017, we reported three operating segments: Community Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance. Effective January 1, 2017, we no longer report Wealth Management and Insurance segment information, as they do not meet the quantitative thresholds required for disclosure.

Through S&T Bank and our non-bank subsidiaries, we offer traditional banking services, which include accepting time and demand deposits and originating commercial and consumer loans, brokerage services and trust services including serving as executor and trustee under wills and deeds and as guardian and custodian of employee benefits. We also manage private investment accounts for individuals and institutions through our registered investment advisor. Total Wealth Management assets under administration were $1.8 billion at December 31, 2018.

The main office of both S&T Bancorp, Inc. and S&T Bank is located at 800 Philadelphia Street, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and its phone number is (800) 325-2265.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had 1,040 full-time equivalent employees.

Access to United States Securities and Exchange Commission Filings

All of our reports filed electronically with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, including this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, our prior annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and our annual proxy statements, as well as any amendments to those reports, are accessible at no cost on our website at www.stbancorp.com under Financial Information, SEC Filings. These filings are also accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The charters of the Audit Committee, the Compensation and Benefits Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Executive Committee, the Credit Risk Committee and the Trust and Revenue Oversight Committee, as well as the Complaints Regarding Accounting, Internal Accounting Controls or Auditing Matters Policy, the Code of Conduct for the CEO and CFO, the General Code of Conduct, the Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Shareholder Communications Policy are also available at www.stbancorp.com under Corporate Governance.

Supervision and Regulation

General

S&T is extensively regulated under federal and state law. Regulation of bank holding companies and banks is intended primarily for the protection of consumers, depositors, borrowers, the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund, or DIF, and the banking system as a whole, and not for the protection of shareholders or creditors. The following describes certain aspects of that regulation and does not purport to be a complete description of all regulations that affect S&T or all aspects of any regulation discussed here. To the extent statutory or regulatory provisions are described, the description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the particular statutory or regulatory provisions.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in July 2010, has had and will continue to have a broad impact on the financial services industry, including significant regulatory and compliance changes addressing, among other things: (i) enhanced resolution authority of troubled and failing banks and their holding companies; (ii) increased capital and liquidity requirements; (iii) increased regulatory examination fees; (iv) changes to assessments to be paid to the FDIC for federal deposit insurance; (v) enhanced corporate governance and executive compensation requirements and disclosures; and (vi) numerous other provisions designed to improve supervision and oversight of, and strengthen safety and soundness for, the financial services sector. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act established a new framework for systemic risk oversight within the financial system to be distributed among new and existing federal regulatory agencies, including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC. While certain requirements called for in the Dodd-Frank Act have been implemented, these regulations are subject to continuing interpretation and potential amendment, and a variety of the requirements remain to be implemented. Given the continued uncertainty associated with the ongoing implementation of the requirements of Dodd-Frank Act by the various regulatory agencies, including the manner in which the remaining provisions will be implemented and the interpretation of and potential amendments to existing regulations, the full extent of the impact of such requirements on financial institutions’ operations is unclear. The continuing changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, increase our operating and compliance costs, or otherwise adversely affect our business. These changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make necessary changes in order to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements.

In addition, proposals to change the laws and regulations governing the banking industry are frequently raised in Congress, in state legislatures and before the various bank regulatory agencies that may impact S&T. Such initiatives to change the laws and regulations may include proposals to expand or contract the powers of bank holding companies and depository institutions or proposals to substantially change the financial institution regulatory system. Any such legislation could change bank statutes and our operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways. If enacted, such legislation could affect how S&T and S&T Bank operate and could significantly increase costs, impede the efficiency of internal business processes, limit our ability to pursue business opportunities in an efficient manner, or affect the competitive balance among banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The likelihood and timing of any changes and the impact such changes might have on S&T is impossible to determine with any certainty.

S&T

We are a bank holding company subject to regulation under the BHCA and the examination and reporting requirements of the Federal Reserve Board. Under the BHCA, a bank holding company may not directly or indirectly acquire ownership or control of more than five percent of the voting shares or substantially all of the assets of any additional bank, or merge or consolidate with another bank holding company, without the prior approval of the Federal Reserve Board.

As a bank holding company, we are expected under statutory and regulatory provisions to serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to our subsidiary bank. A bank holding company is also expected to commit resources, including capital and other funds, to support its subsidiary bank.

We elected to become a financial holding company under the BHCA in 2001 and thereby may engage in a broader range of financial activities than are permissible for traditional bank holding companies. In order to maintain our status as a financial holding company, we must remain “well-capitalized” and “well-managed” and the depository institutions controlled by us must remain “well-capitalized,” “well-managed” (as defined in federal law) and have at least a “satisfactory” Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, rating. Refer to Note 24 Regulatory Matters to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this Report for information concerning the current capital ratios of S&T and S&T Bank. No prior regulatory approval is required for a financial holding company with total consolidated assets less than $50 billion 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 Board, unless the total consolidated assets to be acquired exceed $10 billion. The BHCA identifies several activities as “financial in nature” including, among others, securities underwriting; dealing and market making; sponsoring mutual funds and investment companies; insurance underwriting and sales agency; investment advisory activities; merchant banking activities and activities that the Federal Reserve Board has determined to be closely related to banking. Banks may also engage in, subject to limitations on investment, activities that are financial in nature, other than insurance underwriting, insurance company portfolio investment, real estate development and real estate investment, through a financial subsidiary of the bank, if the bank is “well-capitalized,” “well-managed” and has at least a “satisfactory” CRA rating.

If S&T or S&T Bank ceases to be “well-capitalized” or “well-managed,” we will not be in compliance with the requirements of the BHCA regarding financial holding companies or requirements regarding the operation of financial subsidiaries by insured banks.

If a financial holding company is notified by the Federal Reserve Board of such a change in the ratings of any of its subsidiary banks, it must take certain corrective actions within specified time frames. Furthermore, if S&T Bank was to receive a CRA rating of less than “satisfactory,” then we would be prohibited from engaging in certain new activities or acquiring companies engaged in certain financial activities until the rating is raised to “satisfactory” or better.

We are presently engaged in nonbanking activities through the following five entities:

S&T Bank

As a Pennsylvania-chartered, FDIC-insured non-member commercial bank, S&T Bank is subject to the supervision and regulation of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, or PADBS, and the FDIC. We are also subject to various requirements and restrictions under federal and state law, including requirements to maintain reserves against deposits, restrictions on the types, amount and terms and conditions of loans that may be granted and limits on the types of other activities in which S&T Bank may engage and the investments it may make. In addition, pursuant to the federal Bank Merger Act, S&T Bank must obtain the prior approval of the FDIC before it can merge or consolidate with, or acquire the assets or assume the deposit liabilities of another bank.

S&T Bank is subject to affiliate transaction rules in Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act as implemented by the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation W, that limit the amount of transactions between itself and S&T or any other company or entity that controls or is under common control with any company or entity that controls S&T Bank, including for most purposes any financial or depository institution subsidiary of S&T Bank. Under these provisions, “covered” transactions, including making loans, purchasing assets, issuing guarantees and other similar transactions, between a bank and its parent company or any other affiliate, generally are limited to 10 percent of the bank subsidiary’s capital and surplus, and with respect to all transactions with affiliates, are limited to 20 percent of the bank subsidiary’s capital and surplus. Loans and extensions of credit from a bank to an affiliate generally are required to be secured by eligible collateral in specified amounts, and in general all affiliated transactions must be on terms consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The Dodd-Frank Act expanded the affiliate transaction rules to broaden the definition of affiliate to include as covered transactions securities borrowing or lending, repurchase or reverse repurchase agreements and derivatives activities, and to strengthen collateral requirements and limit Federal Reserve exemptive authority.

Federal law also constrains the types and amounts of loans that S&T Bank may make to its executive officers, directors and principal shareholders. Among other things, these loans are limited in amount, must be approved by the bank’s board of directors in advance, and must be on terms and conditions as favorable to the bank as those available to an unrelated person. The Dodd-Frank Act strengthened restrictions on loans to insiders and expanded the types of transactions subject to the various limits to include credit exposure arising from a derivative transaction, a repurchase or reverse repurchase agreement and a securities lending or borrowing transaction. The Dodd-Frank Act also placed restrictions 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.

Insurance of Accounts; Depositor Preference

The deposits of S&T Bank are insured up to applicable limits per insured depositor by the Deposit Insurance Fund, or DIF, as administered by the FDIC. The Dodd-Frank Act codified FDIC deposit insurance coverage per separately insured depositor for all account types at $250,000.

As an FDIC-insured bank, S&T Bank is subject to FDIC insurance assessments, which are imposed based upon the calculated risk the institution poses to the DIF. In July 2016, the FDIC Board of Directors adopted a revised final rule to refine the deposit insurance assessment system for small insured depository institutions (less than $10 billion in assets) that have been federally insured for at least five years by: revising the financial ratios method for determining assessment rates so that it is based on a statistical model estimating the probability of failure over three years; updating the financial measures used in the financial ratios method consistent with the statistical model; and eliminating risk categories for established small banks and using the financial ratios method to determine assessment rates for all such banks. The amended FDIC insurance assessment benefits many small institutions with a lower rate; we, however, have incurred a minimal increase to our base rate.

Under the current assessment system, for an institution with less than $10 billion in assets, assessment rates are determined based on a combination of financial ratios and CAMELS composite ratings. The assessment rate schedule can change from time to time, at the discretion of the FDIC, subject to certain limits. Under the current system, premiums are assessed quarterly. Assessments are calculated as a percentage of average consolidated total assets less average tangible equity during the assessment period. The current total base assessment rates on an annualized basis range from 1.5 basis points for certain “well-capitalized,” “well-managed” banks, with the highest ratings, to 40 basis points for complex institutions posing the most risk to the DIF. The FDIC may raise or lower these assessment rates on a quarterly basis based on various factors designed to achieve a minimum designated reserve ratio of the DIF, which the Dodd-Frank Act has mandated to be no less than 1.35 percent of estimated insured deposits, subsequently set at two percent by the FDIC.

In addition to DIF assessments, the FDIC makes a special assessment to fund the repayment of debt obligations of the Financing Corporation, or FICO. FICO is a government-sponsored entity that was formed to borrow the money necessary to carry out the closing and ultimate disposition of failed thrift institutions by the Resolution Trust Corporation in the 1990s. The FICO assessment rate for the first quarter of 2019 is 0.14 basis points on an annualized basis.

The FDIC may terminate the deposit insurance of any insured depository institution if it determines after a hearing that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC or the Federal Reserve Board. It also may suspend deposit insurance temporarily during the hearing process if the institution has no tangible capital. If insurance of accounts is terminated, the accounts at the institution at the time of termination, less subsequent withdrawals, will continue to be insured for a period of six months to two years, as determined by the FDIC.

Under federal law, deposits and certain claims for administrative expenses and employee compensation against insured depository institutions are afforded a priority over other general unsecured claims against such an institution, including federal funds and letters of credit, in the liquidation or other resolution of such an institution by a receiver. Such priority creditors would include the FDIC.

Capital

The Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC have issued substantially similar minimum risk-based and leverage capital rules applicable to banking organizations they supervise. At December 31, 2018, both S&T and S&T Bank met the applicable minimum regulatory capital requirements.

The following table summarizes the leverage and risk-based capital ratios for S&T and S&T Bank:

In addition, the banking regulatory agencies may from time to time require that a banking organization maintain capital above the minimum prescribed levels, whether because of its financial condition or actual or anticipated growth.

The risk-based capital standards establish a systematic analytical framework that makes regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banking organizations, takes off-balance sheet exposures explicitly into account in assessing capital adequacy and minimizes disincentives to holding liquid, low-risk assets. For purposes of the risk-based ratios, assets and specified off-balance sheet instruments 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. The leverage ratio represents capital as a percentage of total average assets adjusted as specified in the guidelines.

In July 2013 the federal banking agencies issued final regulatory capital rules that replaced the then existing general risk-based capital and related rules, broadly revising the basic definitions and elements of regulatory capital and making substantial changes to the risk weightings for banking and trading book assets. The new regulatory capital rules are designed to implement Basel III (which were agreements reached in July 2010 by the international oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to require more and higher-quality capital) as well as the minimum leverage and risk-based capital requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act. These new capital standards apply to all banks, regardless of size, and to all bank holding companies with consolidated assets greater than $500 million, and became effective on January 1, 2015. For smaller banking organizations such as S&T and S&T Bank, the rules are subject to a transition period providing for full implementation as of January 1, 2019.

The required regulatory capital minimum ratios under the new capital standards as of December 31, 2018 are as follows:

Generally, under the guidelines, common equity Tier 1 capital consists of common stock instruments that meet the eligibility criteria in the rule, retained earnings, accumulated other comprehensive income and common equity Tier 1 minority interest, less applicable regulatory adjustments and deductions including goodwill, intangible assets subject to limitation and certain deferred tax assets subject to limitation. Tier 1 capital is comprised of common equity Tier 1 capital plus generally non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, Tier 1 minority interests and, for bank holding companies with less than $15 billion in consolidated assets at December 31, 2009, certain restricted capital instruments including qualifying cumulative perpetual preferred stock and grandfathered trust preferred securities, up to a limit of 25 percent of Tier 1 capital, less applicable regulatory adjustments and deductions. Tier 2, or supplementary, capital generally includes portions of trust preferred securities and cumulative perpetual preferred stock not otherwise counted in Tier 1 capital, as well as preferred stock, subordinated debt, total capital minority interests not included in Tier 1, and the allowance for loan losses in an amount not exceeding 1.25 percent of standardized risk-weighted assets, less applicable regulatory adjustments and deductions. Total capital is the sum of Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital.

The new regulatory capital rule also requires a banking organization to maintain a capital conservation buffer composed of common equity Tier 1 capital in an amount greater than 2.50 percent of total risk-weighted assets beginning in 2019. Beginning in 2016, the capital conservation buffer was phased in, beginning at 25 percent, increasing to 50 percent in 2017, 75 percent in 2018 and 100 percent in 2019 and beyond. As a result, starting in 2019, a banking organization must maintain a common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio greater than 7.00 percent, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio greater than 8.50 percent and a Total risk-based capital ratio greater than 10.50 percent; otherwise, it will be subject to restrictions on capital distributions and discretionary bonus payments. By 2019, when the new rule is fully phased in, the minimum capital requirements plus the capital conservation buffer will exceed the regulatory capital ratios required for an insured depository institution to be well-capitalized under prompt corrective action law, described below.

The new regulatory capital rule also revises the calculation of risk-weighted assets. It includes a new framework under which the risk weight will increase for most credit exposures that are 90 days or more past due or on nonaccrual, high-volatility commercial real estate loans, mortgage servicing and deferred tax assets that are not deducted from capital and certain equity exposures. It also includes changes to the credit conversion factors of off-balance sheet items, such as the unused portion of a loan commitment.

Federal regulators periodically propose amendments to the regulatory capital rules and the related regulatory framework and consider changes to the capital standards that could significantly increase the amount of capital needed to meet applicable standards. The timing of adoption, ultimate form and effect of any such proposed amendments cannot be predicted.

Payment of Dividends

S&T is a legal entity separate and distinct from its banking and other subsidiaries. A substantial portion of our revenues consist of dividend payments we receive from S&T Bank. The payment of common dividends by S&T is subject to certain requirements and limitations of Pennsylvania law. S&T Bank, in turn, is subject to federal and state laws and regulations that limit the amount of dividends it can pay to S&T. In addition, both S&T and S&T Bank are subject to various general regulatory policies relating to the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain adequate capital above regulatory minimums. The Federal Reserve Board has indicated that banking organizations should generally pay dividends only if (i) the organization’s net income available to common shareholders over the past year has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends and (ii) the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. Thus, under certain circumstances based upon our financial condition, our ability to declare and pay quarterly dividends may require consultation with the Federal Reserve Board and may be prohibited by applicable Federal Reserve Board guidance.

Other Safety and Soundness Regulations

There are a number of obligations and restrictions imposed on bank holding companies such as us and our depository institution subsidiary by federal law and regulatory policy. These obligations and restrictions are designed to reduce potential loss exposure to the FDIC’s DIF in the event an insured depository institution becomes in danger of default or is in default. Under current federal law, for example, the federal banking agencies possess broad powers to take prompt corrective action to resolve problems of insured depository institutions. The extent of these powers depends upon whether the institution in question is “well-capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” or “critically undercapitalized,” as defined by the law. As of December 31, 2018, S&T Bank was classified as “well-capitalized.” New definitions of these categories, as set forth in the federal banking agencies’ final rule to implement Basel III and the minimum leverage and risk-based capital requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, became effective as of January 1, 2015. To be well-capitalized, an insured depository institution must have a common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6.50 percent, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.00 percent, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10.00 percent and a leverage ratio of at least 5.00 percent, and the institution must not be subject to any written agreement, order, capital directive or prompt corrective action directive by its primary federal regulator. To be adequately capitalized, an insured depository institution must have a common equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 4.50 percent, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6.00 percent, a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.00 percent and a leverage ratio of at least 4.00 percent. The classification of depository institutions is primarily for the purpose of applying the federal banking agencies’ prompt corrective action provisions and is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as a representation of overall financial condition or prospects of any financial institution.

The federal banking agencies’ prompt corrective action powers, which increase depending upon the degree to which an institution is undercapitalized, can include, among other things, requiring an insured depository institution to adopt a capital restoration plan, which cannot be approved unless guaranteed by the institution’s parent company; placing limits on asset growth and restrictions on activities, including restrictions on transactions with affiliates; restricting the interest rates the institution may pay on deposits; restricting the institution from accepting brokered deposits; prohibiting the payment of principal or interest on subordinated debt; prohibiting the holding company from making capital distributions, including payment of dividends, without prior regulatory approval; and, ultimately, appointing a receiver for the institution.

The federal banking agencies have also adopted guidelines prescribing safety and soundness standards relating to internal controls and information systems, internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, fees and compensation and benefits. In general, the guidelines require appropriate systems and practices to identify and manage specified risks and exposures. The guidelines prohibit excessive compensation as an unsafe and unsound practice and characterize compensation as excessive when the amounts paid are unreasonable or disproportionate to the services performed by an executive officer, employee, director or principal shareholder. In addition, the agencies have adopted regulations that authorize, but do not require, an agency to order an institution that has been given notice by an agency that it is not in compliance with any of such safety and soundness standards to submit a compliance plan. If, after being so notified, an institution fails to submit an acceptable compliance plan, the agency must issue an order directing action to correct the deficiency and may issue an order directing other actions of the types to which an “undercapitalized” institution is subject under the prompt corrective action provisions described above.

Regulatory Enforcement Authority

The enforcement powers available to federal banking agencies are substantial and include, among other things and in addition to other powers described herein, the ability to assess civil money penalties and impose other civil and criminal penalties, to issue cease-and-desist or removal orders, to appoint a conservator to conserve the assets of an institution for the benefit of its depositors and creditors and to initiate injunctive actions against banks and bank holding companies and “institution affiliated parties,” as defined in the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. In general, these enforcement actions may be initiated for violations of laws and regulations, and engagement in unsafe or unsound practices. Other actions or inactions may provide the basis for enforcement action, including misleading or untimely reports filed with regulatory authorities.

At the state level, the PADBS also has broad enforcement powers over S&T Bank, including the power to impose fines and other penalties and to appoint a conservator or receiver.

Interstate Banking and Branching

The BHCA currently permits bank holding companies from any state to acquire banks and bank holding companies located in any other state, subject to certain conditions, including certain nationwide and state-imposed deposit concentration limits. In addition, because of changes to law made by the Dodd-Frank Act, S&T Bank may now establish de novo branches in any state to the same extent that a bank chartered in that state could establish a branch.

Community Reinvestment, Fair Lending and Consumer Protection Laws

In connection with its lending activities, S&T Bank is subject to a number of state and federal laws designed to protect borrowers and promote lending to various sectors of the economy and population. The federal laws include, among others, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Truth-in-Savings Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the CRA. In addition, federal rules require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent the disclosure of certain personal information to nonaffiliated third parties.

The CRA requires the appropriate federal banking agency, in connection with its examination of a bank, to assess the bank’s record in meeting the credit needs of the communities served by the bank, including low and moderate-income neighborhoods. Furthermore, such assessment is required of any bank that has applied, among other things, to merge or consolidate with or acquire the assets or assume the liabilities of an insured depository institution, or to open or relocate a branch office. In the case of a bank holding company, including a financial holding company, applying for approval to acquire a bank or bank holding company, the Federal Reserve Board will assess the record of each subsidiary bank of the applicant bank holding company in considering the application. Under the CRA, institutions are assigned a rating of “outstanding,” “satisfactory,” “needs to improve” or “unsatisfactory.” S&T Bank was rated “satisfactory” in its most recent CRA evaluation.

With respect to consumer protection, the Dodd-Frank Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or the CFPB, which took over rulemaking responsibility on July 21, 2011 for the principal federal consumer financial protection laws, such as those identified above. Institutions that have assets of $10 billion or less, such as S&T Bank, are subject to the rules established by the CFPB but will continue to be supervised in this area by their state and primary federal regulators, which in the case of S&T Bank is the FDIC. The Dodd-Frank Act also gives the CFPB expanded data collection powers for fair lending purposes for both small business and mortgage loans, as well as expanded authority to prevent unfair, deceptive and abusive practices. The consumer complaint function also has been consolidated into the CFPB with respect to the institutions it supervises. The CFPB established an Office of Community Banks and Credit Unions, with a mission to ensure that the CFPB incorporates the perspectives of small depository institutions into the policy-making process, communicates relevant policy initiatives to community banks and credit unions, and works with community banks and credit unions to identify potential areas for regulatory simplification.

Fair lending laws prohibit discrimination in the provision of banking services, and the enforcement of these laws has been a focus for bank regulators. Fair lending laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act, which outlaw discrimination in credit transactions and residential real estate on the basis of prohibited factors including, among others, race, color, national origin, sex and religion. A lender may be liable for policies that result in a disparate treatment of or have a disparate impact on a protected class of applicants or borrowers. If a pattern or practice of lending discrimination is alleged by a regulator, then that agency may refer the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, for investigation. In December of 2012, the DOJ and the CFPB entered into a Memorandum of Understanding under which the agencies have agreed to share information, coordinate investigations and have generally committed to strengthen their coordination efforts. S&T Bank is required to have a fair lending program that is of sufficient scope to monitor the inherent fair lending risk of the institution and that appropriately remediates issues which are identified.

During 2013, the CFPB issued a series of final rules related to mortgage loan origination and mortgage loan servicing. In particular, on January 10, 2013, the CFPB issued a final rule implementing the ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage (QM) provisions of the Truth-in-Lending Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act (“QM Rule”). The ability-to-repay provision requires creditors to make reasonable, good-faith determinations that borrowers are able to repay their mortgage loans before extending the credit, based on a number of factors and consideration of financial information about the borrower from reasonably reliable third-party documents. Under the Dodd-Frank Act and the QM Rule, loans meeting the definition of “qualified mortgage” are entitled to a presumption that the lender satisfied the ability-to-repay requirements. The presumption is a conclusive presumption/safe harbor for prime loans meeting the QM requirements, and a rebuttable presumption for higher-priced/subprime loans meeting the QM requirements. The definition of a QM incorporates the statutory requirements, such as not allowing negative amortization or terms longer than 30 years. The QM Rule also adds an explicit maximum 43 percent debt-to-income ratio for borrowers if the loan is to meet the QM definition, though some mortgages that meet government-sponsored enterprise, or GSE, Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, and Veterans Affairs, or VA, underwriting guidelines may, for a period not to exceed seven years, meet the QM definition without being subject to the 43 percent debt-to-income limits. The QM Rule became effective on January 10, 2014. These rules did not have a material impact on our mortgage business.

In November 2013, the CFPB issued a final rule implementing the Dodd-Frank Act requirement to establish integrated disclosures in connection with mortgage origination, which incorporates disclosure requirements under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth-in-Lending Act. The requirements of the final rule apply to all covered mortgage transactions for which S&T Bank receives a consumer application on or after October 3, 2015. The CFPB issued a final rule regarding the integrated disclosures in December 2013, and the disclosure requirement became effective in October 2015. These rules did not have a material impact on our mortgage business.

Anti-Money Laundering Rules

S&T Bank is subject to the Bank Secrecy Act, its implementing regulations and other anti-money laundering laws and regulations, including the USA Patriot Act of 2001. Among other things, these laws and regulations require S&T Bank to take steps to prevent the bank from being used to facilitate the flow of illegal or illicit money, to report large currency transactions and to file suspicious activity reports. S&T Bank is also required to develop and implement a comprehensive anti-money laundering compliance program. Banks must also have in place appropriate “know your customer” policies and procedures. Violations of these requirements can result in substantial civil and criminal sanctions. In addition, provisions of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 require the federal financial institution regulatory agencies to consider the effectiveness of a financial institution’s anti-money laundering activities when considering applications for bank mergers and bank holding company acquisitions.

Other Dodd-Frank Provisions

In December 2013, federal regulators adopted final regulations regarding the Volcker Rule established in the Dodd-Frank Act. The Volcker Rule generally prohibits banks and their affiliates from engaging in proprietary trading and investing in and sponsoring certain unregistered investment companies generally covering hedge funds and private equity funds, subject to certain exemptions. Banking entities had until July 21, 2017 to conform their activities to the requirements of the rule. Because S&T generally does not engage in the activities prohibited by the Volcker Rule, the effectiveness of the rule has not had a material effect on S&T Bank or its affiliates.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act provides that the amount of any interchange fee charged for electronic debit transactions by debit card issuers having assets over $10 billion must be reasonable and proportional to the actual cost of a transaction to the issuer. The Federal Reserve Board has adopted a rule which limits the maximum permissible interchange fees that such issuers can receive for an electronic debit transaction. This rule, Regulation II, which was effective October 1, 2011, does not apply to a bank that, together with its affiliates, has less than $10 billion in assets, which includes S&T.

Competition

S&T Bank competes with other local, regional and national financial services providers, such as other financial holding companies, commercial banks, credit unions, finance companies and brokerage and insurance firms, including competitors that provide their products and services online and through mobile devices. Some of our competitors are not subject to the same level of regulation and oversight that is required of banks and bank holding companies, and are thus able to operate under lower cost structures. Our wealth management business competes with trust companies, mutual fund companies, investment advisory firms, law firms, brokerage firms and other financial services companies.

Changes in bank regulation, such as changes in the products and services banks can offer and permitted involvement in non-banking activities by bank holding companies, as well as bank mergers and acquisitions, can affect our ability to compete with other financial services providers. Our ability to do so will depend upon how successfully we can respond to the evolving competitive, regulatory, technological and demographic developments affecting our operations.

Our customers are primarily in Pennsylvania and the contiguous states of Ohio, West Virginia, New York, Maryland and Delaware. The majority of our commercial and consumer loans are made to businesses and individuals in these states resulting in a geographic concentration. Our market area has a high density of financial institutions, some of which are significantly larger institutions with greater financial resources than us, and many of which are our competitors to varying degrees. Our competition for loans comes principally from commercial banks, mortgage banking companies, credit unions and other financial service companies. Our most direct competition for deposits has historically come from commercial banks and credit unions. We face additional competition for deposits from non-depository competitors such as the mutual fund industry, securities and brokerage firms and insurance companies. Because larger competitors have advantages in attracting business from larger corporations, we do not generally attempt to compete for that business. Instead, we concentrate our efforts on attracting the business of individuals, and small and medium-size businesses. We consider our competitive advantages to be customer service and responsiveness to customer needs, the convenience of banking offices and hours, access to electronic banking services and the availability and pricing of our products and services. We emphasize personalized banking and the advantage of local decision-making in our banking business.

The financial services industry is likely to become more competitive as further technological advances enable more companies to provide financial services on a more efficient and convenient basis. Technological innovations have lowered traditional barriers to entry and enabled many companies to compete in financial services markets. Many customers now expect a choice of banking options for the delivery of services, including traditional banking offices, telephone, internet, mobile, ATMs, self-service branches, in-store branches and/or digital and technology based solutions. These delivery channels are offered by traditional banks and savings associations, credit unions, brokerage firms, asset management groups, financial technology companies, finance and insurance companies, internet-based companies, and mortgage banking firms.