PART I

competes for deposits by offering a high level of customer service, paying competitive rates and through the geographic distribution of its branch system.

Investment Activities

The investment policy of the Bank, as approved by the Board Asset Liability Committee (“BALCO”) and supervised by both the BALCO and the Management Investment Committee, is intended to promote investment practices which are both safe and sound and in full compliance with applicable regulations. Investment authority is granted and amended as necessary by the Board of Directors or BALCO.

The Bank's investment decisions seek to optimize income while keeping both credit and interest rate risk at acceptable levels, provide for the Bank's liquidity needs and provide securities that can be pledged, as needed, to secure deposits and borrowings.

The Bank’s investment policy generally limits individual maturities to twenty years and estimated average lives on collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) and other mortgage-backed securities to ten years. At the time of purchase, bonds of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated AA or better, notes of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated MIG-1 (or equivalent), commercial paper must be rated A-1 or P-1, and corporate bonds of large U.S. based financial institutions must have a rating of BBB+ or better. In addition, management periodically reviews the creditworthiness of all securities in the Bank’s portfolio other than those issued by the U.S. government or its agencies. Any significant deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer is analyzed and action is taken if deemed appropriate.

At year-end 2019 and 2018, there were no holdings of securities of any one issuer, other than the U.S. government and its agencies, in an amount greater than 10% of stockholders’ equity.

At December 31, 2019, $377.3 million of the Corporation’s municipal securities were rated AA or better, $2.3 million were rated A and $2.5 million were non-rated bonds issued by local municipalities. The Corporation’s pass-through mortgage securities portfolio at December 31, 2019 is comprised of $125.6 million and $74.0 million of securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”), respectively. Each issuer’s pass-through mortgage securities are backed by residential or multi-family mortgages conforming to the issuer’s underwriting guidelines and each issuer guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on its securities. Obligations of GNMA, a U.S. government agency, represent full faith and credit obligations of the U.S. government, while obligations of FNMA, which is a U.S. government-sponsored agency, do not. The Corporation’s corporate bond portfolio is comprised of $115.8 million of senior unsecured fixed-to-floating rate securities issued by large U.S. based financial institutions. The bonds are rated A- to BBB+ and have a fixed rate for a period of one or two years. The bonds then reset quarterly based on a ten-year swap rate and will mature in 2028.

The Bank has not engaged in the purchase and sale of securities for the primary purpose of producing trading profits and its current investment policy does not allow such activity.

Lending Activities

General. The Bank’s lending is subject to written underwriting standards and loan origination procedures, as approved by the Board Loan Committee and contained in the Bank’s loan policy. The loan policy allows for exceptions and sets forth specific exception approval requirements. Decisions on loan applications are based on, among other things, the borrower’s credit history, the financial strength of the borrower, estimates of the borrower’s ability to repay the loan and the value of the collateral, if any. All real estate appraisals must meet the requirements of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”), banking agency guidance and, for those loans in excess of $250,000, be reviewed by the Bank’s independent appraisal review function.

The Bank conducts its lending activities throughout its branch network. The Bank’s loan portfolio is primarily comprised of loans to small and medium-sized privately owned businesses, professionals and consumers on Long Island and in the boroughs of NYC. The Bank offers a full range of lending services including commercial and residential mortgage loans, home equity lines/loans, commercial and industrial loans, small business credit scored loans, Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loans, construction and land development loans, consumer loans and commercial and standby letters of credit. The Bank makes both fixed and variable rate loans. Variable rate loans are primarily tied to and reprice with changes in the prime interest rate as published in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Treasury rates, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (“FHLBNY”) advance rates and the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”).

Commercial and Industrial Loans. Commercial and industrial loans include, among other things, short-term business loans and lines of credit; term and installment loans; loans secured by marketable securities, the cash surrender value of life insurance policies, deposit accounts or general business assets; small business credit scored loans as described hereinafter; and equipment finance loans. The Bank makes commercial and industrial loans on a demand basis, short-term basis, installment or revolving basis. Short-term business loans are generally due and payable within one year and should be self-liquidating during the normal course of the borrower’s business cycle. Lines of credit are reaffirmed annually and generally require an annual cleanup period. Term and installment loans are usually due and payable within five years. Generally, it is the policy of the Bank to request personal guarantees of principal owners on loans made to privately-owned businesses.

Small Business Credit Scored Loans. The Bank makes small business credit scored loans to businesses that generally have annual sales at the time of application of less than $3.5 million and issues VISA^® credit cards. Most of these loans are in the form of revolving credit lines and, depending on the type of business, the maximum amount generally ranges from $100,000 to $500,000. The Bank also originates installment loans to finance business automobiles, trucks and equipment and can be secured by the asset financed and/or deposit accounts. Both installment loans and revolving credit commitments generally have maturities up to 60 months. Business profile reports are used in conjunction with credit reports and FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) small business score cards for loan underwriting and decision making purposes. Credit and FICO small business risk scores enable the Bank to quickly and efficiently identify and approve loans to low-risk business applicants and decline loans to high-risk business applicants. There were $249,000 of small business credit scored term loans outstanding at December 31, 2019. In addition, the Bank had commitments on small business credit scored revolving lines of credit of $63.5 million, of which $25.5 million were drawn and funded at December 31, 2019.

Real Estate Mortgage Loans and Home Equity Lines. The Bank makes residential and commercial mortgage loans and establishes home equity lines of credit. Applicants for residential mortgage loans and home equity lines will be considered for approval provided they have satisfactory credit history and collateral and the Bank believes that there is sufficient monthly income to service both the loan or line applied for and existing debt. Applicants for commercial mortgage loans will be considered for approval provided they, as well as any guarantors, have satisfactory credit history and can demonstrate, through financial statements and otherwise, the ability to repay. Commercial and residential mortgage loans are made with terms not in excess of 30 years and are generally maintained in the Bank’s portfolio. The residential mortgage loans made by the Bank in recent years consist of both fixed rate loans with terms ranging from 10 to 30 years and variable rate loans that reprice in five, seven or ten years and then every year thereafter. Commercial mortgage loans generally reprice within five to ten years and home equity lines generally mature within ten years. Depending on the type of property, the Bank will generally not lend more than 75% of appraised value on residential mortgage, home equity and commercial mortgage loans. The lending limitations with regard to appraised value are more stringent for loans on co-ops and condominiums.

In processing requests for commercial mortgage loans, the Bank generally requires an environmental assessment to identify the possibility of environmental contamination. The extent of the assessment procedures varies from property to property and is based on factors such as the use and location of the subject property and whether or not the property has a suspected environmental risk based on current or past use.

Construction Loans. From time to time, the Bank makes loans to finance the construction of both residential and commercial properties. The maturity of such loans is generally 18 months or less and advances are made as the construction progresses. The advances can require the submission of bills and lien waivers by the contractor, verification by a Bank-approved inspector that the work has been performed, and title insurance updates to ensure that no intervening liens have been placed. Variable rate construction and land development loans are included in Commercial Mortgages on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and amounted to $305,000 at December 31, 2019.

Consumer Loans and Lines. The Bank makes auto loans, home improvement loans and other consumer loans, establishes revolving overdraft lines of credit and issues VISA^® credit cards. Consumer loans are generally made on an installment basis over terms not in excess of five years. In reviewing loans and lines for approval, the Bank considers, among other things, the borrower’s ability to repay, stability of employment and residence and past credit history.

Sources of Funds

The Corporation’s primary sources of cash have been deposits, maturities and amortization of loans and investment securities, operations, borrowings and funds received under the Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan (“DRIP”). The Corporation uses cash from these and other sources to fund loan growth, purchase investment securities, repay borrowings, expand and improve its physical facilities, pay cash dividends, repurchase its common stock and for general operating purposes.

The Bank offers checking and interest-bearing deposit products. In addition to business and small business checking, the Bank has a variety of personal checking products that differ in minimum balance requirements, monthly maintenance fees, and per check charges, if any. The interest-bearing deposit products, which have a wide range of interest rates and terms, consist of checking accounts, which include negotiable order of withdrawal (“NOW”) accounts, interest on lawyer accounts (IOLA), escrow service accounts, rent security accounts, a variety of personal and nonpersonal money market accounts, a variety of personal and nonpersonal savings products, time deposits, holiday club accounts and a variety of individual retirement accounts.

The Bank relies primarily on its branch network, customer service, calling programs, lending relationships, referral sources, competitive pricing, deposit rate promotions and advertising to attract and retain local deposits. The flow of deposits is influenced by general economic conditions, changes in interest rates and competition.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, the Bank had 341 full-time equivalent employees and considers employee relations to be good. Employees of the Bank are not represented by a collective bargaining unit.

Supervision and Regulation

General. The banking industry is highly regulated. Statutory and regulatory controls are designed primarily for the protection of depositors and the banking system, and not for the purpose of protecting shareholders. The following discussion is not intended to be a complete list of all the activities regulated by banking laws or of the impact of such laws and regulations on the Corporation and the Bank. Changes in applicable laws or regulations and their interpretation and application by regulatory agencies cannot be predicted and may have a material effect on our business and results of operations.

As a registered bank holding company, the Corporation is regulated under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (“BHC Act”), and subject to inspection, examination and supervision by the Federal Reserve (“FRB”). In general, the BHC Act limits the business of bank holding companies to banking, managing or controlling banks, performing servicing activities for subsidiaries and engaging in activities that the FRB has determined, by order or regulation, are so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto under the BHC Act. The Corporation is also subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our common stock is listed on the Capital Market tier of the NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “FLIC” and is subject to NASDAQ rules for listed companies.

As a national bank, the Bank is subject to regulation and examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Insured banks, such as the Bank, are subject to extensive regulation of many aspects of their businesses. These regulations relate to, among other things: (1) the nature and amount of loans that may be made by the Bank and the rates of interest that may be charged; (2) types and amounts of other investments; (3) branching; (4) anti-money laundering; (5) permissible activities; (6) reserve requirements; and (7) dealings with officers, directors and affiliates.

The Dodd-Frank Act made extensive changes in the regulation of depository institutions and their holding companies. For example, the Dodd-Frank Act created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) as an independent bureau of the FRB. The CFPB has assumed responsibility for the implementation of the federal financial consumer protection and fair lending laws and regulations, a function previously assigned to principal federal banking regulators, and has authority to impose new requirements. However, institutions of less than $10 billion in assets, such as the Bank, continue to be examined for compliance with consumer protection and fair lending laws and regulations by, and be subject to the enforcement authority of, their primary federal regulator, although the CFPB has limited back-up authority to examine such institutions.

Bank Holding Company Regulation. The BHC Act requires the prior approval of the FRB for the acquisition by a bank holding company of 5% or more of the voting stock or substantially all of the assets of any bank or bank holding company. Also, under the BHC Act, bank holding companies are prohibited, with certain exceptions, from engaging in, or from acquiring 5% or more of the voting stock of any company engaging in activities other than (1) banking or managing or controlling banks, (2) furnishing services to or performing services for their subsidiaries or (3) activities that the FRB has determined to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. Bank holding companies that meet certain criteria specified by the Federal Reserve may elect to be regulated as a “financial holding company” and thereby engage in a broader array of financial activities including insurance and investment banking.

Payment of Dividends. A large source of the Corporation’s liquidity is dividends from the Bank. Prior approval of the OCC is required if the total of all dividends declared by a national bank in any calendar year would exceed the sum of the bank’s net profits for that year and its retained net profits for the preceding two calendar years, less any required transfers to surplus. Under the foregoing dividend restrictions, and while maintaining its “well-capitalized” status and absent affirmative governmental approvals, during 2020 the Bank could declare dividends to the Corporation of approximately $15.3 million plus any 2020 net profits retained to the date of the dividend declaration.

In addition, the Corporation and the Bank are subject to other regulatory policies and requirements relating to the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain adequate capital above regulatory minimum capital levels. The FRB is authorized to determine under certain circumstances relating to the financial condition of a bank holding company or a bank that the payment of dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice and to prohibit payment thereof. Federal Reserve guidance sets forth the supervisory expectation that bank holding companies will inform and consult with Federal Reserve staff in advance of declaring a dividend that exceeds earnings for

the quarter and should inform the Federal Reserve and should eliminate, defer or significantly reduce dividends if (1) net income available to shareholders for the past four quarters, net of dividends previously paid during that period, is not sufficient to fully fund the dividends, (2) the prospective rate of earnings retention is not consistent with the bank holding company’s capital needs and overall current and prospective financial condition, or (3) the bank holding company will not meet, or is in danger of not meeting, its minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratios.

Stock Repurchases. Current Federal Reserve regulations provide that a bank holding company that is not well capitalized or well managed, as such terms are defined in the regulations, or that is subject to any unresolved supervisory issues, is required to give the Federal Reserve prior written notice of any repurchase or redemption of its outstanding equity securities if the gross consideration for repurchase or redemption, when combined with the net consideration paid for all such repurchases or redemptions during the preceding 12 months, will be equal to 10% or more of the company’s consolidated net worth. The Federal Reserve may disapprove such a repurchase or redemption if it determines that the proposal would constitute an unsafe and unsound practice or violate a law or regulation. Federal Reserve guidance generally provides for bank holding company consultation with FRB staff prior to engaging in a repurchase or redemption of a bank holding company’s stock, even if a formal written notice is not required. However, it has recently come to the attention of the Corporation that the Federal Reserve staff is interpreting the capital regulations as requiring a bank holding company to secure Federal Reserve approval prior to redeeming or repurchasing any capital stock that is included in regulatory capital.

Transactions with Affiliates. Federal laws strictly limit the ability of banks to engage in transactions with their affiliates, including their bank holding companies. Regulations promulgated by the FRB limit the types and amounts of these transactions (including loans due and extensions of credit from their U.S. bank subsidiaries) that may take place and generally require those transactions to be on an arm’s-length basis. In general, these regulations require that any “covered transactions” between a subsidiary bank and its parent company or the nonbank subsidiaries of the bank holding company be limited to 10% of the bank subsidiary’s capital and surplus and, with respect to such parent company and all such nonbank subsidiaries, to an aggregate of 20% of the bank subsidiary’s capital and surplus. Further, loans and extensions of credit to affiliates generally are required to be secured by eligible collateral in specified amounts.

Source of Strength Doctrine. Federal Reserve policy has historically required bank holding companies to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to their subsidiary banks. The Dodd-Frank Act codified this policy as a statutory requirement. Under this requirement, the Corporation is expected to commit resources to support the Bank, including at times when the Corporation may not be in a financial position to provide such resources. Any capital loans by a bank holding company to any of its subsidiary banks are subordinate in right of payment to depositors and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary banks. In the event of a bank holding company’s bankruptcy, any commitment by the bank holding company to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of a subsidiary bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment.

Capital Requirements. As a bank holding company, the Corporation is subject to consolidated regulatory capital requirements administered by the Federal Reserve. The Bank is subject to similar capital requirements administered by the OCC.

The Corporation and the Bank are subject to the Basel III regulatory capital standards (“Basel III”) issued by the FRB and the OCC. Under the Basel III capital requirements, the Corporation and the Bank are required to maintain minimum ratios of Tier 1 capital to average assets of 4.00%, Common equity tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets of 4.50%, Tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets of 6.00% and Total capital to risk weighted assets of 8.00%. Common equity tier 1 capital, Tier 1 capital, Total capital, risk weighted assets and average assets are defined in the Basel III rules. Failure to meet the minimum capital requirements can result in certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by the regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the financial statements of the Corporation and Bank. The Corporation and the Bank exceeded the Basel III minimum capital adequacy requirements at December 31, 2019.

Basel III also requires the Corporation and the Bank to maintain a capital conservation buffer of 2.50% in order to avoid being subject to limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments, and discretionary bonus payments to executive officers. The capital ratio requirements, including the capital conservation buffer, for banks with $250 billion or less in total assets are 7.00% for Common equity tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets, 8.50% for Tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets and 10.50% for Total capital to risk weighted assets.

In September 2019, the federal banking agencies, including the OCC and FRB, adopted a new rule to provide an optional, simplified measure of capital adequacy, the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (“CBLR”) framework, for qualifying community banking organizations. Under the rule, insured depository institutions and holding companies with less than $10 billion of total consolidated assets that meet certain qualifying criteria, such as a CBLR greater than 9.00% percent, may elect to use the new framework. On January 1, 2020, the CBLR final rule became effective, and management elected to adopt the alternative framework. As a qualifying community banking organization, the Corporation and the Bank may opt out of the CBLR framework in any subsequent quarter by completing its regulatory agency reporting using the traditional capital rules. By satisfying the CBLR, the Corporation and the Bank will be deemed in compliance with all regulatory capital requirements, including the risk-based capital requirements and will be considered well-capitalized under the Prompt Corrective Action (“PCA”) framework.

Prompt Corrective Action Regulations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended (“FDIA”), requires among other things, that the federal banking agencies take “prompt corrective action” with respect to banks that do not meet minimum capital requirements. The FDIA sets forth the following five capital tiers for purposes of implementing the PCA regulations: “well-capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized.” The PCA thresholds established by Basel III for each of the capital tiers is as follows:

The Bank was well capitalized under the Basel III PCA thresholds at December 31, 2019.

Deposit Insurance. The FDIC imposes an assessment on financial institutions for deposit insurance. The assessment is based on the FDIC’s statistical model for estimating the institution’s probability of failure over a three-year period and the institution’s average total assets and average tangible equity. The FDIC periodically adjusts the deposit insurance assessment rates, which may raise or lower the cost to an institution of maintaining FDIC insurance coverage.

The FDIC may terminate the insurance of an institution’s deposits upon a finding 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. Management is not aware of any practice, condition or violation that might lead to termination of the Bank’s deposit insurance.

On September 30, 2018, the Deposit Insurance Fund Reserve Ratio exceeded 1.35%. As a result, small banks such as the Bank received assessment credits for the portion of their assessment that contributed to the growth in the reserve ratio. During 2019, the Bank received from the FDIC $961,000 in credits toward future assessments, of which $571,000 was applied to 2019 assessments and $390,000 will be carried over to 2020. As long as the reserve ratio remains at least 1.35%, and after applying the credits for four quarters, the FDIC expects to remit to small banks the value of any remaining credits.

Safety and Soundness Standards. The FDIA requires the federal bank regulatory agencies to prescribe standards, through regulations or guidelines, relating to internal controls, information systems, internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate risk exposure, asset growth, asset quality, earnings, stock valuation and compensation, fees and benefits, and such other operational and managerial standards as the agencies deem appropriate. Guidelines adopted by the federal bank regulatory agencies establish general standards relating to internal controls and information systems, internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, compensation, fees and benefits. In general, the guidelines require, among other things, appropriate systems and practices to identify and manage the risk and exposures specified in the guidelines. The guidelines prohibit excessive compensation as an unsafe and unsound practice and describe compensation as excessive when the amounts paid are unreasonable or disproportionate to the services performed by an executive officer, employee, director or principal stockholder. In addition, the agencies 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 satisfying one or more of the safety and soundness standards to submit a compliance plan. If, after being so notified, an institution fails to submit an acceptable compliance plan or fails in any material respect to implement 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 PCA provisions of the FDIA. If an institution fails to comply with such an order, the agency may seek to enforce such order in judicial proceedings and to impose civil money penalties.

Community Reinvestment Act and Fair Lending Laws. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (“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 to low and moderate income individuals and communities. Depository institutions are periodically examined for compliance with the CRA and are assigned ratings. Banking regulators take into account CRA ratings when considering approval of proposed acquisition transactions. The Bank received a “Satisfactory” CRA rating on its most recent Federal examination. The Bank and the Corporation are firmly committed to the practice of fair lending and maintaining strict adherence to all federal and state fair lending laws which prohibit discriminatory lending practices. On December 12, 2019, the FDIC and the OCC announced a proposal to modernize the agencies’ regulations. The proposals will clarify what qualifies for credit under CRA, and also create an additional definition of assessment areas tied to where deposits are located.

Federal Home Loan Bank System. The Bank is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (“FHLB System”), which consists of 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (each a “FHLB”). The FHLB System provides a central credit facility primarily for member banks. As a member of the FHLBNY, the Bank is required to acquire and hold shares of capital stock in the FHLB in an amount equal to 4.5% of its borrowings from the FHLB (transaction-based stock) plus .125% of the total principal amount at the beginning of the year of the Bank’s unpaid residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, home equity loans, CMOs, and other similar obligations (membership stock). At December 31, 2019, the Bank was in compliance with the FHLB’s capital stock ownership requirement.

Financial Privacy. Federal regulations require the Bank to disclose its privacy policy, including identifying with whom it shares “nonpublic personal information,” to its customers at the time the customer establishes a relationship with the Bank and annually thereafter. In addition, we are required to provide our customers with the ability to “opt-out” of having the Bank share their nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties before we can disclose that information, subject to certain exceptions.

The federal banking agencies adopted guidelines establishing standards for safeguarding our customer information. The guidelines describe the agencies’ expectation that regulated entities create, implement and maintain an information security program, which would include administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the size and complexity and the nature and scope of our activities. The standards set forth in the guidelines are intended to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer records and information, protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of customer records, and protect against unauthorized access to records or information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to customers. Additionally, the guidance states that banks, such as the Bank, should develop and implement a response program to address security breaches involving customer information, including customer notification procedures. The Bank has developed such a program.

Anti-Money Laundering and the USA PATRIOT Act. A major focus of governmental policy on financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (“Patriot Act”) substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The United States Treasury Department has issued a number of regulations that apply various requirements of the Patriot Act to financial institutions such as the Bank. These regulations impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to verify the identity of their customers. Certain of those regulations impose specific due diligence requirements on financial institutions that maintain correspondent or private banking relationships with non-U.S. financial institutions or persons. Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal, financial and reputational consequences for the institution. The Bank and the Corporation are firmly committed to maintaining strong policies, procedures and controls to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws and regulations and to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Legislative Initiatives and Regulatory Reform. From time to time, various legislative and regulatory initiatives are introduced in Congress and state legislatures, as well as by regulatory agencies. Such initiatives may include proposals to expand or contract the powers of bank holding companies and depository institutions or proposals to change substantially the financial institution regulatory system. Such legislation could change banking statutes and the operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways. If enacted, such legislation could increase or decrease the cost of doing business, limit or expand permissible activities or affect the competitive balance among banks, savings associations, credit unions and other financial institutions. The Corporation cannot predict whether any such legislation will be enacted, and, if enacted, the effect that it, or any implementing regulations, would have on our financial condition or results of operations. A change in statutes, regulations or regulatory policies applicable to the Corporation could have a material effect on our business.

Availability of Reports

The Bank maintains a website at www.fnbli.com. The Corporation’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge through the Bank’s website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. To access these reports go to the homepage of the Bank’s website and click on “Investor Relations,” then click on “SEC Filings,” and then click on “Corporate SEC Filings.” This will bring you to a listing of the Corporation’s reports maintained on the SEC’s EDGAR website. You can then click on any report to view its contents. Information on our website shall not be considered a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our SEC filings are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

through its committees. The following provides information regarding risk factors faced by the Corporation. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Corporation, or that the Corporation currently deems to be immaterial, could also have a material impact on the Corporation’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

The inability to realize the full carrying value of the Bank’s investment securities, loans and BOLI could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

For investment securities, loans and BOLI, there is always the risk that the Bank will be unable to realize their full carrying value. Credit risk in the Bank’s securities and BOLI portfolios has been addressed by adopting board committee approved investment and BOLI policies that, among other things, limit terms, types and amounts of holdings and specify minimum required credit ratings. Allowable investments include direct obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies, highly rated obligations of states and political subdivisions, highly rated corporate obligations and BOLI policies issued by highly rated insurance carriers. At the time of purchase, bonds of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated AA or better, notes of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated MIG-1 (or equivalent), commercial paper must be rated A-1 or P-1, and corporate bonds of large U.S. based financial institutions must be rated BBB+ or better. BOLI may only be purchased from insurance carriers rated A or better. For carriers rated AA or better, cash surrender value is limited to 15% of Tier 1 capital, and for those carriers rated below AA, the limitation is 10% of Tier 1 capital. The cash surrender value of policies with all carriers, plus corporate bond holdings of such carriers, cannot exceed 25% of Tier 1 capital. Management periodically reviews the creditworthiness of all securities in the Bank’s portfolio other than those issued by the U.S. government or its agencies and all BOLI carriers. Any significant deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer or carrier will be analyzed and action taken if deemed appropriate.

Credit risk in the Bank’s loan portfolio has been addressed by adopting a board committee approved loan policy and by maintaining independent loan and appraisal review functions and an independent credit department. The loan policy contains what the Corporation believes to be prudent underwriting guidelines, which include, among other things, specific loan approval requirements, maximum loan terms, loan to appraised value and debt service coverage limits for mortgage loans, credit score minimums, guarantor support and environmental study requirements.

The credit risk within the Bank’s loan portfolio primarily stems from factors such as changes in the borrower’s financial condition, credit concentrations, changes in collateral values, economic conditions, rent regulation and environmental contamination of properties securing mortgage loans. The Bank’s commercial loans, including those secured by mortgages, are primarily made to small and medium-sized businesses. Such loans sometimes involve a higher degree of risk than those to larger companies because such businesses may have shorter operating histories, higher debt-to-equity ratios and may lack sophistication in internal record keeping and financial and operational controls. In addition, most of the Bank’s loans are made to businesses and consumers on Long Island and in the boroughs of NYC, and a large percentage of these loans are mortgage loans secured by properties located in those areas. At December 31, 2019, residential mortgage loans, including home equity lines of credit, amounted to approximately $1.7 billion and comprised approximately 55% of loans secured by real estate. The primary source of repayment for residential mortgage loans is cash flows from individual borrowers and co-borrowers. Also, at December 31, 2019, multifamily loans amounted to approximately $835 million and comprised approximately 60% of the Bank’s total commercial mortgage portfolio and approximately 27% of the Bank’s total loans secured by real estate. The primary source of repayment for multifamily loans is cash flows from the underlying properties, a substantial portion of which are rent stabilized or rent controlled. Such cash flows for both residential mortgage and multifamily loans are dependent on the strength of the local economy.

Environmental impairment of properties securing mortgage loans is always a risk. However, the Bank is not aware of any existing loans in the portfolio where there is environmental pollution originating on or near the mortgaged properties that would materially affect the value of the portfolio.

Uncertainty, changes in accounting rules and regulatory principals and other factors could result in a need to increase the Bank’s Allowance for Loan Losses and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

The Bank maintains an allowance for loan losses in an amount believed to be adequate to absorb probable incurred losses in its loan portfolio. The maintenance of the allowance for loan losses is governed by a board committee approved allowance for loan and lease losses policy. In arriving at the allowance for loan losses, an impairment analysis is performed on each loan where it is probable that the borrower will not be able to make all required principal and interest payments according to contractual terms. In addition, incurred losses for all other loans in the Bank’s portfolio are determined on a pooled basis taking into account, among other things, historical loss experience, delinquencies, economic conditions, changes in value of underlying collateral, trends in nature and volume of loans, concentrations of credit, changes in lending policies and procedures, experience, ability and depth of lending staff, changes in quality of the loan review function, environmental risks and loan risk ratings. Because estimating the allowance for loan losses is highly subjective in nature and involves a variety of estimates and assumptions that are inherently uncertain, there is the risk that management’s estimate may not accurately capture probable incurred losses in the loan portfolio. The Bank’s allowance may need to be increased based on, among other things, additional information that comes to light after the estimate is made, changes in circumstances or a recommendation by bank regulators based on their review of the Bank’s loan portfolio. The impact of one or more of these factors on

the Bank’s allowance could result in the need for a significant increase in the Bank’s provision for loan losses and have a material adverse impact on the Bank’s financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13 that became effective for the Bank on January 1, 2020. This standard changes the accounting methodology used to determine the allowance for loan losses from an incurred loss model to a current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model. The CECL model requires the Bank to maintain at each periodic reporting date an allowance for credit losses in an amount that is equal to its estimate of expected lifetime credit losses on the loans in its portfolio. As compared to the incurred loss model, CECL increases the data required and judgements applied in determining the allowance for credit losses. Utilization of the CECL model is expected to result in an allowance for credit losses that is less than 10% higher than the Bank’s December 31, 2019 allowance for loan losses.

Changes in interest rates and the shape of the yield curve could negatively impact our earnings.

The Bank’s results of operations are subject to risk resulting from interest rate fluctuations and having assets and liabilities that have different maturity, repricing and prepayment/withdrawal characteristics. The Bank defines interest rate risk as the risk that the Bank's net interest income and/or economic value of equity (“EVE”) will change when interest rates change. The Bank has addressed interest rate risk by adopting a board committee approved interest rate risk policy which sets forth quantitative risk limits and calls for monitoring and controlling interest rate risk through a variety of techniques including the use of interest rate sensitivity models and traditional repricing gap analysis. Management utilizes a consultant with expertise in bank asset liability management to aid them in these efforts.

For a number of years, the FRB kept interest rates low through its federal funds target rate. However, the FRB began steadily increasing the federal funds target rate in 2017 and 2018. Subsequently, the FRB reduced the federal funds target rate 125 basis points to a current range of 1.00% to 1.25% with the possibility of further decreases subject to economic conditions.

In a period of rising interest rates, the interest income earned on the Bank’s assets may not increase as rapidly as the interest paid on its liabilities. The Bank’s cost of funds is expected to increase more rapidly than interest earned on its loan and investment portfolios as its primary source of funds is deposits with generally shorter maturities than the maturities of its loans and investments. This makes the balance sheet more liability sensitive in the short-term.

If interest rates decline, borrowers may refinance higher rate loans at lower rates causing prepayments on mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities to be elevated. Under those circumstances, the Bank may not be able to reinvest the resulting cash flows in new interest-earning assets with rates as favorable as those that prepaid. In addition, subject to the floors contained in many of the Bank’s loan agreements, the Bank’s loans at variable interest rates may adjust to lower rates at their reset dates. While lower rates may reduce the Bank’s cost of funds on non-maturity deposits, certificates of deposits and FHLB advances, the cost savings could be somewhat constrained because decreases in the Bank’s funding rates may occur more slowly than decreases in yields earned on the Bank’s assets and a significant portion of the Bank’s funding is currently derived from noninterest bearing checking deposits and capital.

In addition to the risks arising from changes in interest rates, the current level of interest rates and shape of the yield curve could create downward pressure on net interest income and net interest margin. In a low interest rate environment with a flat or inverted yield curve, the Bank’s earnings and profitability metrics could be negatively impacted by asset growth. As a result, the Bank may be unable to increase earnings, or maintain the current level of earnings, until the shape of the yield curve improves.

The Bank is subject to the CRA and fair lending laws, and failure to comply with these laws could lead to material penalties.

The CRA, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act and other fair lending laws and regulations impose non-discriminatory lending requirements on financial institutions. With respect to the Bank, the FRB, United States Department of Justice and other federal and state agencies are responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations. A successful regulatory challenge to an institution’s performance under the CRA or fair lending laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including the required payment of damages and civil money penalties, injunctive relief, imposition of restrictions on mergers and acquisitions activity and restrictions on expansion. Private parties may also have the ability to challenge an institution’s performance under fair lending laws in private class action litigation. Such actions could have a material adverse effect on the Bank’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Bank and Corporation may not have sufficient funds or funding sources to meet liquidity demands.

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Bank will not have sufficient funds to accommodate loan growth, meet deposit outflows or make contractual payments on borrowing arrangements. The Bank has addressed liquidity risk by adopting a board committee approved liquidity policy and liquidity contingency plan that set forth quantitative risk limits and a protocol for responding to liquidity stress conditions should they arise. The Bank encounters significant competition for deposits in its market area from larger banks, various community banks, credit unions and other financial services organizations. This competition for deposits could result in significant

outflows and can exert upward pressure on the Bank’s funding costs. In addition, the Bank’s concentration of deposits with certain customers could limit our ability to favorably reprice deposits and grow net interest income, net interest margin and earnings.

The Bank has both internal and external sources of liquidity that can be used to fund loan growth and accommodate deposit outflows. The Bank’s primary internal sources of liquidity are overnight investments, maturities and monthly payments on its investment securities and loan portfolios and investment securities.

The Bank is a member of the FRB of New York (“FRBNY”) and the FHLBNY and has a federal funds line with a commercial bank. In addition to customer deposits, the Bank’s primary external sources of liquidity are secured borrowings from the FHLBNY and FRBNY. In addition, the Bank can purchase overnight federal funds under its existing line and the Corporation can raise funds through its DRIP. However, the Bank’s FRBNY membership, FHLBNY membership and federal funds line do not represent legal commitments to extend credit to the Bank. The amount that the Bank can potentially borrow is currently dependent on, among other things, the amount of unencumbered eligible securities and loans that the Bank can use as collateral and the collateral margins required by the lenders.

The Corporation relies on dividends from the Bank to fund its operating expenses, dividends to shareholders and repurchases of common stock. The OCC restricts the dividends the Bank may pay to the Corporation to its retained net profits for the preceding two calendar years plus current year retained net profits. These restrictions may limit the Corporation’s ability to pay dividends or repurchase shares. In addition, the Corporation may not be successful in raising funds from the issuance of its stock under the DRIP or otherwise.

A decline in the Corporation’s market capitalization could negatively impact the price, trading volume and liquidity of our common stock.

The Corporation’s market capitalization on December 31, 2019 was approximately $600 million, exceeding the $500 million market capitalization which may make the Corporation’s common stock more attractive to certain investors. In addition, the Corporation’s common stock is included in the Russell 3000 and Russell 2000 Indexes, which are reconstituted annually. Upon reconstitution in May 2019, the average market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 Index was $2.1 billion, the median market capitalization was $817.5 million, the capitalization of the largest company in the index was $3.6 billion and the capitalization of the smallest company in the index was $152.3 million. The Corporation believes that a market capitalization in excess of $500 million and inclusion in the Russell indexes have positively impacted the price, trading volume and liquidity of its common stock. Conversely, if the Corporation’s market capitalization falls below the minimum necessary to be included in the indexes at any future reconstitution date, the opposite could occur. The Corporation also believes that the current activity under its stock repurchase program is positively impacting the price and trading volume of its common stock. Conversely, discontinuance of the stock repurchase program could have the opposite effect.

A concentration of loans in our primary market area may increase the risk of higher nonperforming assets.

Our success depends primarily on the general economic conditions in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Long Island, and the boroughs of NYC as nearly all of our loans are to customers in these markets. Accordingly, the local economic conditions in these market areas have a significant impact on the ability of our borrowers to repay loans as well as our ability to originate new loans. A decline in real estate values in these market areas would also lower the value of the collateral securing loans on properties in these market areas.

The performance of the Bank’s multi-family real estate loans could be adversely impacted by recent regulation.

Multi-family real estate loans generally involve a greater risk than residential real estate loans because of legislation and government regulations involving rent control and rent stabilization, which are outside the control of the borrower or the Bank and could impair the value of the collateral for the loans or the future cash flow of such properties. In June 2019, New York State (“NYS”) passed The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“TPA”), which represents a substantial change to the laws that have governed landlord-tenant relations in NYS for decades and significantly strengthens tenant protections. TPA increases the restrictions on rent increases in a rent-regulated apartment building, including, among other provisions, (1) repealing the vacancy bonus and longevity bonus, which allowed a property owner to raise rents as much as 20% each time a rental unit became vacant, (2) eliminating high rent vacancy deregulation and high-income deregulation, which allowed a rental unit to be removed from rent stabilization once it crossed a statutory high-rent threshold and became vacant, or the tenant’s income exceeded the statutory amount in the preceding two years, and (3) eliminating an exception that allowed a property owner who offered preferential rents to tenants to raise the rent to the full legal rent upon renewal. The new legislation still permits a property owner to charge up to the full legal rent once the tenant vacates. Because of this new legislation as well as previously existing laws and regulations, it is possible that rental income on multi-family properties might not rise sufficiently over time to satisfy increases in the loan rate at repricing or increases in overhead expenses (e.g., utilities, taxes, etc.). In addition, if the cash flow from a collateral property is reduced (e.g., if leases are not obtained or renewed), the borrower’s ability

to repay the loan and the value of the collateral for the loan may be impaired. Therefore, impaired multi-family real estate loans may be more difficult to identify before they become problematic than residential real estate loans.

Changes in national and local economic conditions could negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Although the economy has improved in recent years, national and local economic conditions could deteriorate. This poses risks to both the Corporation’s business and the banking industry as a whole. Specific risks include reduced loan demand from quality borrowers; increased competition for loans; deterioration in the value of collateral supporting mortgage loans; increased loan loss provisions resulting from deterioration in loan quality; reduced net interest income and net interest margin caused by a sustained period of low interest rates or a flattening or inverted yield curve; interest rate volatility; price competition for deposits due to liquidity concerns or otherwise; volatile equity markets; and higher cost to attract capital to support growth.

In addition to the significant risks posed by economic conditions, the Corporation could experience deposit outflows as national and local economic conditions improve and investors pursue alternative investment opportunities.

The Bank’s internal controls and those of its third-party service providers may be ineffective or circumvented, resulting in significant financial loss, adverse action by governmental bodies and damaged reputation.

The Corporation relies on its system of internal controls and the internal controls of its third-party service providers (“TPSPs”) to ensure that transactions are captured, recorded, processed and reported properly; confidential customer information is safeguarded; and fraud by employees and persons outside the Corporation is detected and prevented. The Corporation’s internal controls and/or those of its TPSPs may prove to be ineffective or employees of the Corporation and/or its TPSPs may fail to comply with or override the controls, either of which could result in significant financial loss to the Corporation, adverse action by bank regulatory authorities or the SEC and damage to the Corporation’s reputation.

The Bank’s inability to keep pace with technological advances could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The delivery of financial products and services has increasingly become technology-driven. The Bank’s ability to competitively meet the needs of its customers in a cost-efficient manner is dependent on its ability to keep pace with technological advances and to invest in new technology as it becomes available. The ability to keep pace with technological change is important, and failure to do so could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

System failures, interruptions and security breaches could negatively impact our customers, reputation and results of operations.

The Bank outsources most of its data processing to TPSPs. If TPSPs encounter difficulties, or if the Bank has difficulty communicating with them, the Bank’s ability to adequately process and account for customer transactions could be affected, and the Bank’s business operations could be adversely impacted. Threats to information security also exist in the processing of customer information through TPSPs. The Bank’s website and online banking products have been the target of cyber attacks in the past. While the Bank and its TPSPs believe they have successfully blocked attempts to infiltrate the Bank’s systems, there is always the possibility that successful attacks have not yet been identified and that future attacks may not be blocked. A significant cybersecurity incident may be determined to be material insider information and would prohibit corporate insiders from trading in Company stock until appropriate public disclosures are made.

The Board Audit Committee has oversight responsibility for cybersecurity risk, which it administers through periodic meetings with management and consultants with cybersecurity expertise and the approval of information technology and cybersecurity policies. In this regard, board committee approved policies address information security, IT vulnerability assessment, cybersecurity incident response and electronic communications. These policies are intended to prevent, detect and respond to cybersecurity incidents. In addition, these policies prevent or limit the impact of systems failures, interruptions and security breaches and rely on commonly used security and processing systems to provide the security and authentication necessary for the processing of data. The Bank makes use of logon and user access controls, multifactor and out of band authentication, transaction limits, firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion protection monitoring and vulnerability scans and conducts independent penetration testing and cybersecurity audits. The Bank also ensures employee and executive awareness of cybersecurity trends. System failures or interruptions are addressed in the board committee approved emergency and disaster recovery policy and business continuity policy. In addition, for TPSPs of data processing and other significant services, the board committee approved vendor management policy and procedures require reviews of audit reports prepared by independent registered public accounting firms regarding their financial condition and the effectiveness of their internal controls.

These precautions may not protect our systems from all compromises or breaches of security and there can be no assurance that such events will not occur or that they will be adequately addressed if they do. The Bank carries a cyber liability insurance policy to mitigate the amount of any financial loss. However, the occurrence of any systems failure, interruption or breach of security could damage the Bank’s reputation and result in a loss of customers and business, could subject the Bank to additional regulatory scrutiny or could expose

the Bank to civil litigation and possible financial liability beyond any insurance coverage. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.

The inability to attract, motivate or retain qualified key personnel could negatively impact our performance.

The Corporation’s future success depends in part on the continued service of its executive officers and other key members of management and its staff, as well as its ability to continue to attract, motivate and retain additional highly qualified employees. The loss of services of key personnel and our inability to timely recruit or promote qualified replacements could have an adverse effect on the Bank’s business, operating results and financial condition. Their skills, knowledge of the Bank’s market and years of industry experience may be difficult to replace.

Changes in laws, government regulation and supervisory guidance could have a significant negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

The Corporation and the Bank are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by, among others, the FRB, OCC and FDIC. The FDIC also insures the Bank’s deposits. Regulation and supervision govern the activities in which a bank and its holding company may engage and are intended primarily for the protection of depositors. Regulatory requirements affect virtually all aspects of the Corporation’s and the Bank’s business, including, among other things, investment practices, lending practices, deposit offerings and capital levels. The regulators have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities, including imposing restrictions on Bank operations and expansion plans, imposing deposit insurance premiums and other assessments, setting required levels for the allowance for loan losses, capital and liquidity, and imposing restrictions on the ability to pay cash dividends and other capital distributions to stockholders. Changes in laws, regulations and supervisory guidance, or the Corporation’s and the Bank’s compliance with these laws and regulations as judged by the regulators, could have a significant negative impact on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations. The Corporation manages the risk of noncompliance with laws and regulations by having board committee approved compliance policies, hiring and retaining employees with the experience and skills necessary to address compliance on an ongoing basis, and consulting, when necessary with legal counsel and other outside experts on compliance matters.

We may be adversely affected by recent changes in U.S. tax laws.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which was enacted in December 2017 placed limitations on certain deductions that may have a negative impact on the banking industry, borrowers and the market for single-family residential real estate. These limitations include: (1) a lower limit on the deductibility of mortgage interest on single-family residential mortgage loans; (2) the elimination of interest deductions for home equity loans; (3) a limitation on the deductibility of business interest expense; and (4) a limitation on the deductibility of property taxes and state and local income taxes.

Changes in the tax laws may have an adverse effect on the market for, and the valuation of, residential properties, and on the demand for such loans in the future, and could make it harder for borrowers to make their loan payments. In addition, these recent changes may also have a disproportionate effect on taxpayers in states with high residential home prices and high state and local taxes, like New York. If home ownership becomes less attractive, demand for mortgage loans could decrease. The value of properties securing loans in our portfolio may be adversely impacted as a result of the changing economics of home ownership, which could require an increase in our provision for loan losses, which would reduce our profitability and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes to LIBOR may adversely impact the value of, and the return on, our loans and investment securities that are indexed to LIBOR.

In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that it will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR to the LIBOR administrator after 2021. The announcement also indicates that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. Consequently, at this time, it is not possible to predict whether and to what extent banks will continue to provide LIBOR submissions to the LIBOR administrator or whether any additional reforms to LIBOR may be enacted in the U.K. or elsewhere. Similarly, it is not possible to predict whether LIBOR will continue to be viewed as an acceptable benchmark for certain loans and liabilities including our subordinated notes, what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives to LIBOR, or the effect of any such changes in views or alternatives on the values of the loans and liabilities, whose interest rates are tied to LIBOR.

Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential changes, alternative reference rates, the elimination or replacement of LIBOR, or other reforms may adversely affect the value of, and the return on, our loans and our investment securities.

Severe weather, acts of terrorism and other external events could impact our ability to conduct business.

Weather-related events have adversely impacted our market area in recent years, especially areas located near coastal waters and flood prone areas. Such events that may cause significant flooding and other storm-related damage may become more common events in the

future. Financial institutions have been, and continue to be, targets of terrorist threats aimed at compromising operating and communication systems and the metropolitan New York area remains central targets for potential acts of terrorism. Such events could cause significant damage, impact the stability of our facilities and result in additional expenses, impair the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans, reduce the value of collateral securing repayment of our loans, and result in the loss of revenue. While we have established and regularly test disaster recovery procedures, the occurrence of any such event could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition.

Additionally, global markets may be adversely affected by natural disasters, the emergence of widespread health emergencies or pandemics, cyber attacks or campaigns, military conflict, terrorism or other geopolitical events. Global market fluctuations may affect our business liquidity. Also, any sudden or prolonged market downturn in the U.S. or abroad, resulting from the above factors or otherwise, could result in a decline in revenue and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, including capital and liquidity levels.

Competition within our market area could limit our ability to increase interest-earning assets.

Competition in the banking and financial services industry is intense. In our market area, we compete with numerous commercial banks, savings institutions, mortgage brokers, credit unions, finance companies, mutual funds, fintech or e-commerce companies, insurance companies and brokerage and investment banking firms operating locally and elsewhere. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources and lending limits than we have and have greater name recognition and market presence that benefit them in attracting business. In addition, large competitors may be able to price loans and deposits more aggressively than we do. Furthermore, fintech developments such as peer-to-peer platforms, blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies have the potential to disrupt the financial services industry and change the way banks do business. Competitive forces may limit our ability to increase our interest-earning assets. Our profitability depends upon our continued ability to successfully compete in our market area. For additional information see “Item 1 – Business – Competition.”