Item 1. Business.

The Company

Cambridge Bancorp (together with its bank subsidiary, unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company”) is a Massachusetts state-chartered, federally registered bank holding company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Company, is a Massachusetts corporation formed in 1983 and has one bank subsidiary (the “Bank”): Cambridge Trust Company formed in 1890. On October 17, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) declared the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 10, as amended, effective. On October 18, 2017, shares of the Company’s common stock commenced trading on the Nasdaq stock market under symbol CATC.  As of December 31, 2017, the Company had total assets of approximately $1.9 billion. Currently, the Bank operates 10 full-service banking offices in six cities and towns in Eastern Massachusetts. As a Private Bank, we focus on four core services that center around client needs. Our core services include Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Residential Lending and Personal Banking. The Bank’s customers consist primarily of consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses in these communities and surrounding areas throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Company’s Wealth Management Group has four offices, one in Boston, Massachusetts and three in New Hampshire in Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had Assets under Management and Administration of approximately $3.1 billion. The Wealth Management Group offers comprehensive investment management, as well as trust administration, estate settlement, and financial planning services. Our wealth management clients value personal service and depend on the commitment and expertise of our experienced banking, investment, and fiduciary professionals.  

The Wealth Management Group customizes its investment portfolios to help its clients meet their long-term financial goals while moderating short-term stock market volatility. Through careful monitoring of asset allocation and disciplined security selection, Cambridge Trust’s in-house investment team provides clients with long-term capital growth while minimizing risk. Our internally developed, research-driven process is managed by our team of portfolio managers and analysts. We build discretionary portfolios consisting of our best investment ideas, focusing on individual global equities, fixed income securities, exchange-traded funds, and mutual funds. Our team-oriented approach fosters spirited discussion and rigorous evaluation of investments.

The Company offers a wide range of services to commercial enterprises, non-profit organizations, and individuals.  The Company emphasizes service to consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses in its market area. The Company makes commercial loans, commercial real estate loans, construction loans, consumer loans, and real estate loans (including one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit), and accepts savings, time, and demand deposits. In addition, the Company offers a wide range of commercial and personal banking services which include cash management, online banking, mobile banking, and global payments.  The Company has one trademark, “Thought Series.”

The Company’s results of operations are largely dependent on net interest income, which is the difference between the interest earned on loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and borrowings, and non-interest income largely from its wealth management services. The results of operations are affected by the level of income and fees from loans, deposits, as well as operating expenses, the provision for loan losses, the impact of federal and state income taxes, the relative levels of interest rates, and local and national economic activity.

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Through Cambr idge Trust, its bank subsidiary, the Company focuses on wealth management, the commercial banking business and private banking for clients including residential lending and personal banking. Within the commercial loan portfolio, the Company has traditional ly been a commercial real estate lender and in recent years has diversified commercial operations within the areas of commercial and industrial lending to include Innovation Banking, which specializes in working with New England-based entrepreneurs, and as set based lending that helps companies throughout New England and New York grow by borrowing against existing assets. The Innovation Banking group has a narrow client focus for lending and provides a local banking option for technology and entrepreneurial companies within our market area that are primarily serviced by out-of-market institutions. Personal banking focuses on providing exceptional service to clients and in deepening relationships.

Cambridge Trust Company

The Bank offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services through its network of 10 full-service banking offices in Eastern Massachusetts. The Bank is engaged principally in the business of attracting deposits from the public and investing those deposits. The Bank invests those funds in various types of loans, including residential and commercial real estate, and a variety of commercial and consumer loans. The Bank also invests its deposits and borrowed funds in investment securities and has two wholly-owned Massachusetts security corporations, CTC Security Corporation and CTC Security Corporation III, for this purpose. Deposits at the Bank are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) for the maximum amount permitted by FDIC Regulations.

Investment management and trust services are offered through our wealth management office located in Boston and three wealth management offices located in New Hampshire. The Bank also utilizes its subsidiary and non-depository trust company, Cambridge Trust Company of New Hampshire, Inc., to provide wealth management services in New Hampshire. The assets held for wealth management customers are not assets of the Bank and, accordingly, are not reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

Cambridge Trust Company is active in the communities we serve. The Bank makes contributions to various non-profits and local organizations, investments in community development lending, and investments in low-income housing all of which strive to improve the communities that our employees and customers call home.

Market Area

The Company operates in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Our primary lending market includes Middlesex and Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts. We benefit from the presence of numerous institutions of higher learning, medical care and research centers, a vibrant innovation economy in life sciences and technology, and the corporate headquarters of several significant financial service companies within the Boston area. Eastern Massachusetts also has many high technology companies employing personnel with specialized skills. These factors affect the demand for wealth management services, residential homes, multi-family apartments, office buildings, shopping centers, industrial warehouses, and other commercial properties.

Our lending area is primarily an urban market area with a substantial number of one-to-four unit residential properties, some of which are non-owner occupied, as well as apartment buildings, condominiums, office buildings, and retail space. As a result, our loan portfolio contains a significantly greater number of multi-family and commercial real estate loans compared to institutions that operate in non-urban markets.

Our market area is located largely in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Metropolitan Statistical Area (“MSA”). The United States Census Bureau estimates that as of July 1, 2016, the Boston metropolitan area is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located adjacent to major transportation corridors, the Boston metropolitan area provides a highly diversified economic base, with major employment sectors ranging from services, education, manufacturing, and wholesale/retail trade, to finance, technology, and medical care. According to the United States Department of Labor, in November 2017, the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts/New Hampshire MSA had an unemployment rate of 3.0% compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.1%.

Competition

The financial services industry is highly competitive. The Company experiences substantial competition with other commercial banks, savings and loan associations, securities and brokerage companies, mortgage companies, insurance companies, finance companies, money market funds, credit unions, and other non-bank financial service providers in attracting deposits, making loans, and attracting wealth management customers. The competing major commercial banks have greater resources that may provide them a competitive advantage by enabling them to maintain numerous branch offices and mount extensive advertising campaigns. The increasingly competitive environment is the result of changes in regulation, changes in technology and product delivery systems, additional financial service providers, and the accelerating pace of consolidation among financial services providers.  

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The financial services industry has become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory, and technological changes and continued consolidation. Banks, securities firms, and insurance companies can merge under the umbrella of a financial holding company, which can offer virtually any type of financial service, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both agency and underwriting), and merchant banking. Also, technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks, such as automatic transfer and automatic payment systems.

Some of the Company’s non-banking competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and may have lower cost structures.  In addition, some of the Company’s competitors have assets, capital and lending limits greater than that of the Company, greater access to capital markets and offer a broader range of products and services than the Company.  These institutions may have the ability to finance wide-ranging advertising campaigns and may also be able to offer lower rates on loans and higher rates on deposits than the Company can offer.  Some of these institutions offer services, such as international banking, which the Company does not directly offer.

Various in-state market competitors and out-of-state banks continue to enter or have announced plans to enter or expand their presence in the market areas in which the Company currently operates.  With the addition of new banking presences within our market, the Company expects increased competition for loans, deposits, and other financial products and services.

The Company is a Private Bank, stressing the holistic client relationship, and relies upon local promotional activities, personal relationships established by officers, directors, and employees with their customers, and specialized services tailored to meet the needs of the communities served. While the Company’s position varies by market, the Company’s management believes that it can compete effectively as a result of local market knowledge, local decision making, and awareness of customer needs.

Supervision and Regulation

General

Banking is a complex, highly regulated industry. Consequently, the performance of the Company and the Bank can be affected not only by management decisions and general and local economic conditions, but also by the statutes enacted by the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, and the regulations and policies of, various governmental regulatory authorities. These authorities include, but are not limited to, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), the Massachusetts Division of Banks (the “MDB”), the State of New Hampshire Banking Department, and the FDIC. The effect of these statutes, regulations, and policies and any changes to any of them can be significant and cannot be predicted.

The primary goals of bank regulation are to maintain a safe and sound banking system and to facilitate the conduct of sound monetary policy. In furtherance of these goals, the U.S. Congress and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have created largely autonomous regulatory agencies that oversee and have enacted numerous laws that govern banks, bank holding companies, and the banking industry. The system of supervision and regulation applicable to the Company and the Bank establishes a comprehensive framework for the entities’ respective operations and is intended primarily for the protection of the Bank’s depositors and the public, rather than the shareholders and creditors. The following summarizes the significant laws, rules, and regulations governing banks and bank holding companies, including the Company and the Bank, but does not purport to be a complete summary of all applicable laws, rules and regulations governing bank holding companies and banks, or the Company or the Bank. The descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to the specific statutes, regulations, and policies discussed. Any change in applicable laws, regulations or regulatory policies may have a material effect on our businesses, operations and prospects. The Company is unable to predict the nature or extent of the effects that economic controls or new federal or state legislation may have on our business and earnings in the future.

Regulatory Agencies  

Cambridge Bancorp is a legal entity separate and distinct from its first tier bank subsidiary, Cambridge Trust Company, and its second tier subsidiaries, Cambridge Trust Company of New Hampshire, Inc., a New Hampshire state-chartered non-depository trust company, CTC Security Corporation and CTC Security Corporation III, which are used to invest the Bank’s deposits and borrowed funds in investment securities . As a bank holding company, the Company is regulated under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (“BHC Act”) and is subject to inspection, examination, and supervision by the Federal Reserve Board.

As a Massachusetts state-chartered insured depository institution, Cambridge Trust Company is subject to supervision, periodic examination, and regulation by the MDB as its chartering authority, by the FDIC as its primary federal regulator and the State of New Hampshire Banking Department. The prior approval of the MDB and the FDIC is required, among other things, for the Bank to establish or relocate any additional branch offices, assume deposits, or engage in any merger, consolidation, purchase, or sale of all or substantially all of the assets of any insured depository institution.

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Bank Holding Company Regulations Applicable to the Company

The BHC Act and other federal laws and regulations subject bank holding companies to particular restrictions on the types of activities in which they may engage and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities, including regulatory enforcement actions for violations of laws and regulations. As a Massachusetts corporation, the Company is subject to certain limitations and restrictions under applicable Massachusetts corporate law.

Mergers & Acquisitions .   The BHC Act, the Bank Merger Act, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts applicable to financial institutions and other federal and state statutes regulate acquisitions of banks and their holding companies. The BHC Act generally limits acquisitions by bank holding companies to banks and companies engaged in activities that the Federal Reserve Board has determined to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto. The BHC Act requires every bank holding company to obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before (i) acquiring more than 5% of the voting stock of any bank or other bank holding company, (ii) acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of any bank or bank holding company, or (iii) merging or consolidating with any other bank holding company.

In reviewing applications seeking approval of merger and acquisition transactions, the bank regulatory authorities generally consider, among other things, the competitive effect and public benefits of the transactions, the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the combined organization (including the capital position of the combined organization), the applicant’s performance record under the Community Reinvestment Act (see — Community Reinvestment Act ), fair housing laws, and the effectiveness of the subject organizations in combating money laundering activities.

Non-bank Activities .    Generally, bank holding companies are prohibited, under the BHC Act, from engaging in or acquiring direct or indirect control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any company engaged in any activity other than (i) banking or managing or controlling banks or (ii) an activity that the Federal Reserve determines to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident to the business of banking. The Federal Reserve has the authority to require a bank holding company to terminate an activity or terminate control of, or liquidate or divest, certain subsidiaries or affiliates when the Federal Reserve believes the activity or the control of the subsidiary or affiliate constitutes a significant risk to the financial safety, soundness, or stability of any of its bank subsidiaries.

A bank holding company that qualifies and elects to become a financial holding company is permitted to engage in additional activities that are financial in nature or incidental or complementary to financial activity. The Company currently has no plans to make a financial holding company election.

Bank holding companies and their non-banking subsidiaries are prohibited from engaging in activities that represent unsafe and unsound banking practices. For example, under certain circumstances the Federal Reserve’s Regulation Y requires a holding company to give the Federal Reserve prior notice of any redemption or repurchase of its own equity securities if the consideration to be paid, together with the consideration paid for any repurchases in the preceding year, is equal to 10% or more of the company’s consolidated net worth. The Federal Reserve may oppose the transaction if it believes that the transaction would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice or would violate a regulation. As another example, a holding company is prohibited from impairing its subsidiary bank’s soundness by causing the bank to make funds available to non-bank subsidiaries or their customers if the Federal Reserve Board believes it is not prudent to do so. The Federal Reserve has the power to assess civil money penalties for knowing or reckless violations, if the activities leading to a violation caused a substantial loss to a depository institution. Potential penalties are as high as $2.0 million for each day such activity continues.

Source of Strength .    In accordance with Federal Reserve policy, the Company is expected to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to the Bank. Section 616 of the Dodd-Frank Act codifies the requirement that bank holding companies serve as a source of financial strength to their subsidiary depository institutions.   Under this policy, the holding company is expected to commit resources to support its bank subsidiary, including at times when the holding company may not be in a financial position to provide it. As discussed below, the Company could be required to guarantee the capital plan of the Bank if it becomes undercapitalized for purposes of banking regulations. Any capital loans by a bank holding company to its subsidiary bank are subordinate in right of payment to deposits and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary bank. The BHC Act provides that, 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 bank subsidiary will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment. 

Regulatory agencies have promulgated regulations to increase the capital requirements for bank holding companies to a level that matches those of banking institutions. See — Capital Adequacy and Prompt Corrective Action and Safety and Soundness .

Annual Reporting & Examinations .   The Company is required to file annual and periodic reports with the Federal Reserve, and such additional information as the Federal Reserve may require. The Federal Reserve may examine a bank holding company and any of its subsidiaries, and charge the Company for the cost of such an examination.

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Imposition of Liability for Undercapitalized Subsidiaries .   Pursuant to Section 38 of the Federal Depo sit Insurance Act (the “FDIA”) federal banking agencies are required to take “prompt corrective action” should an insured depository institution fail to meet certain capital adequacy standards. In the event an institution becomes “undercapitalized,” it mus t submit a capital restoration plan. The capital restoration plan will not be accepted by the regulators unless each company “having control of” the undercapitalized institution “guarantees” the subsidiary’s compliance with the capital restoration plan unt il it becomes “adequately capitalized.” For purposes of this statute, the Company has control of the Bank. Under the FDIA, the aggregate liability of all companies controlling a particular institution is limited to the lesser of 5% of the depository instit ution’s total assets at the time it became undercapitalized or the amount necessary to bring the institution into compliance with applicable capital standards. FDIA grants greater powers to the federal banking agencies in situations where an institution be comes “significantly” or “critically” undercapitalized or fails to submit a capital restoration plan. For example, a bank holding company controlling such an institution can be required to obtain prior Federal Reserve approval of proposed distributions   or might be required to consent to a merger or to divest the troubled institution or other affiliates. See  — Capital Adequacy and Prompt Corrective Action and Safety and Soundness.

Dividends   

Dividends from the Bank are the Company’s principal source of cash revenues. The Company’s earnings and activities are affected by legislation, regulations, and local legislative and administrative bodies and decisions of courts in the jurisdictions in which we conduct business. These include limitations on the ability of the Bank to pay dividends to the Company and our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders. It is the policy of the Federal Reserve that bank holding companies should pay cash dividends on common stock only out of income available over the past year and only if prospective earnings retention is consistent with the organization’s expected future needs and financial condition. The policy provides that bank holding companies should not maintain a level of cash dividends that undermines the bank holding company’s ability to serve as a source of strength to its bank subsidiary. Consistent with such policy, a banking organization should have comprehensive policies on dividend payments that clearly articulate the organization’s objectives and approaches for maintaining a strong capital position and achieving the objectives of the policy statement. The Company has a comprehensive dividend policy in place.

The FDIC has the authority to use its enforcement powers to prohibit a bank from paying dividends if, in its opinion, the payment of dividends would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice. Federal law also prohibits the payment of dividends by a bank that will result in the bank failing to meet its applicable capital requirements on a pro forma basis. Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 172, section 28, the MDB Commissioner’s approval is required in order to authorize the payment of a dividend, if the total dividends declared in a calendar year exceed that year’s net profits combined with retained net profits for the preceding two years, less any required transfer to surplus or a fund for the retirement of any preferred stock.

Federal Reserve System

Federal Reserve regulations require depository institutions to maintain reserves against transaction accounts, primarily interest-bearing and regular checking accounts. The Bank’s required reserves can be in the form of vault cash.  If vault cash does not fully satisfy the required reserves, the reserves can be in the form of a balance maintained with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Federal Reserve regulations required for 2018 that reserves be maintained against aggregate transaction accounts except for transaction accounts which are exempt up to and including $16 million. Transaction accounts greater than $16 million up to and including $122.3 million have a reserve requirement of 3%. A 10% reserve ratio will be assessed on transaction accounts in excess of $122.3 million. The Federal Reserve generally makes annual adjustments to the tiered reserves. The Bank is in compliance with these reserve requirements.

Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act, banks may be restricted in their ability to accept brokered deposits, depending on their classification. “Well-capitalized” institutions are permitted to accept brokered deposits, but banks that are not well-capitalized are generally restricted from accepting such deposits.  The Bank is currently well-capitalized and not restricted from accepting brokered deposits.

Transactions with Affiliates  

The Company and the Bank are considered “affiliates” under the Federal Reserve Act (the “FRA”), and transactions between a bank and its affiliates are subject to certain restrictions, under Sections 23A and 23B of the FRA and the Federal Reserve’s implementing Regulation W. Generally, Sections 23A and 23B: (1) limit the extent to which an insured depository or its subsidiaries may engage in covered transactions (a) with an affiliate (as defined in such sections) to an amount equal to 10% of such institution’s capital and surplus, and (b) with all affiliates, in the aggregate, to an amount equal to 20% of such capital and surplus; and (2) require all transactions with an affiliate, whether or not covered transactions, to be on terms substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the institution or subsidiary, as the terms provided or that would be provided to a non-affiliate. The term “covered transaction” includes the making of loans, purchase of assets, issuance of a guarantee, and other similar types of transactions.

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Capital Adequacy

In July 2013, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), and the FDIC approved final rules (the “Capital Rules”) establishing a new comprehensive capital framework for U.S. banking organizations. The Capital Rules generally implement the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (the “Basel Committee”) December 2010 final capital framework referred to as “Basel III” for strengthening international capital standards. The Capital Rules revise the definitions and the components of regulatory capital, as well as address other issues affecting the numerator in banking institutions’ regulatory capital ratios. The Capital Rules also address asset risk weights and other matters affecting the denominator in banking institutions’ regulatory capital ratios and replace the existing general risk-weighting approach with a more risk-sensitive approach.

The Capital Rules: (i) include “Common Equity Tier 1” (“CET1”) and related regulatory capital ratio of CET1 to risk-weighted assets; (ii) specify that Tier 1 capital consists of CET1 and “Additional Tier 1 capital” instruments meeting certain revised requirements; (iii) mandate that most deductions/adjustments to regulatory capital measures be made to CET1 and not to the other components of capital; and (iv) expand the scope of the deductions from and adjustments to capital as compared to existing regulations. Under the Capital Rules, for most banking organizations, including the Company, the most common form of Additional Tier 1 capital is non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, and the most common forms of Tier 2 capital are subordinated notes and a portion of the allocation for loan and lease losses, in each case, subject to the Capital Rules’ specific requirements.

Pursuant to the Capital Rules, effective January 1, 2015, the minimum capital ratios are as follows:

The Capital Rules also include a “capital conservation buffer,” composed entirely of CET1, in addition to these minimum risk-weighted asset ratios. The capital conservation buffer is designed to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. Banking institutions with a ratio of CET1 to risk-weighted assets above the minimum but below the capital conservation buffer will face constraints on dividends, equity, and other capital instrument repurchases and compensation based on the amount of the shortfall. Thus, when fully phased-in on January 1, 2019, the capital standards applicable to the Company will include an additional capital conservation buffer of 2.5% of CET1, effectively resulting in minimum ratios inclusive of the capital conservation buffer of (i) CET1 to risk-weighted assets of at least 7%, (ii) Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 8.5%, and (iii) total capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 10.5%.

The Capital Rules provide for a number of deductions from and adjustments to CET1. These include, for example, the requirement that mortgage servicing assets, deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences that could not be realized through net operating loss carrybacks, and significant investments in non-consolidated financial entities be deducted from CET1 to the extent that any one such category exceeds 10% of CET1 or all such items, in the aggregate, exceed 15% of CET1.  Since January 1, 2015, and continuing until January 1, 2019, the deductions and adjustments are being incrementally phased in.  

In addition, under the current general risk-based capital rules, the effects of accumulated other comprehensive income or loss items included in shareholders’ equity (for example, mark-to-market of securities held in the available for sale portfolio) under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) are reversed for the purposes of determining regulatory capital ratios. Pursuant to the Capital Rules, the effects of certain of the above items are not excluded. However, banking organizations, including the Company, that are not subject to the advanced approaches rule, could make a one-time permanent election to exclude these items. The Company made the one-time permanent election to exclude these items.

The Capital Rules also preclude certain hybrid securities, such as trust preferred securities, issued on or after May 19, 2010 from inclusion in bank holding companies’ Tier 1 capital.

As noted, implementation of the deductions and other adjustments to CET1 began on January 1, 2015 and are being phased in over a 4-year period (beginning at 40% on January 1, 2015 and an additional 20% per year thereafter). The implementation of the capital conservation buffer began on January 1, 2016 at the 0.625% level and increases by 0.625% on each subsequent January 1, until it reaches 2.5% on January 1, 2019. The risk-weighting categories in the Capital Rules are standardized and include a risk-sensitive number of categories, depending on the nature of the assets, generally ranging from 0% for U.S. government and agency securities, to 1,250% for certain credit exposures, and resulting in higher risk weights for a variety of asset classes.

Management believes the Company is in compliance, and will continue to be in compliance, with the targeted capital ratios as such requirements are phased in.

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Prompt Corrective Action and Safety and Soundness

Pursuant to Section 38 of the FDIA, federal banking agencies are required to take “prompt corrective action” should a depository institution fail to meet certain capital adequacy standards.  At each successive lower capital category, an insured depository institution is subject to more restrictions and prohibitions, including restrictions on growth, restrictions on interest rates paid on deposits, restrictions or prohibitions on payment of dividends, and restrictions on the acceptance of brokered deposits. Furthermore, if an insured depository institution is classified in one of the undercapitalized categories, it is required to submit a capital restoration plan to the appropriate federal banking agency, and the holding company must guarantee the performance of that plan. Based upon its capital levels, a bank that is classified as well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, or undercapitalized may be treated as though it were in the next lower capital category if the appropriate federal banking agency, after notice and opportunity for hearing, determines that an unsafe or unsound condition or an unsafe or unsound practice warrants such treatment.

For purposes of prompt corrective action, to be: (i) well-capitalized, a bank must have a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 8%, a CET1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6.5%, and a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 5%; (ii) adequately capitalized, a bank must have a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 8%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6%, a CET1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 4.5%, and a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 4%; (iii)  undercapitalized, a bank would have a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 8%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 6%, a CET1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4.5%, and a Tier 1 leverage ratio of less than 4%; (iv) significantly undercapitalized, a bank would have a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 6%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4%, a CET1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 3%, and a Tier 1 leverage ratio of less than 3%; and (v) critically undercapitalized, a bank would have a ratio of tangible equity to total assets that is less than or equal to 2%.

Bank holding companies and insured banks also may be subject to potential enforcement actions of varying levels of severity by the federal banking agencies for unsafe or unsound practices in conducting their business, or for violation of any law, rule, regulation, condition imposed in writing by the agency or term of a written agreement with the agency. In more serious cases, enforcement actions may include: issuances of directives to increase capital; issuances of formal and informal agreements; impositions of civil monetary penalties; issuances of a cease and desist order that can be judicially enforced; issuances of removal and prohibition orders against officers, directors, and other institution−affiliated parties; terminations of the bank’s deposit insurance; appointment of a conservator or receiver for the bank; and enforcements of such actions through injunctions or restraining orders based upon a judicial determination that the agency would be harmed if such equitable relief was not granted.

The Volcker Rule

Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the Volcker Rule, restricts the ability of banking entities, such as the Company and the Bank, from: (i) engaging in “proprietary trading” and (ii) investing in or sponsoring certain types of funds (“Covered Funds”), subject to certain limited exceptions. Under the Volcker Rule, a Covered Fund is any issuer that would be an investment company under the Investment Company Act (the “ICA”) but for the exemptions in section 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the ICA, which includes collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) and collateralized debt obligation securities. The regulation also provides, among other exemptions, an exemption for CLOs meeting certain requirements. The Company is in compliance with the Volcker Rule.

Deposit Insurance

The Bank’s deposit accounts are fully insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund (the “DIF”) of the FDIC up to the deposit insurance limit of $250,000 per depositor, per insured institution, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The FDIC uses a risk-based assessment system that imposes insurance premiums based upon a risk matrix that accounts for a bank’s capital level and supervisory rating (CAMELS rating). The risk matrix uses different risk categories distinguished by capital levels and supervisory ratings. The base for deposit insurance assessments is consolidated average assets less average tangible equity.  Assessment rates are calculated using formulas that take into account the risk of the institution being assessed.  The FDIC may increase or decrease the assessment rate schedule in order to manage the DIF to prescribed statutory target levels. An increase in the risk category for the Bank or in the assessment rates could have an adverse effect on the Bank’s and consequently the Company’s earnings. The FDIC may terminate deposit insurance if it determines the institution involved has engaged in or is engaging in unsafe or unsound banking practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition, or has violated applicable laws, regulations, or orders.  The Bank is not aware of any practice, condition, or violation that might lead to the termination of its deposit insurance.

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In addition to depo sit insurance assessments, the FDIA provides for additional assessments to be imposed on insured depository institutions to pay for the cost of Financing Corporation (“FICO”) funding. FICO is a mixed-ownership government corporation established by the Comp etitive Equality Banking Act of 1987, whose sole purpose was to function as a financing vehicle for the now defunct Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation. FICO assessments are adjusted quarterly to reflect changes in the assessment base of the DIF a nd do not vary depending upon a depository institution’s capitalization or supervisory evaluation. The current annualized assessment rate is approximately three basis points and the rate is adjusted quarterly. These assessments will continue until FICO bon ds mature in 2019.  

Depositor Preference

The FDIA provides that, in the event of the “liquidation or other resolution” of an insured depository institution, the claims of depositors of the institution, including the claims of the FDIC as subrogee of insured depositors, and certain claims for administrative expenses of the FDIC as a receiver, will have priority over other general unsecured claims against the institution. If an insured depository institution fails, insured and uninsured depositors, along with the FDIC, will have priority in payment ahead of unsecured, non-deposit creditors, including the parent bank holding company, with respect to any extensions of credit they have made to such insured depository institution.

Consumer Financial Protection

The Company and Bank are subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that govern its relationship with its customers. These laws include the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act, and these laws’ respective state-law counterparts, as well as state usury laws and laws regarding unfair and deceptive acts and practices. These and other federal laws, among other things, require disclosures of the cost of credit and terms of deposit accounts, provide substantive consumer rights, prohibit discrimination in credit transactions, regulate the use of credit report information, provide financial privacy protections, prohibit unfair, deceptive and abusive practices, restrict the Bank’s ability to raise interest rates, and subject the Bank to substantial regulatory oversight. Violations of applicable consumer protection laws can result in significant potential liability from litigation brought by customers, including actual damages, restitution, and attorneys’ fees.

Further, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has broad rulemaking authority for a wide range of consumer financial laws that apply to all banks, including, among other things, the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts and practices. While there are no statutory definitions for those terms, the CFPB has found an act or practice to be “unfair” when: “(i) it causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers; (ii) the injury is not reasonably avoidable by consumers; and (iii) the injury is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition.” “Deceptive acts or practices” occur when “(i) the act or practice misleads or is likely to mislead the consumer; (ii) the consumer’s interpretation is reasonable under the circumstances; and (iii) the misleading act or practice is material.”  Finally, an act or practice is “abusive” when it: “(i) materially interferes with the ability of a consumer to understand a term or condition of a consumer financial product or services; or (ii) takes unreasonable advantage of (a) a consumer’s lack of understanding of the material risks, costs, or conditions of the product or services; (b) a consumer’s inability to protect his or her interests in selecting or using a consumer financial product or service; or (c) a consumer’s reasonable reliance on a covered person to act in his or her interests.”

Neither the Dodd-Frank Act, nor the individual consumer financial protection laws prevent states from adopting stricter consumer protection standards.

Community Reinvestment Act  

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (the “CRA”), requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas consistent with safe and sound banking practice. Under the CRA, each depository institution is required to help meet the credit needs of its market areas by, among other things, providing credit to low and moderate income individuals and communities. These factors are also considered in evaluating mergers, acquisitions and applications to open a branch or facility. The applicable federal banking agencies regularly conduct CRA examinations to assess the performance of financial institutions and assign one of four ratings to the institution’s records of meeting the credit needs of its community. The Bank received a “Satisfactory” rating during its last examination in August 2017.

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Insider Credit Transactions

Section 22(h) of the FRA and its implementing Regulation O restricts loans to directors, executive officers, and principal shareholders (“insiders”). Under Section 22(h), loans to insiders and their related interests may not exceed, together with all other outstanding loans to such persons and affiliated entities, the institution’s total capital and surplus. Loans to insiders above specified amounts must receive the prior approval of the board of directors. Further, under Section 22(h) of the FRA, loans to directors, executive officers, and principal shareholders must be made on terms substantially the same as offered in comparable transactions to other persons, except that such insiders may receive preferential loans made under a benefit or compensation program that is widely available to the bank’s employees and does not give preference to the insider over the employees. Section 22(g) of the FRA places additional limitations on loans to executive officers.  A violation of these restrictions may result in the assessment of substantial civil monetary penalties on the affected bank or any officer, director, employee, agent, or other person participating in the conduct of the affairs of that bank, the imposition of a cease and desist order, and other regulatory sanctions.

Financial Privacy

The Company is subject to federal laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the “GLBA”), and certain state laws containing consumer privacy protection provisions. These provisions limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose nonpublic information about consumers to affiliated and non-affiliated third parties and limit the reuse of certain consumer information received from non-affiliated financial institutions. These provisions require notice of privacy policies to customers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain nonpublic personal information to affiliates or non-affiliated third parties by means of “opt out” or “opt in” authorizations.

Financial Data Security

The GLBA requires that financial institutions implement comprehensive written information security programs that include administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect consumer information. Further, pursuant to interpretive guidance issued under the GLBA and certain state laws, financial institutions are required to notify customers and regulators of security breaches that result in unauthorized access to their nonpublic personal information.

Incentive Compensation

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the federal banking agencies and the SEC to establish joint regulations or guidelines prohibiting incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities, including the Company and the Bank, with at least $1 billion in total consolidated assets that encourage inappropriate risks by providing an executive officer, employee, director or principal shareholder with excessive compensation, fees, or benefits that could lead to material financial loss to the entity. The federal banking agencies and the SEC most recently proposed such regulations in 2016, but the regulations have not yet been finalized. If the regulations are adopted in the form initially proposed, they will restrict the manner in which executive compensation is structured.

The Dodd-Frank Act also requires publicly traded companies to give shareholders a non-binding vote on executive compensation and on so-called “golden parachute” payments in connection with approvals of mergers and acquisitions.

Anti-Money Laundering Initiatives and the USA PATRIOT Act

Under Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act, all financial institutions are required to take certain measures to identify their customers, prevent money laundering, monitor customer transactions, and report suspicious activity to U.S. law enforcement agencies. Financial institutions also are required to respond to requests for information from federal banking agencies and law enforcement agencies. Information sharing among financial institutions for the above purposes is encouraged by an exemption granted to complying financial institutions from the privacy provisions of the GLBA and other privacy laws. Financial institutions that hold correspondent accounts for foreign banks or provide private banking services to foreign individuals are required to take measures to avoid dealing with certain foreign individuals or entities, including foreign banks with profiles that raise money laundering concerns, and are prohibited from dealing with foreign “shell banks” and persons from jurisdictions of particular concern. The primary federal banking agencies and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury have adopted regulations to implement several of these provisions. All financial institutions also are required to establish internal anti-money laundering programs. The effectiveness of a financial institution in combating money laundering activities is a factor to be considered in any application submitted by the financial institution under the Bank Merger Act. The Company has a Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act compliance program commensurate with its risk profile.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s Red Flags Rule requires financial institutions with covered accounts (e.g., consumer bank accounts and loans) to develop, implement, and administer an identity theft prevention program. This program must include reasonable policies and procedures to detect suspicious patterns or practices that indicate the possibility of identity theft, such as inconsistencies in personal information or changes in account activity.

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Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) Regulation

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States. OFAC publishes lists of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries. It also lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. These are typically known as the OFAC rules based on their administration by the OFAC. The OFAC-administered sanctions targeting countries take many different forms. Generally, they contain one or more of the following elements: (i) restrictions on trade with or investment in a sanctioned country, including prohibitions against direct or indirect imports from and exports to a sanctioned country and prohibitions on “U.S. persons” engaging in financial transactions relating to making investments in, or providing investment-related advice or assistance to, a sanctioned country; and (ii) a blocking of assets in which the government or specially designated nationals of the sanctioned country have an interest, by prohibiting transfers of property subject to U.S. jurisdiction (including property in the possession or control of U.S. persons). Blocked assets (property and bank deposits) cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off, or transferred in any manner without a license from OFAC. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences.

Employees

As of February 28, 2018, the Company had 238 full-time and nine part-time employees. The Company’s employees are not represented by any collective bargaining unit. The Company believes that its employee relations are good.