NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

United Community Financial Corp. (United Community or the Company) was incorporated in the State of Ohio in February 1998 for the purpose of owning all of the outstanding capital stock of The Home Savings and Loan Company of Youngstown, Ohio (Home Savings and Loan) issued upon the conversion of Home Savings and Loan from a mutual savings association to a permanent capital stock savings association (Conversion). Upon consummation of the Conversion on July 8, 1998, United Community became the unitary thrift holding company for Home Savings and Loan.  Immediately following United Community’s acquisition of Ohio Legacy Corp. (OLCB) on January 31, 2017, Home Savings and Loan was merged into Premier Bank & Trust, OLCB’s wholly-owned, state-chartered bank subsidiary (PB&T), and the surviving bank changed its name to Home Savings Bank.  In connection with OLCB acquisition, United Community became a financial holding company, and Home Savings Bank, its wholly-owned bank subsidiary following the merger (Home Savings or the Bank), is now an Ohio bank.

Home Savings conducts its business from its main office located in Youngstown, Ohio and 33 retail banking offices (32 in Ohio and one in Pennsylvania).   Home Savings also has residential mortgage loan centers servicing Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, northern Kentucky, and eastern Indiana.     

On January 29, 2016, United Community acquired James & Sons Insurance.  James & Sons Insurance was merged into HSB Insurance, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Community.  HSB Insurance, LLC d/b/a James & Sons Insurance is an insurance agency that offers a wide variety of insurance products for business and residential customers, which include auto, homeowners, life-health, commercial, surety bonds and aviation. On February 28, 2017, James & Sons Insurance acquired Eich Brothers Insurance. Eich Brothers Insurance is an insurance agency that offers insurance products for business and residential customers, which include auto, commercial, homeowners and life-health.  On July 1, 2017, James & Sons Insurance acquired Stevens Insurance Agency, which offers insurance products for business and residential customers, including auto, commercial, homeowners and life-health.  On July 1, 2018, James & Sons Insurance acquired Steinhauser Insurance Agency which offers property and casualty insurance.      

HSB Capital, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Community, was formed by United Community during 2016 for the purpose of providing mezzanine funding for customers.  Mezzanine loans are offered to customers in United Community’s market area and are expected to be repaid from the cash flow from the operations of the business.

HSB Insurance, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company which was formed and began operations on June 1, 2017, is a Delaware-based captive insurance company which insures against certain risks unique to the operations of the Company and its subsidiaries and for which insurance may not be currently available or economically feasible in today's insurance marketplace. HSB Insurance, Inc. pools resources with several other similar insurance company subsidiaries of financial institutions to spread a limited amount of risk among themselves.  HSB Insurance, Inc. is subject to regulations of the State of Delaware and undergoes periodic examinations by the Delaware Division of Insurance.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of United Community have been prepared in accordance with instructions relating to Form 10-Q.  Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) for complete financial statements. However, such information reflects all adjustments (consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments) that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of results for the interim periods.

The results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2019. The consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes contained in United Community’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of United Community and its subsidiaries, Home Savings, HSB Insurance, LLC, HSB Capital, LLC and HSB Insurance, Inc.  All material inter-company transactions have been eliminated.  Some items in the prior year financial statements were reclassified to conform to the current presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on prior year consolidated statements of operations or shareholders’ equity.

8

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 - Leases (Topic 842) . The ASU amends existing guidance that requires lessees recognize the following for all leases (with the exception of short–term leases) at the commencement date (1) A lease liability, which is a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and (2) A right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Under the new guidance, lessor accounting is largely unchanged.  Certain targeted improvements were made to align, where necessary, lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model and Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.  An entity may adopt the new guidance by either restating prior periods and recording a cumulative effect adjustment at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented or by recording a cumulative effect adjustment at the beginning of the period of adoption.  The Company used the approach of recording a cumulative effect adjustment at the beginning of the period of adoption, however, no cumulative effect adjustment was required to be recorded.  The new guidance includes a number of optional transition-related practical expedients.  The practical expedients relate to the identification and classification of leases that commenced before the effective date, initial direct costs for leases that commenced before the effective date, and the ability to use hindsight in evaluating lessee options to extend or terminate a lease or to purchase the underlying asset.  An entity that elects to apply these practical expedients will, in effect, continue to account for leases that commence before the effective date in accordance with previous GAAP unless the lease is modified, except that lessees are required to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all operating leases at each reporting date based on the present value of the remaining minimum rental payments that were tracked and disclosed under previous GAAP.  The Company elected to apply the practical expedients.  In 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases, ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements and ASU 2018-20, Leases (Topic 842): Narrow – Scope Improvements for Lessors.   These ASUs amend and clarify guidance in ASU 2016-02 and were being considered by the Company in determining the proper adoption of ASU 2016-02.  The adoption of this guidance on January 1, 2019, resulted in an approximate $5.2 million increase in right of use asset, $0.3 million increase in other assets and an approximate $5.5 million increase in lease liability.

In June 2016, the FASB Issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASU 2016-13).   ASU 2016-13 adds a new Topic 326 to the Accounting Standards Codification (Codification) and removes the thresholds that companies apply to measure credit losses on financial instruments measured at amortized cost, such as loans, receivables, and held-to-maturity debt securities. Under current U.S. GAAP, companies generally recognize credit losses when it is probable that the loss has been incurred. The revised guidance will remove all recognition thresholds and will require companies to recognize an allowance for credit losses for the difference between the amortized cost basis of a financial instrument and the amount of amortized cost that the company expects to collect over the instrument’s contractual life. ASU 2016-13 also amends the credit loss measurement guidance for available-for-sale debt securities and beneficial interests in securitized financial assets. The guidance in ASU 2016-13 is effective for “public business entities,” as defined, that are SEC filers for fiscal years, and for interim periods with those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019.  Early adoption of the guidance is permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.  Management has aggregated and verified the necessary data and addressed any data-archiving improvements necessary for the implementation of this ASU. Management has evaluated various models and parallel calculations are being performed to refine the calculation. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses.   The amendment clarifies that receivables arising from operating leases are not within the scope of Subtopic 326-20 and should be accounted for in accordance with Topic 842, Leases.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Instead, under the new guidance, an entity is to perform its annual goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An impairment charge would be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value. The new guidance is effective for annual reporting periods, and interim reporting periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20): Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities. This ASU amends the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities held at a premium. It shortens the amortization period for the premium to the earliest call date. Under current U.S. GAAP, premiums on callable debt securities generally are amortized to the maturity date. The new guidance is effective for annual reporting periods, and interim reporting periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2018.  The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In July 2017, the FASB ASU No. 2017-11, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260); Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480); Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) : (Part I) Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Down Round Features, (Part II) Replacement of the Indefinite Deferral for Mandatorily Redeemable Financial Instruments of Certain Nonpublic Entities and Certain Mandatorily Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests with a Scope Exception.  ASU 2017-11 simplifies the accounting for certain financial instruments with down round features, a provision in an equity-linked financial instrument (or embedded feature) that provides a downward adjustment of the current exercise price based on the price of future equity offerings.

9

The new ASU will require companies to disregard the down round feature when assessing whether the instrument is indexed to its own stock, for purposes of determining liability or equi ty classification. Companies that provide earnings per share (EPS) data will adjust their basic EPS calculation for the effect of the feature when triggered (i.e., when the exercise price of the related equity-linked financial instrument is adjusted downwa rd because of the down round feature) and will also recognize the effect of the trigger within equity.

The provisions of the new ASU related to down rounds are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018.  Early adoption is permitted for all entities.   The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities.   These amendments revise and expand hedge accounting for both financial (e.g., interest rate) and commodity risks.  Its provisions create more transparency around how economic results are presented, both on the face of the financial statements and in the footnotes.  It also makes certain targeted improvements to simplify the application of hedge accounting guidance.  This ASU is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years.  Early adoption, including adoption in an interim period, is permitted. If an entity early adopts in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period (i.e., the initial application date).  The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting (ASU 2018-07).  The FASB issued ASU 2018-07 intending to reduce cost and complexity and to improve financial reporting for nonemployee share-based payments.  ASU 2018-07 expands the scope of Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (which currently only includes share-based payments to employees) to include share-based payments issued to nonemployees for goods or services. Consequently, the accounting for share-based payments to nonemployees and employees will be substantially aligned. ASU 2018-07 supersedes Subtopic 505-50, Equity—Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees.   The amendments in ASU 2018-07 are effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that fiscal year.  Early adoption is permitted.  The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement – Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.   This ASU modifies the disclosure objective paragraphs of ASU 820 to eliminate (1) “at a minimum” from the phrase “an entity shall disclose at a minimum” and (2) other similar “open ended” disclosure requirements to promote the appropriate exercise of discretion of entities.  The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019.  Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period.  The Company is currently assessing the impact of ASU 2018-13 on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Stock Options:

On April 30, 2015, shareholders approved the United Community Financial Corp. 2015 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan (the 2015 Plan). The purpose of the 2015 Plan is to provide a means through which United Community may attract and retain employees and non-employee directors, to provide incentives that align their interest with those of United Community’s shareholders and promote the success of United Community’s business.  All employees and non-employee directors are eligible to participate in the 2015 Plan.  The 2015 Plan provides for the issuance of up to 1,200,000 shares that are to be used for awards of stock options, stock awards, stock units, stock appreciation rights (SARs), annual bonus awards and long-term incentive awards.

On April 26, 2007, shareholders approved the United Community Financial Corp. 2007 Long-Term Incentive Plan (as amended, the 2007 Plan). The purpose of the 2007 Plan was to promote and advance the interests of United Community and its shareholders by enabling United Community to attract, retain and reward directors, directors emeritus, managerial and other key employees of United Community, including Home Savings, by facilitating their purchase of an ownership interest in United Community. The 2007 Plan was terminated on April 30, 2015 upon the adoption of the 2015 Plan, although the 2007 Plan survives with respect to awards issued under the 2007 Plan that remain outstanding and exercisable.  The 2007 Plan provided for the issuance of up to 2,000,000 shares that were to be used for awards of restricted stock, stock options, performance awards, SARs, or other forms of stock-based incentive awards.  Because the 2007 Plan terminated, no additional awards may be made under it.

10

On July 12, 1999, shareholders approved the United Com munity Financial Corp. 1999 Long-Term Incentive Plan (as amended, the 1999 Plan). The purpose of the 1999 Plan was the same as the 2007 Plan. The 1999 Plan terminated on May 20, 2009, although the 1999 Plan survives with respect to options issued under the 1999 Plan that remain outstanding and exercisable. The 1999 Plan provided for the grant of either incentive or nonqualified stock options. Options were awarded at exercise prices that were not less than the fair market value of the share at the grant date . The maximum number of common shares that could be issued under the 1999 Plan was 3,569,766. Because the 1999 Plan terminated, no additional options may be issued under it.

There were no stock options granted under the 2015 Plan in the three or six months ended June 30, 2019  and zero and 50,000 options granted in the three and six months ended June 30, 2018. Pursuant to the terms of the 2015 Plan, any options granted must be exercised within 10 years from the date of grant.  Expenses related to prior stock option grants are included with salaries and employee benefits.  The Company recognized $- and $6,000 in stock option expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, respectively.  The Company recognized $19,000 and $32,000 in stock option expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.  The Company expects to recognize no additional stock option expense for the remainder of 2019.

A summary of option activity for the six months ended June 30, 2019 in the 2015 Plan, the 2007 Plan and the 1999 Plan is as follows:

Information related to stock options for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 follows:

Information related to stock options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2018 were as follows:

As of June 30, 2019, there were no nonvested stock options outstanding.

Outstanding stock options at June 30, 2019 have a weighted average remaining life of 4.04 years and may be exercised in the range of $1.20 to $9.66 per share.

Restricted Stock Awards:

The 2007 Plan permitted and the 2015 Plan permits the issuance of restricted stock awards to eligible employees and nonemployee directors. Nonvested shares at June 30, 2019 aggregated 123,378, of which 21,953 are expected to vest during the remainder of 2019, 35,233 in 2020, 58,834 in 2021 and 7,358 in 2022. Expense related to restricted stock awards is charged to salaries and employee benefits and is recognized over the vesting period of the awards based on the fair value of the shares at the grant date. The Company recognized approximately $156,000 and $299,000 in restricted stock award expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019. The Company recognized approximately $229,000 and $471,000 in restricted stock award expense for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018.  The Company expects to recognize additional expenses related to restricted stock awards of approximately $261,000 in 2019, $321,000 in 2020, $153,000 in 2021 and $43,000 in 2022.  The total average per share fair value of shares vested during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 was $9.36 and $9.62.

11

A summary of changes in the Company’s nonvested restricted shares for the six months ended June 30, 2019 is as follows:

Annual Incentive Plan

The Annual Incentive Plan (AIP) provides incentive compensation awards to certain officers of the Company. Annual incentive awards are generally based upon the actual performance of the Company and individual participant performance for the twelve months ending December 31, compared to the actual performance of a peer group during the same twelve-month period. The target incentive awards for each year are measured as a percentage of the base salary of participating officers.  Once the awards under the AIP are calculated, they are paid in cash and/or restricted stock. The restricted stock vests equally over three years, beginning on the first anniversary of the date the restricted stock is issued.  The Company incurred $44,000 and $70,000 in expense for the restricted stock portion of the AIP for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and $217,000 and $917,000 for the cash portion of the AIP for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.  The Company incurred $95,000 and $190,000 in expense for the restricted stock portion of the AIP for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and $426,000 and $871,000 for the cash portion of the AIP for the six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.  

Long-term Incentive Plan

The Long-term Incentive Plan (LTIP) provides a long-term incentive compensation opportunity to certain executive officers, whose participation and target award opportunities will be approved by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Each participant in the LTIP will be granted a target number of Performance Share Units (PSUs).  Target PSUs will be determined as a percentage of base salary and translated into share units based on the Company’s average stock price at the appropriate measurement date.  The performance period for the annual grant for a given year will be from January 1, year 1 through December 31, year 3.   The Company incurred $184,000and $366,000 for the LTIP for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.  The Company incurred $212,000 and $381,000 in expense for the LTIP for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018.

The Company recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.  To achieve this result, the following five steps are applied:

Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with the customer

Step 2: Identify the performance obligation(s) in the contract

Step 3: Determine the transaction price

Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract

Step 5: Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation

The revenue guidance applies to all contracts with customers to provide goods or services in the ordinary course of business, except for loans and securities, which are specifically excluded from the scope.

Because loans and securities are outside the scope of the revenue standard, the Company does not use the new standard to account for gains and losses on its investments in securities, loans and derivatives.  The Company also does not use the standard to account for interest and dividend income on financial instruments owned or those included in the Company’s lending activities.  

12

Home Savings’ servicing of loans sold to investors requires Home Savings to provide specific administrative functions for the owner(s) of these assets.  These administrative functions include collecting cash flows from borrowers and remi tting them to beneficial interest holders, monitoring delinquencies and executing foreclosures.  Servicing rights that relate to transferred financial assets meet the conditions for sale accounting under ASC 860.  ASC 860 requires the recognition of a serv icing asset or liability when the benefits of servicing obtained from the contract are respectively greater than or less than adequate compensation (as defined in ASC 860) for performing the servicing.  While ASC 860 provides initial recognition and subseq uent measurement guidance for recognized servicing assets and liabilities, it does not include any explicit guidance for recognizing contractually specified servicing fees when servicing income is equal to adequate compensation.   Therefore, income from se rvicing financial assets in the scope of ASC 860 is not in the scope of ASC 606, regardless of whether a servicing asset or liability exists. ASC 606 contains an exception to its scope for contracts that fall under ASC 860.

Deposit-related fees and charges are in the scope of ASC 606, even though ASC 405 is listed as an exception to the scope of the standard. That is because ASC 405, which the Company applies to determine the appropriate liability accounting for customer deposits, does not provide a model for recognizing fees related to customer deposits (e.g., automated teller machine fees, nonsufficient funds fees, account maintenance or dormancy fees).  When reviewing standard customer agreements, fees are charged as the service is rendered and therefore revenue is recognized at the time the transaction is executed as it is the point when the performance obligation has been met.

The Company records real estate owned and other repossessed assets (OREO) at fair value less costs to sell upon foreclosure. The objective is to sell OREO within a short period of time because of regulatory and capital requirements. After foreclosure, these assets are carried at the lower of their carrying amount or their fair value less selling costs, so significant gains and losses are uncommon upon sale. OREO is often sold in a transaction that, under the standard, may not be considered a contract with a customer because the sale of the asset is not an output of the entity’s ordinary activities. However, sales of  nonfinancial assets, including in substance nonfinancial assets, should be accounted for using new guidance in ASC 610-20, Other Income — Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets, which requires entities to apply certain measurement and recognition concepts of ASC 606. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the sale of a real estate property, along with any associated gain or loss, when control of the property transfers to the buyer. For sales of existing real estate properties, this generally will occur at a point in time.

Insurance agency income is within the scope of ASC 606.  The majority (75%) of the Company’s insurance agency income is derived from direct-bill customers.  With this arrangement, the customer is billed directly from the insurance carrier.  As a result, the insurance carrier pays a commission to the Company upon completion of the required documentation (policy application or renewal) and recognizes income at that time.  Agency-billed customers account for approximately 25% of the overall insurance agency income.  Premiums are collected from customers and remitted to the insurance carrier, net of commission, within a short period of time.  At the time the premiums are remitted to the insurance carrier, all work is completed and revenue recognized at that time.

Debit card fee income is earned as a result of standard interchange fees contractually obligated by VISA to be paid.  Fees are received when they are essentially earned, which include fees charged to a reseller for the presentment of credit/debit cards in a point-of-sale (POS) transaction (interchange).  The service is considered complete upon payment in a POS transaction, when the interchange fee is earned and paid.  Credit card fees are paid when earned as a result of an agreement between the Company and a third-party provider.

Trust fee income is calculated based on assets under management.  Fees are recognized at the end of the month to which the service has been provided for customers billed monthly.  This amounts to approximately 85% of trust fee income recognized, which is collected within a short period of time after the fee is assessed to the customer.  Quarterly and annual fees are accrued and collected based on the contractual agreements with customers.  Fees are assessed to these customers and paid at the end of each quarter.  Quarterly and annual fees are to be recognized over the period when the fees are earned, regardless of when they are assessed to the customer.

Brokerage revenue is recognized each month as sales occur.  Brokerage revenue is paid from sales to customers by a third-party.  In a manner similar to that of insurance agency revenue, income is paid directly to the Bank by the third-party once the sale to the customer is complete.  

13