CAPITAL CITY BANK GROUP INC (CCBG) FY 2021 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations under the section captioned
“Net Interest Income” and “Market Risk and Interest Rate Sensitivity” elsewhere
in this report for further discussion related to
interest rate sensitivity and our management of interest rate risk.
The fair value of our investments could decline which would cause a reduction
in shareowners’ equity.
A large portion of our investment securities portfolio
at December 31, 2021 has been designated as available-for-sale
pursuant to
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles relating to
accounting for investments. Such principles require that unrealized gains
and losses in the estimated value of the available-for-sale portfolio
be “marked to market” and reflected as a separate item in
shareowners’ equity (net of tax) as accumulated other comprehensive
income/losses. Shareowners’ equity will continue to reflect
the unrealized gains and losses (net of tax) of these investments. The
fair value of our investment portfolio may decline, causing a
corresponding decline in shareowners’ equity.
Management believes that several factors will affect
the fair values of our investment portfolio. These include, but are not limited
to, changes in interest rates or expectations of changes in interest rates, the
degree of volatility in the securities markets, inflation
rates or expectations of inflation and the slope of the interest rate yield
curve (the yield curve refers to the differences between
short-term and long-term interest rates; a positively sloped yield curve means short
-term rates are lower than long-term rates).
These and other factors may impact specific categories of the portfolio differently,
and we cannot predict the effect these factors
may have on any specific category.
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Shares of our common stock are not an insured
deposit and may lose value.
The shares of our common stock are not a bank deposit and will not be insured or guaranteed
by the FDIC or any other
government agency.
Your
investment will be subject to investment risk, and you must be capable of affording
the loss of your
entire investment.
Limited trading activity for shares of our common
stock may contribute to price volatility.
While our common stock is listed and traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market,
there has historically been limited trading
activity in our common stock.
The average daily trading volume of our common stock over the 12-month
period ending
December 31, 2021 was approximately 29,919 shares. Due to the limited
trading activity of our common stock, relativity small
trades may have a significant impact on the price of our common stock.
Securities analysts may not initiate coverage or continue to cover our common
stock, and this may have a negative impact
on its market price.
The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research
and reports that securities analysts publish about us
and our business. We do
not have any control over securities analysts, and they may not initiate coverage
or continue to cover our
common stock. If securities analysts do not cover our common stock,
the lack of research coverage may adversely affect its
market price. If we are covered by securities analysts, and our common stock is the subject of
an unfavorable report, our stock
price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases to cover
our Company or fails to publish regular reports on us,
we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which may cause our
stock price or trading volume to decline.
We may be adversely impacted by
the transition from LIBOR as a reference
rate.
The United Kingdom’s Financial
Conduct Authority and the administrator of LIBOR have announced
that the publication of the
most commonly used U.S. dollar London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”)
settings will cease to be published or cease to be
representative after June 30, 2023.
The publication of all other LIBOR settings ceased to be published as of December
31, 2021.
Given
consumer
protection, litigation, and reputation
risks, the bank regulatory
agencies
have
indicated
that entering
into
new
contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021, would
create safety and soundness risks and that they
will examine bank practices accordingly.
Therefore, the agencies encouraged banks to cease entering into new contracts that use
LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable and in any event by December 31,
2021.
Prior to December 31, 2021, we
discontinued originating LIBOR-based loans.
At December 31, 2021, we have 108 loans totaling approximately $77 million
that are indexed to LIBOR.
We believe our
current
portfolio of LIBOR based loan contracts contain the necessary fallback langu
age, however, the timing and manner in which each
customer’s contract transitions to a replacement index will vary
on a case-by-case basis.
We also have
$34 million in floating rate
investment securities that are indexed
to LIBOR.
We are currently
evaluating fallback language for each investment security.
Lastly, we have two
floating rate subordinated debenture notes totaling $53 million and a related interest
rate swap contract for
$30 million that are indexed to LIBOR (Refer to Note 12 – Long Term
Borrowings and Note 5 – Derivatives in our Consolidated
Financial Statements).
The subordinated debenture notes do not contain fallback language allowing
for a replacement rate, but
will convert to a fixed rate (LIBOR plus margin) at the time of
LIBOR cessation.
The interest rate swap contract adheres to ISDA
protocol which requires conversion to the fallback SOFR rate at the time of
LIBOR cessation.
There continues to be substantial
uncertainty as to the ultimate effects of the LIBOR transition,
including with respect to the acceptance and use of other
benchmark rates.
Since replacement rates are calculated differently,
payments under contracts referencing new rates will differ
from those referencing LIBOR, which may lead to increased volatility as compared
to LIBOR.
COVID-19 Risks
The ongoing global COVID-19 outbreak could harm our
business and results of operations. The magnitude and duration
of the pandemic’s impact will depend on future
developments, which are highly uncertain and
are difficult to predict.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact economic
and commercial activity and financial markets, both globally
and within the United States. Stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions and
closure of non-essential businesses and similar orders
imposed across the United States to restrict the spread of COVID-19 in 2021
resulted in significant business and operational
disruptions, including business closures, supply chain disruptions,
and mass layoffs and furloughs. Although local jurisdictions
were not subject to stay-at-home orders, worker shortages, vaccine
and testing requirements, new variants of COVID-19 and
other health and safety recommendations have impacted the ability of
businesses to return to pre-pandemic levels of activity and
employment.
21
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a specific impact
on our business, including: (1) causing some of our borrowers to be unable
to
meet existing payment obligations, particularly borrowers disproportionately
affected by business shutdowns and travel
restrictions;
(2) requiring us to increase our allowance for loan losses; and (3) affecting
consumer and business spending,
borrowing and savings habits. The ultimate risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic
remains highly uncertain; however, COVID-
19 poses a material risk to our business, financial condition and results of
operations. Other factors likely to have an adverse
effect on our results of operations include:
●
risks to the capital markets due to the volatility in financial markets that
may impact the performance of our investment
securities portfolio;
●
effects on key employees, including operational management
personnel and those charged with preparing, monitoring
and evaluating our financial reporting and internal controls;
●
declines in demand for loans and other banking services and products, as well as increases
in our non-performing loans,
owing to the effects of COVID-19 in the markets served by the Bank
and on the business of borrowers of the Bank;
●
declines in demand resulting from adverse impacts of the virus on businesses deemed
to be “non-essential” by
governments in the markets served by the Bank;
●
reduced fees as we waive certain fees for our customers impacted by
the COVID-19 pandemic; and
●
higher operating costs, increased
cybersecurity risks and potential loss of productivity while some of our associates work
remotely.
Lastly, our commercial
real estate and multi-family loans are dependent on the profitable operation and mana
gement of the
properties securing such loans. The longer the pandemic persists, the
stronger the likelihood that COVID-19 could have a
significant adverse impact by reducing the revenue and cash flows of
our borrowers, impacting the borrowers’ ability to repay
their loans, increasing the risk of delinquencies and defaults, and reducing
the collateral value underlying the loans.
The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will ultimately affect
our financial condition and results of operations is unknown
and will depend, among other things, on the duration of the pandemic,
the actions undertaken by national, state and local
governments and health officials to contain the virus or mitigate
its effects, the safety and effectiveness of
the vaccines that have
been developed and the ability of pharmaceutical companies and governments
to continue to manufacture and distribute those
vaccines, changes to interest rates, and how quickly and to what extent economic
conditions improve and normal business and
operating conditions resume. Any one or a combination of these factors could
negatively impact our business, financial condition
and results of operations and prospects.
Credit Risks
Our loan portfolio includes loans with a higher risk of loss which could lead to higher loan
losses and nonperforming
assets.
We originate
commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction loans, vacant
land loans, consumer loans, and
residential mortgage loans primarily within our market area. Commercial
real estate, commercial, construction, vacant land, and
consumer loans may expose a lender to greater credit risk than traditional
fixed-rate fully amortizing loans secured by single-
family residential real estate because the collateral securing these loans may
not be sold as easily as single-family residential real
estate. In addition, these loan types tend to involve larger
loan balances to a single borrower or groups of related borrowers and
are more susceptible to a risk of loss during a downturn in the business cycle.
These loans also have historically had greater credit
risk than other loans for the following reasons:
●
Commercial Real Estate Loans
. Repayment is dependent on income being generated in amounts
sufficient to cover
operating expenses and debt service. These loans also involve greater risk because
they are generally not fully amortizing
over the loan period, but rather have a balloon payment due at maturity.
A borrower’s ability to make a balloon payment
typically will depend on the borrower’s ability to either
refinance the loan or timely sell the underlying property.
At
December 31, 2021, commercial mortgage loans comprised approximately
34.4% of our total loan portfolio.
●
Commercial Loans
. Repayment is generally dependent upon the successful operation
of the borrower’s business. In
addition, the collateral securing the loans may depreciate over time, be
difficult to appraise, be illiquid, or fluctuate in
value based on the success of the business. At December 31, 2021, commercial
loans comprised approximately 11.6%
of
our total loan portfolio.
22
●
Construction Loans
. The risk of loss is largely dependent on our initial estimate of
whether the property’s value at
completion equals or exceeds the cost of property construction and the
availability of take-out financing. During the
construction phase, a number of factors can result in delays or cost overruns.
If our estimate is inaccurate or if actual
construction costs exceed estimates, the value of the property securing
our loan may be insufficient to ensure full
repayment when completed through a permanent loan, sale of the property,
or by seizure of collateral.
At December 31,
2021, construction loans comprised approximately 9.0% of our total loan
portfolio.
●
Vacant
Land Loans
. Because vacant or unimproved land is generally held by the borrower
for investment purposes or
future use, payments on loans secured by vacant or unimproved land will typically
rank lower in priority to the borrower
than a loan the borrower may have on their primary residence or business. These
loans are susceptible to adverse
conditions in the real estate market and local economy.
At December 31, 2021, vacant land loans comprised
approximately 3.42% of our total loan portfolio.
●
HELOCs
. Our open-ended home equity loans have an interest-only draw period
followed by a five-year repayment
period of 0.75% of the principal balance monthly and a balloon payment
at maturity. Upon the commencement
of the
repayment period, the monthly payment can increase significantly,
thus, there is a heightened risk that the borrower will
be unable to pay the increased payment. Further,
these loans also involve greater risk because they are generally not fully
amortizing over the loan period, but rather have a balloon payment
due at maturity.
A borrower’s ability to make a
balloon payment may depend on the borrower’s ability
to either refinance the loan or timely sell the underlying property.
At December 31, 2021, HELOCs comprised approximately 9.7% of
our total loan portfolio.
●
Consumer Loans
. Consumer loans (such as automobile loans and personal lines of
credit) are collateralized, if at all,
with assets that may not provide an adequate source of payment of
the loan due to depreciation, damage, or loss. At
December 31, 2021, consumer loans comprised approximately 16.7
%
of our total loan portfolio, with indirect auto loans
making up a majority of this portfolio at approximately 93.1% of the total
balance.
The increased risks associated with these types of loans result in a correspondingly
higher probability of default on such loans (as
compared to fixed-rate fully amortizing single-family real estate loans).
Loan defaults would likely increase our loan losses and
nonperforming assets and could adversely affect our
allowance for loan losses and our results of operations.
Our loan portfolio is heavily concentrated in mortgage loans secured
by properties in Florida and Georgia which causes
our risk of loss to be higher than if we had a more geographically diversified
portfolio.
Our interest-earning assets are heavily concentrated in mortgage loans secured
by real estate, particularly real estate located in
Florida and Georgia.
At December 31, 2021, approximately 72% of our loans included real estate as a primary,
secondary, or
tertiary component of collateral. The real estate collateral in each case provides
an alternate source of repayment in the event of
default by the borrower; however, the value
of the collateral may decline during the time the credit is extended. If we
are required
to liquidate the collateral securing a loan during a period of reduced real
estate values to satisfy the debt, our earnings and capital
could be adversely affected.
Additionally, at
December 31, 2021, substantially all of our loans secured by real estate are secured by
commercial and residential
properties located in Northern Florida and Middle Georgia. The
concentration of our loans in these areas subjects us to risk that a
downturn in the economy or recession in these areas could result in a decrease
in loan originations and increases in delinquencies
and foreclosures, which would more greatly affect us than
if our lending were more geographically diversified. In addition, since
a large portion of our portfolio is secured by properties located
in Florida and Georgia, the occurrence of a natural disaster,
such
as a hurricane, or a man-made disaster could result in a decline in loan originations,
a decline in the value or destruction of
mortgaged properties and an increase in the risk of delinquencies, foreclosures
or loss on loans originated by us. We
may suffer
further losses due to the decline in the value of the properties underlying
our mortgage loans, which would have an adverse
impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Our concentration in loans secured by real estate
may increase our credit losses, which would negatively
affect our
financial results.
Due to the lack of diversified industry within the markets served by CCB and the relatively
close proximity of our geographic
markets, we have both geographic concentrations as well as concentrations
in the types of loans funded. Specifically,
due to the
nature of our markets, a significant portion of the portfolio has historically been
secured with real estate. At December 31, 2021,
approximately 38% and 34% of our $1.931 billion loan portfolio was secured
by commercial real estate and residential real estate,
respectively. As of
this same date, approximately 9% was secured by property under construction.
23
In the event we are required to foreclose on a property securing one of our mortgage
loans or otherwise pursue our remedies in
order to protect our investment, we may be unable to recover funds in an amount
equal to our projected return on our investment
or in an amount sufficient to prevent a loss to us due to prevailing economic
conditions, real estate values and other factors
associated with the ownership of real property.
As a result, the market value of the real estate or other collateral underlying our
loans may not, at any given time, be sufficient to satisfy the outstanding
principal amount of the loans, and consequently,
we
would sustain loan losses.
An inadequate allowance for credit losses would reduce
our earnings.
We are exposed
to the risk that our clients may be unable to repay their loans according to their terms and
that any collateral
securing the payment of their loans may not be sufficient
to assure full repayment. This could result in credit losses that are
inherent in the lending business. We
evaluate the collectability of our loan portfolio and provide an allowance
for credit losses
that we believe is adequate based upon such factors as:
●
the risk characteristics of various classifications of loans;
●
previous loan loss experience;
●
specific loans that have loss potential;
●
delinquency trends;
●
estimated fair market value of the collateral;
●
current and future economic conditions; and
●
geographic and industry loan concentrations.
At December 31, 2021, our allowance for credit losses for loans held
for investment was $21.6 million, which represented
approximately 1.12% of our total loans held for investment.
We had $4.3
million in nonaccruing loans at December 31, 2021.
The allowance is based on management’s
reasonable estimate and may not prove sufficient to cover future
loan losses.
Although
management uses the best information available to make determinations
with respect to the allowance for credit losses, future
adjustments may be necessary if economic conditions differ
substantially from the assumptions used or adverse developments
arise with respect to our nonperforming or performing loans.
In addition, regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their
examination process, periodically review our estimated losses on loans.
Our regulators may require us to recognize additional
losses based on their judgments about information available to them at the
time of their examination.
Accordingly, the allowance
for credit losses may not be adequate to cover all future loan losses and significant
increases to the allowance may be required in
the future if, for example, economic conditions worsen.
A material increase in our allowance for credit losses would adversely
impact our net income and capital in future periods, while having the effect
of overstating our current period earnings.
We may incur significant costs associated
with the ownership of real property as a
result of foreclosures, which could
reduce our net income.
Since we originate loans secured by real estate, we may have to foreclose on
the collateral property to protect our investment and
may thereafter own and operate such property,
in which case we would be exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of
real
estate.
The amount that we, as a mortgagee, may realize after a foreclosure is dependent
upon factors outside of our control, including,
but not limited to:
●
general or local economic conditions;
●
environmental cleanup liability;
●
neighborhood values;
●
interest rates;
●
real estate tax rates;
●
operating expenses of the mortgaged properties;
●
supply of and demand for rental units or properties;
●
ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties;
●
zoning laws;
●
governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; and
●
acts of God.
Certain expenditures associated with the ownership of real estate, including
real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance costs,
may adversely affect the income from the real estate. Furthermore,
we may need to advance funds to continue to operate or to
protect these assets. As a result, the cost of operating real property
assets may exceed the rental income earned from such
properties or we may be required to dispose of the real property at a loss.
24
Liquidity Risks
Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our
financial condition.
Effective liquidity management is essential for the operation
of our business. We require
sufficient liquidity to meet client loan
requests, client deposit maturities and withdrawals, payments on our
debt obligations as they come due and other cash
commitments under both normal operating conditions and other
unpredictable circumstances causing industry or general financial
market stress. If we are unable to raise funds through deposits, borrowings,
earnings and other sources, it could have a substantial
negative effect on our liquidity.
In particular, a majority of our liabilities during
2021 were checking accounts and other liquid
deposits, which are generally payable on demand or upon short notice.
By comparison, a substantial majority of our assets were
loans, which cannot generally be called or sold in the same time frame.
Although we have historically been able to replace
maturing deposits and advances as necessary,
we might not be able to replace such funds in the future, especially if
a large
number of our depositors seek to withdraw their accounts at the same time,
regardless of the reason. Our access to funding
sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities on terms that are acceptable
to us could be impaired by factors that affect us
specifically or the financial services industry or economy in general.
Factors that could negatively impact our access to liquidity
sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of
a downturn in the markets in which our loans are
concentrated, adverse regulatory action against us, or our inability to attract
and retain deposits. Our ability to borrow could also
be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a disruption
in the financial markets or negative views and expectations
about the prospects for the financial services industry.
If we are unable to maintain adequate liquidity,
it could materially and
adversely affect our business, results of operations or
financial condition.
We may be unable to pay dividends in the
future.
In 2021, our Board of Directors declared four quarterly cash dividends.
Declarations of any future dividends will be contingent on
our ability to earn sufficient profits and to remain well capitalized,
including our ability to hold and generate sufficient
capital to
comply with the CET1 conservation buffer requirement.
In addition, due to our contractual obligations with the holders of our
trust preferred securities, if we defer the payment of accrued interest owed to the holders
of our trust preferred securities, we may
not make dividend payments to our shareowners.
Further, under applicable statutes and regulations,
CCB’s board of directors,
after charging-off bad debts, depreciation and
other
worthless assets, if any,
and making provisions for reasonably anticipated future losses on loans and other
assets, may quarterly,
semi-annually, or
annually declare and pay dividends to CCBG of up to the aggregate net income
of that period combined with
the CCB’s retained net income
for the preceding two years and, with the approval of the Florida Office
of Financial Regulation
and Federal Reserve, declare a dividend from retained net income which
accrued prior to the preceding two years.
Additional
state laws generally applicable to Florida corporations may also limit our ability
to declare and pay dividends. Thus, our ability to
fund future dividends may be restricted by state and federal laws and regulations.
Regulatory and Compliance Risks
We are subject to
extensive regulation, which could restrict our
activities and impose financial requirements or limitations
on the conduct of our business.
We are subject
to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by our regulators,
including the Florida Office of Financial
Regulation, the Federal
Reserve, and the FDIC. Our compliance with these industry regulations is costly
and restricts certain of
our activities, including payment of dividends, mergers
and acquisitions, investments, lending and interest rates charged on
loans,
interest rates paid on deposits, access to capital and brokered deposits and
locations of banking offices. If we are unable to meet
these regulatory requirements, our financial condition, liquidity and
results of operations would be materially and adversely
affected.
Our activities are also regulated under consumer protection laws applicable
to our lending, deposit and other activities. Many of
these regulations are intended primarily for the protection of our
depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund and not for the
benefit of our shareowners. In addition to the regulations of the bank
regulatory agencies, as a member of the Federal Home Loan
Bank, we must also comply with applicable regulations of the Federal Housing
Finance Agency and the Federal Home Loan
Bank.
Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to restrictions
on our business activities, fines and other
penalties, any of which could adversely affect our results
of operations, capital base and the price of our securities. Further,
any
new laws, rules and regulations could make compliance more difficult
or expensive or otherwise adversely affect our business and
financial condition. Please refer to the Section entitled “Business – Regulatory
Considerations” on page 10.
25
U.S. federal banking agencies may require us to
increase our regulatory capital, long-term
debt or liquidity requirements,
which could result in the need to issue additional qualifying securities or
to take other actions, such as to sell company
assets.
We are subject
to U.S. regulatory capital and liquidity rules. These rules, among other things,
establish minimum requirements to
qualify as a well-capitalized institution. If CCB fails to maintain its status as well
capitalized under the applicable regulatory
capital rules, the Federal Reserve will require us to agree to bring the bank
back to well-capitalized status. For the duration of
such an agreement, the Federal Reserve may impose restrictions on our
activities. If we were to fail to enter into or comply with
such an agreement or fail to comply with the terms of such agreement, the Federal
Reserve may impose more severe restrictions
on our activities, including requiring us to cease and desist activities permitted
under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956.
Capital and liquidity requirements are frequently introduced and
amended. It is possible that regulators may increase regulatory
capital requirements, change how regulatory capital is calculated or increase
liquidity requirements.
In 2013, the Federal Reserve Board released its final rules which implement
in the United States the Basel III regulatory capital
reforms from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain
changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the final
rule, minimum requirements increased for both the quality and quantity of capital
held by banking organizations. Consistent with
the international Basel framework, the rule includes a new minimum
ratio of Common Equity Tier 1 Capital, or CET1, to
Risk-
Weighted Assets, or
RWA,
of 4.5% and a CET1 conservation buffer of 2.5% of
RWA
(which was fully phased-in in 2019) that
apply to all supervised financial institutions.
The CET1 conservation buffer requirement requires
us to hold additional CET1
capital in excess of the minimum required to meet the CET1 to
RWA
ratio requirement. The rule also, among other things, raised
the minimum ratio of Tier 1 Capital to
RWA
from 4% to 6% and included a minimum leverage ratio of 4% for all banking
organizations. The impact of the new capital rules requires
us to maintain higher levels of capital, which we expect will lower our
return on equity.
Additionally, if our CET1 to
RWA
ratio does not exceed the minimum required plus the additional CET1
conservation buffer,
we may be restricted in our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions of capital to our
shareowners.
Further changes to and compliance with the regulatory capital and liquidity
requirements may impact our operations by requiring
us to liquidate assets, increase borrowings, issue additional equity or other
securities, cease or alter certain operations, sell
company assets or hold highly liquid assets, which may adversely affect
our results of operations. We
may be prohibited from
taking capital actions such as paying or increasing dividends or repurchasing
securities.
Changes in accounting standards or assumptions in applying accounting
policies could adversely affect us.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record
and report our financial condition and results of
operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions
that may affect the reported value of our assets or
liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management
to make difficult, subjective and complex
judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions,
estimates or judgments were incorrectly made, we
could be required to correct and restate prior-period financial statements. Accounting
standard-setters and those who interpret the
accounting standards, the SEC, banking regulators and our independent
registered public accounting firm may also amend or even
reverse their previous interpretations or positions on how various standards
should be applied. These changes may be difficult to
predict and could impact how we prepare and report our financial statements. In
some cases, we could be required to apply a new
or revised standard retrospectively,
resulting in us revising prior-period financial statements.
Florida financial institutions, such as CCB, face a higher risk of noncompliance
and enforcement actions with the Bank
Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.
Since September 11, 2001, banking regulators
have intensified their focus on anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act
compliance requirements, particularly the anti-money laundering
provisions of the USA PATRIOT
Act. There is also increased
scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign
Assets Control, or OFAC. Since 2004,
federal banking
regulators and examiners have been extremely aggressive in their supervision
and examination of financial institutions located in
the State of Florida with respect to the institution’s
Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering compliance. Consequently,
numerous formal enforcement actions have been instituted against financial
institutions. If CCB’s policies, procedures
and
systems are deemed deficient or the policies, procedures and systems of
the financial institutions that it has already acquired or
may acquire in the future are deficient, CCB would be subject to liability,
including fines and regulatory actions such as
restrictions on its ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory
approvals to proceed
with certain aspects of its
business plan, including its acquisition plans.
26
Fee revenues from overdraft protection
programs constitute a significant portion of our noninterest income
and may be
subject to increased supervisory scrutiny.
Revenues derived from transaction fees associated with overdraft protection
programs offered to our customers represent a
significant portion of our noninterest income. In 2021, the Company
collected approximately $9.9 million in net overdraft
transaction fees. In recent months, certain members of Congress and
the leadership of the CFPB have expressed a heightened
interest in bank overdraft protection programs. In December 2021,
the CFPB published a report providing data on banks’
overdraft and non-sufficient funds fee revenues as well as observations
regarding consumer protection issues relating to
participation in such programs. The CFPB has indicated that it intends to
pursue enforcement actions against banking
organizations, and their executives, that oversee
overdraft practices that are deemed to be unlawful. In addition, the Comptroller
of the Currency has identified potential options for reform of national
bank overdraft protection practices, including providing a
grace period before the imposition of a fee, refraining from charging
multiple fees in a single day and eliminating fees altogether.
In response to this increased congressional and regulatory scrutiny,
and in anticipation of enhanced supervision and enforcement
of overdraft protection practices in the future, certain banking organizations
have begun to modify their overdraft protection
programs, including by discontinuing the imposition of overdraft transaction
fees. These competitive pressures from our peers, as
well as any adoption by our regulators of new rules or supervisory guidance
or more aggressive examination and enforcement
policies in respect of banks’ overdraft protection practices, could cause
us to modify our program and practices in ways that may
have a negative impact on our revenue and earnings, which, in turn, could
have an adverse effect on our financial condition and
results of operations. In addition, as supervisory expectations and industry
practices regarding overdraft
Operational Risks
Many types of operational risks can affect our earnings negatively.
We regularly
assess and monitor operational risk in our businesses. Despite our efforts
to assess and monitor operational risk, our
risk management framework may not be effective in
all cases. Factors that can impact operations and expose us to risks varying in
size, scale and scope include:
●
failures of technological systems or breaches of security measures, including,
but not limited to, those resulting from
computer viruses or cyber-attacks;
●
unsuccessful or difficult implementation of computer
systems upgrades;
●
human errors or omissions, including failures to comply with applicable
laws or corporate policies and procedures;
●
theft, fraud or misappropriation of assets, whether arising from the intentional
actions of internal personnel or external
third parties;
●
breakdowns in processes, breakdowns in internal controls or failures
of the systems and facilities that support our
operations;
●
deficiencies in services or service delivery;
●
negative developments in relationships with key counterparties, third-party
vendors, or employees in our day-to-day
operations; and
●
external events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, such
as pandemics, geopolitical events, political unrest,
natural disasters or acts of terrorism.
While we have in place many controls and business continuity plans designed
to address these factors and others, these plans may
not operate successfully to mitigate these risks effectively.
If our controls and business continuity plans do not mitigate the
associated risks successfully,
such factors may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition
or results of
operations. In addition, an important aspect of managing our operational
risk is creating a risk culture in which all employees
fully understand that there is risk in every aspect of our business and the
importance of managing risk as it relates to their job
functions. We
continue to enhance our risk management program to support our risk culture. Nonetheless,
if we fail to provide the
appropriate environment that sensitizes all of our employees to managing
risk, our business could be impacted adversely.
27
We are subject to
certain operational risks, including, but not limited to, customer,
employee or third-party fraud and
data processing system failures and errors.
We rely on
the ability of our employees and systems to process a high number of transactions. Operational
risk is the risk of loss
resulting from our operations, including but not limited to, the risk of
fraud by employees or persons outside our company,
the
execution of unauthorized transactions by employees, errors relating
to transaction processing and technology,
breaches of our
internal control systems and compliance requirements. Insurance coverage
may not be available for such losses, or where
available, such losses may exceed insurance limits. This risk of loss also includes
the potential legal actions that could arise as a
result of operational deficiencies or as a result of non-compliance with applicable
regulatory standards, adverse business decisions
or their implementation, or customer attrition due to potential negative
publicity. In the event of a breakdown
in our internal
control systems, improper operation of systems or improper employee
actions, we could suffer financial loss, face regulatory
action, and/or suffer damage to our reputation.
Pandemics, natural disasters, global climate change, acts of
terrorism and global conflicts may have a negative impact
on
our business and operations.
Pandemics, including the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, natural
disasters, global climate change, acts of terrorism, global
conflicts or other similar events have in the past, and may in the future have,
a negative impact on our business and operations.
These events impact us negatively to the extent that they result in reduced capital
markets activity, lower asset price
levels, or
disruptions in general economic activity in the United States or abroad,
or in financial market settlement functions. In addition,
these or similar events may impact economic growth negatively,
which could have an adverse effect on our business and
operations and may have other adverse effects on us in
ways that we are unable to predict.
Our business operations could be disrupted if significant portions of
our workforce were unable to work effectively,
including
because of illness, quarantines, government actions, or other restrictions
in connection with the pandemic. Further,
work-from-
home and other modified business practices may introduce additional
operational risks, including cybersecurity and execution
risks, which may result in inefficiencies or delays, and may affect
our ability to, or the manner in which we, conduct our business
activities. Disruptions to our clients could result in increased risk of
delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and losses on our loans.
The escalation of the pandemic may also negatively impact regional economic
conditions for a period of time, resulting in
declines in local loan demand, liquidity of loan guarantors, loan collateral
(particularly in real estate), loan originations and
deposit availability.
Litigation may adversely affect our results.
We are subject
to litigation in the ordinary course of business. Claims and legal actions, including
supervisory actions by our
regulators, could involve large monetary claims and significant
defense costs. The outcome of litigation and regulatory matters as
well as the timing of ultimate resolution are inherently difficult
to predict.
Actual legal and other costs of resolving claims may be greater than
our legal reserves. The ultimate resolution of a pending legal
proceeding, depending on the remedy sought and granted,
could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial
condition.
In addition, governmental authorities have, at times, sought criminal
penalties against companies in the financial services sector
for violations, and, at times, have required an admission of wrongdoing
from financial institutions in connection with resolving
such matters. Criminal convictions or admissions of wrongdoing in
a settlement with the government can lead to greater exposure
in civil litigation and reputational harm.
Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against us could
have material adverse financial effects or cause
significant reputational harm, which adversely impact our business prospects.
Further, we may be exposed to substantial
uninsured liabilities, which could adversely affect
our results of operations and financial condition.
28
Strategic Risks
Our future success is dependent on our ability to compete effectively
in the highly competitive banking industry.
We face vigorous
competition for deposits, loans and other financial services in our market area
from other banks and financial
institutions, including savings and loan associations, savings banks,
finance companies and credit unions. A number of our
competitors are significantly larger than we are and have greater
access to capital and other resources. Many of our competitors
also have higher lending limits, more expansive branch networks, and
offer a wider array of financial products and services. To
a
lesser extent, we also compete with other providers of financial services, such
as money market mutual funds, brokerage firms,
consumer finance companies, insurance companies and gov
ernmental organizations, which may offer financial
products and
services on more favorable terms than we are able to. Many of our non-bank
competitors are not subject to the same extensive
regulations that govern our activities. As a result, these non-bank competitors have
advantages over us in providing certain
services. The effect of this competition may reduce or
limit our margins or our market share and may adversely affect
our results
of operations and financial condition.
Our directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners,
if acting together,
have substantial control over all matters
requiring shareowner approval,
including changes of control. Because Mr.
William G. Smith, Jr.
is a principal
shareowner and our Chairman, President, and Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of CCB, he has substantial
control
over all matters on a day-to-day basis.
Our directors, executive officers, and principal shareowners
beneficially owned approximately 23.7%
of the outstanding shares of
our common stock at December 31, 2021.
William G. Smith, Jr.,
our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
beneficially owned 17.2% of our shares as of that date.
Accordingly, these directors, executive
officers, and principal
shareowners, if acting together, may
be able to influence or control matters requiring approval by our shareowners,
including the
election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions
or other extraordinary transactions. Moreover,
because William G.
Smith, Jr. is the Chairman, President,
and Chief Executive Officer of CCBG and Chairman of CCB, he has substantial
control
over all matters on a day-to-day basis, including the nomination and election
of directors.
These directors, executive officers, and principal
shareowners may also have interests that differ from yours and may
vote in a
way with which you disagree, and which may be adverse to your interests. The
concentration of ownership may have the effect of
delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company,
could deprive our shareowners of an opportunity to receive
a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our Company and might
ultimately affect the market price of our common
stock. You
may also have difficulty changing management, the composition
of the Board of Directors, or the general direction of
our Company.
Our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and certain laws and regulations
may prevent or delay transactions you might
favor,
including a sale or merger of CCBG.
CCBG is registered with the Federal Reserve as a financial holding
company under the Bank Holding Company Act, or BHC Act.
As a result, we are subject to supervisory regulation and examination
by the Federal Reserve. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the
BHC Act, and other federal laws subject financial 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.
Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, certain laws and
regulations and various other factors may make it more
difficult and expensive for companies or persons to acquire control
of us without the consent of our Board of Directors. It is
possible, however, that you would want
a takeover attempt to succeed because, for example, a potential buyer could offer
a
premium over the then prevailing price of our common stock.
For example, our Articles of Incorporation permit our Board of Directors
to issue preferred stock without shareowner action. The
ability to issue preferred stock could discourage a company from
attempting to obtain control of us by means of a tender offer,
merger, proxy contest or
otherwise. We are also subject
to certain provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act and our
Articles of Incorporation that relate to business combinations with interested
shareowners. Other provisions in our Articles of
Incorporation or Bylaws that may discourage takeover attempts or make them
more difficult include:
●
Supermajority voting requirements to remove a director from office;
●
Provisions regarding the timing and content of shareowner proposals
and nominations;
●
Supermajority voting requirements to amend Articles of Incorporation
unless approval is received by a majority of
“disinterested directors”;
●
Absence of cumulative voting; and
●
Inability for shareowners to take action by written consent.
29
Reputational Risks
Damage to our reputation could harm our businesses, including
our competitive position and business prospects.
Our ability to attract and retain customers, clients, investors and employees
is impacted by our reputation. Harm to our reputation
can arise from various sources, including officer,
director or employee fraud, misconduct and unethical behavior,
security
breaches, litigation or regulatory outcomes, compensation practices, lending
practices, the suitability or reasonableness of
recommending particular trading or investment strategies,
including the reliability of our research and models, prohibiting clients
from engaging in certain transactions and employee sales practices. Additionally,
our reputation may be harmed by failing to
deliver products, subpar standards of service and quality expected by
our customers, clients and the community,
compliance
failures, the inability to manage technology change or maintain effective
data management, cyber incidents, internal and external
fraud, inadequacy of responsiveness to internal controls, unintended
disclosure of personal, proprietary or confidential
information, conflicts of interest and breach of fiduciary obligations,
the handling of health emergencies or pandemics, and the
activities of our clients, customers, counterparties and third parties, including
vendors. Our reputation may also be negatively
impacted by our environmental, social, and governance practices and
disclosures,
our businesses and our customers, including
practices and disclosures related to climate change. Actions by the financial
services industry generally or by certain members or
individuals in the industry also can adversely affect our reputation.
In addition, adverse publicity or negative information posted
on social media by employees, the media or otherwise, whether or not
factually correct, may adversely impact our business
prospects or financial results.
We are subject
to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy,
know-your-customer requirements, data
protection, cross-border data movement and other matters. Principles
concerning the appropriate scope of consumer and
commercial privacy vary considerably in different
jurisdictions, and regulatory and public expectations regarding the definition
and scope of consumer and commercial privacy may remain fluid.
It is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied by
various jurisdictions in a manner inconsistent with our current or future practices,
or that is inconsistent with one another.
If
personal, confidential or proprietary information of customers or
clients in our possession, or in the possession of third parties
(including their downstream service providers) or financial data aggregators,
is mishandled, misused or mismanaged, or if we do
not timely or adequately address such information, we may face regulatory,
reputational and operational risks which could
adversely affect our financial condition and
results of operations.
We could
suffer reputational harm if we fail to properly identify and manage
potential conflicts of interest. Management of
potential conflicts of interest has become increasingly complex as we expand
our business activities through more numerous
transactions, obligations and interests with and among our clients. The failure
to adequately address, or the perceived failure to
adequately address, conflicts of interest could affect the
willingness of clients to use our products and services, or give rise to
litigation or enforcement actions, which could adversely affect
our business.
Our actual or perceived failure to address these and other issues, such
as operational risks, gives rise to reputational risk that could
harm us and our business prospects. Failure to appropriately address
any of these issues could also give rise to additional
regulatory restrictions, legal risks and reputational harm,
which could, among other consequences, increase the size and number
of litigation claims and damages asserted or subject us to enforcement
actions, fines and penalties, and cause us to incur related
costs and expenses.
Technology
Risks
We process, maintain,
and transmit confidential client information through
our information technology systems, such as
our online banking service.
Cybersecurity issues, such as security breaches and computer viruses,
affecting our
information technology systems or fraud related
to our debit card products could disrupt our business, result in the
unintended disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary
information, damage our reputation, increase our
costs,
and cause losses.
We collect and
store sensitive data, including our proprietary business
information and that of our clients, and personally
identifiable information of our clients and employees, in our
information technology systems
.
We also provide
our clients the
ability to bank online.
The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information
is critical to our operations.
Our
network, or those of our clients, could be vulnerable to unauthorized
access, computer
viruses, phishing schemes and other
security problems.
Financial institutions and companies engaged in data processing have
increasingly reported breaches in the
security of their websites or other systems, some of which have involved sophisticated
and targeted attacks intended to obtain
unauthorized access to confidential information, destroy data, disrupt
or degrade service, sabotage systems or cause other damage.
30
We may be
required to spend significant capital and other resources to protect
against the threat of security breaches and
computer viruses or to alleviate problems caused by security breaches
or viruses. Security breaches and viruses could expose us to
claims, litigation and other possible liabilities. Any inability to prevent
security breaches or computer viruses could also cause
existing clients to lose confidence in our systems and could adversely
affect our reputation and our ability to generate deposits.
Additionally, fraud
losses related to debit and credit cards have risen in recent years due in large part
to growing and evolving
schemes to illegally use cards or steal consumer credit card information
despite risk management practices employed by the debit
and credit card industries. Many issuers of debit and credit cards have suffered
significant losses in recent years due to the theft of
cardholder data that has been illegally exploited for personal gain.
The potential for debit and credit card fraud against us or our clients and our third-party
service providers is a serious issue. Debit
and credit card fraud is pervasive, and the risks of cybercrime are complex
and continue to evolve. In view of the recent high-
profile retail data breaches involving client personal and financial information,
the potential impact on us and any exposure to
consumer losses and the cost of technology investments to improve security
could cause losses to us or our clients, damage to our
brand, and an increase in our costs.
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2.
Properties
We are headquartered
in Tallahassee, Florida.
Our executive office is in the Capital City Bank building located
on the corner of
Tennessee and
Monroe Streets in downtown Tallahassee.
The building is owned by CCB, but is located on land leased under a
long-term agreement.
At December 31, 2021, Capital City Bank had 57 banking offices.
Of these locations, we lease the land, buildings, or both at six
locations and own the land and buildings at the remaining 51. CCHL had 26
loan production offices, all of which were leased.
Capital City Strategic Wealth,
Inc. maintained five offices, all of which were leased.