Citizens Community Bancorp Inc. (CZWI) Business

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) is a Maryland corporation organized in 2004. The Company is a bank holding company and is subject to regulation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and by the Federal Reserve Bank. Our primary activities consist of holding the stock of our wholly-owned subsidiary bank, Citizens Community Federal N.A. (the “Bank”), and providing commercial, agricultural and consumer banking activities through the Bank. At December 31, 2025, we had approximately $1.782 billion in total assets, $1.524 billion in deposits, and $187.9 million in equity.

Citizens Community Federal N.A.

The Bank is a federally chartered National Bank serving customers in Wisconsin and Minnesota through 21 full-service branch locations. Its primary markets include the Chippewa Valley Region in Wisconsin, the Twin Cities and Mankato markets in Minnesota, and various rural communities around these areas. The Bank offers traditional community banking services to businesses, Agricultural operators and consumers, including one-to-four family residential mortgages.

Internet Website

We maintain a website at www.ccf.us. We make available through that website, free of charge, copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements for our annual stockholders’ meetings and amendments to those reports or documents, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file those materials with, or furnish them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We are not including the information contained on or available through our website as a part of, or incorporating such information by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding SEC registrants.

Yields Earned and Rates Paid

This information is included in Item 7; “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, under the heading “Statement of Operations Analysis” herein.

Rate/Volume Analysis

This information is included in Item 7; “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, under the heading “Statement of Operations Analysis” herein.

Average Balance, Interest and Average Yields and Rates

This information is included in Item 7; “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, under the heading “Statement of Operations Analysis” herein.

Lending Activities

We offer a variety of loan products including commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial (C&I) loans, agricultural real estate loans, agricultural operating loans, residential mortgages, home equity lines-of-credit and consumer loans. We make real estate, consumer, commercial and agricultural loans in accordance with the basic lending policies established by Bank management and approved by our Board of Directors. We focus our lending activities on individual consumers and small commercial borrowers within our market areas. Our lending has been historically concentrated primarily within Wisconsin and Minnesota. Competitive and economic pressures exist in our lending markets, and recent and any future developments in (a) the general economy, (b) real estate lending markets, and (c) the banking regulatory environment could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. These factors may impact the credit quality of our existing loan portfolio, or adversely impact our ability to originate sufficient high quality loans in the future.

Our total gross outstanding loans, before net deferred loan costs and unamortized discounts on acquired loans, as of December 31, 2025, were $1.343 billion, consisting of $1.074 billion in commercial/agricultural real estate loans, $139.3 million in C&I/agricultural operating loans, $123.8 million in residential mortgage loans and $6.2 million in consumer installment loans. See Item 7; “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, under the heading “Balance Sheet Analysis” for further analysis of our loan portfolio.

6

Investment Activities

We maintain a portfolio of investments, consisting primarily of mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, U.S. Government sponsored agency securities and corporate debt securities. We attempt to balance our portfolio to manage interest rate risk, regulatory requirements, and liquidity needs while providing an appropriate rate of return commensurate with the risk of the investment. See Item 7; “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, under the heading “Balance Sheet Analysis Investment Securities” for further analysis of our investment portfolio.

Deposits and Other Sources of Funds

General. The Company’s primary sources of funds are deposits; amortization, prepayments and maturities of outstanding loans; other short- term investments; and funds provided from operations.

Deposits. We offer a broad range of deposit products through our branches, including demand deposits, various savings and money-market accounts and certificates of deposit. Deposits are insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to statutory limits. At December 31, 2025, our total deposits were $1.524 billion including interest bearing deposits of $1.260 billion and non-interest bearing deposits of $0.264 billion.

Borrowings. In addition to our primary sources of funds, we maintain access to additional sources of funds through borrowing, including FHLB borrowings, lines of credit with the Federal Reserve Bank, our Revolving Loan and our Federal Funds Purchased Lines of Credit. See Item 7; “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”, under the heading “Balance Sheet Analysis Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances and other borrowings” for further analysis of our borrowings.

Competition

We compete with other financial institutions and businesses both in attracting and retaining deposits and making loans in all of our principal markets. We believe the primary factors in competing for deposits are interest rates, personalized services, the quality and range of financial services, technology, convenient locations and office hours, and alternative delivery systems. One such delivery system is remote deposit capture for those commercial customers that are not conveniently located near one of our branches or mobile banking for retail customers. Competition for deposit products comes primarily from other banks, credit unions and non-bank competitors, including insurance companies, money market and mutual funds, and other investment alternatives. We believe the primary factors in competing for loans are interest rates, loan origination fees, and the quality and the range of lending services. Successful loan originations tend to depend not only on interest rate and terms of the loan but also on being responsive and flexible to the customer’s needs. Competition for loans comes primarily from other banks, mortgage banking firms, credit unions, finance companies, leasing companies and other financial intermediaries. Some of our competitors are not subject to the same degree of regulation as that imposed on national banks or federally insured institutions, and these other institutions may be able to price loans and deposits more aggressively. We also face direct competition from other banks and their holding companies that have greater assets and resources than ours. However, we have been able to compete effectively with other financial institutions by building customer relationships with a focus on small-business solutions, including internet and mobile banking, electronic bill pay and remote deposit capture.

Regulation and Supervision

The banking industry is highly regulated, and the Company and the Bank are subject to numerous laws and regulations. As a bank holding company, the Company is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (the “FRB”). The Bank is also subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the OCC. The Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. In addition, the Bank’s deposit accounts are insured by the FDIC to the maximum extent permitted by law, and the FDIC has certain enforcement powers over the Bank.

The following is a brief summary of material statutes and regulations that affect the Company and the Bank. The following summary is not a complete discussion or analysis and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the statutes and regulations summarized below. The laws and regulations applicable to the Company and the Bank are subject to change.

The likelihood and timing of any changes, and the impact such changes may have on the Company and the Bank, are difficult to predict, including any changes resulting from the U.S. presidential administration and U.S. Congress. In addition, bank regulatory agencies may issue enforcement actions, policy statements, interpretive letters and similar written guidance applicable to the Company or the Bank. All of the foregoing may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, and earnings.

7

Securities Regulation and Listing

Our common stock is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CZWI.” We are subject to the information, proxy solicitation, insider trading, corporate governance, and other disclosure requirements and restrictions of the Exchange Act, as well as the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), both administered by the SEC. As a company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market, we are subject to NASDAQ standards for listed companies.

On June 29, 2025, the FTSE selected Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. for inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index as part of the 2025 annual reconstitution.

The Company is currently a “smaller reporting company” which allows us to provide certain simplified and scaled disclosures in our filings with the SEC. We will remain a smaller reporting company for so long as the market value of the Company’s common stock held by non-affiliates as of the end of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter is less than $250 million, or as of the same period the Company’s annual revenues are less than $100 million and its public float is less than $700 million.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was enacted to increase corporate responsibility, to provide for enhanced penalties for accounting and auditing improprieties at publicly traded companies and to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures pursuant to the securities laws. SOX and the SEC’s implementing regulations include provisions addressing, among other matters, the duties, functions and qualifications of audit committees for all public companies; certification of financial statements by the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer; the forfeiture of bonuses or other incentive-based compensation and profits from the sale of an issuer’s securities by directors and senior officers in the twelve month period following initial publication of any financial statements that later require restatement; disclosure of off-balance sheet transactions; a prohibition on personal loans to directors and officers, except (in the case of banking companies) loans in the normal course of business; expedited filing requirements for reports of beneficial ownership of company stock by insiders; disclosure of a code of ethics for senior officers, and of any change or waiver of such code; the formation of a public accounting oversight board; auditor independence; disclosure of fees paid to the company’s auditors for non-audit services and limitations on the provision of such services; attestation requirements for company management and external auditors, relating to internal controls and procedures; and various increased criminal penalties for violations of federal securities laws.

Section 404 of SOX requires management of the Company to undertake a periodic assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. As an “accelerated filer,” we are subject to the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 404(b) requires that an independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and the operating effectiveness of these controls, making the public reporting process more costly.

Federal Banking Regulation

Federal banking institutions, like the Bank, their holding companies and their affiliates are extensively regulated under federal law. As a result, our growth and earnings performance may be affected not only by management decisions and general economic conditions, but also by the requirements of applicable statutes and by the regulations and policies of various bank regulatory agencies, including our primary regulator, the Federal Reserve, and the Bank’s primary regulator, the OCC, as well as the FDIC, as the insurer of our deposits. Furthermore, taxation laws administered by the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities, accounting rules developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), securities laws administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and state securities authorities, and anti-money laundering laws enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) have an impact on our business. The effect of these statutes, regulations, regulatory policies and accounting rules are significant to our operations and results.

Federal and state banking laws impose a comprehensive system of supervision, regulation and enforcement on the operations of federal banking institutions, their holding companies and affiliates that is intended primarily for the protection of the FDIC-insured deposits and depositors of banks, rather than stockholders. These laws, and the regulations of the bank regulatory agencies issued under them, affect, among other things, the scope of our business, the kinds and amounts of investments we may make, required capital levels relative to assets, the nature and amount of collateral for loans, the establishment of branches, our ability to merge, consolidate and acquire, dealings with the Company’s and the Bank’s insiders and affiliates and our payment of dividends. In reaction to the global financial crisis and particularly following passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), we experienced heightened regulatory requirements and scrutiny. Although the reforms primarily targeted systemically significant financial service providers, their influence filtered down in varying degrees to community banks over time and caused our compliance and risk management processes, and the costs thereof, to increase. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018

8

(“Regulatory Relief Act”) eliminated questions about the applicability of certain Dodd-Frank Act reforms to community bank systems, including relieving us of any requirement to engage in mandatory stress tests, maintain a risk committee or comply with the Volcker Rule’s complicated prohibitions on proprietary trading and ownership of private funds. In 2022, the Company adopted a clawback policy that is consistent with Section 10D and Rule 10D-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the listing standards adopted by the Nasdaq Stock Market, as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act.

The supervisory framework for U.S. banking organizations subjects banks and bank holding companies to regular examination by their respective regulatory agencies, which results in examination reports and ratings that are not publicly available and that can impact the conduct and growth of their business. These examinations consider not only compliance with applicable laws and regulations, but also capital levels, asset quality and risk, management ability and performance, earnings, liquidity, and various other factors. The regulatory agencies generally have broad discretion to impose restrictions and limitations on the operations of a regulated entity where the agencies determine, among other things, that such operations are unsafe or unsound, fail to comply with applicable law or are otherwise inconsistent with laws and regulations.

The following is a summary of the material elements of the supervisory and regulatory framework applicable to the Company and the Bank. It does not describe all of the statutes, regulations and regulatory policies that apply, nor does it restate all of the requirements of those that are described. The descriptions are qualified in their entirety by reference to the particular statutory and regulatory provision.

Capital Adequacy

Banks and bank holding companies, as regulated institutions, are required to maintain minimum levels of capital. The FRB and the OCC have adopted minimum risk-based capital requirements (Tier 1 capital, common equity Tier 1 capital (“CET1”) and total capital) and leverage capital requirements, as well as guidelines that define components of the calculation of capital and the level of risk associated with various types of assets. Financial institutions are expected to maintain a level of capital commensurate with the risk profile assigned to their assets in accordance with the guidelines.

In addition to the minimum risk-based capital and leverage ratios, banking organizations must maintain a “capital conservation buffer” consisting of CET1 in an amount equal to 2.5% of risk-weighted assets in order to avoid restrictions on their ability to make capital distributions and to pay certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers. In order to avoid those restrictions, the capital conservation buffer effectively increases the minimum CET1 capital, Tier 1 capital, and total capital ratios for U.S. banking organizations to 7.0%, 8.5%, and 10.5%, respectively. Banking organizations with capital levels that fall within the buffer will be required to limit dividends, share repurchases or redemptions (unless replaced within the same calendar quarter by capital instruments of equal or higher quality), and discretionary bonus payments.

The Bank’s capital categories are determined solely for the purpose of applying the “prompt corrective action” rules described below and they are not necessarily an accurate representation of its overall financial condition or prospects for other purposes. Failure to meet capital guidelines could subject a bank or bank holding company to a variety of enforcement remedies, including issuance of a capital directive, the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, a prohibition on accepting brokered deposits, and certain other restrictions on its business. See “Bank Regulation - Prompt Corrective Action” below.

Bank Holding Company Regulation

As a bank holding company, the Company is subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the “BHCA”) and regulation and supervision by the FRB. A bank holding company is required to obtain the approval of the FRB before making certain acquisitions or engaging in certain activities. Bank holding companies and their subsidiaries are also subject to restrictions on transactions with insiders and affiliates.

A bank holding company is required to obtain the approval of the FRB before it may acquire all or substantially all of the assets of any bank, and before it may acquire ownership or control of the voting shares of any bank if, after giving effect to the acquisition, the bank holding company would own or control more than five percent of the voting shares of such bank. The approval of the FRB is also required for the merger or consolidation of bank holding companies.

Pursuant to the BHCA, the FRB has the power to order any bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any activity or to terminate its ownership or control of any subsidiary when the FRB has reasonable grounds to believe that continuation of such activity or ownership constitutes a serious risk to the financial soundness, safety or stability of any bank subsidiary of the bank holding company.

The Company is required to file periodic reports with the FRB and provide any additional information the FRB may require. The FRB also has the authority to examine the Company and its subsidiaries, as well as any arrangements between the Company and its subsidiaries, with the cost of any such examinations to be borne by the Company. Banking subsidiaries of bank holding companies are also subject to certain restrictions imposed by federal law in dealings with their holding companies and other affiliates.

9

Federal law restricts the amount of voting stock of a bank holding company or a bank that a person or group may acquire without the prior approval of banking regulators. Under the federal Change in Bank Control Act (“CBCA”) and the regulations thereunder, a person or group must give advance notice to the Federal Reserve before acquiring control of any bank holding company, such as the Company, and the OCC before acquiring control of any national bank, such as the Bank. The CBCA prohibits a person or group of persons from acquiring “control” of a bank holding company unless the Federal Reserve has been notified and has not objected to the transaction. Under a rebuttable presumption established by the Federal Reserve, the acquisition of 10% or more of a class of voting stock of a bank holding company with a class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, such as the Company, would, under the circumstances set forth in the presumption, constitute acquisition of control of the Company. In addition, the CBCA prohibits any entity from acquiring 25% (the BHCA has a lower limit for acquirers that are existing bank holding companies) or more of a bank holding company’s or bank’s voting securities, or otherwise obtaining control or a controlling influence over a bank holding company or bank without the approval of the Federal Reserve. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve has clarified and codified the Federal Reserve’s standards for determining whether one company has control over another. Such rule established four categories of tiered presumptions of non-control that are based on the percentage of voting shares held by the investor (less than 5%, 5-9.9%, 10-14.9% and 15-24.9%) and the presence of other indicia of control. As the percentage of ownership increases, fewer indicia of control are permitted without falling outside of the presumption of non-control. These indicia of control include nonvoting equity ownership, director representation, management interlocks, business relationship and restrictive contractual covenants. Under the final rule, investors can hold up to 24.9% of the voting securities and up to 33% of the total equity of a company without necessarily being deemed to have a controlling influence.

Late in the preceding administration, the standards by which bank and financial institution acquisitions would be evaluated underwent change by the OCC, FDIC and Department of Justice (“DOJ”), but not the Federal Reserve. These review and changes were incorporated into non-binding guidance. The DOJ withdrew its 1995 Bank Merger Guidelines and issued the 2024 Banking Addendum to its 2023 Merger Guidelines. The DOJ clarified that it will assess competition considerations in connection with bank and bank holding company mergers using its 2023 Merger Guidelines, which is the general merger review framework the DOJ used to evaluate transactions in all segments of the economy, and the 2024 Banking Addendum. The 2024 Banking Addendum provided guidance on how the DOJ would apply heightened scrutiny to assess competition in the context of bank and bank holding company mergers. In May 2025, the FDIC rescinded its 2024 policy statement on bank merger review and reinstated prior guidance. The OCC also rescinded the 2024 policy statement and reinstated regulatory provisions providing for expedited processing of bank mergers under its pre-2024 policies.

The current administration is seeking to implement a regulatory reform agenda that is significantly different than that of the prior administration, impacting the rulemaking, supervision, examination and enforcement priorities of the federal banking agencies. We may be required to implement different compliance procedures and modify our policies and activities to comply with changes set forth by the current administration. This may cause us to incur additional costs and expenses, and dedicate additional resources, to achieve compliance with any changes from the current administration, which can impact our financial condition and the results of our operations.

Bank Regulation

Anti-Money Laundering and OFAC Regulation. The Bank is subject to a number of anti-money laundering laws (“AML”) and regulations. The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (“BSA”) and subsequent laws and regulations require the Bank to take steps to prevent the use of the Bank or its systems from facilitating the flow of illegal or illicit money or terrorist funds. Those requirements include ensuring effective board and management oversight, establishing policies and procedures, performing comprehensive risk assessments, developing effective monitoring and reporting capabilities, ensuring adequate training and establishing a comprehensive independent audit of BSA compliance activities.

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (“Patriot Act”) significantly expanded the AML and financial transparency laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Regulations promulgated under the Patriot Act impose various requirements on financial institutions, such as standards for verifying client identification at account opening and maintaining expanded records (including “Know Your Customer” and “Enhanced Due Diligence” practices) and other obligations to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to aid the process of preventing, detecting, and reporting money laundering and terrorist financing. An institution subject to the Patriot Act must provide AML training to employees, designate an AML compliance officer and annually audit the AML program to assess its effectiveness. The FDIC continues to issue regulations and additional guidance with respect to the application and requirements of BSA and AML.

The United States has imposed economic sanctions that affect transactions with designated foreign countries, nationals and others. Based on their administration by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), these are typically known as the “OFAC” rules. The OFAC-administered sanctions targeting countries take many different forms. Generally, however, they contain one or more of the following elements: (i) restrictions on trade with or

10

investment in a sanctioned country, including prohibitions against direct or indirect imports from and exports to a sanctioned country and prohibitions on “United States 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 United States jurisdiction (including property in the possession or control of United States persons). Blocked assets (e.g., property and bank deposits) cannot be paid out, withdrawn, set off or transferred in any manner without a license from OFAC.

Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate BSA, AML and OFAC programs, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal and reputational consequences for the institution and result in material fines and sanctions. The Bank has implemented policies and procedures to comply with the foregoing requirements.

Privacy Restrictions

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (“GLBA”), in addition to making changes to permissible non-banking activities in which banks are permitted to engage, also requires financial institutions in the U.S. to provide certain privacy disclosures to customers and consumers, to comply with certain restrictions on sharing and usage of personally identifiable information, and to implement and maintain commercially reasonable customer information safeguarding standards. In addition to the GLBA, we are, or may become in the future, subject to a variety of complex and evolving laws, regulations, rules and standards regarding privacy and cybersecurity. Privacy and cybersecurity are currently areas of considerable legislative and regulatory attention, with new or modified laws, regulations, rules and standards being frequently adopted and potentially subject to divergent interpretation or application in a manner that may create inconsistent or conflicting requirements for businesses.

Prompt Corrective Action. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”) establishes a system of prompt corrective action to resolve the problems of undercapitalized financial institutions. Under this system, the federal banking regulators have established five capital categories: well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized, in which all institutions are placed. The federal banking agencies have also specified by regulation the relevant capital levels for each category.

A “well-capitalized” bank is one that is not required to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure pursuant to any written agreement, order, capital directive, or prompt corrective action directive, and has a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 8%, a CET1 capital ratio of at least 6.5%, and a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 5%. Generally, a classification as well capitalized will place a bank outside of the regulatory zone for purposes of prompt corrective action. However, a well-capitalized bank may be reclassified as “adequately capitalized” based on criteria other than capital, if the federal regulator determines that a bank is in an unsafe or unsound condition, or is engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, which requires certain remedial action.

The FRB may also set higher capital requirements for holding companies whose circumstances warrant it. For example, holding companies experiencing internal growth or making acquisitions are expected to maintain strong capital positions substantially above the minimum supervisory levels, without significant reliance on intangible assets. At this time, the bank regulatory agencies are more inclined to impose higher capital requirements to meet well-capitalized standards and future regulatory change could impose higher capital standards as a routine matter. The Bank, as a matter of prudent management, targets as its goal the maintenance of capital ratios which exceed these minimum requirements and that are consistent with the Bank’s risk profile.

Deposit Insurance. The deposits of the Bank are insured by the DIF of the FDIC up to the limits set forth under applicable law and are subject to the deposit insurance premium assessments of the DIF. The current maximum per depositor FDIC insurance amount is $250,000. The FDIC applies a risk-based system for setting deposit insurance assessments. Under this system, the assessment rates for an insured depository institution vary according to the level of risk incurred in its activities. To arrive at an assessment rate for a banking institution, the FDIC places it in one of four risk categories determined by reference to its capital levels and supervisory ratings. In addition, in the case of those institutions in the lowest risk category, the FDIC further determines its assessment rate based on certain specified financial ratios or, if applicable, its long-term debt ratings. The assessment rate schedule can change from time to time, at the discretion of the FDIC, subject to certain limits. In addition to deposit insurance assessments, the FDIC is authorized to collect assessments from FDIC insured depository institutions to service the outstanding obligations of Financing Corporation (FICO).

The FDIC currently defines the base for FDIC insurance assessments based on average consolidated total assets less average tangible equity.

Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) System. The Bank is a member of the FHLB of Chicago, which is one of the 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks. The primary purpose of the FHLBs is to provide funding to their saving association members in support of the home financing credit function of the members. Each FHLB serves as a reserve or central bank for its members within its assigned region. FHLBs are funded primarily from proceeds derived from the sale of consolidated obligations of the FHLB System. FHLBs make loans or advances to members in accordance with policies and procedures

11

established by the board of directors of the FHLB. These policies and procedures are subject to the regulation and oversight of the Federal Housing Financing Board. All advances from a FHLB are required to be fully secured by sufficient collateral as determined by the FHLB. Long-term advances are required to be used for residential home financing and small business and agricultural loans.

As a member, the Bank is required to purchase and maintain stock in the FHLB of Chicago based on activity and membership requirements. As of December 31, 2025, the Bank had $3.7 million in FHLB stock, which was in compliance with this requirement. The Bank receives dividends on its FHLB stock.

Community Reinvestment Act. The Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) is intended to encourage insured depository institutions, while operating safely and soundly, to help meet the credit needs of their communities. CRA specifically directs the federal bank regulatory agencies, in examining insured depository institutions, to assess their record of helping to meet the credit needs of their entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound banking practices. CRA further requires the agencies to take a financial institution’s record of meeting its community credit needs into account when evaluating applications for, among other things, domestic branches, consummating mergers or acquisitions or holding company formations.

The federal banking agencies have adopted regulations which measure a bank’s compliance with its CRA obligations on a performance-based evaluation system. This system bases CRA ratings on an institution’s actual lending service and investment performance rather than the extent to which the institution conducts needs assessments, documents community outreach or complies with other procedural requirements. The ratings range from “outstanding” to a low of “substantial noncompliance.”

The Bank had a CRA rating of “Satisfactory” as of its most recent regulatory examination.

In October 2023, the Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC issued a final rule to amend their regulations implementing the CRA. The rule materially revises the current CRA framework, including the assessment areas with which a bank is evaluated to include activities associated with online and mobile banking, the tests used to evaluate the bank in its assessment areas, new methods of calculating credit for lending, investment and service activities and additional data collection and reporting requirements. The rule was originally intended to take effect on April 1, 2024, with most of the provisions becoming applicable on January 1, 2026, and reporting of the collected data would not be required until 2027.

Several banking industry groups filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the final rule, in which they argued that the agencies exceeded their statutory authority in adopting it. In March 2024, a preliminary injunction was granted that provides a day-for-day extension for each day the injunction remains in place. The court’s decision granting a preliminary injunction is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Uncertainty consequently remains around the actual implementation date, as well as around which elements of the final rule may be implemented.

Consumer Compliance and Fair Lending Laws. The Bank is subject to a number of federal and state laws designed to protect borrowers and promote lending to various sectors of the economy and population. These laws include the Patriot Act, BSA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, CRA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the National Flood Insurance Act, various state law counterparts, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which constitutes part of the Dodd-Frank Act. The enforcement of fair lending laws has been an increasing area of focus for regulators, including the OCC.

Enforcement Authority

The federal banking agencies have broad authority to issue orders to depository institutions and their holding companies prohibiting activities that constitute violations of law, rule, regulation or administrative order, or that represent unsafe or unsound banking practices, as determined by the federal banking agencies. The federal banking agencies also are empowered to require affirmative actions to correct any violations or practice; issue administrative orders that can be judicially enforced; direct increases in capital; limit dividends and distributions; restrict growth; assess civil money penalties against institutions or individuals who violate any laws, regulations, orders or written agreements with the agencies; order termination of certain activities of holding companies or their non-bank subsidiaries; remove officers and directors; order divestiture of ownership or control of a non-banking subsidiary by a holding company; or terminate deposit insurance and appoint a conservator or receiver.

Effects of Government Monetary Policy

The earnings of the Company are affected by general and local economic conditions and by the policies of various governmental regulatory authorities. In particular, the FRB regulates money supply, credit conditions and interest rates in order to influence general economic conditions, primarily through open market operations in United States Government Securities, varying the discount rate on member bank borrowings, setting reserve requirements against member and nonmember bank deposits, regulating interest rates payable by member banks on time and savings deposits and expanding or contracting the

12

money supply. FRB monetary policies have had a significant effect on the operating results of commercial banks and their holding companies, including the Bank and the Company, in the past and are expected to continue to do so in the future.

Human Capital

We are focused on the success, health and long-term growth and development of our employees and our objective is to attract and reward individuals with the talent and skills to help support our business objectives. Our employees are integral to the success of our business, particularly because most are customer-facing on behalf of our Company. Our ability to develop and retain our customers depends on the integrity, capabilities and knowledge of our employees.

Therefore, in order to compete effectively and continue to provide best in class service to our customers, we must attract, retain and motivate our employees. We believe our human capital efforts, which include employee training, employee health and benefits packages, and engaging employees in volunteer activities in the communities that we serve, all contribute to our success in attracting, retaining and motivating strong employee talent.

At March 5, 2026, we had 217 full-time employees and 238 total employees, company-wide. We have no unionized employees, and we are not subject to any collective bargaining agreements.