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FB Bancorp, Inc. /MD/ (FBLA) Risk Factors

Verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from FB Bancorp, Inc. /MD/'s latest 10-K. Filing date: 2026-03-26. Accession: 0001193125-26-126081.

This page reproduces the company's own Item 1A Risk Factors text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.

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Extracted from Item 1A Risk Factors to the first Item 1B/1C/2 boundary after HTML sanitization. Confidence: high. Source form: 10-K. Character span: 149121-195796.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Risks Related to Our Lending Activities

The Company’s commercial real estate loans involve credit risks that could adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.

At December 31, 2025, commercial real estate loans totaled $248.7 million, or 33.4% of the Company’s loan portfolio. Commercial real estate loans generally have large balances and depend on the underlying collateral. Because the repayment of commercial real estate loans depends on the successful management and operation of the borrower’s properties or related businesses, their repayment can be affected by adverse conditions in the local real estate market or economy. A downturn in the real estate market or the local economy could adversely impact the value of properties securing the loan or the revenues from the borrower’s business, thereby increasing the risk of non-performing loans. The Company intends to increase its commercial real estate loan portfolios which may increase the corresponding risks and potential for losses from these loans.

The Company’s commercial loans involve credit risks that could adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.

At December 31, 2025, commercial loans totaled $92.2 million, or 12.4% of the Company’s loan portfolio. Unlike residential real estate loans, which generally are made on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from his or her employment or other income, and which are secured by real property whose value tends to be more easily ascertainable, commercial loans are of higher risk and typically are made on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make repayment from the cash flows of the borrower’s business, and the collateral securing these loans may fluctuate in value. Further, any collateral securing commercial loans may depreciate over time, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value. As a result, the availability of funds for the repayment of commercial loans may depend substantially on the success of the business itself. The Company intends to increase its commercial loan portfolios and as it increases, the corresponding risks and potential for losses from these loans may also increase.

The unseasoned nature of recently originated loans, in particular, commercial real estate and commercial loans, may result in changes in estimating collectability, which may lead to additional provisions or charge-offs, which could hurt the Company’s profits.

The Company continues to seek to grow and diversify its loan portfolio prudently by increasing the origination of commercial real estate and commercial loans in an effort to increase the overall loan portfolio yield. Pursuant to this strategy, Fidelity Bank’s average balance of loans held for investment during the year ended December 31, 2025, increased by $48.7 million, or 6.8%, compared to the same period in 2024. While to date, the Company has not incurred any losses with regard to loans originated during this period, this portion of the loan portfolio is unseasoned and does not provide the Company with a significant payment history pattern from which to judge future collectability, especially in the event of a future period of declining and unfavorable or recessionary economic conditions. As a result, it may be difficult to predict the future performance of this part of the Company’s loan portfolio. These more recently originated loans may have delinquency or charge-off levels above the Company’s historical experience, which could adversely affect its future financial performance. Further, commercial real estate and commercial loans generally have larger balances and involve a greater risk than one- to four-family residential mortgage loans. Accordingly, if the Company makes any errors in judgment in the collectability of these loans, any resulting charge-offs may be larger on a per loan basis than those incurred historically with its residential mortgage loan or consumer loan portfolios.

If the Company’s allowance for credit losses is not sufficient to cover actual loan losses, its earnings could decrease.

The Company makes various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of its loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of its borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of many of its loans. In determining the amount of the allowance for credit losses, The Company reviews its current loans, analyzes its historical and current losses and delinquencies, and evaluates market and national economic conditions. If the Company’s assumptions or the results of its analyses are incorrect, its allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in its loan portfolio, resulting in additions to its allowance. In addition, the Company’s emphasis on loan growth and on increasing its portfolios of commercial real estate and commercial loans, as well as any future credit deterioration, could require the Company to increase its allowance for credit losses in the future. Material additions to the Company’s allowance would materially decrease its net income.

The implementation of the Current Expected Credit Loss, referred to as “CECL” throughout this document, standard became effective for Fidelity Bank on January 1, 2023. CECL requires financial institutions to determine periodic estimates of lifetime expected credit losses on loans, and recognize the expected credit losses as allowances for credit losses. Accordingly, the Company changed its

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method of providing allowances for loan losses that are incurred or probable, which required the Company to increase its allowance for credit losses, and to greatly increase the types of data it must collect and review to determine the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses.

In addition, bank regulators periodically review the Company’s allowance for credit losses and, as a result of such reviews, the Company may be required to increase its provision for credit losses or recognize further loan charge-offs. Any increase in the Company’s allowance for credit losses or loan charge-offs as a result of such review or otherwise may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations.

The geographic concentration of the Company’s loan portfolio and lending activities makes the Company vulnerable to a downturn in the local economy.

The Company primarily serves individuals and businesses located in the Southern Louisiana and the New Orleans metropolitan area, the Florida panhandle, and Mississippi. At December 31, 2025, approximately $486.1 million, or 65.3%, of loans held for investment were originated in the New Orleans and North Shore New Orleans metropolitan area. These loans are primarily secured by real estate in these market areas. Therefore, our success is largely dependent on the economic conditions, including employment levels, population growth, income levels, savings trends and government policies in these market areas. Although the Company’s loan portfolio has very limited exposure to commercial office space in downtown New Orleans, increased vacancies in this market resulting in depressed prices could further effect on the New Orleans metropolitan area. Moreover, the continued trend of hybrid and remote work would likely result in increased vacancy rates in commercial office space throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area which could also negatively affect the demand for retail occupancy and sales in surrounding areas, any of which could adversely affect the value of the properties used as collateral for such loans. Similarly, weaker economic conditions caused by recessions, unemployment, inflation, a decline in real estate values or other factors beyond the Company’s control may adversely affect the ability of its borrowers to service their debt obligations and could result in higher loan and lease losses and lower net income for the Company.

Although there is not a single employer or industry in the Company’s market areas on which a significant number of its customers are dependent, the Company is still vulnerable to a downturn in the local economy and real estate markets. Decreases in local real estate values caused by economic conditions or other events could adversely affect the value of the property used as collateral for our loans, which could cause the Company to realize a loss in the event of a foreclosure.

A worsening of business and economic conditions generally or specifically in the principal markets in which the Company conduct business could have adverse effects on its business, including the following:


a decrease in the demand for, or the availability of, loans and other products and services offered by us;


a decrease in the value of our loans or other assets secured by residential or commercial real estate;


a decrease in interest income from variable rate loans due to declines in interest rates; and


an increase in the number of customers and counterparties who become delinquent, file for protection under bankruptcy laws or default on their loans or other obligations to the Company, which could result in a higher level of non-performing assets, net charge-offs, provisions for credit losses, and valuation adjustments on loans held for sale.

Moreover, a significant decline in general economic conditions, caused by inflation, recession, acts of terrorism, an outbreak of hostilities or other international or domestic calamities, unemployment, public health crises or other factors beyond the Company’s control could further impact these local economic conditions and could further negatively affect the financial results of its banking operations. In addition, deflationary pressures, while possibly lowering our operating costs, could have a significant negative effect on the Company’s borrowers, especially its business borrowers, and the values of underlying collateral securing loans, which could negatively affect the Company’s financial performance. In the event of severely adverse business and economic conditions generally, or specifically in the principal markets in which we conduct business, there can be no assurance that the federal government and the Federal Reserve Board would intervene. If economic conditions worsen or volatility increases, the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

The Company is subject to environmental liability risk associated with lending activities or properties it owns.

A significant portion of the Company’s loan portfolio is secured by real estate, and the Company could become subject to environmental liabilities with respect to one or more of these properties, or with respect to properties that the Company owns in operating

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our business. During the ordinary course of business, the Company may foreclose on and take title to properties securing defaulted loans and, in doing so, there is a risk that hazardous or toxic substances could be found on these properties. If hazardous conditions or toxic substances are found on these properties, the Company may be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage, civil fines and criminal penalties regardless of when the hazardous conditions or toxic substances first affected any particular property. Environmental laws may require the Company to incur substantial expenses to address unknown liabilities and may materially reduce the affected property’s value or limit the Company’s ability to use or sell the affected property. In addition, future laws or more stringent interpretations or enforcement policies with respect to existing laws may increase the Company’s exposure to environmental liability. The Company’s policies, which require it to perform an environmental review before initiating any foreclosure action on non-residential real property, may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. The remediation costs and any other financial liabilities associated with an environmental hazard could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Risks Related to Market Interest Rates

Inflationary pressures and rising prices may affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Inflation rose sharply at the end of 2021 and remained at an elevated level through 2025. Small to medium-sized businesses may be impacted more during periods of high inflation as they are not able to leverage economies of scale to mitigate cost pressures compared to larger businesses. Consequently, the ability of our business customers to repay their loans may deteriorate, and in some cases this deterioration may occur quickly, which would adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, a prolonged period of inflation could cause wages and other costs to the Company to increase, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Hedging against interest rate exposure may adversely affect our earnings.

We employ various financial risk methodologies that limit, or “hedge,” the adverse effects of rising or decreasing interest rates on our residential mortgage loans held for sale. One of our hedging strategies is to enter into forward commitments for the future delivery of residential mortgage bonds to hedge the effect of changes in interest rates ahead of the funding of the loans. Our hedging activity varies based on the level and volatility of interest rates and other changing market conditions, and interest rate hedging may fail to protect the Company from loss. Moreover, hedging activities could result in losses if the event against which we hedge does not occur. Additionally, interest rate hedging could fail to protect the Company or adversely affect the Company because, among other things:


available interest rate hedging may not correspond directly with the interest rate risk for which protection is sought;


the duration of the hedge may not match the duration of the related liability;


the party owing money in the hedging transaction may default on its obligation to pay;


the credit quality of the party owing money on the hedge may be downgraded to such an extent that it impairs our ability to sell or assign our side of the hedging transaction;


the value of derivatives used for hedging may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with accounting rules to reflect changes in fair value; and/or


downward adjustments, or “mark-to-market” losses, would reduce our stockholders’ equity.

Our securities portfolio performance in difficult market conditions could have adverse effects on our results of operations.

Unrealized losses on investment securities result from changes in credit spreads and liquidity issues in the marketplace, along with changes in the credit profile of individual securities issuers. Under GAAP, we are required to review our investment portfolio periodically for the presence of credit losses of our securities, taking into consideration current and future market conditions, the extent and nature of changes in fair value, issuer rating changes and trends, volatility of earnings, current analysts’ evaluations, our ability and intent to hold investments until a recovery of fair value, as well as other factors. Adverse developments with respect to one or more of the foregoing factors may require the Company to deem particular securities to be impaired, with the credit-related portion of the reduction in the value recognized as a charge to our earnings through an allowance. Subsequent valuations, in light of factors prevailing at that time, may result in significant changes in the values of these securities in future periods. Any of these factors could require the

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Company to recognize further impairments in the value of our securities portfolio, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations in future periods.

Future changes in interest rates could reduce our profits and asset values.

Net income is the amount by which net interest income and non-interest income exceed non-interest expense and the provision for credit losses. Net interest income makes up a majority of our income and is based on the difference between:


the interest income we earn on interest-earning assets, such as loans and securities; and


the interest expense we pay on interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings.

A substantial portion of our loans are fixed-rate loans, and we generally do not sell the loans we originate. Furthermore, the rates we earn on our other interest-earning assets and the rates we pay on our interest-bearing liabilities are generally fixed for a contractual period of time. Like many savings banks, our interest-bearing liabilities generally have shorter contractual maturities than our interest-earning assets. This imbalance can create significant earnings volatility because market interest rates change over time. In a period of rising interest rates, the interest income we earn on our assets may not increase as rapidly as the interest we pay on our liabilities. In a period of declining interest rates, the interest income we earn on our assets may decrease more rapidly than the interest we pay on our liabilities, as borrowers prepay mortgage loans, and mortgage-backed securities and callable investment securities are called, requiring the Company to reinvest those cash flows at lower, current interest rates.

In addition, changes in interest rates can affect the average life of loans and mortgage-backed and related securities. A decline in interest rates results in increased prepayments of loans and mortgage-backed and related securities as borrowers refinance their debt to reduce their borrowing costs. This creates reinvestment risk, which is the risk that we may not be able to reinvest prepayments at rates that are comparable to the rates we earned on the prepaid loans or securities. Furthermore, an inverted interest rate yield curve, where short-term interest rates (which are usually the rates at which financial institutions borrow funds) are higher than long-term interest rates (which are usually the rates at which financial institutions lend funds for fixed-rate loans) can reduce a financial institution’s net interest margin and create financial risk for financial institutions that originate longer-term, fixed rate mortgage loans.

Any substantial, unexpected, prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Changes in the level of interest rates also may negatively affect the value of our assets and ultimately affect our earnings.

We monitor interest rate risk through the use of simulation models, including estimates of the amounts by which the fair value of our assets and liabilities (our economic value of equity or “EVE”) and our net interest income would change in the event of a range of assumed changes in market interest rates. At December 31, 2025, we estimate that we would experience a 11.74% decrease in EVE in the event of an instantaneous 200 basis point increase in interest rates, and a 10.02% increase in EVE in the event of an instantaneous 200 basis point decrease in market rates.

Risks Related to Our Business Strategy and Operational Matters

Our business strategy includes growth, and our financial condition and results of operations could be negatively affected if we fail to grow or fail to manage our growth effectively. Growing our operations could also cause our expenses to increase faster than our revenues.

Our business strategy includes growth in assets, deposits and the scale of our operations. Achieving such growth will require the Company to attract customers that currently bank at other financial institutions in our market area. Our ability to successfully grow will depend on a variety of factors, including our ability to attract and retain experienced bankers, the continued availability of desirable business opportunities and the level of competition from other financial institutions. Growth opportunities may not be available or we may not be able to manage our growth successfully. If we do not manage our growth effectively, our financial condition and operating results could be negatively affected. Furthermore, there can be considerable costs involved in expanding lending capacity, and generally a period of time is required to generate the necessary revenues to offset these costs, especially in areas in which we do not have an established presence. Accordingly, any such business expansion can be expected to negatively impact our earnings until certain economies of scale are reached.

Development of new products and services may impose additional costs on the Company and may expose the Company to increased operational risk.

The introduction of new products and services can entail significant time and resources, including regulatory approvals. Substantial risks and uncertainties are associated with the introduction of new products and services, including technical and control requirements that may need to be developed and implemented, rapid technological change in the industry, our ability to access technical

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and other information from its clients, the significant and ongoing investments required to bring new products and services to market in a timely manner at competitive prices and the preparation of marketing, sales and other materials that fully and accurately describe the product or service and its underlying risks. Our failure to manage these risks and uncertainties also exposes the Company to enhanced risk of operational lapses which may result in the recognition of financial statement liabilities. Regulatory and internal control requirements, capital requirements, competitive alternatives, vendor relationships and shifting market preferences may also determine if such initiatives can be brought to market in a manner that is timely and attractive to our clients. Products and services relying on internet and mobile technologies may expose the Company to fraud and cybersecurity risks. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new products or services could have a material adverse effect on our business and reputation, as well as on its consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

We face significant operational risks because of our reliance on technology. Our information technology systems may be subject to failure, interruption or security breaches.

Information technology systems are critical to our business. Our business requires the Company to collect, process, transmit and store significant amounts of confidential information regarding our customers, employees, business, operations, plans and business strategies. We use various technology systems to manage our customer relationships, general ledger, securities investments, deposits, and loans. Our computer systems, data management and internal processes, as well as those of third parties, are integral to our performance. Our operational risks include the risk of malfeasance by employees or persons outside our company, errors relating to transaction processing and technology, systems failures or interruptions, breaches of our internal control systems and compliance requirements, and business continuation and disaster recovery. There have been increasing efforts by third parties to breach data security at financial institutions. Such attacks include computer viruses, malicious or destructive code, phishing attacks, denial of service or information or other security breaches that could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of confidential, proprietary and other information, damages to systems, or other material disruptions to network access or business operations. Although we take protective measures and believe that we have not experienced any of the data breaches described above, the security of our computer systems, software, and networks may be vulnerable to breaches, unauthorized access, misuse, computer viruses, or other malicious code or cyber-attacks that could have an impact on information security. Because the techniques used to cause security breaches change frequently, we may be unable to proactively address these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures.

Although we have invested in cybersecurity measures and review such measures on an ongoing basis, if there is a breakdown in our internal control systems, improper operation of systems or improper employee actions, or a breach of our security systems, including if confidential or proprietary information were to be mishandled, misused or lost, we could suffer financial loss, loss of customers and damage to our reputation, and face regulatory action or civil litigation. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Insurance coverage may not be available for such losses, or where available, such losses may exceed insurance limits.

We outsource critical operations to third-party service providers. Systems failures, interruptions and cybersecurity breaches could have a material adverse effect on us.

We outsource a majority of our data processing requirements to third-party providers. Accordingly, our operations are exposed to the risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with our contractual agreements with them, or we also could be adversely affected if such an agreement is not renewed by the third-party vendor or is renewed on terms less favorable to us. If our third-party providers encounter difficulties, or if we have difficulty communicating with those service providers, our ability to adequately process and account for transactions could be affected, and our business operations could be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Threats to information security also exist in the processing of customer information through various other vendors and their personnel, and our third-party service providers may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses, phishing schemes and other security breaches. We may have to expend additional resources to protect against the threat of such security breaches and computer viruses, or to alleviate problems caused by such security breaches or viruses. To the extent that the activities of our third-party service providers or the activities of our customers involve the storage and transmission of confidential information, security breaches and viruses could expose the Company to claims, regulatory scrutiny, litigation costs and other possible liabilities. To our knowledge, the services and programs provided to the Company by third parties have not experienced any material security breaches. However, the existence of cyber-attacks or security breaches at third parties with access to our data, such as vendors, may not be disclosed to the Company in a timely manner.

Artificial Intelligence presents risks and challenges that may adversely affect our business.

Many companies in the finance industry including us and our vendors have begun incorporating artificial intelligence (“AI”) software and applications into our business activities in order to increase productivity. The AI industry worldwide is developing rapidly, as is the legal and regulatory environment around its use. Reliance on AI therefore presents risks and challenges as we adapt to evolving rules and regulations, concerns regarding data privacy and misuse of intellectual property, and data biases and accuracy of responses to

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inquiries during use. These potential issues could raise compliance costs and increase security and liability concerns, which may reduce any productivity gained through its use. The complexity surrounding AI use makes it difficult to know the expected impact on our business.

Our business may be adversely affected by an increasing prevalence of fraud and other financial crimes.

Our loans to businesses and individuals and our deposit relationships and related transactions are subject to exposure to the risk of loss due to fraud and other financial crimes. Nationally, reported incidents of fraud and other financial crimes have increased. To our knowledge, we have not experienced material losses due to apparent fraud or other financial crimes. While we have policies and procedures designed to prevent such losses, losses may still occur.

Societal responses to climate change could adversely affect our business and performance, including indirectly through impacts on our customers.

Concerns over the long-term impacts of climate change have led and will continue to lead to governmental efforts around the world to mitigate those impacts. Consumers and businesses also may change their behavior as a result of these concerns. We and our customers will need to respond to new laws and regulations as well as consumer and business preferences resulting from climate change concerns. The impact on our customers will likely vary depending on their specific attributes, including reliance on or role in carbon intensive activities. Among the impacts to the Company could be a drop in demand for our products and services, particularly in certain sectors. In addition, we could face reductions in creditworthiness on the part of some customers or in the value of assets securing loans. Our efforts to take these risks into account in making lending and other decisions, including by increasing our business with climate-friendly companies, may not be effective in protecting the Company from the negative impact of new laws and regulations or changes in consumer or business behavior.

We depend on our management team to implement our business strategy and execute successful operations and we could be harmed by the loss of their services.

We depend on the services of the members of our senior management team who direct our strategy and operations. Our executive officers and lending personnel possess substantial expertise, extensive knowledge of our markets, and key business relationships. Our loss of these persons, or our inability to hire additional qualified personnel, could impact our ability to implement our business strategy and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and our ability to compete in our markets.

We are a community bank and our ability to maintain our reputation is critical to the success of our business. The failure to do so may materially adversely affect our performance.

We are a community bank, and our reputation is one of the most valuable components of our business. A key factor in implementing our business strategy is our reputation for customer service and knowledge of local markets to expand our presence by capturing new business opportunities from existing and prospective customers in our market area and contiguous areas. Threats to our reputation can come from many sources, including adverse sentiment about financial institutions generally, unethical practices, employee misconduct, failure to deliver minimum standards of service or quality, compliance deficiencies, cybersecurity incidents and questionable or fraudulent activities of our customers. Negative publicity regarding our business, employees, or customers, with or without merit, may result in the loss of customers and employees, costly litigation and increased governmental regulation, all of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our funding sources may prove insufficient to replace deposits at maturity and support our future growth.

We must maintain sufficient funds to respond to the needs of depositors and borrowers. As a part of our liquidity management, we use a number of funding sources in addition to core deposit growth and repayments and maturities of loans and investments. As we continue to grow, we are likely to become more dependent on these sources, which may include Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas advances, federal funds purchased and brokered certificates of deposit. Adverse operating results or changes in industry conditions could lead to difficulty or an inability to access these additional funding sources. Our financial flexibility will be severely constrained if we are unable to maintain our access to funding or if adequate financing is not available to accommodate future growth at acceptable interest rates. If we are required to rely more heavily on more expensive funding sources to support future growth, our revenues may not increase proportionately to cover our costs. In this case, our operating margins and profitability would be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Laws and Regulations

Changes in laws and regulations and the cost of regulatory compliance with new laws and regulations may adversely affect our operations and/or increase our costs of operations.

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Fidelity Bank is subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by the LOFI and the FDIC. FB Bancorp is subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve Board. Such regulation and supervision govern the activities in which an institution and its holding company may engage and are intended primarily for the protection of the federal deposit insurance fund and the depositors of Fidelity Bank, rather than for our stockholders. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the imposition of restrictions on our operations, the classification of our assets, and determination of the adequacy of the level of our allowance for credit losses. These regulations, along with existing tax, accounting, securities, insurance and monetary laws, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations, control the methods by which financial institutions conduct business, implement strategic initiatives and tax compliance, and govern financial reporting and disclosures. Any change in such regulation and oversight, whether in the form of regulatory policy, regulations, legislation or supervisory action, may have a material impact on our operations. Further, changes in accounting standards can be both difficult to predict and involve judgment and discretion in their interpretation by the Company and our independent accounting firm. These changes could materially impact, potentially even retroactively, how we report our financial condition and results of operations.

Non-compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, or other laws and regulations could result in fines or sanctions.

The USA PATRIOT and Bank Secrecy Acts require financial institutions to develop programs to prevent financial institutions from being used for money laundering and terrorist activities. If such activities are suspected, financial institutions are obligated to file suspicious activity reports with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These rules require financial institutions to establish procedures for identifying and verifying the identity of customers seeking to open new financial accounts. Failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines or sanctions, including restrictions on pursuing acquisitions or establishing new branches. The policies and procedures we have adopted that are designed to assist in compliance with these laws and regulations may not be effective in preventing violations of these laws and regulations. Furthermore, these rules and regulations continue to evolve and expand. We have not been subject to fines or other penalties or suffered business or reputational harm as a result of money laundering or terrorist activities in the past.

Monetary policies and regulations of the Federal Reserve Board could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to being affected by general economic conditions, our earnings and growth are affected by the policies of the Federal Reserve Board. An important function of the Federal Reserve Board is to regulate money supply and credit conditions. Among the instruments used by the Federal Reserve Board to implement these objectives are open market purchases and sales of U.S. government securities, adjustments of the discount rate and changes in banks’ reserve requirements against bank deposits. These instruments are used in varying combinations to influence overall economic growth and the distribution of credit, bank loans, investments and deposits. Their use also affects interest rates charged on loans or paid on deposits.

The monetary policies and regulations of the Federal Reserve Board have had a significant effect on the operating results of financial institutions in the past and are expected to continue to do so in the future. The effects of such policies upon our business, financial condition and results of operations cannot be predicted.

We are an emerging growth company, and any decision on our part to comply only with certain reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

FB Bancorp qualifies as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act. For as long as it continues to be an emerging growth company, it may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to public companies that are not to emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation. As an emerging growth company, FB Bancorp also will not be subject to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which would require that our independent auditors to audit our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to take advantage of the extended transition periods for adopting new or revised financial accounting standards until the date they are required to be adopted by private companies (however, if any new or revised financial accounting standards would not apply to private companies, we would not be able to delay their adoption). Accordingly, our financial statements may not be comparable to those of public companies that adopt new or revised financial accounting standards as of an earlier date. Investors may find our common stock less attractive since we have chosen to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of any choices to reduce future disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the price of our common stock may be more volatile.

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Risks Related to Economic Conditions

Inflation can have an adverse impact on our business and on our customers.

Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. Recently, there has been a pronounced rise in inflation and the Federal Reserve Board has raised certain benchmark interest rates significantly in an effort to combat inflation. As inflation increased, the value of our investment securities, particularly those with longer maturities, decreased, although this effect can be less pronounced for floating rate instruments. In addition, inflation increases the cost of goods and services we use in our business operations, such as electricity and other utilities, which increases our non-interest expense. Furthermore, our customers are also affected by inflation and the rising costs of goods and services used in their households and businesses, which could have a negative impact on their ability to repay their loans with us.

We have a high concentration of loans secured by real estate in our market area. Adverse economic conditions, both generally and in our market area, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have relatively few loans outside of our market area and, as a result, we have a greater risk of loan defaults and losses in the event of a further economic downturn in our market area, as adverse economic conditions may have a negative effect on the ability of our borrowers to make timely payments of their loans. Local economic conditions have a significant impact on the ability of our borrowers to repay loans and the value of the collateral securing loans. A deterioration in economic conditions, especially local conditions, could have the following consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, and could more negatively affect the Company compared to a financial institution that operates with more geographic diversity:


demand for our products and services may decline;


loan delinquencies, problem assets and foreclosures may increase;


collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline in value, thereby reducing customers’ future borrowing power, and reducing the value of assets and collateral associated with existing loans; and


the net worth and liquidity of loan guarantors may decline, impairing their ability to honor commitments to us.

Risks Related to Competitive Matters

Strong competition within our market area may limit our growth and profitability.

Competition in the banking and financial services industry is intense. We compete with commercial banks, savings institutions, mortgage brokerage firms, credit unions, finance companies, mutual funds, insurance companies, brokerage and investment banking firms and unregulated or less regulated non-banking entities. Many of these competitors are substantially larger than the Company and have substantially greater resources and higher lending limits than we have and offer certain services that we do not or cannot provide. In addition, some of our competitors offer loans with lower interest rates and/or more attractive terms than loans we offer. Competition also makes it increasingly difficult and costly to attract and retain qualified employees. We expect competition to increase in the future as a result of legislative, regulatory and technological changes and the continuing trend of consolidation in the financial services industry. Our profitability depends upon our continued ability to successfully compete for business and qualified employees in our market area. The greater resources and deposit and loan products offered by some of our competitors may limit our ability to increase our interest-earning assets.

The Company’s size makes it more difficult for the Company to compete.

Our asset size makes it more difficult to compete with other financial institutions that are larger and can more easily afford to invest in the marketing and technologies needed to attract and retain customers. Because our principal source of income is the net interest income we earn on our loans and investments after deducting interest paid on deposits and other sources of funds, our ability to generate the revenues needed to cover our expenses and finance such investments is limited by the size of our loan and investment portfolios. Accordingly, we are not always able to offer new products and services as quickly as our competitors. Our lower earnings may also make it more difficult to offer competitive salaries and benefits. In addition, our smaller customer base may make it difficult to generate meaningful non-interest income from such activities as securities and insurance brokerage. Finally, as a smaller institution, we are disproportionately affected by the continually increasing costs of compliance with new banking and other regulations.

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Risks Related to Accounting Matters

Changes in accounting standards could affect reported earnings.

The bodies responsible for establishing accounting standards, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies, periodically change the financial accounting and reporting guidance that governs the preparation of our financial statements. These changes can be hard to predict and can materially impact how the Company records and reports its consolidated financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply new or revised guidance retroactively.

Other Risks Related to Our Business

The risks of severe weather due to our geographic location could materially affect our financial condition.

Due to the geographic regions in which we operate, which are primarily coastal areas, we are exposed to risks created by severe weather events that may negatively affect our revenues, costs, and liabilities, despite efforts we undertake to plan for these events. Hurricanes and other natural disasters have historically impacted spending and credit performance in the areas affected as well as the ability to obtain flood insurance. Other disasters or catastrophic events in the future, and the impact of such events on Fidelity Bank and its customers, the banking industry or the overall economy could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and real property. These environmental risks can also directly affect our residential lending and investment portfolios, and more broadly, could materially impact our results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity.

Legal and regulatory proceedings and related matters could adversely affect us.

We have been and may in the future become involved in legal and regulatory proceedings. We consider most of the proceedings to be in the normal course of our business or typical for the industry; however, it is inherently difficult to assess the outcome of these matters, and we may not prevail in any proceedings or litigation. There could be substantial costs and management diversion in such litigation and proceedings, and any adverse determination could have a materially adverse effect on our business, reputation, or our financial condition and results of our operations. We are not currently involved in any litigation or administrative proceedings anticipated to have a material adverse effect.