FIRST UNITED CORP/MD/ (FUNC) Business

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

First United Corporation is a Maryland corporation chartered in 1985 and a bank holding company registered with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “FRB”) under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, that elected financial holding company status in 2021.  The Corporation’s primary business is serving as the parent company of First United Bank & Trust, a Maryland trust company (the “Bank”), First United Statutory Trust I (“Trust I”) and First United Statutory Trust II (“Trust II” and together with Trust I, the “Trusts”), both Connecticut statutory business trusts. The Trusts were formed for the purpose of selling trust preferred securities that qualified as Tier 1 capital. The Bank has two consumer finance company subsidiaries - OakFirst Loan Center, Inc., a West Virginia corporation, and OakFirst Loan Center, LLC, a Maryland limited liability company (together with OakFirst Loan Center, Inc., the “OakFirst Loan Centers”) - and one subsidiary that it uses to hold real estate acquired through foreclosure or by deed in lieu of foreclosure - First OREO Trust, a Maryland statutory trust.  In addition, the Bank owns 99.9% of the limited partnership interests in Liberty Mews Limited Partnership, a Maryland limited partnership formed for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating low-income housing units in Garrett County, Maryland, and a 99.9% non-voting membership interest in MCC FUBT Fund, LLC, an Ohio limited liability company formed for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating low-income housing units in Allegany County, Maryland and Mineral County, West Virginia.

At December 31, 2025, we had total assets of $2.1 billion, net loans of $1.5 billion and deposits of $1.7 billion. Shareholders’ equity at December 31, 2025 was $203.6 million.

The Corporation maintains an Internet website at www.mybank.com on which it makes available, free of charge, its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to the foregoing as soon as reasonably practicable after these reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

Banking Products and Services

The Bank operates 23 banking offices, one customer service center and 30 Automated Teller Machines (“ATMs”) in Allegany County, Frederick County, Garrett County, and Washington County in Maryland, and in Mineral County, Berkeley County and Monongalia County in West Virginia. The Bank is an independent community bank providing a complete range of retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals in its market areas. Services offered are essentially the same as those offered by the regional institutions that compete with the Bank and include checking, savings, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, business loans, personal loans, mortgage loans, lines of credit, and consumer-oriented retirement accounts including individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) and employee benefit accounts. In addition, the Bank provides full brokerage services through a networking arrangement with Cetera Investment Services, LLC, a full-service broker-dealer. The Bank also provides safe deposit and night depository facilities, insurance products and trust services. The Bank’s deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) up to applicable limits.

Lending Activities

Our lending activities are conducted through the Bank. Since 2010, the Bank has not originated any new loans through the OakFirst Loan Centers and their sole activity is servicing existing loans.

The Bank’s commercial loans are primarily secured by real estate, commercial equipment, vehicles or other assets of the borrower. Repayment is often dependent on the successful business operations of the borrower and may be affected by adverse conditions in the local economy or real estate market. The financial condition and cash flow of commercial borrowers is therefore carefully analyzed during the loan approval process and continues to be monitored throughout the duration of the loan by obtaining business financial statements, personal financial statements and income tax returns. The

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frequency of this ongoing analysis depends upon the size and complexity of the credit and collateral that secures the loan. It is also the Bank’s general policy to obtain personal guarantees from the principals of the commercial loan borrowers.

Commercial real estate loans are primarily those secured by land for residential and commercial development, agricultural purpose properties, service industry buildings such as restaurants, hotels and motels, retail buildings and general-purpose business space. The Bank attempts to mitigate the risks associated with these loans through low loan to value ratio standards, thorough financial analyses, and management’s knowledge of the local economy in which the Bank lends.

The risk of loss associated with commercial real estate construction lending is controlled through conservative underwriting procedures such as loan to value ratios of 80% or less, obtaining additional collateral when prudent, analysis of cash flows, and closely monitoring construction projects to control disbursement of funds on loans.

The Bank’s residential mortgage portfolio is distributed between variable and fixed rate loans. Some loans are booked at fixed rates to meet the Bank’s requirements under the federal Community Reinvestment Act (the “CRA”) or to complement our asset liability mix. Other fixed rate residential mortgage loans are originated in a brokering capacity on behalf of other financial institutions, for which the Bank receives a fee. As with any consumer loan, repayment is dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, which can be adversely impacted by factors such as job loss, divorce, illness, or personal bankruptcy. Residential mortgage loans exceeding an internal loan-to-value ratio require private mortgage insurance. Title insurance protecting the Bank’s lien priority, as well as fire and casualty insurance, is also required.

Home equity lines of credit, included within the residential mortgage portfolio, are secured by the borrower’s home and can be drawn on at the discretion of the borrower. These lines of credit are at variable interest rates.

The Bank also provides residential real estate construction loans to builders and individuals for single family dwellings. Residential construction loans are usually granted based upon “as completed” appraisals and are secured by the property under construction. Site inspections are performed to determine pre-specified stages of completion before loan proceeds are disbursed. These loans typically have maturities of six to twelve months and may have a fixed or variable rate. Permanent financing for individuals offered by the Bank includes fixed and variable rate loans with five, seven or ten-year adjustable-rate mortgages.

A variety of other consumer loans are also offered to customers, including indirect and direct auto loans, student loans, and other secured and unsecured lines of credit and term loans.

An allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) is maintained to provide for losses over the life of the portfolio from our lending activities. A complete discussion of the factors considered in determination of the ACL is included in Item 7 of Part II of this report.

Deposit Activities

The Bank offers a full array of deposit products including checking, savings and money market accounts, regular and IRA certificates of deposit, and Health Savings accounts. The Bank also offers the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service®, or CDARS®, and the IntraFi Cash Service®, or ICS®, programs to municipalities, businesses, and consumers through which the Bank provides access to multi-million-dollar certificates of deposit, savings and demand deposits, respectively.  Both programs are fully FDIC-insured. In addition, we offer our commercial customers packages which include Treasury Management, Cash Sweep and various checking opportunities.

Information about our income from and assets related to our banking business may be found in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition and the Consolidated Statements of Income and the related notes thereto included in Item 8 of Part II of this annual report.

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Wealth Management

The Bank’s wealth department offers a full range of trust services, including personal trust, investment agency accounts, charitable trusts, retirement accounts including IRA roll-overs, 401(k) accounts and defined benefit plans, estate administration and estate planning.

At December 31, 2025 and 2024, the total market value of assets under the supervision of the Bank’s wealth department was approximately $1.8 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. Wealth management income, which includes trust department income and brokerage commissions, for these years may be found in the Consolidated Statements of Income under the heading “Other operating income”, which is contained in Item 8 of Part II of this annual report.

COMPETITION

The banking business, in all of its phases, is highly competitive. Within our market areas, we compete with commercial banks, (including local banks and branches or affiliates of other larger banks), savings and loan associations and credit unions for loans and deposits, with consumer finance companies for loans, and with other financial institutions and other providers of financial services for various types of products and services, including trust services. There is also competition for commercial and retail banking business from banks and financial institutions located outside our market areas and on the internet.

The primary factors in competing for deposits are interest rates, personalized services, the quality and range of financial services, technology, convenience of office locations and office hours. The primary factors in competing for loans are interest rates, loan origination fees, the quality and range of lending services and personalized services.

To compete with other financial services providers, we rely principally upon local promotional activities, personal relationships established by officers, directors and employees with customers, and specialized services tailored to meet customers’ needs. In those instances in which we are unable to accommodate customers’ needs, we attempt to arrange for those services to be provided by other financial services providers with which we have a relationship.

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The following tables set forth deposit data for the Maryland and West Virginia Counties in which the Bank maintains offices as of June 30, 2025, the most recent date for which comparative information is available.

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For further information about competition in our market areas, see the Risk Factor entitled “We operate in a competitive environment, and our inability to effectively compete could adversely and materially impact our financial condition and results of operations” in Item 1A of Part I of this annual report.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

The following is a summary of the material regulations and policies applicable to the Corporation and its subsidiaries and is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion.  Changes in applicable laws and regulations may have a material effect on our business.

General

The Corporation is registered with the FRB as a financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”) and, as such, is subject to the supervision, examination and reporting requirements of the BHC Act and the regulations of the FRB.  As a publicly-traded company whose common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), is registered under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,

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as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market, the Corporation is also subject to regulation and supervision by the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market, LLC (“NASDAQ”).

The Bank is a Maryland trust company subject to the banking laws of Maryland and to regulation by the Maryland Department of Labor’s Office of Financial Regulation (the “Maryland OFR”), who is required by statute to make at least one examination in each calendar year (or at 18-month intervals if the Maryland OFR determines that an examination is unnecessary in a particular calendar year).  The Bank also has offices in West Virginia, and the operations of these offices are subject to various West Virginia laws.  As a member of the FDIC, the Bank is also subject to certain provisions of federal laws and regulations regarding deposit insurance and activities of insured state-chartered banks, including those that require examination by the FDIC.  In addition to the foregoing, there are a myriad of other federal and state laws and regulations that affect, or govern the business of banking, including consumer lending, deposit-taking, and trust operations.

All non-bank subsidiaries of the Corporation are subject to examination by the FRB, and, as affiliates of the Bank, are subject to examination by the FDIC and the Maryland OFR. In addition, OakFirst Loan Center, Inc. is subject to licensing and regulation by the West Virginia Division of Banking, and OakFirst Loan Center, LLC is subject to licensing and regulation by the Maryland OFR.

Regulation of Bank Holding Companies

The Corporation and its affiliates are subject to the provisions of Section 23A and Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act.  Section 23A limits the amount of loans or extensions of credit to, and investments in, the Corporation and its non-bank affiliates by the Bank.  Section 23B requires that transactions between the Bank and the Corporation and its non-bank affiliates be on terms and under circumstances that are substantially the same as with non-affiliates.

Under FRB policy, the Corporation is expected to act as a source of strength to the Bank, and the FRB may charge the Corporation with engaging in unsafe and unsound practices for failure to commit resources to a subsidiary bank when required.  This support may be required at times when the bank holding company may not have the resources to provide the support.  Under the prompt corrective action provisions, if a controlled bank is undercapitalized, then the regulators could require the bank holding company to guarantee the bank’s capital restoration plan.  In addition, if the FRB believes that a bank holding company’s activities, assets or affiliates represent a significant risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of a controlled bank, then the FRB could require the bank holding company to terminate the activities, liquidate the assets or divest the affiliates. The regulators may require these and other actions in support of controlled banks even if such actions are not in the best interests of the bank holding company or its stockholders.  Because the Corporation is a bank holding company, it is viewed as a source of financial and managerial strength for any controlled depository institutions, like the Bank.

In addition, under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”), depository institutions insured by the FDIC can be held liable for any losses incurred by, or reasonably anticipated to be incurred by, the FDIC in connection with (i) the default of a commonly controlled FDIC-insured depository institution or (ii) any assistance provided by the FDIC to a commonly controlled FDIC-insured depository institution in danger of default.  Accordingly, in the event that any insured subsidiary of the Corporation causes a loss to the FDIC, other insured subsidiaries of the Corporation could be required to compensate the FDIC by reimbursing it for the estimated amount of such loss.  Such cross guaranty liabilities generally are superior in priority to obligations of a financial institution to its shareholders and obligations to other affiliates.

Regulation of Financial Holding Companies

In 2021, the Corporation elected to become a financial holding company, which allows it to engage in certain activities, and own shares or control of certain entities, that are in addition to those permissible for an entity that is a bank holding company only.  The provisions of the BHC Act relating to financial holding companies and the regulations promulgated thereunder require the Bank to remain “well capitalized” and “well managed”.  The capital requirement is discussed below under the heading, “Prompt Corrective Action”.  The Bank will be considered to be well managed so

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long as it achieves a CAMEL composite rating of at least “2” as a result of its most recent examination and at least a “satisfactory” management rating (if such rating is given).  If the Bank were to fail to meet either of these requirements, then the Corporation would be required to enter into an agreement with the FRB that would address the remediation of the condition that led to the failure.  During the term of that agreement, which is typically 180 days but can be extended at the discretion of the FRB, the Corporation would be prohibited from commencing any additional activity or acquiring control or shares of any company that would otherwise be permissible for a financial holding company under Section 4(k) of the BHC Act.  If the Corporation were to fail to correct that condition by the expiration of the agreement’s term, then the FRB could order the Corporation to divest its ownership of the Bank or, alternatively, terminate all financial holding company activities.  For so long as the Corporation remains a financial holding company, the Bank must also maintain a Satisfactory or better rating under the CRA.  During any period that the Bank fails to satisfy this requirement, the Corporation is prohibited from commencing any additional activity or acquiring control or shares of any company that would otherwise be permissible for a financial holding company under Section 4(k) of the BHC Act.  The Bank currently satisfies all of the foregoing conditions.

Federal Banking Regulation

Federal banking regulators, such as the FRB and the FDIC, may prohibit the institutions over which they have supervisory authority from engaging in activities or investments that the agencies believe are unsafe or unsound banking practices.  Federal banking regulators have extensive enforcement authority over the institutions they regulate to prohibit or correct activities that violate law, regulation or a regulatory agreement or which are deemed to be unsafe or unsound practices.  Enforcement actions may include the appointment of a conservator or receiver, the issuance of a cease and desist order, the termination of deposit insurance, the imposition of civil money penalties on the institution, its directors, officers, employees and institution-affiliated parties, the issuance of directives to increase capital, the issuance of formal and informal agreements, the removal of or additions to restrictions on directors, officers, employees and institution-affiliated parties, and the enforcement of any such mechanisms through restraining orders or other court actions.

The Bank is subject to certain restrictions on extensions of credit to executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders or any related interest of such persons, which generally require that such credit extensions be made on substantially the same terms as those available to persons who are not related to the Bank and not involve more than the normal risk of repayment.  Other laws tie the maximum amount that may be loaned to any one customer and its related interests to capital levels.

As part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”), each federal banking regulator adopted non-capital safety and soundness standards for institutions under its authority.  These standards include internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, and compensation, fees and benefits.  An institution that fails to meet those standards may be required by the agency to develop a plan acceptable to meet the standards.  Failure to submit or implement such a plan may subject the institution to regulatory sanctions.  We believe that the Bank meets substantially all standards that have been adopted.  FDICIA also imposes capital standards on insured depository institutions.

The CRA requires the FDIC, in connection with its examination of financial institutions within its jurisdiction, to evaluate the record of those financial institutions in meeting the credit needs of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with principles of safe and sound banking practices.  These factors are also considered by all regulatory agencies in evaluating mergers, acquisitions and applications to open a branch or facility.  As of the date of its most recent examination report, the Bank had a CRA rating of “Satisfactory”.

The Bank is also subject to a variety of other laws and regulations with respect to the operation of its business, including, but not limited to, the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule (“TRID”), Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Expedited Funds Availability (Regulation CC), Reserve Requirements (Regulation D), Privacy of Consumer Information (Regulation P), Margin Stock Loans (Regulation U), the Right To Financial Privacy Act, the Flood

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Disaster Protection Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the CAN-SPAM Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (“BSA/AML”) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).

Capital Requirements

We require capital to fund loans, satisfy our obligations under the Bank’s letters of credit, meet the deposit withdrawal demands of the Bank’s customers, and satisfy our other monetary obligations.  To the extent that deposits are not adequate to fund our capital requirements, we can rely on the funding sources identified below under the heading “Liquidity Management”.  Management is not aware of any demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that are likely to materially affect our ability to meet our future capital requirements.

In addition to operational requirements, the Bank and the Corporation are subject to risk-based capital regulations, which were adopted and are monitored by federal banking regulators.  These regulations are used to evaluate capital adequacy and require an analysis of an institution’s asset risk profile and off-balance sheet exposures, such as unused loan commitments and stand-by letters of credit.

Regulators may require higher capital ratios when warranted by the particular circumstances or risk profile of a given banking organization.  In the current regulatory environment, banking organizations must stay well-capitalized in order to receive favorable regulatory treatment on acquisition and other expansion activities and favorable risk-based deposit insurance assessments.  Our capital policy establishes guidelines meeting these regulatory requirements and takes into consideration current or anticipated risks as well as potential future growth opportunities.

In July 2019, the federal banking agencies adopted a final rule that simplifies compliance with certain aspects of the capital rules.  A majority of the simplifications apply solely to banking organizations that are not subject to the advanced approaches capital rule.  The rule simplified the application of regulatory capital treatment for mortgage servicing assets, certain deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences, investments in the capital of unconsolidated financial institutions, and capital issued by a consolidated subsidiary of a banking organization and held by third parties (minority interest).  In addition, the rule revised the treatment of certain acquisition, development, or construction exposures.

As of December 31, 2025, we were in compliance with the applicable requirements.

Additional information about our capital ratios is contained in “Consolidated Balance Sheet Review” section of Item 7 of Part II of this annual report under the heading “Capital Resources”.

Prompt Corrective Action

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (“FDI Act”) requires, among other things, the federal banking agencies to take “prompt corrective action” in respect of depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. The FDI Act includes the following five capital tiers: “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized.” A depository institution’s capital tier will depend upon how its capital levels compare with various relevant capital measures and certain other factors, as established by regulation. The relevant capital measures are the total capital ratio, the Tier 1 capital ratio and the leverage ratio.

A bank will be (i) “well capitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.0% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% or greater, a leverage ratio of 5.0% or greater, a Common Equity Tier 1 (“CET1”) ratio of 6.5% or greater, and is not subject to any order or written directive by any such regulatory authority to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure, (ii) “adequately capitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6.0% or greater, a leverage ratio of 4.0% or greater, a CET1 ratio of 4.5% or greater, and is not “well capitalized”, (iii) “undercapitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 8.0%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0%, a leverage ratio of less

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than 4.0%, or a CET1 ratio of less than 4.5%, (iv) “significantly undercapitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4.0%, a leverage ratio of less than 3.0%, or a CET1 ratio of less than 3.0%, and (v) “critically undercapitalized” if the institution’s tangible equity is equal to or less than 2.0% of average quarterly tangible assets. An institution may be downgraded to, or deemed to be in, a capital category that is lower than indicated by its capital ratios if it is determined to be in an unsafe or unsound condition or if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating with respect to certain matters. A bank’s capital category is determined solely for the purpose of applying prompt corrective action regulations, and the capital category may not constitute an accurate representation of the bank’s overall financial condition or prospects for other purposes.

The FDI Act generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distributions (including payment of a dividend) or paying any management fee to its parent holding company if the depository institution would thereafter be “undercapitalized.” “Undercapitalized” institutions are subject to growth limitations and are required to submit a capital restoration plan. The agencies may not accept such a plan without determining, among other things, that the plan is based on realistic assumptions and is likely to succeed in restoring the depository institution’s capital. In addition, for a capital restoration plan to be acceptable, the depository institution’s parent holding company must guarantee that the institution will comply with such capital restoration plan. The bank holding company must also provide appropriate assurances of performance. The aggregate liability of the parent holding company is limited to the lesser of (i) an amount equal to 5.0% of the depository institution’s total assets at the time it became undercapitalized and (ii) the amount which is necessary (or would have been necessary) to bring the institution into compliance with all capital standards applicable with respect to such institution as of the time it fails to comply with the plan. If a depository institution fails to submit an acceptable plan, it is treated as if it is “significantly undercapitalized.”  Significantly undercapitalized” depository institutions may be subject to a number of requirements and restrictions, including orders to sell sufficient voting stock to become “adequately capitalized,” requirements to reduce total assets, and cessation of receipt of deposits from correspondent banks. “Critically undercapitalized” institutions are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator.

The appropriate federal banking agency may, under certain circumstances, reclassify a well-capitalized insured depository institution as adequately capitalized. The FDI Act provides that an institution may be reclassified if the appropriate federal banking agency determines (after notice and opportunity for hearing) that the institution is in an unsafe or unsound condition or deems the institution to be engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice.

The appropriate agency is also permitted to require an adequately capitalized or undercapitalized institution to comply with the supervisory provisions as if the institution were in the next lower category (but not treat a significantly undercapitalized institution as critically undercapitalized) based on supervisory information other than the capital levels of the institution.

As of December 31, 2025, the Bank was “well capitalized” based on the aforementioned ratios.

Liquidity Requirements

Historically, the regulation and monitoring of bank liquidity has been addressed as a supervisory matter, without required formulaic measures. The Basel III Capital Rules require banks to measure their liquidity against specific liquidity tests that, although similar in some respects to liquidity measures historically applied by banks and regulators for management and supervisory purposes, going forward would be required by regulation. One test, referred to as the liquidity coverage ratio, is designed to ensure that the banking entity maintains an adequate level of unencumbered high-quality liquid assets equal to the entity’s expected net cash outflow for a 30-day time horizon (or, if greater, 25% of its expected total cash outflow) under an acute liquidity stress scenario. The other test, referred to as the net stable funding ratio, is designed to promote more medium- and long-term funding of the assets and activities of banking entities over a one-year time horizon. These requirements will incent banking entities to increase their holdings of securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) and other sovereign debt as a component of assets and increase the use of long-term debt as a funding source.

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Deposit Insurance

The Bank is a member of the FDIC and pays an insurance premium to the FDIC based upon its assessable deposits on a quarterly basis.  Deposits are insured up to applicable limits by the FDIC and such insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

The deposit insurance limit set by law is currently $250,000.  The coverage limit is per depositor, per insured depository institution for each account ownership category.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005, which created the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”), gave the FDIC greater latitude in setting the assessment rates for insured depository institutions which could be used to impose minimum assessments.  The FDIC has the flexibility to adopt actual rates that are higher or lower than the total base assessment rates adopted without notice and comment, if certain conditions are met.

In November 2023, the FDIC issued a final rule to implement a special assessment to recover losses to the DIF as a result of bank failures that year and the FDIC’s use of the systemic risk exception to cover certain deposits that were otherwise uninsured.  In June 2024, due to the increased estimate of losses, the FDIC announced that it projects that the special assessment will be collected for an additional two quarters beyond the initial eight-quarter collection period at a lower rate.  In December 2025, based upon the first six quarterly collections of the special assessment and anticipated collections for the seventh quarterly special assessment, the FDIC issued an interim final rule to amend the collection of the special assessment to reduce the eighth quarter special assessment and removed the special assessment for the two additional quarters was removed.  The special estimate was based on estimated uninsured deposits at December 31, 2022 (excluding the first $5.0 billion).  The Bank was exempt from this special assessment as its total uninsured deposits were below $5.0 billion.

The FDIC is authorized to conduct examinations of and require reporting by FDIC-insured institutions.  It is also authorized to terminate a depository bank’s deposit insurance upon a finding by the FDIC that the bank’s financial condition is unsafe or unsound or that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices or has violated any applicable rule, regulation, order or condition enacted or imposed by the bank’s regulatory agency.  The termination of deposit insurance for our bank subsidiary would have a material adverse effect on our earnings, operations and financial condition.

Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering

The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), which is intended to require financial institutions to develop policies, procedures, and practices to prevent and deter money laundering, mandates that every national bank have a written, board-approved program that is reasonably designed to assure and monitor compliance with the BSA.

The program must, at a minimum: (i) provide for a system of internal controls to assure ongoing compliance; (ii) provide for independent testing for compliance; (iii) designate an individual responsible for coordinating and monitoring day-to-day compliance; and (iv) provide training for appropriate personnel.  In addition, state-chartered banks are required to adopt a customer identification program as part of its BSA compliance program.  State-chartered banks are also required to file Suspicious Activity Reports when they detect certain known or suspected violations of federal law or suspicious transactions related to a money laundering activity or a violation of the BSA.

In addition to complying with the BSA, the Bank is subject to the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”). The USA Patriot Act is designed to deny terrorists and criminals the ability to obtain access to the United States’ financial system and has significant implications for depository institutions, brokers, dealers, and other businesses involved in the transfer of money.   The USA Patriot Act mandates that financial service companies implement additional policies and procedures and take heightened measures designed to address any or all of the following matters: customer identification programs,

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money laundering, terrorist financing, identifying and reporting suspicious activities and currency transactions, currency crimes, and cooperation between financial institutions and law enforcement authorities.

Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) was enacted in July 2010 and significantly restructured the financial regulatory regime in the United States. Although the Dodd-Frank Act’s provisions that have received the most public attention generally have been those applying to or more likely to affect larger institutions such as banks and bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more, it contains numerous other provisions that affect all financial institutions, including the Bank.  The Dodd-Frank Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), discussed below, and contains a wide variety of provisions affecting the regulation of depository institutions, including fair lending, fair debt collection practices, mortgage loan origination and servicing obligations, bankruptcy, military service member protections, use of credit reports, privacy matters, and disclosure of credit terms and correction of billing errors.  Local, state and national regulatory and enforcement agencies continue efforts to address perceived problems within the mortgage lending and credit card industries through broad or targeted legislative or regulatory initiatives aimed at lenders’ operations in consumer lending markets.  There continues to be a significant amount of legislative and regulatory activity, nationally, locally and at the state level, designed to limit certain lending practices while mandating certain servicing procedures.  Federal bankruptcy and state debtor relief and collection laws, as well as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act affect the ability of banks, including the Bank, to collect outstanding balances.

Moreover, the Dodd-Frank Act permits states to adopt stricter consumer protection laws and states’ attorneys general may enforce consumer protection rules issued by the CFPB.  U.S. financial regulatory agencies have increasingly used a general consumer protection statute to address unethical or otherwise bad business practices that may not necessarily fall directly under the purview of a specific banking or consumer finance law.  Prior to the Dodd-Frank Act, there was little formal guidance to provide insight to the parameters for compliance with the “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” (“UDAP”) law.  However, the UDAP provisions have been expanded under the Dodd-Frank Act to apply to “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices”, which has been delegated to the CFPB for supervision.

The Dodd-Frank Act has increased, and will likely continue to increase, our regulatory compliance burdens and costs and may restrict the financial products and services that we offer to our customers in the future.

Mortgage Lending and Servicing

The Bank’s mortgage lending and servicing activities are subject to various laws and regulations that are enforced by the federal banking regulators and the CFPB, such as the Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and various rules adopted thereunder, including those relating to consumer disclosures, appraisal requirements, mortgage originator compensation, prohibitions on mandatory arbitration provisions under certain circumstances, and the obligation to credit payments and provide payoff statements within certain time periods and provide certain notices prior to interest rate and payment adjustments.

The Bank is required to make a reasonable and good faith determination based on verified and documented information that a consumer applying for a mortgage loan has a reasonable ability to repay the loan according to its terms.  Qualified mortgages that are not “higher-priced” are afforded a safe harbor presumption of compliance with the ability to repay rules, while qualified mortgages that are “higher-priced” garner a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the ability to repay rules.  In general, a “qualified mortgage” is a mortgage loan without negative amortization, interest-only payments, balloon payments, or a term exceeding 30 years, where the lender determines that the borrower has the ability to repay, and where the borrower’s points and fees do not exceed 3% of the total loan amount.  “Higher-priced” mortgages must have escrow accounts for taxes and insurance and similar recurring expenses.

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Consumer Lending – Military Lending Act

The Military Lending Act (the “MLA”) and the rules adopted by the Department of Defense (“DOD”) thereunder cover virtually all consumer loan and credit card products (except for loans secured by residential real property and certain purchase-money motor vehicle/personal property secured transactions).  Lenders must provide specific written and oral disclosures concerning the protections of the MLA to active-duty members of the military and dependents of active-duty members of the military (“covered borrowers”).  The DOD’s rules impose a 36% “Military Annual Percentage Rate” cap that includes costs associated with credit insurance premiums, fees for ancillary products, finance charges associated with the transactions, and application and participation charges.  In addition, loan terms cannot include (i) a mandatory arbitration provision, (ii) a waiver of consumer protection laws, (iii) mandatory allotments from military benefits, or (iv) a prepayment penalty.  The revised rule also prohibits “roll-over” or refinances of the same loan unless the new loan provides more favorable terms for the covered borrower.  Lenders may verify covered borrower status using a DOD database or information provided by credit bureaus.

Federal Securities Laws and NASDAQ Rules

The Common Stock is registered with the SEC under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and shares of the Common Stock are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.  The Corporation is subject to information reporting requirements, proxy solicitation requirements, insider trading restrictions and other requirements of the Exchange Act, including the requirements imposed under the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and rules adopted by NASDAQ.  Among other things, loans to and other transactions with insiders are subject to restrictions and heightened disclosure, directors and certain committees of the Board must satisfy certain independence requirements, the Corporation must comply with certain enhanced corporate governance requirements, and various issuances of securities by the Corporation require shareholder approval.

Governmental Monetary and Credit Policies and Economic Controls

The earnings and growth of the banking industry and ultimately of the Bank are affected by the monetary and credit policies of governmental authorities, including the FRB.  An important function of the FRB is to regulate the national supply of bank credit in order to control recessionary and inflationary pressures. Among the instruments of monetary policy used by the FRB to implement these objectives are open market operations in U.S. Government securities, changes in the federal funds rate, changes in the discount rate of member bank borrowings, and changes in reserve requirements against member bank deposits.  These means are used in varying combinations to influence overall growth of bank loans, investments and deposits and may also affect interest rates charged on loans or paid on deposits.  The monetary policies of the FRB authorities have had a significant effect on the operating results of commercial banks in the past and are expected to continue to have such an effect in the future.  In view of changing conditions in the national economy and in the money markets, as well as the effect of actions by monetary and fiscal authorities, including the FRB, no prediction can be made as to possible future changes in interest rates, deposit levels, loan demand or their effect on our businesses and earnings.

EMPLOYEES

At December 31, 2025, we employed 343 individuals, of whom 315 were full-time employees.