HERITAGE FINANCIAL CORP /WA/ (HFWA) FY 2023 MD&A

ITEM 7.        MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following is a discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations and should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 8 of this report. In addition to historical information, this discussion contains forward‑looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from management’s expectations. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in the sections entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.” The Company assumes no obligation to update any of these forward‑looking statements.

Management’s discussion focuses on 2023 results compared to 2022. For a discussion of 2022 results compared to 2021, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 24, 2023.

Overview

Heritage Financial Corporation is a bank holding company which primarily engages in the business activities of our wholly-owned financial institution subsidiary, Heritage Bank. We provide financial services to our local communities with an ongoing strategic focus on our commercial banking relationships, market expansion and asset quality. The Company’s business activities generally are limited to passive investment activities and oversight of its investment in the Bank. Accordingly, the information set forth in this report relates primarily to the Bank’s operations.

Our business consists primarily of commercial lending and deposit relationships with small to medium sized businesses and their owners in our market areas and attracting deposits from the general public. We also originate real estate construction and land development loans, residential real estate loans and consumer loans, primarily in our markets.

Our core profitability depends primarily on our net interest income. Net interest income is the difference between interest income, which is the income that we earn on interest earning assets, comprised primarily of loans and investment securities, and interest expense, which is the amount we pay on our interest bearing liabilities, consisting primarily of deposits and borrowings. Management manages the repricing characteristics of the Company's interest earning assets and interest bearing liabilities to protect net interest income from changes in market interest rates and changes in the shape of the yield curve. Like most financial institutions, our net interest income is significantly affected by general and local economic conditions, particularly changes in market interest rates, including recently significant changes as a result of inflation, and by governmental policies and actions of regulatory agencies. Net interest income is additionally affected by changes in the volume and mix of interest earning assets, interest earned on these assets, the volume and mix of interest bearing liabilities and interest paid on these liabilities.

Our net income is affected by many factors, including the provision for credit losses on loans. The provision for credit losses on loans is dependent on changes in the loan portfolio and management’s assessment of the collectability of the loan portfolio as well as prevailing economic and market conditions. Management believes that the ACL on loans reflects the appropriate amount to provide for current expected credit losses in our loan portfolio based on the CECL methodology.

Net income is also affected by noninterest income and noninterest expense. Noninterest income primarily consists of service charges and other fees, card revenue and other income. Noninterest expense consists primarily of compensation and employee benefits, occupancy and equipment, data processing and professional services. Compensation and employee benefits consist primarily of the salaries and wages paid to our employees, payroll taxes, expenses for retirement and other employee benefits. Occupancy and equipment expenses are the fixed and variable costs of buildings and equipment and consists primarily of lease expenses, depreciation charges, maintenance and utilities. Data processing consists primarily of processing and network services related to the Bank’s core operating system, including the account processing system, electronic payments processing of products and services, internet and mobile banking channels and software-as-a-service providers. Professional services consist primarily of third-party service providers such as auditors, consultants and lawyers.

Results of operations may also be significantly affected by general and local economic and competitive conditions, changes in accounting, tax and regulatory rules, governmental policies and actions of regulatory authorities, including changes resulting from inflation and the governmental actions taken to address these issues. Net income is also impacted by growth of operations through organic growth or acquisitions.

Results of Operations

Net income was $61.8 million, or $1.75 per diluted common share, for the year ended December 31, 2023 down from $81.9 million, or $2.31 per diluted common share, for the year ended December 31, 2022. Net income decreased $20.1 million, or 24.6%, compared to December 31, 2022 due to losses on sales of investment securities of $12.2 million largely as a result of investment portfolio repositioning, an increase in noninterest expense of $15.7 million including an $8.0 million increase in compensation and employee benefits, and an increase in the provision for credit losses of $5.7 million resulting from a provision for credit losses of $4.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to a reversal of the provision for credit losses of

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$1.4 million during 2022. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in net interest income of $5.8 million and a decrease in income tax expense of $6.4 million.

Net Interest Income and Margin Overview

One of the Company's key sources of earnings is net interest income. There are several factors that affect net interest income, including, but not limited to, the volume, pricing, mix and maturity of interest earning assets and interest bearing liabilities; the volume of noninterest earning assets, noninterest bearing demand deposits, other noninterest bearing liabilities and stockholders' equity; market interest rate fluctuations; and asset quality.

Market rates impact the results of the Company's net interest income, including the significant increases in the federal funds target rate by the Federal Reserve in response to inflation during 2022 and 2023. The following table provides the federal funds target rate history and changes since December 31, 2021:

Average Balances, Yields and Rates Paid

The following table provides relevant net interest income information for the periods indicated:

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(1) Average balances are calculated using daily balances.

(2) Average loans receivable, net includes loans held for sale and loans classified as nonaccrual, which carry a zero yield. Interest earned on loans receivable, net includes the amortization of net deferred loan fees of $3.3 million, $7.4 million and $28.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

(3) Yields on tax-exempt loans and securities have not been stated on a tax-equivalent basis.

The following tables provide the changes in net interest income for the periods indicated due to changes in average asset and liability balances (volume), changes in average yields/rates (rate) and changes attributable to the combined effect of volume and rates allocated proportionately to the absolute value of changes due to volume and changes due to rates:

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Total interest income increased $57.0 million, or 25.1%, to $284.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $227.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase was primarily due to a 106 basis point increase in the yield on interest earning assets to 4.53% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 3.47% for the year ended December 31, 2022 following increases in market interest rates.

Total interest expense increased $51.2 million, or 634.8%, to $59.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $8.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 due primarily to increased costs of interest bearing deposits resulting from competitive rate pressures as well as customers transferring balances from non-maturity deposits to higher rate certificates of deposits and an increase in borrowings. Total cost of interest bearing liabilities increased 120 basis points to 1.40% for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to 0.20% for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The net interest margin increased 23 basis points to 3.58% for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 3.35% for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in net interest margin was due primarily to increases in average yields on total interest earning assets as a result of increases in market interest rates. This was partially offset by increases in the average cost of interest bearing liabilities as a result of upward market pressure related to deposit rates and an increase in borrowings.

Provision for Credit Losses Overview

The aggregate of the provision for credit losses on loans and the provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments is presented on the Consolidated Statements of Income as the "Provision for (reversal of) credit losses." The ACL on unfunded commitments is included on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition within "Accrued expenses and other liabilities."

The following table presents the provision for (reversal of) credit losses for the periods indicated:

The provision for credit losses on loans recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023 was due primarily to growth in balances of collectively evaluated loans. The ACL on loans to Loans receivable increased to 1.11% as December 31, 2023, compared to 1.06% at December 31, 2022 due to changes in the loan mix as loan growth occurred in segments requiring a higher calculated reserve as a percentage of loans including real estate construction and land development loans. The reversal of provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023 was due primarily to an increase in utilization rates on lines of credit and a decrease in the unfunded exposure on construction loans.

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Noninterest Income Overview

The following table presents the change in the key components of noninterest income for the periods indicated:

Noninterest income decreased $10.9 million, or 36.9%, during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This decline was primarily driven by a pre-tax loss of $12.2 million incurred on the sale of investment securities available for sale during the year ended December 31, 2023. The loss on the sale of investment securities was a consequence of strategically repositioning the investment portfolio, involving the sale of $219.7 million in investment securities, with the aim of enhancing future earnings. Card revenue declined due to lower deposit transaction volumes. Bank owned life insurance income decreased due to the recognition of a death benefit of $1.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 which was not repeated during 2023, and gain on sale of other assets, net declined due to gain on sale of branches held for sale recognized during the year ended December 31, 2022 as a result of branch consolidations. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in other income primarily due to a one-time sale of Visa Inc. Class B common stock of $1.6 million and a $610,000 gain on sale of the Ellensburg branch during the year ended December 31, 2023. Service charges also increased due primarily to an increase in service charge income on commercial deposit accounts.

Noninterest Expense Overview

The following table presents changes in the key components of noninterest expense for the periods indicated:

Noninterest expense increased $15.7 million, or 10.4%, during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 due primarily to an $8.0 million increase in compensation and employee benefits resulting from a 4.2% increase in the average number of full-time equivalent employees, which included the addition of commercial and relationship banking teams in Boise, Idaho in the first quarter of 2023 and Eugene, Oregon in the second quarter of 2022. as well as an increase in salaries and wages due to upward market pressure. Occupancy and equipment expense increased due to our expansion into Eugene, Oregon and Boise, Idaho. Data processing costs increased due to increased cost of service contracts, expansion of digital services offerings and a $320,000 accrual for the early termination of a technology-related contract. Professional services increased due primarily to a $1.5 million expense related to renewal of the core vendor contract during the fourth quarter of 2023. Federal deposit insurance premiums increased due to the increase in the assessment rate starting in January 2023. Other expense increased due to an increase in customer deposit loss expense and employee related expenses, which included additional expenses related to calling efforts for the newly added teams, as well as a general increase in operating costs.

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Income Tax Expense Overview

The following table presents the income tax expense and related metrics and the change for the periods indicated:

Income tax expense and the effective income tax rate both decreased due primarily to lower pre-tax income, which increased the impact of favorable permanent tax items such as tax-exempt investments, investments in bank owned life insurance and tax credits.

Financial Condition Overview

The table below provides a comparison of the changes in the Company's financial condition for the periods indicated:

Total assets increased due primarily to an increase in loans receivable and cash and cash equivalents offset partially by a decrease in investment securities. Total liabilities and stockholders' equity increased due primarily to an increase in borrowings offset partially by a decrease in deposits. The changes are discussed in more detail in the sections below.

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Investment Activities Overview

Our investment policy is established by the Company's Board of Directors and monitored by the Risk Committee of the Board of Directors. It is designed primarily to provide and maintain liquidity, generate a favorable return on investments without incurring undue interest rate and credit risk, and complements the Company's lending activities. The policy permits investment in various types of liquid assets permissible under applicable regulations. Investment in non-investment grade bonds and stripped mortgage-backed securities is not permitted under the policy.

The following table provides information regarding our investment securities at the dates indicated:

(1) U.S. government agency and government-sponsored enterprise CMO and MBS obligations.

Total investment securities decreased due to sales of investment securities available for sale and maturities and repayments, offset partially by purchases of investment securities available for sale. Total losses on sale of $12.2 million were recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company incurred a pre-tax loss of $12.2 million on the sale of investment securities available for sale due to the strategic repositioning of its investment portfolio. The Company sold $219.7 million in investment securities with an estimated weighted average book yield of 2.42% and purchased $178.4 million of investment securities with an estimated weighted average book yield of 5.77%.

The following table provides the weighted average yield at December 31, 2023 calculated based upon the fair values of our investment securities available for sale and held to maturity, and excluding any income tax benefits of tax-exempt bonds:

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(1) U.S. government agency and government-sponsored enterprise CMO and MBS obligations.

Loan Portfolio Overview

Changes by loan type

The Company originates a wide variety of loans with a focus on commercial business loans. In addition to originating loans, the Company may also acquire loans through pool purchases, participation purchases and syndicated loan purchases. The following table provides information about our loan portfolio by type of loan at the dates indicated:

Loans receivable increased due primarily to increased loan demand and a decline in loan prepayments as compared to the prior year, as well as an increase in advances on lines of credit. This increase was offset partially by a decrease in consumer loans due primarily to repayments totaling $30.5 million in indirect consumer loans as the Company ceased indirect consumer loan originations in 2020.

Owner-occupied CRE and non-owner occupied CRE loans increased $132.5 million to $2.66 billion at December 31, 2023, compared to $2.52 billion at December 31, 2022. The following table provides information about owner occupied CRE and non-owner occupied CRE loans by collateral type at the dates indicated:

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Office loans represented the largest segment of owner-occupied and non-owner occupied CRE loans totaling $555.8 million, or 20.9% of the total owner-occupied CRE and non-owner occupied CRE, at December 31, 2023. Of this total, $277.4 million, or 49.9%, were owner-occupied CRE loans. Owner-occupied CRE loans have a lower risk profile as there is less tenant rollover risk and generally have guarantees from the company occupying the space as well as the owners of the company. The average individual loan balance of owner-occupied CRE and non-owner occupied CRE was $1.2 million at December 31, 2023.

Commercial and multifamily construction loans increased $121.8 million or 56.9% due to new loan originations and advances on outstanding loans. New commitments for commercial and multifamily construction loans were $246.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Composition of loans receivable by contractual maturity and interest type

The following table presents the amortized cost of the loan portfolio by segment and contractual maturity at December 31, 2023:

The following table presents the amortized cost of the loan portfolio by segment and interest rate type that are due after one year at December 31, 2023:

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(1) Includes $281.8 million of commercial business loans with floating or adjustable interest rates in which the Company entered into non-hedge interest rate swap contracts with the borrower and a third-party. Under these derivative contract arrangements, the Company effectively earns a variable rate of interest based on the one-month SOFR plus a margin, except for interest rate swap contracts on construction loans that earn fixed rates until the end of the construction period and the variable rate swap becomes effective.

Loans classified as nonaccrual and performing modified loans and nonperforming assets

The following table provides information about our nonaccrual loans, performing modified loans and nonperforming assets for the dates indicated:

(1) At December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, $3.2 million, and $1.5 million, respectively, of nonaccrual loans were guaranteed by government agencies.

(2) The Company adopted ASU 2022-02 on a prospective basis January 1, 2023.

The following table provides the changes in nonaccrual loans during the periods indicated:

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Nonaccrual loans decreased $1.4 million, or 24.3%, due primarily to ongoing collection efforts including the payoff of a commercial business loan for $1.6 million which also included a recovery of $1.1 million. Additions to nonaccrual loans consisted primarily of a $2.1 million commercial and industrial loan which is 100% government guaranteed.

Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans Overview

The following table provides information regarding changes in our ACL on loans for the years indicated:

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(1) Average balances exclude the ACL on loans and loans held for sale, but include loans classified as nonaccrual.

The provision for credit losses on loans of $4.7 million recognized during the year ended December 31, 2023 was due primarily to growth in balances of collectively evaluated loans. The ACL on loans to Loans receivable increased to 1.11% as December 31, 2023, compared to 1.06% at December 31, 2022 due to changes in the loan mix as loan growth occurred in segments requiring a higher calculated reserve as a percentage of loans including real estate construction and land development loans.

The following table presents the ACL on loans by loan portfolio segment at the indicated dates:

(1) Represents the percent of loans receivable by loan category to loans receivable.

Deposits Overview

The following table summarizes the Company's deposits at the dates indicated:

(1) Deposit balances at December 31, 2022 include deposits held for sale of $17.4 million, respectively.

Total deposits decreased $325.0 million, or 5.5%, to $5.60 billion at December 31, 2023, compared to $5.92 billion at December 31, 2022 due primarily to competitive rate pressures and interest rate sensitive clients moving a portion of their non-operating deposits to higher yielding accounts. Certificate of deposits increased due to increasing rates which attracted customers to this deposit type as well as the addition of $115.0 million in brokered deposits.

The Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement with a third party to sell and transfer certain assets, deposits and other liabilities of its branch in Ellensburg, WA in September 2022. During the three months ended September 30, 2023,

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$13.8 million in deposits were sold as part of the closing of the Ellensburg branch sale, which included $13.6 million of non-maturity deposits. At December 31, 2022, $17.4 million in deposits were classified as held for sale.

Total deposits include uninsured deposits of approximately $2.10 billion and $2.37 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, calculated in accordance with FDIC guidelines. Uninsured deposits included $256.5 million fully collateralized deposits as of December 31, 2023, The Bank does not hold any foreign deposits.

The following table provides the estimated uninsured portion of certificates of deposit that are in excess of the FDIC insurance limit, by remaining time until maturity at December 31, 2023, by account, with a maturity of:

Stockholders' Equity Overview

The Company’s stockholders' equity to assets ratio was 11.9% and 11.4% at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. The following table provides the changes to stockholders' equity during the periods indicated:

Stockholder's equity increased due primarily to net income and an increase in AOCI as a result of a decrease in other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, which positively impacted the fair value of our investment securities available for sale. AOCI has no effect on our regulatory capital ratios as the Company opted to exclude it from our common equity tier 1 capital. Cash dividends and stock repurchases partially offset the increase in stockholders' equity during the year ended December 31, 2023.

The Company repurchased 330,424 and 100,090 shares of its common stock under the Company's stock repurchase plan during the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. The Company also repurchased 32,792 and 26,944 shares which represented the cancellation of stock to pay withholding taxes on vested restricted stock awards or units during the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Liquidity refers to the Company’s ability to provide funds at an acceptable cost to meet loan demand and deposit withdrawals, as well as contingency plans to meet unanticipated funding needs or loss of funding sources. These objectives can be met from either our assets or liabilities.

Asset liquidity sources consist of the repayments and maturities of loans, sales of loans, maturities of investment securities and sales of investment securities available for sale. These activities are generally included as investing activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Net cash used by investing activities was $93.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. Net increases in loan balances from both loan originations and purchases used $280.7 million of cash, while investment securities sales and maturities, net of purchases provided $246.2 million in cash.

Liquidity may also be affected by liabilities as a result of changes in deposits and borrowings. These activities are included in financing activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. During the year ended December 31, 2023, financing activities provided $105.3 million of funds resulting primarily from an increase in short-term borrowings of $500.0 million offset partially by declines of $310.3 million in deposits and $46.6 million in securities sold under agreements to repurchase, and $30.8 million in dividend payments. The decline in deposits consisted of a decrease in non-maturity deposits of $710.4 million, offset partially by an increase in certificates of deposit of $385.4 million due primarily to competitive rate pressures and interest rate sensitive clients moving a portion of their non-operating deposits to higher yielding accounts including certificates of deposit. The decrease in total deposits during 2023 was industry wide. No assurance can be given as to future trends; however,

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historically, we have been able to retain and increase our deposits. We had FRB advances of $500.0 million at December 31, 2023, which were obtained through the Bank Term Funding Program ("BTFP") and mature during 2024 and are discussed in Note 11 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

At December 31, 2023, we had outstanding loan commitments of $1.27 billion, primarily relating to undisbursed loans in process and unused credit lines as discussed in Note 19 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. Loan commitments represent potential growth in the loan portfolio and lending activities. The current level of commitments is proportionally consistent with our historical experience and does not represent a departure from traditional operations. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we have $21.5 million of purchase obligations under contracts with our key vendors to provide services, mainly information technology related contracts. In addition, for the year ended December 31, 2023, we have $28.2 million of commitments under operating lease agreements.

We maintain sufficient cash and cash equivalents and investment securities to meet short-term liquidity needs and we also actively monitor our long-term liquidity position to ensure the availability of capital resources for contractual obligations, strategic loan growth objectives and to fund operations. Our funding strategy has been to acquire non-maturity deposits from our retail accounts, acquire noninterest bearing demand deposits from our commercial customers and use our borrowing availability to fund growth in assets. We may also acquire brokered deposits when the cost of funds is advantageous compared to other funding sources. Borrowings may be used on a short-term basis to compensate for reductions in other sources of funds (such as deposit inflows at less than projected levels). Borrowings may also be used on a longer-term basis to support expanded lending activities and match the maturity of repricing intervals of assets. While maturities and scheduled amortization of loans are a predictable source of funds, deposit flows and loan prepayments are greatly influenced by the level of interest rates, economic conditions and competition so we adhere to internal management targets assigned to the loan to deposit ratio, liquidity ratio, net short-term non-core funding ratio and non-core liabilities to total assets ratio to ensure an appropriate liquidity position.

We maintain credit facilities with the FHLB, which provide for advances that in the aggregate would equal the lesser of 45% of the Bank’s assets or adjusted qualifying collateral (subject to a sufficient level of ownership of FHLB stock). At December 31, 2023, under these credit facilities based on pledged loan collateral, the Bank had $1.42 billion of available credit capacity. We had no funds borrowed from the FHLB at December 31, 2023 or 2022. In addition, the Bank has access to the FRB Discount Window and BTFP. Under these programs, based on pledged investment collateral, the Bank had available lines of credit of approximately $819.5 million as of December 31, 2023, subject to amount of pledged collateral. We had $500.0 million in borrowings from the FRB's BTFP at December 31, 2023, as discussed previously, and none at December 31, 2022. At December 31, 2023, the Bank also had uncommitted federal funds line of credit agreements with other financial institutions totaling $145.0 million. No balances were outstanding under these agreements as of December 31, 2023 or 2022. Availability of lines is subject to federal funds balances available for loan and continued borrower eligibility. These lines are intended to support short-term liquidity needs and the agreements may restrict consecutive day usage. Management believes it has adequate resources and funding potential to meet our foreseeable liquidity requirements.

The Company pays dividends to our shareholders and the primary source of the Company's liquidity is cash obtained from dividends from the Bank to the Company. We expect to continue our current practice of paying quarterly cash dividends on our common stock subject to our Board of Directors’ discretion to modify or terminate this practice at any time and for any reason without prior notice. Our current quarterly common stock dividend rate is $0.23 per share, as approved by our Board of Directors. We believe this dividend rate per share enables us to balance our multiple objectives of managing and investing in the Bank and returning a substantial portion of our cash to our shareholders. Assuming continued payment during 2024 at this rate of $0.23 per share, our average total dividend paid each quarter would be approximately $8.0 million based on the number of our current outstanding shares (which assumes no increases or decreases in the number of shares).

From time to time, our Board of Directors has authorized stock repurchase plans. In general, stock repurchase plans allow us to proactively manage our capital position and return excess capital to shareholders. Shares purchased under such plans may also provide us with shares of common stock necessary to satisfy obligations related to stock compensation awards. The Company's current stock repurchase program authorizes us to repurchase up to 1,799,054 shares of Company common stock, of which 307,790 shares remained available for future repurchases as of December 31, 2023. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the stock repurchase program will depend on a number of factors, including constraints specified pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the SEC, price, general business and market conditions, and alternative investment opportunities. See “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” contained in Item 5, Part II of this Form 10-K for additional information relating to stock repurchases.

Management believes the capital sources are adequate to meet all reasonably foreseeable short-term and intermediate-term cash requirements.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Critical accounting estimates are those estimates made in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles that involve a significant level of estimation uncertainty and have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on the

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financial condition or results of operations of the registrant. The Company considers its critical accounting estimates to be as follows:

ACL on Loans

Management's estimate of the ACL on loans relies on the identification, stratification and separate estimates of loss for loans individually evaluated for loss and loans collectively evaluated for loss. The estimate of loss for loans collectively evaluated for loss particularly involves a significant level of estimation uncertainty due to its complexity and quantity of inputs including: management's determination of baseline loss rate multipliers based on a third-party forecast of economic conditions, an estimate of the reasonable and supportable forecast period, an estimate of the baseline loss rate lookback period, an estimate of the reversion period from the reasonable and supportable forecast period to the baseline loss rate, and an estimate of the prepayment rate and related lookback period. Additionally, management considers other qualitative risk factors to further adjust the estimated ACL on loans through a qualitative allowance.

Management's estimates for these inputs are based on past events and current conditions, are inherently subjective, and are susceptible to significant revision as more information becomes available. While management utilizes its best judgment and information available to recognize credit losses on loans, future additions to the allowance may be necessary based on declines in local and national economic conditions. In addition, various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review the Company’s ACL on loans. Such agencies may require the Company to make adjustments to the allowance based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of their examinations. Unanticipated changes in any of these inputs could have a significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

For additional information regarding the ACL on loans, its relation to the provision for credit losses, its risk related to asset quality and lending activity, see Item 1A. Risk Factors—Our ACL on loans may prove to be insufficient to absorb losses in our loan portfolio as well as Note (1) Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, Significant Accounting Policies and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements and Note (4) Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements And Supplementary Data.

ACL on Unfunded Commitments

The allowance methodology for unfunded commitments is similar to the ACL on loans, but additionally includes considerations of the current utilization of the commitment, an estimate of the future utilization, an estimate of utilization of construction loans prior to completion and an estimate of construction loan advance rates as determined appropriate by historical commitment utilization and the Company's estimates of future utilization given current economic forecasts. Unanticipated changes in loss rates estimated in the ACL on loans, as utilized in the methodology for the ACL on unfunded commitments, or the expected utilization of unfunded commitments could have a significant impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

For additional information regarding the ACL on unfunded commitments, see Note (1) Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, Significant Accounting Policies and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements and Note (19) Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements And Supplementary Data.

Goodwill

Due to a sustained decline in stock price during the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company determined a triggering event occurred and consequently performed a quantitative assessment of goodwill as of May 31, 2023. We estimated the fair value of the reporting unit by weighting results from the market approach and the income approach. Significant assumptions inherent in the valuation methodologies for goodwill were employed and included, but were not limited to, prospective financial information, growth rates, terminal value, discount rates, and comparable multiples from publicly traded companies in our industry. Based on this quantitative test, we determined that the fair value of the reporting unit more likely than not exceeded the carrying value.

The Company performed its annual goodwill impairment test during the fourth quarter of 2023 and determined that no material adverse changes had occurred since the quantitative assessment was performed as of May 31, 2023, and that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeded the carrying value, such that the Company's goodwill was not considered impaired for the year ended December 31, 2023. Changes in the economic environment, operations of the reporting unit or other adverse events, could result in future impairment charges which could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s operating results.

For additional information regarding goodwill, see Note (1) Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, Significant Accounting Policies and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements and Note (6) Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements And Supplementary Data.