PEOPLES FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP. (PFIS) Risk Factors

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, one should carefully consider the factors discussed below, which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. The risks described below are not the only risks that we face but are designed to highlight what we believe are the material factors to consider when evaluating our business and expectations. References to past events and risks are provided as examples only and are not intended to be a complete listing or representation as to whether any such risk factor presented has occurred in the past or likelihood of it occurring in the future. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be insignificant also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results.

Risks Related to Interest Rates

Changes in interest rates could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

The Company’s profitability depends to a large extent on its net interest income, which is the difference between the interest income paid on its loans and investments and the interest the Company pays to third parties such as its depositors, lenders and debtholders. Consequently, changes in interest rates impact profits and the fair values of certain assets and liabilities. Models that the Company uses to forecast and plan for the impact of rising and falling interest rates may fail to consider the impact of competition and other conditions affecting loans, deposits and cash flow assumptions. Volatility in interest rates affects the Company’s earnings, and depending on the extent of such volatility, the Company’s operating results and financial position could be materially impacted.

Interest rate increases often result in larger payment requirements for our borrowers, which increase the risk of potential default. At the same time, the marketability of collateral securing a loan may be adversely affected by any reduced demand resulting from higher interest rates. In late 2024, the policy of the Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) shifted and the FOMC began lowering rates. The Federal Funds target rate generally remained stable for the first eight months of 2025 and then the FOMC resumed its accommodative posture by reducing rates and bringing the Federal Funds target rate down to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% as of December 31, 2025. Contrarily, a declining interest rate environment may result in an increase in prepayments on loans as borrowers refinance their loans at lower rates. Under these circumstances, we are subject to reinvestment risk as we may have to redeploy such repayment proceeds into lower-yielding loans or investments, which could have a negative impact on our earnings. As of the date of this report, it is unclear whether interest rates will continue to decline in 2026.

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Increases in interest rates and economic conditions affecting consumer demand for housing can have a material impact on the volume of mortgage originations and refinancing, adversely affecting the profitability of the mortgage banking business. Interest rate risk can also result from variances between the dollar amounts of repricing or maturing assets and liabilities and from variances in the timing and rates at which the assets and liabilities reprice. The Company actively monitors and manages the balances of maturing and repricing assets and liabilities to reduce the adverse impact of changes in interest rates, but there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to avoid material adverse effects on net interest margin. Rising interest rates in prior periods have increased interest expense, with a commensurate negative effect on net interest income, but may not be expected to do so in future periods. In a rising rate environment, competition for cost-effective deposits increases, making it more costly for the Company to fund loan growth. Rapid and unexpected volatility in interest rates creates additional uncertainty and potential for adverse financial effects. Future changes in interest rates may materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in interest rates could affect our investment values and impact comprehensive income and stockholders’ equity.

At December 31, 2025, we had approximately $512.6 million of securities available for sale. These securities are carried at fair value on our consolidated balance sheets. Unrealized gains or losses on these securities, that is, the difference between the fair value and the amortized cost of these securities, are reflected in stockholders’ equity, net of deferred taxes. As of December 31, 2025, our available for sale securities had an unrealized loss, net of taxes, of approximately $29.1 million. The fair value of our available for sale securities is subject to change based on prevailing interest rates, which would not affect recorded earnings, but would increase or decrease comprehensive income and stockholders’ equity.

Our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected by impairment charges relating to our investment portfolio.

Numerous factors, including the lack of liquidity for re-sales of certain investment securities, the absence of reliable pricing information for investment securities, adverse changes in the business climate, adverse regulatory actions or unanticipated changes in the competitive environment, could have a negative effect on our investment portfolio in future periods. A security is considered impaired if its fair value is less than its amortized cost basis (excluding fair value hedge accounting adjustments from active portfolio layer method hedges).

Management periodically evaluates investments for impairment and utilizes criteria such as the magnitude of the decline, in addition to the reasons underlying the decline, to determine whether impairment is due to credit losses. If management concludes that it does not intend to sell an impaired security and it is not more likely than not required to sell an impaired security before recovery of its amortized cost basis (except for fair value hedge accounting adjustments from active portfolio layer method hedges), the Company will record the portion of the impairment related to credit losses (if any) in an ACL with an offsetting entry to net income. If an impairment charge is significant enough, it could affect our ability to pay dividends. Significant impairment charges could also negatively impact our regulatory capital ratios and result in us not being classified as “well-capitalized” for regulatory purposes.

Risks Related to Asset Quality

We are subject to credit risk in connection with our lending activities, and our financial condition and results of operations may be negatively impacted by economic conditions and other factors that adversely affect our borrowers.

Lending money is a significant part of the banking business and interest income on our loan portfolio is the principal component of our revenue. Our financial condition and results of operations are affected by the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans in a timely manner. Borrowers, however, do not always repay their loans. The risk of non-payment is assessed through our underwriting and loan review procedures based on several factors including credit risks of a particular borrower, changes in economic conditions, the duration of the loan and in the case of a collateralized loan, uncertainties as to the future value of the collateral and other factors. Despite our efforts, we do and will experience credit losses, and our financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected. Our loans which were

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between 30- and 89- days delinquent on December 31, 2025, totaled $15.5 million. Our nonperforming assets were approximately $12.1 million on December 31, 2025. Our ACL was approximately $39.0 million on December 31, 2025.

At December 31, 2025, $602.3 million or 14.8 percent, of our loan portfolio consisted of residential mortgage loans and $2.3 billion or 56.9 percent, of our loan portfolio consisted of commercial real estate loans. In addition, $667.9 million or 16.4 percent of our loan portfolio consisted of taxable commercial loans and $202.3 million or 5.0 percent of non-taxable commercial loans. A majority of these loans are made to borrowers or secured by properties located in Eastern Pennsylvania, where our business activities are primarily concentrated. Deterioration in economic conditions in this market area, particularly in the industries on which this geographic area depends, or a general decline in economic conditions has previously adversely affected the quality of our loan portfolio (including the level of nonperforming assets, charge offs and provision for credit losses) and may adversely impact our loan quality in the future, as well as the demand for our products and services, and, accordingly, our results of operations. Future declines in real estate values in the region could also cause some of our mortgage and commercial real estate loans to be inadequately collateralized, which would expose us to a greater risk of loss if we sought to recover on defaulted loans by selling the real estate collateral.

We make commercial and industrial, construction, commercial real estate and equipment financing loans, which present greater risks than other types of loans.

As of December 31, 2025, approximately 77.5 percent of our loan portfolio consisted of commercial and industrial, construction, commercial real estate and equipment financing loans. These types of loans are generally viewed as having more risk of default than residential real estate loans or consumer loans. These types of loans are also typically larger than residential real estate loans and consumer loans. Because our loan portfolio contains a significant number of commercial and industrial, construction, and commercial real estate loans some of which have large balances, the deterioration of one or a few of these loans could cause a significant increase in nonperforming loans. An increase in nonperforming loans could result in a net loss of earnings from these loans, an increase in the provision for credit losses, and an increase in loan charge-offs, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Commercial real estate loans totaled $2.3 billion at December 31, 2025, or 56.9 percent of our loan portfolio. The commercial real estate market poses risks of loss to us because of the concentration of commercial real estate loans in our loan portfolio, and the lack of diversity in risk associated with such a concentration. Banking regulators give commercial real estate lending greater scrutiny, and banks with larger commercial real estate loan portfolios are expected by their regulators to implement improved underwriting, internal controls, risk management policies and portfolio stress-testing practices to manage risks associated with commercial real estate lending. If our banking regulators determine that our commercial real estate lending activities are particularly risky and are subject to heightened scrutiny, we may incur significant additional costs or be required to restrict certain of our commercial real estate lending activities. Additional losses or regulatory requirements related to our commercial real estate loan concentration could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

At December 31, 2025, our portfolio included $169.0 million of equipment financing loans and leases. Our equipment finance activities expose us to a range of risks, including credit, operational, and collateral and/or residual value risks. Credit risk arises from the potential inability of borrowers to meet their payment obligations, which can be influenced by economic conditions, industry-specific downturns, or borrower-specific financial difficulties. Operational risks include the potential for errors in documentation, underwriting, or asset/collateral management processes, which could affect our ability to enforce contracts or recover equipment. Collateral and/or residual value risks stem from fluctuations in the value of financed equipment. The resale market for equipment may be limited, reducing our ability to mitigate losses in the event of default or at the end of lease term.

Our ACL may not be adequate to absorb actual credit losses, and we may be required to make further provisions for credit losses and charge off additional loans in the future, which could materially and adversely affect our business.

We attempt to maintain an ACL which is adequate to absorb losses inherent in our loan portfolio. If our ACL is inadequate, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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The determination of the ACL involves a high degree of subjectivity and judgment and requires us to make significant estimates of current credit risks and future trends, all of which may undergo material changes. Changes in economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding existing loans, identification of additional problem loans and other factors, both within and outside of our control, may require us to increase our ACL. Increases in nonperforming loans have a significant impact on our ACL. Our ACL may not be adequate to absorb actual credit losses. If conditions in our regional real estate markets decline, we could experience increased delinquencies and credit losses, particularly with respect to real estate construction and land acquisition and development loans and one-to-four family residential mortgage loans. Moreover, if the economy slows, the negative impact to our market area could result in higher delinquencies and credit losses. As a result, we will continue to make provisions for credit losses and to charge off additional loans in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to our internal processes for determining our ACL, bank regulatory agencies periodically review our ACL and may require us to increase the provision for credit losses, to recognize further loan charge-offs, or to take other actions based on judgments that differ from those of our management. If loan charge-offs in future periods exceed the ACL, we will need to increase our ACL. Furthermore, growth in our loan portfolio would generally lead to an increase in the provision for credit losses. Provisions for credit losses will result in a decrease in net income and capital and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, and results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Liquidity

Liquidity is essential to our business.

An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of securities or loans and other sources would have a substantial negative effect on our liquidity. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities or on the terms of which are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy generally. Although we have historically been able to replace maturing deposits and borrowings as necessary, we might not be able to replace such funds in the future if, among other things, the results of operations or financial condition of our lenders or market conditions were to change for us or our lenders.

Additionally, negative news about us or the banking industry in general could negatively impact market and/or customer perceptions of the Bank, which could lead to a loss of depositor confidence in turn leading to an increase in deposit withdrawals, particularly among those with uninsured deposits. Furthermore, as we and other banks experienced in 2023, the failure of other financial institutions may cause deposit outflows as customers (i) spread deposits among several different banks to maximize their amount of FDIC insurance, (ii) move deposits to larger banks (who may be considered “too big to fail”), or (iii) remove deposits from the banking system entirely. As of December 31, 2025, approximately 23.1 percent of our deposits were uninsured and uncollateralized. A failure to maintain adequate liquidity could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely substantially on deposits obtained from customers in our target markets to provide liquidity and support growth.

Our business strategies are based on access to funding from local customer deposits. Deposit levels may be affected by a number of factors, including interest rates paid by competitors, general interest rate levels, returns available to customers on alternative investments and general economic conditions that affect savings levels and the amount of liquidity in the economy, including government stimulus efforts in response to economic crises. If our deposit levels fall, we could lose a relatively low-cost source of funding and our interest expense would likely increase as we obtain alternative funding to replace lost deposits. If local customer deposits are not sufficient to fund our normal operations and growth, or if we lose a significant portion of our local customer deposits or a significant deposit relationship, we will look to outside sources, such as borrowings from the FHLB, which is a secured funding source, and our liquidity and/or profitability could be adversely impacted. Our ability to access borrowings from the FHLB will depend on the extent to which we can provide collateral to secure FHLB borrowings. We may also look to federal funds purchased and brokered deposits, although the use of brokered deposits may be limited or discouraged by our banking regulators. We may also seek to raise funds through the issuance of shares of our common stock, or other equity or equity-related securities, or debt securities

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including subordinated notes as additional sources of liquidity. If we are unable to access sufficient funding to support our business operations and growth strategies or if we are unable to access such funding on attractive terms, we may not be able to implement our business strategies which may negatively affect our financial performance.

Unrealized Losses in Our Securities Portfolio Could Affect Liquidity.

Changes in market interest rates affect the fair value of our securities. The fair value of our available for sale securities portfolio was below its amortized cost and accordingly was in an unrealized loss position at December 31, 2025. Unrealized losses related to available for sale securities are reflected in accumulated other comprehensive loss in our consolidated balance sheets and reduce the level of our book capital and tangible common equity. However, such unrealized losses do not affect our regulatory capital ratios. We actively monitor our available for sale securities portfolio. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, we completed a strategic repositioning of a portion of our available for sale securities portfolio. As part of the repositioning, we sold $78.6 million of lower-yielding, U.S. treasury bonds with a weighted average yield of 1.18% and realized an after-tax loss of approximately $1.8 million. The net proceeds of approximately $76.1 million from the sale were used to purchase higher-yielding investment securities that have been classified as available for sale including $38.2 million of U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities and $37.9 million of tax-exempt municipal bonds. The goal of the repositioning was to improve interest income and not for liquidity purposes. The purchased securities have a weighted average book yield of approximately 4.67%. We expect to recover the after-tax loss recorded on the sale within approximately ten months from the completion of the repositioning.

We will continue to monitor the securities portfolio. We do not currently anticipate the need to realize material losses from the sale of securities for liquidity purposes. Furthermore, we believe it is unlikely that we would be required to sell any such securities before recovery of their amortized cost bases, which may be at maturity. Nonetheless, our access to liquidity sources could be affected by unrealized losses if: (i) securities must be sold at a loss; (ii) tangible capital ratios continue to decline from an increase in unrealized losses or realized credit losses; or (iii) bank regulators impose restrictions on us that impact the level of interest rates we may pay on deposits or our ability to access brokered deposits. Additionally, significant unrealized losses could negatively impact market and/or customer perceptions of our company, which could lead to a loss of confidence and an increase in deposit withdrawals, particularly among customers with uninsured deposits.

The liquidity of our holding company depends on payments from the Bank, which are subject to restrictions.

We depend on dividends, distributions and other payments from the Bank to fund dividend payments to our shareholders, if any, and to fund all payments on obligations of our holding company. The Bank is subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from the Bank to us. Restrictions or regulatory actions of that kind could impede access to funds that we may need to make payments on our obligations or dividend payments, if any. In addition, our right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends if and when declared from time to time by our Board of Directors in its sole discretion out of funds legally available for that purpose.

Risks Related to Operations

The requirement to record certain assets and liabilities at fair value may adversely affect our financial results.

We report certain assets, including available for sale investment securities, at fair value. For assets that are reported at fair value we use quoted market prices or valuation models that utilize market data inputs to estimate fair value. Because we record these assets at their estimated fair value, we may incur losses even if the asset in question presents minimal credit risk. The level of interest rates can impact the estimated fair value of investment securities. Disruptions in the capital markets may require us to recognize impairments in future periods with respect to investment securities in our portfolio. The amount and timing of any impairment recognized will depend on the severity and duration of the decline in fair value of our investment securities and our estimation of the anticipated recovery period.

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Changes in the value of goodwill and intangible assets could reduce our earnings.

As of December 31, 2025, goodwill and intangible assets totaled $76.0 million and $27.7 million, respectively. We account for goodwill and other intangible assets in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), which, in general, requires that goodwill not be amortized, but rather that it be tested for impairment at least annually at the reporting unit level using a two-step approach. Testing for impairment of goodwill and intangible assets is performed annually, or more frequently if market factors change, and involves the identification of reporting units and the estimation of fair values. The estimation of fair values involves a high degree of judgment and subjectivity in the assumptions used. A significant and sustained decline in the company’s common stock price from changes in the local and national economy, the federal and state legislative and regulatory environments for financial institutions, the stock market, interest rates or other external factors (such as global pandemics, political instability and conflict, or natural disasters) may necessitate taking charges in the future and could result in an impairment charge at a future date.

We need to continually attract and retain qualified personnel for our operations.

Our ability to provide high-quality customer service and to operate efficiently and profitably is dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified individuals for key positions within the organization. We rely heavily on our executive officers and employees. The loss of certain executive officers or employees could have an adverse effect on us because, as a community bank, the executive officers and employees typically have more responsibility than would be typical at a larger financial institution with more employees. In addition, due to our size as a community bank, we have fewer management-level and other personnel who are in position to succeed to and assume the responsibilities of certain existing executive officers and employees. If we expand geographically or expand to provide non-banking services, current management may not have the necessary experience for successful operation in these new areas. There is no guarantee that management would be able to meet these new challenges or that we would be able to retain new officers or personnel with the appropriate background and expertise.

Our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting may not achieve their intended objectives.

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that we timely report information as specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We also maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting. These controls may not achieve their intended objectives. Control processes that involve human diligence and compliance, such as our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, are subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. Controls can also be circumvented by collusion or improper management override. Because of such limitations, there are risks that material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected and that information may not be reported on a timely basis. If our controls are not effective, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and market for our common stock, and could subject us to regulatory scrutiny.

We are subject to losses due to errors, omissions or fraud by our employees, clients, counterparties or other third parties.

We are exposed to many types of operational risk, including the risk of fraud by third parties, customers and employees, clerical recordkeeping errors, and transactional errors. Fraudulent activity may take many forms, including check fraud, electronic fraud, wire fraud, social engineering, phishing and other dishonest acts. While our procedures are designed to follow customary, industry-specific security precautions and while we provide employees with ongoing training and regular communications and guidance to combat fraud, our efforts might not be successful in mitigating or reducing fraudulent attempts resulting in financial losses, increased litigation risk and reputational harm.

Our business also depends on our employees, as well as third-party service providers, to process a large number of increasingly complex transactions. We could be materially and adversely affected if employees, clients, counterparties, or other third parties caused an operational breakdown or failure, either from human error, fraudulent manipulation, or purposeful damage to any of our operations or systems.

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We are exposed to environmental liabilities with respect to real estate.

We currently operate 40 community banking offices, and own additional real estate. In addition, a significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real property. In the course of our business, we may foreclose, accept deeds in lieu of foreclosure, or otherwise acquire real estate, and in doing so could become subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these properties. We may become responsible to a governmental agency or third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs incurred by those parties in connection with environmental contamination or may be required to investigate or clean-up hazardous or toxic substances, or chemical releases at a property. The costs associated with environmental investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. In addition, as the owner or former owner of a contaminated site, we may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. Although we have policies and procedures to perform an environmental review before acquiring title to any real property, these may not be sufficient to detect all potential environmental hazards. If we were to become subject to significant environmental liabilities, it could materially and adversely affect us.

Our reliance on third-party vendors and service providers exposes us to certain operational, regulatory and reputational risks.

We depend on third-party service providers and vendors, with whom we have substantial and material ongoing business relationships, including for core banking services, credit and debit card services, branch capture services, internet banking services and other services complementary to our banking products. If these third-party relationships were to unexpectedly become impaired or cease, our operations could be interrupted. It may be difficult for us to replace some of our third-party vendors, particularly vendors providing our core banking, credit card and debit card services, in a timely manner and the replacement could be on terms that are less favorable to us. If an interruption were to continue for a significant period of time, or if a new vendor’s terms were less favorable to us, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, a third-party’s failure to provide the services we require could threaten our compliance with applicable laws and regulations or cause us to suffer economic and reputational harm that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

These third-party relationships are subject to demanding regulatory requirements and attention from our bank regulators. Banking regulations require us to perform due diligence concerning our third-party vendors, to monitor ongoing relationships, and to maintain operational control. We expect that our regulators will hold us responsible for deficiencies in any oversight or loss of control of our third-party relationships and in the performance of the parties with which we have these relationships. As a result, if our regulators conclude that we have not exercised adequate oversight and control over our third party vendors or other ongoing third party business relationships or that such third parties have not performed appropriately, we could be subject to enforcement actions, including civil money penalties or other administrative or judicial penalties or fines as well as requirements for customer remediation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Demand for the Company’s services is influenced by general economic and consumer trends beyond the Company’s control.

The Company’s business activities and earnings are affected by general business conditions in the United States and in the market area in which the Company operates. There can be no assurance that our business and corresponding financial performance will not be adversely affected by general economic or consumer trends or events. These conditions include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, unemployment levels, consumer confidence and spending, fluctuations in both debt and equity capital markets, recession and the strength of the economy in the United States generally and the Company’s market area. A favorable business environment is characterized by, among other factors, economic growth, efficient capital markets, low inflation, low unemployment, high business and investor confidence, and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by declines in economic growth, business activity or investor or business confidence; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; or increases in inflation or interest rates; or periods of inflation. Unfavorable conditions can be caused by a variety of factors that lead to uncertainty and volatility. Global economic markets have seen extensive volatility over the last several years owing to variety of factors, including high inflation, trade policies and tariffs, volatility in the capital

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markets, the failure of financial institutions, volatility in the housing market, interest and currency rate fluctuations, labor availability, supply chain disruptions, global pandemics and public health crises and the responses thereto, weather catastrophes and geopolitical instability, including shutdowns and threats of shutdowns of the U.S. federal government, growing tensions between the U.S. and other nations, the Russia-Ukraine war, conflict in the Middle East, including the recent U.S. initiative against Iran, and acts of terrorism. These events have created and may continue to create significant disruptions to the global economy, supply chains and financial and labor markets. If such conditions continue, recur or worsen, this may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, such economic conditions have produced downward pressure on share prices and on the availability of credit for financial institutions and corporations while also driving up interest rates, further complicating borrowing and lending activities.

Negative economic and consumer trends, such as those described above, and uncertainty about continued economic improvement could place financial pressure on households and lead consumers and businesses to alter their spending, borrowing and saving behaviors. In addition, events that affect household and/or corporate income could impair the ability of the Company’s borrowers to repay their loans in accordance with their terms and reduce demand for banking products and services.

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

Competition in the banking and financial services industry is intense. We compete actively with other Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York financial institutions, many larger than us, as well as with financial and non-financial institutions headquartered elsewhere. Commercial banks, savings banks, online banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and money market funds actively compete for deposits and loans. Such institutions, as well as consumer finance, insurance companies and brokerage firms, may be considered competitors with respect to one or more services they render. Many of the institutions with which we compete have substantially greater resources and lending limits and may offer certain services that we do not or cannot provide. Our profitability depends upon our ability to successfully compete in our market area.

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Consumers may increasingly decide not to use banks to complete their financial transactions, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and operations.

Technology and other changes are allowing Fin Tech companies and other parties to complete financial transactions through alternative methods that historically have involved banks. For example, consumers can now maintain funds that would have historically been held as bank deposits in brokerage accounts, mutual funds, general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards, or in other types of assets, including crypto currencies or other digital assets. Consumers can also complete transactions such as paying bills or transferring funds directly without the assistance of banks. The process of eliminating banks as intermediaries, known as “disintermediation,” could result in the loss of fee income, as well as the loss of customer deposits. The loss of these revenue streams and the loss of deposits as a lower cost source of funds could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The soundness of other financial services institutions may adversely affect our credit risk.

We rely on other financial services institutions through trading, clearing, counterparty, and other relationships. Our reliance on other financial services institutions exposes us to credit risk in the event of default by these institutions or counterparties. These losses could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The development and use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) presents risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.

We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services, or products. The development and use of AI presents several potential risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulatory schemes targeted specifically at AI as well as intellectual property, privacy,

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consumer protection, employment, and other areas of laws impacted by the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that reflects biases included in the data on which they are trained, that results in the release of private, confidential, or proprietary information, that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it difficult to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias, and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures.

Our financial performance may suffer if our information technology is unable to keep pace with growth or industry developments.

Effective and competitive delivery of our products and services increasingly depends upon information technology resources and processes, both those provided internally as well as those provided through third party vendors. In addition to better serving customers, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables us to reduce costs. Our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services to enhance customer convenience, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have greater resources to invest in technological improvements. Additionally, as technology in the financial services industry changes and evolves, keeping pace becomes increasingly complex and expensive for us. There can be no assurance that we will be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services, which could reduce our ability to compete effectively.

A failure in or a breach of our information systems or infrastructure, including as a result of cybersecurity incidents, could disrupt our business, damage our reputation, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In the ordinary course of our business activities, including the ongoing maintenance of deposits, loan and other account relationships for our customers, receiving instructions and effecting transactions for those customers and other users of our products and services, we regularly collect, process, transmit and store significant amounts of confidential information regarding our customers, employees and others. In addition to confidential information regarding our customers, employees and others, we, and in some cases a third party, compile, process, transmit and store proprietary, non-public information concerning our business, operations, plans and strategies.

Information security risks have significantly increased in recent years, and are likely to continue to do so, in part because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct financial transactions, and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists and other external parties. We rely on digital technologies, computer and email systems, software, and networks to conduct secure processing, transmission and storage of confidential information. In addition, to access our products and services, our customers may use devices that are beyond our control systems. Our technologies, systems, and networks (including such third-party information technology platforms on which our business depends) and our customers’ devices have been subject to, and are likely to continue to be the target of, cybersecurity threats, computer viruses, malicious code, phishing attacks or information security breaches that could result in the unauthorized use, loss or destruction of our or our customers’ or third parties’ confidential information, or otherwise disrupt our or our customers’ or other third parties’ business operations.

In addition to cybersecurity incidents or other security breaches involving the theft of sensitive and confidential information, hackers have engaged in attacks against large financial institutions, particularly denial of service attacks,

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that are designed to disrupt key business services, such as customer-facing web sites. We cannot anticipate or implement effective preventive measures against all security breaches of these types, especially because the techniques used change frequently and because attacks can originate from a wide variety of sources.

Although we use a variety of physical, procedural and technological safeguards to protect confidential information from mishandling, misuse or loss, these safeguards cannot provide assurance that mishandling, misuse or loss of the information will not occur, and that if mishandling, misuse or loss of the information did occur, those events will be promptly detected and addressed. A failure in or breach of our operational or information security systems, or those of a third-party service provider, because of cybersecurity incidents or information security breaches or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business, damage our reputation, increase our costs and/or cause significant losses. Furthermore, because some of our employees work remotely from their homes, there is an increased risk of disruption to our operations because our employees’ residential networks and infrastructure may not be as secure as our office environment. As information security risks and cyber threats continue to evolve, we will be required to expend substantial resources to further enhance our information security measures and/or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities.

If information security is breached, despite the controls we and our third-party vendors have instituted, information can be lost or misappropriated, resulting in financial loss or costs to us or damages to others. These costs or losses could materially exceed the amount of insurance coverage, if any, which would adversely affect our earnings. In addition, our reputation could be damaged which could result in loss of customers, greater difficulty in attracting new customers, or an adverse effect on the value of our common stock.

Risks Related to Government Regulation

We operate in a highly regulated environment and may be adversely affected by changes in laws and regulations.

We are subject to extensive regulation, supervision and examination by certain state and federal agencies including the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. The regulatory rules and regulations that govern our operations limit the activities in which we may engage or provide restrictions or prohibitions concerning corporate actions we could take, for example by prohibiting our engagement in certain non-bank activities, limiting our ability to pay dividends, and mandating that we maintain certain capital ratios. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the imposition of restrictions on operations, the classification of assets and determination of the level of the ACL. 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 us and our operations. There also are several federal and state statutes which regulate the obligation and liabilities of financial institutions pertaining to environmental issues. In addition to the potential for attachment of liability resulting from our own actions, we may be held liable under certain circumstances for the actions of our borrowers, or third parties, for environmental problems on properties that collateralize loans held by us. Further, the liability has the potential to far exceed the original amount of a loan.

Our earnings are significantly affected by the fiscal and monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies.

The policies of the Federal Reserve affect us significantly. The Federal Reserve regulates the supply of money and credit in the U.S. Its policies directly and indirectly influence the rate of interest earned on loans and paid on borrowings and interest-bearing deposits and can also affect the value of financial instruments we hold. Those policies determine to a significant extent our cost of funds for lending and investing. Changes in those policies are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Federal Reserve policies can also affect our borrowers, potentially increasing the risk that they may fail to repay their loans. For example, a tightening of the money supply by the Federal Reserve could reduce borrower demand for our products and services or adversely affect the borrower’s earnings and ability to repay a loan, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Alternatively, an expansion of the money supply could make it easier for a borrower to obtain a loan from another financial institution at a lower interest rate, resulting in a payoff of that borrower’s higher rate loan with us, and which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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The regulations issued by the CFPB have increased and may continue to increase our costs of operations.

The CFPB has broad powers to supervise and enforce consumer protection laws and broad rule-making authority for a wide range of consumer protection laws that apply to all banks and savings institutions, including the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts and practices. Although the CFPB has jurisdiction over banks with $10 billion or greater in assets, rules, regulations and policies issued by the CFPB may also apply to the Company or its subsidiaries by virtue of the adoption of policies and practices by the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. Further, the CFPB may include its own examiners in regulatory examinations by the Company’s primary regulators. The limitations and restrictions imposed by the CFPB may produce significant material effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations. There is ongoing uncertainty as to the CFPB’s regulations and approach to enforcement and supervision, although the current leadership of the CFPB has indicated intentions to rescind or revise many regulations, as well as to narrow its enforcement and supervision. Federal law permits states to adopt consumer protection laws and standards that are more stringent than those adopted at the federal level and, in certain circumstances, permits state attorneys general to enforce compliance with both the state and federal laws and regulations.

Regulations relating to privacy, information security and data protection could increase our costs, affect or limit how we collect and use personal information and adversely affect our business opportunities.

We are subject to various privacy, information security and data protection laws, including requirements concerning security breach notification, and we could be negatively impacted by these laws. For example, our business is subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which, among other things: (i) imposes certain limitations on our ability to share nonpublic personal information about our customers with nonaffiliated third parties; (ii) requires that we provide certain disclosures to customers about our information collection, sharing and security practices and afford customers the right to “opt out” of any information sharing by us with nonaffiliated third parties (with certain exceptions) and (iii) requires that we develop, implement and maintain a written comprehensive information security program containing safeguards appropriate based on our size and complexity, the nature and scope of our activities, and the sensitivity of customer information we process, as well as plans for responding to data security breaches. Various state and federal banking regulators and states have also enacted data security breach notification requirements with varying levels of individual, consumer, regulatory or law enforcement notification in certain circumstances in the event of a security breach. Moreover, legislators and regulators in the United States may adopt or revise privacy, information security and data protection laws that potentially could have a significant impact on our current and planned privacy, data protection and information security-related practices, our collection, use, sharing, retention and safeguarding of consumer or employee information, and some of our current or planned business activities. This could also increase our costs of compliance and business operations and could reduce income from certain business initiatives. This includes increased privacy-related enforcement activity at the federal level, by the Federal Trade Commission, as well as at the state level.

Compliance with current or future privacy, data protection and information security laws (including those regarding security breach notification) affecting customer or employee data to which we are subject could result in higher compliance and technology costs and could restrict our ability to provide certain products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions or results of operations. Our failure to comply with privacy, data protection and information security laws could result in potentially significant regulatory or governmental investigations or actions, litigation, fines, sanctions, increased insurance cost and damage to our reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our ability to make opportunistic acquisitions is subject to significant risks, including the risk that regulators will not provide the requisite approvals.

We may make opportunistic whole or partial acquisitions of other banks, branches, financial institutions, or related businesses from time to time that we expect may further our business strategy. Any acquisition will be subject to regulatory approval, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such approval in a timely manner or at all. Even if we obtain regulatory approval, these acquisitions could involve numerous risks, including lower than expected performance or higher than expected costs, difficulties related to integration, diversion of management’s attention from other business activities, changes in relationships with customers, and the potential loss of key employees. In addition, we may not be successful in identifying acquisition candidates, integrating acquired institutions, or

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preventing deposit erosion or loan quality deterioration at acquired institutions. Competition for acquisitions can be highly competitive, and we may not be able to acquire other institutions on attractive terms. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in completing or will even pursue future acquisitions, or if such transactions are completed, that we will be successful in integrating acquired businesses into operations. Our ability to grow may be limited if we choose not to pursue or are unable to successfully make acquisitions in the future.

Acquisitions by us that use our stock as consideration would dilute our existing shareholders’ ownership and may cause us to become more susceptible to adverse market events. While there is no assurance that such transactions will occur, or that they will occur on terms favorable to us, future business acquisitions could be material to us, and the degree of success achieved in acquiring and integrating these businesses could have a material effect on the value of our common stock. In addition, these acquisitions could require us to expend substantial cash or other liquid assets or to incur debt, which could cause us to become more susceptible to economic downturns and competitive pressures.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Our ability to pay dividends or repurchase shares is subject to limitations.

Our ability to pay dividends on or repurchase shares of our stock depends upon our receipt of dividends from the Bank. Additionally, our ability to pay dividends is limited by Pennsylvania corporate law and by federal banking regulations. Under Pennsylvania law, we may not pay a dividend if, after payment, we could not pay our debts as they become due in the usual course of business or our total assets would be less than our total liabilities. The Federal Reserve Board has issued a policy statement on the payment of cash dividends by bank holding companies, which expresses the Federal Reserve Board’s view that a bank holding company should pay cash dividends only to the extent that the company’s net income for the past year is sufficient to cover both the cash dividends and a rate of earnings retention that is consistent with the company’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition.

As a state-chartered bank, the Bank is subject to regulatory restrictions on the payment and amounts of dividends under the Pennsylvania Banking Code. Further, the Bank’s ability to pay dividends is also subject to its profitability, financial condition, capital expenditures and other cash flow requirements. Under federal law and FDIC regulations, an insured bank may not pay dividends if doing so would make it undercapitalized within the meaning of the prompt corrective action law or if in default of its deposit insurance fund assessment. There is no assurance that the Bank will be able to pay dividends. Our failure to pay dividends could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

Future issuances of our common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and could be dilutive.

We may issue additional shares of common stock or securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, shares of our common stock. Issuances of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, or the expectation that such issuances might occur, including in connection with acquisitions, could materially adversely affect the market price of the shares of our common stock and could be dilutive to shareholders. Any decision we make to issue common stock in the future will depend on market conditions and other factors, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of possible future issuances of our common stock. Accordingly, our shareholders bear the risk that future issuances of our securities will reduce the market price of the common stock and dilute their stock holdings in the Company.

Our governing documents and Pennsylvania law contain provisions which may reduce the likelihood of a change in control transaction that may otherwise be available and attractive to shareholders.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws contain certain anti-takeover provisions that may make it more difficult or expensive or may discourage a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that is opposed by our Board of Directors. In particular, the articles of incorporation and bylaws: classify our Board of Directors into three groups, so that shareholders elect only approximately one-third of the board each year; require our shareholders to give us advance notice to nominate candidates for election to the Board of Directors or to make shareholder proposals at a shareholders’

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meeting; and require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75 percent of our common stock to approve amendments to our bylaws or to approve certain business combinations that have not received the support of two-thirds of our Board of Directors. These provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control, even though a majority of our shareholders may consider such proposals desirable. Such provisions could also make it more difficult for third parties to remove and replace the members of our Board of Directors. Moreover, these provisions could diminish the opportunities for shareholders to participate in certain tender offers, including tender offers at prices above the then-current market value of our common stock, and may also inhibit increases in the trading price of our common stock that could result from takeover attempts or speculation.

In addition, anti-takeover provisions in Pennsylvania law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us. These provisions could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and could reduce the amount that shareholders might receive if we are sold. For example, Pennsylvania law may restrict a third party’s ability to obtain control of Peoples and may prevent shareholders from receiving a premium for their shares of our common stock. Pennsylvania law also provides that our shareholders are not entitled by statute to propose amendments to our articles of incorporation.