CIVISTA BANCSHARES, INC. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule of the Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and common equity held by of the registrant based upon the closing market price as of June 30, 2021 was $323,533,981. For this purpose, shares held by include all outstanding common shares except those beneficially owned by the directors and executive officers of the registrant.

Portions of the registrant’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the “2021 Annual Report”) are incorporated by reference into Parts I and II of this Form Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 19, 2022 (the “2022 Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this ​​​​​​​

We emphasize relationship banking by maintaining and growing our customers and contacts with personal interaction by our bankers and management teams in the communities that we serve. We strive to do this by offering a full suite of competitive banking products through efficient and varied delivery channels tailored to the needs of our customers and potential customers. Civista, through its Civista Wealth Management division, also offers investment and advisory solutions. Our approach is personalized and focused on what our clients need. We provide individuals, families, business and with personalized investment management, advisory services for employers, financial planning, trust services, and tailored lending.

We believe it is critical to have as a strategic initiative a plan to work with our customers, in the short and medium terms, in navigating the impacts of the ongoing pandemic. As part of this plan, we are focused on the inevitable changing needs and preferences of our customers in a environment. We have utilized several resources at our disposal, including loan modifications and payment deferrals, to proactively aid our borrowers.

During 2020, Civista implemented a temporary loan deferral program for customers impacted by COVID-19 pursuant to which Civista provided loan deferrals on an aggregate of 813 loans totaling $431.3 million. As of December 31, 2021, Civista had seven loans totaling $5.1 million and representing 0.3 percent of loans outstanding, excluding Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans, that remained on loan deferral. The loan modifications are not classified as TDRs because they satisfied certain requirements as set forth under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020, as amended (the “CARES Act”) to not be classified as TDRs. Further details regarding these modifications are provided in the table on page 60 of the Company’s 2021 Annual Report to Shareholders. For loans subject to the deferral program, each borrower is required to resume making regularly scheduled loan payments at the end of the modification period and the deferred amounts will be moved to the end of the loan term.

We plan to continue to focus on growing our core, commercial operating and retail, deposit base with an emphasis on relationship banking. Our business model focuses on gaining the majority of our customers’ banking relationships by implementing

We seek to leverage our mortgage banking infrastructure to support the origination of residential mortgage loans for sale into the secondary market, Mortgage loan originations and sales activity are strategies utilized to support growth in our income, while also serving to help manage the Company’s exposure to interest rate risk through the sale of longer-duration, fixed-rate loans into the secondary market.

The Company’s capital position provides a source of strength and continues to significantly exceed all regulatory capital guidelines as demonstrated by the December 31, 2021 Tier 1 Leverage ratios of the Company and Civista of 10.2 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. We plan to continue to maintain robust capital reserves, in part due to the risks and uncertainties associated with the pandemic.

In addition to our robust capital levels, we maintain significant sources of both and sheet liquidity and plan to continue to do so. At December 31, 2021, our liquid assets included $255.2 million of short-term cash and equivalents supplemented by $559.9 million of investment securities classified as available for sale which can be readily sold or pledged as collateral, if necessary. In addition, we had the capacity to borrow additional funds totaling $581.5 million from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati at December 31, 2021.

The economic implications of the pandemic on our business and the resulting impact on our asset quality are difficult to fully predict at this time. Notwithstanding this uncertainty, our reserve levels have remained adequate with total allowance amounting to $26.6 million at December 31, 2021.

We offer commercial and personal loans on a secured and unsecured basis, revolving lines of credit, commercial mortgage loans, and residential mortgages on both primary and secondary residences, home equity loans, bridge loans and other personal purpose loans. However, we are not and have not historically been a participant in the lending market.

Our portfolio lending activities include the origination of to four-family first mortgage loans, primarily in our designated market area. The fixed-rate residential mortgage loans that we originate for portfolio generally meet the secondary mortgage market standards. As a complement to our residential to four-family portfolio lending activities, we operate a mortgage banking platform which supports the origination of to four-family mortgage loans that generally meet the secondary mortgage market standards. Such loans are generally originated by and sourced from the same resources and markets as those loans originated and held in our portfolio.

Through our Civista Wealth Management division we offer investment advisory services to individuals, families, businesses and with personalized investment management, 401(k) advisory services for employers, financial planning, and trust services.

We have designed a compensation structure that we believe is attractive to our current and prospective employees. We also offer our employees the opportunity to participate in a variety of professional and leadership development programs. Our programs include a variety of industry, product, technical, professional, business development, leadership and regulatory topics. These programs are available online and In addition, we encourage all employees to be involved in the communities we serve through various volunteer activities.

As a financial holding company, CBI is subject to regulation under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and the examination and reporting requirements of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”). Under the BHCA, CBI is subject to periodic examination by the Federal Reserve Board and is required to file periodic reports regarding its operations and any additional information that the Federal Reserve Board may require. The Federal Reserve Board also has extensive enforcement authority over financial and bank holding companies, including the ability to assess civil money penalties, issue cease and desist and removal orders, and require that a financial or bank holding company divest subsidiaries, including its subsidiary banks.

In April 2020, the Federal Reserve Board adopted a final rule to revise its regulations related to determinations of whether a company has the ability to exercise a controlling influence over another company for purposes of the BHCA. The final rule expands and codifies the presumptions for use in such determinations. By codifying the presumptions, the final rule provides greater transparency on the types of relationships that the Federal Reserve Board generally views as supporting a determination that one company controls another company. The Federal Reserve Board’s final rule applies to questions of control under the BHCA, but does not extend to the Change in Bank Control Act.

The GLBA permits qualifying bank holding companies to elect to become financial holding companies and thereby affiliate with securities firms and insurance companies and engage in other activities that are financial in nature if (i) the holding company is well capitalized and well managed and (ii) each of the holding company’s subsidiary banks is well capitalized under the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Corporation Act of 1991 prompt corrective action provisions, is well managed, and has at least a satisfactory rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (the “CRA”). In March, 2000, CBI became a financial holding company. No regulatory approval is required for a financial holding company to acquire a company, other than a bank or a savings association, engaged in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to activities that are financial in nature, as determined by the Federal Reserve Board.

Transactions between Civista and its affiliates, including CBI, are subject to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, and Federal Reserve Board Regulation W, which generally limit the extent to which Civista may engage in “covered transactions” with affiliates and require that the terms of such transactions be the same, or at least as favorable, to Civista as the terms provided in a similar transaction between Civista and an unrelated party. The term “covered transaction” includes the making of loans to an affiliate, the purchase of assets from an affiliate, the issuance of a guarantee on behalf of an affiliate, the purchase of securities issued by an affiliate and other similar types of transactions.

The FDIC is an independent federal agency which insures the deposits of federally-insured banks and savings associations up to certain prescribed limits and safeguards the safety and soundness of financial institutions. The general insurance limit is $250,000 per separately insured depositor. This insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

: In response to the novel pandemic the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020, as amended (the “CARES Act”), was signed into law on March 27, 2020, to provide national emergency economic relief measures. Many of the CARES Act’s programs are dependent upon the direct involvement of U.S. financial institutions, such as CBI and Civista, and have been implemented through rules and guidance adopted by federal departments and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board and other federal banking agencies, including those with direct supervisory jurisdiction over CBI and Civista. Furthermore, as evolves, federal regulatory authorities continue to issue additional guidance with respect to the implementation, lifecycle, and eligibility requirements for the various CARES Act programs as well as industry-specific recovery procedures for In addition, it is possible that Congress will enact supplementary response legislation, including amendments to the CARES Act or new bills comparable in scope to the CARES Act. For example, on December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) was signed into law, which, among other things, allowed certain banks to temporarily postpone implementation of the current expected credit loss model (accounting standard), which is described below. The Company is continuing to assess the impact of the CARES Act and other statues, regulations and supervisory guidance related to

The CARES Act amended the loan program of the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”), in which Civista participates, to create a guaranteed, unsecured loan program, the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”), to fund operational costs of eligible businesses, organizations and self-employed persons during These loans are eligible to be forgiven if certain conditions are satisfied and are fully guaranteed by the SBA. In June 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act was enacted, which, among other things, gave borrowers additional time and flexibility to use PPP loan proceeds. After previously being extended by Congress, the application deadline for PPP loans expired on May 31, 2021. No collateral or personal guarantees were required for PPP loans. In addition, neither the government nor lenders have been permitted to charge the recipients of PPP loans any fees. On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law omnibus federal spending and economic stimulus legislation titled the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021” that included the Economic Aid to Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (the “HHSB Act”). Among other things, the HHSB Act renewed the PPP, allocating $284.45 billion for both new first-time PPP loans under the existing PPP and the expansion of existing PPP loans for certain qualified, existing PPP borrowers. In addition to extending and amending the PPP, the HHSB Act also creates a new grant program for “shuttered venue operators”. As a participating lender in the PPP, Civista continues to monitor legislative, regulatory, and supervisory developments related thereto.

On September 29, 2020, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a final rule that neutralizes the regulatory capital and liquidity coverage ratio effects of participating in certain liquidity facilities due to the fact there is no credit or market risk in association with exposures pledged to such facilities. As a result, the final rule supports the flow of credit to households and businesses affected by

On December 2, 2020, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued an interim final rule that provides temporary relief for specified community banking organizations related to certain regulations and reporting requirements as a result, in large part, of their growth in size from the response to Community banking organizations are subject to different rules and requirements based on their risk profile and asset size. Due to their involvement in federal response programs (such as the PPP) and other

The Dodd-Frank Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), which regulates consumer financial products and services and certain financial services providers. The CFPB is authorized to prevent unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices and seeks to ensure consistent enforcement of laws so that consumers have access to fair, transparent and competitive markets for consumer financial products and services. Since it was established the CFPB has exercised extensive rulemaking and interpretive authority.

Banks are subject to regular examination to ensure compliance with federal consumer protection statutes and regulations, including, but not limited to, the following:

The CRA requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas, including and moderate-income areas, consistent with safe and sound banking practice. Under this Act, each institution is required to adopt a statement for each of its market areas describing the depositary institution’s efforts to assist in its community’s credit needs. Depositary institutions are periodically examined for compliance and assigned one of four ratings: outstanding, satisfactory, needs improvement, or substantial noncompliance. The rating assigned to a financial institution is considered in connection with various applications submitted by a financial institution or its holding company to its banking regulators, including applications to acquire another financial institution or to open a new branch office. In addition, all subsidiary banks of a financial holding company must maintain a satisfactory or outstanding rating in order for the financial holding company to avoid limitations on its activities. Civista received a rating of “satisfactory” in its most recent CRA examination.

:On May 25, 2018, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (the “Regulatory Relief Act”) was enacted, which repealed or modified certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and eased restrictions on all but the largest banks (those with consolidated assets in excess of $250 billion). Bank holding companies with consolidated assets of less than $100 billion, including CBI, are no longer subject to enhanced prudential standards. The Regulatory Relief Act also relieves bank holding companies and banks with consolidated assets of less than $100 billion, including CBI and Civista, from certain record-keeping, reporting and disclosure requirements. Certain other regulatory requirements applied only to banks with consolidated assets in excess of $50 billion and so did not apply to CBI or Civista even before the enactment of the Regulatory Relief Act.

The Uniting and Strengthening of America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “Patriot Act”) gives the United States government powers to address terrorist threats through enhanced domestic security measures, expanded surveillance powers, increased information sharing and broadened anti-money laundering requirements. Title III of the Patriot Act encourages information sharing among bank regulatory agencies and law enforcement bodies. Further, certain provisions of Title III impose affirmative obligations on a broad range of financial

. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against targeted foreign countries and regimes, under authority of various laws, including designated foreign countries, nationals and others. OFAC publishes lists of specially designated targets and countries. Civista is responsible for, among other things, blocking accounts of, and transactions with, such targets and countries, prohibiting unlicensed trade and financial transactions with them and reporting blocked transactions after their occurrence. Failure to comply with these sanctions could have serious financial, legal and reputational consequences, including causing applicable bank regulatory authorities not to approve merger or acquisition transactions when regulatory approval is required or to prohibit such transactions even if approval is not required. Regulatory authorities have imposed cease and desist orders and civil money penalties against institutions found to be violating these obligations.

CBI is also under the jurisdiction of the SEC and certain state securities commissions for matters relating to the offering and sale of its securities. CBI is subject to the registration, disclosure, reporting and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the regulations promulgated under each of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, as administered by the SEC. CBI’s common shares are listed with Nasdaq under the symbol “CIVB” and CBI is subject to the rules for Nasdaq listed companies.

As mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC has adopted rules and regulations governing, among other matters, corporate governance, auditing and accounting, executive compensation and enhanced and timely disclosure of corporate information. Nasdaq has also adopted corporate governance rules. The Board of Directors of the Company has taken a series of actions to strengthen and improve the Company’s governance practices in light of the rules of the SEC and Nasdaq. The Board of Directors has adopted charters for the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Nominating Committee, as well as a Code of Conduct (Ethics) applicable to all directors, officers and employees of the Company. In addition, in accordance with Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, written certifications by CBI’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are required. These certifications attest that CBI’s quarterly and annual reports filed with the SEC do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact. See Item 9A “Controls and Procedures” in Part II of this Form for CBI’s evaluation of its disclosure controls and procedures.

As an Ohio chartered bank, Civista is subject to supervision and regulation by the State of Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Financial Institutions (the “ODFI”). In addition, Civista is a member of the Federal Reserve System and, therefore, is subject to supervision and regulation by the Federal Reserve Board. Civista is subject to periodic examinations by both ODFI and the Federal Reserve Board. These examinations are designed primarily for the protection of the depositors of the bank and not shareholders.

The Federal Reserve Board has adopted risk-based guidelines for financial holding companies and other bank holding companies as well as state member banks, and the FDIC has adopted risk-based capital guidelines for state banks. The guidelines provide a systematic analytical framework which makes regulatory capital requirements sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banking organizations, takes sheet exposures expressly into account in evaluating capital adequacy, and minimizes disincentives to holding liquid, assets. Capital levels as measured by these standards are also used to categorize financial institutions for purposes of certain prompt corrective action regulatory provisions.

Tier 1 capital generally includes common equity as defined for the common equity tier 1 capital ratio, plus certain preferred stock and related surplus, cumulative preferred stock and related surplus, trust preferred securities that have been grandfathered (but which are not permitted going forward), and limited amounts of minority interests in the form of additional Tier 1 capital instruments, less certain deductions.

Under the guidelines, capital is compared to the relative risk related to the balance sheet. To derive the risk included in the balance sheet, one of several risk weights is applied to different balance sheet and sheet assets, primarily based on the relative credit risk of the counterparty. The capital amounts and classification are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors.

In September 2019, the Federal Reserve Board, along with other federal bank regulatory agencies, issued a final rule, effective January 1, 2020, that gave community banks, including the Company, the option to calculate a simple leverage ratio to measure capital adequacy if the community banks met certain requirements. Under the rule, a community bank is eligible to elect the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (“CBLR”) framework if it had less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, limited amounts of certain assets and sheet exposures, and a leverage ratio greater than 9.0%. Qualifying institutions that elected to use the CBLR framework (each, a “CBLR Bank”) and that maintain a leverage ratio of greater than 9.0% will be considered to have satisfied the risk-based and leverage capital requirements in the regulatory agencies’ generally applicable capital rules and to have met the well-capitalized ratio requirements. No CBLR Bank was required to calculate or report risk-based capital, and each CBLR Bank could opt out of the framework at any time, without restriction, by reverting to the generally applicable risk-based capital rule. Pursuant to the CARES Act, on August 26, 2020, the federal banking agencies adopted a final rule that temporarily lowered the CBLR threshold and provided a gradual transition back to the prior level. Specifically, the CBLR threshold was reduced to 8.0% for the remainder of 2020, increased to 8.5% for 2021, and returned to 9.0% on January 1, 2022. This final rule became effective on October 1, 2020. The Company did not utilize the CBLR in assessing capital adequacy and, instead, continued to follow existing capital rules.

In December 2018, the federal banking agencies issued a final rule to address regulatory capital treatment of credit loss allowances under the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model (accounting standard). The rule revises the federal banking agencies’ regulatory capital rules to identify which credit loss allowances under the CECL model are eligible for inclusion in regulatory capital and to provide banking organizations the option to phase in over three years the adverse effects on regulatory capital that may result from the adoption of the CECL model. The Company currently anticipates recording a cumulative effect adjustment upon adoption, and does not anticipate utilizing the three year phase in. The Company expects to maintain risk-based capital ratios in excess of “well-capitalized” after the impact of the cumulative effect adjustment.

The Company’s subsidiaries are also subject to regulation by the Federal Reserve Board and other applicable federal and state agencies. FCIA, as a licensed insurance agency, is subject to regulation by the Ohio Department of Insurance and the state insurance regulatory agencies of those states where it conducts business. CRMI, as a Delaware-chartered captive insurance company, is subject to the laws and regulations of the State of Delaware and undergoes periodic examinations by the Delaware Division of Insurance.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires that the federal banking agencies, including the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC, issue a rule related to incentive-based compensation. No final rule implementing this provision of the Dodd-Frank Act has, as of the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form been adopted, but a proposed rule was published in 2016 that expanded upon a prior proposed rule published in 2011. The proposed rule is intended to: (i) prohibit incentive-based payment arrangements that the banking agencies determine could encourage certain financial institutions to take inappropriate risks by providing excessive compensation or that could lead to material financial loss; (ii) require the board of directors of those financial institutions to take certain oversight actions related to incentive-based compensation; and (iii) require those financial institutions to disclose information concerning incentive-based compensation arrangements to the appropriate federal regulator. Although a final rule has not been issued, the Company has undertaken efforts to ensure that the Company’s incentive compensation plans do not encourage inappropriate risks, consistent with the principles identified above.

SEC regulations require public companies such as CBI to provide various disclosures about executive compensation in annual reports and proxy statements and to present to their shareholders a vote on the approval of executive compensation.

Federal and state regulations limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose information about consumers to third parties. These limitations require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to a third party. These regulations affect how consumer information is transmitted through diversified financial companies and conveyed to outside vendors.

In the ordinary course of business, the Company relies on electronic communications and information systems to conduct its operations and to store sensitive data. The Company employs an layered, defensive approach that leverages people, processes and technology to manage and maintain cybersecurity controls. The Company employs a variety of preventative and detective tools to monitor, block, and provide alerts regarding suspicious activity, as well as to report on any suspected advanced persistent threats. Notwithstanding the strength of the Company’s defensive measures, the threat from cyber-attacks is severe, attacks are sophisticated and increasing in volume, and attackers respond rapidly to changes in defensive measures. While to date, the Company has not detected a significant compromise, significant data loss or any material financial losses related to cybersecurity attacks, Company’s systems and those of its customers and third-party service providers are under constant threat and it is possible that the Company could experience a significant event in the future. Risks and exposures related to cybersecurity attacks are expected to remain high for the foreseeable future due to the rapidly evolving nature and sophistication of these threats, as well as due to the expanding use of Internet banking, mobile banking and other technology-based products and services by us and our customers.

The Company believes its primary exposure to environmental risk is through the lending activities of Civista. In cases where management believes environmental risk potentially exists, Civista mitigates its environmental risk exposure by requiring environmental site assessments at the time of loan origination to confirm collateral quality as to commercial real estate parcels posing higher than normal potential for environmental impact, as determined by reference to present and past uses of the subject property and adjacent sites. In addition, environmental assessments are typically required prior to any foreclosure activity involving real estate collateral.

CBI maintains an Internet website at (this uniform resource locator, or URL, is an inactive textual reference only and is not intended to incorporate CBI’s website into this Annual Report on Form CBI makes available free of charge on or through its Internet website its annual reports on Form quarterly reports on Form current reports on Form and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), as well as CBI’s definitive proxy statements filed pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after CBI electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC.

The following section contains certain financial disclosures related to the Company as required under Subpart 1400 of the SEC’s Regulation or a specific reference as to the location of the required disclosures in the Registrant’s 2021 Annual Report to Shareholders, portions of which are incorporated in this Form by reference.

Civista measures the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses by using both specific and general components. The specific component relates to the evaluation of each loan identified as impaired. The general component consists of a pooling of commercial credits risk graded as special mention and substandard, based on portfolio experience, and general reserves, which are based on a twelve quarter loss migration analysis, adjusted for current economic factors. Loss migration rates are calculated over a twelve quarter period for all portfolio segments. Factors in the determination of the economic reserve include items such as changes in the economic and business conditions of its market, changes in lending policies and procedures, changes in loan concentrations, as well as a few others. The allowance for loan losses to total loans increased from 1.22% in 2020 to 1.33% in 2021. The unallocated reserve of Civista increased to $847 in 2021 from $240 in 2020. Management considers both the increase in unallocated and the number to be insignificant and within the loan policy guidelines.

This Annual Report on Form may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), relating to such matters as financial condition, anticipated operating results, cash flows, business line results, credit quality expectations, prospects for new lines of business, economic trends (including interest rates) and similar matters. Forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events. These statements are generally identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as “believe,” “belief,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “intent,” “estimate,” “plan,” “foresee,” “likely,” “will,” “should” or other similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE ONGOING PANDEMIC, OR AN OUTBREAK OF ANOTHER HIGHLY INFECTIOUS OR CONTAGIOUS DISEASE, COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS, FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

The ongoing pandemic has negatively impacted global, national and local economies, disrupted global and national supply chains, lowered equity market valuations, and created significant volatility and disruption in financial markets. In addition, the pandemic resulted in temporary closures of many businesses and the institution of social distancing and sheltering in place requirements in many states and communities and may result in the same or similar restrictions in the future. As a result, the demand for Civista’s products and services has been and may continue to be significantly impacted, which could adversely affect our revenue and results of operations. Furthermore, the COVID- 19 pandemic could result in the recognition of credit losses in our loan portfolios and increases in our allowance for credit losses, particularly if businesses remain required to operate at diminished capacities or are required to close again, the impact on the global, national and local economies worsen, or more customers draw on their lines of credit or seek additional loans to help finance their businesses. Our business operations may also be disrupted if significant portions of our workforce are unable to work effectively, including because of illness, quarantines, government actions, or other restrictions in connection with COVID-19. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our business, results of operations, and financial condition, as well as our regulatory capital and liquidity ratios, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic.

The spread of including new variants thereof, has also caused us to modify our business practices, including employee travel, employee work locations, and cancellation of physical participation in meetings, events and conferences. Further,

including the spread of new variants thereof, or a new pandemic could subject us to any of the following risks, any of which could, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations:

Moreover, our future success and profitability substantially depend on the management skills of our executive officers and directors, many of whom have held officer and director positions with us for many years. The unanticipated loss or unavailability of key employees due to including new variants thereof, or any similar pandemic could harm our ability to operate our business or execute our business strategy. We may not be successful in finding and integrating suitable successors in the event of key employee loss or unavailability.

Even after the pandemic subsides, the U.S. economy will likely require time to recover, the length of which is unknown and during which the United States may experience a recession or market correction. Our business could be materially and adversely affected by such recession or market correction.

We continue to closely monitor the impact of and related risks as they evolve. To the extent the effects of adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section.

Our success depends to a significant extent upon local and national economic and political conditions, as well as governmental fiscal and monetary policies. Conditions such as inflation, recession, unemployment, changes in interest rates, fiscal and monetary policy, an increasing federal government budget deficit, slowing gross domestic product, tariffs, a U.S. withdrawal from or significant renegotiation of trade agreements, trade wars, and other factors beyond our control may adversely affect Civista’s deposit levels and composition, the quality of investment securities available for purchase, demand for loans, the ability of Civista’s borrowers to repay their loans, and the value of the collateral securing loans made by Civista. Disruptions in U.S. and global financial markets, and changes in oil production in the Middle East also affect the economy and stock prices in the U.S., which can affect our earnings capital, as well as the ability of Civista’s customers to repay loans. Because we have a significant amount of real estate loans, decreases in real estate values could adversely affect the value of property used as collateral and our ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure. Adverse changes in the economy, including those resulting from the ongoing pandemic, may also have a negative effect on the ability of our borrowers to make timely repayments of their loans, which would have an adverse impact on our earnings and cash flows.

ADVERSE CHANGES IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET COULD CAUSE INCREASES IN DELINQUENCIES AND ASSETS, INCLUDING ADDITIONAL LOAN CHARGE-OFFS, AND COULD DEPRESS OUR INCOME, EARNINGS AND CAPITAL.

Any of these scenarios could cause us to make fewer loans, increase delinquencies and assets, require us to charge off a higher percentage of our loans or result in additional increases to our provision for loan losses in future periods, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in interest rates may affect the level of voluntary prepayments on our loans and may also affect the level of financing or refinancing by customers. We believe that the impact on our cost of funds from a rise in interest rates will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to, the competitive environment in the banking sector for deposit pricing, opportunities for clients to invest in other markets such as fixed income and equity markets, and the propensity of customers to invest in their businesses. The effect on our net interest income from an increase in interest rates will ultimately depend on the extent to which the aggregate impact of loan exceeds the impact of increases in our cost of funds.

LIBOR is used extensively in the United States and globally as a benchmark for various commercial and financial contracts, including adjustable rate mortgages, corporate debt, interest rate swaps and other derivatives. LIBOR is set based on interest rate information reported by certain banks, which may stop reporting such information after 2021. On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021. On November 30, 2020, to facilitate an orderly LIBOR transition, the OCC, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Board jointly announced that entering into new contracts using LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021, would create a safety and soundness risk. On March 5, 2021, the FCA announced that all LIBOR settings will either cease to be provided by any administrator or no longer be representative immediately after December 31, 202 I, in the case of 1-week and LIBOR, and immediately after June 30, 2023, in the case of the remaining LIBOR settings. In the U.S., efforts to identify a set of alternative U.S. dollar reference interest rates are ongoing, and the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (“ARRC”) has recommended the use of a Secured Overnight Funding Rate (“SOFR”). SOFR is different from LIBOR in that it is a backward looking secured rate rather than a forward looking unsecured rate.

We are exposed to many types of operational risk, including reputational risk, legal and compliance risk, the risk of fraud or theft by employees or outsiders, unauthorized transactions by employees or operational errors, including clerical or record-keeping errors or those resulting from faulty or disabled computer or telecommunications systems. Many of these risks are heightened in light of

Our assets at risk for cyber-attacks include financial assets and information belonging to customers. We use several third-party vendors who have access to our assets via electronic media. Certain cyber security risks arise due to this access, including cyber espionage, blackmail, ransom, and theft.

The BSA and the Patriot Act contain anti-money laundering and financial transparency provisions intended to detect and prevent the use of the U.S. financial system for money laundering and terrorist financing activities. The BSA, as amended by the Patriot Act and the AMLA, requires depository institutions and their holding companies to undertake activities including maintaining an anti-money laundering program, verifying the identity of clients, monitoring for and reporting suspicious transactions, reporting on cash transactions exceeding specified thresholds, and responding to requests for information by regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (also known as FinCEN), a unit of the Treasury Department that administers the BSA, is authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of those requirements and has recently engaged in coordinated enforcement efforts with the federal bank regulatory agencies, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service. The AMLA is intended to be a comprehensive reform and modernization to U.S. bank secrecy and anti-money laundering laws, which includes a codified approach to anti-money laundering compliance for financial institutions; requires the development of standards for evaluating technology and internal processes for BSA compliance; expands enforcement-related and investigation-related authority, including increasing available sanctions for certain BSA violations and instituting BSA whistleblower incentives and protections.

The third parties performing operational services for the Company are subject to risks similar to those faced by the Company relating to cybersecurity, breakdowns or failures of their own systems, or misconduct of their employees. Further, the operations of our third-party vendors could fail or otherwise become delayed as a result of Like many other community banks, Civista also relies, in significant part, on a single vendor for the systems which allow Civista to provide banking services to Civista’s customers, for which the systems are maintained on Civista’s behalf by this single vendor.

We maintain an allowance for loan losses that we believe is a reasonable estimate of known and inherent losses within the loan portfolio. We make various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of loans. Through a periodic review and consideration of the loan portfolio, management determines the amount of the allowance for loan losses by considering general market conditions, the credit quality of the loan portfolio, the collateral supporting the loans and the performance of customers relative to their financial obligations with us. However, every loan we make carries a risk of This risk is affected by, among other things, cash flow of the borrower and/or the project being financed, changes and uncertainties as to the future value of the collateral securing such loan, the credit history of the particular borrower, changes in economic and industry conditions, and the duration of the loan.

In addition, bank regulators periodically review our allowance for loan losses and may require us to increase our allowance for loan losses or recognize further loan Moreover, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has changed its requirements for establishing the allowance for loan losses.

On June 16, 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses”, which replaces the incurred loss model with an expected loss model, and is referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model. Under the incurred loss model, loans are recognized as impaired when there is no longer an assumption that future cash flows will be collected in full under the originally contracted terms. The FASB voted to defer the effective date for this ASU for smaller reporting companies, such as the Company, to annual reporting periods and interim reporting periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2022. Under the CECL model, financial institutions will be required to use historical information, current conditions and reasonable forecasts to estimate the expected loss over the life of the loan. The transition to the CECL model will bring with it significantly greater data requirements and changes to methodologies to accurately account for expected losses under the new parameters. If the methodologies and assumptions that we use in the CECL model are proven to be incorrect, or inadequate, the allowance for credit losses may not be sufficient, resulting in the need for additional allowance for credit losses to be established, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our business development and marketing strategies primarily result in us serving the banking and financial services needs of small to businesses. These businesses generally have fewer financial resources in terms of capital or borrowing capacity than larger entities, frequently have smaller market shares than their competition, may be more vulnerable to economic downturns, often need substantial additional capital to expand or compete and may experience substantial volatility in operating results, any of which may impair a borrower’s ability to repay a loan. In addition, the success of a small to medium-sized business often depends on the management skills, talents and efforts of one or two people or a small group of people, and the death, disability or resignation of one or more of these people could have a material adverse impact on the business and its ability to repay its loans. If general economic conditions negatively impact Ohio, Indiana or the specific markets in these states in which we operate and small to businesses are adversely affected or our borrowers are otherwise affected by adverse business conditions, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Further, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the FFCRA was passed on March 18, 2020. The FFCRA provides wide ranging emergency relief and appropriations for coronavirus testing, expansion of food assistance, Medicaid funding, and unemployment insurance benefits. In addition, the FFCRA requires that employers with 500 or fewer employees provide emergency paid sick leave and expanded emergency leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In addition to the regulatory compliance costs, the FFCRA could have a significant financial impact on our customers that are small to businesses with 500 or fewer employees as the FFCRA will require these businesses to provide two weeks of paid sick leave and up to 12 weeks of paid (after 10 days) family and medical leave for employees who have worked at the company for at least 30 calendar days and who are unable to work (or even telework) in order to care for their children because of school closures or the unavailability of the child care provider due to the public health emergency. While the U.S. Department of Labor has broad authority to waive the applicability of these requirements for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from the paid leave requirements if compliance with these requirements would affect the viability of the business, the applicability of this waiver, and the impact of these provisions on our impacted customers is unpredictable and unknown. The FFCRA has the potential to negatively impact our customers’ costs, demand for our customers’ products, and, thus, adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Regulations affecting banks and financial services businesses are undergoing continuous change, particularly in light of and the stimulus programs issued in connection therewith, and management cannot predict the effect of those changes. While such changes are generally intended to lessen the regulatory burden on financial institutions, the impact of any changes to laws and regulations or other actions by regulatory agencies could adversely affect our business. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the ability to impose restrictions on the operation of an institution and the ability to determine the adequacy of an institution’s allowance for loan losses. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and policies could result in sanctions being imposed by the regulatory agencies, including the imposition of civil money penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. Even the reduction of regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on us if such lessening of restrictions increases competition within our industry or market areas.

From time to time, we may be subject to claims or legal action from customers, employees or others. Financial institutions like CBI and Civista are facing a growing number of significant class actions, including those based on the manner of calculation of interest on loans and the assessment of overdraft fees. Future litigation could include claims for substantial compensatory and/or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. We are also involved from time to time in other reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by governmental and other agencies regarding our business. These matters also could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions or other relief. Like other large financial institutions, we are also subject to risk from potential employee misconduct, including with policies and improper use or disclosure of confidential information. Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against us could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations and/or cause significant reputational harm to our business.

Information regarding the restrictions applicable to the Company’s payment of dividends is included under Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form and is incorporated herein by reference.