ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)  

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017

OR

For the Transition Period from     to 

Commission File Number: 000-11486

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

301 Sylvan Avenue

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

201-816-8900

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: None

Indicate by checkmark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o   No x

Indicate by checkmark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes o   No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Regulation S-T (232,405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant has required to submit and post such files.) Yes  x  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of the Form 10-K or any amendment to the Form 10-K. x

 Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a nonaccelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act) Yes  ¨   or No  x

The aggregate market value of the voting and nonvoting common equity held by nonaffiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold or the average bid and ask price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter - $557.7 million.

Shares Outstanding on March 6, 2018
Common Stock, no par value: 32,119,241 shares

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Definitive proxy statement in connection with the 2018 Annual Stockholders Meeting to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A will be incorporated by reference in Part III

CONNECTONE BANCORP, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Information included in or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company’s press releases or other public statements, contain or may contain forward looking statements. Please refer to a discussion of the Company’s forward looking statements and associated risks in “Item 1 - Business – Forward Looking Statements” and “Item 1A - Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

CONNECTONE BANCORP, INC.

FORM 10-K

PART I

Item 1. Business

Forward Looking Statements

This report, in Item 1, Item 7 and elsewhere, includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Sections 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements concern the financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including statements preceded by, followed by or that include words or phrases such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “trend,” “objective,” “continue,” “remain,” “pattern” or similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “may” or similar expressions. There are a number of important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from historical performance and these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressures among depository institutions may increase significantly; (2) changes in the interest rate environment may reduce interest margins; (3) prepayment speeds, loan origination and sale volumes, charge-offs and loan loss provisions may vary substantially from period to period; (4) general economic conditions may be less favorable than expected; (5) political developments, wars or other hostilities may disrupt or increase volatility in securities markets or other economic conditions; (6) legislative or regulatory changes or actions may adversely affect the businesses in which ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. is engaged; (7) changes and trends in the securities markets may adversely impact ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.; (8) a delayed or incomplete resolution of regulatory issues could adversely impact our planning; (9) difficulties in integrating any businesses that we may acquire, which may increase our expenses and delay the achievement of any benefits that we may expect from such acquisitions; (10) the impact of reputation risk created by the developments discussed above on such matters as business generation and retention, funding and liquidity could be significant; and (11) the outcome of any future regulatory and legal investigations and proceedings may not be anticipated. Further information on other factors that could affect the financial results of ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. are included in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in ConnectOne Bancorp’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents are available free of charge at the Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov and/or from ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements at any time.

Historical Development of Business

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., (the “Company” and with ConnectOne Bank, “we” or “us”) a one-bank holding company, was incorporated in the State of New Jersey on November 12, 1982 as Center Bancorp, Inc. and commenced operations on May 1, 1983 upon the acquisition of all outstanding shares of capital stock of Union Center National Bank, its then principal subsidiary.

On January 20, 2014, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., a New Jersey corporation (“Legacy ConnectOne”). Effective July 1, 2014, the Company completed the merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement (the “Merger”) with Legacy ConnectOne merging with and into the Company, with the Company as the surviving corporation. Also at closing, the Company changed its name to “ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.” and changed its NASDAQ trading symbol to “CNOB”. Immediately following the consummation of the Merger, Union Center National Bank merged with and into ConnectOne Bank, a New Jersey-chartered commercial bank (“ConnectOne Bank” or the “Bank”) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legacy ConnectOne, with ConnectOne Bank continuing as the surviving bank. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, each share of common stock, no par value per share, of Legacy ConnectOne was converted into 2.6 shares of the Company’s common stock.

The Company’s primary activity, at this time, is to act as a holding company for the Bank and its other subsidiaries. As used herein, the term “Parent Corporation” shall refer to the Company on an unconsolidated basis.

The Company owns 100% of the voting shares of Center Bancorp, Inc. Statutory Trust II, through which it issued trust preferred securities. The trust exists for the exclusive purpose of (i) issuing trust securities representing undivided beneficial interests in the assets of the trust; (ii) investing the gross proceeds of the trust securities in $5.2 million of junior subordinated deferrable interest debentures (subordinated debentures) of the Company; and (iii) engaging in only those activities necessary or incidental thereto. These subordinated debentures and the related income effects are not eliminated in the consolidated financial statements as the statutory business trust is not consolidated in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 810-10 “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities.” Distributions on the subordinated debentures owned by the subsidiary trust have been classified as interest expense in the Consolidated Statements of Income. See Note 11 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Except as described above, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are all included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. These subsidiaries include an advertising subsidiary; an insurance subsidiary, and various investment subsidiaries which hold, maintain and manage investment assets for the Company. The Company’s subsidiaries also include a real estate investment trust (the “REIT”) which holds a portion of the Company’s real estate loan portfolio. All subsidiaries mentioned above are directly or indirectly wholly owned by the Company, except that the Company owns less than 100% of the preferred stock of the REIT. A real estate investment trust must have 100 or more shareholders. The REIT has issued less than 20% of its outstanding non-voting preferred stock to individuals, primarily Bank personnel and directors.

SEC Reports and Corporate Governance

The Company makes its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments thereto available on its website at www.ConnectOneBank.com without charge as soon as reasonably practicable after filing or furnishing them to the SEC. Also available on the website are the Company’s corporate code of conduct that applies to all of the Company’s employees, including principal officers and directors, and charters for the Audit/Risk Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Compensation Committee.

Additionally, the Company will provide without charge, a copy of its Annual Report on Form 10-K to any shareholder by mail. Requests should be sent to ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., Attention: Shareholder Relations, 301 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632.

Narrative Description of the Business

We are a New Jersey/New York metro area commercial bank offering a full suite of deposit and loan products and services to the general public and, in particular, to small and mid-sized businesses, local professionals and individuals residing, working and conducting business in our trade area. Our mission is to prove that putting people first is a better way to do business.

Our talented, diverse team of financial experts and relationship specialists know that the demands of a successful business extend far beyond '9-5.' A big part of the trust we've earned from entrepreneurs and business owners stems from our firsthand knowledge of the businesses and communities we serve. That trust extends to the families we help thrive, from helping them refinance their homes to being able to easily access accounts wherever and whenever they're needed.

While we expect to take an opportunistic approach to acquisitions, considering opportunities to purchase or merge with whole institutions, banking offices or lines of business that complement our existing strategy, the bulk of our future growth may be organic. Our goal is to open new offices in the counties contained in our broader trade area discussed below. However, we do not believe that we need to establish a physical location in each market that we serve. We believe that advances in technology have created new delivery channels which allow us to service clients and maintain business relationships with a reduced-branch model, establishing regional offices that serve as business hubs. We believe the key to client acquisition and retention is attracting quality business relationship officers who will frequently go to the client, rather than having the client come to us.

Our Market Area

Our banking offices are located in Bergen, Union, Morris, Essex, Hudson, Mercer and Monmouth Counties in New Jersey and in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City, and we expect to open our newest banking office in Melville, Suffolk County New York in the first quarter of 2018. Our market area includes some of the most affluent markets in the United States. We also attract business and clients from broader regions, including the other boroughs of New York City as well as Westchester County and Long Island in New York State.

Products and Services

We derive a majority of our revenue from net interest income (i.e., the difference between the interest we receive on our loans and securities and the interest we pay on deposits and other borrowings). We offer a broad range of deposit and loan products. In addition, to attract the business of consumer and business clients, we also provide a broad array of other banking services. Products and services provided include personal and business checking accounts, retirement accounts, money market accounts, time and savings accounts, credit cards, wire transfers, access to automated teller services, internet banking, Treasury Direct, ACH origination, lockbox services and mobile banking by phone. In addition, we offer safe deposit boxes. The Bank also offers remote deposit capture banking for both retail and business clients, providing the ability to electronically scan and transmit checks for deposit, reducing time and cost.

Noninterest demand deposit products include “Totally Free Checking” and “Simply Better Checking” for retail clients and “Small Business Checking” and “Analysis Checking” for commercial clients. Interest-bearing checking accounts require minimum balances for both retail and commercial clients and include “Consumer Interest Checking” and “Business Interest Checking”. Money market accounts consist of products that provide a market rate of interest to depositors but offer a limited number of preauthorized withdrawals. Our savings accounts consist of statement type accounts. Time deposits consist of certificates of deposit, including those held in IRA accounts, generally with initial maturities ranging from 7 days to 60 months and brokered certificates of deposit, which we use for asset liability management purposes and to supplement other sources of funding.  CDARS/ICS Reciprocal deposits are offered based on the Bank’s participation in the Promontory Interfinancial Network, LLC network.  Clients who are FDIC insurance sensitive are able to place large dollar deposits with the Company and the Company uses CDARS to place those funds into certificates of deposit issued by other banks in the Network. This occurs in increments of less than the FDIC insurance limits so that both the principal and interest are eligible for FDIC insurance coverage in amounts larger than the standard dollar amount. The FDIC currently considers these funds as brokered deposits.

Deposits serve as the primary source of funding for our interest-earning assets, but also generate noninterest revenue through insufficient funds fees, stop payment fees, wire transfer fees, safe deposit rental fees, debit card income, including foreign ATM fees and credit and debit card interchange, and other miscellaneous fees. In addition, the Bank generates additional noninterest revenue associated with residential loan originations and sales, loan servicing, late fees and merchant services.

We offer personal and commercial business 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 sub-prime lending market.

Commercial loans are loans made for business purposes and are primarily secured by collateral such as cash balances with the Bank, marketable securities held by or under the control of the Bank, business assets including accounts receivable, inventory and equipment, and liens on commercial and residential real estate. Included in commercial loans are loans secured by New York City taxi medallions. As of December 31, 2017, the carrying value of our taxi medallion portfolio totaled $46.8 million, all of which was re-designated as held-for-investment. All of our taxi medallion loans are secured by New York City taxi medallions.

Commercial construction loans are loans to finance the construction of commercial or residential properties secured by first liens on such properties. Commercial real estate loans include loans secured by first liens on completed commercial properties, including multi-family properties, to purchase or refinance such properties. Residential mortgages include loans secured by first liens on 1-4 family residential real estate, and are generally made to existing clients of the Bank to purchase or refinance primary and secondary residences. Home equity loans and lines of credit include loans secured by first or second liens on residential real estate for primary or secondary residences. Consumer loans are made to individuals who qualify for auto loans, cash reserve, credit cards and installment loans.

The Board of Directors has approved a loan policy granting designated lending authorities to specific officers of the Bank. Those officers are comprised of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Lending Officer, Chief Credit Officer, Team Leaders and the Consumer Loan Officers. All loan approvals require the signatures of a minimum of two officers. The Senior Lending Group (Chief Executive Officer, Chief Lending Officer and Chief Credit Officer) can approve loans up to $25 million in aggregate loan exposure and which do not exceed 65% of the Legal Lending Limit of the Bank (currently $75.1 million as of December 31, 2017 for most loans), provided that (i) the credit does not involve an exception to policy and a principal balance greater than $7.5 million or $20 million in all credit outstanding to the borrower in the aggregate, (ii) the credit does not exceed certain dollar amount thresholds set forth in our policy, which varies by loan type, and (iii) the credit is not extended to an insider of the Bank. The Board Loan Committee (which includes the Chief Executive Officer and four other Board members) approves credits that are both exceptions to policy and are above prescribed amounts related to loan type and collateral. Loans to insiders must be approved by the entire Board.

The Bank’s lending policies generally provide for lending within our primary trade area. However, the Bank will make loans to persons outside of our primary trade area when we deem it prudent to do so. In an effort to promote a high degree of asset quality, the Bank focuses primarily upon offering secured loans. However, the Bank does make short-term unsecured loans to borrowers with high net worth and income profiles. The Bank generally requires loan clients to maintain deposit accounts with the Bank. In addition, the Bank generally provides for a minimum required rate of interest in its variable rate loans. The Bank’s legal lending limit to any one borrower is 15% of the Bank’s capital base (defined as tangible equity plus the allowance for loan losses) for most loans ($75.1 million) and 25% of the capital base for loans secured by readily marketable collateral ($125.2 million). At December 31, 2017, the Bank’s largest committed relationship (to several affiliated borrowers) totaled $69.6 million. The Bank’s largest single loan outstanding at December 31, 2017 was $35.0 million.

Our business model includes using industry best practices for community banks, including personalized service, state-of-the-art technology and extended hours. We believe that this will generate deposit accounts with somewhat larger average balances than are found at many other financial institutions. We also use pricing techniques in our efforts to attract banking relationships having larger than average balances.

Competition

The banking business is highly competitive. We face substantial immediate competition and potential future competition both in attracting deposits and in originating loans. We compete with numerous commercial banks, savings banks and savings and loan associations, many of which have assets, capital and lending limits larger than those that we have. Other competitors include money market mutual funds, mortgage bankers, insurance companies, stock brokerage firms, regulated small loan companies, credit unions and issuers of commercial paper and other securities.

Our larger competitors have greater financial resources to finance wide-ranging advertising campaigns. Additionally, we endeavor to compete for business by providing high quality, personal service to clients, client access to our decision-makers and competitive interest rates and fees. We seek to hire and retain quality employees who desire greater responsibility than may be available working for a larger employer.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

The banking industry is highly regulated. Statutory and regulatory controls increase a bank holding company’s cost of doing business and limit the options of its management to deploy assets and maximize income. The following discussion is not intended to be a complete list of all the activities regulated by the banking laws or of the impact of such laws and regulations on the Company or the Bank. It is intended only to briefly summarize some material provisions.

Bank Holding Company Regulation

The Company is a bank holding company within the meaning of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the “Holding Company Act”). As a bank holding company, the Company is supervised by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“FRB”) and is required to file reports with the FRB and provide such additional information as the FRB may require. The Company and its subsidiaries are subject to examination by the FRB.

The Holding Company Act prohibits the Company, with certain exceptions, from acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any company which is not a bank and from engaging in any business other than that of banking, managing and controlling banks or furnishing services to subsidiary banks, except that it may, upon application, engage in, and may own shares of companies engaged in, certain businesses found by the FRB to be so closely related to banking “as to be a proper incident thereto.” The Holding Company Act requires prior approval by the FRB of the acquisition by the Company of more than 5% of the voting stock of any other bank. Satisfactory capital ratios and Community Reinvestment Act ratings and anti-money laundering policies are generally prerequisites to obtaining federal regulatory approval to make acquisitions. The policy of the FRB, embodied in FRB regulations, provides that a bank holding company is expected to act as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary bank and to commit resources to support the subsidiary bank in circumstances in which it might not do so absent that policy.

As a New Jersey-charted commercial bank and an FDIC-insured institution, acquisitions by the Bank require approval of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (the “Banking Department”) and the FDIC, an agency of the federal government. The Holding Company Act does not place territorial restrictions on the activities of non-bank subsidiaries of bank holding companies. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, discussed below, allows the Company to expand into insurance, securities, merchant banking activities, and other activities that are financial in nature, in certain circumstances.

Regulation of Bank Subsidiary

The operations of the Bank are subject to requirements and restrictions under federal law, including requirements to maintain reserves against deposits, restrictions on the types and amounts of loans that may be granted, and limitations on the types of investments that may be made and the types of services which may be offered. Various consumer laws and regulations also affect the operations of the Bank. There are various legal limitations, including Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, which govern the extent to which a bank subsidiary may finance or otherwise supply funds to its holding company or its holding company’s non-bank subsidiaries and affiliates. Under federal law, a bank subsidiary may only make loans or extensions of credit to, or invest in the securities of, its parent or the non-bank subsidiaries of its parent (other than direct subsidiaries of such bank which are not financial subsidiaries) or to any affiliate, or take their securities as collateral for loans to any borrower, upon satisfaction of various regulatory criteria, including specific collateral loan to value requirements.

The Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Act, adopted in 2010, will continue to have a broad impact on the financial services industry, as a result of the significant regulatory and compliance changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act, including, among other things, (i) enhanced resolution authority over troubled and failing banks and their holding companies; (ii) increased capital and liquidity requirements; (iii) increased regulatory examination fees; (iv) changes to assessments to be paid to the FDIC for federal deposit insurance; and (v) numerous other provisions designed to improve supervision and oversight of, and strengthening safety and soundness for, the financial services sector. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act establishes a new framework for systemic risk oversight within the financial system to be distributed among new and existing federal

regulatory agencies, including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the FRB, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC. A summary of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act is set forth below:

Although a significant number of the rules and regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act have been finalized, many of the new requirements called for have yet to be implemented and will likely be subject to implementing regulations over the course of several years. Given the uncertainty associated with the manner in which the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented by the various regulatory agencies, the full extent of the impact such requirements will have on financial institutions’ operations is unclear. The changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, impose upon us more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage ratio requirements (which, in turn, could require the Company and the Bank to seek additional capital) or otherwise adversely affect our business. These changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make necessary changes in order to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements.

Regulation W

Regulation W codifies prior regulations under Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and interpretative guidance with respect to affiliate transactions. Affiliates of a bank include, among other entities, the bank’s holding company and companies that are under common control with the bank. The Company is considered to be an affiliate of the Bank. In general, subject to certain specified exemptions, a bank or its subsidiaries are limited in their ability to engage in “covered transactions” with affiliates:

In addition, a bank and its subsidiaries may engage in covered transactions and other specified transactions only on terms and under circumstances that are substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the bank or its subsidiary, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with nonaffiliated companies. A “covered transaction” includes:

Further, under Regulation W:

Regulation W generally excludes all non-bank and non-savings association subsidiaries of banks from treatment as affiliates, except to the extent that the FRB decides to treat these subsidiaries as affiliates.

FDICIA

Pursuant to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”), each federal banking agency has promulgated regulations, specifying the levels at which an insured depository institution such as the Bank would be considered “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized,” or “critically undercapitalized,” and to take certain mandatory and discretionary supervisory actions based on the capital level of the institution. To qualify to engage in financial activities under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, all depository institutions must be “well capitalized.”

The FDIC’s regulations implementing these provisions of FDICIA provide that an institution will be classified as “well capitalized” if it (i) has a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 10.0%, (ii) has a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.0%, (iii) has a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 5.0%, (iv) has a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 6.5%, and (v) meets certain other requirements. An institution will be classified as “adequately capitalized” if it (i) has a total risk-based capital ratio of at least 8.0%, (ii) has a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of at least 6.0%, (iii) has a Tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 4.0%, has a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 4.5%, and (v) does not meet the definition of “well capitalized.” An institution will be classified as “undercapitalized” if it (i) has a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 8.0%, (ii) has a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0%, (iii) has a Tier 1 leverage ratio of less than 4.0%, or (iv) has a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of less than 4.5%. An institution will be classified as “significantly undercapitalized” if it (i) has a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0%, (ii) has a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4.0%, (iii) has a Tier 1 leverage ratio of less than 3.0%, or (iv) has a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of less 3.0%. An institution will be classified as “critically undercapitalized” if it has a tangible equity to total assets ratio that is equal to or less than 2.0%. An insured depository institution may be deemed to be in a lower capitalization category if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating.

In addition, significant provisions of FDICIA required federal banking regulators to impose standards in a number of other important areas to assure bank safety and soundness, including internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems, credit underwriting, asset growth, compensation, loan documentation and interest rate exposure.

Capital Adequacy Guidelines

In December 2010 and January 2011, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”) published the final texts of reforms on capital and liquidity generally referred to as “Basel III.” In July 2013, the FRB, the FDIC and the Comptroller of the Currency adopted final rules (the “New Rules”), which implement certain provisions of Basel III and the Dodd-Frank Act. The New Rules replaced the existing general risk-based capital rules of the various banking agencies with a single, integrated regulatory capital framework. The New Rules require higher capital cushions and more stringent criteria for what qualifies as regulatory capital. The New Rules were effective for the Bank and the Company on January 1, 2015.  

Under the New Rules, the Company and the Bank are required to maintain the following minimum capital ratios, expressed as a percentage of risk-weighted assets:

In addition, the Company and the Bank will be subject to a leverage ratio of 4% (calculated as Tier 1 capital to average consolidated assets as reported on the consolidated financial statements).

The New Rules also require a “capital conservation buffer.” When fully phased in on January 1 2019, the Company and the Bank will be required to maintain a 2.5% capital conservation buffer, which is composed entirely of CET1, on top of the minimum risk-weighted asset ratios described above, resulting in the following minimum capital ratios:

The purpose of the capital conservation buffer is to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. Banking institutions with a CET1, Tier 1 Capital Ratio and Total Capital Ratio above the minimum set forth above but below the capital conservation buffer will face constraints on their ability to pay dividends, repurchase equity and pay discretionary bonuses to executive officers, based on the amount of the shortfall.

The implementation of the capital conservation buffer began on January 1, 2016 at the 0.625% level, and it increases by 0.625% on each subsequent January 1 until it reaches 2.5% on January 1, 2019.

The New Rules provide for several deductions from and adjustments to CET1, which are being phased in between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2018. For example, mortgage servicing rights, deferred tax assets dependent upon future taxable income and significant investments in common equity issued by nonconsolidated financial entities must be deducted from CET1 to the extent that any one of those categories exceeds 10% of CET1 or all such categories in the aggregate exceed 15% of CET1.

Under the New Rules, banking organizations such as the Company and the Bank may make a one-time permanent election regarding the treatment of accumulated other comprehensive income items in determining regulatory capital ratios. Effective as of January 1, 2015, the Company and the Bank elected to exclude accumulated other comprehensive income items for purposes of determining regulatory capital.

While the New Rules generally require the phase-out of non-qualifying capital instruments such as trust preferred securities and cumulative perpetual preferred stock, holding companies with less than $15 billion in total consolidated assets as of December 31, 2009, such as the Company, may permanently include non-qualifying instruments that were issued and included in Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital prior to May 19, 2010 in Additional Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital until they redeem such instruments or until the instruments mature.

The New Rules prescribe a standardized approach for calculating risk-weighted assets. Depending on the nature of the assets, the risk categories generally range from 0% for U.S. Government and agency securities, to 600% for certain equity exposures, and result in higher risk weights for a variety of asset categories. In addition, the New Rules provide more advantageous risk weights for derivatives and repurchase-style transactions cleared through a qualifying central counterparty and increase the scope of eligible guarantors and eligible collateral for purposes of credit risk mitigation.

Consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act, the New Rules adopt alternatives to credit ratings for calculating the risk-weighting for certain assets.

Federal Deposit Insurance and Premiums

Substantially all of the deposits of the Bank are insured up to applicable limits by the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”) of the FDIC and are subject to deposit insurance assessments to maintain the DIF.

The assessment base for deposit insurance premiums is an institution’s average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity. In connection with adopting this assessment base calculation, the FDIC lowered total base assessment rates to between 2.5 and 9 basis points for banks in the lowest risk category, and 30 to 45 basis points for banks in the highest risk category. The Company paid $3.1 million in total FDIC assessments in 2017, as compared to $2.4 million in 2016.

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC has established 2.0% as the designated reserve ratio (DRR), that is, the ratio of the DIF to insured deposits. The FDIC has adopted a plan under which it will meet the statutory minimum DRR of 1.35% by September 30, 2020, the deadline imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act. The Dodd-Frank Act requires the FDIC to offset the effect on institutions with assets less than $10 billion of the increase in the statutory minimum DRR to 1.35% from the former statutory minimum of 1.15%. The FDIC has not yet announced how it will implement this offset.

In addition to deposit insurance assessments, the FDIC is required to continue to collect from institutions payments for the servicing of obligations of the Financing Corporation (“FICO”) that were issued in connection with the resolution of savings and loan associations, so long as such obligations remain outstanding. The Bank paid a FICO premium of $210 thousand in 2017, as compared to $209 thousand in 2016.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (the “Modernization Act”):

The Modernization Act also modified other financial laws, including laws related to financial privacy and community reinvestment. The Company has elected not to become a financial holding company.

 Community Reinvestment Act

Under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”), as implemented by FDIC regulations, an insured depository institution has a continuing and affirmative obligation consistent with its safe and sound operation to help meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods. The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for financial institutions nor does it limit an institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best suited to its particular community, consistent with the CRA. The CRA requires the FDIC, in connection with its examination of every bank, to assess the bank’s record of meeting the credit needs of its community and to take such record into account in its evaluation of certain applications by such bank.

USA PATRIOT Act

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA PATRIOT Act”) gives the federal government powers to address terrorist threats through domestic security measures, surveillance powers, information sharing, and anti-money laundering requirements. By way of amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act encourages information-sharing among bank regulatory agencies and law enforcement bodies. Further, certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act impose affirmative obligations on a broad range of financial institutions, including banks, thrift institutions, brokers, dealers, credit unions, money transfer agents and parties registered under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Among other requirements, the USA PATRIOT Act imposes the following requirements with respect to financial institutions:

The United States Treasury Department has issued a number of implementing regulations which address various requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act and are applicable to financial institutions such as the Bank. These regulations impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to verify the identity of their customers.

Loans to Related Parties

The Company’s authority to extend credit to its directors and executive officers, as well as to entities controlled by such persons, is currently governed by the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Regulation O promulgated by the FRB. Among other things, these provisions require that extensions of credit to insiders (i) be made on terms that are substantially the same as, and follow credit underwriting procedures that are not less stringent than, those prevailing for comparable transactions with unaffiliated persons and that do not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features and (ii) not exceed certain limitations on the amount of credit extended to such persons, individually and in the aggregate, which limits are based, in part, on the amount of the Bank’s capital. In addition, the Bank’s Board of Directors must approve all extensions of credit to insiders.

Dividend Restrictions

The Parent Corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from the Bank. Virtually all of the revenue of the Parent Corporation available for payment of dividends on its capital stock will result from amounts paid to the Parent Corporation by the Bank. All such dividends are subject to the laws of the State of New Jersey, the Banking Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (“FDIA”) and the regulation of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and of the FDIC.

Under the New Jersey Corporation Act, the Parent Corporation is permitted to pay cash dividends provided that the payment does not leave us insolvent. As a bank holding company under the BHCA, we would be prohibited from paying cash dividends if we are not in compliance with any capital requirements applicable to us. However, as a practical matter, for so long as our major operations consist of ownership of the Bank, the Bank will remain our source of dividend payments, and our ability to pay dividends will be subject to any restrictions applicable to the Bank.

Under the New Jersey Banking Act of 1948, as amended, dividends may be paid by the Bank only if, after the payment of the dividend, the capital stock of the Bank will be unimpaired and either the Bank will have a surplus of not less than 50% of its capital stock or the payment of the dividend will not reduce the Bank’s surplus. The payment of dividends is also dependent upon the Bank’s ability to maintain adequate capital ratios pursuant to applicable regulatory requirements.

The FRB has issued a policy statement regarding the payment of dividends by bank holding companies. In general, the FRB’s policies provide that dividends should be paid only out of current earnings and only if the prospective rate of earnings retention by the bank holding company appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. FRB regulations also require that a bank holding company serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary banks by standing ready to use available resources to provide adequate capital funds to those banks during periods of financial stress or adversity and by maintaining the financial flexibility and capital-raising capacity to obtain additional resources for assisting its subsidiary banks where necessary. Under the prompt corrective action laws, the ability of a bank holding company to pay dividends may be restricted if a subsidiary bank becomes undercapitalized, and under regulations implementing the Basel III accord, a bank holding company’s ability to pay cash dividends may be impaired if it fails to satisfy certain capital buffer requirements. These regulatory policies could affect the ability of the Company to pay dividends or otherwise engage in capital distributions.

 Item 1A. Risk Factors

An investment in our common stock involves risks. Stockholders should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before making any purchase or sale decisions regarding our common stock. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or operating results may be harmed. In that case, the trading price of our common stock may decline, and stockholders may lose part or all of their investment in our common stock.

Risks Applicable to Our Business:

Our growth-oriented business strategy could be adversely affected if we are not able to attract and retain skilled employees or if we lose the services of our senior management team.

We may not be able to successfully manage our business as a result of the strain on our management and operations that may result from growth. Our ability to manage growth will depend upon our ability to continue to attract, hire and retain skilled employees. The loss of members of our senior management team, including those officers named in the summary compensation table of our proxy statement, could have a material adverse effect on our results or operations and ability to execute our strategic goals. Our success will also depend on the ability of our officers and key employees to continue to implement and improve our operational and other systems, to manage multiple, concurrent customer relationships and to hire, train and manage our employees.

We may need to raise additional capital to execute our growth oriented business strategy.

In order to continue our growth, we will be required to maintain our regulatory capital ratios at levels higher than the minimum ratios set by our regulators. In addition, the implementation of the Basel III regulatory capital requirements may require us to increase our regulatory capital ratios and raise additional capital. We can offer you no assurances that we will be able to raise capital in the future, or that the terms of any such capital will be beneficial to our existing security holders. In the event we are unable to raise capital in the future, we may not be able to continue our growth strategy.

We have a significant concentration in commercial real estate loans.

Our loan portfolio is made up largely of commercial real estate loans. These types of loans generally expose a lender to a higher degree of credit risk of non-payment and loss than do residential mortgage loans because of several factors, including dependence on the successful operation of a business or a project for repayment, and loan terms with a balloon payment rather than full amortization over the loan term. In addition, commercial real estate loans typically involve larger loan balances to single borrowers or groups of related borrowers compared to one-to four-family residential mortgage loans. Underwriting and portfolio management activities cannot completely eliminate all risks related to these loans. Any significant failure to pay on time by our customers or a significant default by our customers would materially and adversely affect us.

At December 31, 2017, we had $3.1 billion of commercial real estate loans, including commercial construction loans, which represented 73.7% of loans receivable. Concentrations in commercial real estate are also monitored by regulatory agencies and subject to scrutiny. Guidance from these regulatory agencies includes all commercial real estate loans, including commercial construction loans, in calculating our commercial real estate concentration, but excludes owner-occupied commercial real estate loans. Based on this regulatory definition, our commercial real estate loans represented 568% of total risk-based capital.

Loans secured by owner-occupied real estate are reliant on the operating businesses to provide cash flow to meet debt service obligations, and as a result they are more susceptible to the general impact on the economic environment affecting those operating companies as well as the real estate.

Although the economy in our market area generally, and the real estate market in particular, is growing, we can give you no assurance that it will continue to grow or that the rate of growth will accelerate. Many factors, including the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar, potential international trade tariffs, and changes in federal tax laws effecting the deductibility of state and local taxes and mortgage interest could reduce or halt growth in our local economy and real estate market. Accordingly, it may be more difficult for commercial real estate borrowers to repay their loans in a timely manner, as commercial real estate borrowers’ ability to repay their loans frequently depends on the successful development of their properties. The deterioration of one or a few of our commercial real estate loans could cause a material increase in our level of nonperforming loans, which would result in a loss of revenue from these loans and could result in an increase in the provision for loan losses and/or an increase in charge-offs, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our net income. We also may incur losses on commercial real estate loans due to declines in occupancy rates and rental rates, which may decrease property values and may decrease the likelihood that a borrower may find permanent financing alternatives. Any weakening of the commercial real estate market may increase the likelihood of default of these loans, which could negatively impact our loan portfolio’s performance and asset quality. If we are required to liquidate the collateral securing a loan to satisfy the debt during a period of reduced real estate values, we could incur material losses. Any of these events could increase our costs, require management time and attention, and materially and adversely affect us.

Federal banking agencies have issued guidance regarding high concentrations of commercial real estate loans within bank loan portfolios. The guidance requires financial institutions that exceed certain levels of commercial real estate lending compared with their total capital to maintain heightened risk management practices that address the following key elements: board and management oversight and strategic planning, portfolio management, development of underwriting standards, risk assessment and monitoring through market analysis and stress testing, and maintenance of increased capital levels as needed to support the level of commercial real estate lending. If there is any deterioration in our commercial real estate portfolio or if our regulators conclude that we have not implemented appropriate risk management practices, it could adversely affect our business, and could result in the requirement to maintain increased capital levels. Such capital may not be available at that time, and may result in our regulators requiring us to reduce our concentration in commercial real estate loans.

If we are limited in our ability to originate loans secured by commercial real estate we may face greater risk in our loan portfolio

If, because of our concentration of commercial real estate loans, or for any other reasons, we are limited in our ability to originate loans secured by commercial real estate, we may incur greater risk in our loan portfolio. For example, we may seek to increase our growth rate in commercial and industrial loans, including both secured and unsecured commercial and industrial loans. Unsecured loans generally involve a higher degree of risk of loss than do secured loans because, without collateral, repayment is wholly dependent upon the success of the borrowers’ businesses and personal guarantees. Secured commercial and industrial loans are generally collateralized by accounts receivable, inventory, equipment or other assets owned by the borrower and typically include a personal guaranty of the business owner. Compared to real estate, that type of collateral is more difficult to monitor, its value is harder to ascertain, it may depreciate more rapidly and it may not be as readily saleable if repossessed. Therefore, we may be exposed to greater risk of loss on these credits.

The nature and growth rate of our commercial loan portfolio may expose us to increased lending risks.

Given the significant growth in our loan portfolio, many of our commercial real estate loans are unseasoned, meaning that they were originated relatively recently. As of December 31, 2017, we had $2.6 billion in commercial real estate loans outstanding. Approximately 67% of the loans, or $1.7 billion, had been originated in the past three years. Our limited experience with these loans does not provide us with a significant payment history pattern with which to judge future collectability. As a result, it may be difficult to predict the future performance of our loan portfolio. These loans may have delinquency or charge-off levels above our expectations, which could negatively affect our performance.

Our portfolio of loans secured by New York City taxi medallions could expose us to credit losses.

We maintain a significant credit exposure ($46.8 million carrying value as of December 31, 2017) of loans secured by New York City taxi medallions. The taxi industry in New York City is facing significant competition and pressure from technology based ride share companies such as Uber and Lyft. This has resulted in volatility in the pricing of medallions, and has impacted the earnings of many medallion holders, including our borrowers. The entire taxi medallion portfolio was designated as nonaccrual, and the entire portfolio has been re-designated as loans held-for-investment, reflecting reduced interest by purchasers in smaller portfolios of loans secured by taxi medallions, such as ours. Any further deterioration in the value of New York City taxi medallions, or in the medallion taxi industry in New York City, could expose us to additional losses through additional write downs on these loans.

The small to medium-sized businesses that the Bank lends to may have fewer resources to weather a downturn in the economy, which may impair a borrower’s ability to repay a loan to the Bank that could materially harm our operating results.

The Bank targets its business development and marketing strategy primarily to serve the banking and financial services needs of small to medium-sized businesses. These small to medium-sized businesses frequently have smaller market share than their competition, may be more vulnerable to economic downturns, often need substantial additional capital to expand or compete and may experience significant volatility in operating results. Any one or more of these factors may impair the borrower’s ability to repay a loan. In addition, the success of a small to medium-sized business often depends on the management talents and efforts of one or two persons or a small group of persons, and the death, disability or resignation of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on the business and its ability to repay a loan. Economic downturns and other events that negatively impact our market areas could cause the Bank to incur substantial credit losses that could negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our ability to maintain our reputation is critical to the success of our business and the failure to do so may materially adversely affect our performance.

Our reputation is one of the most valuable components of our business. As such, we strive to conduct our business in a manner that enhances our reputation. This is done, in part, by recruiting, hiring and retaining employees who share our core values of being an integral part of the communities we serve, delivering superior service to our customers and caring about our customers and associates. If our reputation is negatively affected, by the actions of our employees or otherwise, our business and, therefore, our operating results may be materially adversely affected.

Anti-takeover provisions in our corporate documents and in New Jersey corporate law may make it difficult and expensive to remove current management.

Anti-takeover provisions in our corporate documents and in New Jersey law may render the removal of our existing board of directors and management more difficult. Consequently, it may be difficult and expensive for our stockholders to remove current management, even if current management is not performing adequately.

Competition from other financial institutions in originating loans and attracting deposits may adversely affect our profitability.

We face substantial competition in originating loans. This competition comes principally from other banks, savings institutions, mortgage banking companies, credit unions and other lenders. Many of our competitors enjoy advantages, including greater financial resources and higher lending limits, a wider geographic presence, more accessible branch office locations, the ability to offer a wider array of services or more favorable pricing alternatives, as well as lower origination and operating costs. This competition could reduce our net income by decreasing the number and size of loans that we originate and the interest rates we may charge on these loans.

In attracting deposits, we face substantial competition from other insured depository institutions such as banks, savings institutions and credit unions, as well as institutions offering uninsured investment alternatives, including money market funds. Many of our competitors enjoy advantages, including greater financial resources, more aggressive marketing campaigns, better brand recognition and more branch locations.

These competitors may offer higher interest rates than we do, which could decrease the deposits that we attract or require us to increase our rates to retain existing deposits or attract new deposits.

We have also been active in competing for New Jersey governmental and municipal deposits. At December 31, 2017, governmental and municipal deposits accounted for approximately $358.8 million in deposits. The newly elected governor of New Jersey has proposed that the state form and own a bank in which governmental and municipal entities would deposit their excess funds, with the state owned bank then financing small businesses and municipal projects in New Jersey. Although this proposal is in the very early stages, should this proposal be adopted and a state owned bank formed, it could impede our ability to attract and retain governmental and municipal deposits.

Increased deposit competition could adversely affect our ability to generate the funds necessary for lending operations, which may increase our cost of funds.

We also compete with non-bank providers of financial services, such as brokerage firms, consumer finance companies, insurance companies and governmental organizations, which may offer more favorable terms. Some of our non-bank competitors are not subject to the same extensive regulations that govern our operations. As a result, such non-bank competitors may have advantages over us in providing certain products and services. This competition may reduce or limit our margins on banking services, reduce our market share and adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.

External factors, many of which we cannot control, may result in liquidity concerns for us.

Liquidity risk is the potential that the Bank may be unable to meet its obligations as they come due, capitalize on growth opportunities as they arise, or pay regular dividends because of an inability to liquidate assets or obtain adequate funding in a timely basis, at a reasonable cost and within acceptable risk tolerances.

Liquidity is required to fund various obligations, including credit commitments to borrowers, mortgage and other loan originations, withdrawals by depositors, repayment of borrowings, operating expenses, capital expenditures and dividend payments to shareholders.

Liquidity is derived primarily from deposit growth and retention; principal and interest payments on loans; principal and interest payments on investment securities; sale, maturity and prepayment of investment securities; net cash provided from operations, and access to other funding sources. In addition, in recent periods we have substantially increased our use of alternate deposit origination channels, such as brokered deposits, including reciprocal deposit services, and internet listing services.

Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry in general. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity due to market factors or an adverse regulatory action against us. In addition, our ability to use alternate deposit originations channels could be substantially impaired if we fail to remain “well capitalized”. Our ability to borrow could also be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a severe disruption of the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry as a whole. The liquidity issues have been particularly acute for regional and community banks, as many of the larger financial institutions have significantly curtailed their lending to regional and community banks to reduce their exposure to the risks of other banks. In addition, many of the larger correspondent lenders have reduced or even eliminated federal funds lines for their correspondent customers. Furthermore, regional and community banks generally have less access to the capital markets than do the national and super-regional banks because of their smaller size and limited analyst coverage. Any decline in available funding could adversely impact our ability

to originate loans, invest in securities, meet our expenses, or fulfill obligations such as meeting deposit withdrawal demands, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity, business, results of operations and financial condition.

Declines in the value of our investment securities portfolio may adversely impact our results.

As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $435.3 million in investment securities, available-for-sale. We may be required to record impairment charges on our investment securities if they suffer a decline in value that is considered other-than-temporary. Numerous factors, including lack of liquidity for re-sales of certain investment securities, absence of reliable pricing information on investment securities, adverse changes in business climate, adverse actions by regulators, or unanticipated changes in the competitive environment could have a negative effect on our investment portfolio in future periods. If an impairment charge is significant enough, it could affect the ability of the Bank to upstream dividends to the Company, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and our ability to pay dividends to shareholders and could also negatively impact our regulatory capital ratios.

The Bank’s ability to pay dividends is subject to regulatory limitations, which, to the extent that the Company requires such dividends in the future, may affect the Company’s ability to honor its obligations and pay dividends.

As a bank holding company, the Company is a separate legal entity from the Bank and its subsidiaries and does not have significant operations. We currently depend on the Bank’s cash and liquidity to pay our operating expenses and to fund dividends to shareholders. We cannot assure you that in the future the Bank will have the capacity to pay the necessary dividends and that we will not require dividends from the Bank to satisfy our obligations. Various statutes and regulations limit the availability of dividends from the Bank. It is possible, depending upon our and the Bank’s financial condition and other factors, that bank regulators could assert that payment of dividends or other payments by the Bank are an unsafe or unsound practice. In the event that the Bank is unable to pay dividends, we may not be able to service our obligations, as they become due, or pay dividends on our capital stock. Consequently, the inability to receive dividends from the Bank could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.

In addition, as described under “Capital Adequacy Guidelines,” beginning in 2016, banks and bank holding companies are be required to maintain a capital conservation buffer on top of minimum risk-weighted asset ratios. When fully phased in on January 1, 2019, the capital conservation buffer will be 2.5%. Banking institutions which do not maintain capital in excess of the capital conservation buffer will face constraints on the payment of dividends, equity repurchases and compensation based on the amount of the shortfall. Accordingly, if the Bank fails to maintain the applicable minimum capital ratios and the capital conservation buffer, distributions to the Company may be prohibited or limited.

We may incur impairment to goodwill.

We review our goodwill at least annually. Significant negative industry or economic trends, reduced estimates of future cash flows or disruptions to our business, could indicate that goodwill might be impaired. Our valuation methodology for assessing impairment requires management to make judgments and assumptions based on historical experience and to rely on projections of future operating performance. We operate in a competitive environment and projections of future operating results and cash flows may vary significantly from actual results. Additionally, if our analysis results in an impairment to our goodwill, we would be required to record a non-cash charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which such impairment is determined to exist. Any such charge could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

If we pursue acquisitions, we may heighten the risks to our operations and financial condition.

To the extent that we undertake acquisitions, we may experience the effects of higher operating expenses relative to operating income from the new operations, which may have a material adverse effect on our levels of reported net income, return on average equity and return on average assets. Other effects of engaging in such growth strategies may include potential diversion of our management’s time and attention and general disruption to our business. To the extent that we grow through acquisitions, we cannot assure you that we will be able to adequately and profitably manage this growth. Acquiring other banks and businesses involve similar risks to those commonly associated with branching, but may also involve additional risks, including:

Attractive acquisition opportunities may not be available to us in the future.

We expect that other banking and financial service companies, many of which have significantly greater resources than us, will compete with us in acquiring other financial institutions if we pursue such acquisitions. This competition could increase prices for potential acquisitions that we believe are attractive. Also, acquisitions are subject to various regulatory approvals. If we fail to receive the appropriate regulatory approvals, we will not be able to consummate an acquisition that we believe is in our best interests. Among other things, our regulators will consider our capital, liquidity, profitability, regulatory compliance and levels of goodwill when considering acquisition and expansion proposals. Any acquisition could be dilutive to our earnings and shareholders’ equity per share of our common stock.

Hurricanes or other adverse weather events could negatively affect our local economies or disrupt our operations, which would have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

Hurricanes and other weather events can disrupt our operations, result in damage to our properties and negatively affect the local economies in which we operate. In addition, these weather events may result in a decline in value or destruction of properties securing our loans and an increase in delinquencies, foreclosures and loan losses.

We may be adversely affected by recent changes in U.S. tax laws.

Changes in tax laws contained in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in December 2017, include a number of provisions that will have an impact on the banking industry, borrowers and the market for single-family residential real estate. Changes include (i) a lower limit on the deductibility of mortgage interest on single-family residential mortgage loans, (ii) the elimination of interest deductions for home equity loans, (iii) a limitation on the deductibility of business interest expense and (iv) a limitation on the deductibility of property taxes and state and local income taxes.

The recent changes in the tax laws may have an adverse effect on the market for, and valuation of, residential properties, and on the demand for such loans in the future, and could make it harder for borrowers to make their loan payments. In addition, these recent changes may also have a disproportionate effect on taxpayers in states with high residential home prices and high state and local taxes, such as New Jersey. If home ownership becomes less attractive, demand for mortgage loans could decrease. The value of the properties securing loans in the loan portfolio may be adversely impacted as a result of the changing economics of home ownership, which could require an increase in the provision for loan losses, which would reduce profitability and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Applicable to the Banking Industry Generally:

Our allowance for loan losses may not be adequate to cover actual losses.

Like all financial institutions, we maintain an allowance for loan losses to provide for loan defaults and nonperformance. The process for determining the amount of the allowance is critical to our financial results and condition. It requires difficult, subjective and complex judgments about the future, including the impact of national and regional economic conditions on the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans. If our judgment proves to be incorrect, our allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in our loan portfolio. Further, state and federal regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, review our loans and allowance for loan losses and may require an increase in our allowance for loan losses.

Although we believe that our allowance for loan losses is adequate to cover known and probable incurred losses included in the portfolio, we cannot assure you that we will not further increase the allowance for loan losses or that our regulators will not require us to increase this allowance. Either of these occurrences could adversely affect our earnings.

Changes in interest rates may adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.

Our net income depends primarily upon our net interest income. Net interest income is the difference between interest income earned on loans, investments and other interest-earning assets and the interest expense incurred on deposits and borrowed funds. The level of net interest income is primarily a function of the average balance of our interest-earning assets, the average balance of our interest-bearing liabilities, and the spread between the yield on such assets and the cost of such liabilities. These factors are influenced by both the pricing and mix of our interest-earning assets and our interest-bearing liabilities which, in turn, are impacted by such external factors as the local economy, competition for loans and deposits, the monetary policy of the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (the “FOMC”), and market interest rates.

A sustained increase in market interest rates could adversely affect our earnings if our cost of funds increases more rapidly than our yield on our earning assets, and compresses our net interest margin. In addition, the economic value of portfolio equity would decline if interest rates increase. For example, we estimate that as of December 31, 2017, a 200 basis point increase in interest rates would have resulted in our economic value of portfolio equity declining by approximately $72.4 million or 12.83%. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Interest Rate Sensitivity Analysis.”

Different types of assets and liabilities may react differently, and at different times, to changes in market interest rates. We expect that we will periodically experience gaps in the interest rate sensitivities of our assets and liabilities. That means either our interest-bearing liabilities will be more sensitive to changes in market interest rates than our interest-earning assets, or vice versa. When interest-bearing liabilities mature or re-price more quickly than interest-earning assets, an increase in market rates of interest could reduce our net interest income. Likewise, when interest-earning assets mature or re-price more quickly than interest-bearing liabilities, falling interest rates could reduce our net interest income. We are unable to predict changes in market interest rates, which are affected by many factors beyond our control, including inflation, deflation, recession, unemployment, money supply, domestic and international events and changes in the United States and other financial markets.

We also attempt to manage risk from changes in market interest rates, in part, by controlling the mix of interest rate sensitive assets and interest rate sensitive liabilities. However, interest rate risk management techniques are not exact. A rapid increase or decrease in interest rates could adversely affect our results of operations and financial performance.

The banking business is subject to significant government regulations.

We are subject to extensive governmental supervision, regulation and control. These laws and regulations are subject to change, and may require substantial modifications to our operations or may cause us to incur substantial additional compliance costs. In addition, future legislation and government policy could adversely affect the commercial banking industry and our operations. Such governing laws can be anticipated to continue to be the subject of future modification. Our management cannot predict what effect any such future modifications will have on our operations. In addition, the primary focus of Federal and state banking regulation is the protection of depositors and not the shareholders of the regulated institutions.

For example, the Dodd-Frank Act may result in substantial new compliance costs. The Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law on July 21, 2010. Generally, the Dodd-Frank Act is effective the day after it was signed into law, but different effective dates apply to specific sections of the law, many of which will not become effective until various Federal regulatory agencies have promulgated rules implementing the statutory provisions.  Uncertainty remains as to the ultimate impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, which could have a material adverse impact either on the financial services industry as a whole, or on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The following aspects of the financial reform and consumer protection act are related to the operations of the Bank:

In addition, in order to implement Basel III and certain additional capital changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act, on July 9, 2013, the Federal banking agencies, including the FDIC, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, approved, as an interim final rule, the regulatory capital requirements for U.S. insured depository institutions and their holding companies. This regulation requires financial institutions to maintain higher capital levels and more equity capital.

These provisions, as well as any other aspects of current or proposed regulatory or legislative changes to laws applicable to the financial industry, may impact the profitability of our business activities and may change certain of our business practices, including the ability to offer new products, obtain financing, attract deposits, make loans, and achieve satisfactory interest spreads, and could expose us to additional costs, including increased compliance costs. These changes also may require us to invest significant management attention and resources to make any necessary changes to operations in order to comply, and could therefore also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our management is actively reviewing the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, many of which are to be phased-in over the next several months and years, and assessing the probable impact on our operations. However, the ultimate effect of these changes on the financial services industry in general, and us in particular, is uncertain at this time.

The laws that regulate our operations are designed for the protection of depositors and the public, not our shareholders.

The federal and state laws and regulations applicable to our operations give regulatory authorities extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement responsibilities, and generally have been promulgated to protect depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund and not for the purpose of protecting shareholders. These laws and regulations can materially affect our future business. Laws and regulations now affecting us may be changed at any time, and the interpretation of such laws and regulations by bank regulatory authorities is also subject to change.

We can give no assurance that future changes in laws and regulations or changes in their interpretation will not adversely affect our business. Legislative and regulatory changes may increase our cost of doing business or otherwise adversely affect us and create competitive advantages for non-bank competitors.

The potential impact of changes in monetary policy and interest rates may negatively affect our operations.

Our operating results may be significantly affected (favorably or unfavorably) by market rates of interest that, in turn, are affected by prevailing economic conditions, by the fiscal and monetary policies of the United States government and by the policies of various regulatory agencies. Our earnings will depend significantly upon our interest rate spread (i.e., the difference between the interest rate earned on our loans and investments and the interest raid paid on our deposits and borrowings). Like many financial institutions, we may be subject to the risk of fluctuations in interest rates, which, if significant, may have a material adverse effect on our operations.

We cannot predict how changes in technology will impact our business; increased use of technology may expose us to service interruptions or breaches in security.

The financial services market, including banking services, is increasingly affected by advances in technology, including developments in:

Our ability to compete successfully in the future will depend, to a certain extent, on whether we can anticipate and respond to technological changes. We offer electronic banking services for our consumer and business customers via our website, www.cnob.com, including Internet banking and electronic bill payment, as well as mobile banking by phone. We also offer check cards, ATM cards, credit cards, and automatic and ACH transfers. The successful operation and further development of these and other new technologies will likely require additional capital investments in the future. In addition, increased use of electronic banking creates opportunities for interruptions in service or security breaches, which could expose us to claims by customers or other third parties. We cannot assure you that we will have

sufficient resources or access to the necessary proprietary technology to remain competitive in the future, or that we will be able to maintain a secure electronic environment.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

The Bank operates seven banking offices in Bergen County, NJ, consisting of one office each in Englewood Cliffs, Englewood, Cresskill, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Ridgewood and Saddle River; nine banking offices in Union County, NJ, consisting of four offices in Union Township, and one office each in Springfield Township, Berkeley Heights, and Summit; three banking offices in Morris County, NJ, consisting of one office each in Boonton, Madison and Morristown; one office in Newark in Essex County, NJ; one office in West New York in Hudson County, NJ; one office in Princeton in Mercer County, NJ; one office in Holmdel in Monmouth County, and one banking office in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The Bank is also opening a banking office in Melville, New York on Long Island. The Bank’s principal office is located at 301 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. The principal office is a three-story leased building constructed in 2008.

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the Bank’s leased locations.

The Bank operates a Drive In/Walk Up located at 2022 Stowe Street, Union, NJ.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

There are no significant pending legal proceedings involving the Company other than those arising out of routine operations. None of these matters would have a material adverse effect on the Company or its results of operations if decided adversely to the Company.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for the Registrant’s Equity Stock, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Security Market Information

The common stock of the Company is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CNOB”. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had 475 stockholders of record, excluding beneficial owners for whom CEDE & Company or others act as nominees. On December 31, 2017, the closing sale price was $25.75.

The following table sets forth the high and low closing sales price, and the dividends declared, on a share of the Company’s common stock for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Share Repurchase Program

Historically, repurchases have been made from time to time as, in the opinion of management, market conditions warranted, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. Shares repurchased were used for stock dividends and other issuances. No repurchases were made of the Company’s common stock during 2017 or 2016.

Dividends

Federal laws and regulations contain restrictions on the ability of the Parent Corporation and the Bank to pay dividends. For information regarding restrictions on dividends, see Part I, Item 1, “Business” and Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”, Note 20 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.”

Stockholders Return Comparison

Set forth on the following page is a line graph presentation comparing the cumulative stockholder return on the Parent Corporation’s common stock, on a dividend reinvested basis, against the cumulative total returns of the NASDAQ Composite and the KBW Bank Index for the period from December 31, 2012 through December 31, 2017.

COMPARE 5-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN
AMONG CONNECTONE BANCORP INC.
NASDAQ AND KBW BANK INDEX

Assumes $100 Invested on December 31, 2012, with Dividends Reinvested
Year Ended December 31, 2017

COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN OF ONE OR MORE
COMPANIES, PEER GROUPS, INDUSTRY INDEXES AND/OR BROAD MARKETS

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following tables set forth selected consolidated financial data as of the dates and for the periods presented. The selected consolidated statement of financial condition data as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 and the selected consolidated summary of income data for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes that we have included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The selected consolidated statement of financial condition data as of December 31, 2015, 2014, 2013 and the selected consolidated summary of income data for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements that are not presented in this Annual Report.

The selected historical consolidated financial data as of any date and for any period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved as of any future date or for any future period. You should read the following selected statistical and financial data in conjunction with the more detailed information contained in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes that we have presented elsewhere in this Annual Report.

SUMMARY OF SELECTED STATISTICAL INFORMATION AND FINANCIAL DATA

Non-GAAP Reconciliation Table

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The purpose of this analysis is to provide the reader with information relevant to understanding and assessing the Company’s results of operations for each of the past three years and financial condition for each of the past two years. In order to fully appreciate this analysis, the reader is encouraged to review the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto appearing under Item 8 of this report, and statistical data presented in this document.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

See Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding forward-looking statements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements contains a summary of our significant accounting policies. Management believes our policy with respect to the methodology for the determination of the allowance for loan losses involves a higher degree of complexity and requires management to make difficult and subjective judgments which often require assumptions or estimates about highly uncertain matters. Changes in these judgments, assumptions or estimates could materially impact results of operations. This critical policy and its application are periodically reviewed with the Audit Committee and our Board of Directors.

Allowance for Loan Losses and Related Provision

The allowance for loan losses represents management’s estimate of probable incurred loan losses inherent in the loan portfolio. Determining the amount of the allowance for loan losses is considered a critical accounting estimate because it requires significant judgment and the use of estimates related to the amount and timing of expected future cash flows on impaired loans, estimated probable incurred losses on pools of homogeneous loans based on historical loss experience, and consideration of current economic trends and conditions, all of which may be susceptible to significant change. The loan portfolio also represents the largest asset type on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Condition.

The evaluation of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses includes, among other factors, an analysis of historical loss rates by loan category applied to current loan totals. However, actual loan losses may be higher or lower than historical trends, which vary. Actual losses on specified problem loans, which also are provided for in the evaluation, may vary from estimated loss percentages, which are established based upon a limited number of potential loss classifications.

The allowance for loan losses is established through a provision for loan losses charged to expense. Management believes that the current allowance for loan losses will be adequate to absorb probable incurred loan losses on existing loans that may become uncollectible based on the evaluation of known and inherent risks in the originated loan portfolio. The evaluation takes into consideration such factors as changes in the nature and size of the portfolio, overall portfolio quality, and specific problem loans and current economic conditions which may affect our borrowers’ ability to pay. The evaluation also details historical losses by loan category and the resulting loan loss rates which are projected for current loan total amounts. Loss estimates for specified problem loans are also detailed. Various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review our allowance for loan losses. Such agencies may require us to make additional provisions for loan losses based upon information available to them at the time of their examination. All of the factors considered in the analysis of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses may be subject to change. To the extent actual outcomes differ from management estimates, additional provisions for loan losses may be required that could materially adversely impact earnings in future periods. Additional information can be found in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 Income Taxes

The objectives of accounting for income taxes are to recognize the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred tax liabilities and assets for the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in an entity’s financial statements or tax returns. Judgment is required in assessing the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Company’s consolidated financial statements or tax returns.

Fluctuations in the actual outcome of these future tax consequences could impact the Company’s consolidated financial condition or results of operations. Notes 1 (under the caption “Use of Estimates”) and 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements include additional discussion on the accounting for income taxes.

Goodwill

The Company has adopted the provisions of FASB ASC 350-10-05, which requires that goodwill be reported separate from other intangible assets in the Consolidated Statements of Condition and not be amortized but tested for impairment annually or more frequently if indicators arise for impairment. No impairment charge was deemed necessary for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

Overview and Strategy

We serve as a holding company for the Bank, which is our primary asset and only operating subsidiary. We follow a business plan that emphasizes the delivery of customized banking services in our market area to customers who desire a high level of personalized service and responsiveness. The Bank conducts a traditional banking business, making commercial loans, consumer loans and residential and commercial real estate loans. In addition, the Bank offers various non-deposit products through non-proprietary relationships with third party vendors. The Bank relies upon deposits as the primary funding source for its assets. The Bank offers traditional deposit products.

Many of our customer relationships start with referrals from existing customers. We then seek to cross sell our products to customers to grow the customer relationship. For example, we will frequently offer an interest rate concession on credit products for customers that maintain a noninterest-bearing deposit account at the Bank. This strategy has helped maintain our funding costs and the growth of our interest expense even as we have substantially increased our total deposits. It has also helped fuel our significant loan growth. We believe that the Bank’s significant growth and increasing profitability demonstrate the need for and success of our brand of banking.

Our results of operations depend primarily on our net interest income, which is the difference between the interest earned on our interest-earning assets and the interest paid on funds borrowed to support those assets, primarily deposits. Net interest margin is the difference between the weighted average rate received on interest-earning assets and the weighted average rate paid to fund those interest-earning assets, which is also affected by the average level of interest-earning assets as compared with that of interest-bearing liabilities. Net income is also affected by the amount of noninterest income and noninterest expenses.

General

The following discussion and analysis presents the more significant factors affecting the Company’s financial condition as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 and results of operations for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2017. The MD&A should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements, notes to consolidated financial statements and other information contained in this report.

Operating Results Overview

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $43.2 million, an increase of $12.1 million, or 39.1%, compared to net income of $31.1 million for 2016. Net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $43.2 million, an increase of $12.2 million, or 39.2%, compared to net income available to common shareholders of $31.1 million for 2016. Diluted earnings per share were $1.34 for 2017, a 32.7% increase from $1.01 for 2016.

The change in net income from 2016 to 2017 was attributable to the following:

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $31.1 million, a decrease of $10.2 million, or 24.8%, compared to net income of $41.3 million for 2015. Net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $31.1 million, a decrease of $10.1 million, or 24.6%, compared to net income available to common shareholders of $41.2 million for 2015. Diluted earnings per share were $1.01 for 2016, a 25.7% decrease from $1.36 for 2015.

The change in net income from 2015 to 2016 was attributable to the following:

Net Interest Income

Fully taxable equivalent net interest income for 2017 totaled $148.5 million, an increase of $15.5 million, or 11.7%, from 2016. The increase in net interest income was due to an increase in average interest-earning assets, which grew by 9.4% to $4.3 billion and a widening of the net interest margin by 7 basis-points. The increase in the net interest margin was attributed to an improved asset mix, including lower levels of cash held at the Federal Reserve Bank, partially offset by increases in deposit funding costs, as well as lower yields on securities. Average total loans increased by 13.6% to $3.8 billion in 2017 from $3.4 billion in 2016.

Fully taxable equivalent net interest income for 2016 totaled $133.0 million, an increase of $13.3 million, or 11.1%, from 2015. The increase in net interest income was due to an increase in average interest-earning assets, which grew by 16.7% to $3.9 billion. Partially offsetting the increase in interest-earning assets was a 17 basis-point contraction in the net interest margin. The decrease in the net interest margin was attributed to higher levels of cash held at the Federal Reserve Bank, lower accretion of purchase accounting adjustments related to the Merger, long-term subordinated debt issued in June 2016, and an increase in rates paid on deposits. Average total loans increased by 20.1% to $3.4 billion in 2016 from $2.8 billion in 2015.

Average Balance Sheets

The following table sets forth certain information relating to our average assets and liabilities for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 and reflects the average yield on assets and average cost of liabilities for the periods indicated. Such yields are derived by dividing income or expense by the average balance of assets or liabilities, respectively, for the periods shown.

Rate/Volume Analysis

The following table presents, by category, the major factors that contributed to the changes in net interest income. Changes due to both volume and rate have been allocated in proportion to the relationship of the dollar amount change in each.

Provision for Loan Losses

In determining the provision for loan losses, management considers national and local economic trends and conditions; trends in the portfolio including orientation to specific loan types or industries; experience, ability and depth of lending management in relation to the complexity of the portfolio; effects of changes in lending policies, trends in volume and terms of loans; levels and trends in delinquencies, impaired loans and net charge-offs and the results of independent third party loan review.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the provision for loan losses was $6.0 million, a decrease of $32.7 million, compared to the provision for loan losses of $38.7 million for 2016, due primarily to $36.5 million in charge-offs of taxi medallion loans in 2016. These taxi medallion loans were transferred back to the loans held-for-investment portfolio in November 2017 at their fair value, with a modest earnings impact.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, the provision for loan losses was $38.7 million, an increase of $26.1 million, compared to the provision for loan losses of $12.6 million for 2015. The increase was largely attributable to an increase in reserves allocated to the Bank’s taxi medallion portfolio of approximately $27.7 million resulting from the transfer of the portfolio to loans held-for-sale, offset by a reduction in reserves of $1.5 million related to the movement of loans from the acquired portfolio into loans held-for-investment.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the full-year 2017 decreased by $1.7 million, or 17.3%, to $8.2 million from $9.9 million in 2016. The decrease was primarily the result of a $2.6 million decrease in net gains on sale of investment securities, partly offset by an increase in BOLI income of $0.6 million and higher gains of the sale of loans held-for-sale of $0.5 million, primarily related to the sale of approximately $50 million of non-relationship multifamily loans which resulted in a gain on sale of approximately $550 thousand.

Noninterest income for the full-year 2016 decreased by $1.3 million, or 11.2% to $9.9 million from $11.2 million in 2015. The decrease was primarily the result of a 2015 insurance recovery of $2.2 million, offset by an increase in BOLI income of $0.8 million and higher net investment securities gains, which increased by $0.3 million to $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expenses for the full-year 2017 increased by $20.3 million, or 34.6% to $78.8 million from $58.5 million in 2016.  The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of $15.6 million in the valuation allowance for loans held-for-sale related to the Company’s taxi medallion loans. The balance of the increase was attributable to an increased level of business and staff resulting from organic growth. Salaries and employee benefits increased by $4.0 million, FDIC insurance increased by $0.5 million and data processing increased by $0.4 million.

Noninterest expenses for the full-year 2016 increased by $4.0 million, or 7.4% to $58.5 million from $54.5 million in 2015.  The increase was primarily attributable to an increased level of business and staff resulting from organic growth. Salary and employee benefits increased by $3.3 million, occupancy and equipment expenses increased by $1.0 million, FDIC insurance increased by $0.8 million, data processing increased by $0.4 million, marketing and advertising increased by $0.2 million and other expenses increased by $0.6 million, partially offset by a 2015 loss on an extinguishment of debt for $2.4 million.

Income Taxes

On December 22, 2017, H.R. 1, commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), was signed into law.  The Act includes provisions that will affect the Company’s income tax expense, including the reducing the federal tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.  As a result of the rate reduction, the Company was required to re-measure, through income tax expense in the period of enactment, its deferred tax assets and liabilities using the enacted rate at which the Company expects them to be recovered or settled. Pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118, Income Tax Accounting Implications of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“SAB 118”), given the amount and complexity of the changes in tax law resulting from the Tax Reform Act, the Company has not finalized the accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Reform Act. This includes the re-measurement of deferred taxes.

The impact of the Tax Reform Act may differ from this estimate, during the one-year measurement period due to, among other things, further refinement of the Company’s calculations, changes in interpretations and assumptions the Company has made, guidance that may be issued and actions the Company may take as a result of the Tax Reform Act. As a result of the Tax Reform Act, the Company recorded a tax charge of approximately $5.6 million due to a re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities.

Income tax expense was $25.3 million for the full-year 2017 compared to $11.8 million for the full-year 2016 and $19.9 million for the full-year 2015. Tax expense for 2017 included the aforementioned, estimated $5.6 million charge to adjust the value of deferred tax assets to reflect the lower corporate tax rate, resulting from the Act. The higher level of income tax expense in 2017 also reflected increased pretax income. The effective tax rates were 36.9% in 2017, 27.5% for 2016 and 32.5% for 2015.  Excluding the effect of the $5.6 million charge, the effective tax rate in 2017 was 28.8%. The effective tax rate in 2016 from 2015 decreased due to a decrease in the proportion of income subject to income taxes.

For a more detailed description of income taxes see Note 12 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Financial Condition Overview

At December 31, 2017, the Company’s total assets were $5.1 billion, an increase of $682 million from December 31, 2016. Total loans (including loans held-for-sale) were $4.2 billion, an increase of $642 million from December 31, 2016. Deposits were $3.8 billion, an increase of $451 million from December 31, 2016.

At December 31, 2016, the Company’s total assets were $4.4 billion, an increase of $410 million from December 31, 2015. Total loans (including loans held-for-sale) were $3.6 billion, an increase of $455 million from December 31, 2015. Deposits were $3.3 billion, an increase of $553 million from December 31, 2015.

Loan Portfolio

The Bank’s lending activities are generally oriented to small-to-medium sized businesses, high net worth individuals, professional practices and consumer and retail clients living and working in the Bank’s market area of Bergen, Union, Morris, Essex, Hudson, Mercer and Monmouth counties, New Jersey, as well as NYC’s five boroughs, and commencing in 2018, Long Island through its Melville, New York office. The Bank has not made loans to borrowers outside of the United States. The Bank believes that its strategy of high-quality client service, competitive rate structures and selective marketing have enabled it to gain market share.

Commercial loans are loans made for business purposes and are primarily secured by collateral such as cash balances with the Bank, marketable securities held by or under the control of the Bank, business assets including accounts receivable, inventory and equipment and liens on commercial and residential real estate. Commercial construction loans are loans to finance the construction of commercial or residential properties secured by first liens on such properties. Commercial real estate loans include loans secured by first liens on completed commercial properties, including multi-family properties, to purchase or refinance such properties. Residential mortgages include loans secured by first liens on residential real estate, and are generally made to existing clients of the Bank to purchase or refinance primary and secondary residences. Home equity loans and lines of credit include loans secured by first or second liens on residential real estate for primary or secondary residences. Consumer loans are made to individuals who qualify for auto loans, cash reserve, credit cards and installment loans.

During 2017 and 2016, loan portfolio growth was positively impacted in several ways including (i) an increase in demand for small business lines of credit and business term loans as economic conditions remained strong (ii) industry consolidation and lending restrictions involving larger competitors allowing the Bank to gain market share, (iii) an increase in refinancing strategies employed by borrowers during the current low rate environment, and (iv) the Bank’s success in attracting highly experienced commercial loan officers with substantial local market knowledge.

Total gross loans at December 31, 2017 totaled $4.2 billion, an increase of $695.4 million, or 20.0%, over gross loans at December 31, 2016 of $3.5 billion. As of December 31, 2017, the Bank had transferred $46.8 million of loans secured by NYC taxi medallions that were categorized as held-for-sale to loans held-for-investment. Gross loans were also reduced at December 31, 2017 by the sale of $49.1 million of non-relationship multifamily loans which resulted in a gain on sale of approximately $0.5 million. Excluding this transfer and sale, total gross loans at December 31, 2017 increased by $698 million, or 20.1% over gross loans at December 31, 2016. The increase in gross loans was attributable to organic loan growth.

The largest component of our loan portfolio at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was commercial real estate loans. Our commercial real estate loans at December 31, 2017 totaled $2.6 billion, an increase of $388 million, or 17.6%, over commercial real estate loans at December 31, 2016 of $2.2 billion. Our commercial loans totaled $824.1 million at December 31, 2017, an increase of $270.5 million, or 48.9%, over commercial loans at December 31, 2016 of $554.1 million. Included in commercial loans at December 31, 2017 was the entire taxi medallion portfolio ($46.8 million) that was the result of a transfer back to loans held-for-investment from the loans held-for-sale portfolio. Excluding this transfer of the taxi medallion portfolio, the commercial loan portfolio increased by $223.7 million, or 40.4% over commercial loans at December 31, 2016.

Our commercial construction loans at December 31, 2017 totaled $483.2 million, a decrease of $3.0 million, or (0.6%), over commercial construction loans at December 31, 2016 of $486.2 million. Our residential real estate loans totaled $271.8 million at December 31, 2017, an increase of $39.2 million, or 16.9%, over residential real estate loans at December 31, 2016 of $232.5 million. Our consumer loans at December 31, 2017 totaled $2.8 million, an increase of $0.4 million, 18.0%, over consumer loans of $2.4 million at December 31, 2016. The growth in our loan portfolio reflects the success of our business strategy, in particular emphasizing high-quality client service, which has led to continued client referrals.

The following table sets forth the classification of our loans by loan portfolio segment for the periods presented.

The following table sets forth the classification of our gross loans by loan portfolio segment and by fixed and adjustable rate loans as of December 31, 2017 remaining of contractual maturity.

For additional information regarding loans, see Note 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Asset Quality

General. One of our key objectives is to maintain a high level of asset quality. When a borrower fails to make a scheduled payment, we attempt to cure the deficiency by making personal contact with the borrower. Initial contacts typically are made 15 days after the date the payment is due, and late notices are sent approximately 15 days after the date the payment is due. In most cases, deficiencies are promptly resolved. If the delinquency continues, late charges are assessed and additional efforts are made to collect the deficiency. All loans which are delinquent 30 days or more are reported to the board of directors of the Bank on a monthly basis.

On loans where the collection of principal or interest payments is doubtful, the accrual of interest income ceases (“nonaccrual” loans). Except for loans that are well secured and in the process of collection, it is our policy to discontinue accruing additional interest and reverse any interest accrued on any loan that is 90 days or greater past due. On occasion, this action may be taken earlier if the financial condition of the borrower raises significant concern with regard to his/her ability to service the debt in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement. Interest income is not accrued on these loans until the borrower’s financial condition and payment record demonstrate an ability to service the debt.

Real estate acquired as a result of foreclosure is classified as other real estate owned (“OREO”) until sold. OREO is recorded at the lower of cost or fair value less estimated selling costs. Costs associated with acquiring and improving a foreclosed property are usually capitalized to the extent that the carrying value does not exceed fair value less estimated selling costs. Holding costs are charged to expense. Gains and losses on the sale of OREO are charged to operations, as incurred.

A loan is considered impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable that the Bank will be unable to collect the scheduled payments of principal or interest when due according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. Factors considered by management in determining impairment include payment status and the probability of collecting scheduled principal and interest payments when due. Loans for which the terms have been modified as a concession to the borrower due to the borrower experiencing financial difficulties are considered troubled debt restructurings (“TDR”) and are classified as impaired. Loans considered to be TDRs can be categorized as nonaccrual or performing. The impairment of a loan can be measured at (1) the fair value of the collateral less costs to sell, if the loan is collateral dependent, (2) at the value of expected future cash flows using the loan’s effective interest rate, or (3) at the loan’s observable market price. Generally, the Bank measures impairment of such loans by reference to the fair value of the collateral less costs to sell. Loans that experience minor payment delays and payment shortfall generally are not classified as impaired.

Loans $250,000 and over are individually evaluated for impairment. If a loan that is identified as impaired and the individual test results in an impairment, a portion of the allowance is allocated so that the loan is reported, net, at the fair value of collateral less costs to sell if repayment is expected solely from the collateral or at the present value of estimated future cash flows using the loan’s existing rate if the loan is dependent on cash flow. Loans with balances less than $250,000 are collectively evaluated for impairment, and accordingly, are not separately identified for impairment disclosures.

Asset Classification. Federal regulations and our policies require that we utilize an internal asset classification system as a means of reporting problem and potential problem assets. We have incorporated an internal asset classification system, substantially consistent with Federal banking regulations, as a part of our credit monitoring system. Federal banking regulations set forth a classification scheme for problem and potential problem assets as “substandard,” “doubtful” or “loss” assets. An asset is considered “substandard” if it is inadequately protected by the current net worth and paying capacity of the obligor or of the collateral pledged, if any. “Substandard” assets include those characterized by the “distinct possibility” that the insured institution will sustain “some loss” if the deficiencies are not corrected. Assets classified as “doubtful” have all of the weaknesses inherent in those classified “substandard” with the added characteristic that the weaknesses present make “collection or liquidation in full,” on the basis of currently existing facts, conditions, and values, “highly questionable and improbable.” Assets classified as “loss” are those considered “uncollectible” and of such little value that their continuance as assets without the establishment of a specific loss reserve is not warranted. Assets which do not currently expose the insured institution to sufficient risk to warrant classification in one of the aforementioned categories but possess weaknesses are required to be designated “special mention.”

When an insured institution classifies one or more assets, or portions thereof, as “substandard” or “doubtful,” it is required that a general valuation allowance for loan losses must be established for loan losses in an amount deemed prudent by management. General valuation allowances represent loss allowances which have been established to recognize the inherent losses associated with lending activities, but which, unlike specific allowances, have not been allocated to particular problem assets. When an insured institution classifies one or more assets, or portions thereof, as “loss,” it is required either to establish a specific allowance for losses equal to 100% of the amount of the asset so classified or to charge off such amount.

A bank’s determination as to the classification of its assets and the amount of its valuation allowances is subject to review by Federal bank regulators which can order the establishment of additional general or specific loss allowances. The Federal banking agencies have adopted an interagency policy statement on the allowance for loan losses. The policy statement provides guidance for financial institutions on both the responsibilities of management for the assessment and establishment of allowances and guidance for banking agency examiners to use in determining the adequacy of general valuation guidelines. Generally, the policy statement recommends that institutions have effective systems and controls to identify, monitor and address asset quality problems; that management analyze all significant factors that affect the collectability of the portfolio in a reasonable manner; and that management establish acceptable allowance evaluation processes that meet the objectives set forth in the policy statement. Our management believes that, based on information currently available, our allowance for loan losses is maintained at a level which covers all known and probable incurred losses in the portfolio at each reporting date. However, actual losses are dependent upon future events and, as such, further additions to the level of allowances for loan losses may become necessary.

The table below sets forth information on our classified loans and loans designated as special mention (excluding loans held-for-sale) as of the dates presented:

During the year ended December 31, 2017, “substandard” loans, which include lower credit quality loans which possess higher risk characteristics than special mention assets, increased from $35.7 million, or 1.0% of total loans receivable, at December 31, 2016 to $83.5 million, or 2.0% of loans receivable, at December 31, 2017.  The increase is primarily attributable to the entire taxi medallion portfolio (approximately $46.8 million, or 1.1% of loans receivable) moving back to the loans held-for-investment category from the loans held-for-sale category.

Nonperforming Loans, Performing Troubled Debt Restructurings, Past Due Loans and OREO

Nonperforming loans include nonaccrual loans and accruing loans which are contractually past due 90 days or greater. Nonaccrual loans represent loans on which interest accruals have been suspended. The Company considers charging off loans, or a portion thereof, when they become contractually past due ninety days or more as to interest or principal payments or when other internal or external factors indicate that collection of principal or interest is doubtful. Performing troubled debt restructurings represent loans on which a concession was granted to a borrower, such as a reduction in interest rate to a rate lower than the current market rate for new debt with similar risks, and which are currently performing in accordance with the modified terms. For additional information regarding loans, see Note 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following table sets forth, as of the dates indicated, the amount of the Company’s nonaccrual loans, other real estate owned (“OREO”), performing troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) and loans past due 90 days or greater and still accruing:

Allowance for Loan Losses and Related Provision

The allowance for loan losses is a reserve established through charges to earnings in the form of a provision for loan losses. We maintain an allowance for loan losses at a level considered adequate to provide for all known and probable incurred losses in the portfolio. The level of the allowance is based on management’s evaluation of estimated losses in the portfolio, after consideration of risk characteristics of the loans and prevailing and anticipated economic conditions. Loan charge-offs (i.e., loans judged to be uncollectible) are charged against the reserve and any subsequent recovery is credited. Our officers analyze risks within the loan portfolio on a continuous basis and through an external independent loan review function, and the results of the loan review function are also reviewed by our Audit Committee. A risk system, consisting of multiple grading categories for each portfolio class, is utilized as an analytical tool to assess risk and appropriate reserves. In addition to the risk system, management further evaluates risk characteristics of the loan portfolio under current and anticipated economic conditions and considers such factors as the financial condition of the borrower, past and expected loss experience, and other factors which management feels deserve recognition in establishing an appropriate reserve. These estimates are reviewed at least quarterly and, as adjustments become necessary, they are recognized in the periods in which they become known. Although management strives to maintain an allowance it deems adequate, future economic changes, deterioration of borrowers’ creditworthiness, and the impact of examinations by regulatory agencies all could cause changes to our allowance for loan losses.

At December 31, 2017, the allowance for loan losses was $31.7 million, an increase of $6.0 million or 23.3%, from $25.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in the allowance for loan losses was primarily attributable to organic loan growth and an increase of provision to the acquired portfolio, slightly offset by decreases in specific reserves.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Bank recorded net recoveries of $4 thousand, compared with $39.5 million of net charge-offs during the year ended December 31, 2016. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans receivable was 0.76% at December 31, 2017 and 0.74% at December 31, 2016. During 2016, the Bank charged-off $36.7 million related to the taxi medallion loan portfolio, which contributed to the large decrease in net charge-off activity when compared to the current year.

Five-Year Statistical Allowance for Loan Losses

The following table reflects the relationship of loan volume, the provision and allowance for loan losses and net charge-offs for the past five years.

For additional information regarding loans, see Note 5 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Implicit in the lending function is the fact that loan losses will be experienced and that the risk of loss will vary with the type of loan being made, the creditworthiness of the borrower and prevailing economic conditions. The allowance for loan losses has been allocated in the table below according to the estimated amount deemed to be reasonably necessary to provide for the possibility of losses being incurred within the following categories of loans at December 31, for each of the past five years.

The table below shows, for three types of loans, the amounts of the allowance allocable to such loans and the percentage of such loans to gross loans, along with the amount of the unallocated allowance.

Investments

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the average volume of investment securities decreased by $3.5 million to approximately $393.1 million or 9.1% of average earning assets, from $396.6 million on average, or 10.1% of average earning assets, in 2016. At December 31, 2017, the total investment portfolio amounted to $435.3 million, an increase of $82.0 million from December 31, 2016. At December 31, 2017, the principal components of the investment portfolio are U.S. Treasury and Government Agency Obligations, Federal Agency Obligations including mortgage-backed securities, Obligations of U.S. states and political subdivision, corporate bonds and notes, and other debt and equity securities.

Transfers of debt securities from the held-to-maturity category to the available-for-sale category are made at fair value at the date of transfer.  The unrealized holding gain or loss at the date of the transfer is recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of applicable taxes. During the quarter ended September 30, 2016 the Company transferred all securities previously categorized as held-to-maturity to available-for-sale classification. The transfer resulted in an increase of approximately $210 million in amortized cost basis of securities and resulted in a net increase to accumulated other comprehensive income of $7.4 million, net of tax. This transfer will enhance liquidity and increase flexibility with regard to asset-liability management and balance sheet composition. 

During the year ended December 31, 2017, rate related factors decreased investment revenue by $0.8 million. The tax-equivalent yield on investments decreased by 19 basis points to 3.13% from a yield of 3.32% during the year ended December 31, 2016. This was caused by the Company decreasing the size of its investment portfolio in an effort to deploy excess cash into loans.

Securities available-for-sale are a part of the Company’s interest rate risk management strategy and may be sold in response to changes in interest rates, changes in prepayment risk, liquidity management and other factors. The Company continues to reposition the investment portfolio as part of an overall corporate-wide strategy to produce reasonable and consistent margins where feasible, while attempting to limit risks inherent in the Company’s balance sheet.

At December 31, 2017, the net unrealized loss carried as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income and included in stockholders’ equity, net of tax, amounted to ($1.2) million as compared with a net unrealized gain of $0.9 million at December 31, 2016, resulting from changes in market conditions and interest rates at December 31, 2017. For additional information regarding the Company’s investment portfolio, see Note 4, Note 17 and Note 22 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

During 2017, securities sold from the Company’s available-for-sale portfolio amounted to $29.5 million, as compared with $85.3 million in 2016 and $65.2 million in 2015. The gross realized gains on securities sold, called or matured amounted to approximately $1.6 million in 2017, $4.2 million in 2016 and $3.9 million in 2015, while there were no gross realized losses, or impairment charges in 2017, 2016 and 2015.

The table below illustrates the maturity distribution and weighted average yield on a tax-equivalent basis for investment securities at December 31, 2017, on a contractual maturity basis.