FIRST FINANCIAL BANKSHARES INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

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

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

As of June 30, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and common stock held by was $3.93 billion.

This Form contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. When used in this Form words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “predict,” “project,” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to our management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited, to those listed in “Item Factors” and the following:

Bridgeport and Wise County			16.8	%
Bryan/College Station and Brazos County			26.7	%
Cleburne and Johnson County			11.9	%
Conroe and Montgomery County			36.1	%
*Source: U. S. Census Bureau

Fort Worth and Tarrant County			16.8	%
Granbury and Hood County			19.1	%
Stephenville and Erath County			17.7	%
Weatherford, Willow Park, Aledo and Parker County			23.8	%

We believe our community approach to doing business works best for us in small and markets, where we can play a prominent role in the economic, civic and cultural life of the community. Our goal is to serve these communities well and to experience growth as these markets continue to expand. In many instances, banking competition is less intense in smaller markets, making it easier for us to operate rationally and attract and retain high-caliber employees who prefer not only our community-banker concept but the high quality of life in smaller cities.

When targeting a bank for acquisition, the subject bank generally needs to be well managed and profitable, while being located in the type of community that fits our profile. We seek to enter growing communities with good amenities – schools, infrastructure, commerce and lifestyle. We prefer markets, either around Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio or Austin or along the Interstate 35, 45, 10 and 20 corridors in Texas. We might also consider the acquisition of banks in East Texas, the Texas Hill Country area or in states contiguous to Texas. Banks between $500 million and $1.0 billion in asset size fit our “sweet spot” for acquisition, but we would consider banks that are larger or smaller, or that are in other areas of Texas if we believe they would be a good fit for our Company.

We provide management, technical resources and policy direction to our subsidiaries, which enable them to improve or expand their services while continuing their local activity and identity. Each of our subsidiaries operates under the management of its own board of directors and officers, including advisory boards of directors for our bank regions. We provide resources and policy direction in, among other things, the following areas:

Our subsidiary bank, First Financial Bank, N.A. is a separate legal entity that operates under the management of its board of directors and officers. Our multiple banking regions, which operate under our subsidiary bank, each have separate regional advisory boards that make recommendations and provide assistance to regional management of the bank regarding the operations of their respective region. Each of our bank regions provides general commercial banking services, which include accepting and holding checking, savings and time deposits, making loans, offering automated teller machines (“ATMs”), and night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, transmitting funds, and performing other customary commercial banking services.

The U.S. government has also enacted certain fiscal stimulus measures in several phases to counteract the economic disruption caused by COVID. The initial legislation, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, was enacted on March 6, 2020 and, among other things, authorized funding for research and development of vaccines and allocated money to state and local governments to aid containment and response measures. The next phase of legislation, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, was enacted on March 18, 2020 and provides for paid sick/medical leave, establishes coverage for coronavirus testing, expands unemployment benefits, expands food assistance, and provides additional funding to states for the ongoing economic consequences of the pandemic, among other provisions. The following phase of legislation, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), was enacted on March 27, 2020. Among other provisions, the CARES Act (i) authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to make loans, loan guarantees and other investments, up to $500 billion, for assistance to eligible businesses, states and municipalities with limited, targeted relief for passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and businesses critical to maintaining national security, (ii) created a $349 billion loan program called the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) for loans to small businesses guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) for, among other things, payroll, group health care benefit costs and qualifying mortgage, rent and utility payments, (iii) provided certain credits against the 2020 personal income tax for eligible individuals and their dependents, (iv) expanded eligibility for unemployment insurance and provided eligible recipients with an additional $600 per week on top of the unemployment amount determined by each State and (v) expanded tele-health services in Medicare. This legislation was amended by the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act of 2020 (the “PPPHE Act”), which was enacted on April 24, 2020. Among other things, the PPPHE Act provided an additional $310 billion of funding for the PPP of which, $30 billion is specifically allocated for use by banks and other insured depository institutions that have assets between $10 billion and $50 billion. On July 4, 2020, Congress enacted a new law that extended the deadline for applying for a PPP loan to August 8, 2020.

We operate as a community bank offering a wide range of commercial banking services to consumers, small businesses, corporations, governmental entities and others. A cornerstone of our operating model is based on personal relationships with our customers. Therefore, our model is heavily dependent on our personnel to execute our strategy within each region supported by our line of business and operational areas of the Company. Our executive leadership is critical to the success of our Company as each executive participates in developing our corporate strategy, policy setting, and oversight of each of their respective operating areas. The executive officers have significant banking experience and/or tenure with the Company, including our Chairman, CEO and President who will have forty-five years with the Company later this year. Our regional operating philosophy is heavily dependent on our Regional CEOs/Presidents who drive the daily execution of our strategy, customer service, and local decision-making, across our twelve regions. On average, our seventeen Regional CEOs/Presidents have approximately twenty-five years of banking experience and twelve years of service with the Company.

We seek to attract the best bankers in the markets we serve as well as key managers and associates to serve and build relationships with our customers. On a basis, these associates execute on our “Excellence in Customer Service” culture, including our 21 of Customer Service. Initially, each new associate attends New Employee Orientation to gain an understanding of our culture, including our customer service approach, our organization, and our operating and other policies. From there, associates also receive specific training for their applicable area of service.

Historically, the activities of bank holding companies were limited to the business of banking and activities closely related or incidental to banking. Bank holding companies were generally prohibited from acquiring control of any company that was not a bank and from engaging in any business other than the business of banking or managing and controlling banks. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which took effect on March 12, 2000, dismantled many restrictions against affiliations between banking, securities and insurance firms by permitting bank holding companies to engage in a broader range of financial activities, so long as certain safeguards are observed. Specifically, bank holding companies may elect to become “financial holding companies” that may affiliate with securities firms and insurance companies and engage in other activities that are financial in nature or incidental to a financial activity. Thus, with the enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, banks, security firms and insurance companies find it easier to acquire or affiliate with each other and cross-sell financial products. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act permits a single financial services organization to offer a more complete array of financial products and services than historically was permitted.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law with sweeping modifications to the Internal Revenue Code. The primary change for the Company was to lower the corporate income tax rate to 21% from 35%. The Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities were based on the income tax rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, which is generally 21%. The provisional amount recorded related to the of the Company’s deferred tax liability balance was $7.65 million, a reduction of income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2017. The Company subsequently updated its estimate of the impact to our deferred tax balances based on the proposed regulations issued to date and recorded an additional reduction of income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2018 of $664 thousand. No additional adjustment amounts were recorded for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020.

The Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (“FDIA”) and the rules adopted under these statutes restrict the extent to which we can borrow or otherwise obtain credit from, or engage in certain other transactions with, our subsidiaries. These laws regulate “covered transactions” between insured depository institutions and their subsidiaries, on the one hand, and their affiliates, on the other hand. The Dodd-Frank Act expanded the definition of affiliate to make any investment fund, including a mutual fund, for which a depository institution or its affiliates serve as an investment advisor an affiliate of the depository institution. “Covered transactions” include a loan or extension of credit to a affiliate, a purchase of securities issued by such an affiliate, a purchase of assets from such an affiliate (unless otherwise exempted by the Federal Reserve Board), an acceptance of securities issued by such an affiliate as collateral for a loan, and an issuance of a guarantee, acceptance, or letter of credit for the benefit of such an affiliate. The Dodd-Frank Act extended the limitations to derivative transactions, repurchase agreements and securities lending and borrowing transactions that create credit exposure to an affiliate or an insider. The “covered transactions” that an insured depository institution and its subsidiaries are permitted to engage in with their affiliates are limited to the following

amounts: (1) in the case of any one such affiliate, the aggregate amount of “covered transactions” cannot exceed ten percent of the capital stock and the surplus of the insured depository institution; and (2) in the case of all affiliates, the aggregate amount of “covered transactions” cannot exceed twenty percent of the capital stock and surplus of the insured depository institution. In addition, extensions of credit that constitute “covered transactions” must be collateralized in prescribed amounts. Further, a bank holding company and its subsidiaries are prohibited from engaging in certain arrangements in connection with any extension of credit, lease or sale of property or furnishing of services. Finally, when we and our subsidiaries conduct transactions internally among us, we are required to do so at arm’s length.

Furthermore, our subsidiary bank must periodically report all loans made to directors and other insiders to the bank regulators, and these loans are closely scrutinized by the regulators for compliance with Sections 22(g) and 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation O. Each loan to directors or other insiders must be by the bank’s board of directors with the interested director abstaining from voting.

We and our bank subsidiary are each required to comply with applicable capital adequacy standards established by the Federal Reserve Board and the OCC, respectively. The current risk-based capital standards applicable to us and our bank subsidiary, parts of which are currently in the process of being are based on the December 2010 final capital framework for strengthening international capital standards, known as Basel III, of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”).    

In July 2013, the federal bank regulators approved final rules (the “Basel III Rules”) implementing the Basel III framework as well as certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Basel III Rules substantially revised the risk-based capital requirements applicable to bank holding companies and their depository institution subsidiaries. The Basel III Rules became effective for us and our subsidiary bank on January 1, 2015 (subject to a period for certain provisions).

The Basel III Rules established three components of regulatory capital: (1) common equity tier 1 capital (“CET1”), (2) additional tier 1 capital, and (3) total capital. Tier 1 capital is the sum of CET1 and additional tier 1 capital instruments meeting certain revised requirements. Total capital is the sum of tier 1 capital and tier 2 capital elements. Under the Basel III Rules, for most banking organizations, the most common form of additional tier 1 capital is perpetual preferred stock and the most common form of tier 2 capital is subordinated notes and a portion of the allocation for credit losses, in each case, subject to the Basel III Rules’ specific requirements. As of December 31, 2020, we do not have any perpetual preferred stock or subordinated notes. CET1, tier 1 capital, and total capital serve as the numerators for three prescribed regulatory capital ratios. Risk-weighted assets, calculated using the standardized approach in the Basel III Rules for us and our subsidiary bank, provide the denominator for such ratios. There is also a leverage capital ratio that compares tier 1 capital to average total assets.

Pursuant to the Basel III Rules, the effects of certain accumulated other comprehensive income or loss (“AOCI”) items are not excluded; however, approaches banking organizations,” including us and our subsidiary bank, could make a permanent election to continue to exclude these items. The Company made its permanent election to continue to exclude AOCI from capital in its filing with the Federal Reserve Board and OCC for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. If the Company would not have made this election, unrealized gains and losses would have been included in the calculation of its regulatory capital. The Basel III Rules also preclude certain hybrid securities, such as trust preferred securities issued prior to May 19, 2010, from inclusion in our tier 1 capital, subject to grandfathering in the case of companies, such as us, that had less than $15 billion in total consolidated assets as of December 31, 2009.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act, or FDIA, requires that the FDIC review (1) any merger or consolidation by or with an insured bank, or (2) any establishment of branches by an insured bank. Additionally, the Texas Department of Banking accepts applications for interstate merger and branching transactions, subject to certain limitations on ages of the banks to be acquired and the total amount of deposits within the state a bank or financial holding company may control. Since our primary service area is Texas, we do not expect that the ability to operate in other states will have any material impact on our growth strategy. We may, however, face increased competition from banks that branch or make acquisitions in our primary markets in Texas.

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, or CRA, subjects a bank to regulatory assessment to determine if the institution meets the credit needs of its entire community, including and moderate-income neighborhoods served by the bank, and to take that determination into account in its evaluation of any application made by such bank for, among other things, approval of the acquisition or establishment of a branch or other depository facility, an office relocation, a merger, or the acquisition of shares of capital stock of another financial institution. The regulatory authority prepares a written evaluation of an institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community and assigns a rating. These ratings are “Outstanding,” “Satisfactory,” “Needs Improvement” and “Substantial Institutions with ratings lower than “Satisfactory” may be restricted from engaging in the aforementioned activities. We believe our subsidiary bank meets the credit needs of the communities in which it operates. Our subsidiary bank received a “Satisfactory” rating in its most recent assessment of its performance under the CRA by federal regulators.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act requires publicly traded companies to give stockholders a vote on executive compensation at their first annual meeting taking place six months after the date of enactment and at least every three years thereafter and on “golden parachute” payments in connection with approvals of mergers and acquisitions unless previously voted on by shareholders. The legislation also authorizes the SEC to promulgate rules that would allow stockholders to nominate their own candidates using a company’s proxy materials. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act directs the federal banking regulators to promulgate rules prohibiting excessive compensation paid to executives of depository institutions and their holding companies with assets in excess of $1.0 billion, regardless of whether the company is publicly traded or not. The Dodd-Frank Act gives the SEC authority to prohibit broker discretionary voting on elections of directors and executive compensation matters.

Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, a financial institution must also provide its customers with a notice of privacy policies and practices. Section 502 prohibits a financial institution from disclosing nonpublic personal information about a customer to nonaffiliated third parties unless the institution satisfies various notice and requirements and the customer has not elected to opt out of the disclosure. Under Section 504, the agencies are

authorized to issue regulations as necessary to implement notice requirements and restrictions on a financial institution’s ability to disclose nonpublic personal information about customers to nonaffiliated third parties. Under the final rule the regulators adopted, all banks must develop initial and annual privacy notices which describe in general terms the bank’s information sharing practices. Banks that share nonpublic personal information about customers with nonaffiliated third parties must also provide customers with an notice and a reasonable period of time for the customer to opt out of any such disclosure (with certain exceptions). Limitations are placed on the extent to which a bank can disclose an account number or access code for credit card, deposit or transaction accounts to any nonaffiliated third party for use in marketing.

The federal banking agencies have promulgated guidance governing financial institutions with concentrations in commercial real estate lending. The guidance provides that a bank has a concentration in commercial real estate lending if (i) total reported loans for construction, land development, and other land represent 100% or more of total capital or (ii) total reported loans secured by multifamily and residential properties and loans for construction, land development, and other land represent 300% or more of total capital and the bank’s commercial real estate loan portfolio has increased 50% or more during the prior 36 months. Owner occupied loans are excluded from this second category. If a concentration is present, management must employ heightened risk management practices that address the following key elements: including 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.

The Federal Reserve Board and other state and federal banking agencies and regulators have broad enforcement powers, including the power to terminate deposit insurance, issue orders, impose substantial fines and other civil and criminal penalties and appoint a conservator or receiver. Our failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and other regulatory pronouncements could subject us, as well as our officers and directors, to administrative sanctions and potentially substantial civil penalties.

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at . You may obtain copies of our filings on the SEC website. Our website is . You may also obtain copies of our annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and certain other information filed with the SEC, as well as amendments thereto, free of charge from our website. These documents are posted to our web site after we have filed them with the SEC. Our corporate governance guidelines, including our code of conduct applicable to all our employees, officers and directors, as well as the charters of our audit and nominating committees, are available at . The foregoing information is also available in print to any shareholder who requests it. Except as explicitly provided, information on any web site is not incorporated into this Form or our other securities filings and is not a part of them.

The Federal Reserve increased rates 100 basis points in 2018 but then decreased rates 75 basis points during the third and fourth quarters of 2019 and then an additional 150 basis points in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in a current target rate range of zero to 25 basis points. Today, there is substantial uncertainty regarding future interest rates. Increases in interest rates can have negative impacts on our business, including reducing our customers’ desire to borrow money from us or adversely affecting their ability to repay their outstanding loans by increasing their debt obligations through the periodic reset of adjustable interest rate loans. If our borrowers’ ability to pay their loans is impaired by increasing interest payment obligations, our level of assets would increase, producing an adverse effect on operating results. Asset values, especially commercial real estate as collateral, securities or other fixed rate earning assets, can decline significantly with relatively minor changes in interest rates. Conversely, decreases in interest rates can effect the amount of interest we earn on our loans and investment securities, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Although we have implemented strategies which we believe reduce the potential effects of adverse changes in interest rates on our results of operations, these strategies may not always be successful. Any of these events could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

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Effective January 1, 2020, the Company implemented the provision of ASU represents a comprehensive change in estimating the allowance for credit losses from the previous “incurred loss” model of losses inherent in the loan portfolio to a current “expected loss” model, which encompasses losses expected to be incurred over the life of the portfolio.

The measurement of expected credit losses under ASU is based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. This measurement will take place at the time the financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and periodically thereafter. This differs significantly from the “incurred loss” model previously required under generally accepted accounting principles, which delays recognition until it is probable a loss has been incurred. Accordingly, we expect that the adoption of ASU could materially affect how we determine our allowance for credit losses and may require us to significantly increase our allowance. Moreover, ASU may create more volatility in the level of our allowance for credit losses. If we are required to materially increase our level of allowance for credit losses for any reason, such increase could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The market value of real estate, particularly real estate (“HFI”), can fluctuate significantly in a short period of time as a result of market conditions in the geographic area in which the real estate is located. If the value of the real estate serving as collateral for our loan portfolio were to decline materially, a significant part of our loan portfolio could become under-collateralized. If the loans that are collateralized by real estate become troubled during a time when market conditions are declining or have declined, then, in the event of foreclosure, we may not be able to realize the amount of collateral that we anticipated at the time of originating the loan. This could have a material adverse effect on our provision for credit losses and our operating results and financial condition.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $318.39 million of goodwill and other intangible assets. A significant decline in our financial condition, a significant adverse change in the business climate, slower growth rates or a significant and sustained decline in the price of our common stock may necessitate taking charges in the future related to the impairment of our goodwill and other intangible assets. If we were to conclude that a future write-down of goodwill and other intangible assets is necessary, we would record the appropriate charge, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

First Financial BanksharesInc. is a separate and distinct legal entity from its subsidiaries. It receives substantially all of its revenue from dividends paid by its subsidiaries. These dividends are the principal source of funds to pay dividends on the Company’s common stock to shareholders and interest and principal on First Financial Bankshares, Inc. debt (to the extent we have balances outstanding). Various federal and/or state laws and regulations limit the amount of dividends that our bank and trust subsidiaries may pay to First Financial Bankshares, Inc. In the event our subsidiaries are unable to pay dividends to First Financial Bankshares, Inc., First Financial Bankshares, Inc. may not be able to service debt, if any, or pay dividends on the Company’s common stock. The inability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

The computer systems and network infrastructure we use could be vulnerable to unforeseen hardware and cybersecurity issues, including “hacking” and “identity theft.” Our operations are dependent upon our ability to protect our computer equipment against damage from fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or a similar catastrophic event. Any damage or failure that causes an interruption in our operations could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our operations are dependent upon our ability to protect the computer systems and network infrastructure utilized by us, including our Internet banking activities, against damage from physical cybersecurity breaches and other disruptive problems caused by the Internet or other users. Such computer and other disruptions would jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted through our computer systems and network infrastructure, which may result in significant liability to us, damage our reputation and inhibit current and potential customers from our Internet banking services. Each year, we add additional security measures to our computer systems and network infrastructure to mitigate the possibility of cybersecurity breaches including firewalls and penetration testing. We continue to investigate cost effective measures as well as insurance protection.

We rely on technology companies to provide information technology products and services necessary to support our operations. Technology companies frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, patent holding companies seek to monetize patents they have purchased or otherwise obtained. Competitors of our vendors, or other individuals or companies, have from time to time claimed to hold intellectual property sold to us by its vendors. Such claims may increase in the future as the financial services sector becomes more reliant on information technology vendors. The plaintiffs in these actions frequently seek injunctions and substantial damages.

We rely on certain external vendors to provide products and services necessary to maintain our operations. Accordingly, our operations are exposed to risk that these vendors will not perform in accordance with the contracted agreements under service level agreements. The failure of an external vendor to perform in accordance with the contracted arrangements under service level agreements, because of changes in the vendor’s organizational structure, financial condition, support for existing products or services or strategic focus or for any other reason, could be disruptive to our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and, in turn, our financial condition and results of operations.

The Company makes loans to privately-owned businesses, many of which are considered to be small to businesses. Small to businesses frequently have smaller market share than their competition, may be more vulnerable to economic downturns, often need additional capital to expand or compete and may experience more 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 businesses often depends on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons, and the death, disability or resignation of one or more of these persons could have adverse impact on the business and its ability to repay our loans. Economic downturns, a sustained decline in commodity prices and other events that could negatively impact the businesses could cause the Company to incur credit losses that could negatively affect the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.

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The final rule established a stricter regulatory capital framework that requires banking organizations to hold more and higher-quality capital to act as a financial cushion to absorb losses and help banking organizations better withstand periods of financial stress. The final rule increased capital ratios for all banking organizations and introduced a “capital conservation buffer” which is in addition to each capital ratio. If a banking organization dips into its capital conservation buffer, it may be restricted in its ability to pay dividends and discretionary bonus payments to its executive officers. The final rule assigned a higher risk weight to loans that are more than 90 days past due or are on nonaccrual status and to certain commercial real estate facilities that finance the acquisition, development or construction of real property. The final rule also required unrealized gains and losses on certain securities holdings to be included for purposes of calculating regulatory capital requirements unless a is exercised. We exercised this right in our March 31, 2015 quarterly financial filing. The final rule also included changes in what constitutes regulatory capital. In addition, Tier 2 capital is no longer limited to the amount of Tier 1 capital included in total capital. Mortgage servicing rights, certain deferred tax assets and investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries over designated percentages of common stock are required to be deducted from capital. The final rule became effective for us on January 1, 2015. As of December 31, 2020, we met all of these new requirements, including the full capital conservation buffer.

The Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in July 2010, instituted major changes to the banking and financial institutions regulatory regimes in light of the recent performance of and government intervention in the financial services sector. Other changes to statues, regulations or regulatory policies, including changes in interpretation or implementation of statutes, regulations or policies, could affect the Company in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could subject the Company to reduced revenues, additional costs, limit the types of financial services and products the Company may offer and/or increase the ability of to offer competing financial services and products, among other things. Failure to comply with laws, regulations or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil money penalties and/or reputation damage, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, the banking regulations could prohibit and significantly delay the Company’s acquisition of other financial institutions.

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Provisions of federal banking laws, including regulatory approval requirements, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be perceived to be beneficial to our shareholders. These provisions effectively inhibit a merger or other business combination, which, in turn, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

The COVID pandemic is creating extensive disruptions to the global economy and to the lives of individuals throughout the world. Governments, businesses, and the public are taking unprecedented actions to contain the spread of COVID and to mitigate its effects, including quarantines, travel orders, closures of businesses and schools, fiscal stimulus, and legislation designed to deliver monetary aid and other relief. While the scope, duration, and full effects of COVID are rapidly evolving and not fully known, the pandemic and related efforts to contain it have disrupted global economic activity, adversely affected the functioning of financial markets, impacted interest rates, increased economic and market uncertainty, and disrupted trade and supply chains. If these effects continue for a prolonged period or result in sustained economic stress or recession, many of the risk factors identified in our could be exacerbated and such effects could have a material adverse impact on us in a number of ways related to credit, collateral, customer demand, funding, operations, interest rate risk, human capital and self-insurance, as described previously.

Competition among financial institutions in Texas is intense. We compete with other bank holding companies, state and national commercial banks, savings and loan associations, consumer financial companies, credit unions, securities brokers, insurance companies, mortgage banking companies, money market mutual funds, asset-based lenders and other financial institutions. Many of these competitors have substantially greater financial resources, larger lending limits, larger branch networks, enhanced technology and less regulatory oversight than we do, and are able to offer a broader range of products and services than we can. Failure to compete effectively for deposit, loan and other banking customers in our markets could cause us to lose market share, slow our growth rate and may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Our success to date has been strongly influenced by our ability to attract and to retain senior management experienced in banking in the markets we serve. Our ability to retain executive officers and the current management teams will continue to be important to the successful implementation of our strategies. We do not have employment agreements with these key employees other than executive agreements in the event of a change of control and a confidential information, and agreements related to our stock options and restricted stock. The unexpected loss of services of any key management personnel, or the inability to recruit and retain qualified personnel in the future, could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results. In addition, the scope and content of U.S. banking regulators’ policies on incentive compensation, could adversely affect our ability to hire, retain and motivate our key employees.

None.

 

Our principal office is located in the First Financial Bank Building at 400 Pine Street in downtown Abilene, Texas. We lease two spaces in buildings owned by First Financial Bank, N.A. totaling approximately 10,155 square feet. As of December 31, 2020, our subsidiaries collectively own 73 banking facilities, some of which are detached and also lease 14 banking facilities and 15 ATM locations. Our management considers all our existing locations to be well-suited for conducting the business of banking. We believe our existing facilities are adequate to meet our requirements and our subsidiaries’ requirements for the foreseeable future.

 

From time to time, we and our subsidiaries are parties to lawsuits arising in the ordinary course of our banking business. However, there are no material pending legal proceedings to which we, our subsidiaries or our other direct and indirect subsidiaries, or any of their properties, are currently subject. Other than regular, routine examinations by state and federal banking authorities, there are no proceedings pending or known to be contemplated by any governmental authorities.

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART II

 

Market Information

Our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol FFIN. See “Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Quarterly Financial Data” for the high, low and closing sales prices as reported by the Nasdaq Global Select Market for our common stock for the periods indicated.

Record Holders

As of February 1, 2021, we had 1,015 registered shareholders of record with our stock transfer agent.

Dividends

See “Item 8—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Quarterly Results of Operations” for the frequency and amount of cash dividends paid by us. Also, see “Item 1 – Business – Supervision and Regulation – Payment of Dividends” and “Item 7 – Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity – Dividends” for restrictions on our present or future ability to pay dividends, particularly those restrictions arising under federal and state banking laws.

Equity Compensation Plans

See “Item 12 – Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters”.

 

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PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The following performance graph compares cumulative total shareholder returns for our common stock, the Russell 3000 Index, and the SNL Bank Index, which is a banking index prepared by SNL Financial LC and is comprised of banks with $5 billion to $10 billion in total assets, for a five-year period (December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2020). The performance graph assumes $100 invested in our common stock at its closing price on December 31, 2015, and in each of the Russell 3000 Index and the SNL Bank Index on the same date. The performance graph also assumes the reinvestment of all dividends. The dates on the performance graph represent the last trading day of each year indicated. The amounts noted on the performance graph have been adjusted to give effect to all stock splits and stock dividends.

 

 

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

© 2021

 

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The selected financial data presented below as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016, have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The data set forth below may not be fully comparable from period to period due to acquisitions in 2020 and 2018 and changes in accounting, including the allowance for credit losses in 2020 (see Notes 1, 3 and 21 to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information). The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes presented elsewhere in this Form The results of operations presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be achieved in the future. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations incorporates information required to be disclosed by the SEC’s Industry Guide 3, “Statistical Disclosure by Bank Holding Companies.”

 

 

 

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The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to those listed in “Item 1A – Risk Factors” and in the “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” notice on page 1.

Introduction

As a financial holding company, we generate most of our revenue from interest on loans and investments, trust fees, gain on sale of mortgage loans and service charges. Our primary source of funding for our loans and investments are deposits held by our bank subsidiary, First Financial Bank, N.A. Our largest expenses are salaries and related employee benefits. We measure our performance by calculating our return on average assets, return on average equity, regulatory capital ratios, net interest margin and efficiency ratio, which is calculated by dividing noninterest expense by the sum of net interest income on a tax equivalent basis and noninterest income.

The following discussion and analysis of the major elements of our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and consolidated statements of earnings for the years 2018 through 2020 should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, accompanying notes, and selected financial data presented elsewhere in this Form

We prepare consolidated financial statements based on generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and customary practices in the banking industry. These policies, in certain areas, require us to make significant estimates and assumptions.

We deem a policy critical if (1) the accounting estimate required us to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time we make the accounting estimate; and (2) different estimates that reasonably could have been used in the current period, or changes in the accounting estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period, would have a material impact on the financial statements.

We deem our most critical accounting policies to be (1) our allowance for credit losses and our provision for credit losses and (2) our valuation of financial instruments. We have other significant accounting policies and continue to evaluate the materiality of their impact on our consolidated financial statements, but we believe these other policies either do not generally require us to make estimates and judgments that are difficult or subjective, or it is less likely they would have a material impact on our reported results for a given period. A discussion of (1) our allowance for credit losses and our provision for credit losses and (2) our valuation of financial instruments is included in Notes 1 and 10 to our Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page

Acquisitions

On September 19, 2019, we entered into an agreement and plan of reorganization to acquire TB&T Bancshares, Inc. and its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, The Bank & Trust of Bryan/College Station, Texas. On January 1, 2020, the transaction was completed. Pursuant to the agreement, we issued 6.28 million shares of the Company’s common shares in exchange for all of the outstanding shares of TB&T Bancshares, Inc. In addition, in accordance with the plan of reorganization, TB&T Bancshares, Inc. paid a special dividend totaling $1.92 million to its shareholders prior to the closing of this transaction. At the closing, Brazos Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, merged into TB&T Bancshares Inc., with TB&T Bancshares, Inc. surviving as a wholly-owned

 

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On April 23, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a stock split of the Company’s outstanding common shares effective June 3, 2019. In addition, the shareholders of the Company approved an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Formation to increase the number of authorized shares to 200,000,000. All per share amounts in this report have been restated to reflect this stock split. An amount equal to the par value of the additional common shares to be issued pursuant to the stock split was reflected as a transfer from retained earnings to common stock in the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019.

On January 1, 2020, Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) , became effective for the Company. Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 326 (“ASC 326”) replaced the previous “incurred loss” model for measuring credit losses with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) methodology. The measurement of expected credit losses under the CECL methodology is applicable to financial assets measured at amortized cost, including loan receivables and debt securities. It also applies to (“OBS”, “reserve for unfunded commitments”) credit exposures not accounted for as insurance (loan commitments, standby letters of credit, financial guarantees, and other similar instruments). In addition, ASC 326 made changes to the accounting for debt securities. One such change is to require credit losses to be presented as an allowance rather than as a write-down on debt securities management does not intend to sell or believes that it is more likely than not they will be required to sell.

In December 2019, FASB released ASU - Income Taxes (Topic 740), which simplifies the accounting for income taxes by removing multiple exceptions to the general principals in Topic 740. The standard is effective for public business entities for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company does not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In March 2020, FASB released ASU - Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), which provides optional guidance to ease the accounting burden in accounting for, or recognizing the effects from, reference rate reform on financial reporting. The new standard is a result of LIBOR likely being discontinued as an available benchmark rate. The standard is elective and provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, or other transactions that reference LIBOR, or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. The amendments in the update are effective for all entities between March 12, 2020 and December 31, 2022. The Company has established a cross-functional working group to guide the Company’s transition from LIBOR and has begun efforts to transition to alternative rates consistent with industry timelines. The Company has identified its products that utilize LIBOR and has implemented enhanced fallback language to facilitate the transition to alternative reference rates. The Company is evaluating existing platforms and systems and preparing to offer new rates.

. Net earnings for 2020 were $202.03 million, an increase of $37.22 million, or 22.58%, over net earnings for 2019 of $164.81 million. Net earnings for 2018 were $150.64 million. The increase in net earnings for 2020 over 2019 and 2019 over 2018 was primarily attributable to the overall growth in net interest income and noninterest income. Net earnings in 2020 also include a provision for credit losses of $19.52 million compared to $2.97 million in 2019 and $5.67 million in 2018. The provision for credit losses in 2020 reflects primarily the stress on our loan portfolio from the increase in unemployment and economic effects of the COVID pandemic.

. Net interest income is the difference between interest income on earning assets and interest expense on liabilities incurred to fund those assets. Our earning assets consist primarily of loans and investment securities. Our liabilities to fund those assets consist primarily of noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing deposits.

net interest income was $361.15 million in 2020, as compared to $295.88 million in 2019, and $281.75 million in 2018. Average earning assets were $9.52 billion in 2020, as compared to $7.44 billion in 2019 and $7.12 billion in 2018. The increase in net interest income in 2020 compared to 2019 was largely attributable to increases in interest earning assets. The increase of $2.08 billion in average earning assets in 2020 when compared to 2019 was primarily a result of increases in loans of $1.08 billion and securities of $689.80 million when compared to 2019. The increase in net interest income in 2019 compared to 2018 was also largely attributable to increases in interest earning assets. The increase of $326.97 million in average earning assets in 2019 when compared to 2018 was primarily a result of increases in loans of $246.63 million and

Table 1 allocates the change in net interest income between the amount of change attributable to volume and to rate.

The net interest margin in 2020 was 3.79%, a decrease of nineteen basis points from 2019. The net interest margin for 2019 was 3.98% which was an increase of two basis points from 2018. which increased two basis points from 2018. We continued to experience downward pressures on our net interest margin in 2020 primarily due to (i) the extended period of fluctuating historically low levels of short-term interest rates and (ii) the flat to inverted yield curve currently being experienced in the bond market. We have been able to somewhat mitigate the impact of these lower short-term interest rates and the flat/inverted yield curve by establishing minimum interest rates on certain of our loans, improving the pricing for loan risk, and reducing the rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities. In March 2020, as the market experienced volatility, we took advantage of that volatility to purchase high quality municipal bonds at favorable interest yields. The Federal Reserve increased rates 100 basis points in 2018 but then decreased rates 75 basis points during the third and fourth quarters of 2019 and then an additional 150 basis points in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in a current target rate range of zero to 25 basis points.

The net interest margin, which measures net interest income as a percentage of average earning assets, is illustrated in Table 2 for the years 2018 through 2020.

. Noninterest income for 2020 was $139.94 million, an increase of $31.51 million, or 29.06%, as compared to 2019. Increases in certain categories of noninterest income included (1) real estate mortgage operations income of $25.73 million, (2) gain on sale of securities of $2.90 million, (3) ATM, interchange and credit card fees of $2.61 million, (4) miscellaneous income of $2.12 million which includes $1.40 million in Main Street Lending Program fees and (5) trust fees of $1.13 million when compared to 2019. The mortgage related income increase was mainly due to a significant increase in the volume of loans originated to $1.21 billion in 2020 up from $551.77 million in 2019 driven by the lower rate environment and a strong housing market in Texas. The increase in ATM, interchange and credit card fees was driven by continued growth in the number of debit cards issued as well as our TB&T acquisition. The increase in trust fees resulted from an increase in assets under management over the prior year. The fair value of our trust assets managed, which are not reflected in our consolidated balance sheets, totaled $7.51 billion at December 31, 2020, as compared to $6.75 billion at December 31, 2019. Offsetting these increases was a decline in service charge revenue in 2020 when compared with 2019 of $1.47 million that was primarily driven by lower overdraft fees in the current year as a result of the effects of the pandemic and related stimulus programs.

card fees was primarily due to the continued growth in the number of debit cards issued. Interest on loan recoveries increased as a result of several larger loan recoveries in 2019. The increase in service charges on deposit accounts was primarily due to the continued growth in net new accounts. The increase in trust fees resulted from an increase in assets under management over the prior year; however, this was mostly offset by a decrease in income derived from oil and gas production activity when compared to 2018. The fair value of our trust assets managed, which are not reflected in our consolidated balance sheets, totaled $6.75 billion at December 31, 2019, as compared to $5.60 billion at December 31, 2018. Offsetting these increases was a decrease in net gains on sales of securities of $621 thousand.

ATM and interchange fees are charges that merchants pay to us and other card-issuing banks for processing electronic payment transactions. ATM and interchange fees consist of income from debit card usage, point of sale income for debit card transactions and ATM service fees. Federal Reserve rules applicable to financial institutions that have assets of $10 billion or more provide that the maximum permissible interchange fee for an electronic debit transaction is limited to the sum of 21 cents per transaction plus 5 basis points multiplied by the value of the transaction. Management has estimated the impact of this reduction in ATM and interchange fees to approximate $14.00 million annually once the Federal Reserve rules apply to the Company. Federal Reserve requirements stipulate that these rules would go into effect on July 1st following the in which a financial institution’s total assets exceeded $10 billion at December 31st. At December 31, 2020, the Company’s total assets exceeded the $10 billion threshold, due primarily to the effect of the Company’s participation in the PPP loan program and growth in deposits from related activities. However, on November 20, 2020, the federal bank regulatory agencies announced an interim final rule that provides temporary relief for certain community banking organizations that have crossed this threshold as of December 31, 2020 if they had less than $10 billion in assets as of December 31, 2019. Under the interim final rule, these banks, which includes us, will generally have until 2022 to either reduce their size, or to prepare for the regulatory and reporting standards under the Dodd-Frank Act. Management will continue to monitor the Company’s balance sheet levels and prepare for the effects of this future loss of debit card income.

. Total noninterest expense for 2020 was $227.94 million, an increase of $31.42 million, or 15.99%, as compared to 2019. Noninterest expense for 2019 amounted to $196.52 million, an increase of $5.84 million, or 3.06%, as compared to 2018. An important measure in determining whether a financial institution effectively manages noninterest expenses is the efficiency ratio, which is calculated by dividing noninterest expense by the sum of net interest income on a basis and noninterest income. Lower ratios indicate better efficiency since more income is generated with a lower noninterest expense total. Our efficiency ratio for 2020 was 45.49%, as compared to 48.61% for 2019 and 49.72% for 2018. The reduction in the Company’s efficiency ratio during 2020 primarily resulted from the growth in the Company’s balance sheet and interest-earning assets as a result of the Company’s participation in the PPP loan program and the deferral of $3.62 million in noninterest expenses related to PPP loan origination costs during the second quarter of 2020.