FIRST FINANCIAL CORP /IN/ - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012

OR

For the transition period from    _________     to    ___________

Commission file number 0-16759

FIRST FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(812) 238-6000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

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

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

None

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

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 Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 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  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 this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

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

Large accelerated filer ¨       Accelerated filer x       Non-accelerated filer ¨       Smaller reporting company ¨

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

As of June 30, 2012 the aggregate market value of the stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the average bid and ask prices of such stock was $375,338,651. (For purposes of this calculation, the Corporation excluded the stock owned by certain beneficial owners and management and the Corporation’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan.)

Shares of Common Stock outstanding as of March 11, 2013—13,307,498 shares.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Definitive Proxy Statement for the First Financial Corporation Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held April 17, 2013 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

FIRST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
2012 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS

FIRST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
2012 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

PART I 

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

A cautionary note about forward-looking statements: In its oral and written communication, First Financial Corporation from time to time includes forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements can include statements about estimated cost savings, plans and objectives for future operations and expectations about performance, as well as economic and market conditions and trends. They often can be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "may," "could," "intend," "project," "estimate," "believe" or "anticipate" or words of similar import. By their nature, forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statement. First Financial Corporation may include forward-looking statements in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in other written materials such as this Annual Report and in oral statements made by senior management to analysts, investors, representatives of the media and others. It is intended that these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and First Financial Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the forward-looking statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

The discussion in Item 1A (Risk Factors) and Item 7 (Management's Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition) of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, lists some of the factors which could cause actual results to vary materially from those in any forward-looking statements. Other uncertainties which could affect First Financial Corporation's future performance include the effects of competition, technological changes and regulatory developments; changes in fiscal, monetary and tax policies; market, economic, operational, liquidity, credit and interest rate risks associated with First Financial Corporation's business; inflation; competition in the financial services industry; changes in general economic conditions, either nationally or regionally, resulting in, among other things, credit quality deterioration; and changes in securities markets. Investors should consider these risks, uncertainties and other factors in addition to those mentioned by First Financial Corporation in its other filings from time to time when considering any forward-looking statement.

GENERAL

First Financial Corporation (the “Corporation”) is a financial holding company. The Corporation was originally organized as an Indiana corporation in 1984 to operate as a bank holding company.

The Corporation, which is headquartered in Terre Haute, Ind., offers a wide variety of financial services including commercial, mortgage and consumer lending, lease financing, trust account services, depositor services and insurance services through its three subsidiaries. At the close of business in 2012 the Corporation and its subsidiaries had 928 full-time equivalent employees.

COMPANY PROFILE

First Financial Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”) is the largest bank in Vigo County, Ind. It operates 11 full-service banking branches within the county; five in Clay County, Ind.; one in Daviess County, Ind.; one in Gibson County, Ind.; one in Greene County, Ind.; four in Knox County, Ind.; five in Parke County, Ind.; one in Putnam County, Ind., five in Sullivan County, Ind.; one in Vanderburgh, County.; four in Vermillion County, Ind.; five in Champaign County, Illinois; one in Clark County, Ill.; one in Coles County, Ill.; three in Crawford County, Ill.; one in Jasper County, Ill.; one in Lawrence County, Ill.; three in Livingston County, Illinois; four in McLean County, Illinois; two in Richland County, Ill.; seven in Vermilion County, Ill.; and one in Wayne County, Ill. In addition to its branches, it has a main office in downtown Terre Haute and a 50,000-square-foot commercial building on South Third Street in Terre Haute, which serves as the Corporation's operations center and provides additional office space. The Morris Plan Company of Terre Haute, Inc. (“Morris Plan”) has one office and is located in Vigo County. Forrest Sherer Inc. is a premier regional supplier of insurance, surety and other financial products. The Forrest Sherer brand is well recognized in the Midwest, with more than 58 professionals and over 91 years of successful service to both businesses and households in their market area. The agency has representation agreements with more than 40 regional and national insurers to market their products of property and casualty insurance, surety bonds, employee benefit plans, life insurance and annuities. FFB Risk Management Co., Inc. located in Las Vegas, Nevada is a captive insurance subsidiary which insures various liability and property damage policies for First Financial Corporation subsidiaries. On December 30, 2011 the Bank completed its acquisition of 100% of the stock of Freestar Bank, National Association, of Pontiac, Illinois and merged Freestar Bank into the Bank. The Corporation paid PNB Holding Co., the former owner of the stock of Freestar Bank, $47 million and assumed liabilities of PNB equal to approximately $8.2 million.  As a result of the acquisition, the Bank added Illinois banking offices in the communities of Bloomington, Champaign, Urbana, Pontiac, Downs, Mahomet and Gridley, and acquired assets of approximately $400 million.

COMPETITION

First Financial Bank and Morris Plan face competition from other financial institutions. These competitors consist of commercial banks, a mutual savings bank and other financial institutions, including consumer finance companies, insurance companies, brokerage firms and credit unions.

The Corporation's business activities are centered in west-central Indiana and east-central Illinois. The Corporation has no foreign activities other than periodically investing available funds in time deposits held in foreign branches of domestic banks.

Regulation And Supervision

The Corporation and its subsidiaries operate in highly regulated environments and are subject to supervision and regulation by several governmental regulatory agencies, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Federal Reserve"), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), and the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (the “DFI”). The laws and regulations established by these agencies are generally intended to protect depositors, not shareholders. Changes in applicable laws, regulations, governmental policies, income tax laws and accounting principles may have a material effect on the Corporation’s business and prospects. The following summary is qualified by reference to the statutory and regulatory provisions discussed.

The Dodd-Frank Act

On July 21, 2010, financial regulatory reform legislation entitled the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) was signed into law. The Dodd-Frank Act implements far-reaching changes across the financial industry, including provisions that, among other things, will:

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), created by the Dodd-Frank Act as discussed above, is responsible for administering federal consumer financial protection laws. The CFPB, which began operations on July 21, 2011, is an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve and has broad rule-making, supervisory and examination authority to set and enforce rules in the consumer protection area over financial institutions that have assets of $10 billion or more. The CFPB also has data collecting powers for fair lending purposes for both small business and mortgage loans, as well as authority to prevent unfair, deceptive and abusive practices.

Although many aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act remain subject to rulemaking, several provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act have been implemented. In addition to the establishment of the CFPB, the Federal Reserve Board’s final rule implementing the Dodd-Frank Act’s “Durbin Amendment,” which limits debit card interchange fees, was issued on July 21, 2011 for transactions occurring after September 30, 2011. The final rule established a cap on the fees banks with more than $10 billion in assets can charge merchants for debit card transactions. The fee was set at $0.21 per transaction plus an additional 5 bps of the transaction amount and $0.01 to cover fraud losses. The Federal Reserve Board also repealed Regulation Q as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21, 2011. Regulation Q was implemented as part of the Glass-Steagall Act in the 1930’s and provided a prohibition against the payment of interest on demand deposits.

Because full implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act will occur over several years, it is difficult to anticipate the overall financial impact on the Corporation, its customers or the financial industry generally. However, the impact is expected to be substantial and may have an adverse impact on the Corporation’s financial performance and growth opportunities. Provisions in the legislation that affect the payment of interest on demand deposits and interchange fees are likely to increase the costs associated with deposits as well as place limitations on certain revenues those deposits may generate. Provisions in the legislation that require revisions to the capital requirements of financial institutions could require the Corporation and its financial institution subsidiaries to seek other sources of capital in the future.

BASEL III

In December 2010 and January 2011, the Basel Committee published the final texts of reforms on capital and liquidity generally referred to as “Basel III.” Although Basel III is intended to be implemented by participating countries for large, internationally active banks, its provisions are likely to be considered by United States banking regulators in developing new regulations applicable to other banks in the United States, including the Bank.

For banks in the United States, among the most significant provisions of Basel III concerning capital are the following:

The Basel III provisions on liquidity include complex criteria establishing the liquidity coverage ratio (“LCR”) and the net stable funding ratio (“NSFR”). The purpose of the LCR is to ensure that a bank maintains adequate unencumbered, high quality liquid assets to meet its liquidity needs for 30 days under a severe liquidity stress scenario. The purpose of the NSFR is to promote more medium and long-term funding of assets and activities, using a one-year horizon. Although Basel III is described as a “final text,” it is subject to the resolution of certain issues and to further guidance and modification, as well as to adoption by United States banking regulators, including decisions as to whether and to what extent it will apply to United States banks that are not large, internationally active banks.

On June 7, 2012, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a series of proposed rules that would revise their risk-based and leverage capital requirements and their method for calculating risk-weighted assets to make them consistent with Basel III and certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The three separate but related proposals are: (i) the “Basel III Proposal,” which applies the Basel III capital framework to almost all U.S. banking organizations; (ii) the “Standardized Approach Proposal,” which applies certain elements of the Basel II standardized approach for credit risk weightings to almost all U.S. banking organizations; and (iii) the “Advanced Approaches Proposal,” which applies changes made to Basel II and Basel III in the past few years to large U.S. banking organizations subject to the advanced Basel II capital framework. The proposed rules would apply to all depository institutions, top-tier bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $500 million or more, and top-tier savings and loan holding companies (“banking organizations”). The comment period for these notices of proposed rulemaking ended October 22, 2012.

Among other things, the proposed rules establish a new Common Equity Tier 1 minimum capital requirement of 4.5% and a higher minimum Tier 1 capital requirement of 6.0%. The proposed rules limit a banking organization’s capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments if the banking organization does not hold a “capital conservation buffer” consisting of a specified amount of Common Equity Tier 1 capital in addition to the amount necessary to meet its minimum risk-based capital requirements.

The Basel III implementation proposal provides for a number of deductions from and adjustments to CET1. These include, for example, the requirement that mortgage servicing rights, deferred tax assets dependent upon future taxable income and significant investments in non-consolidated financial entities be deducted from CET1 to the extent that any one such category exceeds 10% of CET1 or all such categories in the aggregate exceed 15% of CET1. Under current capital standards, the effects of accumulated other comprehensive income items included in capital are excluded for the purposes of determining regulatory capital ratios. Under the Basel III Proposal, the effects of certain accumulated other comprehensive items are not excluded, which could result in significant variations in the level of capital depending upon the impact of interest rate fluctuations on the fair value of the Corporation’s securities portfolio. The Basel III Proposal also requires the phase-out of certain hybrid securities, such as trust preferred securities, as Tier 1 capital of bank holding companies in equal installments between 2013 and 2016. Trust preferred securities no longer included in Tier 1 capital may nonetheless be included as a component of Tier 2 capital.

Implementation of the deductions and other adjustments to CET1 will begin on January 1, 2014 and will be phased-in over a five-year period (20% per year). The implementation of the capital conservation buffer will begin on January 1, 2016 at the 0.625% level and be phased in over a four-year period (increasing by that amount on each subsequent January 1, until it reaches 2.5% on January 1, 2019).

The Basel III implementation proposal would also revise the “prompt corrective action” regulations described below by (i) introducing a CET1 ratio requirement at each level (other than critically undercapitalized), with the required CET1 ratio being 6.5% for well-capitalized status; (ii) increasing the minimum Tier 1 capital ratio requirement for each category, with the minimum Tier 1 capital ratio for well-capitalized status being 8% (as compared to the current 6%); and (iii) eliminating the current provision that provides that a bank with a composite supervisory rating of 1 may have a 3% leverage ratio and still be adequately capitalized. The Basel III proposal does not change the total risk-based capital requirement for any category.

In addition to the changes in capital requirements included within the Basel III Proposal, the Standardized Approach Proposal revises a large number of the risk weights (or their methodologies) for bank assets that are used to determine the capital ratios. For nearly every class of assets, the proposal requires a more complex, detailed and calibrated assessment of credit risk and calculation of risk weightings. For example, under the current risk-weighting rules, residential mortgages have a risk weighting of 50%. Under the proposed new rules, two categories of residential mortgage lending would be created: (i) traditional lending would be category 1, where the risk weights range from 35 to 100%; and (ii) nontraditional loans would fall within category 2, where the risk weights would range from 50 to 150%.

Because of the number of comments received by the regulatory agencies on the proposals discussed above, the regulatory agencies have indicated that the date for the implementation of the proposed Basel III rules has been delayed . At this time it is unclear when the Basel III regime will become effective in the United States, no guarantee that the proposals will be adopted in their current form, what changes may be made before adoption, or when ultimate adoption will occur. Requirements to maintain higher levels of capital or to maintain higher levels of liquid assets could adversely impact the Corporation’s net income and return on equity.

The Corporation

The Bank Holding Company Act. Because the Corporation owns all of the outstanding capital stock of the Bank, it is registered as a bank holding company under the federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (“Act”) and is subject to periodic examination by the Federal Reserve and required to file periodic reports of its operations and any additional information that the Federal Reserve may require.

Investments, Control, and Activities. With some limited exceptions, the Bank Holding Company Act requires every bank holding company to obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before acquiring another bank holding company or acquiring more than five percent of the voting shares of a bank (unless it already owns or controls the majority of such shares).

Bank holding companies are prohibited, with certain limited exceptions, from engaging in activities other than those of banking or of managing or controlling banks. They are also prohibited from acquiring or retaining direct or indirect ownership or control of voting shares or assets of any company which is not a bank or bank holding company, other than subsidiary companies furnishing services to or performing services for their subsidiaries, and other subsidiaries engaged in activities which the Federal Reserve determines to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be incidental to these operations. The Bank Holding Company Act does not place territorial restrictions on the activities of such nonbanking-related activities.

Bank holding companies which meet certain management, capital, and Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (“CRA”) standards may elect to become a financial holding company, which would allow them to engage in a substantially broader range of nonbanking activities than is permitted for a bank holding company, including insurance underwriting and making merchant banking investments in commercial and financial companies.

The Corporation does not currently plan to engage in any activity other than owning the stock of the Bank.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act. The Corporation is a financial holding company (“FHC”) within the meaning of the Act. This Act restricts the business of FHC’s to financial and related activities. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (“GLB Act”), which amended the , provides the following:

As a qualified FHC, the Corporation is eligible to engage in, or acquire companies engaged in, the broader range of activities that are permitted by the GLB Act. These activities include those that are determined to be “financial in nature,” including insurance underwriting, securities underwriting and dealing, and making merchant banking investments in commercial and financial companies. If any of the Corporation’s banking subsidiaries ceases to be “well capitalized” or “well managed” under applicable regulatory standards, the Federal Reserve Board may, among other things, place limitations on the Corporation’s ability to conduct these broader financial activities or, if the deficiencies persist, require the divestiture of the banking subsidiary. In addition, if any of the Corporation’s banking subsidiaries receives a rating of less than satisfactory under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (“CRA”), the Corporation would be prohibited from engaging in any additional activities other than those permissible for bank holding companies that are not financial holding companies. The Corporation’s banking subsidiaries currently meet these capital, management and CRA requirements.

Capital Adequacy Guidelines for Bank Holding Companies. The Federal Reserve, as the regulatory authority for bank holding companies, has adopted capital adequacy guidelines for bank holding companies. Bank holding companies with assets in excess of $500 million must comply with the Federal Reserve's risk-based capital guidelines which require a minimum ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets (including certain off-balance sheet activities such as standby letters of credit) of 8%. At least half of the total required capital must be "Tier 1 capital", consisting principally of common stockholders' equity, non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock, a limited amount of cumulative perpetual preferred stock and minority interest in the equity accounts of consolidated subsidiaries, less certain goodwill items. The remainder ("Tier 2 capital") may consist of a limited amount of subordinated debt and intermediate-term preferred stock, certain hybrid capital instruments and other debt securities, cumulative perpetual preferred stock, and a limited amount of the general loan loss allowance. In addition to the risk-based capital guidelines, the Federal Reserve has adopted a Tier 1 (leverage) capital ratio under which the bank holding company must maintain a minimum level of Tier 1 capital to average total consolidated assets of 3% in the case of bank holding companies which have the highest regulatory examination ratings and are not contemplating significant growth or expansion. All other bank holding companies are expected to maintain a ratio of at least 1% to 2% above the stated minimum.

Certain regulatory capital ratios for the Corporation as of December 31, 2012, are shown below:

Dividends. The Federal Reserve's policy is that a bank holding company experiencing earnings weakness should not pay cash dividends exceeding its net income or which could only be funded in ways that weaken the bank holding company's financial health, such as by borrowing. Additionally, the Federal Reserve possesses enforcement powers over bank holding companies and their non-bank subsidiaries to prevent or remedy actions that represent unsafe or unsound practices or violations of applicable statutes and regulations. Among these powers is the ability to proscribe the payment of dividends by banks and bank holding companies.

Source of Strength. In accordance with Federal Reserve policy, the Corporation is expected to act as a source of financial strength to the Bank and Morris Plan and to commit resources to support the Bank and Morris Plan in circumstances in which the Corporation might not otherwise do so.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act") represents a comprehensive revision of laws affecting corporate governance, accounting obligations and corporate reporting. Among other requirements, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act established: (i) requirements for audit committees of public companies, including independence and expertise standards; (ii) additional responsibilities regarding financial statements for the chief executive officers and chief financial officers of reporting companies; (iii) standards for auditors and regulation of audits; (iv) increased disclosure and reporting obligations for reporting companies regarding various matters relating to corporate governance, and (v) new and increased civil and criminal penalties for violation of the securities laws.

The Bank and Morris Plan

General Regulatory Supervision. The Bank is a national bank organized under the laws of the United States of America and is subject to the supervision of the OCC, whose examiners conduct periodic examinations of the Bank. The Bank must undergo regular on-site examinations by the OCC and must submit quarterly and annual reports to the OCC concerning its activities and financial condition.

Morris Plan is an Indiana-chartered institution and is subject to the supervision of the FDIC and the DFI, whose examiners conduct periodic examinations of Morris Plan. Morris Plan must undergo regular on-site examinations by the FDIC and the DFI and must submit quarterly and annual reports to the FDIC and the DFI concerning its activities and financial condition.

The deposits of the Bank and Morris Plan are insured by the FDIC and are subject to the FDIC's rules and regulations respecting the insurance of deposits. See "Deposit Insurance".

Lending Limits. The total loans and extensions of credit to a borrower outstanding at one time and not fully secured may not exceed 15 percent of the bank's capital and unimpaired surplus. In addition, the total amount of outstanding loans and extensions of credit to any borrower outstanding at one time and fully secured by readily marketable collateral may not exceed 10 percent of the unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus of the bank (this limitation is separate from and in addition to the above limitation). If a loan is secured by United States obligations, such as treasury bills, it is not subject to the legal lending limit.

Deposit Insurance. The Dodd-Frank Act has permanently increased the maximum amount of deposit insurance for financial institutions per insured depositor to $250,000.

The deposits of the Bank and Morris Plan are insured up to the applicable limits under the DIF. The FDIC maintains the DIF by assessing depository institutions an insurance premium. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC is required to set a DIF reserve ratio of 1.35% of estimated insured deposits and is required to achieve this ratio by September 30, 2020. Also, the Dodd-Frank Act has eliminated the 1.50% ceiling on the reserve ratio and provides that the FDIC is no longer required to refund amounts in the DIF that exceed 1.50% of insured deposits.

In connection with the Dodd-Frank Act’s requirement that insurance assessments be based on assets, the FDIC bases assessments on an institution’s average consolidated assets (less average tangible equity) as opposed to its deposit level. This may shift the burden of deposit premiums toward larger depository institutions which rely on funding sources other than U.S. deposits.

Under the FDIC’s risk-based assessment system, insured institutions are required to pay deposit insurance premiums based on the risk that each institution poses to the DIF. An institution’s risk to the DIF is measured by its regulatory capital levels, supervisory evaluations, and certain other factors. An institution’s assessment rate depends upon the risk category to which it is assigned. As noted above, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC will calculate an institution’s assessment level based on its total average consolidated assets during the assessment period less average tangible equity (i.e., Tier 1 capital) as opposed to an institution’s deposit level which was the previous basis for calculating insurance assessments. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, institutions will be placed into one of four risk categories for purposes of determining the institution’s actual assessment rate. The FDIC will determine the risk category based on the institution’s capital position (well capitalized, adequately capitalized, or undercapitalized) and supervisory condition (based on exam reports and related information provided by the institution’s primary federal regulator). The Bank paid a total FDIC assessment of $1.88 million and Morris Plan paid a total FDIC assessment of $34 thousand in 2012.

During 2009, the FDIC adopted a rule requiring each insured institution to prepay on December 30, 2009 the estimated amount of its quarterly assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009 and all quarters through the end of 2012 (in addition to the regular quarterly assessment for the third quarter which was due on December 30, 2009). The prepaid amount is recorded as an asset with a zero risk weight and the institution will continue to record quarterly expenses for FDIC deposit insurance. Collection of the prepayment amount does not preclude the FDIC from changing assessment rates or revising the risk-based assessment system in the future. If events cause actual assessments during the prepayment period to vary from the prepaid amount, institutions will pay excess assessments or receive a rebate of prepaid amounts not fully utilized after the collection of assessments due in June 2013. The amount of the Bank’s prepayment was $8.96 million and the amount of Morris Plan’s prepayment was $249 thousand.

In addition to the FDIC insurance premiums, the Bank and the Morris Plan are required to make quarterly payments on bonds issued by the Financing Corporation (“FICO”), an agency of the Federal government established to recapitalize a predecessor deposit insurance fund. These assessments will continue until the FICO bonds are repaid.

Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders. Pursuant to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W, the Bank and Morris Plan are subject to limitations on the amount of loans or extensions of credit to, or investments in, or certain other transactions with, affiliates (including the Corporation) and insiders and on the amount of advances to third parties collateralized by the securities or obligations of affiliates. Furthermore, within the foregoing limitations as to amount, each covered transaction must meet specified collateral requirements. Compliance is also required with certain provisions designed to avoid the taking of low quality assets. The Bank and Morris Plan are also prohibited from engaging in certain transactions with certain affiliates and insiders unless the transactions are on terms substantially the same, or at least as favorable to such institution or its subsidiaries, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with nonaffiliated companies.

Extensions of credit by the Bank or Morris Plan to their executive officers, directors, certain principal shareholders, and their related interests must:

The Dodd-Frank Act also included specific changes to the law related to the definition of a “covered transaction” in Sections 23A and 23B and limitations on asset purchases from insiders. With respect to the definition of a “covered transaction,” the Dodd-Frank Act now defines that term to include the acceptance of debt obligations issued by an affiliate as collateral for an institution’s loan or extension of credit to another person or company. In addition, a “derivative transaction” with an affiliate is now deemed to be a “covered transaction” to the extent that such a transaction causes an institution or its subsidiary to have a credit exposure to the affiliate. A separate provision of the Dodd-Frank Act states that an insured depository institution may not “purchase an asset from, or sell an asset to” a bank insider (or their related interests) unless (1) the transaction is conducted on market terms between the parties and (2) if the proposed transaction represents more than 10 percent of the capital stock and surplus of the insured institution, it has been approved in advance by a majority of the institution’s non-interested directors.

Dividends. Applicable law provides that a financial institution, such as the Bank or Morris Plan, may pay dividends from its undivided profits in an amount declared by its Board of Directors, subject to prior regulatory approval if the proposed dividend, when added to all prior dividends declared during the current calendar year, would be greater than the current year's net income and retained earnings for the previous two calendar years.

Federal law generally prohibits the Bank or Morris Plan from paying a dividend to the Corporation if it would thereafter be undercapitalized. The FDIC may prevent a financial institution from paying dividends if it is in default of payment of any assessment due to the FDIC. In addition, payment of dividends by a bank may be prevented by the applicable federal regulatory authority if such payment is determined, by reason of the financial condition of such bank, to be an unsafe and unsound banking practice.

Community Reinvestment Act. The CRA requires that the federal banking regulators evaluate the records of a financial institution in meeting the credit needs of its local community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods. These factors are also considered in evaluating mergers, acquisitions, and applications to open a branch or facility. Failure to adequately meet these criteria could result in the imposition of additional requirements and limitations on the Bank or on Morris Plan.

Capital Regulations. The OCC has adopted risk-based capital ratio guidelines to which the Bank is subject. The guidelines establish a systematic analytical framework that makes regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banking organizations. Risk-based capital ratios are determined by allocating assets and specified off-balance sheet commitments to four risk weighted categories, with higher levels of capital being required for the categories perceived as representing greater risk.

These guidelines divide a bank's capital into two tiers. The first tier (Tier 1) includes common equity, certain non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock (excluding auction rate issues) and minority interests in equity accounts of consolidated subsidiaries, less goodwill and certain other intangible assets (except mortgage servicing rights and purchased credit card relationships, subject to certain limitations). Supplementary (Tier 2) capital includes, among other items, cumulative perpetual and long-term limited-life preferred stock, mandatory convertible securities, certain hybrid capital instruments, term subordinated debt and the allowance for loan and lease losses, subject to certain limitations, less required deductions. Banks are required to maintain a total risk-based capital ratio of 8%, of which 4% must be Tier 1 capital. The OCC may, however, set higher capital requirements when a bank's particular circumstances warrant. Banks experiencing or anticipating significant growth are expected to maintain capital ratios, including tangible capital positions, well above the minimum levels.

In addition, the OCC established guidelines prescribing a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio (Tier 1 capital to adjusted total assets as specified in the guidelines). These guidelines provide for a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 3% for banks that meet certain specified criteria, including that they have the highest regulatory rating and are not experiencing or anticipating significant growth. All other banks are required to maintain a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 3% plus an additional cushion of at least 1% to 2% basis points.

Certain actual regulatory capital ratios under the OCC's risk-based capital guidelines for the Bank at December 31, 2012, are shown below:

The federal bank regulators also have issued a joint policy statement to provide guidance on sound practices for managing interest rate risk. The statement sets forth the factors the federal regulatory examiners will use to determine the adequacy of a bank's capital for interest rate risk. These qualitative factors include the adequacy and effectiveness of the bank's internal interest rate risk management process and the level of interest rate exposure. Other qualitative factors that will be considered include the size of the bank, the nature and complexity of its activities, the adequacy of its capital and earnings in relation to the bank's overall risk profile, and its earning exposure to interest rate movements. The interagency supervisory policy statement describes the responsibilities of a bank's board of directors in implementing a risk management process and the requirements of the bank's senior management in ensuring the effective management of interest rate risk. Further, the statement specifies the elements that a risk management process must contain.

The federal banking regulators have also issued regulations revising the risk-based capital standards to include a supervisory framework for measuring market risk. The effect of these regulations is that any bank holding company or bank which has significant exposure to market risk must measure such risk using its own internal model, subject to the requirements contained in the regulations, and must maintain adequate capital to support that exposure. These regulations apply to any bank holding company or bank whose trading activity equals 10% or more of its total assets, or whose trading activity equals $1 billion or more. Examiners may require a bank holding company or bank that does not meet the applicability criteria to comply with the capital requirements if necessary for safety and soundness purposes. These regulations contain supplemental rules to determine qualifying and excess capital, calculate risk-weighted assets, calculate market risk-equivalent assets and calculate risk-based capital ratios adjusted for market risk.

Morris Plan is also subject to the capital adequacy guidelines of the FDIC in its examination and regulation of Morris Plan. In addition, the Bank and Morris Plan are also subject to the "prompt corrective action" regulations, which implement a capital-based regulatory scheme designed to promote early intervention for troubled banks. This framework contains five categories of compliance with regulatory capital requirements, including "well capitalized", "adequately capitalized", "undercapitalized", "significantly undercapitalized", and "critically undercapitalized". As of December 31, 2012, the Bank and Morris Plan were qualified as "well capitalized." It should be noted that a bank's capital category is determined solely for the purpose of applying the "prompt corrective action" regulations and that the capital category may not constitute an accurate representation of the bank's overall financial condition or prospects. The degree of regulatory scrutiny of a financial institution increases, and the permissible activities of the institution decrease, as it moves downward through the capital categories. Bank holding companies controlling financial institutions can be required to boost the institutions' capital and to partially guarantee the institutions' performance.

Ability-to-Repay Requirement and Qualified Mortgage Rule. The Dodd-Frank Act contains additional provisions that affect consumer mortgage lending. First, it significantly expands underwriting requirements applicable to loans secured by 1-4 family residential real property and augments federal law combating predatory lending practices. In addition to numerous new disclosure requirements, the Dodd-Frank Act imposes new standards for mortgage loan originations on all lenders, including banks and savings associations, in an effort to encourage lenders to verify a borrower’s ability to repay, while also establishing a presumption of compliance for certain “qualified mortgages.” Most significantly, the new standards limit the total points and fees that the Bank and/or a broker may charge on conforming and jumbo loans to 3% of the total loan amount. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act generally requires lenders or securitizers to retain an economic interest in the credit risk relating to loans that the lender sells and other asset-backed securities that the securitizer issues if the loans have not complied with the ability-to-repay standards. The risk retention requirement generally will be 5%, but could be increased or decreased by regulation.

In 2013, the CFPB issued a final rule, effective January 10, 2014, that implements the Dodd-Frank Act’s ability-to-repay requirements, and clarifies the presumption of compliance for “qualified mortgages.”  Further, the final rule also clarifies that qualified mortgages do not include “no-doc” loans and loans with negative amortization, interest-only payments, balloon payments, terms in excess of 30 years, or points and fees paid by the borrower that exceed 3% of the loan amount, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, for qualified mortgages, the monthly payment must be calculated on the highest payment that will occur in the first five years of the loan, and the borrower’s total debt-to-income ratio generally may not be more than 43%. The final rule also provides that certain mortgages that satisfy the general product feature requirements for qualified mortgages and that also satisfy the underwriting requirements of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (while they operate under federal conservatorship or receivership) or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, or Department of Agriculture or Rural Housing Service are also considered to be qualified mortgages. This second category of qualified mortgages will phase out as the aforementioned federal agencies issue their own rules regarding qualified mortgages, the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ends, and, in any event, after seven years.

As set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, subprime (or higher-priced) mortgage loans are subject to the ability-to-repay requirement, and the final rule provides for a rebuttable presumption of lender compliance for those loans. The final rule also applies the ability-to-repay requirement to prime loans, while also providing a conclusive presumption of compliance ( i.e. , a safe harbor) for prime loans that are also qualified mortgages. Additionally, the final rule generally prohibits prepayment penalties (subject to certain exceptions) and sets forth a 3-year record retention period with respect to documenting and demonstrating the ability-to-repay requirement and other provisions.

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”) is intended to strengthen the ability of U.S. Law Enforcement to combat terrorism on a variety of fronts. The potential impact of the USA Patriot Act on financial institutions is significant and wide-ranging. The USA Patriot Act contains sweeping anti-money laundering and financial transparency laws and requires financial institutions to implement additional policies and procedures with respect to, or additional measures designed to address, any or all of the following matters, among others: money laundering and currency crimes, customer identification verification, cooperation among financial institutions, suspicious activities and currency transaction reporting.

S.A.F.E. Act Requirements. Regulations issued under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 ( the “S.A.F.E. Act” ) require residential mortgage loan originators who are employees of institutions regulated by the foregoing agencies, including national banks, to meet the registration requirements of the S.A.F.E. Act. The S.A.F.E. Act requires residential mortgage loan originators who are employees of regulated financial institutions to be registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, a database created by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators to support the licensing of mortgage loan originators by the states. Employees of regulated financial institutions are generally prohibited from originating residential mortgage loans unless they are registered.

Other Regulations

Federal law extensively regulates other various aspects of the banking business such as reserve requirements. Current federal law also requires banks, among other things to make deposited funds available within specified time periods. In addition, with certain exceptions, a bank and a subsidiary may not extend credit, lease or sell property or furnish any services or fix or vary the consideration for the foregoing on the condition that (i) the customer must obtain or provide some additional credit, property or services from, or to, any of them, or (ii) the customer may not obtain some other credit, property or service from a competitor, except to the extent reasonable conditions are imposed to assure the soundness of credit extended.

Interest and other charges collected or contracted by the Bank or Morris Plan are subject to state usury laws and federal laws concerning interest rates. The loan operations are also subject to federal and state laws applicable to credit transactions, such as the:

The deposit operations also are subject to the:

The federal banking agencies have established guidelines which prescribe standards for depository institutions relating to internal controls, information systems, internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, asset quality, earnings, compensation fees and benefits, and management compensation. The agencies may require an institution which fails to meet the standards set forth in the guidelines to submit a compliance plan. Failure to submit an acceptable plan or adhere to an accepted plan may be grounds for further enforcement action.

As noted above, the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection will have authority for amending existing consumer compliance regulations and implementing new such regulations. In addition, the Bureau will have the power to examine the compliance of financial institutions with an excess of $10 billion in assets with these consumer protection rules. The Bank’s and Morris Plan’s compliance with consumer protection rules will be examined by the OCC and the FDIC, respectively, since neither the Bank nor Morris Plan meet this $10 billion asset level threshold.

Enforcement Powers. Federal regulatory agencies may assess civil and criminal penalties against depository institutions and certain "institution-affiliated parties", including management, employees, and agents of a financial institution, as well as independent contractors and consultants such as attorneys and accountants and others who participate in the conduct of the financial institution's affairs.

In addition, regulators may commence enforcement actions against institutions and institution-affiliated parties. Possible enforcement actions include the termination of deposit insurance. Furthermore, regulators may issue cease-and-desist orders to, among other things, require affirmative action to correct any harm resulting from a violation or practice, including restitution, reimbursement, indemnifications or guarantees against loss. A financial institution may also be ordered to restrict its growth, dispose of certain assets, rescind agreements or contracts, or take other actions as determined by the regulator to be appropriate.

Effect of Governmental Monetary Policies. The Corporation's earnings are affected by domestic economic conditions and the monetary and fiscal policies of the United States government and its agencies. The Federal Reserve Bank's monetary policies have had, and are likely to continue to have, an important impact on the operating results of commercial banks through its power to implement national monetary policy in order, among other things, to curb inflation or combat a recession. The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve have major effects upon the levels of bank loans, investments and deposits through its open market operations in United States government securities and through its regulation of the discount rate on borrowings of member banks and the reserve requirements against member bank deposits. It is not possible to predict the nature or impact of future changes in monetary and fiscal policies. 

Available Information

The Corporation files annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such reports, proxy statements and other information can be read and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at the Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information regarding the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains a web site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy statements, and other information. The Corporation’s filings are also accessible at no cost on the Corporation's website at www.first-online.com.

Difficult conditions in the capital markets and the economy generally may materially adversely affect the Corporation’s business and results of operations

From December 2007 through June 2009, the U.S. economy was in recession. Business activity across a wide range of industries and regions in the U.S. was greatly reduced. Although economic conditions have begun to improve, certain sectors, such as real estate, remain weak and unemployment remains high. Local governments and many businesses are still in serious difficulty due to lower consumer spending and the lack of liquidity in the credit markets.

Market conditions also led to the failure or merger of several prominent financial institutions and numerous regional and community-based financial institutions. These failures, as well as projected future failures, have had a significant negative impact on the capitalization level of the deposit insurance fund of the FDIC, which, in turn, has led to a significant increase in deposit insurance premiums paid by financial institutions.

The Corporation’s financial performance generally, and in particular the ability of borrowers to pay interest on and repay principal of outstanding loans and the value of collateral securing those loans, as well as demand for loans and other products and services that the Corporation offers, is highly dependent upon the business environment in the markets where the Corporation operates and in the United States as a whole. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, economic growth, efficient capital markets, low inflation, low unemployment, high business and investor confidence, and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by declines in economic growth, business activity or investor or business confidence; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; increases in inflation or interest rates; high unemployment, natural disasters, or a combination of these or other factors.

The business environment has been adverse for many households and businesses in the United States and worldwide. While economic conditions in the United States and worldwide have begun to improve, there can be no assurance that this improvement will continue. Such conditions have affected, and could continue to adversely affect, the credit quality of the Corporation’s loans, results of operations and financial condition.

In response to economic and market conditions, from time to time the Corporation has undertaken initiatives to reduce its cost structure where appropriate. These initiatives may not be sufficient to meet current and future changes in economic and market conditions and allow the Corporation to maintain profitability. In addition, costs actually incurred in connection with these restructuring actions may be higher than our estimates of such costs or may not lead to the anticipated cost savings.

Recently enacted and potential further financial regulatory reforms could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations

The Dodd−Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (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. Many aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act are subject to rulemaking and will take effect over several years, making it difficult to anticipate the overall financial impact on the Corporation. The changes resulting from the Dodd−Frank Act may impact the profitability of business activities, require changes to certain business practices, impose more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage requirements or otherwise adversely affect the Corporation’s business. In particular, the potential impact of the Dodd−Frank Act on the Corporation’s operations and activities, both currently and prospectively, include, among others:

Further, the Corporation may be required to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make any changes necessary to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements under the Dodd−Frank Act, which may negatively impact results of operations and financial condition.

Contemplated and proposed legislation, state and federal programs, and increased government control or influence may adversely affect the Corporation by increasing the uncertainty on its lending operations and expose it to increased losses. Statutes and regulations may be altered which potentially increase the Corporation’s cost of service and underwrite mortgage loans.

In June 2012 the respective federal bank regulatory agencies proposed for comment proposed rulemakings for new capital standards generally consistent with Basel III. The comment period for these notices of proposed rulemakings has expired, but final regulations have not yet been released and the federal bank regulatory agencies announced that the implementation of the proposed rules under Basel III was indefinitely delayed. If and when implemented, Basel III would require capital to be held in the form of tangible common equity, generally increase the required capital ratios, phase out certain kinds of intangibles treated as capital and certain types of instruments, such as trust preferred securities, and change the risk weightings of assets used to determine required capital ratios. Such changes, including changes regarding interpretations and implementation, could affect the Corporation in substantial and unpredictable ways and could have a material adverse effect on us. Further, among other things, such changes could subject us to additional costs and limit the types of financial services and products we may offer.

The Corporation cannot predict whether there will be additional proposed laws or reforms that would affect the U.S. financial system or financial institutions, whether or when such changes may be adopted, how such changes may be interpreted and enforced or how such changes may impact the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations. However, the costs of complying with any additional laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.

The recent repeal of federal prohibitions on payment of interest on business demand deposits could increase our interest expense and have a material adverse effect on us

All federal prohibitions on the ability of financial institutions to pay interest on business demand deposit accounts were repealed as part of the Dodd-Frank Act. As a result, some financial institutions have commenced offering interest on these demand deposits to compete for customers. If competitive pressures require us to pay interest on these demand deposits to attract and retain business customers, our interest expense would increase and our net interest margin would decrease. This could have a material adverse effect on us. Further, the effect of the repeal of the prohibition could be more significant in a higher interest rate environment as business customers would have a greater incentive to seek interest on demand deposits.

The Corporation is subject to interest rate risk

The Corporation’s earnings and cash flows are largely dependent upon the Corporation’s net interest income. Net interest income is the difference between interest income earned on interest earning assets such as loans and securities and interest expense paid on interest bearing liabilities such as deposits and borrowed funds. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond the Corporation’s control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies. Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest that is received on loans and securities and the interest that is paid on deposits and borrowings, but such changes could also affect (i) the Corporation’s ability to originate loans and obtain deposits, and (ii) the fair value of the Corporation’s financial assets and liabilities. Currently, the Corporation is in an asset-sensitive position. In a rising interest rate environment, the Corporation may be unable to sell its lower-yielding mortgage loans, thus impacting its ability to generate higher yielding loans which could adversely impact earnings.

The Corporation is subject to lending risk

There are inherent risks associated with the Corporation's lending activities. These risks include, among other things, the impact of changes in interest rates and changes in the economic conditions in the markets where the Corporation operates as well as those across Indiana, Illinois and the United States. Increases in interest rates and/or weakening economic conditions could adversely impact the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans or the value of the collateral securing these loans. Credit issues may continue to broaden during 2013 depending on the severity and duration of the stagnant economy and the current credit cycle.

The Corporation originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, consumer loans and residential real estate loans primarily within its market areas. Commercial real estate, commercial, and consumer loans may expose a lender to greater credit risk than loans secured by residential real estate because the collateral securing these loans may not be sold as easily as residential real estate. These loans also have greater credit risk than residential real estate for the following reasons:

The Corporation is also subject to various laws and regulations that affect its lending activities. Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject the Corporation to regulatory enforcement action that could result in the assessment of significant civil money penalties against the Corporation.

The Corporation's allowance for loan losses may be insufficient

The Corporation maintains an allowance for loan losses, which is a reserve established through a provision for loan losses charged to expense, that represents management's best estimate of probable incurred losses that are inherent within the existing portfolio of loans. The level of the allowance reflects management's continuing evaluation of industry concentrations; specific credit risks; loan loss experience; current loan portfolio quality; present economic, political and regulatory conditions and unidentified losses inherent in the current loan portfolio. The determination of the appropriate level of the allowance for loan losses inherently involves a high degree of subjectivity and requires the Corporation to make significant estimates of current credit risks and future trends, all of which may undergo material changes. Changes in economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding existing loans, identification of additional problem loans and other factors, both within and outside of the Corporation's control, may require an increase in the allowance for loan losses. In addition, bank regulatory agencies periodically review the Corporation's allowance for loan losses and may require an increase in the provision for loan losses or the recognition of further loan charge-offs, based on judgments different than those of management. In addition, if charge-offs in future periods exceed the allowance for loan losses, the Corporation will need additional provisions to increase the allowance for loan losses. Any increases in the allowance for loan losses will result in a decrease in net income and, possibly, capital, and may have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations.

The Corporation may foreclose on collateral property and would be subject to the increased costs associated with ownership of real property, resulting in reduced revenues and earnings

The Corporation forecloses on collateral property from time to time to protect its investment and thereafter owns and operates such property, in which case it is exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of real estate. The amount that the Corporation, as a mortgagee, may realize after a default is dependent upon factors outside of its control, including, but not limited to: (i) general or local economic conditions; (ii) neighborhood values; (iii) interest rates; (iv) real estate tax rates; (v) operating expenses of the mortgaged properties; (vi) environmental remediation liabilities; (vii) ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties; (viii) zoning laws; (ix) governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; and (x) acts of God. Certain expenditures associated with the ownership of real estate, principally real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs, may adversely affect the income from the real estate. Therefore, the cost of operating real property may exceed the income earned from such property, and the Corporation may have to advance funds in order to protect its investment, or it may be required to dispose of the real property at a loss. These expenditures and costs could adversely affect the Corporation’s ability to generate revenues, resulting in reduced levels of profitability.

The Corporation operates in a highly competitive industry and market area

The Corporation faces substantial competition in all areas of its operations from a variety of different competitors, many of which are larger and may have more financial resources. Such competitors include banks and many other types of financial institutions, including, without limitation, savings and loans, credit unions, finance companies, brokerage firms, insurance companies, factoring companies and other financial intermediaries. The financial services industry could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory and technological changes and continued consolidation. Banks, securities firms and insurance companies can merge under the umbrella of a financial holding company, which can offer virtually any type of financial service, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both agency and underwriting) and merchant banking. Also, technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks, such as automatic transfer and automatic payment systems. Many of the Corporation's competitors have fewer regulatory constraints and may have lower cost structures. Additionally, due to their size, many competitors may be able to achieve economies of scale and, as a result, may offer a broader range of products and services as well as better pricing for those products and services than the Corporation can.

The Corporation's ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including, among other things:

Failure to perform in any of these areas could significantly weaken the Corporation's competitive position, which could adversely affect the Corporation's growth and profitability, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations.

The Corporation is subject to extensive government regulation and supervision

The Corporation, primarily through the Bank, is subject to extensive federal regulation and supervision. Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors' funds, federal deposit insurance funds and the banking system as a whole, not shareholders. These regulations affect the Corporation's lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, and growth, among other things. Congress and federal regulatory agencies continually review banking laws, regulations and policies for possible changes. Changes to statutes, regulations or regulatory policies, including changes in interpretation or implementation of statutes, regulations or policies, could affect the Corporation in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could subject the Corporation to additional costs, limit the types of financial services and products the Corporation may offer and/or increase the ability of non-banks 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 Corporation's business, financial condition and results of operations. While the Corporation has policies and procedures designed to prevent any such violations, there can be no assurance that such violations will not occur.

The Corporation is dependent on certain key management and staff

The Corporation relies on key personnel to manage and operate its business. The loss of key staff may adversely affect the Corporation’s ability to maintain and manage these portfolios effectively, which could negatively affect the Corporation’s revenues. In addition, loss of key personnel could result in increased recruiting and hiring expenses, which could cause a decrease in the Corporation's net income.

The Corporation’s internal operations are subject to a number of risks

The Corporation’s internal operations are subject to certain risks, including but not limited to, data processing system failures and errors, customer or employee fraud and catastrophic failures resulting from terrorist acts or natural disasters. Operational risk resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, and systems includes the risk of fraud by employees or persons outside of our company, the execution of unauthorized transactions by employees, errors relating to transaction processing and systems, and breaches of the internal control system and compliance requirements. This risk of loss also includes potential legal actions that could arise as a result of the operational deficiency or as a result of noncompliance with applicable regulatory standards.

The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers and to reduce costs. The Corporation's future success depends, in part, upon its ability to address the needs of its customers by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in the Corporation's operations. Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation's business and, in turn, the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations.

The Corporation’s earnings could be adversely impacted by incidences of fraud and compliance failures that are not within our direct control

Financial institutions are inherently exposed to fraud risk. A fraud can be perpetrated by a customer of the Bank, an employee, a vendor, or members of the general public. We are most subject to fraud and compliance risk in connection with the origination of loans, ACH transactions, ATM transactions and checking transactions. Our largest fraud risk, associated with the origination of loans, includes the intentional misstatement of information in property appraisals or other underwriting documentation provided to us by third parties. Compliance risk is the risk that loans are not originated in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and our standards. There can be no assurance that we can prevent or detect acts of fraud or violation of law or our compliance standards by the third parties that we deal with. Repeated incidences of fraud or compliance failures would adversely impact the performance of our loan portfolio.

The Corporation's information systems may experience an interruption or breach in security

The Corporation relies heavily on communications and information systems to conduct its business. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in the Corporation's customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan and other systems. While the Corporation has policies and procedures designed to prevent or limit the effect of the failure, interruption or security breach of its information systems, there can be no assurance that any such failures, interruptions or security breaches will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed. The occurrence of any failures, interruptions or security breaches of the Corporation's information systems could damage the Corporation's reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject the Corporation to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose the Corporation to civil litigation and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation's financial condition and results of operations.

The Corporation has opened new offices

The Corporation has placed a strategic emphasis on expanding its banking office network. Executing this strategy carries risks of slower than anticipated growth in the new offices, which require a significant investment of both financial and personnel resources. Lower than expected loan and deposit growth in new offices can decrease anticipated revenues and net income generated by those offices, and opening new offices could result in more additional expenses than anticipated and divert resources from current core operations.

The geographic concentration of the Corporation’s markets makes the Corporation’s business highly susceptible to local economic conditions

Unlike larger banking organizations that are more geographically diversified, the Corporation’s operations are currently concentrated in three counties located in central Indiana. As a result of this geographic concentration, the Corporation’s financial results depend largely upon economic conditions in these market areas. Deterioration in economic conditions in the Corporation’s market could result in one or more of the following:

Future growth or operating results may require the Corporation to raise additional capital but that capital may not be available or it may be dilutive

The Corporation is required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support its operations. To the extent the Corporation’s future operating results erode capital or the Corporation elects to expand through loan growth or acquisition it may be required to raise capital. The Corporation’s ability to raise capital will depend on conditions in the capital markets, which are outside of its control, and on the Corporation’s financial performance. Accordingly, the Corporation cannot be assured of its ability to raise capital when needed or on favorable terms. If the Corporation cannot raise additional capital when needed, it will be subject to increased regulatory supervision and the imposition of restrictions on its growth and business. These could negatively impact the Corporation’s ability to operate or further expand its operations through acquisitions or the establishment of additional branches and may result in increases in operating expenses and reductions in revenues that could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations.

The Corporation may not be able to pay dividends in the future in accordance with past practice

The Corporation has historically paid a semi-annual dividend to common stockholders.  The payment of dividends is subject to legal and regulatory restrictions.  Any payment of dividends in the future will depend, in large part, on the Corporation’s earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors considered relevant by the Corporation’s Board of Directors.

The price of the Corporation’s common stock may be volatile, which may result in losses for investors

General market price declines or market volatility in the future could adversely affect the price of the Corporation’s common stock. In addition, the following factors may cause the market price for shares of the Corporation’s common stock to fluctuate:

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The Corporation is located in a four-story office building in downtown Terre Haute, Indiana that was first occupied in June 1988. It is leased to the Bank. The Bank also owns two other facilities in downtown Terre Haute. One is available for lease and the other is a 50,000-square-foot building housing operations and administrative staff and equipment. In addition, the Bank holds in fee six other branch buildings. One of the branch buildings is a single-story 36,000-square-foot building which is located in a Terre Haute suburban area. Four other branch bank buildings are leased by the Bank. The expiration dates on the three leases are May 31, 2016, February 14, 2016 and May 31, 2014. The other lease is on a month to month basis.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Daviess County include an office in Washington, Indiana. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Clay County include three offices in Brazil, Indiana and offices in Clay City and Poland, Indiana. All five buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Vermillion County include two offices in Clinton, Indiana and offices in Cayuga and Newport, Indiana. All four buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Sullivan County include offices in Sullivan, Carlisle, Dugger, Farmersburg and Hymera, Indiana. All five buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Gibson County include an office in Princeton, Indiana. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Greene County include an office in Worthington, Indiana. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Knox County include offices in Monroe City, Sandborn and two in Vincennes, Indiana. All four buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Parke County include two offices in Rockville, Indiana and offices in Marshall, Montezuma and Rosedale, Indiana. All five buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Putnam County include an office in Greencastle, Indiana. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Vanderburgh County include an office in Evansville, Indiana. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Crawford County include its main office and a drive-up facility in Robinson, Illinois and a branch facility in Oblong, Illinois. All three of the buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Lawrence County include an office in Lawrenceville, Illinois. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Livingston include three offices in Pontiac, Illinois. All of the buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in McLean County include two offices in Bloomington, Illinois, an office in Downs, Illinois and an office in Gridley, Illinois. These building are all held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Wayne County include an office in Fairfield, Illinois. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Jasper County include an office in Newton, Illinois. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Coles County include an office in Charleston, Illinois. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Clark County include an office in Marshall, Illinois. This building is held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Champaign County include two offices in Champaign, Illinois, an office in Mohomet, Illinois, and two offices in Urbana, Illinois. One of the banking centers in Champaign is held in fee while the land is leased. The land lease expires September 6, 2036. One of the banking centers in Champaign is leased and the lease expires on December 31, 2017. The banking center in Mohomet is leased and the lease expires on June 30, 2016. One of the banking centers in Urbana is held in fee while the other banking center in Urbana is held in fee while the land is leased and the lease expires on November 30, 2014.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking center in Vermilion County include five offices in Danville, Illinois, an office in Westville, Illinois, and an office in Ridge Farm, Illinois. One of the buildings in Danville is leased and the lease expires on December 31, 2016 and the other six buildings are held in fee.

Facilities of the Corporation’s banking centers in Richland County include two offices in Olney, Illinois. One building is held in fee and the other building is leased. The expiration date on the lease is March 1, 2015.

The facility of the Corporation’s subsidiary, The Morris Plan Company, includes an office facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. The building is leased by The Morris Plan Company. The expiration date on the lease is October 31, 2020.

Facilities of the Corporation’s subsidiary, Forrest Sherer, Inc., include its main office and one satellite office in Terre Haute, Indiana. The buildings are held in fee by Forrest Sherer, Inc.

Facilities of the Corporation’s subsidiary, FFB Management Co., Inc., include an office facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. This office facility is leased.

There are no material pending legal proceedings to which the Corporation or its subsidiaries is a party, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to its business.

Not applicable

PART II

MARKET AND DIVIDEND INFORMATION

As of March 11, 2013 shareholders owned 13,307,498 shares of the Corporation's common stock. The stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “THFF”. On March 11, 2013, approximately 3,806 shareholders held our common stock.

Historically, the Corporation has paid cash dividends semi-annually and currently expects that comparable cash dividends will continue to be paid in the future. The following table gives quarterly high and low trade prices and dividends per share during each quarter for 2012 and 2011.

The Corporation periodically acquires shares of its common stock directly from shareholders in individually negotiated transactions. The Corporation has not adopted a formal policy or adopted a formal program for repurchases of shares of its common stock. There were no purchases of common stock by the Corporation during the quarter covered by this report. The Corporation contributed 49,825 shares of treasury stock to the ESOP in November of 2012. 

The graph below represents the five-year total return of the Corporation’s stock. The five year total return for our stock during this time was 23.73%. During this same period, the return on The Russell 2000 Index was 19.09% and the SNL Index of Banks $1 - $5 Billion actually had a negative return of 25.22%.

FIVE YEAR COMPARISON OF SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

* 2008 includes $12,800 of credit card loans that are held-for-sale

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

The Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as disclosures found elsewhere in this report are based upon First Financial Corporation's consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires the Corporation to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to the determination of the allowance for loan losses, securities valuation and goodwill. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Allowance for loan losses. The allowance for loan losses represents management's estimate of probable incurred losses in the existing loan portfolio. The allowance for loan losses is increased by the provision for loan losses charged to expense and reduced by loans charged off, net of recoveries. The allowance for loan losses is determined based on management's assessment of several factors: reviews and evaluations of specific loans, changes in the nature and volume of the loan portfolio, current economic and nonperforming loans. Loans are considered impaired if, based on current information and events, it is probable that the Corporation will be unable to collect the scheduled payments of principal or interest according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement. When a loan is deemed impaired, impairment is measured by using the fair value of underlying collateral,for loans deemed to be collateral dependent, the present value of the future cash flows discounted at the effective interest rate stipulated in the loan agreement, or the estimated market value of the loan. In measuring the fair value of the collateral, management uses assumptions (e.g., discount rate) and methodologies (e.g., comparison to the recent selling price of similar assets) consistent with those that would be utilized by unrelated third parties.

Changes in the financial condition of individual borrowers, economic conditions, historical loss experience, or the condition of the various markets in which collateral may be sold may affect the required level of the allowance for loan losses and the associated provision for loan losses. Should cash flow assumptions or market conditions change, a different amount may be recorded for the allowance for loan losses and the associated provision for loan losses.

Securities valuation and potential impairment. Securities available-for-sale are carried at fair value, with unrealized holding gains and losses reported separately in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax. The Corporation obtains market values from a third party on a monthly basis in order to adjust the securities to fair value. Equity securities that do not have readily determinable fair values are carried at cost. Additionally, all securities are required to be evaluated for other than temporary impairment (OTTI). In determining whether a market value decline is other than temporary, management considers the reason for the decline, the extent of the decline, the duration of the decline and whether the Corporation intends to sell a security or is more likely than not to be required to sell a security before recovery of its amortized cost. If an entity intends to sell or it is more likely than not it will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, the OTTI shall be recognized in earnings equal to the entire difference between the investment's amortized cost basis and its fair value at the balance sheet date. If an entity does not intend to sell the security and it is not more likely than not that the entity will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis less any current-period loss, the OTTI shall be separated into the amount representing the credit loss and the amount related to all other factors. The amount of the total OTTI related to the credit loss is determined based on the present value of cash flows expected to be collected and is recognized in earnings.

Changes in credit ratings, financial condition of underlying debtors, default experience and market liquidity affect the conclusions on whether securities are other-than-temporarily impaired. Additional losses may be recorded through earnings for other than temporary impairment, should there be an adverse change in the expected cash flows for these investments.

Goodwill. The carrying value of goodwill requires management to use estimates and assumptions about the fair value of the reporting unit compared to its book value. An impairment analysis is prepared on an annual basis. Fair values of the reporting units are determined by an analysis which considers cash flows streams, profitability and estimated market values of the reporting unit. The majority of the Corporation's goodwill is recorded at First Financial Bank, N. A.

Management believes the accounting estimates related to the allowance for loan losses, valuation of investment securities and the valuation of goodwill are "critical accounting estimates" because: (1) the estimates are highly susceptible to change from period to period because they require management to make assumptions concerning, among other factors, the changes in the types and volumes of the portfolios, valuation assumptions, and economic conditions, and (2) the impact of recognizing an impairment or loan loss could have a material effect on the Corporation's assets reported on the balance sheet as well as net income.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - SUMMARY FOR 2012

COMPARISON OF 2012 TO 2011

Net income for 2012 was $32.8 million, or $2.48 per share. This represents a 11.8% decrease in net income and a 12.4% decrease in earnings per share, compared to 2011. Return on assets at December 31, 2012 decreased 24.2% to 1.13% compared to 1.49% at December 31, 2011.

The primary components of income and expense affecting net income are discussed in the following analysis. 2012 includes income and expense associated with the purchase of Freestar Bank on December 30, 2011 that were not part of the results for 2011.

NET INTEREST INCOME

The principal source of the Corporation's earnings is net interest income, which represents the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and the interest cost associated with deposits and other sources of funding .Net interest income increased in 2012 to $108.9 million compared to $99.2 million in 2011. Total average interest earning assets increased to $2.67 billion in 2012 from $2.33 billion in 2011. The tax-equivalent yield on these assets decreased to 4.80% in 2012 from 5.23% in 2011. Total average interest-bearing liabilities increased to $2.02 billion in 2012 from $1.76 billion in 2011. The average cost of these interest-bearing liabilities decreased to 0.66% in 2012 from 0.98% in 2011.

The net interest margin decreased from 4.50% in 2011 to 4.30% in 2012. This decrease is primarily the result of the decreased income provided by earning assets. Earning asset yields decreased 43 basis points while the rate on interest-bearing liabilities decreased by 32 basis points.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET - AVERAGE BALANCES AND INTEREST RATES

(1) For purposes of these computations, nonaccruing loans are included in the daily average loan amounts outstanding.

(2) Interest income includes the effect of tax equivalent adjustments using a federal tax rate of 35%.

The following table sets forth the components of net interest income due to changes in volume and rate. The table information compares 2012 to 2011 and 2011 to 2010.

(1) For purposes of these computations, nonaccruing loans are included in the daily average loan amounts outstanding.

(2) Interest income includes the effect of tax equivalent adjustments using a federal tax rate of 35%.

PROVISION FOR LOAN LOSSES

The provision for loan losses charged to expense is based upon credit loss experience and the results of a detailed analysis estimating an appropriate and adequate allowance for loan losses. The analysis includes the evaluation of impaired loans as prescribed under Accounting Standards Codification (ASC-310), pooled loans as prescribed under ASC 450-10, and economic and other risk factors as outlined in various Joint Interagency Statements issued by the bank regulatory agencies. For the year ended December 31, 2012, the provision for loan losses was $8.8 million net, an increase of $3.0 million, or 52.4%, compared to 2011. The 2012 provision was reduced by $2.2 million for the offset of loans identified in the analysis of potential loan losses that are subject to the loss share agreement with the FDIC. Of those anticipated losses, 80% can be reimbursed by the FDIC and the FDIC indemnification asset has a corresponding increase of $2.2 million for those anticipated losses. The decrease was the result of several components related to the analysis of the Corporation's Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses.

Net charge-offs for 2012 were $8.3 million as compared to $9.0 million for 2011 and $8.0 million for 2010. Non-accrual loans decreased to $35.8 million at December 31, 2012 from $38.1 million at December 31, 2011. The decrease occurred despite a $4.7 million increase in non-accruals from the acquisition of Freestar Bank on December 30, 2011. Loans past due 90 days and still on accrual increased to $3.4 million compared to $2.0 million at December 31, 2011.

NON-INTEREST INCOME

Non-interest income of $39.5 million increased $6.2 million from the $33.3 million earned in 2011. Electronic banking fees and gains from the sale of mortgage loans were the primary drivers of this increase.

NON-INTEREST EXPENSES

Non-interest expenses increased to $93.1 million for 2012 from $75.2 million for 2011. The largest increase was in salaries and benefits at $ 10.8 million. Salaries increased $5.6 million while benefits increased $5.2 million. The salaries relate to the acquisition of Freestar and staffing for the four new branch locations acquired from the FDIC. Those were expenses not in the financial statement of previous years. The benefits expense increase of $5.2 million was primarily driven by an increase in pension expense of $3.3 million. The pension plan was frozen for most employees during 2012. Other expenses were up $4.9 million from 2011. Over $1 million of these were one-time costs associated with the acquisition and integration of Freestar Bank.

INCOME TAXES

The Corporation's federal income tax provision was $13.8 million in 2012 compared to a provision of $14.4 million in 2011. The overall effective tax rate in 2012 of 29.6% increased as compared to a 2011 effective rate of 27.9%.

COMPARISON OF 2011 TO 2010

Net income for 2011 was $37.2 million or $2.83 per share compared to $28.0 million in 2010 or $2.14 per share. This increase in net income was primarily driven by the improved net interest margin of 15 basis points from 4.35% to 4.50%.

Net interest income increased $2.6 million in 2011 compared to 2010 as total average interest-earning assets remained stable. This increase was primarily the result of the cost of funding declining at a faster pace than the decline in the earnings on earning assets. The provision for loan losses decreased $3.4 million from $9.2 million in 2010 to $5.8 million in 2011. Net non-interest income and expense decreased $5.6 million from 2010 to 2011. Non-interest expenses decreased $2.0 million while non-interest income increased $3.5 million. The increase in non-interest income resulted primarily from reduced impairment losses and lower non-interest expense resulted from reduced FDIC expense and reduced incentive expense.

The provision for income taxes increased $2.4 million from 2010 to 2011 and the effective tax rate decreased 2% in 2011 from 2010 as nontaxable income increased.

COMPARISON AND DISCUSSION OF 2012 BALANCE SHEET TO 2011

The Corporation's total assets decreased 2.0% or $58.7 million at December 31, 2012, from a year earlier. Available-for-sale securities increased $24.7 million at December 31, 2012, from the previous year. Loans, net of unearned income, decreased by $41.8 million to $1.85 billion. Deposits increased by $1.6 million while borrowings decreased by $86.2 million. Total shareholders' equity increased $25.2 million to $372.1 million at December 31, 2012. Net income was partially offset by higher dividends. There were also 49,825 shares from the treasury with a value of $1.44 million that were contributed to the ESOP plan in 2012 compared to 46,250 shares with a value of $1.56 million in 2011.

Following is an analysis of the components of the Corporation's balance sheet.

SECURITIES

The Corporation's investment strategy seeks to maximize income from the investment portfolio while using it as a risk management tool and ensuring safety of principal and capital. During 2012 the portfolio's balance increased by 3.7%. The average life of the portfolio increased from 4.0 years in 2011 to 4.2 years in 2012. The portfolio structure will continue to provide cash flows to be reinvested during 2013.

(1) Distribution of maturities is based on the estimated life of the asset.