FIRST OF LONG ISLAND CORP - Annual Report: 2015 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

___________

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

[X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

[   ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission file number 001-32964

(Exact Name Of Registrant As Specified In Its Charter)

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

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

(Title of class)

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 requirement 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 (§ 229.405) 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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

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

The aggregate market value of the Corporation’s voting common stock held by nonaffiliates as of June 30, 2015, the last business day of the Corporation’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $370,680,627. This value was computed by reference to the price at which the stock was last sold on June 30, 2015 and excludes $17,277,987 representing the market value of common stock beneficially owned by directors and executive officers of the registrant.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held April 19, 2016 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

The First of Long Island Corporation (“Registrant” or “Corporation”), a one-bank holding company, was incorporated on February 7, 1984, for the purpose of providing financial services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The First National Bank of Long Island (“Bank”).

The Bank was organized in 1927 as a national banking association under the laws of the United States of America. The Bank has two wholly owned subsidiaries: The First of Long Island Agency, Inc. (“Agency”), a licensed insurance agency under the laws of the State of New York; and FNY Service Corp., an investment company. The Bank and FNY Service Corp. jointly own another subsidiary, The First of Long Island REIT, Inc. (“REIT”), a real estate investment trust.

All of the financial operations of the Corporation are aggregated in one reportable operating segment. All revenues are attributed to and all long-lived assets are located in the United States.

The Bank’s revenues are derived principally from interest on loans and investment securities, service charges and fees on deposit accounts and income from investment management and trust services.

The Bank did not commence, abandon or significantly change any of its lines of business during 2015.

Markets Served and Products Offered

The Bank serves the financial needs of privately owned businesses, professionals, consumers, public bodies and other organizations primarily in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island, and the boroughs of New York City. The Bank’s head office is located in Glen Head, New York, and the Bank has thirty-one other full service branches, including a branch opened in February 2016, ten commercial banking offices and two select service banking centers. Included in these totals are two full service branches in Queens and two commercial banking offices in Manhattan. The Bank continues to evaluate potential new branch sites on Long Island and in the boroughs of New York City.

The Bank’s loan portfolio is primarily comprised of loans to borrowers on Long Island and in the boroughs of New York City, and its real estate loans are principally secured by properties located in those areas. The Bank’s investment securities portfolio is primarily comprised of direct obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies and highly rated obligations of states and political subdivisions. The Bank has an Investment Management Division that provides investment management, pension trust, personal trust, estate and custody services.

In addition to its loan and deposit products, the Bank offers other services to its customers including the following:

Competition

The Bank encounters substantial competition in its banking business from numerous other financial services organizations that have offices located in the communities served by the Bank. Principal competitors are money center, large regional and community banks located within the Bank’s market area, as well as mortgage brokers, brokerage firms and credit unions. The Bank competes for loans based on the quality of service it provides, loan structure, competitive pricing and branch locations, and competes for deposits by offering a high level of customer service, paying competitive rates and through the geographic distribution of its branch system.

Investment Activities

The investment policy of the Bank, as approved by the Board Asset Liability Committee (“BALCO”) and supervised by both the BALCO and the Management Investment Committee, is intended to promote investment practices which are both safe and sound and in full compliance with applicable regulations. Investment authority will be granted and amended as is necessary by the Board of Directors or BALCO.

The Bank's investment decisions seek to optimize income while keeping both credit and interest rate risk at acceptable levels, provide for the Bank's liquidity needs and provide securities that can be pledged, as needed, to secure deposits and borrowings.

The Bank’s investment policy generally limits individual maturities to twenty years and average lives on collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”) and other mortgage-backed securities to ten years. At the time of purchase, bonds of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated AA or better, notes of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated MIG-1 (or equivalent), commercial paper must be rated A-1 or P-1, and corporate bonds must be rated AA or better. In addition, management periodically reviews the creditworthiness of all securities in the Bank’s portfolio other than those issued by the U.S. government or its agencies. Any significant deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer will be analyzed and action will be taken if deemed appropriate.

At year-end 2015 and 2014, there were no holdings of securities of any one issuer, other than the U.S. government and its agencies, in an amount greater than 10% of stockholders’ equity.

At December 31, 2015, $445.2 million of the Corporation’s municipal securities were rated AA or better and $3.4 million were non-rated bonds issued by local municipalities. The Corporation’s pass-through mortgage securities portfolio at December 31, 2015 is comprised of $55.2 million, $91.3 million and $1.3 million of securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”), the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), respectively. Each issuer’s pass-through mortgage securities are backed by residential mortgages conforming to the issuer’s underwriting guidelines and each issuer guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on its securities. All of the Corporation’s CMOs were issued by GNMA and such securities are backed by GNMA residential pass-through mortgage securities. GNMA guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest on its CMOs and the underlying pass-through mortgage securities. Obligations of GNMA, a U.S. government agency, represent full faith and credit obligations of the U.S. government, while obligations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are U.S. government-sponsored agencies, do not.

The Bank has not engaged in the purchase and sale of securities for the primary purpose of producing trading profits and its current investment policy does not allow such activity. 

Lending Activities

General. The Bank’s lending is subject to written underwriting standards and loan origination procedures, as approved by the Board Loan Committee and contained in the Bank’s loan policies. The loan policies allow for exceptions and set forth specific exception approval requirements. Decisions on loan applications are based on, among other things, the borrower’s credit history, the financial strength of the borrower, estimates of the borrower’s ability to repay the loan and the value of the collateral, if any. All real estate appraisals must meet the requirements of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”), banking agency guidance and, for those loans in excess of $250,000, be reviewed by the Bank’s independent appraisal review function.

The Bank conducts its lending activities out of its main office in Glen Head, New York and its Suffolk County regional office in Hauppauge, New York. The Bank’s loan portfolio is primarily comprised of loans to small and medium-sized privately owned businesses, professionals and consumers on Long Island and in the boroughs of New York City. The Bank offers a full range of lending services including commercial and residential mortgage loans, home equity lines, commercial and industrial loans, small business credit scored loans, construction and land development loans, consumer loans and commercial and standby letters of credit. The Bank makes both fixed and variable rate loans. Variable rate loans are primarily tied to and reprice with changes in the prime interest rate of the Bank, the prime interest rate as published in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Treasury rates or the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York advance rates.

Residential mortgage loans in excess of $1.0 million and other loans in excess of $500,000 generally require the approval of the Management Loan Committee. Loans in excess of $10.0 million require the approval of two non-management members of the Board Loan Committee and those in excess of $15.0 million require the recommendation of the Management Loan Committee and the approval of a majority of the Board of Directors. If there has been no deterioration in risk rating, an existing credit facility over $15.0 million may be extended for twelve months or less with the approval of two non-management members of the Board Loan Committee. 

Commercial and Industrial Loans. Commercial and industrial loans include, among other things, short-term business loans and lines of credit; term and installment loans; loans secured by marketable securities, the cash surrender value of life insurance policies, deposit accounts or general business assets; and small business credit scored loans. The Bank makes commercial and industrial loans on a demand basis, short-term basis, or installment basis. Short-term business loans are generally due and payable within one year and should be self-liquidating during the normal course of the borrower’s business cycle. Lines of credit are reaffirmed annually and generally require an annual cleanup period. Term and installment loans are usually due and payable within five years. Generally, it is the policy of the Bank to request personal guarantees of principal owners on loans made to privately-owned businesses.

Small Business Credit Scored Loans. The Bank makes small business credit scored loans and issues VISA^® credit cards to businesses that generally have annual sales at the time of application of less than $2 million. Most of these loans are in the form of revolving credit lines and, depending on the type of business, the maximum amount generally ranges from $150,000 to $400,000. Others are installment loans made to finance business automobiles, trucks and equipment and can be secured by the asset financed and/or deposit accounts with the Bank. Both installment loans and revolving credit commitments generally have maturities up to sixty months. Business profile reports are used in conjunction with credit reports and FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) small business score cards for loan underwriting and decision making purposes. Credit and FICO small business risk scores enable the Bank to quickly and efficiently identify and approve loans to low-risk business applicants and decline loans to high-risk business applicants. Moderate risk applicants may require further evaluation before a decision to approve or decline is made. Outstanding balances on small business credit scored loans and business credit cards amounted to $10.4 million at December 31, 2015.

Real Estate Mortgage Loans and Home Equity Lines. The Bank makes residential and commercial mortgage loans and establishes home equity lines of credit. Applicants for residential mortgage loans and home equity lines will be considered for approval provided they have satisfactory credit history and collateral and the Bank believes that there is sufficient monthly income to service both the loan or line applied for and existing debt. Applicants for commercial mortgage loans will be considered for approval provided they, as well as any guarantors, have satisfactory credit history and can demonstrate, through financial statements and otherwise, the ability to repay. Commercial and residential mortgage loans are made with terms not in excess of thirty years. Fixed rate residential mortgage loans with terms greater than twenty years are generally not maintained in the Bank’s portfolio. Many of the residential mortgage loans made by the Bank in recent years reprice in five, seven or ten years and then every year thereafter. Commercial mortgage loans generally reprice within five years and home equity lines generally mature within ten years. Depending on the type of property, the Bank’s usual practice is to lend no more than 80% of appraised value on residential mortgage, home equity and commercial mortgage loans. The lending limitations with regard to appraised value are more stringent for loans on co-ops and condominiums.

In processing requests for commercial mortgage loans, the Bank generally requires an environmental assessment to identify the possibility of environmental contamination. The extent of the assessment procedures varies from property to property and is based on factors such as whether or not the subject property is an industrial building or has a suspected environmental risk based on current or past use.

Construction Loans. From time to time, the Bank makes loans to finance the construction of both residential and commercial properties. The maturity of such loans is generally one year or less and advances are made as the construction progresses. The advances can require the submission of bills by the contractor, verification by a Bank-approved inspector that the work has been performed, and title insurance updates to ensure that no intervening liens have been placed. Variable rate construction and land development loans are included in Commercial Mortgages on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and amounted to $900,000 at December 31, 2015.

Consumer Loans and Lines. The Bank makes auto loans, home improvement loans and other consumer loans, establishes revolving overdraft lines of credit and issues VISA^® credit cards. Consumer loans are generally made on an installment basis over terms not in excess of five years. In reviewing loans and lines for approval, the Bank considers, among other things, the borrower’s ability to repay, stability of employment and residence, and past credit history.

Sources of Funds

The Corporation’s primary sources of cash are deposits, maturities and amortization of loans and investment securities, operations and borrowings. The Corporation uses cash from these and other sources to fund loan growth, purchase investment securities, repay borrowings, expand and improve its physical facilities, pay cash dividends and for general operating purposes.

The Bank offers checking and interest-bearing deposit products. In addition to business and small business checking, the Bank has a variety of personal checking products that differ in minimum balance requirements, monthly maintenance fees, and per check charges, if any. The interest-bearing deposit products, which have a wide range of interest rates and terms, consist of checking accounts, which include negotiable order of withdrawal (“NOW”) accounts and IOLA, escrow service accounts, rent security accounts, a variety of personal and nonpersonal money market accounts, a variety of personal and nonpersonal savings products, time deposits, holiday club accounts, and a variety of individual retirement accounts.

The Bank relies primarily on customer service, calling programs, lending relationships, referral sources, competitive pricing and advertising to attract and retain local deposits. The flow of deposits is influenced by general economic conditions, changes in interest rates and competition.

Employees

As of December 31, 2015, the Bank had 302 full-time equivalent employees and considers employee relations to be good. Employees of the Bank are not represented by a collective bargaining unit.

Supervision and Regulation

General. The banking industry is highly regulated. Statutory and regulatory controls are designed primarily for the protection of depositors and the banking system, and not for the purpose of protecting shareholders. The following discussion is not intended to be a complete list of all the activities regulated by banking laws or of the impact of such laws and regulations on the Corporation and the Bank. Changes in applicable laws or regulations, and in their interpretation and application by regulatory agencies, cannot be predicted, but may have a material effect on our business and results of operations.

As a registered bank holding company, the Corporation is regulated under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (“BHC Act”), and subject to inspection, examination and supervision by the Federal Reserve Board. In general, the BHC Act limits the business of bank holding companies to banking, managing or controlling banks, performing servicing activities for subsidiaries, and engaging in activities that the Federal Reserve has determined, by order or regulation, are so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto under the BHC Act. The Corporation is also subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our common stock is listed on the Capital Market tier of the NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”) under the symbol “FLIC” and is subject to NASDAQ rules for listed companies.

As a national bank, the Bank is subject to regulation and examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), as well as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Insured banks, such as the Bank, are subject to extensive regulation of many aspects of their businesses. These regulations relate to, among other things: (i) the nature and amount of loans that may be made by the Bank and the rates of interest that may be charged; (ii) types and amounts of other investments; (iii) branching; (iv) permissible activities; (v) reserve requirements; and (vi) dealings with officers, directors and affiliates.

The Dodd-Frank Act made extensive changes in the regulation of depository institutions and their holding companies. Certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are having an impact on the Corporation and the Bank. For example, the Dodd-Frank Act created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) as an independent bureau of the Federal Reserve Board. The CFPB has assumed responsibility for the implementation of the federal financial consumer protection and fair lending laws and regulations, a function previously assigned to principal federal banking regulators, and has authority to impose new requirements. However, institutions of less than $10 billion in assets, such as the Bank, will continue to be examined for compliance with consumer protection and fair lending laws and regulations by, and be subject to the enforcement authority of, their primary federal regulator, although the CFPB has limited back-up authority to examine such institutions.

Bank Holding Company Regulation. The BHC Act requires the prior approval of the Federal Reserve Board for the acquisition by a bank holding company of 5% or more of the voting stock or substantially all of the assets of any bank or bank holding company. Also, under the BHC Act, bank holding companies are prohibited, with certain exceptions, from engaging in, or from acquiring 5% or more of the voting stock of any company engaging in, activities other than (i) banking or managing or controlling banks, (ii) furnishing services to or performing services for their subsidiaries or (iii) activities that the Federal Reserve Board has determined to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto.

Payment of Dividends. The principal source of the Corporation’s liquidity is dividends from the Bank. The prior approval of the OCC is required if the total of all dividends declared by a national bank in any calendar year would exceed the sum of the bank’s net profits for that year and its retained net profits for the preceding two calendar years, less any required transfers to surplus. Under the foregoing dividend restrictions, and while maintaining its “well-capitalized” status and absent affirmative governmental approvals, during 2016 the Bank could declare dividends to the Corporation of approximately $37.6 million plus any 2016 net profits retained to the date of the dividend declaration.

In addition, the Corporation and the Bank are subject to other regulatory policies and requirements relating to the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain adequate capital above regulatory minimum capital levels. The Federal Reserve Board is authorized to determine under certain circumstances relating to the financial condition of a bank holding company or a bank that the payment of dividends would be an unsafe or unsound practice and to prohibit payment thereof. Federal Reserve guidance sets forth the supervisory expectation that bank holding companies will inform and consult with Federal Reserve staff in advance of declaring a dividend that exceeds earnings for the quarter and should inform the Federal Reserve and should eliminate, defer or significantly reduce dividends if (i) net income available to shareholders for the past four quarters, net of dividends previously paid during that period, is not sufficient to fully fund the dividends, (ii) the prospective rate of earnings retention is not consistent with the bank holding company’s capital needs and overall current and prospective financial condition, or (iii) the bank holding company will not meet, or is in danger of not meeting, its minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratios.

Transactions with Affiliates. Federal laws strictly limit the ability of banks to engage in transactions with their affiliates, including their bank holding companies. Regulations promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board limit the types and amounts of these transactions (including loans due and extensions of credit from their U.S. bank subsidiaries) that may take place and generally require those transactions to be on an arm’s-length basis. In general, these regulations require that any “covered transactions” between a subsidiary bank and its parent company or the nonbank subsidiaries of the bank holding company be limited to 10% of the bank subsidiary’s capital and surplus and, with respect to such parent company and all such nonbank subsidiaries, to an aggregate of 20% of the bank subsidiary’s capital and surplus. Further, loans and extensions of credit to affiliates generally are required to be secured by eligible collateral in specified amounts.

Source of Strength Doctrine. Federal Reserve policy has historically required bank holding companies to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to their subsidiary banks. The Dodd-Frank Act codifies this policy as a statutory requirement. Under this requirement, the Corporation is expected to commit resources to support the Bank, including at times when the Corporation may not be in a financial position to provide such resources. Any capital loans by a bank holding company to any of its subsidiary banks are subordinate in right of payment to depositors and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary banks. In the event of a bank holding company’s bankruptcy, any commitment by the bank holding company to a Federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of a subsidiary bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment.

Capital Requirements. As a bank holding company, the Corporation is subject to consolidated regulatory capital requirements administered by the Federal Reserve. The Bank is subject to similar capital requirements administered by the OCC.

On January 1, 2015, the Corporation and the Bank implemented the Basel III regulatory capital standards (“Basel III” or “final rule”) issued by the Federal Reserve Board and the OCC. Under the Basel III capital requirements, the Corporation and the Bank are required to maintain minimum ratios of capital to assets as follows: 4.00% for Tier 1 Capital to average assets, 4.50% for Common Equity Tier 1 Capital to risk weighted assets, 6.00% for Tier 1 Capital to risk weighted assets and 8.00% for Total Capital to risk weighted assets. Common Equity Tier 1 Capital, Tier 1 Capital, Total Capital, risk weighted assets and average assets are defined in the Basel III rules. Failure to meet the minimum capital requirements can result in certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by the regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the financial statements of the Corporation and Bank. The Corporation and the Bank exceeded the Basel III minimum capital adequacy requirements at December 31, 2015.

The final rule also phases-in a capital conservation buffer from 2016 through 2019. The capital conservation buffer must be maintained in order for a banking organization to avoid being subject to limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments, and discretionary bonus payments to executive officers. The capital ratio phase-in schedule, including the capital conservation buffer, for banks with $250 billion or less in total assets is as follows:

Prompt Corrective Action Regulations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended (“FDIA”), requires among other things, the Federal banking agencies to take “prompt corrective action” in respect of banks that do not meet minimum capital requirements. The FDIA sets forth the following five capital tiers for purposes of implementing the prompt corrective action (“PCA”) regulations: “well-capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized.” The PCA thresholds established by Basel III for each of the capital tiers is as follows:

The Bank was well capitalized under the Basel III PCA thresholds at December 31, 2015.

Deposit Insurance. The FDIC imposes an assessment on financial institutions for deposit insurance. The assessment is based on the risk category of the institution, the institution’s average total assets and average tangible equity. The FDIC periodically adjusts the deposit insurance assessment rates, which may raise or lower the cost to an institution of maintaining FDIC insurance coverage.

The FDIC may terminate the insurance of an institution’s deposits upon a finding that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC. Management is not aware of any practice, condition or violation that might lead to termination of the Bank’s deposit insurance.

Safety and Soundness Standards. The FDIA requires the Federal bank regulatory agencies to prescribe standards, through regulations or guidelines, relating to internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate risk exposure, asset growth, asset quality, earnings, stock valuation and compensation, fees and benefits, and such other operational and managerial standards as the agencies deem appropriate. Guidelines adopted by the Federal bank regulatory agencies establish general standards relating to internal controls and information systems, internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth and compensation, fees and benefits. In general, the guidelines require, among other things, appropriate systems and practices to identify and manage the risk and exposures specified in the guidelines. The guidelines prohibit excessive compensation as an unsafe and unsound practice and describe compensation as excessive when the amounts paid are unreasonable or disproportionate to the services performed by an executive officer, employee, director or principal stockholder. In addition, the agencies adopted regulations that authorize, but do not require, an agency to order an institution that has been given notice by an agency that it is not satisfying one or more of the safety and soundness standards to submit a compliance plan. If, after being so notified, an institution fails to submit an acceptable compliance plan or fails in any material respect to implement an acceptable compliance plan, the agency must issue an order directing action to correct the deficiency and may issue an order directing other actions of the types to which an undercapitalized institution is subject under the PCA provisions of the FDIA. If an institution fails to comply with such an order, the agency may seek to enforce such order in judicial proceedings and to impose civil money penalties.

Community Reinvestment Act and Fair Lending Laws. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (“CRA”) requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas consistent with safe and sound banking practice. Under the CRA, each depository institution is required to help meet the credit needs of its market areas by, among other things, providing credit to low and moderate income individuals and communities. Depository institutions are periodically examined for compliance with the CRA and are assigned ratings. Banking regulators take into account CRA ratings when considering approval of proposed acquisition transactions. Our Bank received a “Satisfactory” CRA rating on its most recent Federal examination. The Bank and the Corporation are firmly committed to the practice of fair lending and maintaining strict adherence to all federal and state fair lending laws which prohibit discriminatory lending practices.

Federal Home Loan Bank System. The Bank is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (“FHLB System”), which consists of 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (each a “FHLB”). The FHLB System provides a central credit facility primarily for member banks. As a member of the FHLB of New York, the Bank is required to acquire and hold shares of capital stock in the FHLB in an amount equal to 4.5% of its borrowings from the FHLB plus 0.15% of the total principal amount at the beginning of the year of the Bank’s unpaid residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, home equity loans, CMOs, and other similar obligations. At December 31, 2015, the Bank was in compliance with the FHLB’s capital stock ownership requirement.

Financial Privacy. Federal regulations require the Bank to disclose its privacy policy, including identifying with whom it shares “nonpublic personal information,” to its customers at the time the customer establishes a relationship with the Bank and annually thereafter. In addition, we are required to provide our customers with the ability to “opt-out” of having the Bank share their nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties before we can disclose that information, subject to certain exceptions.

The Federal banking agencies adopted guidelines establishing standards for safeguarding our customer information. The guidelines describe the agencies’ expectation that regulated entities create, implement and maintain an information security program, which would include administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the size and complexity and the nature and scope of our activities. The standards set forth in the guidelines are intended to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer records and information, protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of customer records, and protect against unauthorized access to records or information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to customers. Additionally, the guidance states that banks, such as the Bank, should develop and implement a response program to address security breaches involving customer information, including customer notification procedures. The Bank has developed such a program.

Anti-Money Laundering and the USA PATRIOT Act. A major focus of governmental policy on financial institutions in recent years has been aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (“Patriot Act”) substantially broadened the scope of United States anti-money laundering laws and regulations by imposing significant new compliance and due diligence obligations, creating new crimes and penalties and expanding the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The United States Treasury Department (“Treasury”) has issued and, in some cases, proposed a number of regulations that apply various requirements of the Patriot Act to financial institutions such as the Bank. These regulations impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing and to verify the identity of their customers. Certain of those regulations impose specific due diligence requirements on financial institutions that maintain correspondent or private banking relationships with non-U.S. financial institutions or persons. Failure of a financial institution to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal, financial and reputational consequences for the institution. The Bank and the Corporation are firmly committed to maintaining strong policies, procedures and controls to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws and regulations and to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (“FACT Act”) includes many provisions concerning national credit reporting standards, and permits consumers to opt out of information sharing among affiliated companies for marketing purposes. The FACT Act also requires the Bank to notify its customers if it reports negative information about them to credit bureaus or if the credit that the Bank grants to them is on less favorable terms than are generally available. The Bank also must comply with guidelines established by the Federal banking regulators to help detect identity theft.

Legislative Initiatives and Regulatory Reform. From time to time, various legislative and regulatory initiatives are introduced in Congress and state legislatures, as well as by regulatory agencies. Such initiatives may include proposals to expand or contract the powers of bank holding companies and depository institutions or proposals to change substantially the financial institution regulatory system. Such legislation could change banking statutes and the operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways. If enacted, such legislation could increase or decrease the cost of doing business, limit or expand permissible activities or affect the competitive balance among banks, savings associations, credit unions and other financial institutions. The Corporation cannot predict whether any such legislation will be enacted, and, if enacted, the effect that it, or any implementing regulations, would have on our financial condition or results of operations. A change in statutes, regulations or regulatory policies applicable to the Corporation could have a material effect on our business.

Availability of Reports

The Bank maintains a website at www.fnbli.com. The Corporation’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available free of charge through the Bank’s website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. To access these reports go to the homepage of the Bank’s website and click on “Investor Relations,” then click on “SEC Filings,” and then click on “Corporate SEC Filings.” This will bring you to a listing of the Corporation’s reports maintained on the SEC’s EDGAR website. You can then click on any report to view its contents.

You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. You should call 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information on the public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

The Corporation is exposed to a variety of risks, some of which are inherent in the banking business. The more significant of these are addressed by the Corporation’s written policies and procedures. While management is responsible for identifying, assessing and managing risk, the Board of Directors is responsible for risk oversight. The Board fulfills its risk oversight responsibilities largely through its committees. The risks faced by the Corporation include, among others, credit risk, allowance for loan loss risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, market risk for its common stock, economic conditions risk, operational risk, technology risk, key personnel risk, regulatory and legislative risk, income tax risk, external events risk and competitive risk. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Corporation, or that the Corporation currently deems to be immaterial, could also have a material impact on the Corporation’s business, financial condition, or results of operations.

Credit Risk 

For investment securities, loans and bank-owned life insurance, there is always the risk that the Bank will be unable to realize their full carrying value. Credit risk in the Bank’s securities and bank-owned life insurance portfolios has been addressed by adopting a board committee approved investment policy that, among other things, limits terms, types and amounts of holdings, and specifies minimum required credit ratings. Allowable investments include direct obligations of the U.S. government and its agencies, highly rated obligations of states and political subdivisions, highly rated corporate obligations and bank-owned life insurance policies issued by highly rated insurance carriers. At the time of purchase, bonds of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated AA or better, notes of states and political subdivisions must generally be rated MIG-1 (or equivalent), commercial paper must be rated A-1 or P-1, and corporate bonds must be rated AA or better. Bank-owned life insurance may only be purchased from insurance carriers rated A or better. For carriers rated AA or better, cash surrender value is limited to 15% of Tier 1 Capital, and for those carriers rated below AA, the limitation is 10% of Tier 1 Capital. Management periodically reviews the creditworthiness of all securities in the Bank’s portfolio other than those issued by the U.S. government or its agencies, and all bank-owned life insurance carriers. Any significant deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer or carrier will be analyzed and action taken if deemed appropriate.

Credit risk in the Bank’s loan portfolio has been addressed by adopting a board committee approved loan policy and by maintaining independent loan and appraisal review functions and an independent credit department. The loan policy contains what the Corporation believes to be prudent underwriting guidelines, which include, among other things, specific loan approval requirements, maximum loan terms, loan to appraised value and debt service coverage limits for mortgage loans, credit score minimums and environmental study requirements.

The credit risk within the Bank’s loan portfolio primarily stems from factors such as borrower size, geographic concentration, industry concentration, real estate values, local and national economic conditions and environmental contamination. The Bank’s commercial loans, including those secured by mortgages, are primarily made to small and medium-sized businesses. Such loans sometimes involve a higher degree of risk than those to larger companies because such businesses may have shorter operating histories, higher debt-to-equity ratios and may lack sophistication in internal record keeping and financial and operational controls. In addition, most of the Bank’s loans are made to businesses and consumers on Long Island and in the boroughs of New York City, and a large percentage of these loans are mortgage loans secured by properties located in those areas. At December 31, 2015, multifamily loans amounted to approximately $572 million and comprised approximately 55% of the Bank’s total commercial mortgage portfolio and approximately 27% of the Bank’s total loans secured by real estate. The primary source of repayment for multifamily loans is cash flows from the underlying properties, a substantial portion of which are rent stabilized or rent controlled. Such cash flows are dependent on the strength of the local economy.

Although the economy has improved somewhat, national and local economic conditions continue to be suboptimal. These conditions have caused some of the Bank’s borrowers to be unable to make the required contractual payments on their loans and could cause the Bank to be unable to realize the full carrying value of such loans through its collection efforts. Environmental impairment of properties securing mortgage loans is also a risk. However, at the present time, the Bank is not aware of any existing loans in the portfolio where there is environmental pollution originating on or near the mortgaged properties that would materially affect the value of the portfolio.

Allowance for Loan Loss Risk 

The Bank maintains an allowance for loan losses in an amount believed to be adequate to absorb probable incurred losses in its loan portfolio. The maintenance of the allowance for loan losses is governed by a board committee approved allowance for loan and lease losses policy. In arriving at the allowance for loan losses, an impairment analysis is performed on each loan where it is probable that the borrower will not be able to make all required principal and interest payments according to contractual terms. In addition, incurred losses for all other loans in the Bank’s portfolio are determined on a pooled basis taking into account, among other things, historical loss experience, delinquencies, economic conditions, trends in nature and volume of loans, concentrations of credit, changes in lending policies and procedures, experience, ability and depth of lending staff, changes in quality of the loan review function, environmental risks and loan risk ratings. Because estimating the allowance for loan losses is highly subjective in nature and involves a variety of estimates and assumptions that are inherently uncertain, there is the risk that management’s estimate may not accurately capture probable incurred losses in the loan portfolio. The Bank’s allowance may need to be increased based on, among other things, additional information that comes to light after the estimate is made, changes in circumstances, a recommendation by bank regulators based on their review of the Bank’s loan portfolio or the issuance of new accounting standards, such as the finalization and implementation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Proposed Accounting Standards Update 2012-260 – “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses.” The impact of one or more of these factors on the Bank’s allowance could result in the need for a significant increase in the Bank’s provision for loan losses and have a material adverse impact on the Bank’s financial condition and results of operations.

Interest Rate Risk

The Bank’s results of operations are subject to risk resulting from interest rate fluctuations generally and having assets and liabilities that have different maturity, repricing and prepayment/withdrawal characteristics. The Bank defines interest rate risk as the risk that the Bank's net interest income and/or economic value of equity (“EVE”) will change when interest rates change. The Bank has addressed interest rate risk by adopting a board committee approved interest rate risk policy which sets forth quantitative risk limits and calls for monitoring and controlling interest rate risk through a variety of techniques including the use of interest rate sensitivity models and traditional repricing gap analysis. Management utilizes a consultant with expertise in bank asset liability management to aid them in these efforts.

A sustained period of low interest rates could adversely affect the Bank’s earnings. When interest rates are low, as they currently are, borrowers tend to refinance higher rate loans at lower rates and prepayments on mortgages and mortgage securities are elevated. Under those circumstances, the Bank may not be able to reinvest the resulting cash flows in new interest-earning assets with rates as favorable as those on the prepaid loans or investment securities. In addition, subject to the floors contained in many of the Bank’s loan agreements, the Bank’s loans at variable interest rates adjust to lower rates at their reset dates. The positive impact of lower interest rates on the Bank’s cost of funds is currently constrained because many of the Bank’s deposit products are at historically low rates with little if any room for further reductions, and because the Bank funds a significant portion of its average interest-earning assets with noninterest bearing checking deposits and capital.

Increases in the federal funds target rate could exert upward pressure on non-maturity deposit liability rates. In a period of rising interest rates, the Bank’s loans and investment securities could reprice slower than its interest-bearing liabilities, which could initially have a negative effect on net interest income. Over a longer period of time, the effect on the Bank’s earnings should be positive primarily because with the passage of time more loans and investment securities will reprice at the higher rates and there will be no offsetting increase in interest expense for those interest-earning assets funded by noninterest-bearing checking deposits and capital.

Liquidity Risk 

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Bank will not have sufficient funds to accommodate loan growth, meet deposit outflows or make contractual payments on borrowing arrangements. The Bank has addressed liquidity risk by adopting a board committee approved Liquidity Policy and Liquidity Contingency Plan that set forth quantitative risk limits and a protocol for responding to liquidity stress conditions should they arise. The Bank encounters significant competition in its market area from branches of larger banks, various community banks, credit unions and other financial services organizations. This, in addition to renewed consumer confidence in the equity markets, could cause deposit outflows, and such outflows could be significant.

The Bank has both internal and external sources of liquidity that can be used to fund loan growth and accommodate deposit outflows. The Bank’s primary internal sources of liquidity are overnight investments, investment securities designated as available-for-sale, maturities and monthly payments on its investment securities and loan portfolios and operations.

The Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (“FRB”) and the FHLB of New York, has repurchase agreements in place with a number of brokerage firms and commercial banks and has a federal funds line with a commercial bank. In addition to customer deposits, the Bank’s primary external sources of liquidity are secured borrowings from the FRB, FHLB of New York and repurchase agreement counterparties. In addition, the Bank can purchase overnight federal funds under its existing line. However, the Bank’s FRB membership, FHLB of New York membership, repurchase agreements and federal funds lines do not represent legal commitments to extend credit to the Bank. The amount that the Bank can potentially borrow is currently dependent on, among other things, the amount of unencumbered eligible securities and loans that the Bank can use as collateral and the collateral margins required by the lenders.

Market Risk for the Corporation’s Common Stock

The Corporation’s common stock is included in the Russell 3000 and Russell 2000 Indexes, which are reconstituted annually. Upon reconstitution in May 2015, the average market capitalization of companies in the Russell 2000 Index was $1.9 billion, the median market capitalization was $805 million, the capitalization of the largest company in the index was $4.3 billion and the capitalization of the smallest company in the index was $177 million. The Corporation’s market capitalization on December 31, 2015 was approximately $424 million. The Corporation believes that inclusion in the Russell indexes has positively impacted the price, trading volume and liquidity of its common stock. Conversely, if the Corporation’s market capitalization falls below the minimum necessary to be included in the indexes at any future reconstitution date, the opposite could occur.

Economic Conditions Risk

Although the economy has improved somewhat, national and local economic conditions continue to show signs of weakness. This poses risks to both the Corporation’s business and the banking industry as a whole. Specific risks include reduced loan demand from quality borrowers; increased competition for loans; increased loan loss provisions resulting from deterioration in loan quality; reduced net interest income and net interest margin caused by a sustained period of low interest rates; interest rate volatility; price competition for deposits due to liquidity concerns or otherwise; volatile equity markets; and higher cost to attract capital to support growth.

In addition to the significant risks posed by unfavorable economic conditions, the Corporation could experience deposit outflows as national and local economic conditions improve and investors pursue alternative investment opportunities.

Operational Risk 

The Corporation relies on its system of internal controls and the internal controls of its third-party service providers (“TPSPs”) to ensure that transactions are captured, recorded, processed and reported properly; confidential customer information is safeguarded; and fraud by employees and persons outside the Corporation is detected and prevented. The Corporation’s internal controls and/or those of its TPSPs may prove to be ineffective or employees of the Corporation and/or its TPSPs may fail to comply with or override the controls, either of which could result in significant financial loss to the Corporation, adverse action by bank regulatory authorities or the SEC and damage to the Corporation’s reputation.

Technology Risk

The delivery of financial products and services has increasingly become technology-driven. The Bank’s ability to competitively meet the needs of its customers in a cost-efficient manner is dependent on its ability to keep pace with technological advances and to invest in new technology as it becomes available. The ability to keep pace with technological change is important, and failure to do so could have a material adverse impact on the Corporation’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the Bank outsources most of its data processing to TPSPs. If TPSPs encounter difficulties, or if the Bank has difficulty communicating with them, the Bank’s ability to adequately process and account for customer transactions could be affected, and the Bank’s business operations could be adversely impacted. Threats to information security also exist in the processing of customer information through TPSPs. The Bank’s website and online banking products have been the target of cyber attacks in the past. While the Bank and its TPSPs believe they have successfully blocked attempts to infiltrate the Bank’s systems, there is always the possibility that successful attacks have not yet been identified.

The Bank has established board committee approved policies to prevent or limit the impact of systems failures, interruptions and security breaches and relies on commonly used security and processing systems to provide the security and authentication necessary for the processing of data. The Bank makes use of logon and user access controls, multifactor and out of band authentication, transaction limits, firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion protection monitoring, vulnerability scans and independent penetration testing. System failures or interruptions are addressed in the Bank’s emergency and disaster recovery policy and its incident response and business continuity plans. In addition, for TPSPs of data processing and other significant services, the Bank obtains and reviews audit reports prepared by independent registered public accounting firms regarding their financial condition and the effectiveness of their internal controls.

These precautions may not protect our systems from all compromises or breaches of security and there can be no assurance that such events will not occur or that they will be adequately addressed if they do. The Bank carries a cyber liability insurance policy to mitigate the amount of any financial loss. However, the occurrence of any systems failure, interruption or breach of security could damage the Bank’s reputation and result in a loss of customers and business, could subject the Bank to additional regulatory scrutiny, or could expose the Bank to civil litigation and possible financial liability beyond any insurance coverage. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.

Key Personnel Risk

The Corporation’s future success depends in part on the continued service of its executive officers and other key members of management and its staff, as well as its ability to continue to attract, motivate and retain additional highly qualified employees. The loss of services of key personnel could have an adverse effect on the Bank’s business, operating results and financial condition because their skills, knowledge of the Bank’s market and years of industry experience may be difficult to replace.

Regulatory and Legislative Risk

The Corporation and the Bank are subject to regulation, supervision and examination by, among others, the Federal Reserve Board, OCC and FDIC, which also insures the Bank’s deposits. Regulation and supervision govern the activities in which a bank and its holding company may engage and are intended primarily for the protection of depositors. Regulatory requirements affect virtually all aspects of the Corporation’s and the Bank’s business, including investment practices, lending practices, deposit offerings and capital levels. The regulators have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities, including imposing restrictions on bank operations and expansion plans, imposing deposit insurance premiums and other assessments, setting required levels for the allowance for loan losses and capital, and imposing restrictions on the ability to pay cash dividends and other capital distributions to stockholders. Changes in laws, regulations and supervisory guidance, or the Corporation’s and the Bank’s compliance with these laws and regulations as judged by the regulators, could have a significant negative impact on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations. The Corporation manages the risk of noncompliance with laws and regulations by having board committee approved compliance policies, hiring and retaining employees with the experience and skills necessary to address compliance on an ongoing basis, and consulting, when necessary with legal counsel and other outside experts on compliance matters.

Income Tax Risk

The Corporation is subject to income tax under Federal, New York State and New York City laws and regulations. Changes in such laws and regulations, including laws and regulations associated with having a captive REIT, could increase the Corporation’s tax burden and such increase could have a material negative impact on its results of operations.

External Events Risk – Weather and Terrorism

Weather-related events have adversely impacted our market area, especially areas located near coastal waters and flood prone areas. Significant flooding and other storm-related damage may become more common in the future. Financial institutions have been, and continue to be, targets of terrorist threats aimed at compromising operating and communication systems, and the metropolitan New York area remains a central target for potential acts of terrorism. Weather-related and terrorist events could cause significant damage, impact the stability of our facilities and result in additional operating expenses, impair the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans, reduce the value of collateral securing repayment of our loans and result in the loss of revenue. While we have established and regularly test disaster recovery procedures, the occurrence of any such event could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.    

Competitive Risk

Competition in the banking and financial services industry is intense. In our market area, we compete with numerous commercial banks, savings institutions, mortgage brokers, credit unions, finance companies, mutual funds, insurance companies and brokerage and investment banking firms operating locally and elsewhere. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources and lending limits than we have and have greater name recognition and market presence that benefit them in attracting business. In addition, large competitors may be able to price loans and deposits more aggressively than we do. Competitive forces may limit our ability to increase our interest-earning assets. Our profitability depends upon our continued ability to successfully compete in our market area. For additional information see “Item 1 – Business – Competition.”

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None. 

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The Corporation neither owns nor leases any real estate. Office facilities of the Corporation and the Bank’s main office are located at 10 Glen Head Road, Glen Head, New York in a building owned by the Bank.

As of December 31, 2015, the Bank owns a total of twenty-one buildings in fee simple and leases thirty-one other facilities, all of which are in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island and the New York City boroughs of Queens and Manhattan. The Corporation believes that the physical facilities of the Bank are suitable and adequate at present and are being fully utilized.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

In the ordinary course of business, the Corporation is party to various legal actions which are incidental to the operation of its business. Although the ultimate outcome and amount of liability, if any, with respect to these legal actions cannot presently be ascertained with certainty, in the opinion of management, based upon information currently available to us, any resulting liability is believed to be immaterial to the Corporation's consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASE OF EQUITY SECURITIES

The Corporation’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market tier of the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “FLIC.” At December 31, 2015, there were 661 stockholders of record of the Corporation’s Common Stock. The number of stockholders of record includes banks and brokers who act as nominees, each of whom may represent more than one stockholder. The following table sets forth high and low sales prices and dividends declared, by quarter, for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Performance Graph

The following performance graph compares the Corporation's total stockholder return with the NASDAQ U.S. Benchmark and NASDAQ Banks Supersector Indexes over a 5-year measurement period assuming $100 invested on January 1, 2011, and dividends reinvested in the Corporation’s stock.

Issuer Purchase of Equity Securities

The Corporation did not repurchase any shares of its own common stock in the fourth quarter of 2015.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA          

The following is selected consolidated financial data for the past five years. This data should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes.

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

Overview – 2015 Versus 2014

Analysis of 2015 Earnings. Net income and earnings per share for 2015 were $25.9 million and $1.83, respectively, representing increases of 12.5% and 10.9%, respectively, over the comparable 2014 amounts. Dividends per share increased 8.3% from $.72 for 2014 to $.78 for 2015. Returns on average assets and average equity for 2015 were .89% and 10.64%, respectively, as compared to .92% and 10.25%, respectively, for 2014.

Net income for 2015 increased $2.9 million over 2014. The increase is attributable to increases in net interest income of $8.7 million, or 13.0%, and noninterest income, before securities gains, of $174,000, or 2.4%. The positive impact of these items on earnings was partially offset by an increase in noninterest expense, before debt extinguishment costs, of $3.6 million, or 8.5%, and increases in the provision for loan losses and income tax expense of $1.1 million and $1.4 million, respectively.

The increase in net interest income was driven by growth in average interest-earning assets of $365.6 million, or 15.0%, as partially offset by a 9 basis point decline in net interest margin. The growth in average interest-earning assets is primarily comprised of growth in the average balances of loans of $406.6 million, or 25.7%, and nontaxable securities of $23.9 million, or 5.8%, partially offset by a decrease in the average balance of taxable securities of $68.8 million, or 16.2%. The growth in the average balance of loans includes growth in commercial and industrial loans of $11.3 million, or 14.8%, a large portion of which resulted from the Bank’s small business credit scored loan initiative. The shift from taxable securities to better yielding loans and nontaxable securities partially mitigated the negative impact on net interest income of a low interest rate environment. The growth in loans and nontaxable securities, to the extent not funded by the decline in taxable securities, was funded by growth in the average balances of noninterest-bearing checking deposits of $99.0 million, or 15.5%, interest-bearing deposits of $194.7 million, or 15.1%, and long-term debt of $64.5 million, or 21.5%. The increase in long-term debt resulted from management’s desire to reduce the impact that an eventual increase in interest rates could have on the Bank’s earnings. Net interest margin declined from 3.03% in 2014 to 2.94% in 2015 as loans were repriced and cash flows were deployed in a low interest rate environment.

The $174,000 increase in noninterest income before securities gains is primarily attributable to real estate and sales tax refunds in 2015 and increases in merchant services income and cash value accretion on bank-owned life insurance. The impact of these items was partially offset by a decrease in service charges on deposit accounts and a net gain during 2014 on the sale of loans held-for-sale. The $3.6 million increase in noninterest expense before debt extinguishment costs is primarily attributable to increases in salaries and employee benefits expense, a growth-related increase in the combined amount of the Bank’s FDIC insurance expense and OCC assessment and a one-time charge resulting from the termination of certain network and communication-related contracts. The impact of these items was partially offset by a decrease in occupancy and equipment expense. The increase in income tax expense is attributable to an increase in pretax earnings and changes in New York City income tax law effective January 1, 2015, partially offset by changes in New York State tax law also effective January 1, 2015.

Analysis of Fourth Quarter 2015 Earnings. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $6.6 million, an increase of 21.2% over $5.5 million earned in the same quarter of 2014. Earnings per share was $.46 for the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of 17.9% over $.39 for the same quarter of 2014. The increase in net income is primarily attributable to an increase in net interest income of $3.1 million, or 18.2%, net gains on sales of securities of $191,000 and a decrease in occupancy and equipment expense of $274,000. The positive impact on earnings of these items was partially offset by increases in salaries of $143,000, employee benefits expense of $395,000, other noninterest expense of $257,000, the provision for loan losses of $870,000 and income tax expense of $751,000. The increases in net interest income, salaries, employee benefits expense, other noninterest expense and income tax expense and the decrease in occupancy and equipment expense occurred for substantially the same reasons discussed with respect to the full year periods. The increase in the provision for loan losses was primarily attributable to the fact that the fourth quarter of 2014 included a decline in average annualized historical losses and an improvement in economic conditions.

Asset Quality. The Bank’s allowance for loan losses to total loans (reserve coverage ratio) decreased by 8 basis points from 1.29% at year-end 2014 to 1.21% at December 31, 2015. The decrease in the reserve coverage ratio is primarily due to a continued improvement in economic conditions, partially offset by an increase in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired.

The credit quality of the Bank’s loan portfolio remains excellent. Nonaccrual loans, including loans held-for-sale, amounted to $1.4 million, or .06% of total loans outstanding, at December 31, 2015, compared to $1.7 million, or .09%, at December 31, 2014. The decrease in nonaccrual loans is primarily attributable to paydowns and loan sales. Troubled debt restructurings increased $2.5 million during 2015 to $4.5 million at year end. Of this amount, $3.6 million are performing in accordance with their modified terms and $900,000 are nonaccrual and included in the aforementioned amount of nonaccrual loans. Loans past due 30 through 89 days amounted to $1.0 million, or .04% of total loans outstanding, at December 31, 2015, compared to $2.2 million, or .12%, at December 31, 2014. Management does not believe that the increase in troubled debt restructurings is indicative of deterioration in the overall credit quality of the Bank’s loan portfolio as the increase was attributed to one lending relationship.

The credit quality of the Bank’s securities portfolio also remains excellent. The Bank’s mortgage securities are backed by mortgages underwritten on conventional terms, with 69% of these securities being full faith and credit obligations of the U.S. government and the balance being obligations of U.S. government sponsored entities. The remainder of the Bank’s securities portfolio principally consists of high quality, general obligation municipal securities rated AA or better by major rating agencies. In selecting municipal securities for purchase, the Bank uses credit agency ratings for screening purposes only and then performs its own credit analysis. On an ongoing basis, the Bank periodically assesses the credit strength of the municipal securities in its portfolio and makes decisions to hold or sell based on such assessments.

Key Strategic Initiatives. Key strategic initiatives will continue to include loan and deposit growth through effective relationship management, targeted solicitation efforts, new product offerings and continued expansion of the Bank’s branch distribution system. With respect to loan growth, the Bank plans to continue to prudently manage concentration risk and further develop its broker and correspondent relationships. All loans originated through such relationships are underwritten by Bank personnel. The Bank’s branch distribution system currently consists of 44 branches located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island and the boroughs of Queens and Manhattan. The Bank opened a branch in Hewlett, Long Island, in February 2016 and anticipates opening one to two more branches during the remainder of 2016. On an ongoing basis the Bank continues to evaluate sites for further branch expansion. In addition to loan and deposit growth, management will also continue to focus on growing noninterest income from existing and potential new sources.

Challenges We Face. The federal funds target rate increased by twenty-five basis points in December 2015. Further increases could exert upward pressure on non-maturity deposit rates. Intermediate and long-term interest rates are low and volatile and impacted by both national and global forces. Such rates could remain low for the foreseeable future and thereby cause both investing and lending rates to be suboptimal. There is significant price competition for loans in the Bank’s marketplace and little room for the Bank to further reduce its deposit rates. Higher yielding loans continue to prepay and are sometimes replaced with lower yielding loans and there is an ongoing need, from an interest rate risk perspective, to term-fund a portion of the Bank’s loan growth with time deposits and wholesale borrowings. In the current interest rate environment, the spread between lending rates and term-funding rates is relatively small. These factors will make it difficult to improve net interest margin and could result in a decline in net interest margin from its current level and inhibit earnings growth for the foreseeable future.

The banking industry continues to be faced with new and complex regulatory requirements and enhanced supervisory oversight. These factors are exerting downward pressure on revenues and upward pressure on required capital levels and the cost of doing business.

Overview – 2014 Versus 2013

Analysis of 2014 Earnings. Net income and earnings per share for 2014 were $23.0 million and $1.65, respectively, representing increases of 8.0% and 6.5%, respectively, over the comparable 2013 amounts. Dividends per share increased 5.9% from $.68 for 2013 to $.72 for 2014. Returns on average assets and average equity for 2014 were .92% and 10.25%, respectively, as compared to .95% and 10.49%, respectively, for 2013.

Net income for 2014 increased $1.7 million over 2013. The increase was attributable to increases in net interest income of $4.4 million, or 7.1%, and noninterest income of $356,000, or 5.1%, as partially offset by an increase in noninterest expense of $2.5 million, or 6.4%, and increases in the provision for loan losses and income tax expense of $192,000 and $360,000, respectively.

The increase in net interest income was driven by growth in average interest-earning assets of $268.4 million, or 12.4%, as partially offset by a 15 basis point decline in net interest margin. The growth in average interest-earning assets was primarily comprised of growth in the average balances of loans of $298.0 million, or 23.2%, and nontaxable securities of $38.8 million, or 10.3%, as partially offset by a decrease in the average balance of taxable securities of $71.9 million, or 14.5%. The shift from taxable securities to loans and nontaxable securities partially mitigated the negative impact on net interest income of a low interest rate environment. Growth in loans and nontaxable securities, to the extent not funded by the decline in taxable securities, was funded by growth in the average balances of long-term debt of $114.9 million, or 62.1%, interest-bearing deposits of $107.0 million, or 9.1%, and noninterest-bearing checking deposits of $67.2 million, or 11.8%. Net interest margin declined from 3.18% in 2013 to 3.03% in 2014 as loans were repriced and cash flows were deployed in a low interest rate environment.

The $356,000 increase in noninterest income was primarily attributable to an increase in Investment Management Division income and increases in net gains on sales of securities and loans held-for-sale, as partially offset by a reduction in real estate tax refunds. The $2.5 million increase in noninterest expense was comprised of increases in salaries, occupancy and equipment expense and other noninterest expense, as partially offset by a decrease in employee benefits expense.

Analysis of Fourth Quarter 2014 Earnings. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $5.5 million, an increase of 5.5% over $5.2 million earned in the same quarter of 2013. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in net interest income of $1.1 million and a decrease in income tax expense of $486,000, as partially offset by an increase in noninterest expense of $1.3 million. The increase in net interest income occurred for substantially the same reasons discussed with respect to the full year periods. The decrease in income tax expense was primarily attributable to changes in New York State tax law that became effective beginning on January 1, 2015. Earnings per share was $.39 for the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 5.4% over $.37 for the same quarter of 2013.

Asset Quality. The Bank’s allowance for loan losses to total loans (reserve coverage ratio) was 1.29% at December 31, 2014 compared to 1.41% at year-end 2013. The reserve coverage ratio decreased primarily due to a continued improvement in economic conditions, a reduction in watch, special mention and substandard loans and a decrease in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired. The $3.2 million provision for loan losses for 2014 was primarily attributable to loan growth and net chargeoffs, as partially offset by continued improvement in economic conditions, a reduction in watch, special mention and substandard loans and a decrease in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired. The $3.0 million provision for loan losses for 2013 was primarily attributable to loan growth and net chargeoffs, as partially offset by an improvement in economic conditions, a decrease in historical loss rates used to determine the allowance for loan losses and a decrease in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired.

The credit quality of the Bank’s loan portfolio remained excellent at December 31, 2014, with nonaccrual loans amounting to $1.7 million, or .09% of total loans outstanding. Troubled debt restructurings totaled $2.0 million at December 31, 2014. Of this amount, $704,000 were performing in accordance with their modified terms and $1.3 million were nonaccrual and included in the aforementioned amount of nonaccrual loans. Additionally, loans past due 30 through 89 days at December 31, 2014 amounted to $2.2 million, or .12% of total loans outstanding. The credit quality of the Bank’s securities portfolio also remained excellent at December 31, 2014. The Bank’s mortgage securities were backed by mortgages underwritten on conventional terms, with 82% of these securities being full faith and credit obligations of the U.S. government and the balance being obligations of U.S. government sponsored entities. The remainder of the Bank’s securities portfolio principally consisted of high quality, general obligation municipal securities rated AA or better by major rating agencies.

Application of Critical Accounting Policies

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported asset and liability balances and revenue and expense amounts. Our determination of the allowance for loan losses is a critical accounting estimate because it is based on our subjective evaluation of a variety of factors at a specific point in time and involves difficult and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. In the event that management’s estimate needs to be adjusted based on, among other things, additional information that comes to light after the estimate is made or changes in circumstances, such adjustment could result in the need for a significantly different allowance for loan losses and thereby materially impact, either positively or negatively, the Bank’s results of operations.

The Bank’s Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses Committee (“ALLL Committee”), which is a management committee chaired by the Chief Credit Officer, meets on a quarterly basis and is responsible for determining the allowance for loan losses after considering, among other things, the results of credit reviews performed by the Bank’s independent loan review consultants and the Bank’s credit department. In addition, and in consultation with the Bank’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer, the ALLL Committee is responsible for implementing and maintaining accounting policies and procedures surrounding the calculation of the required allowance. The Board Loan Committee reviews and approves the Bank’s Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses Policy at least once each calendar year. The Bank’s allowance for loan losses is reviewed and ratified by the Board Loan Committee on a quarterly basis and is subject to periodic examination by the OCC whose safety and soundness examination includes a determination as to its adequacy to absorb probable incurred losses.

The first step in determining the allowance for loan losses is to identify loans in the Bank’s portfolio that are individually deemed to be impaired and then measure impairment losses based on either the fair value of collateral or the discounted value of expected future cash flows. In estimating the fair value of real estate collateral, management utilizes appraisals or evaluations adjusted for costs to dispose and a distressed sale adjustment, if needed. Estimating the fair value of collateral other than real estate is also subjective in nature and sometimes requires difficult and complex judgments. Determining expected future cash flows can be more subjective than determining fair values. Expected future cash flows could differ significantly, both in timing and amount, from the cash flows actually received over the loan’s remaining life.

In addition to estimating losses for loans individually deemed to be impaired, management also estimates collective impairment losses for pools of loans that are not specifically reviewed. The Bank’s highest average annualized loss experience over periods of 24, 36, 48 or 60 months is generally the starting point in determining its allowance for loan losses for each pool of loans. Management believes that this approach appropriately reflects losses from the current economic cycle and those incurred losses in the Bank’s loan portfolio. However, since future losses could vary significantly from those experienced in the past, on a quarterly basis management adjusts its historical loss experience to reflect current conditions. In doing so, management considers a variety of general qualitative factors and then subjectively determines the weight to assign to each in estimating losses. The factors include, among others: (1) delinquencies, (2) economic conditions as judged by things such as median home prices and commercial vacancy rates in the Bank’s service area and national and local unemployment levels, (3) trends in the nature and volume of loans, (4) concentrations of credit, (5) changes in lending policies and procedures, (6) experience, ability and depth of lending staff, (7) changes in the quality of the loan review function, (8) environmental risks, and (9) loan risk ratings. Substantially all of the Bank’s allowance for loan losses allocable to pools of loans that are collectively evaluated for impairment results from these qualitative adjustments to historical loss experience. Because of the nature of the qualitative factors and the difficulty in assessing their impact, management’s resulting estimate of losses may not accurately reflect actual losses in the portfolio.

Although the allowance for loan losses has two separate components, one for impairment losses on individual loans and one for collective impairment losses on pools of loans, the entire allowance for loan losses is available to absorb realized losses as they occur whether they relate to individual loans or pools of loans.

Net Interest Income

Average Balance Sheet; Interest Rates and Interest Differential. The following table sets forth the average daily balances for each major category of assets, liabilities and stockholders’ equity as well as the amounts and average rates earned or paid on each major category of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities. The average balances of investment securities include unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities, and the average balances of loans include nonaccrual loans.

Rate/Volume Analysis. The following table sets forth the effect of changes in volumes, rates and rate/volume on tax-equivalent interest income, interest expense and net interest income.

(1) Represents the change not solely attributable to change in rate or change in volume but a combination of these two factors. The rate/volume variance could be allocated between the volume and rate variances shown in the table based on the absolute value of each to the total for both.

Net Interest Income – 2015 Versus 2014

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis was $82.6 million in 2015, an increase of $8.8 million, or 11.9%, from $73.9 million in 2014. The increase resulted from an increase in average interest-earning assets of $365.6 million, or 15.0%, as partially offset by a 9 basis point decline in net interest margin.

The increase in average interest-earning assets was primarily attributable to growth in the average balances of loans of $406.6 million, or 25.7%, and nontaxable securities of $23.9 million, or 5.8%, partially offset by a decrease in the average balance of taxable securities of $68.8 million, or 16.2%. The growth in the average balance of loans includes growth in commercial and industrial loans of $11.3 million, or 14.8%, a large portion of which resulted from the Bank’s small business credit scored loan initiative. The Bank’s continued ability to grow loans is attributable to a variety of factors including, among others, competitive pricing, targeted solicitation efforts, advertising campaigns, and broker relationships for both residential and commercial mortgages.

The growth in loans and nontaxable securities of $406.6 million and $23.9 million, respectively, to the extent not funded by the decline in taxable securities of $68.8 million, was funded by growth in the average balances of noninterest-bearing checking deposits of $99.0 million, or 15.5%, interest-bearing deposits of $194.7 million, or 15.1%, and long-term debt of $64.5 million, or 21.5%. The Bank’s ongoing ability to grow deposits is attributable to, among other things, continued expansion of the Bank’s branch distribution system, targeted solicitation of local commercial businesses and municipalities, new and expanded lending relationships, new small business checking and loan products and the expansion of merchant sales relationships. In addition, management believes that the Bank’s positive reputation in its marketplace has contributed to both loan and deposit growth. The increase in long-term debt resulted from management’s desire to reduce the impact that an eventual increase in interest rates could have on the Bank’s earnings.

Intermediate and long-term interest rates remain low and volatile. In a low interest rate environment: (1) loans are sometimes originated and investments are sometimes made at yields lower than existing portfolio yields; (2) some loans prepay in full resulting in the immediate writeoff of deferred costs while the rates on other loans are modified downward; (3) prepayment speeds on mortgage securities are elevated resulting in the faster amortization of purchase premiums; (4) the benefit of no cost funding in the form of noninterest-bearing checking deposits and capital is suppressed; and (5) the Bank’s ability to reduce deposit rates diminishes. These factors are primarily responsible for a 9 basis point decline in net interest margin and a 6 basis point decline in net interest spread when comparing 2015 to 2014. These factors also explain why strong growth in the average balance of loans of 25.7% was accompanied by lesser growth of 13.0% in net interest income. Although net interest margin declined when comparing 2015 to 2014, it was relatively stable throughout 2015 amounting to 2.91% in quarter one, 2.94% in quarters two and three and 2.98% in quarter four.

Net Interest Income – 2014 Versus 2013

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis was $73.9 million in 2014, an increase of $4.8 million, or 6.9%, from $69.1 million in 2013. The increase resulted from an increase in average interest-earning assets of $268.4 million, or 12.4%, as partially offset by a 15 basis point decline in net interest margin.

The increase in average interest-earning assets was primarily attributable to growth in the average balances of loans of $298.0 million, or 23.2%, and nontaxable securities of $38.8 million, or 10.3%, as partially offset by a decrease in the average balance of taxable securities of $71.9 million, or 14.5%. Although most of the loan growth occurred in residential and commercial mortgage loans, commercial and industrial loans grew as well. Growth in loans and nontaxable securities, to the extent not funded by the decline in taxable securities, was funded by growth in the average balances of long-term debt of $114.9 million, or 62.1%, noninterest-bearing checking deposits of $67.2 million, or 11.8%, time deposits of $59.9 million, or 23.7%, and savings, NOW and money market deposits of $47.1 million, or 5.1%.

Intermediate and long-term interest rates remained low and volatile during 2014. Because loans repriced and cash flows were deployed in a low interest rate environment, net interest margin declined from 3.18% in 2013 to 3.03% in 2014. The decline in net interest margin resulted in net interest income increasing only $4.4 million, or 7.1%, despite significantly higher growth in the average balances of loans and noninterest-bearing checking deposits.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income includes service charges on deposit accounts, Investment Management Division income, gains or losses on sales of securities, and all other items of income, other than interest, resulting from the business activities of the Corporation.

Noninterest income before securities gains increased $174,000, or 2.4%, when comparing 2015 to 2014. The increase is primarily attributable to real estate and sales tax refunds of $204,000 and $91,000, respectively, an increase in cash value accretion on bank-owned life insurance of $359,000 and an increase in merchant services income of $76,000. The positive impact of these items was partially offset by a decrease in service charges on deposit accounts of $397,000 resulting largely from a decrease in deposit account overdraft activity and a net gain of $165,000 during 2014 on the sale of loans held-for-sale. Cash value accretion increased primarily because of a fourth quarter 2014 purchase of bank-owned life insurance with an initial cash value of $16.9 million. Also contributing to the increase in noninterest income was the successful deployment in recent years of a variety of noninterest income initiatives including debit cards, ATM banking and merchant services as noted above. Total income from these initiatives grew to $834,000 in 2015 compared to $715,000 in 2014.

Noninterest income increased $356,000, or 5.1%, when comparing 2014 to 2013. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in Investment Management Division income of $186,000 and increases in net gains on sales of securities and loans held-for-sale of $125,000 and $165,000, respectively, as partially offset by a $72,000 reduction in real estate tax refunds. Also contributing to the increase in noninterest income were increases in charge card fees, debit card interchange fees and income from the sale of mutual funds and annuities. The increase in Investment Management Division income resulted from appreciation in the market value of assets under management and, to a lesser extent, new business and an updated fee schedule.    

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense is comprised of salaries, employee benefits, occupancy and equipment expense and other operating expenses incurred in supporting the various business activities of the Corporation.

Noninterest expense before debt extinguishment costs increased $3.6 million, or 8.5%, when comparing 2015 to 2014. The increase was primarily comprised of an increase in salaries of $1.8 million, or 9.5%, an increase in employee benefits expense of $1.2 million, or 24.6%, a growth-related increase in the combined amount of FDIC insurance expense and the Bank’s OCC assessment of $250,000 and a one-time charge of $77,000 resulting from the termination of certain network and communication-related contracts. The impact of these items was partially offset by a decrease in occupancy and equipment expense of $82,000. The increase in salaries is primarily due to new branch openings, additions to staff in the back office and normal annual salary adjustments, partially offset by lower stock-based compensation expense. The decrease in stock-based compensation expense is mainly attributable to stock awards granted in the fourth quarter of 2014 with a value of $358,000 that vested and were expensed immediately. The increase in employee benefits expense is largely due to an increase in incentive compensation cost, an increase in payroll tax expense resulting from additions to staff, an increase in group health insurance expense resulting from increases in staff count and the rates being paid for group health insurance and an increase in supplemental executive retirement expense. The decrease in occupancy and equipment expense is primarily attributable to a $453,000 decrease in maintenance and repairs expense, mostly offset by increases in rent, real estate taxes and depreciation of newly-opened branches and expanded back-office space. Over the last two years, the Bank opened six new branches, relocated an existing branch to a larger facility and significantly expanded its loan operations department.

Noninterest expense increased $2.5 million, or 6.4%, when comparing 2014 to 2013. The increase was comprised of increases in salaries of $1.7 million, or 10.1%, occupancy and equipment expense of $1.2 million, or 15.8%, and other noninterest expense of $279,000, or 3.0%, as partially offset by a decrease in employee benefits expense of $684,000, or 12.4%. The increase in salaries was primarily due to higher stock-based compensation expense of $919,000, branch openings, additions to staff in the back office and normal annual salary adjustments. The increase in stock-based compensation expense was primarily attributable to an increase in the value of awards granted in 2014, and a reduction in the estimated number of shares to be issued upon the vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and forfeitures of some outstanding awards in 2013. Awards granted in 2014 included 13,823 RSUs with a value of $358,000 that vested immediately. The increase in occupancy and equipment expense was largely due to new branch openings and increases in general maintenance and repairs expense, snow removal costs and the cost of servicing equipment. The increase in other noninterest expense included an increase in marketing expense and growth-related increases in FDIC insurance expense and the Bank’s OCC assessment. The decrease in employee benefits expense was primarily attributable to a decrease in pension expense resulting from favorable performance of plan assets during 2013 and a decrease in the plan’s benefit obligation at year-end 2013 caused by an increase in long-term interest rates.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense as a percentage of pre-tax book income (“effective tax rate”) was 22.4%, 20.9% and 21.2% in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Among other things, the Corporation’s effective tax rate reflects the tax benefits derived from the Bank’s municipal securities portfolio, ownership of bank-owned life insurance and maintenance of a captive REIT.

2015 Versus 2014. The Corporation’s effective tax rate increased from 20.9% in 2014 to 22.4% in 2015. As discussed hereinafter, this primarily resulted from the combined impact of changes in New York State and New York City income tax laws, a reduction in tax-exempt income as a percentage of pre-tax book income and the progressive nature of the corporate federal income tax.

Effective January 1, 2015, both New York State and New York City substantially revised their income tax law. The New York State banking corporation franchise tax under Article 32 was repealed and banks are now subject to a general corporation franchise tax under a substantially revised Article 9A. New York City made conforming changes to their tax law and replaced the bank franchise tax with a new corporate tax contained in subchapter 3-A of chapter 6 of title 11 of New York City’s administrative code.

In response to the changes in New York State and New York City income tax laws, the Corporation adjusted its deferred New York State and New York City income tax liability accounts. The adjustment of the New York State deferred tax liability account was made in 2014 and resulted in a one-time net credit to income tax expense of $318,000 and a reduction in the effective tax rate for 2014 of 1.1%. The adjustment of the New York City deferred tax liability account was made in the second quarter of 2015 and resulted in a one-time net charge to income tax expense of $402,000 and an increase in the effective tax rate for 2015 of 1.2%. The timing of these New York State and New York City adjustments was based on the enactment dates of the respective legislation.

Aside from the one-time charges and credits, management estimates that the law changes in combination with additional funding of the Corporation’s captive REIT served to reduce the Corporation’s 2015 net New York State income tax expense by approximately $875,000 and increase its net New York City income tax expense by approximately $41,000. Together, this resulted in a net decrease in the Corporation’s 2015 effective tax rate of 2.5%.

Also impacting the Corporation’s effective tax rate in 2015 was a decline in the percentage of pre-tax book income represented by tax-exempt income and the progressive nature of the corporate federal income tax. Income on tax-exempt securities, tax-exempt loans and bank-owned life insurance declined from 48% of pre-tax book income in 2014 to 43.4% in 2015. In addition, in 2015 the Corporation’s federal taxable income grew to the point that it was taxed at a 35% rate rather than a portion, as in prior years, being taxed at 34%. These two items together resulted in an increase in the Corporation’s 2015 effective tax rate of approximately 2.0%.

2014 Versus 2013. The Corporation’s effective tax rate declined from 21.2% in 2013 to 20.9% in 2014 as a result of the aforementioned adjustment of the NYS deferred income tax liability account in 2014. The impact of this adjustment was partially offset by a decline in the percentage of pre-tax book income represented by income on tax-exempt securities, tax-exempt loans and bank-owned life insurance from 49.3% in 2013 to 48% in 2014.

Financial Condition

Total assets were $3.1 billion at December 31, 2015, an increase of $408.8 million, or 15.0%, from the previous year-end. The increase was primarily attributable to growth in loans of $443.4 million, or 24.6%, partially offset by a decrease in available-for-sale securities of $36.4 million, or 4.7%. The increase in loan volume and change in the mix of the Bank’s interest-earning assets helped to offset the negative impact on earnings of the decline in net interest margin caused by the low interest rate environment.

Asset growth during 2015 was largely funded by deposit growth and increases in short-term borrowings, long-term debt and stockholders’ equity. Total deposits grew $299.7 million, or 15.1%, to $2.3 billion, short-term borrowings grew $75.0 million, or 55.0%, to $211.5 million, and long-term debt grew $20.7 million, or 6.0%, to $365.7 million, at December 31, 2015. For the year, noninterest-bearing checking deposits increased $122.2 million, or 18.6%, savings, NOW and money market deposits increased $195.6 million, or 19.6%, and time deposits decreased $18.2 million, or 5.5%. The increase in short-term borrowings was mainly attributable to seasonal run-off of deposit balances at the end of 2015 and a $145.3 million, or 6.9%, increase in loans during the fourth quarter.

Investment Securities. The following table presents the estimated fair value of available-for-sale securities and amortized cost of held-to-maturity securities at December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

The following table presents the maturities and weighted average yields of the Bank’s investment securities at December 31, 2015.

(1) Maturities shown are stated maturities, except in the case of municipal securities, which are shown at the earlier of their stated maturity or pre-refunded dates. Securities backed by mortgages, which include the pass-through mortgage securities and collateralized mortgage obligations shown above, are expected to have substantial periodic repayments resulting in weighted average lives considerably shorter than would be surmised from the above table.

(2) Yields on tax-exempt municipal securities have been computed on a tax-equivalent basis.

(3) Yields on available-for-sale securities have been computed based on amortized cost.

During 2015, the Bank received cash dividends totaling $842,000 on its Federal Reserve Bank and Federal Home Loan Bank of New York stock, representing an average yield of 4.08%.

Loans. The composition of the Bank’s loan portfolio is set forth below.

Maturity and rate information for commercial and industrial loans outstanding at December 31, 2015 is set forth below.

Asset Quality. The Corporation has identified certain assets as risk elements. These assets include nonaccrual loans, other real estate owned, loans that are contractually past due 90 days or more as to principal or interest payments and still accruing and troubled debt restructurings. These assets present more than the normal risk that the Corporation will be unable to eventually collect or realize their full carrying value. Information about the Corporation’s risk elements is set forth below.

The past due status of a loan is based on the contractual terms in the loan agreement. Unless a loan is well secured and in the process of collection, the accrual of interest income is discontinued when a loan becomes 90 days past due as to principal or interest payments. The accrual of interest income on a loan is also discontinued when it is determined that the borrower will not be able to make principal and interest payments according to the contractual terms of the current loan agreement. When the accrual of interest income is discontinued on a loan, any accrued but unpaid interest is reversed against current period income.

In addition to the Bank’s past due, nonaccrual and restructured loans, the disclosure of other potential problem loans can be found in “Note C – Loans” to the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-K.

Loan Risk Ratings. Risk ratings of the Corporation’s commercial and industrial loans and commercial real estate loans are set forth in the tables below. Risk ratings are defined in “Note C – Loans” to the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-K.

Risk ratings of the Corporation’s residential mortgage loans, home equity lines and other consumer loans are set forth in the tables below. Risk ratings are defined in “Note C – Loans” to the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-K.

Deposit account overdrafts are not assigned a risk-rating and are therefore excluded from consumer loans in the above tables.

Allowance and Provision for Loan Losses. The allowance for loan losses increased by $4.0 million during 2015, amounting to $27.3 million, or 1.21% of total loans, at December 31, 2015, as compared to $23.2 million, or 1.29% of total loans, at December 31, 2014. The decrease of 8 basis points in the reserve coverage ratio was primarily due to a continued improvement in economic conditions, partially offset by an increase in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired.    

During 2015, the Bank had loan chargeoffs and recoveries of $369,000 and $87,000, respectively, and recorded a $4.3 million provision for loan losses. The $4.3 million provision for loan losses for 2015 was primarily attributable to loan growth, net chargeoffs and a $368,000 increase in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired, partially offset by a continued improvement in economic conditions. The $3.2 million provision for loan losses for 2014 was primarily attributable to loan growth and net chargeoffs, partially offset by an improvement in economic conditions, a reduction in watch, special mention and substandard loans and a decrease in specific reserves on loans individually deemed to be impaired.

The allowance for loan losses is an amount that management currently believes will be adequate to absorb probable incurred losses in the Bank’s loan portfolio. As more fully discussed in the “Application of Critical Accounting Policies” section of this discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, the process for estimating credit losses and determining the allowance for loan losses as of any balance sheet date is subjective in nature and requires material estimates. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Other detailed information on the Bank’s allowance for loan losses, impaired loans and the aging of loans can be found in “Note C – Loans” to the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-K.

The following table sets forth changes in the Bank’s allowance for loan losses.