QNB CORP - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission file number 0-17706

QNB Corp.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code (215) 538-5600

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

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

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined by Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

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  ☒

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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

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

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of February 28, 2020, 3,522,888 shares of common stock of the registrant were outstanding. As of June 30, 2019, the aggregate market value of the common stock of the registrant held by non-affiliates was approximately $117,583,368 based upon the average bid and asked prices of the common stock as reported on the OTC BB.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of registrant’s Proxy Statement for the annual meeting of its shareholders to be held May 26, 2020 are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report.

FORM 10-K INDEX

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PART I

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

In addition to historical information, this document contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project” and variations of such words and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or similar expressions. The U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor in regard to the inclusion of forward-looking statements in this document and documents incorporated by reference.

Shareholders should note that many factors, some of which are discussed elsewhere in this document and in the documents that are incorporated by reference, could affect the future financial results of QNB Corp. and its subsidiary and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this document. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

QNB Corp. (herein referred to as “QNB” or the “Company”) cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, all of which change over time, and QNB assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements. Management cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, even if subsequently made available by QNB on its website or otherwise, and they advise readers that various factors, including those described above, could affect QNB’s financial performance and could cause actual results or circumstances for future periods to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. Except as required by law, QNB does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

QNB was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on June 4, 1984. QNB is registered with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and conducts its business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, QNB Bank (the “Bank”).

Prior to December 28, 2007, the Bank was a national banking association organized in 1877 as The Quakertown National Bank, was chartered under the National Banking Act and was subject to Federal and state laws applicable to national banks. Effective December 28, 2007, the Bank became a Pennsylvania chartered commercial bank and changed its name to QNB Bank. The Bank, whose principal office is located in Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, operated twelve full-service community banking offices in Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh counties in southeastern Pennsylvania as of December 31, 2019.

The Bank is engaged in the general commercial banking business and provides a full range of banking services to its customers. These banking services consist of, among other things, attracting deposits and using these funds in making commercial loans, residential mortgage loans, consumer loans, and purchasing investment securities. These deposits are in the form of time, demand and savings accounts. Time deposits include certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The Bank’s demand and savings accounts include money market accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts (including a higher yielding checking account), club accounts, traditional statement savings accounts, and a higher yielding online savings account.

At December 31, 2019, QNB had total assets of $1,225,023,000, total loans receivable of $820,616,000, total deposits of $1,037,860,000 and total shareholders’ equity of $120,717,000. For the year ended December 31, 2019, QNB reported net income of $12,357,000 compared to net income for the year ended December 31, 2018 of $11,335,000 and December 31, 2017 of $8,289,000.

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At February 20, 2020, the Bank had 196 full-time employees and seven part-time employees. The Bank’s employees have a customer-oriented philosophy emphasizing personal service and flexible solutions which together make achieving our customers’ goals possible. They maintain close contact with both the residents and local business people in the communities in which they serve, responding to changes in market conditions and customer requests in a timely manner.

Competition and Market Area

The banking business is highly competitive, and the profitability of QNB depends principally upon the Bank’s ability to compete in its market area. QNB faces intense competition within its market, both in making loans and attracting deposits. Bucks, Lehigh, and Montgomery counties have a high concentration of financial institutions, including large national and regional banks, community banks, savings institutions and credit unions. Some of QNB’s competitors offer products and services that QNB currently does not offer, such as traditional trust services and full-service insurance.

In addition, as a result of consolidation in the banking industry, some of QNB’s competitors may enjoy advantages such as greater financial resources, a wider geographic presence, more favorable pricing alternatives and lower origination and operating costs. However, QNB has been able to compete effectively with other financial institutions by emphasizing the establishment of long-term relationships and customer loyalty. A strong focus on small-business solutions, providing fast local decision-making on loans, exceptional personal customer service and technology solutions, including internet- and mobile-banking, electronic bill pay and remote deposit capture, also enable QNB to compete successfully.

Competition for loans and deposits comes principally from commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions and non-bank financial service providers. Factors in successfully competing for deposits include providing excellent customer service, convenient locations and hours of operation, attractive rates, low fees, and alternative delivery systems. One such delivery system is remote deposit capture for those commercial customers that are not conveniently located near one of our branches, or mobile banking for retail customers. Successful loan origination tends to depend not only on interest rate and terms of the loan but also on being responsive and flexible to the customers’ needs. While many competitors within the Bank’s primary market have substantially higher legal lending limits, QNB often has the ability, through loan participations, to meet the larger lending needs of its customers.

QNB’s success is dependent to a significant degree on economic conditions in southeastern Pennsylvania, especially Bucks, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, which it defines as its primary market. The banking industry is affected by general economic conditions, including the effects of recession, unemployment, declining real estate values, inflation, trends in the national and global economies, and other factors beyond QNB’s control.

Monetary Policy and Economic Conditions

The business of financial institutions is affected not only by general economic conditions, but also by the policies of various governmental regulatory agencies, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (the “Federal Reserve”). The Federal Reserve regulates money, credit conditions and interest rates to influence general economic conditions primarily through open market operations in U.S. government securities, changes in the discount rate on bank borrowings and changes in the reserve requirements against depository institutions’ deposits. These policies and regulations significantly affect the overall growth and distribution of loans, investments and deposits, as well as the interest rates charged on loans and the interest rates paid on deposits.

The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve have had a significant effect on the operating results of financial institutions in the past and are expected to continue to have significant effects in the future. In view of the changing conditions in the economy and the financial markets in addition to the activities of monetary and fiscal authorities, the prediction of future changes in interest rates, credit availability or deposit levels is very challenging.

Supervision and Regulation

Banks and bank holding companies operate in a highly-regulated environment and are regularly examined by Federal and state regulatory authorities. Federal statutes that apply to QNB and its subsidiary include the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (“BHCA”), the Federal Reserve Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (“FDIA”), as those statutes have been significantly amended by recent laws such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act the “Dodd-Frank Act”), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”), and others. In general, these statutes regulate the corporate governance of the Bank and eligible business activities of QNB and impose certain restrictions and limitations on such important matters as mergers and acquisitions, intercompany transactions, loans and dividends, and capital adequacy, among others. Other corporate governance requirements are imposed on QNB by Federal securities and other laws, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, described later.

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The Company is under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission and of state securities commissions for matters relating to the offering and sale of its securities. In addition, the Company is subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations relating to periodic reporting, proxy solicitation and insider trading.

Set forth below is a brief summary of some of the significant regulatory concepts and recent laws that affect QNB and the Bank. To the extent that the following information describes statutory or regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by references to the particular statutory or regulatory provisions themselves. Proposals to change banking laws and regulations are frequently introduced in Congress, the state legislatures, and before the various bank regulatory agencies. QNB cannot determine the likelihood of passage or timing of any such proposals or legislation or the impact they may have on QNB and its subsidiary. A change in law, regulations or regulatory policy may have a material effect on QNB and its subsidiary.

Bank Holding Company Regulation

QNB is registered as a bank holding company and is subject to the regulations of the Federal Reserve under the BHCA. In addition, QNB Corp., as a Pennsylvania business corporation, is subject to the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988 (the “BCL”), as amended, and to certain provisions of the Pennsylvania Banking Code of 1965, as amended (the “Banking Code”).

Bank holding companies are required to file periodic reports with, and are subject to examination by, the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s regulations require a bank holding company to serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to its subsidiary banks. As a result, the Federal Reserve, pursuant to its “source of strength” regulations, may require QNB to commit its resources to provide adequate capital funds to the Bank during periods of financial distress or adversity.

Federal Reserve approval may be required before QNB may begin to engage in any non-banking activity and before any non-banking business may be acquired by QNB.

Regulatory Restrictions on Dividends

Dividend payments made by the Bank to the Company are subject to the Pennsylvania Banking Code, the FDIA, and the regulations of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Under the Banking Code, no dividends may be paid except from “accumulated net earnings” (generally retained earnings). The Federal Reserve and the FDIC have formal and informal policies which provide that insured banks and bank holding companies should generally pay dividends only out of current operating earnings, with some exceptions. Under the FDIA, the Bank is prohibited from paying any dividends, making other distributions or paying any management fees if, after such payment, it would fail to satisfy its minimum capital requirements. See also “Supervision and Regulation – Bank Regulation”.

In addition to the dividend restrictions described above, the banking regulators have the authority to prohibit or to limit the payment of dividends by the Bank if, in the banking regulator’s opinion, payment of a dividend would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice in light of the financial condition of the Bank.

Under Pennsylvania law, QNB may not pay a dividend, if, after giving effect thereto, it would be unable to pay its debts as they become due in the usual course of business and, after giving effect to the dividend, the total assets of QNB would be less than the sum of its total liabilities plus the amount that would be needed, if QNB were to be dissolved at the time of distribution, to satisfy the preferential rights upon dissolution of shareholders whose rights are superior to those receiving the dividend.

It is also the policy of the Federal Reserve that a bank holding company generally only pay dividends on common stock out of net income available to common shareholders over the past year and only if the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with a bank holding company’s capital needs, asset quality, and overall financial condition. In the current financial and economic environment, the Federal Reserve has indicated that bank holding companies should carefully review their dividend policy and has discouraged dividend pay-out ratios at the 100% level unless both asset quality and capital are very strong. A bank holding company also should not maintain a dividend level that places undue pressure on the capital of such institution’s subsidiaries, or that may undermine the bank holding company’s ability to serve as a source of strength for such subsidiaries.

The minimum capital requirements implemented by Basel III, and described below under “Capital Adequacy,” also introduced a capital conservation buffer, comprised of common equity Tier 1 capital, above a banking institution’s minimum risk-based capital requirements in an amount greater than 2.5% of total risk-weighted assets in order to avoid limitations on certain distributions, including dividend payments.

Under these policies and subject to the restrictions applicable to the Bank, to remain “well capitalized,” the Bank had approximately $18,644,000 available for payment of dividends to the Company at December 31, 2019.

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Capital Adequacy

In July 2013, the Federal bank regulatory agencies adopted revisions to the agencies’ capital adequacy guidelines and prompt corrective action rules, which were designed to enhance such requirements and implement the revised standards of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, commonly referred to as Basel III. The rules generally implemented higher minimum capital requirements, added a new common equity Tier 1 capital requirement, and established criteria that instruments must meet to be considered common equity Tier 1 capital, additional Tier 1 capital or Tier 2 capital. Tier 1 capital consists principally of common shareholders’ equity, plus retained earnings, less certain intangible assets. Tier 2 capital includes the allowance for loan and lease losses (up to 1.25 percent of risk-weighted assets), qualifying preferred stock, subordinated debt, and qualifying Tier 2 minority interests.   The current minimum capital requirements are a common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5%, a Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.0%, and a total capital ratio of 8.0%. In addition, in order to avoid limitations on certain capital distributions (including dividend payments and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers), as of January 1, 2019, a banking organization must hold a capital conservation buffer comprised of common equity Tier 1 capital above its minimum risk-based capital requirements in an amount greater than 2.5% of total risk-weighted assets.  At December 31, 2019, QNB’s Tier 1 capital and total capital (Tier 1 and Tier 2 combined) and common equity Tier 1 equity ratios were 12.76% and 13.82%, and 12.76%, respectively.

In addition to the risk-based capital guidelines, the Federal Reserve requires a bank holding company to maintain a minimum leverage ratio. This requires a minimum level of Tier 1 capital (as determined under the risk-based capital rules) to average total consolidated assets of 4% for those bank holding companies that have the highest regulatory examination ratings and are not contemplating or experiencing significant growth or expansion. The Federal Reserve expects all other bank holding companies to maintain a ratio of at least 1% to 2% above the stated minimum. At December 31, 2019, QNB’s leverage ratio was 9.78%.

Pursuant to the prompt corrective action provisions of the FDIA, the Federal banking agencies have specified, by regulation, the levels at which an insured institution is considered well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, or critically undercapitalized. Under these regulations, an institution is considered well capitalized if it satisfies each of the following requirements:

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Bank qualified as well capitalized under these regulatory standards. See Note 20 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included at Item 8 of this Report for additional information. 

Bank Regulation

As a Pennsylvania-chartered insured commercial bank, the Bank is subject to extensive regulation and examination by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (the “Department”) and by the FDIC, which insures its deposits to the maximum extent permitted by law.

The Federal and state laws and regulations applicable to banks regulate, among other things, the scope of their business, their investments, the reserves required to be kept against deposits, the timing of the availability of deposited funds, the nature and amount of collateral for certain loans, the activities of a bank with respect to mergers and consolidations, and the establishment of branches. The laws and regulations governing the Bank generally have been promulgated to protect depositors and not for the purpose of protecting QNB’s shareholders. This regulatory structure also gives the Federal and state banking agencies extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities and examination policies, including policies with respect to the classification of assets and the establishment of adequate loan loss reserves for regulatory purposes. Any change in such regulation, whether by the Department, the FDIC or the United States Congress, could have a material impact on the Company, the Bank and their operations.

As a subsidiary bank of a bank holding company, the Bank is subject to certain restrictions imposed by the Federal Reserve Act on extensions of credit to QNB, on investments in the stock or other securities of QNB, and on taking such stock or securities as collateral for loans.

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FDIC Insurance Assessments

The Bank’s deposits are insured to the applicable limits as determined by the FDIC, which is currently $250,000 per depositor.  Under the FDIC's risk-based assessment system, insured institutions were previously assigned one of four risk categories based on supervisory evaluations, regulatory capital levels and certain other factors. An institution's assessment rate depended largely on the category to which it was assigned, with institutions deemed less risky paying lower FDIC deposit insurance premiums. The Dodd-Frank Act required the FDIC to revise its procedures to base deposit insurance assessments on each insured institution's total assets less tangible equity instead of deposits and also mandated that the Deposit Insurance Fund achieve a reserve ratio of 1.35% of insured deposits by September 2020.  Effective April 1, 2011, the range of possible base assessments was set between 2.5 and 45 basis points of total assets less tangible equity.  Effective July 1, 2016, the FDIC eliminated the previously utilized risk categories and based assessments for most banks on certain financial measures and supervisory ratings derived from statistical modeling estimating the probability of failure over three years, and also set maximum rates for institutions with composite CAMELS ratings of 1 or 2 and minimum rates for other institutions.  In connection with the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio achieving 1.5% in July 2016, the total base assessment range (after possible adjustments) was reduced for most banks to 1.5 basis points to 30 basis points.  As of the September 2019 assessment date, when the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio reached or exceeded 1.38%, banks with less than $10 billion of total consolidated assets began receiving certain "small bank assessment credits" for the portion of their assessments that contributed to the growth in the FDIC's fund reserve ratio from 1.15% to 1.35%; credits will be applied so long as the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio is at or above 1.35%.

At June 30, 2019 and September 30, 2019 the Reserve Ratio was greater than 1.38% and the Bank received Small Institution Credits totaling $273,000. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, the Bank recorded $266,000 (net of Small Institution Credits), $592,000 and $525,000, respectively, in FDIC deposit insurance premium expense.

All insured institutions of the FDIC were required to pay assessments to fund interest payments on Financing Corporation (FICO) bonds. The Financing Corporation was created by Congress to issue bonds to finance the resolution of failed thrift institutions. The FDIC had the authority to set the Financing Corporation assessment rate every quarter. These assessments continued until the Financing Corporation bonds matured in 2019.  The expense for 2019, 2018 and 2017 recorded by QNB was $3,000, $32,000 and $52,000, respectively.

Federal Home Loan Bank System

The Bank is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (“FHLB”), which is one of 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks. Each Federal Home Loan Bank serves as a reserve or central bank for members within its assigned region. It is funded primarily from funds deposited by member institutions and proceeds from the sale of consolidated obligations of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. It makes loans to members (i.e. advances) in accordance with policies and procedures established by the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank. At December 31, 2019, the Bank had $11,817,000 of overnight FHLB advances outstanding.

The Bank is required to purchase and maintain stock in the FHLB as a condition of membership in an amount equal to 0.10% of its assets. In addition, each member is required to purchase and maintain activity-based stock of 4% of outstanding advances from the FHLB. At December 31, 2019, the Bank had $1,061,000 in stock of the FHLB.

Community Reinvestment Act

Under the Community Reinvestment Act, (“CRA”) as amended the FDIC is required to assess all financial institutions that it regulates to determine whether these institutions are meeting the credit needs of the communities that they serve. The CRA focuses specifically on low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

An institution’s record is considered during the evaluation of any application made by such institutions for, among other things:

The CRA also requires that the regulatory agency make publicly available the evaluation of the Bank’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. This evaluation includes a descriptive rating of either outstanding, satisfactory, needs to improve, or substantial noncompliance, and a statement describing the basis for the rating. The Bank’s most recent CRA rating was “Satisfactory”.

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USA Patriot Act

The USA Patriot Act strengthens the anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act. The Act requires financial institutions to establish certain procedures to be able to identify and verify the identity of its customers. Specifically, the Bank must have procedures in place to:

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is intended to bolster public confidence in the nation’s capital markets by imposing new duties and penalties for non-compliance on public companies and their executives, directors, auditors, attorneys and securities analysts. Some of the more significant aspects of the Act as it relates to QNB include:

The Act also imposes requirements for corporate governance, auditor independence, accounting standards, audit committee member independence and increased authority, executive compensation, insider loans and whistleblower protection. As a result of the Act, QNB adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to its CEO, CFO and Controller, which meets the requirements of the Act, to supplement its long-standing Code of Ethics, which applies to all directors and employees.

QNB’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics can be found on the Bank’s website at www.qnbbank.com.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”)

The Dodd-Frank Act was enacted on July 21, 2010. This law made significant changes to the bank regulatory structure and affects the lending, deposit, investment, trading and operating activities of financial institutions and their holding companies.

The Dodd-Frank Act created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) with broad powers to supervise and enforce consumer protection laws. The CFPB has broad rule-making authority for a wide range of consumer protection laws that apply to all banks and savings institutions, including the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts and practices. The CFPB has examination and enforcement authority over all banks and savings institutions with more than $10 billion in assets. Banks and savings institutions with $10 billion or less in assets such as the Bank will continue to be examined for compliance with the consumer laws by their primary bank regulators. The Dodd-Frank Act also weakened the Federal preemption rules that had been applicable for national banks and Federal savings associations and gave state attorneys general the ability to enforce Federal consumer protection laws.

Many of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act do not apply to the Bank, as it does not engage in many of the specific activities sought to be regulated by the Dodd-Frank Act. Many of the provisions, however, such as increased capital requirements and changes to FDIC insurance premiums already implemented, affected all banking entities. In addition, the financial crisis of 2008 and the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act in response to that crisis has resulted in an era of increased regulatory oversight over all financial entities. The ultimate changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, impose upon us more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage ratio requirements or otherwise adversely affect our business. These changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make necessary changes in order to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements.

Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act

On May 24, 2018, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “EGRC Act”), which was designed to ease certain restrictions imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act, was enacted into law.  Most of the changes made by the EGRC Act can be grouped into five general areas:  mortgage lending; certain regulatory relief for “community” banks; enhanced consumer protections

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in specific areas, including subjecting credit reporting agencies to additional requirements; certain regulatory relief for large financial institutions, including increasing the threshold at which institutions are classified a systemically important financial institutions (from $50 billion to $250 billion) and therefore subject to stricter oversight, and revising the rules for larger institution stress testing; and certain changes to Federal securities regulations designed to promote capital formation.  Some of the key provisions of the EGRC Act as it relates to community banks and bank holding companies include, but are not limited to: (i) designating mortgages held in portfolio as “qualified mortgages” for banks with less than $10 billion in assets, subject to certain documentation and product limitations; (ii) exempting banks with less than $10 billion in assets (and total trading assets and trading liabilities of 5% or less of total assets) from Volcker Rule requirements relating to proprietary trading; (iii) simplifying capital calculations for banks with less than $10 billion in assets by requiring Federal banking agencies to establish a community bank leverage ratio of Tier 1 capital to average consolidated assets of not less than 8% or more than 10%, and provide that banks that maintain Tier 1 capital in excess of such ratio will be deemed to be in compliance with risk-based capital and leverage requirements; (iv) assisting smaller banks with obtaining stable funding by providing an exception for reciprocal deposits from FDIC restrictions on acceptance of brokered deposits; (v) raising the eligibility for use of short-form Call Reports from $1 billion to $5 billion in assets; (vi) clarifying definitions pertaining to high volatility commercial real estate loans (HVCRE), which require higher capital allocations, so that only loans with increased risk are subject to higher risk weightings; and (vii) changing the eligibility for use of the small bank holding company policy statement from institutions with under $1 billion in assets to institutions with under $3 billion in assets.  As noted, the ECRC Act as implemented by the Federal Reserve Board effective August 30, 2018, raised the threshold of the Federal Reserve Board's "Small Bank Holding Company" exception to the application of consolidated capital requirements from $1 billion to $3 billion of consolidated assets. Consequently, bank holding companies having less than $3 billion of consolidated assets are not subject to the consolidated capital requirements unless otherwise directed by the Federal Reserve Board.

Section 201 of the EGRC Act directed the federal banking agencies to develop a community bank leverage ratio (“CBLR”) of not less than 8% and not more than 10% for qualifying community banks and bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion.  Qualifying community banking organizations that exceed the CBLR level established by the agencies, and that elect to be covered by the CBLR framework, will be considered to have met:  (i) the generally applicable leverage and risk-based capital requirements under the banking agencies’ capital rules; (ii) the capital ratio requirements necessary to be considered “well capitalized” under the banking agencies’ prompt corrective action framework in the case of insured depository institutions; and (iii) any other applicable capital or leverage requirements.  

On November 13, 2019, the Federal banking agencies published a final rule that provides for a simple measure of capital adequacy for certain community banking organizations, consistent with Section 201 of the EGRC Act. The final rule is effective on January 1, 2020.  Under the EGRC Act, depository institutions and depository institution holding companies that have less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and meet other qualifying criteria, including a leverage ratio (equal to tier 1 capital divided by average total consolidated assets) of greater than 9%, will be eligible to opt into the community bank leverage ratio framework (qualifying community banking organizations). Qualifying community banking organizations that elect to use the community bank leverage ratio framework and that maintain a leverage ratio of greater than 9% will be considered to have satisfied the generally applicable risk-based and leverage capital requirements in the agencies’ generally applicable capital rules and, if applicable, will be considered to have met the well-capitalized ratio requirements for purposes of prompt corrective action framework under Section 38 of the FDIA. The final rule includes a two-quarter grace period during which a qualifying community banking organization that temporarily fails to meet any of the qualifying criteria, including the greater than 9% leverage ratio requirement, generally would still be deemed well-capitalized so long as the banking organization maintains a leverage ratio greater than 8%. At the end of the grace period, the banking organization must meet all qualifying criteria to remain in the community bank leverage ratio framework or otherwise must comply with and report under the generally applicable rule. Similarly, a banking organization that fails to maintain a leverage ratio greater than 8% would not be permitted to use the grace period and must comply with the capital rule’s generally applicable requirements and file the appropriate regulatory reports.  

QNB does not currently meet all the requirements under the EGRC Act, including the CBLR framework, to be considered a qualifying community banking organization.   QNB does not believe, however, that the changes resulting from the EGRC Act will materially impact QNB’s business, operations, or financial results going forward.

Possible Future Legislation

Congress is often considering some financial industry legislation, and the Federal banking agencies routinely propose new regulations. The Company cannot predict the future effect any new legislation, or new rules adopted by Federal or state banking agencies, will have on the business of the Company and its subsidiaries. Given that the financial industry remains under scrutiny, the Company expects that there will be legislative and regulatory actions that may materially affect the banking industry in the foreseeable future.

Additional Information

QNB’s principal executive offices are located at 320 West Broad Street, Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Its telephone number is (215) 538-5600.

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QNB also makes its periodic and current reports available, including this annual report for Form 10-K, free of charge, on its website, www.qnbbank.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with the SEC. Information available on the website is not a part of, and should not be incorporated into, this annual report on Form 10-K.  In addition, the SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants, including QNB, that file electronically with the SEC which can be accessed at www.sec.gov.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

The following discusses risks that management believes are specific to our business and could have a negative impact on QNB’s financial performance. When analyzing an investment in QNB, the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information included or incorporated by reference in this report, should be carefully considered. This list should not be viewed as comprehensive and may not include all risks that may affect the financial performance of QNB.

Our net interest income, net income and results of operations are sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates.

QNB’s profitability is largely a function of the spread between the interest rates earned on earning assets and the interest rates paid on deposits and other interest-bearing liabilities. Like most financial institutions, QNB’s net interest income and margin will be affected by general economic conditions and other factors, including fiscal and monetary policies of the Federal government, that influence market interest rates and QNB’s ability to respond to changes in such rates. At any given time, QNB’s assets and liabilities may be such that they are affected differently by a change in interest rates. As a result, an increase or decrease in rates, the length of loan terms or the mix of adjustable- and fixed-rate loans or investment securities in QNB’s portfolio could have a positive or negative effect on its net income, capital and liquidity. Although management believes it has implemented strategies and guidelines to reduce the potential effects of adverse changes in interest rates on results of operations, any substantial and prolonged change in market interest rates could affect operating results negatively.

We are subject to credit risk in connection with our lending activities, and our financial condition and results of operations may be negatively affected by economic conditions and other factors that could adversely affect our customers.

As a lender, QNB is exposed to the risk that its borrowers may be unable to repay their loans and that the current market value of any collateral securing the payment of their loans may not be sufficient to assure repayment in full. Credit losses are inherent in the lending business and could have a material adverse effect on the operating results of QNB. Adverse changes in the economy or business conditions, either nationally or in QNB’s market areas, could increase credit-related losses and expenses and/or limit growth. Substantially all of QNB’s loans are to businesses and individuals in its limited geographic area and any economic decline in this market could impact QNB adversely. QNB makes various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of its loan portfolio and provides an allowance for loan losses based on a number of factors. If these assumptions are incorrect, the allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover losses and may cause QNB to increase the allowance in the future by increasing the provision for loan losses, thereby having an adverse effect on operating results. QNB has adopted underwriting and credit monitoring procedures and credit policies that management believes are appropriate to control these risks; however, such policies and procedures may not prevent unexpected losses that could have a material adverse effect on QNB’s financial condition or results of operations.

A deterioration in regional or national economic conditions may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

QNB primarily provides banking services to customers located in the Bucks, Lehigh and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania. Adverse effects of a regional economic downturn could affect QNB’s ability to attract deposits and qualified loans.  Economic factors impacting the local economy with this region, such as a decline in real estate values, unemployment, and natural disasters, may have a negative impact on credit-worthiness of customers, the value of collateral, and customers’ ability to repay loans, which would result in write-downs, increases in non-performing loans, and a decline in QNB’s financial performance measurements.  Unlike larger banks that are more geographically diversified, we provide banking and financial services locally and therefore are more affected by adverse local economic conditions.

Similarly, potential adverse effects of any national economic downturn or concerns with the stability of the financial markets could lead to lack of consumer confidence, increased market volatility, and a general reduction in business activity.  Such events may result in increased regulation of the financial services industry and increased compliance costs; greater difficulty in assessing the creditworthiness of customers and increased credit risk; greater difficulty in originating loans that meet our underwriting criteria; liquidity issues to the extent that it becomes more difficult to borrow from third parties, including other financial institutions; and limitations on growth.

We face significant competition from other banks and financial institutions in our market area, many of which are larger in terms of asset size and market capitalization.

The financial services industry is highly competitive, with competition for attracting and retaining deposits and making loans coming from other banks and savings institutions, credit unions, mutual fund companies, insurance companies and other non-bank businesses. Many of QNB’s competitors are much larger in terms of total assets and market capitalization, have a higher lending limit, have greater access to capital and funding, and offer a broader array of financial products and services. In light of this, QNB’s ability to continue to compete effectively is dependent upon its ability to maintain and build relationships by delivering top quality service. Competition within the financial services industry also impacts QNB’s ability to attract and retain low-cost deposits which could impact QNB’s liquidity.  Lowering loan rates and increasing deposit rates compresses the interest rate margin and profitability.

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At December 31, 2019, our lending limit per borrower was approximately $17,758,000. Accordingly, the size of loans that we may offer to potential borrowers (without participation by other lenders) is less than the size of loans that many of our competitors with larger capitalization are able to offer. Our legal lending limit also impacts the efficiency of our lending operation because it tends to lower our average loan size, which means we have to generate a higher number of transactions to achieve the same portfolio volume. We may engage in loan participations with other banks for loans in excess of our legal lending limit. However, there can be no assurance that such participations will be available or on terms which are favorable to us and our customers.

Our results of operations may be adversely affected by other-than-temporary impairment charges relating to our debt securities.

QNB purchases U.S. Government and U.S. Government agency debt securities, U.S. Government agency issued mortgage-backed securities or collateralized mortgage obligation securities, obligations of states and municipalities and corporate debt securities. QNB is exposed to the risk that the issuers of these debt securities may experience significant deterioration in credit quality which could impact the market value of such issuer’s securities. QNB periodically evaluates its debt securities to determine if market value declines are other-than-temporary. Once a decline is determined to be other-than-temporary, the value of the security is reduced and a corresponding charge to earnings is recognized for the credit related portion of the impairment.

Our results of operations may be adversely affected by fair value declines in our investments in equity securities.

The Company’s investment in marketable equity securities primarily consists of investments in large cap stock companies. Changes in fair value are recorded in unrealized gain/(losses) in non-interest income These equity securities are carried at fair value and are no longer analyzed for impairment on an ongoing basis beginning in 2018. As a result of prolonged declines in some equity securities’ fair values, $80,000 in impairment charges were taken in 2017. QNB had 24 equity securities with unrealized losses of approximately $442,000 at December 31, 2019. The severity and duration of the fair value declines are consistent with current stock market developments.

At December 31, 2019, the Bank had $1,061,000 in capital stock of the FHLB and $12,000 in capital stock of ACBB. These equity securities are restricted in that they can only be sold back to the respective institutions or another member institution at par. Therefore, they are less liquid than other tradable equity securities, their fair value is equal to amortized cost, and no impairment write-downs have been recorded on these securities.

Our assets at December 31, 2019 included a deferred tax asset and we may not be able to realize the full benefit of that asset.

As of December 31, 2019, QNB had a net deferred tax asset of $1,441,000. Our ability to realize these tax benefits ultimately depends on the existence of sufficient taxable income of the appropriate character (ordinary income or capital gains) within the applicable carryback and carryforward periods provided under the tax law. Estimating whether the deferred tax asset will be realized requires us to exercise significant judgment and is inherently uncertain because it requires the prediction of future occurrences. The deferred tax asset may be reduced in the future if estimates of future income, our tax planning strategies, or tax rate changes resulting from Federal tax reform do not support the amount of the deferred tax asset. If it is determined in the future that a valuation allowance of the deferred tax asset is necessary, we may incur a charge to earnings resulting and a reduction to regulatory capital for the amount included in any such allowance.

A disruption in components of our business infrastructure resulting from financial or technological difficulties of our third- party vendors on which we rely could adversely affect our business.

Third parties provide key components of our business infrastructure, such as Internet connections, software platforms and network access. Any disruption in Internet, network access or other voice or data communication services provided by these third parties or any failure of these third parties to handle current or higher volumes of use could adversely affect the ability to deliver products and services to clients and otherwise to conduct business. Disruptions or failures in the business infrastructure or operating systems that support our business and customers, or cyber-attacks or security breaches of the networks, systems, or devices that our customers use to access our products and services, could damage our reputation, cause us to incur additional expenses, result in losses, or subject us to regulatory sanctions or additional regulatory scrutiny, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

Our failure to properly or timely utilize effective technologies to deliver our products and services, or a systems failure or breach of network security with respect to our information systems could adversely affect our business.

The market for financial services is increasingly affected by advances in technology, including developments in telecommunications, data processing, computers, automation, Internet-based banking and mobile banking. Our ability to compete successfully in our markets may depend on the extent to which we are able to exploit such technological changes. However, we can provide no assurance

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that we will be able to properly or timely anticipate or implement such technologies or properly train our staff to use such technologies. Any failure to adapt to new technologies could adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.

In addition, we rely heavily on our information systems to conduct business. Maintaining and protecting those systems is difficult and expensive, as is dealing with any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems, whether due to acts or omissions by us or by a third party and whether intentional or not. Any such failure, interruption or breach could result in failures or disruptions in our customer relationship management or our information systems. The policies, procedures and technical safeguards we have in place to prevent or limit the effect of any failure, interruption or security breach of our information systems may be insufficient to prevent or remedy the effects of any such event. Moreover, as cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to modify or enhance our protective measures relating to information security.  The occurrence of any failures, interruptions or security breaches of our information systems could damage our reputation, cause us to incur additional expenses, result in losses, or subject us to regulatory sanctions or additional regulatory scrutiny, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.

Changes in accounting standards applicable to us could materially impact how we report our financial condition and results of operations.

Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. From time to time the FASB changes the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements.

These changes can be hard to predict and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in our restating prior period financial statements. Management believes the current financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

A new accounting standard, which requires us to measure certain financial assets (including loans) using current expected credit losses (“CECL”) beginning in calendar year 2023, will likely result in material changes to our allowance for loan losses.

Current U.S. GAAP requires an incurred loss methodology for recognizing credit losses that delays recognition until it is probable that a loss has been incurred as of the balance sheet date.  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has adopted a new accounting standard, effective for QNB beginning January 1, 2023, referred to as CECL.  The new accounting standard replaces the current loss methodology with a methodology that reflects current expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonableness and reportable information to determine credit loss estimates.  QNB is in the process of evaluating the impact of the adoption of the new accounting standard on QNB’s financial statements; however, it is expected that the allowance for loan losses will materially change upon the adoption of CECL.  Any increase in our allowance for loan losses may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.  

We operate in a highly regulated environment and are subject to examination and supervision by bank regulatory agencies, which could have an adverse impact on our operations or increase the cost of our operations.  

We operate in a highly regulated environment and are subject to extensive examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities.  The bank regulatory agencies exercise broad discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities. Federal and state banking laws and regulations are designed primarily to protect depositors, the deposit funds, and consumers, and not necessarily shareholders of a financial institution.  Banking regulations or the activities of bank regulatory agencies may, for example, limit a financial institution’s growth and potential shareholder returns by restricting certain activities such as the payment of dividends, expansion of branch offices, and acquisition activities.

The significant laws and regulations that govern our activities are described under “Item 1 - Description of Business” in this Form 10-K.  These laws and regulations, along with existing tax, accounting, securities, and monetary laws, regulations, standards, policies, and interpretations control the manner in which financial institutions conduct business.  Such laws, regulations, standards, policies, and interpretations are constantly evolving and may change significantly over time.  The potential exists for additional federal or state laws or regulations, or new policies or interpretations by regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over our activities, to affect many aspects of our operations, including capital requirements, lending and funding practices, and liquidity standards.  Additional laws, regulations or other regulatory requirements, or any substantial change in regulation and oversight, may have a material impact on our operations by increasing our cost of regulatory compliance and of doing business and otherwise affecting our operations, and may significantly affect the markets in which we do business, the markets for and value of our investments, the fees we charge and our ongoing operations, costs and profitability.

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If we lose the availability of wholesale funding we may be unable to support interest-earning asset growth, which could adversely impact our operating results and liquidity.

Management periodically uses wholesale funding sources to support loan demand and deposit withdrawals and to provide sufficient liquidity.  Wholesale funding primarily is made up of borrowings from the FHLB but may also include unsecured Federal funds from correspondent banks, Federal advances and wholesale certificates of deposit.

If wholesale funding becomes unavailable, QNB may need to reduce interest-earning asset growth through production reduction, sale of assets, or participating out future and current loans; this could adversely impact future net income.  A termination or change in borrowings from the FHLB, the Federal Reserve or correspondent banks may have an adverse effect on our liquidity and operating results.

Our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting may not achieve their intended objectives.

Management diligently reviews and updates its internal controls, disclosure controls and procedures, and corporate governance policies and procedures. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed by QNB in reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, and recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Management believes that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Any undetected circumvention of these controls could have a material adverse impact on QNB’s financial condition and results of operations.

These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in our control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

We may not be able to attract and retain highly qualified personnel to execute our business strategy.

Our success depends upon the ability to attract and retain highly motivated, well-qualified personnel. We face significant competition in the recruitment of qualified employees. Our ability to execute our business strategy and provide high-quality service may suffer if we are unable to recruit or retain a sufficient number of qualified employees or if the costs of employee compensation or benefits increase substantially. QNB currently has employment agreements and change of control agreements with five of its senior officers.

Uncertainty relating to the expected phase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) in 2021 may adversely affect us.

LIBOR has been used extensively in the United States as a reference rate for various financial contracts, including adjustable-rate loans, asset-backed securities, and interest rate swaps.  In 2017, the Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will not compel panel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. The announcement means that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot be guaranteed after 2021.  At this time, no consensus exists as to what rate or rates may become acceptable alternatives to LIBOR, and it is impossible to predict the effect of any such alternatives on the value of LIBOR-based variable rate loans and other securities or financial arrangements, given LIBOR's current role in determining market interest rates globally.  The uncertainty as to the nature and effect of such reforms and actions relating to the discontinuance of LIBOR may adversely affect the value of and return on certain of our financial assets and liabilities that are based on or are linked to LIBOR, which may adversely affect the Company's results of operations or financial condition. In addition, LIBOR-related reforms may also require changes to the agreements that govern these LIBOR-based products, as well as our internal systems and processes.

Acts of terrorism and other external events, including natural disasters and epidemics, could impact our ability to conduct business.

Financial institutions have been, and continue to be, targets of terrorist threats aimed at compromising operating and communication systems. Other external events, including natural disasters and epidemics could impact our business continuity.  Such events could cause significant damage, impact the stability of our facilities and result in additional expenses, impair the ability of our borrowers to repay their 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, operations and financial condition.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The principal office of both QNB Bank and QNB Corp. is located at 15 North Third Street, Quakertown, Pennsylvania. QNB Bank conducts business from its principal office and eleven other branch offices located in Bucks, Lehigh, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania. QNB Bank owns its principal office, three branch locations, its administrative and operations facility and a computer facility. QNB Bank leases its remaining eight branch properties. The leases on the properties generally contain renewal options. In management’s opinion, these properties are in good condition and are currently adequate for QNB’s purposes.

The following table details QNB Bank’s properties:

Location

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Although there are currently no material proceedings to which QNB is the subject, future litigation that arises during the normal course of QNB’s business could be material and have a negative impact on QNB’s earnings. Future litigation also could adversely impact the reputation of QNB in the communities that it serves.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

None.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Stock Information

QNB common stock is quoted on the over-the-counter bulletin board (“OTCBB”). QNB had approximately 659 shareholders of record as of February 28, 2020.

The following table sets forth the high and low bid and ask stock prices for QNB common stock on a quarterly basis during 2019 and 2018. These prices reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

QNB has traditionally paid quarterly cash dividends on the last Friday of each quarter. The Company expects to continue the practice of paying quarterly cash dividends to its shareholders; however, future dividends are dependent upon future earnings, financial condition, appropriate legal restrictions, and other factors relevant at the time the board of directors considers declaring a dividend. Certain laws restrict the amount of dividends that may be paid to shareholders in any given year. See “Shareholders’ Equity - Capital Adequacy” included in Item 7 of this Form 10-K filing and Note 20 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Form 10-K filing, for additional information that discusses and quantifies this regulatory restriction.

The following table provides information on repurchases by QNB of its common stock in each month of the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

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Stock Performance Graph

Set forth below is a performance graph comparing the yearly cumulative total shareholder return on QNB’s common stock with:

All of these cumulative total returns are computed assuming the reinvestment of dividends at the frequency with which dividends were paid during the applicable years.

Source: S&P Global Markets Intelligence © 2020

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA (in thousands, except share and per share data)

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

Results of Operations – Overview

QNB Corp. (“QNB” or the “Company”) earns its net income primarily through its subsidiary, QNB Bank (the “Bank”). Net interest income, or the spread between the interest, dividends and fees earned on loans and investment securities and the expense incurred on deposits and other interest-bearing liabilities, is the primary source of operating income for QNB. QNB seeks to achieve sustainable and consistent earnings growth while maintaining adequate levels of capital and liquidity and limiting its exposure to credit and interest rate risk levels approved by the Board of Directors. Due to its limited geographic area, comprised principally of Bucks, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, growth is pursued through expansion of existing customer relationships and building new relationships by stressing a consistent high level of service at all points of contact.

Tabular information presented throughout management’s discussion and analysis, other than share and per share data, is presented in thousands of dollars.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $12,357,000, or $3.53 per share on a diluted basis. This compares to 2018 net income of $11,335,000, or $3.25 per share on a diluted basis and 2017 net income of $8,289,000, or $2.41 per share on a diluted basis. Two important measures of profitability in the banking industry are an institution’s return on average assets and return on average shareholders’ equity.  Return on average assets was 1.02%, 0.96% and 0.74% in 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and return on average shareholders’ equity was 10.58%, 10.47% and 8.17%, respectively, during those same periods.

2019 versus 2018

The results for 2019 include the following significant components:

2018 versus 2017

The results for 2018 include the following significant components:

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These items, as well as others, will be explained more thoroughly in the next sections.

Net Interest Income

The following table presents the adjustment to convert net interest income to net interest income on a fully taxable equivalent basis for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

Net interest income is the primary source of operating income for QNB. Net interest income is interest income, dividends, and fees on earning assets, less interest expense incurred for funding sources. Earning assets primarily include loans, investment securities and interest-bearing balances at the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed). Sources used to fund these assets include deposits and borrowed funds. Net interest income is affected by changes in interest rates, the volume and mix of earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, and the amount of earning assets funded by non-interest-bearing deposits.

For purposes of this discussion, interest income and the average yield earned on loans and investment securities are adjusted to a tax-equivalent basis as detailed in the table that appears above. This adjustment to interest income is made for analysis purposes only. Interest income is increased by the amount of savings of Federal income taxes, which QNB realizes by investing in certain tax-exempt state and municipal securities and by making loans to certain tax-exempt organizations. In this way, the ultimate economic impact of earnings from various assets can be more easily compared.

The net interest rate spread is the difference between average rates received on earning assets and average rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities, while the net interest margin, which includes interest-free sources of funds, is net interest income expressed as a percentage of average interest-earning assets. The Asset/Liability and Investment Management Committee works to manage and maximize the net interest margin for the Company.

2019 versus 2018

On a tax-equivalent basis, net interest income for 2019 increased $1,241,000, or 3.5%, to $37,074,000. The net interest margin, which increased three basis points to 3.16% was favorably impacted by increased rates on loans.  The average rate earned on earning assets increased 17 basis points from 3.85% for 2018 to 4.02% for 2019 with the yield on loans increasing 16 basis points, favorably impacted by a $32,443,000 increase in average commercial real estate loans and an 16 basis point increase in the related yield, a $5,290,000 increase in average residential real estate loans and a 12 basis point increase in yield, and a $2,447,000 increase in average commercial and industrial loans and a 15 basis point increase in the related yield.  The yield on investment securities declined slightly to 2.39%. In comparison, the interest rate paid on total average interest-bearing liabilities increased 19 basis points from 0.88% for 2018 to 1.07% for 2019 with the average rate paid on interest-bearing deposits increasing from 0.86% to 1.06% for the same time periods, respectively, and a $15,780,000 increase in average interest-bearing deposits.

Market disruption caused by local bank consolidation positively impacted both loan and deposit growth which was partially offset by the competitive local interest rate market for quality loans and deposits.  Net interest spread decreased two basis points to 2.95% for 2019 compared to 2.97% for 2018.  Average earning assets increased by $31,113,000, or 2.7%, to $1,174,619,000 for 2019, with average loans increasing $44,782,000, or 5.8%, to $811,526,000. With the growth in earning assets occurring in the loan portfolio, the mix of earning assets changed, which also contributed to relative stability of the net interest margin, as investment securities generally earn a lower yield than loans. The growth in earning assets was funded by a $27,219,000, or 2.7%, increase in average total deposits to $1,030,373,000, and proceeds from the decrease in average investments of $13,197,000, or 3.5%.

2018 versus 2017

On a tax-equivalent basis, net interest income for 2018 increased $1,829,000, or 5.4%, to $35,833,000. The net interest margin, which decreased slightly to 3.13% was unfavorably impacted by increased rates on deposits and borrowings and less favorable tax-equivalent yields on tax-exempt municipal investments and loans as the Federal tax rate decreased from 34% to 21%.  The average rate earned on earning assets increased 18 basis points from 3.67% for 2017 to 3.85% for 2018 with the yield on loans increasing 16 basis points,

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favorably impacted by a $38,565,000 increase in average commercial real estate loans and an 11 basis point increase in the related yield and a $26,117,000 increase in average commercial and industrial loans and a 46 basis point increase in the related yield, while the yield on investment securities declined slightly to 2.32%. In comparison, the interest rate paid on total average interest-bearing liabilities increased 24 basis points from 0.64% for 2017 to 0.88% for 2018 with the average rate paid on interest-bearing deposits increasing from 0.65% to 0.86% for the same time periods, respectively, and a $31,842,000 increase in average interest-bearing deposits.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “2017 Tax Reform Act”) was signed into law, reducing the Federal corporate income tax rate from 34% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.  This reduction in the tax rate had an impact on the tax-equivalent yield on certain interest-earning assets.  Had the 2017 Tax Reform Act been in effect in 2017, the impact would have resulted in a reduction to the 2017 interest margin of approximately seven basis points.

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Average Balances, Rates, and Interest Income and Expense Summary (Tax-Equivalent Basis)