REPUBLIC BANCORP INC /KY/ - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

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

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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

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Commission File Number: 0-24649

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REPUBLIC BANCORP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (502) 584-3600

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

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

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None

(Title of Class)

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

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

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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

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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

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

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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. ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ⌧

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If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ⌧

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

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The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold as of June 30, 2022 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was approximately $421,252,833 (for purposes of this calculation, the market value of the Class B Common Stock was based on the market value of the Class A Common Stock into which it is convertible).

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The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, as of January 31, 2023 was 17,596,420 and 2,159,495.

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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

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Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held April 20, 2023 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The terms identified in alphabetical order below are used throughout this Form 10-K. You may find it helpful to refer to this page as you read this report.

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements relating to future results of Republic Bancorp, Inc. that are considered “forward-looking” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements are principally, but not exclusively, contained in Part I Item 1 “Business,” Part I Item 1A “Risk Factors” and Part II Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

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As used in this filing, the terms “Republic,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Republic Bancorp, Inc., and, where the context requires, Republic Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The term the “Bank” refers to the Company’s subsidiary bank: Republic Bank & Trust Company. The term the “Captive” refers to the Company’s insurance subsidiary: Republic Insurance Services, Inc.

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Forward-looking statements discuss matters that are not historical facts. As forward-looking statements discuss future events or conditions, the statements often include words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “target,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” or similar expressions. Do not rely on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements detail management’s expectations regarding the future and are not guarantees. Forward-looking statements are assumptions based on information known to management only as of the date the statements are made and management undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

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Broadly speaking, forward-looking statements include:

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Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the following:

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On October 26, 2022, Republic, the Bank and CBank entered into the CBank Agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, CBank will be merged with and into RB&T, with RB&T as the survivor of the merger. CBank is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. This document contains statements regarding the proposed acquisition transaction that are not statements of historical fact and are considered forward-looking statements within the criteria described above. These statements are likewise subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and outcomes of the proposed transaction to differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results or outcomes expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. In addition to factors disclosed in reports filed by Republic with the SEC, risks and uncertainties for Republic, CBank and the combined company include, but are not limited to: for the parties to receive all regulatory approvals as provided for in the CBank Agreement, the ability to grow CBank loan and deposit balances post-acquisition, unanticipated post-acquisition loan losses for Republic on CBank-originated loans, the ability of Republic to integrate acquired operations including obtaining synergies, integration objectives and anticipated timelines, the ability of Republic to integrate, manage and keep secure our information systems, and other risks and uncertainties reported from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including Part 1 Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

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PART I

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Item 1. Business.

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Republic is a financial holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bank is a Kentucky-based, state-chartered non-member financial institution that provides both traditional and non-traditional banking products through five reportable segments using a multitude of delivery channels. While the Bank operates primarily in its market footprint, its non-brick-and-mortar delivery channels allow it to reach clients across the U.S. The Captive is a Nevada-based, wholly owned insurance subsidiary of the Company. The Captive provides property and casualty insurance coverage to the Company and the Bank, as well as a group of third-party insurance captives for which insurance may not be available or economically feasible.

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As of December 31, 2022, Republic had 42 full-service banking centers with locations as follows:

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·Metropolitan Tampa, Florida — 7

·Metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio — 2

·Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee — 2

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Republic’s headquarters are in Louisville, which is the largest city in Kentucky based on population.

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The principal business of Republic is directing, planning, and coordinating the business activities of the Bank. The financial condition and results of operations of Republic are primarily dependent upon the results of operations of the Bank. As of December 31, 2022, Republic had total assets of $5.8 billion, total deposits of $4.5 billion, and total stockholders’ equity of $857 million. Based on total assets as of December 31, 2022, Republic ranked as the second largest Kentucky-based financial holding company. The executive offices of Republic are located at 601 West Market Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, telephone number (502) 584-3600. The Company’s website address is www.republicbank.com.

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Website Access to Reports

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The Company makes its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, available free of charge through its website, www.republicbank.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. The information provided on the Company’s website is not part of this report, and is therefore not incorporated by reference, unless that information is otherwise specifically referenced elsewhere in this report. The SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

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General Business Overview

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As of December 31, 2022, the Company was divided into five reportable segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, TRS, and RCS. Management considers the first three segments (Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking) to collectively constitute “Core Bank” or “Core Banking” operations, while the last two segments (TRS and RCS) collectively constitute RPG operations.

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(I)  Traditional Banking segment

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As of December 31, 2022 and through the date of this filing, generally all Traditional Banking products and services were offered through the Company’s traditional RB&T brand.

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Lending Activities

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The Bank’s principal lending activities consist of the following:

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Retail Mortgage Lending — Through the Bank’s mortgage division, which consists of a retail channel and consumer direct channel, as well as the Bank’s private banking division and banking center network, the Bank originates single-family, residential real estate loans and HELOCs. Such loans are generally collateralized by owner-occupied, residential real estate properties. The collateral for these loans is predominately located in the Bank’s market footprint, except for a small percentage of loans originated through its Consumer Direct Channel, which are secured by owner-occupied collateral located outside of the Bank’s market footprint. The Bank expects to relaunch its Correspondent Lending channel during the first quarter of 2023, with these loans secured by owner-occupied collateral generally located outside of the Bank’s market footprint, as well.

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The Bank offers single-family, first-lien residential real estate ARMs with interest rate adjustments tied to various market indices with specified minimum and maximum adjustments. The Bank generally charges a premium interest rate for its ARMs if the property is not owner occupied. The interest rates on the majority of ARMs are adjusted after their fixed rate periods on an annual or semi-annual basis, with most having annual and lifetime limitations on upward rate adjustments to the loan. These loans typically feature amortization periods of up to 30 years and have fixed interest-rate periods generally ranging from five to ten years, with demand dependent upon market conditions. While there is no requirement for clients to refinance their loans at the end of the fixed-rate period, clients have historically done so the majority of the time, as most clients are interest-rate-risk averse on their first mortgage loans.

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Depending on the term and amount of the ARM, loans collateralized by single family, owner-occupied first lien residential real estate may be originated with an LTV up to 90%. The Bank also offers a 100% LTV product for medical doctors within its primary markets. The Bank does not require the borrower to obtain private mortgage insurance for ARM loans. Except for its HEAL product under $250,000, the Bank requires mortgagee’s title insurance on single family, first lien residential real estate

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loans to protect the Bank against defects in its liens on the properties that collateralize the loans. The Bank normally requires title, fire, and extended casualty insurance to be obtained by the borrower and, when required by applicable regulations, flood insurance. The Bank maintains an errors and omissions insurance policy to protect the Bank against loss in the event a borrower fails to maintain proper fire and other hazard insurance policies.

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Single-family, first-lien residential real estate loans with fixed-rate periods of 15, 20, and 30 years are primarily originated and sold into the secondary market. MSRs attached to the sold portfolio are either sold along with the loan or retained. Loans sold into the secondary market, along with their corresponding MSRs, are included as a component of the Company’s Mortgage Banking segment, as discussed elsewhere in this filing. The Bank, as it has in the past, may retain such longer-term, fixed-rate loans from time to time in the future to help combat net interest margin compression. Any such loans retained on the Company’s balance sheet would be reported as a component of the Traditional Banking segment.

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The Bank does, on occasion, purchase single-family, first-lien residential real estate loans made to low-to-moderate income borrowers and/or secured by property located in low-to-moderate income areas, which assists the Bank in meeting its obligations under the CRA. In connection with loan purchases, the Bank receives various representations and warranties from the sellers regarding the quality and characteristics of the loans.

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Commercial Lending — The Bank conducts commercial lending activities primarily through Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking, CRE Banking, Business Banking, and Retail Banking channels.

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Commercial lending credit approvals and processing are prepared and underwritten through the Bank’s centralized CCAD. Commercial clients are typically located within the Bank’s market footprint or in an adjoining market.

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Credit opportunities are generally driven by the following: companies expanding their businesses; companies acquiring new businesses; and/or companies refinancing existing debt from other institutions. The Bank has a focus on C&I lending, and owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied CRE lending. The targeted C&I credit size for client relationships is typically between $1 million and $10 million, with higher targets between $10 million and $25 million for large Corporate Banking and CRE Division borrowers of higher credit quality.

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C&I loans typically include those secured by general business assets, which consist of equipment, accounts receivable, inventory, and other business assets owned by the borrower/guarantor. Credit facilities include annually renewable lines of credit and term loans with maturities typically from three to five years and may also involve financial covenant requirements. These requirements are monitored by the Bank’s CCAD. Underwriting for C&I loans is based on the borrower’s capacity to repay these loans from operating cash flows, typically measured by EBITDA, with capital strength, collateral, and management experience also important underwriting considerations.

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Corporate Banking focuses on larger C&I opportunities. Borrowers are generally single-asset entities and loan sizes typically range from $5 million to $30 million. Primary underwriting considerations are project cash flows (current and historical), financial capacity of sponsors, and collateral value financed. The majority of interest rates offered are based on a floating rate index like term-SOFR and U.S. Treasuries. Fixed-rate terms of up to 10 years are available to borrowers by utilizing standard Bank products or interest rate swaps. In many cases, limited guarantees, or in certain instances, non-recourse (of owners) loans will be issued, with such cases based upon the equity/capital position, project cash flows, and stabilization of the borrowing entity.

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The Bank’s CRE Division, which launched in 2022, focuses on large CRE projects, typically $5 million to $25 million. Borrowers are generally single-asset entities. Primary underwriting considerations are project cash flow (current and historical), financial capacity of sponsors, and collateral value financed. Fixed rate financing and reciprocal interest rate swap’s are typically used as well. Given the size of these credits, the Bank generally seeks established, well-known borrowers and projects with low credit risk.

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Commercial Banking focuses on medium sized C&I and CRE opportunities. Borrowers are generally single-asset entities and loan sizes typically range from $1 million to $5 million. As with Corporate Banking, the primary underwriting considerations are project cash flow (current and historical), quality of leases, financial capacity of sponsors, and collateral value of property financed. Interest rates offered are based on both fixed and variable interest-rate formulas.

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The Bank’s CRE and multi-family loans are typically secured by improved property such as office buildings, medical facilities, retail centers, warehouses, apartment buildings, condominiums, schools, religious institutions, and other types of commercial use property.

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The Business Banking and Business Development groups, reporting under Retail Banking, focus on locally based small-to-medium sized businesses in the Bank’s market footprint with primary annual revenues up to $10 million, and borrowings between $200,000 and $1 million. The needs of these clients range from expansion or acquisition financing, equipment financing, owner-occupied real estate financing, and smaller operating lines of credit.

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The Bank is an SBA Preferred Lending Partner, which allows the Bank to underwrite and approve its own SBA loans in an expedited manner. An experienced veteran lender oversees the Bank’s SBA Department. The Bank makes loans to borrowers generally up to $3 million under the SBA “7A Program,” as well as utilize the “504 Program” for owner-occupied CRE opportunities. The Bank’s goal is to expand its SBA platform over time and support the opportunities that arise within its markets. The Bank’s lenders utilize all appropriate programs of the SBA to reduce credit risk exposure.

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Construction and Land Development Lending — The Bank originates business loans for the construction of both single-family, residential properties and commercial properties (apartment complexes, shopping centers, office buildings). While not a focus for the Bank, the Bank may originate loans for the acquisition and development of residential or commercial land into buildable lots.

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Single-family, residential-construction loans are made in the Bank’s market area to established homebuilders with solid financial records. The majority of these loans are made for “contract” homes, which the builder has already pre-sold to a homebuyer. The duration of these loans is generally less than 12 months and repaid at the end of the construction period from the sale of the constructed property. Some loans are made on “speculative” homes, which the builder does not have pre-sold to a homebuyer but expects to execute a contract to sell during the construction period. These speculative homes are considered necessary to have in inventory for homebuilders, as not all homebuyers want to wait during the construction period to purchase and move into a newly built home.

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Commercial-construction loans are made in the Bank’s market to established commercial builders with solid financial records. Typically, these loans are made for investment properties and have tenants pre-committed for some or all of the space. Some projects may begin as speculative, with the builder contracting to lease or sell the property during the construction period. Generally, commercial-construction loans are made for the duration of the construction period and slightly beyond and will either convert to permanent financing with the Bank or with another lender at or before maturity.

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Construction-to-permanent loans are another type of construction-related financing offered by the Bank. These loans are made to borrowers who are going to build a property and retain it for ownership after construction completion. The construction phase is handled just like all other construction loans, and the permanent phase offers similar terms to a permanent CRE loan while allowing the borrower a one-time closing process at loan origination. These loans are offered on both owner-occupied and nonowner-occupied CRE.

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Consumer Lending — Traditional Banking consumer loans made by the Bank include secured and unsecured personal loans, as well as credit cards. The Bank predominately originates consumer credit cards as the main product within this lending. Credit cards are generally marketed to existing clients of the Bank and are not generally marketed to non-clients.

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Aircraft Lending — Aircraft loans are typically made to purchase or refinance personal aircrafts, along with engine overhauls and avionic upgrades. Loans range between $55,000 and $3,000,000 in size and have terms up to 20 years. The aircraft loan program is open to all fifty states.

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The credit characteristics of an aircraft borrower are higher than a typical consumer in that they must demonstrate and indicate a higher degree of credit worthiness for approval.

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See additional discussion regarding Lending Activities under the sections titled:

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The Bank’s other Traditional Banking activities generally consist of the following:

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Private Banking — The Bank provides financial products and services to high-net-worth individuals through its Private Banking department. The Bank’s Private Banking officers have extensive banking experience and are trained to meet the unique financial needs of this clientele.

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Treasury Management Department — The Bank provides various deposit products designed for commercial business clients located throughout its market footprint. Lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business on-line banking, account reconciliation, and ACH processing are additional services offered to commercial businesses through the Bank’s Treasury Management department. Treasury Management officers work closely with commercial and retail officers to support their client’s cash management needs.

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Correspondent Lending — The Bank expects to begin acquiring single family, first lien mortgage loans for investment through its Correspondent Lending channel during the first quarter of 2023. Correspondent Lending generally involves the Bank acquiring, primarily from its Warehouse Lending clients, closed loans that meet the Bank’s specifications. Substantially all loans purchased through the Correspondent Lending channel will be purchased at a premium.  Premiums on loans held for investment acquired though the Correspondent Lending channel will be amortized into interest income on the level-yield method over the expected life of the loan.  Loans acquired through the Correspondent Lending channel will be generally made to borrowers outside of the Bank’s historical market footprint.

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Internet Banking — The Bank expands its market penetration and service delivery of its RB&T brand by offering clients Internet Banking services and products through its website, www.republicbank.com.

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Mobile Banking — The Bank allows clients to easily and securely access and manage their accounts through its mobile banking application.

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Other Banking Services — The Bank also provides title insurance and other financial institution related products and services.

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Bank Acquisitions — The Bank maintains an acquisition strategy to selectively grow its franchise as a complement to its organic growth strategies.

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See additional discussion regarding the Traditional Banking segment under Footnote 25 “Segment Information” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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(II)  Warehouse Lending segment

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The Core Bank provides short-term, revolving credit facilities to mortgage bankers across the United States through mortgage warehouse lines of credit. These credit facilities are primarily secured by single-family, first-lien residential real estate loans. The credit facility enables the mortgage banking clients to close single-family, first-lien residential real estate loans in their own name and temporarily fund their inventory of these closed loans until the loans are sold to investors approved by the Bank. Individual advances for loans are expected to remain on the warehouse line for an average of 15 to 30 days. Advances for Reverse mortgage loans and construction loans typically remain on the line longer than conventional mortgage loans. Interest income and loan fees are accrued for each individual advance during the time the advance remains on the warehouse line and collected when the loan is sold. The Core Bank receives the sale proceeds of each loan directly from the investor and applies the funds to pay off the warehouse advance and related accrued interest and fees. The remaining proceeds are credited to the mortgage-banking client.

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See additional discussion regarding the Warehouse Lending segment under Footnote 25 “Segment Information” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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(III)  Mortgage Banking segment

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Mortgage Banking activities primarily include 15-, 20- and 30-year fixed-term single-family, first-lien residential real estate loans that are originated and sold into the secondary market, primarily to the FHLMC and the FNMA. The Bank typically retains servicing on loans sold into the secondary market. Administration of loans with servicing retained by the Bank includes collecting principal and interest payments, escrowing funds for property taxes and property insurance, and remitting payments to secondary market investors. The Bank receives fees for performing these standard servicing functions.

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As part of the sale of loans with servicing retained, the Bank records MSRs. MSRs represent an estimate of the present value of future cash servicing income, net of estimated costs, which the Bank expects to receive on loans sold with servicing retained by the Bank. MSRs are capitalized as separate assets. This transaction is posted to net gain on sale of loans, a component of “Mortgage Banking income” in the income statement. Management considers all relevant factors, in addition to pricing considerations from other servicers, to estimate the fair value of the MSRs to be recorded when the loans are initially sold with servicing retained by the Bank. The carrying value of MSRs is initially amortized in proportion to and over the estimated period of net servicing income and subsequently adjusted quarterly based on the weighted average remaining life of the underlying loans. The MSR amortization is recorded as a reduction to net servicing income, a component of Mortgage Banking income.

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With the assistance of an independent third party, the MSRs asset is reviewed at least quarterly for impairment based on the fair value of the MSRs using groupings of the underlying loans based on predominant risk characteristics. Any impairment of a grouping is reported as a valuation allowance. A primary factor influencing the fair value is the estimated life of the underlying loans serviced. The estimated life of the loans serviced is significantly influenced by market interest rates. During a period of declining interest rates, the fair value of the MSRs is expected to decline due to increased anticipated prepayment speeds within the portfolio. Alternatively, during a period of rising interest rates, the fair value of MSRs would be expected to increase as prepayment speeds on the underlying loans would be expected to decline.

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See additional discussion regarding the Mortgage Banking segment under Footnote 25 “Segment Information” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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(IV) Tax Refund Solutions segment

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Through the TRS segment, the Bank is one of a limited number of financial institutions that facilitates the receipt and payment of federal and state tax refund products and offers a credit product through third-party tax preparers located throughout the U.S., as well as tax-preparation software providers (collectively, the “Tax Providers”). The majority of all the business generated by the TRS business occurs during the first half of each year. During the second half of each year, TRS generates limited revenue and incurs costs preparing for the next year’s tax season. TRS also originated $98 million of ERAs during December 2022 related to tax returns that are anticipated to be filed during the first quarter 2023 tax filing season.

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RTs are fee-based products whereby a tax refund is issued to the taxpayer after the Bank has received the refund from the federal or state government. There is no credit risk or borrowing cost associated with these products because they are only delivered to the taxpayer upon receipt of the tax refund directly from the governmental paying authority. Fees earned by the Company on RTs, net of revenue share, are reported as noninterest income under the line item “Net refund transfer fees.”

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The RA credit product is a loan made in conjunction with the filing of a taxpayer’s final federal tax return, which allows the taxpayer to borrow funds as an advance of a portion of their tax refund. The RA product had the following features during the first quarters of 2022 and 2021:

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The ERA credit product is similar to the RA with the distinction of the timing of when the ERA is originated and the documentation available to underwrite the credit. The ERA is originated prior to the taxpayer receiving their fiscal year taxable income documentation, e.g., W-2, and the filing of the taxpayer’s final federal tax return. As such, the Company generally uses paystub information to underwrite the ERA. The repayment of the ERA is incumbent upon the taxpayer client returning to the Bank’s Tax Provider for the filing of their final federal tax return in order for the tax refund to potentially be received by the Bank from the federal government to pay off the advance. The ERA product related to the first quarter 2023 tax filing season had the following features:

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The Company reports fees paid for the RAs, including ERAs, as interest income on loans. RAs that were originated related to the first quarter 2022 tax season were repaid, on average, within 32 days after the taxpayer’s tax return was submitted to the applicable taxing authority. RAs do not have a contractual due date but the Company considered an RA, related to the first quarter 2022 tax season, delinquent if it remained unpaid 35 days after the taxpayer’s tax return was submitted to the applicable taxing authority. The number

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of days for delinquency eligibility is based on management’s annual analysis of tax return processing times. Provisions on RAs are estimated when advances are made. Unpaid RAs, including ERAs, related to the first quarter tax season of a given year are charged-off by June 30^th of that year, with RAs collected during the second half of that year recorded as recoveries of previously charged-off loans.

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Related to the overall credit losses on RAs, including ERAs, the Bank’s ability to control losses is highly dependent upon its ability to predict the taxpayer’s likelihood to receive the tax refund as claimed on the taxpayer’s tax return. Each year, the Bank’s RA approval model is based primarily on the prior-year’s tax refund payment patterns. Because the substantial majority of the RA volume occurs each year before that year’s tax refund payment patterns can be analyzed and subsequent underwriting changes made, credit losses during a current year could be higher than management’s predictions if tax refund payment patterns change materially between years.

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In response to changes in the legal, regulatory, and competitive environment, management annually reviews and revises the RA, including the ERA, product parameters. Further changes in the RA product parameters do not ensure positive results and could have an overall material negative impact on the performance of all RA product offerings and therefore on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

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See additional discussion regarding the RA product under the sections titled:

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See Footnote 1 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for discussion regarding the cancelled sale of the TRS business and associated litigation.

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Republic Payment Solutions division

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RPS is currently managed and operated within the TRS segment. The RPS division offers general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards, payroll debit cards, and limited-purpose demand deposit accounts with linked debit cards as an issuing bank through third-party service providers. Until the operating results of the RPS division are material to the Company’s overall results of operations, they will be reported as part of the TRS segment. The Company does not expect to report the RPS division as a separate reportable segment until such time, if any, that it meets quantitative reporting thresholds.

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The Company reports fees related to RPS programs under Program fees. Additionally, the Company’s portion of interchange revenue generated by prepaid card transactions is reported as noninterest income under “Interchange fee income.”

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See additional discussion regarding the TRS segment under the sections titled:

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(V) Republic Credit Solutions segment

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Through the RCS segment, the Bank offers consumer credit products. In general, the credit products are unsecured, small dollar consumer loans that are dependent on various factors. RCS loans typically earn a higher yield but also have higher credit risk compared to loans originated through the Traditional Banking segment, with a significant portion of RCS clients considered subprime or near-prime borrowers. The Bank uses third-party service providers for certain services such as marketing and loan servicing of RCS loans. Additional information regarding consumer loan products offered through RCS follows:

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The Bank sells participation interests in this product. These participation interests are a 90% interest in advances made to borrowers under the borrower’s line-of-credit account, and the participation interests are generally sold three business days following the Bank’s funding of the associated advances. Although the Bank retains a 10% participation interest in each advance, it maintains 100% ownership of the underlying LOC I account with each borrower. Loan balances held for sale through this program are carried at the lower of cost or fair value.

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The Bank sells participation interests in this product. These participation interests are a 95% interest in advances made to borrowers under the borrower’s line-of-credit account, and the participation interests are generally sold three business days following the Bank’s funding of the associated advances. Although the Bank retains a 5% participation interest in each advance, it maintains 100% ownership of the underlying LOC II account with each borrower. Loan balances held for sale through this program are carried at the lower of cost or fair value.

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The Company reports interest income and loan origination fees earned on RCS loans under “Loans, including fees,” while any gains or losses on sale and mark-to-market adjustments of RCS loans are reported as noninterest income under “Program fees.”

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See additional discussion regarding the RCS segment under the sections titled:

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Employees and Human Capital Resources

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As of December 31, 2022, Republic had 998 FTE employees. Altogether, Republic had 984 full-time and 28 part-time employees. None of the Company’s employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement, and Republic has never experienced a work stoppage. The Company believes that it has had and continues to have good employee relations.

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Employee retention helps the Company operate efficiently and effectively. Management promotes its core values through prioritizing concern for employees’ well-being, supporting employees’ career goals, offering competitive wages, offering flexible schedules, and providing valuable fringe benefits. In addition, Bank employees may become stockholders of the Company through participation in its Employee Stock Purchase Plan and its 401(k) retirement plan, which offers a Company stock investment option.

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The Company actively encourages and supports the growth and development of its employees. Management generally seeks to fill positions by promotion and transfer from within the organization, whenever practical. Career development is advanced through ongoing mentoring and development programs, as well as internally developed training programs, customized corporate training engagements and educational reimbursement programs. Reimbursement is available to employees enrolled in pre-approved degree or certification programs at accredited institutions that teach skills or knowledge relevant to the financial services industry and in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code.

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The safety, health, and wellness of Republic’s employees is considered a top priority. The Company promotes the health and wellness of its employees by encouraging work-life balance, offering flexible work schedules, and striving to keep the employee portion of health care premiums competitive with local competition. Additionally, Republic strives to clearly and frequently communicate expectations that all employee conduct must adhere to the highest ethical standards encompassed by its corporate values, including through town hall meetings and senior leadership messages.

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Information about our Executive Officers

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See Part III, Item 10. “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.” for information about the Company’s executive officers.

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Competition

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Traditional Banking

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The Traditional Bank encounters intense competition in its market footprint in originating loans, attracting deposits, and selling other banking related financial services. The deregulation of the banking industry, the ability to create financial services holding companies to engage in a wide range of financial services other than banking and the widespread enactment of state laws that permit multi-bank holding companies, as well as the availability of nationwide interstate banking, has created a highly competitive environment for financial institutions. In one or more aspects of the Bank’s business, the Bank competes with local and regional retail and commercial banks, other savings banks, credit unions, finance companies, mortgage companies, fintech companies, and other financial intermediaries operating in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, and in other states where the Bank offers its products. The Bank also competes with insurance companies, consumer finance companies, investment banking firms, and mutual fund managers. Some of the Company’s competitors are not subject to the same degree of regulatory review and restrictions that apply to the Company and the Bank. Many of the Bank’s primary competitors, some of which are affiliated with large bank holding companies or other larger financial based institutions, have substantially greater resources, larger established client bases, higher lending limits, more extensive banking center networks, numerous ATMs or ITMs, and greater advertising and marketing budgets. They may also offer services that the Bank does not currently provide. These competitors attempt to gain market share through their financial product mix, pricing strategies, and banking center locations. Legislative developments related to interstate branching and banking in general, by providing large banking institutions easier access to a broader marketplace, can act to create more pressure on smaller financial institutions to consolidate. It is anticipated that competition from both bank and non-bank entities will continue to remain strong in the foreseeable future.

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The primary factors in competing for bank products are convenient locations, ATMs, ITMs, flexible hours, deposit interest rates, services, internet banking, mobile banking, range of lending services offered, and lending fees. The Bank believes that an emphasis on highly personalized service tailored to individual client needs, together with the local character of the Bank’s business and its

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“community bank” management philosophy will continue to enhance the Bank’s ability to compete successfully in its market footprint.

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Warehouse Lending

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The Bank faces strong competition from financial institutions across the United States for mortgage banking clients in need of warehouse lines of credit. Competitors may have substantially greater resources, larger established client bases, higher lending limits, as well as underwriting standards and on-going oversight requirements that could be viewed more favorably by some clients. A few or all of these factors can lead to a competitive disadvantage to the Company when attempting to retain or grow its Warehouse client base.

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Mortgage Banking

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The Bank encounters intense competition from mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, and financial institutions for the origination and funding of mortgage loans. Many competitors have branch offices in the same areas where the Bank’s loan officers operate. The Bank also competes with mortgage companies whose focus is often on telemarketing and consumer-direct lending.

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Tax Refund Solutions

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The TRS segment encounters direct competition for RT and RA market share from a limited number of banks in the industry. The Bank promotes these products to Tax Providers using various revenue-share and pricing incentives, as well as product features and overall service levels.

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Republic Payment Solutions (a division of TRS)

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The prepaid card industry is subject to intense and increasing competition. The Bank competes with a number of companies that market different types of prepaid card products, such as general-purpose-reloadable, gift, incentive, and corporate disbursement cards. There is also competition from large retailers who are seeking to integrate more financial services into their product offerings. Increased competition is also expected from alternative financial services providers who are often well-positioned to service the “underbanked” and who may wish to develop their own prepaid card programs.

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Republic Credit Solutions

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The small-dollar consumer loan industry is highly competitive. Competitors for the Company’s small-dollar loan programs include, but are not limited to, billers who accept late payments for a fee, overdraft privilege programs of other banks and credit unions, as well as payday lenders and fintech companies.

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New entrants to the small-dollar consumer loan market must successfully implement underwriting and fraud prevention processes, overcome consumer brand loyalty, and have sufficient capital to withstand early losses associated with unseasoned loan portfolios. In addition, there are substantial regulatory and compliance costs, including the need for expertise to customize products associated with licenses to lend in various states across the United States.

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Supervision and Regulation

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The Company and the Bank are separate and distinct entities and are subject to extensive federal and state banking laws and regulations, which establish a comprehensive framework of activities in which the Company and the Bank may engage. These laws and regulations are primarily intended to provide protection to clients and depositors, not stockholders. The Company, as a public reporting company, is also subject to various securities laws and regulations.

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As an umbrella supervisor, the FRB requires that FHCs operate in a safe and sound manner so that their financial condition does not threaten the viability of affiliated depository institutions. The FRB conducts periodic examinations to review the Company’s compliance with various legal and safety and soundness requirements, which directly impact the Bank.

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The Bank is a Kentucky-chartered commercial banking and trust corporation and as such, it is subject to supervision and regulation by the FDIC and the KDFI. The Bank also operates physical locations in Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee, and originates and purchases loans on a national basis. All deposits, subject to regulatory prescribed limitations, held by the Bank are insured by the FDIC. The Bank is subject to restrictions, requirements, potential enforcement actions and examinations by the FDIC and KDFI.

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The Bank is a member of the FHLB system. As a member of the FHLB system, the Bank must also comply with applicable regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Regulation by each of these agencies is intended primarily for the protection of the Bank’s clients and the DIF and not for the benefit of the Company’s stockholders. The Bank’s activities are also regulated under federal and state consumer protection laws applicable to the Bank’s lending, deposit, and other activities. An adverse ruling or finding against the Company or the Bank under these laws could have a material adverse effect on the results of operations.

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The Company and the Bank are also subject to the regulations of the CFPB. The CFPB has consolidated rules and orders with respect to consumer financial products and services and has substantial power to define the rights of consumers and responsibilities of lending institutions, such as the Bank. The CFPB does not, however, examine or supervise the Bank for compliance with such regulations; rather, based on the Bank’s size (less than $10 billion in assets), enforcement authority remains with the FDIC and the KDFI although the Bank may be required to submit reports or other materials to the CFPB upon its request. Notwithstanding jurisdictional limitations set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB and federal banking regulators may endeavor to work jointly on supervision matters.

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Regulators have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement authority and examination policies, including, but not limited to, policies that can materially impact the classification of assets and the establishment of adequate loan loss reserves. Any change in regulatory requirements and policies, whether by the FRB, the FDIC, the KDFI, the CFPB or state or federal legislation, could have a material adverse impact on Company operations.

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Regulators also have broad enforcement powers over banks and their holding companies, including, but not limited to: the power to mandate or restrict particular actions, activities, or divestitures; impose monetary fines and other penalties for violations of laws and regulations; issue cease and desist or removal orders; seek injunctions; publicly disclose such actions; and prohibit unsafe or unsound practices. This authority includes both informal and formal actions to effect corrective actions and/or sanctions. In addition, the Bank is subject to regulation and potential enforcement actions by other state and federal agencies.

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Certain regulatory requirements applicable to the Company and the Bank are referred to below or elsewhere in this filing. The description of statutory provisions and regulations applicable to banks and their holding companies set forth in this filing does not purport to be a complete description of such statutes and regulations. Their effect on the Company and the Bank is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual laws and regulations.

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The Dodd-Frank Act

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The Dodd-Frank Act, among other things, implemented changes that affected the oversight and supervision of financial institutions, provided for a new resolution procedure for large financial companies, created the CFPB, introduced more stringent regulatory capital requirements and significant changes in the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives, reformed the regulation of credit rating agencies, increased controls and transparency in corporate governance and executive compensation practices, incorporated the Volcker Rule, required registration of advisers to certain private funds, and influenced significant changes in the securitization market. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 (the “EGRRCPA”) and its implementing regulations pulled back some of the more stringent requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act for community banks with total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion, such as the Bank. Due to exemptions in the Dodd-Frank Act, the EGRRCPA, and each Act’s implementing regulations, the Company and Bank are not subject to several provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act including but not limited to 1) the Durbin Amendment that would otherwise limit the interchange fees the Bank could charge on debit card transactions, 2) the Volcker Rule that would affect the Company’s ability to invest in or engage in certain trading activities, and 3) stricter regulatory capital requirements.

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Incentive and Executive Compensation — In 2010, the FRB and other regulators published final interagency guidance for structuring incentive compensation arrangements at financial organizations. The guidance does not set forth any formulas or pay caps but contains certain principles that companies are required to follow with respect to employees and groups of employees that may expose the company to material amounts of risk. The three primary principles are (i) balanced risk-taking incentives, (ii) compatibility with

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effective controls and risk management, and (iii) strong corporate governance. The FRB and the FDIC monitor compliance with this guidance as part of safety and soundness oversight.

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I.The Company

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Source of Strength Doctrine — The Dodd-Frank Act codifies the Federal Reserve Board’s existing “source of strength” policy that holding companies act as a source of strength to their insured institution subsidiaries by providing capital, liquidity, and other support in times of distress. FRB policies and regulations also prohibit bank holding companies from engaging in unsafe and unsound banking practices. The FDIC and the KDFI have similar restrictions with respect to the Bank. Under the Dodd-Frank Act and in line with prior FRB policy, a BHC is expected to act as a source of financial strength to its banking subsidiaries and to commit resources for their support. This support may restrict the Company’s ability to pay dividends, and may be required at times when, absent this FRB policy, a holding company may not be inclined to provide it. A BHC may also be required to guarantee the capital restoration plan of an undercapitalized banking subsidiary and any applicable cross-guarantee provisions that may apply to the Company. In addition, any capital loans by the Company to its bank subsidiary are subordinate in right of payment to deposits and to certain other indebtedness of the bank subsidiary. In the event of a BHC’s bankruptcy, any commitment by the BHC to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of subsidiary bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to a priority of payment.

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Acquisitions and Strategic Planning — The Company is required to obtain the prior approval of the FRB under the BHCA before it may, among other things, acquire all or substantially all of the assets of any bank, or ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank, if after such acquisition it would own or control, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of any class of the voting shares of such bank. In addition, the Bank must obtain regulatory approval before entering into certain transactions, such as adding new banking offices and mergers with, or acquisitions of, other financial institutions. This may affect the Company’s or the Bank’s acquisition or timely acquisition of interests in other banks, other merger and acquisition activity and banking office expansion.

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The BHCA and the Change in Bank Control Act also generally require the approval of the Federal Reserve before any person or company can acquire control of a bank or BHC. Acquisition of control occurs if immediately after a transaction, the acquiring person or company owns, controls, or holds voting securities of the institution with the power to vote 25% or more of any class. Control is refutably presumed to exist if, immediately after a transaction, the acquiring person or company owns, controls, or holds voting securities of the institution with the power to vote 10% or more of any class, and (i) the institution has registered securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; or (ii) no other person will own, control, or hold the power to vote a greater percentage of that class of voting securities immediately after the transaction.

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Financial Activities — The Company is an FHC. A BHC may elect to become an FHC if it and each of its banking subsidiaries is well capitalized, is well managed and has at least a “Satisfactory” rating under the CRA. As an FHC, the Company is permitted to engage directly or indirectly in a broader range of activities than those permitted for a BHC under the BHCA. Permitted activities for an FHC include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance underwriting and brokerage, merchant banking and other activities that are declared by the FRB, in cooperation with the Treasury Department, to be “financial in nature or incidental thereto” or are declared by the FRB unilaterally to be “complementary” to financial activities. Permitted activities also include those determined to be “closely related to banking” activities by the FRB under the BHCA and permissible for any BHC. An FHC is allowed to conduct permissible new financial activities or acquire permissible non-bank financial companies with after-the-fact notice to the FRB.

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To maintain FHC status, the Company and the Bank must continue to meet the well capitalized and well managed requirements and maintain at least a “Satisfactory” rating under the CRA. The failure to meet such requirements could result in material restrictions on the activities of the Company and may also adversely affect the Company’s ability to enter into certain transactions (including mergers and acquisitions) or obtain necessary approvals in connection therewith, as well as loss of FHC status. If restrictions are imposed on the activities of an FHC, such information may not necessarily be available to the public.

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II.The Bank

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The Kentucky and federal banking statutes prescribe the permissible activities in which a Kentucky chartered bank may engage and where those activities may be conducted. Kentucky’s statutes contain a super parity provision that permits a well-rated Kentucky bank to engage in any banking activity in which a national bank in Kentucky, a state bank, state thrift, or state savings association operating in any other state, a federal savings bank, or a federal thrift meeting the qualified thrift lender test engages, provided it first obtains a legal opinion from counsel specifying the statutory or regulatory provisions that permit the activity.

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Safety and Soundness — The federal banking regulatory agencies have prescribed, by regulation, guidelines for all insured depository institutions relating to: (i) internal controls, information systems, and internal audit systems; (ii) loan documentation; (iii) credit underwriting; (iv) interest rate risk exposure; (v) asset growth; (vi) asset quality; (vii) earnings; and (viii) compensation, fees, and benefits. The guidelines set forth safety and soundness standards that the federal banking regulatory agencies use to identify and address problems at FDIC member institutions before capital becomes impaired. If the FDIC determines that the Bank fails to meet any standard prescribed by the guidelines, the FDIC may require the Bank to submit to it an acceptable plan to achieve compliance with the standard. FDIC regulations establish deadlines for the submission and review of such safety and soundness compliance plans in response to any such determination.

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Branching — Kentucky law generally permits a Kentucky chartered bank to establish a branch office in any county in Kentucky. A Kentucky bank may also, subject to regulatory approval and certain restrictions, establish a branch office outside of Kentucky. Well-capitalized Kentucky state chartered banks that have been in operation at least three years and that satisfy certain criteria relating to, among other things, their composite and management regulatory exam ratings, may establish a branch in Kentucky without the approval of the Commissioner of the KDFI, upon notice to the KDFI and any other state bank with its main office located in the county where the new branch will be located. Branching by banks not meeting these criteria requires the approval of the Commissioner of the KDFI, who must ascertain and determine that the public convenience and advantage will be served and promoted and that there is a reasonable probability of the successful operation of the branch. In any case, the proposed branch must also be approved by the FDIC, which considers a number of factors, including financial condition, capital adequacy, earnings prospects, character of management, needs of the community, and consistency with corporate powers. As a result of several legislative acts including the Dodd-Frank Act, the Bank, along with any other national or state-chartered bank, generally may branch across state lines. Such unlimited branching authority has the potential to increase competition within the markets in which the Company and the Bank operate.

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Restrictions on Affiliate Transactions and Loans to Insiders — Transactions between the Bank and its affiliates, and in some cases the Bank’s correspondent banks, are subject to FDIC regulations, the FRB’s Regulations O and W, and Sections 23A, 23B, 22(g), and 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act (“FRA”). In general, these transactions must be on terms and conditions that are consistent with safe and sound banking practices and substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the bank or its subsidiary, as those for comparable transactions with non-affiliated parties. In addition, certain types of these transactions referred to as “covered transactions” are subject to quantitative limits based on a percentage of the Bank’s capital, thereby restricting the total dollar amount of transactions the Bank may engage in with each individual affiliate and with all affiliates in the aggregate. Limitations are also imposed on loans and extensions of credit by a bank to its executive officers, directors, and principal stockholders and each of their related interests. The Dodd-Frank Act expanded the scope of these regulations, including by applying them to the credit exposure arising under derivative transactions, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and securities borrowing and lending transactions.

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The FRB promulgated Regulation W to implement Sections 23A and 23B of the FRA. This regulation contains many of the foregoing restrictions and addresses derivative transactions, overdraft facilities, and other transactions between a bank and its non-bank affiliates.

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Restrictions on Distribution of Subsidiary Bank Dividends and Assets — Bank regulators may declare a dividend payment to be unsafe and unsound even if the Bank continues to meet its capital requirements after the dividend. Dividends paid by the Bank provide substantially all of the Company’s operating funds. Regulatory requirements limit the amount of dividends that may be paid by the Bank. Under federal regulations, the Bank cannot pay a dividend if, after paying the dividend, the Bank would be undercapitalized.

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Under Kentucky and federal banking regulations, the dividends the Bank can pay during any calendar year are generally limited to its profits for that year, plus its retained net profits for the two preceding years, less any required transfers to surplus or to fund the retirement of preferred stock or debt, absent approval of the respective state or federal banking regulators. FDIC regulations also require all insured depository institutions to remain in a safe and sound condition, as defined in regulations, as a condition of having FDIC deposit insurance.

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FDIC Deposit Insurance Assessments — All Bank deposits are insured to the maximum extent permitted by the DIF. These bank deposits are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. As insurer, the FDIC is authorized to conduct examinations of, and to require reporting by, insured institutions. It also may prohibit any insured institution from engaging in any activity determined by regulation or order to pose a serious threat to the DIF.

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The FDIC assesses all banks quarterly. A bank’s assessment base and assessment rates are determined quarterly and are risk-based. For small banks (such as the Bank) post-Dodd-Frank, individual assessment rates are individually assigned based on the FDIC’s financial ratios method that estimates the probability of the bank’s failure over three years using financial data and a weighted average of the bank’s CAMELS component ratings, subject to adjustment. CAMELS composite ratings are used to set minimum and maximum assessment rates. The assessment base, post-Dodd-Frank, is the average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity. Management cannot predict what insurance assessment rates will be in the future.

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The FDIC may terminate the deposit insurance of any insured depository institution, including the Bank, if it determines that the institution has engaged or is engaging in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations, or has violated any applicable law, regulation, order or any condition imposed by an agreement with the FDIC. It may also suspend deposit insurance temporarily if the institution has no tangible capital. If insurance is terminated, the accounts at the institution at the time of the termination, less subsequent withdrawals, shall continue to be insured for a period of six months to two years, as determined by the FDIC. Management is aware of no existing circumstances that would result in termination of the Bank’s FDIC deposit insurance.

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Anti-Money Laundering, Patriot Act; OFAC Sanctions — The Company and the Bank are subject to federal laws that are designed to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, and transactions with persons, companies, or foreign governments sanctioned by the United States. These laws include the Bank Secrecy Act, the Money Laundering Control Act, the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the Corporate Transparency Act, and the USA Patriot Act, as administered by the United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These laws obligate depository institutions and broker-dealers to verify their customers’ identity, conduct customer due diligence, report on suspicious activity, file reports of certain transactions in currency, and conduct enhanced due diligence on certain accounts. The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control prohibits persons from engaging in transactions with certain designated restricted countries and persons. Depository institutions and broker-dealers are required by their federal regulators to maintain robust policies and procedures in order to ensure compliance with these anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing obligations.

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Failure to comply with these laws or maintain an adequate compliance program can lead to significant monetary penalties and reputational damage. Federal regulators evaluate the effectiveness of an applicant in combating money laundering when determining whether to approve a proposed bank merger, acquisition, restructuring, or other expansionary activity.

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Consumer Laws and Regulations — The Bank is subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Military Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and these laws’ respective state-law counterparts, among many others. As discussed in more detail below, the Bank also complies with fair lending and privacy laws. Banks as well as nonbank consumer financial providers are subject to any rule, regulation or guideline created by the CFPB. The CFPB is an independent “watchdog” within the Federal Reserve System that regulates any person or service provider who offers or provides personal, family or household financial products or services by overseeing the application and implementation of “Federal consumer financial laws”.

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The CFPB is authorized to prescribe rules applicable to any covered person or service provider identifying and prohibiting acts or practices that are unfair, deceptive, or abusive in connection with any consumer financial product or service transaction. The CFPB has engaged in rulemaking and taken enforcement actions that directly impact the business operations of financial institutions offering consumer financial products or services including the Bank and its divisions. The FDIC also regulates unfair and deceptive or abusive acts or practices under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

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Such laws and regulations and the other consumer protection laws and regulations to which the Bank has been subject have historically mandated certain disclosure requirements and regulated the manner in which financial institutions must deal with clients when taking deposits from, making loans to, or engaging in other types of transactions with, such clients. The continued effect of the CFPB on the development and promulgation of consumer protection rules and guidelines and the enforcement of federal “consumer financial laws” on the Bank, if any, cannot be determined with certainty at this time.

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Community Reinvestment Act and Fair Lending Laws — Banks have a responsibility under the CRA and related regulations of the FDIC to help meet the credit needs of their entire communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. In addition, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act prohibit lenders from discriminating in their lending practices on the basis of characteristics specified in those statutes. An institution’s failure to comply with the provisions of the CRA could, at a minimum, result in regulatory restrictions on its activities and the denial of applications. In addition, an institution’s failure to comply with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act could result in the FDIC, other federal regulatory agencies, or the Department of Justice, taking enforcement actions against the institution. Failure by the Bank to fully comply with these laws could result in material penalties being assessed against the Bank. The Bank received a “Satisfactory” CRA Performance Evaluation in January 2020, the most recent evaluation for which it has received final ratings. A copy of the public section of this CRA Performance Evaluation is available to the public upon request.

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Privacy and Data Security — The FRB, FDIC, other bank regulatory agencies, and States have adopted guidelines for safeguarding confidential, personal customer information. These guidelines require each financial institution, under the supervision and ongoing oversight of its board of directors or an appropriate committee thereof, to create, implement and maintain a comprehensive written information security program designed to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer information, protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such information and protect against unauthorized access to or use of such information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to any customer. If the Bank fails to properly safeguard customer information or is the subject of a successful cyber-attack, it could result in material fines and/or liabilities that would materially affect the Company’s results of operations. Moreover, in November 2021, the FRB, FDIC, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a joint final rule establishing computer-security incident notification requirements for banking organizations and their bank service providers. Effective April 2022, with full compliance no later than May 2022, banking organizations are required to satisfy specified consumer notice requirements if an incident occurs, which may include a major computer-system failure; a cyber-related interruption, such as a distributed denial of service or ransomware attack; or another type of significant operational interruption.

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In addition, various U.S. regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the SEC, have increased their focus on cyber-security through guidance, examinations, and regulations. The Company’s Board has approved and adopted a customer information security program.

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The GLBA requires financial institutions to implement policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of nonpublic personal information about consumers to non-affiliated third parties. In general, the statute requires explanations to consumers on policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of such nonpublic personal information, and, except as otherwise required by law, prohibits disclosing such information except as provided in the banking subsidiary’s policies and procedures. In addition to the GLBA, the Company and the Bank are also subject to applicable state privacy laws.

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Prohibitions Against Tying Arrangements — The Bank is subject to prohibitions on certain tying arrangements. A depository institution is prohibited, subject to certain exceptions, from extending credit to or offering any other service, or fixing or varying the consideration for such extension of credit or service, on the condition that the client obtain some additional product or service from the institution or its affiliates or not obtain services of a competitor of the institution.

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Depositor Preference — The FDIA provides that, in the event of the “liquidation or other resolution” of an insured depository institution, the claims of depositors of the institution, including the claims of the FDIC as subrogee of insured depositors, and certain claims for administrative expenses of the FDIC as a receiver, will have priority over other general unsecured claims against the institution. If an insured depository institution fails, insured and uninsured depositors, along with the FDIC, will have priority in payment ahead of unsecured, non-deposit creditors (including depositors whose deposits are payable only outside of the U.S.), and the parent BHC, with respect to any extensions of credit they have made to such insured depository institution.

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Federal Home Loan Bank System — The FHLB offers credit to its members, which include savings banks, commercial banks, insurance companies, credit unions, and other entities. The FHLB system is currently divided into eleven federally chartered regional FHLBs that are regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Bank is a member and owns capital stock in the FHLB Cincinnati. The amount of capital stock the Bank must own to maintain its membership depends on its balance of outstanding advances. It is required to acquire and hold shares in an amount at least equal to 1% of the aggregate principal amount of its unpaid single-family, residential real estate loans and similar obligations at the beginning of each year, or 1/20th of its outstanding advances from the FHLB, whichever is greater. Advances are secured by pledges of loans, mortgage backed securities, and capital stock of the FHLB. FHLBs also purchase mortgages in the secondary market through their Mortgage Purchase Program,. The Bank has never sold loans to the Mortgage Purchase Program.

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In the event of a default on an advance, the Federal Home Loan Bank Act establishes priority of the FHLB’s claim over various other claims. If an FHLB falls below its minimum capital requirements, the FHLB may seek to require its members to purchase additional capital stock of the FHLB. If problems within the FHLB system were to occur, it could adversely affect the pricing or availability of advances, the amount and timing of dividends on capital stock issued by FHLB Cincinnati to its members, or the ability of members to have their FHLB capital stock redeemed on a timely basis. Congress continues to consider various proposals that could establish a new regulatory structure for the FHLB system, as well as for other government-sponsored entities. The Bank cannot predict at this time, which, if any, of these proposals may be adopted or what effect they would have on the Bank’s business.

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Federal Reserve System — Under regulations of the FRB, the Bank is required to maintain noninterest-earning reserves against its transaction accounts (primarily NOW and regular checking accounts). The Bank is in compliance with the foregoing reserve requirements. Required reserves must be maintained in the form of vault cash, a depository account at the FRB, or a pass-through account as defined by the FRB. The balances maintained to meet the reserve requirements imposed by the FRB may be used to satisfy liquidity requirements imposed by the FDIC. The Bank is also authorized to borrow from the FRB discount window.

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Loans to One Borrower — Under current limits, loans and extensions of credit outstanding at one time to a single borrower and not fully secured generally may not exceed 15% of the institution’s unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus. Loans and extensions of credit fully secured by certain readily marketable collateral may represent an additional 10% of unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus.

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Capital Adequacy Requirements

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Capital Guidelines — The Company and the Bank are subject to capital regulations in accordance with Basel III, as administered by banking regulators. Regulatory agencies measure capital adequacy within a framework that makes capital requirements, in part, dependent on the individual risk profiles of financial institutions. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators, including prompt corrective action as described below, that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on Republic’s financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, the Company and the Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of the Company’s assets, liabilities, and certain off-balance sheet items, as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The capital amounts and classification are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators regarding components, risk weightings, and other factors.

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Banking regulators have categorized the Bank as well-capitalized. For purposes of determining if prompt corrective action is called for, the regulations in accordance with Basel III define “well capitalized” as a 10.0% Total Risk-Based Capital ratio, a 6.5% Common Equity Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital ratio, an 8.0% Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital ratio, and a 5.0% Tier 1 Leverage ratio. Additionally, in order to avoid limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers, the Company and Bank must hold a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% composed of Common Equity Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital above their minimum risk-based capital requirements.

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As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company’s capital ratios* were as follows:

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*  The Company and the Bank elected to defer the impact of CECL on regulatory capital. The deferral period is five years, with the total estimated CECL impact 100% deferred for 2020 and 2021, then phased in over the next three years of 2022 through 2024. If not for this election, the Company’s regulatory capital ratios would have been approximately 10 basis points and 12 basis points lower than those presented in the table above as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.

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Corrective Measures for Capital Deficiencies — The banking regulators are required to take “prompt corrective action” with respect to capital deficient institutions. Agency regulations define, for each capital category, the levels at which institutions are well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized. A bank is undercapitalized if it fails to meet any one of the ratios required to be adequately capitalized.

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Undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized institutions are required to submit a capital restoration plan, which must be guaranteed by the holding company of the institution. In addition, agency regulations contain broad restrictions on certain activities of undercapitalized institutions including asset growth, acquisitions, branch establishment, and expansion into new lines of business. With certain exceptions, an insured depository institution is prohibited from making capital distributions, including dividends, and is prohibited from paying management fees to control persons if the institution would be undercapitalized after any such distribution or payment. A bank’s capital classification will also affect its ability to accept brokered deposits. Under banking regulations, a bank may not lawfully accept, roll over, or renew brokered deposits unless it is either well capitalized or it is adequately capitalized and receives a waiver from its applicable regulator.

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If a banking institution’s capital decreases below acceptable levels, bank regulatory enforcement powers become more enhanced. A significantly undercapitalized institution is subject to mandated capital raising activities, restrictions on interest rates paid and transactions with affiliates, removal of management, and other restrictions. Banking regulators have limited discretion in dealing with a critically undercapitalized institution and are normally required to appoint a receiver or conservator. Banks with risk-based capital and leverage ratios below the required minimums may also be subject to certain administrative actions, including the termination of deposit insurance upon notice and hearing, or a temporary suspension of insurance without a hearing if the institution has no tangible capital.

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In addition, a BHC may face significant consequences if its bank subsidiary fails to maintain the required capital and management ratings, including entering into an agreement with the FRB that imposes limitations on its operations and may even require divestitures. Until such deficiencies are corrected, the FRB may impose any limitations or conditions on the conduct or activities of the FHC and its affiliates that the FRB determines are appropriate, and the FHC may not commence any additional activity or acquire control of any company under Section 4(k) of the BHCA without prior FRB approval. Unless the period for compliance is extended by the FRB, if an FHC fails to correct deficiencies in maintaining its qualification for FHC status within 180 days of notice to the FRB,

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the FRB may order divestiture of any depository institution controlled by the company. A company may comply with a divestiture order by ceasing to engage in any financial or other activity that would not be permissible for a BHC that has not elected to be treated as an FHC. The Company is currently classified as an FHC.

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Under FDICIA, each federal banking agency has prescribed, by regulation, non-capital safety and soundness standards for institutions under its authority. These standards cover internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, compensation, fees and benefits, such other operational and managerial standards as the agency determines to be appropriate, and standards for asset quality, earnings, and stock valuation. An institution that fails to meet these standards must develop a plan acceptable to the agency, specifying the steps that the institution will take to meet the standards. Failure to submit or implement such a plan may subject the institution to regulatory sanctions.

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Other Regulation and Legislative Initiatives

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Any change in the laws and regulations affecting the Bank’s operations is not predictable and could affect the Bank’s operations and profitability. The U.S. Congress and state legislative bodies also continually consider proposals for altering the structure, regulation, and competitive relationships of financial institutions. It cannot be predicted whether, or in what form, any of these potential proposals or regulatory initiatives will be adopted, the impact the proposals will have on the financial institutions industry or the extent to which the business or financial condition and operations of the Company and its subsidiaries may be affected.

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Statistical Disclosures

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The statistical disclosures required by Part I Item 1 “Business” are located under Part II Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

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Item 1A. Risk Factors.

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FACTORS THAT MAY AFFECT FUTURE RESULTS

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An investment in Republic’s common stock is subject to risks inherent in its business. The following are the material risk factors that impact us of which we are currently aware. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all the other information included in this filing. In addition to the risks and uncertainties described below, other risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Company or that the Company currently deems to be immaterial also may materially and adversely affect its business, financial condition, and results of operations in the future. The value or market price of the Company’s common stock could decline due to any of these identified or other risks, and an investor could lose all or part of their investment.

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There are factors, many beyond the Company’s control, which may significantly change the results or expectations of the Company. Some of these factors are described below, however, many are described in the other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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REGULATORY AND LEGAL RISKS

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The Bank’s RPG products represent a significant legal, compliance and regulatory risk, and if RB&T fails to comply with all statutory and regulatory requirements, it could have a material negative impact on earnings. Federal and state laws and regulations govern numerous matters relating to the offering of consumer loan products and consumer deposit. Failure to comply with disclosure requirements or with laws relating to the permissibility of interest rates and fees charged could have a material negative impact on earnings. In addition, failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could also expose RB&T to civil money penalties and litigation risk, including shareholder actions. Various states and consumer groups have, from time to time, questioned the fairness of the products offered by RPG. Initiatives at the federal and state level, including by governmental agencies and consumer groups, could result in regulatory, governmental, or legislative action or litigation, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s RPG operations. If the Company can no longer offer or must substantially alter its RPG products, it will have a material adverse effect on its profits.

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The Bank’s RPG products represent a significant third-party management risk, and if the Bank’s third-party service providers fail to comply with all the statutory and regulatory requirements for these products or if the Bank fails to properly monitor its third-party service providers offering these products, it could have a material negative impact on earnings. RPG and its third-party service providers operate in a highly regulated environment and deliver products and services that are subject to strict legal and regulatory requirements. Failure by the Bank’s third-party service providers or failure of the Bank to properly monitor the compliance of its third-party service providers with laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties that materially and adversely affect the Bank’s earnings. Such penalties could also include the discontinuance of any or all third-party program manager products and services.

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The Bank’s “Overdraft Honor” program represents a significant business risk, and if the Bank terminated the program, it would materially impact the earnings of the Bank. There can be no assurance that Congress, the Bank’s regulators, or others, will not impose additional limitations on this program or prohibit the Bank from offering the program. The Bank’s “Overdraft Honor” program permits eligible customers to opt into the Bank’s overdraft program and overdraft their checking accounts up to a limit that is calculated and assigned each day for the Bank’s customary overdraft fee(s). Generally, to be eligible for the Overdraft Honor program, customers must qualify for one of the Bank’s traditional checking products when the account is opened and have recurring deposit activity. During the first 30 days after an account is opened, a client may participate in the Overdraft Honor program with a small, fixed limit amount depending upon the account type. After the initial 30 day period a daily overdraft limit is calculated based upon deposits and other activity in the account. If an overdraft occurs, the Bank may pay the overdraft, at its discretion, up to the client’s individual overdraft limit. Under regulatory guidelines, customers utilizing the Overdraft Honor program may remain in overdraft status for no more than 60 days before it must be closed and charged off.

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Loans originated through the Bank’s Consumer Direct and Correspondent Lending channels subject the Bank to regulatory and legal risks that the Bank does not have through its historical origination and servicing channels. Loans serviced outside the Bank’s traditional footprint also subject the Bank to various state-level servicing laws and regulations that are different than those within the Bank’s traditional footprint and may impact the Bank’s ability to collect a deficiency and timely foreclose on a loan that becomes delinquent. Failure by the Bank to properly comply with these various state level laws and regulations could subject the Bank to fines and penalties that materially and adversely affect the Bank’s earnings. Such penalties could also include the discontinuance of the Consumer Direct Channel or Corresponding Lending operations.

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Failure to appropriately manage these additional risks could lead to additional regulatory and compliance risks, as well as create burdens that reduce profitability or cause operating losses from these origination channels.

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The Company is significantly impacted by the regulatory, fiscal, and monetary policies of federal and state governments that could negatively impact the Company’s liquidity position and earnings. These policies can materially affect the value of the Company’s financial instruments and can also adversely affect the Company’s clients and their ability to repay their outstanding loans. In addition, failure to comply with laws, regulations or policies, or adverse examination findings, could result in significant penalties, negatively impact operations, or result in other sanctions against the Company. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System regulates the supply of money and credit in the U.S. Its policies determine, in large part, the Company’s cost of funds for lending and investing and the return the Company earns on these loans and investments, all of which impact net interest margin.

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The Company and the Bank are heavily regulated at both the federal and state levels and are subject to various routine and non-routine examinations by federal and state regulators. This regulatory oversight is primarily intended to protect depositors, the Deposit Insurance Fund, and the banking system, not the stockholders of the Company. Changes in policies, regulations and statutes, or the interpretation thereof, could significantly impact the product offerings of Republic causing the Company to terminate or modify its product offerings in a manner that could materially adversely affect the earnings of the Company.

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Federal and state laws and regulations govern numerous matters including changes in the ownership or control of banks and bank holding companies, maintenance of adequate capital and the financial condition of a financial institution, permissible types, amounts and terms of extensions of credit and investments, permissible non-banking activities, the level of reserves against deposits and restrictions on dividend payments. Various federal and state regulatory agencies possess cease and desist powers, and other authority to prevent or remedy unsafe or unsound practices or violations of law by banks subject to their regulations. The FRB possesses similar powers with respect to bank holding companies. These, and other restrictions, can limit in varying degrees, the way Republic conducts its business.

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Federal and state laws and regulations govern numerous matters relating to the offering of banking products. Failure to comply with disclosure requirements or with laws, including those relating to the permissibility of interest rates and fees charged, could have a material negative impact on earnings. In addition, failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could also expose RB&T to civil money penalties and litigation risk, including shareholder actions. Initiatives of the current President and the current Congress, along with actions of the states, governmental agencies, and consumer groups, could result in regulatory, governmental, or legislative action or litigation, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations. 

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Use of third parties creates a third-party management risk. If RB&T’s third-party service providers fail to comply with all the statutory and regulatory requirements for these products or if RB&T fails to properly monitor its third-party service providers offering these products, it could have a material negative impact on earnings. RB&T and its third-party service providers operate in a highly regulated environment and deliver products and services that are subject to strict legal and regulatory requirements. Failure by RB&T’s third-party service providers or failure of RB&T to properly monitor the compliance of its third-party service providers with laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties that materially and adversely affect RB&T’s earnings.

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The Company may be subject to examinations by taxing authorities that could adversely affect results of operations. In the normal course of business, the Company may be subject to examinations from federal and state taxing authorities regarding the amount of taxes due in connection with investments it has made and the businesses in which the Company is engaged. Federal and state taxing authorities have continued to be aggressive in challenging tax positions taken by financial institutions. The challenges made by taxing authorities may result in adjustments to the timing or amount of taxable income or deductions or the allocation of income among tax jurisdictions. If any such challenges are made and are not resolved in the Company’s favor, they could have an adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

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Transactions between the Company and its insurance subsidiary, the Captive, may be subject to certain IRS responsibilities and penalties. The Company’s Captive is a Nevada-based, wholly owned insurance subsidiary of the Company that provides property and casualty insurance coverage to the Company and the Bank as well as a group of other third-party insurance captives for which insurance may not be available or economically feasible. The Treasury Department of the United States and the IRS by way of Notice 2016-66 have stated that transactions believed similar in nature to transactions between the Company and the Captive may be deemed “transactions of interest” because such transactions may have potential for tax avoidance or evasion. If the IRS ultimately concludes such transactions do create tax avoidance or evasion issues, the Company could be subject to the payment of penalties and interest.

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CREDIT RISKS

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RAs represent a significant credit risk, and if the Bank is unable to collect a significant portion of its RAs, it would materially, negatively impact earnings. There is credit risk associated with an RA because the funds are disbursed to the taxpayer customer prior to the Bank receiving the taxpayer customer’s refund as claimed on the return. Management annually reviews and revises the RA’s underwriting criteria. These changes in the RA’s underwriting criteria do not ensure positive results and could have an overall material negative impact on the performance of the RA and therefore on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

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Because there is no recourse to the taxpayer customer if the RA is not paid off by the taxpayer customer’s tax refund, the Bank must collect all its payments related to RAs through the refund process. Losses will generally occur on RAs when the Bank does not receive payment due to several reasons, such as IRS revenue protection strategies, including audits of returns, errors in the tax return, tax return fraud and tax debts not previously disclosed to the Bank during its underwriting process. While the Bank’s underwriting during the RA approval process takes these factors into consideration based on prior years’ payment patterns, if the IRS significantly alters its revenue protection strategies, if refund payment patterns for a given tax season meaningfully change, if the federal government fails to timely deliver refunds, or if the Bank is incorrect in its underwriting assumptions, the Bank could experience higher loan loss provisions above those projected. The provision for loan losses is a significant determining factor of the RPG operations’ overall net earnings.

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In addition, the federal government, specifically as a result of the PATH Act, mandates that tax refunds for tax returns with certain characteristics cannot receive their corresponding refunds before February 15th each year. Substantially all the tax returns driving TRS’s product volume meet the criteria of those subject to this later funding under the PATH Act. These funding delays effectively restrict the Bank’s ability to make in-season modifications to its RA underwriting model based on then-current year tax refund funding patterns, because the substantial majority of all RAs are issued prior to February 15. As a result, the underwriting criteria that TRS

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establishes for the RA product at the beginning of the tax season could have a material negative impact on the performance of the RA before mitigating revisions can be made.

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ERAs represent a significant credit risk, and if RB&T is unable to collect a significant portion of its ERAs, it would materially, negatively impact earnings. In addition to all the risks associated with its other RA products, ERAs carry additional credit risks. ERAs are substantially all originated during December prior to the upcoming first quarter tax season with the expectation the taxpayer client will return to the Bank’s Tax Provider during the first quarter tax filing season to file the taxpayer’s tax return, allowing the Bank to potentially receive the taxpayer’s tax refund from the federal government to repay the ERA with the Bank. In addition, TRS originates ERAs without the taxpayer client's final fiscal year taxable income documentation, e.g., W-2, and the filing of the taxpayer’s actual federal tax return. As with other RAs, the Bank has no recourse to the borrower if the ERA is not repaid by the taxpayer client’s tax refund. If the taxpayer client fails to return to the Bank’s Tax Provider or if the taxpayer client’s final tax return is substantially different than the early season estimate used to make the ERA, ERA losses could be substantially higher than estimated, which could cause a material adverse impact to TRS’s earnings and the overall results of operations of the Company.

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Consumer loans originated through the RCS segment represent a higher credit risk. Loss rates for some RCS products have consistently been significantly higher than Traditional Bank loss rates for unsecured consumer loans. A material increase in RCS loan charge-offs would have a material adverse effect on the Bank’s financial condition and results of operations and, if such increase in RCS loan charge-offs persisted for an extended period of time, could lead to the discontinuation of the underlying products.

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Consumer installment loans originated for sale through the RCS segment represent a higher risk of loss on sale. RCS originates its installment loan product for sale and sells this product at a loss if the originated loan defaults on its first payment to RCS, which is generally 16 days following the loan’s origination date. A material increase in first payment defaults for RCS installment loans would result in a material increase in these loans being sold at a loss. Such an increase could have a material adverse impact on the program, and if such losses persisted for an extended period of time, it could lead to the discontinuation of the underlying product.

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Management’s changes to RPG product parameters could have a material negative impact on the performance of the RPG products. In response to changes in the legal, regulatory, and competitive environment, management annually reviews and revises product parameters. Further changes in product parameters do not ensure positive results and could have an overall material negative impact on the performance of the product and therefore on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

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The Warehouse Lending business is subject to numerous risks that may result in losses. Risks associated with warehouse loans include, without limitation, (i) credit risks relating to the mortgage bankers that borrow from the Bank, including but not limited to bankruptcy, (ii) the risk of intentional misrepresentation or fraud by any of such mortgage bankers and their third-party service providers, (iii) changes in the market value of mortgage loans originated by the mortgage banker during the time in warehouse, the sale of which is the expected source of repayment of the borrowings under a warehouse line of credit, or (iv) unsalable or impaired mortgage loans so originated, which could lead to decreased collateral value and the failure of a purchaser of the mortgage loan to purchase the loan from the mortgage banker. Failure to mitigate these risks could have a material adverse impact on the Bank’s financial statements and results of operations.

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The ACLL could be insufficient to cover the Bank’s actual loan losses. The Bank makes various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of its loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of its borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of many of its loans. In determining the amount of the ACLL, among other things, the Bank reviews its loss and delinquency experience, economic conditions, etc. If its assumptions are incorrect, the ACLL may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in its loan portfolio, resulting in additions to its ACLL. In addition, regulatory agencies periodically review the ACLL and may require the Bank to increase its Provision or recognize further loan charge-offs. A material increase in the ACLL or loan charge-offs would have a material adverse effect on the Bank’s financial condition and results of operations.

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Deterioration in the quality of the Traditional Banking loan portfolio may result in additional charge-offs, which would adversely impact the Bank’s operating results. When borrowers default on their loan obligations, it may result in lost principal and interest income and increased operating expenses associated with the increased allocation of management time and resources associated with the collection efforts. In certain situations where collection efforts are unsuccessful or acceptable “work-out” arrangements cannot be reached or performed, the Bank may charge-off loans, either in part or in whole. Additional charge-offs will adversely affect the Bank’s operating results and financial condition.

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Loans originated through the Bank’s Consumer Direct and Correspondent Lending channels subject the Bank to credit risks that the Bank does not have through its historical origination and servicing channels. The dollar volume of loans originated through the Bank’s Consumer Direct and Correspondent Lending channels and loans serviced as the result of the Correspondent Lending channel are primarily out-of-market. Loans originated out of the Bank’s market footprint inherently carry additional credit risk, as the Bank will experience an increase in the complexity of the customer authentication requirements for such loans. Failure to appropriately identify the end-borrower for such loans could lead to additional fraud losses.

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The Bank’s financial condition and earnings could be negatively impacted to the extent the Bank relies on borrower information that is false, misleading, or inaccurate. The Bank relies on the accuracy and completeness of information provided by vendors, clients, and other parties in deciding whether to extend credit and/or enter transactions with other parties. If the Bank relies on incomplete and/or inaccurate information, the Bank may incur additional charge-offs that adversely affect its operating results and financial condition.

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The Bank uses appraisals as part of the decision process to make a loan for, or secured by, real property. In addition, appraisals are used to value a loan if it becomes “collateral dependent” as a problem credit. Appraisals do not ensure the value of the real property collateral. As part of the new loan process or in valuing a collateral dependent problem credit, the Bank generally requires an independent third-party appraisal of the real property. An appraisal, however, is only an estimate of the value of the property at the time the appraisal is made. An error in fact or judgment could adversely affect the reliability of the appraisal. In addition, events occurring after the appraisal may cause the value of the real estate to decrease. As a result of any of these factors, the value of collateral securing a loan may be less than supposed, and if a default occurs, the Bank may not recover the outstanding balance of the loan. Approximately 27% of the Bank’s portfolio is secured by residential real estate and 35% is secured by commercial real estate properties. Both of these loan types are heavily dependent upon third-party appraisals in the decision process Additional charge-offs in either of these portfolios as a result of inaccurate appraisals could adversely affect the Bank’s operating results and financial condition.

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The Bank is exposed to risk of environmental liabilities with respect to properties to which it takes title. In the course of its business, the Bank may own or foreclose and take title to real estate and could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these properties. The Bank may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs incurred by these parties in connection with environmental contamination, or may be required to investigate or clean up hazardous or toxic substances, or chemical releases at a property. The costs associated with investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. In addition, if the Bank is the owner or former owner of a contaminated site, the Bank may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. These costs and claims could adversely affect the Bank.

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The Bank holds a significant amount of BOLI, which creates credit risk relative to the insurers and liquidity risk relative to the product. As of December 31, 2022, the Bank held BOLI on certain employees. The eventual repayment of the cash surrender value is subject to the ability of the various insurance companies to pay death benefits or to return the cash surrender value to the Bank if needed for liquidity purposes. The Bank continually monitors the financial strength of the various insurance companies that carry these policies. However, any one of these companies could experience a decline in financial strength, which could impair its ability to pay benefits or return the Bank’s cash surrender value. If the Bank needs to liquidate these policies for liquidity purposes, it would be subject to taxation on the increase in cash surrender value and penalties for early termination, both of which would adversely impact earnings.

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OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC RISKS

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RPG products represent a significant operational risk and rely heavily on the accuracy and timeliness of data received from the Bank’s third party marketer and servicer providers. To conduct its RPG businesses, the Bank must implement and test new systems, train associates for new products and changes to existing products, and process information and data received from third party marketer and servicer providers. Due to the high volume of transaction activity across all the RPG product lines, the Bank relies heavily on the communications and information systems of the Bank as well as the communications and information systems of its third party providers to operate these products. Any failure, sustained interruption, or breach in security, including the cyber security, of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in client relationship management and other systems. If the Bank were unable to properly service this business as a result of inaccurate or untimely data from its third party marketer and servicer providers, it could materially impact earnings.

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RCS revenues and earnings are highly concentrated in its line-of-credit products. The discontinuation of these line-of-credit products, or a substantial change in the terms under which these products are offered, would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

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Many of the RCS programs are heavily reliant on the ability of the Bank to sell all or a significant portion of the loans originated to a third party in order to fund the programs. If the Bank were unable to sell these loans to a third-party purchaser for any reason, RCS would likely cease originating new loans under that product line, which would significantly and negatively impact the overall earnings of RCS. RCS originates installment loans and lines of credits through its various product lines. For some of its installment products, RCS sells 100% of the balances after its origination. For its line of credit products, the Bank sells a 90% or 95% participation in the product after origination, depending upon the product. If the Bank were unable to sell these loan balances for any reason, RCS would likely cease originating new loans for that particular product as soon as practical under the terms of its various agreements. The inability of RCS to originate new loans under any of its higher-yield RCS products would cause a material adverse impact to the results of operation of RCS.

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In addition, the agreement between the Bank and the consumer for many of its line of credit products do not allow RCS to stop originating new customer draws on that product if RCS chooses to exit the product line. For these products, if the Bank were unable to sell these balances for any reason, RCS would retain 100% of the balances it originates on those products. In those circumstances, the credit risk for the Bank would increase substantially as it would then be responsible for 100% of any charge-offs for these loans, as opposed to 5% or 10% of the charge-offs when it is able to sell participating balances to a third party purchaser. While the Bank would also be retaining 100% of the revenue from these balances as well, there is no guarantee the additional revenue would offset the charge-offs in the event of an economic downturn. Such an increase in charge-offs could have a material adverse impact on the results of operations of the RCS segment and the Company, as a whole.

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The Bank is highly dependent upon programs administered by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Changes in existing U.S. government-sponsored mortgage programs or servicing eligibility standards could materially and adversely affect its business, financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. The Bank’s ability to generate revenues through mortgage loan sales to institutional investors depends significantly on programs administered by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These entities play powerful roles in the residential mortgage industry, and the Bank has significant business relationships with them. The Bank’s status as an approved seller/servicer for both is subject to compliance with their selling and servicing guides.

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Any discontinuation of, or significant reduction or material change in, the operation of Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae or any significant adverse change in the level of activity in the secondary mortgage market or the underwriting criteria of Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae would likely prevent the Bank from originating and selling most, if not all, of its mortgage loan originations.

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Prepayment of loans may negatively impact the Bank’s business. The Bank’s clients may prepay the principal amount of their outstanding loans at any time. The speeds at which such prepayments occur, as well as the size of such prepayments, are within the Bank clients’ discretion. If clients prepay the principal amount of their loans, and the Bank is unable to lend those funds to other clients or invest the funds at the same or higher interest rates, the Bank’s interest income will be reduced. A significant reduction in interest income would have a negative impact on the Bank’s results of operations and financial condition.

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The planned discontinuance of LIBOR presents risks to the Company because the Bank uses LIBOR as a reference rate for a material portion of its financial instruments. In July 2017, the FCA, the authority regulating LIBOR, along with various other regulatory bodies, announced that LIBOR would likely be discontinued at the end of 2021. Subsequent to that announcement, in November 2020, the FCA announced that many tenors of LIBOR would continue to be published through June 2023. In compliance with regulatory guidance, the Bank discontinued referencing LIBOR for new financial instruments during 2021 and chose SOFR to be its primary alternative reference rate for most transaction types upon the discontinuance or unavailability of LIBOR.

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Risks associated with the Bank’s transition from LIBOR to SOFR or other alternative reference rates include the following:

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Any value transfer could be financially adverse to the Bank or to its counterparties. Repercussions from a change in reference rate would likely include changes to the yield on, and value of, loans or securities held by the Bank, and amounts received and paid on derivative instruments the Bank has contracted. Any theoretical benefit to the Bank could result in counterparty dissatisfaction, which, in turn could lead to litigation, potentially as class actions, or other adverse consequences, including dissatisfied clients or counterparties, resulting in loss of business. As a result, over the life of a transaction that transitions from LIBOR to a new reference rate, the Bank’s obligations to its counterparties or vice versa and the yield the Bank contractually receives or pays may change from that which would have resulted from a continuation of LIBOR.

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It is also possible that LIBOR quotes will become unavailable prior to the currently anticipated cessation date. In that case, the risks associated with the transition to an alternative reference rate will be accelerated and magnified. These risks may also be increased due to the shorter time for preparing for the transition.

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The Bank’s failure to successfully implement the transition from LIBOR to alternative indexes could result in reduced interest income on its loans that reprice with LIBOR, and/or increased regulatory scrutiny and actions by regulators, including fines and other supervisory sanctions.

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The Company may be adversely affected by the soundness of other financial institutions. Financial services institutions are interrelated because of trading, clearing, counterparty, or other relationships. The Company has exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and routinely executes transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks, and other institutional clients. Many of these transactions expose the Company to credit risk in the event of a default by a counterparty or client. In addition, the Company’s credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by the Company cannot be realized upon or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the credit or derivative exposure due to the Company. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

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The Company is dependent upon the services of key qualified personnel. The Company is dependent upon the ability and experience of a number of its key management personnel who have substantial experience with Company operations, the financial services industry, and the markets in which the Company offers services. It is possible that the loss of the services of one or more of its key personnel would have an adverse effect on operations.

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The Company’s operations could be impacted if its third-party service providers experience difficulty. The Company depends on several relationships with third-party service providers, including core systems processing and web hosting. These providers are well-established vendors that provide these services to a significant number of financial institutions. If these third-party service providers experience difficulty or terminate their services and the Company is unable to replace them with other providers, its operations could be interrupted, which would adversely impact its business.

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The Company’s operations, including third-party and client interactions, are increasingly done via electronic means, and this has increased the risks related to cyber security. The Company is exposed to the risk of cyber-attacks in the normal course of business and incurs substantial cyber security protection costs. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Management has observed an increased level of attention in the industry focused on cyber-attacks that include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber-attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as by causing denial-of-service attacks on websites. Cyber-attacks may be carried out directly against the Company, or against the Company’s clients or vendors by third parties or insiders using techniques that range from highly sophisticated efforts to electronically circumvent network security or overwhelm websites to more traditional intelligence gathering and social engineering aimed at obtaining information necessary to gain access. While the Company has not incurred any material losses related to cyber-attacks, the Bank may incur substantial costs and suffer other negative consequences if the Bank, the Bank’s clients, or one of the Bank’s third-party service providers fall victim to successful cyber-attacks. Such negative consequences could include: remediation costs for stolen assets or information; system repairs; consumer protection costs; increased cyber security protection costs that may include organizational changes; deploying additional personnel and protection technologies, training employees, and engaging third-party experts and consultants; lost revenues resulting from unauthorized use of proprietary information or the failure to retain or attract clients following an attack; litigation and payment of damages; and reputational damage adversely affecting client or investor confidence.

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

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New lines of business or new products and services may subject the Company to additional risks. From time to time, the Company may develop and grow new lines of business or offer new products and services within existing lines of business. There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. In developing and marketing new lines of business and/or new products and services, the Company may invest significant time and resources. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new lines of business and/or new products or services may not be achieved, and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible. External factors, such as compliance with regulations, competitive alternatives and shifting market preferences, may also impact the successful implementation of a new line of business or a new product or service. Furthermore, any new line of business and/or new product or service could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the Company’s system of internal control. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or new products or services could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition. All service offerings, including current offerings and those that may be provided in the future, may become riskier due to changes in economic, competitive, and market conditions beyond the Company’s control.

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The proposed acquisition and integration of CBank pursuant to the CBank Agreement includes certain acquisition-related risks to the Company and the Bank. These risks include:

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The Company’s ability to successfully complete acquisitions will affect its ability to grow and compete effectively in its market footprint. The Company has announced plans to pursue a policy of strategic growth through acquisitions to supplement organic growth. The Company’s efforts to acquire other financial institutions and financial service companies or branches may not be successful. Numerous potential acquirers exist for many acquisition candidates, creating intense competition, which affects the purchase price for which the institution can be acquired. In many cases, the Company’s competitors have significantly greater resources than the Company has, and greater flexibility to structure the consideration for the transaction. The Company may also not be the successful bidder in acquisition opportunities that it pursues due to the willingness or ability of other potential acquirers to propose a higher purchase price or more attractive terms and conditions than the Company is willing or able to propose. The Company intends to continue to pursue acquisition opportunities in its market footprint. The risks presented by the acquisition of other financial institutions could adversely affect the Bank’s financial condition and results of operations.

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Successful Company acquisitions present many risks that could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. An institution that the Company acquires may have unknown asset quality issues or unknown or contingent liabilities that the Company did not discover or fully recognize in the due diligence process, thereby resulting in unanticipated losses. The acquisition of other institutions also typically requires the integration of different corporate cultures, loan and deposit products, pricing strategies, data processing systems and other technologies, accounting, internal audit and financial reporting systems, operating systems and internal controls, marketing programs and personnel of the acquired institution, to make the transaction economically advantageous. The integration process is complicated and time consuming and could divert the Company’s attention from other business concerns and may be disruptive to its clients and the clients of the acquired institution. The Company’s failure to successfully integrate an acquired institution could result in the loss of key clients and employees and prevent the Company from achieving expected synergies and cost savings. Acquisitions and failed acquisitions also result in professional fees and may result in creating goodwill that could become impaired, thereby requiring the Company to recognize further charges. The Company may finance acquisitions with borrowed funds, thereby increasing the Company’s leverage and reducing liquidity, or with potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities.

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ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL MARKETS, INTEREST RATES, AND LIQUIDITY RISKS

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Mortgage Banking activities have been adversely impacted by increasing long-term interest rates. The Company is unable to predict changes in market interest rates. Changes in interest rates can impact the gain on sale of loans, loan origination fees, and loan servicing fees, which account for a significant portion of Mortgage Banking income. A decline in market interest rates generally results in higher demand for mortgage products, while an increase in rates generally results in reduced demand. Generally, if demand increases, Mortgage Banking income will be positively impacted by more gains on sale; however, the valuation of existing mortgage servicing rights will decrease and may result in a significant impairment. A decline in demand for Mortgage Banking products resulting from rising interest rates could also adversely impact other products which are typically cross-sold with mortgages.

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Fluctuations in interest rates could reduce profitability. The Bank’s asset/liability management strategy may not be able to prevent changes in interest rates from having a material adverse effect on results of operations and financial condition. The Bank’s primary source of income is from the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and the interest paid on deposits and borrowings. The Bank expects to periodically experience “gaps” in the interest rate sensitivities of its assets and liabilities, meaning that either interest-bearing liabilities will be more sensitive to changes in market interest rates than interest-earning assets, or vice versa. In either event, if market interest rates should move contrary to the Bank’s position, earnings may be negatively affected.

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A flattening or inversion of the interest rate yield curve may reduce profitability. Changes in the slope of the “yield curve,” or the spread between short-term and long-term interest rates, could reduce the Bank’s net interest margin. Normally, the yield curve is upward sloping, meaning short-term rates are lower than long-term rates. Because the Bank’s interest-bearing liabilities tend to be shorter in duration than its interest-earning assets, when the yield curve flattens or even inverts, the Bank’s net interest margin could decrease as its cost of funds rises higher and at a faster pace than the yield on its interest-earning assets. A rise in the Bank’s cost of interest-bearing liabilities without a corresponding increase in the yield on its interest-earning assets, would have an adverse effect on the Bank’s net interest margin and overall results of operations.

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The Bank may be compelled to offer market-leading interest rates to maintain sufficient funding and liquidity levels. The Bank has traditionally relied on client deposits (with approximately 7% of deposits concentrated with the Bank’s top 20 depositors), brokered deposits, and advances from the FHLB to fund operations. Such traditional sources may be unavailable, limited, or insufficient in the future. If the Bank were to lose a significant funding source, such as a few major depositors, or if any of its lines of credit were cancelled or curtailed, such as its borrowing line at the FHLB, or if the Bank cannot obtain brokered deposits, the Bank may be compelled to offer market-leading interest rates to meet its funding and liquidity needs. Obtaining funds at market-leading interest rates would have an adverse impact on the Company’s net interest income and overall results of operations.

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Clients could pursue alternatives to bank deposits, causing the Bank to lose a relatively inexpensive source of funding. Checking and savings account balances and other forms of client deposits could decrease if clients perceive alternative investments, such as the stock market, as providing superior expected returns. If clients move money out of bank deposits in favor of alternative investments, the Bank could lose a relatively inexpensive source of funds, increasing its funding costs and negatively impacting its overall results of operations.

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The loss of large deposit relationships could increase the Bank’s funding costs. The Bank has several large deposit relationships that do not require collateral; therefore, cash from these accounts can generally be utilized to fund the loan portfolio. If any of these balances are moved from the Bank, the Bank would likely utilize overnight borrowing lines on a short-term basis to replace the balances. The overall cost of gathering brokered deposits and/or FHLB advances, however, could be substantially higher than the Traditional Bank deposits they replace, increasing the Bank’s funding costs and reducing the Bank’s overall results of operations.

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Government responses to economic conditions may adversely affect the Company’s operations, financial condition, and earnings. Enacted financial reform legislation has changed and will continue to change the bank regulatory framework. Ongoing uncertainty and adverse developments in the financial services industry and the domestic and international credit markets, and the effect of new legislation and regulatory actions in response to these conditions, may adversely affect Company operations by restricting business activities, including the Company’s ability to originate or sell loans, modify loan terms, or foreclose on property securing loans. These measures are likely to increase the Company’s costs of doing business and may have a significant adverse effect on the Company’s lending activities, financial performance, and operating flexibility. In addition, these risks could affect the performance and value of the Company’s loan and investment securities portfolios, which also would negatively affect financial performance.

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The Company’s common stock generally has a low average daily trading volume, which limits a stockholder’s ability to quickly accumulate or quickly sell large numbers of shares of Republic’s stock without causing wide price fluctuations. Republic’s stock price can fluctuate widely in response to a variety of factors, as detailed in the next risk factor. A low average daily stock trading volume can lead to significant price swings even when a relatively small number of shares are being traded.

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The market price for the Company’s common stock may be volatile. The market price of the Company’s common stock could fluctuate substantially in the future in response to several factors, including those discussed below. Some of the factors that may cause the price of the Company’s common stock to fluctuate include:

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In addition, the stock market, in general, has historically experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This is due, in part, to investors’ shifting perceptions of the effect of changes and potential changes in the economy on various industry sectors. This volatility has had a significant effect on the market price of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated to their performance or prospects. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of the Company’s common stock, notwithstanding its actual or anticipated operating results, cash flows, and financial condition. The Company expects that the market price of its common stock will continue to fluctuate due to many factors, including prevailing interest rates, other economic conditions, operating performance, and investor perceptions of the outlook for the Company specifically and the banking industry in general. There can be no assurance about the level of the market price of the Company’s common stock in the future or that investors will be able to resell their shares at times or at prices they find attractive.

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The Company’s insiders hold voting rights that give them significant control over matters requiring stockholder approval. The Company’s Executive Chair/CEO and Vice Chair hold substantial voting authority over the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. Each share of Class A Common Stock is entitled to one vote and each share of Class B Common Stock is entitled to ten votes. This group generally votes together on matters presented to stockholders for approval. These actions may include, for example, the election of directors, the adoption of amendments to corporate documents, the approval of mergers and acquisitions, sales of assets, and the continuation of the Company as a registered company with obligations to file periodic reports and other filings with the SEC. Consequently, other stockholders’ ability to influence Company actions through their vote may be limited and the non-insider stockholders may not have sufficient voting power to approve a change in control even if a significant premium is being offered for their shares. Majority stockholders may not vote their shares in accordance with minority stockholder interests.

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An investment in the Company’s Common Stock is not an insured deposit. The Company’s common stock is not a bank deposit and, therefore, is not insured against loss by the FDIC, any other deposit insurance fund or by any other public or private entity. Investment in the Company’s common stock is inherently risky for the reasons described in this section and elsewhere in this report and is subject to the same market forces that affect the price of common stock in any company. As a result, if you acquire the Company’s common stock, you could lose some or all of your investment.

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COMPETITIVE RISKS

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Outstanding Warehouse lines of credit and their corresponding earnings could decline due to several factors, such as intense industry competition, declining mortgage demand, and a rising interest rate environment. With the rise of inflation during 2022, the FOMC implemented a more aggressive and hawkish approach to its monetary policies during 2022 and has signaled these policies could continue into the future until inflation decreases to acceptable levels. Included in its actions are raising the FFTR, ending its quantitative easing program of buying certain types of bonds in the open market, and implementing a quantitative tightening program to reduce the size of its balance sheet by selling certain types of bonds in the market.

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The FOMC’s signaling of these actions caused market interest rates for U.S. Treasury bonds and mortgages to rise rapidly during the 2022. With the rise in mortgage rates, mortgage refinance activity slowed dramatically during 2022, and Warehouse usage began to decline significantly. Further monetary tightening by the FOMC in 2023 will likely further decrease mortgage demand and Warehouse line usage. In addition, a decrease in usage across the Warehouse industry could also cause competitive pricing pressure on the Bank to lower its pricing to its Warehouse clients in order to maintain higher volumes.

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The Bank could likely experience decreased earnings on its Warehouse lines of credit during 2023 due to the expected interest rate environment combined with strong industry competition and pricing pressures. Such decreased earnings could materially impact the Company’s results of operations.

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The Company may lose Warehouse clients due to mergers and acquisitions in the industry. The Bank’s Warehouse clients are primarily mortgage companies across the United States. Mergers and acquisitions affecting such clients may lead to an end to the client relationship with the Bank. The loss of a significant number of clients may materially impact the Company’s results of operations.

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Mortgage Banking revenue will likely decline due to declining mortgage demand resulting from a rising interest rate environment, which will also lead to more intense industry competition for a shrinking mortgage market. Mortgage Banking is a significant operating segment of the Company. With the rise of inflation during 2022, the FOMC has implemented a more aggressive and hawkish approach to its monetary policies. Included in its actions are raising the FFTR multiple times, ending its quantitative easing program of buying certain types of bonds in the open market, and implementing a quantitative tightening program by reducing the size of its balance sheet and selling certain types of bonds in the market.

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The FOMC’s implementation of these actions caused market interest rates for treasury bonds and mortgages to rise rapidly during 2022. With the rise in mortgage rates, mortgage refinance activity slowed dramatically during 2022, and as a result, mortgage origination volume declined significantly. Further monetary tightening by the FOMC in 2023 will likely further decrease mortgage demand. In addition, a decrease in mortgage demand across the mortgage industry could also cause competitive pricing pressure on the Bank to lower its mortgage pricing to maintain its volumes for a shrinking market, further causing its cash gains-as-a-percentage-of-loans-sold to decline.

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The Bank will likely experience decreased Mortgage Banking revenue during 2023 due to expected rising market interest rates and strong industry competition, housing supply shortages, and pricing pressures. Such decreased earnings could materially impact the Company’s results of operations.

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FINANCIAL REPORTING RISKS

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Management has identified material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control, which may result in material misstatements of the Company’s consolidated financial statements or cause the Company to fail to meet its periodic reporting obligations.

Management identified material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022.  A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.  

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The material weaknesses that Management identified were the following:

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Management cannot guarantee that the Company’s efforts will remediate these material weaknesses or that additional material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting will not be identified in the future. The Company’s failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in the Company’s consolidated financial statements that could result in a restatement of its financial statements and could cause the Company to fail to meet its reporting obligations, any of which could diminish investor confidence and cause a decline in the price of the Company’s Class A common stock. See Item 9A. “Controls and Procedures” for further discussions of the identified material weaknesses and the Company’s remediation efforts.

Republic’s Management is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting. If the Company is unable to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy of the Company’s financial reports.

As a public company, the Company is required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal control. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that Management evaluate and determine the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Additionally, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm is required to deliver an attestation report on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, the Company has expended, and anticipates that it will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight.  If any of these new or improved controls and systems do not perform as expected, the Company may experience further deficiencies in its controls.

The Company’s current controls and any new controls that it develops may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in its business. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm the Company’s results of operations, cause the Company to fail to meet its reporting obligations, and adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation reports required by the SEC. Ineffective internal control over financial reporting could diminish investor confidence, negatively affect the

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price of the Company’s Class A common stock, and could result in the Company’s delisting on the Nasdaq. See Item 9A. “Controls and Procedures” for further discussions of the identified material weaknesses.

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The Company’s accounting policies and estimates are critical components of the Company’s presentation of its financial statements. Management must exercise judgment in selecting and adopting various accounting policies and in applying estimates. Actual outcomes may be materially different from amounts previously estimated. Management has identified certain accounting policies and estimates as being critical to the presentation of the Company’s financial statements. These policies are described in Part II Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under the section titled “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.” The Company’s management must exercise judgment in selecting and applying many accounting policies and methods to comply with generally accepted accounting principles and reflect management’s judgment of the most appropriate manner to report the Company’s financial condition and results. In some cases, management may select an accounting policy that might be reasonable under the circumstances yet might result in the Company’s reporting different results than would have been reported under a different alternative. Materially different amounts could be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions or estimates.

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The Bank may experience goodwill impairment, which could reduce its earnings. The Bank performed its annual goodwill impairment test during the fourth quarter of 2022 as of September 30, 2022. The evaluation of the fair value of goodwill requires management judgment. If management’s judgment was incorrect and goodwill impairment was later deemed to exist, the Bank would be required to write down its goodwill resulting in a charge to earnings, which could materially, adversely affect its results of operations.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

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None

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Item 2. Properties.

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The Company’s executive offices are located at 601 West Market Street in Louisville, Kentucky. The Company also has principal support and operational functions located in three additional facilities in Louisville at 9600 Brownsboro Road, 661 South Hurstbourne Parkway and 200 South Seventh Street. As of December 31, 2022, Republic had 28 banking centers located in Kentucky, seven banking centers in Florida, three banking centers in Indiana, two banking centers in Tennessee, and two banking centers in Ohio.

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The location of Republic’s facilities, their respective approximate square footage, and their form of occupancy are as follows:

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

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See Footnote 1 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for discussion regarding the cancelled sale of the TRS business and associated litigation.

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In the ordinary course of operations, Republic and the Bank are defendants in various legal proceedings. There is no proceeding, pending, or threatened litigation in which Republic and the Bank are a defendant, to the knowledge of management, in which an adverse decision could result in a material adverse change in the business or consolidated financial position of Republic or the Bank.

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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

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Not applicable.

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PART II

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

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Market and Dividend Information

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Republic’s Class A Common Stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol “RBCAA.” There is no established public trading market for the Company’s Class B Common Stock, however, the Company’s Class B Common Stock is fully convertible into the Company’s publicly-traded Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis.

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On February 10, 2023, the Company’s Class A Common Stock was held by 1,021 shareholders of record and the Class B Common Stock was held by 92 shareholders of record. The Company intends to continue its historical practice of paying quarterly cash dividends; however, there is no assurance by the Board of Directors that such dividends will continue to be paid in the future. The payment of dividends in the future is dependent upon future income, financial position, capital requirements, the discretion and judgment of the Board of Directors, and numerous other considerations.

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For additional discussion regarding regulatory restrictions on dividends, see Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” Footnote 14 “Stockholders’ Equity and Regulatory Capital Matters.”

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Republic has made available to its employees participating in its 401(k) Plan the opportunity, at the employee’s sole discretion, to invest funds held in their accounts under the plan in shares of Class A Common Stock of Republic. Shares are purchased by the independent trustee administering the plan from time to time in the open market in the form of broker’s transactions. As of December 31, 2022, the trustee held 253,228 shares of Class A Common Stock and 1,214 shares of Class B Common Stock on behalf of the plan.

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Details of Republic’s Class A Common Stock purchases during the fourth quarter of 2022 are included in the following table:

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During 2022, the Company repurchased 273,134 shares. In addition, in connection with employee stock awards, there were 3,288 shares withheld upon exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock awards to satisfy the withholding taxes and, for stock options, the exercise price. The Board took the following actions as it relates to the Company’s existing stock repurchase program:

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The repurchase program will remain effective until the total number of shares authorized is repurchased or until Republic’s Board of Directors terminates the program. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had 490,000 shares which could be repurchased under its current share repurchase programs.

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During 2022, there were approximately 5,408 shares of Class A Common Stock issued upon conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock by stockholders of Republic in accordance with the share-for-share conversion provision option of the Class B Common Stock. The exemption from registration of the newly issued Class A Common Stock relied upon was Section (3)(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933. There were no equity securities of the registrant sold without registration during the quarter covered by this report.

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STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH

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The following stock performance graph does not constitute soliciting material and should not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any other Company filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates the performance graph by reference therein.

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The following stock performance graph sets forth the cumulative total shareholder return (assuming reinvestment of dividends) on Republic’s Class A Common Stock as compared to the KBW NASDAQ Bank Index and the S&P 500 Index. The graph covers the period beginning December 31, 2017 and ending December 31, 2022. The calculation of cumulative total return assumes an initial investment of $100 in Republic’s Class A Common Stock, the KBW NASDAQ Bank Index and the S&P 500 Index on December 31, 2017. The stock price performance shown on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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Item 6. [Reserved]

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

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The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Republic Bancorp, Inc. (the “Parent Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Republic Bank & Trust Company and Republic Insurance Services, Inc. As used in this filing, the terms “Republic,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Republic Bancorp, Inc., and, where the context requires, Republic Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The term the “Bank” refers to the Company’s subsidiary bank: Republic Bank & Trust Company. The term the “Captive” refers to the Company’s insurance subsidiary: Republic Insurance Services, Inc. All significant intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation.

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Republic is a financial holding company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bank is a Kentucky-based, state-chartered non-member financial institution that provides both traditional and non-traditional banking products through five reportable segments using a multitude of delivery channels. While the Bank operates primarily in its market footprint, its non-brick-and-mortar delivery channels allow it to reach clients across the U.S. The Captive is a Nevada-based, wholly owned insurance subsidiary of the Company. The Captive provides property and casualty insurance coverage to the Company and the Bank, as well as a group of third-party insurance captives for which insurance may not be available or economically feasible.

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In 2005, Republic Bancorp Capital Trust, an unconsolidated trust subsidiary of Republic, was formed and issued $40 million in TPS. On September 30, 2021, as permitted under the terms of RBCT’s governing documents, Republic redeemed these securities at the par amount of approximately $40 million, without penalty. Although the TPS were treated as part of Republic’s Tier I Capital while outstanding, Republic’s capital ratios remained well above “well capitalized” levels following this redemption.

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of Republic should be read in conjunction with Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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Forward-looking statements discuss matters that are not historical facts. As forward-looking statements discuss future events or conditions, the statements often include words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “target,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” or similar expressions. Do not rely on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements detail management’s expectations regarding the future and are not guarantees. Forward-looking statements are assumptions based on information known to management only as of the date the statements are made and management undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

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Broadly speaking, forward-looking statements include:

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Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the following:

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On October 26, 2022, Republic, the Bank and CBank entered into the CBank Agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, CBank will be merged with and into RB&T, with RB&T as the survivor of the merger. CBank is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. This document contains statements regarding the proposed acquisition transaction that are not statements of historical fact and are considered forward-looking statements within the criteria described above. These statements are likewise subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and outcomes of the proposed transaction to differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results or outcomes expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. In addition to factors disclosed in reports filed by Republic with the SEC, risks and uncertainties for Republic, CBank and the combined company include, but are not limited to: for the parties to receive all regulatory approvals as provided for in the CBank Agreement, the ability to grow CBank loan and deposit balances post-acquisition, unanticipated post-acquisition loan losses for Republic on CBank-originated loans, the ability of Republic to integrate acquired operations including obtaining synergies, integration objectives and anticipated timelines, the ability of Republic to integrate, manage and keep secure our information systems, and other risks and uncertainties reported from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including Part 1 Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

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Accounting Standards Updates

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For disclosure regarding the impact to the Company’s financial statements of ASUs, see Footnote 1 “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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Critical Accounting Estimates

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Republic’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reported periods.

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Management continually evaluates the Company’s accounting policies and estimates that it uses to prepare the consolidated financial statements. In general, management’s estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience, accounting and regulatory guidance, and information obtained from independent third-party professionals. Actual results may differ from those estimates made by management.

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Critical accounting policies are those that management believes are the most important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition and operating results and require management to make estimates that are difficult, subjective, and complex. Most accounting policies are not considered by management to be critical accounting policies. Several factors are considered in determining whether or not a policy is critical in the preparation of the financial statements. These factors include, among other things, whether the estimates have a significant impact on the financial statements, the nature of the estimates, the ability to readily validate the estimates with other information including independent third parties or available pricing, sensitivity of the estimates to changes in economic conditions and whether alternative methods of accounting may be utilized under GAAP. Management has discussed each critical accounting policy and the methodology for the identification and determination of critical accounting policies with the Company’s Audit Committee.

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Republic believes its critical accounting policies and estimates relate to the following:

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ACLL and Provision — As of December 31, 2022, the Bank maintained an ACLL for expected credit losses inherent in the Bank’s loan portfolio, which includes overdrawn deposit accounts. Management evaluates the adequacy of the ACLL monthly and presents and discusses the ACLL with the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors quarterly.

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The Company’s CECL method is a “static-pool” method that analyzes historical closed pools of loans over their expected lives to attain a loss rate, which is then adjusted for current conditions and reasonable, supportable forecasts prior to being applied to the current balance of the analyzed pools. Due to its reasonably strong correlation to the Company's historical net loan losses, the Company has chosen to use the U.S. national unemployment rate as its primary forecasting tool. For its CRE loan pool, the Company initially employed a one-year forecast of CRE vacancy rates through March 31, 2021 but discontinued use of this forecast during the second quarter of 2021 in favor of a one-year forecast of general CRE values. This change in forecast method had no material impact on the Company’s ACLL.

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Management’s evaluation of the appropriateness of the ACLL is often the most critical accounting estimate for a financial institution, as the ACLL requires significant reliance on the use of estimates and significant judgment as to the reliance on historical loss rates, consideration of quantitative and qualitative economic factors, and the reliance on a reasonable and supportable forecast.

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Adjustments to the historical loss rate for current conditions include differences in underwriting standards, portfolio mix or term, delinquency level, as well as for changes in environmental conditions, such as changes in property values or other relevant factors. One-year forecast adjustments to the historical loss rate are based on the U.S. national unemployment rate and CRE values. Subsequent to the one-year forecasts, loss rates are assumed to immediately revert back to long-term historical averages.

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The impact of utilizing the CECL approach to calculate the ACLL is significantly influenced by the composition, characteristics and quality of the Company’s loan portfolio, as well as the prevailing economic conditions and forecasts utilized. Material changes to these and other relevant factors may result in greater volatility to the ACLL, and therefore, greater volatility to the Company’s reported earnings.

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See additional detail regarding the Company’s adoption of ASC 326 and the CECL method under Footnote 4 “Loans and Allowance for Credit Losses” of Part II Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

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Management’s Evaluation of the ACLL

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Management evaluates the ACLL for its Core Banking operations separately from its non-traditional RPG operations. Core Banking operations consist of the Company’s Traditional Banking, Warehouse, and Mortgage Banking segments. RPG operations consist of the Company’s TRS and RCS segments.

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Management evaluated the reasonableness of its Core Bank ACLL as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 by evaluating absorption and exhaustion rates that account for CECL life-of-loan considerations and the economic hardship and uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The absorption rate considered total Core Bank net loan losses from 2008 to 2013 as a percent of the end-of-year Core Bank ACLL. The exhaustion rate considered how many years of gross Core Bank loan charge-offs the end-of-year Core Bank ACLL could withstand based on average annual net Core Bank loan losses from 2008 to 2013. The years 2008 to 2013 represent a six-year period during which the U.S. unemployment rate rose above 8% and the Core Bank incurred a historically high period of loan losses relative to an average year of loan losses for the Core Bank. Management believes Core Bank losses from 2008 to 2013 are more representative of current economic conditions than more recent years just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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As of December 31, 2022, the weighted average term of the Core Bank loan portfolio was approximately six years. The Core Bank’s absorption rate was 85% and its exhaustion rate was approximately 6.0 years as of December 31, 2022. Management considers these rates reasonable under current economic conditions. The table below reflects the Core Bank’s exhaustion and absorption rates for each of the last three years:

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