River Financial Corp - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2018

Commission file number: 333-205986

RIVER FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(334) 290-1012

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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.

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.  Yes  ☐    No  ☐

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

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

State the aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30 2018 : There is no public market for registrant’s common stock.  The registrant had total revenue of less than $50 million in 2018.

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

RIVER FINANCIAL CORPORATION

FORM 10-K

INDEX

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GENERAL

Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “River,” “RFC,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to River Financial Corporation, an Alabama corporation, as well as our wholly-owned subsidiary bank, River Bank and Trust, an Alabama Banking Corporation which we may sometimes refer to as “RB&T” and the “Bank”.

On October 28, 2015, the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-205986) became effective, and the Company became subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) under Section 15(d).

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance, which involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Certain statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements include any statement that, without limitation, may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements instead of historical or current facts and may contain words like “anticipates,” “approximately,” “believes,” “budget,” “can,” “could,” “continues,” “contemplates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecast,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “objective,” “outlook,” “predicts,” “probably,” “plans,” “potential,” “project,” “seeks,” “shall,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or the negative of these terms and other words, phrases, or expressions with similar meaning.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based upon our historical performance and on our current plans, estimates and expectations in light of information currently available to us. The inclusion of forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us that the future plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, financial results, financial condition, business, prospects, growth strategy and liquidity. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, and the Company cannot give assurances that such statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information or otherwise. Given these uncertainties, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or estimated by us include those that are discussed herein under “Part I, Item 1A. – Risk Factors,” as well as other unknown risks and uncertainties.

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PART I

Item 1.  Business.

Overview

We are a bank holding company headquartered in Prattville, Alabama. River Bank & Trust was formed as an Alabama banking corporation in March 2006. In November 2012, River Financial Corporation was formed as an Alabama corporation and all the common shares of River Bank & Trust were exchanged for common shares of River Financial Corporation and River Bank & Trust became the wholly owned subsidiary of River Financial Corporation.

We operate one subsidiary bank, River Bank & Trust. Through the Bank, we provide a broad array of financial services to businesses, business owners, and professionals. We operate fourteen full-service banking offices, located in Montgomery, Prattville, Millbrook, Wetumpka, Auburn, Opelika, Alexander City, Daphne, Clanton, Thorsby and Gadsden, Alabama.

As of December 31, 2018, we had total assets of $1.1 billion, total loans of $711.3 million, total deposits of $898.7 million, and total shareholders’ equity of $110.1 million.

Our Products and Services

Through our Bank, we engage in the business of banking, which consists primarily of accepting deposits from the public and making loans and other investments. Our principal sources of funds for loans and investments at our Bank are demand, time, savings, and other deposits (including negotiable orders of withdrawal, or NOW accounts) and the amortization and prepayments of loans and investments. Our principal sources of income are interest and fees collected on loans, interest collected on other investments, fees earned from the origination and sale of residential mortgage loans, and service charges, as well as income from investment brokerage services. Our principal expenses are interest paid on savings and other deposits (including NOW accounts), interest paid on other borrowings, employee compensation, office expenses, and other overhead expenses.

Deposits

Our principal sources of funds are core deposits, including demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, savings deposits, and certificates of deposit. As of December 31, 2018, our deposit composition was as follows:

Deposit rates are reviewed weekly by senior management. Management believes that the rates that we offer are competitive with those offered by other institutions in our market areas. We also focus on customer service to attract and retain deposits.

Transaction accounts include demand deposits and NOW accounts, which customers use for cash management and which provide us with a source of fee income, as well as a low-cost source of funds. Time and savings accounts also provide a relatively stable and low-cost source of funds. Our primary source of funds is NOW accounts. Certificates of deposit in excess of $100,000 are held primarily by customers in our market areas. We utilize brokered certificates of deposit to supplement our market funding sources when funding needs or pricing warrants the use of wholesale funding.

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Lending

We offer a range of lending services, including real estate, consumer, and commercial loans, to individuals, small businesses, and other organizations located in or conducting a substantial portion of their business in our market areas. Our total loans, net of unearned income, at December 31, 2018, were approximately $711.3 million, or approximately 66.4% of total assets. The interest rates charged on loans vary with the degree of risk, maturity, and amount of the loan and are further subject to competitive pressures, money market rates, availability of funds, and government regulations.

As of December 31, 2018, our loan portfolio composition was classified as follows: (percent of gross loans)

Real Estate Loans. Loans secured by real estate are the primary component of our loan portfolio, constituting approximately $506.8 million, or 71.3%, of total loans, net of unearned income, at December 31, 2018. We originate consumer and commercial loans for the purpose of acquiring real estate that are secured by such real estate (CRE). We also often take real estate as an additional source of collateral to secure commercial and industrial (C&I) loans. Such loans are classified as real estate loans rather than commercial and industrial loans if the real estate collateral is considered significant as a secondary source of repayment for the loan. Loans are typically made on a recourse basis supported by financial statements and a review of the repayment ability of the borrower(s) and/or guarantor(s). Origination fees are charged for many loans secured by real estate.

Real estate lending activities consist of the following:

We originate residential loans for sale into the secondary market. These loans are made in accordance with underwriting standards set by the purchaser of the loan, normally as to loan-to-value ratio, interest rate, borrower qualification, and documentation. These loans are generally made under a commitment to purchase from a loan purchaser. We generally collect from the borrower or purchaser a combination of the origination fee, discount points, and/or a service release fee.

Home Equity Lines of Credit: We originate home equity lines of credit secured by residential property. The loans are typically made on a variable rate basis with maturities up to 10 years. At December 31, 2018, home equity lines of credit constituted $39.0 million, or 5.5% of our loan portfolio.

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Commercial and Industrial Loans. We make loans for commercial purposes in various lines of business. These loans are typically made on terms up to 7 years at fixed or variable rates. The loans are secured by various types of collateral, including accounts receivable, inventory, or, in the case of equipment loans, the financed equipment. We attempt to reduce our credit risk on commercial loans by underwriting the loan based on the borrower’s cash flow and its ability to service the debt from earnings, and by limiting the loan-to-value ratio. Historically, we have typically loaned up to 80% on loans secured by accounts receivable, up to 50% on loans secured by inventory (which are typically also secured by accounts receivable), and up to 100% on loans secured by equipment. We also make some unsecured commercial loans. Commercial and industrial loans constituted $134.4 million, or 19.1% of our loan portfolio, at December 31, 2018. Interest rates are negotiable based upon the borrower’s financial condition, credit history, management stability and collateral.

Consumer Loans. Consumer lending includes installment lending to individuals in our market areas and generally consists of loans to purchase automobiles and other consumer durable goods. Consumer loans constituted $33.9 million, or 4.8% of our loan portfolio, at December 31, 2018. Consumer loans are underwritten based on the borrower’s income, current debt level, past credit history and collateral. Consumer rates are both variable and fixed, with terms negotiable. Terms generally range from one to five years depending on the nature and condition of the collateral. Periodic amortization, generally monthly, is typically required.

Loan Approval. Certain credit risks are inherent in making loans. These include repayment risks, risks resulting from uncertainties in the future value of collateral, risks resulting from changes in economic and industry conditions, and risks inherent in dealing with individual borrowers. In particular, longer maturities increase the risk that economic conditions will change and adversely affect collectability.

We attempt to minimize loan losses through various means and the use of standardized underwriting criteria. We have established a standardized loan policy that may be modified based on local market conditions. In particular, on larger credits, we generally rely on the cash flow of a debtor as the source of repayment and secondarily on the value of the underlying collateral. In addition, we attempt to utilize shorter loan terms in order to reduce the risk of a decline in the value of such collateral.

We address repayment risks by adhering to internal credit policies and procedures. These policies and procedures include officer and customer lending limits, a loan committee approval process for larger loans, documentation examination, and follow-up procedures for loan review and any exceptions to credit policies. The point in the loan approval process at which a loan is approved depends on the size of the borrower’s credit relationship with the bank and the loan authority of the lending officer to whom the loan request is made. Each of our lending officers has the authority to approve loans up to an approved loan authority amount, as approved by the bank’s board of directors. Loans in excess of the highest loan authority amount of a particular lending officer must be approved by the bank’s loan committee, or another officer with sufficient loan authority to approve the request.

Risk Ratings. Loan officers are directly responsible for monitoring the risk in their respective portfolios. On commercial loans, risk grades are assigned by the loan officer for the probability of default following analysis of borrower characteristics and external economic factors. However, on consumer loans, risk grades are determined by a borrower’s credit score and personal debt ratio, as well as the borrower’s repayment history with the bank.

Electronic Banking

We offer electronic banking services to our customers, including commercial and retail online banking, automated bill payment, mobile banking, and remote deposit capture for certain customers.

Market Areas

We currently conduct our banking operations through our Banks’ 14 banking locations in the state of Alabama. The locations include Montgomery, Prattville, Millbrook, Wetumpka, Auburn, Opelika, Alexander City, Daphne, Clanton, Thorsby and Gadsden. Our market areas generally include the Montgomery, Auburn-Opelika, Gadsden, and Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

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Competition

The financial services industry is highly competitive. We compete for loans, deposits, and financial services in all of our principal markets. We compete directly with other bank and nonbank institutions located within our markets, internet-based banks, out-of-market banks, and bank holding companies that advertise in or otherwise serve our markets, along with money market and mutual funds, brokerage houses, mortgage companies, and insurance companies or other commercial entities that offer financial services products. Competition involves efforts to retain current customers, obtain new loans and deposits, increase the scope and type of services offered, and offer competitive interest rates paid on deposits and charged on loans. Many of our competitors enjoy competitive advantages, including greater financial resources, a wider geographic presence, more accessible branch office locations, the ability to offer additional services, more favorable pricing alternatives, and lower origination and operating costs. Some of our competitors have been in business for a long time and have an established customer base and name recognition. We believe that our competitive pricing, personalized service, and community involvement enable us to effectively compete in the communities in which we operate.

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately 185 full-time and 10 part-time employees. None of these employees are party to a collective bargaining agreement.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

General

We are extensively regulated under both federal and state law. These laws restrict permissible activities and investments and require compliance with various consumer protection provisions applicable to lending, deposit, brokerage, and fiduciary activities. They also impose capital adequacy requirements and conditions on a bank holding company’s ability to repurchase stock or to receive dividends from its subsidiary banks. We are subject to comprehensive examination and supervision by the Federal Reserve, and River Bank and Trust is subject to comprehensive examination and supervision by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Alabama Banking Department. These regulatory agencies generally have broad discretion to impose restrictions and limitations on our operations. This supervisory framework could materially impact the conduct and profitability of our activities.

In December 2015, we completed a merger with Keystone, pursuant to which we acquired control of Keystone Bank.  Under the terms of the merger agreement, Keystone was merged with and into RB&T, with RB&T surviving the merger.  In October 2018, we completed a merger with PSB Bancshares, Inc., pursuant to which we acquired control of Peoples Southern Bank.  Under the terms of the merger agreement, Peoples Southern Bank was merged with and into RB&T, with RB&T surviving the merger.

To the extent that the following information describes statutory and regulatory provisions, it is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the particular statutory and regulatory provisions. Proposals to change the laws and regulations governing the banking industry are frequently raised at both the state and federal levels. The likelihood and timing of any changes in these laws and regulations, and the impact such changes may have on us, are difficult to ascertain. A change in applicable laws and regulations, or in the manner such laws or regulations are interpreted by regulatory agencies or courts, may have a material effect on our business, operations, and earnings.

Regulation of River Financial Corporation

We are registered as a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”) and are subject to regulation and supervision by the Federal Reserve. The BHCA requires us to secure the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before we own or control, directly or indirectly, more than five percent (5%) of the voting shares or substantially all of the assets of any bank or thrift, or merge or consolidate with another bank or thrift holding company. Further, under the BHCA, our activities and those of any nonbank subsidiary are generally limited to:  those activities that the Federal Reserve determines to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto. Prior approval of the Federal Reserve may be required before engaging in certain activities. In making such determinations, the Federal Reserve is required to weigh the expected benefits to the public, such as greater convenience, increased competition, and gains in efficiency, against the possible adverse effects, such as undue concentration of resources, decreased or unfair competition, conflicts of interest, and unsound banking practices.

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Subject to various exceptions, the BHCA and the Change in Bank Control Act, together with related regulations, require Federal Reserve approval prior to any person or company acquiring “control” of a bank holding company. Control is conclusively deemed to exist if an individual or company acquires 25% or more of any class of voting securities of the bank holding company, and a rebuttable presumption arises if a person or company acquires 10% or more, but less than 25%, of any class of voting securities and either: (i) the bank holding company has registered securities under Section 12 of the Securities Act; or (ii) no other person owns a greater percentage of that class of voting securities immediately after the transaction.

The BHCA was substantially amended by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or the GLBA, which, among other things, permits a “financial holding company” to engage in a broader range of non-banking activities, and to engage on less restrictive terms in certain activities than were previously permitted. These expanded activities include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance underwriting and sales, and merchant banking activities. To become a financial holding company, a bank holding company must certify that all depository institutions that it controls are both “well capitalized” and “well managed” (as defined by federal law), and have at least a “satisfactory” CRA rating. The GLBA also imposes certain privacy requirements on all financial institutions and their treatment of consumer information. At this time, we have not elected to become a financial holding company, nor do we expect to make such an election in the foreseeable future.

There are a number of restrictions imposed on us by law and regulatory policy that are designed to minimize potential loss to depositors and to the insurance fund maintained by the FDIC (as discussed in more detail below) in the event that a subsidiary depository institution should become insolvent. For example, federal law requires a bank holding company to serve as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary depository institutions and to commit resources to support such institutions in circumstances where it might not do so in the absence of such a policy. The Federal Reserve also has the authority under the BHCA to require a bank holding company to terminate any activity or to relinquish control of a non-bank subsidiary upon the Federal Reserve’s determination that such activity or control constitutes a serious risk to the financial soundness and stability of any bank subsidiary of the bank holding company.

Any capital loan by a bank holding company to a subsidiary depository institution is subordinate in right of payment to deposits and certain other indebtedness of the institution. In addition, in the event of the holding company’s bankruptcy, any commitment made by the bank holding company to a federal banking regulatory agency to maintain the capital of its subsidiary depository institution(s) will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to a priority of payment.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act, or 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 a 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 the institution’s holding company, with respect to any extensions of credit they have made to such insured depository institution.

Regulation of River Bank & Trust

The operations and investments of RB&T are subject to the supervision, examination, and reporting requirements of the FDIC, the Alabama Banking Department, as well as other federal banking statutes and regulations, including with respect to the level of reserves that RB&T must maintain against deposits, restrictions on the types, amount, and terms and conditions of loans it may originate, and limits on the types of other activities in which RB&T may engage and the investments that it may make. The FDIC and Alabama Banking Department also have the power to prevent the continuance or development of unsafe or unsound banking practices or other violations of law.

Transactions with Affiliates

We are subject to federal laws, such as Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, that limit the size and number of the transactions that depository institutions may engage in with their affiliates. Under these provisions, transactions (such as loans or investments) by a bank with nonbank affiliates are generally limited to 10% of the bank’s capital and surplus for all covered transactions with any one affiliate, and 20% of capital and surplus for all covered transactions with all affiliates. Any extensions of credit to affiliates, with limited exceptions, must be secured by eligible collateral in specified amounts. Banks are also prohibited from purchasing any “low quality” assets from an affiliate. The Dodd-Frank Act imposes additional requirements on transactions with affiliates, including an expansion of the definition of “covered transactions” and an increase in the amount of time for which collateral requirements regarding covered transactions must be maintained.

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We are also subject to restrictions on extensions of credit to our executive officers, directors, principal stockholders, and their related interests. These extensions of credit must be made on substantially the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with third parties, and must not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features. Furthermore, we are prohibited from engaging in asset purchases or sales transactions with our officers, directors, or principal stockholders unless the transaction is on market terms and, if the transaction represents greater than 10% of the capital and surplus of the bank, a majority of the bank’s disinterested directors has approved the transaction.

Monetary Policy

Our earnings are and will be affected by domestic economic conditions and the monetary and fiscal policies of the United States government and its agencies. The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve have a significant effect upon the operating results of commercial banks. The Federal Reserve has a major impact upon the levels of bank loans, investments and deposits through its open market operations in United States government securities and through its regulation of, among other things, the discount rate on bank borrowings and the reserve requirements against bank deposits. It is not possible for us to predict the nature and impact of future changes in monetary and fiscal policies.

Deposit Insurance

Our deposits are insured up to applicable limits by the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) of the FDIC. The DIF is the successor to the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund, which were merged in 2006. Under the FDIC’s current risk-based assessment system, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act and the FDIC’s final rule on assessments, dividend assessment base and large bank pricing, or the Assessment Rule, insured institutions are assigned to one of four categories based on supervisory evaluations, regulatory capital levels, and certain other factors. An institution’s assessment rate depends upon the category to which it is assigned and the applicability of certain potential adjustments established by FDIC regulations, with less risky institutions paying lower assessment rates.

The assessment base against which the assessment rate is applied to determine the total assessment due for a given period is the depository institution’s average total consolidated assets during the assessment period less average tangible equity during that assessment period. Tangible equity is defined in the Assessment Rule as Tier 1 Capital and is calculated monthly, unless the insured depository institution has less than $1 billion in assets, in which case the insured depository institution calculates Tier 1 Capital on an end-of-quarter basis.

The Dodd-Frank Act also eliminated the ceiling and increased the floor on the size of the DIF. It established a minimum designated reserve ratio, or the DRR, of 1.35 percent of the estimated insured deposits and required the FDIC to adopt a restoration plan should the reserve ratio fall below 1.35 percent. However, the assessment rate schedules used to determine assessments due from insured depository institutions become progressively lower when the reserve ratio in the DIF exceeds 1.15 percent, 2 percent, and 2.5 percent.

In addition to the assessment for deposit insurance, insured depository institutions are required to make payments on bonds issued in the late 1980s by the Financing Corporation to recapitalize a predecessor deposit insurance fund. This payment is established quarterly and, for the first quarter in calendar year 2018, equaled .11 basis points on the assessment base which is equal to average total assets less average tangible equity capital.  The assessment equaled .08 basis points for the second and third quarters of 2018 and .035 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2018.

The Dodd-Frank Act also raised the limit for federal deposit insurance to $250,000 and increased the cash limit of Securities Investor Protection Corporation protection from $100,000 to $250,000.

The FDIC has authority to increase insurance assessments. A significant increase in insurance assessments would likely have an adverse effect on our operating expenses and results of operations. We cannot predict what insurance assessment rates will be in the future. Furthermore, deposit insurance may be terminated by the FDIC upon a finding that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations, or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order, or condition imposed by the FDIC.

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Dividend Restrictions

We are a legal entity separate and distinct from our Bank. Our ability to pay dividends and make other distributions depends in part upon the receipt of dividends from our subsidiary bank and is limited by federal and state law. The specific limits depend upon a number of factors, including recent earnings, recent dividends, level of capital, and regulatory status. The regulators are authorized, and under certain circumstances are required, to determine whether the payment of dividends or other distributions by a bank would be an unsafe or unsound practice and to prohibit such payment. For example, the FDIA generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distribution (including payment of a dividend) or paying any management fee to its parent holding company if the depository institution would thereafter be undercapitalized.

The bank generally may not withdraw, either in the form of a dividend or otherwise, any portion of its permanent capital and may not declare a dividend in excess of its retained net profits without prior approval of the Alabama Banking Department and FDIC. Further, the bank is also required by Alabama law to obtain prior approval of the Alabama Banking Department for its payment of dividends if the total of all dividends declared by the bank in any calendar year will exceed the total of (i) the bank’s net earnings (as defined by statute) for that year, plus (ii) its retained net earnings for the preceding two years.

The ability of a bank holding company to pay dividends and make distributions can also be limited by other laws or regulations. The Federal Reserve, which has authority to prohibit a bank holding company from paying dividends or making other distributions, has issued a Supervisory Letter stating that a bank holding company should not pay cash dividends unless its net income available to common stockholders has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends, and the prospective rate of earnings retention appears to be consistent with the holding company’s capital needs, asset quality, and overall financial condition. Accordingly, a bank holding company should not pay cash dividends that exceed its net income or that can only be funded in ways that weaken the bank holding company’s financial health, such as by borrowing. The Dodd-Frank Act, Basel III (described below), and their respective implementing regulations impose additional restrictions on the ability of banking institutions to pay dividends.

Capital Adequacy Guidelines

In December 2010, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released its final framework for strengthening international capital and liquidity regulation, or Basel III. Basel III requires banks to maintain a higher level of capital than previously required, with a greater emphasis on common equity. The Dodd-Frank Act imposed generally applicable capital requirements with respect to bank holding companies and their bank subsidiaries and mandated that the federal banking regulatory agencies adopt rules and regulations to implement the Basel III requirements.

Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Federal Reserve to apply consolidated capital requirements to a bank holding company that are no less stringent than those currently applied to depository institutions. In July 2013, the federal banking agencies adopted a final rule, or the Basel III Final Rule, implementing these standards. Under the Basel III Final Rule, trust preferred securities are excluded from Tier I capital unless such securities were issued prior to May 19, 2010 by a bank holding company with less than $15 billion in assets, subject to certain limits. The Dodd-Frank Act additionally provides for countercyclical capital requirements so that the required amount of capital increases in times of economic expansion and decreases in times of economic contraction, consistent with safety and soundness. Under the Basel III Final Rule, which implements this concept, banks must maintain a capital conservation buffer consisting of additional common equity Tier 1 capital equal to 2.5% of risk-weighted assets above each of the required minimum capital levels in order to avoid limitations on paying dividends, engaging in share repurchases, and paying certain discretionary bonuses. This new capital conservation buffer requirement is currently being phased in beginning in 2016 at 0.625% of risk-weighted assets and will increase each year until fully implemented at 2.5% in January 2019.

For purposes of calculating risk-weighted assets, the federal banking agencies have promulgated risk-based capital guidelines designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banks, to account for off-balance sheet exposures, and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Under these guidelines, assets and off- balance sheet items are assigned to broad risk categories, each with appropriate weights. The resulting capital ratios represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance sheet items.  Bank assets are given risk-weights under the Basel III Final Rule. In addition, certain off-balance sheet items are assigned certain credit conversion factors to convert them to asset- equivalent amounts to which an appropriate risk-weighting will apply. Those computations result in the total risk-weighted assets.

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Under the Basel III Final Rule, as of the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the minimum ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets (including the capital conservation buffer) was 9.875% and 9.250%, respectively. The minimum ratio of “Tier 1 Capital” (consisting generally of equity and qualifying preferred stock, less certain goodwill items and other intangible assets) to risk- weighted assets was 7.875% and 7.250% and the minimum ratio of “Common Equity Tier 1 Capital” (which generally consists of common stock and retained earnings) to risk-weighted assets including the capital conservation buffer was 6.375% and 5.750% for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.  When the capital conservation buffer is fully phased in beginning January 1, 2019, the minimum ratios (including the 2.5% capital conservation buffer) will be (i) Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 7% (ii)Tier 1 Risk-Based ratio of 8.5% and (iii) Total Risk-Based ratio of 10.5% The remainder of total capital, or “Tier 2 Capital,” may consist of (a) the allowance for loan losses of up to 1.25% of risk-weighted assets, (b) certain types of preferred stock not qualifying as Tier 1 Capital, (c) hybrid capital instruments, (d) perpetual debt, (e) mandatory convertible securities, and (f) certain subordinated debt and intermediate-term preferred stock up to 50% of Tier 1 Capital. Total Capital is the sum of Tier 1 Capital and Tier 2 Capital (which is included only to the extent of Tier 1 Capital), less reciprocal holdings of other banking organizations capital instruments, investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries, and any other deductions as determined by the appropriate regulator.

In addition, the federal banking agencies have established minimum leverage ratio requirements for banking organizations they supervise, calculated as the ratio of Tier 1 Capital to adjusted average consolidated assets. Prior to the effective date of the Basel III Final Rule, banks and bank holding companies meeting certain specified criteria, including having the highest regulatory rating and not experiencing significant growth or expansion, were permitted to maintain a minimum leverage ratio of Tier 1 Capital to adjusted average quarterly assets equal to 3%. Other banks and bank holding companies generally were required to maintain a minimum leverage ratio of 4%.  Under the Basel III Final Rule, as of January 1, 2015, the required minimum leverage ratio for all banks is 4%.  These are all minimum capital standards and the regulatory agencies expect banks and bank holding companies to maintain capital well above the minimum levels.

The federal banking agencies proposed a rule in November 2018 that, if adopted, would allow bank holding companies with less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and limited amounts of certain assets and off balance sheet exposures and a bank leverage ratio of greater than 9% to elect to use the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework.  A community banking organization electing to use the CBLR framework would have a simplified capital regime and would be considered well capitalized as long as it had a leverage ratio of greater than 9% and adequately capitalized with a leverage ratio of at least 7.5%.

As an additional means of identifying problems in the financial management of depository institutions, the federal banking regulatory agencies have established certain non-capital safety and soundness standards for institutions for which they are the primary federal regulator. The standards relate generally to operations and management, asset quality, interest rate exposure, and executive compensation. The agencies are authorized to take action against institutions that fail to meet such standards.

Prompt Corrective Action

In addition to the required minimum capital levels described above, federal law establishes a system of “prompt corrective actions” that federal banking agencies are required to take, and certain actions that they have discretion to take, based upon the capital category into which a federally regulated depository institution falls. Regulations set forth detailed procedures and criteria for implementing prompt corrective action in the case of any institution which is not adequately capitalized. Under the prompt corrective action rules effective as of January 1, 2015, an institution is deemed “well capitalized” if its leverage ratio, Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, Tier 1 Capital ratio, and Total Capital ratio meet or exceed 5%, 6.5%, 8%, and 10%, respectively. An institution is deemed to be “adequately capitalized” or better if its leverage, Common Equity Tier 1, Tier 1, and Total Capital ratios meet or exceed 4.0%, 4.5%, 6.0%, and 8.0%, and “undercapitalized” if it fails to meet these minimum capital requirements. An institution is “significantly undercapitalized” if its leverage, Common Equity Tier 1, Tier 1, or Total Capital ratios fall below 3%, 3%, 4%, or 6%, respectively, and “critically undercapitalized” if the institution has a ratio of tangible equity to total assets that is equal to or less than 2%.

The prompt corrective action rules require an undercapitalized institution to file a written capital restoration plan, along with a performance guaranty by its holding company or a third party. In addition, an undercapitalized institution becomes subject to certain automatic restrictions, including a prohibition on payment of dividends and a limitation on asset growth and expansion in certain cases, a limitation on the payment of bonuses or raises to senior executive officers, and a prohibition on the payment of certain “management fees” to any “controlling person.” Institutions that are classified as undercapitalized are also subject to certain additional supervisory actions, including increased reporting burdens and regulatory monitoring; limitations on the institution’s ability to make acquisitions, open new branch offices, or engage in new lines of business; obligations to raise additional capital; restrictions on transactions with affiliates; and restrictions on interest rates paid by the institution on deposits. In certain cases, banking regulatory agencies may require replacement of senior executive officers or directors, or sale of the institution to a willing purchaser. If an institution is deemed to be “critically undercapitalized” and continues in that category for 90 days, the statute requires, with certain narrowly limited exceptions, that the institution be placed in receivership.

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Community Reinvestment Act

The CRA requires the federal banking regulatory agencies to assess all financial institutions that they regulate to determine whether these institutions are meeting the credit needs of the communities they serve, including their assessment area(s) (as established for these purposes in accordance with applicable regulations based principally on the location of branch offices). Under the CRA, institutions are assigned a rating of “outstanding,” “satisfactory,” “needs to improve,” or “unsatisfactory.” An institution’s record in meeting the requirements of the CRA is made publicly available and is taken into consideration in connection with any applications it files with federal regulators to engage in certain activities, including approval of a branch or other deposit facility, mergers and acquisitions, office relocations, or expansions into non-banking activities. The Bank received a “satisfactory” rating at its most recent CRA evaluation.

USA PATRIOT Act

Under the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act, which amended the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, financial institutions are subject to prohibitions against specified financial transactions and account relationships, as well as enhanced due diligence and “know your customer” standards in their dealings with foreign financial institutions and foreign customers. The USA PATRIOT Act also mandates that financial institutions establish anti-money laundering programs meeting certain standards and requires the federal banking regulators to consider the effectiveness of a financial institution’s anti-money laundering activities when reviewing bank mergers and bank holding company acquisitions.

Privacy of Customer Information

The GLBA and the implementing regulations issued by federal regulatory agencies require financial institutions (including banks, insurance agencies, and broker/dealers) to adopt policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of nonpublic personal information about their customers to non-affiliated third parties. In general, financial institutions are required to explain to customers their policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of such nonpublic personal information, and, unless otherwise required or permitted by law, financial institutions are prohibited from disclosing such information except as provided in their policies and procedures. Specifically, the GLBA established certain information security guidelines that require each financial institution, under the supervision and ongoing oversight of its board of directors or an appropriate committee thereof, to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive written information security program designed to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer information, to protect against anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such information, and to protect against unauthorized access to or use of such information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to any customer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Dodd-Frank Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or the CFPB, which is an independent bureau with broad authority to regulate the consumer finance industry, including regulated financial institutions, non-banks and others involved in extending credit to consumers. The CFPB has authority through rulemaking, orders, policy statements, guidance, and enforcement actions to administer and enforce federal consumer financial laws, to oversee several entities and market segments not previously under the supervision of a federal regulator, and to impose its own regulations and pursue enforcement actions when it determines that a practice is unfair, deceptive, or abusive. The federal consumer financial laws and all of the functions and responsibilities associated with them, many of which were previously enforced by other federal regulatory agencies, were transferred to the CFPB on July 21, 2011. While the CFPB has the power to interpret, administer, and enforce federal consumer financial laws, the Dodd-Frank Act provides that the federal banking regulatory agencies continue to have examination and enforcement powers over the financial institutions that they supervise relating to the matters within the jurisdiction of the CFPB if such institutions have less than $10 billion in assets. The Dodd- Frank Act also gives state attorneys general the ability to enforce federal consumer protection laws.

Mortgage Loan Origination

The Dodd-Frank Act authorizes the CFPB to establish certain minimum standards for the origination of residential mortgages, including a determination of the borrower’s ability to repay. Under the Dodd-Frank Act and the implementing final rule adopted by the CFPB, or the ATR/QM Rule, a financial institution may not make a residential mortgage loan to a consumer unless it first makes a “reasonable and good faith determination” that the consumer has a “reasonable ability” to repay the loan. In addition, the ATR/QM Rule limits prepayment penalties and permits borrowers to raise certain defenses to foreclosure if they receive any loan other than a “qualified mortgage,” as defined by the CFPB. The ATR/QM Rule specifies the types of income and assets that may be considered in the ability-to-repay determination, the permissible sources for verification, and the required methods of calculating the loan’s monthly payments. The ATR/QM Rule became effective January 10, 2014.

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In addition, Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Exchange Act to require sponsors of asset-backed securities (ABS) to retain at least 5 percent of the credit risk of the assets underlying the securities and generally prohibits sponsors from transferring or hedging that credit risk. In October 2014, the federal banking regulatory agencies adopted a final rule to implement this requirement, or the Risk Retention Rule. Among other things, the Risk Retention Rule requires a securitizer to retain not less than 5 percent of the credit risk of any asset that the securitizer, through the issuance of an ABS, transfers, sells, or conveys to a third party; and prohibits a securitizer from directly or indirectly hedging or otherwise transferring the credit risk that the securitizer is required to retain. In certain situations, the final rule allows securitizers to allocate a portion of the risk retention requirement to the originator(s) of the securitized assets, if an originator contributes at least 20 percent of the assets in the securitization. The Risk Retention Rule also provides an exemption to the risk retention requirements for an ABS collateralized exclusively by Qualified Residential Mortgages, or QRMs, and ties the definition of a QRM to the definition of a “qualified mortgage” established by the CFPB for purposes of evaluating a consumer’s ability to repay a mortgage loan. The federal banking agencies have agreed to review the definition of QRMs in 2019, following the CFPB’s own review of its “qualified mortgage” regulation.

Mortgage Loan Servicing

On January 17, 2013, the CFPB issued a series of final rules as part of an ongoing effort to address mortgage servicing reforms and create uniform standards for the mortgage servicing industry. The rules contain additional requirements for communications with borrowers, address the maintenance of customer account records, govern procedures for responding to written borrower requests and complaints of errors, and provide guidance regarding servicing delinquent loans, foreclosure proceedings, and loss mitigation efforts, among other measures. These rules became effective on January 10, 2014 and have in general led to increased costs to service loans across the mortgage industry.

The Volcker Rule

On December 10, 2013, five federal financial regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, adopted final rules implementing the so-called “Volcker Rule” embodied in Section 13 of the BHCA, which was added by Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Volcker Rule completes the process begun in October 2011, when the agencies introduced proposed implementing rules for comment. In general, the Volcker Rule prohibits banking entities from (1) engaging in short-term proprietary trading for their own accounts, and (2) having certain ownership interests in, and relationships with, hedge funds or private equity funds, or covered funds. The Volcker Rule is intended to provide greater clarity with respect to both the extent of those primary prohibitions and the related exemptions and exclusions.

The Volcker Rule also requires each regulated entity to establish an internal compliance program that is consistent with the extent to which it engages in activities covered by the Volcker Rule, which must include (for the largest entities) making regular reports about those activities to regulators. Community and small banks, like us, are afforded some relief under the Volcker Rule. If such banks are engaged only in exempted proprietary trading, such as trading in United States government, agency, state, and municipal obligations, they are exempt entirely from compliance program requirements. Moreover, even if a community or small bank engages in proprietary trading or covered fund activities under the rule, they need only incorporate references to the Volcker Rule into their existing policies and procedures.

On January 15, 2014, the federal banking agencies issued an interim final rule, or the Interim Rule, that exempts certain collateralized debt obligations backed by trust-preferred securities, also known as TruPS CDOs, from the broad restrictions of the Volcker Rule. Specifically, the Interim Rule provides that the covered fund restrictions of the Volcker Rule are inapplicable to a banking entity’s ownership interest in, or sponsorship of, any issuer of TruPS CDOs, provided that, among other things, (1) the TruPS CDOs were issued before May 19, 2010, by a holding company with $15 billion or less in total consolidated assets, and (2) the banking entity acquired the interest in the TruPS CDOs on or before December 10, 2013, or acquired the interest in the course of a merger with or acquisition of a banking entity that itself acquired the interest on or before that date.

Other Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Act, which became law on July 21, 2010, implements far-reaching changes across the financial regulatory landscape. In addition to the reforms previously mentioned, the Dodd-Frank Act also:

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Although a significant number of the rules and regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act have been finalized, many of the new requirements called for have yet to be implemented and will likely be subject to implementing regulations over the course of several years. Given the uncertainty associated with the manner in which the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act will be implemented by the various agencies, the full extent of the impact such requirements will have on financial institutions’ operations is unclear.

Federal Home Loan Bank Membership

River Bank and Trust is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, or the FHLBA. Each member of the FHLBA is required to maintain a minimum investment in the Class B stock of the FHLBA. The Board of Directors of the FHLBA can increase the minimum investment requirements in the event it has concluded that additional capital is required to allow it to meet its own regulatory capital requirements. Any increase in the minimum investment requirements outside of specified ranges requires the approval of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Because the extent of any obligation to increase the level of investment in the FHLBA depends entirely upon the occurrence of a future event, we are unable to determine the extent of future required potential payments to the FHLBA at this time. Additionally, in the event that a member financial institution fails, the right of the FHLBA to seek repayment of funds loaned to that institution will take priority (a super lien) over the rights of all other creditors.

Other Laws and Regulations

Our operations are subject to several additional laws, some of which are specific to banking and others of which are applicable to commercial operations generally. For example, with respect to our lending practices, we are subject to the following laws and regulations, among several others:

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Our deposit operations are subject to federal laws applicable to depository accounts, including:

We are also subject to a variety of laws and regulations that are not limited to banking organizations. For example, in lending to commercial and consumer borrowers, and in owning and operating our own property, we are subject to regulations and potential liabilities under state and federal environmental laws. In addition, we must comply with privacy and data security laws and regulations at both the federal and state level.

We are heavily regulated by regulatory agencies at the federal and state levels. Like most of our competitors, we have faced and expect to continue to face increased regulation and regulatory and political scrutiny, which creates significant uncertainty for us, as well as for the financial services industry in general.

Enforcement Powers

The Financial Institution Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act, or FIRREA, expanded and increased the penalties available for use by the federal regulatory agencies against depository institutions and certain “institution-affiliated parties.” Institution-affiliated parties primarily include management, employees, and agents of a financial institution, as well as independent contractors and consultants, such as attorneys, accountants, and others who participate in the conduct of the financial institution’s affairs. An institution can be subject to an enforcement action due to the failure to timely file required reports, the filing of false or misleading information, or the submission of inaccurate reports, or engaging in other unsafe or unsound banking practices. Civil money penalties may be imposed at various levels but can be as high as $1,100,000 per day for such violations.

FIRREA provided regulators with greater flexibility to commence enforcement actions against institutions and institution-affiliated parties and to terminate an institution’s deposit insurance. It also expanded the power of banking regulatory agencies to issue regulatory orders. Such orders may, among other things, require affirmative action to correct any harm resulting from a violation or practice, including restitution, reimbursement, indemnification, or guarantees against loss. A financial institution may also be ordered to restrict its growth, dispose of certain assets, rescind agreements or contracts, or take other actions as determined by the ordering agency to be appropriate. The Dodd-Frank Act increases regulatory oversight, supervision and examination of banks, bank holding companies, and their respective subsidiaries by the appropriate regulatory agency.

Future Legislation and Regulation

Regulators have increased their focus on the regulation of the financial services industry in recent years, leading in many cases to greater uncertainty and compliance costs for regulated entities. For example, the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act could require us to make material expenditures, particularly in the form of personnel training costs and additional compliance expenses. We also may be required to change certain of our business practices in order to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act and its implementing regulations, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to pursue business opportunities that we might otherwise consider pursuing, cause business disruptions, and/or have other impacts that are as of yet unknown to us. Failure to comply with these laws or regulations, even if inadvertent, could result in negative publicity, fines, or additional expenses.

Furthermore, proposals that could substantially intensify the regulation of the financial services industry may be introduced in the United States Congress, in state legislatures, and by applicable regulatory authorities. These proposals may change banking statutes and regulations and our operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways. If enacted, these proposals could increase or decrease the cost of doing business, limit or expand permissible activities or affect the competitive balance among banks, savings associations, credit unions, and other financial institutions. We cannot predict whether any of these proposals will be enacted and, if enacted, the effect that these proposals, or any implementing regulations, would have on our business, results of operations, or financial condition.

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Website Information

We maintain a website at www.riverbankandtrust.com through which we make available, free of charge under the tab “Investor Relations,” our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with the SEC. These reports are also available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. We will provide paper copies of these reports to stockholders free of charge upon written request to: River Financial Corporation, Attention: Corporate Secretary, P.O. Box 680249, Alabama 36068. Information on, or accessible through, our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have included our website address only as an inactive textual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our website.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

An investment in our common stock involves certain risks that you should carefully consider in addition to the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The occurrence of any of the risks described below may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations, in which case the value of your common stock could decline and you could lose all or a part of your investment. Additional risks of which we are not presently aware or that we currently believe are immaterial may also harm our business or results of operations. Further, to the extent that any of the information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K constitutes forward-looking statements, the risk factors set forth below also are cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Our business is concentrated in, and largely dependent upon, the continued growth and welfare of the general geographic markets in which we operate.

Our commercial banking operations are concentrated in Alabama. As of December 31, 2018, most of our total loans were to borrowers located in Alabama. As a result, our financial condition and results of operations and cash flows are affected by changes in the economic conditions of the state or the regions of which it is a part. Our success depends to a significant extent upon the business activity, population, income levels, deposits, and real estate activity in this market. Although our customers’ business and financial interests may extend well beyond this market area, adverse conditions that affect this market area could reduce our growth rate, affect the ability of our customers to repay their loans, affect the value of collateral underlying loans, impact our ability to attract deposits, and generally affect our financial conditions and results of operations. Because of our geographic concentration, we may be less able than other regional or national financial institutions to diversify our credit risks across multiple markets.

A return of recessionary conditions could result in increases in our level of nonperforming loans and/or reduced demand for our products and services, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Economic recession or other economic problems, including those affecting our markets and regions, but also those affecting the U.S. or world economies, could have a material adverse impact on the demand for our products and services. Since the conclusion of the last recession, economic growth has been slow and uneven, and unemployment levels remain relatively high. If economic conditions deteriorate, or if there are negative developments affecting the domestic and international credit markets, the value of our loans and investments may be harmed, which in turn would have an adverse effect on our financial performance, and our financial condition may be adversely affected. In addition, although deteriorating market conditions could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, we cannot provide any assurance that we would benefit from any market growth or favorable economic conditions, either in our primary market areas or nationally, even if they do occur.

Difficult conditions in the market for financial products and services may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Dramatic declines in the housing market during recent years, along with increasing foreclosures and unemployment, resulted in significant write-downs of asset values by financial institutions, including government-sponsored entities and major commercial and investment banks. These write-downs, initially of mortgage-backed securities but spreading to credit default swaps and other derivative securities, caused many financial institutions to seek additional capital, to merge with larger and stronger institutions, and, in some cases, to fail. This market turmoil and tightening of credit led to an increased level of commercial and consumer delinquencies, lack of consumer confidence, increased market volatility, and widespread reduction of business activity generally. Although conditions have improved, a return of these trends could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. Negative market developments may affect consumer confidence levels and may cause adverse changes in payment patterns, causing increases in delinquencies and default rates, which may impact our charge-offs and provisions for loan and credit losses. Economic deterioration that affects household and/or corporate incomes could also result in reduced demand for credit or fee-based products and services. These conditions would have adverse effects on us and others in the financial services industry.

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Our small to medium-sized business and entrepreneurial customers may have fewer financial resources than larger entities to weather a downturn in the economy, which may impair a borrower’s ability to repay a loan, and such impairment could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We focus our business development and marketing strategy primarily to serve the banking and financial services needs of small to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs. These small to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs may have fewer financial resources in terms of capital or borrowing capacity than larger entities. If economic conditions negatively impact the Alabama market generally, and small to medium-sized businesses are adversely affected, our financial condition and results of operations may be negatively affected.

Our financial performance will be negatively impacted if we are unable to execute our growth strategy.

Our current growth strategy is to grow organically and supplement that growth with select acquisitions. Our ability to grow organically depends primarily on generating loans and deposits of acceptable risk and expense, and we may not be successful in continuing this organic growth. Our ability to identify appropriate markets for expansion, recruit and retain qualified personnel, and fund growth at a reasonable cost depends upon prevailing economic conditions, maintenance of sufficient capital, competitive factors, and changes in banking laws, among other factors. Conversely, if we grow too quickly and are unable to control costs and maintain asset quality, such growth, whether organic or through select acquisitions, could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

External economic factors, such as changes in monetary policy and inflation and deflation, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our financial condition and results of operations are affected by credit policies of monetary authorities, particularly the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Reserve. Actions by monetary and fiscal authorities, including the Federal Reserve, could lead to inflation, deflation, or other economic phenomena that could adversely affect our financial performance. The primary impact of inflation on our operations most likely will be reflected in increased operating costs. Conversely, deflation generally will tend to erode collateral values and diminish loan quality. Virtually all of our assets and liabilities are monetary in nature. As a result, interest rates have a more significant impact on our performance than general levels of inflation or deflation. Interest rates do not necessarily move in the same direction or by the same magnitude as the prices of goods and services.

Our profitability is vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations.

Our profitability depends substantially upon our net interest income. Net interest income is the difference between the interest earned on assets (such as loans and securities held in our investment portfolio) and the interest paid for liabilities (such as interest paid on savings and money market accounts and time deposits).

Income associated with interest-earning assets and costs associated with interest-bearing liabilities may not be affected uniformly by fluctuations in interest rates. The magnitude and duration of changes in interest rates are events over which we have no control, and such changes may have an adverse effect on our net interest income. Prepayment and early withdrawal levels, which are also impacted by changes in interest rates, can significantly affect our assets and liabilities. For example, an increase in interest rates could, among other things, reduce the demand for loans and decrease loan repayment rates. Such an increase could also adversely affect the ability of our floating-rate borrowers to meet their higher payment obligations, which could in turn lead to an increase in non-performing assets and net charge-offs. Conversely, a decrease in the general level of interest rates could affect us by, among other things, leading to greater competition for deposits and incentivizing borrowers to prepay or refinance their loans more quickly or frequently than they otherwise would. The primary tool that management uses to measure interest rate risk is a simulation model that evaluates the impact of varying levels of prevailing interest rates and the impact on net interest income and the economic value of equity. As of December 31, 2018, this simulation analysis indicated that if prevailing interest rates immediately decreased by 300 basis points, we would expect net interest income to decrease by approximately $2.7 million, or 7.2% over the next 12 months, and an increase in the economic value of equity of $6.0 million, or 3.7%. We believe that this is unlikely based on current interest rate levels. Conversely, if prevailing interest rates immediately increased by 300 basis points, we would expect net interest income to decrease by approximately $1.3 million, or 3.5%, over the next 12 months, and a decrease in the economic value of equity of $27.4 million, or 16.8%. However, fluctuations in interest rates affect different classes of income-earning assets differently, and there can be no assurance as to the actual effect on our results of operations should such an increase or decrease occur.

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Generally, the interest rates on our interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities do not change at the same rate, to the same extent or on the same basis. Even assets and liabilities with similar maturities or re-pricing periods may react in different degrees to changes in market interest rates. Interest rates on certain types of assets and liabilities may fluctuate in advance of changes in general market interest rates, while interest rates on other types of assets and liabilities may lag behind changes in general market rates. Certain assets, such as fixed and adjustable rate mortgage loans, have features that limit changes in interest rates on a short-term basis and over the life of the asset. Changes in interest rates could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Market interest rates for loans, investments, and deposits are highly sensitive to many factors beyond our control.

Generally, interest rate spreads (the difference between interest rates earned on assets and interest rates paid on liabilities) have narrowed in recent years as a result of changing market conditions, policies of various government and regulatory authorities, and competitive pricing pressures, and we cannot predict whether these rate spreads will narrow even further. This narrowing of interest rate spreads could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot predict whether interest rates will continue to remain at present levels. Changes in interest rates may cause significant changes, up or down, in our net interest income.

We attempt to minimize the adverse effects of changes in interest rates by structuring our asset-liability composition in order to obtain the maximum spread between interest income and interest expense. However, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in minimizing the adverse effects of changes in interest rates. Depending on our portfolio of loans and investments, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates.

We could suffer losses from a decline in the credit quality of the assets that we hold.

We could sustain losses if borrowers, guarantors, and related parties fail to perform in accordance with the terms of their loans. We have adopted underwriting and credit monitoring procedures and policies that we believe are appropriate to minimize this risk, including the establishment and review of the allowance for credit losses, periodic assessment of the likelihood of nonperformance, tracking loan performance, and diversifying our credit portfolio. These policies and procedures, however, may not prevent unexpected losses that could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In particular, we face credit quality risks presented by past, current, and potential economic and real estate market conditions.

A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real estate, and events that negatively impact the real estate market could negatively impact our business.

A significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by either residential or commercial real estate. As of December 31, 2018, we had approximately $184.9 million in residential real estate loans and $219.8 million in commercial real estate loans outstanding, representing approximately 26.2% and 31.2%, respectively, of our total loans outstanding on that date.

There are significant risks associated with real estate-based lending. Real estate collateral may deteriorate in value during the time that credit is extended, in which case we might not be able to sell such collateral for an amount necessary to satisfy a defaulting borrower’s obligation to us. In that event, there could be a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, commercial real estate loans are subject to unique risks. These types of loans are often viewed as having more risks than residential real estate or other consumer loans, primarily because relatively large amounts are loans to a relatively small number of borrowers. Thus, the deterioration of even a small number of these loans could cause a significant increase in the loan loss allowance or loan charge-offs, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, commercial real estate loans depend on cash flows from the property securing the debt. Cash flows may be affected significantly by general economic conditions and a downturn in a local economy in one of our markets or in occupancy rates where a property is located could increase the likelihood of default.

The foregoing risks are enhanced as a result of the limited geographic scope of our principal markets. Most of the real estate securing our loans is located in Alabama. Because the value of this collateral depends upon local real estate market conditions and is affected by, among other things, neighborhood characteristics, real estate tax rates, the cost of operating the properties, and local governmental regulation, adverse changes in any of these factors in Alabama could cause a decline in the value of the collateral securing a significant portion of our loan portfolio. Further, the concentration of real estate collateral in these two markets limits our ability to diversify the risk of such occurrences.

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Our allowance for estimated loan losses may not be adequate to cover actual loan losses, which may require us to take a charge to earnings and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

We maintain an allowance for estimated loan losses that we believe is adequate to absorb any probable losses in our loan portfolio. Management determines the amount of the allowance based upon an analysis of general market conditions, credit quality of our loan portfolio and performance of our customers relative to their financial obligations with us. We periodically evaluate the loan portfolio for risk grading, which can result in changes in our allowance. The amount of future losses is affected by changes in economic, operating, and other conditions, including changes in interest rates, which may be beyond our control, and such losses may exceed the allowance for estimated loan losses. Although we believe that our allowance for estimated loan losses is adequate to absorb any probable losses on existing loans that may become uncollectible, there can be no assurance that the allowance will prove sufficient to cover actual loan losses in the future. If actual losses exceed the estimate, the excess losses could adversely affect our net income and capital. Such excess could also lead to larger allowances for loan losses in future periods, which could in turn adversely affect new income and capital in those periods. If economic conditions differ substantially from the assumptions used in the estimate, or if the performance of our loan portfolio deteriorates, future losses may occur, and increases in the allowance may be necessary, either of which would have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, federal banking regulators, as part of their supervisory function, periodically review the adequacy of our allowance for estimated loan losses. These agencies may require us to establish additional allowances based on their judgment of the information available at the time of their examinations. If these regulatory agencies require us to increase the allowance for estimated loan losses, it would have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our use of appraisals in deciding whether to make a loan secured by real property does not ensure the value of the real property collateral.

In considering whether to make a loan secured by real property, we generally require an appraisal. However, an appraisal is only an estimate of the value of the property at the time the appraisal is made. If the appraisal does not reflect the amount that may be obtained upon any sale or foreclosure of the property, we may not realize an amount equal to the indebtedness secured by the property.

Any expansion into new markets or new lines of business might not be successful.

As part of our ongoing strategic plan, we may consider expansion into new geographic markets. Such expansion might take the form of the establishment of de novo branches or the acquisition of existing banks or bank branches. There are considerable costs associated with opening new branches, and new branches generally do not generate sufficient revenues to offset costs until they have been in operation for some time. Additionally, we may consider expansion into new lines of business through the acquisition of third parties or organic growth and development. There are substantial risks associated with such efforts, including risks that (i) revenues from such activities might not be sufficient to offset the development, compliance, and other implementation costs, (ii) competing products and services and shifting market preferences might affect the profitability of such activities, and (iii) our internal controls might be inadequate to manage the risks associated with new activities. Furthermore, it is possible that our unfamiliarity with new markets or lines of business might adversely affect the success of such actions. If any such expansions into new geographic or product markets are not successful, there could be an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We have incurred substantial expenses related to our recent acquisition and expect to continue to incur some expenses related to the acquisition.

We have incurred substantial expenses and expect to continue to incur expenses in connection with completing our recent acquisition of Peoples Southern Bank and integrating the operations of the acquired bank with our operations. There are a number of factors beyond our control that could affect the total amount or the timing of our transaction and integration expenses and such expenses may exceed our initial projections. Many of the expenses that will be incurred, by their nature, are difficult to estimate accurately at the present time. As a result, the transaction and integration expenses associated with our recent acquisition could, particularly in the near term, exceed the savings that we expect to achieve from the elimination of duplicative expenses and the realization of economies of scale and cost savings related to the integration of the acquired businesses.

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Acquisitions may disrupt our business and dilute stockholder value, and integrating acquired companies may be more difficult, costly, or time-consuming than we expect.

Our business strategy focuses on both organic growth and growth through acquisitions of financial institutions located in the southeastern United States. Our pursuit of acquisitions may disrupt our business, and common stock that we issue as merger consideration may have the effect of diluting the value of your investment. In addition, we may fail to realize some or all of the anticipated benefits of completed acquisitions, including our acquisition of Keystone on December 31, 2015 and our acquisition of PSB Bancshares, Inc. (PSB) on October 31, 2018. We anticipate that the integration of Keystone and PSB, as well as other businesses that we acquire in the future may be a time-consuming and expensive process, even if the integration process is effectively planned and implemented.

In addition, our acquisition activities could be material to our business and involve a number of significant risks, including the following:

If difficulties arise with respect to the integration process, the economic benefits expected to result from acquisitions might not occur. As with any merger of financial institutions, there also may be business disruptions that cause us to lose customers or cause customers to move their business to other financial institutions. Failure to successfully integrate businesses that we acquire could have an adverse effect on our profitability, return on equity, return on assets, or our ability to implement our strategy, any of which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.

On October 31, 2018, the Company completed its acquisition of PSB Bancshares, Inc. (PSB) and has not yet completed the integration of PSB.

We completed the acquisition of PSB on October 31, 2018.  We are currently in the process of integration the employees, contracts, customers and operations of PSB with our Company.  The success of the acquisition may depend in part on such successful integration which, as anticipated, may take several months to complete.

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Our liquidity needs might adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The primary sources of funds for the Bank are customer deposits and loan repayments. Loan repayments are subject to the credit risks described above. In addition, deposit levels may be affected by a number of factors, including interest rates paid by competitors, general interest rate levels, returns available to customers on alternative investments, and general economic conditions. Therefore, RB&T may be required to rely from time to time on secondary sources of liquidity to meet withdrawal demands or otherwise fund operations or support growth. RB&T has lines of credit in place with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and correspondent banks that we believe are adequate to meet the Banks’ liquidity needs. However, there can be no assurance that these arrangements will be sufficient to meet future liquidity needs, particularly if loan demand grows faster than anticipated.

As a bank holding company, the sources of funds available to us are limited.

Any future constraints on liquidity at the holding company level could impair our ability to declare and pay dividends on our common stock. In some instances, notice to, or approval from, the Federal Reserve may be required prior to our declaration or payment of dividends. Further, our operations are primarily conducted by our subsidiary Bank, which is subject to significant regulation. Federal and state banking laws restrict the payment of dividends by banks to their holding companies, and RB&T is subject to these restrictions in paying dividends to us. Because our ability to receive dividends or loans from RB&T is restricted, our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders is also restricted.

Additionally, the right of a bank holding company to participate in the assets of its subsidiary bank in the event of a bank-level liquidation or reorganization is subject to the claims of the bank’s creditors, including depositors, which take priority, except to the extent that the holding company may be a creditor with a recognized claim.

Our largest loan relationships currently make up a significant percentage of our total loan portfolio.

The concentration risk associated with having a small number of extremely large loan relationships is that, if one or more of these relationships were to become delinquent or suffer default, we could be at serious risk of material losses. The allowance for loan losses may not be adequate to cover losses associated with any of these relationships, and any loss or increase in the allowance would negatively affect our earnings and capital. Even if the loans are collateralized, the large increase in classified assets could harm our reputation with our regulators and inhibit our ability to execute our business plan.

Several of our large depositors have relationships with each other, which creates a higher risk that one customer’s withdrawal of its deposit could lead to a loss of other deposits from customers within the relationship, which, in turn, could force us to fund our business through more expensive and less stable sources.

Several of our large depositors have business, family, or other relationships with each other, which creates a risk that any one customer’s withdrawal of its deposit could lead to a loss of other deposits from customers within the relationship.

Withdrawals of deposits by any one of our largest depositors or by one of our related customer groups could force us to rely more heavily on borrowings and other sources of funding for our business and withdrawal demands, adversely affecting our net interest margin and results of operations. We may also be forced, as a result of any withdrawal of deposits, to rely more heavily on other, potentially more expensive and less stable funding sources. Consequently, the occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and future prospects.

We may not be able to adequately measure and limit the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio, which could adversely affect our profitability.

As a part of the products and services that we offer, we make commercial and commercial real estate loans. The principal economic risk associated with each class of loans is the creditworthiness of the borrower, which is affected by the strength of the relevant business market segment, local market conditions, and general economic conditions. Additional factors related to the credit quality of commercial loans include the quality of the management of the business and the borrower’s ability both to properly evaluate changes in the supply and demand characteristics affecting our market for products and services, and to effectively respond to those changes. Additional factors related to the credit quality of commercial real estate loans include tenant vacancy rates and the quality of management of the property. A failure to effectively measure and limit the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

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We operate in a highly competitive industry and face significant competition from other financial institutions and financial services providers, which may decrease our growth or profits.

Consumer and commercial banking are highly competitive industries. Our market areas contain not only a large number of community and regional banks, but also a significant presence of the country’s largest commercial banks. We compete with other state and national financial institutions, as well as savings and loan associations, savings banks, and credit unions, for deposits and loans. In addition, we compete with financial intermediaries, such as consumer finance companies, commercial finance companies, mortgage banking companies, insurance companies, securities firms, mutual funds, and several government agencies, as well as major retailers, all actively engaged in providing various types of loans and other financial services. Some of these competitors may have a long history of successful operations in our market areas and greater ties to local businesses and more expansive banking relationships, as well as more established depositor bases, fewer regulatory constraints, and lower cost structures than we do. Competitors with greater resources may possess an advantage through their ability to maintain numerous banking locations in more convenient sites, to conduct more extensive promotional and advertising campaigns, or to operate a more developed technology platform. Due to their size, many competitors may offer a broader range of products and services, as well as better pricing for certain products and services than we can offer. For example, in the current low interest rate environment, competitors with lower costs of capital may solicit our customers to refinance their loans with a lower interest rate. Further, increased competition among financial services companies due to the recent consolidation of certain competing financial institutions may adversely affect our ability to market our products and services. Technology has lowered barriers to entry and made it possible for banks to compete in our market areas without a retail footprint by offering competitive rates, and for non-banks to offer products and services traditionally provided by banks.

The financial services industry could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory, and technological changes and continued consolidation. Banks, securities firms, and insurance companies can merge under the umbrella of a financial holding company, which can offer virtually any type of financial service, including banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both agency and underwriting), and merchant banking.

Our ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including:

Failure to perform in any of these areas could significantly weaken our competitive position, which could adversely affect our growth and profitability, which, in turn, could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

As a community bank, our ability to maintain our reputation is critical to the success of our business, and the failure to do so may materially adversely affect our performance.

We are a community bank, and our reputation is one of the most valuable components of our business. As such, we strive to conduct our business in a manner that enhances our reputation. This is done, in part, by recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees who share our core values of being an integral part of the communities we serve, delivering superior service to our customers, and caring about our customers and associates. If our reputation is negatively affected, by the actions of our employees or otherwise, our business and, therefore, our operating results may be materially adversely affected.

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As a community banking institution, we have lower lending limits and different lending risks than certain of our larger, more diversified competitors.

We are a community banking institution that provides banking services to the local communities in the market areas in which we operate. Our ability to diversify our economic risks is limited by our own local markets and economies. We lend primarily to individuals and to small to medium-sized businesses, which may expose us to greater lending risks than those of banks that lend to larger, better-capitalized businesses with longer operating histories. In addition, our legally mandated lending limits are lower than those of certain of our competitors that have more capital than we do. These lower lending limits may discourage borrowers with lending needs that exceed our limits from doing business with us. We may try to serve such borrowers by selling loan participations to other financial institutions; however, this strategy may not succeed.

Our financial projections are based upon numerous assumptions about future events, and our actual financial performance may differ materially from our projections if our assumptions are inaccurate.

If the communities in which we operate do not grow, or if the prevailing economic conditions locally or nationally are less favorable than we have assumed, then our ability to reduce our non-performing loans and other real estate owned portfolios and to implement our business strategies may be adversely affected, and our actual financial performance may be materially different from our projections.

Moreover, we cannot give any assurance that we will benefit from any market growth or favorable economic conditions in our market areas even if they do occur. If our senior management team is unable to provide the effective leadership necessary to implement our strategic plan, including the successful integration of Peoples Southern Bank, Keystone Bank and River Bank & Trust, our actual financial performance may be materially adversely different from our projections. Additionally, to the extent that any component of our strategic plan requires regulatory approval, if we are unable to obtain necessary approval, we will be unable to completely implement our strategy, which may adversely affect our actual financial results. Our inability to successfully implement our strategic plan could adversely affect the price of our common stock.

Our recent acquisition of Peoples Southern Bank may make it difficult for investors to evaluate our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and also impair our ability to accurately forecast our future performance.

We completed the acquisition of Peoples Southern Bank on October 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2018, the assets of Peoples Southern Bank constituted approximately 17% of our total consolidated assets. Our limited history operating the merged company and the lack of combined historical financial information may not provide an adequate basis for investors to evaluate our business, financial condition, and results of operations, or to assess trends that may be affecting the businesses that we have acquired, or our business as a whole. Our future operating results depend upon a number of factors, including our ability to integrate these acquisitions, manage our growth, retain the merged customer base, and successfully identify and respond to emerging trends affecting our primary product lines and markets. As a result of these uncertainties, predictions about our future financial performance may not be as accurate as they would be if we had a longer operating history.

Because our business success depends significantly on key management personnel, the departure of such personnel could impair operations.

We depend heavily upon our senior management team. The loss of the services of a member of our senior management team, or an inability to attract other experienced banking personnel, could adversely affect our business. Some of these adverse effects could include the loss of personal contacts with existing or potential customers, as well as the loss of special technical knowledge, experience, and skills of such individuals who are responsible for our operations.

We may be adversely affected by the lack of soundness of other financial institutions or market utilities.

Our ability to engage in routine funding and other transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Financial institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, or other relationships. Defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, one or more financial institutions or market utilities, or the financial services industry generally, may lead to market-wide liquidity problems and losses of depositor, creditor, and counterparty confidence, and could lead to losses or defaults by us or by other institutions.

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We depend on the accuracy and completeness of information about customers and counterparties.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with customers and counterparties, we may rely on information furnished to us by or on behalf of customers and counterparties, including financial statements and other financial information. We also may rely on representations of customers and counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information and, with respect to financial statements, on reports of independent auditors. In deciding whether to extend credit, we may rely upon our customers’ representations that their financial statements conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and present fairly, in all material respects, the financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows of the customer. We also may rely on customer representations and certifications, or other audit or accountants’ reports, with respect to the business and financial condition of our clients. Our financial condition, results of operations, financial reporting, and reputation could be negatively affected if we rely on materially misleading, false, inaccurate, or fraudulent information.

We are subject to environmental risk in our lending activities.

Because a significant portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real property, we may foreclose upon and take title to such property in the ordinary course of business. If hazardous substances are found on such property, we could be liable for remediation costs, as well as for personal injury and property damage. Environmental laws might require us to incur substantial expenses, materially reduce the property’s value, or limit our ability to use or sell the property. Although management has policies requiring environmental reviews before loans secured by real property are made and before foreclosure is commenced, it is still possible that environmental risks might not be detected and that the associated costs might have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We continually encounter technological change and may have fewer resources than our competitors to continue to invest in technological improvements.

The banking and financial services industries are undergoing rapid technological changes, with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. In addition to enhancing the level of service provided to customers, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to reduce costs. Our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to address the needs of our customers by using technology to provide products and services that enhance customer convenience and create additional efficiencies in operations. Many of our competitors have greater resources to invest in technological improvements, and we may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services, which could reduce our ability to effectively compete.

Our information systems may experience a failure or interruption.

We rely heavily on communications and information systems to conduct our business. Any failure or interruption in the operation of these systems could impair or prevent the effective operation of our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, lending, or other functions. While we have policies and procedures designed to prevent or limit the effect of a failure or interruption in the operation of our 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 occurrence of any failures or interruptions impacting our information systems could damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, and expose us to additional regulatory scrutiny, civil litigation, and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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We use information technology in our operations and offer online banking services to our customers and unauthorized access to our or our customers’ confidential or proprietary information as a result of a cyber-attack or otherwise could expose us to reputational harm and litigation and adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers.

Information security risks for financial institutions have generally increased in recent years, in part because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct financial transactions, and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists, activists, and other external parties. We are under continuous threat of loss due to hacking and cyber-attacks, especially as we continue to expand customer capabilities to utilize internet and other remote channels to transact business. Our risk and exposure to these matters remains heightened because of the evolving nature and complexity of these threats from cybercriminals and hackers, our plans to continue to provide internet banking and mobile banking channels, and our plans to develop additional remote connectivity solutions to serve our customers. Therefore, the secure processing, transmission, and storage of information in connection with our online banking services are critical elements of our operations. However, our network could be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses and other malware, phishing schemes, or other security failures. In addition, our customers may use personal smartphones, tablet PCs, or other mobile devices that are beyond our control systems in order to access our products and services. Our technologies, systems and networks, and our customers’ devices, may become the target of cyber-attacks, electronic fraud, or information security breaches that could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss, or destruction of our or our customers’ confidential, proprietary, and other information, or otherwise disrupt our or our customers’ or other third parties’ business operations. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to spend significant capital and other resources to protect against these threats or to alleviate or investigate problems caused by such threats. To the extent that our activities or the activities of our customers involve the processing, storage, or transmission of confidential customer information, any breaches or unauthorized access to such information could present significant regulatory costs and expose us to litigation and other possible liabilities. Any inability to prevent these types of security threats could also cause existing customers to lose confidence in our systems and could adversely affect our reputation and ability to generate deposits. While we have not experienced any material losses relating to cyber-attacks or other information security breaches to date, we may suffer such losses in the future. The occurrence of any cyber-attack or information security breach could result in potential liability to clients, reputational damage, damage to our competitive position, and the disruption of our operations, all of which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations, lead to increased compliance and insurance costs and reduce shareholder value.

We are dependent upon outside third parties for the processing and handling of our records and data.

We rely on software developed by third-party vendors to process various transactions. In some cases, we have contracted with third parties to run their proprietary software on our behalf. These systems include, but are not limited to, general ledger, payroll, employee benefits, loan and deposit processing, and securities portfolio accounting. While we perform a review of controls instituted by the applicable vendors over these programs in accordance with industry standards and perform our own testing of user controls, we must rely on the continued maintenance of controls by these third-party vendors, including safeguards over the security of customer data. In addition, we maintain, or contract with third parties to maintain, daily backups of key processing outputs in the event of a failure on the part of any of these systems. Nonetheless, we may incur a temporary disruption in our ability to conduct business or process transactions, or incur damage to our reputation, if the third-party vendor fails to adequately maintain internal controls or institute necessary changes to systems. Such a disruption or breach of security may have a material adverse effect on our business.

The internal controls that we have implemented in order to mitigate risks inherent to the business of banking might fail or be circumvented.

Management regularly reviews and updates our internal controls and procedures that are designed to manage the various risks in our business, including credit risk, operational risk, and interest rate risk. No system of controls, however well-designed and operated, can provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. If there were a failure of such a system, or if a system were circumvented, there could be a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in accounting standards could materially impact our financial statements.

From time to time, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, may change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. Such changes may result in us being subject to new or changing accounting and reporting standards. In addition, the bodies that interpret the accounting standards (such as banking regulators or outside auditors) may change their interpretations or positions on how these standards should be applied. These changes may be beyond our control, can be hard to predict, and can materially impact how we record and report our financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retrospectively, or apply an existing standard differently, also retrospectively, in each case resulting in our needing to revise or restate prior period financial statements.

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Adverse weather or manmade events could negatively affect our core markets or disrupt our operations, which could have an adverse effect upon our business and results of operations.

Our market areas are susceptible to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical storms, other severe weather events, and related flooding and wind damage, and manmade disasters. These disasters could negatively impact regional economic conditions; cause a decline in the value or destruction of mortgaged properties and increase the risk of delinquencies, foreclosures, or loss on loans originated by us; damage our banking facilities and offices; and negatively impact our growth strategy. Such weather events could disrupt operations, result in damage to properties, and negatively affect the local economies in the markets where we operate. We cannot predict whether or to what extent damage that may be caused by future weather or manmade events will affect our operations or the economies in our current or future market areas, but such events could negatively impact economic conditions in these regions and result in a decline in local loan demand and loan originations, a decline in the value or destruction of properties securing our loans, and an increase in delinquencies, foreclosures, or loan losses. Our business or results of operations may be adversely affected by these and other negative effects of natural or manmade disasters. Further, severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, and other external events could adversely affect us in a number of ways, including an increase in delinquencies, bankruptcies, or defaults that could result in a higher level of non-performing assets, net charge-offs, and provision for loan losses. Such risks could also impair the value of collateral securing loans and hurt our deposit base.

We are or may become involved from time to time in suits, legal proceedings, information-gathering requests, investigations, and proceedings by governmental and self-regulatory agencies that may lead to adverse consequences.

Many aspects of our business involve substantial risk of legal liability. We are subject to being threatened to be named as defendants in lawsuits arising from our business activities, including business activities of PSB and Keystone prior to our acquisition. In addition, from time to time, we are, or may become, the subject of governmental and self-regulatory agency information-gathering requests, reviews, investigations and proceedings, and other forms of regulatory inquiry, including by bank regulatory agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and law enforcement authorities. The results of such proceedings could lead to significant civil or criminal penalties, including monetary penalties, damages, adverse judgments, settlements, fines, injunctions, restrictions on the way in which we conduct our business, or reputational harm.

Risks Related to the Regulation of Our Industry

We are subject to extensive regulation in the conduct of our business, which imposes additional costs on us and adversely affects our profitability.

As a bank holding company, we are subject to federal regulation under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, or the BHCA, and the examination and reporting requirements of the Federal Reserve. Federal regulation of the banking industry, along with tax and accounting laws, regulations, rules, and standards, may limit our operations significantly and control the methods by which we conduct business, as they limit those of other banking organizations. Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors, deposit insurance funds, and the banking system as a whole, and not stockholders or other creditors. These regulations affect lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, dividend policy, and overall growth, among other things. For example, federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations limit the manner in which we may offer and extend credit. In addition, the laws governing bankruptcy generally favor debtors, making it more expensive and more difficult to collect from customers who become subject to bankruptcy proceedings.

We also may be required to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make any changes necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations, particularly as a result of regulations adopted under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. This allocation of resources, as well as any failure to comply with applicable requirements, may negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

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Changes in laws, government regulation, and monetary policy may have a material effect on our results of operations.

Financial institutions have been the subject of significant legislative and regulatory changes and may be the subject of further significant legislation or regulation in the future, none of which is within our control. New proposals for legislation continue to be introduced in the U.S. Congress that could further substantially increase regulation of the bank and non-bank financial services industries, impose restrictions on the operations and general ability of firms within the industry to conduct business consistent with historical practices, including in the areas of compensation, interest rates, financial product offerings, and disclosures, and have an effect on bankruptcy proceedings with respect to consumer residential real estate mortgages, among other things. Federal and state regulatory agencies also frequently adopt changes to their regulations or change the manner in which existing regulations are applied. Changes to statutes, regulations, or regulatory policies, including changes in their interpretation or implementation by regulators, could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could, among other things, subject us to additional costs and lower revenues, limit the types of financial services and products that we may offer, ease restrictions on non-banks and thereby enhance their ability to offer competing financial services and products, increase compliance costs, and require a significant amount of management’s time and attention. Failure to comply with statutes, regulations, or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil monetary penalties, or reputational damage, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Banking agencies periodically conduct examinations of our business, including compliance with laws and regulations, and our failure to comply with any supervisory actions to which we become subject as a result of such examinations could materially and adversely affect us.

The Bank is subject to supervision and regulation by banking agencies that periodically conduct examinations of our business, including compliance with laws and regulations – specifically, RB&T is subject to examination by the FDIC and the Alabama Banking Department. Accommodating such examinations may require management to reallocate resources, which would otherwise be used in the day-to-day operation of other aspects of our business. If, as a result of an examination, any such banking agency was to determine that the financial condition, capital resources, allowance for loan losses, asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity, or other aspects of our operations had become unsatisfactory, or that we or our management were in violation of any law or regulation, such banking agency may take a number of different remedial actions as it deems appropriate. These actions include the power to enjoin “unsafe or unsound” practices, to require affirmative action to correct any conditions resulting from any violation or practice, to issue an administrative order that can be judicially enforced, to direct an increase in our capital, to restrict our growth, to assess civil monetary penalties against us, our officers, or directors, to remove officers and directors, and, if it is concluded that such conditions cannot be corrected or there is an imminent risk of loss to depositors, to terminate our deposit insurance. If we become subject to such a regulatory action, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

FDIC deposit insurance assessments may materially increase in the future, which would have an adverse effect on earnings.

As a member institution of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, RB&T is assessed a quarterly deposit insurance premium. Failed banks nationwide have significantly depleted the insurance fund and reduced the ratio of reserves to insured deposits. The FDIC has adopted a Deposit Insurance Fund, or DIF, Restoration Plan, which requires the DIF to attain a 1.35% reserve ratio by September 30, 2020. As a result of this requirement, RB&T could be required to pay significantly higher premiums or additional special assessments that would adversely affect earnings, thereby reducing the availability of funds to pay dividends to the parent company, River Financial Corporation.

We are subject to certain capital requirements by regulators.

Applicable regulations require us to maintain specific capital standards in relation to the respective credit risks of our assets and off-balance sheet exposures. Various components of these requirements are subject to qualitative judgments by regulators. We maintain a “well capitalized” status under the current regulatory framework. Our failure to maintain a “well capitalized” status could affect our customers’ confidence in us, which could adversely affect our ability to do business. In addition, failure to maintain such status could also result in restrictions imposed by our regulators on our growth and other activities. Any such effect on customers or restrictions by our regulators could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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We may need to raise additional capital in the future, including as a result of potential increased minimum capital thresholds established by regulators, but that capital may not be available when it is needed or may be dilutive to stockholders.

We are required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate capital levels to support our operations. New regulations implementing minimum capital standards could require financial institutions to maintain higher minimum capital ratios and may place a greater emphasis on common equity as a component of “Tier 1 capital,” which consists generally of shareholders’ equity and qualifying preferred stock, less certain goodwill items and other intangible assets. In order to support our operations and comply with regulatory standards, we may need to raise capital in the future. Our ability to raise additional capital will depend on conditions in the capital markets at that time, which are outside of our control, on our financial performance, and on our successful integration of Keystone and the operations of RB&T. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, on favorable terms. The capital and credit markets have experienced significant volatility in recent years. In some cases, the markets have produced downward pressure on stock prices and credit availability for certain issuers without regard to those issuers’ underlying financial strength. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected, and our banking regulators may subject us to regulatory enforcement action, including receivership. Furthermore, our issuance of additional shares of our common stock could dilute the economic ownership interest of our stockholders.

We are subject to numerous laws designed to protect consumers, including the Community Reinvestment Act and fair lending laws, and failure to comply with these laws could lead to a wide variety of sanctions.

The Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, and other fair lending laws and regulations impose nondiscriminatory lending requirements on financial institutions. The U.S. Department of Justice and other federal agencies are responsible for enforcing these laws and regulations. A successful regulatory challenge to an institution’s performance under the CRA or fair lending laws and regulations could result in a wide variety of sanctions, including damages and civil money penalties, injunctive relief, restrictions on mergers and acquisitions activity, restrictions on expansion, and restrictions on entering new business lines. Private parties may also have the ability to challenge an institution’s performance under fair lending laws in private class action litigation. Such actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects.

We are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations, and any deemed deficiency by us with respect to these laws could result in significant liability.

The Bank Secrecy Act, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and other laws and regulations require financial institutions, among other duties, to institute and maintain an effective anti- money laundering program and file suspicious activity and currency transaction reports when appropriate. In addition to other bank regulatory agencies, the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury is authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of those requirements and has recently engaged in coordinated enforcement efforts with the state and federal banking regulators, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service. We are also subject to increased scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury regarding, among other things, the prohibition of transacting business with, and the need to freeze assets of, certain persons and organizations identified as a threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. If our policies, procedures, and systems are deemed deficient, we would be subject to liability, including fines and regulatory actions, which may include restrictions on our ability to pay dividends and the necessity to obtain regulatory approvals to proceed with certain aspects of our business plan, including our acquisition plans. Failure to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing could also have serious reputational consequences for us. Any of these results could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

An active, liquid market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained, which may impair your ability to sell your shares.

There is currently no public market for our common stock. If an active trading market does not develop, you may not be able to sell your shares at the volume, prices, and times desired. To the extent there is trading in our common stock, the trading is in privately negotiated transactions at times and at prices of which we are sometimes unaware.

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The trading price of our common stock may be subject to various influences, which may make it difficult for you to sell your shares at the volumes, prices, and times desired.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile and subject to wide price fluctuations in response to various factors, including:

These and other factors may cause the market price and any demand for our common stock to fluctuate substantially, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares of common stock and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock.

We cannot guarantee that we will pay dividends to our stockholders in the future.

The holders of our common stock will receive dividends if and when declared by our board of directors out of legally available funds. Any future determination relating to the payment of dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including our future earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, future prospects, regulatory restrictions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

Our principal business operations are conducted through RB&T. Cash available to pay dividends to our stockholders is derived primarily, if not entirely, from dividends paid by our bank to us. The ability of RB&T to pay dividends to us, as well as our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders, will continue to be subject to, and limited by, certain legal and regulatory restrictions. Further, any lenders making loans to us may impose financial covenants that may be more restrictive with respect to dividend payments than the regulatory requirements.

A future issuance of stock could dilute the value of our common stock.

At a special meeting of our stockholders held on December 1, 2015, our existing stockholders approved a proposal to amend our certificate of incorporation to increase the number of shares of our common stock that we may issue to 10,000,000. As of March 1, 2019, 5,701,139 shares of our common stock were issued and outstanding. Those shares outstanding do not include the potential issuance, as of March 1, 2019,  370,125 shares of our common stock subject to issuance upon exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants, or 29,500 additional shares of our common stock that were reserved for issuance under the River Financial Corporation Incentive Stock Compensation Plans. Future issuance of any new shares could cause further dilution in the value of our outstanding shares of common stock.

Our directors and executive officers beneficially own a significant portion of our common stock and have substantial influence over us.

Our directors and executive officers, as a group, beneficially owned approximately 12.2% of our outstanding common stock as of March 1, 2019 . As a result of this level of ownership, our directors and executive officers have the ability, by taking coordinated action, to exercise significant influence over our affairs and policies. The interests of our directors and executive officers may not be consistent with your interests as a stockholder. This influence may also have the effect of delaying or preventing changes of control or changes in management, or limiting the ability of our other stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in the best interests of our Company.

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Shares of our common stock are not insured deposits and may lose value.

Shares of our common stock are not savings or deposit accounts and are not insured by the FDIC’s DIF, or any other agency or private entity. Such shares are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of some or all of the value of your investment.

The laws that regulate our operations are designed for the protection of depositors and the public, not our stockholders.

The federal and state banking laws and regulations applicable to our operations give regulatory authorities extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement responsibilities, and generally have been promulgated to protect depositors and the FDIC’s DIF and not for the purpose of protecting stockholders. These laws and regulations can materially affect our future business. Laws and regulations now affecting us may be changed at any time, and the interpretation of such laws and regulations by bank regulatory authorities is also subject to change.

We have the ability to incur debt and pledge our assets, including our stock in RB&T, to secure that debt.

We have the ability to incur debt and pledge our assets to secure that debt. Absent special and unusual circumstances, a holder of indebtedness for borrowed money has rights that are superior to those of holders of common stock. For example, interest must be paid to the lender before dividends can be paid to the stockholders, and loans must be paid off before any assets can be distributed to stockholders if we were to liquidate. Furthermore, we would have to make principal and interest payments on our indebtedness, which could reduce our profitability or result in net losses on a consolidated basis.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business.

Since October 28, 2015, we have been required to comply with the regulatory and reporting requirements of the SEC. Complying with these reporting and other regulatory requirements is time consuming, results in increased costs to us, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

As a public company, we are subject to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These requirements may place a strain on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. To maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, we must commit significant resources and management oversight. We continue to implement procedures and processes for the purpose of addressing the standards and requirements applicable to public companies. Sustaining our growth also requires us to commit additional management, operational, and financial resources to maintain appropriate operational and financial systems to adequately support expansion. These activities may divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Item 1B.  Unresolved Staff Comments.

Not applicable.

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Item 2. Properties.

Our headquarters and the main office of RB&T is located at 2611 Legends Drive, Prattville, Alabama 36066. Including the main office, RB&T operates fourteen branches with drive-through and/or ATM service.

The following table summarizes pertinent details of the Company’s main and banking offices as of December 31, 2018:

We believe that our banking offices are in good condition and are suitable to our needs.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

As of March 1, 2019, we are not subject pending or threatened litigation.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

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

Market for Our Common Stock

There is currently no established public trading market for shares of our common stock. We do not make a market in our securities, nor do we attempt to negotiate prices for trades of such securities. When made, sales are normally undertaken in privately negotiated transactions, sometimes at prices of which we are unaware. As of March 1, 2019, there were approximately 783 registered holders of our common stock.

The last known privately negotiated trade of our common stock of which management is aware occurred on February 15, 2019 at a price of $30.00 per share.  During the last year we are aware of privately negotiated trades of stock with prices ranging from $24.50 to $30.00 per share.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table provides information about River Financial Corporation’s shares of common stock that may be issued upon exercise of options, warrants, and rights under all of our existing equity compensation plans as of March 1, 2019.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

In 2018 and 2017, at year end the Company sold 17,218 and 12,967, shares for cash, respectively, to its employee stock ownership plan. The Company relied upon exemptions from registration under SEC Rule 701 and Rule 147.

Dividends

The holders of our common stock receive dividends if and when declared by our board of directors out of legally available funds. Any future determination of the payment of dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including our future earnings, capital requirements, financial condition, future prospects, regulatory restrictions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

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We are subject to the Federal Reserve’s policies restricting bank holding companies from declaring or paying cash dividends. As a general matter, the Federal Reserve has indicated that the board of directors of a bank holding company should consult with the Federal Reserve and eliminate, defer, or significantly reduce the bank holding company’s dividends if (i) its net income available to stockholders for the past four quarters, net of dividends previously paid during that period, is not sufficient to fully fund the dividends, (ii) its prospective rate of earnings retention is not consistent with its capital needs and overall current and prospective financial condition, or (iii) it will not meet, or is in danger of not meeting, its minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratios. Our failure to do so could result in the Federal Reserve finding that we are operating in an unsafe and unsound manner.

Our ability to pay dividends is dependent on the ability of our Banks to pay dividends to us. RB&T’s ability to pay dividends on its common stock to us without regulatory approval is limited by banking laws to its retained net income available to holders of its common stock to date for the then current fiscal year, plus retained net income from the prior two fiscal years.

Should the Banks be “significantly undercapitalized” under the applicable federal bank capital standards, or if  the Bank is “undercapitalized” and has failed to submit an acceptable capital restoration plan or has materially failed to implement such a plan, the FDIC may choose to require us to receive prior approval for any capital distribution from the Federal Reserve. In addition, the Banks generally are prohibited from making a capital distribution if it would cause them to be “undercapitalized” under applicable federal bank capital standards.

The dividends paid per share on common stock for 2018 and 2017 were $0.27 cents per share and $0.25 cents per share respectively.

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

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SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA (continued)

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

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this document. In addition to historical information, this discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Factors that could cause such differences are discussed in the sections entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.” We assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.

The following discussion pertains to our historical results, on a consolidated basis. However, because we conduct all of our material business operations through our subsidiaries, the discussion and analysis relates to activities primarily conducted at the subsidiary level.

All dollar amounts in the tables in this section are in thousands of dollars, except per share data or when specifically identified.

Our Business

We are a bank holding company headquartered in Prattville, Alabama. We operate one subsidiary bank – River Bank and Trust (“RB&T” or the “Bank”).

Through the Bank, we provide a broad array of financial services to businesses, business owners and professionals through fourteen full-service banking offices in Alabama.

2018 Merger

On October 31, 2018, we merged with PSB Bancshares, Inc. (PSB) with River Financial Corporation being the survivor. At the same time, PSB’s wholly owned subsidiary bank, Peoples Southern Bank, was merged into RB&T. PSB’s common shareholders received 60 shares of our common stock and $6,610.00 in cash in exchange for each share of PSB’s common stock. We paid an aggregate of $24,496,660 in cash and issued 222,360 shares of our common stock. The aggregate estimated value of the consideration paid was $30.5 million. We recorded $8.2 million of goodwill and a core deposit intangible asset of $4.7 million.

We marked PSB’s assets and liabilities to fair value based on information available, and these fair value adjustments are subject to change for up to one year after the closing date as additional information becomes available. We acquired approximately $190.8 million in assets at fair value from PSB and added three banking offices with approximately $55.2 million in loans and approximately $167.4 million in deposits.

Additional information regarding the PSB merger is included in Note 2, “Business Combinations,” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provided herein.

Segments

While our chief decision makers monitor the revenue streams of the various banking products and services, operations are managed and financial performance is evaluated on a Company-wide basis. Accordingly, all of the Company’s banking operations are considered by management to be aggregated in one reportable operating segment. Because the overall banking operations comprise substantially all of the consolidated operations, no separate segment disclosures are presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

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Overview of Results

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared based on the application of certain accounting policies, the most significant of which are described in RFC’s Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Certain of these policies require numerous estimates and strategic or economic assumptions that may prove inaccurate or subject to variation and may significantly affect our reported results and financial position for the current period or future periods. The use of estimates, assumptions, and judgment is necessary when financial assets and liabilities are required to be recorded at, or adjusted to reflect fair value. Assets carried at fair value inherently result in more financial statement volatility. Fair values and information used to record valuation adjustments for certain assets and liabilities are based on quoted market prices or are provided by other independent third-party sources, when available. When such information is not available, management estimates valuation adjustments. Changes in underlying factors, assumptions or estimates in any of these areas could have a material impact on our future financial condition and results of operations.

The following briefly describes the more complex policies involving a significant amount of judgments about valuation and the application of complex accounting standards and interpretations.

Allowance for Loan Losses

We record estimated probable inherent credit losses in the loan portfolio as an allowance for loan losses. The methodologies and assumptions for determining the adequacy of the overall allowance for loan losses involve significant judgments to be made by management. Some of the more critical judgments supporting RFC’s allowance for loan losses include judgments about: creditworthiness of borrowers, estimated value of underlying collateral, assumptions about cash flow, determination of loss factors for estimated credit losses, and the impact of current events, conditions, and other factors impacting the level of inherent losses. Under different conditions or using different assumptions, the actual or estimated credit losses ultimately realized by RFC may be different than management’s estimates provided in our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. For a more complete discussion of the methodology employed to calculate the allowance for loan losses, see Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, which are included elsewhere in this document.

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Investment Securities Impairment

Periodically, we assess whether there have been any events or economic circumstances to indicate that a security on which there is an unrealized loss is impaired on an other-than-temporary basis. In such instance, we would consider many factors, including the severity and duration of the impairment, our intent and ability to hold the security for a period of time sufficient for a recover in value, recent events specific to the issuer or industry, and for debt securities, external credit ratings and recent downgrades. Securities on which there is an unrealized loss that is deemed to be other-than-temporary are written down to fair value. The credit portion of the impairment, if any, is recognized as a realized loss in current earnings.

Income Taxes

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed using the asset and liability method, which recognizes a liability or asset representing the tax effects, based on current tax law, of future deductible or taxable amounts attributable to events recognized in the financial statements. A valuation allowance may be established to the extent necessary to reduce the deferred tax asset to a level at which it is “more likely than not” that the tax assets or benefits will be realized. Realization of tax benefits depends on having sufficient taxable income, available tax loss carrybacks or credits, the reversing of taxable temporary differences and/or tax planning strategies within the reversal period and that current tax law allows for the realization of recorded tax benefits.

Business Combinations

Assets purchased and liabilities assumed in a business combination are recorded at their fair value. The fair value of a loan portfolio acquired in a business combination requires greater levels of management estimates and judgment than the remainder of purchased assets or assumed liabilities. On the date of acquisition, when the loans have evidence of credit deterioration since origination and it is probable at the date of acquisition that the Company will not collect all contractually required principal and interest payments, the difference between contractually required payments at acquisition and the cash flows expected to be collected at acquisition is referred to as the non-accretable difference. We must estimate expected cash flows at each reporting date. Subsequent decreases to the expected cash flows will generally result in a provision for loan losses. Subsequent increases in cash flows result in a reversal of the provision for loan losses to the extent of prior charges and adjusted accretable yield which will have a positive impact on interest income. In addition, purchased loans without evidence of credit deterioration are also handled under this method.

Comparison of Results of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017

The following is a narrative discussion and analysis of significant changes in our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 .

Net Income

2018 vs. 2017

During the year ended December 31, 2018, our net income was $8.5 million, compared to $8.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase of 2.54%. The primary reason for the increase in net income in 2018 compared to 2017 was an increase in net interest income from $29.6 million in 2017 to $32.0 million in 2018 for an increase of $2.4 million, or 8.30%. Our net interest margin remained unchanged at 4.00% in 2017 and in 2018. The lack of change in the margin resulted from a combination of the decrease in the yield on our loan portfolio from 5.39% in 2017 to 5.29% in 2018 and the increase in the average cost of funds from 0.48% in 2017 to 0.79% in 2018.  These negative trends were offset by the loan growth during the current year which resulted in loans comprising a higher percentage of total interest earning assets at 77.4% in 2018 compared to 70.2% in 2017.  

Noninterest income increased from $6.3 million in 2017 to $6.8 million in 2018, or 8.43%. The increase resulted from increases in service charges and fee income and income from mortgage operations. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in bank owned life insurance income as a result of receiving death benefits in the prior year, but not in the current year.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin Analysis

The largest component of our net income is net interest income – the difference between the income earned on interest-earning assets and the interest paid on deposits and borrowed funds used to support our assets. Net interest income divided by average earning assets represents our net interest margin. The major factors that affect net interest income and net interest margin are changes in volumes, the yield on interest-earning assets, and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities. Our margin can also be affected by economic conditions, the competitive environment, loan demand, and deposit flow. Our ability to respond to changes in these factors by using effective asset-liability management techniques is critical to maintaining the stability of the net interest margin and our primary source of earnings.

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The following table shows, for the years 2018 and 2017, the average balance of each principal category of our assets and liabilities and the average yields on assets and average costs of liabilities. Such yields and costs are calculated by dividing income or expense by the average daily balances of the associated assets or liabilities.

AVERAGE BALANCE SHEETS & NET INTEREST INCOME

Comparison of net interest income for the years ended December 31 2018, and 2017

Net interest income increased $2.4 million, or 8.30%, to $32.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $29.6 million for 2017. The increase was due to an increase in interest income of $4.5 million, resulting from higher levels of loan volume.  The increase in interest income was primarily due to a 19.58% increase in average loans outstanding during compared to 2017. The resulting net interest margin remained at 4.00% for 2018 and 2017. During 2018, non-interest bearing deposits averaged $186.1 million, compared to $168.5 million during 2017, an increase of $17.6 million, or 10.43%.

Interest-earning assets averaged $800.4 million for 2018, compared to $738.0 million for 2017, an increase of $62.4 million, or 8.46%.  Average loans increased $101.4 million during 2018 to $619.2 million from $517.8 million in 2017. The mix of average earning assets also shifted to loans from investment securities.  As a percentage of average total earning assets, average loans increased from 70.2% in 2017 to 77.4% in 2018. The yield on average interest-earning assets increased 18 basis points to 4.63% during 2018, compared to 4.45% for 2017. The yield on earning assets increased primarily due to the increase in the percentage of average loans as a percentage of average total earning assets during 2018. During 2018, loan yields decreased 10 basis points to 5.29%. The decrease in loan yields was primarily due competitive pricing pressures and loans repricing at lower market rates.

Interest-bearing liabilities averaged $589.5 million for 2018, compared to $545.9 million for 2017, an increase of $43.6 million. The increase in average volume occurred from organic growth in addition to the PSB merger. The average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities was 0.79% for 2018, compared to 0.48% for 2017. During recent years, we have benefited from the historically low interest rates and repriced time deposits at maturity at the lower current market rates, and we have also lowered rates on other deposit accounts to lower market rates where possible. However, during the current year interest rates have increased steadily.  The increase in total interest expense from $2.6 million in 2017 to $4.7 million in 2018 was mainly attributable to the steady increase in our cost of funds as a result of market conditions.

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The following table reflects, for the years 2018 and 2017, the changes in our net interest income due to changes in the volume of earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities and the associated rates earned or paid on the assets and liabilities.

Provision for Loan Losses

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded a provision for loan losses of $2.0 million compared to $1.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in the provision for loan losses resulted from growth in loan volume. Net loan charge-offs decreased from $866 thousand in 2017 to $264 thousand in 2018. The allowance for loan losses is increased by a provision for loan losses, which is a charge to earnings, and is decreased by charge-offs and increased by loan recoveries. In determining the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses, we consider our historical loan loss experience, the general economic environment, the overall portfolio composition, and other information. As these factors change, the level of loan loss provision changes. When individual loans are evaluated for impairment, and impairment is deemed necessary, the impaired portion of the loan amount is generally charged off. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, $725 thousand and $908 thousand of our allowance was related to impaired loans, respectively.

Noninterest Income

In addition to net interest margin, we generate other types of recurring noninterest income from our operations. Our banking operations generate revenue from service charges and fees on deposit accounts. We have a mortgage division that generates revenue from originating and selling mortgages, and from the sale of non-deposit investment products through an arrangement with a registered broker-dealer with which we have a revenue-sharing arrangement. In addition to these types of recurring noninterest income, the Bank owns insurance on several key employees and records income on the increase in the cash surrender value of these policies.

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The following table sets forth the principal components of noninterest income for the periods indicated.

Noninterest income for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $6.8 million and $6.3 million, respectively. The primary reason for the increase in noninterest income was from service charges and fees and income from our mortgage operations.  Service charges and fees continued to be our largest source of noninterest income in 2018 with $3.5 million compared to $2.9 million in 2017. These service charges and fees are primarily generated by checking and savings accounts. Our mortgage operations produced noninterest income in 2018 of $2.3 million compared to $1.9 million in 2017. These increases were partially offset by a $517 thousand decrease in bank owned life insurance income resulting from death benefits received during the prior year but not the current year.  

Noninterest expense

Our total noninterest expense increase reflects our continued growth, as well as the expansion of our operational framework, employee expansion, and facility expansion, as we build the foundation to support our recent and future growth. We believe that some of our overhead costs will reduce as a percentage of our revenue as we grow and gain operating leverage by spreading these costs over a larger revenue base.

The following table presents the primary components of noninterest expense for the periods indicated.

Noninterest expense for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 was $26.0 million and $21.3 million, respectively, an increase of $4.7 million, or 22.0%. The largest component of noninterest expense was salaries and employee benefits.  Salaries and benefits increased approximately $1.9 million mainly due to the addition of new employees.  The increase of $1.8 in data processing expense was mainly a result of the termination costs recognized as a result of the PSB merger. The increase in most of the remaining noninterest expense categories resulted primarily from continued organic growth as well as from the PSB merger.

Income Tax Provision

Income tax expense of $2.4 million and $4.5 million was recognized during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The decrease in income tax expense during 2018 was mainly due to Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 which lowered the federal corporate tax rate from 34% to 21%.   The effective tax rate for the year 2018 was 21.9% compared to 35.3% for the year 2017. The effective tax rates are affected by items of income and expense that are not subject to federal and state taxation.

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Comparison of Balance Sheets at December 31, 2018 and 2017

Overview

Our total assets increased $247.2 million, or 30.0%, from $823.3 million at December 31, 2017, to $1.1 billion at December 31, 2018.  Loans increased by $162.4 million during 2018 and investment securities increased $35.3 million in 2018.  Cash and cash equivalents increased by $31.9 million during 2018.

Deposits at December 31, 2018 totaled $898.7 million, an increase of $198.8 million as compared to December 31, 2017. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $56.1 million in 2018 and interest-bearing deposits increased $142.7 million. Our deposits increased during 2018 mainly as a result of the PSB merger.  Other changes are due to normal fluctuations in deposits as well as customers moving their deposits to higher yielding investments.

Loans

Loans are our largest category of earning assets and typically provide higher yields than other types of earning assets. Associated with the higher loan yields are the inherent credit and liquidity risks that we attempt to control and counterbalance. Total loans averaged $619.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2018, or 77.4% of average earning assets, as compared to $517.8 million or 70.2% of average earning assets, for the year ended December 31, 2017. At December 31, 2018, total loans, net of unearned income, were $711.3 million, compared to $547.1 million at December 31, 2017, an increase of $164.2 million, or 30.0%.

The organic, or non-acquired, growth in our loan portfolio is attributable to our ability to attract new customers from other financial institutions and overall growth in our markets. Much of our loan growth has come from moving customers from other financial institutions to RB&T. We have also been successful in building banking relationships with new customers. We have hired several new bankers in the markets that we serve, and these employees have been successful in transitioning their former clients and attracting new clients to RB&T. Our bankers are expected to be involved in their communities and to maintain business development efforts to develop relationships with clients, and our philosophy is to be responsive to customer needs by providing decisions in a timely manner. In addition to our business development efforts, many of the markets that we serve have shown signs of economic recovery over the last few years.

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The table below provides a summary of the loan portfolio composition as of the periods indicated.

COMPOSITION OF LOAN PORTFOLIO

In the context of this discussion, a “real estate mortgage loan” is defined as any loan, other than a loan for construction purposes, secured by real estate, regardless of the purpose of the loan. It is common practice for financial institutions in our market areas, and for us in particular, to obtain a security interest or lien in real estate whenever possible, in addition to any other available collateral. This collateral is taken to reinforce the likelihood of the ultimate repayment of the loan. This practice tends to increase the magnitude of the real estate loan portfolio. In many cases, we prefer real estate collateral to many other potential collateral sources, such as accounts receivable, inventory, and equipment.

The Federal regulatory agencies issued two “guidance” documents that have a significant impact on real estate related lending and, thus, on the operations of the Bank. One part of the guidance could require lenders to restrict lending secured primarily by certain categories of commercial real estate to a level of 300% of their capital or raise additional capital. This factor, combined with the current economic environment, could affect the Bank’s lending strategy away from, or to limit its expansion of, commercial real estate lending which has been a material part of River Financial Corporation’s lending strategy. This could also have a negative impact on our lending and profitability. Management actively monitors the composition of the Bank’s loan portfolio, focusing on concentrations of credit, and the results of that monitoring activity are periodically reported to the Board of Directors.

The other guidance relates to the structuring of certain types of mortgages that allows negative amortization of consumer mortgage loans. Although the Bank does not engage at present in lending using these types of instruments, the guidance could have the effect of making the Bank less competitive in consumer mortgage lending if the local market is driving the demand for such an offering.

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The principal component of our loan portfolio is real estate mortgage loans on residential and commercial properties. At December 31, 2018, this category totaled $443.8 million and represented 63.0% of the total loan portfolio, compared to $354.8 million, or 65.4% of the total loan portfolio at year-end 2017. Residential real estate loans increased in 2018 $47.2 million, or 34.3%, and commercial real estate loans increased $38.6 million, or 21.3%. Home equity lines of credit increased $3.2 million, or 8.9%.

Real estate construction loans totaled $102.1 million at December 31, 2018, an increase $35.5 million, or 53.4%, over $66.6 million at December 31, 2017. This loan type accounted for 14.5% and 12.3% of our total loan portfolio at December 31, 2018 and December 2017, respectively.

Commercial and industrial loans totaled $134.4 million at December 31, 2018, compared to $105.8 million at December 31, 2017, an increase of $28.6 million, or 27.0% during 2018. We expect this growth trend with respect to commercial and industrial loans to continue as economic conditions improve.

The repayment of loans is a source of additional liquidity for us. The following table sets forth our loans maturing within specific intervals at December 31, 2018.

LOAN MATURITY AND SENSITIVITY TO CHANGES IN INTEREST RATES

The information presented in the table above is based upon the contractual maturities of the individual loans, which may be subject to renewal at their contractual maturity. Renewal of such loans is subject to review and credit approval, as well as modification of terms at their maturity. Consequently, we believe that this treatment presents fairly the maturity structure of the loan portfolio.

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Investment Securities

We use our securities portfolio primarily to enhance our overall yield on interest-earning assets and as a source of liquidity, as a tool to manage our balance sheet sensitivity and regulatory capital ratios, and as a base upon which to pledge assets for public deposits. When our liquidity position exceeds current needs and our expected loan demand, other investments are considered as a secondary earnings alternative. As investments mature, they are used to meet current cash needs, or they are reinvested to maintain our desired liquidity position. We have designated all of our securities as available-for-sale to provide flexibility, in case an immediate need for liquidity arises, and we believe that the composition of the portfolio offers needed flexibility in managing our liquidity position and interest rate sensitivity without adversely impacting our regulatory capital levels. Securities available-for-sale are reported at fair value with unrealized gains or losses reported as a separate component of other comprehensive income, net of related deferred taxes. Purchase premiums and discounts are recognized in income using the interest method over the terms of the securities.

The following tables summarize the amortized cost and fair value of securities available-for-sale at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

INVESTMENT SECURITIES