ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

 

(Mark One)

☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
	OR
☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the transition period from _______to_______

 

Commission file number 001-36452

 

SERVISFIRST BANCSHARES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Delaware	26-0734029
(State or Other Jurisdiction of	(I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization)	Identification No.)

                              

2500 Woodcrest Place, Birmingham, Alabama 35209

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

 

(205) 949-0302

(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

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

 

Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of exchange on which registered
Common stock, par value $.001 per share	SFBS	NASDAQ Global Select Market

 

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

None

(Title of Class)

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ☐ No ☒

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or 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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

                                                                                                                                                               Yes ☒ No☐

 

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer ☒ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☒ No ☐

 

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

 

As of June 30, 2020, the aggregate market value of the voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on a stock price of $35.76 per share of Common Stock, was $1,690,486,000.

 

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

 

Class	Outstanding as of February 19, 2021
Common stock, $.001 par value	54,085,465

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 10-K and other publicly available documents, including the documents incorporated by reference herein, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These “forward-looking statements” reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and our financial performance. The words “may,” “plan,” “contemplate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “continue,” “expect,” “project,” “predict,” “estimate,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but other statements not based on historical information may also be considered forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements should be considered subject to various risks and uncertainties, and are made based upon management’s belief as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such risks include, without limitation:

The foregoing factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read together with the other cautionary statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what we anticipate. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which will arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

PART I

Unless this Form 10-K indicates otherwise, the terms “we,” ”our,” “us,” “the Company,” “ServisFirst Bancshares” and “ServisFirst” as used herein refer to ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc., and its subsidiaries, including ServisFirst Bank, which sometimes is referred to as “our bank subsidiary,” “our bank” or “the Bank,” and its other subsidiaries. References herein to the fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 mean our fiscal years ended December 31, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

We are a bank holding company within the meaning of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and are headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary bank, we operate 21 full-service banking offices located in Jefferson, Shelby, Madison, Montgomery, Houston, Mobile and Baldwin Counties of Alabama, Escambia and Hillsborough Counties of Florida, Cobb and Douglas Counties of Georgia, Charleston County, South Carolina and Davidson County, Tennessee, which are located in the metropolitan statistical areas (“MSAs”) of Birmingham-Hoover, Huntsville, Montgomery, Dothan, Daphne-Fairhope-Foley and Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia, Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee. We also operate loan production offices in Columbus, Georgia, Sarasota, Florida, and Summerville, South Carolina. Through our bank, we originate commercial, consumer and other loans and accept deposits, provide electronic banking services, such as online and mobile banking, including remote deposit capture, deliver treasury and cash management services and provide correspondent banking services to other financial institutions.  As of December 31, 2020, we had total assets of approximately $11.9 billion, total loans of approximately $8.5 billion, total deposits of approximately $10.0 billion and total stockholders’ equity of approximately $992.9 million.

We operate our bank using a simple business model based on organic loan and deposit growth, generated through high quality customer service, delivered by a team of experienced bankers focused on developing and maintaining long-term banking relationships with our target customers. We utilize a uniform, centralized back office risk and credit platform to support a decentralized decision-making process executed locally by our regional chief executive officers. This decentralized decision-making process allows individual lending officers varying levels of lending authority, based on the experience of the individual officer. When the total amount of loans to a borrower exceeds an officer’s lending authority, further approval must be obtained by the applicable regional chief executive officer (G. Carlton Barker – Montgomery, Andrew N. Kattos – Huntsville, B. Harrison Morris, III – Dothan, Rex D. McKinney – Pensacola, W. Bibb Lamar, Jr. – Mobile, Thomas G. Trouche – Charleston, J. Harold Clemmer – Atlanta, Bradford A. Vieira – Nashville or Gregory W. Bryant – Tampa Bay) and/or our senior management team. Rather than relying on a more traditional retail bank strategy of operating a broad base of multiple brick and mortar branch locations in each market, our strategy focuses on operating a limited and efficient branch network with sizable aggregate balances of total loans and deposits housed in each branch office. We believe that this approach more appropriately addresses our customers’ banking needs and reflects a best-of-class delivery strategy for commercial banking services.

Our principal business is to accept deposits from the public and to make loans and other investments. Our principal sources of funds for loans and investments are demand, time, savings and other deposits and the amortization and prepayment of loans and borrowings. Our principal sources of income are interest and fees collected on loans, interest and dividends collected on other investments, and service charges. Our principal expenses are interest paid on savings and other deposits, interest paid on our other borrowings, employee compensation, office expenses and other overhead expenses.

Certain of our subsidiaries hold and manage participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by our bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, respectively, and have elected to be treated as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. income tax purposes. Each of these entities is consolidated into the Company.

As a bank holding company, we are subject to regulation by the Federal Reserve. We are required to file reports with the Federal Reserve and are subject to regular examinations by that agency.

Business Strategy

We are a full service commercial bank focused on providing competitive products, state of the art technology and quality service. Our business philosophy is to operate as a metropolitan community bank emphasizing prompt, personalized customer service to the individuals and businesses located in our primary markets. We aggressively market to our target customers, which include privately held businesses generally with $2 million to $250 million in annual sales, professionals and affluent consumers whom we believe are underserved by the larger regional banks operating in our markets. We also seek to capitalize on the extensive relationships that our management, directors, advisory directors and stockholders have with the businesses and professionals in our markets.

Focus on Core Banking Business. We deliver a broad array of core banking products to our customers. While many large regional competitors and national banks have chosen to develop non-traditional business lines to supplement their net interest income, we believe our focus on traditional commercial banking products driven by a high margin delivery system is a superior method to deliver returns to our stockholders. We emphasize an internal culture of keeping our operating costs as low as practical, which we believe leads to greater operational efficiency. Additionally, our centralized technology and process infrastructure contribute to our low operating costs. We believe this combination of products, operating efficiency and technology make us attractive to customers in our markets. In addition, we provide correspondent banking services to more than 350 community banks located in 20 states throughout the United States. We provide a source of clearing and liquidity to our correspondent bank customers, as well as a wide array of account, credit, settlement and international services.

Commercial Bank Emphasis. We have historically focused on people as opposed to places. This strategy translates into a smaller number of brick and mortar branch locations relative to our size, but larger overall branch sizes in terms of total deposits. As a result, as of December 31, 2020, our branches averaged approximately $475.0 million in total deposits. In the more typical retail banking model, branch banks continue to lose traffic to other banking channels which may prove to be an impediment to earnings growth for those banks that have invested in large branch networks. In addition, unlike many traditional community banks, we place a strong emphasis on originating commercial and industrial loans, which comprised approximately 38.9% of our total loan portfolio as of December 31, 2020.

Scalable, Decentralized Business Model. We emphasize local decision-making by experienced bankers supported by centralized risk and credit oversight. We believe that the delivery by our bankers of in-market customer decisions, coupled with risk and credit support from our corporate headquarters, allows us to serve our borrowers and depositors directly and in person, while managing risk centrally and on a uniform basis. We intend to continue our growth by repeating this scalable model in each market in which we are able to identify a strong banking team. Our goal in each market is to employ the highest quality bankers in that market. We then empower those bankers to implement our operating strategy, grow our customer base and provide the highest level of customer service possible. We focus on a geographic model of organizational structure as opposed to a line of business model employed by most regional banks. This structure assigns significant responsibility and accountability to our regional chief executive officers, who we believe will drive our growth and success. We have developed a business culture whereby our management team, from the top down, is actively involved in sales, which we believe is a key differentiator from our competition.

Local decision making has impacted how we have managed our business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our ability to use technology-based delivery channels to service our customers in a low-contact environment played an integral part in maintaining social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our regional executives were able to manage their banking operations in compliance with local shut-down orders. Our employees were able to work remotely as needed.

Additionally, our decentralized, local credit decision making coupled with our advanced technology-based delivery channels enabled us to offer our customers efficient and timely access to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans. We made over 4,900 PPP loans with an aggregate balance of approximately $1.05 billion during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Identify Opportunities in Vibrant Markets. Since opening our original banking facility in Birmingham in 2005, as of December 31, 2020, we had expanded into nine additional markets. Our focus has been to expand opportunistically when we identify a strong banking team in a market with attractive economic characteristics and market demographics where we believe we can achieve a minimum of $300 million in deposits within five years of market entry. There are two primary factors we consider when determining whether to enter a new market:

Prior to entering a new market, historically we have identified and built a team of experienced, successful bankers with market-specific knowledge to lead the bank’s operations in that market, including a regional chief executive officer. Generally, we or members of our senior management team are familiar with these individuals based on prior work experience and reputation, and strongly believe in the ability of such individuals to successfully execute our business model. We also often assemble a non-voting advisory board of directors in our markets, comprised of members representing a broad spectrum of business experience and community involvement in the market. We currently have advisory boards in each of the Huntsville, Montgomery, Dothan, Mobile, Pensacola, Nashville, Atlanta and Charleston markets.

In addition to organic expansion, we may seek to expand through targeted acquisitions.

Markets and Competition

Our primary markets are broadly defined as the MSAs of Birmingham-Hoover, Huntsville, Montgomery, Dothan, Daphne-Fairhope-Foley and Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater and North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia, Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee. We draw most of our deposits from, and conduct most of our lending transactions in, these markets.

According to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) reports, total deposits in each of our primary market areas have expanded from 2010 to 2020 (deposit data reflects totals as reported by financial institutions as of June 30^th of each year) as follows:

Our bank is subject to intense competition from various financial institutions and other financial service providers. Our bank competes for deposits with other commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and issuers of commercial paper and other securities, such as money-market and mutual funds. In making loans, our bank competes with other commercial banks, savings and loan associations, consumer finance companies, credit unions, leasing companies, interest-based lenders and other lenders.

The following table illustrates our market share, by insured deposits, in our primary service areas at June 30, 2020 (the most recent date such numbers were reported by the FDIC), as reported by the FDIC:

The following table illustrates the combined total deposits for all financial institutions in the counties in which we operate as a percent of the total of all deposits in each state at June 30, 2020, as reported by the FDIC:

Our retail and commercial divisions operate in highly competitive markets. We compete directly in retail and commercial banking markets with other commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies, mutual funds, securities brokers, consumer finance companies, other lenders and insurance companies, locally, regionally and nationally. Many of our competitors compete by using offerings by mail, telephone, computer and/or the Internet. Interest rates, both on loans and deposits, and prices of services are significant competitive factors among financial institutions generally. Providing convenient locations, desired financial products and services, convenient office hours, quality customer service, quick local decision making, a strong community reputation and long-term personal relationships are all important competitive factors that we emphasize.

In our markets, our five largest competitors are Regions Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, BBVA Compass, Truist and Synovus Bank. These institutions, as well as other competitors of ours, have greater resources, serve broader geographic markets, have higher lending limits, offer various services that we do not offer and can better afford, and make broader use of, media advertising, support services, and electronic technology than we can. To offset these competitive disadvantages, we depend on our reputation for greater personal service, consistency, flexibility and the ability to make credit and other business decisions quickly.

Lending Services

Commercial Loans

Our commercial lending activity is directed principally toward businesses and professional service firms whose demand for funds falls within our legal lending limits. We make loans to small- and medium-sized businesses in our markets for the purpose of upgrading plant and equipment, buying inventory and for general working capital. Typically, targeted business borrowers have annual sales generally between $2 million and $250 million. This category of loans includes loans made to individual, partnership and corporate borrowers, and such loans are obtained for a variety of business purposes. We offer a variety of commercial lending products to meet the needs of business and professional service firms in our service areas. These commercial lending products include seasonal loans, bridge loans and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, or acquisition of property, plant and equipment. We also offer commercial lines of credit. The repayment terms of our commercial loans will vary according to the needs of each customer.

Our commercial loans usually are collateralized. Generally, collateral consists of business assets, including accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, or real estate. Collateral is subject to the risk that we may have difficulty converting it to a liquid asset if necessary, as well as risks associated with degree of specialization, mobility and general collectability in a default situation. To mitigate this risk, we underwrite collateral to strict standards, including valuations and general acceptability based on our ability to monitor its ongoing condition and value.

We underwrite our commercial loans primarily on the basis of the borrower’s cash flow, ability to service debt, and degree of management expertise. As a general practice, we take as collateral a security interest in any available real estate, equipment or personal property. Under limited circumstances, we may make commercial loans on an unsecured basis. Commercial loans may be subject to many different types of risks, including fraud, bankruptcy, economic downturn, deteriorated or non-existent collateral, and changes in interest rates. Perceived and actual risks may differ depending on the particular industry in which a borrower operates. General risks to an industry, such as an economic downturn or instability in the capital markets, or to a particular segment of an industry are monitored by senior management on an ongoing basis. When warranted, loans to individual borrowers who may be at risk due to an industry condition may be more closely analyzed and reviewed by the credit review committee or board of directors. Commercial and industrial borrowers are required to submit financial statements to us on a regular basis. We analyze these statements, looking for weaknesses and trends, and will assign the loan a risk grade accordingly. Based on this risk grade, the loan may receive an increased degree of scrutiny by management.

Real Estate Loans

We make commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans and residential real estate loans.

Commercial Real Estate. Commercial real estate loans are generally limited to terms of five years or less, although payments are usually structured on the basis of a longer amortization. Interest rates may be fixed or adjustable, although rates generally will not be fixed for a period exceeding five years. In addition, we generally will require personal guarantees from the principal owners of the property supported by a review by our management of the principal owners’ personal financial statements.

Commercial real estate lending presents risks not found in traditional residential real estate lending. Repayment is dependent upon successful management and marketing of properties and on the level of expense necessary to maintain the property. Repayment of these loans may be adversely affected by conditions in the real estate market or the general economy. Also, commercial real estate loans typically involve relatively large loan balances to a single borrower. To mitigate these risks, we closely monitor our borrower concentration. These loans generally have shorter maturities than other loans, giving us an opportunity to reprice, restructure or decline renewal. As with other loans, all commercial real estate loans are graded depending upon strength of credit and performance. A higher risk grade will bring increased scrutiny by our management, the credit review committee and the board of directors.

Construction and Development Loans. We make construction and development loans both on a pre-sold and speculative basis. If the borrower has entered into an agreement to sell the property prior to beginning construction, then the loan is considered to be on a pre-sold basis. If the borrower has not entered into an agreement to sell the property prior to beginning construction, then the loan is considered to be on a speculative basis. Construction and development loans are generally made with a term of 12 to 36 months, with interest payable monthly. The ratio of the loan principal to the value of the collateral as established by independent appraisal typically will not exceed 80% of residential construction loans. Speculative construction loans will be based on the borrower’s financial strength and cash flow position. Development loans are generally limited to 75% of appraised value. Loan proceeds will be disbursed based on the percentage of completion and only after the project has been inspected by an experienced construction lender or third-party inspector. During times of economic stress, construction and development loans typically have a greater degree of risk than other loan types.

To mitigate the risk of construction loan defaults in our portfolio, the board of directors and management tracks and monitors these loans closely. Total construction loans increased $72.2 million to $593.6 million at December 31, 2020. There were $1.0 million in charge-offs on construction loans during 2020 and no charge-offs during 2019. The amount of construction loans rated as substandard decreased from $4.3 million at December 31, 2019 to $235,000 at December 31, 2020.

Residential Real Estate Loans. Our residential real estate loans consist primarily of residential second mortgage loans, residential construction loans and traditional mortgage lending for one-to-four family residences. We will originate fixed-rate mortgages with long-term maturities. The majority of our fixed-rate loans are sold in the secondary mortgage market. All loans are made in accordance with our appraisal policy, with the ratio of the loan principal to the value of collateral as established by independent appraisal generally not exceeding 85%. Risks associated with these loans are generally less significant than those of other loans and involve bankruptcies, economic downturn, customer financial problems and fluctuations in the value of real estate, and homes in our primary service areas may experience significant price declines in the future. We have not made and do not expect to make any “Alt-A” or subprime loans.

Consumer Loans

We offer a variety of loans to retail customers in the communities we serve. Consumer loans in general carry a moderate degree of risk compared to other loans. They are generally more risky than traditional residential real estate loans but less risky than commercial loans. Risk of default is usually determined by the well-being of the local economies. During times of economic stress, there is usually some level of job loss both nationally and locally, which directly affects the ability of the consumer to repay debt. Risk on consumer-type loans is generally managed through policy limitations on debt levels consumer borrowers may carry and limitations on loan terms and amounts depending upon collateral type.

Our consumer loans include home equity loans (open- and closed-end), vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans. These various types of consumer loans all carry varying degrees of risk.

Commitments and Contingencies

As of December 31, 2020, we had commitments to extend credit beyond current amounts funded of $2.6 billion, had issued standby letters of credit in the amount of $66.2 million, and had commitments for credit card arrangements of $286.1 million. 

Investments

In addition to loans, we purchase investments in securities, primarily in mortgage-backed securities and state and municipal securities. No investment in any of those instruments will exceed any applicable limitation imposed by law or regulation. Our board of directors reviews the investment portfolio on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that the investments conform to the policy as set by the board of directors. Our investment policy provides that no more than 60% of our total investment portfolio may be composed of municipal securities. All securities held are traded in liquid markets, and we have no auction-rate securities. We had no investments in any one security, restricted or liquid, in excess of 10% of our stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2020.

Deposit Services

We seek to establish solid core deposits, including checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts and a variety of certificates of deposit and IRA accounts. To attract deposits, we employ an aggressive marketing plan throughout our service areas that features a broad product line and competitive services. The primary sources of core deposits are residents of, and businesses and their employees located in, our market areas. We have obtained deposits primarily through personal solicitation by our officers and directors, through reinvestment in the community, and through our stockholders, who have been a substantial source of deposits and referrals. We make deposit services accessible to customers by offering direct deposit, wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail and remote capture for non-cash items. Our bank is a member of the FDIC, and thus our deposits (subject to applicable FDIC limits) are FDIC-insured.

Other Banking Services

Given client demand for increased convenience and account access, we offer a range of products and services, including 24-hour telephone banking, direct deposit, Internet banking, mobile banking, traveler’s checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts and automatic account transfers. We also participate in a shared network of automated teller machines and a debit card system that our customers are able to use, and, in certain accounts subject to certain conditions, we rebate to the customer the ATM fees automatically after each business day. Additionally, we offer Visa^® credit cards.

Asset, Liability and Risk Management

We manage our assets and liabilities with the aim of providing an optimum and stable net interest margin, a profitable after-tax return on assets and return on equity, and adequate liquidity. These management functions are conducted within the framework of written loan and investment policies. To monitor and manage the interest rate margin and related interest rate risk, we have established policies and procedures to monitor and report on interest rate risk, devise strategies to manage interest rate risk, monitor loan originations and deposit activity and approve all pricing strategies. We attempt to maintain a balanced position between rate-sensitive assets and rate-sensitive liabilities. Specifically, we chart assets and liabilities on a matrix by maturity, effective duration, and interest adjustment period, and endeavor to manage any gaps in maturity ranges.

Seasonality and Cycles

We do not consider our commercial banking business to be seasonal.

Supervision and Regulation

Both we and our bank are subject to extensive state and federal banking laws and regulations that impose restrictions on, and provide for general regulatory oversight of, our operations. These laws and regulations restrict our permissible activities and investments, impose conditions and requirements on the products and services we offer and the manner in which they are offered and sold, and require compliance with protections for loan, deposit, brokerage, fiduciary, and other customers, among other things. They also restrict our ability to repurchase stock or pay dividends, or to receive dividends from our bank subsidiary, and impose capital adequacy and liquidity requirements. These laws and regulations generally are intended to protect customers (including depositors), the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund and the banking system as a whole, and generally are not intended for the protection of stockholders or other investors. The consequences of noncompliance with these, or other applicable laws or regulations, can include substantial monetary and nonmonetary sanctions.

In addition, we are subject to comprehensive supervision and periodic examination by the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Alabama State Banking Department (the “Alabama Banking Department”), among other regulatory bodies. These examinations consider not only compliance with applicable laws, regulations and supervisory policies of the agency, but also capital levels, asset quality, risk management effectiveness, the ability and performance of management and the board of directors, the effectiveness of internal controls, earnings, liquidity and various other factors. We also will be subject to comprehensive supervision and periodic examination by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) with respect to most federal consumer protection laws if our total assets are greater than $10 billion for four consecutive quarters. Our total assets were greater than $10 billion at the end of the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2020, and we expect our total assets to be greater than $10 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2021. For that reason, we expect to be subject to comprehensive supervision and periodic examination by the CFPB after that date.

The results of examination activity by any of our federal bank regulators potentially can result in the imposition of significant limitations on our activities and growth. These regulatory agencies generally have broad discretion to impose restrictions and limitations on the operations of a regulated entity and take enforcement action, including the imposition of substantial monetary penalties and nonmonetary requirements, against a regulated entity where the relevant agency determines, amount other things, that such operations fail to comply with applicable law or regulations or are conducted in an unsafe or unsound manner. This supervisory framework, including the examination reports and supervisory ratings (which are not publicly available) of the agencies, could materially impact the conduct, growth and profitability of our operations.

The following discussion describes select material elements of the regulatory framework that applies to us. The description is not intended to summarize all laws, regulations and supervisory policies applicable to us and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the statutes, regulations and supervisory policies described. Further, the following discussion addresses the select material elements of the regulatory framework as in effect as of the date of this annual report on Form 10-K. Legislation and regulatory action to revise federal and state banking laws and regulations, sometimes in a substantial manner, are continually under consideration by the U.S. Congress, state legislatures and federal and state regulatory agencies. Accordingly, the following discussion must be read in light of the enactment of any new federal or state banking laws or regulations or any amendment or repeal of existing laws or regulations, or any change in the policies of the regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over our operations, after the date of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Bank Holding Company Supervision and Regulation

Because we own all of the capital stock of the bank, we are a bank holding company under the federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”). As a result, we are primarily subject to the supervision, examination and reporting requirements of the BHC Act and the regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”).

Acquisition of Banks

The BHC Act requires every bank holding company to obtain the Federal Reserve’s prior approval before:

Additionally, the BHC Act provides that the Federal Reserve may not approve any of these transactions if such transaction would result in or tend to create a monopoly or substantially lessen competition or otherwise function as a restraint of trade, unless the anti-competitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed by the public interest in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served. The Federal Reserve also is required to consider the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the bank holding companies and banks concerned and the convenience and needs of the community to be served. The Federal Reserve’s consideration of financial resources generally focuses on capital adequacy, which is discussed in the section below titled “Supervision and Regulation—Bank Supervision and Regulation – Capital Adequacy” and the consideration of convenience and needs of the community to be served includes the institution’s performance under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Under the interstate banking and branching sections of the BHC Act, if adequately capitalized and adequately managed, we or any other bank holding company located in Alabama may purchase a bank located outside of Alabama. Conversely, an adequately capitalized and adequately managed bank holding company located outside of Alabama may purchase a bank located inside Alabama. In each case, however, restrictions may be placed on the acquisition of a bank that has only been in existence for a limited amount of time or will result in specified concentrations of deposits.

Change in Bank Control

Subject to various exceptions, the BHC Act and the Change in Bank Control Act, together with related regulations, require Federal Reserve approval prior to any person’s or company’s acquiring “control” of a bank holding company. Under a rebuttable presumption established by the Federal Reserve, the acquisition of 10% or more of a class of voting stock of a bank holding company would, under the circumstances set forth in the presumption, constitute acquisition of control of the bank holding company. In addition, any person or group of persons must obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve before acquiring 25% (5% in the case of an acquirer that is already a bank holding company) or more of the outstanding common stock of a bank holding company, or otherwise obtaining control or a “controlling influence” over the bank holding company.

Permissible Activities Under the BHC Act

Under the BHC Act, a bank holding company is generally permitted to engage in or acquire direct or indirect control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any company engaged in the following activities:

Activities that the Federal Reserve has found to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident to the business of banking include: factoring accounts receivable; making, acquiring, brokering or servicing loans and usual related activities; leasing personal property; operating a non-bank depository institution, such as a savings association; trust company functions; financial and investment advisory activities; certain agency securities brokerage activities; underwriting and dealing in government obligations and money market instruments; providing specified management consulting and counseling activities; performing selected data processing services and support services; acting as an agent or broker in selling credit life insurance and other types of insurance in connection with credit transactions; and performing selected insurance underwriting activities. Despite prior approval, the Federal Reserve may order a bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any of these activities or to terminate its ownership or control of any subsidiary when it has reasonable cause to believe that the bank holding company’s continued ownership, activity or control constitutes a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness, or stability of it or any of its bank subsidiaries.

In addition to the permissible bank holding company activities listed above, a bank holding company may qualify and elect to become a financial holding company, permitting the bank holding company to engage in activities that are financial in nature or incidental or complementary to financial activity without posing a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of a depository institution or to the financial system generally. The BHC Act expressly lists the following activities as financial in nature: lending, trust and other banking activities; insuring, guaranteeing, or indemnifying against loss or harm, or providing and issuing annuities, and acting as principal, agent, or broker for these purposes, in any state; providing financial, investment, or advisory services; issuing or selling instruments representing interests in pools of assets permissible for a bank to hold directly; underwriting, dealing in or making a market in securities; other activities that the Federal Reserve may determine to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident to managing or controlling banks; activities permitted outside of the United States if the Federal Reserve has determined them to be usual in connection with banking operations abroad; merchant banking through securities or insurance affiliates; and insurance company portfolio investments. For us to qualify to become a financial holding company, the bank and any other depository institution subsidiary of ours must be well-capitalized and well-managed and must have a Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) rating of at least “satisfactory”. Additionally, we must file an election with the Federal Reserve to become a financial holding company and must provide the Federal Reserve with 30 days written notice prior to engaging in a permitted financial activity. We have not elected to become a financial holding company at this time.

Support of Subsidiary Institutions

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act and Federal Reserve policy require a bank holding company to act as a source of financial strength to its bank subsidiaries and to take measures to preserve and protect its bank subsidiaries in situations where additional investments in a troubled bank may not otherwise be warranted. In addition, where a bank holding company has more than one bank or thrift subsidiary, each of the bank holding company’s subsidiary depository institutions is responsible for any losses to the FDIC as a result of an affiliated depository institution’s failure. As a result, a bank holding company may be required to loan money to a bank subsidiary in the form of subordinate capital notes or other instruments which qualify as capital under bank regulatory rules. However, any loans from the holding company to such subsidiary banks likely will be unsecured and subordinated to such bank’s depositors and perhaps to other creditors of the bank.

Repurchase or Redemption of Securities

A bank holding company is generally required to give the Federal Reserve prior written notice of any purchase or redemption of its own then-outstanding equity securities if the gross consideration for the purchase or redemption, when combined with the net consideration paid for all such purchases or redemptions during the preceding 12 months, is equal to 10% or more of the company’s consolidated net worth. The Federal Reserve may disapprove such a purchase or redemption if it determines that the proposal would constitute an unsafe and unsound practice, or would violate any law, regulation, Federal Reserve order or directive, or any condition imposed by, or written agreement with, the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve has adopted an exception to this approval requirement for well-capitalized bank holding companies that meet certain conditions.

Bank Supervision and Regulation

Generally

The bank is an Alabama state-chartered bank and, as such, is subject to examination and regulation by the Alabama Banking Department. The bank is not a member of the Federal Reserve System but is subject to various regulations and requirements promulgated by the Federal Reserve, the CFPB, the Federal Trade Commission, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), and other federal regulatory agencies. State non-member banks are, in addition to regulation by the applicable state regulatory authority, subject to supervision and regular examination by the FDIC. The FDIC and the Alabama Banking Department regularly examine the bank’s operations and have the authority to approve or disapprove mergers, the establishment of branches and similar corporate actions. Both regulatory agencies have the power to prevent the development or continuance of unsafe or unsound banking practices or other violations of law. Additionally, the bank’s deposits are insured by the FDIC to the maximum extent provided by law. The extensive state and federal banking laws and regulations to which the bank is subject are generally intended to protect the bank’s customers (including depositors), the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund and the banking system as a whole, and generally is not intended for the protection of stockholders or other investors. The following discussion describes the material elements of the regulatory framework that applies to the bank.

Temporary Relief from Certain Asset-Based Regulatory Thresholds

On November 20, 2020, federal banking regulators jointly issued an interim final rule effective December 2, 2020 to provide temporary relief for community banking organizations with less than $10 billion in total assets as of December 31, 2019. The relief came in the form of an exemption from certain regulations and reporting requirements that those institutions would otherwise become subject to as a result of a growth in asset size caused by their participation in PPP and similar federal coronavirus response programs. The interim final rule permits qualifying banks and bank holding companies to use asset data as of December 31, 2019, in order to determine whether various regulatory asset thresholds apply during the calendar years of 2020 and 2021. It also temporarily revises the instructions to various Federal Reserve regulatory reports so that qualifying entities may use their December 31, 2019, asset data to determine reporting requirements for those reports in 2020 and 2021. This means that we and the bank may, through December 31, 2021, determine the applicability of certain asset-based regulatory thresholds using our asset data as of December 31, 2019, since our total assets as of that date were less than $10 billion.  In order to address certain limited instances in which regulatory burden relief would be inappropriate, federal banking regulators have reserved authority in their respective regulations to require a community banking organization to comply with a given regulatory requirement that would otherwise not be applicable to the organization pursuant to the relief provided by the interim final rule.

Two prominent regulatory requirements not included in the interim final rule are the Volcker Rule and the supervisory authority of the CFPB that is triggered once an organization attains $10 billion in assets. We discuss the applicability to us of the Volcker Rule and CFPB examination below.

Branching

Under current Alabama law, and subject to applicable FDIC rules and regulations, the bank may open branch offices throughout Alabama with the prior approval of the Alabama Banking Department. In addition, with prior regulatory approval, the bank may acquire branches of existing banks located in Alabama. While prior law imposed various limits on the ability of banks to establish new branches in states other than their home state, the Dodd-Frank Act allows a bank to branch into a new state by acquiring a branch of an existing institution or by setting up a new branch, without merging with an existing institution in the target state, if, under the laws of the state in which the branch is to be located, a bank chartered by that state would be permitted to establish the branch. This makes it much simpler for banks to open de novo branches in other states. We opened our initial offices in Pensacola, Florida, Nashville, Tennessee, Charleston, South Carolina, and Tampa Bay, Florida, using this mechanism.

FDIC Insurance Assessments

The bank’s deposits are insured by the FDIC to the full extent provided in the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and the bank pays assessments to the FDIC for that coverage. Under the FDIC’s risk-based deposit insurance assessment system, an insured institution’s deposit insurance premium is computed by multiplying the institution’s assessment base by the institution’s assessment rate. An institution's assessment base and assessment rate are determined each quarter.

An institution’s assessment base equals the institution’s average consolidated total assets during a particular assessment period, minus the institution’s average tangible equity capital (that is, Tier 1 capital) during such period. The method for determining an institution's risked-based assessment rate differs for small banks and large banks. Small banks (generally, those with less than $10 billion in assets over four consecutive quarters) are assigned an individual rate based on a formula using financial data and CAMELS ratings. Large banks (generally, those with $10 billion or more in assets over four consecutive quarters) are assigned an individual rate based on a scorecard. The scorecard combines the following measures to produce a score that is converted to an assessment rate: CAMELS component ratings, financial measures used to measure a bank's ability to withstand asset-related and funding-related stress, and a measure of loss severity that estimates the relative magnitude of potential losses to the FDIC in the event of the bank's failure. Assessment rates for both large and small banks are subject to adjustment. Assessment rates: (1) decrease for issuance of long-term unsecured debt, including senior unsecured debt and subordinated debt; (2) increase for holdings of long-term unsecured or subordinated debt issued by other insured banks (the Depository Institution Debt Adjustment or DIDA); and (3) for large banks that are not well-rated or not well-capitalized, increase for significant holdings of brokered deposits. The bank expects to become subject to the large bank scorecard methodology in the second quarter of 2021, and if that occurs, its assessment rate is likely to increase as a result.

In addition to its risk-based insurance assessments, the FDIC also imposed Financing Corporation (“FICO”) assessments to help pay the $780 million in annual interest payments on the $8 billion of bonds issued in the late 1980’s as part of the government rescue of the savings and loan industry. The last remaining FICO bonds matured in September 2019. The final FICO assessment was collected on the March 31, 2019 FDIC invoice and we do not expect any further FICO assessments to be made.

The amount the bank pays to the FDIC in assessments is affected not only by the risk the bank poses to the Deposit Insurance Fund, but also by the adequacy of the fund to cover the risk posed by all insured institutions. From 2008 to 2013, the United States experienced an unusually high number of bank failures, resulting in significant losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund. Moreover, the Dodd-Frank Act permanently increased the standard maximum deposit insurance amount from $100,000 to $250,000, and raised the minimum required Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio (i.e., the ratio of the amount on reserve in the Deposit Insurance Fund to the total estimated insured deposits) from 1.15% to 1.35%. To support the Deposit Insurance Fund in response to those circumstances, the FDIC took several extraordinary actions, including imposing a one-time special assessment on insured institutions and requiring institutions to prepay quarterly assessments attributable to a three-year period. The FDIC also has established a higher long-term target Deposit Insurance Fund ratio of 2%. We cannot predict whether, as a result of an adverse change in economic conditions or other reasons, the FDIC will take similar extraordinary actions or otherwise increase deposit insurance assessment levels in the future. Any future increases could have a negative impact on our bank’s earnings.

On September 30, 2018, the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio reached 1.36 percent. Banks with less than $10 billion in total assets received assessment credits for the portion of their assessments that grew the reserve ratio from 1.15% to 1.35 percent. The credit began to be applied when the reserve ratio exceeded a target 1.38 percent ratio. As the bank did not yet have $10 billion in total assets at the time of the assessment credits, we recognized a credit of $1.7 million during 2019 as a result of this credit.

The FDIC may terminate its insurance of an institution's deposits if it finds that the institution has engaged in unsafe and 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.

Termination of Deposit Insurance

The FDIC may terminate its insurance of deposits of a bank if it finds that the bank 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.

Liability of Commonly Controlled Depository Institutions

Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, an FDIC-insured depository institution can be held liable for any loss incurred by, or reasonably expected to be incurred by, the FDIC in connection with (i) the default of a commonly controlled FDIC-insured depository institution or (ii) any assistance provided by the FDIC to any commonly controlled FDIC-insured depository institution in danger of default. “Default” is defined generally as the appointment of a conservator or receiver, and “in danger of default” is defined generally as the existence of certain conditions indicating that a default is likely to occur in the absence of regulatory assistance. The FDIC’s claim for damage is superior to claims of stockholders of the insured depository institution but is subordinate to claims of depositors, secured creditors, other general and senior creditors, and holders of subordinated debt (other than affiliates) of the institution.

Community Reinvestment Act

The CRA requires that, in connection with examinations of financial institutions within their respective jurisdictions, the Federal Reserve or the FDIC will evaluate the record of each financial institution in meeting the needs of its local community, including low and moderate-income neighborhoods. These factors are also considered in evaluating mergers, acquisitions, and applications to open an office or facility. Failure to adequately meet these criteria could impose additional requirements and limitations on the bank. Additionally, we must publicly disclose the terms of various CRA-related agreements.

Interest Rate Limitations

Interest and other charges collected or contracted for by the bank are subject to state usury laws and federal laws concerning interest rates.

Federal Laws Applicable to Consumer Credit and Deposit Transactions

The bank’s loan and deposit operations are subject to a number of federal consumer protection laws and regulations, including, among others:

Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act permits states to adopt consumer protection laws and standards that are more stringent than those adopted at the federal level and, in certain circumstances, permits state attorneys general to enforce compliance with both the state and federal laws and regulations.

Capital Adequacy

General Information. The federal banking regulators view capital levels as important indicators of an institution’s financial soundness. In this regard, we and the bank are required to comply with the capital adequacy standards established by the Federal Reserve (in our case) and the FDIC and the Alabama Banking Department (in the case of the bank). Such standards are based on the December 2010 final capital framework for strengthening international capital standards, known as Basel III, of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”). The implementation of Basel III for United States institutions began on January 1, 2015. Prior to that date, the risk-based capital rules applicable to us and the bank were based on the 1988 Capital Accord, known as Basel I, of the Basel Committee

Current capital standards are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banks and bank holding companies, to account for off-balance-sheet exposure, and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Assets and off-balance-sheet items, such as letters of credit and unfunded loan commitments, are assigned to broad risk categories, each with appropriate risk weights. The resulting capital ratios represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance-sheet items.

Failure to meet capital guidelines could subject a bank or bank holding company to a variety of enforcement remedies, including issuance of a capital directive, the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, a prohibition on accepting brokered deposits, and certain other restrictions on its business. Significant additional restrictions can be imposed on FDIC-insured depository institutions that fail to meet applicable capital requirements.

United States Implementation of Basel III. In July 2013, the federal banking agencies published final rules (the “Basel III Capital Rules”) to implement, in part, the Basel III framework issued by the Basel Committee and certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Basel III Capital Rules apply to banking organizations, including us and the bank.

Among other things, the Basel III Capital Rules: (i) emphasize common equity tier 1 capital, or “CET1,” which is predominately made up of retained earnings and common stock instruments; (ii) specify that an institution’s tier 1 capital consists of CET1 and additional financial instruments satisfying specified requirements that permit inclusion in tier 1 capital; (iii) define CET1 narrowly by requiring that most deductions or adjustments to regulatory capital measures be made to CET1 and not to the other components of capital; and (iv) expand the scope of the deductions or adjustments from capital as compared to the previous regulations. The Basel III Capital Rules also provide a permanent exemption from a proposed phase out of existing trust preferred securities and cumulative perpetual preferred stock from regulatory capital for banking organizations with less than $15 billion in total consolidated assets as of December 31, 2009.

The Basel III Capital Rules provide for the following minimum capital to risk-weighted assets ratios:

A minimum leverage ratio (tier 1 capital as a percentage of total assets) of 4.0% is also required under the Basel III Capital Rules. The Basel III Capital Rules additionally require institutions to retain a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% above these required minimum capital ratio levels. The capital conservation buffer, which must consist of CET1, is designed to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. Banking organizations that fail to maintain the minimum 2.5% capital conservation buffer could face restrictions on capital distributions or discretionary bonus payments to executive officers.

The Basel III Capital Rules became effective as applied to us and the bank on January 1, 2015, with a phase in period that generally extended from January 1, 2015 through January 1, 2019. We and the bank are currently in compliance with Basel III Capital Rules.

The Basel Committee, the U.S. federal banking regulators, and other interested parties may propose changes to the Basel III Capital Rules from time to time based on a number of factors, including prevailing economic conditions and policy initiatives. For example, in September 2017 the U.S. federal banking regulators proposed revisions to the Basel III Capital Rules to simplify the capital treatment of certain types of assets, including certain types of mortgage servicing rights, tax deferred assets, and commercial real estate loans. If adopted, those revisions could provide regulatory relief to all but the largest and most internationally active U.S. banks and bank holding companies. Similarly, in December 2017, the Basel Committee published revisions to its regulatory framework in an effort to strengthen credibility in the calculation of risk-weighted assets and otherwise improve existing capital rules in certain respects. At this time, it is unknown whether proposals and revisions such as these will become final rules binding upon U.S. bank holding companies and banks, and it is unclear how they may affect us and the bank. We will continue to monitor these and similar proposals and revisions for adoption and implementation.

In December 2017, the Basel Committee published revisions to its regulatory framework that it described as the finalization of the Basel III post-crisis regulatory reforms. Among other things, these revisions are meant to strengthen credibility in the calculation of risk-weighted assets by enhancing the robustness and risk sensitivity of the standardized approaches for credit risk and operational risk and to add new capital requirements for certain “unconditional cancellable commitments,” such as credit card lines. These revisions will be generally effective on January 1, 2022, with an aggregate output floor phasing in through January 1, 2027. Operational risk capital requirements and a capital floor only apply to advanced approaches institutions under current U.S. capital rules.

Prompt Corrective Action. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 established a system of “prompt corrective action” to resolve the problems of undercapitalized financial institutions. Under this system, which was modified by the Basel III Capital Rules, the federal banking regulators have established five capital categories (well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized) into which all institutions are placed. The federal banking agencies have also specified by regulation the relevant capital thresholds for each of those categories. At December 31, 2020, the bank was well-capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. To be categorized as well-capitalized, the bank had to maintain minimum total risk-based, tier 1 risk-based, CET1 risk-based, and tier 1 leverage ratios of 10%, 8%, 6.5% and 5%, respectively.

Federal banking regulators are required to take various mandatory supervisory actions and are authorized to take other discretionary actions with respect to institutions in the three undercapitalized categories. The severity of the action depends upon the capital category in which the institution is placed. Generally, subject to a narrow exception, the banking regulator must appoint a receiver or conservator for an institution that is critically undercapitalized.

An institution that is categorized as undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, or critically undercapitalized is required to submit an acceptable capital restoration plan to its appropriate federal banking agency. A bank holding company must guarantee that a subsidiary depository institution meets its capital restoration plan, subject to various limitations. The controlling holding company’s obligation to fund a capital restoration plan is limited to the lesser of (i) 5% of an undercapitalized subsidiary’s assets at the time it became undercapitalized and (ii) the amount required to meet regulatory capital requirements. An undercapitalized institution also is generally prohibited from increasing its average total assets, making acquisitions, establishing any branches or engaging in any new line of business, except under an accepted capital restoration plan or with FDIC approval. The regulations also establish procedures for downgrading an institution to a lower capital category based on supervisory factors other than capital.

Liquidity

Financial institutions are subject to significant regulatory scrutiny regarding their liquidity positions. This scrutiny has increased during recent years, as the economic downturn that began in the late 2000’s negatively affected the liquidity of many financial institutions. Various bank regulatory publications, including FDIC Financial Institution Letter FIL-13-2010 (Funding and Liquidity Risk Management) and FDIC Financial Institution Letter FIL-84-2008 (Liquidity Risk Management), address the identification, measurement, monitoring and control of funding and liquidity risk by financial institutions.

Basel III also addresses liquidity management by proposing two new liquidity metrics for financial institutions. The first metric is the “Liquidity Coverage Ratio”, and it aims to require a financial institution to maintain sufficient high quality liquid resources to survive an acute stress scenario that lasts for one month. The second metric is the “Net Stable Funding Ratio,” and its objective is to require a financial institution to maintain a minimum amount of stable sources relative to the liquidity profiles of the institution’s assets, as well as the potential for contingent liquidity needs arising from off-balance sheet commitments, over a one-year horizon.

In the Basel III Capital Rules, the federal banking regulators did not address either the Liquidity Coverage Ratio or the Net Stable Funding Ratio. However, in September 2014, the federal banking agencies adopted final rules implementing a Liquidity Coverage Ratio requirement in the United States for larger banking organizations. In May 2016, the federal banking agencies issued proposed rules implementing a Net Stable Funding Ratio requirement, also for larger U.S. banking organizations, which proposed rule was still pending final approval as of fall 2018. Neither we nor the bank is subject to either set of rules.

The Liquidity Coverage Ratio and the Net Stable Funding Ratio continue to be monitored for implementation, and we cannot yet provide concrete estimates as to how those requirements, or any other regulatory positions regarding liquidity and funding, might affect us or our bank. However, increased liquidity requirements generally would be expected to cause the bank to invest its assets more conservatively—and therefore at lower yields—than it otherwise might invest. Such lower-yield investments likely would reduce the bank’s revenue stream, and in turn its earnings potential.

Payment of Dividends

We are a legal entity separate and distinct from the bank. Our principal source of cash flow, including cash flow to pay dividends to our stockholders, is dividends the bank pays to us as the bank’s sole shareholder. Statutory and regulatory limitations apply to the bank’s payment of dividends to us as well as to our payment of dividends to our stockholders. The requirement that a bank holding company must serve as a source of strength to its subsidiary banks also results in the position of the Federal Reserve that a bank holding company should not maintain a level of cash dividends to its stockholders that places undue pressure on the capital of its bank subsidiaries or that can be funded only through additional borrowings or other arrangements that may undermine the bank holding company’s ability to serve as such a source of strength. Our ability to pay dividends is also subject to the provisions of Delaware corporate law.

The Alabama Banking Department also regulates the bank’s dividend payments. Under Alabama law, a state-chartered bank may not pay a dividend in excess of 90% of its net earnings until the bank’s surplus is equal to at least 20% of its capital (our bank’s surplus currently exceeds 20% of its capital). Moreover, our bank is also required by Alabama law to obtain the prior approval of the Superintendent of Banks (“Superintendent”) 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, less any required transfers to surplus. Based on this, our bank would be limited to paying $382.5 million in dividends as of December 31, 2020, subject to maintaining certain required capital levels. In addition, no dividends, withdrawals or transfers may be made from the bank’s surplus without the prior written approval of the Superintendent.

The bank’s payment of dividends may also be affected or limited by other factors, such as the requirement to maintain adequate capital above regulatory guidelines. The federal banking agencies have indicated that paying dividends that deplete a depository institution’s capital base to an inadequate level would be an unsafe and unsound banking practice. Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991, a depository institution may not pay any dividends if payment would cause it to become undercapitalized or if it already is undercapitalized. Moreover, the federal agencies have issued policy statements that provide that bank holding companies and insured banks should generally only pay dividends out of current operating earnings. If, in the opinion of the federal banking regulators, the bank were engaged in or about to engage in an unsafe or unsound practice, the federal banking regulators could require, after notice and a hearing, that the bank stop or refrain from engaging in the questioned practice.

Restrictions on Transactions with Affiliates and Insiders

We are subject to Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act, which places limits on the amount of: a bank’s loans or extensions of credit to affiliates; a bank’s investment in affiliates; assets a bank may purchase from affiliates, except for real and personal property exempted by the Federal Reserve; loans or extensions of credit made by a bank to third parties collateralized by the securities or obligations of affiliates; a bank’s guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit issued on behalf of an affiliate; a bank’s transactions with an affiliate involving the borrowing or lending of securities to the extent they create credit exposure to the affiliate; and a bank’s derivative transactions with an affiliate to the extent they create credit exposure to the affiliate. The total amount of the above transactions is limited in amount, as to any one affiliate, to 10% of a bank’s capital and surplus and, as to all affiliates combined, to 20% of a bank’s capital and surplus. In addition to the limitation on the amount of these transactions, certain of these transactions must also meet specified collateral requirements. The bank must also comply with other provisions designed to avoid the taking of low-quality assets.

We are also subject to Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, which, among other things, prohibits an institution from engaging in these transactions with affiliates unless the transactions are on terms substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the institution or its subsidiaries, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with nonaffiliated companies.

The bank is also subject to restrictions on extensions of credit to its executive officers, directors, principal shareholders and their related interests. These extensions of credit (i) 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 (ii) must not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features. There is also an aggregate limitation on all loans to insiders and their related interests. These loans cannot exceed the institution’s total unimpaired capital and surplus, and the FDIC may determine that a lesser amount is appropriate. Insiders are subject to enforcement actions for knowingly accepting loans in violation of applicable restrictions. Alabama state banking laws also have similar provisions.

Lending Limits

Under Alabama law, the amount of loans which may be made by a bank in the aggregate to one person is limited. Alabama law provides that unsecured loans by a bank to one person may not exceed an amount equal to 10% of the capital and unimpaired surplus of the bank or 20% in the case of secured loans. For purposes of calculating these limits, loans to various business interests of the borrower, including companies in which a substantial portion of the stock is owned or partnerships in which a person is a partner, must be aggregated with those made to the borrower individually. Loans secured by certain readily marketable collateral are exempt from these limitations, as are loans secured by deposits and certain government securities.

Commercial Real Estate Concentration Limits

In December 2006, the U.S. bank regulatory agencies issued guidance entitled “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound Risk Management Practices” to address increased concentrations in commercial real estate (“CRE”) loans. The guidance describes the criteria the agencies will use as indicators to identify institutions potentially exposed to CRE concentration risk. An institution that has (i) experienced rapid growth in CRE lending, (ii) notable exposure to a specific type of CRE, (iii) total reported loans for construction, land development, and other land representing 100% or more of the institution’s capital, or (iv) total CRE loans representing 300% or more of the institution’s capital, and the outstanding balance of the institution’s CRE portfolio has increased by 50% or more in the prior 36 months, may be identified for further supervisory analysis of the level and nature of its CRE concentration risk.

In December 2015, the U.S. bank regulatory agencies issued guidance titled “Statement on Prudent Risk Management for Commercial Real Estate Lending” to remind financial institutions of existing guidance on prudent risk management practices for CRE lending activity, including the 2006 guidance described above. In the 2015 guidance, the agencies noted their belief that financial institutions had eased CRE underwriting standards in recent years. The 2015 guidance went on to identify actions that financial institutions should take to protect themselves from CRE-related credit losses during difficult economic cycles. The 2015 guidance also indicated that the agencies would pay special attention in the future to potential risks associated with CRE lending.

Privacy and Data Security

Under federal law as implemented by Regulation P, financial institutions are required to disclose their policies for collecting and protecting the non-public personal information of their consumer customers. Consumer customers generally may prevent financial institutions from sharing non-public personal information with nonaffiliated third parties except under certain circumstances, such as the processing of transactions requested by the consumer or when the financial institution is jointly offering a product or service with a nonaffiliated financial institution. Additionally, financial institutions generally may not disclose consumer account numbers to any nonaffiliated third party for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing or other marketing to consumers.

The federal banking regulators regularly issue guidance regarding cybersecurity intended to enhance cyber risk management standards among financial institutions. In addition, financial institutions are subject to various state privacy laws that may, among other things, impose data security requirements on all customer information, whether consumer or commercial customer information, and impose data breach notification obligations. The state data breach notification requirements generally apply based on the residence of the consumer and not on the bank’s presence in the state, location of the collateral property, or other variables.

Anti-Terrorism and Money Laundering Legislation

Our bank is subject to federal laws that are designed to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, and transactions with persons, companies, or foreign governments sanctioned by the United States. These include the USA Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Money Laundering Control Act, and the requirements of the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These statutes and related rules and regulations impose requirements and limitations on specified financial transactions and account or other relationships, including obligations of a depository institution to verify customer identity, conduct customer due diligence, report on suspicious activity file reports of transactions in currency, and conduct enhanced due diligence on certain accounts. They also prohibit us from engaging in transactions with certain designated restricted countries and persons. We are required by our regulators to maintain policies and procedures to comply with the foregoing restrictions.

Failure to comply with these statutes, rules and regulations, or failure to maintain an adequate compliance program, could lead to monetary penalties and reputational damage to our bank. Our banking regulators evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and procedures when determining whether to approve certain proposed banking activities. We believe the policies and procedures implemented by our Board are sufficient to be compliant with these laws.

Effect of Governmental Monetary Policies

Our bank’s earnings are affected by domestic economic conditions and the monetary and fiscal policies of the United States government and its agencies. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policies have had, and are likely to continue to have, an important impact on the operating results of commercial banks through its power to implement national monetary policy in order, among other things, to curb inflation or combat a recession. The monetary policies of the Federal Reserve affect the levels of bank loans, investments and deposits through its control over the issuance of United States government securities, its regulation of the discount rate applicable to member banks and its influence over reserve requirements to which member banks are subject. We cannot predict, and have no control over, the nature or impact of future changes in monetary and fiscal policies.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act represents a comprehensive revision of laws affecting corporate governance, accounting obligations and corporate reporting. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is applicable to all companies with equity securities registered, or that file reports, under the Exchange Act. In particular, the act established (i) requirements for audit committees, including independence, expertise and responsibilities; (ii) responsibilities regarding financial statements for the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the reporting company and new requirements for them to certify the accuracy of periodic reports; (iii) standards for auditors and regulation of audits; (iv) disclosure and reporting obligations for the reporting company and its directors and executive officers; and (v) civil and criminal penalties for violations of the federal securities laws. The legislation also established a new accounting oversight board to enforce auditing standards and restrict the scope of services that accounting firms may provide to their public company audit clients.

Overdraft Fees

Regulation E imposes restrictions on banks’ abilities to charge overdraft fees. The rule prohibits financial institutions from charging fees for paying overdrafts on ATM and one-time debit card transactions, unless a consumer consents, or opts in, to the overdraft service for those types of transactions.

Interchange Fees

The Dodd-Frank Act, through a provision known as the Durbin Amendment, required the Federal Reserve to establish standards for interchange fees that are “reasonable and proportional” to the cost of processing a debit card transaction and imposes other requirements on card networks. In June 2011, the Federal Reserve implemented a rule, which includes a cap of 21 cents plus .05% of the transaction on the interchange fee for debit card issuers with $10 billion or more in assets. The Bank exceeded $10 billion in assets for the first time as of June 30, 2020. The Durbin Amendment becomes effective for us on July 1, 2022. We do not anticipate that it will have a material impact on our revenue. Furthermore, the Bank has been affected by federal regulations that prohibit network exclusivity arrangements and routing restrictions. Essentially, issuers and networks must allow transaction processing through a minimum of two unaffiliated networks.

Compensation Practices

Our compensation practices are subject to guidance provided by federal banking regulators designed to ensure that incentive compensation arrangements at banking organizations take into account risk and are consistent with safe and sound practices. During May 2016, several financial regulators jointly issued a proposed rule designed to prohibit incentive-based compensation arrangements that could encourage inappropriate risks by providing excessive compensation or that could lead to a material financial loss. The proposed rule would require incentive-based compensation arrangements to adhere to three basic principles; (1) a balance between risk and reward, (2) effective risk management and controls, and (3) effective governance. It also would require appropriate board of directors (or committee) oversight and recordkeeping and disclosures to the appropriate agency. The proposed rule uses a tiered approach that applies its provisions to covered financial institutions according to the size of the institution.

The Volcker Rule

In December 2013, five U.S. financial regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, adopted a final rule implementing the so-called “Volcker Rule.” The Volcker Rule was created by Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act and prohibits “banking entities” from engaging in “proprietary trading” and making investments and conducting certain other activities with “private equity funds and hedge funds.” Although the final rule provides some tiering of compliance and reporting obligations based on size, the fundamental prohibitions of the Volcker Rule apply to banking entities of any size, including us and the bank.

Since the adoption of the final rule in 2013, U.S. financial regulators and other federal agencies have further adopted several changes to the final rule. On January 14, 2014, the agencies adopted an interim final rule permitting banking entities to retain interests in certain collateralized debt obligations backed primarily by trust preferred securities if certain qualifications are met. On July 9, 2019, the agencies adopted a final rule excluding community banks (i.e., those banks having $10 billion or less in total consolidated assets and trading assets and liabilities of 5% or less of total consolidated assets) from the Volcker Rule. On October 8, 2019, the agencies finalized revisions to the Volcker rule that simplified and streamlined compliance requirements for banking entities that do not have significant trading activities, while banking entities with significant trading activity would become subject to more stringent compliance requirements. The revisions continue to prohibit proprietary trading, while providing greater clarity and certainty for activities allowed under the law. With the changes, the agencies expect that the universe of trades that are considered prohibited proprietary trading will remain generally the same as under the agencies' 2013 final rule. These revisions became effective on January 1, 2020, with a required compliance date of January 1, 2021.

To date, the prohibitions under the Volcker Rule and the final rule adopted thereunder have not had, and we do not currently expect them to have in the future, a material effect on our businesses or revenue, but they do limit the scope of permissible activities in which we might engage.

The Dodd-Frank Act

The Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law in July 2010 and has significantly changed the bank regulatory environment and the lending, deposit, investment, trading and operating activities of financial institutions and their holding companies. The Dodd-Frank Act required various federal agencies to adopt a broad range of new implementing rules and regulations and to prepare numerous studies and reports for Congress. The federal agencies were given significant discretion in drafting the implementing rules and regulations.

In May 2018, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (“EGRRCPA”) was signed into law. In many instances the EGRRCPA increased the Dodd-Frank mandated asset thresholds, to which enhanced supervision and prudential standards are applied. Previously, bank holding companies with assets of $10 billion or more were subject to stress testing.  The asset threshold has been increased to $250 billion.  

A number of the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act are described or otherwise accounted for in various parts of this Supervision and Regulation section. The following items provide a brief description of certain other provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that may be relevant to us and the bank.

As noted above, the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act is ongoing, and certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are still subject to rulemaking. In addition, we will be subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny and requirements as a result of our total assets exceeding $10 billion as of December 31, 2020 and if our total assets exceed $10 billion for four consecutive quarters ending with the first quarter in 2021. As a result, it is difficult to anticipate the overall financial impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on the bank and us. However, compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act and its implementing regulations has resulted in, and is expected to continue to result in, additional operating and compliance costs that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to regulations issued by the Alabama Banking Department and federal banking regulators, we are subject to regulations issued by other state and federal agencies with respect to certain financial products and services we offer and our operations generally. These include, for example, the SEC, various taxing authorities, and various state insurance regulators.

Other Legislation and Regulatory Action relating to Financial Institutions

Government efforts made over the last decade to strengthen the United States financial system, including the Dodd-Frank Act and its related rules and regulations, subject us and the bank to a number of new regulatory compliance obligations, many of which may impose additional fees, costs, requirements, and restrictions. These fees, costs, requirements, and restrictions, as well as any others that may be imposed in the future, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

New proposals to change the laws and regulations governing the banking industry are frequently introduced in the United States Congress, in the state legislatures and before the various bank regulatory agencies. The likelihood and timing of any such changes and the impact such changes might have on us and the bank, however, cannot be determined at this time. In this regard, bills are presently pending before Congress and certain state legislatures, and additional bills may be introduced in the future in Congress and state legislatures, to alter the structure, regulation and competitive relationships of financial institutions. We cannot predict whether or in what form any of these proposals will be adopted or the extent to which our business may be affected by any new regulation or statute.

Human Capital Resources

At ServisFirst Bancshares, we believe that our Employees are truly our most valuable asset and that each of us directly contributes to our continued mutual success. As of December 31, 2020, we had 493 full-time equivalent employees. We have 187 employees located in our corporate office, including sales and operations, and 312 in our regional offices and branches. Our management believes that we have good relations with our employees.

Hiring, Promotion & Talent Development

We are always looking to build our workforce from within and promote from our current talent pool whenever possible. When this is not the case, we look to career fairs and local colleges to network on an ongoing basis, as well as utilizing professional networking platforms, such as LinkedIn. We also have a referral bonus program for current employees, which we believe helps us to diversify our workforce at the same time. We are also committed to the continued development of our employees. Compliance, IT and other banking industry-related trainings are completed by employees throughout the year. We also aim to assist our employees with position-related training and development when available.

Health and Safety

The success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people. Accordingly, we are committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees. In response to local government and health guidelines around the COVID-19 pandemic, glass barriers have been installed where necessary, and we regularly encourage our employees to utilize video conferencing platforms when possible. All branches and internal corporate offices have been provided with cleaning supplies and are encouraged to disinfect surface areas consistently. We maintain a social distancing policy and update our procedures as federal and state agencies make new recommendations.

Compensation and Benefits

We provide robust compensation and benefits programs to help meet the needs of our employees. In addition to competitive salaries, these programs include annual bonuses, a 401(k) Retirement Plan, full medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance and paid time off. As part of our compensation philosophy, we believe that we must offer and maintain market competitive total rewards programs for our employees in order to attract and retain superior talent.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to our continued efforts to increase diversity and foster an inclusive work environment that supports our employees and the communities we serve. We recruit the best people for the job regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cultural background or religious belief. It is our policy to fully comply with all state and federal laws applicable to discrimination in the workplace.

A brief description of the background of each of our named executive officers as of December 31, 2020 is set forth below.

Thomas A. Broughton, III (65) – Mr. Broughton has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a director since 2007 and as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Bank since its inception in May 2005. Mr. Broughton was appointed Chairman of the Board effective January 1, 2019, following the retirement of our former Chairman. Mr. Broughton has spent the entirety of his banking career in the Birmingham area. In 1985, Mr. Broughton was named President of the de novo First Commercial Bank. When First Commercial Bank was acquired by Synovus Financial Corp. in 1992, Mr. Broughton continued as President and was named Chief Executive Officer of First Commercial Bank. In 1998, he became Regional Chief Executive Officer of Synovus Financial Corp., responsible for the Alabama and Florida markets. In 2001, Mr. Broughton’s Synovus region shifted, and he became Regional Chief Executive Officer for the markets of Alabama, Tennessee and parts of Georgia. He continued his work in this position until his retirement from Synovus in August 2004. Mr. Broughton’s experience in banking has afforded him opportunities to work in many areas of banking and has given him exposure to all bank functions. Mr. Broughton served on the Board of Directors of Cavalier Homes, Inc. from 1986 until 2009, when the company was sold to a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Clarence C. Pouncey, III (64) – Mr. Pouncey served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since 2007 and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Bank since November 2006. Mr. Pouncey retired from the Company and Bank effective December 31, 2020.

William M. Foshee (66) – Mr. Foshee has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary since 2007 and as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary of the Bank since 2005. Mr. Foshee served as the Chief Financial Officer of Heritage Financial Holding Corporation, a publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Decatur, Alabama, from 2002 until it was acquired in 2005. Mr. Foshee is a Certified Public Accountant.

Rodney E. Rushing (63) – Mr. Rushing has served as the Executive Vice President and Executive for Correspondent Banking for us and the bank since 2011. Effective January 25, 2021, Mr. Rushing was appointed to serve as our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining us, Mr. Rushing was employed at BBVA Compass from 1982 to 2011, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Correspondent Banking. At the time of his departure in March 2011, the correspondent banking division of BBVA Compass provided correspondent banking services to over 600 financial institutions.

Henry Abbott (40) – Mr. Abbott has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for us and the bank since April 2018. From 2013 to 2018, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for our Correspondent Banking Division. Prior to joining us, Mr. Abbott was employed at BB&T (now Truist) from 2004 to 2013 in various senior lending and credit administration roles.

A brief description of the background of each of our regional chief executive officers is set forth below.

J. Harold Clemmer (52) – Mr. Clemmer has served as Executive Vice President and Atlanta President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since March, 2018. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Clemmer held several leadership positions with Fifth Third Bank including Regional President of Tennessee and Regional President of Georgia. Mr. Clemmer has over 25 years of commercial banking experience.

G. Carlton Barker (72) – Mr. Barker has served as Executive Vice President and Montgomery President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since February 1, 2007. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Barker was employed by Regions Bank for 19 years in various capacities, most recently as the Regional President for the Southeast Alabama Region. Mr. Barker serves on the Huntingdon College Board of Trustees.

Gregory W. Bryant (57) – Mr. Bryant has served as Executive Vice President and Tampa Bay Area President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since January 2016. Previously, Mr. Bryant was the President and CEO of Bay Cities Bank in Tampa, Florida from 2000 until its sale to Centennial Bank in October 2015. While at Bay Cities, Mr. Bryant was a member of the bank’s loan committee, compensation committee, audit committee, and ALCO committee. Mr. Bryant also served as the President of Florida Business BancGroup, the parent company of Bay Cities Bank. From 2005 to 2015, Mr. Bryant served as a Director of the Independent Banker’s Bank (Lake Mary, FL), a correspondent bank serving over 100 banks in Florida and South Georgia. While at IBB, Mr. Bryant served on the loan and executive committees. Prior to Bay Cities Bank, Mr. Bryant worked in various management capacities with GE Capital and SouthTrust Bank. Mr. Bryant served as Chair of the Florida Banker’s Association in 2012, and is active in the CEO Council of Tampa Bay and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Andrew N. Kattos (51) – Mr. Kattos has served as Executive Vice President and Huntsville President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since April 2006. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kattos was employed by First Commercial Bank for 14 years, most recently as an Executive Vice President and Senior Lender in the Commercial Lending Department. Mr. Kattos currently serves as a HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Ambassador, an external advisory board member for the University of Alabama at Huntsville College of Business, and a board member for the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

William Bibb Lamar, Jr. (76) – Mr. Lamar has served as the Mobile Regional Chief Executive Officer of the bank since March 2013. Mr. Lamar is a seasoned Mobile banker with over 40 years of leadership responsibilities. Mr. Lamar graduated from the University of Mobile. Mr. Lamar began his banking career with Merchants National, now Regions Bank where he spent more than 20 years in various leadership roles. Most recently, Mr. Lamar was the CEO of BankTrust for over 20 years. Mr. Lamar has served on the State Banking Board for 16 years and was formerly President of the Alabama Bankers Association.    

Rex D. McKinney (58) – Mr. McKinney has served as Executive Vice President and Pensacola President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since January 2011. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. McKinney held several leadership positions, including the senior lender position, at First American Bank/Coastal Bank and Trust (owned by Synovus Financial Corporation) starting in 1997. Mr. McKinney is a Past Board Member of the Rotary Club of Pensacola. He is Past President of the Pensacola Sports Association, a Past President of the Irish Politicians Club, a Member of the Pensacola Sports Association Foundation, Vice President of the Pensacola Country Club Board of Directors and also a Board Member of the Florida Bankers Association.

B. Harrison Morris, III (44) – Mr. Morris has served as Dothan Regional Chief Executive Officer since February 2015 when the outgoing CEO, Ronald DeVane, retired from the Company. Prior to his promotion, Mr. Morris served as Executive Vice President and Dothan President since June 2010, following his promotion from Senior Lending Officer of the Dothan Region. Mr. Morris joined the Company in September 2008. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Morris held various positions with Wachovia Bank and SouthTrust Bank since 1998. Mr. Morris is a trustee of the Wallace Community College Foundation Board, a member of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce Board, a member of the Wiregrass United Way Board and a member of the Wiregrass Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Thomas G. Trouche (56) – Mr. Trouche has served as Executive Vice President and Charleston President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since December 2014. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Trouche served in various roles with First Citizens Bank for over 13 years, most recently as their Coastal Division Executive. Mr. Trouche currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, and previously served as Chairman of the Board for Mason Preparatory School in Charleston.

Bradford A. Vieira (45) – Mr. Vieira has served as Executive Vice President and Nashville President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank since June 2017 and as Senior Vice President and Nashville President since 2013 until his promotion to Nashville CEO. Mr. Vieira began his career in banking with SouthTrust Bank and held several positions in lending and credit. He also was with Fifth Third Bank as a commercial middle market sales manager. Mr. Vieira has been named Power Leader in Finance by the Nashville Business Journal. Under his leadership, ServisFirst Bank was also named a Best Place to work by the Nashville Business Journal for 2016 through 2018. Mr. Vieira was personally named a Nashville Business Journal “Power Leader” in conjunction with the Bank award during the same three years.

Available Information

Our corporate website is www.servisfirstbank.com. We have direct links on this website to our Code of Ethics and the charters for our Audit, Compensation and Corporate Governance and Nominations Committees, accessible by clicking on the “Investor Relations” tab. We also have direct links to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, but not limited to, our annual reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and any amendments to these filings, which are available free of charge through our corporate website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed by any of the following risks or by other risks identified in this annual report, as well as by other risks we may not have anticipated or viewed as material. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements presented elsewhere by management. The following list identifies and briefly summarizes certain risk factors. This list should not be viewed as complete or comprehensive, and the risks identified below are not the only risks facing our company. See also “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Risks Related to Our Business

We are dependent on the services of our management team and board of directors, and the unexpected loss of key officers or directors may adversely affect our business and operations.

We are led by an experienced core management team with substantial experience in the markets that we serve, and our operating strategy focuses on providing products and services through long-term relationship managers. Accordingly, our success depends in large part on the performance of our key personnel, as well as on our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly qualified senior and middle management. Competition for employees is intense, and the process of locating key personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to execute our business plan may be lengthy. If any of our or the bank’s executive officers, other key personnel, or directors leaves us or the bank, our operations may be adversely affected. In particular, we believe that our named executive officers and our regional chief executive officers are extremely important to our success and the success of our bank. If any of them leaves for any reason, our results of operations could suffer in such markets. Mr. Pouncey retired as Chief Operating Officer at the end of fiscal 2020, and our board appointed Mr. Rushing as our Chief Operating Officer based on his long history with the bank and the continuity afforded by his appointment. With the exception of the key officers in charge of our Huntsville and Montgomery banking offices, and our Chief Financial Officer, we do not have employment agreements or non-competition agreements with any of our executive officers, including our named executive officers. In the absence of these types of agreements, our executive officers are free to resign their employment at any time and accept an offer of employment from another company, including a competitor. Additionally, our directors’ and advisory board members’ community involvement and diverse and extensive local business relationships are important to our success. Any material changes in the composition of our board of directors or the respective advisory boards of the bank could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may not be able to expand successfully into new markets.

We have opened new offices and operations in five primary markets (Mobile, Alabama, Atlanta, Georgia, Nashville, Tennessee, Charleston, South Carolina and Tampa Bay, Florida) in the past six years. We may not be able to successfully manage this growth with sufficient human resources, training and operational, financial and technological resources. Any such failure could limit our ability to be successful in these new markets and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Because our total assets exceed $10 billion, we are subject to heightened regulatory requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Various federal banking laws and regulations, including rules adopted by the Federal Reserve pursuant to the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, impose additional requirements on bank holding companies with total assets of at least $10 billion. In addition, bank with total assets of at least $10 billion are primarily examined by the CFPB with respect to federal consumer protection laws and regulations. While we have not yet reached $10 billion in assets for four consecutive quarters, we and the bank expect to do so during fiscal 2021. Once we and the bank have exceeded $10 billion in total assets for four consecutive fiscal quarters, we will be subject to additional requirements including, but not limited to, establishing a dedicated risk committee of our Board, calculating our FDIC deposit insurance assessment using the large bank pricing rule and more frequent regulatory examinations. Regulatory relief passed by federal banking regulators in late 2020 will allow us to use our December 31, 2019 total assets to delay compliance with some, but not all, of these regulatory requirements until January 1, 2022. In preparation for these additional compliance obligations, we have incurred significant expenses and expect to continue to incur expenses to address heightened regulatory requirements. These additional regulatory requirements and increased compliance expenses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A prolonged downturn in the real estate market, especially in our primary markets, could result in losses and adversely affect our profitability.

As of December 31, 2020, 53.3% of our loan portfolio was composed of commercial and consumer real estate loans, of which 53.3% was owner-occupied commercial or 1-4 family mortgage loans. The real estate collateral in each case provides an alternate source of repayment in the event of default by the borrower and may deteriorate in value after the time the credit is initially extended. A decline in real estate values, either in the regions we serve or across the country as occurred in the U.S. recession from 2007 to 2009, could impair the value of our collateral and our ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure, which would likely require us to increase our provision for credit losses. In the event of a default with respect to any of these loans, the amounts we receive upon sale of the collateral may be insufficient to recover the outstanding principal and interest on the loan. If we are required to re-value the collateral securing a loan to satisfy the debt during a period of reduced real estate values or to increase our allowance for credit losses, our profitability could be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

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

As of December 31, 2020, our 10 largest borrowing relationships totaled $483.0 million in commitments (including unfunded commitments), or approximately 5.7% of our total loan portfolio. The concentration risk associated with having a small number of relatively large loan relationships is that, if one or more of these relationships were to become delinquent or suffer default, we could be at risk of material losses. The allowance for credit losses may not be adequate to cover losses associated with any of these relationships, and any loss or increase in the allowance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our decisions regarding credit risk could be inaccurate and our allowance for credit losses may be inadequate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.

Our earnings are affected by our ability to make loans, and thus we could sustain significant loan losses and consequently significant net losses if we incorrectly assess the creditworthiness of our borrowers resulting in loans to borrowers who fail to repay their loans in accordance with the loan terms, the value of the collateral securing the repayment of their loans, or we fail to detect or respond to a deterioration in our loan quality in a timely manner. Management makes various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of many of our loans. We maintain an allowance for credit losses that we consider adequate to absorb losses inherent in the loan portfolio based on our assessment of the information available. In determining the size of our allowance for credit losses, we rely on an analysis of our loan portfolio based on historical loss experience, current conditions, reasonable and supportable forecasts, and other pertinent information. We target small and medium-sized businesses as loan customers. Because of their size, these borrowers may be less able to withstand competitive or economic pressures than larger borrowers in periods of economic weakness. Also, as we expand into new markets, our determination of the size of the allowance could be understated due to our lack of familiarity with market-specific factors. We believe our allowance for credit losses is adequate. Our allowance for credit losses as of December 31, 2020 was $87.9 million, or 1.04% of total gross loans. If our assumptions are inaccurate, we may incur loan losses in excess of our current allowance for credit losses and be required to make material additions to our allowance for credit losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. However, even if our assumptions are accurate, federal and state regulators periodically review our allowance for credit losses and could require us to materially increase our allowance for credit losses or recognize further loan charge-offs based on judgments different than those of our management. Any material increase in our allowance for credit losses or loan charge-offs as required by these regulatory agencies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. In addition, the adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, as amended, effective as of January 1, 2020 impacted our methodology for estimating the allowance for credit losses. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) gave financial institutions the option to delay adoption of ASU2016-13 and we delayed our adoption of the update until December 31, 2020, with an effective retrospective adoption date of January 1, 2020. Based on prevailing economic conditions and forecasts as of the January 1, 2020 adoption date, we recorded a net $2.0 million decrease in our allowance for credit losses in connection with our adoption of ASU 2016-13. See Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the notes to consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data elsewhere in this report.

The internal controls that we have implemented in order to mitigate risks inherent to the business of banking might fail or be circumvented, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Management regularly reviews and updates our internal controls and procedures that are designed to identify, measure, monitor, report and analyze the types of risk to which we are subject, including liquidity risk, credit risk, market risk, legal risk, compliance risk, strategic risk, reputational risk and operational risk related to our employees, systems and vendors, among others. Any system of control and any system to reduce risk exposure, however well designed and operated, is based in part on certain assumptions and can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurances that the objectives of the system are met. A failure in our internal controls could have a significant negative impact not only on our earnings, but also on our reputation with our customers, regulators and investors. In addition, a failure of our internal controls, or a circumvention of such controls, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our corporate structure provides for decision-making authority by our regional chief executive officers and banking teams. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be negatively affected if our employees do not follow our internal policies or are negligent in their decision-making.

We attract and retain our management talent by empowering them to make certain business decisions on a local level. Lending authorities are assigned to regional chief executive officers and their banking teams based on their experience. Additionally, all loan relationships in excess of $5.0 million and every loan internally risk-grade as special mention or below are reviewed by our centralized credit administration department in Birmingham, Alabama. Moreover, for decisions that fall outside of the assigned authorities, our regional chief executive officers are required to obtain approval from our senior management team. Our local bankers may not follow our internal procedures or otherwise act in our best interests with respect to their decision-making. A failure of our employees to follow our internal policies, or actions taken by our employees that are negligent could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our business strategy includes the continuation of our growth plans, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be negatively affected if we fail to grow or fail to manage our growth effectively.

Our current strategy is to grow organically and, if appropriate, 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. Failure to manage our growth effectively could adversely affect our ability to successfully implement our business strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our continued pace of growth may require us to raise additional capital in the future to fund such growth, and the unavailability of additional capital on terms acceptable to us could adversely affect our growth and/or our financial condition and results of operations.

We are required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations. To support our recent and ongoing growth, we have completed a series of capital transactions during the past six years, including:

After giving effect to these transactions, we believe that we will have sufficient capital to meet our capital needs for our immediate growth plans. However, we will continue to need capital to support our longer-term growth plans. Our ability to access the capital markets, if needed, on a timely basis or at all will depend on a number of factors, such as the state of the financial markets, including prevailing interest rates, a loss of confidence in financial institutions generally, negative perceptions of our business or our financial strength, or other factors that would increase our cost of borrowing. If capital is not available on favorable terms when we need it, we will either have to issue common stock or other securities on less than desirable terms or reduce our rate of growth until market conditions become more favorable. Either of such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Competition from financial institutions and other financial service providers may adversely affect our profitability.

The banking business is highly competitive, and we experience competition in our markets from many other financial institutions. We compete with these other financial institutions both in attracting deposits and in making loans. In addition, we must attract our customer base from other existing financial institutions and from new residents. Many of these competitors have substantially greater financial resources, larger lending limits, larger branch networks and less regulatory oversight than we do, and are able to offer a broader range of products and services than we can. Our profitability depends upon our continued ability to successfully compete with an array of financial institutions in our service areas.

Our ability to compete successfully will depend on a number of factors, including, among other things:

Increased competition could require us to increase the rates that we pay on deposits or lower the rates that we offer on loans, which could reduce our profitability. Our failure to compete effectively in our markets could restrain our growth or cause us to lose market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Unpredictable economic conditions or a natural disaster in any of our market areas may have a material adverse effect on our financial performance.

Substantially all of our borrowers and depositors are individuals and businesses located and doing business in our markets. Therefore, our success will depend on the general economic conditions in these areas, which we cannot predict with certainty. Unlike with many of our larger competitors, the majority of our borrowers are commercial firms, professionals and affluent consumers located and doing business in such local markets. As a result, our operations and profitability may be more adversely affected by a local economic downturn or natural disaster in such markets than those of larger, more geographically diverse competitors. Our entry into Pensacola and Tampa Bay, Florida, Mobile, Alabama and Charleston, South Carolina increased our exposure to potential losses associated with hurricanes and similar natural disasters that are more common in coastal areas than in our other markets. Accordingly, any regional or local economic downturn, or natural or man-made disaster, that affects any of the markets in which we operate, including existing or prospective property or borrowers in such markets may affect us and our profitability more significantly and more adversely than our more geographically diversified competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We encounter technological change continually and have fewer resources than many of our competitors 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 serving customers better, the effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to reduce costs. Our success will depend in part on our ability to address our customers’ needs by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands for convenience, as well as to create additional efficiencies in our operations. Many of our competitors have greater resources to invest in technological improvements, and we may not be able to implement new technology-driven products and services, which could reduce our ability to effectively compete or increase our overall expenses and have a material adverse effect on our net income.

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.

We use information technology in our operations and offer online banking services to our customers. Unauthorized access to our or our customers’ confidential or proprietary information 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 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. Our risk and exposure to these matters remains heightened because of the evolving nature and complexity, and the increasing frequency, of these threats from cybercriminals and hackers, our plans to continue to provide internet banking and mobile banking channels, and our plans to continue 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 is vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses and other malware, phishing schemes, human error 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, have been and will continue to be 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 continue 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 would 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. Additionally, our insurance may be inadequate to compensate us for losses due to a cyber-attack, hacking, or similar technology security breach. 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.

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.

A security breach related to use of third-party software or systems, or the loss or corruption of confidential customer information could adversely affect our ability to provide timely and accurate financial information in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Any such failures could result in sanctions from regulatory authorities, significant reputational harm and a decrease in our customers confidence in us. Additionally, security breaches or the loss, theft or corruption of customer information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, or other information could result in customer losses, litigation, regulatory sanctions, losses in revenue, increased costs and reputational harm. Our agreements with outside third parties include indemnification obligations in the event of any such security breaches; however, there is no assurance that such third-parties will have sufficient resources to provide full indemnification of all of their customers in the event such a security breach occurs.

Our recent results may not be indicative of our future results and may not provide guidance to assess the risk of an investment in our common stock.

We may not be able to sustain our historical rate of growth and may not be able to further expand our business. In addition, our recent growth may distort some of our historical financial ratios and statistics. Various factors, such as economic conditions, regulatory and legislative considerations and competition, may impede or prohibit our ability to expand our market presence. We have different lending risks than larger banks. We provide services to our local communities; thus, our ability to diversify our economic risks is limited by our own local markets and economies. We lend to primarily small to medium-sized businesses, which may expose us to greater lending risks than those faced by other banks that lend to larger, better-capitalized businesses with longer operating histories. We manage our credit exposure through careful monitoring of loan applicants and loan concentrations in particular industries, and through our loan approval and review procedures. Our use of historical and objective information in determining and managing credit exposure may not be accurate in assessing our risk. Our failure to sustain our historical rate of growth or adequately manage the factors that have contributed to our growth could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may have more credit risk and higher credit losses to the extent loans are concentrated by location or industry of the borrowers or collateral.

Our credit risk and credit losses could increase if our loans are concentrated to borrowers engaged in the same or similar activities or to borrowers who as a group may be uniquely or disproportionately affected by economic or market conditions. Deterioration in economic conditions, housing conditions and commodity and real estate values in certain states or locations could result in materially higher credit losses if loans are concentrated in those locations. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the travel, lodging, entertainment and retail industries which, as of December 31, 2020, comprised 5% of our outstanding loans. Additionally, we have significant exposures to businesses in certain economic sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, insurance and healthcare, and weaknesses in those businesses may adversely impact our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We engage in lending secured by real estate and may be forced to foreclose on the collateral and own the underlying real estate, subjecting us to the costs associated with the ownership of the real property.

Since we originate loans secured by real estate, we may have to foreclose on the collateral property to protect our investment and may thereafter own and operate such property, in which case we are exposed to the risks inherent in the ownership of real estate. As of December 31, 2020, we held $6.5 million in other real estate owned. The amount that we, as a mortgagee, may realize after a default is dependent upon factors outside of our control, including, but not limited to: general or local economic conditions; environmental cleanup liability; neighborhood assessments; interest rates; real estate tax rates; operating expenses of the mortgaged properties; supply of, and demand for, rental units or properties; ability to obtain and maintain adequate occupancy of the properties; zoning laws; governmental and regulatory rules; fiscal policies; and natural disasters. Our inability to manage the amount of costs or size of the risks associated with the ownership of real estate could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Regulatory requirements affecting our loans secured by commercial real estate could limit our ability to leverage our capital and adversely affect our growth and profitability.

The federal bank regulatory agencies have indicated their view that banks with high concentrations of loans secured by commercial real estate are subject to increased risk and should hold higher capital than regulatory minimums to maintain an appropriate cushion against loss that is commensurate with the perceived risk. Because a significant portion of our loan portfolio is dependent on commercial real estate, a change in the regulatory capital requirements applicable to us as a result of these policies could limit our ability to leverage our capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We are subject to interest rate risk, which could adversely affect our profitability.

Our profitability, like that of most financial institutions, depends to a large extent on our net interest income, which is the difference between our interest income on interest-earning assets, such as loans and investment securities, and our interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings. We have positioned our asset portfolio to benefit in a higher or lower interest rate environment, but this may not remain true in the future. Our interest sensitivity profile was somewhat liability sensitive as of December 31, 2020, generally meaning that our net interest income would decrease more from rising interest rates than from falling interest rates. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies and, in particular, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (or, the “Federal Reserve”). Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and securities and the interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but such changes could also affect our ability to originate loans and obtain or retain deposits, customer demand for loans, the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities, and the average duration of our assets. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings increase at a faster rate than the interest rates received on loans and other investments, our net interest income, and therefore earnings, could be adversely affected. Earnings could also be adversely affected if the interest rates received on loans and other investments fall more quickly than the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. Any substantial, unexpected, prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, an increase in interest rates could also have a negative impact on our results of operations by reducing the ability of borrowers to repay their current loan obligations. These circumstances could not only result in increased loan defaults, foreclosures and charge-offs, but also necessitate further increases to the allowance for credit losses which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and meet our obligations as they become due.

Liquidity is essential to our business. Liquidity risk is the potential that we will be unable to meet our obligations as they come due because of an inability to liquidate assets or obtain adequate funding. An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of loans and other sources could have a substantial negative effect on our liquidity. In particular, approximately 83% of the bank’s liabilities as of December 31, 2020 were checking accounts and other liquid deposits, which are payable on demand or upon several days’ notice, while by comparison, 71% of the assets of the bank were loans, which cannot be called or sold in the same time frame. Our deposit accounts have seen tremendous growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic downturn, with many of our customers choosing to increase their cash reserves, even though interest rates have stayed relatively low. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities or on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy in general. Market conditions or other events could also negatively affect the level or cost of funding, affecting our ongoing ability to accommodate liability maturities and deposit withdrawals, meet contractual obligations, satisfy regulatory capital requirements, and fund asset growth and new business transactions at a reasonable cost, in a timely manner and without adverse consequences. Any substantial, unexpected or prolonged change in the level or cost of liquidity could have a material adverse effect on our ability to meet deposit withdrawals and other customer needs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The fair value of our investment securities can fluctuate due to factors outside of our control.

As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of our investment securities portfolio was approximately $886.7 million. Factors beyond our control can significantly influence the fair value of securities in our portfolio and can cause potential adverse changes to the fair value of these securities. These factors include, but are not limited to, rating agency actions in respect of the securities, defaults by the issuer or with respect to the underlying securities, and changes in market interest rates or instability in the capital markets. Any of these factors, among others, could cause other-than-temporary impairments and realized and/or unrealized losses in future periods and declines in other comprehensive income, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. The process for determining whether impairment of a security is other-than-temporary usually requires complex, subjective judgments about the future financial performance and liquidity of the issuer and any collateral underlying the security in order to assess the probability of receiving all contractual principal and interest payments on the security. Our failure to assess any currency impairments or losses with respect to our securities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Deterioration in the fiscal position of the U.S. federal government and downgrades in Treasury and federal agency securities could adversely affect us and our banking operations.

The long-term outlook for the fiscal position of the U.S. federal government is uncertain, as illustrated by the 2011 downgrade by certain rating agencies of the credit rating of the U.S. government and federal agencies and questions concerning the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the long-term fiscal position of the U.S. federal government. Certain credit rating agencies have highlighted that the U.S. federal government had the highest debt of any AAA-rated sovereign nation, and there was no credible fiscal consolidation plan in light of the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in addition to causing economic and financial market disruptions, any future downgrade, failure to continue to raise the U.S. statutory debt limit as needed, or deterioration in the fiscal outlook of the U.S. federal government, could, among other things, materially adversely affect the market value of the U.S. and other government and governmental agency securities that we hold, the availability of those securities as collateral for borrowing, and our ability to access capital markets on favorable terms. In particular, it could increase interest rates and disrupt payment systems, money markets, and long-term or short-term fixed income markets, adversely affecting the cost and availability of funding, which could negatively affect our profitability. Also, the adverse consequences of any downgrade could extend to those to whom we extend credit and could adversely affect their ability to repay their loans. Any of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may be adversely affected by the soundness of other financial institutions.

Our ability to engage in routine funding transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and commercial soundness of other financial institutions. Financial services companies are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, and other relationships. We have exposure to different industries and counterparties, and through transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, and other institutional clients. Our transactions with other financial institutions expose us to credit risk in the event of a default of a counterparty. The soundness of many financial services companies may be closely interrelated as a result of credit, trading, clearing and other relationships between such financial services companies. As a result, defaults by, or even rumors or questions about, one or more financial services companies, or the financial services industry generally, have led to market-wide liquidity problems and could lead to losses or defaults by us or by other institutions. These losses or defaults could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We are subject to environmental liability risk associated with our lending activities.

In the course of our business, we may purchase real estate, or we may foreclose on and take title to real estate. As a result, we could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these properties. We may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs incurred by these parties in connection with environmental contamination or may be required to investigate or clean up hazardous or toxic substances or chemical releases at a property. The costs associated with investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. In addition, if we are the owner or former owner of a contaminated site, we may be subject to common law claims by third parties based on damages and costs resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the property. Any significant environmental liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Related to 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 BHC Act, as amended, and the examination and reporting requirements of various federal and state agencies, including the FDIC and the Alabama Banking Department. 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 Act resulting from our recent growth in total assets to over $10.0 billion. This allocation of resources, as well as any failure to comply with applicable requirements, may negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations.

As a bank holding company, we are subject to certain capital requirements that may limit our operations.

As a bank holding company, we are subject to supervision and regulation by the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB), including risk-based and leverage capital requirements. We must maintain certain risk-based and leverage capital ratios as required by the FRB, which can change depending on certain economic conditions and our risk profile and growth plans. Compliance with the capital requirements, including leverage ratios, may limit operations that require the intensive use of capital and could adversely affect our ability to expand or maintain present business levels. Additionally, failure by our bank to meet applicable capital requirements could subject us to a variety of regulatory sanctions, up to and including termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC.

Changes in laws, government regulation, monetary policy or accounting standards may have a material adverse 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 could be introduced in the United States Congress that could substantially increase regulation of the bank and non-bank financial services industries and impose restrictions on the operations and general ability of firms within the industry to conduct business consistent with historical practices. 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, accounting standards 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. Changes in accounting standards could materially impact, potentially even retroactively, how we report our financial condition and results of our operations. 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.

Additionally, like all regulated financial institutions, we are affected by monetary policies implemented by the Federal Reserve and other federal instrumentalities. A primary instrument of monetary policy employed by the Federal Reserve is the restriction or expansion of the money supply through open market operations. This instrument of monetary policy frequently causes volatile fluctuations in interest rates, and it can have a direct, material adverse effect on the operating results of financial institutions including our business. Borrowings by the United States government to finance government debt may also cause fluctuations in interest rates and have similar effects on the operating results of such institutions. We do not have any control over monetary policies implemented by the Federal Reserve or otherwise and any changes in these policies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Federal and state regulators periodically examine our business and we may be required to remediate adverse examination findings.

The Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Alabama Banking Department periodically examine our business, including our compliance with laws and regulations. If, as a result of an examination, a federal or state banking agency were to determine that our financial condition, capital resources, asset quality, earnings prospects, management, liquidity, compliance with various regulations or other aspects of any of our operations had become unsatisfactory, or that we were in violation of any law or regulation, it 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 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 and place us into receivership or conservatorship. Any regulatory action against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

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

As an FDIC-insured institution, the bank is assessed a quarterly deposit insurance premium.  The amount of the premium is affected by a number of factors, including the risk the bank poses to the Deposit Insurance Fund and the adequacy of the fund to cover the risk posed by all insured institutions.  If either the bank or insured institutions as a whole present a greater risk to the Deposit Insurance Fund in the future than they do today, if the Deposit Insurance Fund becomes depleted in any material respect, or if other circumstances arise that lead the FDIC to determine that the Deposit Insurance Fund should be strengthened, the bank could be required to pay significantly higher deposit insurance premiums and/or additional special assessments to the FDIC.  Those premiums and/or assessments could have a material adverse effect on the bank’s earnings, thereby reducing the availability of funds to pay dividends to us.

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 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 CFPB, 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 prospects.

Legal and regulatory proceedings and related matters with respect to the financial services industry, including those directly involving the Company or the Bank, could adversely affect us or the financial services industry in general.

We have been, and may in the future be, subject to various legal and regulatory proceedings. It is inherently difficult to assess the outcome of these matters, and there can be no assurance that we will prevail in any proceeding or litigation. Any such matter could result in substantial cost and diversion of our management’s efforts, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results. Further, adverse determinations in such matters could result in actions by our regulators that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We establish reserves for legal claims when payments associated with the claims become probable and the costs can be reasonably estimated. We may still incur legal costs for a matter even if we have not established a reserve. In addition, due to the inherent subjectivity of the assessments and unpredictability of the outcome of legal proceedings, the actual cost of resolving a legal claim may be substantially higher than any amounts reserved for that matter. The ultimate resolution of a pending legal proceeding, depending on the remedy sought and granted, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We face a risk of noncompliance and enforcement action with the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering statutes and regulations.

The Bank Secrecy Act, the USA Patriot Act, 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 as appropriate. The Federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is authorized to impose significant civil money penalties for violations of those requirements and has engaged in coordinated enforcement efforts with the individual federal banking regulators, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Internal Revenue Service. We are also subject to increased scrutiny of compliance with the rules enforced by the OFAC. 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 prospects.

The replacement of LIBOR as an interest rate index could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

As of December 31, 2020, approximately 8% of our loan portfolio is indexed to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to calculate interest on the loans. On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, publicly announced that it intends to cease persuading or compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates by the end of 2021. In November of 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority announced that it will consult on its intention to extend the retirement date of certain offered rates whereby the publication of the one-week and two-month LIBOR offered rates will cease after December 31, 2021; but, the publication of the remaining LIBOR offered rates will continue until June 30, 2023. Given consumer protection, litigation, and reputation risks, banking regulators have indicated that entering into new contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021, would create safety and soundness risks and that they will examine bank practices accordingly. Regulators are therefore discouraging banks from entering into new contracts that use LIBOR as a reference rate as soon as practicable and in any event by December 31, 2021.

These announcements and regulatory guidance indicate that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot be guaranteed after 2021 and may cause the LIBOR benchmark to perform differently than it has in the past. Financial institutions, including our bank, have begun to transition credit and other arrangements which currently utilize LIBOR as a reference rate to new indices for interest rates. Regulators, industry groups and certain committees have, among other things, published recommended fall-back language for LIBOR-referenced financial instruments, identified recommended alternatives for certain LIBOR rates (for example, Ameribor® or the Secured Overnight Financing Rate), and proposed implementations of the recommended alternatives in floating rate instruments. It is not yet possible to predict whether these specific recommendations and proposals will be broadly accepted, whether they will continue to evolve, and what the effect of their implementation may be on the markets for floating-rate financial instruments.

The implementation of a substitute index or indices for the calculation of interest rates under our loan agreements with our customers may result in the incurrence of additional expense as part of the transition and may result in disputes with customers over the appropriate substitute index or indices, which could adversely affect our reputation. Although we are currently unable to assess what the ultimate impact of the transition from LIBOR will be, failure to adequately manage the transition could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock may be subject to substantial fluctuations, which may make it difficult for you to sell your shares at the volume, prices and times desired.

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile, which may make it difficult for you to resell your shares at the volume, prices and times desired. There are many factors that may impact the market price and trading volume of our common stock, including, without limitation:

The stock market and, in particular, the market for financial institution stocks, may experience substantial fluctuations, which may be unrelated to the operating performance and prospects of particular companies. In addition, significant fluctuations in the trading volume in our common stock may cause significant price variations to occur. Increased market volatility may materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock, which could make it difficult to sell your shares at the volume, prices and times desired.

The rights of our common stockholders are subordinate to the rights of the holders of our outstanding debt and will be subordinate to the rights of the holders of any preferred securities or any debt that we may issue in the future.

Our board of directors has the authority to issue in the aggregate up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, and to determine the terms of each issue of preferred stock, without stockholder approval. Accordingly, you should assume that any shares of preferred stock that we may issue in the future will also be senior to our common stock. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities or incur other borrowings in the future will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, the amount, timing, nature or success of our future capital raising efforts is uncertain. Because our ability to pay dividends on our common stock in the future will depend on our and our bank’s financial condition as well as factors outside of our control, our common stockholders bear the risk that no dividends will be paid on our common stock in future periods or that, if paid, such dividends will be reduced or eliminated, which may negatively impact the market price of our common stock.

We and our bank are subject to capital and other requirements which restrict our ability to pay dividends.

In 2014, we began paying quarterly cash dividends. Future declarations of quarterly dividends will be subject to the approval of our board of directors, subject to limits imposed on us by our regulators. In order to pay any dividends, we will need to receive dividends from our bank or have other sources of funds. Under Alabama law, a state-chartered bank may not pay a dividend in excess of 90% of its net earnings until the bank’s surplus is equal to at least 20% of its capital (our bank’s surplus currently exceeds 20% of its capital). Moreover, our bank is also required by Alabama law to obtain the prior approval of the Superintendent for its payment of dividends if the total of all dividends declared by our bank in any calendar year will exceed the total of (1) our bank’s net earnings (as defined by statute) for that year, plus (2) its retained net earnings for the preceding two years, less any required transfers to surplus. In addition, the bank must maintain certain capital levels, which may restrict the ability of the bank to pay dividends to us and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders. As of December 31, 2020, our bank could pay approximately $382.5 million of dividends to us without prior approval of the Superintendent. However, the payment of dividends is also subject to declaration by our board of directors, which takes into account our financial condition, earnings, general economic conditions and other factors, including statutory and regulatory restrictions. There can be no assurance that dividends will in fact be paid on our common stock in future periods or that, if paid, such dividends will not be reduced or eliminated. Limitations on our ability to receive dividends from our bank subsidiary could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and ability to pay dividends on our common stock or interest and principal on our debt.

Alabama and Delaware law limit the ability of others to acquire the bank, which may restrict your ability to fully realize the value of your common stock.

In many cases, stockholders receive a premium for their shares when one company purchases another. Alabama and Delaware law make it difficult for anyone to purchase the bank or us without approval of our board of directors. Thus, your ability to realize the potential benefits of any sale by us may be limited, even if such sale would represent a greater value for stockholders than our continued independent operation.

An investment in our common stock is not an insured deposit and is subject to risk of loss.

Our common stock is not a bank deposit and, therefore, is not insured against loss by the FDIC, any deposit insurance fund or by any other public or private entity. Investment in our common stock is inherently risky for the reasons described in this “Risk Factors” section and is subject to the same market forces that affect the price of common stock in any company. As a result, an investor may lose some or all of their investment in our common stock.

Our corporate governance documents, and certain corporate and banking laws applicable to us, could make a takeover more difficult.

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation, as amended (or our “charter”), and bylaws, as amended, and corporate and federal banking laws, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of our organization, even if those events were perceived by many of our stockholders as beneficial to their interests. These provisions, and the corporate and banking laws and regulations applicable to us:

These provisions may discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control, including under circumstances in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium over the market price of our shares.

General Risk Factors

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures intended to prevent its spread may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operations, and such effects will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict.

Global health and economic concerns relating to the COVID-19 outbreak and government actions taken to reduce the spread of the virus have had a material adverse impact on the macroeconomic environment, and the outbreak has significantly increased economic uncertainty. The pandemic has resulted in federal, state and local authorities, including those who govern the markets in which we operate, implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus. Such measures have included travel bans and restrictions, curfews, quarantines, shelter in place or total lock-down orders and business limitations and shutdowns. Such measures have significantly contributed to rising unemployment and negatively impacted consumer and business spending. While several vaccines have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, vaccine distribution has been slow and there are concerns that more aggressive variants of the COVID-19 virus may increase and spread due to the pace of vaccinations in the United States. The United States government has taken steps to attempt to mitigate some of the more severe anticipated economic effects of the virus, including the passage of the CARES Act in March of 2020 and, more recently, an Omnibus COVID Relief Deal in December 2020. There can be no assurance that such steps taken by the United States government will be effective or achieve their desired results in the near future.

The outbreak has adversely impacted and is likely to continue to adversely impact our workforce and operations and the operations of our customers and business partners. In particular, we may experience financial losses due to a number of operational factors impacting us or our customers or business partners, including but not limited to:

These factors may exist for an extended period of time and may continue to adversely affect our business, financial condition and operations even after the COVID-19 outbreak has subsided.

The extent to which the pandemic impacts our business, financial condition and operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to, its duration and severity, the actions to contain it or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. Even after the pandemic has subsided, we may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of its economic impact, including the availability of credit, adverse impacts on our liquidity and any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future. Additionally, future outbreaks of COVID-19, or other viruses, may occur.

Among other relief programs, we participated in the PPP and originated almost 4,900 loans in the amount of $1.05 billion under the program during the year ended December 31, 2020. PPP loans are fixed, low interest rate loans that are guaranteed by the SBA and subject to numerous other regulatory requirements, and a borrower may apply to have all or a portion of the loan forgiven. If PPP borrowers fail to qualify for loan forgiveness, we face a heightened risk of holding these loans at unfavorable interest rates for an extended time period. While PPP loans are guaranteed by the SBA, various regulatory requirements will apply to our ability to seek recourse under the guarantees, and related procedures are currently subject to uncertainty. If a borrower defaults on a PPP loan, these requirements and uncertainties may limit our ability to fully recover against the loan guarantee or to seek full recourse against the borrower.

There are no comparable recent events that provide guidance as to the effect the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic may have, and, as a result, the ultimate impact of the pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of the impacts on our business, our operations or the global economy as a whole. Therefore, the risk factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K could be heightened, changed or be added to in the future. For other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement or projection contained in this report, see “Forward-Looking Statements” under Part 1, Item 2 above.

Financial disruption or a prolonged economic downturn could materially and adversely affect our business.

Worldwide financial markets have recently experienced periods of extraordinary disruption and volatility, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in heightened credit risk, reduced valuation of investments and decreased economic activity. Moreover, many companies have experienced reduced liquidity and uncertainty as to their ability to raise capital during such periods of market disruption and volatility. In the event that these conditions recur or result in a prolonged economic downturn, our results of operations, financial position and/or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected. Many of the other risk factors discussed herein identify risks that result from, or are exacerbated by, financial economic downturn. These include risks related to our investments portfolio, the competitive environment and regulatory developments.

As a business operating in the financial services industry, our business and operations may be adversely affected in numerous and complex ways by weak economic conditions.

Our businesses and operations are sensitive to general business and economic conditions in the United States. If the U.S. economy weakens, our growth and profitability could be constrained. Uncertainty about the federal fiscal policymaking process and the medium and long-term fiscal outlook of the federal government is a concern for businesses, consumers and investors in the United States. In addition, economic conditions in foreign countries could affect the stability of global financial markets, which could hinder U.S. economic growth. Weak economic conditions are characterized by deflation, fluctuations in debt and equity capital markets, a lack of liquidity and/or depressed prices in the secondary market for mortgage loans, increased delinquencies on mortgage, consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial real estate price declines and lower home sales and commercial activity. The current economic environment is characterized by rising interest rates, although rates currently remain at near historic lows, which may impact our ability to generate attractive earnings through our investment portfolio. Although interest rates are low, deposit levels are high as our customers increase their cash balances in light of current economic uncertainties. An increase in interest rates could increase competition for deposits, decrease customer demand for loans due to the higher cost of obtaining credit, result in an increased number of delinquent loans and defaults or reduce the value of securities held for investment. All of these factors can individually or in the aggregate be detrimental to our business, and the interplay between these factors can be complex and unpredictable. Our business also is significantly affected by monetary and related policies of the U.S. federal government and its agencies. Changes in any of these policies are influenced by macroeconomic conditions and other factors that are beyond our control. Adverse economic conditions and government policy responses to such conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

As of December 31, 2020, we operated through 21 banking offices and 3 loan production offices. Our Woodcrest Place office also includes our corporate headquarters. We believe that our banking offices are in good condition, are suitable to our needs and, for the most part, are relatively new or refurbished. The following table gives pertinent details about our banking offices.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

Neither we nor the bank is currently subject to any material legal proceedings. In the ordinary course of business, the bank is involved in routine litigation, such as claims to enforce liens, claims involving the making and servicing of real property loans, and other issues incident to the bank’s business. Management does not believe that there are any threatened proceedings against us or the bank which will have a material effect on our or the bank’s business, financial position or results of operations.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE

Not applicable.

PART II

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

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SFBS.” As of February 19, 2021, there were 512 holders of record of our common stock. As of the close of business on February 19, 2021, the price of our common stock was $46.99 per share.

Dividends

On December 21, 2020, our board of directors increased our quarterly cash dividend from $0.175 per share to $0.20 per share. Subject to the board of directors’ approval and applicable regulatory requirements, we expect to continue paying cash dividends on a quarterly basis.

The principal source of our cash flow, including cash flow to pay dividends, comes from dividends that the bank pays to us as its sole shareholder. Statutory and regulatory limitations apply to the bank’s payment of dividends to us, as well as our payment of dividends to our stockholders. For a more complete discussion on the restrictions on dividends, see “Supervision and Regulation - Payment of Dividends” in Item 1.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

We had no sales of unregistered securities in 2020 other than those previously reported in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Registrant and Affiliated Purchasers

We made no repurchases of our equity securities, and no “affiliated purchasers” (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) purchased any shares of our equity securities during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table sets forth certain information as of December 31, 2020 relating to stock options granted under our 2009 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan and other options or warrants issued outside of such plans, if any. All awards under our 2005 Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan have vested, have been exercised or have been forfeited as of December 31, 2020, and no further awards shall be made under the 2005 Plan.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

The following table sets forth selected historical consolidated financial data from our consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements including the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” which are included below. Except for the data under “Selected Performance Ratios,” “Adjusted Performance Data,” “Asset Quality Ratios,” “Liquidity Ratios,” “Capital Adequacy Ratios” and “Growth Ratios,” the selected historical consolidated financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes.

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

The following is a narrative discussion and analysis of significant changes in our results of operations and financial condition. The purpose of this discussion is to focus on information about our financial condition and results of operations that is not otherwise apparent from the audited financial statements. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and selected financial data included elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a bank holding company within the meaning of the BHC Act headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary bank, we operate 21 full service banking offices located in Jefferson, Shelby, Madison, Montgomery, Mobile, Baldwin and Houston Counties in Alabama, Escambia and Hillsborough Counties in Florida, Cobb and Douglas Counties in Georgia, Charleston County in South Carolina and Davidson County in Tennessee. These offices operate in the Birmingham-Hoover, Huntsville, Montgomery, Dothan, Daphne-Fairhope-Foley and Mobile, Alabama MSAs, the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida MSAs, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia MSA, the Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina MSA and the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee MSA. We also operate loan production offices in Columbus, Georgia, Sarasota, Florida, and Summerville, South Carolina. Our principal business is to accept deposits from the public and to make loans and other investments. Our principal source of funds for loans and investments are demand, time, savings, and other deposits and the amortization and prepayment of loans and borrowings. Our principal sources of income are interest and fees collected on loans, interest and dividends collected on other investments and service charges. Our principal expenses are interest paid on savings and other deposits, interest paid on our other borrowings, employee compensation, office expenses and other overhead expenses.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared based on the application of certain accounting policies, the most significant of which are described in the 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 in future periods. The use of estimates, assumptions, and judgments are 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 either 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.

Allowance for Credit Losses

The Company assesses the adequacy of its allowance for credit losses at the end of each calendar quarter. The level of allowance is based on the Company’s evaluation of historical default and loss experience, current and projected economic conditions, asset quality trends, known and inherent risks in the portfolio, adverse situations that may affect the borrowers’ ability to repay a loan, the estimated value of any underlying collateral, composition of the loan portfolio and other relevant factors. The allowance is increased by a provision for credit losses, which is charged to expense, and reduced by charge-offs, net of recoveries. The allowance for credit losses is believed adequate to absorb all expected future losses to be recognized over the contractual life of the loans in the portfolio.

Loans with similar risk characteristics are evaluated in pools and, depending on the nature of each identified pool, the Company utilizes a discounted cash flow (“DCF”), probability of default / loss given default (“PD/LGD”) or remaining life method. The historical loss experience estimate by pool is then adjusted by forecast factors that are quantitatively related to the Company’s historical credit loss experience, such as national unemployment rates and gross domestic product. Losses are predicted over a period of time determined to be reasonable and supportable, and at the end of the reasonable and supportable period losses are reverted to long term historical averages. The reasonable and supportable period and reversion period are re-evaluated each quarter by the Company and are dependent on the current economic environment among other factors. See Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the notes to consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data elsewhere in this report.

The expected credit losses for each loan pool are then adjusted for changes in qualitative factors not inherently considered in the quantitative analyses. The qualitative adjustments either increase or decrease the quantitative model estimation. The Company considers factors that are relevant within the qualitative framework which include the following: lending policy, changes in nature and volume of loans, staff experience, changes in volume and trends of problem loans, concentration risk, trends in underlying collateral values, external factors, quality of loan review system and other economic conditions.

Expected credit losses for loans that no longer share similar risk characteristics with the collectively evaluated pools are excluded from the collective evaluation and estimated on an individual basis. Individual evaluations are performed for nonaccrual loans, loans rated substandard, and modified loans classified as troubled debt restructurings. Specific allocations of the allowance for credit losses are estimated on one of several methods, including the estimated fair value of the underlying collateral, observable market value of similar debt or the present value of expected cash flows.

Prior to the adoption of ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,  the allowance for credit losses represented management’s best estimate of inherent losses that had been incurred within the existing portfolio of loans. The allowance for credit losses on loans included allowance allocations calculated in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 310, “Receivables” and allowance allocations calculated in accordance with ASC Topic 450, “Contingencies.”

Income Taxes

Income tax expense is the total of the current year income tax due or refundable and the change in deferred tax assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are the expected future tax amounts for the temporary differences between carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities, computed using enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance, if needed, reduces deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

The Company follows the provisions of ASC 740-10, Income Taxes.  ASC 740-10 establishes a single model to address accounting for uncertain tax positions.  ASC 740-10 clarifies the accounting for income taxes by prescribing a minimum recognition threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements.  ASC 740-10 also provides guidance on derecognition measurement classification interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition.  ASC 740-10 provides a two-step process in the evaluation of a tax position.  The first step is recognition.  A company determines whether it is more likely than not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, including a resolution of any related appeals or litigation processes, based upon the technical merits of the position.  The second step is measurement.  A tax position that meets the more likely than not recognition threshold is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement.

Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis presents the more significant factors that affected our financial condition as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 and results of operations for each of the years then ended. Refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K file with the SEC on February 25, 2020 (2019 FORM 10-K) for a discussion and analysis of the more significant factors that affected periods prior to 2019.

Net Income Available to Common Stockholders

Net income available to common stockholders was $169.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $149.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase in net income is primarily attributable to an increase in net interest income, which increased $50.4 million, or 17.5%, to $338.0 million in 2020 from $287.6 million in 2019. Noninterest income increased $6.1 million, or 25.6%, to $30.1 million in 2020 from $24.0 million in 2019. Noninterest expense increased by $9.4 million, or 9.2%, to $111.5 million in 2020 from $102.1 million in 2019. Basic and diluted net income per common share were $3.15 and $3.13, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $2.79 and $2.76, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2019. Return on average assets was 1.59% in 2020, compared to 1.73% in 2019, and return on average stockholders’ equity was 18.55% in 2020, compared to 19.16% in 2019.

The following table presents some ratios of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018.

The following tables present a summary of our statements of income, including the percent change in each category, for the years ended December 31, 2020 compared to 2019, and for the years ended December 31, 2019 compared to 2018, respectively.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income is the difference between the income earned on interest-earning assets and interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities used to support such assets. The major factors which affect net interest income are changes in volumes, the yield on interest-earning assets and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities. Our management’s ability to respond to changes in interest rates by effective asset-liability management techniques is critical to maintaining the stability of the net interest margin and the momentum of our primary source of earnings.

Net interest income increased $50.4 million, or 17.5%, to $338.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 from $287.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Total interest income decreased $1.8 million, or 0.5%, to $389.0 million from $390.8 million year-over-year, while total interest expense decreased $52.2 million, or 50.6%, to $51.0 million from $103.2 million year-over-year.  Average earning assets increased $1.91 billion, or 22.9%, to $10.24 billion in 2020 from $8.33 billion in 2019.  All of our regional markets grew loans during 2020 when including Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans.  Excluding PPP loans, all but three of our regional markets grew loans during 2020.  All of our regional markets grew deposits during 2020.  PPP loan origination fees recorded as an adjustment to loan yield for the year ended December 31, 2020 were $14.1 million.

Net Interest Margin Analysis

The net interest margin is impacted by the average volumes of interest-sensitive assets and interest-sensitive liabilities and by the difference between the yield on interest-sensitive assets and the cost of interest-sensitive liabilities (spread). Loan fees collected at origination represent an additional adjustment to the yield on loans. Our spread can be affected by economic conditions, the competitive environment, loan demand, and deposit flows. The net yield on earning assets is an indicator of effectiveness of our ability to manage the net interest margin by managing the overall yield on assets and cost of funding those assets.

The following table shows, for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the average balances of each principal category of our assets, liabilities and stockholders’ equity, and an analysis of net interest revenue, and the change in interest income and interest expense segregated into amounts attributable to changes in volume and changes in rates. This table is presented on a taxable equivalent basis, if applicable.