WESBANCO INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

For the transition period from              to             

Commission File Number 000-08467

WESBANCO, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 304-234-9000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s outstanding voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 2020, determined using a per share closing price on that date of $20.31, was $1,299,795,869.

As of February 17, 2021, there were 67,258,727 shares of Wesbanco, Inc. common stock $2.0833 par value per share, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain specifically designated portions of Wesbanco, Inc.’s definitive proxy statement which will be filed by April 30, 2021 for its Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Proxy Statement”) to be held in 2021 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

WESBANCO, INC.

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

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PART I

GENERAL

Wesbanco, Inc. (“Wesbanco” or the “Company”), a bank holding company incorporated in 1968 and headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offers a full range of financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust services, brokerage services, mortgage banking and insurance. Wesbanco offers these services through two reportable segments, community banking and trust and investment services. For additional information regarding Wesbanco’s business segments, please refer to Note 24, “Business Segments” in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco operated one commercial bank: Wesbanco Bank, Inc. (“Wesbanco Bank” or the “Bank”). The Bank has 233 branches and 226 ATM machines located in West Virginia, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, southern Indiana and Maryland. Total assets of Wesbanco as of December 31, 2020 approximated $16.4 billion. Wesbanco Bank also offers trust and investment services and various alternative investment products including mutual funds and annuities. The market value of assets under management of the trust and investment services segment is approximately $5.0 billion as of December 31, 2020. These assets are held by Wesbanco Bank in fiduciary or agency capacities for its customers and therefore are not included as assets on Wesbanco’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

On November 22, 2019, Wesbanco completed the acquisition of Old Line Bancshares, Inc. (“OLBK”), a bank holding company headquartered in Bowie, Maryland, with approximately $3.0 billion in assets excluding goodwill, $2.4 billion in total deposits, and $2.5 billion in total loans, and 37 branches in Maryland. The transaction expanded Wesbanco’s franchise into Maryland by adding four new Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the Washington D.C. area, Baltimore, Maryland area, Lexington Park, Maryland area and Frederick – Gaithersburg – Rockville, Maryland area.

Wesbanco also offers additional services through its non-banking subsidiaries:

Wesbanco Insurance Services, Inc. (“Wesbanco Insurance”) is a multi-line insurance agency specializing in property, casualty, life and title insurance, with benefit plan sales and administration for personal and commercial clients.

Wesbanco Securities, Inc. (“Wesbanco Securities”) is a full service broker-dealer, which also offers discount brokerage services.

Wesbanco Asset Management, Inc., holds certain investment securities and loans in a Delaware-based subsidiary.

Wesbanco Properties, Inc. holds certain commercial real estate properties. The commercial property is leased to Wesbanco Bank and to certain non-related third parties.

Kentuckiana Real Estate Holdings, LLC, and Southern Indiana Real Estate Holdings, LLC, are Indiana and Kentucky-based limited liability corporations that hold certain real estate properties in those markets. In addition, FAH, LLC, WSB Realty, LLC and Flagship Acquisitions Trust, which were acquired from OLBK and are Maryland limited liability corporations, hold certain real estate properties located in the Maryland area. Each of these entities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wesbanco Bank.

CBIN Insurance Inc. is a captive insurance company, which issues policies to Wesbanco’s banking subsidiaries for certain risks that are not covered by the Company’s commercial insurances policies purchased from third-party carriers.

Wesbanco has eleven capital trusts, which are all wholly-owned trust subsidiaries formed for the purpose of issuing trust preferred securities (“Trust Preferred Securities”) and lending the proceeds to Wesbanco. For more information regarding Wesbanco’s issuance of Trust Preferred Securities, please refer to Note 11, “Subordinated Debt and Junior Subordinated Debt” in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

AMSCO, Inc. (“AMSCO”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wesbanco Bank, which formerly engaged in the management of certain real estate development and construction of 1-4 family residential units. It is in the process of winding up its business activities and will be dissolved.    

Wesbanco Bank’s Investment Department also serves as investment adviser to a family of mutual funds, namely the “WesMark Funds.” The fund family is comprised of the WesMark Growth Fund, the WesMark Balanced Fund, the WesMark Small Company Growth Fund, the WesMark Government Bond Fund, the WesMark West Virginia Municipal Bond Fund, and the WesMark Tactical Opportunity Fund.

As of December 31, 2020, none of Wesbanco’s subsidiaries were engaged in any operations in foreign countries, and only one had any transactions with customers in foreign countries. The Bank also provides letters of credit internationally for certain domestic customers and provides international wire services through a third-party correspondent bank.

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WEBSITE ACCESS TO WESBANCO’S FILINGS WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

All of Wesbanco’s electronic filings for 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including this Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, are made available at no cost on Wesbanco’s website, www.wesbanco.com, through the “Investors” link as soon as reasonably practicable after Wesbanco files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC. Wesbanco’s SEC filings are also available through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Upon written request of any shareholder of record on December 31, 2020, Wesbanco will provide, without charge, a printed copy of this 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, including financial statements and schedules, as required to be filed with the SEC. To obtain a copy of this report, contact: John Iannone, Wesbanco, Inc., 1 Bank Plaza, Wheeling, West Virginia 26003 (304) 905-7021.

HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES

At December 31, 2020, we employed 2,612 full-time equivalent employees. At that date, the average tenure of all of our full-time employees was over 10 years while the average tenure of our executive officers was over 19 years. None of our employees are represented by collective bargaining agreements. We believe our relations with our employees is very good.  The safety and care of our employees and their families as well as their communities is paramount for us.

Of our total employees, 9% or 235 were minorities with 88 of those officers or 8.1%.  Of our total officers of 1,087, 590 or 54.3% were women.  Our turnover rate for 2020 was 18.54%, notwithstanding the completion of a data conversion of a recently acquired bank.  Our turnover rate for officers was just 3.52% for 2020.

Our corporate culture has been established by senior management and overseen by our board of directors.  Built upon our ‘Better Banking Pledge’ and our ‘Service & Support Pledge’, our culture, which is both customer and employee-centric, is focused on growing long-term relationships by pledging to serve all personal and business customer needs efficiently and effectively while treating our employees with dignity and respect.

Wesbanco has been a leader in its communities for over 150 years, and we want to continue to take a leadership role by noting our stance for equality.  We are a group of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, and share the same values of dignity and respect for our co-workers, customers, and fellow community members.  We have been able to enhance our diversification through the retention of many of the employees we have acquired through our acquisition strategy who bring a strong skill set and a diverse background.

Wesbanco believes in open, honest discussion. In addition to our Women’s Symposium, which has been held for over 4 years, we have added a Diversity and Inclusion Forum as an added resource and a positive catalyst for how we conduct business. These inclusive programs focus on facilitating educational opportunities, sharing experiences, networking with management, and partnering with mentors. The goal is to ignite and support a passion for our employees to find both personal and professional success.  Both initiatives include board, management and staff participants.

In addition we have engaged in leadership training through senior and middle management supervisors.  We annually assess talent through a specific Talent Development Program to identify, promote and build development plans among multiple levels of management.  These efforts have resulted in Wesbanco being designated as one of the best workplaces in several markets, including Columbus and Western Pennsylvania.

Our hope is that this not only helps us evolve and grow as a company but that it also spreads to all of our other community efforts.  In fact, during the past year alone, Wesbanco has made approximately $1 million of philanthropic donations in support of our communities; in addition to the $0.5 million of pandemic-related grants we distributed to non-profit organizations across our footprint. Further, our employees are equally generous, as they have volunteered more than 11,000 hours of personal time across a number of community development services.

COMPETITION

Competition in the form of price and service from other banks, including local, regional and national banks and financial companies such as savings and loan companies, internet banks, payday lenders, money services businesses, credit unions, finance companies, brokerage firms and other non-banking companies providing various regulated and non-regulated financial services and products, is intense in most of the markets served by Wesbanco and its subsidiaries. Wesbanco’s trust and investment services segment receives competition from commercial banks, trust companies, mutual fund companies, investment advisory firms, law firms, brokerage firms, and other financial services companies. As a result of consolidation within the financial services industry, mergers between, and the expansion of, financial institutions both within and outside of Wesbanco’s major markets have provided significant competitive pressure in those markets. Many of Wesbanco’s competitors have greater resources and, as such, may have higher lending limits and may offer other products and services that are not provided by Wesbanco. Wesbanco generally competes on the basis of superior customer service and responsiveness to customer needs, available loan and deposit products, rates of interest charged on loans, rates of interest paid for deposits, and the availability and pricing of trust, brokerage and insurance services. As a result of Wesbanco’s expansion into certain larger metropolitan markets, it has faced entrenched larger bank competitors with an already existing customer base that may far exceed Wesbanco’s initial entry position into those markets. As a result, Wesbanco may be forced to compete more aggressively for loans, deposits, trust and insurance products to grow its market share, potentially reducing its current and future profit potential from such markets.

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SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

As a bank holding company and a financial holding company under federal law, Wesbanco is subject to supervision and examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve Board”) under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and is required to file with the Federal Reserve Board reports and other information regarding its business operations and the business operations of its subsidiaries.  Since Wesbanco is both a bank holding company and a financial holding company, Wesbanco can offer customers virtually any type of service that is financial in nature or incidental thereto, including banking and activities closely related to banking, securities underwriting, insurance (both underwriting and agency) and merchant banking. Wesbanco is now subject to additional supervision from the Federal Reserve Board and its primary banking regulators due to its exceeding the $10 billion asset threshold and seeks to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to safety and soundness compliance with applicable laws, such as the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), anti-money laundering (“AML”) regulations, and the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”), among others, and risk management and internal audit, among other functions, so that the enhanced requirements of the Federal Reserve Board and its primary banking regulators are met.

As indicated above, Wesbanco presently operates one bank subsidiary, Wesbanco Bank, which is a West Virginia-chartered banking corporation which is not a member bank of the Federal Reserve System. It is subject to examination and supervision by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), the West Virginia Division of Financial Institutions (“WVDIF”), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) because its assets exceed $10 billion. The deposits of Wesbanco Bank are insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund (“DIF”) of the FDIC. Wesbanco’s non-bank subsidiaries are subject to examination and supervision by the Federal Reserve Board and specifically, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Ohio (“Federal Reserve”) and examination by other federal and state agencies, including, in the case of certain securities activities, regulation by the SEC, the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and the Securities Investors Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). Wesbanco Bank maintains one designated financial subsidiary, Wesbanco Insurance, which, as indicated above, is a multi-line insurance agency specializing in property, casualty, life and title insurance, with benefit plan sales and administration for personal and commercial clients. As a result of exceeding the $10 billion asset threshold, Wesbanco Bank is now subject to enhanced prudential supervision from both the FDIC and WVDIF as part of their large bank supervision program.

Wesbanco is also under the jurisdiction of the SEC and certain state securities commissions for matters relating to the offering and sale of its securities. Wesbanco is subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as administered by the SEC. Wesbanco is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (the “NASDAQ”) under the trading symbol “WSBC” and is subject to the rules of the NASDAQ for listed companies.

Under the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, as amended (the “Riegle-Neal Act”), a bank holding company may acquire banks in states other than its home state, subject to certain limitations. The Riegle-Neal Act also authorizes banks to merge across state lines, thereby creating interstate banking. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), banks are also permitted to establish de novo branches across state lines to the same extent that a state-chartered bank in each host state would be permitted to open branches.

Under the BHCA, prior Federal Reserve Board approval is required for Wesbanco to acquire more than 5% of the voting stock of any bank. In determining whether to approve a proposed bank acquisition, federal banking regulators will consider, among other factors, the effect of the acquisition on competition, the public benefits expected to be received from the acquisition, the projected capital ratios and levels on a post-acquisition basis, and the acquiring institution’s record of addressing the credit needs of the communities it serves, including the needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operation of the bank under the Community Reinvestment Act, as amended (the “CRA”).

HOLDING COMPANY REGULATIONS

As indicated in “Item 1. Business-General”, Wesbanco has one state-chartered bank subsidiary, Wesbanco Bank, as well as non-bank subsidiaries. The subsidiary bank is subject to affiliate transaction restrictions under federal law, which limit “covered transactions” by the subsidiary bank with the parent and any non-bank subsidiaries of the parent, which are referred to in the aggregate in this paragraph as “affiliates” of the subsidiary bank. “Covered transactions” include loans or extensions of credit to an affiliate (including repurchase agreements), purchases of or investments in securities issued by an affiliate, purchases of assets from an affiliate, the acceptance of securities issued by an affiliate as collateral for a loan or extension of credit, the issuance of a guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit on behalf of an affiliate, certain transactions that involve borrowing or lending securities, and certain derivative transactions with an affiliate. Such covered transactions between the subsidiary bank and any single affiliate are limited in amount to 10% of the subsidiary bank’s capital and surplus, and, with respect to covered transactions with all affiliates in the aggregate, are limited in amount to 20% of the subsidiary bank’s capital and surplus. Furthermore, such loans or extensions of credit, guarantees, acceptances and letters of credit, and any credit exposure resulting from securities borrowing or lending transactions or derivatives transactions, are required to be secured by collateral at all times in amounts specified by law. In addition, all covered transactions must be conducted on terms and conditions that are consistent with safe and sound banking practices.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires a bank holding company to act as a source of financial strength to its subsidiary bank. Under this source of strength requirement, the Federal Reserve Board may require a bank holding company to make capital infusions into a troubled subsidiary bank, and may charge the bank holding company with engaging in unsafe and unsound practices for failure to commit resources to such a subsidiary bank. A capital infusion conceivably could be required at a time when Wesbanco may not have the resources to provide it.

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PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS

Dividends from the subsidiary bank are a significant source of funds for payment of dividends to Wesbanco’s shareholders. For the year ended December 31, 2020, Wesbanco declared cash dividends to its preferred and common shareholders of approximately $88.5 million.

As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco Bank was “well capitalized” under the definition in Section 324.403 of the FDIC Regulations. Therefore, as long as the Bank remains “well capitalized” or even becomes “adequately capitalized,” there would be no basis under Section 324.403 to limit the ability of the Bank to pay dividends because it had not become undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized or critically undercapitalized. Effective January 1, 2016, Wesbanco Bank and Wesbanco became subject to “capital conservation buffer” rules, phased in over a four year period which ended in 2019, which requires Wesbanco and Wesbanco Bank to have capital levels above the regulatory minimums to pay dividends (discussed below in connection with the Basel III initiative under “Item 1. Business—Capital Requirements”).

All financial institutions are subject to the prompt corrective action provisions set forth in Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (the “FDI Act”) and the provisions set forth in Section 308.201 of the FDIC Regulations. Immediately upon a state non-member bank receiving notice, or being deemed to have notice, that the bank is undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, or critically undercapitalized, as defined in Section 324.403 of the FDIC Regulations, the bank is precluded from being able to pay dividends to its shareholders based upon the requirements in Section 38(d) of the FDI Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1831o(d).

In addition, with respect to possible dividends by the Bank, under Section 31A-4-25 of the West Virginia Code, the prior approval of the West Virginia Commissioner of Financial Institutions would be required if the total of all dividends declared by the Bank in any calendar year would exceed the total of the Bank’s net profits for that year combined with its retained net profits of the preceding two years. Further, Section 31A-4-25 limits the ability of a West Virginia banking institution to pay dividends until the surplus fund of the banking institution equals the common stock of the banking institution and if certain specified amounts of recent profits of the banking institution have not been carried to the surplus fund.

If, in the opinion of the applicable regulatory authority, a bank under its jurisdiction is engaged in or is about to engage in an unsafe or unsound practice which, depending on the financial condition of the bank, could include the payment of dividends, such authority may require, after notice and hearing, that such bank cease and desist from such practice. The Federal Reserve Board has issued policy statements, which provide that insured banks and bank holding companies should generally only pay dividends out of current operating earnings. Under applicable law, bank regulatory agency approval is required if the total of all dividends declared by a bank in any calendar year exceeds the available retained earnings or exceeds the aggregate of the bank’s net profits (as defined by regulatory agencies) for that year and its retained net profits for the preceding two years. As of December 31, 2020, under FDIC regulations, Wesbanco could receive, without prior regulatory approval, a dividend of up to $306.3 million from Wesbanco Bank. Additional information regarding dividend restrictions is set forth in Note 22, “Regulatory Matters,” in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

On February 24, 2009, the Federal Reserve Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation issued Supervisory Letter SR 09-4, “Applying Supervisory Guidance and Regulations on the Payment of Dividends, Stock Redemptions, and Stock Repurchases at Bank Holding Companies,” providing direction to bank holding companies on the payment of dividends, capital repurchases and capital redemptions. Although the letter largely reiterates longstanding Federal Reserve supervisory policies, it emphasizes the need for a bank holding company to review various factors when considering the declaration of a dividend or taking action that would reduce regulatory capital provided by outstanding financial instruments. These factors include the potential need to increase loan loss reserves, write down assets and reflect declines in asset values in equity. In addition, the bank holding company should consider its past and anticipated future earnings, the dividend payout ratio in relation to earnings, and adequacy of regulatory capital before any action is taken. The consideration of capital adequacy should include a review of all known factors that may affect capital in the future. On July 24, 2020, Attachment C was added to SR 09-4 to provide greater clarity regarding the situations in which holding companies may expect an expedited consultation under the process described in SR 09-4. A holding company must (1) have net income available over the past year sufficient to fully fund dividends, (2) is not considering stock repurchases or redemptions in the current quarter, (3) does not have any concentrations in commercial real estate lending that exceed supervisory thresholds, and (4) is in good supervisory condition, to receive this expedited consultation.

In certain circumstances, defined by regulation relating to levels of earnings and capital, advance notification to, and in some circumstances, approval by the regulator could be required to declare a dividend or repurchase or redeem capital instruments.

FDIC INSURANCE

FDIC insurance premiums are assessed by the FDIC using a risk-based approach that places insured institutions into categories based on capital and risk profiles. In 2020, Wesbanco Bank paid or accrued deposit insurance premiums of $6.7 million, compared to $2.1 million and $3.0 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively. The decrease in 2019’s premiums was due to the recognition of Wesbanco Bank’s small bank assessment credit of $3.4 million, of which a small portion of the credit was acquired in the OLBK acquisition.  This credit was applied to the second and third quarter 2019 FDIC insurance invoices, offsetting them in full, as well as a portion of the fourth quarter 2019 invoice that was paid in 2020. Beginning in 2019, Wesbanco Bank is considered to be a large bank for the purposes of the premium calculation because its total assets exceed $10 billion, and it is therefore subject to more continuous oversight by the FDIC.  Large banks are subject to a more complex insurance premium calculation with additional loan-related and other risk factors involved which leads to an overall higher rate as compared to that of smaller banks.

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CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS

The Federal Reserve Board had historically issued risk-based capital ratio and leverage ratio guidelines for bank holding companies. The risk-based capital ratio guidelines establish a systematic analytical framework that makes regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banking organizations, takes off-balance sheet exposures into explicit account in assessing capital adequacy, and minimizes disincentives to holding liquid, low-risk assets. Under the guidelines and related policies, bank holding companies must maintain capital sufficient to meet both a risk-based asset ratio test and a leverage ratio test on a consolidated basis. The risk-based ratio is determined by allocating assets and specified off-balance sheet commitments into several weighted categories, with higher weightings being assigned to categories perceived as representing greater risk. A bank holding company’s capital is then divided by total risk-weighted assets to yield the risk-based ratio. The leverage ratio is determined by relating core capital to total assets adjusted as specified in the guidelines. The Bank is subject to substantially similar capital requirements.

The federal regulatory authorities’ risk-based capital guidelines are currently based upon agreements reached by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”). The Basel Committee is a committee of central banks and bank supervisors and regulators from the major industrialized countries that develops broad policy guidelines for use by each country’s supervisors in determining the supervisory policies they apply. In December 2010, the Basel Committee issued a strengthened set of international capital and liquidity standards for banks and bank holding companies, known as “Basel III.” In July 2013, the U.S. federal banking agencies issued a joint final rule that implements the Basel III capital standards and establishes the minimum capital levels required under the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule was effective January 1, 2015, subject to a transition period providing for full implementation on January 1, 2019. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection (“EGRRCPA”) Act, enacted into law in May 2018, exempts banks with total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion that exceed the community bank leverage ratio from the capital requirements under Basel III. Wesbanco Bank’s assets are in excess of $10 billion, however, so the exemption is not applicable.

Generally, under the applicable guidelines, a financial institution’s capital is divided into common equity Tier 1 (“CET1”), total Tier 1 and Tier 2. CET1 includes common shares and retained earnings less goodwill, intangible assets subject to limitation and certain deferred tax assets subject to limitation. In addition, under the final capital rule, an institution may make a one-time, permanent election to continue to exclude accumulated other comprehensive income from capital. If an institution does not make this election, unrealized gains and losses will be included in the calculation of its CET1. Total Tier 1 is comprised of CET1 and certain restricted capital instruments, including qualifying cumulative perpetual preferred stock and qualifying trust preferred securities, in their Tier 1 capital, up to a limit of 25% of Tier 1 capital. (See below within this section for more information regarding the capital treatment of trust preferred securities.)

Tier 2, or supplementary capital, includes, among other things, portions of trust preferred securities and cumulative perpetual preferred stock not otherwise counted in Tier 1 capital, as well as perpetual preferred stock, intermediate-term preferred stock, hybrid capital instruments, perpetual debt, mandatory convertible debt securities, term subordinated debt, unrealized holding gains on equity securities, and the allowance for loan and lease losses, all subject to certain limitations. “Total capital” is the sum of Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital.

The Federal Reserve Board has established the following minimum capital levels banks and bank holding companies are required to maintain as a percentage of risk-weighted assets (including various off-balance sheet items): (i) CET1 of at least 4.5%, (ii) Tier 1 capital ratio of at least 6%, (iii) total capital ratio (Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital) of at least 8%; and (iv) a non-risk-based leverage ratio (Tier 1 capital to average consolidated assets) of 4%. The risk-based capital standards are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in credit and market risk profiles among banks and financial holding companies, to account for off-balance sheet exposure, and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Balance sheet and off-balance sheet exposures are assigned to one of several risk-weights primarily based on relative credit risk. The capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgements by the regulators about components, risk-weightings, and other factors. Additionally, with the final capital rule fully implemented as of January 1, 2019, an institution is required to maintain a 2.5% common equity Tier 1 capital conservation buffer over the minimum risk-based capital requirements to avoid restrictions on the ability to pay dividends, discretionary bonuses to executive officers, and engage in share repurchases.

Failure to meet applicable capital guidelines could subject a financial institution to a variety of enforcement remedies available to the federal regulatory authorities, including limitations on the ability to pay dividends, the issuance by the regulatory authority of a capital directive to increase capital, and the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, as well as to the measures described below under “Prompt Corrective Action” as applicable to undercapitalized institutions.

As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco’s CET1, Tier 1 and total capital to risk-adjusted assets ratios were 13.40%, 14.72%, and 17.58%, respectively. Wesbanco made a timely permanent election to exclude accumulated other comprehensive income from regulatory capital. As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco Bank’s CET1, Tier 1 and total capital to risk-adjusted assets ratios were 14.04%, 14.04% and 15.40%, all in excess of the minimum requirements. Neither Wesbanco nor the Bank had been advised by the appropriate federal banking regulator of any specific leverage ratio applicable to it. As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco’s leverage ratio was 10.51% and the Bank’s leverage ratio was 10.00%.

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As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco had $192.3 million in subordinated and junior subordinated debt on its Consolidated Balance Sheets, which includes $132.2 million of junior subordinated debt. For regulatory purposes, Trust Preferred Securities totaling $130.0 million underlying such junior subordinated debt were included in Tier 2 capital as of December 31, 2020, in accordance with regulatory reporting requirements. In 2013, the federal banking agencies amended capital requirements to generally exclude trust preferred securities from Tier 1 capital. A grandfather provision, however, permits bank holding companies with consolidated assets of less than $15 billion, which Wesbanco was through September 30, 2019, to continue counting existing trust preferred securities as Tier 1 capital until they mature. The final Basel III capital rule permanently grandfathers trust preferred securities issued before May 19, 2010 for institutions of less than $15 billion in size, subject to a 25% limit of Tier 1 capital. The amount of trust preferred securities and certain other elements in excess of the 25% limit may be included in Tier 2 capital, subject to restrictions. As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco’s total assets had increased beyond $15 billion due to its merger with OLBK; therefore, all such securities are no longer counted as Tier 1 capital but instead are counted as Tier 2 capital subject to limits. For more information regarding trust preferred securities, please refer to Note 11, “Subordinated and Junior Subordinated Debt” in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The risk-based capital standards of the Federal Reserve and the FDIC specify that evaluations by the banking agencies of a bank’s capital adequacy will include an assessment of the exposure to declines in the economic value of the bank’s capital due to changes in interest rates. These banking agencies have issued a joint policy statement on interest rate risk describing prudent methods for monitoring such risk that rely principally on internal measures of exposure and active oversight of risk management activities by senior management.

PROMPT CORRECTIVE ACTION

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”) requires federal banking regulatory authorities to take “prompt corrective action” with respect to depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. For these purposes, FDICIA establishes five capital tiers: well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized.

An institution is deemed to be “well-capitalized” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8% or greater, a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 5% or greater, and a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 6.5% or greater, and is not subject to a regulatory order, agreement, or directive to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure. An institution is deemed to be “adequately capitalized” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 8% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6% or greater, generally a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4% or greater, and a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 4.5% or greater, and the institution does not meet the definition of a “well-capitalized” institution. An institution that does not meet one or more of the “adequately capitalized” tests is deemed to be “undercapitalized.” If the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 6%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio that is less than 4%, or a Tier 1 leverage ratio or common equity Tier 1 ratio that is less than 3%, it is deemed to be “significantly undercapitalized.” Finally, an institution is deemed to be “critically undercapitalized” if it has a ratio of tangible equity (as defined in the regulations) to total assets that is equal to or less than 2%. As of December 31, 2020, as noted above in “Capital Requirements,” Wesbanco Bank had capital levels that met the “well-capitalized” standards under FDICIA and its implementing regulations.

FDICIA generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distribution, including payment of a cash dividend, or paying any management fee to its holding company, if the depository institution would thereafter be undercapitalized. Undercapitalized institutions are subject to growth limitations and are required to submit a capital restoration plan. If any depository institution subsidiary of a holding company is required to submit a capital restoration plan, the holding company would be required to provide a limited guarantee regarding compliance with the plan as a condition of approval of such plan by the appropriate federal banking agency. If an undercapitalized institution fails to submit an acceptable plan, it is treated as if it is significantly undercapitalized. Significantly undercapitalized institutions may be subject to a number of requirements and restrictions, including orders to sell sufficient voting stock to become adequately capitalized, requirements to reduce total assets, and cessation of receipt of deposits from correspondent banks. Critically undercapitalized institutions may not, beginning 60 days after becoming critically undercapitalized, make any payment of principal or interest on their subordinated debt and/or trust preferred securities. In addition, critically undercapitalized institutions are subject to appointment of a receiver or conservator within 90 days of becoming critically undercapitalized.

GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY ACT

Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the “GLB Act”), banks are no longer prohibited from associating with, or having management interlocks with, a business organization engaged principally in securities activities. By qualifying as a “financial holding company,” as authorized under the GLB Act, a bank holding company acquires new powers not otherwise available to it. Wesbanco has elected to become a financial holding company under the GLB Act. It also has qualified a subsidiary of the Bank as a financial subsidiary under the GLB Act.

Financial holding company powers relate to “financial activities” that are determined by the Federal Reserve Board, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to be financial in nature, incidental to an activity that is financial in nature, or complementary to a financial activity, provided that the complementary activity does not pose a safety and soundness risk. The GLB Act itself defines certain activities as financial in nature, including but not limited to: underwriting insurance or annuities; providing financial or investment advice; underwriting, dealing in, or making markets in securities; merchant banking, subject to significant limitations; insurance company portfolio investing, subject to significant limitations; and any activities previously found by the Federal Reserve Board to be closely related to banking.

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National and state banks are permitted under the GLB Act, subject to capital, management, size, debt rating, and CRA qualification factors, to have “financial subsidiaries” that are permitted to engage in financial activities not otherwise permissible. However, unlike financial holding companies, financial subsidiaries may not engage in insurance or annuity underwriting; developing or investing in real estate; merchant banking (for at least five years); or insurance company portfolio investing.

DODD-FRANK ACT

The Dodd-Frank Act, enacted on July 21, 2010, and the rules implementing its provisions have resulted in numerous and wide-ranging reforms to the structure of the U.S. financial system. This includes, among other things, rules to promote financial stability and prevent or mitigate the risks that may arise from the material distress or failure of a large bank holding company; enhance consumer protections; prohibit proprietary trading; and implement enhanced prudential requirements for large bank holding companies regarding risk-based capital and leverage, risk and liquidity management, stress testing, and recovery and resolution planning. The Dodd-Frank Act, including current and future rules implementing its provisions and the interpretation of those rules, have affected, and management expects will continue to affect, most of Wesbanco’s businesses in some way, either directly through regulation of specific activities or indirectly through regulation of concentration risks, capital or liquidity.

Certain bank holding companies are subjected to increased capital requirements (discussed above under “Item 1. Business—Capital Requirements”).

The Volcker Rule and the final rules jointly issued by federal banking agencies implementing the rule’s provisions limit Wesbanco’s ability to engage in proprietary trading, as well as its ability to sponsor or invest in hedge funds or private equity funds. The Volcker Rule also includes certain compliance program requirements that apply to banking entities that engage in permissible proprietary trading or permitted covered fund activities. The federal banking agencies recently revised the Volcker Rule compliance requirements, effective January 1, 2020.  Under the new rule, banking entities that, together with their affiliates and subsidiaries, have an average gross sum of trading assets and liabilities (excluding obligations of or guaranteed by the United States or an agency of the United States) of less than $1 billion for four (4) consecutive quarters are presumed to be in compliance with the Volcker Rule’s restrictions on proprietary trading and acquisition or retention of ownership interests in covered funds.  Consequently such banking entities do not have an affirmative obligation to demonstrate compliance with such restrictions (“limited trading compliance presumption”). Wesbanco meets the limited trading compliance presumption because its gross consolidated trading assets and liabilities have been below $1 billion for four consecutive quarters.

An interim final rule was issued in January 2014 that exempts investments in certain collateralized debt obligations backed primarily by trust preferred securities from the provisions of the Volcker Rule. This interim final rule was effective April 1, 2014 and did not have a material impact on Wesbanco for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The Federal Reserve Board revised the Volcker Rule, issuing a final rule in November 2019. Under the new rule, banking entities with gross consolidated trading assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $20 billion will be subject to a simplified compliance program because they will be considered to have “moderate” trading assets. The new rule was effective January 1, 2020; however, Wesbanco is not subject to the moderate trading compliance program because we have gross consolidated trading assets and liabilities below $1 billion.  

Passed in 2011, the Durbin Amendment requires the Federal Reserve to limit fee charges to retailers for debit card processing. The Federal Reserve Board promulgated Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) that limits the interchange fees paid by merchants to issuers when their debit cards are used as payment. An issuer is defined as “any person that authorizes the use of the debit card to perform an electronic debit transaction.” The application of the Durbin Amendment is determined by whether the issuer, together with its affiliates, has $10 billion in assets as of the end of the calendar year preceding the date of the electronic debit transaction. An affiliate is defined as “any company that controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with another company.” Therefore, if an insured institution issues a debit card and it, together with its affiliates, has assets exceeding $10 billion, it is subject to this rule. The rule caps debit card interchange fees (also known as swipe fees) at $0.21 plus an additional 0.05% of the value of the transaction. Previously, the average interchange fee was approximately $0.44 per transaction for an insured institution. Financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets by the year-end assessment deadline are subject to the cap on interchange income in July of the following year. Wesbanco and the Bank were subject to the requirements imposed by the Durbin Amendment because, for purposes of determining whether an issuer has $10 billion in assets, the assets of the institution and its affiliates are combined, effective for transactions beginning in July of 2019.

Additionally, section 165(i)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Act—as amended by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection EGRRCPA, requires annual company-run stress tests for bank holding companies with total consolidated assets greater than $100 billion.

The Federal Reserve Board regulates bank holding companies, and therefore, if a bank holding company has total consolidated assets of $100 billion or more, it will be required to conduct the Federal Reserve Board stress-tests. Wesbanco Bank, a subsidiary state nonmember bank, is governed by the FDIC. Under the FDIC rule, a covered bank includes “any state nonmember bank . . . with average total consolidated assets . . . that are greater than $10 billion but less than $50 billion.” However, the FDIC proposed a rule in December 2018 to conform this definition to Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act, as amended by the EGRRCPA, to state that a “covered bank” is a nonmember bank or state savings association with average total consolidated assets that are greater than $250 billion. Wesbanco Bank has less than $100 billion in average total consolidated assets, and therefore, is not subject to the Federal Reserve Board’s or the FDIC’s stress-test rules.

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If the Dodd-Frank Act stress test rules were to apply at some point in the future, Wesbanco would have to assess the potential impact of a minimum of three macroeconomic scenarios—baseline, adverse, and severely adverse—on its consolidated losses, revenues, balance sheets (including risk-weighted assets) and capital. Each scenario includes economic variables, including macroeconomic activity, unemployment, exchange rates, prices, incomes and interest rates. The adverse and severely adverse scenarios are not forecasts, but rather hypothetical scenarios designed to assess the strength and resilience of financial institutions. Additionally, Wesbanco would have to publicly disclose these test results on an annual basis. The required summary of results could be published on Wesbanco’s web site or in any other forum that is reasonably accessible to the public.

As required by Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve issued a rule that strengthens the supervision and regulation of large U.S. bank holding companies and foreign banking organizations by establishing a number of enhanced prudential standards. These standards include liquidity, risk management, and capital. Under the rule, a publicly traded bank holding company with $10 billion or more in consolidated assets is required to establish an enterprise-wide risk committee. However, the EGRRCPA raised the threshold to $50 billion. To conform the rule to the EGRRCPA, the Federal Reserve Board proposed a rule in November 2018 to increase the threshold to $50 billion. Wesbanco is therefore, currently not subject to the Federal Reserve Enhanced Prudential Standards.

The Dodd-Frank Act made several changes affecting the securitization markets, which may affect a bank’s ability or desire to use those markets to meet funding or liquidity needs. One of these changes calls for federal regulators to adopt regulations requiring the sponsor of a securitization to retain at least 5% of the credit risk, with exceptions for “qualified residential mortgages.”

Publicly traded companies are required by the Dodd-Frank Act to give shareholders an advisory vote on executive compensation, and, in some cases, golden parachute arrangements. Further, SEC and NASDAQ rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act requires NASDAQ-listed companies to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Wesbanco’s Compensation Committee members currently satisfy the independence criteria. The Dodd-Frank Act also called for regulators to issue new rules relating to incentive-based compensation arrangements deemed excessive, and proxy access by shareholders. The SEC has not issued rules relating to excessive compensation arrangements.

All banks and other insured depository institutions will have increased authority to open new branches across state lines (discussed above under “Item 1. Business—Supervision and Regulation”). A provision authorizing insured depository institutions to pay interest on checking accounts will likely increase Wesbanco’s interest expenses. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency created by the Dodd-Frank Act, has the authority to write rules implementing numerous consumer protection laws applicable to all banks (discussed below under “Item 1. Business—Consumer Protection Laws”).

THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (“CARES”) ACT

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020 to provide national emergency economic relief measures. Many of the CARES Act’s programs are dependent upon the direct involvement of U.S. financial institutions, such as the Company and the Bank, and have been implemented through rules and guidance adopted by federal departments and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve and other federal banking agencies, including those with direct supervisory jurisdiction over the Company and the Bank. Furthermore, as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, federal regulatory authorities continue to issue additional guidance with respect to the implementation, lifecycle, and eligibility requirements for the various CARES Act programs as well as industry-specific recovery procedures for COVID-19.  Building upon the provisions of the CARES Act, the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act (“Economic Aid Act”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020.  The Economic Aid Act was drafted in response to the continuing effects of the pandemic on the economy and provided for extensions and amendments to many features of the CARES Act. In the future, it is possible that Congress will enact additional COVID-19 response legislation, including further amendments to the CARES or the Economic Aid Act or other new bills comparable in scope to these Acts. The Company continues to assess the impact of these Acts and other statutes, regulations and supervisory guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 The CARES Act amends the SBA’s loan program, in which the Bank participates, to create a guaranteed, unsecured loan program, the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), to fund operational costs of eligible businesses, organizations and self-employed persons during COVID-19. In June 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act was enacted, which among other things, gave borrowers additional time and flexibility to use PPP loan proceeds. Shortly thereafter, and due to the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, additional legislation was enacted authorizing the SBA to resume accepting PPP applications on July 6, 2020 and extending the PPP application deadline to August 8, 2020.  The passage of the Economic Aid Act further reauthorized lending, providing for a new pool of available funds under the PPP loan program through March 31, 2021, and among other things, modified the provisions related to making PPP loans and the forgiveness of such loans.  The Second Draw PPP loan program provides additional assistance to borrowers who previously received a SBA PPP loan under the CARES Act provisions, subject to certain conditions. As a participating lender in the PPP loan program, the Bank continues to monitor legislative, regulatory, and supervisory developments related thereto.

 The CARES Act permits banks to suspend requirements under GAAP for loan modifications to borrowers affected by COVID-19 that would otherwise be characterized as TDRs and suspend any determination related thereto if (i) the loan modification is made between March 1, 2020 and the earlier of December 31, 2020 or 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration and (ii) the applicable loan was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019.  The Economic Aid act further extends the relief granted by the CARES Act for TDRs by one year to December 31, 2021. The federal banking agencies also issued guidance to encourage banks to make loan modifications for borrowers affected by COVID-19 and to assure banks that they will not be criticized by examiners for doing so. The Company is applying this guidance to qualifying loan modifications. See Note 1 and Note 5 to the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements,” which is included in Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information about the COVID-19-related loan modifications completed by the company.

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  The CARES Act encouraged the Federal Reserve, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to establish or implement various programs to help midsize businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities. On April 9, 2020, the Federal Reserve proposed the creation of the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”) to implement certain of these recommendations. On June 15, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston opened the MSLP for lender registration. The MSLP supports lending to small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The passage of the Economic Aid Act in December terminated the MSLP as of January 8, 2021 and no new loan applications could be submitted after December 31, 2020.

 Concurrent with the enactment of the CARES Act, regulators issued interim financial rule (“IFR”) “Regulatory Capital Rule: Revised Transition of the Current Expected Losses Methodology for Allowances” in response to the disrupted economic activity from the spread of COVID-19. The IFR provides financial institutions that adopt CECL during 2020 with the option to delay for two years the estimated impact of CECL on regulatory capital, followed by a three-year transition period to phase out the aggregate amount of the capital benefit provided by the initial two-year delay (“five year transition”).  Wesbanco adopted CECL effective January 1, 2020 and elected to implement the five-year transition.  Please see Note 22, “Regulatory Matters” for more information.

CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS

In connection with its lending and leasing activities, all banks are subject to a number of federal and state laws designed to protect consumers and promote lending and other financial services to various sectors of the economy and population. These laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”), the Truth in Savings Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and, in some cases, their respective state law counterparts. The CFPB has consolidated the authority to write regulations implementing these and other laws. Wesbanco’s other subsidiaries that provide services relating to consumer financial products and services are subject to the CFPB’s regulations. As an institution with assets of less than $10 billion, Wesbanco Bank has historically been examined by the FDIC for compliance with these rules. Through its recently completed acquisitions, the Bank’s assets have exceeded $10 billion for four consecutive quarters, and in 2019 it came under CFPB supervision and examination. Relating to mortgage lending, the Dodd-Frank Act authorized the CFPB to issue new regulations governing the ability to repay, qualified mortgages, mortgage servicing, appraisals and compensation of mortgage lenders, all of which have been issued and have taken effect. They limit the mortgage products offered by the Bank and have an impact on timely enforcement of delinquent mortgage loans.

The Dodd-Frank Act also directed the CFPB to integrate the mortgage loan disclosures under TILA and RESPA. The CFPB issued new integrated disclosures rules (“TRID”), which became effective October 3, 2015 and have combined the prior good faith estimate and truth in lending disclosure form into a new form, the loan estimate. They have also combined the HUD-1 and final truth in lending disclosure forms into a new form, the closing disclosure. The rule is extremely complex, contains significant uncertainties as to penalties, some of which can be quite material, contains prohibitions against correcting even technical mistakes, creates uncertainty regarding last minute changes in the transaction and has triggered significant ambiguity in compliance. Thus for covered transactions and most closed-end consumer credit transactions secured by real property, the TRID rules have presented significant and ongoing challenges to real estate lenders. The CFPB issued an interpretive rule in April 2020 providing greater flexibility under the TRID rules, which helped ease some of the challenges that real estate lenders like the Bank face.  The rule, however, relates only to the on-going COVID pandemic.

Federal law currently contains extensive customer privacy protection provisions. Under these provisions, a financial institution must provide to its customers, at the inception of the customer relationship and annually thereafter, the institution’s policies and procedures regarding the handling of customers’ nonpublic personal financial information. These provisions also provide that, except for certain limited exceptions, an institution may not provide such personal information to unaffiliated third parties unless the institution discloses to the customer that such information may be so provided and the customer is given the opportunity to opt out of such disclosure. Federal law makes it a criminal offense, except in limited circumstances, to obtain or attempt to obtain customer information of a financial nature by fraudulent or deceptive means.

Community development and compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) are vital and integrated components of the banking business at Wesbanco Bank. Wesbanco is committed to helping our communities thrive and prosper by being a leader in community development.  The foundation of our values is grounded in our belief that the success of our communities is fundamental to the success of our company. Wesbanco has proven to be a leader in the community by providing loans, deposits and other banking services that are responsive to the financial needs of the community. The CRA requires Wesbanco Bank’s primary federal bank regulatory agency, the FDIC, to assess Wesbanco Bank’s record in meeting the credit needs of the communities served by the bank, including low and moderate-income neighborhoods and persons. Institutions are assigned one of four ratings: “Outstanding,” “Satisfactory,” “Needs to Improve” or “Substantial Noncompliance.” This assessment is reviewed when a bank applies to merge or consolidate with or acquire the assets or assume the liabilities of an insured depository institution, or to open or relocate a branch office.  On December 19, 2019, the FDIC assigned a rating of “Outstanding” for the Bank’s community development performance for the period of October 2016 through July 2019.  This is the highest rating awarded by federal regulators and the 2019 exam represented the Bank’s seventh consecutive “Outstanding” CRA rating.  The Bank also received  the “America Saves Designation of Savings Excellence for Banks,” a designation from America Saves that recognizes banks that went above and beyond to encourage people to save money during America Saves Week 2020. Wesbanco has been an active participant in America Saves Week since its inception in 2007 and this was Wesbanco’s fifth consecutive designation for savings excellence.  

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To achieve this level of success, in addition to providing a wide variety of conventional loan and deposit products, the Bank partners with a number of governmental and non-profit agencies to provide special programs to assist customers, especially low- and moderate-income customers, achieve their financial goals. For example, Wesbanco Bank leverages its membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank to sponsor Affordable Housing Program grant applications for non-profit organizations and developers of affordable housing, assistance through the First Front Door down payment program, Banking on Business loans for small businesses that may not be approved for conventional bank financing, and loans through the Community Lending Program.  Additionally, Wesbanco has developed its own loan and deposit products to provide financing and savings options with innovative and flexible terms to meet identified needs.  Wesbanco has also been a leader in providing community development lending within its CRA assessment areas.  In the past five years, the Bank originated over $1 billion dollars in community development loans, returning credit and capital to communities throughout our footprint.  At the heart of Wesbanco Bank’s successful community development program is its commitment of time and resources to the communities it serves. Employees provide thousands of hours of technical assistance or financial education to organizations and agencies that promote community development and Wesbanco has deployed hundreds of thousands of dollars in philanthropic donations to worthy organizations serving local communities throughout its footprint.

The three primary banking regulators continue to prioritize CRA modernization in their respective regulatory agendas. Currently, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued separate proposals to or regulations that will amend the CRA, while the FDIC has not.  

SECURITIES REGULATION

Wesbanco’s full service broker-dealer subsidiary, Wesbanco Securities, is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC and in the states in which it does business. Wesbanco Securities also is a member of FINRA. Wesbanco Securities is subject to regulation by the SEC, FINRA and the securities administrators of the states in which it is registered. Wesbanco Securities is a member of the SIPC, which in the event of the liquidation of a broker-dealer, provides protection for customers’ securities accounts held by Wesbanco Securities of up to $500,000 for each eligible customer, subject to a limitation of $250,000 for claims for cash balances.

In addition, Wesbanco Bank’s Investment Department serves as an investment adviser to a family of mutual funds and is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC and in some states.

On September 10, 2019, the SEC adopted a new rule, Regulation Best Interest, which establishes a standard of conduct for broker-dealers when they make a recommendation to a retail customer of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities.  Regulation Best Interest enhances the broker-dealer standard of conduct beyond existing suitability obligations, and aligns the standard of conduct with retail customers’ reasonable expectations by requiring broker-dealers, among other things, to: act in the best interest of the retail customer at the time the recommendation is made, without placing the financial or other interest of the broker-dealer ahead of the interests of the retail customer; and address conflicts of interest by establishing, maintaining, and enforcing policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and fully and fairly disclose material facts about conflicts of interest, and in instances where we have determined that disclosure is insufficient to reasonably address the conflict, to mitigate or, in certain instances, eliminate the conflict.  The effective date for implementation of the new rule was June 30, 2020.

On December 22, 2020, the SEC adopted a new rule to govern investment adviser advertisements and payments to solicitors.  The rule replaces the current advertising rule’s broadly drawn limitations with principles-based provisions designed to accommodate the continual evolution and interplay of technology and advice, and includes tailored requirements for certain types of advertisements. For example, the rule will require advisers to standardize certain parts of a performance presentation in order to help investors evaluate and compare investment opportunities, and will include tailored requirements for certain types of performance presentations. Advertisements that include third-party ratings will be required to include specific disclosures to prevent them from being misleading. The rule also will permit the use of testimonials and endorsements, which include traditional referral and solicitation activity, subject to certain conditions.

THE USA PATRIOT AND BANK SECRECY ACT

The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”) imposes significant compliance and due diligence obligations, material penalties, and provides for extra-territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued various implementing regulations, which apply certain requirements of the USA Patriot Act to financial institutions, such as Wesbanco Bank and Wesbanco’s broker-dealer subsidiary. These regulations impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing, to verify the identity of their customers, including beneficial owners, and to report suspicious activities and currency transactions of a certain size. Failure of Wesbanco and its subsidiaries to maintain and implement adequate programs to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, or to comply with all of the relevant laws or regulations, could have serious legal and reputational consequences for Wesbanco and its subsidiaries.

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ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

The risks described below are not the only ones we face in our business. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or operating results could be materially harmed.

RISKS RELATED TO THE ECONOMY AND OTHER EXTERNAL FACTORS, INCLUDING REGULATION

The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely affecting THE OPERATIONS OF us and our customers.

The spread of COVID-19 has created a global public-health crisis that has resulted in widespread volatility and deteriorations in household, business, economic, and market conditions.  This pandemic has caused many state governments to enact “shelter in place” orders and the institution of social distancing requirements, which have adversely impacted the economy due to the vast restrictions and forced closures of non-essential businesses during the quarantine periods. As a result, many of our customers have been adversely affected by business closures and/or other business restrictions.  Accordingly, COVID-19 may result in a significant decrease in our customer’ business and/or cause our customers to be unable to meet existing payment or other obligations to us.  These adverse impacts on the businesses of our customers could cause a material adverse effect to our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN WESBANCO’S MARKET AREAS COULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT EARNINGS.

Wesbanco Bank serves both individuals and business customers throughout West Virginia, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, southern Indiana and Maryland. The substantial majority of Wesbanco’s loan portfolio is to individuals and businesses in these markets. As a result, the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of Wesbanco are affected by local and regional economic conditions, as well as national economic conditions. A downturn in these economies could have a negative impact on Wesbanco and the ability of the Bank’s customers to repay their loans. The value of the collateral securing loans to borrowers may also decline as the economy declines. As a result, deteriorating economic conditions in these markets could cause a decline in the overall quality of Wesbanco’s loan portfolio requiring Wesbanco to charge-off a higher percentage of loans and/or increase its allowance for credit losses. A decline in economic conditions in these markets may also force customers to utilize deposits held by Wesbanco Bank in order to pay current expenses causing the Bank’s deposit base to shrink. As a result, the Bank may have to borrow funds at higher rates in order to meet liquidity needs. Lower oil and gas prices have reduced shale gas activity in the region, which somewhat negatively impacted local and regional economic conditions, affecting both commercial and retail customers, resulting in lower deposits and credit deterioration in the loan portfolio. Current prices for oil and gas have decreased over the last few years and new well production has recently decreased due to the volatile nature of these markets, potentially causing a negative impact on Wesbanco’s earnings and financial condition.

MARKET VOLATILITY AND PROLONGED PERIODS OF ECONOMIC STRESS MAY AFFECT WESBANCO’S CAPITAL AND LIQUIDITY.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused volatility in financial markets and could potentially cause prolonged periods of economic stress. This may result in decreased capital and liquidity. In addition to the potential affects from negative economic conditions noted above, Wesbanco instituted a program to help COVID-19 impacted customers. This program allows for up to a 180 day deferral of loan principal and/or interest payments as long as the customer meets certain requirements. Depending on how many customers apply for this program, Wesbanco’s liquidity could be negatively impacted if a significant number of customers apply and are approved for the deferral of payments. In addition, if these deferrals are not effective in mitigating the effect of COVID-19 on our customers, it may adversely affect our business and results of operations more substantially over a longer period of time and additional deferrals may need to be granted on a case-by-case basis. If the economic situation deteriorates, federal and state regulators may also consider taking actions such as suspension of dividends and other capital distributions in order to conserve capital and retain capacity, any of which could adversely impact our business.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, financial condition and results of operation, as well as our regulatory capital and liquidity ratios, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including the scope and duration of the pandemic and the efficacy of actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic.

WESBANCO COULD BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY CHANGES TO THE FISCAL, POLITICAL AND OTHER FEDERAL POLICIES.

Changes in general economic or political policies in the United States or other regions could adversely impact Wesbanco’s business as well as the Bank’s customers. The current United States administration has indicated that it may propose significant changes with respect to a variety of issues, including international trade agreements, import and export regulations, tariffs and customs duties, foreign relations, tax laws, corporate governance laws and corporate fuel economy standards, that could have a positive or negative impact on Wesbanco’s business and the Bank’s customers including those in the wholesale and distribution, manufacturing and retail industries.

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WESBANCO IS SUBJECT TO EXTENSIVE GOVERNMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION.

Wesbanco is subject to extensive federal and state regulation, supervision and examination. Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors’ funds, federal deposit insurance funds and the banking system as a whole, rather than corporate shareholders. These regulations affect Wesbanco’s lending practices, capital structure, investment practices, dividend policy, operations and growth, among other things. These regulations also impose obligations to maintain appropriate policies, procedure and controls. Congress and federal regulatory agencies continually review banking laws, regulations and policies for possible changes. Changes to statutes, regulations or regulatory policies, including changes in interpretation or implementation of statutes, regulations or policies, could affect Wesbanco in substantial and unpredictable ways. Such changes could subject Wesbanco to additional costs, limit the types of financial services and products that could be offered, and/or increase the ability of non-banks to offer competing financial services and products, among other things. Failure to comply with laws, regulations or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil penalties and/or reputation damage, which could have a material adverse effect on Wesbanco’s business, financial condition and result of operations.

As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco had $192.3 million in subordinated and junior subordinated debt presented as a separate category of long-term debt on its Consolidated Balance Sheets, which includes $132.2 million in junior subordinated debt. For regulatory purposes, Trust Preferred Securities totaling $130.0 million underlying such junior subordinated debt were previously included in Tier 1 capital in accordance with regulatory reporting requirements prior to December 31, 2019. On March 1, 2005, the Federal Reserve Board adopted a rule that retains trust preferred securities in Tier 1 capital, but with stricter quantitative limits and clearer qualitative standards. Under the rule, the aggregate amount of trust preferred securities and certain other capital elements is limited to 25% of Tier 1 capital elements, net of goodwill. The amount of trust preferred securities and certain other elements in excess of the limit can be included in Tier 2 capital, subject to restrictions. The Dodd-Frank Act required the federal banking agencies to develop new consolidated capital requirements applicable to bank holding companies and banks. Rules issued in 2013 generally exclude trust preferred securities from Tier 1 capital beginning in 2015. A grandfather provision permitted bank holding companies with consolidated assets of less than $15 billion to continue counting existing trust preferred securities as Tier 1 capital until maturity. As of December 31, 2019, Wesbanco’s assets were greater than $15 billion; therefore, all such securities are no longer counted as Tier 1 capital but instead are counted as Tier 2 capital subject to limits.

In addition, international capital standards known as Basel III, which were implemented by a U.S. federal banking agencies’ joint final rule issued in July 2013, and effective January 1, 2015, further increase the minimum capital requirements applicable to Wesbanco and the Bank, which may negatively impact both entities. The EGRRCPA Act, enacted into law in May 2018, exempts banks with total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion that exceed the community bank leverage ratio from the capital requirements under Basel III. Wesbanco’s assets are in excess of $10 billion, so the exemption is not applicable. Additional information about these changes in capital requirements are described above in “Item 1. Business—Capital Requirements.”

Regulation of Wesbanco and its subsidiaries is expected to continue to expand in scope and complexity in the future. These laws are expected to have the effect of increasing Wesbanco’s costs of doing business and reducing its revenues, and may limit its ability to pursue business opportunities or otherwise adversely affect its business and financial condition. The Dodd-Frank Act and other laws, as well as rules implementing or related to them, may adversely affect Wesbanco. Specifically, any governmental or regulatory action having the effect of requiring Wesbanco to obtain additional capital or increase short-term liquidity could reduce earnings and have a material dilutive effect on current shareholders, including the Dodd-Frank Act source of strength requirement that bank holding companies make capital infusions into a troubled subsidiary bank. Legislation and regulation of debit card fees, credit cards and other bank services, as well as changes in Wesbanco’s practices relating to those and other bank services, may affect Wesbanco’s revenue and other financial results. Additional information about increased regulation is provided in “Item 1. Business” under the headings “Supervision and Regulation,” “Holding Company Regulations,” “Capital Requirements,” “Dodd-Frank Act,” and “Consumer Protection Laws.”

SEVERE WEATHER, NATURAL DISASTERS, DISEASE PANDEMICS, ACTS OF WAR OR TERRORISM, AND OTHER EXTERNAL EVENTS COULD SIGNIFICANTLY ADVERSELY IMPACT WESBANCO’S BUSINESS.

The unpredictable nature of events such as severe weather, natural disasters, disease pandemics, acts of war or terrorism, and other adverse external events could have a significant impact on Wesbanco’s ability to conduct business. If any of our financial, accounting, network or other information processing systems fail or have other significant shortcomings due to external events, Wesbanco could be materially adversely affected. Third parties with which Wesbanco does business could also be sources of operational risk to Wesbanco, including the risk that the third parties’ own network and information processing systems could fail. Any of these occurrences could materially diminish Wesbanco’s ability to operate or result in potential liability to customers, reputational damage, and regulatory intervention, any of which could materially adversely affect Wesbanco. Such events could affect the stability of Wesbanco’s deposit base, impair the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans, impair the value of collateral securing loans, impair Wesbanco’s liquidity, result in loss of revenue, and/or cause Wesbanco to incur additional expenses. Additional information about disease pandemics is profiled in Item 1A. Risk Factors.

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THE SOUNDNESS OF OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT WESBANCO.

Financial service institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, or other relationships. Wesbanco has exposure to various industries and counterparties, and Wesbanco routinely executes transactions with counterparties in the financial industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, mutual and hedge funds and other institutions. As a result, a default by, or potential default by, a financial institution could result in market-wide liquidity problems, losses or other financial institution defaults. Many of these transactions could expose Wesbanco to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty or client. These losses or defaults could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

CURRENT MARKET INTEREST RATES AND COST OF FUNDS MAY NEGATIVELY IMPACT WESBANCO’S BANKING BUSINESS.

Fluctuations in interest rates may negatively impact the business of the Bank. The Bank’s main source of income from operations is net interest income, which is equal to the difference between the interest income received on interest-bearing assets (usually loans and investment securities) and the interest expense incurred in connection with interest-bearing liabilities (usually deposits and borrowings). These rates are highly sensitive to many factors beyond Wesbanco’s control, including general economic conditions, both domestic and foreign, and the monetary and fiscal policies of various governmental and regulatory authorities. Wesbanco Bank’s net interest income can be affected significantly by changes in market interest rates and the shape of the yield curve. Changes in relative interest rates may reduce the Bank’s net interest income as the difference between interest income and interest expense decreases, as it did in 2020.  The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the financial markets and has resulted in a number of Federal Reserve actions. Market interest rates have declined significantly. On March 3, 2020, the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 1.00% for the first time, and the Federal Reserve reduced the target federal funds rate by 50 basis points to between 1.00% to 1.25%. On March 15, 2020, the Federal Reserve further reduced the target federal funds rate by 100 basis points to between 0.00% to 0.25% and announced a $700 billion quantitative easing program in response to the expected economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve reduced the interest that it pays on excess reserves from 1.60% to 1.10% on March 3, 2020, and then to 0.10% on March 15, 2020.  These rates have stayed at these lower levels through the remainder of 2020 since the reductions took place in March. We expect that these reductions in interest rates, especially if prolonged, could adversely affect our net interest income, margins and our profitability. The Bank has adopted asset and liability management policies to minimize the potential adverse effects of changes in interest rates on net interest income, primarily by altering the mix and maturity of loans, investments and funding sources. However, even with these policies in place, Wesbanco cannot be certain that changes in interest rates or the shape of the interest rate yield curve will not negatively impact its results of operations or financial position. Lower interest rates in 2020 caused an increase in fair value of certain lower-rate securities within our investment portfolio of which the unrealized gains were recorded in other comprehensive income.

In the current low rate and relatively flat yield curve environment, Wesbanco’s cost of funds for banking operations may not decrease at the same pace as loan and investment yields. Cost of funds may alternatively increase as a result of future general economic conditions, interest rates and competitive pressures. The Bank has traditionally obtained funds principally through deposits and borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), correspondent banks, and other wholesale borrowing sources. As a general matter, deposits are a cheaper source of funds than borrowings because interest rates paid for deposits are typically less than interest rates charged for borrowings. If, as a result of general economic conditions, market interest rates, competitive pressures or otherwise, the value of deposits at the Bank decreases relative to its overall banking operations, the Bank may have to rely more heavily on borrowings as a source of funds in the future.

INTEREST RATES ON WESBANCO’S OUTSTANDING FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS.

London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and certain other “benchmarks” are the subject of recent national, international, and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. These reforms may cause such benchmarks to become unavailable, to perform differently than in the past or have other consequences, which cannot be predicted. On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, publicly announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021. The Federal Reserve Board has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) as the preferred reference rate alternative to LIBOR for loan pricing and hedge accounting purposes. If LIBOR ceases to exist, if the methods of calculating LIBOR change from current methods for any reason or if the proposed replacement rate for LIBOR differs materially from LIBOR, interest rates on our floating rate obligations, loans, deposits, derivatives, and other financial instruments tied to LIBOR rates, as well as the revenue and expenses associated with those financial instruments, may be adversely affected. Further, any uncertainty regarding the continued use and reliability of LIBOR as a benchmark interest rate could adversely affect the value of our floating rate obligations, loans, deposits, derivatives, and other financial instruments tied to LIBOR rates. Additionally, the joint agency statement on November 30, 2020 addressing the LIBOR administrator’s announcement to consult on extending the publication of certain U.S. dollar LIBOR (“USD LIBOR”) tenors until June 30, 2023 notes that, even in the event of an extension, the agencies would consider the use of USD LIBOR as a reference rate after December 31, 2021 as a safety and soundness risk and that they would examine bank practices accordingly.

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SIGNIFICANT DECLINES IN U.S. AND GLOBAL MARKETS COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON WESBANCO’S EARNINGS.

The capital and credit markets could experience extreme disruption. These conditions result in less liquidity, greater volatility, widening of credit spreads and a lack of price transparency in certain asset types. In many cases, markets could exert downward pressure on stock prices, security prices and credit capacity for certain issuers without regard to those issuers’ underlying financial strength. Sustained weakness in business and economic conditions in any or all of the domestic or foreign financial markets could result in credit deterioration in investment securities held by us, rating agency downgrades for such securities or other market factors that (such as lack of liquidity for re-sales, absence of reliable pricing information or unanticipated changes in the competitive market) could result in us having to recognize other-than-temporary impairment in the value of such investment securities, with a corresponding charge against earnings. Furthermore, our pension assets are primarily invested in equity and debt securities, and weakness in capital and credit markets could result in deterioration of these assets, and changes in certain key pension assumptions based on current interest rates, long-term rates of return and other economic or actuarial assumptions may increase minimum funding contributions and future pension expense. If these markets were to deteriorate further, these conditions may be material to Wesbanco’s ability to access capital and may adversely impact results of operations.

Further, Wesbanco’s trust and investment services income could be impacted by fluctuations in the securities market. A portion of this revenue is based on the value of the underlying investment portfolios. If the values of those investment portfolios decline, the Bank’s revenue could be negatively impacted.

Shelter-in-place orders and other COVID-19-related restrictions in any of Wesbanco’s markets of West Virginia, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, southern Indiana and Maryland, will result in negative economic factors depending on the length of such government restrictions. Negative changes in economic and financial market conditions could result in additional decreases in market value of financial instruments, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets and decreases in interest income. A rise in unemployment from the forced closures of non-essential businesses and other COVID-19-related restrictions, could have a negative impact on our customers’ ability to repay their loans as well as a decrease in the customer deposit base as they use their savings to pay current expenses. This could result in increased risk of delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and losses on our loans, negatively impact regional economic conditions, and result in a decline in local loan demand, loan originations and deposit availability. Any one or more of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF WESBANCO’S LOAN PORTFOLIO IS IN WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, KENTUCKY, INDIANA AND MARYLAND AND IN COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE. DETERIORATIONS IN ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THIS AREA OR IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET GENERALLY COULD BE MORE HARMFUL TO THE COMPANY COMPARED TO MORE DIVERSIFIED INSTITUTIONS.

As of December 31, 2020, approximately 16% of Wesbanco’s loan portfolio was comprised of residential real estate loans, and 53% was comprised of commercial real estate loans.

Inherent risks of commercial real estate (“CRE”) lending include the cyclical nature of the real estate market, construction risk and interest rate risk. The cyclical nature of real estate markets can cause CRE loans to suffer considerable distress. During these times of distress, a property’s performance can be negatively affected by tenants’ deteriorating credit strength and lease expirations in times of softening demand caused by economic deterioration or over-supply conditions. Even if borrowers are able to meet their payment obligations, they may find it difficult to refinance their full loan amounts at maturity due to declines in property value. Other risks associated with CRE lending include regulatory changes and environmental liability. Regulatory changes in tax legislation, zoning or similar external conditions including environmental liability may affect property values and the economic feasibility of existing and proposed real estate projects.

The company’s CRE loan portfolio is concentrated in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana and Maryland. There is a wide variety of economic conditions within the local markets of the six states in which most of the company’s CRE loan portfolio is situated. Rates of employment, consumer loan demand, household formation, and the level of economic activity can vary widely from state to state and among metropolitan areas, cities and towns. Metropolitan markets comprise various submarkets where property values and demand can be affected by many factors, such as demographic makeup, geographic features, transportation, recreation, local government, school systems, utility infrastructure, tax burden, building-stock age, zoning and building codes, and available land for development. As a result of the high concentration of the company’s loan portfolio, it may be more sensitive, as compared to more diversified institutions, to future disruptions in and deterioration of this market, which could lead to losses, which could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations of the company.  Furthermore, approximately 13% of Wesbanco’s commercial real estate portfolio is comprised of hotel loans.  In the current pandemic environment, these borrowers have been impacted from low occupancy rates due to the various stay-at-home orders and consumers’ general reluctance to travel across Wesbanco’s footprint.  There is a risk that loan modifications under the CARES Act may not be sufficient for certain loans in order to recover the full principal balance.

RISKS INHERENT IN MUNICIPAL BONDS COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON WESBANCO’S EARNINGS.

As of December 31, 2020, approximately 27% of Wesbanco’s total securities portfolio was invested in municipal bonds. Although Wesbanco’s municipal portfolio is broadly spread across the U.S., any downturn in the economy of a state or municipality in which Wesbanco

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holds municipal obligations could increase the default risk of the respective debt. In addition, a portion of Wesbanco’s municipal portfolio is comprised of Build America bonds. Due to the government sequester reducing the interest subsidy that the government provides to the issuing municipalities, extraordinary redemption provisions (ERP) may be executed by the municipality if it is in their favor to do so. There is a risk that when an ERP is executed, Wesbanco may not recover its amortized cost in the bond if it was purchased at a premium. Credit risks are also prevalent when downgrades of credit ratings are issued by major credit rating agencies, which are caused by creditworthiness issues of both bond insurers and the municipality itself. Credit rating downgrades to a non-investment grade level may force Wesbanco to sell a municipal bond at a price where amortized cost may not be recovered. Rising interest rates could also cause the current market values of our municipal bond portfolio to decline as they all have a fixed interest component. Any of the above default risks, early redemption risks and credit risks could cause Wesbanco to take impairment charges, which could be significant, that would negatively impact earnings.

RISKS RELATED TO THE BUSINESS OF BANKING

CUSTOMERS MAY DEFAULT ON THE REPAYMENT OF LOANS, WHICH COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT RESULTS OF OPERATIONS THROUGH INCREASES IN THE PROVISION AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES.

The Bank’s customers may default on the repayment of loans, which may negatively impact Wesbanco’s earnings due to loss of principal and interest income. Increased operating expenses may result from the allocation of management time and resources to the collection and work-out of the loan. Collection efforts may or may not be successful causing Wesbanco to write off the loan or repossess the collateral securing the loan, which may or may not exceed the balance of the loan.

For 2020, Wesbanco maintained an allowance for credit losses, which is a reserve established through a provision for credit losses charged to expense, to provide for expected credit losses in our loan portfolio. Management has evaluated the appropriateness of the allowance for credit losses quarterly based on the loan’s amortized cost basis. The evaluation is based on Wesbanco’s actual loss experience by utilizing the probability of default (“PD”) / loss given default (“LGD”) method in conjunction with macroeconomic forecasts as well as additional qualitative factors.

Wesbanco’s regulatory agencies (FDIC for Wesbanco Bank, Inc. and the Federal Reserve for Wesbanco, Inc.) periodically review the allowance for credit losses. The regulatory agencies’ interpretations may differ from Wesbanco’s interpretations. These differences could negatively impact Wesbanco’s results of operations or financial position.

HIGHER FDIC DEPOSIT INSURANCE PREMIUMS AND ASSESSMENTS COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT WESBANCO’S FINANCIAL CONDITION.

Since crossing over $10 billion in total assets in 2018, Wesbanco Bank’s FDIC insurance premiums have increased due to a higher assessment rate based on a more complex calculation that includes Wesbanco Bank’s CAMELS ratings, its ability to withstand asset-related and funding-related stress and potential loss severity of its assets. In addition, if premium assessment rates were to further increase, it would negatively impact Wesbanco’s earnings.

RISKS RELATED TO ESTIMATES AND ASSUMPTIONS

THE CURRENT EXPECTED CREDIT LOSSES (“CECL”) ACCOUNTING STANDARD COULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT VOLATILITY OF THE ESTIMATION OF CREDIT LOSSES AND MAY HAVE A MATERIAL IMPACT ON OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION OR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

In September 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued an accounting standard update, ASU 2016-13 (Topic 326), “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” which was adopted by Wesbanco as of January 1, 2020 and replaced the former “incurred loss” model for recognizing credit losses with an “expected loss” model referred to as the CECL model. Under the CECL model, we are required to present certain financial assets carried at amortized cost, such as loans held for investment and held-to-maturity debt securities, at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance for credit losses under CECL is calculated utilizing the PD / LGD, which is then discounted to net present value. PD is the probability the asset will default within a given time frame and LGD is the percentage of the asset not expected to be collected due to default. The primary macroeconomic drivers of the quantitative model include forecasts of national unemployment and interest rates, as well as modeling adjustments for changes in prepayment speeds, loan risk grades, portfolio mix, concentrations and loan growth.  Any changes in the model inputs may create more volatility in the level of our allowance for credit losses. Any material increase in our level of allowance for credit losses or expenses incurred to determine the appropriate level of the allowance for credit losses could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In December 2018, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) approved a final rule to address changes to credit loss accounting under GAAP, including banking organizations’ adoption of the CECL methodology. The final rule provides banking organizations the option to phase-in, over a three-year period, the day-one adverse effects on regulatory capital that may result from the adoption of the new accounting standard. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the joint federal bank regulatory agencies issued an optional extension of the regulatory capital transition, which allows for a two-year delay and then a three-year transition period from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024. Under the interim final rule, the amount of adjustments to regulatory capital deferred until the phase-in period includes both the initial impact of our adoption of CECL at January 1, 2020 and 25% of subsequent changes in our allowance for credit losses during each quarter of the two-year period ended December 31, 2021, (collectively, the “CECL regulatory capital transition adjustment”). Wesbanco has elected to defer the impact of CECL on its regulatory capital for two years and then will phase-in the impact of the adoption of this standard on the regulatory capital calculations over the subsequent three-year period.  

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WESBANCO MAY BE REQUIRED TO WRITE DOWN GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS, CAUSING ITS FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS TO BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED.

When Wesbanco acquires a business, a portion of the purchase price of the acquisition is allocated to goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. The amount of the purchase price which is allocated to goodwill and other intangible assets is determined by the excess of the purchase price over the net identifiable assets acquired. Wesbanco’s goodwill was approximately $1.1 billion or 40% of stockholders’ equity as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Under current accounting standards, if Wesbanco determines that goodwill or intangible assets are impaired, it is required to write down the carrying value of these assets. Wesbanco conducts an annual review to determine whether goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets are impaired. Wesbanco completed such an impairment analysis in late 2020 and concluded that no impairment charge was necessary for the year ended December 31, 2020.  In addition, due to the pandemic’s effect on the economy in 2020, Wesbanco completed interim valuations of goodwill impairment at each quarter-end, one of which was assisted by a third party valuation firm.  None of the quarterly valuations indicated goodwill impairment. Wesbanco cannot provide assurance that it will not be required to take an impairment charge in the future. Any impairment charge would have a negative effect on its shareholders’ equity and financial results and may cause a decline in our stock price.

OPERATIONAL RISKS

DUE TO INCREASED COMPETITION, WESBANCO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN BANKING CUSTOMERS AT CURRENT LEVELS.

Wesbanco operates in a highly competitive banking and financial industry that could become even more competitive as a result of legislative, regulatory and technological changes. Wesbanco faces banking competition in all the markets it serves from the following:

In particular, Wesbanco’s competitors include several major national financial companies whose greater resources may afford them a marketplace advantage by enabling them to maintain numerous banking locations and mount extensive promotional and advertising campaigns. Additionally, banks and other financial institutions may have products and services not offered by Wesbanco such as new payment system technologies and cryptocurrency, which may cause current and potential customers to choose those institutions. Areas of competition include interest rates for loans and deposits, efforts to obtain deposits and range and quality of services provided. Competitively priced deposits from other banks may cause a loss of deposits to be replaced by more expensive wholesale funding. Wesbanco also faces competition from financial technology (“FinTech”) companies, who may more efficiently underwrite and close small business and consumer loans as well as more quickly and efficiently open deposit accounts. In addition to providing products and services traditionally offered by banks, some FinTech companies allow customers to complete financial transactions without the need for bank intermediaries. This could result in the loss of revenue from transaction fees and fewer customer accounts. If Wesbanco is unable to attract new and retain current customers, loan and deposit growth could decrease, causing Wesbanco’s results of operations and financial condition to be negatively impacted.

WESBANCO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO EXPAND ITS TRUST AND INVESTMENT SERVICES SEGMENT AND RETAIN ITS CURRENT CUSTOMERS.

Wesbanco may not be able to attract new and retain current investment management clients due to competition from the following:

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Its ability to successfully attract and retain investment management clients is dependent upon its ability to compete with competitors’ investment products, level of investment performance, client services and marketing and distribution capabilities. Due to changes in economic conditions, the performance of the trust and investment services segment may be negatively impacted by the financial markets in which investment clients’ assets are invested, causing clients to seek other alternative investment options. If Wesbanco is not successful, its results from operations and financial position may be negatively impacted.

FUTURE EXPANSION BY WESBANCO MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AS WELL AS DILUTE THE INTERESTS OF OUR SHAREHOLDERS AND NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK.

Wesbanco may acquire other financial institutions, or branches or assets of other financial institutions, in the future. Wesbanco may also open new branches and enter into new lines of business or offer new products or services. Any such expansion of our business will involve a number of expenses and risks, which may include:

We can give no assurance that integration efforts for any future acquisitions will be successful. Our inability to successfully integrate future acquisitions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, we may issue equity securities in connection with acquisitions, which could dilute the economic and voting interests of our existing shareholders.

No assurance can be given that Wesbanco will be successful overcoming the risks as disclosed above. The risks associated with entering into a new market and any inability to overcome these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

SUITABLE ACQUISITION OPPORTUNITIES MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE TO WESBANCO IN THE FUTURE.

Wesbanco continually evaluates opportunities to acquire other businesses. However, Wesbanco may not have the opportunity to make suitable acquisitions on favorable terms in the future, which could negatively impact the growth of its business. Wesbanco expects that other banking and financial companies, many of which have significantly greater resources, will compete to acquire compatible businesses. This competition could increase prices for acquisitions that Wesbanco would likely pursue, and its competitors may have greater resources than it does. Also, acquisitions of regulated businesses such as banks are subject to various regulatory approvals. If Wesbanco fails to receive the appropriate regulatory approvals, it will not be able to consummate an acquisition that it believes is in its best interests.

WESBANCO IS EXPOSED TO OPERATIONAL RISK THAT COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT THE COMPANY.

Wesbanco is exposed to multiple types of operational risk, including reputational risk, legal and compliance risk, the risk of fraud or theft by employees or outsiders, clerical or record-keeping errors and computer or telecommunications systems malfunctions. Wesbanco’s business is dependent on the ability to process a large number of increasingly complex transactions. Wesbanco could be materially and adversely affected if employees, clients, counterparties or other third parties caused an operational breakdown or failure, as a result of either human error, fraudulent manipulation or purposeful damage to any of our operations or systems.

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LOSS OF KEY EMPLOYEES COULD IMPACT GROWTH AND EARNINGS AND MAY HAVE AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON BUSINESS.

Our operating results and ability to adequately manage our growth are highly dependent on the services, managerial abilities and performance of our key employees, including executive officers and senior management. Our success depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified management, loan origination, finance, administrative, marketing and technical personnel and upon the continued contributions of management personnel. The loss of services, or the inability to successfully complete planned or unplanned transitions of key personnel approaching normal retirement age, could have an adverse impact on Wesbanco’s business, operating results and financial condition because of their skills, knowledge of the local markets, years of industry experience and the difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement personnel.  

LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF BORROWINGS AND LIQUIDITY FROM THE FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK SYSTEM AND OTHER SOURCES COULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT EARNINGS.

Wesbanco Bank is currently a member bank of the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) of Pittsburgh, and while it retains certain capital stock from the FHLB of Cincinnati and the FHLB of Indianapolis from prior bank acquisitions, it is no longer considered a member bank of such FHLBs. Membership in this system of quasi-governmental, regional home-loan oriented agency banks allows us to participate in various programs offered by the FHLB. We borrow funds from the FHLB, which are secured by a blanket lien on certain residential and commercial mortgage loans, and if applicable, investment securities with collateral values in excess of the outstanding balances. Future earnings shortfalls and minimum capital requirements of the FHLB may impact the collateral necessary to secure borrowings and limit the borrowings extended to their member banks, as well as require additional capital contributions by member banks. The FHLB’s rating assigned to Wesbanco Bank may also negatively impact the amount of term collateral and other conditions imposed by the FHLB upon Wesbanco Bank. Should these situations occur, Wesbanco’s short-term liquidity needs could be negatively impacted. If Wesbanco was restricted from using FHLB advances due to weakness in the system or with the FHLB of Pittsburgh, Wesbanco may be forced to find alternative funding sources. If Wesbanco is required to rely more heavily on higher cost funding sources, revenues may not increase proportionately to cover these costs, which would adversely affect Wesbanco’s results of operations and financial position.

WESBANCO’S FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS DEPEND ON THE SUCCESSFUL GROWTH OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES.

Wesbanco’s primary business activity for the foreseeable future will be to act as the holding company of its banking and other subsidiaries. Therefore, Wesbanco’s future profitability will depend on the success and growth of these subsidiaries. In the future, part of Wesbanco’s growth may come from buying other banks and buying or establishing other companies. Such entities may not be profitable after they are purchased or established, and they may lose money or be dilutive to earnings per share, particularly for the first few years. A new bank or company may bring with it unexpected liabilities, bad loans, or poor employee relations, or the new bank or company may lose customers and the associated revenue. Dilution of book and tangible book value may occur as a result of an acquisition that may not be earned back for several years, if at all.

WESBANCO MAY NEED TO RAISE CAPITAL IN THE FUTURE, BUT CAPITAL MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE WHEN NEEDED OR AT ACCEPTABLE TERMS.

Federal and state banking regulators require Wesbanco and its banking subsidiary, Wesbanco Bank, to maintain adequate levels of capital to support its operations. In addition, in the future Wesbanco may need to raise additional capital to support its business or to finance acquisitions, if any, or Wesbanco may otherwise elect to raise additional capital in anticipation of future growth opportunities. Since Wesbanco’s total assets increased above $15 billion due to recent acquisitions, certain trust preferred securities are no longer included in the Tier 1 capital of the risk-based capital guidelines; however, they are counted as Tier 2 capital.

Although Wesbanco successfully raised $150 million of perpetual preferred stock in 2020, Wesbanco’s ability to raise additional Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital for parent company or banking subsidiary needs will depend on conditions at that time in the capital markets, overall economic conditions, Wesbanco’s financial performance and condition, and other factors, many of which are outside our control. There is no assurance that, if needed, Wesbanco will be able to raise additional equity or secured /unsecured debt that may count as Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital on favorable terms or at all. An inability to raise additional capital may have a material adverse effect on our ability to expand operations, and on our financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.

WESBANCO’S ABILITY TO MITIGATE RISK DEPENDS ON OUR ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK.

Wesbanco has implemented a risk appetite statement and an enterprise risk management framework to identify and manage our risk exposures while maintaining a safe and sound banking organization. This framework is comprised of various processes, systems and strategies, and is designed to manage the types of risk to which we are subject, including, among others, credit, legal and compliance, liquidity, market, operational, reputational and strategic risks. Included in this framework are three independent lines of defense, which allows Wesbanco to effectively govern and manage risk. If our risk management framework is not effective, Wesbanco could be exposed to unexpected losses and

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become subject to regulatory consequences, as a result of which our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected.

RISKS RELATED TO THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

INTERRUPTION TO OUR INFORMATION SYSTEMS OR BREACHES IN SECURITY COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT WESBANCO’S OPERATIONS.

Wesbanco relies on information systems and communications for operating and monitoring all major aspects of business, as well as internal management functions. Any failure, interruption, intrusion or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in the Wesbanco customer relationship, management, general ledger, deposit, loan and other systems. While Wesbanco has policies, procedures and technical safeguards designed to prevent or limit the effect of any failure, interruption, intrusion or security breach of its information systems, and also performs testing of business continuity and disaster recovery plans, there can be no absolute assurance that the above-noted issues will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed.

There have been efforts on the part of third parties to breach data security at financial institutions. The ability of our customers to bank remotely, including online and through mobile devices, requires secure transmission of confidential information and increases the risk of data security breaches. Because the techniques used to attack financial services company communications and information systems change frequently (and generally increase in sophistication), often attacks are not recognized until launched against a target, may be supported by foreign governments or other well-financed entities, and may originate from less regulated and remote areas around the world, we may be unable to address these techniques in advance of attacks, including by implementing adequate preventative measures. Certain financial institutions in the United States have also experienced attacks from technically sophisticated and well-resourced third parties that were intended to disrupt normal business activities by making internet banking systems inaccessible to customers for extended periods. These “denial-of-service” attacks, if attempted, would require substantial resources to defend, and may affect customer satisfaction and behavior. Moreover, the development and maintenance of preventative and detective measures is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Despite our efforts, the possibility of these events occurring cannot be eliminated.

Cyber-attacks on third party retailers or other business establishments that widely accept debit card or check payments could compromise sensitive bank customer information, such as debit card and account numbers. Such an attack could result in significant costs to the bank, such as costs to reimburse customers, reissue debit cards and open new customer accounts.

The occurrence of any such failure, disruption or security breach of Wesbanco’s information systems, particularly if widespread or resulting in financial losses to our customers, could damage Wesbanco’s reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject Wesbanco to additional regulatory scrutiny, and expose Wesbanco to civil litigation and possible financial liability. In addition, the prevalence of cyber-attacks and other efforts to breach or disrupt our systems has led, and will continue to lead, to costs to Wesbanco with respect to prevention and mitigation of these risks, as well as costs reimbursing customers for losses suffered as a result of these actions. Successful attacks or systems failures at other large financial institutions, whether or not Wesbanco is included, could lead to a general loss of customer confidence in financial institutions with a potential negative impact on Wesbanco’s business, additional demands on the part of our regulators, and increased costs to deal with risks identified as a result of the problems affecting others. The risks described above could have a material effect on Wesbanco’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

WESBANCO DEPENDS ON THIRD PARTIES FOR PROCESSING AND HANDLING OF COMPANY RECORDS AND DATA.

Wesbanco relies on software developed by third party vendors to process various transactions. These transactions include, but are not limited to, general ledger, payroll, employee benefits, trust record keeping, loan and deposit processing, merchant processing, and securities portfolio management. While Wesbanco performs a review of controls instituted by the vendors over these programs in accordance with industry standards and performs its own testing of user controls, Wesbanco must rely on the continued maintenance and improvement of these controls by the third party, including safeguards over the security of customer data. In addition, Wesbanco maintains backups of key processing output daily in the event of a failure on the part of any of these systems. Nonetheless, Wesbanco may incur a temporary disruption in its ability to conduct its business or process its transactions or incur damage to its reputation if the third party vendor, or the third party vendor’s subcontractor, fails to adequately maintain internal controls or institute necessary changes to systems. Such disruption or breach of security may have a material adverse effect on Wesbanco’s business, financial condition, and results of operations.

FAILURE TO KEEP PACE WITH TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT WESBANCO’S RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.

The financial services industry is continually undergoing rapid technological change with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services.  The effective use of technology increases efficiency and enables financial institutions to better serve customers and to reduce costs.  Wesbanco’s future success depends, in part, upon its ability to address customer needs by using technology to provide products and services that will satisfy customer demands, as well as to create additional efficiencies in Wesbanco’s operations.  Wesbanco may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services or be successful in marketing

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these products and services to its customers.  Failure to successfully keep pace with technological change affecting the financial services industry could negatively affect Wesbanco’s growth, revenue, and profit.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RISKS

WESBANCO HAS OUTSTANDING SECURITIES SENIOR TO OUR COMMON STOCK WHICH COULD LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO PAY DIVIDENDS ON THE COMMON STOCK.

Wesbanco has outstanding Series A Preferred Stock that is senior to our common stock and could adversely affect our ability to declare or pay dividends or distributions on our common stock.  The terms of the preferred stock offering prohibits us from declaring or paying dividends or making distributions on our common stock unless the full dividends for the most recently completed dividend period have been declared and paid, or set aside for payment, on all outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock. Whenever dividends on any shares of Series A Preferred Stock have not been declared and paid for the equivalent of six or more dividend payments, whether or not for consecutive dividend periods (a “Nonpayment Event”), the holders of Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a class with holders of any and all other series of voting preferred stock then outstanding would be entitled to vote for the election of a total of two additional members of our board of directors (the “Preferred Stock Directors”), provided that our board of directors shall at no time include more than two Preferred Stock Directors and that the election of any Preferred Stock Directors shall not cause us to violate the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market (or any other exchange on which our securities may be listed) including the requirements that listed companies must have a majority of independent directors. In the event that the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and other holders of voting preferred stock are entitled to vote for the election of the Preferred Stock Directors following a Nonpayment Event, the number of directors on our board of directors shall automatically increase by two, and the new directors shall be elected at a special meeting called at the request of the holders of record of at least 20% of the Series A Preferred Stock or of any other series of voting preferred stock (unless such request is received less than 90 days before the date fixed for the next annual or special meeting of the shareholders, in which event such election shall be held only at such next annual or special meeting of shareholders), and at each subsequent annual meeting. These voting rights will continue until dividends on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock and any such series of voting preferred stock for at least four consecutive dividend periods following the Nonpayment Event shall have been fully paid (or declared and a sum sufficient for the payment of such dividends shall have been set aside for payment).

WESBANCO’S ABILITY TO PAY DIVIDENDS IS LIMITED, AND COMMON STOCK DIVIDENDS MAY HAVE TO BE REDUCED OR ELIMINATED.

Subject to restrictions described in the previous risk factor, holders of shares of Wesbanco’s common stock are entitled to dividends if, when, and as declared by Wesbanco’s Board of Directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. Although the Board of Directors has declared and increased shareholder dividends in the past, the current ability to pay such dividends is largely dependent upon the receipt of dividends from the Bank. Federal and state laws impose restrictions on the ability of the Bank to pay dividends, which restrictions are more fully described in “Item 1. Business—Payment of Dividends.” In general, future dividend policy is subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon a number of factors, including Wesbanco’s and the Bank’s future earnings, liquidity and capital requirements, regulatory constraints and financial condition.

Volatility in the price and volume of our stock may be unfavorable.

The market price of our common stock can be volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in price in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Some of these factors include, without limitation:

•prevailing market conditions;

•our financial and operating results;

•estimates of our business potential and earnings prospects;

•an overall assessment of our management;

•changes in interest rates;

•business interruptions, such as may result from natural disasters, health concerns such as the coronavirus or other events;

•our performance relative to our peers;

•market demand for our shares;

•perceptions of the banking industry in general;

•political influences on investor sentiment; and

•consumer confidence.

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At times, the stock markets, including the NASDAQ Stock Market, on which our common stock is listed, may experience significant price and volume fluctuations. As a result, the market price of our common stock is likely to be similarly volatile and investors in our common stock may experience a decrease in the value of their shares, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects.

In addition, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

None.

Wesbanco’s subsidiaries generally own their respective offices, related facilities and any unimproved real property held for future expansion. At December 31, 2020, Wesbanco operated 233 banking offices in West Virginia, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, southern Indiana and Maryland, of which 164 were owned and 69 were leased. Wesbanco also operated six loan production offices leased in West Virginia, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and Maryland. These leases expire at various dates through February 2050 and generally include options to renew. The Bank also owns several regional headquarters buildings in various markets, most of which also house a banking office and/or certain back office functions.

The main office of Wesbanco is located at 1 Bank Plaza, Wheeling, West Virginia, in a building owned by the Bank. The building contains approximately 100,000 square feet and serves as the main office for both Wesbanco’s community banking segment and its trust and investment services segment, as well as its executive offices. The Bank’s major back office operations currently occupy approximately 90% of the space available in an office building connected via sky-bridge to the main office. This adjacent back office building is owned by Wesbanco Properties, Inc., a subsidiary of Wesbanco, with the remainder of the building leased to unrelated businesses.

At various building locations, Wesbanco rents or makes available commercial office space to unrelated businesses. Rental income totaled $1.8 million, $1.1 million and $1.3 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. For additional disclosures related to Wesbanco’s properties, other fixed assets and leases, please refer to Note 6, “Premises and Equipment” in the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Wesbanco is also involved in lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings, which arise in the ordinary course of business. While any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, Wesbanco does not believe that a material loss related to such proceedings or claims pending or known to be threatened is reasonably possible.

Not Applicable.

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PART II

Wesbanco’s common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market under the symbol WSBC. The approximate number of record holders of Wesbanco’s $2.0833 par value common stock as of February 17, 2021 was 7,866. The number of holders does not include Wesbanco employees who have purchased stock or had stock allocated to them through Wesbanco’s Employee Stock Ownership and 401(k) plan (the “KSOP”). All Wesbanco employees who meet the eligibility requirements of the KSOP are included in this retirement plan.

As of December 31, 2020, Wesbanco had two active stock repurchase plans. There is a 1.0 million share plan, which was approved by the Board of Directors on October 22, 2015, and an additional plan with 1.7 million shares available to be repurchased, which was approved on December 19, 2019. Each plan provides for shares to be repurchased for general corporate purposes, which may include as a subsequent resource for potential acquisitions, shareholder dividend reinvestment and/or employee benefit plans. The timing, price and quantity of purchases are at the discretion of Wesbanco, and the plan may be discontinued or suspended at any time. The first plan has 4,457 shares remaining to repurchase, and the second plan has 1,700,000 shares remaining to repurchase.

Repurchases in the fourth quarter included open market purchases, those for the KSOP and dividend reinvestment plans, and repurchases to facilitate stock compensation transactions and related income tax withholdings.

Certain information relating to securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans is set forth under the heading “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in Part III, “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.”

The following table shows the activity in Wesbanco’s stock repurchase plan and other purchases for the quarter ended December 31, 2020:

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The following graph shows a comparison of cumulative total shareholder returns for Wesbanco, the Russell 2000 Index and the SNL Mid Cap Bank Index. The total shareholder return assumes a $100 investment in the common stock of Wesbanco and each index since December 31, 2015 with reinvestment of dividends.

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The following consolidated selected financial data is derived from Wesbanco’s audited financial statements as of and for the five years ended December 31, 2020. The following consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) and the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. Wesbanco’s acquisitions during the five years ended December 31, 2020 include OLBK on November 22, 2019, Farmers Capital Bank Corporation (“FFKT”) on August 20, 2018, First Sentry Bancshares (“FTSB”) on April 5, 2018 and Your Community Bankshares (“YCB”) on September 9, 2016 and include the results of operations since the date of acquisition.

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Non-GAAP Measures

The following non-GAAP financial measures used by Wesbanco provide information that Wesbanco believes is useful to investors in understanding Wesbanco’s operating performance and trends, and facilitates comparisons with the performance of Wesbanco’s peers. The following tables summarize the non-GAAP financial measures derived from amounts reported in Wesbanco’s financial statements.

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