INDEPENDENT BANK CORP

Income Taxes The tax effect of all income and expense transactions is recognized by the Company in each year’s consolidated statements of income, regardless of the year in which the transactions are reported for income tax purposes. The following table sets forth information regarding the Company’s tax provision and applicable tax rates for the periods indicated:

Table 23 - Tax Provision and Applicable Tax Rates

The effective tax rate is impacted by pre-tax income levels, a decrease in the statutory state tax rate, as well as increased tax benefits from low-income housing tax credits. The effective tax rates in the table are lower than the blended statutory tax rates due to the impact of discrete items, including tax benefits related to equity compensation, as well as certain tax preference assets such as life insurance policies, tax exempt bonds and federal tax credits, such as low income housing tax credits.

For additional information related to the Company’s income taxes see Note 11, “Income Taxes”and Note 12, “Low Income Housing Project Investments”within the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was enacted on July 4, 2025. Among other things, the new law makes permanent certain expiring business tax provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These include provisions which allow businesses to immediately expense, for tax purposes, the cost of new investments in certain qualified depreciable assets and the cost of qualified domestic research and development. The OBBBA also imposes a floor on tax deductions taken on charitable contributions. Further, the OBBBA significantly changes U.S. tax law related to foreign operations and certain tax credits; however, such changes are not anticipated to have a material impact to the Company’s financial statements.

Dividends The Company declared quarterly cash dividends totaling $2.36 per common share in 2025 and $2.28 per common share in 2024. The 2025 and 2024 ratio of dividends paid to earnings was 50.65% and 50.08%, respectively.

Since substantially all of the funds available for the payment of dividends are derived from the Bank, future dividends of the Company will depend on the earnings of the Bank, its financial condition, its need for funds, applicable governmental policies and regulations, and other such matters as the Board of Directors deems appropriate.

Comparison of 2024 vs. 2023 For a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, please see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2025.

Risk Management

The Board of Directors has approved an Enterprise Risk Management Policy and Risk Appetite Statement to state the Company’s goals and objectives in identifying, measuring, and managing the risks associated with the Company’s current and near future anticipated size and complexity. Management is responsible for comprehensive enterprise risk management, and continually strives to adopt and implement practices that strike an appropriate balance between risk and reward and permit the achievement of strategic goals in a controlled environment.

The Company has implemented the “three lines of defense” enterprise risk management model . The first line of defense represents all operating business units, and corporate functions. Under the purview of the Chief Risk Officer, the second line of defense monitors and provides risk management advice across all risk domains, and is comprised of Enterprise Risk Management/Operational Risk, Enterprise Compliance, and Information Security. The activities of the second line of defense are overseen by and reported to the Board Risk Committee on a regular basis. Under the purview of the Chief Internal Auditor, the third line of defense is the independent assurance function primarily executed by the Company’s internal audit department. Third line of defense audit activities are overseen by and reported to the Company’s Board Audit Committee on a regular basis. Risk management efforts are further supported and bolstered through a formal and robust risk governance structure comprised of various management level committees that are designed to identify, monitor, report and mitigate top risks faced by the Company based on its risk taxonomy as described below.

The Board of Directors, with the assistance of its Risk Committee, exercised oversight of the Company’s risk management program and practices. As risks must be taken to create value, the Board of Directors has approved a Risk Appetite Statement that defines the acceptable residual risk appetite for the Company and the nine major risk types identified as having the potential to create significant adverse impacts on the Company, such as financial losses, reputational damage, legal or regulatory actions, failure to achieve strategic objectives, diminished customer experience, and/or cultural erosion. The nine major risk categories identified by the Company and addressed in the Risk Appetite Statement are strategic and emerging risk, culture risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, market and interest rate risk, operational risk, reputation risk, regulatory and compliance risk, and technology and cyber risk, each of which is discussed below.

Strategic and Emerging Risk Strategic and emerging risk is the risk arising from adverse strategic or business decisions, misalignment of strategic direction with the Company’s mission and values, failure to execute strategies or tactics, or an inadequate adaptation or lack of responsiveness to industry and/or operating environment changes. Management seeks to mitigate strategic and emerging risk through strategic planning, frequent executive review of strategic plan progress, monitoring of competitors and technology, assessment of new products, new branches, and new business initiatives, customer advocacy, and crisis management planning.

Culture Risk Culture risk is the risk arising from failed leadership and/or ineffective colleague engagement and workplace management that causes the Company to lose sight of core values and, through acts or omissions, damage the relationship-based culture that has been one of the foundations of the Company’s success. Management seeks to mitigate culture risk through effective employee relations, leadership that encourages continuous improvement, cultural development and reinforcement of core values, communication of clear ethical and behavioral standards, consistent enforcement of policies and programs, discipline of misbehavior, alignment of incentives and compensation, and by promoting a company-wide focus on respect for individual differences and differing perspectives.

Credit Risk Credit risk is the risk arising from the failure of a borrower or a counterparty to a contract to make payments as agreed, and includes the risks arising from inadequate collateral and mismanagement of loan concentrations. While the collateral securing loans may be sufficient in some cases to recover the amount due, in other cases the Company may experience significant credit losses that could have an adverse effect on its operating results. The Company makes assumptions and judgments about the collectability of its loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of its borrowers and counterparties and the value of collateral for the repayment of loans. For further discussion regarding the credit risk and the credit quality of the Company’s loan portfolio, see Note 5, “Loans, Allowance for Credit Losses and Credit Quality”within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Report.

Liquidity Risk Liquidity risk is the risk arising from the Company being unable to meet obligations when due. Liquidity risk includes the inability to access funding sources or manage fluctuations in available funding levels. Liquidity risk also results from a failure to recognize or address market condition changes that affect the ability to liquidate assets quickly with minimal value loss.

The Company’s primary sources of funds are deposits, borrowings, and the amortization, prepayment, and maturities of loans and securities. The Bank utilizes its extensive branch network to access retail customers who provide a base of in-market core deposits. These funds are principally comprised of demand deposits, interest checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts. Interest rates, economic conditions, and competitive factors greatly influence deposit levels.

The Company measures funds availability and surplus under both stress and non-stress conditions. In addition, liquidity monitoring ensures appropriate oversight of funding exposures and reliance, as well as available capacity. The Company continually monitors both on and off balance sheet liquidity sources to understand vulnerabilities and when adjustments to the balance between sources and uses of funds may be necessary. Management regularly performs liquidity stress testing to assess potential liquidity outflows or funding concerns resulting from economic or industry disruptions, volatility in the financial markets, or unforeseen credit events. The results of these scenarios are used to inform the Company’s Contingency Funding Plan and help provide the basis for its liquidity needs.

The Company prioritizes core deposits as a primary funding source and continues to maintain a variety of available liquidity sources, including FHLB advances, and Federal Reserve borrowing capacity. These funding sources serve as a contingent source of liquidity and, when profitable lending and investment opportunities exist, the Company may access them to provide the liquidity needed to grow the balance sheet. The amount and type of assets that the Company has available to pledge affects the Company’s FHLB and Federal Reserve borrowing capacity. The Company’s lending decisions, therefore, can also affect its liquidity position.

The Company may also have the ability to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or unsecured debt privately or publicly, as demonstrated by the $300.0 million subordinated debt issuance completed by the Company during the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, the Company is able to acquire brokered certificates of deposits at its discretion. The availability and cost of equity or debt on an unsecured basis is dependent on many factors, including the Company’s financial position, the market environment, and the Company’s credit rating. The Company monitors the factors that could affect its ability to raise liquidity through these channels.