BOK FINANCIAL CORP

General

Developments relating to individual aspects of the business of BOK Financial are described below. Additional discussion of the Company’s activities during the current year appears within Item 7 "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Description of Business

BOK Financial is a financial holding company incorporated in the state of Oklahoma in 1990 whose activities are governed by the BHCA, as amended by the Financial Services Modernization Act or Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. BOK Financial offers full service banking in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Northwest Arkansas, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas/Missouri. At December 31, 2023, the Company reported total consolidated assets of $50 billion.

BOKF, NA is a wholly owned subsidiary bank of BOK Financial. BOKF, NA operates TransFund and Cavanal Hill Investment Management. BOKF, NA operates banking divisions across eight states: Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of Texas and BOK Financial in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri; as well as having limited purpose offices in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Tennessee. Other wholly owned subsidiaries of BOK Financial include BOK Financial Securities, Inc., a broker/dealer that primarily engages in retail and institutional securities sales and municipal bond underwriting; and BOK Financial Private Wealth, Inc., an investment adviser to high net worth clients. During the fourth quarter of 2023, BOK Financial sold its wholly owned subsidiary BOKF Insurance, a broker providing insurance services. Other non-bank subsidiary operations do not have a significant effect on the Company’s financial statements.

Our overall strategic objective is to emphasize growth in long-term value by building on our leadership position in Oklahoma through expansion into other high-growth markets in contiguous states. We operate primarily in the metropolitan areas of Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona, and Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri. Our acquisition strategy targets fairly priced quality organizations with demonstrated solid growth that would supplement our principal lines of business. We provide additional growth opportunities by hiring talent to enhance competitiveness, adding locations and broadening product offerings. Our operating philosophy embraces local decision-making in each of our geographic markets while adhering to common Company standards.

Our primary focus is to provide a comprehensive range of nationally competitive financial products and services in a personalized and responsive manner. Products and services include loans and deposits, cash management services, fiduciary services, mortgage banking and brokerage and trading services to middle-market businesses, financial institutions and consumers. Commercial banking represents a significant part of our business. Our credit culture emphasizes building relationships by making high quality loans and providing a full range of financial products and services to our customers. We also offer products that leverage our energy financing expertise and enable us to offer commodity derivatives for customers to use in their risk management. Our diversified base of revenue sources is designed to generate returns across a range of economic situations. Wealth management also continues to be a strategic focus. We provide liquidity to the mortgage markets through trading of U.S. government agency issued mortgage-backed securities and related derivative contracts and currently service approximately $100 billion of assets under management or administration.

BOK Financial’s corporate headquarters is located at Bank of Oklahoma Tower, Boston Avenue at Second Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74172.

The Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports are available on the Company’s website at www.bokf.com as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with or furnishes it to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Operating Segments

BOK Financial operates three principal lines of business: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and Wealth Management. Commercial Banking includes lending, treasury and cash management services and customer commodity risk management products for small businesses, middle market and larger commercial customers. Commercial Banking also includes the TransFund electronic funds network. Consumer Banking includes retail lending and deposit services, lending and deposit services to small business customers served through the retail branch network and all mortgage loan origination and servicing activities. Wealth Management engages in brokerage and trading activities mainly related to providing liquidity to the mortgage markets through trading of U.S. government agency mortgage-backed securities and related derivative contracts. Wealth Management also provides fiduciary services, private bank services and investment advisory services in all markets. Additionally, Wealth Management underwrites state and municipal securities. Discussion of these principal lines of business appears within the Lines of Business section of "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Competition

BOK Financial and its operating segments face competition from other banks, thrifts, credit unions and other non-bank financial institutions such as investment banking firms, investment advisory firms, brokerage firms, investment companies, financial technology firms, government agencies, mortgage brokers and insurance companies. The Company competes largely on the basis of customer services, interest rates on loans and deposits, lending limits and customer convenience. Some operating segments face competition from institutions that are not as closely regulated as banks, and therefore are not limited by the same capital requirements and other restrictions. All market share information presented below is based upon share of deposits in specified areas according to the FDIC as of June 30, 2023.

We are the largest financial institution in the state of Oklahoma with 13% of the state’s total deposits. We have 30% and 12% of the market share in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas, respectively. We compete with two banks that have operations nationwide and have greater access to funds at lower costs, higher lending limits, and greater access to technology resources. We also compete with regional and locally-owned banks in both the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas as well as in every other community in which we do business throughout the state.

We compete against numerous financial institutions in the state of Texas, including some of the largest in the United States, and have a market share of approximately 1% in the Dallas, Fort Worth area and less than 1% in the Houston area. We have a 9% market share in the Albuquerque area and compete with four large national banks, some regional banks and several locally-owned smaller community banks. Our market share is approximately 3% in the Denver area. We serve Benton and Washington counties in Arkansas with a market share of approximately 1%. Our market share is approximately 2% in the Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas area and approximately 1% in the Phoenix area. The Company’s ability to expand into additional states remains subject to various federal and state laws.

Human Capital Management and Practices

In order to continue leading the industry as a provider of financial solutions to businesses, institutions and individuals across the country, it is crucial that we attract, develop and retain top talent. To facilitate talent attraction and retention, we strive to make BOK Financial an inclusive workplace with opportunities for our employees to grow and develop in their careers. We support our employees with strong compensation, benefits, wellness programs and development resources. We also work to build connections between our employees and our communities. "Actively advancing the communities we serve" is one of our core values. Those familiar with BOK Financial will recognize the generosity of our employees in our communities as one of the hallmarks of our culture and a source of pride as we live out our purpose statement of "Achieving More Together."

Our talented workforce is the key to our success. At December 31, 2023, we had 4,966 full-time and part-time employees, the majority of which are full-time employees. None of the Company’s employees are represented by collective bargaining agreements. Management considers its employee relations to be good. Our employees are primarily distributed over our eight state footprint, to include: Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our vision and purpose and are a core leadership competency for BOK Financial. We believe our organization should reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

Our DEI Council seeks to excel and grow our company by valuing and leveraging the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The DEI Council works to ensure our company continues to foster and support an environment that is inclusive of the diverse values, opinions, experiences, cultures, and needs of our employees, clients, and communities. The Council is chaired by Stacy Kymes, President and Chief Executive Officer, with membership comprising leaders and influencers representing divisions across the Company. Members each serve a three-year term.

We also recognize that for a diverse workforce to thrive, we must prioritize inclusion efforts. The following categories represent areas of focus for DEI: community engagement, senior leader engagement, Communities of Practice and diverse recruiting practices and education.

As of December 31, 2023, 55% of our overall workforce was female, and 32% of our overall workforce was comprised of people of color. In 2023, BOK Financial was again recognized by ‘Diversity, Inc.’ as one of the ‘Top Regional Companies’ with respect to scoring criteria related to DEI organizational practices.

Community Engagement

In 2023, the Company and the BOKF Foundation gave a combined $9.0 million to organizations making a difference in our communities. Since 2013, we have committed more than $1.0 billion in loan funding to support affordable housing projects and $391 million in affordable housing investments.

In 2023, our employees donated more than 50,000 volunteer hours, and more than 400 employees served in 732 leadership roles with 495 nonprofit organizations. BOK Financial is a certifying organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a program to celebrate individual volunteerism and commitment to community service. For 2023, the company recognized 142 employees who volunteered 100 hours or more with numerous nonprofit organizations across our footprint.

Senior Leader Engagement

Our DEI Council is led by our CEO and President, Stacy Kymes, and includes other members of our executive leadership team as well as senior leaders throughout our footprint. We are members of the ‘CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion’ Pledge. The pledge outlines our commitment to cultivating a trusting environment where all ideas are welcomed, and employees feel comfortable and empowered to have discussions about diversity and inclusion.

Mentorship Program

Our mentorship program launched in late 2020. We believe mentorship programs are a valuable tool for helping employees successfully shape their long-term career trajectory. Mentor matches are prioritized for females and people of color. In 2023, we launched Cohort 6 with 225 mentors/mentees participating in the program. In 2023, 34% of our participants were people of color and 50% were female.

Communities of Practice

In 2020, we introduced a concept from Harvard Business Review called ‘CoP’ as a way for our organization to build inclusive groups to harness the collective power of diverse skills, styles, strengths and experiences – and leverage those strengths into advancing our business. CoP also provide exposure opportunities for employees to interact with others across the organization at all levels. As of December 31, 2023, we had 21 active CoP, including: Advancing Minority Owned Businesses, Mentoring, Practicing Inclusion, Diverse Recruiting Practices, Engagement Practices and Culture Ambassadors. Any person from across the organization can join any CoP; these groups highlight our enterprise focus on inclusivity.

Diverse Recruiting Practices

Our recruiting organization is fully AIRS® Certified and held accountable to monthly recruitment outreach efforts to diverse organizations, including HBCUs. University recruiting has been a focal point for our diversity efforts. In 2023, 28% of our class of interns and early career associates identified as people of color.

Diversity Education

As we continue our DEI journey, our custom course of Leveraging Inclusion and Mitigating Unconscious Bias is assigned to all new managers to provide tools that support awareness of the automatic patterns of thinking as they learn to manage teams at BOK Financial. Our custom Conscious Inclusion Toolkit provides an opportunity for all employees to focus on inclusion through strategies, activities, and resources that deepen their knowledge and skills around inclusive conversations. We also partner with LinkedIn Learning® to ensure all employees across the Company have equal access to development opportunities, including two custom on demand learning paths focused on DEI concepts, and over 3,000 on demand DEI courses available as of December 2023.

Benefits and Compensation Offerings

BOK Financial is committed to the health and wellness of our employees. We provide our employees and their families with access to a variety of flexible and convenient health and wellness programs. We encourage engagement in healthy behaviors and offer options, where possible, to customize benefits to meet the needs of employees and their families. We provide robust compensation and benefits programs to help meet the needs of our employees. In addition to base salaries, these programs may include incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, equity, 401(k), health and wellness benefits, health savings and flexible spending accounts, paid time off, family leave, flexible work schedules, employee assistance programs and tuition reimbursement.

Talent Development

Our talent development programs provide employees with resources they need to achieve their career goals. Development offerings are focused on supporting career development goals, increasing skill sets, and preparing employees to expand in their current role or develop for future roles. We offer a variety of learning resources, from on demand content from LinkedIn® and GetAbstract®, to interactive sessions facilitated by Talent Development Consultants. Our employees are provided many opportunities to advance their careers within our organization. During 2023, 31% of all of positions filled were with internal employees.

Connecting with Our Employees

Engagement is an important component of our culture. We encourage our employees to provide feedback in a survey format with the last one completed in 2023. In 2023, 94% of our workforce participated in the survey, and results were shared and discussed across the Company. We are proud to say the level of our employees' engagement is considered world class.

Connecting with Our Communities

Our employees are passionate about many causes, and the Company’s corporate giving and volunteering programs support and encourage employees by engaging with those causes. Our employee-led giving program allows employees to nominate and vote for nonprofit organizations across our footprint to receive financial benefit from the BOKF Foundation. During 2023, the Company launched Dollars for Doers, a program which rewards our employees for living our core value to actively advance the communities we serve. In 2023, the company matched employee volunteer hours with a total of $4,547 in contributions to employees' chosen non-profit organizations across our footprint. In 2023, over 1,500 employees nominated and voted on 112 nonprofit organizations to receive funding. We continue to strategically focus on charitable contributions to accelerate resources to underserved minority communities of color by supporting nonprofit organizations providing programs to help close gaps in two key areas – income inequality and workforce development – identified as the most crucial to help break the cycle of poverty and put people on the path for long term success, sustainability, and wealth creation.

Supervision and Regulation

BOK Financial and its subsidiaries are subject to extensive regulations under federal and state laws. Both the scope of the laws and regulations and the intensity of the supervision to which our business is subject have increased in recent years. Regulatory enforcement and fines have also increased across the banking and financial services sector. Many of these changes have occurred as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act and its implementing regulations, most of which are now in place. These regulations and others are designed to promote safety and soundness, protect consumers and ensure the stability of the banking system as a whole. The purpose of these regulations is not necessarily to protect shareholders and creditors. As detailed below, these regulations require the Company and its subsidiaries to maintain certain capital balances and require the Company to provide financial support to its subsidiaries. These regulations may restrict the Company’s ability to diversify, to acquire other institutions and to pay dividends on its capital stock. These regulations also include requirements on certain programs and services offered to our customers, including restrictions on fees charged for certain services. The Company expects that its business will remain subject to extensive regulation and supervision.

The following information summarizes certain existing laws and regulations that affect the Company’s operations. It does not summarize all provisions of these laws and regulations and does not include all laws and regulations that affect the Company presently or in the future.

General

As a financial holding company, BOK Financial is regulated under the BHCA and is subject to regular inspection, examination and supervision by the Federal Reserve Board. Under the BHCA, BOK Financial files quarterly reports and other information with the Federal Reserve Board.

BOKF, NA is organized as a national banking association under the National Banking Act, and is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the OCC, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, the CFPB and other federal and state regulatory agencies. The OCC has primary supervisory responsibility for national banks and must approve certain corporate or structural changes including changes in capitalization, payment of dividends, change of place of business, and establishment of a branch or operating subsidiary. The OCC performs examinations concerning safety and soundness, the quality of management and directors, information technology and compliance with applicable regulations. The National Banking Act authorizes the OCC to examine every national bank as often as necessary.

A financial holding company, and the companies under its control, are permitted to engage in activities considered "financial in nature" as defined by the BHCA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Federal Reserve Board interpretations. Activities that are "financial in nature" include securities underwriting and dealing, insurance underwriting, merchant banking, operating a mortgage company, performing certain data processing operations, servicing loans and other extensions of credit, providing investment and financial advice, owning and operating savings and loan associations, and leasing personal property on a full pay-out, non-operating basis. A financial holding company is required to notify the Federal Reserve Board within thirty days of engaging in new activities determined to be "financial in nature." BOK Financial is engaged in some of these activities and has notified the Federal Reserve Board.

In order for a financial holding company to commence any new activity permitted by the BHCA, each insured depository institution subsidiary of the financial holding company must be "well capitalized" and "well managed" and have received a rating of at least "satisfactory" in its most recent examination under the Community Reinvestment Act. A financial holding company and its depository institution subsidiaries are considered to be "well capitalized" if they meet the requirements discussed in the section captioned "Capital Adequacy and Prompt Corrective Action" which follows. A financial holding company and its depository institution subsidiaries are considered to be "well managed" if they receive a composite rating and management rating of at least "satisfactory" in their most recent examinations. If a financial holding company fails to meet these requirements, the Federal Reserve Board may impose limitations or conditions on the conduct of its activities and the company may not commence any new financial activities without prior approval.

The BHCA requires the Federal Reserve Board’s prior approval for the direct or indirect acquisition of more than five percent of any class of voting stock of any non-affiliated bank. Under the Federal Bank Merger Act, the prior approval of the OCC is required for a national bank to merge with another bank or purchase the assets or assume the deposits of another bank. In reviewing applications seeking approval of merger and acquisition transactions, the bank regulatory authorities consider, among other things, the competitive effect and public benefits of the transactions, the capital position of the combined organization, the applicant’s performance record under the Community Reinvestment Act and fair housing laws and the effectiveness of the subject organizations in combating money laundering activities.

A financial holding company and its subsidiaries are prohibited under the BHCA from engaging in certain tie-in arrangements in connection with the provision of any credit, property or services. Thus, a subsidiary of a financial holding company may not extend credit, lease or sell property, furnish any services or fix or vary the consideration for these activities on the condition that (1) the customer obtain or provide additional credit, property or services from or to the financial holding company or any subsidiary thereof, or (2) the customer may not obtain some other credit, property or services from a competitor, except to the extent reasonable conditions are imposed to insure the soundness of credit extended.

The Company and other non-bank subsidiaries are also subject to other federal and state laws and regulations. For example, BOK Financial Securities, Inc. is regulated by the SEC, the FINRA, the Federal Reserve Board, and state securities regulators. Such regulations generally include licensing of certain personnel, customer interactions and trading operations.

Enhanced Prudential Standards

The Dodd-Frank Act directed the Federal Reserve Board to monitor emerging risks to financial institutions and enacted enhanced supervision and prudential standards applicable to bank holding companies with consolidated assets of $50 billion or more and non-bank covered companies designated as systematically important to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (often referred to as systemically important financial institutions). The Dodd-Frank Act mandated that certain regulatory requirements applicable to systemically important financial institutions be more stringent than those applicable to other financial institutions.

Subsequent legislation raised the threshold for systemically important financial institutions from $50 billion to $250 billion while providing the Federal Reserve Board with authority to establish incremental prudential standards for banks between $100 billion and $250 billion. Current rules adopted by the OCC require heightened standards for financial institutions that report at least $50 billion of average consolidated assets over a four quarter period after an 18-month grace period. These heightened standards require establishing and implementing a risk governance framework to cover the bank's risk-taking activities.

Consumer Financial Protection

We are subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that extensively govern our relationship with our customers. These laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Expedited Funds Availability Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act and these laws’ respective state-law counterparts, as well as state usury laws and laws regarding unfair and deceptive acts and practices. These and other federal laws, among other things, require disclosures of the cost of credit and terms of deposit accounts, provide substantive consumer rights, prohibit discrimination in credit transactions, regulate the use of credit report information, provide financial privacy protections, prohibit unfair, deceptive and abusive practices, restrict our ability to raise interest rates and subject us to substantial regulatory oversight. Violations of applicable consumer protection laws can result in significant potential liability from litigation brought by customers, including actual damages, restitution and attorneys’ fees. Federal bank regulators, state attorneys general and state and local consumer protection agencies may also seek to enforce consumer protection requirements and obtain these and other remedies, including regulatory sanctions, customer rescission rights, action by the state and local attorneys general in each jurisdiction in which we operate and civil money penalties. Failure to comply with consumer protection requirements may also damage our reputation and result in our failure to obtain any required bank regulatory approval for merger or acquisition transactions we may wish to pursue or our prohibition from engaging in such transactions even if approval is not required.

The CFPB has broad rule-making authority for a wide range of consumer financial laws that apply to all banks, including, among other things, the authority to prohibit "unfair, deceptive or abusive" acts and practices. Abusive acts or practices are defined as those that materially interfere with a consumer's ability to understand a term or condition of a consumer financial product or service or take unreasonable advantage of a consumer's (i) lack of financial savvy, (ii) inability to protect himself in the selection or use of consumer financial products or services, or (iii) reasonable reliance on a covered entity to act in the consumer’s interests. The CFPB can issue cease-and-desist orders against banks and other entities that violate consumer financial laws. The CFPB may also institute a civil action against an entity in violation of federal consumer financial laws in order to impose a civil penalty or injunction.

Community Reinvestment Act

The CRA requires depository institutions to assist in meeting the credit needs of their market areas consistent with safe and sound banking practices. Under the CRA, each depository institution is required to help meet the credit needs of its market areas by, among other things, providing credit to low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. Depository institutions are periodically examined for compliance with the CRA and are assigned ratings. In order for a financial holding company to commence any new activity permitted by the BHCA, or to acquire any company engaged in any new activity permitted by the BHCA, each insured depository institution subsidiary of the financial holding company must have received a rating of at least "satisfactory" in its most recent examination under the CRA. Furthermore, banking regulators take into account CRA ratings when considering a request for an approval of a proposed transaction. BOKF, NA received a rating of "outstanding" in its most recent CRA examination, which is above "satisfactory."

Financial Privacy

The federal banking regulators adopted rules that limit the ability of banks and other financial institutions to disclose non-public information about consumers to non-affiliated third parties. These limitations require disclosure of privacy policies to consumers and, in some circumstances, allow consumers to prevent disclosure of certain personal information to a non-affiliated third party. These regulations affect how consumer information is transmitted through diversified financial companies and is conveyed to outside parties.

Capital Adequacy and Prompt Corrective Action

The Federal Reserve Board, the OCC and the FDIC have issued substantially similar risk-based and leverage capital guidelines applicable to United States banking organizations to ensure capital adequacy based upon the risk levels of assets and off-balance sheet financial instruments. In addition, these regulatory agencies may from time to time require that a banking organization maintain capital above the minimum levels, whether because of its financial condition or actual or anticipated growth. Capital adequacy guidelines and prompt corrective action regulations involve quantitative measures of assets, liabilities, and certain off-balance sheet items calculated under regulatory accounting practices. Capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by regulators regarding components, risk weighting and other factors.

Federal Reserve Board risk-based guidelines define four capital metrics based on three categories of regulatory capital. CET1 includes common shareholders' equity, less goodwill, most intangible assets and other adjustments. Tier 1 capital consists of CET1 capital plus certain additional capital instruments and related surplus. Tier 2 consists of preferred stock not qualifying as Tier 1 capital, qualifying mandatory convertible debt securities, limited amounts of subordinated debt, other qualifying term debt and allowances for credit losses, subject to limitations. Assets and off-balance sheet exposures are assigned to categories of risk-weights, based primarily upon relative credit risk. Risk-based capital ratios are calculated by dividing CET1, Tier 1 and total capital by risk-weighted assets. In addition to the risk-based capital ratios, the Company is also subject to the leverage ratio. The leverage ratio is determined by dividing Tier 1 capital by adjusted average total assets.

Additional capital rules were effective for banks and bank holding companies, including BOK Financial, on January 1, 2015 as part of a package of regulatory reforms developed by the BCBS to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector, commonly referred to as the Basel III framework.

Failure to meet minimum capital requirements would be subject to regulatory restrictions on capital distributions (including but not limited to dividends and share repurchases) and executive bonus payments.

The FDICIA, among other things, identifies five capital categories for insured depository institutions from well capitalized to critically under-capitalized and requires the respective federal regulatory agencies to implement systems for prompt corrective action for institutions failing to meet minimum capital requirements within such categories. FDICIA imposes progressively more restrictive covenants on operations, management and capital distributions, depending upon the category in which an institution is classified. The various regulatory agencies have adopted substantially similar regulations that define the five capital categories identified by FDICIA, using the total risk-based capital, Tier 1 risk-based capital and leverage capital ratios as the relevant capital measures. Such regulations establish various degrees of corrective action to be taken when an institution is considered under-capitalized.

Stress Testing

The Regulatory Relief Act eliminated the requirement for periodic company run capital stress tests known as the Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test for banks with assets less than $250 billion. Although the mandate has been lifted, the Company still continues to perform capital stress testing on a regular basis.

Executive and Incentive Compensation

Guidelines adopted by federal banking agencies prohibit excessive compensation as an unsafe and unsound practice and describe compensation as excessive when the amounts paid are unreasonable or disproportionate to the services performed by an executive officer, employee, director or principal shareholder. The Federal Reserve Board has issued comprehensive guidance on incentive compensation intended to ensure that the incentive compensation policies do not undermine safety and soundness by encouraging excessive risk taking. This guidance covers all employees that have the ability to materially affect the risk profile of an organization, either individually or as part of a group, based on key principles that (i) incentives do not encourage risk-taking beyond the organization's ability to identify and manage risk, (ii) compensation arrangements are compatible with effective internal controls and risk management, and (iii) compensation arrangements are supported by strong corporate governance, including active and effective board oversight. Deficiencies in compensation practices may affect supervisory ratings and enforcement actions may be taken if incentive compensation arrangements pose a risk to safety and soundness.

Deposit Insurance

Substantially all of the deposits held by the subsidiary banks are insured up to applicable limits by the DIF of the FDIC and are subject to deposit insurance assessments to maintain the DIF. The FDIC, as required under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, established a plan in September 2020 to restore the DIF reserve ratio to meet or exceed the statutory minimum of 1.35 percent within eight years. This plan did not include an increase in the deposit insurance assessment rate. Based on the FDIC's recent projections, however, the FDIC determined that the DIF reserve ratio is at risk of not reaching the statutory minimum by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2028 without increasing the deposit insurance assessment rates. On October 18, 2022, the FDIC finalized a rule that increased the initial base deposit insurance assessment rates by 2 basis points beginning with the first quarterly assessment period of 2023. The increased assessment improves the likelihood that the DIF reserve ratio would reach the required minimum by the statutory deadline, consistent with the FDIC's Amended Restoration Plan. The rule became effective as of January 1, 2023.

On November 16, 2023, the FDIC approved a final rule to implement a special assessment on certain banking organizations with financial institution subsidiaries with more than $5 billion in assets in order to recover the costs associated with protecting uninsured depositors following the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March 2023. The special assessment will be collected beginning with the first quarterly assessment period of 2024 at an annual rate of approximately 13.4 basis points for an anticipated total of eight quarterly periods and is subject to periodic adjustments. The assessment base is equal to uninsured deposits reported as of December 31, 2022, adjusted to exclude the first $5 billion.

Dividends

A key source of liquidity for BOK Financial is dividends from BOKF, NA, which is limited by various banking regulations to net profits, as defined, for the year plus retained profits for the preceding two years. Dividends are further restricted by minimum capital requirements and the Company's internal capital policy. BOKF, NA's dividend limitations are discussed under the heading "Liquidity and Capital" within "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Source of Strength Doctrine

According to Federal Reserve Board policy, a bank holding company is expected to act as a source of financial strength to each subsidiary bank and to commit resources to support each such subsidiary. This support may be required at times when a bank holding company may not be able to provide such support.

Transactions with Affiliates

The Federal Reserve Board regulates transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries. Generally, the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, limit the Company's banking subsidiary and its subsidiaries, to lending and other "covered transactions" with affiliates. The aggregate amount of covered transactions a banking subsidiary or its subsidiaries may enter into with an affiliate may not exceed 10% of the capital stock and surplus of the banking subsidiary. The aggregate amount of covered transactions with all affiliates may not exceed 20% of the capital stock and surplus of the banking subsidiary.

Covered transactions with affiliates are also subject to collateral requirements and must be conducted on arm's length terms. Covered transactions include (a) a loan or extension of credit by the banking subsidiary, including derivative contracts, (b) a purchase of securities issued to a banking subsidiary, (c) a purchase of assets by the banking subsidiary unless otherwise exempted by the Federal Reserve, (d) acceptance of securities issued by an affiliate to the banking subsidiary as collateral for a loan, and (e) the issuance of a guarantee, acceptance or letter of credit by the banking subsidiary on behalf of an affiliate.

Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act

The BSA and the PATRIOT Act impose many requirements on financial institutions in the interest of national security and law enforcement. BSA requires banks to maintain records and file suspicious activity reports that are of use to law enforcement and regulators in combating money laundering and other financial crimes. The PATRIOT Act is intended to deny terrorists and criminals the ability to access the U.S. financial services system and places significantly greater requirements on financial institutions. Financial institutions, such as the Company and its subsidiaries, must have a designated BSA Officer, internal controls, independent testing and training programs commensurate with their size and risk profile. As part of its internal control program, a financial institution is expected to have effective customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence requirements for high-risk customers, as well as processes to prohibit transactions with entities subject to Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctions. Documentation and recordkeeping requirements, as well as system requirements, aimed at identifying and reporting suspicious activity reporting, must increase with the institution's size and complexity. Failure to implement or maintain adequate programs and controls to combat terrorist financing and money laundering may have serious legal, financial and reputational consequences.

Volcker and Swap Rules

Title VI of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the Volcker Rule, prohibits the Company from (1) engaging in short-term proprietary trading for our own account, and (2) having certain ownership interests in or relationships with private equity or hedge funds. The fundamental prohibitions of the Volcker Rule apply to banking entities of any size, including the Company and its bank subsidiary. Trading activity remains largely unaffected by the Volcker Rule as most of our trading activity is exempted or excluded from the proprietary trading prohibitions.

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the Swap Rule, subjects nearly all derivative transactions to the regulations of the CFTC or SEC. This includes registration, recordkeeping, reporting, capital, margin and business conduct requirements on swap dealers and major swap participants. Under CFTC and SEC rules, entities transacting in less than $8 billion in notional value of swaps over any 12 month period are exempt from the definition of and registration as a "swap dealer." The Company currently estimates that the nature and volume of its swaps activity will not require it to register as a swap dealer.

Governmental Policies and Economic Factors

The operations of BOK Financial and its subsidiaries are affected by legislative changes and by the policies of various regulatory authorities and, in particular, the policies of the Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board has statutory objectives to maximize employment and maintain price stability. Among the instruments of monetary policy used by the Federal Reserve Board to implement these objectives are: open-market operations in U.S. government securities, changes in the discount rate and federal funds rate on bank borrowings, and changes in reserve requirements on bank deposits. The effect of future changes in such policies on the business and earnings of BOK Financial and its subsidiaries is uncertain.

In an effort to reduce the four-decade inflation high, the Federal Reserve continued raising the Federal Funds rate in 2023. Following the seven rate increases totaling 425 basis points in the prior year, the Federal Reserve raised the Federal Funds rate four more times through July 2023 totaling 100 basis points. This has slowed the housing market, but home prices remain elevated and supply remains constrained. Consumer spending also continues to remain steady despite the Federal Reserve's effort to decrease spending with increased rates. Oil prices have remained somewhat volatile this year with the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, but are more stable than was experienced in 2022. Unemployment remains low, coming in at 3.7% for December 2023.

Our base case economic forecast for the fourth quarter of 2023 assumed geopolitical conflicts remain isolated. Inflation continues to improve from previous peaks and reaches 2.6% by the end of 2024. The federal funds rate target range of 5.25% to 5.50% is held flat for the remainder of 2024. Job openings revert to more normalized levels and overall hiring levels decline, causing the national unemployment rate to modestly increase over the next four quarters. Inflation pressures ease and help stabilize real household income compared to pre-pandemic levels, while a restrictive credit environment slows economic activity resulting in below-trend GDP growth. See "Summary of Credit Loss Experience" section in "Management's Discussion and Analysis" for further discussion around our economic forecast.

Foreign Operations

BOK Financial does not engage in operations in foreign countries, nor does it lend to foreign governments.