Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

GENERAL

Overview

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation is a financial holding company and bank holding company organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and registered under the BHCA. We are headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and provide a wide range of financial services and products to commercial and retail clients through our wholly-owned subsidiary bank, Atlantic Union Bank, a Federal Reserve member bank charted under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Bank is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and, as of December 31, 2023, operated 109 branches and 123 ATMs located throughout Virginia, and portions of Maryland and North Carolina. In addition, our non-bank financial services affiliates include Atlantic Union Equipment Finance, Inc., which provides equipment financing; Atlantic Union Financial Consultants LLC, which provides brokerage services; and Union Insurance Group, LLC, which offers various lines of insurance products.

At December 31, 2023, we had approximately $21.2 billion in assets, $15.6 billion in LHFI (net of deferred fees and costs), $16.8 billion in deposits, and $2.6 billion in stockholders’ equity.

Recent Developments

On July 24, 2023, the Company and American National entered into a merger agreement. Under the merger agreement, American National will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving entity. Immediately following the merger, American National Bank and Trust Company will merge with and into the Bank, with the Bank continuing as the surviving bank. Subject to the terms and conditions of the merger agreement, at the effective time of the merger, each outstanding share of American National common stock will be converted into the right to receive 1.35 shares of the Company’s common stock. The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of the Company and American National, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. American National shareholders approved the merger agreement at a special shareholder meeting held on November 14, 2023. The proposed merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.

History

The Company was originally incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1991, and we completed our bank holding company formation in July 1993, in connection with the merger of Northern Neck Bankshares Corporation with and into Union Bancorp, Inc. to form Union Bankshares Corporation, which was renamed Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation in 2019.

Union Bank & Trust Company, a predecessor of Atlantic Union Bank, was formed in 1902, and certain other of the community banks that were acquired and ultimately merged to form what is now Atlantic Union Bank were among the oldest in Virginia at the time they were acquired.

We have a history of growing through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, particularly with our three most recent acquisitions—StellarOne Corporation in 2014, Xenith Bankshares, Inc. in 2018, and Access National Corporation in 2019—which allowed us to meaningfully increase our asset size, enhance our scale and expand our footprint throughout Virginia and into portions of Maryland and North Carolina.

The table below indicates the year each of our predecessor community banks was formed, acquired by us, and merged into what is now Atlantic Union Bank.

Principal Products and Services

We are a full-service bank offering consumers and businesses a wide range of banking and related financial services, including checking, savings, certificates of deposit, and other depository services, as well as loans for commercial, industrial, residential mortgage, and consumer purposes. We also offer wealth management and trust services to individuals and corporations. In addition, through our wholly owned subsidiaries, we offer equipment financing services, and insurance products. Our customers have access to our products and services in-person via our full-service branches and ATMs, and virtually through our mobile and internet banking services. We strive to provide a differentiated customer experience that is authentically human and digital forward.

Lending Activities. Our loan portfolio consists primarily of commercial, industrial, residential mortgage, and consumer loans. A substantial portion of our loan portfolio is represented by commercial and residential real estate loans (including acquisition and development loans and residential construction loans). The ability of our borrowers to honor their loan contracts is dependent on the real estate market and general economic conditions in those markets, as well as other factors. The majority of our commercial real estate and industrial loans are made to customers in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Mortgage Banking. Our mortgage division, Atlantic Union Home Loans, originates the majority of our residential mortgage loans to borrowers nationwide, largely with the intent to sell such loans into the secondary mortgage markets. We also originate certain mortgage loans to our customers within our branch footprint to hold for investment.

Equipment Finance. We provide equipment financing to commercial and corporate customers nationwide through Atlantic Union Equipment Finance, Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank. Atlantic Union Equipment Finance provides financing for a wide array of equipment types, including marine, tractors, trailers, buses, construction, manufacturing, and medical.

Wealth Management, Trust and Insurance. We offer a wide variety of financial planning, wealth management and trust services to individuals and corporations, which allows us to reach new customers and expand product offerings to our existing loan and deposit customers. We offer financial planning, trust and investment management, and retirement planning services through our team of experienced financial advisors. Through Atlantic Union Financial Consultants, LLC, we offer brokerage services and execute securities transactions through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., an independent broker dealer.

Our insurance division, Union Insurance Group, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank that operates under an agreement with Bankers Insurance LLC, a large insurance agency owned by community banks across Virginia and managed by the Virginia Bankers Association. Union Insurance Group generates revenue through the sale of various insurance products through Bankers Insurance LLC, including long-term care insurance and business owner policies.

Deposit Products and Treasury Services. Our primary source of funds for our lending and investment activities are our deposit products. We provide both commercial and consumer customers a diverse array of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, among others. Our deposits are primarily made to

customers based in Virginia and portions of Maryland and North Carolina. In addition, we provide our customers a suite of products and services including, among others, credit cards (through an arrangement with Elan Financial Services), treasury management services, and capital market services.

SEGMENTS

We operate through two reportable operating segments: Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking, with corporate support functions such as corporate treasury and others included in Corporate Other.

Our Wholesale Banking segment provides loan, leasing, and deposit services, as well as treasury management, SBA lending and capital market services to our wholesale customers primarily throughout Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These customers include commercial real estate and commercial and industrial customers. This segment also includes our equipment finance subsidiary, Atlantic Union Equipment Finance, which has nationwide exposure. The private banking and trust businesses also reside in the Wholesale Banking segment.

Our Consumer Banking segment provides loan and deposit services to consumers and small businesses throughout Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Consumer Banking includes our home loan division and our investment management and advisory services businesses.

EXPANSION AND STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS

We have expanded our market area and increased our market share through a combination of organic growth (internal growth and de novo expansion) and strategic mergers and acquisitions. To date, our strategic acquisitions have included whole bank acquisitions, branch and deposit acquisitions, purchases of existing branches from other banks, and registered investment advisory firms. Our merger and acquisition strategy has focused on institutions that are a strong cultural fit and that are consistent with our philosophy of soundness, profitability, and growth.

We expect to continue to assess future strategic opportunities based on market and other conditions, applying a number of criteria, including transactions that:

These transactions may include whole bank and non-bank mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, or strategic partner equity investments.

HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES

We continuously seek to balance our commitments to our key stakeholders: our teammates, customers, shareholders, regulators, and communities. In order to accomplish this, it is crucial that we continue to attract and retain talent who desire to enrich the lives of the people and communities that we serve. To facilitate talent attraction and retention, we strive to create an inclusive, diverse, safe, and healthy workplace, that provides opportunities for our teammates to grow and develop in their careers, supported by strong compensation, benefits, health and welfare programs.

Employee Profile

As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,804 full-time equivalent employees (who we refer to as “teammates”). None of our teammates are represented by a union or covered under a collective bargaining agreement.

As of December 31, 2023, our workforce was comprised of approximately 65% women and 22% self-identified minorities, and the average tenure of our teammates was 7.5 years.

Our Workplace Culture

We seek to be recognized as the Premier Mid-Atlantic Bank – a high performing company that makes banking easy by providing competitive banking solutions, a highly differentiated customer and teammate experience and a great place to work. Our culture is defined by our purpose to enrich the lives of the people and the communities we serve. Our core values guide our actions to further this purpose and shape how we come together to meet our various stakeholder needs and expectations. We use the term “teammates” to describe our employees because we view the Company as one team, where everyone is valued for their contributions.

Our core values serve as the foundation for how we behave and operate as an organization and will influence our future success. Our core values include being:

We embrace diversity of thought and identity to better serve our stakeholders and achieve our purpose. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive and welcoming workplace where teammate and customer perspectives are valued and respected. We also seek to foster a culture of giving back to the communities where our customers live, work, and play. Charitable donations, small business lending, volunteerism, teaching financial literacy and promoting diversity and inclusion within our communities, are some of the ways we give back.

Compensation and Benefits

Our compensation programs are designed to attract, retain, and motivate high performing talent and provide market aligned pay programs in support of our business strategies. Our compensation programs are tied to both individual and corporate performances. In addition, we use the services of compensation consultants to advise us on compensation practices and to regularly benchmark our compensation and benefits program against our peers. Our compensation policies and procedures are designed to seek to ensure proper governance and acceptable levels of risk. Individual teammate total pay is influenced by the nature and scope of the job, what other employers pay for comparable jobs, experience, and individual performance. We have established minimum wage levels for all jobs through a formal salary structure that sets a defined salary range for each position. We also offer annual merit-based salary increases to eligible teammates.

Approximately 69% of our teammates are provided with an incentive opportunity under a formal incentive plan with measurable goals and metrics. All incentive programs have both upside and downside potential and are linked to both the individual’s and our performances. Teammates who are not eligible for an incentive plan are eligible to receive cash profit sharing based on our overall financial performance.

We believe that our teammates are best able to deliver a great customer experience if they feel healthy and secure. We offer a variety of benefit programs that flex to meet the needs of our diverse and multigenerational population, as we strive for a differentiated and personalized experience and to deliver what is most important to teammates throughout the various stages of their lives and careers. We share in the benefit costs with teammates in a way that supports mutual fiscal responsibility, and we seek to assist our teammates in managing health care costs through programs that focus on wellness improvement and appropriate use of health care services. Our benefits programs include healthcare and insurance benefits, various paid time off programs (inclusive of parental leave for both birth and non-birth parents), a 401(k) Plan that includes both a Company match and Company contributions to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, flexible work arrangements, Employee Assistance Programs, and tuition expense reimbursements. We also offer a holistic wellbeing program that provides opportunities for teammates to earn financial incentives by participating in wellness activities designed to build and sustain healthy habits.

Talent Development and Training

We believe our human capital is our most important asset, and we are committed to investing in the growth and development of our teammates. We have a performance development program that encourages teammate development through informal mentoring and ongoing conversations with their supervisors to seek to align our business objectives with our teammates’ personal development and career aspirations. Our performance development program is very important to delivering business results and helps gain greater alignment between strategic goals and individual goals. This program operates on an annual basis and begins with each teammate setting their own individual goals and development plans and ends with an annual review. Teammates are encouraged to take ownership of their development and seek guidance from their managers on goals and development areas.

We also provide training opportunities to foster teammate growth and development, enhance teammate skillsets, and prepare teammates to be successful in their roles. For example, we offer specific, targeted training to all new hires. In addition to professional development, role-based, and regulatory/compliance training, we also offer training resources on the following subjects, among others: anti-bribery; anti-money-laundering; information security; leadership; diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; policies/procedures; ethics; product training; technical/systems; and compensation/benefits. We also offer an enterprise development program, Emerge, intended to engage and retain high potential talent and broaden career mobility within and across lines of business. We emphasize succession planning and provide executive development initiatives designed to cultivate the capabilities of our senior-level talent. We are committed to cultivating these programs to fortify a robust talent pipeline, allow for continuous growth and support effective leadership transitions.

All teammates have access to training opportunities through a learning management system and/or learning experience platform. We offer training through multiple modalities, including e-learning, job aids, videos, instructor-led, and on-the-job practice supported by trained mentors. The majority of our training materials are regulation-based and managed through a regulatory and compliance program. In addition to job specific training, all teammates are required to complete mandatory compliance courses on a wide range of Company policies and procedures, such as our anti-discrimination policies and ethical standards and in response to regulatory requirements and changes.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

We are committed to hiring diverse talent and fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We believe that the collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our teammates invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and achievement. We strive to foster a culture and workplace that, among other things, is inclusive and welcoming, treats everyone with respect and dignity, promotes people on their merits, and promotes diversity of thoughts, ideas, perspective, and values. Our Board believes that diversity contributes to the overall effectiveness of the Board and generally conceptualizes diversity expansively to include, without limitation, concepts such as race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, education, age, work experience, professional skills, geographic location and other qualities or attributes that contribute to Board heterogeneity. We have a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Council, which we refer to as our DEIB Council, co-chaired by the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer and the Bank’s Chief Human Resources Officer and includes a cross-functional group of teammates from diverse backgrounds, that manages our efforts to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

We also have provided Employee Resource Groups, which we welcome all teammates and allies to join. Our current Employee Resource Groups include the Women’s Inclusion Network; Allies of Individuals Differently Abled; AUB Gets Vets; AUB Out & Proud; Caring for Caregivers; and Black Teammates United in Leadership and Development, all of which offer professional development opportunities such as mentoring, skill building and partnering to acquire talent and meet business goals.

COMPETITION

The financial services industry remains highly competitive and is constantly evolving. We experience strong competition in all aspects of our business. In our market areas, we compete with large national and regional financial institutions, credit unions, other independent community banks, as well as consumer finance companies, mortgage companies, loan production offices, mutual funds, life insurance companies and fintech companies. Competition for deposits and loans is

affected by various factors including, without limitation, interest rates offered, the number and location of branches and types of products offered, digital capabilities, and the reputation of the institution. Credit unions increasingly have been allowed to expand their membership definitions, and because they enjoy a favorable tax status, they may be able to offer more attractive loan and deposit pricing. Our non-bank affiliates also operate in highly competitive environments.

In addition, non-bank competitors are increasingly offering products and services that traditionally were only offered by banks. Many of these non-bank competitors are not subject to the same extensive federal regulations that govern bank holding companies and federally insured banks, which may allow them to offer greater lending limits and certain products and services that we do not provide.

We believe our community focused banking framework and philosophy provides us with a competitive advantage, particularly with regard to larger national and regional institutions, allowing us to compete effectively. Additionally, our attention to incorporating digital technology has made it possible for us to provide our customers with electronic, mobile, and internet-based financial solutions, such as online deposit accounts and electronic payment processing. Our deposit market share in Virginia was 5.3% of total bank deposits as of June 30, 2023, making us the largest regional bank headquartered in Virginia at that time.

ECONOMY

The economies in our market areas are diverse and include local and federal government, military, agriculture, and manufacturing. Based on Virginia Employment Commission data, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.0% as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 and continued to be below the national rate of 3.7% at December 31, 2023.

Our operations are affected not only by general economic conditions but also by the policies of various regulatory authorities. In an effort to curb inflation, throughout 2022 and 2023, the Federal Reserve increased the Federal Funds target rate to its current range of 5.25% to 5.50%. While inflation has eased in 2023, it remains elevated. The FOMC has noted that it will continue to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy, and in determining future actions with respect to the target rates, the FOMC will take into account a wide range of information, including readings on labor market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments. Generally, we expect to benefit from a rising rate environment given our interest rate risk profile; however, rising interest rates may have an adverse impact on the ability of our borrowers with floating rate loans to repay their loans. Additionally, rising rates may have an adverse impact on our deposit and borrowing costs. A decrease in interest rates may have an adverse impact on our net interest income if our asset yields reprice faster than our deposits or if we are not able to reduce our deposit rates in a declining rates scenario.

Our management continues to consider the current economic environment and potential future economic conditions, including the threat of an economic recession on our performance, while also seeking to address nonperforming assets, control costs, and work with borrowers to mitigate and protect against risk of loss. Our management also continues to review the pricing of our products and services, in light of current and expected costs due to inflation, to seek to mitigate the inflationary impact on our financial performance.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

We are extensively regulated under both federal and state laws. The following description briefly describes certain aspects of those regulations that are material to us and does not purport to be a complete description of all regulations, or aspects of those regulations, that affect us. To the extent statutory or regulatory provisions or proposals are described in this Form 10-K, the description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the particular statutory or regulatory provisions or proposals. Proposals to change the laws, regulations, and policies governing the banking industry are frequently raised at both the state and federal levels. The likelihood and timing of any changes in these laws and regulations, and the impact such changes may have on us, are difficult to ascertain. In addition to laws and regulations, bank regulatory agencies may issue policy statements, interpretive letters, and similar written guidance applicable to us. A change in applicable laws, regulations, or regulatory guidance, or in the manner such laws, regulations or regulatory guidance are interpreted by regulatory agencies or courts, may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, and earnings. Supervision, regulation, and examination of banks by regulatory agencies are intended primarily for the protection of depositors and customers, the deposit insurance fund and the U.S. banking and financial system rather than shareholders.

Both the scope of the laws and regulations and the intensity of the supervision to which we are subject have increased in recent years, initially in response to the global financial crisis of 2008, and more recently in light of other factors such as continued turmoil and stress in the financial markets, technological factors, market changes, and increased scrutiny of proposed bank mergers and acquisitions by federal and state bank regulators. As described in further detail below, we are subject to additional regulatory requirements because we have over $10 billion in consolidated assets. 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.

We are also subject to the disclosure and regulatory requirements of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, both as administered by the SEC, as well as the rules of the NYSE that apply to companies with securities listed on the NYSE.

The Company

General**.**The Company is registered as a bank holding company with the Federal Reserve under the BHCA and has elected to be a financial holding company. As a financial holding company, we are subject to comprehensive regulation, examination and supervision by the Federal Reserve and are subject to its regulatory reporting requirements. Federal law subjects financial holding companies, such as the Company, to particular restrictions and qualifications on the types of activities in which they may engage, and to a range of supervisory requirements and activities. The Company is also registered under the bank holding company laws of Virginia and is subject to supervision, regulation, and examination by the Virginia SCC.

Enacted in 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act has significantly changed the financial regulatory regime in the United States. Since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, U.S. banks and financial services firms, such as the Company and the Bank, have been subject to enhanced regulation and oversight. Several provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act remain subject to further rulemaking, guidance, and interpretation by the federal banking agencies; moreover, certain provisions of the Act that were implemented by federal agencies have been revised or rescinded pursuant to legislative changes adopted by Congress.

Permitted Activities**.** The permitted activities of a bank holding company are limited to managing or controlling banks, furnishing services to or performing services for its subsidiaries, and engaging in other activities that the Federal Reserve determines by regulation or order to be so closely related to banking or managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. In addition, bank holding companies that qualify and elect to be financial holding companies, such as the Company, may engage in any activity, or acquire and retain the shares of a company engaged in any activity, that is either (i) financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity (as determined by the Federal Reserve in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury) or (ii) complementary to a financial activity and does not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally (as solely determined by the Federal Reserve), without prior approval of the Federal Reserve. Activities that are financial in nature include, but are not limited to, securities underwriting and dealing, insurance underwriting, and making merchant banking investments.

To maintain financial holding company status, a financial holding company and all of its depository institution subsidiaries must be “well capitalized” and “well managed” as defined under applicable Federal Reserve requirements. If a financial holding company ceases to meet these capital and management requirements, the Federal Reserve’s regulations provide that the financial holding company must enter into an agreement with the Federal Reserve to comply with all applicable capital and management requirements. Until the financial holding company returns to compliance, the Federal Reserve may impose limitations or conditions on the conduct of its activities, and the company may not commence any of the broader financial activities permissible for financial holding companies or acquire a company engaged in such financial activities without prior approval of the Federal Reserve. If the company does not return to compliance within 180 days, the Federal Reserve may require the financial holding company to divest its depository institution subsidiaries or to cease engaging in any activity that is financial in nature (or incident to such financial activity) or complementary to a financial activity.

In order for a financial holding company to commence any new activity permitted by the BHCA or to acquire a 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. See below under “The Bank – Community Reinvestment Act.”

Despite prior approval, the Federal Reserve may order a bank holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any activity or to terminate ownership or control of any subsidiary when the Federal Reserve has reasonable cause to believe that a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness, or stability of any bank subsidiary of that bank holding company may result from such an activity.

Banking Acquisitions; Changes in Control**.** The BHCA and related regulations require, among other things, the prior approval of the Federal Reserve in any case where a bank holding company proposes to (i) acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the outstanding voting stock of any bank or bank holding company (unless it already owns a majority of such voting shares), (ii) acquire all or substantially all of the assets of another bank or bank holding company, or (iii) merge or consolidate with any other bank holding company. In determining whether to approve a proposed bank acquisition, the Federal Reserve will consider, among other factors, the effect of the acquisition on competition, the public benefits expected to be received from the acquisition, any outstanding regulatory compliance issues of any institution that is a party to the transaction, the projected capital ratios and levels on a post-acquisition basis, the financial condition of each institution that is a party to the transaction and of the combined institution after the transaction, the parties’ managerial resources and risk management and governance processes and systems, the parties’ compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering requirements, and the acquiring institution’s performance under the CRA and its compliance with fair housing and other consumer protection laws.

On July 9, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which, among other initiatives, encouraged the review of current practices and adoption of a plan for the revitalization of merger oversight under the BHCA and the Bank Merger Act. On March 25, 2022, the FDIC published a Request for Information, seeking information and comments regarding the regulatory framework that applies to merger transactions involving one or more insured depository institution. Making any formal changes to the framework for evaluating bank mergers would require an extended process, and any such changes are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. However, the adoption of more expansive or stringent standards may have an impact on our acquisition activity. Additionally, this Executive Order could influence the federal bank regulatory agencies’ expectations and supervisory oversight for banking acquisitions.

Subject to certain exceptions, the BHCA and the Change in Bank Control Act, together with the applicable regulations, require Federal Reserve approval (or, depending on the circumstances, no notice of disapproval) prior to any person or company’s acquiring “control” of a bank or bank holding company. A conclusive presumption of control exists if an individual or company acquires the power, directly or indirectly, to direct the management or policies of an insured depository institution or to vote 25% or more of any class of voting securities of any insured depository institution. A rebuttable presumption of control may exist if a person or company acquires 10% or more but less than 25% of any class of voting securities and certain other relationships are present between the investor and the bank holding company, or if certain other ownership thresholds for voting or total equity have been exceeded.

In addition, Virginia law requires the prior approval of the Virginia SCC for (i) the acquisition by a Virginia bank holding company of more than 5% of the voting shares of a Virginia bank or a Virginia bank holding company, or (ii) the acquisition by any other person of control of a Virginia bank holding company or a Virginia bank.

Source of Strength**.** Federal Reserve policy and the Dodd-Frank Act require bank holding companies, such as the Company, to act as a source of financial and managerial strength to their subsidiary banks. Under this requirement, the Company is expected to commit resources to support the Bank, including times when the Company may not be in a financial position to provide such resources. Any capital loans by a bank holding company to any of its subsidiary banks are subordinate in right of payment to depositors and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary banks. In the event of a bank holding company’s bankruptcy, any commitment by the bank holding company to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain the capital of a subsidiary bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and entitled to priority of payment.

Safety and Soundness**.** There are a number of obligations and restrictions imposed on bank holding companies and their subsidiary banks by law and regulatory policy that are designed to minimize potential loss to the depositors of such depository institutions and the DIF in the event of a depository institution insolvency, receivership, or default. For example, under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act, to avoid receivership of an insured depository institution subsidiary, a bank holding company is required to guarantee the compliance of any subsidiary bank that may become “undercapitalized” with the terms of any capital restoration plan filed by such subsidiary with its appropriate federal bank regulatory agency up to the lesser of (i) an amount equal to 5% of the institution’s total assets at

the time the institution became undercapitalized, or (ii) the amount that is necessary (or would have been necessary) to bring the institution into compliance with all applicable capital standards as of the time the institution fails to comply with such capital restoration plan.

Under the FDIA, the federal bank regulatory agencies have adopted guidelines prescribing safety and soundness standards. These guidelines establish general standards relating to capital management, internal controls and information systems, internal audit systems, information systems, data security, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure and risk management, vendor management, corporate governance, asset growth and compensation, fees, and benefits. In general, the guidelines require, among other things, appropriate systems and practices to identify and manage the risk and exposures specified in the guidelines.

Capital Requirements.** **The Federal Reserve imposes certain capital requirements on bank holding companies under the BHCA, including a minimum leverage ratio and a minimum ratio of “qualifying” capital to risk-weighted assets. These requirements are described below under “The Bank – Capital Requirements.” Subject to its capital requirements and certain other restrictions, the Company is able to borrow money to make a capital contribution to the Bank, and such loans may be repaid from dividends paid by the Bank to the Company.

Limits on Dividends, Capital Distributions and Other Payments**.**The Company is a legal entity, separate and distinct from its subsidiaries. A significant portion of the revenues of the Company result from dividends paid to it by the Bank. There are various legal limitations applicable to the payment of dividends by the Bank to the Company to the payment of dividends by the Company to its shareholders, and to the repurchase by the Company of outstanding shares of its capital stock. Federal Reserve policy provides that bank holding companies, such as the Company, should generally pay dividends to shareholders only if (i) the organization’s net income available to common shareholders over the past year has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends; (ii) the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition; and (iii) the organization will continue to meet minimum capital adequacy ratios. In addition, the Bank is subject to various statutory and regulatory restrictions on its ability to pay dividends to the Company. Under current regulations, prior approval from the Federal Reserve is required if cash dividends declared by the Bank in any given year exceed net income for that year, plus retained net profits of the two preceding years. The payment of dividends by the Bank or the Company may be limited by other factors, such as requirements to maintain capital above regulatory guidelines. Bank regulatory agencies have the authority to prohibit the Bank or the Company from engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice in conducting its respective business. The payment of dividends or the repurchase of outstanding capital stock, depending on the financial condition of the Bank, or the Company, could be deemed to constitute such an unsafe or unsound practice.

Under the FDIA, insured depository institutions such as the Bank, are prohibited from making capital distributions, including the payment of dividends, if, after making such distributions, the institution would become “undercapitalized” (as such term is used in the statute). Based on the Bank’s current financial condition, the Company does not expect that this provision will have any impact on its ability to receive dividends from the Bank.

The Bank

General**.**The Bank is chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia and is supervised and regularly examined by the Virginia SCC. The Bank, as a member of the Federal Reserve System, is also supervised and regularly examined by the Federal Reserve. The Bank is also subject to regulation by the CFPB, as an institution with more than $10 billion in assets. The various laws and regulations administered by the bank regulatory agencies affect corporate practices, such as the payment of dividends, incurrence of debt, and acquisition of financial institutions and other companies; they also affect business practices, such as the payment of interest on deposits, the charging of interest on loans, types of business conducted, and location of offices. Certain of these laws and regulations are referenced above under “The Company”.

Interchange Fees.* *Under the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve adopted rules establishing standards for assessing whether the interchange fees that may be charged with respect to certain electronic debit transactions are “reasonable and proportional” to the costs incurred by issuers for processing such transactions.

Interchange fees, or “swipe” fees, are charges that merchants pay to the Bank and other card-issuing banks for processing electronic payment transactions. Under the final rules, which are applicable to financial institutions that have assets of $10 billion or more, the maximum permissible interchange fee is equal to the sum of 21 cents plus 5 bps of the transaction value for many types of debit interchange transactions. The rules permit an upward adjustment to an issuer’s

debit card interchange fee of no more than one cent per transaction if the issuer develops and implements policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve certain fraud-prevention standards. The Federal Reserve also has rules governing routing and exclusivity that require issuers to offer two unaffiliated networks for routing transactions on each debit or prepaid product.

In October 2023, the Federal Reserve issued proposed rules that would reduce the maximum permissible interchange fee cap. The proposed rules would also adopt an approach for future adjustments to the interchange fee cap, which would occur every other year based on data received by the Federal Reserve in biennial surveys of covered financial institutions.

Capital Requirements.** **The Federal Reserve and the other federal banking agencies have issued risk-based and leverage capital guidelines applicable to U.S. banking organizations. Those regulatory agencies may from time to time require that a banking organization maintain capital above the minimum levels because of its financial condition or actual or anticipated growth.

The Federal Reserve has adopted capital requirements and calculations of risk-weighted assets to implement the Basel III regulatory capital reforms from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Under these risk-based capital requirements of the Federal Reserve, the Company and the Bank are required to maintain the following to be considered adequately capitalized: (i) a minimum ratio of total capital (which is defined as core capital and supplementary capital less certain specified deductions from total capital such as reciprocal holdings of depository institution capital instruments and equity investments) to risk-weighted assets of at least 8.0%, (ii) a minimum ratio of Tier 1 capital (which consists principally of common and certain qualifying preferred shareholders’ equity (including grandfathered trust preferred securities) as well as retained earnings, less certain intangibles and other adjustments) to risk-weighted assets of at least 6.0%, and (iii) a minimum ratio of common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 4.5%. These capital requirements provide that “Tier 2 capital” consists of cumulative preferred stock, long-term perpetual preferred stock, a limited amount of subordinated and other qualifying debt (including certain hybrid capital instruments), and a limited amount of the general loan loss allowance.

The Federal Reserve’s capital requirements also impose a capital conservation buffer requirement of 2.5% of risk-weighted assets. The capital conservation buffer is designed to absorb losses during periods of economic stress. Banking institutions with a ratio of common equity Tier 1 to risk-weighted assets above the minimum but below the conservation buffer will face constraints on dividends, equity repurchases, and compensation based on the amount of the shortfall.

The combined effect of the risk-based capital requirements and the additional 2.5% capital conservation buffer is that the Company and the Bank must maintain (i) a minimum ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets of at least 10.5%, (ii) a minimum ratio of Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of 8.5%, and (iii) a minimum ratio of common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of 7.0%.

The Tier 1, common equity Tier 1, and total capital to risk-weighted asset ratios of the Company were 10.76%, 9.84% and 13.55%, respectively, as of December 31, 2023, thus exceeding the minimum requirements for “well capitalized” status. The Tier 1, common equity Tier 1, and total capital to risk-weighted asset ratios of the Bank were 12.48%, 12.48%, and 13.15%, respectively, as of December 31, 2023, also exceeding the minimum requirements for “well capitalized” status.

Each of the federal bank regulatory agencies also has established a minimum leverage capital ratio of Tier 1 capital to average adjusted assets (“Tier 1 leverage ratio”). The guidelines require a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 3.0% for advanced approach banking organizations; all other banking organizations are required to maintain a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4.0%. In addition, for a depository institution to be considered “well capitalized” under the regulatory framework for PCA, its Tier 1 leverage ratio must be at least 5.0%. Banking organizations that have experienced internal growth or made acquisitions are expected to maintain strong capital positions substantially above the minimum supervisory levels without significant reliance on intangible assets. The Federal Reserve has not advised the Company or the Bank of any specific minimum leverage ratio applicable to either entity. As of December 31, 2023, the Tier 1 leverage ratios of the Company and the Bank were 9.63% and 11.16%, respectively, well above the minimum requirements.

The Federal Reserve’s final rules prescribe a standardized approach for risk weightings for a risk-sensitive number of categories, depending on the nature of the assets, generally ranging from 0% for U.S. government and agency securities to 600% for certain equity exposures, and resulting in higher risk weights for a variety of asset classes.

The Federal Reserve’s regulatory capital rules also provide that the Company’s trust preferred securities qualify as Tier 2 capital. The Company has $143.5 million of trust preferred securities outstanding and approximately $21.2 billion in assets as of December 31, 2023.

In July 2023, the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC issued proposed rules to implement the final components of the Basel III agreement, often known as the “Basel III endgame.” These proposed rules contain provisions that apply to banks with $100 billion or more in total assets and that will significantly alter how those banks calculate risk-based assets. These proposed rules do not apply to holding companies or banks with less than $100 billion in assets, such as the Company and the Bank, but the final impacts of these rules cannot yet be predicted.

On August 26, 2020, the federal bank regulatory agencies adopted a final rule that allowed the Company to phase in the impact of adopting the CECL methodology up to two years, with a three-year transition period to phase out the cumulative benefit to regulatory capital provided during the two-year delay. The Company elected to phase in the regulatory capital impact as permitted under this final rule. The CECL transition amount is being phased out of regulatory capital over a three-year period that began in 2022 and ends in 2024. Refer to Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section “Capital Resources” of this Form 10-K for information regarding the impact of this final rule on the Company’s regulatory capital.

Deposit Insurance. The Bank’s deposits are insured up to applicable limits by the DIF of the FDIC and are subject to deposit insurance assessments based on average total assets minus average tangible equity to maintain the DIF. The basic limit on FDIC deposit insurance coverage is $250,000 per depositor. Under the FDIA, the FDIC may terminate a bank’s deposit insurance upon a finding that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, is in an unsafe or unsound condition to continue operations as an insured depository institution, or has violated any applicable law, regulation, rule, order or condition imposed by the FDIC, subject to administrative and potential judicial hearing and review processes.

The FDIC has adopted a large-bank pricing assessment structure, set a target “designated reserve ratio” of 2% for the DIF, and in lieu of dividends, provides for a lower assessment rate schedule, when the reserve ratio reaches 2% and 2.5%. An institution’s assessment rate is based on a statistical analysis of financial ratios that estimates the likelihood of failure over a three-year period, which considers the institution’s weighted average CAMELS composite rating, which is the rating system bank supervisory authorities use to rate financial institutions and is subject to further adjustments including related to levels of unsecured debt and brokered deposits. At December 31, 2023, total base assessment rates for institutions that have been insured for at least five years with assets of $10 billion or more range from 2.5 to 42 bps. On October 18, 2022, the FDIC adopted a final rule to increase initial base deposit insurance assessment rate schedules uniformly by 2 bps, beginning in the first quarterly assessment period of 2023. This increase in assessment rate schedules is intended to increase the likelihood that the reserve ratio reaches 1.35% by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2028. The new assessment rate schedules will remain in effect unless and until the reserve ratio meets or exceeds 2%. Progressively lower assessment rate schedules will take effect when the reserve ratio reaches 2%, and again when it reaches 2.5%.

In November 2023, the FDIC approved a special assessment to recover the loss to the DIF associated with the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in early 2023. The assessment base for the special assessment is equal to an insured depository institution’s estimated uninsured deposits reported as of December 31, 2022, adjusted to exclude the first $5 billion of uninsured deposits. The special assessment will be collected at an annual rate of approximately 13.4 basis points for an anticipated total of eight quarterly assessment periods beginning with the first quarterly assessment period in 2024, with the first payment due on June 28, 2024.

For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, we incurred deposit insurance assessment expenses of $18.0 million, $8.3 million, and $7.8 million, respectively. The 2023 expense includes the impact of the 2 bps initial base deposit insurance assessment rate increase, effective the first quarter of 2023, as well as $3.4 million attributable to the FDIC’s special assessment described above.

Transactions with Affiliates**.**The authority of the Bank to engage in transactions with related parties or “affiliates,” or to make loans to insiders, is limited by Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as amended and Regulation W. Loan transactions with an affiliate generally must be collateralized and certain transactions between the Bank and its affiliates, including the sale of assets, the payment of money or the provision of services, must be on terms and conditions that are substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the Bank, as those prevailing for comparable nonaffiliated transactions. In addition, the Bank generally may not purchase securities issued or underwritten by affiliates.

Prompt Corrective Action**.** Federal banking regulators are authorized and, under certain circumstances, required to take certain actions against banks that fail to meet their capital requirements. The federal bank regulatory agencies have additional enforcement authority with respect to undercapitalized depository institutions. “Well capitalized” institutions may generally operate without additional supervisory restriction. With respect to “adequately capitalized” institutions, such banks cannot normally pay dividends or make any capital contributions that would leave it undercapitalized, they cannot pay a management fee to a controlling person if, after paying the fee, it would be undercapitalized, and they cannot accept, renew, or roll over any brokered deposit unless the bank has applied for and been granted a waiver by the FDIC.

Immediately upon becoming “undercapitalized,” a depository institution becomes subject to the provisions of Section 38 of the FDIA, which: (i) restrict payment of capital distributions and management fees; (ii) require that the appropriate federal banking agency monitor the condition of the institution and its efforts to restore its capital; (iii) require submission of a capital restoration plan; (iv) restrict the growth of the institution’s assets; and (v) require prior approval of certain expansion proposals. The appropriate federal banking agency for an undercapitalized institution also may take any number of discretionary supervisory actions if the agency determines that any of these actions is necessary to resolve the problems of the institution at the least possible long-term cost to the DIF, subject in certain cases to specified procedures. These discretionary supervisory actions include: (i) requiring the institution to raise additional capital; (ii) restricting transactions with affiliates; (iii) requiring divestiture of the institution or the sale of the institution to a willing purchaser; and (iv) any other supervisory action that the agency deems appropriate. These and additional mandatory and permissive supervisory actions may be taken with respect to significantly undercapitalized and critically undercapitalized institutions. The Bank met the definition of being “well capitalized” as of December 31, 2023.

The “prompt corrective action” regulations pursuant to Section 38 of the FDIA require for well-capitalized status a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 5.0%, a minimum common equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 6.5%, a minimum Tier 1 capital ratio of 8.0%, and a minimum total capital ratio of 10.0%.

Community Reinvestment Act. The Bank is subject to the requirements of the CRA. The CRA imposes on financial institutions an affirmative and ongoing obligation to meet the credit needs of the local communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. If the Bank receives a rating from the Federal Reserve of less than “satisfactory” under the CRA, restrictions on operating activities would be imposed. In addition, in order for a financial holding company, like the 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. The Bank received a “satisfactory” CRA rating in its most recent examination.

On October 24, 2023, the federal bank regulatory agencies jointly issued a final rule to modernize CRA regulations consistent with the following key goals: (i) to encourage banks to expand access to credit, investment, and banking services in low to moderate income communities; (ii) to adapt to changes in the banking industry, including internet and mobile banking and the growth of non-branch delivery systems; (iii) to provide greater clarity and consistency in the application of the CRA regulations, including adoption of a new metrics-based approach to evaluating bank retail lending and community development financing; and (iv) to tailor CRA evaluations and data collection to bank size and type, recognizing that differences in bank size and business models may impact CRA evaluations and qualifying activities. Most of the final CRA rule’s requirements will be applicable beginning January 1, 2026, with certain requirements, including the data reporting requirements, applicable as of January 1, 2027. The Bank is evaluating the expected impact of the modified CRA regulations.

FHLB. The Bank is a member of the FHLB of Atlanta, which is one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks that provide funding to their members for making housing loans as well as for affordable housing and community development loans. Each Federal Home Loan Bank serves as a reserve, or central bank, for the members within its

assigned region, and makes loans to its members in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Board of Directors of the applicable Federal Home Loan Bank. As a member, the Bank must purchase and maintain stock in the FHLB.

Confidentiality of Customer Information**.** We are subject to various laws and regulations that address the privacy of nonpublic personal financial information of customers. As a financial institution, we must provide to our customers information regarding our policies and procedures with respect to the handling of customers’ personal information. We must also conduct an internal risk assessment of our ability to protect customer information.

These privacy laws and regulations generally prohibit financial institutions from providing a customer’s personal financial information to unaffiliated parties without prior notice and approval from the customer.

The CFPB published its final rule to update Regulation P pursuant to the amended Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 2018. Under this rule, certain qualifying financial institutions are not required to provide annual privacy notices to customers. To qualify, a financial institution must not share nonpublic personal information about customers except as described in certain statutory exceptions which do not trigger a customer’s statutory opt-out right. In addition, the financial institution must not have changed its disclosure policies and practices from those disclosed in its most recent privacy notice. The rule sets forth timing requirements for delivery of annual privacy notices in the event that a financial institution that qualified for the annual notice exemption later changes its policies or practices in such a way that it no longer qualifies for the exemption.

These laws and regulations impose compliance costs and create obligations and, in some cases, reporting obligations, and compliance with these laws, regulations, and obligations may require us to use significant resources.

Data privacy and data protection are areas of increasing state legislative focus. In March 2021, the Governor of Virginia signed into law the VCDPA, which went into effect on January 1, 2023. The VCDPA grants Virginia residents the right to access, correct, delete, know, and opt-out of the sale and processing for targeted advertising purposes of their personal information, similar to the protections provided by similar consumer data privacy laws in California and in Europe. The VCDPA also imposes data protection assessment requirements and authorizes the Attorney General of Virginia to enforce the VCDPA but does not provide a private right of action for consumers. The Bank is exempt from the VCDPA, but certain third-party vendors of the Company or the Bank are subject to the VCDPA, which could negatively impact the products or services that we obtain from those vendors.

Required Disclosure of Customer Information**.**We are also subject to various laws and regulations that attempt to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The Bank Secrecy Act requires all financial institutions to, among other things, create a system of controls designed to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and imposes recordkeeping and reporting requirements. The USA Patriot Act added additional regulations to facilitate information sharing among governmental entities and financial institutions for the purpose of combating terrorism and money laundering, impose standards for verifying customer identification at account opening, and require financial institutions to establish anti-money laundering programs. Regulations adopted under the Bank Secrecy Act impose on financial institutions customer due diligence requirements, and the federal banking regulators expect that customer due diligence programs will be integrated within a financial institution’s broader BSA/AML compliance program. The OFAC, which is a division of the Treasury, is responsible for helping to ensure that United States entities do not engage in transactions with “enemies” of the United States, as defined by various Executive Orders and Acts of Congress. If the Bank finds a name of an “enemy” of the United States on any transaction, account, or wire transfer that is on an OFAC list, it must freeze such account or place transferred funds into a blocked account and report it to OFAC.

In December 2020, Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021. Among its many provisions, the National Defense Authorization Act includes the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the related Corporate Transparency Act of 2019. The Corporate Transparency Act is a significant update to federal BSA/AML regulations that aims to eliminate the use of shell companies that facilitate the laundering of criminal proceeds and, for that purpose, directs FinCEN to establish and maintain a national registry of beneficial ownership information for corporate entities. Specifically, corporations and limited liability companies (subject to certain exceptions) must disclose to FinCEN their beneficial owners – defined as an individual who, directly or indirectly, exercises substantial control over the entity or owns or controls not less than 25% of the ownership interests of the entity. Beneficial ownership must be disclosed at the time of company formation and upon a change in ownership. The national registry will be confidential; the Corporate Transparency Act contains criminal penalties for non-compliance as well as for unauthorized

disclosure of reported information. On September 29, 2022, FinCEN issued a final rule to implement the beneficial ownership reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act, which became effective January 1, 2024.

Volcker Rule. The Dodd-Frank Act prohibits insured depository institutions and their holding companies from engaging in proprietary trading except in limited circumstances and prohibits them from owning equity interests in excess of 3% of Tier 1 capital in private equity and hedge funds (known as the “Volcker Rule”). As implied by the federal bank regulatory agencies, the final rule prohibits banking entities from (i) engaging in short-term proprietary trading for their own accounts, and (ii) having certain ownership interests in and relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds. The rule also requires each regulated entity to establish an internal compliance program that is consistent with the extent to which it engages in activities covered by the Volcker Rule, which must include (for the largest entities) making regular reports about those activities to regulators. Although the final rule provides some tiering of compliance and reporting obligations based on size, the fundamental prohibitions of the Volcker Rule apply to the Company and the Bank. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act and subsequent promulgation of inter-agency final rules have aimed at simplifying and tailoring requirements related to the Volcker Rule, including by eliminating collection of certain metrics and reducing the compliance burdens associated with other metrics for banks with less than $20 billion in average trading assets and liabilities. Due to the changing regulatory landscape, we will continue to evaluate the implications of the Volcker Rule on our investments.

Consumer Financial Protection**.** The Bank is subject to a number of federal and state consumer protection laws that extensively govern its relationship with its 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 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act, laws governing flood insurance, federal and state laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive business practices, foreclosure laws, garnishment and other creditor laws, and various regulations that implement some or all of the foregoing. These laws and regulations mandate certain disclosure requirements and regulate the manner in which financial institutions must deal with customers when taking deposits, making loans, collecting loans, and providing other services. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we may be subject to various penalties or enforcement actions. Failure to comply with consumer protection requirements may also result in failure to obtain any required bank regulatory approval for our proposed merger or acquisition transactions.

The Dodd-Frank Act centralized responsibility for consumer financial protection with the CFPB, giving it responsibility for implementing, examining, and enforcing compliance with federal consumer protection laws. The CFPB focuses on (i) risks to consumers and compliance with the federal consumer financial laws, (ii) the markets in which firms operate and risks to consumers posed by activities in those markets, (iii) depository institutions that offer a wide variety of consumer financial products and services, and (iv) non-depository companies that offer one or more consumer financial products or services. The CFPB is responsible for implementing, examining and enforcing compliance with federal consumer financial laws for institutions with more than $10 billion of assets. The Company and the Bank are subject to federal consumer protection rules enacted by the CFPB and the Bank is subject to examination by the CFPB.

The CFPB has broad rulemaking 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. On January 17, 2024, the CFPB issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend Regulation E and Regulation Z, which implement the Truth in Lending Act, and treat discretionary overdraft services offered by financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets as credit. As a result, in connection with such discretionary overdraft services, consumers would receive new disclosures and would be evaluated for their ability to repay the obligation. The proposed rule would exempt “courtesy” overdraft services, which are services where the overdraft fee covers only the break-even cost of the service or falls within a CFPB-prescribed break-even cost. Fees charged in excess of break-even overdraft costs would be treated as finance charges. The comment period for the proposed rule closes on April 1, 2024, and the CFPB anticipates that a final rule will take effect by October 1, 2025. We are continuing to evaluate the potential impacts of this proposal.

On October 19, 2023, the CFPB issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires covered financial institutions to make consumer data about financial services and products more readily available to consumers and authorized third parties. The proposed rule adds consumer protection obligations on

financial institutions and third parties authorized by the consumer to collect and use that data. Financial institutions would be responsible for making specified information available through an electronic interface including 24 months of transactional data available, account information (e.g., account balance, upcoming bills, basic account verification) information to initiate payment to and from accounts, and terms and conditions under which the account or card was provided. The comment period for the proposed rule closed at the end of 2023. The CFPB has not announced the timing for issuing the final rule.

On March 30, 2023, the CFPB issued the Small Business Lending Rule, which amends provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require covered financial institutions, including the Bank, to collect and report certain data in connection with credit applications made by small businesses, including women- or minority-owned small businesses. The CFPB will create a comprehensive public database of small business lending practices (those with $5 million in gross annual revenue for the preceding year) with information aggregated from covered financial institutions. The final rule contains additional requirements beyond small business lending data collection and reporting including that financial institutions restrict access to demographic information about the principals of the small business to an employee involved in making any determination concerning the applicant’s credit application. The CFPB used staggered compliance dates for initiating data collection divided into three tiers depending on the number of covered originations with the first beginning on October 1, 2024. The compliance dates have been delayed while the Supreme Court decides a separate case determining the CFPB’s funding structure. We are working to comply with the provisions of the Small Business Lending Rule to meet the revised compliance dates pending the Supreme Court’s decision.

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. Further, regulatory positions taken by the CFPB may influence how other regulatory agencies apply the consumer financial protection laws and regulations subject to such regulatory positions.

During the current administration, the CFPB also actively supports enforcement of consumer financial protection laws and regulations by individual states. For example, during 2022, the CFPB issued an interpretative rule stating, in part, that (i) states can enforce the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act, and (ii) CFPB enforcement actions do not put a halt to state enforcement actions.

Mortgage Banking Regulation. In connection with making mortgage loans, we are subject to rules and regulations that, among other things, establish standards for loan origination, prohibit discrimination, provide for inspections and appraisals of property, require credit reports on prospective borrowers, in some cases restrict certain loan features and fix maximum interest rates and fees, require the disclosure of certain basic information to mortgagors concerning credit and settlement costs, limit payment for settlement services to the reasonable value of the services rendered and require the maintenance and disclosure of information regarding the disposition of mortgage applications based on race, gender, geographical distribution and income level. We are also subject to rules and regulations that require the collection and reporting of significant amounts of information with respect to mortgage loans and borrowers.

Our mortgage origination activities are subject to Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act. Certain provisions of Regulation Z require creditors to make a reasonable and good faith determination based on verified and documented information that a consumer applying for a mortgage loan has a reasonable ability to repay the loan according to its terms. Creditors are required to determine consumers’ ability to repay in one of two ways. The first alternative requires the creditor to consider the following eight underwriting factors when making the credit decision: (i) current or reasonably expected income or assets; (ii) current employment status; (iii) the monthly payment on the covered transaction; (iv) the monthly payment on any simultaneous loan; (v) the monthly payment for mortgage-related obligations; (vi) current debt obligations, alimony, and child support; (vii) the monthly debt-to-income ratio or residual income; and (viii) credit history. Alternatively, the creditor can originate “qualified mortgages,” which are entitled to a presumption that the creditor making the loan satisfied the ability-to-repay requirements. In general, a “qualified mortgage” is a mortgage loan without negative amortization, interest-only payments, balloon payments, or terms exceeding 30 years. In addition, to be a qualified mortgage, the points and fees paid by a consumer cannot exceed 3% of the total loan amount.

Qualified mortgages that are “higher-priced” (e.g., subprime loans) garner a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the ability-to-repay rules, while qualified mortgages that are not “higher-priced” (e.g., prime loans) are given a safe harbor of compliance. To meet the mortgage credit needs of a broader customer base, we are predominantly an originator of mortgages that are intended to be in compliance with the ability-to-pay requirements.

Brokered Deposits. Section 29 of the FDIA and FDIC regulations generally limit the ability of any bank to accept, renew or roll over any brokered deposit unless it is “well capitalized” or, with the FDIC’s approval, “adequately capitalized.” However, as a result of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, the FDIC undertook a comprehensive review of its regulatory approach to brokered deposits, including reciprocal deposits, and interest rate caps applicable to banks that are less than “well capitalized.” On December 15, 2020, the FDIC issued rules to revise brokered deposit regulations in light of modern deposit-taking methods. The rules established a new framework for certain provisions of the “deposit broker” definition and amended the FDIC’s interest rate methodology calculating rates and rate caps. The rules became effective on April 1, 2021.

Cybersecurity.* *The federal bank regulatory agencies have adopted guidelines for establishing information security standards and cybersecurity programs for implementing safeguards under the supervision of a financial institution’s board of directors. These guidelines, along with related regulatory materials, increasingly focus on risk management and processes related to information technology and the use of third parties in the provision of financial products and services. The federal bank regulatory agencies expect financial institutions to establish lines of defense and to ensure that their risk management processes address the risk posed by compromised customer credentials, and also expect financial institutions to maintain sufficient business continuity planning processes to ensure rapid recovery, resumption and maintenance of the institution’s operations after a cyberattack. If we fail to meet the expectations set forth in this regulatory guidance, we could be subject to various regulatory actions and any remediation efforts may require us to devote significant resources.

On November 18, 2021, the federal bank regulatory agencies issued a final rule to improve the sharing of information about cyber incidents that may affect the U.S. banking system. The rule requires a banking organization to notify its primary federal regulator of any significant computer-security incident as soon as possible and no later than 36 hours after the banking organization determines that a cyber incident has occurred. Notification is required for incidents that have materially affected—or are reasonably likely to materially affect—the viability of a banking organization’s operations, its ability to deliver banking products and services, or the stability of the financial sector. In addition, the rule requires a bank service provider to notify affected banking organization customers as soon as possible when the provider determines that it has experienced a computer-security incident that has materially affected or is reasonably likely to materially affect banking organization customers for four or more hours. The rule became effective May 1, 2022. With increased focus on cybersecurity, we are continuing to monitor legislative, regulatory, and supervisory developments related thereto. We had no material cybersecurity incidents in 2023.

Incentive Compensation**.**The Dodd-Frank Act requires the federal banking agencies and the SEC to establish joint regulations or guidelines prohibiting incentive-based payment arrangements at specified regulated entities with at least $1 billion in total consolidated assets, that encourage inappropriate risks by providing an executive officer, employee, director, or principal shareholder with excessive compensation, fees, or benefits that could lead to material financial loss to the entity. In 2016, the SEC and the federal banking agencies proposed rules that prohibit covered financial institutions (including bank holding companies and banks) from establishing or maintaining incentive-based compensation arrangements that encourage inappropriate risk taking by providing covered persons (consisting of senior executive officers and significant risk takers, as defined in the rules) with excessive compensation, fees, or benefits that could lead to material financial loss to the financial institution. The comment period for these proposed rules has closed, and a final rule has not yet been published. If the rules are adopted as proposed, they will restrict the way executive compensation is structured.

Future Regulation

From time to time, various legislative and regulatory initiatives are introduced in Congress and state legislatures, as well as by regulatory agencies. Such initiatives may include proposals to expand or contract the powers of bank holding companies and depository institutions or proposals to substantially change the financial institution regulatory system. Such legislation could change banking statutes and our operating environment in substantial and unpredictable ways. If enacted, such legislation could increase or decrease our cost of doing business, limit or expand permissible activities, or affect the competitive balance among banks, savings associations, credit unions, and other financial institutions. We cannot predict whether any such legislation will be enacted, and, if enacted, the effect that it, or any implementing regulations, would have on our financial condition or results of operations.

Effect of Governmental Monetary Policies

Our operations are affected not only by general economic conditions but also by the policies of various regulatory authorities. In particular, the Federal Reserve uses monetary policy tools to impact money market and credit market conditions and interest rates to influence general economic conditions. These policies have a significant impact on our overall growth and distribution of loans, investments, and deposits; they affect market interest rates charged on loans or paid for time and savings deposits and can significantly influence employment and inflation rates. Federal Reserve monetary policies have had a significant effect on the operating results of commercial banks, including us, in the past and are expected to do so in the future.

Filings with the SEC

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished to the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act are available at no cost on our investor relations website,http://investors.atlanticunionbank.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file, or furnish, such documents with the SEC. The information contained on our website is not a part of this Form 10-K, nor incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K or of any other filing with the SEC. Our SEC filings are also available at no cost through the SEC’s website athttp://www.sec.gov.