EQUITY BANCSHARES INC

Liquidity

Market and public confidence in our financial strength and financial institutions in general will largely determine access to appropriate levels of liquidity. This confidence is significantly dependent on our ability to maintain sound asset quality and appropriate levels of capital reserves.

Liquidity is defined as the ability to meet anticipated customer demands for future funds under credit commitments and deposit withdrawals at a reasonable cost and on a timely basis. We measure our liquidity position by considering both on and off-balance sheet sources of and demands for funds on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Liquidity risk involves the risk of being unable to fund assets with the appropriate duration and rate-based liabilities, as well as the risk of not being able to meet unexpected cash needs. Liquidity planning and management are necessary to ensure the ability to fund operations in a cost-effective manner and to meet current and future potential obligations such as loan commitments, lease obligations, and unexpected deposit outflows. In this process, we focus on both assets and liabilities, and the way they combine to provide adequate liquidity to meet our needs.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, and 2023, our liquidity needs have primarily been met by core deposits, security and loan maturities, and amortizing security and loan portfolios. Other funding sources include federal funds purchased, brokered certificates of deposit, borrowings from the FHLB, and Federal Reserve Bank borrowings.

Our largest sources of funds are deposits and FHLB borrowings and largest uses of funds are loans and securities and debt servicing. Average loans were $3.45 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2024, an increase of 4.8% over the December 31, 2023, average balance. Excess deposits are primarily invested in our interest-bearing deposit account with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, investment securities, federal funds sold or other short-term liquid investments until the funds are needed to fund loan growth. Our securities portfolio has a weighted average life of 5.1 years and a modified duration of 4.2 years at March 31, 2024.

Cash and cash equivalents were $235.0 million at March 31, 2024, a decrease of $144.1 million from the $379.1 million cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2023. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents is driven by $162.0 million net cash used in financing activities offset by $12.6 million net cash provided by operating activities, $5.3 million net cash provided by investing activities. The $162.0 million net change in cash provided by financing activities includes increases in FHLB advances of $119.9 million, offset by net outflows of $300.0 million for paydown of FHLB term advances, $140.0 million in outflows for Federal Reserve borrowings, $124.2 million in outflows for the decrease in deposits, $6.8 million outflow for the repurchase of treasury stock and $1.9 million for the payment of dividends on common stock. Cash and cash equivalents at January 1, 2024, plus liquidity provided by operating activities, pay downs, sales, and maturities of investment securities and FHLB borrowings during the first three months of 2024 were primarily used to originate or purchase loans, to purchase investment securities and to facilitate the Rockhold merger. We believe that our daily funding needs can be met through cash provided by operating activities, payments and maturities on loans and investment securities, the core deposit base and FHLB advances and other borrowing relationships.

Off-Balance-Sheet Items

In the normal course of business, we enter into various transactions, which, in accordance with GAAP, are not included in our consolidated balance sheets. We enter into these transactions to meet the financing needs of our customers. These transactions include commitments to extend credit and standby and commercial letters of credit, which involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk and interest rate risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. Our exposure to credit loss is represented by the contractual amounts of these commitments. The same credit policies and procedures are used in making these commitments as for on-balance sheet instruments.

Standby and Performance Letters of Credit: For additional information see “NOTE 11 – COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT RISK” in the Condensed Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statement.

Commitments to Extend Credit: For additional information see “NOTE 11 – COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT RISK” in the Condensed Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statement.

Capital Resources

Capital management consists of providing equity to support our current and future operations. The federal bank regulators view capital levels as important indicators of an institution’s financial soundness. As a general matter, FDIC-insured depository institutions and their holding companies are required to maintain minimum capital relative to the amount and types of assets they hold. As a financial holding company and a state-chartered-Fed-member bank, the Company and Equity Bank are subject to regulatory capital requirements.

Capital adequacy guidelines and, additionally for banks, 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. Failure to meet capital requirements can initiate regulatory action. Management believes as of March 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, the Company and Equity Bank meet all capital adequacy requirements to which they are subject.

Prompt corrective action regulations provide five classifications: well capitalized, adequately capitalized, undercapitalized, significantly undercapitalized, and critically undercapitalized; although, these terms are not used to represent overall financial condition. If adequately capitalized, regulatory approval is required to accept brokered deposits. If undercapitalized, capital distributions are limited, as are asset growth and acquisitions, and capital restoration plans are required.

Failure to meet capital guidelines could subject the institution to a variety of enforcement remedies by federal bank regulatory agencies, including termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC, restrictions on certain business activities and appointment of the FDIC as conservator or receiver. As of March 31, 2024, the most recent notifications from the federal regulatory agencies categorized Equity Bank as “well capitalized” under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. To be categorized as well capitalized, Equity Bank must maintain minimum Total capital, Tier 1 capital, Common Equity Tier 1 capital, and Tier 1 leverage ratios. For additional information, see “NOTE 8 – REGULATORY MATTERS” in the Condensed Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements. There are no conditions or events since that notification that management believes have changed Equity Bank’s category.