OHIO VALLEY BANC CORP

The Company’s noninterest expenses during 2024 increased $4,762, or 11.5%, from 2023. This increase was mostly impacted by salary and employee benefit expense, which grew $4,391, or 18.8%, during 2024, as compared to 2023. The increase was largely the result of a voluntary severance package offered to employees meeting certain criteria during the fourth quarter of 2024. Offering this severance package resulted in a one-time expense of $3,338 in 2024. The increase in salaries and employee benefit expense was also impacted by annual merit increases and higher health insurance premiums, partially offset by the elimination of staffing for Race Day by April 2023, which resulted in expense savings during 2024, when compared to 2023. Further contributing to higher noninterest expense in 2024 were increases in customer rewards for new accounts, data processing and professional fees. The data processing expense increased $285 due to debit card processing costs associated with higher transaction volume and higher costs associated with enhancements to the Company’s digital banking platform. Professional fees increased $217 due to higher director fees and a general increase in legal and accounting fees. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company also paid account bonuses totaling $496 to new Sweet Home Ohio deposit customers. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in software expense and marketing expense. For 2024, software expense decreased $389 from 2023 due to the closure of Race Day, which eliminated certain processing platforms. Marketing expense for 2024 decreased $190 from 2023 due to a reduction in select marketing campaigns.

The Company’s provision for income taxes decreased $190 during 2024, largely due to the changes in taxable income affected by the factors mentioned above.