Kentucky First Federal Bancorp

Current report

On January 16, 2024, we announced that the Board had determined to suspend the payment of dividends indefinitely. Our ability to pay future dividends, and the amount that may be paid, is subject to a number of factors, including our ability to fully and timely address the deficiencies that resulted in the formal Agreement that First Federal Savings Bank of Kentucky has entered into with the OCC and the satisfaction of individual minimum capital ratio requirements imposed by the OCC. Our ability to pay future dividends is also subject to the ability of First Federal of Hazard and First Federal of Kentucky to make capital distributions to Kentucky First Federal, and for First Federal MHC to received regulatory and member approval of the waiver of the receipt of dividends by First Federal MHC.

Current report

On January 16, 2024, the Company announced the suspension of quarterly dividends indefinitely. Holders of our common stock are only entitled to receive such dividends as our Board of Directors may declare out of funds available for such payments under applicable law and regulatory guidance. We cannot predict when or whether the Company will be able to pay future common stock dividends and if so, the amount of any such common stock dividends. Our ability to pay future dividends and if so at what level will also be dependent on numerous factors, including: our ability to receive any required regulatory approval or non-objection for the payment of dividends from First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hazard and First Federal Savings Bank of Kentucky to the Company or from the Company to shareholders; our ability to fully and timely address the deficiencies that resulted in the formal Agreement that First Federal Savings Bank of Kentucky has entered into with the OCC; First Federal Savings Bank of Kentucky’s ability to satisfy the IMCR’s imposed by the OCC; the ability of First Federal MHC to receive approval of its members to waive the payment of any Company dividends to First Federal MHC; and our ability to successfully execute our strategy to increase earnings and core deposits, reduce reliance on higher cost funding sources and shift more of our loan portfolio towards higher-earning loans. For additional information on the formal Agreement that First Federal Savings Bank of Kentucky has entered into with the OCC and the IMCR’s imposed on First Federal Savings Bank of Kentucky’s by the OCC, please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis—Regulatory Developments Regarding First Federal of Kentucky.”

Current report

Additionally, to address concerns with respect to the conflict of interest created by dividend waivers, Regulation MM requires the board of directors of a mutual holding company, such as First Federal MHC, adopt a resolution that describes the conflict of interest that exists because of a director’s ownership of stock in the subsidiary declaring the dividends and any actions the mutual holding company board have taken to eliminate the conflict of interest, such as the directors’ waiving their right to receive dividends. Also, the resolution must contain an affirmation that a majority of the mutual members eligible to vote have, within the 12 months prior to the declaration date of the dividend, voted to approve the waiver of dividends.

Current report

In previous years, First Federal MHC has received Federal Reserve Board approval to waive quarterly dividends otherwise payable by the Company totaling $0.40 per share annually beginning with the dividend paid on September 28, 2012 and continuing through the dividend payable in the third quarter of 2024. However, First Federal MHC did not seek to obtain regulatory approval to waive dividends for periods after the third quarter of 2024, and the prior Federal Reserve Boad approval to waive the payment of quarterly dividends that would otherwise be payable to First Federal MHC has expired. To the extent the Company resumes the payment of dividends in future periods, it is expected that First Federal MHC will again waive future dividends, except to the extent dividends are needed to fund First Federal MHC’s continuing operations, subject to the ability of First Federal MHC to obtain regulatory approval of its requests to waive dividends and to its ability to obtain member approval of dividend waivers. We cannot predict whether members will continue to approve annual dividend waiver requests or whether the Federal Reserve Board will grant future dividend waiver requests and, if granted, there can be no assurance as to the conditions, if any, the Federal Reserve Board will place on future dividend waiver requests by grandfathered mutual holding companies such as First Federal MHC. If First Federal MHC is unable to waive the receipt of dividends, the Company’s ability to pay dividends to our stockholders may be substantially impaired and the amounts of any such dividends may be significantly reduced.