COMMUNITY BANK SYSTEM INC

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)

MARCH 31, 2024

NOTE A: BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The interim financial data as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024 is unaudited; however, in the opinion of Community Bank System, Inc. (the “Company”), the interim data includes all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the results for the interim periods in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year or any other interim period. The Company’s unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited annual consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 29, 2024.

NOTE B: ACQUISITIONS

Subsequent Period Acquisition

On April 1, 2024, the Company, through its subsidiary OneGroup NY, Inc. (“OneGroup”), completed the acquisition of a New York based insurance agency for $4.2 million in cash plus contingent consideration with an estimated fair value of $1.0 million at acquisition date. The effects of the acquisition will be included in the consolidated financial statements from that date.

Current and Prior Period Acquisitions

On February 1, 2024, the Company, through its subsidiary Benefit Plans Administrative Services, LLC (“BPA”), completed the acquisition of certain assets of Creative Plan Designs Limited (“CPD”), a financial services company that provides employee benefit plan design, administration and consulting services. Total consideration was $5.9 million in cash plus contingent consideration with an estimated fair value of $3.0 million at acquisition date. The effects of the acquired assets are included in the consolidated financial statements from that date. Revenues and direct expenses included in the consolidated statement of income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 were immaterial.

The acquisition of CPD includes contingent consideration arrangements that require additional consideration to be paid by the Company based on the future revenue levels of CPD over approximately three years and a contract holdback payment. The contract holdback will be paid upon satisfaction of certain customer retention requirements, and will be prorated based on actual results. The contract holdback amount was estimated at the maximum level of $1.5 million at the acquisition date. The revenue-based contingent consideration is payable infour installments, based on future revenue levels of CPD in 2024, 2025, 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. The range of undiscounted amounts the Company could pay under the contingent consideration agreement is between zero and $2.0 million for the first three payments in total and a variable amount for the fourth payment, which is between zero and a percentage of annualized revenue above a threshold for a particular revenue stream in the first quarter of 2027. The fair value of the contingent consideration recognized on the acquisition date of $3.0 million was estimated by applying the income approach, a measure that is based on significant Level 3 inputs not readily observable in the market. Key assumptions at the date of acquisition include (1) a discount rate range of 15.1% to 19.1% to present value the payments and (2) probability of achievement of future revenue levels of 82%.

During 2023, the Company, through its subsidiaries OneGroup, OneGroup Wealth Partners, Inc. (“Wealth Partners”) and Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc. (“BPAS”), completed the acquisition of certain assets of financial services companies. The acquired companies provide insurance, wealth management and benefit plan recordkeeping services and are headquartered in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Total aggregate consideration for these acquisitions was $8.1 million, including $6.7 million in cash and $1.4 million in contingent consideration arrangements. The contingent consideration arrangements are based on achieving certain levels of retained revenue over a period ranging fromtwo tofive years. The fair value of these arrangements has been recorded based on the assumption that retained revenue levels will meet or exceed the required threshold for the maximum contingent consideration payments. Aggregate assets acquired were $5.1 million, including $4.9 million of customer list intangible assets, and the Company recorded goodwill of $3.0 million. The effects of the acquired assets have been included in the consolidated financial statements since the date of acquisition. The operations of these acquisitions have been integrated into the Company and discrete reporting of revenues and direct expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 is not practicable.

On March 1, 2023, the Company, through its subsidiary Community Bank, N.A. (“CBNA”), completed the acquisition of certain assets of Axiom Realty Group, which includes Axiom Capital Corp., Axiom Realty Management, LLC and Axiom Realty Advisors, LLC (collectively referred to as “Axiom”), a commercial real estate finance and advisory firm, for $1.8 million in cash. The Company recorded a $1.2 million customer list intangible and recognized $0.6 million of goodwill in conjunction with the acquisition. The effects of the acquired assets have been included in the consolidated financial statements since that date. Revenues of approximately $0.6 million and $0.1 million and direct expenses of approximately $0.7 million and $0.2 million were included in the consolidated statements of income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

The assets and liabilities assumed in the acquisitions were recorded at their estimated fair values based on management’s best estimates using information available at the dates of the acquisitions, and are subject to adjustment based on updated information not available at the time of the acquisitions. During the first quarter of 2024, an additional cash consideration payment of $0.1 million was made associated with a 2023 acquisition based upon the receipt of new information resulting in a $0.1 million increase to the carrying value of other intangibles and had no impact on the carrying value of goodwill.

The Axiom acquisition generally expanded the Company’s lending presence nationwide. The OneGroup and Wealth Partners acquisitions generally expanded the Company’s insurance and wealth management presence in New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. The BPAS and BPA acquisitions generally expanded the Company’s employee benefit services presence in New York. Management expects that the Company will benefit from greater geographic diversity and the advantages of other synergistic business development opportunities.

The following table summarizes the estimated fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed after considering the measurement period adjustments described above:

The other intangibles related to the CPD acquisition are being amortized using an accelerated method over an estimated useful life oftwelve years. The other intangibles related to the OneGroup, Wealth Partners and BPAS acquisitions completed in 2023 and the Axiom acquisition are being amortized using an accelerated method over an estimated useful life ofeight years. The goodwill, which is not amortized for book purposes, was assigned to the Employee Benefit Services segment for the CPD acquisition and the BPAS acquisition completed in 2023, the Insurance segment for the OneGroup acquisitions completed in 2023, the Wealth Management segment for the Wealth Partners acquisition completed in 2023, and the Banking and Corporate segment for the Axiom acquisition. Goodwill arising from all of the acquisitions completed in the first quarter of 2024 and 2023 is deductible for tax purposes.

Direct costs related to the acquisitions were expensed as incurred. Merger and acquisition integration-related expenses were immaterial during both the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 and have been separately stated in the consolidated statements of income.

NOTE C: ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accounting policies of the Company, as applied in the consolidated interim financial statements presented herein, are substantially the same as those followed on an annual basis as presented on pages 84 through 97 of the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 29, 2024 except as noted below.

Contract Balances

A contract asset balance occurs when an entity performs a service for a customer before the customer pays consideration (resulting in a contract receivable) or before payment is due (resulting in a contract asset). A contract liability balance is an entity’s obligation to transfer a service to a customer for which the entity has already received payment (or payment is due) from the customer. The Company’s noninterest revenue streams are largely based on transactional activity, or standard month-end revenue accruals such as asset management fees based on month-end market values. Consideration is often received immediately or shortly after the Company satisfies its performance obligation and revenue is recognized. The Company does not typically enter into long-term revenue contracts with customers, and therefore, does not experience significant contract balances. As of March 31, 2024, $30.2 million of accounts receivable, including $8.7 million of unbilled fee revenue, and $3.6 million of unearned revenue, was recorded in the consolidated statements of condition. As of December 31, 2023, $41.7 million of accounts receivable, including $8.1 million of unbilled fee revenue, and $0.8 million of unearned revenue, was recorded in the consolidated statements of condition.

Segment Information

Effective January 1, 2024, the Company changed its determination of reportable segments and reportable measure of segment profit or loss in connection with the appointment of the Company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, who serves as the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), and changes in the information the CODM regularly reviews and uses to allocate resources and assess performance. The appointment of the Company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer followed the retirement of the Company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, who previously served as the Company’s CODM until December 31, 2023. The change in determination of reportable segments was also driven by a change in the disaggregation of segment information that management believes would be useful to readers of the financial statements and to also align its reportable segments with financial information communicated to external parties, the Board of Directors and the business leaders who regularly meet with the CODM that also review this information at the same level of disaggregation. The change in reportable measure of segment profit or loss aligns with a change in the measurement principles of the internal reporting package used by the CODM to allocate resources and assess performance, which is presented on an operating basis excluding certain items considered non-core to the underlying business. Effective January 1, 2024, the Company has identified (1) Banking and Corporate; (2) Employee Benefit Services; (3) Insurance; and (4) Wealth Management as its reportable segments and determined that operating income before income taxes is the reportable measure of segment profit or loss that the CODM regularly reviews and uses to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s insurance services revenue and wealth management services revenue are reported separately in the Insurance reportable segment and Wealth Management reportable segment, respectively. The prior period has been recast to conform to the new current period presentation. See Note L for more detail on segment information.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period balances to conform to the current period’s presentation.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07,Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, to update reportable segment disclosure requirements primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses and information used to assess segment performance by the CODM. ASU 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2024 and the enhanced disclosures are expected to be initially provided in its December 31, 2024 Form 10-K in alignment with the mandatory effective dates of the ASU.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09,Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. The update requires enhancements to the rate reconciliation, including disclosure of specific categories and additional information for reconciling items meeting a quantitative threshold as well as disclosure of income taxes paid disaggregated by federal, state and foreign taxes, and individual jurisdictions meeting a quantitative threshold. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 and early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the impact this will have on the consolidated financial statements.

NOTE D: INVESTMENT SECURITIES

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of investment securities as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 are as follows:

Included in the Company’s investment securities portfolio is Federal Reserve Bank (“FRB”) common stock with a carrying value of $33.6 million at both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. The investment in FRB stock represents approximately half of the total required subscription, and the remaining half is unpaid and remains subject to call by the FRB.

A summary of investment securities that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position is as follows:

As of March 31, 2024

As of December 31, 2023

The unrealized losses reported pertaining to available-for-sale securities issued by the U.S. government and its sponsored entities include treasuries, agencies, and mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, which are currently rated AAA by Moody’s Investor Services, AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and are guaranteed by the U.S. government. The majority of the obligations of state and political subdivisions carry a credit rating of A or better. Additionally, a portion of the obligations of state and political subdivisions carry a secondary level of credit enhancement. The Company holdstwo corporate debt securities in an unrealized loss position and, based on an analysis of the financial position of the issuers including financial performance, liquidity and regulatory capital ratios, the issuers of the securities show a remote risk of default. Timely interest payments continue to be made on the securities. The unrealized losses in the portfolios are primarily attributable to changes in interest rates. As such, management does not believe any individual unrealized loss as of March 31, 2024 represents credit losses andno unrealized losses have been recognized in the provision for credit losses. Accordingly, there isno allowance for credit losses on the Company’s available-for-sale portfolio as of March 31, 2024. Accrued interest receivable on available-for-sale debt securities, included in accrued interest and fees receivable on the consolidated statements of condition, totaled $11.6 million at March 31, 2024 and is excluded from the estimate of credit losses.

Securities classified as held-to-maturity are included under the Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) methodology. Calculation of expected credit loss under CECL is done on a collective (“pooled”) basis, with assets grouped when similar risk characteristics exist. The Company notes that at March 31, 2024 all securities in the held-to-maturity classification are U.S. Treasury securities and government agency mortgage-backed securities; therefore, they share the same risk characteristics and can be evaluated on a collective basis. The expected credit loss on these securities is evaluated based on historical credit losses of this security type and the expected possibility of default in the future, and these securities are guaranteed by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury securities and government agency mortgage-backed securities often receive the highest credit rating by rating agencies and the Company has concluded that the possibility of default is considered remote. The U.S. Treasury securities and government agency mortgage-backed securities held by the Company in the held-to-maturity category carry an AA+ rating from Standard & Poor’s, AAA from Moody’s Investor Services, and AA+ from Fitch. The Company concludes that the long history with no credit losses for these securities (adjusted for current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts) indicates an expectation that nonpayment of the amortized cost basis is zero. Management has concluded that the prepayment risk associated with these securities is insignificant and it is expected to recover the recorded investment. Accordingly, there isno allowance for credit losses on the Company’s held-to-maturity debt portfolio as of March 31, 2024. Accrued interest receivable on held-to-maturity debt securities, included in accrued interest and fees receivable on the consolidated statements of condition, totaled $3.3 million at March 31,2024 and is excluded from the estimate of credit losses. The Company has the intent and ability to hold the securities to maturity.

The amortized cost and estimated fair value of debt securities at March 31, 2024, by contractual maturity, are shown below. Expected maturities will differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties. Securities not due at a single maturity date, including government agency mortgage-backed securities and government agency collateralized mortgage obligations, are shown separately.

Investment securities with a carrying value of $2.76 billion and $2.14 billion at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, were pledged to collateralize certain deposits and borrowings. Securities pledged to collateralize certain deposits and borrowings included $393.5 million and $598.9 million of U.S. Treasury securities that were pledged as collateral for securities sold under agreement to repurchase at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. All securities sold under agreement to repurchase as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 have an overnight and continuous maturity.

During the first quarter of 2023, the Company sold $786.1 million in book value of available-for-sale U.S. Treasury and agency securities, recognizing $52.3 million of gross realized losses. The sales were completed in January and February 2023 as part of a strategic balance sheet repositioning and were unrelated to the negative developments in the banking industry that occurred in March 2023. The proceeds from these sales of $733.8 million were redeployed entirely towards paying off existing overnight borrowings.

NOTE E: LOANS AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES

The segments of the Company’s loan portfolio are summarized as follows:

The following table presents the aging of the amortized cost basis of the Company’s past due loans by segment as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:

No interest income on nonaccrual loans was recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023. An immaterial amount of accrued interest was written off on nonaccrual loans by reversing interest income.

The Company uses several credit quality indicators to assess credit risk in an ongoing manner. The Company’s primary credit quality indicator for its business lending portfolio is an internal credit risk rating system that categorizes loans as “pass”, “special mention”, “substandard”, or “doubtful”. Credit risk ratings are applied to loans individually based on a case-by-case evaluation. In general, the following are the definitions of the Company’s credit quality indicators:

The following tables show the amount of business lending loans by credit quality category at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:

All other loans are underwritten and structured using standardized criteria and characteristics, primarily payment performance, and are monitored collectively on a monthly basis. These are typically loans to individuals in the consumer categories and are delineated as either performing or nonperforming. Performing loans include loans classified as current as well as those classified as 30 - 89 days past due. Nonperforming loans include 90+ days past due and still accruing and nonaccrual loans.

The following tables detail the balances in all other loan categories at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:

(1)FICO AB refers to higher tiered loans with FICO scores greater than or equal to 720 at origination.

(2)FICO CDE refers to loans with FICO scores less than 720 at origination and potentially higher risk.

(1)FICO AB refers to higher tiered loans with FICO scores greater than or equal to 720 at origination.

(2)FICO CDE refers to loans with FICO scores less than 720 at origination and potentially higher risk.

Business lending loans greater than $0.5 million that are on nonaccrual are individually assessed and, if necessary, a specific allocation of the allowance for credit losses is provided. A summary of individually assessed business loans as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 follows:

The average carrying balance of individually assessed loans was $14.5 million and $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. No interest income was recognized on individually assessed loans for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.

Occasionally, the Company modifies loans to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty by providing principal forgiveness, term extension, payment delay, or interest rate reduction. When principal forgiveness is provided, the amount of forgiveness is charged-off against the allowance for credit losses.

In some cases, the Company provides multiple types of modifications on one loan. Typically, one type of modification, such as a term extension, is granted initially. If the borrower continues to experience financial difficulty, another modification, such as principal forgiveness, may be granted. Upon the Company’s determination that a modified loan (or portion of a loan) has subsequently been deemed uncollectible, the loan (or a portion of the loan) is charged off. Therefore, the amortized cost basis of the loan is reduced by the uncollectible amount and the allowance for credit losses is adjusted by the same amount. The estimate of allowance for credit losses includes historical losses from loans that were modified due to borrower financial difficulty, therefore a charge to the allowance for credit losses is generally not recorded upon modification.

The following table presents the amortized cost basis of loans at March 31, 2024 that were both experiencing financial difficulty and modified during the three months ended March 31, 2024, by class and by type of modification. The percentage of the amortized cost basis of loans that were modified to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty as compared to the amortized cost basis of each class of financing receivable is also presented below. The Company did not have any modifications to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty other than term extensions. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the amount of loans that were modified to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty was immaterial.

The Company closely monitors the performance of loans that are modified to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty to understand the effectiveness of its modification efforts. The following table presents the performance of such loans that have been modified in the last 12 months.

The following table presents the financial effect of the loan modifications presented above to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty during the three months ended March 31, 2024:

There wereno loans modified to borrowers with financial difficulty that had a payment default subsequent to modification during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.

Allowance for Credit Losses

The following presents by loan segment the activity in the allowance for credit losses during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

The allowance for credit losses increased to $70.1 million at March 31, 2024 compared to $66.7 million at December 31, 2023 and $63.2 million at March 31, 2023, reflective of an increase in loans outstanding, a stable economic forecast and an increase in the qualitative assessment of future uncertainty primarily concerning the business lending and consumer indirect portfolios.

Accrued interest receivable on loans, included in accrued interest and fees receivable on the consolidated statements of condition, totaled $34.4 million at March 31, 2024, and is excluded from the estimate of credit losses and amortized cost basis of loans.

Under ASU No. 2016-13,Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), also referred to as CECL, the Company utilizes the historical loss rate on its loan portfolio as the initial basis for the estimate of credit losses using the cumulative loss, vintage loss and line loss methods, which is derived from the Company’s historical loss experience. Adjustments to historical loss experience were made for differences in current loan-specific risk characteristics and to address current period delinquencies, charge-off rates, risk ratings, lack of loan level data through an entire economic cycle, changes in loan sizes and underwriting standards as well as the addition of acquired loans which were not underwritten by the Company. The Company considered historical losses immediately prior, through and following the Great Recession compared to the historical period used for modeling to adjust the historical information to account for longer-term expectations for loan credit performance. Under CECL, the Company is required to consider future economic conditions to determine current expected credit losses. Management selected an eight-quarter reasonable and supportable forecast period with a four-quarter reversion to the historical mean to use as part of the economic forecast, and utilizes a two-quarter lag adjustment for economic factors that are not dependent on collateral values, and no lag for factors that utilize collateral values. Management determined that these qualitative adjustments were needed to adjust historical information for expected losses and to reflect changes as a result of current conditions.

For qualitative macroeconomic adjustments, the Company uses third party forecasted economic data scenarios utilizing a base scenario and two alternative scenarios that are weighted, with forecasts available as of March 31, 2024. These forecasts were factored into the qualitative portion of the calculation of the estimated credit losses and include the impact of a decline in residential real estate and vehicle prices as well as inflation. The scenarios utilized forecast stable unemployment levels, modest GDP and real household income growth, offset by some declines in auto, housing and commercial real estate prices.

Management developed expected loss estimates considering factors for segments as outlined below:

At March 31, 2024, loans with a carrying amount of approximately $4.44 billion were pledged for the availability to secure certain borrowings with the FHLB and FRB. There were $394.4 million of borrowings outstanding under these arrangements at March 31, 2024.

At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were foreclosures in process of $5.2 million and $5.8 million, respectively.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company did not purchase any loans, while the Company sold$1.2 million of secondary market eligible residential consumer mortgage loans during the period.

NOTE F: GOODWILL AND IDENTIFIABLE INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization for each type of identifiable intangible asset are as follows:

The estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years ended December 31 is as follows:

Shown below are the components of the Company’s goodwill at December 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024:

NOTE G: BORROWINGS

During January 2024, the Company secured$300.0 million in short-term borrowings through the Bank Term Funding Program at the Federal Reserve at a rate of 4.87%, to fund expected net loan growth. These short-term borrowings matured during March 2024 and the Bank Term Funding Program has ceased making new loans as of March 11, 2024.

NOTE H: BENEFIT PLANS

The Company provides a qualified defined benefit pension to eligible employees and retirees, other post-retirement health and life insurance benefits to certain retirees, an unfunded supplemental pension plan for certain key executives, and an unfunded stock balance plan for certain of its nonemployee directors. The Company accrues for the estimated cost of these benefits through charges to expense during the years that employees earn these benefits. The service cost component of net periodic benefit income is included in the salaries and employee benefits line of the consolidated statements of income, while the other components of net periodic benefit income are included in other expenses. The Company made a$4.0 million contribution to its defined benefit pension plan in the first quarter of 2024. The Company didnot make a contribution to its defined benefit pension plan in the first quarter of 2023.

The post-retirement benefits component of net periodic benefit cost for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 is immaterial. The pension benefits component of net periodic benefit cost for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows:

NOTE I: EARNINGS PER SHARE

The two class method is used in the calculations of basic and diluted earnings per share. Under the two class method, earnings available to common shareholders for the period are allocated between common shareholders and participating securities according to dividends declared and participation rights in undistributed earnings. The Company has determined that all of its outstanding non-vested stock awards are participating securities as of March 31, 2024.

Basic earnings per share are computed based on the weighted-average of the common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share are based on the weighted-average of the shares outstanding and the assumed exercise of stock options during the year. The dilutive effect of options is calculated using the treasury stock method of accounting. The treasury stock method determines the number of common shares that would be outstanding if all the dilutive options were exercised and the proceeds were used to repurchase common shares in the open market at the average market price for the applicable time period. At March 31, 2024 and 2023, weighted-average anti-dilutive stock options outstanding were immaterial.

The following is a reconciliation of basic to diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023:

Stock Repurchase Program

At its December 2023 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) approved a new stock repurchase program authorizing the repurchase, at the discretion of senior management, of up to 2,697,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, in accordance with securities and banking laws and regulations, during the twelve-month period starting January 1, 2024. Any repurchased shares will be used for general corporate purposes, including those related to stock plan activities. The timing and extent of repurchases will depend on market conditions and other corporate considerations as determined at the Company’s discretion. There were 750,000 shares of treasury stock purchases made under this authorization during the first quarter of 2024 with an average price paid per share of $45.95.

At its December 2022 meeting, the Board approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the repurchase, at the discretion of senior management, of up to 2,697,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, in accordance with securities and banking laws and regulations, during the twelve-month period starting January 1, 2023. There were 607,161 shares of treasury stock purchases made under this authorization during 2023 with an average price paid per share of $49.44, including 200,000 shares of treasury stock purchases made under this authorization during the first quarter of 2023 with an average price paid per share of $54.53.

NOTE J: COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND RESTRICTIONS

The Company is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments consist primarily of commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to customers, generally having fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses that may require payment of a fee. These commitments consist principally of unused commercial and consumer credit lines. Standby letters of credit generally are contingent upon the failure of the customer to perform according to the terms of an underlying contract with a third party. The credit risks associated with commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit are essentially the same as that involved with extending loans to customers and are subject to the Company’s normal credit policies. Collateral may be obtained based on management’s assessment of the customer’s creditworthiness. The fair value of the standby letters of credit is immaterial for disclosure.

The contract amounts of commitments and contingencies are as follows:

On November 16, 2023, the FDIC issued a final rulemaking that implemented a special assessment to recover the uninsured deposit losses from bank failures that occurred during 2023. The final rule anticipates collecting the special assessment over eight quarterly assessment periods beginning in 2024 at an annual rate of approximately 13.4 basis points of uninsured deposits that exceeded $5.0 billion as of December 31, 2022. The FDIC has indicated that the amount of the special assessment will be adjusted as their loss estimates change. The Company accrued $1.5 million of expense related to the FDIC special assessment in 2023. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company accrued an additional $0.4 million associated with an expected increase to the FDIC special assessment based on the receipt of new information. Total FDIC insurance expense was $2.6 million and $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Legal Contingencies

On at least a quarterly basis, the Company assesses its liabilities and contingencies in connection with pending or threatened legal proceedings or other matters in which claims for monetary damages are asserted. For those matters where it is probable that the Company will incur losses and the amounts of the losses are reasonably estimable, the Company records an expense and corresponding liability in its consolidated financial statements. To the extent such matters could result in exposure in excess of that liability, the amount of such excess is not currently estimable. The range of losses that are reasonably possible for matters where an exposure is not currently estimable or considered probable is not believed to be material in the aggregate. This is based on information currently available to the Company and involves elements of judgment and significant uncertainties.

The Company recorded a loss contingency in 2023 related to the anticipated settlement, following mediation, of a threatened collective and class action asserted against CBNA on behalf of certain nonexempt branch employees, regarding unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act and applicable state labor laws. On February 5, 2024, following a mediation held on February 1, 2024, the Company agreed to a settlement in the amount of $5.8 million. A settlement agreement has been executed by the parties and the terms of the settlement have been approved by the Court. The Company recorded a$5.8 million litigation accrual at December 31, 2023 and there wasno change as of March 31, 2024.

NOTE K: FAIR VALUE

Accounting standards establish a framework for measuring fair value and require certain disclosures about such fair value instruments. It defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e. exit price). Inputs used to measure fair value are classified into the following hierarchy:

A financial instrument’s categorization within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The following tables set forth the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis. There wereno transfers between any of the levels for the periods presented.

The valuation techniques used to measure fair value for the items in the table above are as follows:

The changes in Level 3 assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis are immaterial.

The fair value information of assets and liabilities measured on a non-recurring basis presented below is not as of the period-end, but rather as of the date the fair value adjustment was recorded closest to the date presented.

Loans are generally not recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. Periodically, the Company records nonrecurring adjustments to the carrying value of loans based on fair value measurements for partial charge-offs of the uncollectible portions of those loans. Nonrecurring adjustments also include certain impairment amounts for collateral-dependent loans calculated when establishing the allowance for credit losses. Such amounts are generally based on the fair value of the underlying collateral supporting the loan and, as a result, the carrying value of the loan less the calculated valuation amount does not necessarily represent the fair value of the loan. Real estate collateral is typically valued using independent appraisals or other indications of value based on recent comparable sales of similar properties or assumptions generally observable in the marketplace, adjusted for non-observable inputs. Thus, the resulting nonrecurring fair value measurements are generally classified as Level 3. Estimates of fair value used for other collateral supporting commercial loans generally are based on assumptions not observable in the marketplace and, therefore, such valuations classify as Level 3.

Other real estate owned (“OREO”) is valued at the time the loan is foreclosed upon and the asset is transferred to OREO. The value is based primarily on third party appraisals, less estimated costs to sell. The appraisals are sometimes further discounted based on management’s historical knowledge, changes in market conditions from the time of valuation, and/or management’s expertise and knowledge of the customer and customer’s business. Such discounts are significant, ranging from 9.0% to 73.8% at March 31, 2024 and result in a Level 3 classification of the inputs for determining fair value. OREO is reviewed and evaluated on at least a quarterly basis for additional impairment and adjusted accordingly, based on the same factors identified above. The Company recovers the carrying value of OREO through the sale of the property. The ability to affect future sales prices is subject to market conditions and factors beyond the Company’s control and may impact the estimated fair value of a property.

Originated mortgage servicing rights are recorded at their fair value at the time of sale of the underlying loan, and are amortized in proportion to and over the estimated period of net servicing income. The fair value of mortgage servicing rights is based on a valuation model incorporating inputs that market participants would use in estimating future net servicing income. Such inputs include estimates of the cost of servicing loans, appropriate discount rate and prepayment speeds and are considered to be unobservable and contribute to the Level 3 classification of mortgage servicing rights. In accordance with GAAP, the Company must record impairment charges, on a nonrecurring basis, when the carrying value of a stratum exceeds its estimated fair value. Impairment is recognized through a valuation allowance. There is a valuation allowance of approximately$1.2 million at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

The Company has recorded contingent consideration liabilities that arise from acquisition activity. The contingent consideration is recorded at fair value at the date of acquisition. The valuation of contingent consideration is calculated using an income approach method, which provides an estimation of the fair value of an asset or liability based on future cash flows over a discrete projection period, discounted to present value using an appropriate rate of return. The assumptions used in the valuation calculation are based on significant unobservable inputs, therefore such valuations classify as Level 3.

The contingent consideration related to the FBD acquisition completed in 2021 was revalued at December 31, 2023. The remaining contingent consideration accrual was adjusted to the maximum potential amount of $2.7 million, using a potential probability of achievement of 100%.

The first of the two required payments were made on the TGA contingent consideration in the third quarter of 2023 in the amount of $2.4 million, based on actual retained revenue results. The remaining contingent consideration liability related to the TGA acquisition was revalued at December 31, 2023 for an adjusted fair value of $1.0 million.

The Company determines fair values based on quoted market values, where available, estimates of present values, or other valuation techniques. Those techniques are significantly affected by the assumptions used, including, but not limited to, the discount rate and estimates of future cash flows. In that regard, the derived fair value estimates cannot be substantiated by comparison to independent markets and, in many cases, may not be realized in immediate settlement of the instrument. The significant unobservable inputs used in the determination of fair value of assets classified as Level 3 on a recurring or non-recurring basis are as follows: