Farmers & Merchants Bancshares, Inc.
For the period ended Dec 31, 2025. Filed Mar 26, 2026.
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FY2025 · Filed Mar 26, 2026
Contents
Item 1. BUSINESS
General
Farmers and Merchants Bancshares, Inc. is a Maryland corporation chartered on August 8, 2016 that is registered with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) as a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”). At the time it registered as a bank holding company, the Company also elected to become a financial holding company, which allows it to engage in certain activities, and own shares or control of certain entities, that are in addition to those permissible for an entity that is a bank holding company only. Effective November 1, 2016, the Company consummated a bank holding company reorganization involving Farmers and Merchants Bank (the “Bank”) pursuant to which the Bank became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and all of the Bank’s stockholders became stockholders of the Company.
Effective on October 1, 2020, the Company consummated its acquisition of Carroll Bancorp, Inc. (“Carroll”) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Carroll Community Bank through a series of mergers (collectively, the “Merger”). Each share of common stock of Carroll (“Carroll Common Stock”) that was outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”) was converted into the right to receive cash in the amount $21.63 (the “Per Share Consideration”). Immediately prior to the Effective Time, there were 1,146,913 outstanding shares of Carroll Common Stock, all of which were converted into the Per Share Consideration. The Company funded the payment of the merger consideration with $7.8 million in cash and the proceeds of a $17.0 million term loan obtained from a third-party.
The Company’s primary business activities are serving as the parent company of the Bank and holding a series investment in First Community Bankers Insurance Co., LLC, a Tennessee “series” limited liability company and licensed protected cell captive insurance company (“FCBI”). The Company owns 100% of one series of membership interests issued by FCBI, which series is deemed a “protected cell” under Tennessee law and has been designated “Series Protected Cell FCB-4” (such series investment is hereinafter referred to as the “Insurance Subsidiary”).
The Bank is a Maryland commercial bank chartered on October 24, 1919 that is engaged in a general commercial and retail banking business. The Bank has one inactive subsidiary, Reliable Community Financial Services, Inc., a Maryland corporation that was incorporated in April 1992 to facilitate the sale of fixed rate annuity products and later positioned to sell a full array of investment and insurance products.
The Insurance Subsidiary represents one protected cell of a protected cell captive insurance company (FCBI) that was formed on November 9, 2016 to better manage our risk programs, provide insurance efficiencies, and add operating income by both keeping our insurance premiums within our affiliated group of entities and realizing certain tax benefits that are unique to captive insurance companies. The Company’s investment in the Insurance Subsidiary represents one series of membership interests in FCBI. As a “series” limited liability company, FCBI is authorized by state law and its governing instruments to issue one or more series of membership interests, each of which, for all purposes under state law, is deemed to be a legal entity separate and apart from FCBI and its other series.
At December 31, 2025, our consolidated assets totaled approximately $872.0 million and stockholders’ equity was approximately $64.7 million.
Banking Activities
The Bank has been doing business in Maryland since 1919 and is engaged in both the commercial and consumer banking business. At December 31, 2025, the Bank had approximately 18,800 deposit accounts, representing $720.5 million in deposits and $633.1 million in net loans, representing 73% of its total assets of $872.0 million.
The Bank’s general market area runs along the Route 30, Route 795, Route 140, and Route 26 corridors south from Owings Mills and north to the Pennsylvania line including the areas of Reisterstown, Upperco, Hampstead, Manchester, Eldersburg, and Westminster. The Bank’s western area includes the communities of Woodbine and New Windsor, while the eastern side includes Sparks, Hereford and Parkton. All of these communities are located in Carroll County or Baltimore County, Maryland.
This market area serves as a bedroom community to large employment areas such as Owings Mills, Hunt Valley, Towson, White Marsh, Columbia and Baltimore City. The market area is primarily residential with retail, commercial and light-manufacturing activity. The opening of Interstate 795 in the 1980’s made it convenient to enjoy a rural lifestyle while still being able to commute to work in a reasonable time.
The Bank’s main office is located in Upperco, Maryland, and it has six additional full service branches located in the Maryland communities of Hampstead, Greenmount, Reisterstown, Owings Mills, Eldersburg, and Westminster. In addition, the Bank has a satellite branch located at the senior living community of Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, Maryland and a loan production office in Towson, Maryland.
As a convenience to its customers, the Bank offers drive through automated teller machines (“ATMs”) at the Upperco, Hampstead, Reisterstown, and Westminster locations and walk-up ATMs at the Greenmount and Eldersburg offices. The Greenmount In-Store location is open seven days a week while the other six full service offices offer convenient banking hours which include Saturday mornings. The satellite branch is opened five days a week with limited business hours. Drive-thru windows are available at the Upperco, Owings Mills, Hampstead, Reisterstown, Eldersburg, and Westminster branches. The Bank offers 24-hour on-line, internet banking for account balance inquiries, bill paying, or transferring funds between accounts. The Bank provides mobile banking functionality to its internet services. Debit cards are another service the Bank provides to its customers. The Bank joined Allpoint, America’s largest surcharge-free ATM network, to enable Bank customers to have access to over 55,000 ATMs, surcharge-free.
The Bank provides a wide range of personal banking services designed to meet the needs of local consumers. Among the deposit services provided are checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The Bank also offers repurchase agreements and remote check deposits.
The Bank grants available credit for residential mortgages (including Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans), construction loans, home equity lines, personal installment loans and other consumer financing.
The Bank also is engaged in financing commerce and industry by providing credit and deposit services for small to medium size businesses and the agricultural community in the Bank’s market area. The Bank offers many forms of commercial lending, including commercial mortgages, land acquisition and development loans, lines of credit, accounts receivable financing, term loans for fixed asset purchases, as well as loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) and the United States Department of Agriculture.
In addition, commercial depositors may take advantage of many different services including checking accounts, remote deposit banking services, sweep accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit.
The Bank also has strategic alliances that allow for the issuance of credit cards to retail customers and to provide merchant services so commercial customers can accept credit cards and debit cards as payment for their goods and services.
The Bank has adopted policies and procedures designed to mitigate credit risk and maintain the quality of the loan portfolio. These policies include underwriting standards for new credits as well as the continuous monitoring and reporting of asset quality and the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses. These policies, coupled with continuous training efforts, have provided effective checks and balances for the risk associated with the lending process. Lending authority is based on the level of risk, size of the loan, and the experience of the lending officer. The Bank’s policy is to make the majority of its loan commitments in the market area it serves. This tends to reduce risk because Management is familiar with the credit histories of loan applicants and has in-depth knowledge of the risk to which a given credit is subject. No material portion of the Bank’s loans is concentrated within a single industry or group of related industries. Most of the Bank’s loans are, however, made to Maryland customers and many are secured by real estate located in or around Maryland. Although Management believes that the loan portfolio is diversified, its performance will be influenced by the economy of the region.
Investment Activities
The Bank maintains a portfolio of investments in debt securities to provide liquidity and income. The current portfolio of $139.8 million represented approximately 16% of the total assets at December 31, 2025 and is invested primarily in mortgage-backed securities and municipal bonds.
A key objective of the investment portfolio is to provide a balance in the Bank’s asset mix of investments and loans consistent with its liability structure, and to assist in management of interest rate risk. The investments augment the Bank’s capital position, providing the necessary liquidity to meet fluctuations in credit demand of the community and fluctuations in deposit levels. In addition, the portfolio provides collateral for pledging against public funds and repurchase agreements and an opportunity to minimize income tax liability. Finally, the investment portfolio is designed to provide income for the Bank. In view of the above objectives, only securities that meet conservative investment criteria are purchased.
Insurance Activities
As noted above, the Insurance Subsidiary is one protected cell of a protected cell captive insurance company. From its formation through November 7, 2022, the Insurance Subsidiary reinsured certain risks of the Bank as well as other groups of entities that were not affiliated with the Bank for which it received premiums. The related insurance policies were issued each year. Under the reinsurance arrangement, the premium earned by the Insurance Subsidiary for a particular year could be retained as earnings (subject to any regulatory capital and surplus requirements imposed by applicable law) once the claim deadline for that year’s policy had passed. As the sole owner of the Insurance Subsidiary, the Company may terminate the Insurance Subsidiary’s participation in this reinsurance arrangement with respect to a future year at any time. The Company chose to not renew the most recent policy when it expired on November 6, 2022. As of December 31, 2025, the Insurance Subsidiary’s only activity was paying claims for events that occurred prior to November 7, 2022.
Competition
The banking business, in all of its phases, is highly competitive. Within our market areas, we compete with commercial banks, (including local banks and branches or affiliates of other larger banks), savings and loan associations and credit unions for loans and deposits, with consumer finance companies for loans, and with other financial institutions for various types of products and services. There is also competition for commercial and retail banking business from banks and financial institutions located outside our market areas and on the Internet.
The primary factors in competing for deposits are interest rates, personalized services, the quality and range of financial services, convenience of office locations and office hours. The primary factors in competing for loans are interest rates, loan origination fees, the quality and range of lending services and personalized services.
To compete with other financial services providers, we rely principally upon local promotional activities, personal relationships established by officers, directors and employees with customers, and specialized services tailored to meet customers’ needs. In those instances, in which we are unable to accommodate a customer’s needs, we attempt to arrange for those services to be provided by other financial services providers with which we have a relationship.
Supervision and Regulation
The following is a summary of the material regulations and policies applicable to the Company and its subsidiaries and is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion. Changes in applicable laws and regulations may have a material effect on our business.
General
The Company is subject to the supervision, examination and reporting requirements of the BHC Act and the regulations of the Federal Reserve that apply to financial holding companies. As a holding company of a Maryland-chartered bank, the Company is also subject to supervision by the Office of the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation (the “Maryland Commissioner”). Because the Company’s common stock is registered under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Company is also subject to regulation and supervision by the SEC.
The Bank is a Maryland commercial bank subject to the banking laws of Maryland and to regulation by the Maryland Commissioner, who is required by statute to make at least one examination in each calendar year (or at 18-month intervals if the Maryland Commissioner determines that an examination is unnecessary in a particular calendar year). As a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), the Bank is also subject to certain provisions of federal laws and regulations regarding deposit insurance and activities of insured state-chartered banks, including those that require examination by the FDIC. In addition to the foregoing, there are a myriad of other federal and state laws and regulations that affect or govern the business of banking, including consumer lending and deposit-taking.
All non-bank subsidiaries of the Company are subject to examination by the Federal Reserve, and, as affiliates of the Bank, are subject to examination by the FDIC and the Maryland Commissioner. In addition, the Insurance Subsidiary is subject to licensing and regulation by the Tennessee Insurance Department, and, as a captive insurance company, is subject to certain restrictions and requirements imposed under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”).
Regulatory Reforms
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), which was enacted in July 2010, significantly restructured the financial regulatory regime in the United States. The Dodd-Frank Act established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), and contains a wide variety of provisions affecting the regulation of depository institutions, including fair lending, fair debt collection practices, mortgage loan origination and servicing obligations, bankruptcy, military service member protections, use of credit reports, privacy matters, and disclosure of credit terms and correction of billing errors. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act permits states to adopt stricter consumer protection laws and each state attorney general may enforce consumer protection rules issued by the CFPB. Since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB, and to some extent, some state attorney generals, have used provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act to bring enforcement actions seeking to curb “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices” in the financial services sector. Enforcement and regulatory priorities could change as a result of a change in leadership at the CFPB and/or continued enforcement and regulatory actions at the state level, resulting in increased regulatory compliance burdens and costs and restrictions on the financial products and services that we offer to our customers in the future**.**
Regulation of Bank Holding Companies and Financial Holding Companies
The Company and its affiliates are subject to the provisions of Section 23A and Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act. Section 23A limits the amount of loans or extensions of credit to, and investments in, the Company and its non-bank affiliates by the Bank. Section 23B requires that transactions between the Bank and the Company and its non-bank affiliates be on terms and under circumstances that are substantially the same as with non-affiliates.
Under Federal Reserve policy, the Company is expected to act as a source of strength to the Bank, and the Federal Reserve may charge the Company with engaging in unsafe and unsound practices for failure to commit resources to a subsidiary bank when required. This support may be required at times when the bank holding company may not have the resources to provide the support. Under the prompt corrective action provisions, if a controlled bank is undercapitalized, then the regulators could require the bank holding company to guarantee the bank’s capital restoration plan. In addition, if the Federal Reserve believes that a bank holding company’s activities, assets or affiliates represent a significant risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of a controlled bank, then the Federal Reserve could require the bank holding company to terminate the activities, liquidate the assets or divest the affiliates. The regulators may require these and other actions in support of controlled banks even if such actions are not in the best interests of the bank holding company or its stockholders. Because the Company is a bank holding company, it is viewed as a source of financial and managerial strength for any controlled depository institutions, like the Bank.
In addition, under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”), depository institutions insured by the FDIC can be held liable for any losses incurred by, or reasonably anticipated to be incurred by, the FDIC in connection with (i) the default of a commonly controlled FDIC-insured depository institution or (ii) any assistance provided by the FDIC to a commonly controlled FDIC-insured depository institution in danger of default. Accordingly, in the event that any insured subsidiary of the Company causes a loss to the FDIC, other insured subsidiaries of the Company could be required to compensate the FDIC by reimbursing it for the estimated amount of such loss. Such cross guaranty liabilities generally are superior in priority to obligations of a financial institution to its shareholders and obligations to other affiliates. The Bank is the Company’s only FDIC-insured depository institution.
The provisions of the BHC Act relating to financial holding companies and the regulations promulgated thereunder require the Bank to remain “well capitalized” and “well managed”. The capital requirement is discussed below under the heading, “Capital Requirements”. The Bank will be considered to be well managed so long as it achieves a CAMEL composite rating of at least “2” as a result of its most recent examination and at least a “satisfactory” management rating (if such rating is given). If the Bank were to fail to meet either of these requirements, then the Company would be required to enter into an agreement with the Federal Reserve that would address the remediation of the condition that led to the failure. During the term of that agreement, which is typically 180 days but which can be extended at the discretion of the Federal Reserve, the Company would be prohibited from commencing any additional activity or acquiring control or shares of any company that would otherwise be permissible for a financial holding company under Section 4(k) of the BHC Act. If the Company were to fail to correct that condition by the expiration of the agreement’s term, then the Federal Reserve could order the Company to divest its ownership of the Bank or, alternatively, terminate all financial holding company activities. For so long as the Company remains a financial holding company, the Bank must also maintain a Satisfactory or better rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (the “CRA”). During any period that the Bank fails to satisfy this requirement, the Company is prohibited from commencing any additional activity or acquiring control or shares of any company that would otherwise be permissible for a financial holding company under Section 4(k) of the BHC Act. The Bank currently satisfies all of the foregoing conditions.
Federal Banking Regulation
Federal banking regulators, such as the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, may prohibit the institutions over which they have supervisory authority from engaging in activities or investments that the agencies believe are unsafe or unsound banking practices. Federal banking regulators have extensive enforcement authority over the institutions they regulate to prohibit or correct activities that violate law, regulation or a regulatory agreement or which are deemed to be unsafe or unsound practices. Enforcement actions may include the appointment of a conservator or receiver, the issuance of a cease and desist order, the termination of deposit insurance, the imposition of civil money penalties on the institution, its directors, officers, employees and institution-affiliated parties, the issuance of directives to increase capital, the issuance of formal and informal agreements, the removal of or restrictions on directors, officers, employees and institution-affiliated parties, and the enforcement of any such mechanisms through restraining orders or other court actions.
The Bank is subject to certain restrictions on extensions of credit to executive officers, directors, and principal stockholders or any related interest of such persons, which generally require that such credit extensions be made on substantially the same terms as those available to persons who are not related to the Bank and not involve more than the normal risk of repayment. Other laws tie the maximum amount that may be loaned to any one customer and its related interests to capital levels.
As part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”), each federal banking regulator adopted non-capital safety and soundness standards for institutions under its authority. These standards include internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, and compensation, fees and benefits. An institution that fails to meet those standards may be required by the agency to develop a plan acceptable to meet the standards. Failure to submit or implement such a plan may subject the institution to regulatory sanctions. We believe that the Bank meets substantially all standards that have been adopted. FDICIA also imposes capital standards on insured depository institutions.
The CRA requires the FDIC, in connection with its examination of financial institutions within its jurisdiction, to evaluate the record of those financial institutions in meeting the credit needs of their communities, including low and moderate income neighborhoods, consistent with principles of safe and sound banking practices. These factors are also considered by all regulatory agencies in evaluating mergers, acquisitions and applications to open a branch or facility. As of the date of its most recent examination report, the Bank had a CRA rating of “Satisfactory”.
The Bank is also subject to a variety of other laws and regulations with respect to the operation of its business, including, but not limited to, the Truth in Lending Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”), Expedited Funds Availability (Regulation CC), Reserve Requirements (Regulation D), Privacy of Consumer Information (Regulation P), Margin Stock Loans (Regulation U), the Right To Financial Privacy Act, the Flood Disaster Protection Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the CAN-SPAM Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act.
Capital Requirements
In addition to operational requirements, the Bank and the Company are subject to risk-based capital requirements, which were adopted and are monitored by federal banking regulators. The regulations that implement these requirements are used to evaluate capital adequacy and require an analysis of an institution’s asset risk profile and off-balance sheet exposures, such as unused loan commitments and stand-by letters of credit.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act (the “FDI Act”) requires, among other things, the federal banking agencies to take “prompt corrective action” in respect of depository institutions that do not meet minimum capital requirements. The FDI Act includes the following five capital tiers: “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized.” A depository institution’s capital tier will depend upon how its capital levels compare with various relevant capital measures and certain other factors, as established by regulation. The relevant capital measures are the total capital ratio, the Tier 1 capital ratio, the leverage ratio and the common equity Tier 1 (“CET1”) ratio.
A bank will be (i) “well capitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10.0% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% or greater, a leverage ratio of 5.0% or greater, a CET1 ratio of 6.5% or greater, and is not subject to any order or written directive by any such regulatory authority to meet and maintain a specific capital level for any capital measure, (ii) “adequately capitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of 8.0% or greater, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 4.0% or greater, a leverage ratio of 4.0% or greater, a CET1 ratio of 6.5% or greater, and is not “well capitalized”, (iii) “undercapitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 8.0%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 4.0%, a leverage ratio of less than 4.0%, (iv) or a CET1 ratio of less than 4.5%, “significantly undercapitalized” if the institution has a total risk-based capital ratio of less than 6.0%, a Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of less than 3.0%, a leverage ratio of less than 3.0%, or a CET1 ratio of less than 3%, and (v) “critically undercapitalized” if the institution’s tangible equity is equal to or less than 2.0% of average quarterly tangible assets. An institution may be downgraded to, or deemed to be in, a capital category that is lower than indicated by its capital ratios if it is determined to be in an unsafe or unsound condition or if it receives an unsatisfactory examination rating with respect to certain matters. A bank’s capital category is determined solely for the purpose of applying prompt corrective action regulations, and the capital category may not constitute an accurate representation of the bank’s overall financial condition or prospects for other purposes.
The appropriate federal banking agency may, under certain circumstances, reclassify a well-capitalized insured depository institution as adequately capitalized. The FDI Act provides that an institution may be reclassified if the appropriate federal banking agency determines (after notice and opportunity for hearing) that the institution is in an unsafe or unsound condition or deems the institution to be engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice. Regulators may require higher capital ratios when warranted by the particular circumstances or risk profile of a given banking organization. In the current regulatory environment, banking organizations must stay well-capitalized in order to receive favorable regulatory treatment on acquisition and other expansion activities and favorable risk-based deposit insurance assessments. Further, the appropriate agency is permitted to require an adequately capitalized or undercapitalized institution to comply with the supervisory provisions as if the institution were in the next lower category (but not treat a significantly undercapitalized institution as critically undercapitalized) based on supervisory information other than the capital levels of the institution.
Under these capital regulations, institutions are subject to limitations on paying dividends, engaging in share repurchases, and paying discretionary bonuses if its capital level falls below the prescribed buffer amount. These limitations establish a maximum percentage of eligible retained income that can be utilized for such actions.
The FDI Act generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distributions (including payment of a dividend) or paying any management fee to its parent holding company if the depository institution would thereafter be “undercapitalized.” “Undercapitalized” institutions are subject to growth limitations and are required to submit a capital restoration plan. The agencies may not accept such a plan without determining, among other things, that the plan is based on realistic assumptions and is likely to succeed in restoring the depository institution’s capital. In addition, for a capital restoration plan to be acceptable, the depository institution’s parent holding company must guarantee that the institution will comply with such capital restoration plan. The bank holding company must also provide appropriate assurances of performance. The aggregate liability of the parent holding company is limited to the lesser of (i) an amount equal to 5.0% of the depository institution’s total assets at the time it became undercapitalized and (ii) the amount which is necessary (or would have been necessary) to bring the institution into compliance with all capital standards applicable with respect to such institution as of the time it fails to comply with the plan. If a depository institution fails to submit an acceptable plan, it is treated as if it is “significantly undercapitalized.” Significantly undercapitalized” depository institutions may be subject to a number of requirements and restrictions, including orders to sell sufficient voting stock to become “adequately capitalized,” requirements to reduce total assets, and cessation of receipt of deposits from correspondent banks. “Critically undercapitalized” institutions are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator.
Our capital policy establishes guidelines meeting these regulatory requirements and takes into consideration current or anticipated risks as well as potential future growth opportunities. As of December 31, 2025, the Bank was “well capitalized” based on the aforementioned ratios.
On September 17, 2019, the FDIC finalized a rule that introduces an optional simplified measure of capital adequacy for qualifying community banking organizations (i.e., the community bank leverage ratio (“CBLR”) framework), as required by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. The CBLR framework is designed to reduce burden by removing the requirements for calculating and reporting risk-based capital ratios for qualifying community banking organizations that opt into the framework.
On April 6, 2020, in a joint statement, the FDIC, Federal Reserve and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency issued two interim final rules regarding temporary changes to the CBLR framework to implement provisions of the CARES Act. Under the interim final rules, the community bank leverage ratio was reduced to 8% beginning in the second quarter and for the remainder of calendar year 2020, 8.5% for calendar year 2021, and 9% thereafter. In order to qualify for the CBLR framework, a community banking organization must have a tier 1 leverage ratio of greater than 9%, less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, and limited amounts of off-balance-sheet exposures and trading assets and liabilities. A qualifying community banking organization that opts into the CBLR framework and meets all requirements under the framework will be considered to have met the well-capitalized ratio requirements under the Prompt Corrective Action regulations and will not be required to report or calculate risk-based capital. The Bank has not opted-in to the CBLR framework.
Additional information about our capital ratios and requirements is contained in Item 7 of this Annual Report under the heading, “Capital Resources and Adequacy”.
Liquidity Requirements
We require cash to fund loans, satisfy our obligations under the Bank’s letters of credit, meet the deposit withdrawal demands of the Bank’s customers, and satisfy our other monetary obligations. To the extent that deposits are not adequate to fund these requirements, we can rely on the funding sources identified in Item 2 of this Annual Report under the heading, “Liquidity Management”. As of December 31, 2025, the Bank had $23.5 million available through unsecured and secured lines of credit with correspondent banks, $29.3 million available through a secured line of credit with the Fed Discount Window and approximately $23.6 million available through the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”). Management is not aware of any demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that are likely to materially affect our ability to meet our future liquidity requirements.
Deposit Insurance
The Bank is a member of the FDIC and pays an insurance premium to the FDIC based upon its assessable deposits on a quarterly basis. Deposits are insured by the FDIC through the Deposit Insurance Fund (the “DIF”) and such insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. The coverage limit is generally $250,000 per depositor per insured depository institution for each account ownership category.
The Dodd-Frank Act set a new minimum DIF reserve ratio at 1.35% of estimated insured deposits and required the FDIC to redefine the deposit insurance assessment base for an insured depository institution. As redefined pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, an institution’s assessment base is now an amount equal to the institution’s average consolidated total assets during the assessment period minus average tangible equity. Institutions with less than $1.0 billion in assets at the end of a fiscal quarter, like the Bank, are permitted to report their average consolidated total assets on a weekly basis (rather than on a daily basis) and to report their average tangible equity on an end-of-quarter balance (rather than on an end-of-month balance).
The Bank expensed $578.4 thousand and $391.2 thousand in FDIC insurance premiums, including FICO assessments, in 2025 and 2024, respectively. The increase from 2024 to 2025 was due primarily to the increase in the FDIC’s minimum assessment and the Bank’s level of brokered CDs in the first half of 2025.
The FDIC is authorized to conduct examinations of and require reporting by FDIC-insured institutions. It is also authorized to terminate a depository bank’s deposit insurance upon a finding by the FDIC that the bank’s financial condition is unsafe or unsound or that the institution has engaged in unsafe or unsound practices or has violated any applicable rule, regulation, order or condition enacted or imposed by the bank’s regulatory agency. The termination of deposit insurance would have a material adverse effect on our earnings, operations and financial condition.
Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering
The Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), which is intended to require financial institutions to develop policies, procedures, and practices to prevent and deter money laundering, mandates that every insured depository institution have a written, board-approved program that is reasonably designed to assure and monitor compliance with the BSA.
The program must, at a minimum: (i) provide for a system of internal controls to assure ongoing compliance; (ii) provide for independent testing for compliance; (iii) designate an individual responsible for coordinating and monitoring day-to-day compliance; and (iv) provide training for appropriate personnel. In addition, state-chartered banks are required to adopt a customer identification program as part of its BSA compliance program. State-chartered banks are also required to file Suspicious Activity Reports when they detect certain known or suspected violations of federal law or suspicious transactions related to a money laundering activity or a violation of the BSA.
In addition to complying with the BSA, the Bank is subject to the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”). The USA Patriot Act is designed to deny terrorists and criminals the ability to obtain access to the United States’ financial system and has significant implications for depository institutions, brokers, dealers, and other businesses involved in the transfer of money. The USA Patriot Act mandates that financial service companies implement additional policies and procedures and take heightened measures designed to address any or all of the following matters: customer identification programs, money laundering, terrorist financing, identifying and reporting suspicious activities and currency transactions, currency crimes, and cooperation between financial institutions and law enforcement authorities.
Mortgage Lending and Servicing
The Bank’s mortgage lending and servicing activities are subject to various laws and regulations that are enforced by the federal banking regulators and the CFPB, such as the Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and various rules adopted thereunder, including those relating to consumer disclosures, appraisal requirements, mortgage originator compensation, prohibitions on mandatory arbitration provisions under certain circumstances, and the obligation to credit payments and provide payoff statements within certain time periods and provide certain notices prior to interest rate and payment adjustments.
The Bank is required 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. Qualified mortgages that that are not “higher-priced” are afforded a safe harbor presumption of compliance with the ability to repay rules, while qualified mortgages that are “higher-priced” garner a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the ability to repay rules. In general, a “qualified mortgage” is a mortgage loan without negative amortization, interest-only payments, balloon payments, or a term exceeding 30 years, where the lender determines that the borrower has the ability to repay, and where the borrower’s points and fees do not exceed 3% of the total loan amount. “Higher-priced” mortgages must have escrow accounts for taxes and insurance and similar recurring expenses.
Consumer Lending–*** Military Lending Act***
The Military Lending Act (the “MLA”), which was initially implemented in 2007, was amended and its coverage significantly expanded in 2015. The types of credit covered under the MLA include virtually all consumer loan and credit card products (except for loans secured by residential real property and certain purchase-money motor vehicle/personal property secured transactions). Lenders must provide specific written and oral disclosures concerning the protections of the MLA to active duty members of the military and dependents of active duty members of the military (“covered borrowers”). The implementing regulation imposes a 36% “Military Annual Percentage Rate” cap that includes costs associated with credit insurance premiums, fees for ancillary products, finance charges associated with the transactions, and application and participation charges. In addition, loan terms cannot include (i) a mandatory arbitration provision, (ii) a waiver of consumer protection laws, (iii) mandatory allotments from military benefits, or (iv) a prepayment penalty. The revised rule also prohibits “roll-over” or refinances of the same loan unless the new loan provides more favorable terms for the covered borrower. Lenders may verify covered borrower status using a DOD database or information provided by credit bureaus. We believe that we are in compliance with the revised rule.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.