PEOPLES FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Internal Controls

At December 31, 2023, the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, the CEO and CFO concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures, at December 31, 2023, were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in such reports is accumulated and communicated to the CEO and CFO to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

We are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Peoples Financial Services Corp. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income (loss), changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. This responsibility includes: establishing, implementing and maintaining adequate internal controls relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable under the circumstances. We are also responsible for compliance with the laws and regulations relating to safety and soundness that are designated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking.

Our internal controls are designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and transactions are initiated, executed, recorded and reported in accordance with our intentions and authorizations and to comply with applicable laws and regulations. The internal control system includes an organizational structure that provides appropriate delegation of authority and segregation of duties, established policies and procedures and comprehensive internal audit and loan review programs. To enhance the reliability of internal controls, we recruit and train highly qualified personnel and maintain sound risk management practices. The internal control system is maintained through a monitoring process that includes a program of internal audits.

Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at the end of each fiscal year and report, based on that assessment, whether the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective. Our assessment includes controls over initiating, recording, processing and reconciling account balances, classes of transactions and disclosure and related assertions included in the financial statements. Our assessment also includes controls related to the initiation and processing of non-routine and non-systematic transactions, to the selection and application of appropriate accounting policies and to the prevention, identification and detection of fraud.

There are inherent limitations in any internal control system, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of controls. Accordingly, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation.

Furthermore, due to changes in conditions, the effectiveness of internal controls may vary over time. Our internal auditor reviews, evaluates and makes recommendations on policies and procedures, which serves as an integral, but independent, component of our internal control.

Our financial reporting and internal controls are under the general oversight of our Board of Directors, acting through its audit committee. The audit committee is composed entirely of independent directors. The independent registered public

-139-

accounting firm and the internal auditor have direct and unrestricted access to the audit committee at all times. The audit committee meets periodically with us, the internal auditor and the independent registered public accounting firm to determine that each is fulfilling its responsibilities and to support actions to identify, measure and control risks and augment internal controls.

Our management, including our CEO and CFO, is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company. Our management, including our CEO and CFO, assessed the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 using the criteria established inInternal Control-Integrated Framework(2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. These criteria are in the areas of control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring. Our management’s assessment included extensive documenting, evaluating and testing the design and operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

Based on its assessment, management believes that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.

Baker Tilly US, LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm that audited our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 has issued an audit report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. That report is included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

/s/ Craig W. Best

Craig W. Best

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ John R. Anderson III

John R. Anderson IIIExecutive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer andPrincipal Accounting Officer)

March 15, 2024

-140-

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.