PEOPLES FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on assumptions and may describe future plans, strategies and expectations of Peoples Financial Services Corp. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) including statements with respect to the proposed merger between the Company and FNCB Bancorp, Inc. (“FNCB”) under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 27, 2023 (the “Merger Agreement”) pursuant to which FNCB will merge with and into Peoples, with Peoples as the surviving entity, along with the transaction occurring immediately after such merger, whereby FNCB’s wholly owned subsidiary, FNCB Bank will merge with and into the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company (”Peoples Bank”), with the Peoples Bank as the surviving bank and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peoples (the “Merger”), that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors (some of which are beyond our control). These forward-looking statements are generally identified by use of the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project” or similar expressions. All statements in this report, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements.

Our ability to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: macroeconomic trends; the effects of any recession in the United States; the impact on financial markets from geopolitical conflicts such as the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in Israel; risks associated with business combinations, including, but not limited to the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the Merger Agreement; the possibility that the parties may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies in the Merger within the expected timeframes or at all and to successfully integrate operations of FNCB and FNCB Bank and those of Peoples and Peoples Bank, which may be more difficult, time consuming or costly than expected; diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; effects of the announcement, pendency or completion of the proposed merger on the ability of Peoples to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with their vendors, and on their operating results and businesses generally; changes in interest rates; economic conditions, particularly in our market area; legislative and regulatory changes and the ability to comply with the significant laws and regulations governing the banking and financial services business; monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government, including policies of the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve System; adverse developments in the financial industry generally, such as the recent bank failures, responsive measures to mitigate and manage such developments, related supervisory and regulatory actions and costs, and related impacts on customer and client behavior; credit risk associated with lending activities and changes in the quality and composition of our loan and investment portfolios; demand for loan and other products; deposit flows; competition; changes in the values of real estate and other collateral securing the loan portfolio, particularly in our market area; changes in relevant accounting principles and guidelines; inability of third party service providers to perform; and our ability to prevent, detect and respond to cyberattacks. Additional factors that may affect our results are discussed in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In addition to these risks, acquisitions and business combinations present risks other than those presented by the nature of the business acquired. Acquisitions and business combinations and, specifically, the Merger may be substantially more expensive to complete than originally anticipated, and the anticipated benefits may be significantly harder - or take longer - to achieve than expected, if they are achieved at all. As regulated financial institutions, our pursuit of attractive acquisition and business combination opportunities could be negatively impacted by regulatory delays or other regulatory issues. Regulatory and/or legal issues related to the pre-acquisition operations of an acquired or combined business may cause reputational harm to Peoples following the acquisition or combination, and integration of the acquired or combined business with ours may result in additional future costs arising as a result of those issues. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the definitive merger agreement between Peoples and FNCB; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Peoples or FNCB; the possibility that the proposed strategic combination will not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated (and the risk that required regulatory approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the proposed transaction).

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These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, we do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to release publicly the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

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