HBT Financial Inc

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

For the transition period from________to________

Commission file number:001-39085

HBT Financial, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yeso No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yeso No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x Noo

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x Noo

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. o

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yeso Nox

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates on the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $240.1 million, determined using a per share closing price for the registrant’s common stock on that date of $18.44, as quoted on The Nasdaq Global Select Market.

As of February 23, 2024, there were 31,643,206 shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III incorporate information by reference from the definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of HBT Financial, Inc. to be filed within 120 days of December 31, 2023.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HBT Financial, Inc.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this Annual Report are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include statements relating to our plans, strategies and expectations, near-term loan growth, net interest margin, mortgage banking profits, wealth management fees, expenses, asset quality, capital levels, continued earnings, and liquidity. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "believe," "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "anticipate," "project," "plan" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are frequently based on assumptions that may or may not materialize and are subject to numerous uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated or projected and which could materially and adversely affect our operating results, financial condition or prospects include, but are not limited to:

•the strength of the local, state, national, and international economies (including effects of inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints);

•the economic impact of any future terrorist threats and attacks, widespread disease or pandemics, acts of war or other threats thereof (including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine), or other adverse external events that could cause economic deterioration or instability in credit markets, and the response of the local, state and national governments to any such adverse external events;

•changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by state and federal regulatory agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (including the Company’s adoption of the current expected credit losses (“CECL”) methodology);

•changes in state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning the Company’s general business and any changes in response to the recent failures of other banks;

•changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of the Company’s assets (including potential changes in interest rates by the Federal Reserve);

•increased competition in the financial services sector, including from non-bank competitors such as credit unions and “fintech” companies, and the inability to attract new customers;

•changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems;

•unexpected results of acquisitions, which may include failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and the possibility that transaction costs may be greater than anticipated;

•the loss of key executives or employees;

•changes in consumer spending;

•unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving the Company;

•the economic impact of exceptional weather occurrences such as tornadoes, floods and blizzards;

•fluctuations in the value of securities held in our securities portfolio;

•concentrations within our loan portfolio, large loans to certain borrowers, and large deposits from certain clients;

•the concentration of large deposits from certain clients who have balances above current FDIC insurance limits and may withdraw deposits to diversify their exposure;

•the level of non-performing assets on our balance sheets;

•interruptions involving our information technology and communications systems or third-party servicers;

•breaches or failures of our information security controls or cybersecurity-related incidents;

•our asset quality and any loan charge-offs;

•the composition of our loan portfolio;

•the effects of changes in interest rates on our net interest income, net interest margin, our investments, our loan originations, and our modeling estimates relating to interest rate changes;

•our access to sources of liquidity and capital to address our liquidity needs;

•our inability to receive dividends from the Bank, pay dividends to our common stockholders or satisfy obligations as they become due;

•the effects of problems encountered by other financial institutions;

•our ability to achieve organic loan and deposit growth and the composition of such growth;

•our ability to successfully develop and commercialize new or enhanced products and services;

•current and future business, economic and market conditions in the United States (“U.S.”) generally or in the States of Illinois and Iowa in particular;

•the geographic concentration of our operations in the States of Illinois and Iowa;

•our ability to attract and retain customer deposits;

•our ability to maintain the Bank’s reputation;

•possible impairment of our goodwill and other intangible assets;

•possible changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies of, and other activities undertaken by, governments, agencies, central banks and similar organizations;

•the effectiveness of our risk management and internal disclosure controls and procedures;

•market perceptions associated with certain aspects of our business;

•our ability to meet our obligations as a public company, including our obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;

•damage to our reputation from any of the factors described above;

•our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items; and

•the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors”, Part II, Item 7 "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations", or elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement in the future, or to reflect circumstances and events that occur after the date on which the forward-looking statement was made.