COMMUNITY BANCORP VT

Finance lease obligations

The following is a schedule by years of future minimum lease payments under capital leases, together with the present value of the net minimum lease payments as of December 31, 2023:

A reconciliation of the undiscounted cash flows in the maturity analysis above and the lease liability recognized in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023, is shown below:

Note 8. Goodwill

As a result of the acquisition of LyndonBank on December 31, 2007, the Company recorded goodwill amounting to $11,574,269. The goodwill is not amortizable and is not deductible for tax purposes. Management evaluated goodwill for impairment at December 31, 2023 and 2022 and concluded that no impairment existed as of such dates.

Note 9. Other Investments

The Company purchases, from time to time, interests in various limited partnerships established to acquire, own, and rent residential housing for low- and moderate-income residents of northeastern and central Vermont. The tax credits from these investments were $698,450 and $389,911 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Expenses related to amortization of the investments in the limited partnerships are recognized as a component of income tax expense, and were $596,429 and $268,714 for 2023 and 2022, respectively. The carrying values of the limited partnership investments were $4,192,530 and $4,394,959 at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and are included in Other assets.

The Bank has a one-third ownership interest in a non-depository trust company, CFSG, based in Newport, Vermont, which is held indirectly through CFS Partners, a Vermont LLC that owns 100% of the LLC equity interests of CFSG. The Bank accounts for its investment in CFS Partners under the equity method of accounting. The Company’s investment in CFS Partners, included in Other assets, amounted to $3,790,493 and $3,756,994 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company recognized income of $1,033,499 and $584,971 for 2023 and 2022, respectively, through CFS Partners from the operations of CFSG. A cash distribution of $1,000,000 was paid from CFS Partners to each owner of CFSG during December 2023, accounting for the minimal increase in the Company’s investment in CFS Partners.

Note 10. Deposits

The following is a maturity distribution of time deposits at December 31, 2023:

Total deposits in excess of the FDIC insurance level amounted to $320,016,734 as of December 31, 2023.

Note 11. Borrowed Funds

The following table reflects the Company’s outstanding advances with FHLBB as of the balance sheet dates presented:

(1) The FHLBB is providing a subsidy, funded by the FHLBB’s earnings, to write down interest rates to 0% on JNE advances that finance qualifying loans to small businesses. JNE advances must support small business in New England that create and/or retain jobs, or otherwise contribute to overall economic development activities.

Borrowings from the FHLBB are secured by a blanket lien on qualified collateral consisting primarily of loans with first mortgages secured by 1-4 family residential properties, as well as certain qualifying CRE loans. Qualified collateral for these borrowings totaled $156,633,552 and $160,543,731 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and the Company’s gross potential borrowing capacity under this arrangement was $109,444,670 and $112,339,573, respectively, before reduction for outstanding advances and collateral pledges.

Under a separate agreement with the FHLBB, the Company has the authority to collateralize public unit deposits, up to its available borrowing capacity, with letters of credit issued by the FHLBB. At December 31, 2023, $45,250,000 in FHLBB letters of credit was utilized as collateral for these deposits compared to $52,400,000 at December 31, 2022. Total fees paid by the Company in connection with issuance of these letters of credit were $61,029 for 2023 and $58,824 for 2022.

The Company also maintained a $500,000 IDEAL Way Line of Credit with the FHLBB at December 31, 2023 and 2022, with no outstanding advances under this line at either year-end date. Interest on these borrowings is at a rate determined daily by the FHLBB and payable monthly.

The Company also has a BIC arrangement with the FRBB, which is intended to be used as a contingency funding source and is secured by eligible commercial & industrial loans and CRE loans not pledged to FHLBB and home equity loans, with an available line of $42,181,375 and $56,070,032 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Credit advances in the FRBB lending program are overnight advances with interest chargeable at the primary credit rate (generally referred to as the discount rate), which was 550 basis points as of December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had no outstanding advances against this line.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had additional potential borrowing capacity, subject to pledging of required collateral consisting of eligible U.S. Agency and U.S. Government Securities, under the FRB’s BTFP which was established in March 2023 to provide banks with an additional source of liquidity. This funding source will expire in March, 2024 with outstanding advances set to expire, unless renegotiated, as follows:

At December 31, 2023, the Company had an unsecured lines of credit with one correspondent bank totaling $12.5 million compared to unsecured lines of credit with two correspondent banks with aggregate available borrowing capacity totaling $20.5 million at December 31, 2022. The Company had no outstanding advances against these lines as of the balance sheet dates presented.

Note 12. Junior Subordinated Debentures

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had outstanding $12,887,000 principal amount of floating rate Junior Subordinated Debentures due in 2037 (the Debentures). During 2023, the floating rate averaged 8.06% per quarter compared to an average rate of 4.39% per quarter for 2022. The Debentures mature on December 15, 2037 and are subordinated and junior in right of payment to all senior indebtedness of the Company, as defined in the Indenture dated as of October 31, 2007 between the Company and Wilmington Trust Company, as Trustee. The Debentures first became redeemable, in whole or in part, by the Company on December 15, 2012. Interest paid on the Debentures for 2023 and 2022 was $1,053,873 and $573,603, respectively, and is deductible for tax purposes.

In accordance with the federal Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act enacted in March 2022 (the “LIBOR Act”), the interest rate provisions under the Company’s debenture documents were replaced as a matter of law, as of the first London banking day after June 30, 2023 (the “LIBOR Replacement Date”) with a benchmark interest rate identified in regulations promulgated by the FRB. Prior to the change, interest accrued at a floating rate equal to the 3 month LIBOR plus 2.85%, adjusted quarterly. As required under the LIBOR Act, the Federal Reserve-identified benchmark rates specified in the final regulations for various tenors of LIBOR are based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and each includes an appropriate “tenor spread adjustment” to reflect historical spreads between LIBOR and SOFR. In accordance with the LIBOR Act and its implementing regulations, as of the LIBOR Replacement Date, the Company’s Junior Subordinated Debentures bear interest at a quarterly floating rate equal to 3-month CME SOFR, as adjusted by a spread adjustment factor of 0.26161, plus 2.85%.

The Debentures were issued and sold to CMTV Statutory Trust I (the Trust). The Trust is a special purpose trust funded by a capital contribution of $387,000 from the Company, in exchange for 100% of the Trust’s common equity. The Trust was formed for the purpose of issuing corporation-obligated mandatorily redeemable Capital Securities (Capital Securities) in the principal amount of $12.5 million to third-party investors and using the proceeds from the sale of such Capital Securities and the Company’s initial capital contribution to purchase the Debentures. The Debentures are the sole asset of the Trust. Distributions on the Capital Securities issued by the Trust are payable quarterly at a rate per annum equal to the interest rate being earned by the Trust on the Debentures. The Capital Securities are subject to mandatory redemption, in whole or in part, upon repayment of the Debentures. The Company has entered into an agreement which, taken collectively, fully and unconditionally guarantees the payments on the Capital Securities, subject to the terms of the guarantee.

The Debentures are currently includable in the Company’s Tier 1 capital up to 25% of core capital elements (see Note 22).

Note 13. Repurchase Agreements

Securities sold under agreements to repurchase mature daily and consisted of the following: